Jaan Isotamm was an Estonian poet and writer. As a high school student he was arrested for belonging to the resistance movement. He was sent to a prison camp for seven years. After returning in 1963, he could not continue his studies. Until 1988, he could only get simple jobs (security guard, agrotechnical work, etc). However, he became a central figure in the resistance movement in Tartu. He communicated with a lot of students, and distributed banned literature. He obtained this literature from his fellow prisoners, and reproduced it on a typewriter. He published actively in samizdat almanacs. His first official book was published in 1971. In 1999, a selection of his earlier poems was published. From 1988 to 2003, he was editor of the magazine Akadeemia (Academy).