Lauri Hermanni Kokkonen (August 9, 1918 in

Pielavesi Pielavesi is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Geography ...

- October 6, 1985 in

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: ...

) 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 and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. He is famous as the writer of the plays ''Viimeiset kiusaukset'' (

The Last Temptations ''The Last Temptations'' ( fi, Viimeiset kiusaukset) is an opera in two acts by Joonas Kokkonen to a libretto by Lauri Kokkonen. Along with Leevi Madetoja's ''Pohjalaisia'' and Aarre Merikanto's ''Juha'', it is considered one of the most import ...

, 1960) and ''Ruskie neitsyt'' (The Red Maiden, 1969). He later wrote the libretto, based on his own play, to the opera version of ''

'' by

Joonas Kokkonen Joonas Kokkonen (; 13 November 1921 – 2 October 1996) was a Finnish composer. He was one of the most internationally famous Finnish composers of the 20th century after Sibelius; his opera ''The Last Temptations'' has received over 500 performance ...

Works

*''Hopeinen kynttilänjalka'' 5-act play. Jyväskylä 1960. Gummerus 124 pages, illustrated. *''Laahus. Komediaa tiistaina, keskiviikkona ja perjantaina'' Jyväskylä 1958. Gummerus. 137 pages, illustrated. Translated into Swedish (Släpet). *''Viimeiset kiusaukset'' Play. 14 acts. Jyväskylä 1960. Gummerus. 102 pages. (Libretto to an opera by

, ''

''. Translated into English, Swedish and German.) *''Häähuone'' 3-act comedy. Jyväskylä 1961. Gummerus. 146 pages, illustrated. *''Kultakivet'' 1961. Radio drama. *''Myrskylintu'' 1962. Play. *''Päivän nimi'' 1963. Play. *''Herodekset ratsailla'' 1965. Play. *''Kenttäpostia'' Novel. Helsinki 1966. Weilin&Göös.211 pages. *'' Ruskie neitsyt'' Play 1969. Printed in Porvoo 1973. WSOY. *''Muuttolinnut'' 3-act comedy. Helsinki 1977. Finnish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild . *''Hildan koulu'' 1980. Play. *''Vaeltajat'' Play. Printed in Porvoo 1984. WSOY. 84 pages.

Honours and awards

*Finnish National Prize for Literature 1961 *Knight, First Class, of the Order of the Lion of Finland *Professor (title and style granted by The President of The Republic of Finland) 1978

External links

Lauri Kokkonen – Kirjasampo.fi
* http://runeberg.org/kuka/1978/0411.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Kokkonen, Lauri Finnish dramatists and playwrights 1918 births 1985 deaths Finnish male writers Male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Finnish writers 20th-century male writers