Jaan Kärner (27 May 1891, in Käo village, then Kirepi Parish (now

Elva Parish Elva is a rural parish in the Estonian Tartu County with an area of . As of 2017, it has a population of 14241 inhabitants. It was created in 2017 from the merger of the municipality Elva with the rural communities Konguta Parish, Puhja Parish, ...

), Kreis Dorpat – 3 April 1958 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

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

poet and writer. He is known especially for his nature poetry. Many of his poems were set to music by Estonian composers of choral music. Kärner also wrote numerous novels, plays, works of literary criticism, and scientific literature and historical treatises. He translated works from German and Russian, most notably the poems of

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...

into

...

in 1934.

Life and work

Jaan Kärner was born the son of a farmer, Kaarel Kärner and his wife Liis Kärner (''née'' Terav). He had one brother, Johannes, and five sisters: Anna Marie, Emilie, Pauline, Ida and Alma and two half-brothers Aleksander and August. He attended Uderna school from 1901 to 1906 (Rõngu). From 1910 Kärner worked in various magazines in Tallinn. 1911/12 and 1914 he studied at the City People's University "AL Schanjawski" in Moscow. From 1917 Kärner was also politically active (first in the

Estonian Socialist Revolutionary Party The Estonian Socialist Revolutionary Party ( et, Eesti sotsialistide-revolutsionääride partei, ESRP) was a political party in Estonia during the early 20th century. History The ESRP was founded in Estonia in 1905 as a branch of the Russian So ...

, later in the

Estonian Independent Socialist Workers' Party The Estonian Independent Socialist Workers' Party ( et, Eesti Iseseisev Sotsialistlik Tööliste Partei, EISTP) was a political party in Estonia. History The party was formed in 1920 as a split in 1919 from the Estonian Socialist Revolutionary ...

) and in 1919 became editor of the trade union newspaper ''Töö hääl'' (''Labor Voice''). In 1919 he was elected to the Estonian Constituent Assembly. Beginning in the early 1920s, Kärner worked as a freelance writer. From 1927 to 1929 he worked as an editor at the magazine ''

Looming ''Looming'' is a term found in the study of perception, as it relates directly to psychology. Looming occurs when an object begins moving closer to the eye. As the resulting image becomes increasingly larger on the perceiver's retina, i.e., when ...

'', and from 1936 to 1938 as an editor for the magazine '' Tänapäev''. A left-winger, he supported the 1940 Communist seizure of power in Estonia. During the German occupation of Estonia during World War II Kärner lived in the Soviet Union. With the re-incorporation of Estonia into the Soviet Union in 1944, he returned to his homeland and worked in publishing as an editor at various newspapers and magazines. In 1946, Kärner descended into insanityCornelius Hasselblatt, ''History of Estonian literature'', Berlin, New York 2006 (), p. 442 and died in 1958 in Tartu. He had one son, Ülo Kärner (born 1915–1941), through the marriage of his first wife Ida Kärner (''née'' Kull) and two daughters, Eha (1919–1976) and Elo (1925–1991), with his second wife Hilda Anna Luise Kärner (''née'' Luberg).

Works (selection)

Poetry collections

* ''Aja laulud'' (1921) * ''Lõikuskuu'' (1925) * ''Õitsev sügis'' (1926) * ''Inimene ristteel'' (1932) * ''Sõna-sütega'' (1936) * ''Käidud teedelt'' (1939) * ''Kodumaa käsk'' (1942) * ''Viha, ainult viha'' (1944)

Romantic verse

* ''Bianka ja Ruth'' (1923)

Fiction

* ''Naine vaesest maailmast'' (1930) * ''Soodoma kroonika'' (1934) * ''Tõusev rahvas'' (2 volumes, 1936/1937) * ''Pidu kestab'' (1938)

References

External links

* 1891 births 1958 deaths People from Elva Parish People from Kreis Dorpat Estonian Socialist Revolutionary Party politicians Estonian Independent Socialist Workers' Party politicians Members of the Estonian Provincial Assembly Members of the Estonian Constituent Assembly 20th-century Estonian poets Estonian male poets 20th-century male writers Looming (magazine) editors Estonian magazine editors {{Estonia-writer-stub