Aija Sakova has studied German and Estonian literature at the University of Tartu in Estonia (PhD in 2014), at the University of Konstanz (2002–2003) and Berlin Humboldt University in Germany (2010–2011) and at the University of Vienna in Austria (2007–2008). Her research on the poetic of remembrance and on moral witnessing in the novels of German writer Christa Wolf and Estonian author Ene Mihkelson – „Ausgraben und Erinnern“ – was published by V&R unipress Göttingen in 2016. Homepage: www.aijasakova.com
Ilmar Laabani pärandi hulgas Eesti Kirjandusmuuseumi Eesti Kultuuriloolises Arhiivis on säilinud ... more Ilmar Laabani pärandi hulgas Eesti Kirjandusmuuseumi Eesti Kultuuriloolises Arhiivis on säilinud mõned näited tema saksakeelsest kirjavahetusest kahe saksa-juudi luuletajaga: kolm koopiat kirjadest tema eakaaslasele Paul Celanile (1920–1970) ja mõned kirjamustandid Nelly Sachsile (1891–1970), kes mõned aastad hiljem pälvis Nobeli kirjanduspreemia. Laaban rootsindas mõlema luuletaja tekste ning tõlkis valiku nende luuletustest ka eesti keelde. Artikkel käsitleb Laabani kirjanduslikku dialoogi Celani ja Sachsiga, mis kujunes kirjade, kohtumiste ning eeskätt luuletõlgete kaudu. Artikli teises pooles analüüsitakse Celani luule eestindusi, mille Laaban avadas Manas 1957–1958. --- In the archive of the Estonian poet Ilmar Laaban, conserved at the Estonian Literary Museum in Tartu, we find three copies of his drafts of letters (in German) to his contemporary, the German Jewish poet Paul Celan (1920–1970) and four drafts (in German) of letters to the German Jewish poet and Nobel laureate Ne...
In the archive of the Estonian poet Ilmar Laaban, conserved at the Estonian Literary Museum in Ta... more In the archive of the Estonian poet Ilmar Laaban, conserved at the Estonian Literary Museum in Tartu, we find three copies of his drafts of letters (in German) to his contemporary, the German Jewish poet Paul Celan (1920–1970) and four drafts (in German) of letters to the German Jewish poet and Nobel laureate Nelly Sachs (1901–1970). Laaban was personally acquainted with both Celan and Sachs, translated their poetry into Swedish, and published a small selection of each in Estonian translation. The first part of this article closely examines the archival evidence on the correspondences, using additional material from the clean copies of Laaban’s letters from the Celan archive in Marburg, mentions of Laaban in Celan’s Collected Letters, as well as Sachs and Celan’s correspondence with each other from 1954 until Celan’s death by suicide in 1970; Sachs died in Sweden the same year. The second part of this article is an analysis of Laaban’s lengthy article on Celan in the first two issues of the Estonian-language cultural journal Mana (1957–1958), an exile publication with broad international aims that attempted to break away from a singular focus on exile writers and confining arguments about the validity of exile vs homeland.
Ivar Ivask (1927–1992) is a cosmopolitan man who edited a quarterly world literature magazine Boo... more Ivar Ivask (1927–1992) is a cosmopolitan man who edited a quarterly world literature magazine Books Abroad / World Literature Today for more than 20 years; initiated the Puterbaugh Conference series; created and curated the Neustadt or so-called small Nobel literature prize. His personal archive is since 2016 held at the Estonian Cultural History Archives at the Estonian Literary Museum. The current article explores the very first steps of Ivar Ivask becoming a literary scholar and critic. aasta lõpus ja 2018. aasta alguses tähistati nii Eestis kui ka Lätis eesti-läti päritolu kirjandusteadlase ja luuletaja Ivar Ivaski (1927–1992) 90. sünniaastapäeva. Ivask oli kosmopoliitne mees, kes töötas üle kahekümne aasta oma elust maailmakirjandusalase ajakirja Books Abroad / World Literature Today peatoimetajana, mille juurde ta asutas Neustadti kirjandusauhinna, mida kutsuti hellitavalt ka väikseks Nobeliks. Saanud hariduse Saksamaal Marburgi Ülikoolis saksa kirjanduse, võrdleva kirjandus...
