A certain mold of Ostrologism was created more than a hundred years ago. That became the truth for decades. Syypää is literature from the beginning of the 20th century.
The image of Ostrobothnia and a certain kind of national character was created in the literature of the beginning of the 20th century – and that image has had an impact for a long time.
It still defines Ostrobothnia, even though the image given by the literature has developed over the decades.
From idealization to criticism
– The most celebrated hero is indeed Antti Tuuri, who has been able to take control of Ostrobothnia under the guise of history, social criticism and humor. Even his newest book is a great view of Ostrobothnia, Orrenmaa thinks.
Today, Nordic literature is diverse and the themes are often also universal.
Contemporary literature describes Ostrobothnia without emphasized praise and idealization, a one-sided mold, or on the other hand, criticism and bitterness.
– The horror genre or dystopia are so powerful that the fundamentalism rooted in it cannot penetrate. But this is one perspective. In these, we no longer draw from Ostrobothnia’s character and cling to it, reflects Orrenmaa.
Ostrobothnian literature is alive and well
Orrenmaa is of the opinion that the last few years have been the golden age of Ostrobothnian literature.
\”Polishness is still a strong theme, not necessarily the main theme, but a side plot,\” says Orrenmaa.
I am also interested in reading regional literature. Orrenmaa has led the reading circle of Ostrobothnian literature for almost ten years, and there is no end in sight.
– I started it as an experiment nine years ago and thought that I could read basic literature for a couple of years, but we always read. The explanation is that there is so much that can be read as Finnish fiction, says Orrenmaa.
The same has been noted in the distribution of the Ostrobothnian literature prize.
– Now this is an abundance. When looking at the period of the last two years, there were 80 books from Ostrobothnia that met the criteria, fiction, says Orrenmaa.