Juho Kuusi (yes, that’s me) is a Finnish, Helsinki-based, spoken word poet, musician and community educator and spoken word educator. I am a two time national Finnish Poetry Slam champion (2012 and 2016), Talent Finland finalist from 2020, and have been performing actively for over 15 years now, in small and big events and venues, here and there., both in Finland and abroad. Alongside my artistic work I teach the fine art of making spoken word poetry, rap and creative writing (also in English), and now and then I produce and host poetry events.
My debut poetry book ”Piukkaan paikkaan lupa lyyä” was published by Enostone kustannus in September 2020. My poems have been published in magazines and anthologies, and they’ve been used as material for teaching Finnish both in text and video format. I’ve also done bunch of other stuff related to poetry like poetry orienteering routes, sound installations, features in underground rap albums etc. My new album ’en ois mitää ilman teit’ (’I’d Be Nothing Without You’) that combines spoken word and rap with music, produced by Lauri Koivusalo, was released on 9th of May.
My poetry is mostly personal, political and it is often filled with (black) humour. I love wordplay, good stories and diversity. My background in Hip Hop does not usually go unnoticed, and my deep love for the Earth and it’s beings is very present.
I have a bunch of poems translated to English. If given a good chance to prepare, I am able to perform some of them in English, Swedish or Norwegian.
A couple of translations
The poem 'Esitelmä vaskitsasta' ('A Lecture About Slowworms') is in Finnish but there are English subtitles - just click settings after you start playing the video.
And a few here on readable form:
- Even Though Everyone Always (’vaikka kaikki aina’)
- The Creation (’maailman synty’)
- If You Are Mean To Me (’jos oot inhottava mulle’)
- Hvis Du Er Slem Mot Meg (’jos oot inhottava mulle’)
From the album ’en ois mitää ilman teit’ (2025)
- The Water Lilies (’kesäkissa’)
- My Neighbour George (’naapurin jyri’)
- Tillsammans Med Döden (’kuoleman kanssa’)
- 7 Scars, 7 Wishes (’7 arpee, 7 toivetta’)
