Finnish
First Language(s): Finnish
Second Language(s):
English,
French,
Swedish,
Russian
Katariina grew up in Finland and moved to the UK as an Erasmus student in the 1990s. A historian by training and a curator by profession, she lives in London and earns a living looking after historic buses and trains. She writes in her spare time. After ten years in the UK, her fiction writing language spontaneously changed to English.
What was your favorite book as a child?
I read a lot, and my favourites changed over the years, but two books stand out in particular: Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome, and Ronja the Robber’s Daughter by Astrid Lindgren. Both were set in surroundings I could relate to, as I spent my childhood summers in the Finnish countryside, by a lake, surrounded by forests. Both were stories about children living independently of adults, at least for a while, and surviving in their environment. Swallows and Amazons instilled in me a lifelong love of boats and sailing. The children navigate the very real challenges of camping on an island and sailing a small boat, with their games enhanced by a vivid imagination creating a world of pirates, adventures and warfare. Ronja the Robber’s Daughter was a coming-of-age story set in a forest full of dangers and magical creatures, with such powerful storytelling that the story has stayed with me. I read both books in the Finnish translations as a child, but have read both in the original languages since then.
What was the original reason or motivation why you started writing creatively?
I started writing when I was a child, because I loved stories. Growing up in a household full of books, I wanted to write them too. I have tried many art forms but expressing myself in writing has always been where I feel most at home. As an adult, writing creatively offers a counterbalance to the text I produce as part of my work, as it allows me to use my imagination in a way that isn’t possible in other contexts.
What was the most adventurous or thrilling thing you ever did/experienced?
My biggest adventures tend to be seafaring stories on tall ships. In the summer of 2001 I found myself travelling to Russian Karelia to sail on a wooden 17th century replica ship. I spoke neither Russian nor Karelian, and despite half my family originating from the area, I had never visited, so I was rather excited about it. I spent an intense three weeks sailing a vessel that was very different from the modern craft I was used to, learning the incredibly rich history of the area, immersing myself in an unfamiliar way of life, and falling in love with a place that was at once just like home, and yet completely different. Our route took us from Lake Onega to the White Sea through a shipping canal built by gulags in the 1930s. I am working on a novel length story based on this experience.
Do you listen to music while reading or writing?
I never have music playing while I write. I become immersed either in the music or the text, and I feel I miss out on two full experiences. But I often have music playing in my head, so there’s sometimes an unconscious soundtrack to my writing process. For example when writing “Left Behind” I had “The Road” by Emmylou Harris playing in my head. It’s a song about loss, and its melancholy tune fits the story well. One reason I don’t listen to music while I write is that I prefer music with lyrics. Hearing someone else’s words and stories while I’m writing my own would distract me, and their words would inevitably end up on my page. So I write in silence.
Short Story
Left Behind
Issue Fall '24
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