Sue Guiney and Noel Duffy in Finland

I have just had a busy and highly rewarding four days hosting the visit to Tampere of two writers whose work I admire greatly, Sue Guiney and Noel Duffy.

Sue and Noel arrived at Helsinki, Vantaa airport on Wednesday, 8 October and gave a reading to the Helsinki branch of the Finnish-British Society that same evening. I was not able to be there myself, but all the reports I've heard testify to its having been a very enjoyable reading followed by a lively evening out in restaurant Lappi.

On Thursday Sue and Noel ran a poetry workshop for the students at The English School in Helsinki and then travelled north to Tampere, where I met them. On Friday morning I introduced them to the principal and some of the staff at Tampereen Lyseon Lukio where they ran another successful poetry workshop. The group of IB students who took part in this workshop produced a group poem which you can read on Sue's home page:

http://sueguiney.com/2014/10/workshop-results-tampere-finland/

That Friday, the 9 October, was Aleksis Kivi Day in Finland, or the national literature day, and apart from being a very suitable day for writers to be visiting Finland, there was also a celebration at Tampere University where Sue, Noel and myself read a poem each. Some of the staff of the university's language centre sang Aleksis Kivi's song 'Oravan Laulu' - 'The Song of the Squirrel' - which is from his novel, Seven Brothers.

A poetry reading had been arranged for Friday evening in Tampere's main library with Sue, Noel, Donald Adamson and myself. When the reading was over we spent almost an hour chatting with members of the audience. I always feel that one of the nicest things about giving a reading is this opportunity to meet the audience and exchange ideas, opinions and thoughts, not only about poetry necessarily, but also other topics that have been suggested by the reading.

On Saturday we gave a reading in Pispala library. It's a community-run library with a very special atmosphere. Once again, the reading was followed by an hour in which we could meet the audience, exchange ideas, and enjoy a glass of sparkling wine.

Many thanks to Sue and Noel for travelling all this way and making each event such a success, and thanks also to everyone who helped towards the organizing of the whole programme and individual events. The Finnish-British Society arranges many visits to Finland by a wide range of different speakers and artists and by so doing, helps to promote knowledge and understanding of the cultures of all involved.

Poetry Reading in Pispala Library

We had a bright, sunny Saturday afternoon for our poetry reading in Pispala library and the beautiful early spring weather seemed to set the tone and atmosphere of the whole event. Donald Adamson and I read Finnish-themed poems from our own collections, mainly in English but with some translated into Finnish. Donald also read from his translations of Lassi Nummi's poetry. We had a lovely audience who were most generous in their appreciation and with whom it was a great pleasure to chat after the reading and enjoy a glass of sparkling wine.

Pispala library is a perfect venue for such an event; it's intimate, cosy and has a charm of its own. And our hosts on the occasion, Anne Rasmussen and Jyri Lehtimäki, provided us with excellent support and made us feel most welcome. A big thank you to both of them. We're already making plans for another event in the autumn.

Here's Donald reading from From Coiled Roots:

And myself reading mainly from Midas Touch, plus some new poems:

Poetry Reading at Arkadia Bookshop

This is the announcement for the poetry reading at the Arkadia Bookshop in Helsinki where I will be reading with three Scottish poets and one Finnish poet. There will be poems in both languages, including some in translation. I will be reading from my collection, Midas Touch, all in English. Copies of the poets´ publications will be available for purchase. Rumour has it that a glass of wine will be provided to relieve the thirst of audience members. The event is free but the Arkadia Bookshop asks for a donation of 3 euros to cover their own costs. If you are in the Helsinki area, do come along.


FOUR BRITS AND A FINN
A Cavalcade of Prizewinning Poets
Tuesday, 15th October @ 6 pm

Arkadia Bookshop (Nervanderinkatu 11, Helsinki)

Donald Adamson: Tampere-based poet and translator, winner of the Herald Millennium Poetry Prize, launches his new collection From Coiled Roots, which explores life, landscapes and history in Finland and Scotland. His translations of Lassi Nummi have been described by Eeva Kilpi as ‘like the humming of the trees around our human suffering and joys.’ www.donaldadamson.co.uk

Liz Niven’s most recent collection, The Shard Box, (Luath Press), uses multiple techniques to address fragmentation and reconstruction through a Chinese lens. An award-winning poet, she has appeared at Literary Festivals across Europe, China and Australia, recently participating in Clunes, Australia’s National Booktown. She has promised to read her Scots versions of the Kalevala! www.lizniven.com

Up-and-coming poet and translator Aila Juvonen collaborates with Liz Niven on sequences of interactive/correspondence poetry in English and Finnish. Her poems have been read at the Edinburgh Festival and published in Northwords. She is currently working on a novel and a poetry collection. Aila has also published books on her work as developer of the Skidikantti Children's Training programme. www.skidikantti.com

Award-winning writer Chrys Salt has authored five poetry collections. A poem in her fourth collection GRASS was selected as one of The 20 Best Scottish Poems 2012. Described as ‘brave, beautiful and deeply unsettling’, her latest collection Home Front/Front Line records a dialogue in poetry and prose between her and a soldier son, who was mobilised to Iraq in February 2003. www.chryssalt.com

Based in Tampere, Mike Horwood is a UK poetry prizewinner. He has published a translation of Martti Hynynen´s poetry collection, island, nameless rock, and a collection of his own, Midas Touch. Jo Shapcott has commented on `his ability to make simple things in the material world resonate with mystery´. He has also published a novel, The Finn’s Tale.

From Coiled Roots by Donald Adamson

Donald Adamson is a Tampere-based Scottish poet. He has previously published two pamphlets and his translations from Finnish to English appeared in the anthology How To Address The Fog, published by Carcanet and the Scottish Poetry Library. His full poetry collection, From Coiled Roots, was published this summer by Indigo Dreams Press. The collection as a whole is wide-ranging and eclectic, including a few set in childhood, some that consider aging, some with a historical background and some wonderful, understated love poems that show great sensitivity and delicacy in their use of language; `understated ardour´ is the phrase I came up with to describe the tone. I have added an example of one of the love poems below. There are poems set in Scotland and several set in Finland; some of these name Finnish places, but readers familiar with Finland will recognise a Finnish setting where it is not actually stated as such. There are several versions based on poems by the Finnish poet, Lassi Nummi.


I have read and enjoyed the collection enormously and recommend it highly. The book is available from Amazon or from the publisher´s website

This is a poem from the collection which is reproduced here with Donald´s permission:

What We Found

An hour away from daylight; snow´s
light, blind touching, and the single eye
of a train drawing in.

And all that day, as pine trees
inked themselves on paper fields,
I did not know you

till joking nervously,
we crossed the frontier.
Words were new then, and eyes.

What we found there,
more than from any temperate season, grew

out of the ice and the crystalline
and dangerous purity
of snow.


Donald´s blog is at:
http://donaldadamson.blogspot.com
and has several poems, including one from the new collection, and a link to the publisher´s website.

Donald´s website is at:
http://donaldadamson.co.uk