Finns ban poetry reading in Russia

Aug 06, 2008
In cooperation with BNS

TALLINN - The Finnish consulate-general in St. Petersburg has said no to the attendance of Sofi Oksanen, a Finnish writer of Estonian background, to a poetry evening in St. Petersburg.

The consulate-general’s reasoning was that her new novel is critical of the Soviet Union, the Finnish daily paper Helsingin Sanomatreported.

Jukka Mallinen, chairman of the Finnish PEN poetry club, said the consulate-general in St. Petersburginformed him on Monday that they did not want to see Oksanen at the evening as her presence could irritate Russia.

Oksanen should have taken part in the Finnish-Russian poetry evening in Russiaclaims PEN.

The biggest supporter of the event is the Finnish consulate-general in St. Petersburg. Mallinen said that Oksanen was crossed out from the list of participants at the request of the financier.

Leena Liski, a consul at the Finnish consulate-general in St. Petersburg, told Helsingin Sanomat that Sofi Oksanen was not a poet and the St. Petersburgpoetry evening was intended for poets.

Liski said the consulate had not yet received an official list of the performers, and talks over the participants were still underway.

The Finnish Foreign Ministry didn't wish to comment on the issue.

In Oksanen's opinion she was crossed out from the list of performers because of poor relations between Estonia and Russia, as she had been publicly outspoken about life in Estoniaduring the Soviet period.

Oksanen pointed out that in Mallinen's opinion she was suited to present poetry in prose at the poetry evening in St. Petersburg.

The writer said she had never had met similar obstacles before.

"Does this mean that this is the new Finnish foreign policy line?" Oksanen asked.

Sofi Oksanen's new novel, Purification, treats life in Estonia critically during the Soviet period.