August Alle ( – 8 July 1952) was an

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 ...

n writer.Endel Nirk, Arthur Robert Hone, Oleg Mutt, ''Estonian Literature: Historical Survey with Biobibliographical Appendix'', Published by Perioodika, 1987, p. 215.

Early life

August Alle was the son of a stonemason. He attended the parish school in

Viljandi Viljandi (, , , , ) is a Populated places in Estonia, town and Municipalities of Estonia, municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,255 in 2024. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major ...

, then the evening school in

Narva Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia border, E ...

. In 1915, he enrolled as an external student in

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, , ɐˈrʲɵl, a=ru-Орёл.ogg, links=y, ), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, situated on the Oka Rive ...

and began studying

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

, but he soon abandoned those studies. From 1915 to 1918 he studied medicine at the University of Saratov. From August 1922 Alle studied law at the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

. He postponed his final law exams until 1937. He subsequently practiced as a freelance lawyer.

Literary career

After studying medicine August Alle worked in Estonia as a journalist and lecturer, before he is completely devoted himself to writing. From 1919 he was one of the figures association with the Siuru movement. August Alle was also known as a columnist and literary critic. His literary breakthrough came with his 1921 poem collection ''Carmina Barbata''. His writing was deliberately outrageous, ironic, sarcastic and satirical. He was a master of the epigram and sketches. His pen was sharp and feared in Estonia. He turned particularly against the emerging middle class of the inter-war period. In his works he drew on his experiences in the revolutionary

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

and Tartu in Estonia after the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

. August Alle's poetry turned strongly against the fascist tendencies in Europe of that time. August Alle haud

Soviet collaboration

After the Soviet occupation of Estonia in 1940, Alle became an advisor to the Ministry of Education and chairman of a Soviet Commission that drew up lists of books to be banned and removed from libraries. Among the books banned were works of

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (; 27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century ...

, Artur Adson, Gustav Suits and

Marie Under Marie Under ( – 25 September 1980) was an Estonian poet. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 14 separate years. Early life Marie Under was born on 27 March 1883 in Reval (Tallinn), Estonia to school teachers Fri ...

. In all, 1552 titles were banned. August Alle belonged to the Board of the Estonian Writers' Union. In addition, he was editor at various literary journals. In 1942 he joined the

Communist Party of Estonia The Communist Party of Estonia (, abbreviated EKP; in Russian: Коммунистическая партия Эстонии) was a regional branch of the CPSU, Soviet communist party (CPSU) which in 1920–1940 operated illegally in Estonia an ...

. During the German invasion, he was director of the press department of the Communist Party. From 1946 until his death he was chief editor of the prestigious, though after 1944 Soviet controlled, literary magazine '' Looming'' (Estonian for "creation"). Alle's best known poem is the Eesti pastoraal (Estonian pastoral).August Alle
Estonian Writers. Online Dictionary. Accessed 8.2.2023

Works

*Üksinduse saartele (1918) *Carmina Barbata (1921) *Laul kleidist helesinisest ja roosast seelikust (1925) *Ummiklained (1930) *Karmid rütmid (1934) *Lilla elevant (1923) *Epigrams (1944)

References

External links

August Alle at Estonian Writers' Online Dictionary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alle, August 1890 births 1952 deaths 20th-century Estonian poets 20th-century Estonian male writers People from Viljandi People from Kreis Fellin Communist Party of Estonia politicians University of Tartu alumni Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour Looming (magazine) editors Estonian magazine editors Estonian male poets Burials at Metsakalmistu