View source for Saima Harmaja

{{short description|Finnish poet and writer}}
{{About|the poet|the island|Harmaja|the band|Harmaja (band)}}
[[File:Saima Harmaja.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Saima Harmaja]]

'''Saima Rauha Maria Harmaja''' (8 May 1913, [[Helsinki]] – 21 April 1937) was a Finnish poet and writer. She is known for her tragic life and early death, which are reflected in her sensitive poems.  She came from a prominent family; her maternal grandfather was [[Arvid Genetz]].  She wrote four collections of poetry.

At the age of 15, Harmaja contracted the lung disease [[tuberculosis]]. There were good seasons and bad seasons, and in April 1937 she died at the age of 23. She is buried in the [[Hietaniemi Cemetery]] in Helsinki.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.helsinginseurakunnat.fi/material/attachments/hautausmaat/hietaniemi/w8GZkM0y7/Hietaniemen_merkittavia_vainajia.pdf|title=Hietaniemen hautausmaa – merkittäviä vainajia|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=Helsingin seurakuntayhtymä|access-date=27 August 2016}}</ref> Saima Harmaja kept a diary, which was published posthumously.

A literary club, ''Saima Harmaja Society'', was founded in her memory. [[Päivi Istala]] is the Chair as of 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Päivi Istala ei kaihtanut räväköitäkään mielipiteitä {{!}} Elävä arkisto {{!}} yle.fi|url=https://yle.fi/aihe/kategoria/elava-arkisto/paivi-istala-ei-kaihtanut-ravakoitakaan-mielipiteita|access-date=2021-05-03|website=yle.fi|language=fi-FI}}</ref>

== Bibliography ==
* {{runeberg|url=https://runeberg.org/hshuhtikuu/ |title=Huhtikuu|publisher=Runoja|origyear=1932}}
* {{runeberg|url=https://runeberg.org/hssateenj/ |title=Sateen jälkeen.|publisher=Runoja|origyear=1935}}
* {{runeberg|url=https://runeberg.org/hunnutettu/ |title=Hunnutettu|publisher=Runoja|origyear=1936}}
* {{runeberg|url=https://runeberg.org/hskaukain/ |title=Kaukainen maa.|publisher=Runoja|origyear=1937}}
* {{runeberg|url=https://runeberg.org/hselaman/ |title=Elämän auetessa.|publisher= Koulutytön päiväkirjoja|origyear=1939}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Books and Writers |id=harmaja |name=Saima Harmaja}}
* [http://www.saimaharmaja.fi/ Saima Harmaja Society]
* [http://www.booksfromfinland.fi/2013/02/all-the-grace/ Translations of poetry]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmaja, Saima}}
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:1937 deaths]]
[[Category:Writers from Helsinki]]
[[Category:20th-century Finnish poets]]
[[Category:20th-century deaths from tuberculosis]]
[[Category:Finnish women poets]]
[[Category:Women diarists]]
[[Category:20th-century Finnish women writers]]
[[Category:Burials at Hietaniemi Cemetery]]
[[Category:Tuberculosis deaths in Finland]]
[[Category:20th-century diarists]]


{{Finland-writer-stub}}