The directory «Plots»

Alver Betti
(1906—1989)

Betti (Elisabet) Alver was born on 23 November 1906 in Jõgeva. After graduating from secondary school in Tartu she studied at the Faculty of Philosophy of Tartu University in 1924–27. Her first major work was a novel, Tuulearmuke (The Wind’s Paramour, 1927). Writing verse since the early 1930s, she published a number of narrative poems in literary journals and a retrospective collection of lyrics Tolm ja tuli (Dust and Fire, 1936). It stood out for artistic maturity, being a hymn to the truthfulness and beauty of art. Other major collections include Tähetund (Starry Hour, 1966), Eluhelbed (Flakes of Life, 1971) and Korallid Emajões (Corals in the Emajõgi, 1986). Alver has also worked as a translator, producing wonderful Estonian versions of poems by Pushkin. Her translation of Eugene Onegine (1964) is regarded as the summit of translated literature in Estonian. Betti Alver’s verses are strictly classical in form, naturally worded and technically superb. The have had a major impact on the development of Estonian poetry. Betti Alver died in 1989 in Tartu.

Estonia, 2006, Betti Alver

Estonia, 2006.10.11, Tallinn. Betti Alver