Markku Envall entered the University of Helsinki in the autumn of 1964. His main subject was comparative literature, and he specialised in aesthetics, which was then formed part of the subject. He also took theoretical philosophy. After graduating, he worked as Acting Assistant in Comparative Literature and then moved to teach Finnish Literature. In 198 he defended his doctorate on Finnish aphorisms. He also wrote a monograph on Mika Waltari’s novels during a period as Senior Research Fellow at the Academy of Finland before changing careers to become a full-time writer.

Markku Envall’s main forms of expression are aphorisms and essays, but he has also published poetry, a novel and radio plays. His aphorisms have been characterised as traditional and philosophical. Alongside the condensed form of aphorisms, he has started writing ‘fragments’, the longer form of the genre. As an essayist, Envall has taken on many topics, ranging from literature to the fundamental questions of life, education, religion, good and evil, life and death, and social issues. His style is atraightforward, his outlook sceptical, his approach rational.

Translated by Olli Silvennoinen

Revised by John Calton