Eesti ideoloogia 1970. aastate Välis-Eesti mõtteloos

Towards an Estonian Ideology:Debates among Estonians Abroad in the 1970sThe goal of this article is to trace articulations of Estonian ideologyin the 1970s among Estonians abroad. The term Estonian ideology isfar from monolithic; political scientist and Estonian diaspora scholarKarl Aun (1914–1995) carefully redefined it in 1979 in counterpointto the large number of „action programs“ and prognoses of the futureof Estonia as proposed in the mid-1970s by younger, radical diasporaintellectuals. These in turn responded to the most divisive politicalissue since the mid-1960s – the problem of visiting the homeland andentertaining cultural figures and other official visitors from SovietEstonia. Aun's article in the new periodical Aja Kiri, which beganpublication in Toronto in 1976 should be seen less as a contributionto the polemic around „communicating with the homeland“ andrather in relation to preceding debates in the periodical Vaba Eesti(1951–1964). Both periodicals sought and assumed an internationalaudience of Estonians.The first part of the article contextualizes and outlines Aun`s rhetoricalstrategy in defining „estology“ and the historical questions heraised. In the second part, the intellectual background and politicalformation of the readership of Aja Kiri is examined. Finally, questionsfor further research on the intellectual history of the Estoniandiaspora are set forth alongside a brief review of the challenges ofworking with diaspora archives

Saateks

Väljaanne, mida Te käes hoiate, on Tartu Ülikooli kultuuriteaduste ja kunstide instituudi ning Eesti Kirjandusmuuseumi kultuuriloolise arhiivi uue kultuuriteadusliku ajakirja Methis. Studia humaniora Estonica esimese aastakäigu kaksiknumber. Antiikmütoloogiast lähtudes sündis tarkusejumalanna Ateena oma isa, Zeusi peast. Kuid tal oli ema, kelle nimi oli Metis – meie ajakirja nimes on ta saanud ühe lisatähe. Kui lugejas kutsub ajakirja tekkeloo mütoloogiline taust esile kiusatust allegoriseerida, siis olgu see ärgitavas ja peibutavas mõttes vihje tarkuse käänulisele, imetabasele või tabamatule kujunemisteekonnale, viljakusele, mis võiks olla alternatiiv „tootlikkusele”. Lihtsamalt ja ehedamalt viitab nimeloole ka kaanekujundus, vihjates jõeäärsele paigale Põhja-Liivimaal, kust väljaanne pärineb. Edasi kõnelevad kohamuistendid ka vaimust, mis selles paigas rändab ning seal ulualuse, kui mitte eluaseme on leidnud. Müütidel on alati olnud variante ning varje. Seega on uuel ajakirjal teisigi (kajalisi) vihjeid nüüdisaegsele Eesti teadusmaastikule. Neid varjundeid tabades aimab lugeja õigesti, et kavatsus on avada uksi ja õhuaknaid tõsiuurimuslikule humanitaarsele loomingule, milles on tekstimõnu ja sõnasära, miks mitte ka elegantsi. Selliseid humanitaaria väärtusi ning voorusi silmas pidades jääb midagi olulist püsima, mida teaduse bürokratiseerumine ohustab ning halliks tasandab. Ühtlasi, Methise kolleegium ja tegevtoimetus on võtnud nõuks neid uksi ja õhuaknaid avada peamiselt eestikeeles – ajal ja taustal, mil „teaduse tegemist” väärtustatakse kõrgemalt eelkõige siis, kui tulemus ilmub