Up until the end of the twentieth century, the dystopia was a practically nonexistent genre in Finnish literature. However, since the turn of the century, there has been a marked dystopian turn. In addition to the anxieties associated with the passing of the millennium, emerging global issues such as digital development, environmental problems, and terrorism have contributed to the ongoing popularity of dystopian fiction. 1 At the same time, Finnish literature has been strongly influenced by the trends of international book markets. For example, the unprecedented popularity of dystopian young adult (YA) literature has inspired Finnish authors. In the past ten years, a number of writers have published post-apocalyptic visions of a world gone awry. Contemporary Finnish dystopian fiction reveals the collective fears over the destruction of the Finnish welfare state. This grim and often violent fiction does not portray Finland as a Nordic utopia, but rather as a society in which the social welfare and the general well-being of citizens have collapsed as a result of, among other things, climate change, continuous wars, totalitarian regimes, consumer capitalism, and the repression of minorities. However, in the dystopian fiction aimed at adolescent audiences, optimism for a better future is also important. This hope is created through the possibility of change that only the next generations can bring. Therefore, one of the most important characteristic of the contemporary YA dystopias seems to be the strong active agency given to young characters. 2 The trope of the child savior-in which a child or young person represents the hope of an otherwise doomed humankind-is common in Western YA dystopias. 3 In contemporary YA dystopias, adolescence is almost an "antidote to corrupt adulthood." 4 As Carrie Hintz and Elaine Ostry suggest, there is a long tradition of seeing childhood itself as utopian, a space and time apart from adult life and all its concerns. 5 The emphasis on the innocence and purity of children is originally a Romantic idea, 6 but this notion of utopian childhood is still present in contemporary YA dystopias, where the adolescent protagonist's idealistic and morally superior viewpoint can bring hope to a dark, dystopian future. 7

Lukemisen merkitystä perustellaan usein sillä, että se edistää tunnetaitoja ja kykyä omaksua uusia asioita. Näihin oletettuihin vaikutuksiin perustuu osin myös viime aikoina suosioon noussut ilmastofiktio, joka pyrkii herättämään empatiaa ei-inhimillistä luontoa kohtaan ja tekemään ymmärrettäväksi laajamittaisia ympäristömuutoksia. Tulevaisuuteen sijoittuvien ilmastofiktioiden ajatellaan auttavan eläytymään siihen, mitä ympäristön tuhoutuminen voi tarkoittaa ihmisyksilöiden ja kokonaisten yhteiskuntien kannalta. Ekokriittinen kirjallisuudentutkimus on tutkinut kaunokirjallisuutta ihmisen ja luonnon välisen suhteen sekä ympäristönsuojelun näkökulmista. Vielä ei kuitenkaan ole juurikaan tutkittua tietoa siitä, miten kaunokirjallisuus vaikuttaa lukijoiden ajatuksiin ja tunteisiin ei-inhimillisestä luonnosta. Koneen Säätiön rahoittama ja Toni Lahtisen johtama Kirjallisuus ja lukeminen ilmastokriisin aikakaudella -hanke (Helsingin yliopisto, 2021–2024) tarttuu tähän kysymykseen ja selvittää, miten nuoret lukevat ilmastonmuutosta käsitteleviä fiktioita ja miten kirjallisuutta sekä luovaa kirjoittamista voidaan käyttää osana ympäristökasvatusta.

This is a special kind of article, based on a combination of essay-style writing and references to both academic studies and public discussion. Toni Lahtinen, a Finnish ecocritic, arrived in Seattle just before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. He sent electronic postcards to Helsinki to Panu Pihkala, a Finnish researcher on eco-anxiety. The correspondence between the two internationally recognized scholars contains first-hand observations and wide-ranging meditations on global anxieties. One important theme is how the dynamics of othering and privilege are evoked instinctively in threatening circumstances. The first COVID-19 infections in the USA were confirmed in Seattle on January 21, 2020, and until mid-March, the state of Washington had more infections per capita than any other state. Before Lahtinen returned to Finland, 75 000 Americans had lost their lives due to the pandemic and the number of unemployed had increased with 20 000 000 people. The fourteen letters between Lahtinen and Pihkala provoke the reader to think about coronavirus anxiety, eco-anxiety, and methods of coping.

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Silja Vuorikuru: Aino Kallas. Maailman sydämessä. Helsinki: SKS 2017, 322 s.