Even when she was small, Märta Tikkanen had decided that she would write books when she grew up. Her mother read her fairy tales and Märta also wrote some herself. When she was older, inspired by books such as The Surgeon's stories and Gone with the Wind, she began to write stories.

“I read and wrote a lot, as I still do. It was obvious to me that I would study literature.”

In 1953, in the autumn after her matriculation examination, Märta found herself wandering uncertainly around the university corridors. New students had to register, but there were no guidelines as to where to go. When she eventually did manage to register, there was still the Rector to shake hands with.

“Students were queuing up. I was nervous about that, too, although it was just a short handshake and a welcome and out you went,” Tikkanen says.

The student of literature also loved languages. Tikkanen completed a pro exercitio in Latin and enjoyed it.

“Latin reminded me a little of German, which was the third language I studied. Latin was similar in grammar but even more complex, a challenge for the brain. I remember the other students sighing during the lectures, but I had fun.”

At that time Tikkanen read what she interested her, without pondering how she would eventually earn her living. She was most interested in Nordic literature, however, especially the Norwegian writers Ibsen, Obstfelder and Bjørnson. Tikkanen wrote her Master’s thesis on the Swedish poet Gustav Fröding.

“My professor, Olof Enckell, would have liked me to choose Edith Södergran, because he had studied Södergran. But I asked to write about Fröding’s last poems before she fell ill with schizophrenia. They are fine and shocking descriptions of a faltering mind.”

Enckell agreed.

According to Tikkanen, her writing is based on reading, also on reading books that you don’t like.

“You learn from everything you read. Even if you don’t like the content, you can still reflect on the structure and why you don’t like it. For a long time my guiding principle was that since a writer had gone through the effort of writing a book, you had to finish it. I have now abandoned that principle. Today, I read twenty pages from the beginning and look at the last pages. If they are interesting and I feel that a lot has happened in between, I continue reading. If the result feels predictable, I stop reading.”