Rakel Liehu (born 3 September 1939) is 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 ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

dramatist 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 ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

Works

Liehu began writing poetry at the age of 11, inspired by the works of women poets such as

Aila Meriluoto Aila Meriluoto (10 January 1924 – 21 October 2019) was a Finnish poet, writer and translator. Meriluoto was born in Pieksämäki, and published her first collection of poems, ''Lasimaalaus'' in age of 22. It was a success among critics and read ...

, and has since gone on to publish 13

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 ...

s. She has also authored three

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

s, as well as two plays and various scripts. Her debut poetry collection, ''Ihmisen murhe on yhteinen'' ( 'The Grief of a Person is Shared'), came out in 1974, and her first novel, ''Seth Mattsonin tarina'' ('The Story of Seth Mattson'), in 1976. Her perhaps best-known work is ''Helene'' (2003), a

about the life of the Finnish artist

Helene Schjerfbeck Helena Sofia (Helene) Schjerfbeck (; July 10, 1862 – January 23, 1946) was a Finnish painter. A modernist painter, she is known for her realist works and self-portraits, and also for her landscapes and still lifes. Throughout her long life, he ...

, which won the 2004

Runeberg Prize The Runeberg prize (Finnish: ''Runeberg-palkinto'', Swedish: ''Runebergspriset'') is a Finnish literature prize founded in 1987. The prize is named in honour of Finnish national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804–1877) and is awarded annually on ...

. It formed the basis of the 2020 film by the same name, directed by

Antti Jokinen Antti Juhanpoika Jokinen (born 26 April 1968) is a Finnish music video and film director as well as a former college basketball player. He is married to actress Krista Kosonen. Biography Early life Born in Nurmijärvi to the family of a sport ...

and starring

Laura Birn Laura Eveliina Birn (born 25 April 1981) is a Finnish film actress. Birn was born in Helsinki, Finland. She completed her master's degree from Helsinki Theatre Academy in 2008. She is most famous for her appearances in the 2003 film '' Helmiä j ...

as Schjerfbeck, which was nominated for an award in the feature-length category at the

Shanghai International Film Festival The Shanghai International Film Festival (, French: ''Festival international du film de Shanghai''), abbreviated SIFF, is one of the largest film festivals in East Asia. "China's biggest film festival" according to the Hollywood Reporter. Nex ...

. Her latest novel, ''Valaanluiset koskettimet'' (2020) ('Whale Bone Keys') is strongly autobiographical. Her other notable works include the novel ''Punainen ruukku'' ('Red Pot') (1980), and the

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

collection ''Sininen kala'' ('Blue Fish') (1999).

Awards and honours

In 2004, Liehu won the Runeberg Prize with ''Helene''. In 2006, she was awarded 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 ...

. In 2008, Liehu received the Finnish State Literature Prize (').

Personal life

Aged five, Rakel Liehu contracted

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

, which killed her younger sister. She herself survived, but suffered from resultant ill health all her childhood, missing much of school while needing to convalesce; it was during that time that she became interested in poetry. Liehu graduated from 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 ...

in 1963, after which she worked briefly as a teacher of

and history at a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

Raahe Raahe (; sv, Brahestad; ) is a town and municipality of Finland. Founded by Swedish statesman and Governor General of Finland Count Per Brahe the Younger in 1649, it is one of 10 historic wooden towns (or town centers) remaining in Finland. Examp ...

. She was married until the death of her husband in 2008, with three children. Liehu lives in the

Kruununhaka Kruununhaka (; ) is a neighbourhood of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Kruununhaka became the area next to the harbour and the center, when Helsinki was moved from the earlier location in the mid-1660s. From the very beginning, the residents i ...

district of central Helsinki.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liehu, Rakel Finnish poets Finnish women poets Finnish women writers Finnish dramatists and playwrights Finnish women dramatists and playwrights Finnish novelists Finnish women novelists People from Nivala 1939 births University of Helsinki alumni Living people Pro Finlandia Medals of the Order of the Lion of Finland