Mati Sirkel
Career
He was born in Paide. In 1972 he graduated from Tartu State University with a degrees in literary theory and German philology. From 1972 until 1975, he worked as a junior researcher at the Institute of Language and Literature. Beginning in 1975, he worked for a year at the Estonian Literary Museum. From 1976 until 1979, he worked at the publishing house Perioodika. Since 1982 he is a professional translator. In 1989, he joined the Estonian Writers' Union, in 1990, he became the secretary of the union, and from 1995 until 2004, the chairman of the board.[1]
In October 1980, Sirkel was a signatory of the Letter of 40 Intellectuals, a public letter in which forty prominent Estonian intellectuals defended the Estonian language and protested the Russification policies of the Kremlin in Estonia. The signatories also expressed their unease against Republic-level government in harshly dealing with youth protests in Tallinn that were sparked a week earlier due to the banning of a public performance of the punk rock band Propeller.[2]
Sirkel has translated almost half a hundred works from German, English, Modern Greek, Swedish and Dutch. Notable translations have been works by Elias Canetti, Peter Handke, Alfred Kubin, Günter Grass, Rainer Maria Rilke, Fritz von Herzmanovsky-Orlando, Thomas Bernhard, Robert Musil, Friedrich Hölderlin, Ilse Aichinger, and Elfriede Gerstl. He has translated all the literary texts of Franz Kafka into Estonian.[3]
In the early 1980s, he translated a large number of Carl Michael Bellman's songs from Swedish, and together with Ott Arder he translated Bellman's stories into Fredman's Epistles & Songs, as well as the wrote foreword to the book. In addition, Sirkel has also translated scientific literature, including Johan Huizinga's The Task of Cultural History. A Selection of Articles, Essays, Speeches.[3]
Personal life
Sirkel is married to jewelry artist Kadri Mälk.[4]
Selected works
- Orva-aastad (2004)
- Uued orva-aastad (2009)
- Vanad vastuseta küsimused (2014)
- Kuhu me siis läheme? – Eks ikka koju (2016)
Awards
- Order of the White Star, V Class (2001) [5]
- Estonian Cultural Endowment Annual Literature Award (2006)
- Order of the National Coat of Arms, IV Class (2006) class[6]
- Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (2009)
- Friedrich-Gundolf-Preis (2013)
- Cultural Prize of the Republic of Estonia (2014)
References
- "Nädala autor: Mati Sirkel". luts.ee. Archived from the original on 2007-09-18.
- "Parteitöötaja meenutab: Neljakümne kiri 1980 ja EKP keskkomitee reageering sellele". Eesti Naine (in Estonian). 27 August 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- Helme, Peeter (11 October 2019). "Mati Sirkel: minu tegevuse eesmärk on vaikne vastupanu". Postimees (in Estonian). Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- Peegel, Mari (30 September 2016). "Kadri Mälk: kivi on metsik nagu loom". Eesti Päevaleht (in Estonian). Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- "Teenetemärkide kavalerid". www.president.ee. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- "Teenetemärkide kavalerid". www.president.ee. Retrieved 3 March 2022.