Translations have always played an important role in Estonian literary culture – for example, Marie Under, Betti Alver, A. H. Tammsaare or Johannes Semper were not only important poets or prose writers, but also first-rate translators. It is therefore no wonder that the translators’ section is still active under the Estonian Writers’ Union. More importantly: translations have been used not only to expand the literary landscape, but through translation many Estonian writers have been able to harness their social nerve professionally. Some of our most important early 21st century poets – such as Maarja Kangro, Carolina Pihelgas, Katrin Väli or Igor Kotjuh – have in recent years started translating Ukrainian poetry directly from the source language rather than through another language. All of them will gather at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre as part of the HeadRead festival to allow contemporary Ukrainian poetry to be heard. They are joined by Katja Novak, a Ukrainian poet and translator who has been living in Estonia for some time, and Anna Verschik, a linguist, who this year compiled a collection of modern Ukrainian poetry entitled Will I get out of this gloom?, where Verschik’s own verses can be found alongside her translations.
