Hello
Gentle Reader,
First
and foremost: Thank-you to everyone who read/viewed my Nobel Speculation List!
I have never received so many hits up to this point on a single post, like I
have this year! Thank-you to everyone (with a sincere thank-you to all the
Vietnamese readers who viewed my blog in this time frame!), as well as
thank-you to all who have commented and informed me of new writers, it is
always a pleasure to discover a new writer, and hopefully some new reading
material for the future!
The Announcement
Date –
On
September 30th it was discovered via “Svenska Dagbladet,” (SvD) a
Swedish daily newspaper; that this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature would not
be announced until October 13th rather than October 6th.
However, the newspaper appears to have talked to a Swedish Academy member Per
Wästberg (Chair No. 12) assures everyone that there are no internal
complications with the award at the moment, but rather a simple mathematic
detail. Per Wästberg elucidates that by tradition the Nobel announcement for
Literature is traditionally done on a Thursday (October 6th or
October 13th); but according to the bylaws of the Swedish Academy,
the members of the academy must meet at least four Thursdays before the final
decision and announcement can be made. The first of those meetings is directed
to be the second last Thursday of September, which Per Wästberg states was:
September 22nd, and assures the public that there is no issue with
tradition or routine of the Swedish Academy in awarding the Nobel Prize for
this year.
It
is interesting to see the Swedish Academy open up about its bylaws, traditions,
and routines and how it all correlates with the announcement date; there is a
slight bit of curious wondering and suspicion that there may be something
bigger going on – or so one would like to believe. There is hope with the added
time frame (as by mathematical detail) that this year’s Laureate could be a
great surprise, for those interested to seek out a new writer begin to get
acquainted with that writer and their literary output.
(Also,
making Philip Roth a laureate would be more a mistake then a surprise; to which
I can only state: I have tried time and time again to read him and continually
find him self-absorbed and suffocating, to the point I cannot finish one of his
books.)
If
you would like to read the articles which detail the October 13th
announcement date they are the following:
Svenska
Dagbladet (SvD)
Sveriges
Television (Svt)
Other news agencies have also reported on the news; such as CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).
Finishing off
Speculation –
On
August 17th, just a few days after posting my Nobel Speculation
list, and still flying on a certain lightness of revealing it; I decided to see
what speculation was being formulated by others out there, in the endless
confines of the internet. This led me to lookup Ladbrokes and Nicerodds
speculation for this year’s prize. Ladbrokes
had nothing posted, but Nicerodds did
have a list posted. The following list is from August 17th, and it
is as follows:
Haruki
Murkami – Odds: 6.00
Adunis
– Odds: 9.00
Joyce
Carol Oates – Odds: 11.00
Ngugi
Wa Thiong'o – Highest Odds: 11.00
Philip
Roth – Odds: 13.00
Ismail
Kadaré – Odds: 15.00
Jon
Fosse – Odds: 18.00
Amos
Oz – Odds: 21.00
Péter
Nádas – Odds: 21.00
Adam
Zagajewski – Odds: 26.00
Doris
Kareva – Odds: 26.00
John
Banville – Odds: 26.00
Kjell
Askildsen – Odds: 26.00
Cees
Nooteboom – Odds: 31.00
Gerald
Murnane – Odds: 31.00
Jaan
Kaplinski – Odds: 31.00
Ko
Un – Odds: 31.00
László
Krasznahorkai – Odds: 31.00
Leonard
Nolens – Odd: 31.00
Olga
Tokarczuk – Odds: 31.00
Peter
Handke – Odds: 31.00
Jussi
Adler-Olsen – Odds: 34.00
Sirkka
Turkka – Odds: 41.00
Tua
Forsström – Odds: 41.00
Mircea
Cartarescu – Odds: 51.00
Of
the twenty-five listed authors, the writer who stands out the most is: Jussi
Adler-Olsen. New names always stand out on any list. Seeing Jussi Adler-Olsen
on the list, immediately brought back thoughts of Patrick Modiano in
two-thousand and fourteen, who appeared on the list and slowly crept up the
list, only to become the year’s Nobel Laureate in Literature. After seeing
Jussi Adler-Olsen’s name on betting list, I immediately began to do search
about the writer. It is clear now that Jussi Adler-Olsen is a Danish crime
writer; however his debut as a writer was with non-fiction in nineteen-eighty
four, and then as a fiction writer in nineteen-ninety seven. I’ve quickly
disregarded Jussi Adler-Olsen has a Nobel contender, on the grounds of his
Nordic crime writing oeuvre. This being stated, the Swedish Academy is not
entirely against writers who write in genre fiction. Kerstin Ekman was elected
to the Swedish Academy in nineteen-seventy eight and is known for her detective
novels. However since nineteen-eighty nine, Ekman has remained a passive member
along with Lars Gyllensten (deceased, 2006) and Werner Aspenström (deceased,
1997). In this sense the Swedish Academy is not entirely discriminate against
genre fiction; as some Nobel Laureates prior are noted to have experimented
with the detective novel format, as a form of exploration in their literary
endeavors such as: Orhan Pamuk with his novels “My Name is Red,” and “The Black
Book,” as well as Patrick Modiano with his famous novel: “Missing Person.”
