Although nowadays he is better known as a poet, Eino Leino had a long career as a journalist. He began in journalism as the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper Vasama. A key influence in his foray into the world of newsprint was his older brother Kasimir. 

At the age of 20, Leino founded the periodical Nykyaika (‘Modern times’) with his brother. The publication’s remit was ambitious and it stood out from many of its contemporaries. It did not address issues of language or nationality and it did not have a clear literary agenda. Nykyaika’s goal was to be an international journal of cultural and artistic life on a broad scale. And the result was a high-quality publication, but its readership remained hopelessly small. In 1899, with debts piling up, and after just one year, the Leino brothers were forced to close down the publishing venture.

Following the demise of Nykyaika, Leino joined Päivälehti (‘Daily news’) as a cultural affairs reporter. In 1904, when Päivälehti became Helsingin Sanomat (‘Helsinki news’), Leino became that paper’s theatre critic. Leino took on the job of a critic with vigour. He was not afraid to advance his bold views, nor did he shrink from criticising the established theatre elite. In particular, the Finnish National Theatre and its founder Kaarlo Bergbom came in for some harsh words in Leino’s reviews.

Leino’s work in the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper was not limited to theatre reviews. He also became a full-time columnist in 1904. Under the pseudonym ‘Teemu’, he became an important social critic. During the General Strike of 1905, he was especially outspoken in his criticism of Russia’s policy towards Finland as well as of those who supported accommodation of Russia’s interference. Yrjö Larmola says it is unclear whether the pseudonym Teemu was generally linked to Leino in 1905.

After working for more than ten years at the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, Leino took part in the founding of a cultural newspaper in 1915. He was the editor-in-chief of the weekly Sunnuntai (‘Sunday’) for three years. As with Nykyaika, the paper was offered a general humanist agenda. In this case, however, there were more backers from different political and ideological backgrounds, which most likely contributed to its longer duration.

Leino stayed in Helsinki during the Civil War in 1918. The war shocked him to the core and he realised that he could not identify with either side in the conflict. Having been a firm advocate of Finnish independence for years, the Civil War came as a severe mental blow for Leino. Maria-Liisa Nevala says that he never fully recovered from this. Leino’s career in journalism ended in that year.

In this Yle Elävä arkisto radio programme, Yrjö Larmola discusses Eino Leino’s political identity. Larmola talks about the politics of the man who is remembered more for his poetry these days. Larmola wrote his doctoral dissertation on the subject and he explains how the liberal writer could be very intolerant of dissidents.

Sources (in Finnish)

• Maria-Liisa Nevala, ‘Leino, Eino (1878­–1926). Writer’, National Biography of Finland online. Accessed March 12, 2015.
• ‘Eino Leino’, Historical Humanists online. Accessed March 12, 2015.
• Petri Liukunen and Ari Pesonen, Eino Leino (1878–1926) – originally Eino Armas Leopold Lönnbohm, Author’s Calendar online. Accessed March 12, 2015.
• Wikipedia, Eino Leino, Accessed March 12, 2015.
• Jukka Lindfors, ‘The Political Eino Leino’, Yle Elävä archive recording. Accessed March 12, 2015.