Merja Virolainen (b. 1962) is a Finnish poet living in Helsinki, who has written three collections of poems, the latest being Pilvet peittävät sisäänsä pilvet (Clouds Encompass Clouds, 2000). She has translated into Finnish poems by Emily Dickenson, Hildegard of Bingen, John Keats, and others. She has also written a book about shamanism and witchcraft, worked as an editor, essayist, critic, teacher of creative writing and as a visual designer e.g. in a circus and a puppet theatre. She won her M.A. degree in 1998, majoring in philosophy.

Photo: Tammi