Risto Järv
Fairy tales
Risto Järv (born 15 January 1971) is a folklorist.
Järv was born and attended school in Tallinn. He studied Estonian and comparative folklore at the University of Tartu and defended his doctoral thesis Eesti imemuinasjuttude tekstid ja tekstuur. Arhiivikeskne vaatlus (‘The Texts and Texture of Estonian Fairy Tales. An Archive-Centred View’) in 2005. He works at the University of Tartu, being associate professor of Estonian and comparative folklore from 2021. He has also worked as head of the Estonian Folklore Archives at the Estonian Literary Museum. Järv is a member of the Academic Folklore Society, the International Society for Folk Narrative Research (ISFNR), the Societé Internationale d’Ethnologie et de Folklore (SIEF), the Estonian Society for Digital Humanities and the research councils of the Estonian Literary Museum and the Under and Tuglas Literature Centre.
Järv’s research and creative work are focussed on fairy tales and folklore. He has compiled and edited various collections and publications. In 1997, he received the Baltic Knighthood Prize for his master’s thesis Eesti usundi uurimise lähtel. Kr. J. Petersoni kommenteeritud tõlge Kr. Gananderi „Mythologia Fennicast“ (‘At the Sources of Research of Estonian Religion. Kr. J. Peterson’s Commented Translation of Kr. Ganander’s Mythologia Fennica, 1997). In 2005, he received the Literature Endowment Annual Award (together with Heili Einasto, Lembi Loigu and Veronika Kivisilla) for literary translation from Estonian into a foreign language for Estonian Folktales. The Heavenly Wedding. In 2014, he earned the Folk Culture Endowment Annual Award (together with Mairi Kaasik, Kärri Toomeos-Orglaan and Inge Annom) for the anthology Eesti muinasjutud. Imemuinasjutud (‘Estonian Fairy Tales. Wonder Fairy Tales’) and in 2020 (together with Katrin Sipelgas, Janeli Jallai and Jaak Kilmi) for creating the Estonian National Museum’s fairy tale exhibition Once Upon a Time… His articles in the journal Keel ja Kirjandus — Sehvtjeviiten ja seitse tõdemust. Isikunimedest muinasjuttudes (‘Sehvtjeviitein and Seven Statements. On Personal Names Used in Fairy-Tales’, 2005) and Muinasjutt ja turismireis (‘Fairy Tales and Tourist Trips’, 2010) have been awarded the journal’s article prize. In 2007, Järv received the Folklore Collection Award of the President of the Republic of Estonia, and in 2017 the title of Tartu’s Folk Culture Bearer of the Year for the lecture series Estonian Folklore Archives Come to Visit arranged by the Estonian Literary Museum’s Estonian Folklore Archives (together with Ave Goršič).
A. K. (Translated by I. A.)
Books in Estonian
Eesti imemuinasjuttude tekstid ja tekstuur. Arhiivikeskne vaatlus. Doktoritöö. Tartu: Tartu Ülikooli Kirjastus, 2005, 226 lk
Piret Voolaid, Loone Ots, Risto Järv, Kes otsib, see leiab: 1111 eesti vanasõna: selgituste ja kommentaaridega. Tallinn: Rahva Raamat, 2018, 311 lk. [Teine trükk: 2022.]
