illumineerima

A few events worth noting:

The rescheduled An Evening With Arvo Pärt concert finally takes place tonight at 19.00 at Niguliste. Later in the evening, you can find Stella at Mutant Disco. And, unless you’re nursing a hangover on Saturday, you can check out the last day of the Baltic Book Fair, taking place at Saku Suurhall from 11-19 (and entrance is free, but bring cash to buy some books!).

The British Council’s next literature event takes place in Tallinn at Kloostri Ait on 22 March at 6:00 p.m.

Our visitor at the Literary Cafe will be John McRae, who invites us to think about the boundaries of standard English.

As modern writing moves away from the “centre” (wherever that was!) we find that English is no longer the single language it was thought to be. We will ask was it ever that one language? Is there any such thing as English? And who are the writers who are taking Englishes forward, breaking down the barriers of standard English today?

Not too many events like this around Tallinn, so I expect I’ll go…

Äripäev, Estonia’s business-related newspaper, was chosen as one of four (out of 351) of the world’s best-designed newspapers. Pretty cool, eh? (via NewsDesigner)

When it comes to English-language publications that regularly cover Estonia, there aren’t many options. Here’s the run-down:

The Baltic Times (newspaper): According to their website, they’re “an independent weekly newspaper that covers latest political, economic, business, and cultural events in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.” This is the only weekly newspaper in English, so they don’t have much competition. That may be why the quality of the writing is a bit iffy. Part of this has been a lack of a good editor (a good writer does not a good editor make) and a lack of writers with native English skills. Which is not to say it’s all crap, and it’s likely to be getting better in the near future (if the rumors of a new editor are true). Still, it’s more or less essential reading for those who can’t read Postimees.

B EAST (magazine): I discovered B EAST recently, and I’m glad I did. This is a high-quality, glossy, more-or-less-quarterly mag that is all about “FASHION, ATTITUDE, CULTure FOR THE NEW EUROPE.” Though this isn’t a mag focused exclusively on Estonia or the Baltics, its editor-in-chief operates out of Tallinn, so there’s a fair amount of coverage on Estonia. The most refreshing thing is that they cover fashion, unlike the other English-language pubs. It’s very much geared towards hip, young things.

City Paper (magazine): This monthly magazine’s been around since the early 90s, but it was sold a few years back to a Finnish company when the original owners/editors returned to the U.S. It’s editor-in-chief is Scott Diel, an expat who originally came to Estonia with the U.S. Peace Corps in the early 90s. It isn’t the most beautiful mag around, but the articles are consistently good. The restaurant/hotel guide comes in handy, too. Aside from its print version, City Paper publishes a weekly newsletter. Week In Review is a clever survey of the week’s news delivered to your inbox and published on the website.

Tallinn In Your Pocket (magazine): It’s always seemed to me that IYP is geared towards backpacking students, but it’s a useful guide for those visiting Tallinn. Perhaps even more so because it isn’t written by Estonians (like Tallinn This Week), so this publication may have a better idea of what visitors are looking for. Lots of restaurant reviews and ideas on things to do around town, with plenty of online content (the same can’t be said for The Baltic Times or City Paper).

Tallinn This Week (magazine): This is a city guide written by Estonians and published six times per year. It’s small, free, and easy to find around town. I usually pick up a copy when I see it, though it’s strictly a guide without commentary or reviews.

Did I miss anything?