Maria Jotuni was a well-known short-story writer and playwright. Her interest in writing began at an early age. It began to bear literary fruit in the Savo-Karelian student ‘nation’ which gave her the credibility she needed to become a fully professional writer. Jotuni never graduated from the University but did meet her husband there. A brave, even iconoclastic figure, Maria Jotuni was often to be found at the centre of attention and a target of moral censure.
Maria Jotuni (née Haggren, from 1911 Jotuni-Tarkiainen)
Born April 9, 1880, Kuopio. Died September 30, 1943, Helsinki
Studied history, art history and literature, Imperial Alexander University
Writer, playwright
Photo: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura
Written by Tero Juutilainen
Translated by John Calton
Maria Jotuni was born into an ordinary family in Kuopio in 1880. Her interest in literature was awakened in primary school and continued throughout her school days. Indeed she was granted special dispension to take the matriculation examination, exceptional for a woman at the time. Back then, passing the matriculation examination meant automatic admission to university. Thus it was that Maria Jotuni began her studies at the Imperial Alexander University in 1900.
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