A Love for Languages and History - with Anna Herran Artwork

EstoCast

❗️🇪🇪 below❗️(ENG) Hello and welcome to EstoCast, a podcast presented by Estonian Museum Canada/VEMU, Estonian Music Week and Eesti Elu/Estonian Life newspaper. In each episode of Estocast, join us as we delve into another dimension of Estonian culture in Canada, Estonia, and elsewhere. Through discussions of books, music, art, history, science, and more, we discover what it is to be Estonian and what Estonian people have to offer the broader world. // (EST) Tere tulemast kuulama taskuhäälingut EstoCast, mida teevad ühisel jõul Väliseesti Muuseum/VEMU, Estonian Music Week ja ajaleht Eesti Elu/Estonian Life Torontos. Pakume eesti- ja ingliskeelset kuulamist kõigile, kel on tahtmist süveneda eesti kultuuri rikkusesse ja selle erinevatesse tahkudesse siin Kanadas, Eestis või mujal maailmas. Arutelud kirjanduse, muusika, kunsti, ajaloo, teaduse jm teemadel aitavad meil mõista, mida tähendab olla eestlane ja mida on eestlastel maailmale pakkuda.

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EstoCast

A Love for Languages and History - with Anna Herran

April 08, 2026 • VEMU, EMW & Estonian Life • Season 4 • Episode 88

0:00 | 55:56

For members of our Toronto Estonian community, Anna Herran might already be a familiar face. She has helped out in the VEMU archives as well as volunteered at Estonian Music Week, various VEMU events, and Post-EstDocs just to name a few. But she is also a PhD Candidate in History at the University of Toronto, interested in the connections among history, memory, and statehood in 20th-century East Central Europe and the Baltic region. You’ll get to hear all about Anna’s love for languages (including Estonian), how she decided to study her current field and more in this episode.

Discover:

🖊️ How Anna’s love for languages, among them Estonian, began and just how many languages she knows

🖊️ How she explores the similarities and differences between Czech and Estonian culture as well as history through her research

🖊️ How she found the Estonian community in Toronto and got involved

🖊️ What she loves about Estonia, it’s language, and culture

Things mentioned in this episode include:

- VEMU Language Café: https://www.vemu.ca/event/vemu-keelekohvik-estonian-language-cafe-42/

- “Lidé jako my,” Anna Sedláčková (Anthology of Latvian literature): https://karolinum.cz/en/books/sedlackova-lide-jako-my-30443

- “Baltic Souls: Remarkable Life Stories from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania,” Jan Brokken: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/baltic-souls-remarkable-life-stories-from-estonia-latvia-and-lithuania/9781957363943.html

- “Leiutajateküla Lotte” movie: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0447249/

- “Elu ilmaveerel,” Lenna Kuurmaa, Maarja Savi: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61110316-elu-ilmaveerel

- “The Dedalus Book of Estonian Literature,” Jan Kaus: https://www.dedalusbooks.com/our-books/book.php?id=00000214

- “Miniatuurid mälupõhjast,” Aino Pervik: https://rahvaraamat.ee/et/raamatud/ilukirjandus/ajalooline-romaan/miniatuurid-malupohjast/1445057

Socials:

➡️ @estonianmusicweek
https://www.facebook.com/EstonianMusicWeek

➡️ https://www.facebook.com/vemu.ca

➡️ @eestielu.ca
https://www.facebook.com/eestielu.ca/events

➡️ @vemu.emc
https://www.facebook.com/vemu.ca