Christmas holiday reading 2

9. Harry Salmenniemi: Uraanilamppu ja muita novelleja [Uranium Lamp and Other Short Stories]. 183 p. Helsinki: Siltala, 2017. – Harry Salmenniemi, one of the brightest contemporary Finnish poets,  publishes his first prose work. Meanwhile he has also expanded his scope as the screenwriter of Mika Taanila's inspired Lettrist movie Tectonic Plate. Uranium Lamp is something new. There is the power of condensation characteristic of poetry. There is also a special sense of humour. I was even thinking about the unique genre of short fiction typical of Veikko Huovinen, "lyhyet erikoiset" ["weird short stories"].

10. Marina Tsvetaeva / Marina Tsvetajeva: Ylistys, hiljaa! Valitut runot 1912–1939 [Quiet, Praise! Selected Poems 1912–1939]. Edited and translated by Marja-Leena Mikkola, with a long introductory essay by Mikkola. 228 p. Helsinki: Siltala, 2017. – The third major translation of Tsvetaeva into Finnish. Tsvetaeva has been prominent here also thanks to Riikka Pelo's award-winning novel Jokapäiväinen elämämme [Our Quotidian Life] (2013). Poetry at its greatest. Edited with a backstory illuminating a devastating fate after the Russian revolution.

11. Arja Tiainen: Tää tojota ei lähe liikkelle. Ajopäiväkirja [This Toyota Doesn't Get Started. A Driver's Log]. 75 p. Helsinki: WSOY, 2006.
12. Arja Tiainen: Lapsilta kielletty! [X-Rated!]. 89 p. Helsinki: WSOY, 2012.
    Arja Tiainen is a favourite poet of mine. In preparation of her fresh collection I read two previous ones. "This Toyota" is a hilarious "driver's log". "X-Rated" is an irreverent account of relationships. Tiainen's way of perception is unique.

13. Kristina Carlson: Hämärän valo [The Light of Dusk]. Poems. 106 p. Helsinki: Otava,1986.
14. Kristina Carlson: Maan ääreen [Till the End of Earth]. A novel. 192 p. Helsinki: Otava, 1999.
15. Kristina Carlson: Herra Darwinin puutarhuri [Mr. Darwin's Gardener]. A novel. 176 p. Helsinki: Otava, 2009.
16. Kristina Carlson: William N. päiväkirja [William N. Diary]. A novel. 159 p. Helsinki: Otava, 2011.
    There is lucid wisdom in Kristina Carlson's lyrical poems and prose poems. Her novels are stories of exploration based on concrete historical backgrounds in the 19th century in the Amur (Maan ääreen), Kent (Herra Darwinin puutarhuri), and Paris (William N. päiväkirja). Compact, intelligent, reflective.