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You can read some of Books from Finland here: click the links Editorial This & that Literary prizes; books and roses; Timo Hämäläinen on Tua Forsström; freedom and independence - the Helsinki PEN congress in September; Kaarina Helakisa and Juhani Peltonen in memoriam Tove Jansson The daughter A short story from Meddelande ('Messages', Schildts, 1998), translated by Joan Tate Tove Jansson (born 1914), author and artist, is the grand old lady of Finnish children's literature; her illustrated Moomin stories have been translated into 34 languages. But she has also been writing stories and novels for adults for more than 30 years. Her new collection contains a selection of old and new texts. 'The daughter' is previously unpublished Tua Forsström Talking to Andrei Poems from Efter att ha tillbringat en natt bland hästar ('After spending a night among horses', Söderströms, 1997), translated by David McDuff Tua Forsström (born 1947) writes poems so slowly that it is almost perverse, she says. In the poems of her new collection - her ninth - she writes about roses, crows and horses, and addresses letters to the Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky. Efter att ha tillbringat en natt bland hästar won Forsström this year's Nordic Council Prize for Literature Olle Leino Eyewitnesses in a city at war Extracts from Utsikt från Skillnaden. Inbördeskriget I Helsingfors 1918 sett med gamla och nya ögon ('A view from Skillnaden. The civil war in Helsinki, 1918, seen with old and new eyes', Schildts, 1997), translated by David McDuff. Introductory article by Heikki Ylikangas More people were killed during the three months of the Finnish civil war of 1918 than in the three years of the Spanish civil war two decades later. In Helsinki, first declared a socialist people's commune, then conquered for the Whites by German soldiers, the conflict was particularly sharp. The historian Olle Leino presents two opposing views in the writings of two women, 'White' and 'Red' Jyrki Kiiskinen Gardens of life and death Poems, translated by Anselm Hollo Four collections of poetry published last autumn - by Pentti Holappa, Markku Paasonen, Rakel Liehu and Sirkka Turkka -stood out for the originality of their voices Stephen Kuusisto Night city Recollections of Helsinki; poems The American writer Stephen Kuusisto (born 1955) visited his grandfather's homeland for the first time at the age of three. Visually handicapped since birth, Kuusisto pretended he could see because the people around him considered blindness shameful. Only when he reached the age of 40 did he admit he was blind - and a new life began. His autobiographical book Planet of the Blind is a world best-seller Pentti Holappa Writers for writers Pentti Holappa - poet, author and former cultural minister - ponders the politics of the 70-year history of the Finnish PEN club, and raises his glass Jussi Rautsi The double life of Viipuri library In the centenary year of Alvar Aalto, the Finnish architect is being praised throughout the world. The brave new functionalism, however, did not always blend with its surroundings. Jussi Rautsi considers the public library Aalto designed for Viipuri (subsequently ceded to the Soviet Union), perhaps the architect's most mysterious building Jyrki Lehtola Whose side do you think you're on? It's so difficult to stand out from the crowd, sighs Jyrki Lehtola, when nothing is shocking any more Reviews Dáithí O'CeallaighNew translations Select bibliography Jyrki Lehtola Letter from Tampere Coming from a provincial city need not imply a provincial outlook; but sometimes it's worth calling a spade a spade Top of page |