Immerse Yourself in Great Literature

Literature written in Finland is referred to as Finnish literature. The first document written in a Finnic language during the early Middle Ages in Europe is the exceptional Birch Bark Letter No. 292 from Novgorod from the thirteenth century. The material was presented in Cyrillic and was written in a Finnic dialect used in the Olonets area of Russia. During the Finnish Middle Ages, the earliest texts in Finland were written in either Swedish or Latin.

The rise in education and nationalism following Finland's incorporation into the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 19th century encouraged public interest in folklore and led to an increase in Finnish literary output. The majority of the important works of the time were produced in either Swedish or, to a growing extent, Finnish, upholding a strong Finnish identity.

Although Finnish literature is not well studied, there are many examples that show all facets of Finnish culture. The ancient Finnish people's creation myth is one of many tales included in the national epic poem Kalevela. Writing was strongly influenced by Aleksis Kivi, the first author to write in Finnish and depict common Finns, especially in his most well-known narrative "The Seven Brothers." In addition to her literary fiction, Tove Jansson has recently seen tremendous international success with her Mumij Troll children's book series. The Unknown Soldier, a military novel by Väine Linn, was made into a well-known war movie that is still shown on July 4th. All of these novels are available in English translation in the majority of the big Finnish book stores.