Thought it is best deemed highly unlikely that Jussi Adler-Olsen would receive
the Nobel nod.
The Betting
Sites –
This
year’s Nobel Speculation has been tamed and rather quiet with a lack of a dark
horse or wild card being presented as a possible contender. Up to this point it
has been the same candidates as in years prior with few adjustments or
alterations to the list.
The
betting sites currently list the following as this year’s favoured writers to
receive the Nobel nod:
NicerOdds:
Haruki
Murakami – Odds: 6.00 (lowest odds: 5.00)
Adunis
– Odds: 7.00 (lowest odds: 6.50)
Philip
Roth – Odds: 8.00 (lowest odds: 7.50)
Ngugi
Wa Thiong'o – Odds: 13.00 (lowest odds: 11.00)
Javiar
Marias – Odds: 17.00 (lowest odds: 17.00)
Ismail
Kadare – Odds: 18.00 (lowest odds: 17.00)
Jon
Fosse – Odds: 21.00 (lowest odds: 13.00)
Ladbrokes:
Haruki
Murakami – Odds: 5/1
Adunis
– Odds: 6/1
Philip
Roth – Odds: 7/1
Ngugi
Wa Thiong'o – Odds: 10/1
Ismail
Kadare – Odds: 16/1
Javiar
Marias – Odds: 16/1
Joyce
Carol Oates – Odds: 20/1
Jon
Fosse – Odds: 20/1
Laszlo
Krasznahorkai – Odds 20/1
*
Please Note Gentle Reader, both of these sites were checked on September 29th,
and they may have moved or changed in their standings since then.
The Nobel Prize
Facebook –
Elsewhere
on the internet, the Nobel Prize Facebook page has also posted some information
with regards to the Literature prize.
The
first post details the top 10 most populate Literature Laureates, as visited by
the website. They are:
1.
Rabindranath
Tagore (Nobel Laureate 1913)
2.
John
Steinbeck (Nobel Laureate 1962)
3.
Ernest
Hemmingway (Nobel Laureate 1954)
4.
William
Faulkner (Nobel Laureate 1949)
5.
Gabriel
Garcia Marquez (Nobel Laureate 1982)
6.
Pablo
Neruda (Nobel Laureate 1971)
7.
Wisława
Szymborska (Nobel Laureate 1996)
8.
Toni
Morrison (Nobel Laureate 1993)
9.
Svetlana
Alexievich (Nobel Laureate 2015)
10.
Octavio
Paz (Nobel Laureate 1990)
A
post following the above one is an excerpt from Pablo Neruda’s Nobel Acceptance
speech which reads:
“.
. . for with blood and darkness poetry is written, poetry should be written.”
The
next Literature associated post from the Facebook page states the following:
“14
women have been awarded the #NobelPrize in Literature so far between 1901 and
2015.
