Young Estonia () was a neo-romantic literary group established around 1905 and led by the poet

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 ...

and short story 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.Villem Grünthal-Ridala Villem Grünthal-Ridala, born Grünthal-Wilhelm (30 May 1885 in Kuivastu, Muhu, Kreis Ösel, Governorate of Livonia - 16 January 1942 in Helsinki, Finland) was an Estonian poet, translator, linguist and folklorist.Toivo Miljan, ''Historical Dic ...

and

Johannes Aavik Johannes Aavik ( in Randvere, Saaremaa Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West E ...

. Gustav Suits articulated the ideology of the group thus:

"What buoys up and exalts humanity is education. Our slogan is: More culture! More European culture! Let us remain Estonians, but let us become Europeans too. We want to discover the ideas and forms towards which we are impelled by our national spirit, character, and needs on the one hand, and by European culture on the other."''W. K. Matthews, "The Background and Poetry of Gustav Suits. A Study in Estonian Symbolism", ''American Slavic and East European Review'', Vol. 9, No. 2. (April 1950), page 118.

The group's aesthetic programme followed the trends of Finnish, French, German, Scandinavian and Italian literature of the time, comprising elements of

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sy ...

and

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

. The 1917 Russian Revolution dispersed members of the movement, with some fleeing into exile. The group also functioned as a publishing house and published five Young Estonia anthologies between 1905 and 1915.

References

Estonian literature Neo-romanticism 1900s establishments in Estonia {{Estonia-stub