Aleksanteri Aava, born Aleksanteri (Santeri) Kuparinen, (18 April 1883 – 11 March 1956) was a Finnish poet and

smallholder A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...

. Aava was born in Sakkola in the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

. His parents were Matti Juhonpoika Kuparinen, a farmer and a tanner, and Emilia Martintytär Karvanen (or Karvonen). He attended elementary school and graduated on 1901 in

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''adult education center'') are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and i ...

of Uusikirkko. Aava then worked as a smallholder in Sakkola until 1939 and was also a member of the Sakkola Town Council. Aava had been married to Helena Riikonen since 1911 and they had seven children: Kauko, Arvo, Aune Emilia, Kerttu, Jouko, Toivo Santeri and Vuokko Sisko. After the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

, Aava's family evacuated to the village of Mikkolanniemi,

Saari Saari means ''island'' in Finnish and may refer to *Saari (name) *Saari, Finland, a former municipality *Saari, Estonia, a village *Saari language in Cameroon *Tarujen Saari, a Finnish folk-rock group *''Saari Bhool Hamari Thi'', a 2013 Pakistani d ...

South Karelia South Karelia (or ''Southern Karelia'', ; ) is a Regions of Finland, region of Finland. It borders the regions of Kymenlaakso, Southern Savonia, South Savo and North Karelia, as well as Russia (Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast). Hist ...

, where Aava then spent his last years of life; his eldest sons, Kauko and Arvo, died in the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

between 1941 and 1944. Aleksanteri Aava received the State Prize for his poem collection, ''Musta lintu'' (literally translated "black bird"), published in 1917. The bust of Aava by Otto Pursiainen was erected in 1961 in

Lempäälä Lempäälä () is a municipality in Finland, located in the Pirkanmaa region. It lies south of the regional capital, Tampere. The population of Lempäälä is approximately , while the Tampere metropolitan area, metropolitan area has a population ...

Sources

Runoilija Aleksanteri Aava (1883–1956)
(in Finnish)

References

External links

1883 births 1956 deaths People from Priozersky District People from South Karelia Finnish male poets 20th-century Finnish farmers {{Finland-writer-stub