Urmas Vadi says writing helps him make sense of life

Estonian writer Urmas Vadi says he seeks empathy in literature and art, and uses writing to rethink situations he struggles with in everyday life. He spoke to ERR’s culture programme OP after publishing his new short story collection, “Love’s Bite Marks”.

The collection draws on events from Vadi’s life, but he said the stories are not diary entries. “For me, it is important that something happens,” he said.

Vadi said he has remained devoted to writing short stories because he enjoys the form. Unlike a play, which leads him to think about actors and staging, or a novel, which feels like a large and complex undertaking, a short story lets him see the beginning and end at once. “It is like a flash,” he said.

He described writing as a tool for dealing with feelings of ineptitude. When he feels unable to handle a situation, he can break it down, reconsider it and write about it in the way he wants, he said.

Vadi said he wants serious subjects to be handled with wit and humour rather than in a relentlessly grave tone. He also recorded the audiobook version of his new collection, an experience he described as “mad”. He said the stories were personal, and that the idea to narrate them himself came from his wife.

Vadi added that he had taken various turns in life, including leaving his studies and later starting again.