Kirsti Simonsuuri
Humanist of the day

Kirsti Simonsuuri

Kirsti Simonsuuri is a researcher, writer, poet and translator whose career and passions are as international as they are Finnish. She has lived half her life abroad conducting research into ancient literature. Dr Simonsuuri is also known for her Finnish translations of the works of William Shakespeare and Virginia Woolf.

Kirsti Simonsuuri

Kirsti Katariina Simonsuuri
Born December 26, 1945, Helsinki

Postgraduate Diploma in English Studies (MA) 1969, University of Edinburgh
Master of Arts (English Philology) 1971, University of Helsinki
PhD 1977, Newnham College Cambridge
Docent in general literature 1981–, University of Turku
Docent in the history of literature 1984–, University of Helsinki

Writer and researcher of ancient literature
Assistant professor and acting professor of literature 1978–1981, University of Oulu
Researcher 1971–1977 and 2003, Cambridge; 1984–1986, Strasbourg and Boston 1986–1988 New York; 1989–1990 Paris; 1992–1993 and 2001 Berlin; 1994 Oxford; 2003–2004 Budapest and 2006–2007 Uppsala
British Academy Wolfson Fellow 1981–1982, Warburg Institute London
Director, 1995–1997, The Finnish Institute at Athens
Academy of Finland researcher 2000–2006
European Research Council expert panel member 2007–2010

Photo: Ingrid von Kruse
Written by Kirsti Katariina Simonsuuri (Riitta-Ilona Hurmerinta​ ed.)
Translated by Matthew Billington

Travel, roaming and voyages of discovery

I defended my doctoral thesis at the University of Cambridge In 1977. My doctoral dissertation focuses on Homer’s lyrical poetry. It examines the question of authorship from the perspective of European cultural history, and the even more mysterious question of originality in poetry, which was the subject of heated debate during the Renaissance, Baroque period and Enlightenment.

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Opening the doorway to reflection

It is difficult for me to imagine the work of a researcher in the humanities from a monologous or mono-cultural perspective. Scholarly research topics are road signs indicating new possibilities; they never claim that things must be explained in a certain way. In my opinion, research in the humanities is a form of philosophical reflection.

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