Last year’s literary scene was undoubtedly marked by a documentary film by artist and art critic Raivo Kelomees (b. 1960), featuring as its central figure Jaan “Luulur” Malin (b. 1960), a multifaceted writer, organiser of literary events and one of Estonia’s most colourful performance artists with a literary background. The HeadRead literary festival has collaborated with Malin for years: he curates a programme titled Crazed Tallinn, tailor-made for the festival, bringing together colleagues from Estonia and beyond to create a vibrant mix of word and music.
This year, too, we offer a vivid line-up together with Malin: Aliis Aalmann (b. 1995), whose third poetry collection Pääsulinn appeared last year; the outstanding performance poet Murca; and Maarja-Liis Mölder (b. 1994), who published her second collection Meesinine in 2022. Alongside them, several well-known collaborations will take the stage: first, the duo of poet Jürgen Rooste (b. 1979) and saxophonist and composer Siim Aimla (b. 1974); second, the ensemble Kannuluu, formed by the striking string musician Kristjan Kannukene (b. 1996) and maestro Luulur himself.In addition to Estonian performers, the audience will also be able to see, hear and enjoy the Finnish rapper Rauhatäti (b. 1974), who performs in a Sámi dialect and has released three full-length albums.