Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Paavo Haavikko (1931 - 2008)


Rauta-aika (1982)

("The Iron Age", an expensive TV production based on Finnish national epic Kalevala and written by Haavikko.)

Paavo Haavikko, a Finnish Academy member and one of the most prominent Modernist poets and writers in Finland has passed away. Haavikko was also a playwright, essayist, book publisher and an avid social commentator.

  • Paavo Haavikko biography @ Kirjasto.sci.fi
  • 1 comment:

    Rene Kita said...

    An interview played on the YLE 1 radio station gave a hint why his thinking was always out of step with mainstream thought in Finland and somewhat hard to grasp: Unlike nearly every other author in Finland, he read very little literature and cultural history and gained his knowledge from economic histories and war novels. During the era of Finlandisation, he was one of the few voices opposing the universal opportunism vis-a-vis the Soviet Union. Like most opposition figures in Finland, he was dealt with through silence and laughter. The 'obscure' Paavo Haavikko they called him and left it at that...