Jaan Kaplinski (22 January 1941 – 8 August 2021 ) 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, an ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

, politician, and culture critic, known for his focus on global issues and support for

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

/ liberal thinking. He was influenced by Eastern philosophical schools (

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

and especially

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

). He worked as a translator, editor, and sociologist and as an ecologist at the

Tallinn Botanic Garden Tallinn Botanic Garden ( et, Tallinna Botaanikaaed), is a botanical garden in Tallinn, Estonia. It is located on the right bank of the Pirita River, in the Kloostrimetsa forest in Pirita district. With an area of , it is the largest in Esto ...

. He was nominated for the

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

Early life and education

Kaplinski was born 22 January 1941 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 ...

to Polish teacher Jerzy Kaplinski and Estonian dancer Nora Raudsepp-Kaplinski. He studied Romance language and linguistics 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 ...

, graduating as a French philologist in 1964.

Career

Kaplinski worked as a translator, editor, and sociologist, and ecologist at the

Political career

From 1992 to 1995 Kaplinski was a member of the

Riigikogu The Riigikogu (; from Estonian ''riigi-'', of the state, and ''kogu'', assembly) is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the Prime Minister and Chief Just ...

(the Estonian parliament). He was originally a candidate on the Centre Party list, but soon became an independent representative. Since 2004 he was a member of the Estonian Social Democratic Party. In the 2005 local government elections, he ran in Tartu and was ESDP's first candidate in their list. Kaplinski was elected as the second Social Democrat candidate (Estonia uses an

open list Open list describes any variant of party-list proportional representation where voters have at least some influence on the order in which a party's candidates are elected. This is as opposed to closed list, which allows only active members, par ...

system in local elections), collecting 1,045 votes. Jaan Kaplinski was one of those intellectuals who supported

Toomas Hendrik Ilves Toomas Hendrik Ilves (; born 26 December 1953) is an Estonian politician who served as the fourth president of Estonia from 2006 until 2016. Ilves worked as a diplomat and journalist, and he was the leader of the Social Democratic Party in the ...

' candidature.

Personal life

Kaplinski's mother, Nora (Raudsepp), was

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 * ...

. His father was Jerzy Bonifacy Edward Kaplinski, a Polish professor of

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...

Tartu University 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 ...

, who was arrested by Soviet troops and died of starvation in a Soviet labour camp in 1945. His great-uncle was Polish painter and political activist

Leon Kapliński Leon Henryk Kapliński (1826–1873) was a Polish painter and political activist. Biography Born 1826 in Petrykozy not far from Warsaw, Leon was the son of Julia (Grabowska) and a small landowner and eminent freemason, Jan Kapliński. The Kap ...

. As an adult, Kaplinski came to believe that his father had distant Jewish ancestry, and was a relative of

Jacob Frank Jacob Joseph Frank ( he, יעקב פרנק; pl, Jakub Józef Frank; born Jakub Lejbowicz; 1726 – December 10, 1791) was a Polish-Jewish religious leader who claimed to be the reincarnation of the self-proclaimed messiah Sabbatai Zevi (162 ...

. Kaplinski was married to writer and director of the Tartu Toy Museum, Tiia Toomet. They had three sons and one daughter - Ott-Siim Toomet, Lauris Kaplinski, Lemmit Kaplinski and Elo-Mall Toomet. He had a daughter, translator Maarja Kaplinski, from his first marriage to Küllike Kaplinski. He later had a long-term relationship with Estonian classical philologist and translator

Anne Lill Anne Lill (née Laansoo; born 15 October 1946) is an Estonian classical philologist and translator. She is Professor Emeritus at the University of Tartu. Education Anne Laansoo was born on 15 October 1946. She graduated from University of Ta ...

, with whom he had a son,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

Märt-Matis Lill Märt-Matis Lill (born 6 November 1975) is an Estonian composer. Märt-Matis Lill was born in Tartu, the son of writer, translator, cultural critic and philosopher Jaan Kaplinski and classical philologist and translator Anne Lill. Guitarist and ...

Writings

Kaplinski published numerous collections of poems, prose, and essays. He translated writings from

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, Chinese, including the

Tao Te Ching The ''Tao Te Ching'' (, ; ) is a Chinese classic text written around 400 BC and traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. The oldest excavated portion ...

