''Looming'' (English: ''Creation'') is the oldest literary magazine in

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 ...

. The headquarters is 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 ...

History

The magazine was established in 1923 by the Estonian writer

Friedebert Tuglas Friedebert Tuglas, born Friedebert Mihkelson or Michelson (2 March 1886 – 15 April 1971), was an Estonian writer and critic who introduced Impressionism and Symbolism to Estonian literature. Persecuted by the authorities in the beginning of 20t ...

. Its purpose was the publication and popularization of Estonian contemporary literature. Virtually all known Estonian authors have contributed to the journal. During the

Soviet occupation of Estonia The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, (abbreviated Estonian SSR, Soviet Estonia, or simply Estonia ) was an administrative subunit ( union republic) of the former Soviet Union (USSR), covering the occupied and annexed territory of Estonia ...

, ''Looming'' was controlled by the Writers' Union of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. Currently, the publication of ''Looming'' is jointly funded by the Estonian Ministry of Culture, the State ''Kultuurkapital'' Foundation and the

Estonian Writers' Union The Estonian Writers' Union (, abbr. EWU is a professional association of Estonian writers and literary critics.Marje Jõeste, Küllo Arjakas, ''The Baltic States'', Estonian Encyclopaedia Publishers, 1991, page 64 History The Estonian Writer ...

. The latter appoints the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the magazine, who is responsible for the content. It is published monthly. The editorial office is based in

. In the early years, the magazine's print run was around a thousand copies. In 1930, it was reduced from 1,500 to 1,200 copies. In 1933, the print run was 600 copies, but later began to increase and reached 5,500 copies by 1935. In 1955, this figure was 4,000, in 1977 – 19,000, in 1985 – 22,000. In the 1980s, when readers' demand for the magazine grew and the oppressive pressure of the authorities intensified, efforts were made to limit the influence of the free-spirited Looming with claims of insufficient printing capacity, which did not allow the magazine's circulation to increase. Looming was also removed from the international subscription list, so it could no longer be subscribed abroad, the justification being the claim that, in conditions of very high demand, there would be more readers of the magazine at home. In 1990, Looming had a print run of 35,500, 1992 – 6,000, 1995 – 2,400, 2000 – 2,100, 2004 – 1,700. Today, the print number is 1,600. The 1,000th issue of the magazine was published in December 2012.

Editors-in-chief

The following persons have been editor-in-chief of the magazine:

References

External links

* 1923 establishments in Estonia Arts in Estonia Estonian-language magazines Literary magazines published in Estonia Magazines established in 1923 Monthly magazines Mass media in Tallinn {{Europe-lit-mag-stub