The Nobel Prize was established by an industrialist, inventor and chemical engineer from Sweden, Alfred Nobel, and named after him. She is considered the most prestigious in the world. Laureates receive a gold medal, which depicts A. B. Nobel, a diploma, as well as a check for a large amount. The latter is made up of the size of the profits that the Nobel Fund receives. In 1895, Alfred Nobel made a will under which his capital was placed in bonds, stocks and loans. The income that this money brings is divided equally into five parts every year and becomes a bonus for achievements in five areas: in chemistry, physics, physiology or medicine, literature, and also for peace consolidation activities.
The first Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded on December 10, 1901, and has since been issued annually on that date, which is the anniversary of Nobel’s death. The award ceremony takes place in Stockholm by the Swedish king himself. After receiving the award, Nobel Prize laureates in literature must deliver a lecture on their work within 6 months. This is a prerequisite for receiving a reward.
The decision about who to award the Nobel Prize in literature to is made by the Swedish Academy, located in Stockholm, as well as the Nobel Committee itself, which announces only the number of applicants without giving their names. The selection procedure itself is classified, which sometimes causes angry reviews from critics and ill-wishers who claim that the award is given for political reasons, and not for literary achievements. The main argument that is cited in the evidence is the prize-winning Nabokov, Tolstoy, Bochres, Joyce. However, the list of authors who received it is still impressive. From Russia, five Nobel Prize winners in literature. Read more about each of them below.
The 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded 107 times, received by Patrick Modiano, a French writer and screenwriter. That is, since 1901, 111 writers became winners of the award (since four times it was awarded to two authors at the same time).
To list all the laureates and get acquainted with each of them is quite a long time. The most famous and readable Nobel Prize winners in literature and their works are brought to your attention.
1. William Golding, 1983
William Golding received an award for his famous novels, of which there are 12 in his work. The most famous, “Lord of the Flies” and “Heirs”, are some of the best-selling books written by Nobel laureates. The novel "Lord of the Flies", released in 1954, brought the writer world fame. Critics often compare it with Salinger’s novel “The Catcher in the Rye” in terms of its significance for the development of literature and modern thought in general.
2. Tony Morrison, 1993
The Nobel Prize laureates in literature are not only men, but also women. These include Tony Morrison. This American writer was born into a working class family in Ohio. Entering Howard University, where she studied literature and the English language, she began to write her works. The first novel, The Bluest Eyes (1970), was written on the basis of a story compiled by her for a university circle of writers. He is one of the most popular works of Tony Morrison. Her other novel, Sula, published in 1975, was nominated for the US National Book Award .
3. John Steinbeck, 1962
Steinbeck's most famous works are "East of Paradise," "Bunches of Wrath," "About Mice and Men." In 1939, the novel "The Bunches of Wrath" became a bestseller, more than 50 thousand copies were sold, and today their number is more than 75 million. Until 1962, the writer was nominated for the award 8 times, and he himself believed that he was not worthy of such an award. Yes, and many American critics noted that his later novels are much weaker than previous ones, and responded negatively about this award. In 2013, when some documents of the Swedish Academy were declassified (which have been kept secret for 50 years), it became clear that the writer was awarded because this year he turned out to be "the best in bad company."
4. Ernest Hemingway, 1954
This writer became one of the nine winners of the Prize for Literature, to whom she was awarded not for creativity in general, but for a specific work, namely for the novel "The Old Man and the Sea". The same work, first published in 1952, brought the writer the next, 1953, and another prestigious award - the Pulitzer Prize.
In the same year, the Nobel Committee included Hemingway on the list of candidates, but Winston Churchill, who had already turned 79 years old at that time, became the winner of the award, and therefore it was decided not to delay the presentation of the award. And Ernest Hemingway became the honored owner of the award in the following, 1954.
5. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1982
In 1982, Nobel Prize winners in literature included Gabriel Garcia Marquez in their ranks. He became the first writer from Colombia to receive an award from the Swedish Academy. His books, among which the Chronicle of the Declared Death, the Autumn of the Patriarch, and also Love during Cholera, should be especially noted, became the best-selling works written in Spanish in its entire history. The novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude" (1967), which another Nobel Prize winner, Pablo Neruda, called the greatest creation in Spanish after Cervantes' Don Quixote novel, has been translated into more than 25 languages of the world, and the total circulation of the work was more than 50 million copies.
