{"id":1407,"date":"2024-04-03T23:41:17","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T20:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/helbemae\/"},"modified":"2024-04-04T00:07:19","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T21:07:19","slug":"helbemae","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/h\/helbemae\/","title":{"rendered":"Gert Helbem\u00e4e"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tNovels<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0\"Gert<\/a><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tShort stories<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAbout Gert Helbem\u00e4e<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\n<\/p>\n

Gert Helbem\u00e4e (born as Einborn, 10. XI \/ 28. X 1913 \u2013 15. VII 1974) is known mainly for historical novels and short stories, but also for plays for stage and radio.<\/span>
\u00a0<\/span>
He was born at Kalamaja in Tallinn, the son of a businessman. From 1921 to 1933 he attended the Tallinn French Lyceum. He started working as a journalist, and was a reporter on several publications. For the newspaper Uudisleht<\/em> he wrote concert and theatre reviews and stories about the history of Tallinn. In the nineteen-thirties he was active as executive editor of several more papers (Eesti Pildileht, Roheline Post, Film ja Elu<\/em>). After doing his military service, in 1934 he switched to the editorial office of Estonian Broadcasting for music and literature programmes; he worked on the Raadioleht<\/em> and wrote radio plays. During the Second World War he was a director in the Radio Theatre, putting on radio plays. In 1944 he fled to L\u00fcbeck in Germany, where he worked in the library of the UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration). In 1947 he moved to London, where he worked for a short time for the BBC, producing music programmes. There, in 1947 he issued the newspaper Eesti H\u00e4\u00e4l<\/em>, and from 1960 he was its editor. He was the founder and leader of the Estonian PEN Club in exile, and was on the board of the Estonian Writers\u2019 Cooperative. He died in London, and is buried in Gunnersbury cemetery in Kensington.<\/span>
\u00a0<\/span>
Helbem\u00e4e wrote mostly historical prose, novels of psychological characterization, children\u2019s and young people\u2019s literature, plays, radio plays, song lyrics and literary criticism. He first became known for his song lyrics and radio plays. From 1937 to 1942 he produced about thirty radio plays, some of them based on the life of some famous artist or composer. Some of his puppet-plays \u2013 M\u00e4nguasjade m\u00e4ss<\/em>\u00a0 (\u2018The Revolt of the Toys\u2019), Varastatud unen\u00e4gu<\/em> (\u2018The Stolen Dream\u2019), Miki-Hiir Eestis<\/em> (\u2018Mickey Mouse in Estonia\u2019) \u2013 were performed between 1937 and 1939 at the Estonian Drama Theatre. During the war era he created the play for young people V\u00f5lutud pajupill<\/em> (\u2018The Enchanted Willow Whistle\u2019, 1941) and the drama Augusta Carolina<\/em> (1942). The history of medieval Tallinn was the main theme of the young people\u2019s stories Vana Toomas<\/em> (\u2018The Old Thomas\u2019, 1944) and Raekooli \u00f5pilane<\/em> (\u2018The Town Hall Schoolboy\u2019, 1948). In exile he also wrote short plays and a narrative about chipmunks, Minni ja Miku:<\/em> Kaks v\u00f6\u00f6toravat<\/em> (\u2018A Chipmunk on my Shoulder\u2019, 1968).<\/span>
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His first short-story collection, Vaikija<\/em> (\u2018The Silent One\u2019, 1947) contains historical tales and legends; for example the story Katsumus<\/em> (\u2018The Ordeal\u2019), brings the figure of the chronicler Balthasar Russow into literature; the grotesque story \u00d5igus eluks<\/em> (\u2018Justice for Life\u2019) is based on the picture \u201cThe Dance of Death\u201d painted by Bernt Notke on the wall of Niguliste church at the end of the 15th century. Helbem\u00e4e also wrote the kind of compulsory work for an exiled writer: the novel of escape Elamata elu<\/em> (\u2018Life Unlived\u2019, 1952), which depicts life in a refugee camp in Germany from the point of view of a former big businessman. The novel K\u00e4gu odraokkaga<\/em> (\u2018Cuckoo with a Barley Awn\u2019, 1953) examines the theme of a person\u2019s moral decline, the fiasco of the ambitions of a talentless but career-minded singer. The background of the novel is Tallinn during the first republic, the problems of the Baltic Germans and the author\u2019s view of the social events of 1940-1941.<\/span>
\u00a0<\/span>
The rather grotesque psychological novel \u00d5ekesed<\/em> (\u2018The Little Sisters\u2019, 1955) examines human relations through the wannabe-German upbringing of four sisters living in N\u00f5mme, Tallinn, and the stale daily lives shared by the spinsters and their niece, a half-orphaned five-year-old girl.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe historical novel Sellest mustast mungast<\/em> I-II (\u2018About that Black Monk\u2019, 1957-1958) is a colourful look back to the first half of the 16th century, when the monastic life in the Dominican Monastery in Tallinn was affected by plague, the Reformation, monastic politics and the church authorities\u2019 intrigues with the town government.<\/span>
