© Photo: HAM Helsinki Art Museum Memorial plaque to Katri Vala Artist Tapio Tapiovaara Katri Vala Park, Sörnäinen, Helsinki Katri Vala (Karin Alice Heikel, née Wadenström) was one of the foremost poets in Finland in the 1920s and 1930s; for instance, she established free verse in Finnish poetry. Katri Vala was a member of the Tulenkantajat (Torch bearers, a group of modernist writers and artists) group and edited the literature supplements of their magazine Tulenkantajat. Katri Vala’s memorial, placed in the park named after her, is a simple plaque with the text “Runoilija Katri Vala 11.10.1901-28.5.1944” (The poet Katri Vala, October 11th, 1901-May 28th, 1944). At map
