Mall Jõgi

Mall Jõgi (given name since 1977 Kaevats; b. 16. VII 1947) is a critic, literary scholar and journalist.

Jõgi was born and educated in Tallinn, and 1965 to 1970 she studied at the Faculty of History and Languages at the State University of Tartu, specialising in Finno-Ugric languages. She has worked at the Institute of Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences, the Friedebert Tuglas museum, and in the editorial offices of the culture paper Sirp ja Vasar (later called Reede and Kultuurileht) and the journal Keel ja Kirjandus. She has been the press spokeswoman for the Estonian Academy of Sciences, a consultant to the Ministry of Culture, and deputy chairwoman and chairwoman of the Literature Endowment of Estonia. She is a member of the Mother Tongue Society (since 1965), the Johannes Aavik Society (since 1994) and the Writers’ Union (1985). She has been a member of the board of the Writers’ Union.

As a literary critic Jõgi made her debut in 1971. She has published criticism and longer literary reviews in both cultural journals and specialist publications. Her interviews in Sirp ja Vasar have been collected in the volume Kõnelesid: jutuajamisi kirjarahva ja teadlastega aastatest 1979 – 2006 (‘Conversations: Chat with literary figures and scholars, 1979-2006’, 2007). Ajaloo ja argipäeva ees: artikleid ja mälestusi (‘Confronting History and the Everyday: Articles and Reminiscences’, 2008) encompasses literary work from 1978 to 2007, concentrating on memory and recollection on the themes of history and everyday life.

Jõgi has compiled and edited books such as the memorial volume for Debora Vaarandi, Aastad ja päevad (‘Years and Days’, 2006) and the poetry collection Tähine laotus tantsib (‘The Starry Vault Dances’, 2007) as well as Aino Kallas’ Londoni võlus (‘The Charm of London’, 2010) and Mu saatuse maa (‘Land of My Destiny’, 2012).

Jõgi has been awarded an annual prize by the journal Keel ja kirjandus for the article Kivid ja leib. Plaanid ja teos (‘Stones and Bread. Plans and Action’, 1987) and the annual Sirp prize (1993). In 2006 he was presented with the Order of the White Star, class V, and in 2019 a special stipend from the Estonian National Culture Foundation.

A. K. (Translated by C. M.)

Books in Estonian

Non-fiction
Kõnelesid. Jutuajamisi kirjarahva ja teadlastega aastatest 1979-2006. Tallinn: Tänapäev, 2007, 389 lk.
Ajaloo ja argipäeva ees: artikleid ja mälestusi. Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus, 2008, 327 lk.