Frans Eemil Sillanpää

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Sillanpää redirects here. For other meanings, see Sillanpää (disambiguation).
Frans Eemil Sillanpää

Born September 16, 1888 (1888-09-16)
Hämeenkyrö, Finland
Died June 3, 1964 (aged 76)
Helsinki, Finland
Occupation Writer
Nationality Finnish
Notable award(s) Nobel Prize in Literature
1939

Frans Eemil Sillanpää (pronunciation ) (September 16, 1888June 3, 1964) was one of the most famous Finnish writers.

He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 "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."

Frans Eemil Sillanpää was born into a peasant family in Hämeenkyrö. Although his parents were poor, they managed to send him to school in Tampere. In 1908 he moved to Helsinki to study medicine. Here his acquaintances included the painter Eero Järnefelt, Jean Sibelius, Juhani Aho and Pekka Halonen.

In 1913 Sillanpää moved from Helsinki to his old home village and devoted himself to writing.

He won international fame for his novel Nuorena nukkunut (The Maid Silja/Fallen Asleep While Young) in 1931.

The asteroid 1446 Sillanpää, discovered by the renowned Finnish astronomer and physicist Yrjö Väisälä, was named after him.

[edit] Works

  • Elämä ja aurinko (1916)
  • Ihmislapsia elämän saatossa (1917)
  • Hurskas kurjuus (translated as Meek Heritage) (1919)
  • Rakas isänmaani (1919)
  • Hiltu ja Ragnar (1923)
  • Enkelten suojatit (1923)
  • Omistani ja omilleni (1924)
  • Maan tasalta (1924)
  • Töllinmäki (1925)
  • Rippi (1928)
  • Kiitos hetkistä, Herra... (1930)
  • Nuorena nukkunut (1931)
  • Miehen tie (1932)
  • Virranpohjalta (1933)
  • Ihmiset suviyössä (translated as People in the Summer Night) (1934)
  • Viidestoista (1936)
  • Elokuu (1941)
  • Ihmiselon ihanuus ja kurjuus (1945)