This is a prefaced publication of three drafts of the letters that an American critic, a universi... more This is a prefaced publication of three drafts of the letters that an American critic, a university professor, and a multilingual poet Ivar Ivask sent to the author of “Doctor Zhivago” during the last year of Pasternak’s life (1959—1960). While Pasternak’s answers to Ivask were first published half a century ago in the addressee’s translation into English, the letters of Ivask, who initiated the correspondence, are published for the first time. All three letters are reproduced both in the original German, and in the Russian translation by Fedor Poljakov. KEYWORDS: Weltliteratur , Ivar Ivask (1927—1992), Boris Pasternak (1890—1960), Correspondence, History of Literature.
4motisklenud ajakirjas Looming ilmunud essees „Isiklikust kunstis” selle ule, milline on ja peaks... more 4motisklenud ajakirjas Looming ilmunud essees „Isiklikust kunstis” selle ule, milline on ja peaks olema kirjaniku roll uhiskonnas: „Kui koneleme kunstniku vastutusest, siis koneleme kohustusest suveneda, jouda labi argipaevase ja pindmise sugavusteni, mis polegi ehk margatavad. Kunstnik avab pealispinna, ja tema jarjekindluses, kohustuses kannatada, taluda pinget, mis askeldusisse varjunud inimestel jaab lopuni tundmata, seisneb tema vastutus uhiskonna ees.” (Mihkelson 1971: 947.) See vastutus uhiskonna ees, mis seisneb teatud pingetaluvuses, kohustuses kannatada ja tungida jarjest sugavamatesse kihtidesse pealispinna all, on uhine nii Mihkelsonile kui ka Bachmannile. Molemad autorid on sundinud ja kasvanud ajal, mis ei ole jaanud puutumata sojast, vagivallast ja totalitaarsetest reiimidest ning neile on uhine selle moistmine, et oma ajast ja sellega kaasnevast ei saa ega tohi nemad kirjanikena mooda vaadata. Mida see todemus tapsemalt tahendab ning millist rolli see mangib nende a...
Artikkel uurib Eesti riiklikes arhiivides asuvate mitte-eestikeelsete käsikirjakogude juurdepääsu... more Artikkel uurib Eesti riiklikes arhiivides asuvate mitte-eestikeelsete käsikirjakogude juurdepääsu ja konteksti küsimusi. Juhtumiuuring keskendub baltisaksa estofiilide 1938. aastal asutatud Õpetatud Eesti Seltsi käsikirjakogudele Eesti Kirjandusmuuseumis, mis on jagatud Eesti Kultuuriloolise Arhiivi ja Eesti Rahvaluule Arhiivi vahel. Käsikirjakogude asukohtadest ülevaate saamine osutus keeruliseks aja- ja töömahukaks ülesandeks, mida komplitseeris veelgi fakt, et uurija ei valda eesti keelt. Täiendavaks takistuseks osutus seegi, et kättesaadavaid digihoidlaid oli võimalik kasutada ainult eesti keeles. Ühe võimaliku lahendusena neile probleemidele pakuti välja avastusliku relatsioonandmebaasi loomine, mis toob kokku mõlemas arhiivis hoitavad materjalid. Käesolevas artiklis kirjeldatakse selle andmebaasi teostamist: erisuguste metaandmete ühtlustamist ja andmebaasi täiendamist isikuregistriga, ning arutletakse, kuidas seda andmebaasi mugava kasutajaliidese abil edasi arendada. Acces...
