Eesti kirjandusajalugu tekstides. Esimene osa

http://www.ester.ee/record=b1337606*es

Possibilities of Writing a South Estonian Literary History

Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsioone.Lõunaeesti kirjanduse ajaloo põhjalikud käsitlused seni puuduvad, algust on tehtud lühematega. Väitekiri uurib ühelt poolt, kuidas on lõunaeesti kirjanduslugu seni vaadeldud, ning teiselt poolt, kuidas seda oleks edaspidi otstarbekas kirjutada. Lõunaeesti kirjandus on muutunud eraldi uurimisobjektiks alates 1980. aastate lõpust, varem on seda esitatud peamiselt vaid väikse allteemana eesti kirjanduse mõtestamise raames. Uurimise iseseisvumine eeldab mõistete ja üldiste kõnelemisviiside muutumist. Lõunaeesti kirjanduse mõistet on piiritletud mitmel moel – keele- ja kohakeskselt, laiemalt ja kitsamalt. Nende määratluste alusel sünnib arusaam kirjandusloo objektist. Oluliselt on nii mõistekasutust kui ka kirjandusloo kontseptualiseerimist mõjutanud Kauksi Ülle tööd. Tema on artikli vormis visandanud esimese võru kirjanduse ajaloo, arvestades selles ka avaramat lõunaeestilise traditsiooni tausta. Kauksi Ülle käsitluses on keel valitud ootuspäraselt esmaseks (kuigi mitte ainukeseks) eristavaks tunnuseks. See lahendus lähtub tõsiasjast, et Lõuna-Eestis kasutatav keelekuju erineb selgelt põhjaeestilisest pruugist. Väitekirja põhiosa moodustavad seitse artiklit, mis lähenevad teemale nelja erineva nurga alt. Esiteks on antud ülevaade seni tehtud töödest, teiseks on arutatud võimalusi käsitleda lõunaeesti kirjanduslugu seoses laiema kontekstiga, näiteks kohaliku kultuuriloo või eesti luuleloo taustal, kolmandaks on vaadeldud kultuuri-, keele- ja kirjandusloo esitamise võimalusi ilukirjanduslikus tekstis ning lõpuks on mudeldava katsena läbi jutustatud Tartu linna Karlova linnaosa ajalugu. Katse kinnitab ja iseloomustab kohakeskse kirjandusloo esitamise võimalikkust, kuid arvestatavaid vaatenurki on samas kindlasti mitmeid. Väitekirjas lõpuks pakutud kirjandusloo kirjutamise variandid lähtuvadki erinevatelt alustelt, ühendavaks jooneks on neil kesksele narratiivile toetuvate mudelite eelistamine.Currently, no extensive treatments exist of South Estonian literature, while some shorter ones have been initiated. The dissertation at hand observes, on the one hand, how South Estonian literary history has been discussed hitherto, and, on the other hand, attempts to find expedient ways of writing such literary histories in the future. South Estonian literature became a separate object of study in the late 1980s; before that it was mostly considered as a minor subtopic in the framework of interpreting Estonian literature. The independence of the research object presupposes a change in terms as well as in general modes of discussion. The concept of South Estonian literature has been formulated in several ways – proceeding from the language or the place, in a broader or in a narrower manner. On the basis of these definitions an insight is gained into the object of literary history. Both the use of the concept as well as conceptualisation of literary history has been influenced by the work of Kauksi Ülle. She was the first to outline a history of Võru literature in an article, also taking into consideration its background in a broader South Estonian tradition. As could be expected, it is language that has been chosen as the primary (although not the only) distinguishing feature of the literature in Kauksi Ülle’s treatment. The solution proceeds from the fact that the language variety used in South Estonia clearly differs from the usage in North Estonia. The body of the dissertation consists of seven articles that broach the subject from four different angles. Firstly, a survey is given of the existing studies; secondly, possibilities of discussing South Estonian literary history in connection with a broader context, for instance, against the background of local cultural history or the history of Estonian poetry, are studied; thirdly, possibilities of representing cultural, linguistic and literary history in literary texts are observed, and finally the history of the Karlova district in the town of Tartu is narrated as an attempt at modelling. The case study affirms the possibility of launching a place-centred literary history and highlights the relevant features, but there are certainly several additional vantage points that can be considered. The versions of writing literary history suggested at the end of the dissertation indeed proceed from different premises and are united by a preference for models that are based on a central narrative

Ühe (suure) kultuurinarratiivi saatus: Noor-Eesti. The Fate of a (Great) Cultural Narrative: Young-Estonia

