In the midst of a delightful discussion about Midsommar on pal Carol’s FB wall, a few memories have bubbled up. One of them is the gas station we always stopped at on the drive up to our cabin in Kaleva. It was a long drive and we knew every turn of it. I always knew my…
Tag: Finnish
Helene Schjerfbeck @ RA
The Helene Schjerfbeck exhibit at the Royal Academy is stunning. I do wonder if there is something genetic that makes me particularly partial to Finnish artists, but sacrilegiously, I don’t like coffee or liquorice, so perhaps not. There is something utterly engaging about her use of light, even when she paints in Cornwall, which by…
Talking Tove in Tokyo
The 20th Anniversary Conference of the Finnish Institute in Japan was devoted to Tove Jansson: Visual Artist. Writer. Landscape Enthusiast. Woman. I was delighted to give a keynote lecture on living art everyday like Tove. It was the one thing I didn’t get pictures of! I have started the overwhelming task of uploading all the…
Tove in Tokyo
I have been invited by the Finnish Institute of Japan to give a keynote lecture…
Suomenlinna
During @WorldCon75 I played hookey for a day to go to Suomenlinna, the island in Helsinki’s harbour with my friend and ‘borrowed cousin’ Laura. It was a beautiful day, but as I got to the harbour I saw there was a thick bank of fog over the water. It made the day a little more…
Louhi at @FolkloreThursday
My introduction to Louhi, witch of the north in The Kalevala, appears at @FolkloreThursday today. Folk familiar with my work know that she appears in my stories in Dream Book which were inspired by Finnish mythology in both The Kalevala and The Kanteletar. Some helpful links: The best translation of The Kalevala; the only English…
#FolkloreThursday: Palakainen
My Finnish murder ballad-based story ‘Palakainen’ first appeared in the Mythic Journeys magazine. It’s included in the Dream Book collection from Fox Spirit Books. Like all the tales in Dream Book I wanted to keep the original well in mind; I tried to capture the feel of the Kanteletar in the language, giving it something of…
Finns in Edinburgh: St Giles
Laura and I wandered in to see the Thistle Chapel at St Giles and managed to catch one of the tours. Chivalry at its most ceremonial. And I couldn’t resist a chuckle at the Albany Aisle. Silence please!
Finns in Edinburgh: Canongate Kirk
Of course I was mostly interested in the cemetery — me and the magpies! The poet Robert Fergusson is buried there. While Laura and Risto looked around the church, I wandered among the gravestones. Lots of history here.
