Terrains of Imagination in Contemporary Finnish Literature

This study examines experienced space in Maarit Verronen’s works of prose fiction. The study aligns itself with the contemporary approach often referred to as spatial literary studies, a movement connected to the spatial turn within the humanities. Theoretically, the study draws on multiple fields o...

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author Kankkunen, Sarianna
author_browse Kankkunen, Sarianna
author_facet Kankkunen, Sarianna
author_sort Kankkunen, Sarianna
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description This study examines experienced space in Maarit Verronen’s works of prose fiction. The study aligns itself with the contemporary approach often referred to as spatial literary studies, a movement connected to the spatial turn within the humanities. Theoretically, the study draws on multiple fields of spatial studies, from semiotics of space to critical theory and poststructuralism. By providing a categorization on different approaches within spatial literary studies, the study promotes literary studies that utilize spatial theory and explores how spatial concepts can be effectively used as tools for close reading. Since the study aims to provide a longitudinal section of Verronen’s oeuvre, the selected material spans the author’s early works, from the 1990s to the late 2000s. The corpus involves six novels and two short stories. The analysis begins with the fantastic realms of Verronen’s early career, proceeds to consider wilderness and wild spaces, turns to visions of dystopic futures, and concludes in the narratives of homecoming and homesteading. The study shows that Verronen’s fantasy draws its allegorical potential from the juxtaposition of spatialized binary semantic oppositions. By analyzing Verronen’s dystopian novels, the study unravels the spatial nature of the genre and the critical potential it encompasses. Verronen’s narratives on wilderness are approached through the notion of spatial practices and in the context of alienation and postpastoralism. Finally, the analysis on the literary homes and the acts of homesteading in Verronen’s novels foregrounds the open, connected, and inclusive nature of the contemporary notion of home and new forms of attachment to place, both of which are under an active debate in spatial literary studies. By bringing together spatial literary studies and Verronen’s works, this research adds to the study of Finnish literature and contemporary literature’s emphasis on space, spatiality, and environmental issues. Moreover, the study contributes to the knowledge on the genres of fantasy and dystopia, as well as to the study of classic literary tropes and their contemporary manifestations. As the study contextualizes Verronen’s works within Nordic and European literatures, it draws attention to the thematic and stylistic connections that link her writing to broader literary trends and traditions.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1513922026-05-04T18:58:31Z Terrains of Imagination in Contemporary Finnish Literature Kankkunen, Sarianna Maarit Verronen fictional places fiction and poetry Finnish language literature space literary research thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism This study examines experienced space in Maarit Verronen’s works of prose fiction. The study aligns itself with the contemporary approach often referred to as spatial literary studies, a movement connected to the spatial turn within the humanities. Theoretically, the study draws on multiple fields of spatial studies, from semiotics of space to critical theory and poststructuralism. By providing a categorization on different approaches within spatial literary studies, the study promotes literary studies that utilize spatial theory and explores how spatial concepts can be effectively used as tools for close reading. Since the study aims to provide a longitudinal section of Verronen’s oeuvre, the selected material spans the author’s early works, from the 1990s to the late 2000s. The corpus involves six novels and two short stories. The analysis begins with the fantastic realms of Verronen’s early career, proceeds to consider wilderness and wild spaces, turns to visions of dystopic futures, and concludes in the narratives of homecoming and homesteading. The study shows that Verronen’s fantasy draws its allegorical potential from the juxtaposition of spatialized binary semantic oppositions. By analyzing Verronen’s dystopian novels, the study unravels the spatial nature of the genre and the critical potential it encompasses. Verronen’s narratives on wilderness are approached through the notion of spatial practices and in the context of alienation and postpastoralism. Finally, the analysis on the literary homes and the acts of homesteading in Verronen’s novels foregrounds the open, connected, and inclusive nature of the contemporary notion of home and new forms of attachment to place, both of which are under an active debate in spatial literary studies. By bringing together spatial literary studies and Verronen’s works, this research adds to the study of Finnish literature and contemporary literature’s emphasis on space, spatiality, and environmental issues. Moreover, the study contributes to the knowledge on the genres of fantasy and dystopia, as well as to the study of classic literary tropes and their contemporary manifestations. As the study contextualizes Verronen’s works within Nordic and European literatures, it draws attention to the thematic and stylistic connections that link her writing to broader literary trends and traditions. 2025-02-16T13:50:42Z 2025-02-16T13:50:42Z 2025-02-10T13:56:49Z 2024 book ONIX_20250210_9789518589252_12 1458-5278 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/98421 9789518589252 9789518589276 9789518589269 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/151392 eng Studia Fennica Litteraria open access image/jpeg image/jpeg n/a n/a https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/98421/1/9789518589252.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/98421/1/9789518589252.pdf Finnish Literature Society / SKS Finnish Literature Society/SKS 10.21435/sflit.16 10.21435/sflit.16 8ceefe60-b6e9-4502-8498-ff110bb0f062 9789518589252 9789518589276 9789518589269 Finnish Literature Society/SKS 204 Helsinki open access
spellingShingle Maarit Verronen
fictional places
fiction and poetry
Finnish language literature
space
literary research
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism
Kankkunen, Sarianna
Terrains of Imagination in Contemporary Finnish Literature
title Terrains of Imagination in Contemporary Finnish Literature
title_full Terrains of Imagination in Contemporary Finnish Literature
title_fullStr Terrains of Imagination in Contemporary Finnish Literature
title_full_unstemmed Terrains of Imagination in Contemporary Finnish Literature
title_short Terrains of Imagination in Contemporary Finnish Literature
title_sort terrains of imagination in contemporary finnish literature
topic Maarit Verronen
fictional places
fiction and poetry
Finnish language literature
space
literary research
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism
topic_facet Maarit Verronen
fictional places
fiction and poetry
Finnish language literature
space
literary research
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism
url ONIX_20250210_9789518589252_12
work_keys_str_mv AT kankkunensarianna terrainsofimaginationincontemporaryfinnishliterature