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Lauri Pohjanpää (1889-1962) - surname until 1906 Nordqvist | |
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Prolific Finnish poet, theologian, best known for his fable poems. Between 1910 and 1960, Pohjanpää published over fifty works, collections of poems, memoirs, novels, religious books, plays, short stories, essays, and hymns. He also assisted the writer Juhani Aho with his book Kuvia ja kuvitelmia Suomen historiasta (1915). In his works is seen influence from such writers as Eino Leino, Heine, and V.A. Koskenniemi. Kaksi vanhaa, vanhaa varista Ruskea on rinta kaislikon, Lauri Pohjanpää was born Lauri Nordqvist in Helsinki. The change of family name from the Swedish origin into Finnish 'Pohjanpää' was a result of writer Johannes Linnankoski's national campaign. Pohjanpää's father, Kaarle Henrik, was a master tailor, and mother Iida Wilhelmina Kourlaa. The family was religious. His early years Pohjanpää spent in Helsinki. The family then moved to Tampere, where he finished the secondary school. His friend from this period, the Nobel writer F.E. Sillanpää , later dedicated to Pohjanpää one of his short stories, 'Rippi' (1928). While still at school, Pohjanpää began to write poems. He studied aesthetics and literature at the University of Helsinki, receiving his M.A. in 1911. Among his fellow students was Juhani Siljo (1888-1918) – they both debuted as poets in 1910. Pohjanpää published MIELIALOJA, and Siljo his collection RUNOJA. Mielialoja attracted the attention of the composer Oscar Merikanto, whose song 'Haudoilta" was based on Pohjanpää's poem. Siljo and Pohjanpää examined religious themes in their works, especially death, but for Siljo poetry meant serious self-examination – Pohjanpää's touch was lighter and his Christian world view is marked with optimism. In autumn of 1912 Pohjanpää studied literature in Paris. He worked in the 1910s as a journalist, writing for Uusi Suometar (1913, 1915). From 1913 to 1915 he was a director of a folk high school. During the Finnish Civil War (1917-18) he joined the White Guards. Pohjanpää's observations of the nature combined with philosophical reflections marked his poetry collection RISTIRITARIT (1920, Crusaders), in which some of the lyrics come near hymns and prayers. In the title poem a crusader sees Jerusalem after a long journey, but realizes that he has come only to the half-way. From 1917 Pohjanpää worked as a teacher at a coeducational school in Helsinki (Helsingin Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu). In 1920 he married Arla Augusta Rossander. After theological studies, Pohjanpää was ordained a priest in 1925. He served subsequently in several ecclesiastical offices and was among others the secretary of the hymn book committee (1922-23) and committee's regular expert (1929-37). Pohjanpää's most productive period was in the 1920s, when he published several collections of poems, including his best-known work METSÄN SATUJA (1924). It combined elements form Finnish folk tales with themes from international fable tradition, familiar from the works of Aesop, Jean de La Fontaine and Krylov. In his animal fables Pohjanpää had often a moral or even didactic message – it is better to be poor than rich: "Tämä rikkaan osa, se on nolo ja polo / Oli parempi köyhänä olo!" In the poem 'Yksimielisyys on voimaa' Pohjanpää mocked Socialist rhetoric – the party conference of wolves wants to communalize laziness and ends in fight about the bear's honey. One of Pohjanpää's most popular pieces, 'Syksy' (The Autumn), was set to music by the composer Heikki Sarmanto. The much anthologized poem, which depicts two old crows, has been highly popular in elementary schools and poetry readings for decades. The crows sit silently on a fence, the autumn rain is drizzling, the crows are wet, and when it is getting dark, the other wakes up, prepares for a flight, and his companion says: 'It was nice to meet and chat, welcome to a visit again.' The lyrics have also been translated into English by the American poet Aina Swan Cutler. Pohjanpää was socially active and a member of several boards and councils, including the board of the Finnish Writers' Association. He traveled in Russia, Estonia, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, and France. Pohjanpää died on July 2, 1962 in Helsinki. Pohjanpää's selected poems, KAIPUU YLITSE AJAN, appeared in 1989. It was edited by his daughter Helena Anhava. His brother, the lawyer Arvi Pohjanpää, (1887-1957), also published fiction. Selected works: Tuntureilta (1913); Revontulten alla (1916); Valo (1918, play); Jumalan käskynhaltija (1937, play); Keisarin käräjillä (1943, play). For further reading: 'Lauri Pohjanpää' by Unto Kupiainen, in Suomalainen lyriikka, pp. 45-50 (1948); Aleksis Kivestä Martti Merenmaahan: suomalaisten kirjailijain elämäkertoja, toim. Martti Haavio (1954); Suomen kirjailijat 1809-1916, ed. by Maija Hirvonen (1993) - Other writers of animal fables: Jean de La Fontaine, Ivan Krylov Selected works:
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