LIRIKONFESTOVIH ENAINDVAJSET (23): Vilja-Tuulia Huotarinen

I often say that poetry saves the world. It means that poetry is capable to go there where we can´t go with no other tools, no vehicles. Also, it is not in the hands of the commercial world, the world of money, like the novels are. But the world is a big place.

It might look like the poems are working in a small area but they deal with a much larger space. They very much exist. When people are going through changes in their life they reach for poetry or when they are losing – when nothing else seems to help. There is a joke in Finland about the play director who ran to the desk of a library and shouted: GIVE ME – SOMETHING!

When we read a book our thoughts and communication around the book will lead it much further than to our own mind. Poetry is giving words for the world. But what to do with the world when we already have so many tools of communication with our iPhones and when people are often in a mess with too many words? When the words are used for propaganda and when they don´t have enough weight to stop dictators?

We are guided by many tools and electric devises nowadays. The problem will emerge if we lose the connection to our own creative mind and body. It takes two to tango. Our roots as a mankind are to be human beings who invents and creates stuff. The call for a poetry is not just inside the writer, it is inside the human culture and society, it is built by mankind. This thing is actually what the human beings can do. We are very much needed and that is why I see the value of our work very well. We are not powerless. The poets and the poetry have and have always had the responsibility to solve the problems of the world, all kind of problems about communication, feelings and ideologies.

At the same time the poetry leaves the mystery in peace. What is this mystery then? It is us. Everything deep inside our own mind, our own imagination. Inside this – inside our power and strength to imagine things stays our hope for human culture. We need the unspokenness which means our souls are silently working. We should not let our imagination be led by AI. We need to work for the thoughts. Thinking leads to action. Without thinking we just react. And behind the machines there is always someone who thinks – we should not forget that.

It is probably very Finnish to ask people to appreciate the unspokenness and silence too. Actually, in Finland right now many poems are reflecting the fear of losing something valuable in the environment around us. I heard yesterday that in Slovenia many of the old forests are now protected. This is discussed in Finland but there is not yet enough action behind it. Otherwise, the cutting of the huge part of the older forests will just go on. The poetry in Finland right now is trying to reach through the unspokenness by speaking from the aspects and view of those who can´t speak – how to describe the nature, the animals in the new way, seeing the human beings as a part of the other species.

For me there is often enough to do with our own species, the human beings. I grew up in the farm so I have always felt close to animals anyhow. To me the interesting thing is how we all are part of the system and how the society works, how are communication works. It has been interesting to see how learning another language when living with an Icelander has helped me to go over the gap of indescribability. There are more words now for me to use my mother language since it is so damn difficult to talk Icelandic at home. There is more space to understand my own language when I need to express myself in another language. That means there is more space to understand another human being – which means myself too. People are mystery to themselves. The poetry leads us towards ourselves. We should see the value of that. It is not to take for granted that we can use words. In the beginning of times, these words have been made. They are here now but we need to continue to build.

Also, there is a question who is the reader – not just who are the writers. In Finland the book industry is going through a difficult time because of the audio books. People have learned to listen – and they have learned to do it for free. The writers are trying to get their rights understood. At the same time there is the question about that the poetry and the stories are not just something you listen once and then forget. Or – could they be that too? Is it fascinating to think writing that doesn’t stay with us? Writing on sand and in wind.