Arvo Valton

Arvo Valton (14 December 1935 – 26 July 2024) was the penname of Arvo Vallikivi, an Estonian poet, prose writer, playwright, screenwriter, translator, and publicist.

He was born in Märjamaa and studied at Märjamaa Elementary School from 1943–1949 until he and his family were deported to Siberia. From 1949–1953, he attended a seven-grade school of the Chanovsky sovkhoz and Chany Secondary School in the Novosibirsk Oblast. In 1954, he graduated from Susuman Secondary School in the Magadan Oblast and then returned to Estonia. He was an honorary citizen of the Märjamaa parish.

From 1954–1959, he attended the Department of Chemistry and Mining at the Tallinn University of Technology, completing a degree in mining engineering. From 1961–1967, he studied at the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography in Moscow via distant learning and became a professional movie screenwriter. Along with his studies, he worked from 1959–1961 at the Maardu Chemical Factory and from 1961–1968 at the Tallinn Factory of Measurement devices.

He was a member of the editorial board of the studio Tallinnfilm and a member of the Estonian Filmmakers’ Union since 1979. Since 1968, Arvo Valton was a freelance writer, belonging to the Estonian Writers’ Union since 1965 (member of the board since 1971 until his death, member of the presidium of the board from 1981–1989, and vice chairman from 1990–1992). He also served as chairman of the Tallinn literature club, Pegasus.

In 1980, he was one of the organizers of the ‘Letter of 40 intellectuals’ and actively participated in events pushing for the restoration of independence. He was a member of the Cultural Council of Estonian Creative Unions and belonged to the first composition of the Estonian Congress and the Estonian Committee.

He was a member of the student corporation Rotalia since 1989 and the political party Pro Patria since 1994. From 1992–1995, he was member of Parliament. He took an active part in national politics and society, and worked to protect the Estonian language and culture. He also paid great attention to Finno-Ugric peoples and their literature, having been elected as vice chairman of the Finno-Ugric Literature Association (1993), the chairman (1996), and the president (1998). Since 2005, he was a lecturer of Finno-Ugric literature at Tallinn University. In 2009, he taught as a professor of liberal arts at the University of Tartu. In 2006, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Tallinn University’s Academy of Law (then Academy Nord). Arvo Valton died in Tallinn.

Valton’s debut short story Lauad (‘Tables’) was published in the journal Noorus in 1960. While his first work spun the everyday in a humorous light, his later work added touches of satire and the grotesque, hinting at the situation of his surrounding environment and society. Because of this, he was accused of harboring hostilities toward the Soviet Union and therefore began to tread down more historical paths, carefully avoiding the history of his homeland during those difficult times. His work expanded the genre, but as political unease grew milder, his work incorporated more folklore, politics, and realism. Valton has been called one of the founders of the Estonian modern prose, which emerged in the second half of the twentieth century.

His creative body of work includes over 70 books, including novels, short story collections, poetry, children’s books, plays, film scenarios, and librettos. Among other things, he wrote the script for the hugely popular feature film Viimne reliikvia (‘The Last Relic’, 1969, which was based on the novella by Eduard Bornhöhe Vürst Gabriel ehk Pirita kloostri viimsed päevad  – ‘Prince Gabriel or The Last Days of Pirita Monastery’).

He translated Russian, Mari, Moksha, Udmurtian, Bulgarian, Polish, and Hungarian literature, including poetry and folk songs. He himself is one of the most translated Estonian writers today.

Arvo Valton received many awards during his lifetime, including the Merited Writer of the ESSR in 1984, the Eduard Vilde Literary Prize for Üksildased Ajas (‘Lonely People in Time“) in 1984, the Juhan Smuul Prize for Rännak giidi saatel (‘Journey in the Company of a Guide’) in 1989, and the A.H. Tammsaare Novel Prize for Masendus ja lootus (‘Depression and Hope’) in 1990. He twice won the Friedebert Tuglas Short Story Prize: once for Ohtlik leiutis (‘Dangerous Invention’) in 1973 and again for Mustamäe Armastus (‘Love Mustamäe Style’) in 1979. In 2000, he was awarded the Order of the White Star, III Class; in 2006, the Order of the National Coat of Arms, III Class; in 2007, the Tower of Babel Children’s Literature Translation Award for his Estonian translation of the young adult novel Vana-Permi poisi Tikö seiklused (‘The Adventures of the Old-Permian Boy Tikö’) by Vladimir Timini; and lastly the 2015 Estonian National Idea Award. He also received the French Order of Arts and Letters.

M. K. (Translated by M. M.)

Books in Estonian

Poems
Kollasteks laikudeks laguneb. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1979, 92 lk.