![Kallas_Teet](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Kallas_Teet.IMG_3101.JPG)
Teet Kallas (born 6 April 1943,
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 ' ...
) is an Estonian writer and former politician, most notable for voting for the
Estonian restoration of Independence
Estonian Restoration of Independence, legally defined as the Restoration of the Republic of Estonia, was proclaimed on 20 August 1991. On that day at 23:02 local time, the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, Supreme Counci ...
.
Life and work
Kallas attended middle school in Tallinn from 1954 to 1962. He left the school without a degree. From 1962 to 1965, he was a soldier in the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
in
Palanga
Palanga (; bat-smg, Palonga; pl, Połąga; german: Polangen) is a seaside resort town in western Lithuania, on the shore of the Baltic Sea.
Palanga is the busiest summer resort in Lithuania and has sandy beaches (18 km, 11 miles long ...
. He then began his literary and journalistic career.
In 1958, Kallas debuted as a writer in short prose in Estonian newspapers. After a few short prose texts and writing youth literature, his debut novel, ''Nii palju päikest'', was released in 1964.
In 1965 and 1966, Kallas was a literary editor on Estonian television, before he was employed by the editorial office of
Looming
''Looming'' is a term found in the study of perception, as it relates directly to psychology. Looming occurs when an object begins moving closer to the eye. As the resulting image becomes increasingly larger on the perceiver's retina, i.e., when ...
from 1968 to 1970. Subsequently, he wrote for Estonian newspapers. Among other things, he was an editor for
Vaba Maa,
Sõnumileht
''Sõnumileht'' was an Estonian Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper between 1995 and 2000. The newspaper was published in the Estonian language, and was one of the country's most popular tabloid-style productions. It was first publishe ...
and
Postimees
''Postimees'' () is an Estonian daily newspaper established on 5 June 1857, by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. In 1891, it became the first daily newspaper in Estonia. Its current editor-in-chief is Priit Hõbemägi. The paper has approximately 250 ...
.
In 1969, Kallas was arrested by the
KGB
The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
, who accused him of anti-Soviet propaganda. He spent several months in prison. There he wrote his surrealist novel ''Heliseb-kõliseb...'', released in 1972. In 1972 he joined the Estonian Writers Association. In the 1980s, he was a member of the board of writers association.
Kallas' novel Niguliste ("
St. Nicholas' Church") was written between 1967 and 1972. It appeared only after the end of
Soviet rule in Estonia in 1990 in a revised and expanded two-volume edition: "The novel is the typical description of a 'lost generation', their dreams and ideals loses and perishes itself, and as such was a post-1968 document. Its failure to appear in the early 1970s, however, was more attributable to the laziness of the author than censorship, for internal criticism was by no means devastating or insurmountable. Kallas just turned to other things, which is why the novel was left lying."
Kallas also wrote some radio dramas as well as screenplays for television films and series, such as the successful television series ''
Õnne 13
Õnne 13 is an Estonian dramatic TV series that airs on ETV. The series first aired on 30 October 1993 and was written by Astrid Reinla and as of 1996 by Teet Kallas
Teet Kallas (born 6 April 1943, Tallinn) is an Estonian writer and former ...
''. In addition, he translated prose from Russian (
Vasily Aksyonov
Vasily Pavlovich Aksyonov ( rus, Васи́лий Па́влович Аксёнов, p=vɐˈsʲilʲɪj ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ ɐˈksʲɵnəf; August 20, 1932 – July 6, 2009) was a Soviet and Russian novelist. He became known in the West as the autho ...
,
Alexander Grin
Aleksandr Stepanovich Grinevsky (better known by his pen name, Aleksandr Green / Grin (spelling varies in non-Russian literature), rus, Александр Грин, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɡrʲin, a=Ru-Aleksandr Grin.ogg, 23 August 1880 – 8 July 1932 ...
) and from English (
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
).
