Jouni Inkala
Encyclopedia
Jouni Mikael Inkala was born on 15 April 1966, in Kemi
, Finland
. Until the year 2005 he had published seven collections of poems of which the latest were Kirjoittamaton (Unwritten, 2002) and Sarveisaikoja (Periods of stratum cornea, 2005). Jouni Inkala encounters Anton Chekhov
, Joseph Brodsky
and Ludwig Wittgenstein
, among others, in his collection of poetry Kirjoittamaton which approaches its semi-fictional subjects with sharp twists and sarcastic asides.
Jouni Inkala's first work Tässä sen reuna (The Edge of It) received the J. H. Erkko Award in 1992. After Inkala's first poem collection the poet has changed two or three times his attitudes strongly, and Inkala's readers have been able to see this in his "poetic grammar". He has also strongly made an approach to Christian mysticism
and nature mediation. Inkala uses bright imagery without technical isolation. Syntactic elasticity in combining with deep thinking and concrete expression makes his poetry well balanced.
The titles of the collections, Huonetta ja sukua (Room and family, 1994) and Pyhien seura (The Company of Saints, 1996), refer to the Bible
and to a religious tradition, but employ largely the same material as in his deput. In particular, the former of the two collections is characterised by long, open and closed sentences, the language defies meaning and makes itself the subject. In the collection Sille joka jää (For the one who remains, 1998) Biblical events and religious themes in fact form a framework to which the poems can refer. The voice in these poems is nonetheless the same as before. There are few dramatic external events, rather internal and external visions succeed in stopping time and in doing so allow language and thoughts to assume their own paths.
In the volume Autiomaaretki (Journey through the desert, 2000), transitions are more rapid than before. Leaving behind the world's superfluous verbosity has clearly brought a perceptive freedom to the poems. The poems, which take place in an instrument shop, the Viking
Museum, on a winter's evening or in Finnmark
in Norway
, seem to have returned both to the mood of his debut and stylistically to traditional Finnish modernism. Much literature discusses the idea of "otherness", yet in his poems Inkala proves that human beings are always part of a greater, intentional order, for which we should rejoice and give thanks.
Inkala is able to prove semantic exactness and sense of relations. His poems have been translated into dozens of languages and published in different anthologies and literary journals. Inkala has published in 1995 a translation collection Aus dem Hause und dem Geschlechte (translated from Finnish into German by Stefan Moster). Inkala has studied philosophy, intellectual history and comparative literature at the universities of Oulu and Helsinki (University of Helsinki
: Licentiate in Philosophy, 1991). He has worked as a columnist in various periodicals and as a lecturer in the department of comparative literature at the University of Helsinki in 1991-1994. Inkala left his university career for poetry.
Kemi
Kemi is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located very near the city of Tornio. It was founded in 1869 by royal decree, because of its proximity to a deep water harbour....
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. Until the year 2005 he had published seven collections of poems of which the latest were Kirjoittamaton (Unwritten, 2002) and Sarveisaikoja (Periods of stratum cornea, 2005). Jouni Inkala encounters Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
, Joseph Brodsky
Joseph Brodsky
Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky , was a Russian poet and essayist.In 1964, 23-year-old Brodsky was arrested and charged with the crime of "social parasitism" He was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1972 and settled in America with the help of W. H. Auden and other supporters...
and Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1939 until 1947...
, among others, in his collection of poetry Kirjoittamaton which approaches its semi-fictional subjects with sharp twists and sarcastic asides.
Jouni Inkala's first work Tässä sen reuna (The Edge of It) received the J. H. Erkko Award in 1992. After Inkala's first poem collection the poet has changed two or three times his attitudes strongly, and Inkala's readers have been able to see this in his "poetic grammar". He has also strongly made an approach to Christian mysticism
Christian mysticism
Christian mysticism refers to the development of mystical practices and theory within Christianity. It has often been connected to mystical theology, especially in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions...
and nature mediation. Inkala uses bright imagery without technical isolation. Syntactic elasticity in combining with deep thinking and concrete expression makes his poetry well balanced.
The titles of the collections, Huonetta ja sukua (Room and family, 1994) and Pyhien seura (The Company of Saints, 1996), refer to the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and to a religious tradition, but employ largely the same material as in his deput. In particular, the former of the two collections is characterised by long, open and closed sentences, the language defies meaning and makes itself the subject. In the collection Sille joka jää (For the one who remains, 1998) Biblical events and religious themes in fact form a framework to which the poems can refer. The voice in these poems is nonetheless the same as before. There are few dramatic external events, rather internal and external visions succeed in stopping time and in doing so allow language and thoughts to assume their own paths.
In the volume Autiomaaretki (Journey through the desert, 2000), transitions are more rapid than before. Leaving behind the world's superfluous verbosity has clearly brought a perceptive freedom to the poems. The poems, which take place in an instrument shop, the Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
Museum, on a winter's evening or in Finnmark
Finnmark
or Finnmárku is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. By land it borders Troms county to the west, Finland to the south and Russia to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea to the northwest, and the Barents Sea to the north and northeast.The county was formerly known as Finmarkens...
in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, seem to have returned both to the mood of his debut and stylistically to traditional Finnish modernism. Much literature discusses the idea of "otherness", yet in his poems Inkala proves that human beings are always part of a greater, intentional order, for which we should rejoice and give thanks.
Inkala is able to prove semantic exactness and sense of relations. His poems have been translated into dozens of languages and published in different anthologies and literary journals. Inkala has published in 1995 a translation collection Aus dem Hause und dem Geschlechte (translated from Finnish into German by Stefan Moster). Inkala has studied philosophy, intellectual history and comparative literature at the universities of Oulu and Helsinki (University of Helsinki
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...
: Licentiate in Philosophy, 1991). He has worked as a columnist in various periodicals and as a lecturer in the department of comparative literature at the University of Helsinki in 1991-1994. Inkala left his university career for poetry.
Jouni Inkala's collections of poems in Finnish
- Tässä sen reuna (WSOY, 1992)
- Huonetta ja sukua (WSOY, 1994)
- Pyhien seura (WSOY, 1996)
- Sille joka jää (WSOY, 1998)
- Autiomaaretki (WSOY, 2000)
- Kirjoittamaton (WSOY, 2002)
- Sarveisaikoja (WSOY, 2005)
- Minkä tietäminen on ihmiselle välttämätöntä (WSOY, 2008)
- Kemosynteesi (Siltala, 2011)
External links
- https://fennica.linneanet.fi/
- http://lms01.harvard.edu
- http://catalogue.bl.uk
- http://www.helsinki.fi/helka/