Viljar Ansko

Viljar Ansko (17 May 1948 – 20 December 2016) was an Estonian physician, poet and caricaturist. He wrote poetry under the pen name Viljar Kaarna.

Early life and education According to the Estonian Writers' Online Dictionary, Ansko was born in Tartu, spent his childhood in Kaarepere, and his school years in Sompa, Kohtla-Järve. From 1970 he lived in Risti.

The same sources describe his early work in the oil shale mining industry and later military service as a driver in the Soviet Army in Kaliningrad Oblast.

Cartooning Ansko worked as a caricaturist for decades and published a collection of cartoons and caricatures, Hippocratitis dolorosa (2008). An item in the medical journal Eesti Arst (by Ansko) presented the book in 2012, reflecting his combination of medical themes and caricature.

After his death, the Estonian Humour Museum in Purku exhibited his caricatures; local press described the exhibition as covering his work from 1972 onward. The museum's own list of past exhibitions also includes a “Viljar Ansko” caricature exhibition in 2017.

Memorial design Ansko is credited as the author of the memorial Rails Remember… (1999), dedicated to those deported from western Estonia; the site descriptions note its location by Risti railway station and describe the monument's structure and purpose.

Documentary Ansko was the subject of the ETV documentary episode Unistaja in the series Eesti lood, which the ERR archive describes as a film about his medical work, including treating uninsured patients. The Estonian Film Database (EFIS) entry summarises the film as following Ansko's work as a doctor for the poor at a Tallinn nursing care hospital.

Selected works (From the Estonian Writers' Online Dictionary.) Tuulelembest, luuletõmbest (1995) Meeletuse meelas maitse (1998) Aateaabicatõed (2000) Kahe vahel (2008) Raha tüürib… (2016) (as Viljar Kaarna; with cartoons by Eduard Tüür) Hippocratitis dolorosa (2008) (cartoons)

Awards and honours Ansko received the Order of the Estonian Red Cross, 4th Class (2002). He received the Citizen's Day Award (Kodanikupäeva aumärk) in 2004.