The paper explores the relational ways in how the identity of a creative
person is constructed in... more The paper explores the relational ways in how the identity of a creative person is constructed in exile, in dialogue with the relational environments and proximate others. The case study for the article is the writer and literary scholar of Estonian and Latvian heritage, Ivar Ivask (1927–1992), who fled Latvia during World War II, spent some years in displaced persons’ camps in Germany, later on studied German literature and art history in Marburg (Germany), and starting from 1950 lived and worked in the United States. Ivask’s journey suggests that at points in his life he could have been a Latvian, an Estonian, a Baltic-German or even an English-speaking American. The paper attempts to demonstrate the reasons why Ivask became, despite everything, an Estonian writer and how this had a great deal to do with the relational understanding of himself: his sensorial childhood experiences in southern Estonia and his mentors and other writers he admired (e.g. Bernard Kangro), who played a crucial role in his choosing Estonian to be the language of his poetry as well as his diaries. We further contend that by engaging himself with different literatures and authors from around the world in different languages, Ivask was constantly looking for new poetic and literary discoveries and perhaps therefore insights into himself. Reading other authors’ work and relating himself to their writings meant he was therefore also engaging with his own identity. In this light, we contend that Ivask’s literary criticism of other authors’ work as well as his literary correspondences with them provides a model of how the social and literary self can be constructed in exile, in dialogue with the relational environments and influences of proximate others, including respected authors, some of whom served as role models and mentors.
Keywords: autobiography, Estonian literature, identity, Ivar Ivask, life writing, multilingualism, relational self
Ilmar Laabani pärandi hulgas Eesti Kirjandusmuuseumi Eesti Kultuuriloolises Arhiivis on säilinud ... more Ilmar Laabani pärandi hulgas Eesti Kirjandusmuuseumi Eesti Kultuuriloolises Arhiivis on säilinud mõned näited tema saksakeelsest kirjavahetusest kahe saksa-juudi luuletajaga: kolm koopiat kirjadest tema eakaaslasele Paul Celanile (1920–1970) ja mõned kirjamustandid Nelly Sachsile (1891–1970), kes mõned aastad hiljem pälvis Nobeli kirjanduspreemia. Laaban rootsindas mõlema luuletaja tekste ning tõlkis valiku nende luuletustest ka eesti keelde. Artikkel käsitleb Laabani kirjanduslikku dialoogi Celani ja Sachsiga, mis kujunes kirjade, kohtumiste ning eeskätt luuletõlgete kaudu. Artikli teises pooles analüüsitakse Celani luule eestindusi, mille Laaban avadas Manas 1957–1958. --- In the archive of the Estonian poet Ilmar Laaban, conserved at the Estonian Literary Museum in Tartu, we find three copies of his drafts of letters (in German) to his contemporary, the German Jewish poet Paul Celan (1920–1970) and four drafts (in German) of letters to the German Jewish poet and Nobel laureate Ne...
In the archive of the Estonian poet Ilmar Laaban, conserved at the Estonian Literary Museum in Ta... more In the archive of the Estonian poet Ilmar Laaban, conserved at the Estonian Literary Museum in Tartu, we find three copies of his drafts of letters (in German) to his contemporary, the German Jewish poet Paul Celan (1920–1970) and four drafts (in German) of letters to the German Jewish poet and Nobel laureate Nelly Sachs (1901–1970). Laaban was personally acquainted with both Celan and Sachs, translated their poetry into Swedish, and published a small selection of each in Estonian translation. The first part of this article closely examines the archival evidence on the correspondences, using additional material from the clean copies of Laaban’s letters from the Celan archive in Marburg, mentions of Laaban in Celan’s Collected Letters, as well as Sachs and Celan’s correspondence with each other from 1954 until Celan’s death by suicide in 1970; Sachs died in Sweden the same year. The second part of this article is an analysis of Laaban’s lengthy article on Celan in the first two issues of the Estonian-language cultural journal Mana (1957–1958), an exile publication with broad international aims that attempted to break away from a singular focus on exile writers and confining arguments about the validity of exile vs homeland.
