Reread of an old favourite.

I remember the first Kaplinski translations by Sam Hamill (incl. the earlier "The Same Sea in Us All") as being particularly significant as they were the first English language editions of Estonian writing in the Western world. There were Soviet editions that were earlier, such as the first translation of Tammsaare's "Misadventures Of The New Satan" (1978) and the anthology "Estonian Short Stories" (1981), but these were enormously difficult to find in North America.

I also seem to remember that my friend Karan found this UK edition for me when she was living in London, England. I had given my earlier American edition away as a gift, likely to my friend Harri Mürk with whom I regularly traded Estonian originals and translations in those years. All fond memories. ( )

Estonia.

Kaplinski is largely a poet of the every day, with the occasional philosophical musing thrown in for contrast. It's clear from his imagistic focus and here-and-now observations that he is a Buddhist. I enjoyed the sensory descriptions of Estonian farm life, flora (including genus and species in many cases), and fauna, though I didn't find the poems especially moving or thought-provoking. ( )