Kruusa Kalju, Estonian poet and translator, dies at 53

Estonian poet and translator Kruusa Kalju, whose name was Jaanus Valk, died on October 20 aged 53, ERR reported. He was born in Tallinn on October 10, 1973.

Valk graduated from Tallinn’s 20th Secondary School in 1992 and enrolled at the University of Tartu the following year. From 1993 to 1997, he studied English philology and semiotics. In 1997, he began studying Romance studies at the Estonian Institute of Humanities. He graduated from Tallinn University in 2008 with a bachelor’s thesis titled “Mallarmé’s poetry: stuttering.”

His poems first appeared in the newspaper Postimees in 1996. His debut collection, “Meeleolu,” was published in 1999 and received the Betti Alver Debut Award. His later collections included “Treffamisi” (2004), “Pilvedgi mindgi liigutavadgi” (2008), “Tüühja” (2010), “Äädikkärbsed” (2015), “Ühe inimese elu (pooleli): valitud luuletusi” (2017), “Kümme kükki” (2018) and “Üleelamiste vanake” (2023).

Kalju also worked as a translator and literary editor. In 2001, he and Hasso Krull founded Ninniku, an online magazine of translated poetry; Kalju was its co-editor until 2010. He translated poetry, prose and plays into Estonian from Chinese, English, Finnish, French, Italian, Japanese and Korean.

His awards included the Sirp newspaper’s critics’ award in 2001, the Looming magazine poetry award in 2006 and 2020, and the Gustav Suits poetry award in 2008. In 2011, he received the Estonian Cultural Endowment’s annual literature award for “Tüühja.” His 2023 collection “Üleelamiste vanake” won Tallinn University’s literature award, and in 2024 he received the Juhan Liiv poetry award for his poem “Ära hommikul päri.” He received the state writer’s salary from 2019 to 2021.