\u00a0<\/span>
The psychological novel Ohvrilaev<\/em> (\u2018The Ship to Delos\u2019, 1960) describes a summer love story, where the primary theme is the tension of the internal struggles of a middle-aged Estonian man and a young Jewish woman who has fled to Estonia \u2013 the tragic opposition of their feelings and understandings.<\/span>
\u00a0<\/span>
The life of Estonian exiles in London is depicted in the novels Ainult ajutiseks<\/em> (\u2018Only Temporary\u2019. 1964) and Pagejad<\/em> (\u2018Escapees\u2019, 1971). For the first time in Estonian literature the theme of homosexuality was dealt with extensively.<\/span>
\u00a0<\/span>
A creative person\u2019s enforced withdrawal from ordinary life is portrayed in the biographical drama \u00dcleliigne inimene<\/em> (\u2018A Superfluous Person\u2019, 1972), which focuses on the life of the poet Juhan Liiv in the years 1885-1894. The book J\u00e4relp\u00f5imik<\/em> (\u2018Gleanings\u2019, 1979), includes the historical drama Reetmine vere vastu<\/em> (\u2018Betrayal of Blood\u2019) and short stories on historical themes. <\/span>
\u00a0<\/span>
A. O. (Translated by C. M.)<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Books in Estonian
\u00a0
Novels<\/em> <\/span><\/strong>
Elamata elu<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1952, 272 lk. <\/span>
K\u00e4gu odraokkaga<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1953, 304 lk. <\/span>
\u00d5eksed<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1955, 320 lk. [J\u00e4rgnev tr\u00fckk: Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1994, 183 lk.] <\/span>
Sellest mustast mungast: \u00fcks kroonika elust, surmast ja ajast ning inimestest selle sees. I<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1957, 291 lk. [J\u00e4rgnevad tr\u00fckid: \u2018Sellest mustast mungast\u2019 I-II, Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1998, 375 lk; \u2018Sellest mustast mungast\u2019 I-II, Tallinn: Eesti P\u00e4evaleht, 2008, 415 lk.]<\/span>
Sellest mustast mungast: \u00fcks kroonika elust, surmast ja ajast ning inimestest selle sees. II<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1958, 326 lk. [J\u00e4rgnevad tr\u00fckid: \u2018Sellest mustast mungast\u2019 I-II, Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1998, 375 lk; \u2018Sellest mustast mungast\u2019 I-II, Tallinn: Eesti P\u00e4evaleht, 2008, 415 lk.] <\/span>
Ohvrilaev<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv 1960, 265 lk. [J\u00e4rgnev tr\u00fckk: Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1992, 165 lk.] <\/span>
Ainult ajutiseks<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1964, 256 lk. <\/span>
Pagejad<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv 1971, 255 lk. <\/span>
\u00a0<\/span>
Short stories <\/span><\/em><\/strong>
Lumikellukeste s\u00fcnd<\/strong>. Tallinn: Loodus, 1940, 28 lk. [Lastejutt.] <\/span>
Vana Toomas<\/strong>. Tallinn: Eesti Kirjastus, 1944, 62 lk. [\u2018J\u00e4rgnev tr\u00fckk: Vana Toomase legend\u2019, Tallinn: Grenader, 2012, 64 lk.] <\/span>
Vaikija. Jutte ja legende Vana-Tallinnast<\/strong>. Vadstena: Orto, 1947, 256 lk. <\/span>
Raekooli \u00f5pilane<\/strong>. Stockholm: Eesti Raamat, 1948, 103 lk. <\/span>
Minni ja Miku: kaks v\u00f6\u00f6toravat<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1968, 71 lk. [Lastejutt.] <\/span>
J\u00e4relp\u00f5imik<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1979, 200 lk. [Novellid ja n\u00e4idendid.] <\/span>
\u00d6\u00f6 n\u00f5iapoes<\/strong>. Toimetanud Rein P\u00f5der, j\u00e4rels\u00f5na: Maire Liivamets Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 2002, 317 lk. [Sari \u2018Eesti novellivara\u2019.] <\/span>
\u00a0<\/span>
Plays<\/span><\/em><\/strong>
\u00dcleliigne inimene. N\u00e4idend Juhan Liivist kolmes vaatuses<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1972, 80 lk.<\/span>
J\u00e4relp\u00f5imik<\/strong>. J\u00e4rels\u00f5na: Arvo M\u00e4gi. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1979, 200 lk. [Novellid ja n\u00e4idendid.]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Novels\u00a0 Short stories About Gert Helbem\u00e4e Gert Helbem\u00e4e (born as Einborn, 10. XI \/ 28. X 1913 \u2013 15. VII 1974) is known mainly for historical novels and short stories, but also for plays for stage and radio.\u00a0He was born …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"parent":599,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1407","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1407"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3666,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1407\/revisions\/3666"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}