Anu Kaipainen ( Mustonen; 14 March 1933 — 29 September 2009) was a prolific Finnish writer and literary critic.

Early life and education

Aune ("Anu") Helinä Mustonen was born in Muolaa,

Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...

, to the school principal Johan Emil Mustonen and his second wife Signe Julia Sjöblom. She completed her secondary education in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

in 1951, after which she studied at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

, graduating with a Master of Arts in 1955.

Career

Before dedicating herself to writing, Kaipainen worked as a Finnish teacher for several years. She had wide literary and cultural interests, contributing to

literary criticism Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

, as well as holding board and council roles at numerous literary and cultural organisations. Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Kaipainen served as

city councillor A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural council ...

in her home town of

Kauniainen Kauniainen (; sv, Grankulla) is a small town and a municipality of inhabitants () in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland. It is surrounded and enclaved by the City of Espoo, in the Capital Region of Greater Helsinki. Kauniainen was founded ...

Writing

Kaipainen's debut novel, ''Utuiset neulat'', came out in 1960, followed by a

poetry collection A poetry collection is often a compilation of several Poetry, poems by one poet to be published in a single Volume (bibliography), volume or chapbook. A collection can include any number of poems, ranging from a few (e.g. the four long poems in ...

, ''Kädet helmassa'', in 1961. Afterwards she published a new novel every couple of years — over 20, in total — as well as several plays and TV scripts, short stories and a fairytale book. Her 1967 novel ''Arkkienkeli Oulussa 1808-1809'' ('

Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...

') is considered her breakthrough work, after which she became a full-time writer. Her 2002 novel ''Granaattiomena'' (' Pomegranate') was shortlisted for the ''

Finlandia Prize The Finlandia Prize ( fi, Finlandia-palkinto; sv, Finlandiaprisen) is a set of Finnish literary prizes awarded by the Finnish Book Foundation to "celebrate reading and highlight new Finnish first-rate literature." Considered the most prestigious ...

'' literary award. Common themes in many of Kaipainen's works are on one hand myths and legends; on the other, contemporary realism and criticism of societal injustices and problems. She felt that a novel must be written openly and honestly, without trying to sugar-coat difficult issues.

Awards and honours

Kaipainen won the twice, in 1966 and 1969. In 1983, she received the ' medal of the

Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President o ...

. She was awarded the state pension for artists (''Valtion taiteilijaeläke'') in recognition of her life's work, from 1994. In 2006, Kaipainen was recognised with the annual award (''Suomen Kirjailijaliiton tunnustuspalkinto'') of the

Union of Finnish Writers The Union of Finnish Writers ( fi, Suomen Kirjailijaliitto r.y.) is an ideological and professional organization representing fiction authors writing in Finnish. The organization was founded in 1897 and now has around 770 members. It is led by an el ...

Personal life

In 1955, Anu Mustonen married the physician and later politician Osmo Kaipainen; the couple had three sons, the eldest of whom was the composer Jouni Kaipainen.

References

External links

Anu Kaipainen
profile and bibliography on Kirjasampo (Public Libraries of Finland literary database; in Finnish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaipainen, Anu 20th-century Finnish women writers Finnish women novelists Finnish dramatists and playwrights Finnish women dramatists and playwrights Finnish poets Finnish women poets Finnish literary critics Finnish women literary critics People from Karelia 1933 births 2009 deaths University of Helsinki alumni Pro Finlandia Medals of the Order of the Lion of Finland Thanks for the Book Award winners