Oskar Luts
Encyclopedia
Oskar Luts was an Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

n writer and playwright.

Biography

Oskar Luts was born into a middle-class family in central Estonia, at that time in the government of Livonia (Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

). He attended Änkküla village school in 1894. He went to Palamuse Parish
Palamuse Parish
Palamuse is a rural municipality of Estonia, in Jõgeva County. It has a population of 2,509 and an area of 216 km².-Populated places:Palamuse Parish has one small borough, Palamuse, and 25 villages: Änkküla, Eerikvere, Ehavere, Imukvere, Järvepera, Kaarepere, Kaiavere, Kassivere, Kivimäe, Kudina,...

 parish school in Jõgeva County
Jõgeva County
Jõgeva County , or Jõgevamaa, is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in eastern part of the country and borders Ida-Viru County to the north-east, Lake Peipus to the east, Tartu County to the south, Viljandi County to the south-west, Järva County to the north-west and Lääne-Viru County to...

, attending from 1895–1899. From 1899–1902 he studied at the Tartu Reaalkool. In 1903 Luts started working as an apothecary apprentice in Tartu
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the...

 and Narva
Narva
Narva is the third largest city in Estonia. It is located at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, by the Russian border, on the Narva River which drains Lake Peipus.-Early history:...

. After passing the apothecary apprentice exams, he went to work in Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...

 (1903). During his military service in St Petersburg (1909–1911) he also worked in the apothecary field. He continued this work in Dorpat while studying pharmacy at university.

When World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 started, Oskar Luts was conscripted into the Russian army. He worked as a military pharmacist in Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...

, Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

, Daugavpils
Daugavpils
Daugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". With a population of over 100,000, it is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some...

, Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...

 and in Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...

 (1915–1918), where he got married.

Oskar Luts was released from military duty for health reasons in the autumn of 1918 and went back to Tartu with his family the same year, where he started working as an apothecary. In 1919–1920 he worked at the university library and then managed a store. In 1922 he started his professional career as a writer.

In 1936 Luts began living in his home on Riia Street in Tartu. This house was converted into a museum in 1964. http://linnamuuseum.tartu.ee/et/branches/luts/intro.html

Oskar Luts was the first Estonian writer to receive the title of National Writer of the Estonian SSR. This was awarded to him in 1945.

Oskar Luts is buried in Ropka-Tamme cemetery.

Some streets and buildings in Estonia bear Oskar Luts's name. The Oskar Lutsu Palamuse Gümnaasium in Palamuse was named in honor of Luts.

Creative life

Oskar Luts created his happiest literary works in the years before World War I. He wrote several comedies as well as his first novel called "Kevade" (Spring) (part I 1912, part II 1913). This highly popular novel portrayed the daily school life of young people in rural Estonia. "Kevade" proved to be Oskar Luts's most successful and well-known work.

The life of the same characters continued in Luts's novel "Suvi" (Summer) (I 1918, II 1919), which also became quite popular. However, although subsequent sequels ("Tootsi pulm", "Argipäev") and the novel "Sügis" (Fall) (part I – 1938)) were written to meet public demand, they did not attain the popularity of his earlier works. After World War I his works contained less humor and were much gloomier. The second part of "Sügis" remained in manuscript form for decades, the entire story not being published until 1988.

There are highly popular Estonian films that are based on "Kevade", "Suvi" and "Sügis", and they carry the same titles. The films are all produced by Arvo Kruusement.

Oskar Luts also wrote for children, and his most popular children's book is "Nukitsamees" (1920), which has also been made into a film (1981). The music for "Nukitsamees" was written by Olav Ehala and is as popular as the film itself.

As a playwright, Oskar Luts is best known for "Kapsapea" (The Cabbage). The animation "Kapsapea" is based on Oskar Luts' writings. The cartoon is about a large cabbage growing in the garden of an Estonian family. The cabbage eventually causes a sensation in the US, Russia and China.

Oskar Luts' works have been translated into many languages.

External links

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