Lauri Viita

Lauri Arvi Viita (17 December 1916 – 22 December 1965) was a poet hailing from the Pispala district of Tampere, Finland.

Lauri Viita
Born(1916-12-17)17 December 1916
Pirkkala, Finland
Died22 December 1965(1965-12-22) (aged 49)
Helsinki, Finland

Viita was a verbally talented son of a carpenter who became a self-taught writer. He only published four poetry collections, but they became very popular. He also inspired other writers who had a working-class background. Viita's last creative years were shadowed by a mental illness, and he spent several periods in hospital.[1]

Viita wrote mainly traditional poetry with rhymes. In 1950s, he was shadowed by emerging modernists such as Paavo Haavikko and Tuomas Anhava. He played with words and published e.g. a poem where all words started with letter K.[2]

Viita was married three times and had seven children. His second wife was famous poet Aila Meriluoto. Viita died in a car accident in December 1965,[3] when the taxi he was in was struck by a truck driven by a drunk driver.[4]

Selected works
  • Betonimylläri (poems, 1947)
  • Kukunor (a poetic fairytale, 1949)
  • Moreeni (a novel, 1950)
  • Käppyräinen (poems, 1954)
  • Suutarikin, suuri viisas (poems, 1961)
  • Entäs sitten, Leevi (a novel, 1965)

References
  1. Liukkonen, Petri (2008). "Lauri (Arvi) Viita (1916-1965)". Authors' Calendar. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  2. Verpio, Yrjö (2002). "Luova hulluus – Lauri Viidan runous" (PDF). Tieteessä Tapahtuu (in Finnish). Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  3. "Lauri Viita Museum - in English". Lauri Viita Museum. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  4. Manninen, Alpo (26 December 2020). "Vaikuttava Lauri Viita – mäntsäläläinen Jukka Lyytinen kokosi kirjailijan elämän kansien väliin". Mäntsälän Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 26 May 2022.
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