Aleksis Kivi

Template:Lang unset italics (Template:IPA; born Alexis Stenvall; 10 October 1834 – 31 December 1872)<ref name="Britannica">Template:Britannica</ref> was a Finnish writer who wrote the first significant novel in the Finnish language, Seitsemän veljestä (Seven Brothers<ref>Translated as Seven Brothers by Alex Matson (in 1929) and again by Richard Impola (in 1991). Translated as The Brothers Seven by Douglas Robinson (in 2017).</ref>), published in 1870. He is also known for his 1864 play, Nummisuutarit (Heath Cobblers<ref>Translated as Heath Cobblers by Douglas Robinson (in 1993).</ref>). Although Kivi was among the very earliest writers of prose and lyrics in Finnish, he is still considered one of the greatest.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Writers in Finland 1809-1916</ref>

Kivi is regarded as the national writer of Finland and his birthday, 10 October, is celebrated as Finnish Literature Day.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Life

Aleksis Stenvall was born in Palojoki village, Nurmijärvi, Grand Duchy of Finland. His parents were the village tailor Erik Johan Stenvall (1798–1866) and Anna-Kristiina Hamberg (1793–1863).<ref name="Britannica"/> Aleksis had three older brothers – Johannes, Emanuel, and Albert – and a younger sister, Agnes, who died in 1851 at the age of 13.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1846, Kivi left for school in Helsinki. In 1859, he was accepted into the University of Helsinki, where he studied literature and developed an interest in the theatre. His first play was Kullervo (1860), based on a tragic tale from the Kalevala, Finland's national epic. He also metTemplate:When the famous journalist and statesman Johan Vilhelm Snellman who became his supporter.<ref name="KB">Template:Cite web</ref>

During his time at school Kivi read world literature from the library of his landlord, and during his university studies, he saw plays by Molière and Schiller at the Swedish Theatre in Helsinki.<ref name="AC">Template:Cite web</ref> Kivi also became friends withTemplate:When Fredrik Cygnaeus and Elias Lönnrot.<ref name="AC" />

The unruly Seven Brothers on a 1970 Finnish postage stamp

From 1863 onwards, Kivi devoted his time to writing. He wrote twelve plays and a collection of poetry. The novel Seitsemän veljestä (Seven Brothers) took him ten years to write. Literary critics, especially the prominent August Ahlqvist, disapproved of the book, at least nominally because of its "rudeness" (Romanticism was at its height at the time).<ref name="KB"/> Ahlqvist also wrote "It is a ridiculous work and a blot on the name of Finnish literature".<ref name="AC"/> In a review published in Finlands Allmänna Tidning, Ahlqvist wrote that "the brothers' characters were nothing like calm, serious and laborious folk who toiled the Finnish lands."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> It is known that no other critic hated Kivi's writings as much as Ahlqvist, in which case the situation could almost be called "persecution",<ref>Aristoteleen kantapää: Aleksis ja August Template:In lang</ref> but the FennomansTemplate:Who also disapproved of Kivi's not-so-virtuous depictions of rural life, which were far from their idealized point of view,<ref name="KB"/> and Kivi's excessive drinking may have alienated some.Template:Citation needed

In 1865, Kivi won the State Prize for his still often performed comedy Nummisuutarit (Heath Cobblers). However, the less-than-enthusiastic reception of his books was taking its toll and he was already drinking heavily. His main benefactor Charlotta Lönnqvist, with whom Kivi lived in Siuntio at the time of his creative writing, could not help him after the 1860s.<ref name="KB"/>

By 1870, while he was living at Franzén's cottage in Tapanila, Helsinki,<ref>IL: Helsinki aikoo myydä Aleksis Kiven entisen kodin – tältä se näyttää Template:In lang</ref> Kivi's health collapsed. Assailed by typhoid and attacks of delirium, he was hospitalised. His doctor diagnosed melancholia due to his "injured dignity as a writer". The psychiatrist Kalle Achté concludes, based on a documentary survey, that Kivi was suffering from schizophrenia,<ref name="KB"/> although advanced borreliosis has also been suggested.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Kivi died in poverty in 1872 (aged 38) in Tuusula, at the home of his brother Albert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to legend, his last words were, "I live" (Template:Langx).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Tribute

In the early 20th century, young writers Volter Kilpi and Eino Leino raised Kivi to the status of national icon. Eino Leino – and later Väinö Linna and Veijo Meri – also identified with Kivi's fate as an author.<ref name="KB" />Template:Explain

In 1936, the Aleksis Kivi Prize, awarded for contributions to Finnish literature, was established.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1939, the Aleksis Kivi Memorial, a bronze statue of Kivi by Wäinö Aaltonen, was erected in front of the Finnish National Theatre.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Many streets in Finnish cities and towns have also been named after Kivi, such as Aleksis Kiven katu in Tampere.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 1941, the Template:Ill was founded.

From 1995 to 1996, Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara wrote an opera about Kivi's life and works.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Two films have also been made: Template:Ill (Finnish title: Minä elän) from 1946, directed by Ilmari Unho;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and The Life of Aleksis Kivi (Finnish title: Aleksis Kiven elämä) from 2002, written and directed by Jari Halonen.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Works

Plays

• Kullervo
• Lea
• Heath Cobblers (Nummisuutarit, 1864)
• Karkurit
• Kihlaus
• Olviretki Schleusingenissa
• Yö ja päivä
• Leo ja Liina
• Canzio
• Alma
• Margareta
• Selman juonet

Other

• Koto ja kahleet (story)
• Eriika (story)
• Vuoripeikot (story)
• Kanervala (poetry collection)
• Seitsemän veljestä (1870, novel)
• Runot, lyhyet kertomukset (poetry collection)
• Aleksis Kiven tarinoita (stories)

See also

• Finnish literature
• Juhani Aho

Kivi in English

• Impola, Richard A., trans. Aleksis Kivi, Seven Brothers (English translation of Seitsemän veljestä). New Paltz, NY: Finnish-American Translators Association, 1991.
• Matson, Alex, trans. Aleksis Kivi, Seven Brothers (English translation of Seitsemän veljestä). 1st edition, New York: Coward-McCann, 1929. 2nd edition, Helsinki: Tammi, 1952. 3rd edition, edited by Irma Rantavaara, Helsinki: Tammi, 1973.
• Robinson, Douglas, trans. Aleksis Kivi's Heath Cobblers and Kullervo. St. Cloud, MN: North Star Press of St. Cloud, 1993.
• Robinson, Douglas, trans. The Brothers Seven. Bucharest, Romania: Zeta Books, 2017

Secondary sources

• Robinson, Douglas, Aleksis Kivi and/as World Literature. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2017. Template:ISBN?
• Tarkiainen, Viljo, Aleksis Kivi: elämä ja teokset. WSOY, 1950.

External links

• Aleksis Kivi page maintained by Nurmijärvi municipality
• Template:Gutenberg author
• Template:Internet Archive author
• Template:Librivox author
• Text of Seven Brothers in Finnish Template:Webarchive
• Nummisuutarit – digital critical edition Template:In lang. Eds. Jyrki Nummi (editor-in-chief), Sakari Katajamäki, Ossi Kokko and Petri Lauerma. Finnish Literature Society, 2011.
• The Aleksis Kivi Brothers Seven Translation Assessment Project, publicly accessible, provided by Hong Kong Baptist University Library