Aarne Puu

Poems

Aarne Puu (b. 30. XII 1948) is an Estonian poet and translator, resident in Poland.

Aarne Puu was born in Tallinn. He graduated from Jõhvi secondary school in 1967. Puu studied Russian philology from 1971 to 1973 at the Tartu State University. As a brilliant student he went on to study in Poland, at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow. Puu graduated from there in 1979, specialising in Polish language and literature. After graduation he became a freelance translator in Poland.

Puu lives in Cracow, and since 1996 he has been lecturer in Estonian at the Jagiellonian University. He is a member of the Estonian Writers’ Union (since 1990) and the Polish Poets’ Association. He writes poetry in Estonian, Polish and Russian. Puu’s poetry is characterised by a laconic style. The poet observes a person’s relationship with the surrounding world; existential motifs are predominant. In 1989 Puu won the A. Bursa Prize for the best poetry debut of the year for his collection Jezioro mojej pamięci (‘Lake of My Memories’).

Puu has translated works by F. Tuglas, P.-E. Rummo, J. Kaplinski, M. Unt, A. Valton, V. Vahing, H. Mänd and other Estonian writers into Polish. He has rendered into Estonian the works of several Polish authors, among them the science-fiction novels Solaris and Eden by S. Lem and the short story collection ‘The Last Wish’ (Ostatnie życzenie) by A. Sapkowski.

Puu has taken part in international poetry festivals in Poland, Slovenia, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Macedonia and Tunisia.

He has been awarded the Order of the White Star, Class V.

L. P. (Translated by C. M.)

Poetry collections

Poems in Estonian
Ring on nii pikk. Eesti Raamat, Tallinn, 1990. 86 lk.
Kaksikalge. Kraków: Oficyna Konfraterni Poetów, 1997. 91 lk.
Sajandi väsimus. Luulet 1975–2000. Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus, 2002. 169 lk.
Paberist maailm / Papírvilág. Szombathely: Berzsenyi Daniel Tanarkepzö Föiskola, 2003. 47 lk.
Ma elan ruumis. Luulet 1985–2020. Tallinn: Tiritamm, 2020. 178 lk.

Poems in Polish
Jezioro mojej pamięci. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 1989. 60 lk.
Godziny otwarcia. Kraków: Krakowski Klub Artystyczno-Literacki, 1996. 56 lk.
Inny wybór. Wiersze z lat 1978–1998. Kraków: Oficyna Konfraterni Poetow, 1998. 91 lk.
Kręgi pamięci. Wiersze i przekłady. Kraków: Towarzystwa Słowaków w Polsce, 2007. 162 lk.

Poems in Polish and Estonian
Po tej stronie / Siinpool. Kraków: Oficyna Konfraterni Poetów, 1996. 79 lk.
Proszę posłuchaj / Kuula palun. Łódź: Wydawnictwo Astra, 2010. 139 lk.

Poems in Russian
Стираются грани. Kraków: Oficyna Konfraterni Poetów, 1999. 64 lk.