Aita Kivi
Aita Kivi (born Liive; 20 December 1954) is a poet, prose writer and journalist.
Kivi was born in Tallinn. She attended school in Tallinn and studied at Tartu State University and Tallinn Polytechnical Institute (now Tallinn University of Technology), graduating from it as a construction engineer. She has worked at the Construction Research Institute, Tallinn Polytechnical Institute and Valgus publishing company. Since the 1990s, Kivi has worked in journalism, e.g., been the managing editor of the magazine Anne, chief editor of the magazines Kodukiri, Kodukolle and Eesti Naine; since 2019, chief editor of the magazine Kodu ja Aed. She is a member of the Tallinn Young Authors’ Association, of the Estonian Association of Journalists and, from 1993, of the Estonian Writers’ Union. Aita Kivi’s son is journalist, writer and poet Krister Kivi.
Aita Kivi entered literature as a poet, her debut collection Usaldades (‘Trusting’, 1986) moves along the paths of a young woman’s feelings just as her following poetry collections; a selection of her poetry has been gathered into the collection Ära möödu must lähedalt (‘Don’t Pass Me Closely’, 2014). The heavy-rock group Paradoks made its title poem into a song which became a hit in Estonia in the late 1980s.
Kivi’s prose is also centred on the theme of the woman. Her debut novel Jumalakäpp (‘Early Purple Orchid’, 1996) stands out with its outspoken eroticism and detailed depiction of the era. The following novels and short prose also concentrate on women’s emotional life and relations against the background of a concrete era; for example, the novel Keegi teine (‘Someone Else’, 2014), which won the A. H. Tammsaare literary award of Albu parish, reflects the years of the economic crisis. Psychoanalysis can be discerned in the novel Nähtamatud traagelniidid (‘Invisible Bastings’, 2021), which is centred on family ties, the role of the biological father and the woman.
A. K. (Translated by I. A.)
Books in Estonian
Novels
Jumalakäpp: armastusromaan. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1996, 237 lk [2. tr 2001]
Lummus: kireromaan. Tallinn: Ajakirjade Kirjastus, 2001, 270 lk
Mees nende elus. Tallinn: Ajakirjade Kirjastus, 2003, 224 lk
Lähedal. Tallinn: Ajakirjade Kirjastus, 2008, 239 lk
Keegi teine. Tallinn: Ajakirjade Kirjastus, 2014, 255 lk
Nähtamatud traagelniidid: lood, mida ma isale ei rääkinud. Tallinn: Vesta, 2021, 248 lk
Short prose
Üheksa avameelset naist. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1991, 173 lk
Teisikud ja armukesed: lühijutud ja luuletused. Tallinn: Ajaleht Rahva Hääl, 1993, 133 lk
17 avameelset naist. Tallinn: Ajakirjade Kirjastus, 2009, 220 lk
Poetry collections
Usaldades. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1986, 63 lk
Teisikud ja armukesed: lühijutud ja luuletused. Tallinn: Ajaleht Rahva Hääl, 1993, 133 lk
Kalenderpäevik Aita Kivi luuletustega. Tallinn: RE Stuudio, 1994, 104 lk
Aknalseisja. Tallinn: RE Stuudio, 1996, 79 lk
Tundeküsimus. Tallinn: Tänapäev, 2000, 71 lk
Ära möödu must lähedalt. Tallinn: Ajakirjade Kirjastus, 2014, 208 lk
Books for children
Lendutõusja: luuletused keskmisele koolieale. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1988, 46 lk
