W IS FOR WRITERS' HOUSE

In a city of contrasting architectural styles - from Hanseatic Gothic through Scandinavian Baroque to brute Soviet functionalism - the compact modernism of the Writers' House at 1 Harju Street in Tallinn stands out.

Built in 1963 to accommodate writers of scripts, poems, novels and plays, The Writers' House and the cafe situated below it, played an important role in Estonia's growing sense of intellectual and cultural self-assurance in the mid to late 20th century.

The fact that it was built during the so-called "Khrushchev Thaw" is perhaps reflected in the confident modernism of the design, both inside and out, and by the kinds of writers who lived there - these were the authors of a new kind of Estonian literature who were doing similar work to their counterparts elsewhere in Europe beyond the Iron Curtain.

The Writers' House was home to some of Estonia's greatest novelists, poets and playwrights including Jaan Kross, Juhan Viiding and Mikhel Mutt. These were artists, intellectuals, rather than propagandists.

In a 2018 interview, Mutt says, "In Estonia, writers have always been something more than just people who produce artifacts, literature, or entertainment. They've always been spiritual readers. They were also, partly, the standard bearers for national values. So when the period of transition came, when the window opened to restore some kind of independence, [writers] were at the forefront of this movement. We had no professional politicians, so the creatives took over - even our first President, Lennart Meri, was a very well respected writer."

I got in touch with Mihkel, dropped him an email asking about life at Harju 1, to which he was gracious enough to respond. Mihkel lived in the "so-called" Writers' House from 1986, and was Editor-in-Chief of Estonia's oldest literary magazine, which is based there.

"I worked on the editorial board of the literary monthly Looming in 1977-86 and 2005-2015, the premises of which are still located in the same building. During the first period there was one big coming and going, gossiping and clever malicious sniping at each other, a real literary saloon!"

The Writers 'House was designed with multiple functions in mind, to facilitate and stimulate literary activity. There were the apartments, the Writers' Union premises, the magazine offices, a bookstore, and a café. Everything was given the Nordic modernist design treatment: simple yet powerful colour contrasts. Black ceiling, white walls, red furniture.

There was also a large gathering hall, or salon, which has become an important venue in Estonian cultural history. It was named the Voldemar Panso Room, after the influential theatre-maker. The performances and readings that took place there played an important role in Estonia's theatrical and literary renaissance.

While some of the details are tricky to pin down for this monoglot, it's clear that the effects of the intense creativity surrounding the Writers House and its colourful inhabitants still reverberate to this day.