Nobel Prize in Literature
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The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words of Alfred Nobel, produced "the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency". The "work" in this case generally refers to an author's work as a whole, not to any individual work, though individual works are sometimes cited in the awards. The Swedish Academy decides who, if anyone, will receive the prize in any given year and announces the name of the chosen laureate in early October.
The original citation of this Nobel Prize has led to much controversy. In the original Swedish, the word idealisk can be translated as either "idealistic" or "ideal". In earlier years the Nobel Committee stuck closely to the intent of the will, and left out certain world-renowned writers such as Leo Tolstoy and Henrik Ibsen for the Prize, probably because their works were not "idealistic" enough. In later years the wording is interpreted much more liberally, and the Prize is awarded, as is often argued that it should be, for lasting literary merit. The choice of the Academy can still generate controversy, particularly for the selection of lesser-known writers (or writers working in avant garde forms) such as Dario Fo in 1997 and Elfriede Jelinek in 2004.
The Nobel Prize is not the sole measure of literary excellence and lasting worth. Critics of the prize point out that many prominent writers have not been awarded the prize, or even been nominated.
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[edit] Nomination procedure
Each year the Swedish Academy sends out requests for nominations of candidates for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Members of the Academy, members of literature academies and societies, professors of literature and language, former Nobel literature laureates, and the presidents of writers' organizations are all allowed to nominate a candidate. However, it is not possible to nominate oneself.
Thousands of requests are sent out each year, and about fifty proposals are returned. These proposals must be received by the Academy by February 1, after which they are examined by the Nobel Committee. By April, the Academy narrows the field to around twenty candidates, and by summer the list is reduced further to some five names. In October that year, members of the Academy vote, and the candidate who receives more than half the number of votes is named the Nobel Laureate in Literature. The process is similar to those of other Nobel Prizes. In principle, nominations and deliberations remain secret for 50 years, but some nominations become known or are claimed by publicists.
The prize money of the Nobel Prize has been fluctuating since its inauguration but as present stands at 10 million Swedish kronor. The winner also wins a gold medal and a Nobel diploma.
[edit] Controversies
The Prize in Literature has a history of controversial awards. From 1901 to 1912 the committee was characterized by an interpretation of the "ideal direction" stated in Nobel's will as a "a lofty and sound idealism", which led to Leo Tolstoy, Henrik Ibsen and Émile Zola being rejected.[1] During World War I and its immediate aftermath, the committee adopted a policy of neutrality, favouring writers from non-combatant countries.[1]
It has been suggested that W.H. Auden's poorly received (yet bestselling) translation to 1961 Peace Prize winner Dag Hammarskjöld's Vägmärken ("Markings"), coupled with statements made by Auden during a Scandinavian lecture tour suggesting that Hammarskjöld was homosexual (as was Auden), put paid to Auden's chances of receiving the prize.[2][3]
The Nobel winner in 1970, Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, did not attend the prize ceremony in Stockholm for fear that he would not be allowed to return afterwards to Russia (where his works were circulated in samizdat form). After the Swedish government refused to honor Solzhenitsyn with a public award ceremony and lecture at its Moscow embassy, Solzhenitsyn refused the award altogether, commenting that the conditions set by the Swedes (who preferred a private ceremony) were "an insult to the Nobel Prize itself." Solzhenitsyn did not accept the award, and prize money, until December 10, 1974, following his arrest and deportation from the Soviet Union.[4]
In 1974 Graham Greene, Vladimir Nabokov, and Saul Bellow were considered, but passed over for a joint award to Swedish authors, Eyvind Johnson and Harry Martinson, both Nobel judges themselves. Bellow would win the prize in 1976; neither Greene nor Nabokov were honoured.
The award to Dario Fo in 1997 was initially considered "rather lightweight" by some critics, as he was seen primarily as a performer and had previously been censured by the Roman Catholic Church. According to Fo's London publisher, Salman Rushdie and Arthur Miller were favourites to win that year, but the organisers stated that they would have been "too predictable, too popular".[5]
The choice of the 2004 winner, Elfriede Jelinek, drew criticism from within the academy itself. Knut Ahnlund (who had not played an active role in the academy since 1996) resigned saying that picking Jelinek had caused "irreparable damage" to the award's reputation.[6]
[edit] List of Nobel Laureates in Literature
[edit] Trivia
- The oldest person to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature was Theodor Mommsen, who was 85 when he received the Prize in 1902. The youngest was Rudyard Kipling, who was 42 when he won the Prize in 1907.
- Mommsen was also the Nobel laureate born earliest (November 30, 1817). He was born over 134 years before the most recently born laureate, Orhan Pamuk (June 7, 1952).
- The longest-lived laureate in literature to date is Bertrand Russell, who was 97 when he died. The oldest living laureate is Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, currently 87 years old (born in 1918). The shortest-lived laureate was Albert Camus, who died in a car crash at the age of 46, three years after receiving the award.
