Mathura
Mathura (given name Margus Lattik; born 7 November 1973) is a poet, prose writer, translator and artist.
He was born and attended school in Tallinn, studied English philology at the University of Tartu and continued his education at Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education in India. He is the head of the publishing imprint, Allikaäärne. Mathura is a member of the literary grouping Erakkond and, from 2005, of the Estonian Writers’ Union.
Mathura entered literature in the 1990s. His first poetry collection Poeesia valgel taustal (‘Poetry Against a White Background’, 2001) shows Oriental influences; his pen name Mathura also refers to an Indian city of the same name where, according to traditional lore, the god Krishna was born. An essential place in Mathura’s poetry belongs to places where he has travelled or stayed for a longer time. The contacts between the place and the person create an original experience and cognition of life. So, for example, the collection dedicated to his daughter, Kumalasepäev (‘Bumblebee Day’, 2003), is centred on the North Estonian fishing village Lahe. The source of inspiration for the collection Luuletused Atitlani järvelt (‘Poems from Lake Atitlan’, 2008) is his trip to Central America, which is also described in the travelogue Guatemala, maa hing (‘Guatemala, the Soul of the Earth’, 2009). Different places have provided subject matter for introspective wanderings and musings which characterise the whole of Mathura’s calmly deep pantheist creation with its eternal and existential themes. The poetry collection written over several years Lahusolek (‘Separation’, 2021) describes man’s separation from their creator, fellow humans and environment. It also moves through different places.
The novel Jääminek (‘As the Ice Lifts’, 2016), which won the literary prize of Virumaa County in 2017, traces the author’s childhood paths at Matsalu Bay. Social themes and dangers of the present-day consumer society are dealt with in Inimene on rohi (‘Man is Like a Leaf of Grass’, 2008). Kohalolu (‘Presence’, 2006) also withdraws from the bustling everyday world. The poetry collection Käe all voogav joon (‘The Line Flowing Beneath Your Hand’, 2013), which received the Gustav Suits Poetry Prize in 2014, consists of dedication poems to the artists who have inspired the author. The poetry collection was accompanied by an exhibition; the works of Mathura who also practises painting have been displayed at several exhibitions. He has also written song lyrics and literary criticism. He is a prolific translator of poetry and prose from English (Ben Okri, Christopher Isherwood, Derek Walcott, Dylan Thomas, Amos Tutuola, and others) and several other languages, like Hindi, Sami and Ukrainian.
Mathura has received the County Annual Award of the Estonian Cultural Endowment (2004, 2017) and the Estonian Cultural Endowment Scholarship Ela ja sära ('Live and Shine’, 2022). His poetry has been translated into more than a dozen languages, with full collections in English, Swedish, Finnish, Hebrew and Chinese. He has presented his work at notable international venues like Internationales Literaturfestival Berlin, International Poetry Nights Hong Kong, European Poetry Festival London and European Poetry Biennale Brasov.
A. K. (Translated by I. A.)
Books in Estonian
Poetry collections
Poeesia valgel taustal: kirjutisi aastaist 1993-2000. Tallinn: Erakkond, 2001, 63 lk
Sõstramesi. Külaküla: Erakkond, 2003, 44 lk
Kaks tuulehoogu. Rapla, Ristna: Erakkond, 2004, 68 lk
Kohalolu: luuletusi ja rännakuid. Rapla: Allikäärne, 2006, 68 lk
Inimene on rohi. Lelle: Allikaäärne, 2008, 80 lk
Luuletused Atitlani järvelt. Lelle: Allikaäärne, 2008, 61 lk
Kumalasepäev. Lelle: Allikaäärne, 2012, 88 lk
Käe all voogav joon. Lelle: Allikaäärne, 2013, 77 lk
Mathura, Kairi Orgusaar, Sõstrahelmed. Currant Beads. Lelle: Allikaäärne, 2013, 69 lk
Tantsisklevail lehtedel ta keerleb: 54 haikupilti Hong Kongist. Lelle: Allikaäärne, 2019, 54 lk
Lahusolek. Lelle: Allikaäärne, 2021, 103 lk
Prose
Jääminek. Lelle: Allikaäärne, 2016, 94 lk [2. trükk: 2017]
Travelogues
Guatemala, maa hing. Lelle: Allikaäärne, 2009, 110 lk
Essays and articles
Valgust täis maja: artikleid eesti kirjandusest. Lelle: Allikaäärne, 2021, 113 lk