Arved Viirlaid (April 11, 1922 – June 21, 2015) was an Estonian-Canadian writer. Viirlaid was born in

Padise Padise () is a village in Lääne-Harju Parish, Harju County in northern Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west ...

Harju County Harju County ( or ''Harjumaa''), is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is situated in northern Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Järva County to the southeast, Rapla Count ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Arved Viirlaid fought in the Estonian regiment in Finland during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, returning to Estonia in 1944. He escaped from Soviet-occupied Estonia, settling first in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and then moving to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in 1953. Viirlaid published 9 novels and several collections of poetry. His first novel, ''Tormiaasta'' (The Year of Storms), was published in 1949. In 1952, he published (Graves Without Crosses), which was translated from Estonian into seven other languages. The English translation appeared in 1972, with a preface by

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker (September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 an ...

. His 1965 novel, ''Sadu jõkke'' (Rain for the River) has also been translated into English. He was awarded the

Order of the National Coat of Arms The Order of the National Coat of Arms (, ) was instituted by Konstantin Päts on 7 October 1936 to commemorate 24 February 1918, the day on which Estonian independence was declared. The Order of the National Coat of Arms is bestowed only on Est ...

, 3rd Class, by the President of Estonia in 1997.

References

Estonian male novelists 1922 births 2015 deaths Estonian emigrants to Canada Estonian World War II refugees People from Lääne-Harju Parish Estonian Academy of Arts alumni Estonian volunteers in the Continuation War Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 3rd Class 20th-century Estonian novelists {{Estonia-writer-stub