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Editorial

This'n'that
Tero Liukkonen on the short-story writer Tuuve Aro; the artist Hannu Väisänen on the poet Bo Carpelan and his new Klee-inspired collection of prose poems; literary prizes; www-books; literary Helsinki

Tuuve Aro
Upstairs, downstairs
Short prose from Harmia lämpöpatterista ('Trouble with the radiator', Gummerus, 1999), translated by Hildi Hawkins
A block of flats conceals all kinds of lives. Someone spies on his neighbours with a pair of binoculars; others need space in their relationships; yet another only has half a father. The stories in this first book by Tuuve Aro (born 1973) explore the minds of city people

Bo Carpelan
A smell of the sea
Poems from Namnet på tavlan Klee målade ('The name of the picture Klee painted', Schildts 1999), selected by Hannu Väisänen and translated by David McDuff
The poems in the twentieth collection of poetry by Bo Carpelan (born 1926) - memories, associations and little stories - take the titles of paintings by Paul Klee. The painter Hannu Väisänen knows Klee's work well, and for him Carpelan's improvisations take them close to music: is one reading a poem or a musical manuscript?

Veronica Pimenoff
Still alive
Extracts from the novel Maa ilman vettä ('A world without water', Tammi, 1999), translated by Hildi Hawkins
In her seventh novel, the psychiatrist and writer Veronica Pimenoff (born 1949) presents a chilling analysis of the concepts of 'rich' and 'poor' in a world where the gulf between them continues to grow. Introduction by Pekka Tarkka

Lassi Päivärinta & Erkki Somersalo
Cooking the books
Extracts from Epälineaarinen keittokirja ('A non-linear cookbook', Tammi, 1999), translated by Hildi Hawkins
When two mathematicians write a cookbook, is the result chaos or exactitude? One and one do not always equal two, they claim, in the kitchen

Stefan Bremer
Helsinki by night
Stefan Bremer (born 1953) is a second-generation photographer who has photographed his home town of Helsinki a great deal. In these photographs, he explores the youth hang-out of Helsinki railway station in the late 1970s

Hannu Raittila
The Nineties and the Noughts
'When God created the market economy, he intended to settle it with people just like the Finns', claims the writer Hannu Raittila ironically. Grey, dull and driven by their protestant work ethic, the Finns have rationalised themselves from the economic catastrophe of a decade ago to present-day prosperity. But what are the implications for culture?

Ralf Gothoni
Learning to listen
An extract from Luova hetki. Esseitä matkallaolosta musiikissa ('The creative moment. Essays on travelling in music', Ajatus, 1998), translated by Hildi Hawkins
The pianist Ralf Gothoni has made more than 80 recordings, some as a conductor, during a career spanning more than 30 years; in 1994 he received the prestigious American Gilmore prize. But as a young pianist he suddenly lost his ability to play. His faith and his ability were restored by a Buddhist guru and weeks of practising a single note

Reviews

Paula Deitz
Finland, France, Finland
L'horizon inconnu: l'art en Finlande de 1870 à 1920 [The unknown horizon: Finnish art from 1870 to 1920]

Irmeli Niemi
Dear angel
Aino Sibeliuksen kirjeitä Järnefelt-suvun jäsenille [The letters of Aino Sibelius to members of the Järnefelt family], edited by SuviSirkku Talas

New translations

Select bibliography

Letter from Helsinki
Euro-winters have come to Helsinki, a European city of culture for the millennial year, writes Hildi Hawkins. And when the weekend comes, the ideal Euro-citizens of Euroland obey their directives and go shopping


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