Elo Viiding (

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, 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 na ...

, Elo Vee; born 20 March 1974) is an Estonian

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 ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...

and prose writer.

Family

Viiding is the third

in her family. Her father, Juhan Viiding was a famous and influential

in the 1970s. He was also an

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

. Her paternal grandfather,

Paul Viiding Paul Viiding (22 May 1904 – 27 June 1962) was an Estonian poet, author and literary critic. Born in Valga, to Juhan and Ann Viiding (''née'' Rose), he was the oldest of two children; his sister Linda was born in 1907. He graduated with a de ...

, was a poet, author and literary critic and member of

Arbujad Arbujad (English as "sorcerers" or "soothsayers") was the collective name for a loose group of eight Estonian poets, which represented a new direction in Estonian poetry before the outbreak of World War II.Cornelius Hasselblatt, ''History of Est ...

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 Kristjan Lible from Spring (1969 film), ''Spring'' ( et, Kevade), Summer (1976 fi ...

, 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 or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

("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, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. ...

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 and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into ...

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

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. Translated by

Turid Farbregd Turid Farbregd (born 1941) is a Norwegian philologist and translator. She was awarded the Bastian Prize in 1989, for her translation of poetry by Jaan Kaplinski into Norwegian language. She received the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature in ...

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, Kristiina Ehin, Mehis Heinsaar, Aapo Ilves, 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