author
Olaf Homén
1879–1949
A Finnish-Swedish literary scholar, critic, and professor, he moved between the worlds of libraries, universities, and newspapers. His writing reflects a close, thoughtful engagement with literature and the cultural life of early 20th-century Finland.
2 Audiobooks
I marginalen
by Olaf Homén
Herr Corpwieth, gentleman-detektiv
by Emil Hasselblatt, Olaf Homén, Henning Söderhjelm
About the author
Born in Helsinki on May 6, 1879, Olaf Homén became known as a Finnish-Swedish literary historian, critic, and professor. He worked at the University of Helsinki Library early in his career, earned his doctorate in 1917, and soon after became a docent in modern literature.
Homén was appointed professor at Åbo Akademi in 1919 and from 1921 to 1946 held the chair in general literary history and poetics there. Alongside his academic work, he also wrote literary and theater criticism for newspapers, helping shape public discussion of books and culture.
He belonged in his student years to the Euterpe circle, a group associated with literary and cultural debate, and he published studies and essays on literature in Swedish. He died in Turku on October 28, 1949.