{"id":510,"date":"2024-04-03T23:39:55","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T20:39:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/haljak\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T16:48:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T13:48:43","slug":"haljak","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/h\/haljak\/","title":{"rendered":"Kristjan Haljak"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\u00a0\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\tKristjan Haljak (born 3 October 1990) is a poet and translator.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2009, he graduated from Tallinn French Lyceum and from 2009\u20132015 studied Romance languages at Tallinn University. In 2013\u20132014, he studied present-day literature within the Erasmus student exchange programme at Aix-Marseille University in France. He defended his master\u2019s degree at Tallinn University with the thesis L\u2019it\u00e9ration et les errements surr\u00e9alistes: la porte \u00e0 la clairi\u00e8re d\u2019Andres Ehin<\/em> (\u2018Iteration and surrealist wanderings: Andres Ehin<\/a>\u2018s door in the clearing\u2019) and his doctorate also at Tallinn University with the thesis Jaan Oks<\/a> ja Lautr\u00e9amont: \u00fcleastuv-tume kirjandus ja luulekeele revolutsioon<\/em> (\u2018Jaan Oks and Lautr\u00e9amont: Dark-transgressive literature and revolution in poetic language\u2019, 2025).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> He taught French language and literature at Tallinn Secondary School No. 32 in 2011\u20132012, at Tallinn French Lyceum in 2012\u20132016, and at Tallinn English College in 2017\u20132019. He is a member of the Estonian Writers\u2019 Union from 2017.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> In 2025, Kristjan Haljak was elected editor-in-chief of the English-language magazine EstLit, which introduces Estonian literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\tKristjan Haljak\u2019s first poetry collection Palavik<\/i> (\u2018Fever\u2019) appeared in the book series of the journal V\u00e4rske R\u00f5hk<\/i>. The collection was immediately associated with Surrealism; the book was also found to be fluctuating between two poles, one of which is the wish to tell a story (about an event or situation), the other \u2013 to play with sounds and free associations.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\tIn 2017, he published the books Conceptio Immaculata<\/i> and Uus inimene<\/i> (\u2018The New Human\u2019), which the critics again associated with avant-garde literature and late 19th century decadence. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The poetry collection Verlaine\u2019i revolver<\/i> (\u2018Verlaine\u2019s Revolver\u2019, 2018) begins with the description of Charles Baudelaire\u2019s dream which Haljak has modified, creating a mystification. The book contains many unrhymed sonnets about which the critic Rebekka Lotman has said that Haljak \u201cdemonstrates the prospects of the sonnet and poetry like no one has done in Estonian literature before.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> The collection Elektra domina<\/em> (2023) continues in the tradition of European classical avant-garde. The same can be said of Haljak\u2019s first prose book Relvad naistele<\/em> (\u2018Weapons for Women\u2019, 2025), which the author has called an \u201calchemical novel\u201d and which is full of references to mythology, philosophy, and European cultural history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\tIn his creation, Haljak boldly flirts with the decadent attitude to life and Surrealist methods and techniques. The characteristic features of his texts are frantic fervour and idiosyncratic suggestive rhythm.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\tKristjan Haljak has translated Charles Baudelaire\u2019s, Andr\u00e9 Breton\u2019s and Jean-Christophe Grang\u00e9\u2019s works from French and Charles Bukowski\u2019s books from English.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has received the Tallinn University Literary Award (2018, 2024) and the scholarship of the Siuru Foundation<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> (2018), the Cultural Endowment\u2019s \u2018Live and shine\u2019 scholarship (2020) and the journal Looming\u2019s Annual Award (2022). From 2025-2027 he is the receiver of the Writers\u2019 Salary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\tL. P. (Translated by I. A.)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Poetry<\/em><\/strong>
Palavik<\/strong>. Tartu: V\u00e4rske R\u00f5hk, 2014, 59 lk.
Conceptio immaculata<\/strong>: uuemate luuletuste kogu, mis k\u00f5rgestiaustatud Kristjan Haljak 2016. Issanda aastal k\u00f5igi muusade armastuse l\u00e4bi on kirja pannud ning n\u00fc\u00fcd meie armuliku lugeja lauale on j\u00f5udnud. Tallinn: Vihmakass ja Kakerdaja, 2017, 62 lk.
Uus inimene<\/strong>. Tallinn: Tuum, 2017, 111 lk.
Verlaine\u2019i revolver<\/strong>. Tallinn: Tuum, 2018, 91 lk.
Illuminatsioonid<\/strong>: luuletused 1974\u20131990. Tallinn: Tuum, 2020, 97 lk.
Warszawa Centralna<\/strong>. Tartu: Kaksikhammas, 2021, 63 lk.<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>
Elektra Domina<\/strong><\/strong>. Tartu: Kaksikhammas, 2023. 92 lk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Novels<\/strong><\/em>
Relvad naistele<\/strong><\/strong>. Tallinn: Kirjastus Kaksikhammas, 2025. 126 lk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dissertation<\/strong><\/em>
Jaan Oks ja Lautr\u00e9amont: \u00fcleastuv-tume kirjandus ja luulekeele revolutsioon<\/strong><\/strong>. Juhendaja: Daniele Monticelli. Tallinna \u00dclikool, 2024. 296 lk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Poems \u00a0 Kristjan Haljak (born 3 October 1990) is a poet and translator. In 2009, he graduated from Tallinn French Lyceum and from 2009\u20132015 studied Romance languages at Tallinn University. In 2013\u20132014, he studied present-day literature within the Erasmus student …<\/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-510","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/510","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=510"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11595,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/ewod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/510\/revisions\/11595"}],"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=510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}