- Eino Friberg
Eino Friberg (1901 - 1995) was a Finnish-born citizen of the
United States , most widely noted for his 1989 translation of the Finnishnational epic , TheKalevala .Early life
Friberg was born in Finland in 1901 and moved to the United States when he was still a child, in 1906. At the age of seven he was involved in an accident in which his
eye s were damaged, which led to his eventualblindness at the age of 10. He attended thePerkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts and then attendedBoston University , where he received aBachelor of Arts Degree . He enrolled in aPh. D. program inphilosophy atHarvard University , but never completed histhesis . He eventually received a Master of Arts inphilosophy from Harvard in the mid-1970s, after passing a French language examiation.Career
In addition to his literary work, Friberg had an enormously varied career. He attended the Swedenborgian School of
Theology and was ordained as a minister in theSwedenborgian , Congregational andUnitarian Churches, serving as a minister in Congregational and Unitarian churches inNew England . In 1949, on the porch of his house inWestminster, Massachusetts , Friberg had a "mystical enounter," about which Friberg wrote an unpublished manuscript. ThelogianReinhold Neibuhr commented on the manuscript that "I know of no record of spititual pilgrimage more authentic."During
World War II , Friberg worked in a tool and die plant in Worcester, Massachusetts and became a labor organizer for theUnited Steelworkers of America .At the age of 75 he began to translate the Finnish
national epic TheKalevala , into English, which he did with the aid of aBraille copy of the original Kalevala. This was the first time the Kalevala had been translated by a native Finnish speaker into English, and the fourth full translation overall. In 1988, Friberg returned to Finland for the first time since 1906, to receive theOrder of the White Rose , Finland's highest literary award, for his translation.Friberg was married three times and had two daughters. He also published a book of
poetry , "Sparks", in 1926.Literary works
* The Kalevala: Epic of the Finnish People. 1989 ISBN 951-1-10137-4
References
* [http://edj.net/mc2012/friberg.htm Brief text on edj.net]
* The Kalevala: Epic of the Finnish People - Inside front page.
* "Epic Task ties Poet to Finnish Roots," Boston Globe, March 7, 1988, Metro Section, page 2.
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