Frontpage in english
Welcome to my homepage and the homepage of publishing house Finkerpori!
I'm Raija Westergård, born in Satakunta in Finland though these days I live in Hämeenkyrö. I'm an writer and so far I have published two books on my own and one with small publishing company. More about my books on the left titled "Tähänastiset teokseni".
On the chapter "UUTISIA!" you'll find information about my new book Maria which is still in need for a little grinding. About the same topic information is found under the title "Marian sota". Maria is likely to come out in August 2007.
Of course my life isn't all about writing, but anyway this website is primarily a channel for publishing and discussing etc. about my literary work.
Publishing house Finkerpori is a child of this spring so in a way it's only just began to be and it's still in evolving stage. Finkerpori (thimble) is and will be only one woman's company that publishes only its own pieces of work. I came to this decision for many reasons but mainly because I want my text to be published in a way that I've myself thought and wrote of it to be.
For years I have wrote different and variegated articles in a paper called Alueviesti which appears in the economic zone of Vammala. It could even be said that my "writing career" began from the pages of this particular paper and for that I want to thank the editor-in-chief Erkki Petmann! I'll be publishing these articles also here in my homepage. The headlines can be seen on the left.
I'm a member of Suomen tietokirjailijat ry, writer- and artsgroup Kiila ry, and F.E. Sillanpään Seura ry. I will be writing my blog with varying activity since this time of human is quite limited.
You can write me your thoughts on my "vieraskirja" (visitor's book) or send e-mail to the address r.westergard@luukku.com or finkerpori@luukku.com
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Information about my new book Maria which will be published in August 2007:
Maria is a book about war - kind of like women's Tuntematon sotilas. It's also a vivid tale about small people, great emotions and uncompromising ideology in a dark turning point of our history in 1918. Maria tells an impartial story about civil war without taking sides - the story goes beyond the war between colours red, white or blue and white - it goes beyond religion and mother tongue. The main characters in Maria are a weaver named Maria who works in a plant called Alfa in Turku, and an arts student named Karl from "korsnäsi". They meet in the fall of 1917 but get immidiately thrown apart by the beginning of the war in January in 1918. Maria and Karl get separated to the opposite fronts: Maria is driven to the passionate and unconditional womenguards of Raunistula (Mariankaarti) whereas Karl has drifted to the military institute of Vöyry in the north of Finland. In April 1918 the two meet again in Tampere. Karl's brother Gunnar from Germany - now the member of 27th private battalion and "gruppenfuhrer" - is also heading towards Tampere leading he's troops in the middle of the war zone - not knowing that in the Kalevankangas there's a particular sharpshooter named Maria who has already removed the safety catch of her rifle...
Focused on historical themes and especially the tragical early stages of our independency, Westergård masters the lyric dialogue between language and emotion. In Maria, from the point of view of microhistory, she manages to build alternative aspects and new dimensions to the surging war scenes of 1918.
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Information about my book Red Women published 2003:
The birth of Red Women took a long time. It all begun when I found my grandmother’s secret letter hide from my childhood’s home in the 1990s. There were lots of letters, about 30-40 pieces. Most of the letters were sent from Minnesota in years 1905-1908 but there were also letters from other places in Finland, some were from friends and few ones from prison.
The whole of the letters was quite interesting and the letters from Minnesota caught my special attention. I started to read the letters with some real thought and taking notes from stories inside them. Gradually the theme of the whole story started to come up und the result is this book.
Red Women And Other Stories About The Times Of Revolution In Finland describes Finnish countryside and a little outlying village (Kiikoinen) with its small people trying to survive the most difficult times in the history of Finland. The story is also about women who were not afraid to defend their political ideas and rights by arms on that restless spring of hate and bitterness. It’s also about my grandmother’s brother, Iivari’s experiences in a war and prison in 1918.
My book is therefore mostly based on actual events but it’s also a little spiced up with fiction.
One of the leading themes of my book is of course my grandmother Fanny’s correspondence to United States. All of the letters that Fanny sent to US aren’t preserved, only the ones that she got from her friends who had moved to America.
The pink romantic letters from Jalmari Suhonen which were decorated with pictures and poems caught my attention immediately. Those letters from him enlighten the atmosphere of great emigration, home sickness, loneliness, and hard work at the mines. In some way the story of Fanny and Jalmari is a love story that under the circumstances ended for it was too impossible: Fanny didn’t want to move to America and Jalmari couldn’t leave it. Anyway life went on and they both got married in their own separate directions, their families grew and times changed. Only those old letters tell their story about Fanny and Jalmari, about the lost times, another world and oblivion.
Red Women has been a success in its own way in Finland considering the fact that I’ve published it myself and in Finland it’s quite difficult to get a company to publish one’s work. At this moment the book is only available in Finnish.
Other than Red Women I’ve also wrote essays and short stories (published them myself) and occasionally some articles to a local newspaper. For a living I work as a care assistant in elderly people’s home. I live with my family, a husband and two teenaged daughters in countryside in Hämeenkyrö. It’s 35km from Tampere and 200km from the capital, Helsinki.
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Letter from Hjalmar Suhonen from Minnesota, May the 14th, 1905
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You I remember when dawn turns into day,
when day turns into night;
You I remember here, there
beyond the sea
When do you remember me – when?
In Bivubäk(?), May the 14th, 1905
Dear F. Männistö
My greetings from America, from a city of Bivubäk for the first time and I’m glad to say that I’ve been well and I hope that you’re feeling ok there in your homeland too. I’m also glad to say that I got here, in a city of Duluth, a week ago and left towards this place I’m in now on Monday.
My journey went very well even though the sea was quite stormy. But I made it ok and now I ask you if you are coming here, because you once talked about it… I have been doing a little interviewing around here about the salaries women get from work and my opinion is that you absolutely should come here, and many other girls too.
Even in this town I’m in now at least ten girls are needed for washing up the dishes in Finnish families. The salary is also good: even up to 75 Finnish marks a month. Other good sides are also that the job is easy and the house provides you with food and a place to sleep.
I really think that you should come here because I know that life isn’t always so easy for you financially there in Finland. This is also nice land to live in and there are lots of Finnish people around here. Language isn’t a problem here. Even I live in a Finnish family with Paarti’s brother. We share a room together and I’ve only worked for one day in a mine/ (quarry?).
I’m asking you to write to me about what’s goin’ on in there and I’ll send you my address with this letter. And if you’re kind enough to answer me I apologise my handwriting since this pen isn’t very good. That’s all for now, farewell, and I wish you the best. Have a nice summer,
Yours truly, J.S.
P.S. Waiting for your letter
