Paavo Haavikko
Finnish writer (1931–2008)
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Biography
Paavo Haavikko was born and grew up in Helsinki. His father was a bookbinder and later worked in the import business. In 1951, Haavikko graduated from the Kallio Coeducational School, and published his first collection of poems.
In the 1950s, Haavikko published several more poetry collections, culminating in the collection entitled Talvipalatsi ('The Winter Palace'; 1959). He was at the forefront of the emerging modernist movement in Finland, and in the following decades he had a profound influence on many other genres as well. As a result of his literary achievements, he became the leading writer of his generation and of the entire postwar period in Finland.
Haavikko's first wife Marja-Liisa Vartio was also a writer. They had two children. Marja-Liisa Vartio died in 1966, and Haavikko stopped writing for a long time. Haavikko married Ritva Rainio in 1971. They lived separately since 1983.
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Career as a writer
Haavikko started his career as a poet, but he published in almost every genre of literature. His drama has seldom been played on traditional theatre scenes. Television series Rauta-aika illustrated freely the Finnish National epic Kalevala. Operas Ratsumies (English title: The Horseman) and Kuningas lähtee Ranskaan (English title: The King goes forth to France) were composed by Aulis Sallinen to librettos by Haavikko.
Haavikko placed many of his works in historical context but included references to more modern politics, such as Juho Kusti Paasikivi and Stalin in his play Agricola ja kettu ('Agricola and the Fox'), or Urho Kaleva Kekkonen as a Viking ruler. He scrutinized Finland's leading politicians and civil servants in his column in weekly magazine Suomen Kuvalehti.
Images occurring often in Haavikko's poetry included the king, palaces, gardens, and the woods. Haavikko was talented in describing love, romantic and relationships between men and women. After the death of his first wife he started to write about subjects less discussed in poetry: economy, politics and society.
Reception
The high opinion of Haavikko's poetry was not confined to his home country: John Ashbery considered The Winter Palace as "one of the great poems of the century".
Business life
From 1967 to 1983, Haavikko was literary director of the Otava publishing company, and from 1989 to his death owner of the Art House publishing company.
He and his family had a company producing peat for fuel. He also owned forest. When he died, his family inherited 3 million euros.
Honours
- Aleksis Kivi Prize, Finnish Literature Society, 1966
- Pro Finlandia Medal, 1967,
- Honorary Doctorate from the University of Helsinki, 1969
- Knight First Class of the White Rose of Finland, 1978
- Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1984.
- In 1993, he won the Swedish Academy Nordic Prize, known as the 'little Nobel'.
- America Award, 2007