Aleksis Kivi

Playwright and novelist, born in Nurmijärvi, S Finland. He wrote penetratingly of Finnish peasant life, notably in Seitseman Veljesta (1870, Seven Brothers), and is now recognized as one of his country's greatest writers. He died insane, poverty-stricken, and unrecognized.

Aleksis Kivi, born Alexis Stenvall, (October 10, 1834 – December 31, 1872) was a Finnish author who wrote the first significant novel in the Finnish language, Seven Brothers (Finnish title: Seitsemän veljestä).

Aleksis Kivi was born at Nurmijärvi, Finland, in a tailor's family. By this time, he had finnicized his Swedish surname Stenvall ('stone bank') to the Finnish Kivi ('stone').

From 1863 onwards, Kivi devoted his time to writing. Literary critics, especially the prominent August Ahlqvist, disapproved of the book, at least nominally because of its "rudeness" – romanticism was in its forte at the time – but maybe also because it was written in the south-western dialect of Finnish, while Ahlqvist himself preferred north-eastern dialects of his homelands.

In 1865 Kivi won the State Prize for his still often performed comedy Nummisuutarit (The Cobblers on the Heath). Physical deterioration and developing schizophrenia (suspectedly caused by advanced borreliosis) set in, and Kivi died in poverty at the age of 38.

In 1995-1996, Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara wrote an opera about Kivi's life and works. In 2002 director Jari Halonen's movie The Life of Aleksis Kivi (Finnish title: Aleksis Kiven elämä) premiered in Finnish cinemas.