This focus of this article is the fate of the cultural narrative that has most influenced Estonian culture of the 20th century – Young Estonia. The point of departure for the analysis is Tiit Hennoste’s 2005 essay ”Young Estonia – An Unfinished Project for Self-Colonization”, which I interpret as the interruption of Young Estonia’s ”great narrative”. Hennoste’s demythologizing approach should be regarded in the context of postmodernism (or of postcolonial treatments of literature and art). I argue that the fact that Young Estonia’s models for cultural movements were located in Europe did not automatically lead to the assimilation of 20th century Estonia (literary) culture. Neither did they engage in an automatic copying of European culture; their activities might better be regarded as a process of intertexual enrichment. In what follows, the fate of the narrative of Young Estonia will be traced both in terms of the literary field of Soviet Estonia in the 1950s and 1960s, and in exile. I claim that renewed awareness of the narrative of Young Estonia can be traced to the publication of a collection of Gustav Suits’ Poems in 1959, edited and with an afterword by Endel Sõgel. If one lowers the volume on the vulgar Soviet ideologization in Sõgel’s text, key words that characterize the Young Estonia canon remain in place undisturbed: innovativeness, intellectual greatness, turning point, the social nature of art and literature, consonance of the aesthetic and the ethical. Sõgel’s framing of Young Estonia stands in contrast to its apologetic treatment in the postwar Estonian diaspora. On the one hand, this line of interpretation follows the basic outlines of a critical narrative that developed in the 1920s; on the other, since most of Young Estonia’s authors and followers among the Estonian literary elite had gone into exile in 1944, diaspora interpretations represent a definite literary-political position. In the 1960s a new generation takes it cues from Young Estonia’s narrative, the connecting link between Young Estonia and the 1960s is the work of young poets from the end of the 1930s, Arbujad (the Logomancers). In this context, the author of this article comments at some length on Jaan Kross’ connections with the narrative of Young Estonia. The last third of the article discusses the motives and milieu in which Young Estonia’s narrative was generated, and shows how, over a period of 10 years, Young Estonia developed its assertive autonarrative into a cultural model – a metanarrative

Filosoofiateaduskonna õppekavad

• Sissejuhatus • 1. Õppetöö korraldus filosoofiateaduskonnas • 2. Mõned meeldetuletused asjaajamise hõlbustamiseks • 3. Osakondade õppekavad. Kasutamisjuhend • 4. Keskuste õppekavad • 5. Akadeemiline kalender 1994/1995 • Sisukordhttp://tartu.ester.ee/record=b1000846~S1*es

Kirjanduslikest kontaktidest läbi raudse eesriide / Literary contacts through the iron curtain

