Abstract
This article presents a new perspective on research in Finnish modernist literature by examining the idea of the end of the avant-garde in Olavi Paavolainen's (1903–64) and Aaro Hellaakoski's (1893–1952) views on modernism in the late 1920s. Paavolainen was one of the most prominent figures in the contemporary debate on modernism; Hellaakoski's typographically experimental poetry collection Jääpeili (Ice mirror) is considered to be a pioneer in Finnish modern poetry. In this article, the end of the avant-garde refers to the impression that the most experimental trends had already passed elsewhere in Europe. In Finland, the end of the avant-garde was, on the one hand, used as a weapon against modernists, but on the other, it also played a significant role in the understanding of the present state of art by the defenders of modernism.