The 1969 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Irish author Samuel Beckett (1906–1989) "for his writing, which - in new forms for the novel and drama - in the destitution of modern man acquires its elevation".[1]
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Samuel Beckett | |
![]() "for his writing, which - in new forms for the novel and drama - in the destitution of modern man acquires its elevation" | |
Date |
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Location | Stockholm, Sweden |
Presented by | Swedish Academy |
First awarded | 1901 |
Website | Official website |
Laureate
editSamuel Beckett produced his most important works – four novels, two dramas, a collection of short stories, essays, and art criticism – during an intensely creative period in the late 1940s. He had settled in France and wrote in both French and English. His experiences during World War II – insecurity, confusion, exile, hunger, deprivation – came to shape his writing. In his most famous work, the drama En attendant Godot (Waiting for Godot, 1952), he examines the most basic foundations of our lives with strikingly dark humor.[2] Among his other famous literary works include Krapp's Last Tape (1958), Happy Days (1961) and The Molloy Trilogy (1955–58).
Deliberations
editNominations
editIn total, the Swedish Academy received 184 nominations for 103 writers. Samuel Beckett was nominated in 26 occasions since 1957, and received 5 nominations for the 1969 prize with which he was awarded afterwards.[3]
Nominees included were André Malraux, Simone de Beauvoir, Jorge Luis Borges, Pablo Neruda (awarded in 1971), Heinrich Böll (awarded in 1972), Eugenio Montale (awarded in 1975), Günter Grass (awarded in 1999), Jorge Amado, Louis Aragon, Witold Gombrowicz, Vladimir Nabokov, Alberto Moravia, Robert Graves, W. H. Auden and Graham Greene. 30 of the nominees were nominated first-time, among them Aimé Césaire, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (awarded in 1970), Arthur Miller, Jacques Maritain, Tawfiq al-Hakim, Edward Albee, Yasushi Inoue and Elias Canetti (awarded in 1981). The nominees who were with the highest number of nominations received – 8 nominations each – were André Malraux, Giuseppe Ungaretti and Tarjei Vesaas. The oldest nominee was Belgian writer Stijn Streuvels (aged 98) and the youngest were Ivan Drach and Hannu Salama (both aged 33 at the time). Five of the nominees were women: Anna Seghers, Nathalie Sarraute, Simone de Beauvoir, Marie Under and Elisaveta Bagryana. The 1951 Nobel laureate Swedish author Pär Lagerkvist nominated his countrymen and colleagues in the Swedish Academy, authors Eyvind Johnson and Harry Martinson who would share the prize in 1974.[4]
The authors Alejandro G. Abadilla, Giovanni Comisso, Ivy Compton-Burnett, Richmal Crompton, Floyd Dell, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Emilio Frugoni, Jack Kerouac, Eugenia Kielland, Norman Lindsay, Erika Mann, Elizaveta Polonskaya, Phraya Anuman Rajadhon, Zoila Ugarte de Landivar, and John Wyndham died in 1969 without having been nominated the prize. The Polish playwright Witold Gombrowicz and Belgian writer Stijn Streuvels died months before the announcement.
No. | Nominee | Country | Genre(s) | Nominator(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tawfiq al-Hakim (1898–1987) | Egypt | novel, drama, essays, short story, biography | Shawqi Daif (1910–2005) |
2 | Edward Albee (1928–2016) | United States | drama | Hanspeter Schelp (?) |
3 | Jorge Amado (1912–2001) | Brazil | novel, short story |
|
4 | Jerzy Andrzejewski (1909–1983) | Poland | novel, short story | Kristine Heltberg (1924–2003) |
5 | Louis Aragon (1897–1982) | France | novel, short story, poetry, essays |
|
6 | Wystan Hugh Auden (1907–1973) | United Kingdom United States |
poetry, essays, screenplay |
|
7 | Elisaveta Bagryana (1893–1991) | Bulgaria | poetry, translation | Anna Kamenova (1894–1982) |
8 | Agustí Bartra (1908–1982) | Spain | poetry, songwriting, translation | Manuel Durán (1925–2020) |
9 | Samuel Beckett (1906–1989) | Ireland | novel, drama, poetry |
|
10 | Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) | Argentina | poetry, essays, translation, short story |
|
11 | Emil Boyson (1897–1979) | Norway | poetry, novel, translation | Asbjørn Aarnes (1923–2013) |
12 | Heinrich Böll (1917–1985) | Germany | novel, short story |