Last
year Svetlana Alexievich was awarded "for her polyphonic writings, a
monument to suffering and courage in our time".
Svetlana
Alexievich depicts life during and after the Soviet Union through the
experience of individuals. In her books she uses interviews to create a collage
of a wide range of voices. With her "documentary novels", Svetlana
Alexievich, who is a journalist who moves in between the boundary between
reporting and fiction. Her major works are her grand cycle Voices of Utopia,
which consists of five parts. Svetlana Alexievich's books criticize political
regimes in both the Soviet Union and later Belarus.”
The
following picture shows all the female Nobel Laureates in Literature from the
first winner to the most recent. Below is the list:
Selma
Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (shortened to: Selma Lagerlöf) (Nobel Laureate 1909)
Grazia
Deledda (Nobel Laureate 1926)
Sigrid
Undset (Nobel Laureate 1928)
Pearl
Buck (Nobel Laureate 1938)
Gabriela
Mistral (Nobel Laureate 1945)
Nelly
Sachs (Nobel Laureate 1966)
Nadine
Gordimer (Nobel Laureate 1991)
Toni
Morrison (Nobel Laureate 1993)
Wisława
Szymborska (Nobel Laureate 1996)
Elfriede
Jelinek (Nobel Laureate 2004)
Doris
Lessing (Nobel Laureate 2007)
Herta
Muller (Nobel Laureate 2009)
Alice
Munro (Nobel Laureate 2013)
Svetlana
Alexievich (Nobel Laureate 2015)
It
would be rather asinine to look at these posts, and attempt to make some connection
between them and see if there is any hint to whom will be awarded the Nobel
Prize for Literature. For example, one could speculatively conclude that by the
first post, with regards to the ten most visited writers on the website; that
an American writer could receive this year’s accolade considering that of the
ten listed writers four of them are American writers (John Steinbeck, Ernest
Hemmingway, William Faulkner, and Toni Morrison); and then proclaim that the
perennial Nobel bridesmaid Philip Roth holds the greatest chance.
Following
in the same logic though, Philip Roth could easily be pushed aside by the
following post, where Pablo Neruda’s acceptance speech was quoted, and poetry
is heavily referred to. In this case one could deduce a poet is in the running
for the Nobel; question is who? The highest ranked poet on the betting sites is
the Syrian poet: Adunis; followed by Polish poet Adam Zagajewski; shortly
followed by Estonian poet Doris Kareva; with (South) Korean poet Ko Un
following along with Belgian poet Leonard Nolens, along with Finnish poet Sirkka
Turkka along with Finnish (Swedish language) poet Tua Forsström.
Still
following in the same logic; with the list of all fourteen female Nobel
Laureates in Literature, it could be speculated that the potential winner could
in fact be a female poet, which would disqualify: Adunis, Adam Zagajewski, Ko
Un, and Leonard Nolens; while putting higher speculation on: Doris Kareva,
Sirkka Turkka, and Tua Forsström. Of those three poets, Doris Kareva is seen as
having the best chance by the betting site “Nicerodds,” presenting her odds at:
(highest) 34.00; (lowest) 26.00.
To
wrap up with the connection of all three posts, the winner would be speculated
to being a female American poet . . . and it is there I draw a black, and
conclude with seriousness that attempting to connect random dots, does not
equate much of a conclusive answer.
However,
though it appears asinine, ridiculous, silly, or absurd to attempt to make any
conclusive thoughts from these posts, it should be note that last year, while I
was waiting for the announcement for the Nobel Prize for Literature, the Nobel
Facebook page posted one last post where it named all the past female Nobel
Laurates in Literature. This led me to
believe and have grounds of suspicion that the year’s Nobel Laureate was Svetlana
Alexievich; suspicions which were later validated. Yet still this is all
baseless speculation and groundless thoughts; though it makes for a good way to
spend and waste some time.
Early
on with speculation this year, quite a few female writers’ names came up during
speculation on other forums and blogs. This turned out to be a heated debate,
where many commentators and speculators, noted that the chance of another
female writer taking the prize, just after a previous one is highly unlikely.
