Jorma Ojaharju

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Jorma Ojaharju (born October 10, 1938) is an author from Vaasa, Finland. He has been described as a "boxer of rough prose" because of his background as a sailor and a boxer, but also because of his relaxed narrative. He has published his writings since 1966 and his main work is the so called Vaasa-trilogy - 'Valkoinen kaupunki' (1976), 'Paremmassa maailmassa' (1979) and 'Maa kallis isien' (1982) - which depicts history from the Finnish Civil War to the present day through the eyes of a few sailors. As a describer of recent history he has chosen another path compared with other Finnish writers of the same generation, as he strives to realistic narrative, but also leaves room for fantasy and myth. Jorma Ojaharju's style of writing has been compared with Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez who is widely considered the leading exponent of the literary style called magical realism. Aside from being a writer and his history as a sailor, Ojaharju has also worked as a rock blaster, a harbour and dock worker, and a diver.