author
Valto Edward Aaltio
1891–1946
An adventurous Finnish American writer, he turned a life of sea voyages, mining work, and wartime service into vivid storytelling. His best-known work brings readers close to the immigrant experience and the Western Front of World War I.
1 Audiobook
Sokkosilla: Yksinäytöksinen huvittelu
by Valto Edward Aaltio
About the author
Valto Edward Aaltio was born in Keuruu, Finland, in 1891 and later became known as a Finnish American writer. He also wrote under the pen names Eetu Antelo and Valto Eetu Kirri.
His early life was unusually eventful. After attending school in Jyväskylä, he went to sea in 1911, reached Australia in 1912, and later traveled on to San Francisco. He worked in several tough jobs, including as a sailor, shepherd, gold prospector, and miner, before settling into life in the United States.
Aaltio served in the U.S. Army during World War I and fought on the Western Front in France. That experience later shaped his autobiographical novel Lännestä länsirintamalle, noted in Finnish sources as a rare first-hand account by a Finnish writer who served with the Allied forces. He later published Amerikan vieras, a book about Finnish immigrants in America. He died in San Francisco in 1946.