Writer Sofi Oksanen dropped from poetry evening in St. Petersburg

Consultate says literary, and not political reasons behind move

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The Finnish Consulate-General in St. Petersburg does not want writer Sofi Oksanen to take part in a poetry event being organised in St. Petersburg.
      Jukka Mallinen, Chairman of the Finnish PEN organisation, says that he heard from the consulate that Oksanen is seen as inappropriate for the event, because her presence might cause unrest in Russia. The Consulate-General denies that there are any political motives behind the move.
     It was known in the spring that Oksanen was coming. After a discussion with the consulate yesterday I had to cancel the visit”, Mallinen says.
     
Oksanen was to have taken part in a Finnish-Russian poetry evening. Practical arrangements for the Finnish part of the event are being held by the Finnish section of the international PEN organisation dedicated to freedom of speech.
      The Consulate-General is one of the main financiers of the poetry evening,along with the literature export organisation FILI.
      Mallinen said that PEN would not pull out of the event, and that Oksanen would be dropped from the list of performers.
     
Oksanen, who has an Estonian background, is shocked by the turn of events.
      “I believe that the reason for this is the current state of relations between Estonia and Russia”, says Oksanen, who has been outspoken recently on the Soviet occupation of Estonia.
      Finnish consular officials in St. Petersburg insist that the only reason to drop Oksanen from the event is that Oksanen is a prose writer, and the event in St. Petersburg focuses on poetry.
      Oksanen counters, saying that she had agreed with Malinen that she would write prose poetry for the event. She also says that she has never had similar difficulties before. “Does this mean that this is a new policy taken by Finnish officials?”
      Oksanen’s recent novel puhdistus (”Cleansing”) takes a critical view of the Soviet era in Estonia. She has also written about the activities of the Russian state and its intelligence agencies in in her writing as a columnist.
      Oksanen has not performed in Russia before, but she has spoken about her works to Estonian Russians. “We found a common tune in second-generation immigrant status.”


Links:
  Wikipedia: Sofi Oksanen

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