The rebuttal of course is no precedence is ever set by having a prior precedence;
precedence is set by being the first time it is done. It would be interesting
and surprising if this year’s Nobel Laureate was a woman, seeing as last year’s
winner was a woman, who also opened the prize to a new form or definition of
literature with her polyphonic ‘novels of voices.’ If this Nobel Laureate is a
poet and a woman I certainly won’t complain with the following:
Doris
Kareva (Estonia)
Sirkka
Turkka (Finland)
Tua
Forsström (Finland/language Swedish)
Kiki
Dimoula (Greece)
Kim
Hyeseoon (South Korea)
Hoang
Thi Ý Nhi (Vietnam)
Moon
Chung-hee (South Korea)
Viivi
Luik (Estonia)
Despite,
the fact that many of these poets do not appear on other lists. Though a
surprise writer would be equally as enjoyable to see win as well.
Other
Speculative Lists –
Nobel
speculation is never quite fun or as interesting or fulfilling or informative,
without others opinions, thoughts, perspectives and speculative lists. I’d like
to mention two areas of great speculation which have come to my attention this
year, with regards to this year’s Nobel speculation.
The
first is a blog by a self-described scatterbrained poet: Shigekuni, with his
blog: shigekuni.wordpress.com. The following is a link to his personal picks
for this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature:
Shigekuni’s
first begins to describe his personal picks in the field of poetry. Adunis
(Adonis) is one of the most recognizable poets on the list and corresponds
largely with other lists, and the betting sites. Shigekuni adequately advocates
the genius behind Adunis’s poetry, much better than I can; as I am not an avid
poetry reader. After mentioning Adunis, the writer goes on to mention Kim
Hyesoon in which he humbly discusses the poets viewpoints of femininity and the
oppression of the female within modern Korean society; but makes it clear, that
he is reluctant to comment fully on the poet because he cannot read Korean.
However, I must confess that I think Shigekuni is more capable of commenting
further and more adequately on Hyesoon’s poetry then I would be able to
articulate any intelligent thought with regards to the poet. Last and least Shigekuni
comments on Tua Forsström, where he mentions awarding the Nobel to her would be
interesting, but wonders whether or not her work would be considered large
enough. I am not entirely sure what is (or would be) considered an acceptable
amount of poems or published collections of poetry for a poet to be considered
for the Nobel; but the last two poets to receive the Nobel Prize for
Literature: Tomas Tranströmer (Laureate 2011) and Wisława Szymborska (Laureate
1996), were not known for their prolific output; but they were noted for their
attention to the art of poetry and its delicate filigree craft. Tua Forsström
may not be an Emily Dickinson in the production of some 1,800 poems; but she is
noted for finely constructed poems.
After
discussing his poetry picks, Shigekuni moves towards the field of fiction with
two writers:
Wilson
Harris a ninety-five year old Guyanese writer; and one of the betting
favourites for this year the Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o. From the two
writers listed here, Wilson Harris does not hold a likely chance against other
‘possible,’ (as we don’t know who’s in the running or being considered)
writers. This leaves: Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Though I have not read any work by
Thiong’o, it is impressive to write in a traditional/native language; however,
his political opinions, often state that in order accomplish the ideal,
violence maybe considered a route, which maybe a conflict of interest for the
Swedish Academy. Yet, as Shigekuni points out, Ngugi wa Thiong'o would be
considered a ‘obvious,’ choice for its academic and linguistic ingenuity, not
to mention he would subsequently fulfill the ‘African Drought.’
Last
and least of his thoughts, Shigekuni discusses possible European writers who
could be in the running. In this part of the list, Shigekuni discuess possible
writers: the faceless and anonymous Elena Ferrante; the dark brooding writer of
personal memory Karl Ove Knausgaard; the young and upcoming writer Mircea Cărtărescu,
then points out two German writers: Peter Handke and Reinhard Jirgl, and
mentions they are both politically dubious; as well as mentions the incredible
but difficult to come by Gerald Murnane. Two writers do get special noted:
Marcel Beyer; a young German writer, but whose work exorcises and discusses the
reckoning of ones nation’s history; and the second is the Hungarian master of
the apocalypse: László Krasznahorkai, who needs little elucidation or
advocating behind him; but Shigekuni states is to the point and truly
summarizes the writer.
