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Juho August (or Aukusti) Hollo (1885-1967) |
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Educator, translator, Ph.D., professor at the University of Helsinki from 1930 to 1954. J. A. Hollo was one of the most prolific and versatile translators in Finland – he was able to translate from almost any language and from any genre of literature. As an essayist Hollo's style was lively, he moved easily from one subject to another. As a translator of some 170 books, he introduced the best works of world literature to the reading public. "Minulle Spinoza on vapaan urhoollisen hengen symboli. Joka elää selvästi, peittelemättä ajatuksensa, pystyy myös kirjoittamaan selvästi. Hänen mystiikansa on lasinkirkasta, jäähdytettyä." (J. A. Hollo, in Suomalaisen aforismiviisauden kultainen kirja, edited by Hannu Mäkelä, Art House, 3. tarkistettu painos, 2000, p. 69) Juho
Aukusti Hollo was born in Laihia, the son of Elias Hollo, a carpenter
and furniture
manufacturer, and Susanna (Widmark) Hollo. Hollo read widely in
his childhood and participated in theatrical activities. His upbringing
was cold and stiff, "I cried a lot," he later recalled in his diary. 'Mistä ajattelen' (Of what I think), Hollo's first published
writing,
appeared in the newspaper Päivälehti
– he was only eight. "Pöydällä on wiulu kyljellään, ja joukko kirjoja.
Seinäkello naksuttaa tik, tak, tik, tak, ja pihalla on syksy. Vaan
minun sydämmeni liesi palaa ja lämmittää koko ruumiini. Erääsen kirjaan
kiinnitän huomioni, sen nimi on "Sota". Vaan en löydä siitä yhtään
paikkaa joka minua huwittaisi. Panen kirjan pöydälle, otan ja katselen
pyssyä, waan ei sekään minua huwita, eikä tyydytä. Panen maata ja siinä
löydän tyydytyksen. . . . " ('Mistä ajattelen,' Päivälehti, No. 272, 22.11.1893, p.
4) The piece was sent to the newspaper by Hollo's neighbour,
Santeri Alkio,
a writer, journalist and politician. At the age of 13 Hollo went to school in Vaasa, where showed early his interest in languages. While still at school, he translated into Finnish Emile Zola's story 'Työnseisahdus'. Hollo also translated H. C. Andersen's short stories and wrote poems and book reviews. His offer to translate Rudolf Eucken's Grundlinien einer neuen Lebensanschauung (1907) was turned down. Hollo's publisher thought that Eucken was out of fashion. The translation of Knut Hamsun's Syystähden alla: kulkijan kertomus (Under høststjærnen), published by Helsingin Kaiku, appeared in 1910. Hollo received his M.A. in 1907, and then worked between the years 1908 and 1919 as a teacher in Kristiinankaupunki, Helsinki, and Vaasa. His friends included the writers Juhani Siljo and Volter Kilpi. In his youth Hollo had planned to write a dissertation on Aleksis Kivi, but he eventually abandoned this idea and only published two essays in 1911-12. Hollo's brother Väinö was killed by the Reds during the Finnish Civil War (1918). In the same year, Hollo began to keep a diary. In the 1910s and 1920s Hollo studied pedagogy in Finland and
abroad
in Germany, France, and other European countries. His translation of
William
James's writings came out in two volues (1913-1916). In 1919 Hollo received his
Ph.D. The dissertation dealt with imagination and its training. A
disciple of Waldemar Ruin, he emphasized the importance of intuition as
a complementary approach to the psychological research and rejected
strict adherence to exact methods. With his translation of Henri Bergson's
L'énergie spirituelle
(1923), which
appeared under the title Henkinen
tarmo, the Finnish reading public was introduced to the
though of the influential French philosopher, who argued that intuition
is the discoverer of bright ideas, and diverges from the intellect
which is the method of science and mathematics. Hollo was appointed docent at the University of Helsinki in 1920, but the next five years he spent in Leipzig and Vienna, supporting himself as a freelancer translator. He was also employed at a private library. In his diary Hollo
mentions such central names from the European culture history as
Franz Werfel, Stefan George, and Arthur Schnitzler, but Karl Kraus was
the person whom he valued highest of all and whom he personally knew.
