Wednesday 18 March 2009

Vilde, Tuglas, Denmark and Åland




I once wrote an article for the Danish website Epoke, which was a brief survey article about two major Estonian authors who visited, or lived in, Denmark. These two authors are Eduard Vilde (1865-1933) and Friedebert Tuglas (1886-1971). Tuglas was influenced by J.P. Jacobsen. Vilde lived and wrote in Copenhagen.

The website containing my overview, given a nice layout by the people running the blog, is here:

I published a book containing several translated stories by Friedebert Tuglas with the Central European University Press in Budapest, in 2007.

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The same Tuglas (born Friedebert Mihkelson) actually lived for a short while at Knapans, in Önningeby, on Åland, when visiting three Estonian painters of his acquaintance: Konrad Mägi, Aleksander Tassa and Nikolai Triik. The same painters and writer also lived in France, at La Ruche, an Estonian colony in Paris, at some other date. Tuglas also lived for a while in exile with the Ålander family in Åggelby (Oulunkylä) outside Helsinki.

I once suggested to the curator of the art gallery in Önningeby that they stage an exhibition of the Estonian artists. This did in fact happen some years ago. An Estonian article about the Önningeby exhibition, plus the same three Estonian artists at the Amos Anderson Museum in Helsinki, is here.

Svenska Fonden (Helsinki) contributed €4,000 towards the costs of the Önningeby exhibition. And Anna-Maria Wiljanen wrote her PhD thesis on the artists' colony at Önningeby.

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