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

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 ' ...

, the son of Estonian writer Paul Rummo. Paul-Eerik studied literature 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 in 1965. Rummo has worked in Estonian theatres.

Personal life

Paul-Eerik Rummo is married to an actress, poet, author, and translator Viiu Härm. The couple have three daughters.

Legacy

In October 1980, Rummo was a signatory of the

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 ...

, a public letter in which forty prominent Estonian intellectuals defended the

Estonian language Estonian ( ) is a Finnic language, written in the Latin script. It is the official language of Estonia and one of the official languages of the European Union, spoken natively by about 1.1 million people; 922,000 people in Estonia and 160,0 ...

and protested the

Russification Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cultur ...

policies of the

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...

in Estonia. The signatories also expressed their unease against Republic-level government in harshly dealing with youth protests in Tallinn that were sparked a week earlier due to the banning of a public performance of the punk rock band

Propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

. In the novel ''

Purge In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another organization, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertak ...

'' (in

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

''Puhdistus'') by

Sofi Oksanen Sofi-Elina Oksanen (born 7 January 1977) is a Finnish writer and playwright. Oksanen has published six novels, of which "Purge" has gained the widest recognition. She has received several international and domestic awards for her literary work ...

, Rummo's poetry becomes a symbol of resistance against

in Estonia, sprinkled throughout the narrative.

Selected bibliography

;Poetry *''Ankruhiivaja'' (The Anchor-weigher), 1962 *''Lumevalgus … lumepimedus'' (Snow Light … Snow Darkness), 1966 *''Saatja aadress ja teised luuletused 1968-1972'' (Sender's Address and Other Poems 1968-1972), 1989. *''The September Sun.'' Facing bilingual with English translations by Ritva Poom. Cross-Cultural Communications, 1994. ;Plays *''Tuhkatriinumäng'' (Cinderellagame), printed 1969

References

External links

Estonian Writers Online Dictionary
Estonian male poets 1942 births Living people Writers from Tallinn Politicians from Tallinn Government ministers of Estonia University of Tartu alumni Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 4th Class 21st-century Estonian politicians 20th-century Estonian poets 21st-century Estonian poets Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 2nd Class Members of the Riigikogu, 1992–1995 Members of the Riigikogu, 1995–1999 Members of the Riigikogu, 1999–2003 Members of the Riigikogu, 2003–2007 Members of the Riigikogu, 2007–2011 Members of the Riigikogu, 2011–2015 Members of the Riigikogu, 2015–2019 {{Estonia-politician-stub