author
Kasperi Tanttu
1886–1918
A restless Finnish writer and poet, he became known as much for his bohemian life as for his books. His brief career moved between journalism, fiction, and verse, and ended abruptly in the violence of Finland’s civil war.
1 Audiobook
Valeriaanaa! : Yksinäytöksinen näytelmä
by Kasperi Tanttu
About the author
Born in Hirvensalmi in 1886, Kasperi Tanttu was a Finnish writer, poet, and journalist. He wrote in several forms, including poems, plays, and prose, and he was remembered as a bohemian figure who moved among very different social and political circles.
Accounts of his life have often been mixed with legend, which has only added to his fascination. During the Finnish Civil War in 1918, he became associated with a famous photograph showing him dressed as a Red commander, though later sources suggest the image reflected role-playing and self-dramatization more than real military importance.
Tanttu died in Kouvola in May 1918, still only in his early thirties. Because his life was so short and dramatic, his work is often read alongside the story of the turbulent world he lived in.