Writing gender and ethnicity from a North–East European borderland in the 1930s: Leida Kibuvits and An Evening Ride

Abstract

ABSTRACT This is a short introduction to Estonian writer Leida Kibuvits’s work, particularly to her novel Rahusõit (1933, An Evening Ride). Kibuvits is an unjustly forgotten writer from the first half of the twentieth century, both in academic circles and among those who Virginia Woolf called “the common readers.” This introduction contextualizes the reasons why Kibuvits is forgotten and explains why she should be known and studied in the framework of transnational feminist modernist studies. The introduction outlines her slow-burn aesthetics, ecological awareness, and strong critique of patriotism and patriarchy. The introductory text is followed by a translated extract from the novel An Evening Ride, so that the readers can have a taste of her style and themes.