Jasmine Westerlund

Literary artist, Post-doctoral Researcher, Finnish Literature, University of Turku

I am a literary artist and a researcher, and my life is in many ways defined by writing and reading. As a literary artist I teach creative writing, assist in autobiographical memory work, create poems with elderly people in care homes and fairy-tales with children. As a researcher I am most of all interested in feminist literary scholarship. I received my PhD in Finnish literature in 2013 with a thesis on artist novels written by women. I have also produced articles on the connections between illness, religion, and gender. I am a member of the DARIAH Women Writers in History network and I also take part in a research project on the reception of women’s writing in Finland and Russia (Tekstit liikkeessä; University of Turku and University of Tampere)

In the Seekers of the New Project I will focus on the author and anthroposophist Olly (Olga) Donner (1881–1956) who, in addition to her literary work, was a cosmopolitan and a humanitarian and founded both a care home and a children’s summer camp. I am currently writing a biographical volume on Olly Donner. My research has taken me to various archive collections in Finland and abroad, and in the old letters and notebooks I have found a whole new kind of inspiration for my work.

Keywords: anthroposophy, Olly Donner, Waldorf education, creative writing, literary art, literary research 

Publications relating to the project:

• With Julia von Boguslawski “Putting the spiritual into practice. Anthroposophy in the life and work of Olly and Uno Donner.” Tiina Mahlamäki and Maarit Leskelä-Kärki (eds.) Approaching Religion 2018 (2), 69–78. https://journal.fi/ar/article/view/66739

Profile in Finnish >>>