Paul Viiding was an Estonian

Estonians

Estonians are a Finnic people closely related to the Finns and inhabiting, primarily, the country of Estonia. They speak a Finnic language known as Estonian...

 poet, author and literary critic.

Born in Valga, Estonia, he graduated with a degree in mathematics 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...

 before pursuing a career as an author and poet. He was a member of the influential group of Estonian poets brought together in 1938 by literary scholar Ants Oras

Ants Oras

Ants Oras was an Estonian translator and writer.Oras studied at Tartu University, graduating with a Master of Philosophy degree in 1923. He also obtained a Bachelor of Literature degree from Oxford University.From 1928 through 1934, he was a lecturer at both Tartu and Helsinki University...

 who was greatly influenced by T. S. Eliot

T. S. Eliot

Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...

. The small circle of six poets became known as Arbujad

Arbujad

Arbujad was the collective name for a loose group of eight Estonian poets, which represented a new direction in Estonian poetry before the outbreak of World War II...

("Soothsayers") and included Heiti Talvik

Heiti Talvik

Heiti Talvik was an Estonian poet.- Life and literary career :...

, Betti Alver

Betti Alver

Betti Alver was the pseudonym of Elisabet Lepik-Talvik, one of Estonia's most notable poets. She was among the first generation to be educated in schools of an independent Estonia. She went to grammar school in Tartu.- Writing :She began as a prose writer...

, Uku Masing

Uku Masing

Uku Masing was an Estonian philosopher, translator, theologist and folklorist. He developed Estonian analytical philosophy. Masing also wrote poetry, mostly on religious issues...

, Bernard Kangro

Bernard Kangro

Bernard Kangro was an Estonian writer and poet.-Education:...

 and Kersti Merilaas

Kersti Merilaas

Kersti Merilaas was an Estonian poet and translator. In addition, she wrote poems and prose for children and plays.-Life and work:...

.

Viiding married Linda Viiding and had four children: Reet, Anni, Mari and the youngest (and only son) Juhan Viiding

Juhan Viiding

Juhan Viiding , also known under the pseudonym of Jüri Üdi was an Estonian poet and actor.-Childhood, education, and family:Juhan Viiding was born June 1, 1948 in Tallinn to Linda and Paul Viiding...

 would become an influential poet and actor in the 1970s. His granddaughter Elo Viiding

Elo Viiding

Elo Viiding is an Estonian poet.-Family:Viiding is the third poet in her family. Her father, Juhan Viiding was a famous and influential poet in the 1970s. He was also an actor. Her grandfather, Paul Viiding, was a member of Arbujad in the 1930s...

 would also become a notable poet in the 1990s.

Paul Viiding died 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...

, Estonia in 1962.

Sources

• Tarand, Mari. Katse mõista Paul Viidingu teekonda. In: Akadeemia 1997, No. 3, pp. 598–611