6. Samuel Beckett, 1969
The Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969 was awarded to Samuel Becket. This Irish writer is one of the most famous representatives of modernism. It was he who, together with Eugene Ionescu, founded the famous "theater of the absurd". Samuel Beckett wrote his works in two languages - English and French. The most famous brainchild of his pen was the play "Waiting for Godot," written in French. The plot of the work is as follows. The main characters throughout the play expect a certain Godot, who should make some sense in their existence. However, that one does not appear, so the reader or viewer has to decide for himself what kind of image it was.
Beckett was fond of the game of chess, enjoyed success with women, but led a rather secluded life. He did not even agree to come to the Nobel Prize ceremony, sending in place of himself his publisher, Jerome Lindon.
7. William Faulkner, 1949
The Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949 went to William Faulkner. He also initially refused to go to Stockholm for an award, but in the end his daughter persuaded him to do so. American President John F. Kennedy sent him an invitation to dinner, organized in honor of Nobel Prize winners. However, Faulkner, who had considered himself “not a writer, but a farmer” all his life, in his own words, refused to accept the invitation, citing old age.
The author’s most famous and popular novels are “Noise and Fury” and “When I Died”. However, success to these works did not come immediately, for a long time they were practically not sold. The novel "Noise and Fury", published in 1929, was sold only in three thousand copies in the first 16 years after publication. However, in 1949, by the time the author received the Nobel Prize, this novel was already a model of classical American literature.
In 2012, a special edition of this work was published in the UK, in which the text was printed in 14 different colors, which was done at the request of the writer so that the reader could notice different time planes. The limited edition of the novel amounted to only 1,480 copies and sold immediately after the release. Now the cost of the book of this rare edition is estimated at about 115 thousand rubles.
8. Doris Lessing, 2007
The Nobel Prize in Literature in 2007 was awarded to Doris Lessing. This writer and poetess from the UK received the award at the age of 88 and became her oldest owner. She also became the eleventh woman (out of 13) to be awarded the Nobel Prize.
Lessing was not very popular with critics, as she rarely wrote on topics devoted to pressing social issues, she was even often called the propagandist of Sufism, a teaching that preaches the rejection of worldly fuss. However, according to The Times magazine, this writer ranks fifth in the list of the 50 greatest UK writers published since 1945.
The most popular work of Doris Lessing is the novel "Golden Notebook", released in 1962. Some critics attribute it to examples of classical feminist prose, but the writer herself strongly disagrees with this opinion.
9. Albert Camus, 1957
French writers also received the Nobel Prize in literature. One of them, a writer, journalist, essayist of Algerian descent, Albert Camus, is the "conscience of the West." His most famous work is the novel "The Outsider" published in France in 1942. In 1946, an English translation was made, sales began, and for several years the number of copies sold amounted to more than 3.5 million.
Albert Camus is often attributed to the representatives of existentialism, but he himself did not agree with this and strongly denied such a definition. So, in a speech delivered at the Nobel Prize, he noted that in his work he sought to "avoid open lies and resist oppression."
10. Alice Munroe, 2013
In 2013, Nobel Prize nominees for literature included Alice Munroe on their list. Representative of Canada, this short story became famous in the short story genre. She began to write them early, from her teenage years, however, the first collection of her works entitled “Dance of Happy Shadows” was published only in 1968, when the author was already 37 years old. In 1971, the following compilation appeared, The Life of Girls and Women, which critics called the "parenting novel." Her other literary works include books: “And who are you, actually, such?”, “The Fugitive”, “Satellites of Jupiter”, “Too Much Happiness”. According to one of her collections, “Hatred, Friendship, Courtship, Love, Marriage,” published in 2001, even a Canadian film called “Away from Her,” directed by Sarah Polly, was released. The author’s most popular book is Dear Life, published in 2012.
Munroe is often called "Canadian Chekhov," because the styles of these writers are similar. Like a Russian writer, he is characterized by psychological realism and clarity.
Nobel laureates in literature from Russia
To date, the award winners are five Russian writers. The first of them was I. A. Bunin.
1. Ivan Alekseevich Bunin, 1933
This is a famous Russian writer and poet, an outstanding master of realistic prose, an honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. In 1920, Ivan Alekseevich emigrated to France, and when presenting the award, he noted that the Swedish Academy acted very bravely, awarding the emigrant writer. Among the applicants for this year’s award was another Russian writer, M. Gorky, however, largely due to the publication of the book “Life of Arsenyev” by that time, the scales were still leaning toward Ivan Alekseevich.
