Eino Hjalmar Friberg (10 May 1901 – 27 May 1995) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

-born American writer. He is best known for his 1989 translation of the Finnish national epic ''

The Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and ...

''.

Early life

Eino Hjalmar Friberg was born in

Merikarvia Merikarvia (; sv, Sastmola) is a municipality in Finland. It is located in the Satakunta region. The neighboring municipalities are Isojoki, Kristinestad, Pomarkku, Pori and Siikainen. The municipality has a population of () and it covers an ar ...

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecessor ...

, in 1901 and moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

when he was still a child, in 1906. At the age of seven, his eyes were damaged by a fragment of glass from a bottle of soda pop that he opened by striking it against a curb, which led to his eventual blindness at the age of 10. He attended the

Perkins School for the Blind Perkins School for the Blind, in Watertown, Massachusetts, was founded in 1829 and is the oldest school for the blind in the United States. It has also been known as the Perkins Institution for the Blind. Perkins manufactures its own Perkins Br ...

Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and is part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Square, and the West End. Watertown ...

and then attended

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

, where he received his B.A. He enrolled in a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

program in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, but never completed his thesis. He eventually received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from Harvard in the mid-1970s, after passing a French language examination.

Career

Friberg published a book of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

, ''Sparks'', in 1926. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he worked in a tool and die plant in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

and became a labor organizer for the

United Steelworkers of America The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headquar ...

. At the age of 75, he began to translate into the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

the Finnish

national epic A national epic is an epic poem or a literary work of epic scope which seeks or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation—not necessarily a nation state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group with as ...

'', working from a

Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...

copy. This was the first time ''The Kalevala'' had been translated by a native Finnish speaker into English, and was the fourth full translation overall. In addition to his literary work, Friberg was deeply involved in religion. He attended the Swedenborgian School of Theology and was ordained as a minister in the

Swedenborgian The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) is any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed as a new religious group, influenced by the writings of scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). Swedenborgian or ...

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

and Unitarian Churches, serving as a minister in Congregational and Unitarian churches in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. In 1949, on the porch of his house in

Westminster, Massachusetts Westminster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 8,213. History Westminster was first settled by Europeans in 1737, and was officially incorporated in 1759. Westmin ...

, Friberg had a "mystical encounter," about which he wrote an unpublished manuscript. Theologian Reinhold Neibuhr commented on the manuscript that "I know of no record of spiritual pilgrimage more authentic."

Awards

*The Finnish American Translators Association awarded Friberg an honorary membership for his translation of ''The Kalevala''. *In 1988, Friberg returned to Finland for the first time since his emigration to receive the

Order of the White Rose The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. T ...

, Finland's highest literary award. *In 1989, Friberg was honored with an Arts & Letters Award and Certificate of Merit by the Finlandia Foundation, New York Metropolitan Chapter for his translation of ''The Kalevala''.Finlandia Foundation Metropolitan
Chapter, Inc. List of Awards (Finlandia Foundation National).

Personal life

Friberg was married three times and had two daughters. He died in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

, aged 94.

Literary works

* ''The Kalevala: Epic of the Finnish People'' (1989).

References

Other sources

* The Kalevala: Epic of the Finnish People – Inside front page.
"Epic Task Ties Poet to Finnish Roots," Boston Globe, May 7, 1988, Metro Section, page 2 (link requires subscription or fee)

External links

Finlandia Foundation New York Metropolitan Chapter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friberg, Eino 1901 births 1995 deaths People from Merikarvia Finnish Swedenborgians American Swedenborgians Finnish emigrants to the United States (1809–1917) Finnish translators American translators Blind people from the United States Boston University alumni University of Illinois College of Liberal Arts and Sciences alumni United Steelworkers people Finnish–English translators 20th-century translators Harvard University alumni