Aila Meriluoto

Aila Meriluoto
Born	10 January 1924 Pieksämäki, Finland
Died	21 October 2019 (aged 95) Helsinki, Finland
Occupation(s)	Poet, Writer, Translator
Spouse	Lauri Viita

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 readers.[1]

She became the most celebrated and widely read female poet of post-war Finland. The central themes of her early poems are art and femininity.[1] Her first collections reflect the influence of Austrian author Rainer Maria Rilke. In collection Pahat unet (1956) some of the poems have a free form. The next collection, Portaat, came five years later, and there Meriluoto had found her own modern style of expression.[2]

Meriluoto lived in Sweden for 13 years. In 1974 she moved back to Finland, and the language of her poetry changed again to more close to a talking voice.[2]

In addition to poems, Meriluoto wrote novels, and books for young people.[2] She has translated works by Harry Martinson, Rainer Maria Rilke, Shakespeare and Goethe.[3]

Meriluoto was married 1948–1956 to another poet, Lauri Viita. She described him and their stormy marriage in a biographical novel.[4]

Meriluoto died in a care home in Helsinki on 21 October 2019, aged 95.[5][6]

References

1. Hökkä, Tuula. "Leaving War Behind". The History of Nordic Women's Literature. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
2. Polkunen, Miriam (2005). "Meriluoto, Aila (1924- )". The National Biography of Finland. (in Finnish). Biografiakeskus, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
3. "Meriluoto, Aila". Kirjasampo (in Finnish). Retrieved 24 September 2016.
4. Hökkä, Tuula. "Meriluoto, Aila". The History of Nordic Women's Literature. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
5. "Runoilija Aila Meriluoto on kuollut" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. 2019-10-22. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
6. Kirssi, Elina (2019-10-22). "Runoilija Aila Meriluoto on kuollut 95-vuotiaana – tästä me hänet muistamme" (in Finnish). Seura. Retrieved 2019-10-22.