''Looming'' (English: ''Creation'') is the oldest

literary magazine A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letter ...

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 ...

. The headquarters is in

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 ' ...

History

The magazine was established in 1923 by the Estonian writer

Friedebert Tuglas Friedebert Tuglas, born Friedebert Mihkelson or Michelson (2 March 1886 – 15 April 1971) was an Estonian writer and critic who introduced Impressionism and Symbolism to Estonian literature.Soviet occupation of Estonia The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an ethnically based adminis ...

, ''Looming'' was controlled by the Writers' Union of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. Currently, the publication of ''Looming'' is jointly funded by the Estonian Ministry of Culture, the State ''Kultuurkapital'' Foundation and the

Estonian Writers' Union The Estonian Writers Union (Eesti Kirjanike Liit, abbreviated EKL), is a professional association of Estonian writers and literary critics.Marje Jõeste, Küllo Arjakas, ''The Baltic States'', Estonian Encyclopaedia Publishers, 1991, page 64 Hist ...

. The latter appoints the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the magazine, who is responsible for the content. It is published monthly. The editorial office is based in

. In the early years, the magazine's print run was around a thousand copies. In 1930, it was reduced from 1,500 to 1,200 copies. In 1933, the print run was 600 copies, but later began to increase and reached 5,500 copies by 1935. In 1955, this figure was 4,000, in 1977 – 19,000, in 1985 – 22,000. In the 1980s, when readers' demand for the magazine grew and the oppressive pressure of the authorities intensified, efforts were made to limit the influence of the free-spirited Looming with claims of insufficient printing capacity, which did not allow the magazine's circulation to increase. Looming was also removed from the international subscription list, so it could no longer be subscribed abroad, the justification being the claim that, in conditions of very high demand, there would be more readers of the magazine at home. In 1990, Looming had a print run of 35,500, 1992 – 6,000, 1995 – 2,400, 2000 – 2,100, 2004 – 1,700. Today, the print number is 1,600. The 1,000th issue of the magazine was published in December 2012.

Editors-in-chief

The following persons have been editor-in-chief of the magazine:

References

External links

* 1923 establishments in Estonia Arts in Estonia Estonian literature Estonian-language magazines Literary magazines Magazines established in 1923 Monthly magazines Magazines published in Estonia Mass media in Tallinn {{Europe-lit-mag-stub