1939 Nobel Prize in Literature

Award

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)

Location| Stockholm, Sweden
Presented by| Swedish Academy
First award| 1901
Website| Official 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

[edit]

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

[edit]

### Nominations

[edit]

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  |

* Albert Tessier (1895–1976)
* Serge Barrault (1887–1976)
* Jacques Chevalier (1882–1962)

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  |

* Johan Nordström (1891–1967)
* Bengt Hesselman (1875–1952)

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  |

* Harry Fett (1875–1962)
* Halvdan Koht (1873–1965)

12  | Johan Falkberget (1879–1967)  |  Norway | novel, short story, essays  |

* Eivind Berggrav (1884–1959)
* Fredrik Paasche (1886–1943)
* Richard Beck (1897–1980)

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  |

* Sigurd Grieg (1894–1973)
* Carl Adolf Bodelsen (1894–1978)
* Jens Thiis (1870–1942)
* Vilhelm Andersen (1864–1953)

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  |

* 16 members of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters
* Heinrich Wolfgang Donner (1904-1980)
* Yrjö Hirn (1870–1952)

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  |

* Sten Bodvar Liljegren (1885–1984)
* Ernst Bendz (1880–1966)

33  | Hugh Walpole (1884–1941)  |  United Kingdom | novel, short story, drama, memoir  | Sten Bodvar Liljegren (1885–1984)

## Prize decision

[edit]

F.E. Sillanpää in his home receives the news that he has been awarded with the Nobel prize in literature in 1939.

The final contenders for the 1939 Nobel Prize in Literature were Sillanpää, Hermann Hesse (awarded in 1946), and the Dutch historian Johan 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]

## Aftermath

[edit]

A few days after he received the prize, talks between Finland and Soviet Union broke down and the Winter War began.[7][8] Sillanpää donated the golden medal to be melted for funds to aid the war effort.[8]

## References

[edit]

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. ^ Turkka, Pekka (30 June 1988). "The Nobel pursuit". Books from Finland A Literary Journal, Issue 2 1988.
7. ^ "Sillanpää, Frans Emil (1888–1964)". Biografiakeskus. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
8. ^ a b "Nobel palkinto". fesillanpaanseura.org. Retrieved 2017-11-11.

## External links

[edit]

* Award ceremony speech by Per Hallström nobelprize.org
* Frans Eemil Sillanpää – Documentary nobelprize.org

* v
* t
* e

Laureates of the Nobel Prize in Literature

1901–1920|

* 1901: Sully Prudhomme
* 1902: Theodor Mommsen
* 1903: Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
* 1904: Frédéric Mistral / José Echegaray
* 1905: Henryk Sienkiewicz
* 1906: Giosuè Carducci
* 1907: Rudyard Kipling
* 1908: Rudolf Eucken
* 1909: Selma Lagerlöf
* 1910: Paul Heyse
* 1911: Maurice Maeterlinck
* 1912: Gerhart Hauptmann
* 1913: Rabindranath Tagore
* 1914
* 1915: Romain Rolland
* 1916: Verner von Heidenstam
* 1917: Karl Gjellerup / Henrik Pontoppidan
* 1918
* 1919: Carl Spitteler
* 1920: Knut Hamsun

1921–1940|

* 1921: Anatole France
* 1922: Jacinto Benavente
* 1923: W. B. Yeats
* 1924: Władysław Reymont
* 1925: George Bernard Shaw
* 1926: Grazia Deledda
* 1927: Henri Bergson
* 1928: Sigrid Undset
* 1929: Thomas Mann
* 1930: Sinclair Lewis
* 1931: Erik Axel Karlfeldt (posthumously)
* 1932: John Galsworthy
* 1933: Ivan Bunin
* 1934: Luigi Pirandello
* 1935
* 1936: Eugene O'Neill
* 1937: Roger Martin du Gard
* 1938: Pearl S. Buck
* 1939: Frans Eemil Sillanpää
* 1940

1941–1960|

* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944: Johannes V. Jensen
* 1945: Gabriela Mistral
* 1946: Hermann Hesse
* 1947: André Gide
* 1948: T. S. Eliot
* 1949: William Faulkner
* 1950: Bertrand Russell
* 1951: Pär Lagerkvist
* 1952: François Mauriac
* 1953: Winston Churchill
* 1954: Ernest Hemingway
* 1955: Halldór Laxness
* 1956: Juan Ramón Jiménez
* 1957: Albert Camus
* 1958: Boris Pasternak
* 1959: Salvatore Quasimodo
* 1960: Saint-John Perse

1961–1980|

* 1961: Ivo Andrić
* 1962: John Steinbeck
* 1963: Giorgos Seferis
* 1964: Jean-Paul Sartre (declined award)
* 1965: Mikhail Sholokhov
* 1966: Shmuel Yosef Agnon / Nelly Sachs
* 1967: Miguel Ángel Asturias
* 1968: Yasunari Kawabata
* 1969: Samuel Beckett
* 1970: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
* 1971: Pablo Neruda
* 1972: Heinrich Böll
* 1973: Patrick White
* 1974: Eyvind Johnson / Harry Martinson
* 1975: Eugenio Montale
* 1976: Saul Bellow
* 1977: Vicente Aleixandre
* 1978: Isaac Bashevis Singer
* 1979: Odysseas Elytis
* 1980: Czesław Miłosz

1981–2000|

* 1981: Elias Canetti
* 1982: Gabriel García Márquez
* 1983: William Golding
* 1984: Jaroslav Seifert
* 1985: Claude Simon
* 1986: Wole Soyinka
* 1987: Joseph Brodsky
* 1988: Naguib Mahfouz
* 1989: Camilo José Cela
* 1990: Octavio Paz
* 1991: Nadine Gordimer
* 1992: Derek Walcott
* 1993: Toni Morrison
* 1994: Kenzaburō Ōe
* 1995: Seamus Heaney
* 1996: Wisława Szymborska
* 1997: Dario Fo
* 1998: José Saramago
* 1999: Günter Grass
* 2000: Gao Xingjian

2001–2020|

* 2001: V. S. Naipaul
* 2002: Imre Kertész
* 2003: J. M. Coetzee
* 2004: Elfriede Jelinek
* 2005: Harold Pinter
* 2006: Orhan Pamuk
* 2007: Doris Lessing
* 2008: J. M. G. Le Clézio
* 2009: Herta Müller
* 2010: Mario Vargas Llosa
* 2011: Tomas Tranströmer
* 2012: Mo Yan
* 2013: Alice Munro
* 2014: Patrick Modiano
* 2015: Svetlana Alexievich
* 2016: Bob Dylan
* 2017: Kazuo Ishiguro
* 2018: Olga Tokarczuk
* 2019: Peter Handke
* 2020: Louise Glück

2021–present|

* 2021: Abdulrazak Gurnah
* 2022: Annie Ernaux
* 2023: Jon Fosse
* 2024: Han Kang
* 2025: to be determined

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