Katri Vala

(pseudonym of Karin Alice Wadenström; other pseudonyms—Pekka, Viktoria, and Ilmarinen). Born Sept. 11, 1901, in Muonio, Finland; died May 28, 1944, in Stockholm. Finnish poet and publicist.

Vala began her literary career as part of the Tulenkantajat (torchbearers) group of radical writers; her first publications were the collections of romantic verses Distant Garden (1924) and Blue Door (1926). In the 1930’s she defended the working people and opposed fascism (the article “Spirit and Matter, or the Single Woman’s Vacuum Cleaner,” 1945). Her verse collections The Return (1934) and Our Nest Is Burning (1942) deal with social problems and denounce reaction. Vala took part in the organization of the Kiila Society. During World War II she lived in Sweden. In 1945 her ashes were returned to Helsinki.