The one university memory that stands out above all others is the defence of my doctoral thesis on March 6, 2004 — although I can remember surprisingly few details. Despite the fact that it was right in front of my eyes, I decided in advance I would not look at the clock. When I finally dared to take a look, to my amazement I saw that almost three hours had flown by.

The defence of my thesis was an emotionally charged affair. In my speech, I read two quotations from the 1920s magazine Valistaja (‘Enlightener’) which had been written by Selma Bäckström and Paavo Saaristo. Some of their descendants were also present. At first I doubted I could make it through my speech without crying—but I managed it, and afterwards everything was much easier.

I had already received the best doctoral gift when I was leaving Karkkila the day before: a CD titled Maailman meno (‘The Way of the World’), which had been produced by local musicians. The CD contained music for the poetry and lyrics that appeared in the material for my dissertation. Fortunately, I listened to it only after my doctoral defence, or else my head would have been in a spin.

The title track of the album Maailman meno Music by Tomi Wahlroos. The lyrics were published in the magazine Valistaja in January 1918.