Piret Saluri (née Piret Rõuk; born October 22, 1943) is an Estonian translator and diplomat.

Education

Piret Saluri studied at and Tallinn High School No. 21, where she graduated in 1962. In 1962, she entered

Tartu State University The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a Public university, 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.

Career

From 1964 to 1972, Saluri worked at

Estonian Television Eesti Televisioon (ETV) () is an Estonian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Estonian Public Broadcasting. It made its first broadcast on 19 July 1955. History Eesti Televisioon (''Estonian Television'') was launched on 19 ...

, first as an editor of children's and youth programs, and later literary programs. From 1972 to 1975 she was part of the editorship of the magazines ''

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

'' and '' Täheke''. From 1975 to 1990, she was a freelance translator. From 1991 to 1995, she worked at the Estonian Embassy in Helsinki as first embassy secretary, and from 1995 to 2002 she was the chief of protocol for the president of Estonia.

Creative work

Piret Saluri has translated over fifty works into Estonian, mainly from Finnish, and to a lesser extent from English and Russian. Saluri's translations include Finnish and Russian classics (

Vasily Aksyonov Vasily Pavlovich Aksyonov ( rus, Васи́лий Па́влович Аксёнов, p=vɐˈsʲilʲɪj ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ ɐˈksʲɵnəf; August 20, 1932 – July 6, 2009) was a Soviet and Russian novelist. He became known in the West as the autho ...

Pentti Saarikoski Pentti Saarikoski (Pitkyarantsky District, Impilahti, now in the Republic of Karelia September 2, 1937 – Joensuu August 24, 1983) was a Finnish poet. He is considered one of the most important poets in the literary scene of Finland during t ...

Paavo Haavikko Paavo Juhani Haavikko (January 25, 1931 – October 6, 2008) was a Finnish poet, playwright, essayist and publisher, considered one of the country's most outstanding writers. He published more than 70 works, and his poems have been translated ...

Mika Waltari Mika Toimi Waltari (; 19 September 1908 – 26 August 1979) was a Finnish writer, best known for his best-selling novel ''The Egyptian'' (). He was extremely productive. Besides his novels he also wrote poetry, short stories, crime novels, plays, ...

, Marja-Liisa Vartio,

Antti Tuuri Antti Elias Tuuri (born 1 October 1944, Kauhava, Southern Ostrobothnia) is a Finnish writer, known for his works dealing with Southern Ostrobothnia. The ''Äitini-suku''-series tells the stories of the Finns who immigrated to the United State ...

, Antti Hyry, Olli Jalonen, and

Sirpa Kähkönen Sirpa Kähkönen (born 15 September 1964) is a Finnish novelist and translator. Initially writing for young adults, she gained popularity in Finland with her Kuopio series of historical novels. Born in Kuopio, Kähkönen studied literature and hi ...

) as well as top works of children's literature (

E. B. White Elwyn Brooks White (July 11, 1899 – October 1, 1985) was an American writer. He was the author of several highly popular books for children, including ''Stuart Little'' (1945), ''Charlotte's Web'' (1952), and '' The Trumpet of the Swan'' ...

's ''

Charlotte's Web ''Charlotte's Web'' is a book of children's literature by American author E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams. It was published on October 15, 1952, by Harper & Brothers. It tells the story of a livestock pig named Wilbur and his frie ...

'', and

Hannu Mäkelä Hannu Mäkelä is the name of * Hannu Mäkelä (writer) (born 1943), Finnish writer * Hannu Mäkelä (athlete) (born 1949), Finnish sprinter {{hndis, Makela, Hannu ...

's ''The Horse Who Lost His Glasses'' and ''Mr. Hoo''), as well as essays and non-fiction (

Olavi Paavolainen Olavi Paavolainen (17 September 1903 – 19 July 1964) was a Finnish writer, essayist and poet. He was one of the prominent figures of the literary group Tulenkantajat (″The Flame Bearers″), and one of the most influential Finnish writers of ...

's '' Guest of the Third Reich'', 's ''History of Finnish Literature'',

Matti Klinge Matti Klinge (31 August 1936 – 5 March 2023) was a Finnish historian. Klinge studied at the University of Helsinki and gained his Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D. in 1969. He later served as a visiting professor at the University of Paris (1970&nda ...

's ''A Short History of Finland'', and 's ''History of Gastronomy''), and audio plays ('s ''In the Blood'', Hannu Mäkelä's ''Leino Goes to Estonia'' and ''The Beginning of His New Life'', Paavo Haavikko's ''King Harald, Farewell'', 's ''The Story of Mr. Clay'', 's ''The Death of Murri-Purri'',

's ''Maria and Methodius'' and ''The Field of the Loon'' (). Finland's described Saluri's translations as follows: "Piret Saluri has managed to capture Waltari's style down to the subtleties: in these books, Mika Waltari speaks to us in Estonian!" Piret Saluri is a corresponding member of the

Finnish Literature Society The Finnish Literature Society ( or ) was founded in 1831 to promote literature written in Finnish. Among its first publications was the ''Kalevala'', the Finnish national epic A national epic is an epic poem or a literary work of epic s ...

(since 1987), a member of the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters (since 1988), and a member of 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 ...

(since 1990). From 2020 to 2022, she was a member of the council of the Kultuurileht Foundation ().

Personal life

Piret Saluri's paternal grandfather was the lawyer, military officer, and former

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Theodor Rõuk. She married the writer

Rein Saluri Rein Saluri (22 September 1939 – 13 October 2023) was an Estonian writer and playwright. Biography Rein Saluri was born in Tammiku, Salla Parish (now part of Väike-Maarja Parish). In 1946, when he was seven, Saluri, along with his family, was ...

in 1966.

Awards and recognitions

*1987: Finnish National Translator of Literature Award *2001:

Order of the Lion of Finland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

*2003:

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star (; ) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonian citizens and foreigners to give recognition for services rendered to the Estonian state. Design Classes The Order of the White Star ...

, Fourth Class *2003: Erkki Wilho Ponkala Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award *2009: Annual Prize of the Endowment for Literature of the

Cultural Endowment of Estonia Cultural Endowment of Estonia (, abbreviated ''Kulka'' or ''KULKA''; also translated as ''Estonian Cultural Capital'') is an Estonian foundation which supports activities related to Estonian culture. The foundation was established in 1925 and re- ...

() (fiction translation from a foreign language into Estonian:

's ''

The Egyptian ''The Egyptian'' (''Sinuhe egyptiläinen'', Sinuhe the Egyptian) is a historical novel by Mika Waltari. It was first published in Finnish in 1945, and in an abridged English translation by Naomi Walford in 1949, from Swedish rather than Finni ...

'') *2010: Honorary member of the Finnish Writers' Union *2012: Olavi Paavolainen Medal *2014: Honorary member of the *2015:

Aino Kallas Award The Aino Kallas Award (, also the Aino Kallas Translation Award, ) is an award that recognizes Estonians, Estonian individuals or collectives that have made significant contributions to the development of Estonian–Finnish cultural relations. T ...

*2018: Lifetime Achievement Award of the Endowment for Literature of the

() *2023: Erkki Wilho Ponkala Award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saluri, Piret 1943 births Living people Estonian translators Estonian women diplomats Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class University of Tartu alumni Diplomats from Tallinn