Into Clear Water: Poems and Mottoes

Siljo, Juhani, 1888-1918Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.2

Word count: 99K words
Chapters: 10

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Selvään veteen: Runoja ja tunnuslauseita by Juhani SiljoAuthor: Siljo, Juhani, 1888-1918,Language: Finnish, Class: PH: Language and Literatures: Finno-Ugrian and Basque languages and literatures, Release Date: May 20, 2017

Editor's review

This poetry collection comes from the Finnish poet Juhani Siljo, known for short, compressed lyric poems with cool imagery, often centered on nature, faith, and inner struggle. The book gathers two kinds of writing—poems and aphorisms. The poems emphasize emotion and imagery, while the aphorisms present the author's thinking more directly; placed side by side, the two genres let readers feel the rhythm of the language and grasp the core of the thought. As a public-domain ebook, it offers a small window into early twentieth-century Finnish poetry and suits readers interested in Nordic literature or the Finnish original. There is no need to read it all at once; keep it at hand for casual browsing—read the poems in quiet moments and the aphorisms when clear judgment is needed, and the author's shifts in tone will be easier to appreciate. Because the original is in Finnish, readers without Finnish need translations or language tools, which sets a certain barrier to reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Nordic literature and Finnish poetry who are willing to approach works in a lesser-taught language
Literature lovers who enjoy short poems and aphorisms and prefer fragmentary reading
Researchers collecting material on early twentieth-century Finnish literature or public-domain ebooks
Readers seeking emotional grounding and food for thought through compressed texts

Not a good fit for

Readers hoping for long narrative or complete plotted stories
Readers with no Finnish at all who are unwilling to use translations
Readers who prefer light entertainment and have limited patience for poetry

Reading tips

Read through the poems first, mark images that strike you, then return to the aphorisms to compare and reflect.
Read only three to five pieces at a time and leave pauses, avoiding emotional fatigue from continuous reading.
If you do not know Finnish, read alongside a reliable translation and note how the translator handles rhythm.
Keep a pen and copy out aphorisms that resonate with your own situation for rereading later.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Do I need to know Finnish to read this book?

The original is in Finnish, so readers who do not know Finnish need a translation or translation tools. A poem's rhythm and word choice are easily lost in translation; choose an edition with translator's notes and treat it as an entry point to Finnish poetry rather than a precise language sample.

In what order should I read the poems and the aphorisms?

There is no fixed order. You can read the poems first for imagery and emotion, then the aphorisms to see how the author states judgments directly; or alternate between them, letting the aphorisms gloss the poems. Follow your own reading rhythm.

Is this book suitable for reading in one sitting?

Not really. Both the poems and aphorisms are highly compressed, and continuous reading easily turns into skimming. It is better to read in several sessions, a small amount each time, leaving room for afterthought and reflection so as to appreciate the language's sense of measure.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Siljo, Juhani, 1888-1918 Author

Juhani Siljo (1888–1918) was a Finnish poet and literary critic. Public information about him is limited; his life was short, yet he left six works. His poetry collections, such as Maan puoleen and Selvään veteen, are known for lyrical poems and aphoristic short verse, with concise language and restrained emotion, often viewing the tension between reality and ideals through personal inner experience. His play Seppelöity: Murheellinen komedia uses tragicomic form to offer ironic observations on life. He also wrote critical portraits of the writers Eino Leino and Teuvo Pakkala, showing his attention to and critical eye for the Finnish literary tradition. Combining creative writing with criticism, he holds a place in early twentieth-century Finnish literature.