Historical-literary tour “Traces of Poland in Tartu”
Tuesday, 7th May
13:00
Meeting at Toomemägi by the ruins of the cathedral
On this journey, we’ll seek signs of Poland’s relations with the city and people of Tartu over several centuries. The walk will pass through the city centre to the botanic garden (1.7 km) from Toomemägi. The tour will be led by Ülo Treikelder from Tartu Public Library and Ants Siim from Tartu City Museum. The walk is dedicated to the 440th anniversary of King Stefan Batory granting privileges to Tartu, including the assignment of the Polish flag. From 1582 to 1625, Tartu was the capital of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth’s Tartu (Dorpat) Voivodeship, to which King Stefan Batory granted special privileges in 1583 and the colours of the Tartu flag in 1584. The event is supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland.
Visiting the Writer of the Day Berit Petolai at Meoma: poetry, accordion music, village swing, and spring bonfire
Tuesday, 7th May
12:00–14:00
Meoma tavern
At the crossroads of four roads in Meoma village, in an old barn, there is a small tavern where Berit’s poetry will be recited, much of which has been inspired and created while wandering the paths of this same village. You can also listen to the spring singing, the trumpeting of cranes, and the buzzing of the Jew’s harp. Additionally, there’s a village swing and a spring bonfire on Meoma’s swing hill. You can purchase some snacks and beverages on-site, so bring cash along. Transportation to Meoma and back is available by festival bus; those interested in taking the bus are requested to register by May 6th here: https://forms.gle/8ne1dsag5kG3dy7Z7
Seats are limited! Public transportation is also available to Meoma, with an average travel time of 45 minutes, and the Meoma tavern is about 2 km from the bus stop.
Prima Vista Book Fair
Tuesday, 7th May
11:00–19:00
Town Hall Square
Special programs from Poland, children’s programs, book presentations, and dances. Read more!
“Living Library” for schoolchildren
Tuesday, 7th May
10:15–11:15
Tammelinn Library
In the “Living Library,” you can meet so-called living books, intriguing with their fascinating life stories or backgrounds. Each living book shares their personal experiences, profession, or interests in small groups, in several sessions. Engaging with living books broadens horizons and can also help make plans for the future. The concept of “Living Library” was first introduced in Estonia in 2006 as part of the European Council’s Europe’s campaign “All Different, All Equal.” The format was developed and piloted for the Roskilde Music Festival in Denmark in 2000, and since then, it has spread widely and found increasing usage worldwide.
Opening of the Poetry Exhibition “Window Towards Toomemägi”
Monday, May 6th
21:00
Professor’s Alley
Inspired by Toomemägi, many poems have been written in various languages, a selection of which is presented at the exhibition (curated by Mart Velsker). The opening will feature a poetry evening and picnic in the lantern light, both on the “slow death” alley and under the ruins of the cathedral.
Screening of the programme “Stalking Eastern Europe” film “The Sky Calls”
Monday, May 6th
20:00
Cinema theatre Elektriteater
Tartu Elektriteater presents: screening of the programme “Stalking Eastern Europe” film “The Sky Calls” (Ukraine, 1959; directors Mikhail Karyukov, Aleksandr Kozyr)
The film and the “Stalking Eastern Europe” programme will be introduced by science fiction literature expert Jüri Kallas. The introduction will be in Estonian and the film in Russian with subtitles in Estonian and English. Ticket €7, see elektriteater.ee
A dance performance: „Ma jään kaevu / juurde igavesti jooma“ (“I Will Stay at the Well / Drinking Forever”)
Monday, May 6th
19:00
Tartu New Theatre
Tartu New Theatre presents: „Ma jään kaevu / juurde igavesti jooma“ (“I Will Stay at the Well / Drinking Forever”)
A dance performance based on the poetry of Ene Mihkelson. Introduction and ticket information: https://www.uusteater.ee/lavastused/maret-joosep-ene
The dance performance ““I Will Stay at the Well / Drinking Forever” is based on Mihkelson’s poetry collections from 1978-2010 and aims to spatially recreate the lyrical tone of the poems, where the experience of the sole reader becomes more important than the story.
“If I bump against the air, then finally I can pass through it” writes Mihkelson herself. This is the poetry of inevitability, the expression of which is also inevitable.
We express endless movement, discontinuity and the search for continuity, dead ends and memory traces that merge into each other.