Ivar Ivask (1927–1992) is a cosmopolitan man who edited a quarterly world literature magazine Boo... more Ivar Ivask (1927–1992) is a cosmopolitan man who edited a quarterly world literature magazine Books Abroad / World Literature Today for more than 20 years; initiated the Puterbaugh Conference series; created and curated the Neustadt or so-called small Nobel literature prize. His personal archive is since 2016 held at the Estonian Cultural History Archives at the Estonian Literary Museum. The current article explores the very first steps of Ivar Ivask becoming a literary scholar and critic. aasta lõpus ja 2018. aasta alguses tähistati nii Eestis kui ka Lätis eesti-läti päritolu kirjandusteadlase ja luuletaja Ivar Ivaski (1927–1992) 90. sünniaastapäeva. Ivask oli kosmopoliitne mees, kes töötas üle kahekümne aasta oma elust maailmakirjandusalase ajakirja Books Abroad / World Literature Today peatoimetajana, mille juurde ta asutas Neustadti kirjandusauhinna, mida kutsuti hellitavalt ka väikseks Nobeliks. Saanud hariduse Saksamaal Marburgi Ülikoolis saksa kirjanduse, võrdleva kirjandus...
This is a prefaced publication of three drafts of the letters that an American critic, a universi... more This is a prefaced publication of three drafts of the letters that an American critic, a university professor, and a multilingual poet Ivar Ivask sent to the author of “Doctor Zhivago” during the last year of Pasternak’s life (1959—1960). While Pasternak’s answers to Ivask were first published half a century ago in the addressee’s translation into English, the letters of Ivask, who initiated the correspondence, are published for the first time. All three letters are reproduced both in the original German, and in the Russian translation by Fedor Poljakov. KEYWORDS: Weltliteratur , Ivar Ivask (1927—1992), Boris Pasternak (1890—1960), Correspondence, History of Literature.
4motisklenud ajakirjas Looming ilmunud essees „Isiklikust kunstis” selle ule, milline on ja peaks... more 4motisklenud ajakirjas Looming ilmunud essees „Isiklikust kunstis” selle ule, milline on ja peaks olema kirjaniku roll uhiskonnas: „Kui koneleme kunstniku vastutusest, siis koneleme kohustusest suveneda, jouda labi argipaevase ja pindmise sugavusteni, mis polegi ehk margatavad. Kunstnik avab pealispinna, ja tema jarjekindluses, kohustuses kannatada, taluda pinget, mis askeldusisse varjunud inimestel jaab lopuni tundmata, seisneb tema vastutus uhiskonna ees.” (Mihkelson 1971: 947.) See vastutus uhiskonna ees, mis seisneb teatud pingetaluvuses, kohustuses kannatada ja tungida jarjest sugavamatesse kihtidesse pealispinna all, on uhine nii Mihkelsonile kui ka Bachmannile. Molemad autorid on sundinud ja kasvanud ajal, mis ei ole jaanud puutumata sojast, vagivallast ja totalitaarsetest reiimidest ning neile on uhine selle moistmine, et oma ajast ja sellega kaasnevast ei saa ega tohi nemad kirjanikena mooda vaadata. Mida see todemus tapsemalt tahendab ning millist rolli see mangib nende a...
Artikkel uurib Eesti riiklikes arhiivides asuvate mitte-eestikeelsete käsikirjakogude juurdepääsu... more Artikkel uurib Eesti riiklikes arhiivides asuvate mitte-eestikeelsete käsikirjakogude juurdepääsu ja konteksti küsimusi. Juhtumiuuring keskendub baltisaksa estofiilide 1938. aastal asutatud Õpetatud Eesti Seltsi käsikirjakogudele Eesti Kirjandusmuuseumis, mis on jagatud Eesti Kultuuriloolise Arhiivi ja Eesti Rahvaluule Arhiivi vahel. Käsikirjakogude asukohtadest ülevaate saamine osutus keeruliseks aja- ja töömahukaks ülesandeks, mida komplitseeris veelgi fakt, et uurija ei valda eesti keelt. Täiendavaks takistuseks osutus seegi, et kättesaadavaid digihoidlaid oli võimalik kasutada ainult eesti keeles. Ühe võimaliku lahendusena neile probleemidele pakuti välja avastusliku relatsioonandmebaasi loomine, mis toob kokku mõlemas arhiivis hoitavad materjalid. Käesolevas artiklis kirjeldatakse selle andmebaasi teostamist: erisuguste metaandmete ühtlustamist ja andmebaasi täiendamist isikuregistriga, ning arutletakse, kuidas seda andmebaasi mugava kasutajaliidese abil edasi arendada. Acces...
