Nobel Prize in Literature

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The Nobel Prize in Literature (Swedish: Nobelpriset i litteratur) is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency" (original Swedish: den som inom litteraturen har producerat det utmärktaste i idealisk riktning).^[1][2] The "work" in this case refers to an author's work as a whole, though individual works are sometimes also cited. 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.^[3]

Nobel's choice of emphasis on "idealistic" or "ideal" (in English translation) in his criteria for the Nobel Prize in Literature has led to recurrent controversy. (In the original Swedish, the word idealisk can be translated as either "idealistic" or "ideal".^[2]) In the early twentieth century, the Nobel Committee interpreted the intent of the will strictly and did not award certain world-renowned authors of the time such as Leo Tolstoy and Henrik Ibsen. More recently, the wording has been interpreted more liberally, and the Prize is awarded both for lasting literary merit and for evidence of consistent idealism on some significant level, most recently a kind of idealism championing human rights on a broad scale, and hence more political, some would argue.^[2][4]

"The highlight of the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in Stockholm is when each Nobel Laureate steps forward to receive the prize from the hands of His Majesty the King of Sweden. ... Under the eyes of a watching world, the Nobel Laureate receives three things: a diploma, a medal and a document confirming the prize amount" ("What the Nobel Laureates Receive"). In 2007 the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Doris Lessing, an English citizen of the United Kingdom, cited as "that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny"; she receives a prize amount of 10,000,000 SEK (slightly more than €1 million, or US$1.4 million).

The Swedish Academy has attracted significant criticism in recent years. Some contend that many well-known writers have not been awarded the prize or even been nominated, whereas others contend that others, who are already well known, do not deserve it. There have also been controversies involving alleged political interests relating to the nomination process and ultimate selection of some of the recent literary Laureates.^[4]

[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.^[5]

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. The subsequent months are then spent in reviewing the works of eligible candidates. 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.^[6] In principle, nominations and deliberations remain secret for 50 years, but some nominations become known or are so claimed by publicists.^[7]

The prize money of the Nobel Prize has been fluctuating since its inauguration but as present stands at ten million Swedish kronor.^[8] The winner also wins a gold medal and a Nobel diploma and is invited to give a lecture during "Nobel Week" in Stockholm, whose highlight is the prize-giving ceremony and banquet on December 10.^[9]

[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 lofty and sound idealism", which caused Leo Tolstoy, Henrik Ibsen, Émile Zola, and Mark Twain to be rejected.^[10] During World War I and its immediate aftermath, the committee adopted a policy of neutrality, favouring writers from non-combatant countries.^[10]

It has been suggested that W. H. Auden's poorly received (yet bestselling) translation of 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), negated Auden's chances of receiving the prize.^[11][12]

The winner in 1970, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, did not attend the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm for fear that the U.S.S.R. would prevent his return afterwards (his works there were circulated in samizdat — clandestine 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, after he was deported from the Soviet Union.^[13]

In 1974, Graham Greene, Vladimir Nabokov, and Saul Bellow were considered but rejected in favor of a joint award for Swedish authors Eyvind Johnson and Harry Martinson, both Nobel judges themselves. Bellow would win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1976 (the American bicentennial, when all the Prize-winners were American); neither Greene nor Nabokov was awarded the Prize.^[14]

Jorge Luis Borges was nominated for the Prize several times but, as Edwin Williamson, Borges's biographer, states, the Academy did not award it to him, perhaps because of his political activities, which, according to Tóibín's review of Williamson's Borges: A Life, had complex social and personal contexts.^[15] Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren has also been overlooked, with some critics complaining that the Academy does not adequately recognize children's literature.^[16]

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.^[17] Although delighted, "Even Signor Fo's publisher, Michael Earley of Methuen, was shocked. However much Signor Fo is 'a first-class theatrical genius, we were never expecting this to happen', he said. He pointed out that the Nobel committee had often acted in mysterious ways. Mr Rushdie and Mr Miller were strongly tipped to win, but the Nobel organisers had told Mr Earley that they would be 'too predictable, too popular'."^[18]

There was also criticism of the academy's refusal to express support for Salman Rushdie in 1989, after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie to be killed, and two members of the Academy resigned over its refusal to support Rushdie.^[19][20]

The choice of the 2004 winner, Elfriede Jelinek, was protested by a member of the Swedish Academy, Knut Ahnlund, who had not played an active role in the Academy since 1996; Ahnlund resigned, alleging that selecting Jelinek had caused "irreparable damage" to the reputation of the award.^[19][20]

The ultimate selection of Rushdie's close friend Harold Pinter for the Prize in 2005 was delayed for a couple of days, apparently due to Ahnlund's resignation, and led to renewed allegations of a "political element" in the Swedish Academy's awarding of the Prize.^[4] The "political correctness" issue has continued in some responses to the award of the Prize to Orhan Pamuk and Doris Lessing in 2006 and 2007, respectively, as well.^[21]

[edit] List of Laureates

In the table below, the language is the language of the Laureate's works. (Source: The Nobel Foundation.)

* Years with multiple motivations for a Nobel Prize.

[edit] Most awarded languages

[edit] Most awarded countries

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. Germany covers the pre-WW I German Empire era and both post-WW II states before reunification. Irish Free State recipients are enumerated under Ireland.

[edit] See also

• Nobel Library
• Nobel Prize
• Nobel laureates by country
• List of literary awards
• List of Nobel laureates in Literature

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• "All Nobel Laureates in Literature" – Index page on the official site of the Nobel Foundation.
• "The Nobel Prize Award Ceremonies" – Official hyperlinked webpage of the Nobel Foundation.
• "The Nobel Prize Medal for Literature" – Official webpage of the Nobel Foundation.
• "The Nobel Prize Medals and the Medal for the Prize in Economics" – By Birgitta Lemmel; an article on the history of the design of the medals featured on the official site.
• "What the Nobel Laureates Receive" – Featured link in "The Nobel Prize Award Ceremonies".

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