teises, „rahvusvahelises” keeles. See otsus tehti veendumuses, et eesti humanitaaria toitev allikas on eesti keel ning et selle teaduskeele sära ning paindlikkuse arendamine on humanitaarse uurimistöö kohustus ning kaastoime. Tuntud vanasõna järgi on kordamine tarkuse ema. Tahtes valida uue ajakirja nime tarkusejumalanna ema Metise järgi, on sellele nimele lisatud h-täht, et siiski vältida kordamist. Esiteks ei soovi toimetus tekitada identiteedisegadusi, sest Hollandis ilmub samuti humanitaarteaduslik ajakiri Metis. Teiseks on oluline märkida, et Methisel on eelkäijad: uus ajakiri asendab Tartu Ülikooli eesti kirjanduse õppetooli senist sarja „Studia litteraria estonica” ja Eesti Kirjandusmuuseumi artiklikogumike sarja („Traditsioon & pluralism”, „Kohanevad tekstid” jt). Algusest peale võeti sihiks kujundada uus väljaanne perioodiliseks, avaldada teadusartikleid ja artiklikobaraid ning koostada ka erinumbreid. Ajakiri hakkab ilmuma kaks korda aastas, vähemalt iga kolmas number jääb vabanumbriks , eeldades kaastööd noorematelt kultuuri-, kirjandus- ja teatriuurijatelt. Methis on sündinud koostööst kahe kirjandust uuriva ning õpetava asutuse vahel – vaimse, mitte pelgalt vormilise – koostöö lootuses. Ka tema „toitmine-katmine” ja „kasvatamine” on kahe koostööpartneri mure ja rõõm. Methis ei korda ega dubleeri teisi olemasolevaid eestikeelseid kirjandus- ja kultuuriteaduslikke väljaandeid, vaid loodab kujundada oma nägu ja tegu. Rahvusvahelise toimetuskolleegiumi ja eelretsenseeritava väljaandena vastab see teaduslikele nõuetele ning seab eesmärgiks elava mitmehäälse dialoogi kujundamist autorite, kolleegiumi liikmete ja retsensentide vahel. Kirjutada Methisele võiks olla ning peakski olema ohtlik – kirjatükki ja uurimust avaldamiskõlbulikuks kohendades on nii autoril kui ka retsensendil ja toimetajal oht selles dialoogis targemaks saada. Soov seda elavat, vaimselt nõudlikku sidet alal hoida, vaheda mõtte ja kauni stiili nimel, on vastus teadusbürokraatlikule pealiskaudsusele, mida kannustab „siisikeste” korjamise sund. Alates Methise neljandast numbrist hakkab leiduma igas numbris lisaks teadusartiklitele veel kolm rubriiki : 1) tõlgitud teoreetiline artikkel, mis täiendab eestikeelset kirjandus- ja kultuuriteaduslikku õppematerjali ning jätkab eestikeelse humanitaarteoreetilise sõna- ja mõistevara arendamist tõlkeloome nõudlikul viisil; 2) koondretsensioon vähemalt kahest eriala jaoks olulisest teosest; 3) allikapublikatsioon tekstikriitiliste kommentaaridega. Methis avatakse kaaluka kaksiknumbriga, mis on eriline ja kordumatu. Noor-Eesti erinumbri koostajatena on dr Sirje Olesk ja dr Marin Laak asetanud ajakirja väärikale kirjandusloolisele alusele, milles on hiljutiste kirjandusmuuseumi Noor-Eesti juubelikonverentside sõnajõudu, põnevaid mõttevahetusi ning elavaid väitlusi. Rahvusvahelisemat teemat eesti kirjandus- ja kultuuriloost oleks peaaegu võimatu valida. Peatoimetajana soovin tunnustada ja tänada erinumbri toimetajat dr Marin Laaki ning tema kaastöölisi, keeletoimetajaid Maarja Hollot ja Katrin Raidi nende vaeva, kannatlikkuse ja sihikindla nõudlikkuse eest, millele nad on lisanud vürtsiks head tuju ja naudingu

