{"id":1552,"date":"2024-04-03T23:41:31","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T20:41:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/malk\/"},"modified":"2025-05-05T09:10:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T06:10:31","slug":"malk","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/m\/malk\/","title":{"rendered":"August M\u00e4lk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Novels <\/span><\/strong><\/a>\"August<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Plays<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About August M\u00e4lk<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

August M\u00e4lk (4. X \/ 21.IX 1900 \u2013 19. XII 1987) was one of the most acclaimed prose writers among his generation of exiled Estonians.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was born in the coastal village of Koovi in L\u00fcmanda parish in Saaremaa. He attended the local school, later L\u00fcmanda village school and Kuressaare county school. He acquired teaching qualifications by special courses and at the University of Tartu. He worked as a teacher and schoolmaster at various places on Saaremaa. He was a member of the National Assembly and its first Chamber of Deputies, and deputy chairman of the Tallinn Writers\u2019 Society. He was a member of the Estonian Writers\u2019 Union from 1929, and of the Estonian Playwrights\u2019 Union from 1936. In 1944 he and his family fled to Sweden, where he worked as an archivist and librarian. He was one of the founders of the Estonian Writers\u2019 Union Abroad and its first chairman from 1945 to 1982. He died in Stockholm, and was buried in the Woodland Cemetery there.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M\u00e4lk was an extremely productive author, publishing works of fiction in periodicals from 1919. M\u00e4lk\u2019s debut was in the compilation of young writers Aktsioon<\/em> (\u2018Campaign\u2019) in 1926, where his short story about the leprosy Surnu surm<\/em> (\u2018Death of the Dead\u2019) was published. His first sizeable work was the summer vacation novel Kesaliblik<\/em> (\u2018The Butterfly\u2019, 1926), followed by the short story collection Anne-Marie<\/em> (1927). Prominent among the works of his earlier period are the aforementioned \u2018Surnu surm\u2019 and the story \u2018Surnud elu\u2019 (\u2018Dead Life\u2019, 1929). He gained recognition and greater attention in the mid-nineteen-thirties for his realistic depiction of life on the coast of Saaremaa. A central place in his work is held by the novels depicting a contemporary coastal village, \u00d5itsev meri<\/em> (\u2018Flourishing Sea\u2019, 1935), Taeva palge all<\/em> (\u2018Under the Beam of the Sky\u2019, 1937), Hea sadam<\/em> (\u2018A Good Harbour\u2019, 1942), the short story collection Rannajutud<\/em> (\u2018Coastal Tales\u2019, 1936) and the play Mees merelt<\/em> (\u2018The Man from the Sea\u2019, 1935). The characters typical of M\u00e4lk who reside in a coastal village, and the atmosphere of a village by the seaside, with vivid details, are clearly evident in \u00d5itsev meri<\/em>; subsequent works vary greatly the motifs and subjects of this novel. There is an appreciation of the harmony of coastal life, of the quality of life with its time-worn habits and customs, and a sense of homeliness. M\u00e4lk has been called a good storyteller, who knew how to fascinate his readers with portrayals of everyday life.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M\u00e4lk was also one of the practitioners of the historical novel that rose to prominence in the nineteen-thirties; in 1934 his novel Surnud majad<\/em> (\u2018Dead Houses\u2019), set at the time of the Great Northern War, appeared; in 1936 came the novel of Estonian Vikings, L\u00e4\u00e4nemere isandad<\/em> (\u2018Masters of the Baltic Sea\u2019), which tells the story of the destruction of Sigtuna by the warriors from Saaremaa in 1187. The treatment given in the work fits into a paradigm of heroicizing the past of the Estonians and promoting national pride that was very popular at the time.