Juhan Liiv

Liiv, Juhan 

Born Apr. 18 (30), 1864, in the volost (small rural district) of Alatskivi, now in Tartu Raion; died Nov. 18 (Dec. 1), 1913, in the volost of Kavastu, now in Tartu Raion. Estonian writer. Son of a poor peasant.

Liiv studied at a church school and became a journalist. His first works were published in 1885. He won fame for his collection Ten Stories (1893) and the novellas The Cuckoo From Kja-kimjaä (1893), The Shed (1894), and The Sorcerer’s Daughter (1895). Liiv emerged in these works as a precursor of Estonian critical realism and an artist with a profound knowledge of contemporary village life. His short pieces are collected in From the Depths of Life (1910), and his verse in Poems (1909). Liiv’s great poetic talent was not fully appreciated until after his death.

WORKS

Kogutud teosed, vols. 1–8. Tartu, 1921–35.
Luuletused. Tallinn, 1969.
Proosa. Tallinn, 1973.
In Russian translation:
Izbr. stikhotvoreniia. Tallinn, 1933.
Povesti i rasskazy. Tallinn, 1954.
Stikhotvoreniia. Moscow, 1962. (Preface by D. Vaarandi.)

REFERENCES

Vinkel, A. “Zhizn’ i tvorchestvo Iukhana Liiva.” In the collection Obestonskoi literature. Tallinn, 1956.
Tuglas, Fr. Juhan Liiv. Tallinn, 1958.
Vinkel, A. Juhan Liiv. Tallinn, 1964.