Piret Põldver (b. 1985) is an Estonian prose writer, poet and literary scholar. Her debut poetry collection, Alati nii järsku (2020), already attracted considerable attention. With autobiographical elements, the book weaves together different periods of life into a poetic whole and was nominated for both the Betti Alver Debut Prize and the Cultural Endowment’s poetry award.
This was followed in 2022 by the genre-crossing prose work Hoog, which explores with rare directness the impact of alcohol on everyday life. In recent years, Põldver has increasingly presented her work in live – including musical – performances. A key collaborator in her stage work is the versatile guitarist Kalev Karlson (b. 1987), regarded as one of the most sensitive and accomplished jazz musicians of his generation.
Performing together, Põldver and Karlson create verbal–musical compositions they describe as “text music”. The duo has released an album titled Tõmme – the same title as Põldver’s third poetry collection, published in 2024, in which the author interweaves bodily experiences with images of nature. The album contains eight tracks and marks Karlson’s first original arrangement. The words, naturally, are Põldver’s.