The image of Karelia in Harry Martinson's poem Aniara

This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the image of a region in terms of the implementation of the basic principle of geopoetics - the interaction between space and culture. The subject of the study was the image of Karelia fixed in the mind of a Swedish poet and the Nobel Prize winner Harry Martinson. Karelia is one of the regions whose image is actively studied using the material of prose and poetry, which determines the relevance of the study. This article is included in a wide research field focused on interpreting the image of the region in the poetic and prose tradition of both domestic and foreign literature. Martinson’s post-apocalyptic poem Aniara written in Sweden in 1956 was the source of the study. The article presents the image of Karelia based on the historical, natural, cultural, spiritual, and moral content, as well as the importance of the region in the life of society and the poet himself. The material outlined in the article demonstrates the attitude towards Karelia as an ideal, a holy place, a lost paradise. The interweaving of different levels of text interpretation leads to the conclusion that Martinson created his own individual version of the image of Karelia based on real observations of its nature, history, life, and culture.