''Helkavirsiä'' ( Swedish: ''Helkasånger''; English: ''Whitsongs'') is a two-part

poetry collection A poetry collection is often a compilation of several poems by one poet to be published in a single volume or chapbook. A collection can include any number of poems, ranging from a few (e.g. the four long poems in T. S. Eliot's ''Four Quartets' ...

by the Finnish poet

Eino Leino Eino Leino (born Armas Einar Leopold Lönnbohm; 6 July 1878 – 10 January 1926) was a Finnish poet and journalist who is considered one of the pioneers of Finnish poetry and a national poet of Finland. His poems combine modern and Finnish fo ...

, published in 1903 and 1916 respectively. Leino wrote the first part in

Kangasniemi Kangasniemi is a municipality in the Southern Savonia regions of Finland, region, Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Kangasniemi is located on the Highways in ...

, in

Central Finland Central Finland (; ) is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) in Finland. It borders the regions of Päijät-Häme, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, Northern Savonia, North Savo, and Southern Savonia, South S ...

, in the summer of 1903, while staying at the summer house of his friend and fellow writer,

Otto Manninen Otto Manninen (13 August 1872 – 6 April 1950) was a Finnish language, Finnish writer, poet, and a celebrated translator of world classics into Finnish language. Along with Eino Leino in the early 20th century, he is considered as a pioneer of Fi ...

. The collection draws inspiration from the country's

national epic A national epic is an epic poem or a literary work of epic scope which seeks to or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation—not necessarily a nation state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group wi ...

Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' () is a 19th-century compilation of epic poetry, compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling a story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and retaliatory ...

'' and other Finnish mythology, merging legends and ballads with modern themes and structures. ''Helkavirsiä'' is considered not only Leino's breakthrough and one of his most notable works, but also seminal in the development of modern Finnish poetry and wider cultural identity.

References

External links

*
Helkavirsiä
' (part I; 1903), digital version online at Digital Collections,

National Library of Finland The National Library of Finland (, ) is the foremost research library in Finland. Administratively the library is part of the University of Helsinki. From 1919 to 1 August 2006, it was known as the Helsinki University Library (). The Nationa ...

{{Authority control Finnish poetry collections 1903 poetry books 1916 poetry books Finnish poetry books 20th-century poetry books