August Kitzberg ( in Laatre Parish,

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a Baltic governorate of the Russian Empire, now divided between Latvia and Estonia. Geography The shape of the province is a fairly rectangular in shape, with a maximum ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

– 10 October 1927 in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

) was an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n writer.

Life

Until 1863, August Kitzberg was known as August Kits. He grew up in Niitsaadu farmstead in Penuja village, Abja Parish (1857–1871), where his brother, Jaak Kits, was a schoolteacher. He worked for a time in

Viljandi Viljandi (, german: Fellin, sv, Fellin) is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,407 in 2019. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major Estonian cities, Pärnu and Tartu ...

and present-day

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

before moving to

in 1901, where he worked as a manager of the newspaper ''

Postimees ''Postimees'' () is an Estonian daily newspaper established on 5 June 1857, by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. In 1891, it became the first daily newspaper in Estonia. Its current editor-in-chief is Priit Hõbemägi. The paper has approximately 250 ...

''. His early works consisted of comedies and humorous stories of village life. In Tartu, Kitzberg began working with

Karl Menning Karl Menning (11 May 1874 in Tartu – 5 March 1941 in Tartu) was an Estonian theatre director, critic and diplomat. In 1902 he graduated from University of Tartu's department of religion. 1906-1914 he was the first theatre director of Vanemuin ...

at the

Vanemuine Theatre Vanemuine () is a theatre in Tartu, Estonia. It was the first Estonian language theatre. History ''1870–1906 The Beginning of the Beginning. Koidula’s Theatre, Wiera’s Theatre.'' On June 24, 1870 was the first day in Estonian theatre ...

, and his plays developed a component of social criticism. There is a monument and museum dedicated to Kitzberg in

Karksi-Nuia Karksi-Nuia (before 1987 ''Nuia'') is a town in Mulgi Parish, Viljandi County, southern Estonia close to the Latvian border. The nearest villages are Univere to the west, Polli and Karksi to the north, and Kõvaküla to the south. History Karks ...

. His play, ''Tuulte pöörises'', was chosen for the opening play of the

Rakvere Theatre Rakvere Theatre is a professional theatre in Rakvere, Estonia. History Rakvere Theatre was established in the fall of 1921, when ''Rakvere Näitlejate Ring'' was formed. The building of the Rakvere Theatre was opened with a public ceremony on 2 ...

in 1940.

Works

Plays

* ''Punga–Mart ja Uba-Kaarel'' (1894) * ''Sauna Antsu "oma" hobune'' (1894) * ''Püve Peetri "riukad"'' (1897) * ''Veli Henn'' (1901) * ''Räime Reeda 10 kopikat'' (1903) * ''Rätsep Õhk'' (1903) * ''Hennu Veli'' (1904) * ''Tuulte pöörises'' (1906) * '' Libahunt'' (1911/12, filmed in 1968); The Ballet ''Tiina'' by Lydia Auster is based on this work * ''Kaval-Ants ja Vanapagan'' (1912) * ''Kauka jumal'' (1915) * ''Kosjasõit'' (1915) * ''Enne kukke ja koitu'' (1919) * ''Laurits'' (1919) * ''Onu Zipul'' (1922) * ''Neetud talu'' (1923)

Stories

* ''Maimu'' (1889) * ''Külajutud'' (Village Stories, five volumes, 1915–1921) * ''Tiibuse Jaak Tiibuse kirjavahetus'' (two volumes, 1920/1923, under pseudonym Tiibuse Jaak Tiibus)

Memoir

* ''Vana "tuuletallaja" noorpõlve mälestused'' (two volumes, 1924/25)

References

*
August Kitzberg biographical sketch

External links

* 1855 births 1927 deaths People from Mulgi Parish People from the Governorate of Livonia 19th-century Estonian writers Estonian male short story writers Estonian dramatists and playwrights {{estonia-writer-stub