Foreword

Methis is a new quarterly journal of literary and cultural studies in Estonia, a collaborative publication of the Department of Literature and Theatre Research of the University of Tartu and the Estonian Literary Museum. Its predecessors were series of collections of articles “Studia litteraria estonica“ of the Chair of Estonian Literature of the University of Tartu, and series such as “Tradition and pluralism”, and “Accommodating Texts” of the Estonian Literary Museum. With due respect to its genealogy, the purpose of Methis is to provide a new forum for publication by young and established scholars, balancing between international and Estonian-language readerships. Since any new periodical is fraught with risk, especially in a country where the scholarly base is small, it is crucial to take the measure of the landscape, both in the homeland and in Europe. The pressures of publishing must take into account perils and perishing, both on the level of individual scholars and their institutions. Methis is primarily and philosophically committed to peer-reviewed publishing in the Estonian language. The editorial board sees this not as a symptom of insularity, but rather as a deep, intentional investment in the cultivation of scholarly Estonian as a flexible, rich medium for scientific expression and communication at a level in keeping with the highest international standards. The first double issue of Methis, published in December 2008 under the editorship of Dr. Marin Laak and Dr. Sirje Olesk, was devoted to the Young Estonia movement of the last decades of the 19th century and the opening decade of the 20th – a time of crucial self-positioning of Estonian scholars, thinkers and activists with respect to the Europe they both imagined and encountered in their peregrinations and political exile. It is, however highly and fortunately symbolic of Methis’ position in Estonian letters that this issue is published in English, and that it commemorates another important anniversary in Estonian cultural history. The editors, Dr. Luule Epner, and Dr. Anneli Saro, have elicited and prepared a very fine selection of articles based on papers given at a conference in December 2006 devoted to the 100th anniversary of the first professional theatres in Estonia. We anticipate that the future of Methis will entail other such occasions for English-language special issues and clusters of articles. 6 As with any new venture, Methis has already encountered controversy – particularly about its name, the choice of which entailed a tension between pure loyalty to long humanistic traditions and pragmatism. Metis is the mythological mother of Athena, and the symbolism of this lineage is connected with Tartu, a historic university city, referred to frequently with the locution “Emajõe Ateena” (“Athena on the Banks of the River Emajõgi“). The “Tartu spirit”, whether it is a figure for intellectual passion or a haunting of the past (or the name given to a very peppery chocolate truffle in one of Tartu’s famous cafes) is part folklore and part ideology. We hope that on the pages of this journal, it will be “catching” in the best sense of that word. Scholarly wisdom, championed by Athena, needs nurture and protection, perhaps especially these days, when the heat of institutional production requirements and bureaucratic quotas threaten to overpower the coolness, caution, slow absorption, meticulous tending and acumen of real scholarship. As a journal, Methis seeks to honour the solicitude of its mythological patroness. However, many of our colleagues in Classical Studies have been quite vocal about the extra letter in the name of our journal. While their objections are certainly justified, there is no gratuitous playfulness in the extra letter “H“. Since another European journal of the humanities already exists under the name Metis, we merely wished to avoid confusion. While many of the forthcoming issues of Methis will be topical or thematic, at least every fourth issue will be a multi-topic or free issue. Methis 4 (2009), our first free issue, will be edited by Andrus Org, a lecturer in Estonian literature at the University of Tartu, and it will expand the full repertoire of regular features. In addition to the book reviews in Methis 3 (2009), each of the following issues will contain translations into Estonian of theoretical and methodological articles in literary and cultural studies, and publication of archival source material. The editorial board of Methis is grateful to the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research, the Estonian Cultural Endowment, and the Publications Committee of the University of Tartu for ongoing financial support

Luulesõrestik üle ookeani. Marie Underi ja Ivar Ivaski kirjavahetuse teemaanalüüsi poole

This article proposes to discuss the voluminous literary correspondence of the Estonian poets Marie Under (1883–1980) and Ivar Ivask (1927–1992), with a focus on its first year, 1957–1958. The whole correspondence comprises 550 letters, with an average length of 4000 (later 3000) words; it is held in the Cultural History Archive of the Estonian Literary Museum in Tartu. Both Under and Ivask had been war refugees, with Under and her husband, poet Artur Adson, finding an exile home near Stockholm, Sweden; Ivask and his wife Astrīde, a well-known Latvian poet emigrated to America after some years spent in DP camps in Germany. Marie Under was already a renowned poet during the Siuru movement in the Estonian Republic, and became a symbol during the Second World War, continuing to publish and hold a large reading audience in exile. In addition to her own poetry, she was a versatile translator of poetry from several languages into Estonian. Ivask, two generations younger than Under, had begun writing in Germany, but continued to search for his linguistic and cultural identity for some time: his mother tongue was Latvian, and the language of his father was Estonian; German was spoken at home. At length and around the time of the beginning of his correspondence with Under, he decided that Estonian would be his poetic language. Since coming to the United States, Ivask completed a PhD in comparative literature and established himself as a scholar and critic in Germanic Studies. He became associated with the publication Books Abroad, later renamed under his editorship as World Literature Today. Under’s and Ivask’s letters are rife with exchanges about core values in poetry, art and worldview, stylistics and poetics, as well as practicalities of publication. After a brief introduction to theoretical approaches to the analysis of letters and correspondences, the article turns to a topical close reading of the letters from Under and Ivask’s first year: main foci included translations of the poetry of Karl Čaks, translation priorities, discussion of the aims and planned trajectory of a new cultural journal in Estonian named Mana (to which both contributed), perspectives on Ivask’s debut as a young poet, the future of Baltic literatures abroad, and the cultural politics in the exile communities over what attitude to take toward literary production from the homeland. The second part of the article applies methods of digital humanities toward an extensive study of the Under-Ivask correspondence as a linguistic dataset, aiming to arrive at a thematic analysis of the text as a whole. The methods enable the identification of key words, word frequencies and thematic clusters, while making the whole corpus digitally accessible to the scholarly reader. The article concludes with proposals for a further study of the Under-Ivask correspondence, using the methods of digital humanities