{"id":191,"date":"2024-04-03T23:39:29","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T20:39:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/reinraud\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T00:09:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T21:09:49","slug":"reinraud","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/r\/reinraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Rein Raud"},"content":{"rendered":"

Poems<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0\"Rein<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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

Non-fiction<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Rein Raud<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rein Raud (b. 21. XII 1961) is a poet, prose-writer, Japanologist and translator.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was born in Tallinn, the son of the writers Eno Raud<\/a> and Aino Pervik<\/a>. From 1969 to 1980 he attended Tallinn 7th Secondary School and from 1980 to 1985 he studied Japanese philology in the faculty of oriental studies at the Leningrad State University. From 1985 to 1987 Raud was dramaturge at the Tallinn Puppet Theatre, from 1988 to 1989 the chief expert on foreign literature of the State Committee on Culture of the Estonian SSR (later the Ministry of Culture) and from 1989 to 1998 the chairman of the Board of the Estonian Institute of Humanities. Raud defended his doctorate with the study \u201cThe Role of Poetry in Classical Japanese Literature: A Code and Discursivity Analysis\u201d at the University of Helsinki in 1994, and was Professor of Japanese Language and Culture there from 1995 to 2016. Raud was Rector of the University of Tallinn from 2006 to 2011. His brother is the musician, presenter and writer Mihkel Raud<\/a> and his sister is the children\u2019s author Piret Raud<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raud made his debut in 1973 with a prose piece, after which he published short prose in the journals Noorus<\/em> and Looming, and in the anthology Viis t\u00fcdrukut ja kaheksa poissi<\/em> (\u2018Five Girls and Eight Boys\u2019, 1977), and Noori autoreid \u2019<\/span><\/span>77<\/em> (\u2018Young Authors \u201977\u2019, 1979). Raud later became a prolific author in all the main spheres of literature.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raud\u2019s work as a whole, but especially his poetry, has gained impulses from various periods in world literature. His poetry is diverse in form; he has written sonnets and verses in terza rima<\/em>, and followed other classical European verse forms, while at the same time influences from Japanese poetry are notable. In his collections there are long poems and cycles of verse, in which the epical and the lyrical blend into a whole. Sometimes he has smootly added to his classical poetic forms (such as sonnets) passages of free prose.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a prose-writer Raud has taken up historical subject matter in several instances. In the novel Kaupo<\/em> (1990) the fate of the Livonian chieftain is followed from the standpoint of the protagonist himself. Ratsanik Melchior<\/em> (\u2018Melchior the Horseman\u2019, 1991) is written in the style of a mediaeval adventure story. It is regarded as one of the most outstanding Estonian fantasy novels. The essay-novel called Hector ja Bernard<\/em> (\u2018Hector and Bernard\u2019, 2004) concentrates on the dialogue between two intellectual friends and their contacts with a muse. This work won the Estonian Literature Endowment Annual Award for literature. Raud has also written a short novel influenced by \u2018spaghetti westerns\u2019, Vend<\/em> (\u2018The Brother\u2019, 2008). A trend toward magic realism is evinced in the novel Hotell Amalfi<\/em> (\u2018Hotel Amalfi\u2019, 2011), the short-story collection Vanem paksem tigedam<\/em> (\u2018Older Fatter Angrier\u2019, 2013) and the long historical novel Kell ja haamer<\/em> (\u2018Bell and Hammer\u2019, 2017). The novel Rekonstruktsioon<\/em> (\u2018The Reconstruction\u2019, 2012) deals with the dangers arising from (new) religious extremism. T\u00e4iusliku lause surm<\/em> (\u2018The Death of the Perfect Sentence\u2019, 2015) is a spy novel, dealing with the end of the Soviet period and the transition era in Estonia, and the attempts by the KGB and apparatus of repression to corrupt people intellectually and morally.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The novel P\u00e4ikesekiri (\u2018The Sun Script\u2019, 2021) is set during the Russian Revolution, when the intertwining of the destinies of the two main characters \u2013 an Estonian woman and a Japanese man \u2013 reflects on the deeper similarities and connections between Estonian and Japanese culture. The novel Katkurong (\u2018Plague Train\u2019, 2023) is also set in the final years of Tsarist Russia, when a medical assistant of Estonian origin travels to Manchuria on a special train to eliminate the consequences of the plague epidemic. In parallel, the action also takes place 20 years later in Estonia, when the main character has become a medical assistant of Patarei Prison in Tallinn and the world is once again racing towards revolutionary times. Katkurong was awarded the Baltic Assembly Literary Prize and the Tammsaare<\/a> Prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raud has also published a book of plays, Minotaurus. K\u00f5nelev puu<\/em> (\u2018Minotaur. The Talking Tree\u2019, 1988), in which the first play follows the Cretan myth and its characters. As a polyglot, Raud has translated poetry from many languages (Lithuanian, French, Italian, Swahili and others); particularly important are his numerous translations from classical Japanese. He has also published the monographs on culture Mis on kultuur?. Sissejuhatus kultuuriteooriatesse<\/em> (\u2018What is Culture? An Introduction to Cultural Theories\u2019, 2013), Meaning in Action: Outline of an Integral Theory of Culture (in English 2016, in Estonian 2018) and Asian worldviews: religions, philosophies, political theorie (in English and in Estonian in 2021), as well as the monographs on philosophy: Being in flux: a post-anthropocentric ontology of the self (in English and in Estonian in 2021) and The linguistic carnival of thought: comparative philosophy and the dynamics of language (in English 2025) which argues that philosophizing is strongly influenced by language structures. Raud has also published a correspondence with the renowned Polish philosopher Zygmunt Bauman Practices of Self (in English 2015, in Estonian 2016). Rein Raud has actively taken up his pen in polemics on social issues. In his views he tends toward the social-democratic.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I. M. (Translated by C. M.)<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n


