Pentti Saarikoski

Pentti Saarikoski (Impilahti, now in the Republic of Karelia September 2, 1937 – Joensuu August 24, 1983) was a Finnish poet.

His body of work comprises poetry and translations, among them such classics as Homer's Odyssey and James Joyce's Ulysses.

According to Saarikoski, he was the only person in the world who had ever translated both Homer's and Joyce's Ulysses – a statement that probably holds true even today.

Moreover, it only took two years for him to translate Homer's Odyssey from Victor Bérard's edition, which is thought to be a rather fast accomplishment.

Saarikoski began to obscure his poems intentionally and titled one of his collections Hämärän Tanssit (The Dark One's Dances, translated by Anselm Hollo), which is a reference to Heraclitus.

While some of his works especially from the late 1960s had received rather morose reception from critics, his last three poem collections which form "Tiarnia-trilogy" (1977, 1980, 1983) are often seen as the second artistic peak point of his career.

These works reflect pessimism towards technocratic society which is seen as deterring the social participation of citizens.

Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho set five poems from the collection Alue (The District, 1973) under the title Saarikoski-laulut (Saarikoski Songs).