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Estonian writer and politician
Karl Ast
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![A young white man with longish tousled hair, wearing a dark jacket and a white shirt](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/KarlAst1905.png/220px-KarlAst1905.png) Karl Ast in a photo first published in 1905, from a 1936 book
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Born
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1886-02-19
)
February 19, 1886
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Died
| July 9, 1971
(1971-07-09)
(aged 85)
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Nationality
| Estonian
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Other names
| Karl Rumor
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Occupation(s)
| writer, politician
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Karl Ast
(pseudonym:
Karl Rumor
, 19 February 1886 ? 9 July 1971) was an
Estonian
writer and politician.
[1]
Life
[
edit
]
Ast's older brother,
Gottlieb Ast
, was the mayor of
Tallinn
in 1919. Karl attended the renowned
Hugo Treffner Gymnasium
in
Tartu
. Ast supported the
Russian Revolution of 1905
and was imprisoned in
Riga
for a period from 1907 to 1910 as a result of his criticism of the authoritarian regime of the
Tsar
. He participated in the
First World War
in the
Russian Imperial Army
.
With the attainment of independence of the
Republic of Estonia
, Karl Ast entered politics. He was a member of the
Estonian Constituent Assembly
in 1919. From 1919 to 1933 he was a member of the Estonian Parliament (
Riigikogu
). Between 1933 and 1939 he traveled the world (including the capitals of Europe, North Africa, India, Japan, China) and had written numerous travel accounts and reports. In 1939 he was Estonian press attache in
Sweden
.
During the
Second World War
, Karl Ast emigrated from Europe, settling in
Brazil
, then in
Canada
and eventually in the
U.S.
He served with the
Estonian government in exile
until 1959.
Literary work
[
edit
]
Karl Ast's literary debut came in 1911, shortly after his release from Tzarist imprisonment with the short story collection
Saased tormis
(The mosquitoes in the storm). In 1923/24 he was chairman of the
Estonian Writers' Union
. In addition to numerous short stories he wrote a novel (Krutsifiks, 1960), two volumes of memoirs and numerous travel books. His short stories made him one of the most popular exile writers of his time.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Saased tormis
(1911, short stories and sketches)
- Lumiste korguste poole
(1913, prose poem)
- Tuled sugis-oos
(1913, short stories)
- Tiibuse Jaagu kojutulek: traagikomoodia 1 vaatuses
(1920, under the pseudonym Kaarlo Orawa)
- Siiruviiruline: novellid ja vested
(1921, short stories)
- Murgine vili. Soja ja revolutsiooni novellid
(1926, short stories)
- Sammud kaduvikku'
(1928, short stories)
- Valge naine: romantiline draama kolmes vaatuses
(1928, romantic drama)
- Kui Saara naerab
(1929, erotic short stories)
- Palava paikese ja fanaatilise usu maal: reisukirjad Tseilonist ja Indiast
(1930/31, travel reports)
- Allah ja ta rahvas: tahelepanekuid ja elamusi Marokos
(1936, travelogue)
- Kahe tule vahel
(1943, a political treatise)
- Uned ja mured
(1953, short stories)
- Kuldlind
(1959, short stories)
- Krutsifiks. Jutustus inimhingede pouast ja polemisest
(1960, novel)
- Tuuleviiul
(1962, short stories)
- Aegade sadestus
(1963?65, memories, two volumes)
- Liivakella all
(1971, short stories)
- Peeglite vahel
(1991, short stories)
- Polevad laevad
(1995, story)
- Maailma lopus
(2007, essays, edited by
Hando Runnel
)
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Arvo Magi,
Estonian literature: an outline
, Baltic Humanitarian Association, 1968
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