Oskar Luts ( – 23 March 1953) 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 and playwright.

Biography

Oskar Luts was born into a middle-class family in Järvepera, central

, at that time in the

governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire, Baltic Governorate-General until 1876. Governorate of Livonia bordered Governorate of E ...

(

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

). His younger brother was the film director and cinematographer Theodor Luts. Oskar Luts attended Änkküla village school in 1894. He went to Palamuse Parish school in

Jõgeva County Jõgeva County ( or ''Jõgevamaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in eastern part of the country and borders Ida-Viru County to the north-east, Lake Peipus to the east, Tartu County to the south, Viljandi County to the south-we ...

, attending from 1895–1899. In 1899–1902 he studied at the Tartu Reaalkool. In 1903, Luts started working as an apothecary apprentice in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

and

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 ...

. After passing the apothecary apprentice exams, he went to work 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 ...

(1903). During his military service in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

(1909–1911) he also worked in the apothecary field. He continued this work in Dorpat while studying pharmacy at university. When World War I started, Oskar Luts was conscripted into the Russian army. He worked as a military pharmacist in

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

and in

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

(1915–1918), where he got married. Oskar Luts was released from military duty for health reasons in the autumn of 1918 and went back to Tartu with his family the same year, where he started working as an apothecary. In 1919–1920 he worked at the university library and then managed a store. In 1922 he started his professional career as a writer. In 1936, Luts began living in his home on Riia Street in Tartu. This house was converted into a museum in 1964. Oskar Luts was the first Estonian writer to receive the title of People's Writer of the Estonian SSR. This was awarded to him in 1945. Oskar Luts is buried in Ropka-Tamme cemetery. Some streets and buildings in Estonia bear Oskar Luts's name. The Oskar Lutsu Palamuse Gümnaasium in Palamuse was named in honor of Luts.

Writing

Oskar Luts created his happiest literary works in the years before World War I. He wrote several comedies as well as his first novel called ' (Spring) (part I 1912, part II 1913). This highly popular novel portrayed the daily school life of young people in rural Estonia. ''Kevade'' proved to be Oskar Luts's most successful and well-known work. The life of the same characters continued in Luts's novel ''Suvi'' (Summer) (I 1918, II 1919), which also became quite popular. However, although subsequent sequels (''Tootsi pulm'' (Toots's Wedding), ''Argipäev'' (originally ''Äripäev'', Workdays)) and the novel ''Sügis'' (Autumn) (part I – 1938) were written to meet public demand, they did not attain the popularity of his earlier works. After World War I, his works contained less humor and were much gloomier. The second part of ''Sügis'' remained in manuscript for four decades, the entire story not being published until 1988. There are highly popular Estonian films (in Estonian and Russian languages) '' Spring'', '' Summer (1976 film)'' (based on ''Suvi'' and ''Tootsi pulm'') and '' Autumn (1990 film)'' (based on ''Argipäev'' and ''Sügis''). The films are all produced by Arvo Kruusement. Oskar Luts also wrote for children, and his most popular children's book is ''Nukitsamees'' (1920), which has also been made into a 1981 film ('' Nukitsamees''). The music for ''Nukitsamees'' was written by Olav Ehala and is as popular as the film itself. As a playwright, Oskar Luts is best known for ''Kapsapea'' (The Cabbage). The animation "Kapsapea" is based on Oskar Luts' writings. The cartoon is about a large cabbage growing in the garden of an Estonian family. The cabbage eventually causes a sensation in the US, Russia and China. Oskar Luts' works have been translated into many languages.

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Luts, Oskar 1887 births 1953 deaths People from Jõgeva Parish People from Kreis Dorpat Estonian male novelists Estonian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Estonian novelists 20th-century dramatists and playwrights University of Tartu alumni Russian military personnel of World War I People's Writers of the Estonian SSR Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour