 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 |
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| Location | Stockholm, Sweden | |||
| Presented by | Swedish Academy | |||
| First award | 1901 | |||
| Website | Official website | |||
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The1939 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to theFinnish writerFrans 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]
Sillanpää made his literary debut with short stories published in newspaperUusi 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 aDarwinian method of character observation. His artistic works frequently referenced people as elemental entities. The novelHurskas 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 themNuorena nukkunut ("The Maid Silja", 1931) andIhmiset suviyössä ("People in the Summer Night", 1934).[2][3]
Sillanpää was nominated in 39 occasions since1930. He received the highest number of nominations in1938 with six nominations from literary critics and academics. In 1939, he received three nominations from a number of professors and members ofÅbo Akademi University,University of Helsinki, andFinnish Academy of Science and Letters.[4]
In total, the Nobel Committee of theSwedish Academy received 45 nominations. Ten of the nominees were newly elected such asFlávio de Carvalho,Herbert Samuel,Ethel Florence Richardson,Hugh Walpole,Johan Huizinga,Henriette Roland Holst,Maria Dąbrowska, andHu Shih. The highest number of nominations was for the Danish authorJohannes Vilhelm Jensen, who was awarded in1944, with four nominations. Seven of the nominees were women namelyMaria Dąbrowska,Maila Talvio,Henriette Charasson,Sally Salminen,Henriette Roland Holst,Ethel Florence Richardson, andMaria Madalena de Martel Patrício.[5]
The authorsPedro 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), andIris Guiver Wilkinson (known as Robin Hyde) died in 1939 without having been nominated 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 theRoyal 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) |
The final contenders for the 1939 Nobel Prize in Literature were Sillanpää,Hermann Hesse (awarded in1946), and the Dutch historianJohan Huizinga. At first Hesse had the strongest support, but conservative members of the Academy opposed a prize to Hesse because they felt his work was "anarchic". It has been speculated that Sillanpää was awarded for political reasons rather than for his literary merits, but documents show that the conflict between Finland and the Soviet Union was not mentioned in the deliberations by the Nobel committee.[6]
A few days after he received the prize, talks between Finland and Soviet Union broke down and theWinter War began.[7][8] Sillanpää donated the golden medal to be melted for funds to aid the war effort.[8]
