Poetry
Kuldne Aphrodite ja teisi luuletusi
Not translated into English
Ain Kaalep · 1986
Synopsis
A collection that continues the manner of the epic and tragic poems of the author's previous book: long narrative poems, foremost among them the one that gives the book its title, of a timeless classicism. Two attractions recur constantly, the desire for Antiquity and the fascination with the forms and motifs of Arabic and Persian poetry; many pieces arise from a second-hand inspiration, built like a piece of music or a work of art, with a learned virtuosity that does not exclude the sonnet.
Context
The collection appeared in Tallinn in 1986 from Eesti Raamat, ten years after the one that had surprised readers with its long epic poems, and followed its path. Three reviews greeted it within the year: Linnar Priimägi in Edasi, Rein Raud in Vikerkaar, who placed these poems on the border between West and East, and Sirje Olesk in Keel ja Kirjandus. The poems were reprinted in 2008 in Muusad ja maastikud, the overall collection compiled by the author, with an afterword by Sirje Olesk.
Who it is for
Ninety pages of poems in Estonian, never translated into French or English. It helps to know that this is a cerebral and technical poetry, which never sought a wide audience.
Prizes and reception
The author's last collection in written Estonian, before a book in Võro published in 1999, and the one that three journals reviewed that same year.