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FRONTPAGE | KAARI UTRIO | CURRICULUM | LITERARY WORKS | THE APEX OF THE ARTS

KAARI UTRIO

author (b. 1942)
Artist Professor May 1, 1995 to April 30, 2000

An author and an arts graduate, Kaari Utrio has reformed Finnish literature by pioneering an entire genre. She writes books about Finland's history; each book is preceded by extensive research and investigation. The end result combines historical fact with fiction in a fascinating way.
Her books have provided Finns with insights into prehistoric times and the Middle Ages as well as Byzantine bode routes. Her writing is extremely lucid, akin to the ancient burnished idiom of the sagas.

Kaari Utrio graduated as a history major from the University of Helsinki in 1967. She has brought Finnish and European history to the public at large on a wholly new, popular level. She has also participated in the feminist debate by writing history from the viewpoint of a woman's life. Underneath the entertaining narrative are sharp observations on the status of women and men in a patriarchal culture.

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From the 1980s onwards, Utrio concentrated on publishing non-fiction that would appeal to a broad readership. Eevan tyttäret (Eve's Daughters, a History of Women, Children and the Family in Europe, 1984) has been translated into Swedish and German. In Venus (Venus, a Story of Female Beauty 1985), Utrio explores the history of feminine beauty, while Kalevan tyttaret (Kaleva's daughters, 1986) is a history of what it has been like to be a woman in Finland.

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Kaari Utrio's extensive output, starting in 1968, include. more than 30 books, over two thirds of which are novels. She has also written short stories, articles for newspapers and journals and scripts for TV and radio.

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Utrio received the State Prize for Literature in 1973, the historical non-fiction award of Schloss Burg an der Wupper ir 1989, the Pro Finlandia medal in 1993 and several other ac knowledgements for her literary output. She has been a member of the State literature committee 11982-88), a member of the board of the Union of Finnish Writers 11986-92) and a member of the committees for the 70th and 75th anniversary celebrations of Finland's independence (1985-88 and 1988-1993, respectively).