However, Hollo never
translated any of Kraus's essays or plays into Finnish. Nor did he
translate Freud. Hollo refers to him briefly in his diary. After returning to Finland, Hollo worked over two decades as professor of pedagogy and didactics at the University Helsinki. In the 1930s he served as a member of the state's literature board. Hollo's translation of Cervantes's Don Quijote (1927-1928), about 1,600 pages, was received with enthusiasm. Moreover, it was a great commercial success for the publisher, WSOY. This was not always the case with the classics Hollo translated. Like the bulk of the educated elite in Finland during WWII,
Hollo was German-minded, which cannot be detected from all of his
translations: they include, for example, C. S.
Forester's Komentajakapteeni
Hornblower 1-2 (1942; contains The Happy Return, A
Ship of the Line and Flying Colours), a depiction of British sea
power, and Jonathan Davis's Madridin
enkelit (1943, There Are Angels in
Madrid), about the life of Francisco de Goya, a great anti-war artist.
Salvatore Gotta (Mitään
salaamatta, 1942; original title: A bocca nuda) and Mile Budak (Omilla
tulilla,
1944; original title: Ognjište) were supporters of fascism. Many of
Hollo's translations were done at the request of the publisher. Although Hollo himself did not spend much time with poetry, he translated Goethe's prose and two plays, but Faust was made available in Finnish by Manninen. A good translation demands the same enthusiastic, tireless devotion as writing poems, he said. When Viljo Tarkiainen found Otto Manninen's 'Musa lapidaria' difficult to understand, Hollo seized the opportunity dispel the mystery around the poem. He argued that Manninen is very realistic and logical in his own world. The poem explains itself. It is an allegory of a play between a poet and a certain style of writing, exemplified in the vague chararter of Vellamo, the female spirit of sea. "Musa lapidaria ei ole mikään 'kivinen runotar', vaan hänet on nähty alun alkaen vellamoisena ja samalla lapidaarisena, ts. lapidaarisen runotyylin allegoriana, Mannisen runouden valossa kaikista jaloimpana runohenkenä, joka ihmismielessä leikkii ja luo, levottomaan aaltoon, alati liikkuvaan viileään 'veden impeen' verrattavana." ('O. Manninen 13.8.1872-6.4.1950' by J. A. Hollo, Virittäjä, Vol. 54, 1950, p. 302) In
1953 Hollo estimated that he had translated in 40 years
about 170
books, but in some other sources the figure is over 300. (Kirjojen virrassa:
tutkielmia ja esseitä kirjallisuudesta ja lukemisesta by Kai
Laitinen, Helsinki: Otava, 199, p. 311) This
achievement includes
classics of Western literature, novels, philosophical and educational
studies, memoirs, biographies and histories. Curiously, it was mostly
male writers
whom he translated. When he was asked in an interview how
he has found the time to translate such a huge amount of literature,
Hollo answered: "The night is long." (Neron tie: J. A. Hollon elämä by
Eero Ojanen & Timo Jantunen, Helsinki: Avain, 2024, p. 99) Some
translations were just minor works, but the quality of his production
was high. Swedish, English, and German were
the closest languages to him, but he was familiar with Russian, French,
Norwegian, and Danish. Moreover, Hollo's diaries reveal knowlewdge of
Japan, Greek, and Latin – he mastered 14 languages. For a short time,
he even studied the Bengali language in order to translate Tagore, with
whom he shared similar views on the aim of education. When
it came to fiction,
Hollo respected the style and rhythm of the original, but without a
stict
adherence to the text itself. Basically his aim was to make the source
text clear and
understandable, not simpler, to the reading audience. "In all history, nothing is so surprising or so difficult to account for as the sudden rise of civilization in Greece. Much of what makes civilization had already existed for thousands of years in Egypt and Mesopotamia, and had spread thence to neighbouring countries. But certain elements had been lacking until the Greeks supplied them. What they achieved in art and literature is familiar to everybody, but what they did in the purely intellectual realm is even more exeptional." (Bertrand Russell: A History of Western Philosophy, 1945, p. 3) Among Hollo's favorite writers were Amiel, Dostoevsky, Goethe
(he translated Goethe's Die
Wahlverwandschaften in 30 days). The unabridged translation of
Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels,
published by the leftist publishing house Kansanvalta in 1926,
contained a long introduction ('Swift ja Gulliver') and notes. All the
major
Finnish publishing houses, from the leftist Tammi to Gummerus, Otava
and WSOY, cooperated with him. Hollo's fees were higher than those of
his colleagues. It was known, that he didn't like the English language.
