50 years old|After the Finlandia prize, writing was left to the feet of other busy people, but now Jussi Valtonen, 50, is preparing a new novel.
Social and health care professionals: read on Anton Chekhovurges the professor of writing at the University of the Arts Jussi Valtonen.
Recently, Valtonen has been lecturing the Russian master in courses on narrative medicine, which have been organized for social and healthcare workers and, for example, those studying to become doctors.
The purpose is to deepen, for example, the ability of a doctor, nurse or social worker to face and listen to their client.
Valtonen would like to see medicine and humanism collide more, because humanism has a lot to offer to fields where we deal with people. If you listen to people and people’s stories in your work, it’s good to understand how stories work in general and what kind of meanings can be between the lines.
“It can help healthcare professionals understand that it is not only the patient who objectively has a certain situation, but also the employee who has a decisive influence on what the encounter turns out to be and how the situation is interpreted.”
Valtonen got excited about narrative medicine some years ago while doing post-doctoral research in New York. Columbia University, for example, has been delving into the field for a long time. The example of the Americans inspired to try something similar in Finland as well.
Jussi Valtonen is a perfect example of how a cobbler should not stick to his shoes. “I’ve been very lucky because I’ve been able to do many things that interest me.”
In the courses, short stories and poems are taken for close reading, which are discussed together with others. Precisely Chekhov fits this purpose for several reasons.
“Chekhov was a doctor by civilian profession, but he is also quite a wizard at creating the most ambiguous situations possible in fiction. They work when read in a group because there are so many interpretations of them that are all relevant.”
Writing the professor’s fascination with the possibilities of narrative medicine is partly explained by the fact that Valtonen is also a psychologist and writer.
Is a psychologist’s background particularly useful for a writer?
“We have talked with other psychologists who have become writers about it. For a long time, my line was that if only this background would be useful. Everything has had to be learned the hard way!”
Of course, studies and interests influence one’s worldview and what kind of things a writer pays attention to, Valtonen admits.
His own background is in cognitive psychology, which studies, for example, what kind of thinking biases and wrong conclusions a person makes. When you are aware of phenomena like this, they are also interesting as a fiction writer.
“How the human mind works, and how easily we deceive ourselves. It has an irresistible fictional terrain.”
Literature and psychology interested Valto already in high school. Of great importance was the IB degree, which Valtonen completed among the first high school students in Finland. In the language teaching of the degree, fiction and writing are emphasized.
“That’s when it began to dawn that everything is possible to do with fictional means, and that fiction can be taken seriously.”
Valtonen mentions his master’s studies in film scriptwriting at the University of Salford in Great Britain as another significant step on his own path as a writer.
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“How the human mind works, and how easily we deceive ourselves. It has an irresistible fictional terrain.”
As a writer, Valtonen is especially known for his novels They don’t know what they are doing, who won Finlandia in 2014. Around that time, Valtonen was also preparing his neuropsychology dissertation. The perfect match, however, did not make Valto stop being “just” a writer. He continued his academic career.
Always not everything has gone smoothly. According to Valtonen, other careers often get in the way of one’s own writing.
“I was also embarrassed by this double life for a long time. Both fields are uncertain and difficult. If you think rationally, it wouldn’t be worth trying something like this.”
On the other hand, Valtonen is a perfect example of how a shoemaker should not stick to his shoes.
“I’ve been very lucky because I’ve been able to do many things that interest me.”
Valtonen also tries to bring out the good aspects of cross-pollination and exchanging ideas to his master’s students in writing.
“We have often thought with the students how inspiring it is to see how creative solutions others in the group come up with.”
Let’s get back to your own writing. Ten years have passed since your last work of fiction. When is it time for a new novel?
The book is in the works, and according to the preliminary plan, it should be published in the fall of 2025, Valtonen reveals.
“It seems like it wants to be an academic satire. But we’ll see what happens.”
Writing is also a constant battle for the use of time. In the middle of the rush, it is also a sensitive thing that you compromise on first, Valtonen admits.
At the moment, however, the feeling is optimistic.
What would you tell your 20-year-old self?
“Be kind.”
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Born in Helsinki in 1974.
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Professor of writing at the University of the Arts (2019–). Doctor of Psychology, University of Helsinki, 2016.
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MA in Screenwriting, University of Salford, 2009.
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As a visiting postdoc researcher at New York University 2017–2019
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Awarded in Finlandia for the novel They don’t know what they are doing (2014). Other works Wing spans (2007), Water wall (2006), Balancing (2003), Nonfiction There is joy somewhere – information and hope for those suffering from depression and their loved ones (2000, together by Ben Furman with).
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Played guitar in the band Kuha.
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Lives in Helsinki. The family includes a spouse and two children.
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Turns 50 on Sunday, June 9.
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