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Rakel Liehu
Finnish author From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Rakel Liehu (born 3 September 1939) is a Finnish poet, dramatist and novelist.[1][2]
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Works
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Liehu began writing poetry at the age of 11, inspired by the works of women poets such as Aila Meriluoto, and has since gone on to publish 13 poetry collections.[3][4][2]
She has also authored three novels, as well as two plays and various scripts.[4][2]
Her debut poetry collection, Ihmisen murhe on yhteinen (lit. '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.[2]
Her perhaps best-known work is Helene (2003), a novel about the life of the Finnish artist Helene Schjerfbeck, which won the 2004 Runeberg Prize.[1][3] It formed the basis of the 2020 film by the same name, directed by Antti Jokinen and starring Laura Birn as Schjerfbeck,[4][5] which was nominated for an award in the feature-length category at the Shanghai International Film Festival.[6]
Her latest novel, Valaanluiset koskettimet (2020) ('Whale Bone Keys') is strongly autobiographical.[3]
Her other notable works include the novel Punainen ruukku ('Red Pot') (1980), and the essay collection Sininen kala ('Blue Fish') (1999).[1]
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Awards and honours
In 2004, Liehu won the Runeberg Prize with Helene.[4][7]
In 2006, she was awarded the Pro Finlandia medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland.[4][8]
In 2008, Liehu received the Finnish State Literature Prize (Kirjallisuuden valtionpalkinto).[4][9]
Personal life
Aged five, Rakel Liehu contracted pneumonia, which killed her younger sister.[2] 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.[2]
Liehu graduated from the University of Helsinki in 1963, after which she worked briefly as a teacher of Finnish and history at a secondary school in Raahe.[10]
She was married until the death of her husband in 2008, with three children.[2] Liehu lives in the Kruununhaka district of central Helsinki.[4]
References
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