Biography
Kaur Riismaa is an Estonian poet, but not only. He is also a writer, playwright, and actor. As a student, Kaur began posting his works in online literature portals. He has studied semiotics, theology, and dramaturgy at various universities and the depth of his thinking is reflected in his literary art. His first collection titled Me hommikud, me päevad, õhtud, ööd (Our Mornings, Our Days, Evenings, Nights) was selected as best debut work in 2011. Riismaa himself described the collection as a “play in thirty-three monologues”, in which characters from somewhere in mythical Europe also act. In 2012 he joined the Estonian Writers’ Union. About his poetry collections a review remarked that each of his poems comprises an entire novel.
His now six collections of poetry suggest Kaur has a wealth of writing and life experience. As a prose writer he published five novels – Holy Mountain in 2015, a short poetic work called a unique auto-parody and a literary game. His second impressionist novel Gardens of a Blind Man won him the Tänapäev Publishers Novel Competition. His latest Little Ferdinand, 2019 was nominated for the European Union Prize for Literature in 2020. Following are Ostrich, cuckoo, seagull, and his latest novel Snow in Livonia.
Theatre is an important keyword in Riismaa’s writing. Having studied dramaturgy at the Estonian Music and Theatre Academy’s School of Drama for several years, he has also penned plays performed at a number of Estonian theatres.
His now six collections of poetry suggest Kaur has a wealth of writing and life experience. As a prose writer he published five novels – Holy Mountain in 2015, a short poetic work called a unique auto-parody and a literary game. His second impressionist novel Gardens of a Blind Man won him the Tänapäev Publishers Novel Competition. His latest Little Ferdinand, 2019 was nominated for the European Union Prize for Literature in 2020. Following are Ostrich, cuckoo, seagull, and his latest novel Snow in Livonia.
Theatre is an important keyword in Riismaa’s writing. Having studied dramaturgy at the Estonian Music and Theatre Academy’s School of Drama for several years, he has also penned plays performed at a number of Estonian theatres.