From 1979 to 1990, Kallas belonged to the
Communist Party of Estonia
The Communist Party of Estonia ( et, Eestimaa Kommunistlik Partei, abbreviated EKP) was a subdivision of the Soviet communist party which in 1920-1940 operated illegally in Estonia and, after the 1940 occupation and annexation of Estonia by the ...
. During the period of transition between the end of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and the regaining of Estonian independence, he co-chaired the parliamentary group of the democratic opposition movement
Popular Front of Estonia
The Popular Front of Estonia ( et, Eestimaa Rahvarinne; RR), introduced to the public by the Estonian politician Edgar Savisaar under the short-lived name Popular Front for the Support of Perestroika, was a political organisation in Estonia in ...
, voting for the
Estonian restoration of Independence
Estonian Restoration of Independence, legally defined as the Restoration of the Republic of Estonia, was proclaimed on 20 August 1991. On that day at 23:02 local time, the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, Supreme Counci ...
. Subsequently, Kallas was active in various political parties. Since 1998, he has been an independent.
Fictional works (selection)
* ''Nii palju päikest'' (Novel, 1964)
* ''Puiesteede kummaline valgus'' (Collection of short stories, 1968)
* ''Verine padi'' (Collection of short stories, 1971)
* ''Varjud vikerkaarel'' (Narratives for adolescents, 1972)
* ''Heliseb-kõliseb...'' (Novel, 1972)
* ''Neli vestlust armastused'' (Drama, 1972)
* ''Viimane mõrv'' (Collection of short stories, 1975)
* ''Õhtuvalgus'' (Collection of short stories, 1977)
* ''Insener Paberiti juhtum'' (Collection of short stories, 1977)
* ''Corrida'' (Novel, 1979; film adaptation in 1981)
* ''Eiseni tänav'' (Novel, 1979)
* ''Väikesed hobused särava vikerkaare all'' (Stories, 1980)
* ''Hei, teie seal!'' (Collection of short stories, 1980)
* ''Muljeid kirjandusmaastikult'' (smaller writings from the years 1963–1981, 1982)
* ''Arvi kamin'' (Collection of short stories, 1982)
* ''Janu'' (Novel, 1983)
* ''Öö neljandas mikrorajoonis'' (Short stories and stories from the years 1979–1983, 1985)
* ''Kes tõttab öisele rongile'' (Satirical novel, 1988)
* ''Niguliste'' (Novel in two volumes, 1990)
* ''Naine lõvi seljas'' (Lyrical anthology of the years 1961–1989, 1990)
* ''Jää hüvasti, Mr. Shakespeare'' (Satirical novel, 1995)
* ''Käsi'' (Gothic fictional novel, 1997)
Personal life
Kallas is married to
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
-born journalist and translator Alla Kallas (born 1946). He was the older brother of Estonian graphic artist and cartoonist
Olimar Kallas (1929-2006). They currently live in
Laulasmaa
Laulasmaa is a village in Lääne-Harju Parish, Harju County, in northwestern Estonia.
Location and history
Laulasmaa is about west of the capital Tallinn, west of Keila-Joa, north of Kloogaranna, and next to Lahepere Bay, which is part of th ...
, on the coast of the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
.
Awards
*
5th Class of the Estonian Order of the National Coat of Arms (received 23 February 2002)
*
3rd Class of the Estonian Order of the National Coat of Arms (received 23 February 2006)
Further reading
* Cornelius Hasselblatt: ''Geschichte der estnischen Literatur.'' Berlin, New York 2006, , S. 679, 707f., 726f. und 759
External links
Biography and Work(Estonian Literature Information Centre)
Works of Teet Kallasin the inventory of the
National Library of Estonia
The National Library of Estonia ( et, Eesti Rahvusraamatukogu) is a national public institution in Estonia, which operates pursuant to the National Library of Estonia Act (). It was established as the parliamentary library () of Estonia on Decembe ...
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kallas, Teet
1943 births
Living people
Writers from Tallinn
Politicians from Tallinn
20th-century Estonian writers
Estonian screenwriters
Estonian male short story writers
21st-century Estonian writers
Voters of the Estonian restoration of Independence
Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 3rd Class
Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 5th Class