I
encourage you Gentle Reader, to check out the post, as the thoughts given are
well delivered, and a good read.
(Also,
here are Shigekuni’s thoughts on the Nobel Prize for Literature announcement
delay)
Take it With a
Grain of Salt –
This
year Gentle Reader, I cannot look through my own list, and pick out five or ten
writers, who I would like to think would be a good personal shortlist; as I
know the writers that I would like to see may not necessarily have a chance
(currently) on any actual shortlist for this year’s award. This being said, I
certainly would be dissatisfied by some writers winning over others. Jon Fosse
for example, would be a welcomed (albeit oblivious) Laureate for this year’s
Nobel Prize in Literature. There can certainly be no denying Fosse’s success in
being one of the most beloved and performed living playwrights on the
international stage. However, his dramatic works have not always been met with
praise or great approval by the English language readers or theatre goers; the
reviews modest, and the turn out equally as humble. His plays are noted for a
poetic sparseness, noted for its existential confusion bordering on mystical
delirium. The dialogue is noted for being poetic yet also fragmented, where
much of the plays weight comes from the silence of the characters. He is often
been seen as Henrik Ibsen’s successor; but also the successor of Samuel
Beckett, as well as the contemporary of Harold Pinter. Yet unlike the
aforementioned writers, who were noted for their plays, specialized in plays
(with the exception of Beckett), Jon Fosse’s passion first and foremost, has
been prose before the theatre; and in two-thousand and fourteen Fosse resigned himself from the theatre, to
focus more exclusively on his prose work. His most recent work of prose, his
Beckettian “Trilogy,” was honoured last year with the Nordic Council’s
Literature Prize. Jon Fosse would be a deserving writer, though a uniquely shy
and slight indifferent one as well, and I wouldn’t consider him a dark horse or
a surprise with the award.
I
hold a deeply rooted affection for three poets this year: Sirkka Turkka, Tua Forsström,
and Doris Kareva; Sirkka Turkka perhaps more so then Tua Forsström or Doris
Kareva. Turkka’s poetry is gentle, open, accessible, and empathetic; but also
reaches to me for her depiction of love and amusement towards animals, more so
then her fellow human beings. This does not mean that Sirkka Turkka would be
considered a misanthrope in a Patricia Highsmith like manner, though it would
be safe to presume she would much prefer the company of animals in comparison
to the company of people. Her mode of poetry defies convention, often
encompassing both the traditional line formats and prose poems, in which she
details and articulates her perspective and viewpoint of the world. Tua
Forsström reminds me the most of Wisława Szymborska, both because of her small
output and her immaculate detail she puts forth in her craftsmanship with
regards to her poetry. Her themes are mundane but are veiled with layers of
existential thoughts and feelings; though they are accessible in their
language, but intellectual in their subject matter. Of three poets listed
above, Tua Forsström would be the most acquainted with the English language. Last
and least: Doris Kareva. Doris Kareva’s poetry is often noted for being
personal but connected to the universal. As noted during my speculative list,
poetry is divided between classes: the intellectual and the emotional, where
Kareva falls into the latter. Her poems are intensely short, and burn with
great emotional fury, before they are reignited by the next poem. Her sense of
language is noted for being unrivaled and unlimited by readers of her native
Estonia; where her poetry in its minimal format paradoxically contains multiple
meanings. The newspaper website “Estonian World,” has called Kareva a ‘Global
Poet.’ Yet she is highly underrepresented in the English language.
