Betonimyllystä runon siivet

Ï had lovely afternoon walk in Pispala/Pyynikki area with my friend Ulla. It sleeted and spike boots are still needed.

We passed Lauri Viita Monument and because yesterday was World Poetry Day, I thought it would be appropriate to blip it. One of his famous poems is called Concrete Mixer, and that poem has inspired the sculptor Pertti Mäkinen - name of the monument is something like this: Wings of the poem are made by concrete-mixing machine (Betonimyllystä runon siivet)

Lauri Viita (1916-1965) was a poet hailing from the Pispala district of Tampere. Viita was a verbally talented son of a carpenter who became a self-taught writer. He only published four poetry collections, but they became very popular. 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 was married three times and had seven children. His second wife was 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.

For poem enthustiastics here are some translated Viita poems
https://www.booksfromfinland.fi/1988/12/poems-lauri-viita/

My favourite Lauri Viita Poem is this:

Ei pidetä kiirettä, istutaan
Ei hätäillä, annetaan mennä;
ei maata somemmin, ainoakaan
satelliitti lennä.


+0,3 °C, cloudy and sleet