Heikel, Karin Alice (1901–1944)

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Heikel, Karin Alice (1901–1944)

Finnish poet. Name variations: (pseudonyms) Katri Vala; Pecka. Born Karin Alice Wadenström, 1901, in Muonio, Finland; died of TB, April 28, 1944, in Eksjö sanatorium, Sweden; dau. of Robert Waldemar Wadenström (forest officer) and Alexandra Frederika "Maki" Wadenström; sister of Erkki Vala (writer and journalist); attended teacher's training school in Heinola; m. Armas Heikel (chemist and leftist radical), 1930; children: Mauri Henrik Heikel (b. 1934).

One of the foremost poets in Finland (1920s-30s), was the central member of literary group Tulenkantajat (The Fire Bearers) and introduced free verse to the nation; published 1st collection Kaukainen Puutarha (1924), followed by Sininen Ovi (1926); wrote for magazine Tulenkantajat, publishing reviews under pseudonym Pecka; translated Swedish poets into Finnish; was a passionate pacifist during the Winter War with the Soviet Union (1941–44), though she had sympathized with anti-Franco fighters during Spanish civil war; last collection published as Pesapuu Palaa (1942).

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Heikel, Karin Alice (1901–1944)

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