Guttari, Tobias Osipovich

(pseudonym, Lea Khelo). Born Jan. 16 (29), 1907. in the village of Muia, in present-day Leningrad Oblast; died Dec. 14, 1953, in Petrozavodsk. Soviet Karelian poet. Born into a family of Finnish peasants.

Guttari was a teacher. He wrote in the Finnish language, publishing his first works in 1927. His collection of verses Young Thoughts (1930), is dedicated to Soviet youth. The children’s books Paper Grows in the Karelian Forests, How a Book Is Born, and The Red Army—A Loyal Guard came out in 1932–33. Guttari is the author of the poetry collections I’m Stepping Over (1931), Verses (1936), A Song to Spring (1940). and My Country (1947). He wrote essays and short stories. Guttari’s verse is emotional and has ties with folk songs.