Katri Vala

Katri Vala (actually Karin Alice Tricky born Wadenström, * September 11, 1901 Muonio, † May 28, 1944 Eksjö ) was a Finnish poet and translator.

Life and work

Vala grew up in Ilomantsi and Porvoo. She had a younger brother Erkki Vala (1904 - 1991). She worked from 1922 as a primary school teacher until she became ill with tuberculosis in 1928. She then toured Europe and finally settled down in 1930 in Helsinki, after which she married the chemist and left-wing activists Armas Heikelin. The death of her first daughter shortly after birth, she fell into a deep depression. Her son Mauri Henrik was born in 1934. Again she worked as a teacher before abandoning the consequences of tuberculosis forced their work and to join her brother in 1940 to Sweden, where she died in a sanatorium in 1944.

She belonged to the Tulenkantajat, a group of Finnish writers who distinguished himself by his political commitment. Vala was one of the first poets of Finland, who wrote poems in free verse. Her themes are directed primarily against social ills and the emerging fascism of their time. In Ilomantsi their dedicated a museum.

Selected Works

• Kaukainen Puutarha, 1924
• Sininen ovi ( Blue Door ), 1926
• Paluu (return ), 1934
• Kootut runot ( collected poems ), 1945 ( posthumously )