Lauri Viita

He also inspired other writers who had a working-class background. Viita's last creative years were shadowed by a mental illness, and he spent several periods in hospital. Viita wrote mainly traditional poetry with rhymes. In the 1950s, he was shadowed by emerging modernists such as Paavo Haavikko and Tuomas Anhava. He played with words and published, e.g. a poem where all words started with the letter K. Viita was married three times and had seven children. His second wife was the famous poet Aila Meriluoto. Viita died in a car accident in December 1965, when the taxi he was in was struck by a truck driven by a drunk driver.

The recorded working language is Finnish. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are poetry and fiction. Places of work recorded in the authority are Tampere and Helsinki. Distinctions recorded are Kalevi Jäntti Award, Aleksis Kivi Award, Tampere Literary Prize and Finnish State Prize for Literature.

• Name — Lauri Viita • Born — 17 December 1916 • Birthplace — Pirkkala, Finland • Died — 22 December 1965 • Place of death — Helsinki, Finland

• Betonimylläri (poems, 1947) • Kukunor (a poetic fairytale, 1949) • Moreeni (a novel, 1950) • Käppyräinen (poems, 1954) • Suutarikin, suuri viisas (poems, 1961) • Entäs sitten, Leevi (a novel, 1965)