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

Poems<\/em><\/strong>
Paljajalu<\/strong>. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1981, 64 lk.
Kestmine tuleb seest<\/strong>. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1983, 47 lk.
Lumme mattunud<\/strong>. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1987, 97 lk.
Kaks k\u00fc\u00fcnalt<\/strong>. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1990, 86 lk.
Unelindude rasked saapad<\/strong>. Tallinn: N\u00e4o Kirik, 2016, 86 lk.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Novels<\/em><\/strong>
Kaupo<\/strong>. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1990, 142 lk.
Ratsanik Melchior<\/strong>. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1991, 206 lk. [2. tr\u00fckk: 2016.]
Hector ja Bernard<\/strong>: esseeromaan. Tallinn: Tuum, 2004, 231 lk.
Hotell Amalfi<\/strong>. Tallinn: Tuum, 2011, 163 lk.
Rekonstruktsioon<\/strong>. Tallinn: Mustvalge Kirjastus, 2012, 263 lk.
T\u00e4iusliku lause surm<\/strong>. Tallinn: Mustvalge Kirjastus, 2015, 175 lk.
Kell ja haamer<\/strong>. Tallinn: Mustvalge Kirjastus, 2017, 425 lk.
Viimane kustutab tule<\/strong>. Tallinn: Salv, 2018, 191 lk.
P\u00e4ikesekiri<\/strong>. Tallinn: Salv, 2021, 404 lk.
Katkurong<\/strong>. Tallinn: Salv, 2023, 254 lk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Short stories<\/em><\/strong>
K\u00e4gude \u00f6\u00f6<\/strong>. Tallinn: Kupar, 1995, 187 lk.
Pisiasjad, mis omavad t\u00e4htsust<\/strong>. Tallinn: Tuum, 2000, 119 lk.
Vend<\/strong>. Tallinn: Tuum, 2008, 115 lk.
Vanem Paksem Tigedam<\/strong>. Tallinn: Mustvalge Kirjastus, 2013, 165 lk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plays<\/em><\/strong>
Minotauros. K\u00f5nelev puu<\/strong>. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1988, 79 lk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Non-fiction<\/em><\/strong>
Mis on kultuur?. Sissejuhatus kultuuriteooriatesse<\/strong>. Tallinn: Tallinna \u00dclikooli Kirjastus; Eesti Keele Sihtasutus, 2013, 456 lk.
Zygmunt Bauman, Rein Raud, Iseduse praktikad<\/strong>. Tallinn: Tallinna \u00dclikooli Kirjastus, 2016, 228 lk.
Maailmakirjandus XIX sajandi l\u00f5puni: g\u00fcmnaasiumi\u00f5pik<\/strong>. Tallinn: Maurus, 2017, 208 lk. [J\u00e4rgnevad tr\u00fckid: 2021, 2024.]
T\u00e4henduste keeris: tervikliku kultuuriteooria visand<\/strong>. Tallinn: Tallinna \u00dclikooli Kirjastus, 2018, 311 lk.
T\u00e4iused ja t\u00fchjused: l\u00fchi\u00fclevaade Aasia m\u00f5tteloost<\/strong>. Tallinn: TL\u00dc Kirjastus, 2021, 330 lk.
Olemise voog: post-antropotsentriline iseduse ontoloogia<\/strong>. Tallinn: Tallinna \u00dclikooli Kirjastus, 2021, 400 lk.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Poems\u00a0 Novels Short stories Non-fiction About Rein Raud Rein Raud (b. 21. XII 1961) is a poet, prose-writer, Japanologist and translator. He was born in Tallinn, the son of the writers Eno Raud and Aino Pervik. From 1969 to 1980 …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"parent":686,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-191","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/191","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=191"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9453,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/191\/revisions\/9453"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}