Sajand hiljem. Mida Noor-Eesti tegi ja mida ta ei teinud. A Century Later: What Young Estonia Did – and What it Did Not Do

Abstract

This article discusses the position of Young Estonia (Noor-Eesti) in four different fields of influence: 1. What is the position of the Young Estonia movement in literary history, i.e. in the different monographs and articles on Estonian literature? What position is given to the movement by the writer(s) of the various sketches on Estonian literature between 1908 and 2007, and how important are the writers of the group in the eyes of literary historians? 2. How is the movement represented in the collective (public) memory of Estonia, e.g. do we find members of the movement on stamps or banknotes or in street names? 3. How do people in Estonia remember the literary production of the members of the group: what are the most important texts people read today, and how are these texts linked to the Young Estonia movement? 4. Finally, how is the movement represented outside Estonia, i.e. in the reception of Estonian literature abroad? Which texts have been translated, which authors are well-known abroad? In answering these questions the author concludes that the Young Estonia movement was much less important than has been assumed with respect to the production of literature, i.e. yielding literary texts that have been recognized and read up till the present. Rather, the lasting importance of Young Estonia has been in the organization of literary life.