Paul-Eerik Rummo

PaulEerik Rummo born January 19 1942 is an Estonian poet playwright translator and politician who was the former Estonian Minister of Culture and Education as well as the former Estonian Minister of Population Affairs Rummo was born in Tallinn the son of Estonian writer Paul Rummo PaulEerik studied literature at the University of Tartu graduating in 1965 Rummo has worked in Estonian theatres In October 1980 Rummo was a signatory of the Letter of 40 Intellectuals a public letter in which forty prominent Estonian intellectuals defended the Estonian language and protested the Russification policies of the Kremlin in Estonia The signatories also expressed their unease against Republiclevel government in harshly dealing with youth protests in Tallinn that were sparked a week earlier due to the banning of a public performance of the punk rock band Propeller In the novel Purge in Finnish Puhdistus by Sofi Oksanen Rummos poetry becomes a symbol of resistance against Russification in Estonia sprinkled throughout the narrative