Bunin began writing his first poems at the age of 7-8 years. Later, his famous works were published: the novel "The Village", the collection "Sukhodol", the books "John the Rydalets", "The Lord from San Francisco" and others. In the 20s he wrote "The Rose of Jericho" (1924) and " Sunstroke "(1927). And in 1943, the peak of Ivan Alexandrovich's work, a collection of short stories "Dark Alleys," was born. This book was devoted to only one topic - love, its "dark" and gloomy sides, as the author wrote in one of his letters.
2. Boris Leonidovich Pasternak, 1958
Winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature from Russia in 1958 included Boris Pasternak in their list. The poet was awarded a prize in difficult times. He was forced to abandon her under the threat of exile from Russia. However, the Nobel Committee regarded the refusal of Boris Leonidovich as forced; in 1989 he handed over the medal and diploma after the writer's death to his son. The famous novel "Doctor Zhivago" is a true artistic testament of Pasternak. This work was written in 1955. Albert Camus, a 1957 laureate, praised the novel.
3. Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov, 1965
In 1965, M. A. Sholokhov was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. Russia has once again proved to the whole world that it has talented writers. Having begun his literary activity as a representative of realism, depicting the deep contradictions of life, Sholokhov, however, in some works is captured by the socialist trend. During the presentation of the Nobel Prize, Mikhail Alexandrovich delivered a speech in which he noted that in his works he sought to give praise to the "nation of toilers, builders and heroes."
In 1926, he began his main novel, The Quiet Don, and completed it in 1940, long before he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Sholokhov's works were published in parts, including The Quiet Don. In 1928, largely thanks to the assistance of A. S. Serafimovich, a friend of Mikhail Alexandrovich, the first part appeared in print. The following year, the second volume was published. The third was published in 1932-1933, already with the assistance and support of M. Gorky. The last, fourth, volume was published in 1940. This novel was of great importance for both Russian and world literature. It was translated into many languages of the world, became the basis of the famous opera of Ivan Dzerzhinsky, as well as numerous theatrical productions and films.
Some, however, accused Sholokhov of plagiarism (including A. I. Solzhenitsyn), believing that most of the work was rewritten from the manuscripts of F. D. Kryukov, a Cossack writer. Other researchers have confirmed the authorship of Sholokhov.
In addition to this work, Sholokhov in 1932 created “Virgin Soil Upturned”, a work that tells the story of collectivization among the Cossacks. In 1955, the first chapters of the second volume were published, and at the beginning of 1960 the last ones were completed.
At the end of 1942, a third novel, "They Fought for Their Homeland," was printed.
4. Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn, 1970
The Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970 was awarded to A. I. Solzhenitsyn. Alexander Isaevich accepted her, but did not dare to attend the award ceremony, because he was afraid of the Soviet government, which regarded the decision of the Nobel Committee as "politically hostile." Solzhenitsyn was afraid that he would not be able to return to his homeland after this trip, although the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, received by him, increased the prestige of our country. In his work, he touched on acute socio-political problems, actively fought against communism, its ideas and policies of the Soviet government.
The main works of Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn include: “One Day of Ivan Denisovich” (1962), the story “Matrenin Yard”, the novel “In the First Circle” (written from 1955 to 1968), “The Gulag Archipelago” (1964-1970). The first published work was the story "One Day by Ivan Denisovich", which appeared in the magazine "New World". This publication aroused great interest and numerous feedback from readers, which inspired the writer to create the “Gulag Archipelago”. In 1964, the first story of Alexander Isaevich received the Lenin Prize.
However, a year later, he loses the favor of the Soviet authorities, and his works are forbidden to print. His novels “The Gulag Archipelago”, “In the First Circle” and “Cancer Corps” were published abroad, for which the writer was deprived of citizenship in 1974, and he was forced to emigrate. Only 20 years later he managed to return to his homeland. In 2001-2002, Solzhenitsyn’s great work, “Two Hundred Years Together,” appeared. Alexander Isaevich died in 2008.
5. Joseph Alexandrovich Brodsky, 1987
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Joseph Alexandrovich wrote not only in Russian but also in English poems, essays, literary criticism. Immediately after the publication of his first collection in the West, in 1965, Brodsky gained international fame. The author’s best books include Embankment of the Incurable, Part of Speech, Landscape with the Flood, End of a Beautiful Era, Stop in the Desert, and others.