Pentti Saarikoski

Pentti Ilmari Saarikoski was born in Impilahti on September 2, 1937. A Greek and Latin linguistic prodigy at the University of Helsinki, Saarikoski burst onto the literary scene with his radical 1962 poetry collection Mitä tapahtuu todella? (What Is Really Going On?).

Infusing conversational slang, politics, and ancient myth into verse, Saarikoski was a charismatic media figure and relentless translator: completing Finnish editions of Homer's Odyssey and Iliad, James Joyce's Ulysses, and J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. In his final years on the Swedish island of Tjörn, his Tiarnia trilogy achieved serene metaphysical depth.