Who am I?

• a writer. I have published one poetry book "The Kiss of the Father" (2020) and an autobiographical essay book “The Courage of Living. Letters to Käbi (Laretei)” (2019) in Estonian and I write poetry and short prose in Estonian, German and English;
• a comparative literature scholar, who worked between 2017 and 2021 at the Estonian Cultural History Archives at the Estonian Literary Museum and has published and edited several academic books (in Estonian and in German);
• a mediator, curator, cultural translator, someone who likes to organise things and put good ideas into practice;
• research manager, who works since 2021 at Tallinn University;
• chairperson of the Ene Mihkelson Society, established in 2017 (Ene Mihkelson was an Estonian writer, for more information about the society see also "How to become a person? How to be a person?";
• the daughter of two artists from two different countries, my mother Kersti Karu is an Estonian ceramicist and father Valeriy Sakov is a Russian painter and monumental artist; 
• the mother of two sons.
  
  

I have

• studied Estonian and German literature at the Universities of Tartu, Berlin Humboldt, Konstanz and Vienna;
• been a journalist at the University of Tartu newspaper "Universitas Tartuensis" and the Head of Baltica and Rare Books Department and Head of Development and Communication at the Tallinn University Academic Library;
• worked as a teacher at the German High School in Kadriorg, Tallinn and therefore I belong to the fourth generation of teachers in my family;
• organised and moderated numerous cultural events, including international ones; for example, the youth seminar "Zeig mir Deine Welt" (Show Me Your World) in Poland (Theodor Heuss Colleage Project 2004), the first Four-Nation Poetry Slam in Estonia (2004), a creative writing course at the University of Tartu (2006), a bilingual event series “German Culture Ambassadors” at Estonian House (2015–2016), several art exhibitions ("The World of Ceramics - Kersti Karu", "The Timelessness of Mastery" and "Together"), literary evenings and scientific symposia;
• been a literary critic since 2003, writing for Estonian newspapers (Postimees and Sirp), portals (kultuur.err.ee) and literary magazines (Looming, Keel & Kirjandus and Estonian Literary Magazine).