Tõnu Õnnepalu (born 13 September 1962), also known by the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

s Emil Tode and Anton Nigov, is an Estonian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, author and translator. Õnnepalu was born in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

and studied

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

at the University of Tartu from 1980 to 1985. He began his writing career as a poet in 1985 and has published three collections of his works. In 1993 he garnered international attention when his novel ''Piiririik'' (English translation: "Border State") was published under his pen name 'Emil Tode'.Estonian Literature Information Center
/ref> The book was translated into 14 languages and became the most translated Estonian book of the 1990s. In 1994 he was awarded the Baltic Assembly Prize for Literature. Õnnepalu's work often explores topics such as homosexuality, isolation and betrayal. In 1992, his poem "Inquiétude du Fini" was performed as a choral piece, with notable Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tüür acting as conductor. In addition to writing novels, Tõnu Õnnepalu has translated works into Estonian from the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

by such authors as

François Mauriac François Charles Mauriac (; ; 11 October 1885 – 1 September 1970) was a French novelist, dramatist, critic, poet, and journalist, a member of the'' Académie française'' (from 1933), and laureate of the 1952 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Pr ...

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...

and Marcel Proust and has written for such English language publications as the Poetry Society. Tõnu Õnnepalu is also a member of the Board of Governors of the ''Eesti Maaülikool'' ( Estonian University of Life Sciences) 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 ...

Novels

*''Piiririik'' ("Border State", as Emil Tode) **Published by Tuum, 1993. *''Hind'' ("The Price", as Emil Tode) **Published by Tuum, 1995. *''Mõõt'' ("The Measure", as Emil Tode)''Short Outlines of Books By Estonian Authors.'' by Rutt Hinrikus and Janika Kronberg
**Published by Tuum, 1996. *''Printsess'' ("Princess", as Emil Tode) **Published by Täht, 1997. *''Harjutused'' ("Practicing", as Anton Nigov) **Published by Eesti Keele Sihtasutus, 2002. *''Raadio'' ("Radio", as Emil Tode) **Published by Eesti Keele Sihtasutus, 2002. **English translation, ''Radio'', published by Dalkey Archive Press, 2014 () *''Paradiis'' ("Paradise", as Tõnu Õnnepalu) **Published by Varrak, 2009. *''Mandala'' ("Mandala", as Tõnu Õnnepalu) **Published by Varrak, 2012. *''Valede kataloog. Inglise aed'' **Published by Eesti Keele Sihtasutus, 2017. *''Lõpmatus'' (''Infinity'', as Tõnu Õnnepalu) ** Published by EKSA, 2019. *''Palk: talvepäevik'' (''Salary: Winter Diary'', as Tõnu Õnnepalu) ** Published by Paradiis, 2021. * ''Eesti loodus'' (''Estonian Nature'', as Tõnu Õnnepalu) ** Published by Paradiis, 2022

Collections of poetry

* ''Jõeäärne maja'', 1985 * ''Ithaka'' 1988 * ''Sel maal'', 1990 * ''Mõõt'', 1996 * ''Enne heinaaega ja hiljem'', 2005 * ''Kevad ja suvi ja'', 2009 * ''Kuidas on elada'', 2012 * ''Klaasveranda'', 2016 * ''Pimeduse tunnel'', 2020 * ''Kevaded ja aastad'' 2022

References

External links

Estonian Literature Information CenterEesti Maaülikool: Estonian University of Life Sciences
{{DEFAULTSORT:Onnepalu, Tonu 1962 births Living people Writers from Tallinn Estonian male novelists Estonian male poets Estonian translators University of Tartu alumni 20th-century Estonian novelists 20th-century Estonian poets 21st-century Estonian novelists 21st-century Estonian poets Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 5th Class