Out of Scandinavia Lecture, Johanna Sinisalo: einding Fresh Perspectives " The Breakthrough of Non-realistic Genres in Finnish Contemporary Fiction eMay 8, 2013 at 7:30–8:30 p.m.

Finlandia-Prize-winning author Johanna Sinisalo will give a talk about how Finnish literature did re-find and refine its imaginative roots, and how she herself uses non-realistic genres as her creative tool.

In Finnish literature, until recent years almost everything that was written outside the canon was automatically considered to be low-brow genre entertainment, with very few exceptions. But then something happened. Fantastic elements started to appear in the works of most worthy scribes, mythical and mystical themes were no more something to be ashamed of. It was suddenly acceptable to discuss societal issues without describing the actual processes themselves but with the means of alternate history, allegory, dystopian visions and projections into future.