Fantastic news for our author Marja Kyllönen: she has been awarded the Distinguished Artist Award by the Kalevala Society Foundation. The jury have motivated their choice as follows:
“Marja Kyllönen’s (b. 1975) third novel, The Undeparted (Teos 2022), is a kind of generational novel about the transgenerational effects of individual actions and emotions. The most significant and distinctive element of Kyllönen’s narrative is the language she has developed. She combines images, words and parables from folklore, magic, dialects, Kalevala and Kanteletar into her language. When existing words are not enough, she develops new ones that fit naturally into the narrative. Kyllönen builds a language that has never been seen before in fiction. The Undeparted is a valuable addition to the union of Finnish folklore and fiction. Themes familiar from folklore are implanted in the world of contemporary readers, mainly in a style that can be described as magical-lyrical. It is a feat that is unlikely to be matched by anyone else.”
Warm congratulations to the author!