The article deals with the relationship between the literature of the Estonian diaspora in the West and Soviet Estonia during the 1960s, and explores the possibility, from the literary historiographical perspective, of integrating the two bodies of Estonian literature.Near the end of The Second World War close to 70,000 Estonians fled their homeland, fearing Soviet repression; among them were numerous members of the academic and artistic intelligentsia as well as eminent poets and writers. By the late 1940s national organizations, publications and other activities were already well underway in the displaced persons camps. During the 1950s, Estonian exiles who settled in Sweden, Canada, United States, and elsewhere in the West quickly formed national cultural centres, publishing houses and numerous organizations that helped maintain their national and cultural identity. The centre of literary activity in the West was Sweden, which most Estonian writers had chosen as their new home. The Estonian Writers’s Co-operative publishing house, established in Lund in 1950, started the mail-order distribution of Estonian literature throughout the world; elsewhere, the publisher Orto operated in Toronto.While no propaganda-free literature or literature of any artistic merit was published in the 1940s and 1950s in Estonia during the Soviet occupation, exile literature flourished. Then, the Khrushchev Thaw brought about changes to Soviet society in the late 1950s. As their world became more free, a new generation of talented young poets emerged who generated innovations in poetry and modernized literature. This article maps literary contacts between the Estonian homeland and her exiles, and, using archival material, focuses on personal contacts among the literati during the 1960s.Literary historiography began investigating the possibility of treating Estonian literature in the homeland and in the West as one body of literature, when, after a 45-year interruption, Estonian and emigré writers met again for the first time in 1989 in Helsinki.Afterward, critics began describing Estonian literary history with the metaphor of a tree with two branches. Treating the two bodies of literature as one and integrating their literary histories was seen as impossible due to vast differences both in writers’ circumstances and the role of literature in their communities during the past 45 years.For example, while emigré writers had to find time for creativity after their workday, Estonian authors in the homeland earned their bread by writing – literature being highly regarded and honoured – since the Soviet regime valued the role of literature (and other arts) as a propaganda tool.The article points out that although literature retained its major „official“ role and was subject to ideological control even after Soviet society became relatively freer in the 1960s, a considerable amount of homeland Estonian literature nevertheless carried on the ideas of cultural identity and resistance „between the lines“.After the independent Republic of Estonia was reestablished in 1991, the Estonian Cultural History Archives of the Estonian Literary Museum started receiving the personal archives of exile writers; researching these materials has resulted in many discoveries. It became apparent that among the correspondence between the homeland and diaspora communities there was a steady stream of letters between Estonian writers, especially the younger generation of authors, but also academic researchers, as well as many other creative individuals, artists and musicians. Although exiles’ contacts with the homeland generally began on the basis of family relations, the intelligentsia of occupied Estonia was also looking for professional and creative contacts.Many Estonian writers abroad carried on „cultural correspondences“ with their contemporaries back in the homeland in which they discussed literary problems and exchanged large quantities of books: much new Estonian literature from the homeland quickly reached the West; similarly, Estonian literature published in the West reached the homeland, from where it was distributed by unofficial channels and often through multiple typewritten copies. This cultural practice resulted in an interesting paradox: while young emigré writers (Enn Nõu and others) often protested against the literary values of the older generation, writers in Estonia admired the works of major Estonian writers in exile (Marie Under, Bernard Kangro, Kalju Lepik and others).Using archival materials, the article raises questions about the two branches of Estonian literature, relationships between homeland and exile literature, and mutual influences during the 1960s and 1970s. The shift in generations changed the existing literary balance: beginning in the 1960s, literature in the homeland blossomed while writers in exile began talking about a crisis. Numerous strategies were suggested, including officially passing the torch to homeland Estonian writers and ending the publication of emigré literature. Another response to the situation was consolidation of the younger generation of exile writers.In analyzing the relationship between the two bodies of Estonian literature, the article examines the archived manuscripts and correspondence related to publishing the short story anthology Who The Hell Knows, issued by the Estonian Writers’ Co-operative in Lund, Sweden in 1968. The manuscript archive was handed over to the Estonian Cultural History Archives by the anthology compiler, writer Enn Nõu. The archive contains over a hundred letters exchanged while collecting the short stories, and which illustrate the attitudes of the second generation of exile writers toward both the occupied homeland and literature at large.Analysis of the correspondence reveals that the inspiration for issuing the short story collection in Sweden was drawn from a series titled „Young Authors“ (1962–1968), paperback poetry books by young authors issued in Estonia; there was a need among young exile writers to respond to their contemporaries in the homeland. This revealing fact verifies that regardless of shadow of the iron curtain, good relationships existed between the two literary and artistic worlds, despite the absence of official relationships, and that from the literary historiographical perspective there are grounds for treating Estonian literature as a single process.

Jumalad sõjas : jumalik toetus ja sõdade teoloogiline õigustamine muistses Anatoolias ja Põhja-Süürias

Käesolevas artiklis käsitletakse muistse Anatoolia ja Põhja-Süüria kohta säilinud kiilkirjaallikaid, et uurida, kuidas on Hetiidi kuningriigi ja Põhja-Süüria kunagised valitsejad põhjendanud ja õigustanud sõdu ning millist toetust väida- vad nad olevat jumalatelt selleks saanud. Vaatluse all on hilispronksiaeg (umbes aastad 1500–1150 eKr), mil selles piirkonnas leidis aset palju hävitavaid sõdu. Muistsete mütoloogiliste ja poliitiliste tekstide ülevaatega Hetiidi impeeriumist ja selle mõjusfäärist loodavad autorid näidata sõja religioossete aspektide ühise sõnavara arengut (nt sõja jumalik toetus või õigustus, mõlemad neist on sageli tihedalt seotud või isegi integreeritud teineteisesse), mis arenes koos Anatoolia ja Süüria piirkonna muutuvate poliitiliste oludega. Muistses maailmas seosta- ti jumalaid sõjaga mitmel viisil ja see tähendas tavaliselt seda, et väidetavalt osalesid jumalad riikide-vahelises sõjategevuses, pakkudes sageli abi või tuge valitsejale ja tema armeele. Mõnikord üritasid valitsejad jumalike jõudude abiga ka oma sõjategevust (sõdu, vallutusi) põhjendada. Mõnel juhul leiame allikatest väiteid jumalikust sekkumisest sõjalistesse konfliktidesse ning sõdadesse, vahel esinevad jumalad ka sõjaliste konfliktide lahendajatena.Peer reviewe