The paper explores the relational ways in how the identity of a creative
person is constructed in... more The paper explores the relational ways in how the identity of a creative person is constructed in exile, in dialogue with the relational environments and proximate others. The case study for the article is the writer and literary scholar of Estonian and Latvian heritage, Ivar Ivask (1927–1992), who fled Latvia during World War II, spent some years in displaced persons’ camps in Germany, later on studied German literature and art history in Marburg (Germany), and starting from 1950 lived and worked in the United States. Ivask’s journey suggests that at points in his life he could have been a Latvian, an Estonian, a Baltic-German or even an English-speaking American. The paper attempts to demonstrate the reasons why Ivask became, despite everything, an Estonian writer and how this had a great deal to do with the relational understanding of himself: his sensorial childhood experiences in southern Estonia and his mentors and other writers he admired (e.g. Bernard Kangro), who played a crucial role in his choosing Estonian to be the language of his poetry as well as his diaries. We further contend that by engaging himself with different literatures and authors from around the world in different languages, Ivask was constantly looking for new poetic and literary discoveries and perhaps therefore insights into himself. Reading other authors’ work and relating himself to their writings meant he was therefore also engaging with his own identity. In this light, we contend that Ivask’s literary criticism of other authors’ work as well as his literary correspondences with them provides a model of how the social and literary self can be constructed in exile, in dialogue with the relational environments and influences of proximate others, including respected authors, some of whom served as role models and mentors.
Keywords: autobiography, Estonian literature, identity, Ivar Ivask, life writing, multilingualism, relational self
Die Romane der estnischen Schriftstellerin Ene Mihkelson und der deutschen Autorin Christa Wolf t... more Die Romane der estnischen Schriftstellerin Ene Mihkelson und der deutschen Autorin Christa Wolf transportieren eine Poetik des Erinnerns, auf deren Spur sich die Autorin begibt. Sakova vergleicht die Romane »Kindheitsmuster« und »Stadt der Engel oder The Overcoat of Dr. Freud« von Wolf und »Der Schlaf Ahasvers« und »Das Pestgrab« von Mihkelson miteinander und deckt so die erinnerungspoetologischen Strukturen und Philosophien in diesen Werken auf. Um dem philosophischen Potenzial dieser Texte näher zu kommen, zieht sie das Konzept der moralischen Zeugenschaft von Avishai Margalit und Giorgio Agamben und die Schreibpraxis des Denkbildes von Walter Benjamin heran.
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we find three copies of his drafts of letters (in German) to his contemporary, the German Jewish poet Paul Celan (1920–1970) and four drafts (in German) of letters to the German Jewish poet and Nobel laureate Nelly Sachs (1901–1970). Laaban was personally acquainted with both Celan and Sachs, translated their poetry into Swedish, and published a small selection of each in Estonian translation.
The first part of this article closely examines the archival evidence on the correspondences, using additional material from the clean copies of Laaban’s letters from the Celan archive in Marburg, mentions of Laaban in Celan’s Collected Letters, as well as Sachs and Celan’s correspondence with each other from 1954 until Celan’s death by suicide in 1970; Sachs died in Sweden the same year.
