In October, VEMU hosted well-known authors from Estonia, Rein Raud and Kai Aareleid, at the 40th Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA)

Rein Raud is not only an established author, but also a well-known scholar in Cultural and Japanese Studies. From 2006-2011, he was the Rector of Tallinn University. Raud has written 9 novels, 5 poetry collections, as well as various translations, and academic studies. Three of his novels have been translated into English and he has received awards and nominations for these works. At TIFA, he presented his book Death of a Perfect Sentence.

Kai Aareleid is a freelance translator and author who has written two novels, two poetry collections and one novel collection. Her novel Burning Cities was translated into English in 2018 and was presented at TIFA.

Kirjanikud TIFAl

The authors had three panels during the TIFA festival programme from October 26-30 and met with their Canadian-Estonian readers at Tartu College on Sunday, November 3. Their trip was sponsored by the Estonian Studies Centre and the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Photo: P. Noorhani