‘A popular man. Yes, Paavo Laami was a popular man. Popular with all. A real knack for popularity, on the coat-tails of which I rode a little shamefully, though not without the man’s encouragement. For he was, above all, a great encourager. He never really grasped the fact that his was a unique talent, you see, and laboured under the impression that anyone could write like him if they set their mind to it. Because writing came so easily to him, he presumed it came easy to everyone. Ha!’
Johannes Speyer on Paavo Laami. One of many revelations from Chapter Three, Part Three
Georgy Riecke (1956-2015) 