Katri Vala was a Finnish poet, critic, school teacher, and central member of the literary group Tulenkantajat (The Fire Bearers) with Olavi Paavolainen, Elina Vaara, Lauri Viljanen, Ilmari Pimiä, Viljo Kajava, and Yrjö Jylhä. As a modernizer of the Finnish poetry, she has been generally compared to Edith Södergran. Vala wrote poems that had radical social views and attacked war and Fascism. Her brother, Erkki Vala, became a writer and journalist - he edited for some time the magazine Tulenkantajat.
