Hannu Sulo Salama (born 4 October 1936) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

author.

Biography and work

Hannu Salama was born in

Kouvola Kouvola () is a city and municipality in southeastern Finland. It is located along the Kymijoki River in the region of Kymenlaakso, kilometers east of Lahti, west of Lappeenranta and northeast of the capital, Helsinki. With Kotka, Kouvola is ...

Kymenlaakso Kymenlaakso ( sv, Kymmenedalen; " Kymi/Kymmene Valley") is a region in Finland. It borders the regions of Uusimaa, Päijät-Häme, South Savo and South Karelia and Russia (Leningrad Oblast). Its name means literally ''The Valley of River Kym ...

region in

Southern Finland Southern Finland ( fi, Etelä-Suomen lääni, sv, Södra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Western Finland and Eastern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Finland and Russia. History ...

. He spent his childhood in the

Pispala Pispala is a city area 2.5 km from the centre of Tampere, Finland. It is located on the northern slope of Pispalanharju, the highest esker in Finland. Together with Pyynikki, Pispala is widely considered the most beautiful area of Tamper ...

district of the city of

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population ...

, in a traditional working-class area with working class politics and culture. Following in the footsteps of his father, Salama first worked as an electrician and a farm hand. Salama's literary debut was called ''Se tavallinen tarina'' (The Usual Story) (1961). In 1966 he was convicted for

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religio ...

for his book ''Juhannustanssit'' (''Midsummer Dances'') from 1964. He was released on probation, but finally pardoned by the Finnish president

Urho Kekkonen Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986), often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as prime minister ...

in 1968. The new editions of the book were published as censored versions up until 1990. Salama has written short stories as well as novels and won many literary awards in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

. Despite his working-class background Salama has never admitted to be a working-class novelist. He has maintained his critical autonomy both to the left and to the right. But it has to be said that according to the two main characteristics of the working-class literature and author – a person comes from the working-class and deals with workers' world, its ordinary issues as well as controversies with the elite – he belongs to the long tradition of working-class authors. Of Salama's books, his ''Finlandia Series'' probably enjoys the greatest literary reputation, including among all ''Kosti Herhiläisen perunkirjoitus'', ''Kolera on raju bändi'' and ''Pasi Harvalan tarina I–III''. Hannu Salama has also published collections of poetry. In the mid-1990s he wrote three crime novels under the pen name Aki Rautala.

List of works

* ''Se tavallinen tarina'' (1961) * ''Juhannustanssit'' (1964) * ''Minä, Olli ja Orvokki'' (1967)Hannu Salama: Minä, Olli ja Orvokki (in Finnish)
/ref> * ''Siinä näkijä missä tekijä'' (1972) * ''Näkymä kuivaushuoneen ikkunasta'' (1988) * ''Elämän opetuslapsia IV'' (2004)

Prizes

* ''Eino Leino Prize'' (1985) * ''Aleksis Kivi Prize'' (1990)

External links

Hannu Salama.
Interview in ''

Tamperelainen ''Tamperelainen'' (literally translated "Tamperean", meaning person who live in Tampere) is Finland's oldest city newspaper for the free distribution, published in Tampere, Kangasala, Nokia, Lempäälä, Pirkkala and Ylöjärvi. History The fir ...

'' from 17 December 2005.
Salama, Hannu
at ''Uppslagsverket Finland'' .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salama, Hannu 1936 births Living people People from Kouvola Finnish writers Writers from Kymenlaakso Nordic Council Literature Prize winners People convicted of blasphemy Recipients of the Eino Leino Prize