Jaan Kaplinski

Jaan Kaplinski (1941) is an Estonian poet, prose writer, essayist, journalist and philosopher, one of the brightest and most prolific authors of the ‘Cassette generation’ of the 1960s, whose work brings together seemingly converse motifs and conditions. His range is extensive not only in terms of genres but also themes and space, ranging from homeliness to outer space. Over the years, Kaplinski has been inspired by nature, local folklore, classical culture, and modernity as well as the newest scientific discoveries. His voice is introverted and socially engaged at the same time. The Kaplinski phenomenon is so multi-layered and bountiful that it has begun opening up in a new light, from different perspectives – in 2015, the literary magazine Looming published his experimental play Neljakuningapäev, which was written in 1977 and still feels contemporary 40 years later. Kaplinski will perform at our festival as a poet – it should be remembered that his debut was the 1965 book of poems Jäljed allikal and that before tackling other genres, he had published Tolmust ja värvidest (1967), a masterpiece of Estonian poetry in the second half of the 20th century.

Performs at

Date Event Name Location
Friday, 26 May at 19:00 Poetry guests: Yolanda Castaño, Leonard Schwartz, Sergei Zavjalov, Doris Kareva, Jaan Kaplinski Wabadus

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