Aila Meriluoto

Aila Meriluoto
Born10 January 1924
Pieksämäki, Finland
Died21 October 2019 (aged 95)
Helsinki, Finland
Occupation(s)Poet, Writer, Translator
SpouseLauri Viita

Aila Meriluoto (10 January 1924 – 21 October 2019) was a Finnish poet, writer and translator.

Meriluoto was born in Pieksämäki, and published her first collection of poems, Lasimaalaus in age of 22. It was a success among critics and readers.[1]

She became the most celebrated and widely read female poet of post-war Finland. The central themes of her early poems are art and femininity.[1] Her first collections reflect the influence of Austrian author Rainer Maria Rilke. In collection Pahat unet (1956) some of the poems have a free form. The next collection, Portaat, came five years later, and there Meriluoto had found her own modern style of expression.[2]

Meriluoto lived in Sweden for 13 years. In 1974 she moved back to Finland, and the language of her poetry changed again to more close to a talking voice.[2]

In addition to poems, Meriluoto wrote novels, and books for young people.[2] She has translated works by Harry Martinson, Rainer Maria Rilke, Shakespeare and Goethe.[3]

Meriluoto was married 1948–1956 to another poet, Lauri Viita. She described him and their stormy marriage in a biographical novel.[4]

Meriluoto died in a care home in Helsinki on 21 October 2019, aged 95.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ a b Hökkä, Tuula. "Leaving War Behind". The History of Nordic Women's Literature. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Polkunen, Miriam (2005). "Meriluoto, Aila (1924- )". The National Biography of Finland. (in Finnish). Biografiakeskus, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  3. ^ "Meriluoto, Aila". Kirjasampo (in Finnish). Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  4. ^ Hökkä, Tuula. "Meriluoto, Aila". The History of Nordic Women's Literature. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Runoilija Aila Meriluoto on kuollut" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. 2019-10-22. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  6. ^ Kirssi, Elina (2019-10-22). "Runoilija Aila Meriluoto on kuollut 95-vuotiaana – tästä me hänet muistamme" (in Finnish). Seura. Retrieved 2019-10-22.