Aila Meriluoto’s father was a principal, and she was born and raised in Pieksämäki in central Finland and studied literature and art history at the University of Helsinki. She provides an account of her stormy marriage from 1948 to 1956 to the writer Lauri Viita in Lauri Viita. Legenda jo eläessään (M), 1974. She has four children and lived in Sweden from 1962 to 1974.
Her debut collection, Lasimaalaus, 1946, in which she depicts the erotic power of inspiration, was a huge success. The crisis of the female consciousness is examined in her poetry collection I Sairas tyttö tanssii of 1952, while her later poetry is characterised by humour and life in general, such as in Silmämitta, 1969. She has also written novels, tales, and teenage books.
Additions by the editorial team 2011:
The above biography was first published in 1998. Since then, Aila Meriluoto has written the poetry collections Kimeä metsä, 2002, Miehen muotoinen aukko, 2005, and Tämä täyteys, tämä paino, 2011.
