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Poet

Hasso Krull

Hasso Krull

Hasso Krull

(Estonia, 1964)
Biography
Hasso Krull is one of the most important writers and thinkers to emerge from Estonia since the country regained independence in 1991. Krull’s poetry is strongly rooted in the Estonian landscape, but reaches far beyond regional concerns due to its attention to the details of modern life and the intellect of the poet, who demonstrates a wide range of influences, from the philosophy of Derrida to the oral trickster tales of the Winnebago people of North America. With an extremely light hand, Krull crafts poems that seem straightforward and accessible but have a remarkable depth upon close study. In recent years, Krull has been strongly attracted to mythologies, creation stories and cosmology, all of which exert a strong influence on his work and resulted in a long essay, ‘The Pleasure of Creation’, about ancient Estonian religion and trickster tales.
Krull’s interest in mythologies and creation stories grows in part from his personal belief that all of a culture’s literatures, whether oral or written, Christian or pagan, are important; for Krull, the culture that grows out of urban and intellectual centres is no more or less important than that of the pre-urban era, or of the modern rural community.

Among his numerous books of poetry are Meeter and Demeeter (Meter and Demeter, 2004); Talv (Winter, 2006); and Neli korda neli (Four times four, 2009). He has also published essays in journals and periodicals, some of which were collected in the books Millimallikas (Medusa, 2000) and Paljusus ja ainulisus (Plurality and Singularity, 2009). In addition, Krull is a translator of Jacques Derrida, Paul Valéry, Allen Ginsberg and other well-known writers and philosophers. Among his awards and grants are a Baltic Assembly Writing Award; two Essay Awards and two Poetry Awards of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia; a Juhan Liiv Poetry Award; an Ivar Ivask Memorial Grant and a teaching award from Tallinn University.

Krull’s is a surprising and unique literature that has begun to draw international attention. His work has been translated into numerous languages, including Finnish, Swedish, English, French, German, Spanish, and Russian.
© Brandon Lussier
Hasso Krull was a guest at the 41st Poetry International Festival. This text was written for that occasion.

Bibliography

Poetry

Mustvalge, Eesti Raamat, Tallin, 1986
Pihlakate meri, Eesti Raamat, Tallinn, 1988
Luuletused 1987-1991, Vagabun, Tallinn, 1993
Swinburne, Tallinn, 1995
Kaalud, Vagabund, Tallinn, 1997
Jazz, Vagabund, Tallinn, 1999
Kornukoopia, Vagabund, Tallinn, 2001
Meeter ja Demeeter, Vagabund, Tallinn, 2004
Talv, Tuum, Tallinn, 2006
Neli korda neli, Eesti Keele Sihtasutus, Tallinn 2009

Nonfiction

Katkestuse kultuur, Vagabund, Tallin, 1996
Millimallikas, Vagabund, Tallinn, 2000
Loomise mõnu ja kiri, Perioodika, Tallinn, 2006
Paljusus ja ainulisus, Eesti Keele Sihtasutus, Tallinn, 2009

Translations (into Estonian)

Bataille,  Georges. Madame Edwarda and Story of the Eye, ETF, Tallinn, 1993
Derrida, Jacques.  Positions, Vagabund, Tallinn, 1995
Valéry, Paul. Mr. Teste, Vagabund, Tallinn, 1995
Cocteau, Jean. Opium, Veljesto, Tartu, 1997
Deleuze, Gilles and Guattari, Félix. Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature, Vagabund, Tallinn, 1998
Bourdieu, Pierre. On Television, Perioodika, Tallinn, 1999
Bhatt, Sujata. The Fox and the Angel, Varrak, Tallinn, 2002
Žižek, Slavoy. The Sublime Object of Ideology, Vagabund, Tallinn, 2003
Ginsberg, Allen et. al. , America, Perioodika, Tallinn, 2003
Vembuvana, Jänes. Winnebago Trickster Tales, Perioodika, Tallinn, 2004
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