Hollo's own writings include academic studies, essays and
critics. The only collection of aphorisms published during his lifetime
appeared in the magazine Valvoja
in 1919. "Kuilumies. Kuljen äärettömän syvän rotkon pohjaa yksinäni ja
piirtelen siloisiin seiniin merkkejä, joita ei kukaan tule lukemaan — "
('Hiutaleita' by J. Hollo, Valvoja, Vol. 39, No. 2, Helmikuu
1919, p. 76) The central pedagogical publications are Mielikuvitus
ja sen kasvattaminen I-II (1918-19, The imagination and its
cultivation), Kasvatuksen maailma (1927, The world of
education), Kasvatuksen teoria
(1927, The theory of education),
and Itsekasvatus ja elämisen taito
(1932, Self-education and and the art of living), in which he
emphasizes the importance of self-education and
presents shortly his theory of beauty, which has its roots in Plato's
philosophy. Hollo made a difference between teaching and educating. His
basic idea was that "[e]ducation is the initiation of
cultivation." (Kasvatuksen
maailma ynnä muita tutkielmia, Porvoo: WSOY, 1927, p. 18)
Today these works are mostly forgotten,
but as Matti Taneli argues in Kasvatus
on kasvamaan saattamista: Kasvatusfilosofinen tutkimus J. A. Hollon
sivistyskasvatusajattelusta (2012), his thoughs on the Bildung as fundamental value in
education have not lost their topicality. As a literary critic Hollo was of the highest level. His essays still provide valuable insights into the work of Aleksis Kivi, Eino Leino and Manninen. Hollo combined down-to-earth attitude with deep literary and philosophical approach. Partly his method was related to the close reading of texts. An open-minded searcher, Hollo did not believe that there is only one truth. In the
1940s and 1950s Hollo published relatively little on his own
academic field, aside translating works by Maria Montessori, Richard
Müller-Freienfels, Dale Carnegie, Heinrich Hanselmann, H. A.
Overstreet. He held
determinedly aloof from
academic struggles, and
only kept a small circle of close friends, who included Otto Manninen,
professor Yrjö Airila, and later the critic Tuomas Anhava. Despite
being a
highly sought-after lecturer, Hollo was never comfortable with the
publicity he got. Hollo
regarded pedagogy as a discipline closely related to philosophy and not
merely as a part of psychology. According to Hollo, beauty itself has
an
independent existence as an concealed property of an object. He
separated the concept of beauty and the aesthetic experience, stressing
the cognitive aspect of the experience. Aesthetic emotions, person's
abilities to choose between ugly and beautiful, can be developed. The
first
step is to educate perception and senses – "we
have eyes, but we don't see, we have ears, but we don't hear." The
second necessary condition is to cultivate emotions and imagination. In
this reading is the most valuable means. Hollo
was married twice, first to Aili Armida Pihlström, the daughter of a
teacher, and
after
divorce in 1920 to the singer and translator Iris Antonina Anna Walden,
whose
father was the famous chemist Paul Walden (1863-1957). Iris had been
Hollo's
Russian
language teacher during his stay in Vienna and
Leipzig. The couple lived several years in Vienna, before moving to
Finland in 1925. Their daughter, Irina Gaisma Helinä, was born in 1921.
The
Hollos made their home in the
center of Helsinki on
the Maria's Street, later in a large apartment on the Richard Street.
Iris did not continue her career as a music teacher. At home the
children, Irina, Paavo Anselm Alexis,
and Erkki, spoke
German with their mother and
Finnish with their father. The family had a summer house in Leppävaara,
about 10 km from Helsinki. In 1950 Hollo was appointed chancellor of
Yhteiskunnallinen
korkeakoulu (Institute of the Social Sciences), retiring four year
later. On
his retirement, Hollo became interested in the ideas
of the Swiss physician and author Paul Tournier. He continued to
translate prolifically, partly due to financial reasons and partly out
of choice. Hollo used a Remington
typewriter and preferred White Horse whisky to all others.
