Author guests Kirsi Piha and Hannu Mäkelä – Free Mondays

Kirsi Piha and Hannu Mäkelä talk about their book, Pimeän yli (WSOY 2020), which includes their correspondence – letters about the art of being human.

The interviewer is author and journalist Jani Saxell.

“I think it's always better to get up and try to see what's around you than to sit still.”

When Kirsi Piha turned seven, her father gave her Hannu Mäkelä’s book, Herra Huu, as a birthday gift. More than four decades later, Piha invited Mäkelä to exchange letters with her.
In the world of short and immediate small statements, a longer, thoughtful and dialogue-like exchange of ideas feels ever more valuable and rewarding.

The letters reflect on relationships and generations, our surrounding nature and human nature, art and the need to say something. What kind of world do we live in, what is our role in this time, how can we evolve as human beings and do what humans need to do – and what is that task?

Pimeän yli includes letters between Hannu Mäkelä and Kirsi Piha from the winter of 2019–2020. What emerges from these seemingly different life experiences are common interests, shared areas of concern, and gratitude. An open and open-minded discussion grows into a warm friendship.

In cooperation with the Kannelmäki Library and the Helsinki Adult Education Centre.