Larin Paraske (December 27, 1833 – January 3, 1904) was an Izhorian[1][2] runic singer. She is considered a key figure in Finnish folk poetry and has been called the "Finnish Mnemosyne".[3] Her frequent listeners included several romantic nationalist artists, such as Jean Sibelius, seeking inspiration from her interpretations of Kalevala, an epic poem compiled from Finnish folklore by Elias Lönnrot.[4]
Paraske could recite over 32,000 verses of poetry, which made her an important source for Karelian culture.[5] Her poems were written down by Adolf Neovius in the 1880s, and after several years of work, approximately 1200 poems, 1750 proverbs and 336 riddles were documented, along with several Finnic lamentations known as itkuvirsi, performed by crying and sobbing.[6]
- ^ Timonen, Simonen. "Larin Paraske (1833–1904)". National Biography of Finland. Translated by Fletcher Roderick. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
- ^ Simonen, Senni (16 September 1997). "Larin Paraske (1833 - 1904)". Kansallisbiografia (in Finnish). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ Väänänen, Kyösti. "Larin Paraske ja hänen perheensä". GENOS (in Finnish). Retrieved 2007-01-16.
- ^ "Suuret suomalaiset – Larin Paraske". YLE (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 2005-04-04. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
- ^ "Public Art – Larin Paraske". Helsinki City Art Museum. Archived from the original on 2002-04-25. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
- ^ Kaasalainen, Väinö. "Larin Paraske". Sakkola (in Finnish). Retrieved 2007-01-16.