Paavo Haavikko

Paavo Juhani Haavikko (January 25, 1931 in Helsinki – October 6, 2008) was a Finnish poet, playwright, essayist and publisher, considered one of the country's most outstanding writers. He published more than 70 works, and his poems have been translated to 12 languages. Paavo Haavikko was born and grew up in Helsinki. His father was a bookbinder and later worked in the import business. In 1951 Haavikko graduated from the Kallio Coeducational School, and published his first collection of poems.In the 1950s Haavikko published several more poetry collections, culminating in the collection entitled Talvipalatsi ('The Winter Palace'; 1959). He was at the forefront of the emerging modernist movement in Finland, and in the following decades he had a profound influence on many other genres as well. As a result of his literary achievements, he became the leading writer of his generation and of the entire postwar period in Finland.

Haavikko's first wife Marja-Liisa Vartio was also a writer. They had two children. Marja-Liisa Vartio died in 1966, and Haavikko stopped writing for a long time.

Haavikko married Ritva Rainio in 1971. They lived separately since 1983.