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Aale Tynni (1913-1997) - in full Aale Maria Tynni-Haavio | ||
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Finnish poet and translator, who edited and translated into Finnish a comprehensive anthology of European poetry ranging from the Middle Ages to the present day entitled Tuhat laulujen vuotta (1957). Aale Tynni's own poems, written in rhyme, explored such general themes as love, human realtions, and conflicts in life. She also used myths, ballads, and historical subjects, especially in later works. "I'm still young, and I awake rejoicing, Aale
Tynni was born in Kolppana, Ingermanland, a
Finnish-speaking province around St. Petersburg. The family had seven
children. Tynni's father, Kaapre Tynni, was a journalist and director
of a school, and mother, Lilja (Piipponen) Tynni, was a teacher. After
Russian revolution, the family moved in 1919 to Finland, and settled in
Helsinki, where Kaapre Tynni worked as a teacher at the Helsingin
kauppiaiden kauppakoulu (now Helsinki Business College) and other
institutions. Tynni grew up in Pukinmäki. She began to write
poems in her childhood. At the secondary school Tynni published her
works
in the school magazine. Tynni won the second prize in the school poetry
competition, in which Saima Harmaja was
awarded the first prize for her poem 'Huhtikuu.' After graduating from Helsingin Suomalainen Tyttölyseo in 1932, she studied at the University of Helsinki, receiving her M.A. in 1936. Two years later Tynni published her first collection of poems, Kynttiläsydän. "No, my friend, life is not a poem," she declared, as if a reply to Uuno Kailas, had a profound influence on her generation of poets. In 1939 Tynni made a journey to France and Italy. When the war broke out, she had to return to Finland. In 1940 Tynni married Kauko Pirinen, who became professor of church history. They had three children. Tynni was employded as a teacher at a number of schools. In 1947, she began her acclaimed career as a translator of poems with Henrik Ibsen's famous verse play Brand. Main themes in Tynni´s poems in the 1940s are sensuous love, joy of life, and motherhood, as is seen in Vesilintu (1940) and Soiva metsä (1947). Throughout her career, the work of a poet was in the focus of several poems. In 'Nuorallatanssija' (Lähde ja matkamies, 1942) Tynni associated the role of an artist with the loneliness of a tighrope walker: "Niin korkealla / kuin tornisi huippu on kultainen, / minä tanssin silmiesi alla / koko päiväni helteisen." Lehtimaja (1946), which came out after the war, reflects the diffucult period but Tynni did not fall into the pessimistic camp; she was too purposeful and energetic for that. From the beginning, Tynni's favorite poetic form was the
ballad. Ylitse vuoren lasisen
(1949, Over the glass mountain), in which Tynni based several of her
poems on fairy tale
characters. However, the poems are not intended for children. The
book includes her most popular poem, 'Kaarisilta' (The Arch Bridge):
"And God said: to others I’ll give other tasks, but the task I’ll give
to you / is to make a curving bridge, my child, with an arch that’s
round and true." (translated
by David McDuff, in Books from
Finland: A Literray Journal, 16 January 2014;
https://www.booksfromfinland.fi/) In 1948 Tynni received the Gold medal from 'Hellaan
laakeri' (Laurel of Hellas) at the London Olympics of Art. Aarre
Merikanto composed music to the poem in 1947. For s short period Tynni
was celebrated as a national hero, in the same way as Tapio Rautavaara,
who won a gold medal in the javelin in the London Olympics. Rautavaara
set music to Tynni's children's poem 'Kertun syntymäpäivä.' "Päätarkoitukseni ei lyriikassa yleensäkään, sikäli kuin ymmärrän, ole ollut kertoa omasta itsestäni, ei tunnustaa, eikä julistaa. Päätarkoitukseni on yksinkertaisesti ollut sepittää runo," Tynni said. (Miten kirjani ovat syntyneet. 1, edited by Ritva Rainio, Porvoo; Helsinki: Werner Söderström osakeyhtiö, 1969, p. 32) The earth, trees, and wind were the central elements in Tynni's early collections. A polarity is set up between the destruction wrought by war and cumulative life force embodied in motherhood. During the 1950s Tynni used historical and fairy-tale material. Everyday observations were connected to philosophical problems, but Tynni avoided giving straight answers. Irony and humor were often a part of her expression. She translated free verse poetry but complained in her old age that nobody writes rhymed and metered poetry anymore, except she and P. Mustapää. (Toimita talosi: Muistijälkiä by Helena Anhava, Helsingissä: Otava, 2007, pp. 137-138) Tynni's translations include works from such authors as
