Larin Paraske

Larin Paraske (1833-1904) was a central figure in Finnish folk poetry. The immense number of verses she could recite (over 32,000) made her one of the irreplaceable sources of Karelian culture. In fact, she is the single most important source of folk poetry in Finland. Paraske's poems include proverbs, lamentations and riddles. Her Finnish contemporaries (scientists and artists) drew enormous insp ...