August Sang (27 July 1914 – 14 October 1969) was an

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poet and literary translator. Sang was a member of the Arbujad literary group, which represented a new direction in Estonian poetry before the outbreak of World War II. He was known as a translator of poetry from German, Russian, French and Czech languages.

Life and work

August Sang was born in

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

, where he graduated from high school in 1932. His parents were Jakob and Akelina Sang (). He was the eldest of three brothers: Ilmar Sang (1916–1995) and Endel Sang (1921–2007). After his military service he studied from 1934 to 1942 at the Philosophical Faculty of 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.

. Several times he had to interrupt his studies to earn money. As early as eight years old August Sang wrote his own poetry. Under the pseudonym Injo, he successfully participated in a literary competition run by the youth magazine ''Kevad'' in 1934 with his quick tempoed poem ''Improvisatsioon''. In 1934 he made his debut in the literary arts magazine ''

Looming ''Looming'' is a term found in the study of perception, as it relates directly to psychology. Looming occurs when an object begins moving closer to the eye. As the resulting image becomes increasingly larger on the perceiver's retina, i.e., when ...

''. His collection of poems ''Üks noormees otsib õnne'' was published in 1936, with which he scored his breakthrough. Since that time he also wrote numerous reviews and essays on literature. In the late 1930s, he joined in the literary circle Arbujad which included such prominent early poets and authors as Bernard Kangro,

Uku Masing Uku Masing (born Hugo Albert Masing, 11 August 1909 – 25 April 1985) was an Estonian polymath who contributed to theology, oriental studies, philosophy, poetry, folklore and to the field of ethnology. He was a significant figure in Estonian rel ...

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, Mart Raud, Heiti Talvik and Paul Viiding. Sang's second collection of poems ''Müürid'', was published in 1939. In 1936 Sang married the Estonian poet and translator Kersti Merilaas and the couple had a son named Joel Sang in 1950. Sang and Merilaas had both been pivotal members of the Arbujad circle of writers. After the Soviet annexation of Estonia, Sang joined the Soviet Estonia Writers Union in 1945, but he was expelled in 1950. Only in 1955 was Sang permitted by the Soviet authorities to work as a writer again. A year later he re-joined the Writers' Union. He died, aged 55, in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

Alongside his literary activities August Sang translated poetry and prose from the German, Russian, French and Czech into Estonian, by authors such as

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

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, and

Lion Feuchtwanger Lion Feuchtwanger (; 7 July 1884 – 21 December 1958) was a German Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Republic, Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht. ...

. Sang was especially fond of the works of

Vítězslav Nezval Vítězslav Nezval (; 26 May 1900 – 6 April 1958) was a Czechs, Czech poet, writer and translator. He was one of the most prolific avant-garde Czech writers in the first half of the 20th century and a co-founder of the Surrealism, Surrealist ...

, who Ain Kaalep has named as the reason Sang learned the Czech language.

Legacy

In 2018, the Kultuuurileht Literary Publications Foundation established the , awarded each August for the best poetry translation published from the August of the previous year until the August of the current year.

Works

* ''Üks noormees otsib õnne'' (1936) * ''Arbujad: valimik uusimat eesti lüürikat'' (compilation 1938) * ''Heinrich Heine'' (biography, 1938) * ''Müürid'' (1939) * ''Võileib suudlusega'' (1963) * ''Sada laulu'' (selected collection, 1965) * ''Luuletused'' (selected collection, 1970) * ''Väike luuleraamat'' (selected collection, 1971) * ''Laenatud laulud'' (anthology of translations in two volumes, 1973–74) * ''Laulud'' (selected collection, 1977) * ''Emajõe unisel veerel'' (posthumous anthology, 2003)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sang, August 1914 births 1969 deaths People from Pärnu People from Kreis Pernau Estonian male poets 20th-century Estonian poets 20th-century Estonian male writers Soviet poets Translators of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Arbujad University of Tartu alumni Honoured Writers of the Estonian SSR