William Shakespeare, Henrik Ibsen, William Butler Yeats, William
Wordsworth. She also translated with J.A. Hollo ancient Icelandic
poetry contained in Edda. Her Tuhat laulujen vuotta
(A Thousand Years of Song; first printing in 1957 with Saima Harmaja,
Uuno Kailas, Otto Manninen,
P. Mustapää, Aino Kallas, Kaarlo Sarkia, Juhani Siljo, Elina Vaara,
Lauri Viljanen and other writers) is among the most popular collections
of western poetry published in Finnish. In the foreword Tynni asks the question, is it worth to translate from other language to another, especially poems – perhaps prose translation would be enough. She sees, on the other hand, that poems are not only ideas and pictures, the poems live in rhythm, and that is why she has tried to follow the rhythm of he original text as closely as possible. In practice, this meant that occasionally she had to introduce new rhythmic elements into Finnish language. Tuhat laulujen vuotta was criticized by Lauri Viljanen, who thought that Tynni did not have ear for rhythmic subtlety and pointed out weaknesses in her translations. Viljanen represented the view that the original text should be rendered into another language as faithfully and literally as possibly. Especially he was annoyed because Tynni had altered some of his own texts. The highly influential scholar and critic, V.A. Koskenniemi, took Viljanen's side. Martti Haavio, a member of the Finnish Academy, defended Tynni, his protegé, pointing out that some of Viljanen's own early works were not free from errors.
From 1960 Tynni was married to Martti Haavio (alias P. Mustapää, 1899-1973), a poet and folklorist, who called Tynni his "muse". They had been close to each other for a long time, but Tynni stayed in her marriage because of the children. Tynni and Haavio only met at public places, at cafes, parks, and literary events, and talked. Some of the poems in Tuntematon puu (1952), including the ballad 'Puutarhurin tytär' and 'Metsässä tuulee,' were born as a result of her separation from Haavio during the summer. In one of his poems Haavio asked, is love possible at an old age. Their marriage was happy, a union of kindred spirits. With her husband, Tynni edited ABC-books and children's readers. Haavio's works include basic research of formerly incompletely known types of folklore: stories, legends, myths etc. After his death, Tynni edited a collection of Haavio's speeches and writings. In the collection of poems, entitled Tarinain lähde (1974), she expressed her longing for his company. However, in her popular lectures at the University of Tampere and the University of Helsinki on P. Mustapää's poetry, Tynni avoided intimate subjects. For further reading: 'Aale Tynni,' in Uuno Kailaasta Aila Meriluotoon: suomalaisten kirjailijain elämäkertoja, edited by Toivo Pekkanen and Reino Rauanheimo (1947); 'Aale Tynnin runous' by Unto Kupiainen, in Kootut runot by Aale Tynni (1955); Miten kirjani ovat syntyneet 1: Kirjailijoiden studia generalia 1968, ed. by Ritva Rainio (1969); 'Aale Tynni,' in A History of Finnish Literature by Jaakko Ahokas (1973); 'Maan sydän - Aale Tynnin runouden tavoitteista ja ilmaisukeinoista' by Kaarina Sala, in Rivien takaa: nykykirjallisuuden tutkimusta kirjailijahaastattelujen pohjalta, ed. by Ritva Haavikko (1976); 'Poets of the 1940s' by Markku Envall, in A History of Finland's Literature, ed. by George C. Schoolfield (1998); 'Keskiaika, aika keskellämme - Aale Tynnin balladi kahdesta rakastavaisesta' by Satu Grünthal, in Runosta runoon: suomalaisen runon yhteyksiä länsimaiseen kirjallisuuteen antiikista postmodenismiin, ed. by Sakari Katajamäki & Johanna Pentikäinen (2004); Aale Tynni: hymyily, kyynel, laulu by Mikko-Olavi Seppälä and Riitta Seppälä (2013); Unohdetut olympiavoittajat: taidekilpailut olympiakisoissa 1912-1948 by Lasse Erola (2014); 'Aale Tynni,' in Runouden ylistys: suomenkielisen runouden tie Mikael Agricolasta 2000-luvulle by Hannu Mäkelä (2024). Selected works:
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