We give up words to experience poetry.
“The performance is English-friendly, there is no spoken text.”
Grand Futurological Congress: Halyna Kruk (Ukraine)
Monday, May 6th
19:00
The University of Tartu Library conference hall
Internationally acclaimed Ukrainian poet Halyna Kruk will converse with Maarja Kangro, the translator of her poems. Kangro was awarded the August Sang Translation Award last year for translating Kruk’s poem “The History of Humanity.” They will discuss how war changes the perception of the future and the vision of the future. Kruk’s poetry will be heard in Ukrainian as well as Estonian translation. The conversation will be in English, with simultaneous interpretation into Estonian.
Author’s Evening with German Writer Julia von Lucadou
Monday, May 6th
18:00
TYPA Gallery
The author of the dystopian novel “The High-Rise Diver” (“Die Hochhausspringerin,” Hanser 2018) will be in conversation with University of Tartu lecturer Hella Liira, with Estonian translation by Maarja Jakobson. The author’s evening is part of the Goethe Institute’s program “Ministry of Curiosity.”
Creative Writing Workshop “Writing as a Time Machine” with the Writer of the Day Meelis Friedenthal
Monday, May 6th
18:00
The University of Tartu Library Kodavere Room
Creative Writing Workshop “Writing as a Time Machine” with the Writer of the Day Meelis Friedenthal at the University of Tartu Library Kodavere Room
A 211. birthday: Kierkegaard of Denmark and the World –an event dedicated to the life and work of Søren Kierkegaard
Monday, May 6th
17:00
Culture Club Salong
On the 5th of May 1813, just as the Danish state goes bankrupt in the wake of the Napoleonic wars, Søren Kierkegaard is born. Instead of following in his father’s footsteps as a sock merchant, and despite dying at the age of 42, the melancholy, guilt-ridden and profound “Søren Sock” becomes one of the great European philosophers of his century, also known as the “father of existentialism”.
For his birthday, we will look at his life and work from different angles. At the University of
Tartu, Igor Ahmedov is writing his PhD on the topic of Kierkegaardian Theology of Education,
where he explores the idea that God is Education in the work of Søren Kierkegaard. American poet, translator, and Kierkegaard admirer Ilya Bernstein will read not from Kierkegaard’s ‘Repetition’, but from his own eponymous prose poem. Bernstein’s Danish translator and Danish language lecturer at the University of Tartu, Mie Mortensen, will introduce Kierkegaard’s role in Danish identity and the forms of repetition and education inherent in translation. The discussion will be held in English, moderated by Øyvind Rangøy.
The event is organised within the framework of the event series Café Norden by The Nordic Council of Ministries office in Estonia in cooperation with Tartu University’s Department of
Scandinavian Studies (Skandinavistik).
Grand Futurological Congress: Tõnis Vilu (Estonia)
Monday, May 6th
17:00
The University of Tartu Library conference hall
In the past fifteen years, Tõnis Vilu has been perhaps one the most influential poets in the Estonian literary landscape. He will deliver a presentation examining the development of a poet’s “late phase work” through various case studies, and why such a distinction arises. Can this life trajectory also be projected into the future – predicting a creative turning point? After the presentation, Vilu will converse with poet Jüri Kolk. The conversation will be in Estonian, with simultaneous interpretation into English.
Opening of Prima Vista 2024, the Grand Futurological Congress and the Translation Agency
Monday, May 6th
16:15
The University of Tartu Library
Opening of Prima Vista 2024, the Grand Futurological Congress and the Translation Agency
Literature Competition “Page by Page” / “Seitenweise” Estonian Final
Monday, May 6th
12:00
Tartu City Library Hall
As part of an international book project, young German learners read Martin Muser’s novel “Sest” / “Weil” and prepared creative works (video, poem, play, or comic) based on the book. The novel is a psycho-thriller about power, violence, and fear. The creative works of Estonian participants will be presented in Tartu. A jury will decide which participating students will attend the winners’ meeting in Berlin. The competition, initiated by the German Central Agency for German Schools Abroad (ZFA), aims to motivate young language learners to commune creatively with German youth literature. Participants are aged 15–18.
Meeting with Ketlin Priilinn
Monday, May 6th
10:20–11:05
Ilmatsalu Basic School
Priilinn has authored books for children, young adults, and adult readers, and has translated four works from English to Estonian.