mats traat (23 november 1936 – 27 june 2022) was an estonian poet, translator and novelist. traat was born in arula, otepää parish. his career began in 1962. he published over 20 anthologies of poetry. his poetry was about social commentary and society's love for science. he also wrote about the indigenous estonian population. his short story, "the cross of power," won the friedebert tuglas award for short prose.