Finnish Folk Poetry -- Epic : An Anthology in Finnish and English

by Matti Kuusi, Keith Bosley

English, Finnish

Genres: Poetry, Finnish Literature

607 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finnish Folk Poetry Epic: An Anthology in Finnish and English (1977) is a fascinating introduction to Finnish folk poetry. The letter to the reader, translator’s preface and introduction was helpful to contextualize the many poems and the work done to prepare the book. There are some pages of black and white photographs included in different sections of the book, mostly from early 1900s.

I really enjoyed seeing the variances of some poems from the different regions, read one after the other. There are 148 poems in total. As I continued to read them, it began to feel like I was watching an accompanying stage fill with the characters of a long-ago time; their stories being interpreted as stop-motion stories with 3D paper dolls or marionettes.

I did not try to read or pronounce the Finnish versions but the writing is side by side: Finnish / English. The commentary and name index at the back of the book added more sense of the general information and common knowledge.

A book that feels like an entire course!!