"En halua viekastella sanomalla, että käännän pelkästään
kirjallisuudenharrastuksesta tai suomenkielisen kirjallisuuden
edistämiseksi – kyllä idealismi on kaukana ja ansio lähellä." ('Suomentajamestari muistelee: J. A. Hollo 75-vuotias' by
T-o Ti-nen [Timo Tiusanen], Helsingin
Sanomat, No. 15, 17.01.1960, p. 18) Juho Aukusti
Hollo died
in Helsinki on January 22, 1967. His fragmentary diary, Sielun
vaellus,
edited by his daughter, came
out in 1985. Lukemisesta (1992), a collection of essays,
was more or less a new, shortened edition of Kohtaamiani from 1953. "Voipa sanoa, että pieni pilkku on välimerkeistä kaikkein filosofisin, koska sen tiettyyn paikkaan sijoittaminen tai sijoittamatta jättäminen saattaa merkitä varsin hienoja ajatuksen eroavaisuuksia." ('Pieniä huomioita' by J. A. Hollo, Virittäjä, Vol. 50, 1946, p. 158) Anselm Hollo, who learned English at the age of ten, made an impressive career as a writer and translator. He moved to England in 1958, but since 1967 he lived in the United States, where he taught at the Naropa Institute. Anselm Hollo's friends included many of the leading Beat poets (Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and others). His Finnish translation of Ginsberg's most famous poem, Howl, was published by Tajo in 1963. Anselm Hollo died on January 29, 2013, at the age of 78, in Colorado, USA. The translation of Pentti Saarikoski's Trilogy (The Dance Floor on the Mountain, Invitation to the Dance, The Dark One's Dances) received the 2004 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award. - Biographical sources: Beatnik planeettamatkalla: Anselm Hollon elämä ja runot by Kai Ekholm (2023); 'Anselm Hollo,' in Contemporary Authors Autobiography Series, Gale Research Co., Vol. 19 (1994) For further reading: Neron tie: J. A. Hollon elämä by Eero Ojanen & Timo Jantunen (2024); 'J. A. Hollon sivistyskasvatusajattelu on yhä ajankohtaista' by Matti Taneli, in Suomen kasvatuksen ja koulutuksen historian seuran vuosikirja (2022); 'Klassikosta lukuromaaniksi: käännösstrategioiden vertailu Dickensin David Copperfield -suomennoksissa' by Katja Vuokko, in Avain - Kirjallisuudentutkimuksen Aikakauslehti, Nro 4 (2014); ''Bildung' and Music Education: A Finnish Perspective' by Marja Heimonen, in Philosophy of Music Education Review, 22 no. 2 (Fall 2014); Kasvatus on kasvamaan saattamista: Kasvatusfilosofinen tutkimus J. A. Hollon sivistyskasvatusajattelusta by Matti Taneli (2012); Henri Bergson i Finland: reception, rekontextualisering, politisering by Stefan Nygård (2011); Suomennoskirjallisuuden historia I, edited by H. K. Riikonen, et al. (2007); 'Hollo, Juho August' by Kai Laitinen, in Suomen kansallisbiografia 4, edited by Matti Klinge, et al. (2004); Kirjojen virrassa: tutkielmia ja esseitä kirjallisuudesta ja lukemisesta by Kai Laitinen (1999, pp. 300-315); Opetuksen tutkimuksen suuntaviivoja, edited by Pertti Kansanen & Jukka Husu (1999); 'Translations, Paratextual Mediation, and Ideological Closure' by Urpo Kovala, in Target: International Journal of Ttranslation Studies, Vol. 8, No. 1 (1996); 'Juho A. Hollon neljä elämää' by Juha Suoranta, in niin & näin, No. 2 (1996); J. A. Hollon tiedekäsityksestä ja kasvatuksen teorian metodista = On J. A. Hollo's idea of science and his method of the theory of education by Asko Karjalainen (1986); Juhlakirja professori J. A. Hollon 70-vuotispäiväksi 17. 1. 1955 by Suomen kasvatusopillinen yhdistys (1955) Selected translations:
Own works:
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