Elo Viiding (

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

, Elo Vee; born 20 March 1974) is an

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and prose writer.

Family

Viiding is the third

in her family. Her father,

Juhan Viiding Juhan Viiding (1 June 1948 – 21 February 1995), also known under the pseudonym of Jüri Üdi was an Estonian poet and actor. Personal life Juhan Viiding was born on 1 June 1948 in Tallinn to Paul Viiding, a well-known poet in Estonia who h ...

was a famous and influential

in the 1970s. He was also an

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. Her paternal grandfather, Paul Viiding, was a poet, author and literary critic and member of Arbujad in the 1930s, and her paternal grandmother was translator Linda Viiding. Her maternal grandfather,

Kaljo Kiisk Kaljo Kiisk (3 December 1925 – 20 September 2007) was a Soviet and Estonian actor, film director, screenwriter and politician. He was best known for his roles as from Spring (1969 film), ''Spring'' (), Summer (1976 film), ''Summer'' (''Suvi'' ...

, was an actor, film director and politician. Viiding's mother Riina was a music teacher.

Education

Viiding, inspired by her father's career as an

and her mother's love for music, graduated from school in 1999 as an actress. She studied violin.

Literary career

Viiding debuted under a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

("Elo Vee") in 1991. She published four anthologies under her pseudonym. After her father's death in 1995, she began to publish her works under her real name.

Themes and style

Viiding writes mainly about the oppressed. It is her opinion that every person is controlled and oppressed by someone else. She also uses her poetry to address what she sees as shortcomings in the

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 ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

al system. She writes directly to her reader and her tone is extremely

ironic Irony, in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what, on the surface, appears to be the case with what is actually or expected to be the case. Originally a rhetorical device and literary technique, in modernity, modern times irony has a ...

. When her poetry is compared with that of other Estonian writers, it seems to be more

masculine Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some beh ...

than

feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and Gender roles, roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there is also s ...

Selected works

* collection of poetry "Telg" Kassett ´ 90 (publisher Eesti Raamat 1990), * collection of poetry „Laeka lähedus" (publisher Tuum 1993), * collection of poetry "Võlavalgel" (publisher Tuum 1995), * collection of prose "Ingelheim" (publisher Eesti Raamat 1995), * collection of poetry "V" (publisher Tuum 1998), * selection of poetry in Finnish "Paljastuksia" (translated by Katja Meriluoto, publisher Nihil Interit 2000), * „Kaardipakk“ (poetry with Karl Martin Sinijärv, Jürgen Rooste, Triin Soomets, Asko Künnap, published by Näo Kirik 2001), * collection of poetry "Esimene tahe" (publisher Tuum 2002), * collection of poetry "Teatud erandid" (publisher Tuum 2003), * selection of poetry in Swedish "För en stämma" (translator Peeter Puide, publisher Ariel 2004), * collection of poetry "Selge jälg" (publisher Tuum 2005), * „Kaardipakk Kaks“ (poetry with Asko Künnap, Karl Martin Sinijärv, Jürgen Rooste, Triin Soomets, published by Näo Kirik 2006), * collection of short stories "Püha Maama" (publisher Tuum 2008), * collection of poetry "Meie paremas maailmas" (publisher Tuum 2009).

In anthologies

Prose: "Välismaa naised", ("Foreign women") "Best European Fiction 2010", Dalkey Archive Press, edited by Aleksandar Hemon, translated by Eric Dickens Poetry: "Verden Finnes ikke på kartet" (Poesi fra hele verden), Forlaget Oktober AS, Oslo 2010, edited by Pedro Carmona-Alvarez and

Gunnar Wærness Gunnar Wærness (born 22 November 1971) is a Norwegian poet. He made his literary début in 1999 with the poetry collection ''Kongesplint'', for which he was awarded the Tarjei Vesaas' debutantpris. Among his other poetry collections are ''Takk' ...

. Translated by Turid Farbregd Poems: "The Baltic Quintet: Poems from Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden", edited by Edita Page, translated by Eric Dickens, Wolsak and Wynn Publishers Ltd. 2008 Poems: "New European poets" (edited by Wayne Miller and Kevin Prufer). St. Paul, Minn. : Graywolf Press, 2008, translated by Eric Dickens Poems: "Viie tunni tee. Five Hours Away“ – Poetry from Nordic Poetry Festival 2001 in English:

Vahur Afanasjev Vahur Afanasjev (born Vahur Laanoja; 24 August 1979 – 10 May 2021) was an Estonian novelist, poet, musician and film director best known for his novel ''Serafima and Bogdan'' a story following the lives in a village of Russian Orthodox Old Be ...

, Kristiina Ehin, Mehis Heinsaar,

Aapo Ilves Aapo Ilves (; born 20 October 1970, in Räpina) is an Estonian poet, writer, playwright, artist and musician. He writes in Estonian, Võro and Seto languages. Ilves has also written song lyrics for other artists, including several "Hits of the ...

, Jan Kaus, Marko Kompus, Kalju Kruusa, Asko Künnap, Fagira D. Morti, Veiko Märka, Aare Pilv, Juku-Kalle Raid, Jürgen Rooste, Olavi Ruitlane, Francois Serpent, Karl-Martin Sinijärv, Lauri Sommer, Elo Viiding, Wimberg. Edited by AcrossWords, translated by Tiina Laats, Acrosswords, 2001. 62 lk Poems: "Ajattelen koko ajan rahaa" – Estonian contemporary poetry in Finnish: Jürgen Rooste, FS, Elo Viiding, Toomas Liiv, Aleksander Suuman, Kivisildnik, Kalev Keskküla, Asko Künnap, Kristiina Ehin, Triin Soomets, Mats Traat, Hasso Krull, Kalju Kruusa, Fagira D. Morti, Eeva Park, Karl Martin Sinijärv, Aare Pilv, Wimberg. Edited by Harri Rinne, translated by Anu Laitila "Emadepäev" (Mothers´ Day) in Swedish literary magazine "00-tal" (English edition), translated by Eric Dickens

External links

www.lyrikline.com
translated by Irja Grönholm * https://web.archive.org/web/20120814051107/http://elm.estinst.ee/issue/20/elo-viiding-poet-who-plays-social-nerves/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20120814051126/http://elm.estinst.ee/issue/20/poetry-elo-viiding/ * http://nordicvoices.blogspot.com/2009/03/elo-viiding.html * http://nordicvoices.blogspot.com/2009/05/elo-viiding-mothers-day.html

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Viiding, Elo Estonian women poets Living people 1966 births 20th-century Estonian poets 20th-century Estonian women writers 21st-century Estonian poets 21st-century Estonian women writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers