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european kalevala

 
 
course description

european kalevala class in finnish – part of the joint course between the orivesi college of arts and the university of jyväskylä (finland):

european kalevala
kalevala poems in five languages


the first shared project of european network of creative writing
programmes brings together five european schools who give teaching in
creative writing. the centre of the project is vienna poetry school /
schule für dichtung (sfd). the class in finland is divided between
orivesi college of arts and univeristy of jyväskylä, the commentators
being reijo virtanen (for contributions from orivesi) and juri joensuu
(for contributors from jyväskylä). the class is open for anyone, but it is
intended for credited study attainment.

european kalevala web course (5 credits in jyväskylä, extended
version of the orivesi class for students mainly in advanced special
studies a.k.a. laudatur studies):

1) acquaint yourself with the kalevala epic and the related finnish poetry
in trochaic meter.
2) register in the kalevala-pages of sfd (http://www.sfd.at/5kalevala_finnish) and make yourself a login.
3) write one poem in finnish in kalevala-meter according to these directions:
imagine the birth of europe. you are the storyteller. write the beginning
of europe's story. write 10 lines following the formal pattern of the
kalevala-metre. note: playfulness is more important than academic
accuracy.
4) get acquainted with all the participations, also in the foreign
languages, as far as it is possible.
5) write a brief report (analysis) on the experience of writing in metre, and
according to the feedback.
6) write more wide-ranging essay on more specific question connected to
the theme. it may handle questions of metre or fixed forms in poetry, or
rules or constraints in/of writing. take a viewpoint that is connected to
your interests in the theory and/or praxis of writing.

juri joensuu (department of art and culture studies / literature, university of jyväskylä)
reijo virtanen (creative writing, orivesi college of art)



please note:

contributions submitted to the european kalevala website will be commented upon regularly only after the autumn university terms of our cooperative partners have begun in september/october 2006 (exact dates to be announced).

the finnish versions will be included as part of the joint course between the orivesi college of arts and the university of jyväskylä.

vienna, july 2006