, and Swedish, the work of Tomas Tranströmer. Kaplinski's own work has been translated into English, Finnish,

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

, Swedish,

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, Icelandic, Hungarian, Japanese, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian,

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, Bulgarian, and Czech. His essays deal with environmental problems,

philosophy of language In analytic philosophy, philosophy of language investigates the nature of language and the relations between language, language users, and the world. Investigations may include inquiry into the nature of Meaning (philosophy of language), meanin ...

, classical

Chinese poem Chinese poetry is poetry written, spoken, or chanted in the Chinese language. While this last term comprises Classical Chinese, Standard Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Yue Chinese, and other historical and vernacular forms of the language, its poet ...

s, philosophy,

, and Estonian nationalism. Kaplinski also composed poems in English and Finnish. In the 2000s he began writing in Russian, and his first original Russian collection (composed of some of his poems translated from Estonian into Russian) appeared in 2014 under the title ''White Butterflies of Night'' (''Белые бабочки ночи'') and was awarded in Russia. Kaplinski was one of the authors and initiators of the so-called ''

Letter of 40 intellectuals The Letter of 40 intellectuals, also The letter of 40 ( et, Neljakümne kiri), originally A public letter from Estonian SSR ( et, Avalik kiri Eesti NSV-st) was a public letter dated October 28, 1980 and posted a week later, in which 40 intellectual ...

'' (''Neljakümne kiri'') action. A letter signed by well-known Estonian intellectuals protesting against the behavior of the authorities in Soviet-annexed Estonia was sent to the main newspapers of the time. Although not openly dissident, the letter was never published in the press at that time and those who signed were repressed using administrative measures. His semi-autobiographical novel '' The Same River'' is published by Peter Owen in English translation by Susan Wilson. In 1997, he was awarded the

Baltic Assembly Prize for Literature, the Arts and Science The Baltic Assembly Prize for Literature, the Arts and Science is an award given annually by the Baltic Assembly for achievements in three categories: literature, art and science. The prize is an annual award given to a citizen of Estonia, Latvi ...

Poems

*''The East West Border...'' ''The Same Sea in Us All'' (

Barbarian Press Barbarian Press is a fine press publisher, owned and operated by Jan Elsted and Crispin Elsted in Mission, B.C., Canada. In 1977, the Elsteds were working toward their PhD's in English literature at the University of London when they met Graha ...

, 1985) (translated by the author with Sam Hamill) *''The Wandering Border'' (

Copper Canyon Press Copper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, founded in 1972 specializing exclusively in the publication of poetry. It is located in Port Townsend, Washington. Copper Canyon Press publishes new collections of poetry by both ...

, 1987) (translated by the author with Sam Hamill and Riina Tamm) *''Evening Brings Everything Back'' (Bloodaxe, 2004) *Contributor to ''A New Divan: A Lyrical Dialogue between East and West'' (

Gingko Library Gingko is a UK-based charitable foundation created in 2014 to promote dialogue and understanding with the Middle East, West Asia and North Africa through conferences, publications, events and cultural programmes. It should not be confused with Ging ...

, 2019)

Legacy

Main-belt asteroid 29528 Kaplinski is named after Jaan Kaplinski.

References

External links

Kaplinski's homepage, includes writings in English

* Jaan Kaplinski

* Jaan Kaplinski

* Lauri Sommer
Kaplinski's changing tale
* Wandering Border:: Poetry of Jaan Kaplinski by PGR Nair . https://web.archive.org/web/20170207192938/http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=PoemArticle&PoemArticleID=95 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaplinski, Jaan 1941 births 2021 deaths Writers from Tartu People from Tartu Estonian people of Polish descent Social Democratic Party (Estonia) politicians Members of the Riigikogu, 1992–1995 Estonian philosophers Estonian male poets Translators from Swedish Translators from Spanish Translators from French Translators from English Translators from Chinese Translators to Estonian 20th-century Estonian poets 21st-century Estonian poets 20th-century translators 21st-century translators Hugo Treffner Gymnasium alumni University of Tartu alumni Recipients of the Eino Leino Prize Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 3rd Class Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 4th Class Deaths from motor neuron disease Neurological disease deaths in Estonia