|
13 | Michel Butor (1926–2016) | France | poetry, novel, essays, translation | Lars Gyllensten (1921–2006) |
14 | Elias Canetti (1905–1994) | Bulgaria United Kingdom |
novel, drama, memoir, essays | Keith Spalding (1913–2002) |
15 | Josep Carner (1884–1970) | Spain | poetry, drama, translation | Manuel Durán (1925–2020) |
16 | Jean Cassou (1897–1986) | France | novel, essays, literary criticism, poetry, translation | Giannēs Koutsocheras (1904–1994) |
17 | Paul Celan (1920–1970) | Romania France |
poetry, translation |
|
18 | Aimé Césaire (1913–2008) | Martinique | poetry, drama, essays | Union of Finnish Writers |
19 | André Chamson (1900–1983) | France | novel, essays |
|
20 | René Char (1907–1988) | France | poetry | Henri Peyre (1901–1988) |
21 | Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986) | France | novel, drama, memoir, philosophy, essays, short story | Henning Fenger (1921–1985) |
22 | Joseph Delteil (1894–1978) | France | poetry, novel, short story, essays | Charles Camproux (1908–1994) |
23 | Ivan Drach (1936–2018) | Ukraine | poetry, literary criticism, drama | Omeljan Pritsak (1919–2006) |
24 | Carlos Drummond de Andrade (1902–1987) | Brazil | poetry, essays | Artur Lundkvist (1906–1991) |
25 | Lawrence Durrell (1912–1990) | United Kingdom | novel, short story, poetry, drama, essays | Haydn Trevor Mason (1929–2018) |
26 | Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990) | Switzerland | drama, novel, short story, essays |
|
27 | Rabbe Enckell (1903–1974) | Finland | short story, poetry | Carl Fredrik Sandelin (born 1925) |
28 | José Maria Ferreira de Castro (1898–1978) | Portugal | novel |
|
29 | Edward Morgan Forster (1879–1970) | United Kingdom | novel, short story, drama, essays, biography, literary criticism |
|
30 | Max Frisch (1911–1991) | Switzerland | novel, drama |
|
31 | Étienne Gilson (1884–1978) | France | philosophy | Pierre Courcelle (1912–1980) |
32 | Jean Giono (1895–1970) | France | novel, short story, essays, poetry, drama | Edmond Jarno (1905–1985) |
33 | Witold Gombrowicz (1904–1969) | Poland | short story, novel, drama | Jan Kott (1914–2001) |
34 | Günter Grass (1927–2015) | Germany | novel, drama, poetry, essays |
|
35 | Robert Graves (1895–1985) | United Kingdom | history, novel, poetry, literary criticism, essays |
|
36 | Graham Greene (1904–1991) | United Kingdom | novel, short story, autobiography, essays | Yves Le Hir (1919–2005) |
37 | Jorge Guillén (1893–1984) | Spain | poetry, literary criticism |
|
38 | Louis Guilloux (1899–1980) | France | novel, short story, memoir | Jean-Bertrand Barrère (1914–1985) |
39 | Gunnar Gunnarsson (1889–1975) | Iceland | novel, short story, poetry |
|
40 | Hồ Hữu Tường (1910–1980) | Vietnam | essays, short story, translation | Đông Hồ (1906–1969) |
41 | Vladimír Holan (1905–1980) | Czechoslovakia | poetry, essays |
|
42 | Taha Hussein (1889–1973) | Egypt | novel, short story, poetry, translation |
|
43 | Yasushi Inoue (1907–1991) | Japan | novel, poetry, short story, essays | Erich Ruprecht (1906–1997) |
44 | Eugène Ionesco (1909–1994) | Romania France |
drama, essays | Eyvind Johnson (1900–1976) |
45 | Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz (1894–1980) | Poland | poetry, essays, drama, translation, short story, novel | Józef Trypućko (1910–1983) |
46 | Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh (1892–1997) | Iran | short story, translation | Jes Peter Asmussen (1928–2002) |
47 | Eyvind Johnson (1900–1976) | Sweden | novel, short story | Pär Lagerkvist (1891–1974) |
48 | Marcel Jouhandeau (1888–1979) | France | short story, novel | Jean Gaulmier (1905–1997) |
49 | Pierre Jean Jouve (1887–1976) | France | poetry, novel, literary criticism | Henry Bouillier (1924–2014) |
50 | Bernhard Karlgren (1889–1978) | Sweden | history, philology, translation | Walter Fuchs (1914–1993) |
51 | Miroslav Krleža (1893–1981) | Croatia Yugoslavia |
poetry, drama, short story, novel, essays |
|
52 | Karl Krolow (1915–1999) | Germany | poetry, essays, translation | Emil Ernst Ploss (1925–1972) |
53 | Siegfried Lenz (1926–2014) | Germany | novel, short story, essays, drama | Ernst Wilhelm Meyer (1892–1969) |
54 | Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908–2008) | Belgium France |
philosophy, essays |
|
55 | Väinö Linna (1920–1992) | Finland | novel | Iiro Ilkka Kajanto (1925–1997) |