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jutte lindudest<\/em> (\u2018Stories about Birds\u2019, 1934), written for young people, is based on the author\u2019s observations on the island of Vilsandi.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a playwright he achieved success with his colourful characters and folksy dialogue in the comedies Vaese mehe ututall<\/em> (\u2018The Poor Man\u2019s Yeanling\u2019, 1932) and Neitsid lampidega<\/em> (\u2018Girls with lamps\u2019, 1933). Also popular were the coastal-themed Mees merelt<\/em> (\u2018The Man from the Sea\u2019) and the comedy H\u00e4da \u00f5nnega<\/em> (\u2018Trouble with Good Luck\u2019, 1937), which appeared under the pseudonym Juhan Kihulane; his other plays went largely unnoticed.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the first years of exile M\u00e4lk depicted \u2013 like many other exiled writers did \u2013 the events of the Second World War and the flight into exile and adaptation to a new homeland, as in the novels \u00d6ised linnud<\/em> (\u2018Night Birds\u2019, 1945) and Kodumaata<\/em> (\u2018No Homeland\u2019, 1947). In exile M\u00e4lk\u2019s novels become psychologically deeper, such as the major work of M\u00e4lk\u2019s later period, the two-volume novel Tee kaevule<\/em> (\u2018The Road to the Well\u2019, 1952-1953), which follows the internal searchings of a school headmaster and educationist. The novel Kevadine maa<\/em> (\u2018Land in Spring\u2019, 1963) offers an insight into contemporary Swedish life. His last book, the short-story collection Projekt Viktoria<\/em> (\u2018Project Viktoria\u2019, 1978), represents a thoroughly new trend in M\u00e4lk\u2019s work, in the genre of science fiction.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his creative career M\u00e4lk has earned various marks of recognition, such as the Estonian President\u2019s Third Prize for the novel Surnud majad<\/em> in 1935, and Second Prize for \u00d5itsev meri<\/em> (1936), also the Third Prize of the Young Estonia publishing house for Rannajutud<\/em> in 1937. He won the Bank of Estonia award for Rannajutud<\/em> and L\u00e4\u00e4nemere isandad<\/em> in 1937, for Taeva palge all<\/em> in 1938 and for Mere tuultes<\/em> (\u2018In the Sea Winds\u2019) in 1939. The greatest recognition during the First Republic came to M\u00e4lk in 1937 from the President-Regent (i. e. the former Head of State and the Future President Konstantin P\u00e4ts), the Lagle farm near Tallinn (present-day \u00d5ism\u00e4e). In exile he won the Henrik Visnapuu Literature Prize for the novel Tee kaevule<\/em> in 1953.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A. K. (Translated by C. M.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Books in Estonian<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Novels<\/em><\/strong>
Kesaliblik<\/strong>. Tartu: S\u00f5navara, 1926, 162 lk.
\u00d5nnepagulane<\/strong>. Tartu: Noor-Eesti, 1928, 246 lk.
Hukkumine<\/strong>. Tartu: Noor-Eesti, 1928, 526 lk.
L\u00e4bi \u00f6\u00f6<\/strong>. Tartu: Tapper, 1929, 402 lk.
Kivine pesa<\/strong>. Tallinn: Aktsioon, 1932, 280 lk. [2. tr\u00fckk: 1966.]\u00a0
\u00dcks neistsinatseist<\/strong>. Tallinn: Aktsioon, 1933, 215 lk.
Surnud majad<\/strong>. Tartu: Loodus, 1934, 223 lk. [J\u00e4rgnevad tr\u00fckid: 1947, 1997.]
\u00d5itsev meri<\/strong>. Tartu: Noor-Eesti, 1935, 331 lk. [J\u00e4rgnevad tr\u00fckid: 1936, 1948, 1983, 2008.]
L\u00e4\u00e4nemere isandad<\/strong>. Tartu: Noor-Eesti, 1936, 518 lk [J\u00e4rgnevad tr\u00fckid: 1951, 2000, 2008.]
Taeva palge all<\/strong>. Tartu: Noor-Eesti, 1937, 356 lk. [J\u00e4rgnevad tr\u00fckid: 1938, 1950, 1988, 2009.]
Kivid tules<\/strong>. Tallinn: Kultuurkoondis, 1939, 301 lk.
Hea sadam<\/strong>. Tallinn: Eesti Kirjastus, 1942, 337 lk. \u00a0[J\u00e4rgnevad tr\u00fckid: 1946, 1971, 2009.]\u00a0
\u00d6ised linnud<\/strong>. Vadstena: Orto, 1945, 320 lk.
Kodumaata<\/strong>. Vadstena: Orto, 1947, 382 lk.
Tee kaevule I<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1952, 434 lk. [2. tr\u00fckk: 2001.]
Tee kaevule II<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1953, 384 lk. [2. tr\u00fckk: 2001.]
