Madis Kõiv (5 December 1929 – 24 September 2014) was an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

Education

Kõiv attended school in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

after the

second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, graduating in the early 1950s with a degree in

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies th ...

. Kõiv worked as a

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

and lecturer until 1991.

Career as a playwright

Kõiv always entertained a fascination with and love for literature. He wrote mostly for personal entertainment until the 1950s, when he became active in Estonian literary circles. His earliest published works were written with friends from these circles. He also wrote under a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

for several years. His first published work was a play called ''Küüni täitmine'' (''Filling the Hay Barn'') written as a collaboration between Kõiv (using his pseudonym Jaanus Andreus Nooremb) and

Hando Runnel Hando Runnel (born 24 November 1938 in Liutsalu, Järva County) is an Estonian poet. From 1957 to 1962, he studied agronomy at the Estonian Agricultural Academy. From 1966 to 1971, he worked on the editorial board of the journal ''Looming''. Sin ...

in 1978. In 1999, the play was successfully produced for the first time. Kõiv then wrote two pieces with

Vaino Vahing Vaino Vahing (15 February 1940 – 23 March 2008) was an Estonian writer, prosaist, psychiatrist and playwright. Starting from 1973, he was a member of the Estonian Writers Union. Early life Vlahing was born in Aravu, Põlva County. In 1963 he ...

. The first was a play titled ''Faehlmann. Keskpäev. Õhtuselgus.'' (''Faehlmann. Noon. Evening Clarity.'') The two also wrote the dialogue novel ''Endspiel. Laskumine orgu.'' (''Endspiel. Descent into the Valley.'') Just before the end of the decade, Kõiv began to publish works he had previously written for his own amusement under his own name. Kõiv became the most essential Estonian

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

of the 1950s and 1960s. In the early 1990s, Kõiv began to gain fame. In 1991 and 1993, he won the Tuglas short story award for ''Film'' and ''The Life of an Eternal Physicus'', respectively. He won the annual Estonian literary award in 1991 for ''The Meeting''. He won the annual Estonian literary award again in 1995 for ''The Philosopher's Day'' and ''Return to Father''. Kõiv won the award a third time in 1999 for ''Scenes From the Hundred Years' War''. Kõiv had released only 22 of the plays he had written and said that these comprise half of the dramatic literature he has created.

Career as a novelist

Kõiv was also the author of several novels. ''Widow'' and ''Aporia of Attica, Tragedy of Elea'' are two of his best known. In 1996 he published '' Aken''. Kõiv wrote the novel in the 1960s, but it did not pass during the Soviet occupation of censorship.

Philosophy

Madis Kõiv was one of the many proponents of

analytical philosophy Analytic philosophy is a broad movement within Western philosophy, especially English-speaking world, anglophone philosophy, focused on analysis as a philosophical method; clarity of prose; rigor in arguments; and making use of formal logic, mat ...

in Estonia. In 1991, he became one of the initiators of the Seminar of Analytical Philosophy.

Memoirs

Kõiv's

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

s (the series ''Studia memoriae'') consist largely of introspection, in sharp contrast to a typical

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

References

Sources

Estonian Literary Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koiv, Madis 21st-century Estonian philosophers 20th-century Estonian philosophers 1929 births 2014 deaths Estonian dramatists and playwrights Estonian male novelists Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 4th Class Writers from Tartu Scientists from Tartu 20th-century Estonian physicists University of Tartu alumni Academic staff of the University of Tartu Academic staff of the Tallinn University of Technology 20th-century Estonian novelists 20th-century dramatists and playwrights Male dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Estonian novelists 21st-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Estonian male writers 21st-century male writers