Frans Eemil Sillanpää
Frans Eemil Sillanpää was a Finnish author born on September 16, 1888, in the town of Hämeenkyrö. He grew up as the son of a peasant and initially pursued a scientific education at the Imperial Alexander University in Helsingfors. However, he shifted his focus to literature after being inspired by the vibrant artistic community around him, including notable figures like composer Jean Sibelius. In 1916, he published his first novel and married, eventually having seven children. Sillanpää gained significant recognition with his second novel, "Meek Heritage," which addressed the social upheaval during the Finnish Revolution and garnered him a lifelong government pension. His works, including "The Maid Silja," were both popular in Finland and translated into multiple languages, solidifying his international standing. In 1936, he received an honorary doctorate from the Finnish government, and in 1939, he made history as the first Finn to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Sillanpää's legacy remains significant in Finnish literature and beyond.
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Subject Terms
Frans Eemil Sillanpää
Finnish novelist
- Born: September 16, 1888
- Birthplace: Hämeenkyrö, Finland, Russian Empire (now in Finland)
- Died: June 3, 1964
- Place of death: Helsinki, Finland
Biography
Frans Eemil Sillanpää (SIHL-ahn-pah), winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939, began life as a peasant’s son in the Finnish town of Hämeenkyrö, September 16, 1888. As a child he displayed a great aptitude for science; consequently he was sent to the Imperial Alexander University at Helsingfors. There he found more excitement in the company of writers, artists, and musicians (including the composer Jean Sibelius) than he did in the laboratory. As a result of this new interest, he faced a great emotional crisis. Having decided that his vocation was writing, he left the university without taking his examinations for a degree and returned home on Christmas Eve of 1913. After that time his interests followed no other course.
He published his first novel in 1916 and in that same year married a servant girl with whom he would have seven children. His second novel, Meek Heritage, concerned with the clash of the Reds and the Whites in the Finnish Revolution, won him fame in his country and a government pension for life. Translated into a number of languages, the novel also helped to establish his international reputation. The Maid Silja, published in 1931, was equally popular at home and abroad. In 1936 Sillanpää was made an honorary doctor of philosophy by the Finnish government. Three years later he became the first Finn to be awarded a Nobel Prize.
Bibliography
Ahokas, Jaakko. A History of Finnish Literature. Bloomington: Indiana University, Research Center for the Language Sciences, 1973.
Crouse, Timothy. “Past Present.” The Nation, October 1, 1990.
Kinneavy, Gerald. “Sillanpää.” Scandinavica: An International Journal of Scandinavian Studies 20 (November, 1981).
Laitinen, Kai. “F. E. Sillanpää, Life and Sun: The Writer and His Time.” Books from Finland 22, no. 2 (1988).
Paddon, Seija. “The De-Centered Subject in F. E. Sillanpää’s Short Fiction.” Scandinavica: An International Journal of Scandinavian Studies 29 (November, 1990).
Stark, Tuula. “Frans Eemil Sillanpää.” In The Nobel Prize Winners: Literature, edited by Frank N. Magill. Vol. 2. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Salem Press, 1987.