Jaan Kaplinski

Jaan Kaplinski (born January 22, 1941, Tartu) is an Estonian poet, philosopher, and culture critic. Kaplinski is known for his independent mind, focus on global issues and support for left-wing/liberal thinking. He has been deeply influenced by Eastern philosophical schools (taoism and especially buddhism).

Kaplinski studied languages and linguistics at Tartu University, graduating as a French philologist in 1966, and has worked as a translator, editor, and sociologist, until the sociology laboratory was banned at the university by the Soviet authorities.

Writings

Kaplinski has published numerous collections of poems, prose, and essays. He has translated writings from French, English, Spanish, Chinese, including the Tao Te Ching, and Swedish, the work of Tomas Tranströmer.

Kaplinski's own work has been translated into Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, Icelandic, Hungarian, Japanese, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, Bulgarian, and Czech. His essays deal with environmental problems, philosophy of language, classical Chinese poems, philosophy, buddhism, and Estonian nationalism.

Kaplinski was one of the authors and initiators of the so-called "Letter by the Forty" ("Neljakümne kiri") action. A letter signed by well-known Estonian intellectuals protesting against the behaviour of the authorities in Soviet-annexed Estonia was sent to the main newspapers of the time. Although not openly dissident, the letter was never published in the press at that time and those who signed were repressed using administrative measures.

Politics

He was member of Riigikogu (the Estonian parliament) from 1992 to 1995. He was originally a candidate on the Centre Party list, but soon became an independent representative. Since 2004 he has been a member of the Estonian Social Democratic Party. In the 2005, the local government elections he ran in Tartu and was ESDP's first candidate in their list. Jaan Kaplinski was elected as the second Social Democrat candidate (Estonia is using open list system in local elections), collecting 1,045 votes. [http://www.vvk.ee/k05/tulemus/tulbad_1217000000_eng.html] Jaan Kaplinski was one of those intellectuals who supported Toomas Hendrik Ilves' candidature.

Family

Jaan Kaplinski's mother was Estonian and his father Polish. His father was arrested and killed by the Soviets during the first Soviet occupation in Estonia. Jaan Kaplinski has a daughter from the marriage to his first wife Küllike. He has four sons, including Lauris Kaplinski. Jaan's wife Tiia Toomet is also a writer.

Poems

*'The East West Border...'

External links

* [http://jaan.kaplinski.com/index.html Kaplinski's homepage, includes writings in English]
* [http://www.einst.ee/literary/spring98/06transc.htm The Transcendence of Jaan Kaplinski’s Poetry by Jüri Talvet]
* [http://www.einst.ee/literary/spring98/06harem.htm From harem to brothel by Jaan Kaplinski (On artists in the post-communist world)]
* [http://www.litterature-estonienne.com/sommalpha.html www.litterature-estonienne.com]