Bernard Kangro (18 September 1910 – 25 March 1994) was an Estonian writer and poet.
Education
Bernard Kangro was born the son of a farmer, Andres Kangro, and his wife, Minna. He grew up in rather humble circumstances. He attended primary school from 1919 to 1922 the primary school in Kiltre, then a school in
Antsla
Antsla is a town in Võru County, southern Estonia, it is the administrative centre of Antsla Parish.
Antsla borough was renamed town of third rank by Konstantin Päts from 1 May 1938. The settlement is known since 1405. The town has a furnitur ...
(1922 to 1924) and finally from 1924 to 1929 the high school in Valga. From 1929 to 1938 he studied Estonian language and literature at the
University of Tartu
The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...
.
Career
In 1935 Bernard Kangro made his debut with the collection of poems ''Sonetid''. Other volumes of poetry followed. From 1938 Kangro was a member of the artist group Arbujad (shamans), who strived towards a deeper emotional and spiritual experience of the language. Kangro worked as a journalist too, for the publication ''Eesti Sona'' in 1942 and ''Puhkus ja elurõõm'' in 1943. 1943/44 he worked at the
Vanemuine
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 ...
theater 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 ...
as a dramatist. In 1941 he also worked as an assistant and from 1942 to 1944 as a lecturer in literature at the
University of Tartu
The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...
.
Before the
Soviet occupation
During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...
in 1944, he was forced to flee into exile in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. There, Bernard Kangro was one of the most prominent writers and journalists in exile. Initially he worked as an archivist in Karlstad, then from 1947 as a research assistant at the
University of Lund
, motto = Ad utrumque
, mottoeng = Prepared for both
, established =
, type = Public research university
, budget = SEK 9 billion South Estonia and Tartu. In his poetry he used a creative, often symbolic language, where the mood alternates between irony, joy and also resignation.