Urve Karuks (née Ambos, later changed to Aasoja; 18 January 1936 – 18 July 2015) was a Canadian-Estonian poet and translator. She was known for her contribution to exile literature and was a member of the Foreign Estonian Writers' Union and the Estonian PEN-Club.
Karuks was born on 18 January 1936 in Tallinn, Estonia.[1][2] Her father was soldier Voldemar Aasoja [et], who was murdered in 1943.[3] She had a brother named Ülo.[4] In 1944, during World War II, Karuks fled to Germany with her remaining family, where she lived in refugee camps in Stubben, Schwarzenbek and Lingen.[1][2] She began her education in the refugee camps and started writing poetry at age 12.[5]
Karuks published her first poems in the literary journal Mana in 1964.[7] She wrote in Estonian, English and German[1] and her poetry covered typical exile literature themes such as nostalgia for Estonia's past.[8][9]
Karuks received the Literary Prize of Canadian Estonians in 1969[1] and the laureate title of the Cultural Foundation of the Estonian Arts Center (Estonian: Eesti Kunstide Keskus) [et].[2] Karuks was a member of the Foreign Estonian Writers’ Union from 1975, and the Estonian PEN-Club.[1]
Karuks was married to a man named Ergo and had two children, Alar and Linda.[4] She died on 18 July 2015 in Toronto, Canada, aged 78.[5][4]
