Since Kivi was a minoritarian writer, he needs to be translated in a minoritarian way

What is it about?

The idea here is that Finnish critics have worked so hard to majoritize Kivi--elevate him to major writer status--for nationalistic reasons that his translators into other languages have mainly transmajoritized him: translated him respectfully, from a position of respectful inferiority. This, I argue, is not only WRONG for Kivi, who loved dirty jokes and silly effects, but BAD for Kivi's entrance into World Literature.

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Why is it important?

Finns often wring their hands over the fact that Kivi, who is so obviously deserving of World Literature status, has never been recognized as World Literature. This chapter in Aleksis Kivi and/as World Literature explains why, with a theoretical framework and copious examples.

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