- TV and radio personality Gert Fylking started the tradition of shouting 'Äntligen!' (Swedish for 'At last!') at the announcing of the award winner, as a protest to the academy's constant nomination of "authors more or less unknown to the general public". Fylking has since agreed to stop his prank, but the tradition has been carried on by others.
[edit] Most awarded languages
| Language written |
Laureates | % |
|---|---|---|
| English | 26 | 25.00 |
| French | 13 | 12.50 |
| German | 12 | 11.54 |
| Spanish | 10 | 9.62 |
| Italian | 6 | 5.77 |
| Swedish | 6 | 5.77 |
| Russian | 5 | 4.81 |
| Polish | 4 | 3.80 |
| Danish | 3 | 2.88 |
| Norwegian | 3 | 2.88 |
| Greek | 2 | 1.92 |
| Japanese | 2 | 1.92 |
| Arabic | 1 | 0.96 |
| Bengali | 1 | 0.96 |
| Chinese | 1 | 0.96 |
| Czech | 1 | 0.96 |
| Finnish | 1 | 0.96 |
| Hebrew | 1 | 0.96 |
| Hungarian | 1 | 0.96 |
| Icelandic | 1 | 0.96 |
| Occitan | 1 | 0.96 |
| Portuguese | 1 | 0.96 |
| Serbo-Croat | 1 | 0.96 |
| Turkish | 1 | 0.96 |
| Yiddish | 1 | 0.96 |
[edit] Most awarded countries
| Country | Laureates | % |
|---|---|---|
| France | 13 | 12.75 |
| United States | 12 | 11.76 |
| United Kingdom | 9 | 9.80 |
| Germany | 8 | 7.84 |
| Italy | 6 | 5.88 |
| Sweden | 6 | 5.88 |
| Poland | 5 | 4.90 |
| Russia | 5 | 4.90 |
| Spain | 5 | 4.90 |
| Ireland | 4 | 3.92 |
| Denmark | 3 | 2.94 |
| Norway | 3 | 2.94 |
| Chile | 2 | 1.96 |
| Greece | 2 | 1.96 |
| Japan | 2 | 1.96 |
| South Africa | 2 | 1.96 |
| Switzerland | 2 | 1.96 |
| Australia | 1 | 0.98 |
| Austria | 1 | 0.98 |
| Belgium | 1 | 0.98 |
| Canada | 1 | 0.98 |
| China | 1 | 0.98 |
| Colombia | 1 | 0.98 |
| Czechoslovakia | 1 | 0.98 |
| Egypt | 1 | 0.98 |
| Finland | 1 | 0.98 |
| Guatemala | 1 | 0.98 |
| Hungary | 1 | 0.98 |
| Iceland | 1 | 0.98 |
| India | 1 | 0.98 |
| Israel | 1 | 0.98 |
| Mexico | 1 | 0.98 |
| Nigeria | 1 | 0.98 |
| Portugal | 1 | 0.98 |
| St. Lucia | 1 | 0.98 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 1 | 0.98 |
| Turkey | 1 | 0.98 |
| Yugoslavia | 1 | 0.98 |
Recipients listed as belonging to more than one country are counted as one for each of those. E.g., T. S. Eliot is counted as an American and again as a Briton. Declining or exiled recipients are counted under the listed country. East and West German recipients are counted for Germany.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Kjell Espmark (1999-12-03). The Nobel Prize in Literature. Nobelprize.org. Retrieved on 2006-08-14.
- ^ Harold Orlans. "Change", Self-Centered Translating - why W. H. Auden misinterpreted 'Markings' when translating it from Swedish to English - Brief Article, Heldref Publications, 2000-05. Retrieved on 2006-08-10.
- ^ Alex Hunnicutt (2004-03). Dag Hammarskjöld. glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture. Retrieved on 2006-08-11.
- ^ Stig Fredrikson (2006-02-22). How I Helped Alexandr Solzhenitsyn Smuggle His Nobel Lecture from the USSR. Nobel Prize Foundation.
- ^ "Nobel stuns Italy's left-wing jester", The Times, 1997-10-10.
- ^ Matt Moore (2005-10-13). Pinter wins Nobel literature prize. The Independent. Retrieved on 2006-08-10.
[edit] See also
- Nobel Prize
- Nobel laureates by country
- Nobel Prize in Literature winners by longevity
- List of literary awards
[edit] External links
- The Nobel Prize in Literature - Laureates
- Nobel Prize Winners in Literature
- The Nobel Prize
- Written in Stone - Burial locations of literary figures.
| Nobel Prizes |
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| Chemistry • Literature • Peace • Physics • Physiology or Medicine |
| Prize in memory of Alfred Nobel: Economics |
