Anu Kaipainen
{{Short description|Finnish writer (1933–2009)}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox writer
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| image = Anu Kaipanen at her desk in Oulu.jpg
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| caption = Anu Kaipanen in 1963
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| birth_name = Aune Helinä Mustonen
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1933|03|14|df=yes}}
| birth_place = {{ill|Muolaa|fi}}, Finland
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2009|09|29|1933|03|14|df=yes}}
| death_place = Helsinki, Finland
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| occupation = Writer, critic, teacher
| language = Finnish
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| education = Master of Arts
| alma_mater = University of Helsinki
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| notable_works = {{unbulleted list|Arkkienkeli Oulussa (1967)|Granaattiomena (2002)}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Osmo Kaipainen|1955|end=d}}
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| children = 3, incl. Jouni Kaipainen
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| awards = Pro Finlandia (1983)
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Anu Kaipainen ({{nee}} Mustonen; 14 March 1933 — 29 September 2009) was a prolific Finnish writer and literary critic.{{cite news |title=Anu Kaipainen |url=https://www.hs.fi/muistot/art-2000002626035.html |access-date=28 June 2021 |work=Helsingin Sanomat |date=29 September 2009 |language=fi}}{{cite news |title=Kirjailija Anu Kaipainen kuollut |url=https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-5889780 |access-date=28 June 2021 |publisher=Yle |date=29 September 2009 |language=fi}}
Early life and education
Aune ("Anu") Helinä Mustonen was born in Muolaa, Karelia, to the school principal Johan Emil Mustonen and his second wife Signe Julia {{nee}} Sjöblom.
She completed her secondary education in Helsinki in 1951, after which she studied at the University of Helsinki, graduating with a Master of Arts in 1955.
Career
Before dedicating herself to writing, Kaipainen worked as a Finnish teacher for several years.
She had wide literary and cultural interests, contributing to literary criticism, as well as holding board and council roles at numerous literary and cultural organisations.
Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Kaipainen served as city councillor in her home town of Kauniainen.
=Writing=
Kaipainen's debut novel, Utuiset neulat, came out in 1960, followed by a poetry collection, Kädet helmassa, in 1961.
Afterwards she published a new novel every couple of years — over 20, in total — as well as several plays and TV scripts, short stories and a fairytale book.{{cite web |title=Kaipainen, Anu |url=https://www.kirjasampo.fi/fi/kulsa/kauno%253Aperson_123175921289496 |website=Kirjasampo.fi |publisher=Public Libraries of Finland |access-date=28 June 2021 |language=fi}}
Her 1967 novel Arkkienkeli Oulussa 1808-1809 ('Archangel in Oulu') is considered her breakthrough work, after which she became a full-time writer.{{cite web |title=Anu Kaipainen |url=https://www.ouka.fi/oulu/pohjoista-kirjallisuutta/kaipainen |website=OuKa.fi |date=27 June 2018 |publisher=City of Oulu |access-date=28 June 2021 |language=fi}}
Her 2002 novel Granaattiomena ('Pomegranate') was shortlisted for the Finlandia Prize literary award.{{cite news |title=Finlandia-ehdokkaat julkistettiin |url=https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-5123136 |access-date=28 June 2021 |publisher=Yle |date=14 November 2002 |language=fi}}
Common themes in many of Kaipainen's works are on one hand myths and legends; on the other, contemporary realism and criticism of societal injustices and problems.{{cite web |title=Kaipainen, Anu (1933-2009) |url=https://kansallisbiografia.fi/kansallisbiografia/henkilo/4932 |website=Kansallisbiografia.fi |publisher=National Biography of Finland |access-date=28 June 2021 |language=fi}}{{cite web |title=Kaipainen, Anu |url=https://uppslagsverket.fi/sv/sok/view-170045-KaipainenAnu |website=Uppslagsverket.fi |access-date=28 June 2021 |language=sv}} She felt that a novel must be written openly and honestly, without trying to sugar-coat difficult issues.
Awards and honours
Kaipainen won the {{ill|Finnish State Prize for Literature|fi|Kirjallisuuden valtionpalkinto}} twice, in 1966 and 1969.
In 1983, she received the {{ill|Pro Finlandia|fi}} medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland.{{cite web |title=SUOMEN LEIJONAN PRO FINLANDIA -MITALIN SAAJAT 1945-2020 |url=https://ritarikunnat.fi/ritarikunnat/palkitut/suomen-leijonan-pro-finlandia-mitalin-saajat-1945-2020/#V1980 |website=Ritarikunnat.fi |date=9 October 2020 |publisher=The Orders of the White Rose of Finland and the Lion of Finland |access-date=28 June 2021 |language=fi}}
She was awarded the state pension for artists (Valtion taiteilijaeläke) in recognition of her life's work, from 1994.
In 2006, Kaipainen was recognised with the annual award (Suomen Kirjailijaliiton tunnustuspalkinto) of the Union of Finnish Writers.
Personal life
In 1955, Anu Mustonen married the physician and later politician Osmo Kaipainen; the couple had three sons, the eldest of whom was the composer Jouni Kaipainen.{{cite book |title=Kuka Kukin On (Who's Who) |date=1978 |publisher=Otava |location=Helsinki |page=332 |url=https://runeberg.org/kuka/1978/0332.html |access-date=28 June 2021 |language=fi}}
References
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External links
- [https://www.kirjasampo.fi/fi/kulsa/kauno%253Aperson_123175921289496 Anu Kaipainen] profile and bibliography on Kirjasampo (Public Libraries of Finland literary database; in Finnish)
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Category:20th-century Finnish women writers
Category:Finnish women novelists
Category:Finnish dramatists and playwrights
Category:Finnish women dramatists and playwrights
Category:Finnish literary critics
Category:Finnish women literary critics
Category:People from Vyborg District
Category:University of Helsinki alumni
Category:Pro Finlandia Medals of the Order of the Lion of Finland