The Yearbook of the Kalevala Society

The Yearbook of the Kalevala Society is published every year in October/November. The book, which is only available in Finnish, contains peer reviewed articles in folklore and cultural studies. The volumes comprise several thousand articles by scholars and other experts on oral tradition, folk poetry, poetry singers, folklore scholars, the Kalevala, translators and artists of the Kalevala as well as Lönnrot and other significant compilers of folk poetry. The board of the Kalevala Society serves as the publishing board for the Yearbook. The chief editor is Executive Director Niina Hämäläinen, PhD.

Joustavat sukupuolet – muuntuvat merkitykset

The Kalevala Society's Yearbook 103. Eds. Niina Hämäläinen, Tarja Kupiainen, and Riikka Taavetti. Cover Image Taneli Kemppi 2024. Cover Design Markus Itkonen.

Flexible genders – changing meanings Gender is now understood as something versatile and changing. It is seen as part of identity and as a means of expressing oneself, but it is also a product of social and cultural structures. The Kalevala Society Foundation’s Yearbook 103 Joustavat sukupuolet – muuttuvat merkitykset (Flexible Genders – Changing Meanings) explores the cultural contradictions, processes of change and persistence of gender and sexuality. The authors of the articles use their research materials to critically assess why and in what ways old ideas about gender are maintained and new ones are constructed – on the other hand, the same materials open up perspectives on what makes it possible to act and be differently. The authors come from the fields of folklore research, ethnology, and comparative literature. The articles in this peer reviewed book are in Finnish.

The first Yearbook of the Kalevala Society was published on Kalevala Day in 1921. The graphics for the book were designed by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, vice-chairman of the Society. At that point, Otava was responsible for publishing the Yearbook, whereas in 1922–1978 the publisher was WSOY, and from 1979 onward the Finnish Literature Society.

From volume 100 (2021) onwards, the Yearbook is published both as a hardcover book and as an Open Access digital publication, freely available for all.

The Yearbook has provided the first opportunity for many young scholars to publish a scientific article. Many senior scholars have published parts of, or first drafts of works that were later published as extensive studies. However, the majority of the articles in the Yearbook are unique primary research.

The study of the Kalevala and folk poetry has played a central role in the Yearbook, but ethnology, linguistics, literature studies, archaeology and the study of religion have also had their share. For a fairly long time, the Yearbooks consisted of freely selected articles from scholars operating in different fields. However, from the early 1970s onward the Yearbooks have been organised around various themes. The first Yearbook with a theme focused on Lapland, and it has been followed by naming traditions, feast traditions, Karelia, peasant poets, games and play, Finns living abroad, folk healing, the forest, environmental mythology, the concept of the sacred in folkore, auditive landscapes and many other, fascinating themes.

The yearbooks are sold at the Tiedekirja bookstore in Helsinki and online.