56 | Robert Lowell (1917–1977) | United States | poetry, translation | William Alfred (1922–1999) |
57 | Hugh MacLennan (1907–1990) | Canada | novel, essays | Lawrence Lande (1906–1998) |
58 | André Malraux (1901–1976) | France | novel, essays, literary criticism |
|
59 | Jacques Maritain (1882–1973) | France | philosophy | Charles Dédéyan (1910–2003) |
60 | Gustave Lucien Martin-Saint-René (1888–1973) | France | poetry, novel, essays, literary criticism, drama, songwriting, short story |
|
61 | Harry Martinson (1904–1978) | Sweden | poetry, novel, drama, essays |
|
62 | László Mécs (1895–1978) | Hungary | poetry, essays | Watson Kirkconnell (1895–1977) |
63 | Arthur Miller (1915–2005) | United States | drama, screenplay, essays | Robert Ernest Spiller (1896–1988) |
64 | Vilhelm Moberg (1898–1973) | Sweden | novel, drama, history | Gunnar Tilander (1894–1973) |
65 | Eugenio Montale (1896–1981) | Italy | poetry, translation |
|
66 | Alberto Moravia (1907–1990) | Italy | novel, literary criticism, essays, drama | Jacques Robichez (1914–1999) |
67 | Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977) | Russia United States |
novel, short story, poetry, drama, translation, literary criticism, memoir | Simon Karlinsky (1924–2009) |
68 | Pablo Neruda (1904–1973) | Chile | poetry |
|
69 | Germán Pardo García (1902–1991) | Colombia Mexico |
poetry | James Willis Robb (1918–2010) |
70 | José María Pemán (1897–1981) | Spain | poetry, drama, novel, essays, screenplay |
|
71 | Robert Pinget (1919–1997) | France | novel, drama | Artur Lundkvist (1906–1991) |
72 | Ezra Pound (1885–1972) | United States | poetry, essays | Hans Galinsky (1909–1991) |
73 | Anthony Powell (1905–2000) | United Kingdom | novel, drama, essays, memoir | Jean Hamard (1920-2012). |
74 | Raymond Queneau (1903–1976) | France | novel, poetry, essays | T. van den Heuvel (?) |
75 | Jean Rateau-Landeville (1894–1972) | France | essays | Pierre Flottes (1895–1994) |
76 | Alain Robbe-Grillet (1922–2008) | France | novel, short story, essays, screenplays | Henry Olsson (1896–1985) |
77 | Gustave Roud (1897–1976) | Switzerland | poetry, translation | Henri Perrochon (1899–1990) |
78 | Hans Ruin (1891–1980) | Finland Sweden |
philosophy | Arthur Arnholtz (1901–1973) |
79 | Hannu Salama (born 1936) | Finland | novel, short story, poetry | Osmo Hormia (1926–1983) |
80 | Nathalie Sarraute (1900–1999) | Russia France |
novel, drama, essays | Lars Gyllensten (1921–2006) |
81 | Anna Seghers (1900–1983) | Germany | novel, short story | Heinz Kamnitzer (1917–2001) |
82 | Jaroslav Seifert (1901–1986) | Czechoslovakia | poetry | Roman Jacobson (1896–1982) |
83 | Léopold Sédar Senghor (1906–2001) | Senegal | poetry, essays |
|
84 | Ignazio Silone (1900–1978) | Italy | novel, short story, essays, drama | Arthur Ernest Gordon (1902–1989) |
85 | Claude Simon (1913–2005) | France | novel, essays | Eyvind Johnson (1900–1976) |
86 | Ton Smerdel (1904–1970) | Croatia | philology, poetry, essays, literary criticism, translation | Christiaan Alphonsus van den Berk (1919–1979) |
87 | Aleksandr Solzjenitsyn (1918–2008) | Russia | novel, short story, essays |
|
88 | Zaharia Stancu (1902–1974) | Romania | poetry, novel, philosophy, essays |
|
89 | Stijn Streuvels (1871–1969) | Belgium | novel, short story | Maurice Gilliams (1900–1982) |
90 | John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892–1973) | United Kingdom | novel, short story, poetry, philology, essays, literary criticism | Richard Ernest Wycherley (1909–1985) |
91 | Friedebert Tuglas (1886–1971) | Estonia | short story, literary criticism | Union of Finnish Writers |
92 | Pietro Ubaldi (1886–1972) | Italy | philosophy, essays | Academia Santista de Letras |
93 | Marie Under (1883–1980) | Estonia | poetry | Union of Finnish Writers |
94 | Giuseppe Ungaretti (1888–1970) | Italy | poetry, essays, literary criticism |
|
95 | Tarjei Vesaas (1897–1970) | Norway | poetry, novel |
|
96 | Simon Vestdijk (1898–1971) | Netherlands | novel, poetry, essays, translation |
|
97 | Gerard Walschap (1898–1989) | Belgium | novel, drama, essays |
|
98 | Mika Waltari (1908–1979) | Finland | short story, novel, poetry, drama, essays, screenplay | Esko Pennanen (1912–1990) |
99 | Arnold Wesker (1932–2016) | United Kingdom | drama, novel, essays | Claude Albert Mayer (1918–1998) |
