Wednesday 11 March 2009

The New Books from Finland

The new Web-based version of Books from Finland, the magazine of translated Finnish fiction, poetry, sociology and criticism which has appeared more or less continuously since 1966, is now online. This reincarnation of the journal replaces the paper version, which will no longer be published.

First impressions are mixed - the selection of material is good and varied, but the visual aspect of the site still looks to be in need of some attention. On my screen, at any rate, the orange lettering of the smaller headings is practically invisible, though I guess it may vary from one graphics card to another.

A note on the site does point out that the new operation is still in beta and won't be fully up and running until April, so perhaps it's better not to be too critical. One major useful innovation is a page that allows the reader to browse the magazine's already existing online archive alphabetically by author. I'm told that this feature is due for expansion, and that when it's completed it will provide links to work by hundreds of Finnish writers.

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