In 2021 Finnish PEN published the multilingual freedom of expression book “Sulava – The Multilingual Literature of Finland: Compilation”. The work offered a view of the diversity of languages within Finnish literature and, more widely, linguistic diversity in Finland. The texts were from 22 writers and each original text had at least two translations.
Based on these texts an audio collection, which makes it possible to listen to the texts in different languages, was produced in 2022 as a follow-up project. The audio collection comprises texts in 15 of the languages spoken in Finland. These include the national languages Finnish, Swedish and Northern Sámi and several texts in great world languages: Arabic, English, Spanish and Russian. There are also some other European languages to listen to: Icelandic, Greek, Ukrainian and Hungarian. Interesting additions to the language selection are Persian, Burmese, Marathi and Punjabi.
The authors of the compilation are: Inger-Mari Aikio, Gag Baani, Csilla Csépke, Muhaned Durubi, Zoila Forss, Yaseen Ghaleb, Saad Hadi, Farzaneh Hatami Landi, Susinukke Kosola, Elena Lapina-Balk, Shashank Mane, Hope Nwosu, Adrian Perera, José Luis Rico, Riku Ryynänen, Roxana Sadvokassova, Helena Sinervo, Olga Spyropoulou, Nataliya Teramae, Dodou Touray, Kári Tulinius and Ye Yint Thet Zwe.
The authors read their own text in their chosen language. Actors, translators and other language experts participated in reading the translations. Each author has their own page, so you can listen to their texts in different language versions.
Realisation of the Sulava audio collection
Production: Leena Manninen
Sound production: Julius Halme
Photos: Daniel Malpica
This project was made possible by the support of Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
