The Siuru literary movement, named after a fire-bird in

Finnic mythology Finnic mythologies are the mythologies of the various Finnic peoples: *Finnish mythology *Estonian mythology * Komi mythology * Mari mythology *Sámi shamanism See also * Baltic mythology * Bear worship * Dorvyzhy * Hungarian mythology * Mastorav ...

, was founded in 1917 in

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 ...

.Jean Albert Bédé, William Benbow Edgerton, ''Columbia Dictionary of Modern European Literature'', Columbia University Press, 1980, , p237Rubulis, Aleksis. ''Baltic Literature.'' University of Notre Dame Press,1970. It was an

expressionistic 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 ...

and neo-romantic movement that ran counter to the

Young Estonia Young Estonia () was a neo-romantic literary group established around 1905 and led by the poet Gustav Suits and short story writer Friedebert Tuglas. Other members of the group included Villem Grünthal-Ridala and Johannes Aavik. Gustav Suits ...

formalist tradition.

Members

Along with the founder

August Gailit August Gailit (9 January 1891 – 5 November 1960) was an Estonian writer.Endel Nirk, Arthur Robert Hone, Oleg Mutt, ''Estonian Literature: Historical Survey with Biobibliographical Appendix'', Published by Perioodika, 1987, p177 Life Georg ...

, the movement included the following young poets and writers:

Marie Under Marie Under ( – 25 September 1980) was one of the greatest Estonian poets. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 12 separate years. Early life Under was born in Reval (now Tallinn), Estonia to school teachers ...

Henrik Visnapuu Henrik Visnapuu ( – 3 April 1951) was a well-known Estonian poet and dramatist. Life Henrik Visnapuu was born in Helme Parish, Viljandi County, Livonia. He first attended the village school in Reola (today in Ülenurme Parish) and college in ...

Johannes Semper Johannes Semper ( – 21 February 1970) was an Estonian poet, writer, translator and politician. He was born in Pahuvere (now Viljandi Parish), Kreis Fellin, in the Governorate of Livonia. A student and later a prominent scholar at the Univers ...

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.Peet Aren Peet Aren (29 June 1889 Odiste, Võisiku Parish – 26 January 1970 New York City) was an Estonian painter and theatre artist, graphical artist. 1908-1913 he studied at an art school in St. Petersburg ( et, Peterburi Kunstide Edendamise Seltsi ...

, Otto Krusten, and

Artur Adson Artur Adson ( – 5 January 1977) was an Estonian poet, writer and theatre critic.Don Rubin, Peter Nagy, Philippe Rouyer, ''World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: Europe'', Taylor & Francis, 1995, , p248 Early years Artur Adson (born Karl ...

. Between 1917 and 1919, Siuru published three volumes of poetry. 1919 led to conflicts within the group. Visnapuu and Gailit left, while Johannes Barbarus and

August Alle August Alle ( in Viljandi – 8 July 1952 in Tallinn) was an Estonian writer.Endel Nirk, Arthur Robert Hone, Oleg Mutt, ''Estonian Literature: Historical Survey with Biobibliographical Appendix'', Published by Perioodika, 1987, p215 Early life ...

joined as new members.

Program

The members of Siuru had an affinity with

futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...

and

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 ...

. Their poetry was often seen as scandalous due to their erotic nature. Siuru's philosophy stressed the freedom of the human spirit.

Motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

s of the group included '' Carpe diem!'', and ''May the joy of creation be our only moving force'', the latter suggested by

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.chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums (), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'' in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the center ...

Significance

A major result of Siuru's activities was popularisation of

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

among Estonian people, leading to the active development of original Estonian literature in the young Republic of Estonia. While the movement itself was short-lived, cut short by Estonian independence and the ensuing movement of national literature, its members rose to be major figures in Estonian literature through Estonia's first period of independence and in the exile Estonian literary community during Soviet occupation. Marie Under (1883–1980) was the leader of the movement, publishing her first book, ''Sonnets'', in 1917. While her expressions of nature found a wide audience, her frank eroticism shocked conservatives, a motif she carried on in her subsequent works. Under went on to a long and distinguished literary career, publishing her last book in 1963. Artur Adson (1889–1977) published his first collection of poems, ''The Burning Soul,'' in 1917. Both this and his next collection, ''Old Lantern'' (1919), consisted of juvenile love poems. Adson went on to widely expand his genre, including dealing with social issues in a classical form. Adson wrote numerous plays. His ''Four Kings,'' a drama on the Estonian uprising of 1343, is considered his most thrilling work. He continued to write in exile, also publishing several books of memoirs, the last in 1953. Adson was Marie Under's second husband.

References

{{Reflist Estonian literature Expressionism Neo-romanticism 1917 establishments in Estonia Literary circles