100 | Patrick White (1912–1990) | Australia | novel, short story, drama, poetry, autobiography |
|
101 | Thornton Wilder (1897–1975) | United States | drama, novel, short story |
|
102 | Edmund Wilson (1895–1972) | United States | essays, literary criticism, short story, drama | Robert Brustein (1927–2023) |
103 | Carl Zuckmayer (1896–1977) | Germany | drama, screenplay |
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Prize decision
editThe decision to award Samuel Beckett was controversial within the Swedish Academy. While some members of the Nobel committee was enthusiastic about the idea of awarding Beckett, the Nobel committee chairman Anders Österling had serious doubts that Beckett's writing was in the spirit of Alfred Nobel's will. In 1964 he had argued that he "would almost consider a Nobel prize for him as an absurdity in his own style". Beckett was a leading candidate for the 1968 prize along with André Malraux, W.H. Auden and the Japanese writer Yasunari Kawabata, but was rejected in favour of Kawabata.[5]
The Nobel committee, which in 1969 consisted of Anders Österling, Karl Ragnar Gierow, Lars Gyllensten, Eyvind Johnson, Artur Lundkvist and Henry Olsson,[6] disagreed on the candidates to the extent that no jointly proposal could be presented to the Swedish Academy. Österling proposed André Malraux, with Graham Greene as his second proposal and Giuseppe Ungaretti (possibly shared with Eugenio Montale) as the third proposal. Johnson also proposed André Malraux, with Claude Simon as his second proposal and Patrick White as the third proposal. Gierow, Gyllensten, Lundkvist and Olsson jointly proposed Samuel Beckett, with Lundkvist adding the proposals Patrick White and Claude Simon. In his report Lundkvist opposed the candidacy of André Malraux, arguing that his major works was too far back in time and had lost some of its relevance. Lundkvist also regretted that the candidacies of the négritude-authors Aimé Césaire and Léopold Sédar Senghor had not been taken in consideration by the Nobel committee and recommended them for future consideration.[7]
Despite Österling's reservations Beckett was awarded in 1969. The Nobel committee had received five nominations for Beckett that year, but was split as Österling and one other member supported a prize to André Malraux. Other nominations that year included Simone de Beauvoir, Jorge Luis Borges, Pablo Neruda and Graham Greene. While Österling acknowledged the possibility that behind Beckett's "depressing motives" might lie a "secret defence of humanity", he argued that in the eyes of most readers it "remains an artistically staged ghost poetry, characterised by a bottomless contempt for the human condition". Beckett's main supporter on the committee, Karl Ragnar Gierow, on the other hand, argued that Beckett's "black vision" was "not the expression of animosity and nihilism" but "portrays humanity as we have all seen it, at the moment of its most severe violation", and searches for the depths of degradation because even there, "there is the possibility of rehabilitation". Beckett was awarded and in his award ceremony speech Gierow expanded on his arguments, saying Beckett's work goes "to the depths" because "it is only there that pessimistic thought and poetry can work their miracles".[8]
Reactions
editWhile not rejecting the prize, Beckett did not attend the prize ceremony, nor did he deliver a Nobel lecture.[9] His wife described his reaction to the news that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature as a "catastrophe". He quickly donated the prize money, much of it to Trinity College Dublin.[10]
References
edit- ^ The Nobel Prize in Literature 1969 nobelprize.org
- ^ Samuel Beckett nobelprize.org
- ^ Nominations – Samuel Beckett nobelprize.org
- ^ Nomination archive nobelprize.org
- ^ Alison Flood Samuel Beckett rejected as unsuitable for the Nobel prize in 1968 The Guardian 10 January 2018
- ^ "Nobelkommitténs sammansättning och utlåtande 1969". Svenska Akademien.
- ^ "Nobelarkivet 1969". Svenska Akademien.
- ^ Alison Flood 'Ghost poetry': fight over Samuel Beckett's Nobel win revealed in archives The Guardian 17 January 2020
- ^ Samuel Beckett - Nobel Lecture nobelprize.org
- ^ The Nobel and the ignoble (Part 1) The Irish Times 5 December 1998
External links
edit- Ceremony speech by Karl Ragnar Gierow nobelprize.org