Marie Under

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This article is about the poet named Marie Under. For a definition of the word "under", see the Wiktionary entry under.

Marie Under (Tallinn, 27 March 1883 – Stockholm 25 September 1980) was an Estonian poet.

1 Early life
2 Return to Estonia
3 Emigration
4 External links

[edit] Early life

Under attended a private German girl's school. After graduating, she worked as a salesclerk in a bookstore. In her free time, she wrote poetry in German. In 1902, she married an Estonian accountant, Carl Hacker. The couple had two children in Kutshino, a suburb of Moscow. However, in 1904, she fell in love with the Estonian artist Ants Laikmaa. Laikmaa convinced her to translate her poetry into Estonian and submitted her translated works to local newspapers.

[edit] Return to Estonia

In 1906, Under returned to Tallinn. In 1913, she met Artur Adson, who became her secretary. He also compiled the first volumes of her published poetry. In 1924, Under divorced Carl Hacker and married Adson.

[edit] Emigration

Beginning in September 1944, the U.S.S.R. occupied Estonia. Under and her family fled to Sweden. They spent almost a year in a refugee camp. In 1945, the family moved to Mälarhöjden, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, where Under lived until her death on September 25, 1980. She is buried in the Forest Cemetery in Stockholm.