Vahur Afanasjev
Encyclopedia
Vahur Afanasjev is an Estonia
n writer, filmmaker and musician.
Afanasjev graduated from the University of Tartu
in 2002, majoring in economic policy
. He has been a member of a literary group Noorte Autorite Koondis (NAK) (Young Authors' League) since 1998, and a member of the Estonian Writers' Union since 2006. He has worked as journalist, media analyst, copywriter, creative director and PR officer.
2005-2010 Afanasjev lived in Brussels
, Belgium
.
in 1995. In 1997-98 he published three poetry collections on the internet. His first poems were published in the Estonian literary magazine Vikerkaar in 1998. He has published three poetry books, one book of short stories and three novels. His works have been published in several collections of various authors in Finnish, Russian, Romanian, Dutch and Hungarian.
Poetry:
Novels:
Non-fiction:
His style is described as socially critical magic realism
flavoured with obscurities. His characters include parasite worms, murderers, corrupted journalists, robots and lonely gay men. "...this year saw the publication of his short novel Cosmos. This is a peculiar tale that could be characterised as Brokeback Mountain meets Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."
(project tra_art), punkish eclectic guitar rock, blues and country (project Kurluk Ulica) and experimental noisepop (project Kannibal Elektor). A CD of tra_art was published with Vahur Afanasjev's book "Kanepi kirik" (2002). Two of his recordings were on CD of the singing writers.
He has also written lyrics for Orelipoiss, Skriimsilm and Päris Anny.
in film production. In June 2008 presented his autobiographical documentary film Where Dreams End and was threatened with a court case concerning that. The film had official premiere on Eclectica festival,. In April 2009 finished production of documentary film Rong Way about the complicated train travel between Estonia and Western Europe.
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n writer, filmmaker and musician.
Afanasjev graduated from the University of Tartu
University of Tartu
The University of Tartu is a classical university in the city of Tartu, Estonia. University of Tartu is the national university of Estonia; it is the biggest and highest-ranked university in Estonia...
in 2002, majoring in economic policy
Economic policy
Economic policy refers to the actions that governments take in the economic field. It covers the systems for setting interest rates and government budget as well as the labor market, national ownership, and many other areas of government interventions into the economy.Such policies are often...
. He has been a member of a literary group Noorte Autorite Koondis (NAK) (Young Authors' League) since 1998, and a member of the Estonian Writers' Union since 2006. He has worked as journalist, media analyst, copywriter, creative director and PR officer.
2005-2010 Afanasjev lived in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
Writings
Afanasjev began his writing career with poems and lyricsLyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
in 1995. In 1997-98 he published three poetry collections on the internet. His first poems were published in the Estonian literary magazine Vikerkaar in 1998. He has published three poetry books, one book of short stories and three novels. His works have been published in several collections of various authors in Finnish, Russian, Romanian, Dutch and Hungarian.
Poetry:
- Kandiline maailm (Square World) 2000
- Kaantega viin (Wrapped Vodka or Folded Vienna or I Take with Covers) 2004
- Katedraal Emajões (Cathedral in Mother River) 2006
Novels:
- Kastraat Ontariost (A Castrato from Ontario) 2005
- Kaadrid otsustavad (Shots Decide) 2007
- Kosmos (Cosmos) 2008
- Kanepi kirik (Ganja Church or The Church of Kanepi Village) 2002 (a book of short stories)
Non-fiction:
- Minu Brüssel (My Brussels) 2011
His style is described as socially critical magic realism
Magic realism
Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the "real" and the "fantastic" in the same stream of...
flavoured with obscurities. His characters include parasite worms, murderers, corrupted journalists, robots and lonely gay men. "...this year saw the publication of his short novel Cosmos. This is a peculiar tale that could be characterised as Brokeback Mountain meets Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."
Music
Afanasjev also makes electronic musicElectronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
(project tra_art), punkish eclectic guitar rock, blues and country (project Kurluk Ulica) and experimental noisepop (project Kannibal Elektor). A CD of tra_art was published with Vahur Afanasjev's book "Kanepi kirik" (2002). Two of his recordings were on CD of the singing writers.
He has also written lyrics for Orelipoiss, Skriimsilm and Päris Anny.
Film
Afanasjev has made experimental short films since 2006, and has used photos and Microsoft PowerpointMicrosoft PowerPoint
Microsoft PowerPoint, usually just called PowerPoint, is a non-free commercial presentation program developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite, and runs on Microsoft Windows and Apple's Mac OS X operating system...
in film production. In June 2008 presented his autobiographical documentary film Where Dreams End and was threatened with a court case concerning that. The film had official premiere on Eclectica festival,. In April 2009 finished production of documentary film Rong Way about the complicated train travel between Estonia and Western Europe.
External links
- Vahur Afanasjev's blog .
- Vahur Afanasjev's Irboska Film production in YouTube.
- Short Overviews of Books by Estonian Authors by Rutt Hinrikus http://elm.einst.ee/issue/27/short-overviews-books-estonian-authors/
- Vahur Afanasjev's publications in Estonian National Library