Mikko Roiha named new artistic director of Kajaani Poetry Week

Theatre director Mikko Roiha has been appointed the new artistic director of Kajaani Poetry Week, succeeding Kati Outinen, whose tenure ends with this summer’s 50th-anniversary celebrations. The announcement was made today at the festival’s opening.

Roiha has a long personal connection to both the festival and Kajaani, his father’s hometown. He described his bond with the city as deep, telling Yle: “I have a great affection for Kajaani. I feel somewhat Kainuu, somewhat Kajaanian.”

He plans to continue Outinen’s approach of giving a voice to those who might otherwise go unheard, calling it “the duty of art.” Roiha also aims to expand the festival’s international reach, bringing foreign performances to Kajaani and taking Finnish works abroad. “If you don’t dream, you get nothing,” he said.

Roiha has attended Poetry Week since childhood and was struck by its sense of community—an experience he hopes to preserve for future audiences. He has also worked at Kajaani City Theatre, reportedly becoming the first theatre director in Finland to complete civilian service there.

This year’s festival, which for the first time used an open call for performers, features Roiha’s own production Väylä, a monologue based on Rosa Liksom’s Finlandia Prize-nominated novel, performed by Ella Miettinen. The work continues his recent focus on wartime conditions from women’s perspectives.

Despite recent cultural funding cuts, Roiha remains pragmatic: “We work with what we have.” He argues that a national poetry festival in Kajaani embodies core Finnish and international identity.