FINNISH LITERATURE

Works written by or traced to the people of Finland but, because of a continual affiliation with neighboring Sweden, not all necessarily in the Finnish language.

Origin and Early Swedish Influence.

An extensive oral folk literature dates from about ad 100 and the arrival of the Finns, a people of possibly Nordic and East-Baltic origin. Legends and myths served as the basis for much of their creative work. The most popular forms included epic and lyric poetry, folk songs, fables, proverbs, and riddles.

In 1157 Finland was conquered by Sweden. Through the next six centuries, Swedish influence in administrative, religious, and educational areas increasingly altered the culture of the nation. Swedish was designated the official language, and, with the introduction of Christianity, the language of the church, Latin, came into similar wide usage. With most of the writing by the educated class being done in either one or the other language, literature in the Finnish tongue remained sparse. The first book published in Finnish was the ABC-Book printed in 1543 by Bishop Mikael Agricola (1506?–57). The bishop's subsequent translation of the New Testament, published in 1548, marked the earliest use of Finnish for religious writings. The traditional oral forms continued to be transmitted, but little other literature was produced in Finnish.

Nationalist Literary Movement.

In 1809 Finland was ceded to Russia. Following the separation from Sweden, a Finnish nationalist movement emerged, largely encouraged by historical research undertaken by the nation's academic community. The scholar Elias Lönnrot (1802–84), after many years collecting and studying the folk songs and sayings of ancient Finland, published the KALEVALA, (q.v.) in Finnish in 1835; he enlarged it in 1849. Pride in the Finnish language awakened among the nation's writers, inspiring them at last to produce in their native tongue.

By the mid-19th century, Finnish works were being published in all the major literary forms. One of the most impressive monuments of Finnish prose is the novel Seven Brothers (1870; trans. 1929), by Alexis Kivi (1834–72), a noted playwright as well as a novelist. The book changed the emphasis of Finnish narrative literature by realistically, rather than romantically, portraying the rural folk. Early realism is also represented in the novels and stories of Juhani Aho (1861–1921) and in dramatic works by Minna Canth (1844–97). Of the comedies written since Kivi, the best is Man's Rib (1914), a depiction of marriage and divorce, by Maria Jotuni (1880–1943). Her last play, Klaus, the Master of Louhikko, was honored as the best Finnish drama of 1941. Naturalism in literature is represented in works by the novelists Joel Lehtonen (1881–1934); Toivo Pekkanen (1902–57), whose My Childhood (1953; trans. 1966) describes a working-class family; and 1939 Nobel Prize winner Frans Eemil Sillanpää, writer of the poetic epic of rural life People in the Summer Night (1934; trans. 1966). Mika Waltari (1908–79) is best known for his internationally popular historical novel The Egyptian (1945; trans. 1949), which reflects contemporary European postwar disillusion. The greatest names in Finnish verse are the lyric master Eino Leino (1878–1926), the patriotic poet Veikko Antero Koskenniemi (1885–1962), the singer of suffering and death Uuno Kailas (1901–33), and the sensitive lyricist Kaarol Sarkia (1902–45).

The most prominent post–World War II novelist was Väinö Linna (1920–92), whose The Unknown Soldier (1954), with its realistic, humorous criticisms of the officer class, became a bestseller and was translated into many foreign languages. In his trilogy Under the North Star (1959–62), Linna forcefully described the Finnish civil war in 1917. Among the contemporary novelists of note are Veijo Meri (1928– ), author of The Manila Rope (1957; trans. 1967), a much-translated story of a soldier home on leave; and Paavo Rintala (1930– ), whose trilogy Grandma and Mannerheim (1960–62) deflates cherished national myths. The young modernist poets include Tuomas Anhava (1927– ); Eeva-Liisa Manner (1921–95), whose poetry encompasses both nature and dream imagery; Matti Rossi (1934– ), writer of political protest verse; and Pentti Saarikoski (1937–83), whose love poetry and self-analytical verse is written in colloquial diction. Saarikoski did the Finnish translation of James Joyce's Ulysses. Drama has flourished in contemporary Finland in the work of Meri and of Arvo Salo (1933– ), who dealt with Finnish fascism in his popular Lapua Opera (1966).

Modern Works in Swedish.

Many Finnish writers published in Swedish, finding an audience at home and an extended readership in neighboring Sweden. Among these are Johan Ludvig Runeberg, whose poem “Vårt Land” (Our Country, 1848) became the words of the anthem of Finland, and Zakarias Topelius (1818–98), a revered writer of fairy tales and historical novels. Important 20th-century lyric poets are Edith Södergran (1892–1923), pioneer of modernism; Arvid Mörne (1876–1946), champion of the Swedish-speaking minority's cause; Bertel Gripenberg (1878–1947), a master of form; and Elmer Diktonius (1896–1961), who dealt with revolutionary political themes. P.V.V., PAUL V. VEHVILAINEN, M.A., Ph.D.