1939 Nobel Prize in Literature

1939 Nobel Prize in Literature
Frans Eemil Sillanpää
"for his deep understanding of his country’s peasantry and the exquisite art with which he has portrayed their way of life and their relationship with Nature."
Date
  • 6 October 1939 (announcement)
  • 10 December 1939
    (ceremony)
LocationStockholm, Sweden
Presented bySwedish Academy
First awarded1901
WebsiteOfficial website
← 1938 · Nobel Prize in Literature · 1940 →

The 1939 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Finnish writer Frans Eemil Sillanpää (1888–1964) "for his deep understanding of his country’s peasantry and the exquisite art with which he has portrayed their way of life and their relationship with Nature."[1] He is the first and the only Finnish recipient of the prize.[2]

Laureate

Main article: Frans Eemil Sillanpää

Sillanpää made his literary debut with short stories published in newspaper Uusi Suomi in Helsinki. His first novel, Elämä ja aurinko ("Life and Sun", 1916), garnered recognition for its audacious portrayal of adolescent love while also employing a Darwinian method of character observation. His artistic works frequently referenced people as elemental entities. The novel Hurskas kurjuus ("Meek Heritage", 1919), depicts the crofter Juha Toivola's life and terrible end, and the revolt of the Finns during their civil war is explained. Sillanpää authored 10 collections of short stories in addition to seven novels, among them Nuorena nukkunut ("The Maid Silja", 1931) and Ihmiset suviyössä ("People in the Summer Night", 1934).[2][3]

Deliberations

Nominations

Sillanpää was nominated in 39 occasions since 1930. He received the highest number of nominations in 1938 with six nominations from literary critics and academics. In 1939, he received three nominations from a number of professors and members of Åbo Akademi University, University of Helsinki, and Finnish Academy of Science and Letters.[4]

In total, the Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy received 45 nominations. Ten of the nominees were newly elected such as Flávio de Carvalho, Herbert Samuel, Ethel Florence Richardson, Hugh Walpole, Johan Huizinga, Henriette Roland Holst, Maria Dąbrowska, and Hu Shih. The highest number of nominations was for the Danish author Johannes Vilhelm Jensen, who was awarded in 1944, with four nominations. Seven of the nominees were women namely Maria Dąbrowska, Maila Talvio, Henriette Charasson, Sally Salminen, Henriette Roland Holst, Ethel Florence Richardson, and Maria Madalena de Martel Patrício.[5]

The authors Pedro Nolasco Cruz Vergara, Ethel M. Dell, Havelock Ellis, Ford Madox Ford, Ludwig Fulda, Agnes Giberne, Zane Grey, Richard Halliburton, Sidney Howard, Kyōka Izumi, Okamoto Kanoko, Vladislav Khodasevich, Volter Kilpi, Antonio Machado, Anton Makarenko, Leonard Merrick, Llewelyn Powys, Amanda McKittrick Ros, Joseph Roth, Edward Sapir, Caton Theodorian, Vũ Trọng Phụng, Amy Catherine Walton, William Drake Westervelt, William Huntington Wright (known as S. S. Van Dine), and Iris Guiver Wilkinson (known as Robin Hyde) died in 1939 without having been nominated for the prize.

Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize
No. Nominee Country Genre(s) Nominator(s)
1 Mark Aldanov (1886–1957)  Soviet Union
 France 		biography, novel, essays, literary criticism Ivan Bunin (1870–1953)
2 Eugène Baie (1874–1964)  Belgium law, essays Maurice Maeterlinck (1862–1949)
3 René Béhaine (1880–1966)  France novel, short story, essays Albert Feuillerat (1874–1952)
4 Henriette Charasson (1884–1972)  France poetry, essays, drama, novel, literary criticism, biography
5 Sanjib Chaudhuri (?)  India law, philology R. K. Danungo (?)
6 António Correia de Oliveira (1878–1960)  Portugal poetry Per Hallström (1866–1960)
7 Benedetto Croce (1866–1952)  Italy history, philosophy, law
8 Maria Dąbrowska (1889–1965)  Poland novel, short story, essays, drama, literary criticism Sten Bodvar Liljegren (1885–1984)
9 Flávio de Carvalho (1899–1973)  Brazil drama, essays, memoir Paul Vanorden Shaw (1898–1970)
10 Maria Madalena de Martel Patrício (1884–1947)  Portugal poetry, essays António Baião (1878–1961)
11 Olav Duun (1876–1939)  Norway novel, short story
12 Johan Falkberget (1879–1967)  Norway novel, short story, essays
13 Hans Fallada (1893–1947)  Germany novel, short story Olle Holmberg (1893–1974)
14 Vilhelm Grønbech (1873–1948)  Denmark history, essays, poetry Sven Lönborg (1871–1959)
15 Jarl Hemmer (1893–1944)  Finland poetry, novel Hjalmar Hammarskjöld (1862–1953)
16 Hermann Hesse (1877–1962)  Germany
  Switzerland 		novel, poetry, essays, short story Sigfrid Siwertz (1882–1970)
17 Hu Shih (1891–1962)  China essays, philosophy, history, poetry, pedagogy Sven Hedin (1865–1952)
18 Johan Huizinga (1872–1945)  Netherlands history 4 members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
19 Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)  United Kingdom novel, short story, essays, poetry, screenplay, drama, philosophy Torgny Segerstedt (1876–1945)
20 Johannes Vilhelm Jensen (1873–1950)  Denmark novel, short story, essays
21 Josip Kosor (1879–1961)  Yugoslavia
( Croatia) 		novel, poetry, drama Branko Popović (1882–1944)
22 Bijay Chandra Majumdar (1861–1942)  India essays Mukundadeb Chatterjee (?)
23 Ramón Menéndez Pidal (1869–1968)  Spain philology, history Hjalmar Hammarskjöld (1862–1953)
24 Egidio Poblete Escudero (1868–1940)  Chile novel, short story, poetry, essays Miguel Luís Amunátegui Reyes (1862–1949)
25 Ethel Florence Richardson (1870–1946)  Australia novel, short story, memoir, translation Sten Bodvar Liljegren (1885–1984)
26 Henriette Roland Holst (1869–1952)  Netherlands poetry, essays, biography Hjalmar Hammarskjöld (1862–1953)
27 Sally Salminen (1906–1976)  Finland novel, essays, autobiography Henrik Schück (1855–1947)
28 Herbert Samuel (1870–1963)  United Kingdom philosophy, law, essays Per Hallström (1866–1960)
29 Frans Eemil Sillanpää (1888–1964)  Finland novel, short story, poetry
30 Stijn Streuvels (1871–1969)  Belgium novel, short story Fredrik Böök (1883–1961)
31 Maila Talvio (1871–1951)  Finland novel, short story, translation Veikko Antero Koskenniemi (1885–1962)
32 Paul Valéry (1871–1945)  France poetry, philosophy, essays, drama
33 Hugh Walpole (1884–1941)  United Kingdom novel, short story, drama, memoir Sten Bodvar Liljegren (1885–1984)

Aftermath

A few days after he received the prize, talks between Finland and Soviet Union broke down and the Winter War began.[6][7] Sillanpää donated the golden medal to be melted for funds to aid the war effort.[7]

References

  1. ^ The Nobel Prize in Literature 1939 nobelprize.org
  2. ^ a b Frans Eemil Sillanpää britannica.com
  3. ^ Frans Eemil Sillanpää – Facts nobelprize.org
  4. ^ Nomination archive – Frans E Sillanpää nobelprize.org
  5. ^ Nomination archive – 1939 nobelprize.org
  6. ^ "Sillanpää, Frans Emil (1888–1964)". Biografiakeskus. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  7. ^ a b "Nobel palkinto". fesillanpaanseura.org. Retrieved 2017-11-11.