P\u00e4ike k\u00fcla kohal<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1957, 391 lk. [2. tr\u00fckk: 1996.]
Toomas Tamm<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1959, 352 lk. [2. tr\u00fckk: 2000.]
Kevadine maa<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1963, 327 lk. [2. tr\u00fckk: 1965.]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stories<\/em><\/strong>
Surnu surm<\/strong>. Tartu: S\u00f5navara, 1926, 32 lk.
Anne-Marie<\/strong>. Tartu: Noor-Eesti, 1927, 154 lk.
Surnud elu<\/strong>. Tartu: Noor-Eesti, 1929, 145 lk.
Jutte lindudest<\/strong>. Tallinn: E\u00d5L noorsookirjanduse toimkond, 1934, 127 lk. [J\u00e4rgnevad tr\u00fckid: 1959, 1982.]
Rannajutud<\/strong>. Tartu: Noor-Eesti, 1936, 173 lk. [J\u00e4rgnevad tr\u00fckid: 1937, 1960, 1991.]
Avatud v\u00e4rav<\/strong>. Lugu minevikust. Tartu: Noor-Eesti, 1937, 141 lk.
Mere tuultes<\/strong>. Tartu: Noor-Eesti, 1938, 216 lk.
Kadunud p\u00e4ike<\/strong>. Jutte minevikust. Tallinn: Eesti Kirjastus, 1943, 315 lk. [2. tr\u00fckk: 1970.]
Jumala tuultes<\/strong>. Vadstena: Orti, 1949, 317 lk.
Tuli sinu k\u00e4es<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1955, 327 lk.<\/span><\/span><\/span>
Mere annid. Rannajutte<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1960, 278 lk. [2. tr\u00fckk \u201cRannajuttudest\u201d, lisaks varem avaldamata loomingut samast ainevallast.]<\/span><\/span>
Jumalaga, meri!<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1967, 279 lk.
Projekt Victoria<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1978, 240 lk. [2. tr\u00fckk: 1998.]
Tere, meri!<\/strong>. Koostanud Aarne Vinkel. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1991, 325 lk. [Sari \u2018Eesti novellivara\u2019.]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plays<\/em><\/strong>
Moodne Kain<\/strong>. Tallinn: Eesti Haridusliit, 1930, 123 lk.
Vaese mehe utetall<\/strong>. Tallinn: Eesti Haridusliit, 1932, 134 lk.
Neitsid lampidega<\/strong>. Tallinn: Eesti Haridusliit, 1933, 110 lk.
Isade tee<\/strong>. Tallinn: Eesti Haridusliit, 1934, 152 lk.
Mees merelt<\/strong>. Tallinn: Autorikaitse \u00dching, 1935, 131 lk.
Vanakurja vokk<\/strong>. Tallinn: Autorikaitse \u00dching, 1936, 43 lk.
Juhan Kihulane, H\u00e4da \u00f5nnega<\/strong>. Tallinn: Autorikaitse \u00dching, 1937, 111 lk.
Sikud kaevul<\/strong>. Tallinn: Autorikaitse \u00dching, 1938, 102 lk.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Memoirs\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
Hommikust keskp\u00e4evani. Elupilte ja m\u00e4lestusi<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1972, 271 lk.
Peale p\u00e4evap\u00f6\u00f6ret. M\u00f5tteid ja m\u00e4lestusi<\/strong>. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1976, 304 lk.
<\/span><\/span><\/span>Hommikust keskp\u00e4evani<\/strong>: elupilte ja m\u00e4lestusi. Tartu: Ilmamaa, 2022, 374 lk.
Peale p\u00e4evap\u00f6\u00f6ret<\/strong>: m\u00f5tteid ja m\u00e4lestusi. Tartu: Ilmamaa, 2023, 391 lk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About August M\u00e4lk<\/em><\/strong>
Raimond Kolk, August M\u00e4lk<\/strong>. L\u00fchimonograafia. Lund: Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv, 1964, 63 lk.
August M\u00e4lk. Personaalnimestik<\/strong>. Koostanud Anne Valmas. Tallinn: Eesti Teaduste Akadeemia Raamatukogu, 1991, 193 lk.
Aarne Vinkel, August M\u00e4lk<\/strong>. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1993, 238 lk. [2., parandatud ja t\u00e4iendatud tr\u00fckk: 1997.]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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