My boss and teacher, Annamari Sarajas, was Arts Editor at Uusi Suomi and a professor of Finnish Literature. She said that “a newspaper is the best school for a literature scholar.” I have come to agree with her. The benefits of this interaction go both ways: the culture sections of newspapers need experts on literature.

Professor Sarajas noticed that while her students studied the history of literature, when reading fiction they had little understanding of the central themes or the inherent meaning of the texts. Sarajas recruited Kai Laitinen and myself to the Department of Finnish Literature to remedy this situation. We developed a practical course where students would write short essays on assigned poems, short stories and novels that were then discussed in classes. The aim was a synthesis of the reading experience based on the text. Many students said that only this concentration on the basics opened the way to understanding the true nature of literature.

My best memories from the University are from the first years of these practical courses between 1969 and 1971. A particularly talented cohort of young academics started their literary studies in those days, and they would later became key figures in various literary fields: the critic Vesa Karonen, docent Pertti Lassila, professor Juhani Niemi, editor Paula Pesonen, professor Pekka Pesonen, editor Anja Salokannel, author Juhani Salokannel. They would later be joined by other writers in-the-making such as Kristina Carlson, Markku Envall, Leena Krohn and Panu Rajala. It was a pleasure to be in their company.