Jorma Ojaharju (

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

, 10 October 1938 – 8 February 2011) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

author. He had been described as a "boxer of rough prose" because of his background as a

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

and a

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, but also because of his relaxed

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller (ge ...

. Ojaharji published his writings in 1966 and his main work was the so-called Vaasa-trilogy - 'Valkoinen kaupunki' (1976), 'Paremmassa maailmassa' (1979) and 'Maa kallis isien' (1982) - which depicts history from the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...

to the present day through the eyes of a few sailors. As a describer of recent history he chose another path compared with other Finnish writers of the same generation, as he strove fora realistic narrative, but also left room for fantasy and myth. Jorma Ojaharju's style of writing has been compared with Colombian novelist

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...

who is widely considered the leading exponent of the literary style called

magical realism Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to: * Magical (horse) (foaled 2015), Irish Thoroughbred racehorse * "Magical" (song), released in 1985 by John Parr * '' Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations'', ...

. Aside from being a writer and his history as a sailor, Ojaharju also worked as a rock blaster, a harbour and dock worker, and a diver. Ojaharju died on 8 February 2011 at the age of 72. He is buried in the

Hietaniemi Cemetery The Hietaniemi cemetery ( fi, Hietaniemen hautausmaa, sv, Sandudds begravningsplats) is located mainly in the Lapinlahti quarter and partly in the Etu-Töölö district of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It is the location for Finnish state ...

in Helsinki.

References

External links

*
www.ojaharju.net
- Author's official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Ojaharju, Jorma 1938 births 2011 deaths People from Vaasa Finnish writers Burials at Hietaniemi Cemetery