Pentti Haanpää

Pentti Haanpää was born in Pulkkila in Northern Ostrobothnia on October 14, 1905, the son of a peasant farmer and writer. Choosing to remain on his northern homestead throughout his life, Haanpää was an incomparable observer of wilderness work.

His 1928 military collection Kenttä ja kasarmi caused a fierce conservative backlash, leaving him ostracized by major publishers for years. Undeterred, he published masterpieces of short fiction like Noitaympyrä and Korpisotaa, depicting loggers, horses, and desolate winter landscapes with peerless rhythmic economy until his tragic drowning in 1955.