Ilmar Laaban, (11 December 1921,

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

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 ...

– 29 November 2000, Stockholm) was an Estonian poet and literary critic.

Early life and education

Laaban attended the first Tallinn Boys' Gymnasium from 1934 to 1940. In 1939–1940 and 1941–1942 he studied

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

at the Tallinn Conservatory. In 1940–1943 Laaban studied

Romance languages The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language ...

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 ...

. In 1943, he went to Sweden, fleeing the Occupation of the Baltic states, and continued studying Romance languages and philosophy (1943–1949).

Career

Laaban worked as a lecturer in Stockholm University and was a member of

International Association of Art Critics The International Association of Art Critics (''Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art'', ''AICA'') was founded in 1950 to revitalize critical discourse, which suffered under Fascism during World War II. Affiliated with UNESCO AICA was ad ...

. Laaban mainly wrote

surrealistic Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

poetry and was one of the first poets in Estonia to practice that genre. He has written essays and articles on art and literature. Also, he has translated many Estonian poet's works to Swedish (examples: Artur Alliksaar, Betti Alver,

Jaan Kaplinski Jaan Kaplinski (22 January 1941 – 8 August 2021 ) was an Estonian poet, philosopher, politician, and culture critic, known for his focus on global issues and support for left-wing/ liberal thinking. He was influenced by Eastern philosophical s ...

, Viivi Luik,

Paul-Eerik Rummo Paul-Eerik Rummo (born January 19, 1942) is an Estonian poet, playwright, translator and politician who was the former Estonian Minister of Culture and Education, as well as the former Estonian Minister of Population Affairs. Rummo was born in T ...

) and German (examples:

Juhan Liiv Juhan Liiv ( – ) is one of Estonia's most famous poets and prose writers. Childhood Juhan (birth names Johannes) Liiv, the son of Benjamin and Marianna Liiv (née Pärn), was born on 30 April 1864, in Alatskivi Parish (now Peipsiääre ...

Gustav Suits Gustav Suits ( in Võnnu, Tartu County, Livonia – 23 May 1956 in Stockholm, Sweden) is considered one of the greatest Estonian poets.W. K. Matthews, ''The Background and Poetry of Gustav Suits. A Study in Estonian Symbolism'', American Slavi ...

, Jaan Oks,

Henrik Visnapuu Henrik Visnapuu ( – 3 April 1951) was a well-known Estonian poet and dramatist. Life Henrik Visnapuu was born in Helme Parish, Viljandi County, Livonia. He first attended the village school in Reola (today in Ülenurme Parish) and college in ...

Marie Under Marie Under ( – 25 September 1980) was one of the greatest Estonian poets. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 12 separate years. Early life Under was born in Reval (now Tallinn), Estonia to school teachers ...

). He has also written critiques and literary works of artists such as Frederic Iriarte, Endre Nemes, Franco Leidi, Rafael Bellange, Lech Rzewuski and others.

Works

*"Ankruketi lõpp on laulu algus" (1946) *"Rroosi Selaviste" (1957) *"Oma luulet ja võõrast" (1990) *"Marsyase nahk" (1997) *"Magneetiline jõgi" (2001) *"Sõnade sülemid ja sülemite süsteemid" (2004)

Art critic

References

* Estonian male poets 1921 births 2000 deaths Estonian translators Translators to Swedish Estonian emigrants to Sweden Estonian World War II refugees Writers from Tallinn 20th-century translators 20th-century Estonian poets 20th-century male writers {{Estonia-translator-stub