Literary walk, Kadriorg: Maarja Vaino

The most brilliant book of last year’s fiction, Urmas Vadi’s collection of stories Kuidas me kõik reas niimoodi läheme (So How We All Leave In a Row), has a scene where the protagonist, Vadi’s alter ego, looks up the house of his recently deceased former professor Rudolf Allabert, with the aim of breaking into the house. He writes: ‘I planned to go in through the window, I had even taken a crowbar with me, but then I discovered that the door was open, even slightly ajar, as if Allabert was waiting for me, and of course he had been, he had always waited and I had never arrived, but now I finally came.’ This scene gives a sense of the amazing connection between people and places – sometimes in a way that when the person has left, the place takes on a new life, as if the traces of the person become more visible only once he or she has left. The literary walks of the festival HeadRead are also based on the invisible links between people and places – of course, without the need to carry a crowbar and enter through windows. Just like in previous years, we offer a selection of various city districts where writers and other creative people have made their mark over their years. On Thursday, 28 May 2 pm, writers and literary historians Wimberg and Jaanus Vaiksoo will take enthusiasts to Nõmme (perhaps also to Rudolf Allabert’s house?); on Friday, 29 May at 5 pm, the residents of the Uus Maailm district Peeter Sauter and Peeter Vihma will take you on a tour around the region; on Saturday, 30 May at 12 pm and 2 pm, the historian Josef Kats will walk around the Old Town and on the same day at 5 pm, you can get acquainted with Kadriorg with Maarja Vaino, the soul of the A. H. Tammsaare Museum. Literary walks are in Estonian, unless specified otherwise and are subject to pre-registration by emailing: retk@headread.ee.

NB! The meeting point is in the garden of the A. H. Tammsaare Museum.