F. p. has developed over a long history, though the oldest extant texts written in F. date only from the middle of the 19th c., and though some of its classics were initially written in Swedish. It presents a complex history of cultural and literary influence, but thematically and taken as a whole, it shows a remarkably unified inspiration from early oral trad, to contemp. modernism. F., which is not an Indo European lang., has developed alongside the Indo-European family of langs. at the periphery of European civilization.
I. THE BEGINNINGS
A rich treasury of oral-traditional songs and tales is extant, incl. ca. 1,270,000 lines and 85,000 variants of the poetry composed in the so-called Kalevala meter (trochaic tetrameter in its simplest form). These are traditionally the work of anonymous singers, both men and women, but some of the principal singers are known by name, such as Arhippa Perttunen and Ontrei Malinen, both of whom were important sources for Elias Lönnrot’s compilations, the epic Kalevala (1835, 1849), and the Kanteletar , a collection of lyrics and short narrative poems (1840-41). F. folk p. consists of elements dating from different periods and deriving from various cultural strata. There is evidence of the existence of a vital oral poetry before the period of Swedish expansion during the 12th c. which brought Christianity to Finland. Finno-Ugric mythology, based on animistic and shamanistic religion, is an intrinsic part of the early cosmogonie poems, magic songs, and ritual incantations of this trad. Medieval Christianity introduced new elements to F. folk p. Ballads, legends, and lamentations express both religious and secular themes. In an exquisite cycle about the birth of Christ, a F. maiden, Marjatta, a variant of the Virgin Mary, becomes pregnant by eating cranberries (F. marja ). The religious basis of these poems, which were composed afresh by individual singers according to their poetic skill, derives from a fusion of Catholic and Gr. Orthodox beliefs.
While oral poetry survived among the illiterate and in the agrarian parts of Finland, its importance decreased as other attempts were made to forge the F. lang, into a literary medium. One such attempt is Mikael Agricola’s 1548 tr. of the New Testament, an important linguistic landmark as well as one of the first literary monuments of the Protestant era. At the end of the 17th c., Lat. and Swedish-lang. poetry were composed but did not rise much above the level of conventional verse. It was not until the recovery of the oral trads. in the 18th c., inaugurated by the study of F. folk p. (e.g. Henrik Gabriel Porthan’s De poesi fennica [1766-78]), that F.-lang. p. began to emerge from obscurity. The realization that the F. people had created poetry worthy of comparison with the Iliad and the Odyssey had an enormous impact in Finland. The following lines by Arhippa Perttunen illustrate what could be discovered on native ground:
my own snatching from the road
my grinding from the grass tops
my snapping from the heather.
III. THE MODERN PERIOD
While Leino has a strikingly modern timbre at times, modernism apppeared in F. p. shortly after World War I in the unique work of the Swedo-F. modernists (q.v.), such as Edith Södergran (1892–1923) and Elmer Diktonius (1896–1961). Literary modernism coincided with anti-positivism in philosophy and was a reaction against 19th-c. empiricism and realism. In the 1920s, European movements such as futurism, cubism, constructivism, expressionism, and surrealism (qq.v.) arrived in Finland almost simultaneously. Denying the ability of art to describe reality, the new poets increasingly turned away from mimetic art even as they rejected the past and everything connected with it. This was first seen in lang, experiments, e.g. in Jääpeili (Ice Mirror, 1928) by Aaro Hellaakoski’s (1896–1952), in the poetry of Katri Vala (1901–44), in the prose of Olavi Paavolainen (1903–64), and in the early work of P. Mustapää (1899–1973). The new generation that brought modernism to Finland formed a group called the “Firebearers,” publishing albums and a journal of that name, Tulenkantajat . The Firebearers issued a manifesto in 1928, declaring the sacredness of art and life in tones reminiscent of the writings of the Swedo-F. modernists, but with an even greater fervor and passion. Katri Vaia and Uuno Kailas (1901–33) expressed these ideals. Kailas was influenced by expressionism, while Vaia, the most typical of the Firebearers, later became a politically committed leftist poet. Another literary group, “Kiila” (The Wedge), devoted itself to radical socialism after 1936. Arvo Turtiainen (1904–80), Viljo Kajava (b. 1909), and the novelist Elvi Sinervo (1912–86) were among its most important members, many of whom were imprisoned during World War II. The nation, divided by the Civil War (1918–19) following F. Independence, unified again for the effort of the Winter War, but the schism was not closed until the postwar era, as is described by Väinö Linna (b. 1920) in his epic trilogy Täällä Pohjantähden alla (Here under the North Star, 1959–62).
In the 1950s, poetic modernism became more sharply antitraditionalist. While drawing inspiration from both East and West, its lang., characterized by free rhythms and powerful imagery, turned hermetic. Paavo Haavikko (b. 1931), Eeva-Liisa Manner (b. 1921), Helvi Juvonen (1919–59), and Eila Kivikkaho (b. 1921) were among the most important poets, followed by other original talents such as Mirkka Rekola (b. 1931), Tyyne Saastamoinen (b. 1924), Lassi Nummi (b. 1928), and Pentti Holappa (b. 1927). Pentti Saarikoski (1937–83), whose first collection, Runoja (Poems), appeared in 1958, is not tied to any movement or decade. Saarikoski, a maverick genius and iconoclast, was one of the most learned of modern F. poets, as well as a translator of Homer, Euripides, Joyce, and others. With his Mitä tapahtuu todella? (What Is Going On, Really?, 1962) F. poetic lang, was taken to a new level where everything had to start from point zero in order to go on: the split word, the word mobile, the collage, and the explicit rejection of poetic structure all conveyed a sense of both freedom and despair. Saarikoski’s work culminated in a long, free-floating philosophical poem, Hämärän tanssit (The Dances of the Obscure, 1983; written during the period when the poet lived in Sweden), that expresses the poet’s yearning for beauty and the unification of all living things.
Haavikko and Manner, in their different ways, have been regarded as the leading F. modernists. Haavikko, director of a Helsinki publishing house, uses compelling rhythmic sequences and incantations to express, through a series of negatives, abstractions, and ironies, his skepticism about the relationship of lang, to the external world. It is an original vision, and in 1984 Haavikko received the Neustadt Prize for his achievement. Manner has explored the conflict between magical order and logical disorder, as she calls it, and has brought to F. p., from her breakthrough collection Tämä matka (This Journey, 1956) on, a mythical dimension, a lang, suggestive of another reality.
F. p. in the 1980s shows an unprecedented diversity; all directions seem possible. Among the poets writing in contemp. Finland are Sirkka Turkka (b. 1939), Kari Aronpuro (b. 1940), Pentti Saaritsa (b. 1941), Kirsti Simonsuuri (b. 1945), Caj Westerberg (b. 1946), and Arja Tiainen (b. 1947). Both poetry and prose occupy an important place in cultural life. Swedo-F. modernists like Bo Carpelan (b. 1926) and Solveig von Schoulz (b. 1907) have carried on the earlier modernist trad, while adding new elements. In the 1980s, one is justified in speaking of F. p. as including all verse written by Finns, whether in Swedish or F. and whether in- or outside Finland.
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