Marie Under

Last updated • 4 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Marie Under
Marie Under circa 1903 by Max Meixner of Reval (Tallinn).jpg
Marie Under c. 1899.
Born(1883-03-27)27 March 1883
Reval (Tallinn), Estonia, Russian Empire
Died25 September 1980(1980-09-25) (aged 97)
Stockholm, Sweden
Resting place Rahumäe Cemetery
OccupationPoet
LanguageEstonian
Nationality Estonian
Literary movement Siuru, Tarapita
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1902;div. 1924)​
​
​
(m. 1924;died 1977)​
ChildrenDagmar Stock (1902–1994)
Hedda Hacker (1905–1988)

Marie Under (27 March [ O.S. 15 March] 1883 – 25 September 1980) was an Estonian poet. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 14 separate years. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Early life

Marie Under was born on 27 March 1883 [6] in Reval (Tallinn), Estonia to school teachers Friedrich (1843–1930) and Leena Under (née Kerner) (1854–1934). She had two older siblings, Evangeline (1880–1932?) and Gottried (1881–1882) and two younger, Berta (1885–1974), and Christfried (1887–1934). She attended a private German-language girls' school. After graduating, she worked as a salesclerk in a bookstore. In her free time, she wrote poetry in German. In 1902, she married an Estonian accountant, Carl Hacker. The couple had two children, Dagmar and Hedda, while living in Kuchino, a suburb of Moscow, Russia. However, in 1904, she fell in love with the Estonian artist Ants Laikmaa. Laikmaa convinced her to translate her poetry into Estonian and submitted her translated works to local newspapers.

Portrait of Marie Under by Estonian artist Ants Laikmaa in 1904 Laikmaa marie under1.jpg
Portrait of Marie Under by Estonian artist Ants Laikmaa in 1904

Return to Estonia

In 1904, under the pseudonym Mutti, Under had her first poem published in the newspaper Postimees .

In 1906, Under returned to Tallinn. In 1913, she met Artur Adson, who became her secretary. He also compiled the first volumes of her published poetry. In 1924, Under divorced Carl Hacker and married Adson.

In May 1917, Under was one of the writers who formed the influential Siuru literary group with Adson, Friedebert Tuglas, August Gailit, Henrik Visnapuu, and later Johannes Semper. Under was the only woman of the group, where she was known as Printsess, in line with the nicknames given to each member. She was appointed the group's chairman, knowingly taking on a masculine title. [7] The group was named after a fire-bird in Finnic mythology, and it was an expressionistic and neo-romantic movement that ran counter to the Young Estonia formalist tradition. Between 1917 and 1919, the group of poets published three volumes of poetry. In 1919, conflicts within the group led Visnapuu and Gailit to leave, while Johannes Vares and August Alle joined as new members. [8] [9]

Under published her first collection of poetry in 1917, shortly after forming Siuru, and a second edition was printed before the year's end. [7] She then gained wider recognition, marking her entry into the literary scene. Notably, her work included explicit erotic poems, a departure from prevailing norms, which garnered attention and inspired subsequent writers. [10]

Under was one of the founders of Estonian Writers' Union in 1922. [11]

In the 1920s, Under was a frequent visitor at the house of Igor Severyanin, a Russian poet, in the village of Toila, where she often was on holiday. Severyanin published a book of translations from Under. [12] Severyanin did not speak Estonian and used word-by-word translations as a basis. [13]

Life in exile

During World War II, Under and her family fled to Sweden in September 1944 to escape from the Soviet invasion and reoccupation of Estonia. They spent almost a year in a refugee camp until, in 1945, the family moved on to Mälarhöjden, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden. Under lived there until her death on 25 September 1980. She was buried in the Skogskyrkogården cemetery in Stockholm. In January 2015, it was announced that she was to be reburied in Estonia. [11] On 9 June 2016, Under and Adson were interred at Rahumäe Cemetery in Tallinn alongside her daughter Hedda Hacker and sister Berta. [14]

Translations

Under's work was translated into at least 26 languages. She is one of the best translated Estonian authors. [15]

Style

The ocean's mysteries were a common theme in Under's poetry. Having grown up as the symbolism movement was ending, Under was one of the European poets who rejected symbolism in favor of more tangible concepts. Her early poetry was specifically about sensory ideas and how things appear in the physical world. Her poetry shifted to existential concepts of isolation and death by 1920. A change in tone developed in the late 1920s as she shifted again to appreciation and concern for life and wellbeing rather than simple despair knowing that they shall end. With this shift came a greater willingness to use symbolism and metaphor in her poetry. [6] Her influences included the Bible, William Shakespeare, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and traditional folk legends. [6]

Poetry collections

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igor Severyanin</span> Russian poet

Igor Severyanin was a Russian poet who presided over the circle of the so-called Ego-Futurists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friedebert Tuglas</span> Estonian writer and critic

Friedebert Tuglas, born Friedebert Mihkelson or Michelson, was an Estonian writer and critic who introduced Impressionism and Symbolism to Estonian literature. Persecuted by the authorities in the beginning of 20th century, he later became an acknowledged representative of Estonian literature in the Soviet era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henrik Visnapuu</span> Estonian poet and dramatist

