53 20th century Estonian poets

Johannes Aavik was an Estonian philologist and Fennophile who played a significant role in the modernization and development of the Estonian language.

Hendrik Adamson was an Estonian poet and teacher.

Artur Adson was an Estonian poet, writer and theatre critic.

August Alle was an Estonian writer.

Elisabet "Betti" Alver, was one of Estonia's most notable poets. She was among the first generation to be educated in schools of an independent Estonia. She went to grammar school in Tartu.

Ott Arder was an Estonian poet, children's writer and translator. He was also the author of several popular songs and written texts.

Priidu Beier is an Estonian poet and teacher. He has edited several publications and is also a member of the Estonian Writers' Union and Estonian Literary Society. Between 1984–1990 he was the Head of the Pedagogical arts sector of Tartu Art Museum. In 2007 he presented a poetry collection in Tartu with Kerti Tergem. According to Tartu Postimees, Beier lives like a monk. He teaches art history at the Hugo Treffner Gymnasium in Tartu.

Ernst Enno was an Estonian poet and writer.

Villem Grünthal-Ridala, born Grünthal-Wilhelm was an Estonian poet, translator, linguist and folklorist.

Anna Haava was an Estonian poet, writer and translator in the late 19th and 20th centuries.

Aime Hansen is a Estonian poet, writer, and artist. She is noted for her works with religious themes and her exploration of the mysticism of life and psychology. In 2009 she authored Jaipur-Delhi-Himaalaja: reisikohvrist leitud lood, a short story collection related to her travels in northern India and the Himalayas. A member of the Estonian Writer's Union, she writes in both Estonian and English.

Viiu Härm is an Estonian poet, author, photographer, translator, and former actress. Härm's career as an actress began as a teenager in the early 1960s. After appearing onstage and in several films, she retired from acting in the early 1970s to focus on writing.

Marie Heiberg was an Estonian poet. When she was only about 15 years old she wrote her first poems which were acclaimed for their youthful freshness. Heiberg spent the last twenty years of her life in a mental institution. There is a memorial to her memory in Urvaste.

Aapo Ilves is an Estonian poet, writer, playwright, artist and musician. He writes in Estonian, Võro and Seto languages. Ilves has also written song lyrics for other artists, including several “Hits of the Year” and also Estonian Eurovision entries "Tii" in 2004 and Kuula in 2012.

Yuri Pavlovich Ivask was a Russian, Estonian poet and literary critic; in his later years an American scholar of Russian literature.

Merle Jääger is an Estonian television, stage and film actress, poet and author who frequently uses the pen name Merca. Initially associated with the burgeoning Estonian punk rock scene of the early to mid 1980s, she has been described as the "bard of protest". Her career as an actress began in her early 20s and she has received a number of high-profile awards for stage roles.

Ain Kaalep was an Estonian poet, playwright, literary critic and translator.

Bernard Kangro was an Estonian writer and poet.

Jaan Kaplinski is an Estonian poet, philosopher, and culture critic. Kaplinski is known for his independent mind, focus on global issues and support for left-wing/liberal thinking. He has been influenced by Eastern philosophical schools.

Doris Kareva is an Estonian poet and translator. She serves as the head of the Estonian National Commission in UNESCO.

Jaan Kross was an Estonian writer. He was nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Literature during the early 1990s.

Erni Krusten was an Estonian writer. He was born Ernst Krustein in Muraste, Harku Parish, in a gardening family, and worked as a gardener himself.

Asko Künnap is an Estonian designer, writer, and artist.

Kalju Lepik was an Estonian poet who lived as an exile for most of his life.

Juhan Liiv in Werbach-Kosse) is one of Estonia's most famous poets and prose writers.

Viivi Luik is an Estonian poet and prosaist.

Uku Masing was an Estonian philosopher. He was a significant figure in Estonian religious philosophy. Masing also wrote poetry, mostly on religious issues. Masing authored one novel, Rapanui vabastamine ehk Kajakad jumalate kalmistul in the late 1930s, which was published posthumously in 1989. As a folklorist, he was a distinguished researcher of fairy tales, contributing to the international Encyclopedia of the Folktale. He was awarded the Righteous Among The Nations by Yad Vashem and the Israeli Supreme Court for his participation during the Holocaust in helping a Jew in Estonia escape capture from 1941 until the end of the war. His actions exposed him to great danger during this period requiring him to meet with his friend as well as lying to the Gestapo.

Ene Mihkelson was an Estonian writer. She was a recipient of the Herder Prize and the Baltic Assembly Prize for Literature.

Minni Katharina Nurme was an Estonian writer.

Liisi Ojamaa was an Estonian poet, translator, literary critic and editor. She was already known for her debut collection "Endless July", which was included in the collection "Poetry Cassette '90", Elo Vee, Triin Soomets, Ats and Ruth Jyrjo also made their debut on the tape.

Tõnu Õnnepalu, also known by the pen names Emil Tode and Anton Nigov, is an Estonian poet, author and translator.

Eeva Park is an Estonian writer.

Gabriel Preil was a modern Hebrew poet active in the United States, who wrote in Hebrew and Yiddish. He was the last of the Haskala poets. Preil translated Robert Frost and Walt Whitman into Hebrew.

Paul-Eerik Rummo is an Estonian poet, playwright, translator and politician who was the former Estonian Minister of Culture and Education, as well as the former Estonian Minister of Population Affairs.

Hando Runnel is an Estonian poet.

Johannes Semper was an Estonian poet, writer, translator and politician.

Ly Seppel is an Estonian poet and translator.

Karl Martin Sinijärv is an Estonian journalist and a poet.

Juhan Smuul was an Estonian writer. Until 1954 he used the given name Johannes Schmuul.

Gustav Suits is considered one of the greatest Estonian poets. He was also an early leader of the literary movement group Noor-Eesti.

Jüri Talvet is an Estonian poet and academic. He is the author of various literary works including poetry, criticism, and essays.

Heiti Talvik was an Estonian poet.

Indrek Tart is an Estonian sociologist, essay writer, poet, and culture researcher. His wife is et:Aili Aarelaid-Tart.

Mats Traat is an Estonian poet and author.

Tõnu Trubetsky, also known as Tony Blackplait, is an Estonian punk rock/glam punk musician, film and music video director, and individualist anarchist. He is a member of the princely Trubetskoy family.

Leelo Tungal is an Estonian poet, children's writer, translator, editor and librettist.

Kauksi Ülle is an Estonian writer.

Marie Under was one of the greatest Estonian poets. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature no fewer than eight times.

Debora Vaarandi was an Estonian writer, considered to be a leading literary figure in post-World War II Estonia.

Johannes Vares, commonly known as Johannes Vares Barbarus, was an Estonian poet, medical doctor, and politician.

Elo Viiding is an Estonian poet.

Paul Viiding was an Estonian poet, author and literary critic.

Henrik Visnapuu was a well-known Estonian poet and dramatist.