Born in Kotka and currently residing in Jyväskylä, Tuulia Nuutinen has been passionate about writing since she was a little girl. However, writing took on a completely new role when falling in love with the wrong man led to a prison sentence. Nuutinen began to process her anxiety and pain by writing every day during her time in prison. Writing sparked faith and hope, serving as a lifeline in the harsh and cruel prison environment, from which she was determined to come out alive and more whole than when she entered. “And I did it,” Nuutinen states. She is currently on parole and continues to write daily.
At the festival, Nuutinen will perform poems written between 2025 and 2026 from her collection Runoja vankilan sisältä (Poems from Inside the Prison). The texts explore pain, love, hope, and violence, bringing together a female prisoner’s feelings and reflections on life behind bars. The poems ask what it feels like when a so-called good girl and mother of five suddenly finds herself in the middle of a criminal world. What is it like to let go of everything, search for one’s place in the prison hierarchy, and ultimately find oneself in a completely new way?
Curators´ comments: “Absolutely amazing poems about heavy topics. Touching texts that cut right to the core, holding onto a lot of hope despite the weighty themes.”