The second part of this article is an analysis of Laaban’s lengthy article on Celan in the first two issues of the Estonian-language cultural journal Mana (1957–1958), an exile publication with broad international aims that attempted to break away from a singular focus on exile writers and confining arguments about the validity of exile vs homeland.
person is constructed in exile, in dialogue with the relational environments and proximate others. The case study for the article is the writer and literary scholar of Estonian and Latvian heritage, Ivar Ivask (1927–1992), who fled Latvia during World War II, spent some years in displaced persons’ camps in Germany, later on studied German literature and art history in Marburg (Germany), and starting from 1950 lived and worked in the United States. Ivask’s journey suggests that at points in his life he could have been a Latvian, an Estonian, a Baltic-German
or even an English-speaking American.
The paper attempts to demonstrate the reasons why Ivask became, despite everything, an Estonian writer and how this had a great deal to do with the relational understanding of himself: his sensorial childhood experiences in southern Estonia and his mentors and other writers he admired (e.g. Bernard Kangro), who played a crucial role in his choosing Estonian to be the language of his poetry as well as his diaries. We further contend that by engaging himself with different
literatures and authors from around the world in different languages, Ivask was constantly looking for new poetic and literary discoveries and perhaps therefore insights into himself. Reading other authors’ work and relating himself to their writings meant he was therefore also engaging with his own identity. In this light, we contend that Ivask’s literary criticism of other authors’ work as well as his literary correspondences with them provides a model of how the social and literary self can be constructed in exile, in dialogue with the relational environments and influences of proximate others, including respected authors, some of
whom served as role models and mentors.
Keywords: autobiography, Estonian literature, identity, Ivar Ivask, life writing, multilingualism, relational self
we find three copies of his drafts of letters (in German) to his contemporary, the German Jewish poet Paul Celan (1920–1970) and four drafts (in German) of letters to the German Jewish poet and Nobel laureate Nelly Sachs (1901–1970). Laaban was personally acquainted with both Celan and Sachs, translated their poetry into Swedish, and published a small selection of each in Estonian translation.
The first part of this article closely examines the archival evidence on the correspondences, using additional material from the clean copies of Laaban’s letters from the Celan archive in Marburg, mentions of Laaban in Celan’s Collected Letters, as well as Sachs and Celan’s correspondence with each other from 1954 until Celan’s death by suicide in 1970; Sachs died in Sweden the same year.
The second part of this article is an analysis of Laaban’s lengthy article on Celan in the first two issues of the Estonian-language cultural journal Mana (1957–1958), an exile publication with broad international aims that attempted to break away from a singular focus on exile writers and confining arguments about the validity of exile vs homeland.
person is constructed in exile, in dialogue with the relational environments and proximate others. The case study for the article is the writer and literary scholar of Estonian and Latvian heritage, Ivar Ivask (1927–1992), who fled Latvia during World War II, spent some years in displaced persons’ camps in Germany, later on studied German literature and art history in Marburg (Germany), and starting from 1950 lived and worked in the United States. Ivask’s journey suggests that at points in his life he could have been a Latvian, an Estonian, a Baltic-German
or even an English-speaking American.
The paper attempts to demonstrate the reasons why Ivask became, despite everything, an Estonian writer and how this had a great deal to do with the relational understanding of himself: his sensorial childhood experiences in southern Estonia and his mentors and other writers he admired (e.g. Bernard Kangro), who played a crucial role in his choosing Estonian to be the language of his poetry as well as his diaries. We further contend that by engaging himself with different
literatures and authors from around the world in different languages, Ivask was constantly looking for new poetic and literary discoveries and perhaps therefore insights into himself. Reading other authors’ work and relating himself to their writings meant he was therefore also engaging with his own identity. In this light, we contend that Ivask’s literary criticism of other authors’ work as well as his literary correspondences with them provides a model of how the social and literary self can be constructed in exile, in dialogue with the relational environments and influences of proximate others, including respected authors, some of
whom served as role models and mentors.
Keywords: autobiography, Estonian literature, identity, Ivar Ivask, life writing, multilingualism, relational self