Henrik Visnapuu was an Estonian poet and playwright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estonian literature</span>

Estonian literature is literature written in the Estonian language Estonia leads the world in book ownership, on average Estonians own 218 books per house, and 35% own 350 books or more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young Estonia</span> Estonian literary group

Young Estonia was a neo-romantic literary group established around 1905 and led by the poet Gustav Suits and short story writer Friedebert Tuglas. Other members of the group included Villem Grünthal-Ridala and Johannes Aavik. Gustav Suits articulated the ideology of the group thus:

"What buoys up and exalts humanity is education. Our slogan is: More culture! More European culture! Let us remain Estonians, but let us become Europeans too. We want to discover the ideas and forms towards which we are impelled by our national spirit, character, and needs on the one hand, and by European culture on the other."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artur Adson</span> Estonian writer and theatre critic (1889–1977)

Artur Adson was an Estonian poet, writer and theatre critic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siuru</span> Estonian literary movement

The Siuru literary movement, named after a fire-bird in Finnic mythology, was founded in 1917 in Estonia. It was an expressionistic and neo-romantic movement that ran counter to the Young Estonia formalist tradition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August Gailit</span> Estonian writer

August Gailit was an Estonian writer.

Kersti Merilaas was an Estonian poet and translator. In addition, she wrote poems and prose for children and plays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toila</span> Borough in Estonia

Toila is a small borough in Ida-Viru County, in northeastern Estonia. It is located about 10 km (6 mi) northeast of the town of Jõhvi, on the coast of Narva Bay. Toila is known as an important sea resort in Estonia, with a spa hotel, beach and a beautiful park. Toila is the administrative centre of Toila Parish. As of the 2011 Census, the settlement's population was 780, of whom the ethnic Estonians made up 628 (80.5%).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarmo Teder</span> Estonian writer, poet and critic

Tarmo Teder is an Estonian writer, poet and critic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maarja Kangro</span> Estonian writer

Maarja Kangro is an Estonian poet, short story writer, novelist, essayist, nonfiction writer and librettist.

<i>Uus Eesti</i> Estonian newspaper

Uus Eesti was a daily newspaper published in Estonia from September 1935 until the Soviet occupation of Estonia in June 1940. The newspaper was politically aligned with the Estonian government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tio Tepandi</span> Estonian artist

Tio Tepandi is an Estonian artist. She was born in Lüganuse, Estonia. Her grandfather was a gardener of the local estate. The memories of her birthplace, its beauty and harmony have always accompanied and influenced the artist.

100 great Estonians of the 20th century is a list of notable Estonians compiled in 1999 by Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, Eesti Päevaleht, National Library of Estonia, Radio Kuku, and TV3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie Heiberg</span> Estonian poet

Marie Heiberg was an Estonian poet. When she was only about 15 years old she wrote her first poems which were acclaimed for their youthful freshness. Heiberg spent the last twenty years of her life in a mental institution. There is a memorial to her memory in Urvaste.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eeva Park</span> Estonian writer (born 1950)

Eeva Park is an Estonian writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agaate Veeber</span> Estonian artist

Agaate Veeber was an Estonian graphic artist and illustrator who began her career in the 1920s in her native country of Estonia and continued in the United States after immigrating in 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv</span> Estonian publishing house

Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv was a publishing house in Lund, Sweden.

Tarapita was an Estonian literature group which was active between 1921-1922.

References

  1. ↑ "Nomination Database". www.nobelprize.org. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
  2. ↑ "Nominations 1968" (PDF). www.svenskaakademien.se. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  3. ↑ "Nominations 1969" (PDF). www.svenskaakademien.se. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  4. ↑ "Nominations 1970" (PDF). www.svenskaakademien.se. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  5. ↑ "Nominations 1971" (PDF). www.svenskaakademien.se. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  6. 1 2 3 Aspel, Alexander (1969). "Marie Under's Quest for Transcendence". Books Abroad. 43 (3): 363–365. doi:10.2307/40123537. ISSN   0006-7431. JSTOR   40123537.
  7. 1 2 Talivee, Elle-Mari (2017). "Siuru in the winds of freedom". Estonian Literary Magazine (45): 30–33.
  8. ↑ Jean Albert Bédé, William Benbow Edgerton, Columbia Dictionary of Modern European Literature, Columbia University Press, 1980, ISBN   0-231-03717-1, p237
  9. ↑ Rubulis, Aleksis. Baltic Literature. University of Notre Dame Press,1970.
  10. ↑ World, Estonian (2020-04-02). "Six poems by Estonian poet Marie Under". Estonian World. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  11. 1 2 Tambur, S. (4 January 2015). "Estonia's most influential poet to be reburied". Eesti Rahvusringhääling. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  12. ↑ Шумаков, Юрий. "Игорь Северянин в Эстонии" (in Russian). Встреча. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  13. ↑ "Игорь Северянин" (in Russian). Век Перевода. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "Marie Underi säilmed sängitati Rahumäe kalmistule" (in Estonian). Delfi. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  15. ↑ "Marie Under". Estonian Literature Centre. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  16. 1 2 "Ундер Мария (Marie Under)" (in Russian). National Library of the Republic of Komi. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.