These
thoughts could continue on and on, with comments given to writers on other
speculative lists, to those on my own. The truth is Gentle Reader; it all needs
to be taken with a grain of salt. Who will be this year’s Nobel Laureate in
Literature? I couldn’t say. On October 13th we will find out; but
not until then. Be it the prize has been pushed back because of a mathematical
detail, following a stringent tradition, or, perhaps there truly is some
internal strife within the Swedish Academy which has pushed this year’s award
back behind the other awards; the first time in ten years (in two-thousand and
five the award was announced on October 13th). It’s hard to say,
what goes on behind the stoic silent doors of the Swedish Academy, but one
thing remains certain, I do not envy their position, where they are tasked with
being the arbitrators of what is great literature in today’s world, and
furthermore forced to try to enact Alfred Nobel’s ambiguous clause of his will
in awarding the Nobel Prize for Literature.
It
is great fun to speculate about the award. It is a good joy to see the
passionate discussions come up about who deserves the prize and who does not.
Its unique to watch the ‘oblivious,’ choices getting advocated for and
defended; but also more unique names coming out of the wood work, and leading a
whole new writer to discover and read. If it is one thing the Nobel speculation
and the Nobel Prize for Literature does accomplish, is it opens the doors for
new writers to be discovered and appreciated.
This
being said Gentle Reader, the speculation does get out of control at times, and
the betting sites are great examples of this. For example E.L. James the erotic
author of the “Fifty Shades of Grey,” authors is sitting at 31.00 odds; above
other authors (and arguably greater writers of literary merit) Bei Dao (51.00)
Viivi Luik (51.00) Sirkka Turkka (67.00) Cees Neetboom (51.00 > 35.00).
Umberto Eco also makes an appearance on the list with 21.00 odds, which is no
problem with the exception that he died earlier this year; Eco is not only
deceased writer to appear on this year’s betting lists either as Yves Bonnefoy
also appears with odds at: 41.00, despite also passing away earlier this year.
Cesar Aira also makes two appearances on the list with two different odds: one
at 17.00 and the other at 21.00; similarly, the Israeli writer A.B. Yehoshua
also encounters a similar double issue on the list, as he is listed once as:
A.B. Yehoshua, and a second time as Abraham B Yehoshua, and again has two
different odds: 23.00 for as A.B. Yeshoshua and 26.00 as Abraham B. Yeshoshua.
I’d
also like to point out Gentle Reader, that last year on September 19th
the Nobel Facebook released the top ten most popular Literature Laureates, who
were viewed on the Nobel Prize website were:
1.
Patrick
Modiano (Nobel Laureate 2014)
2.
Rabindranath
Tagore (Nobel Laureate 1913)
3.
John
Steinbeck (Nobel Laureate 1962)
4.
Ernest
Hemmingway (Nobel Laureate 1954)
5.
William
Faulkner (Nobel Laureate 1949)
6.
Albert
Camus (Nobel Laureate 1957)
7.
Wisława
Szymborska (Nobel Laureate 1996)
8.
Gabriel
Garcia Marquez (Nobel Laureate 1982)
9.
Winston
Churchill (Nobel Laureate 1953)
10.
Pablo
Neruda (Nobel Laureate 1971)
What
I find most interesting about both lists is the earliest Nobel Laureate to
appear on both is: Rabindranath Tagore. After Tagore, all the subsequent
Laureates are either from the nineteen-forties to the contemporary era.
In Closing –
As
already stated, I do not envy the task in which the Swedish Academy is burdened
with in arbitrating the literary tastes of the world, while balancing
fulfilling Alfred Noble’s will. Their decision will most certainly be
polarizing, to those not acquainted with the award. Yet, I do appreciate the
work the Swedish Academy does, as they often put their best foot forward when
picking and announcing the Nobel Laureate for Literature. Though their
decisions have not always sat well with me (Mo Yan), I must admit I doubt I
could do much better then what they currently do. Who will win this year? No
one will know until a week from now; but hopefully the lucky writer, deserves
the status they will be bestowed with. Questions remain, on whether or not the
Swedish Academy will set precedence in awarding two female writers in a row; or
if that precedence shall remain unset for the time being. Will this year’s
winner be a playwright? Poet? Prose writer? Will they be completely unknown or
will they have been a ‘oblivious,’ or highly speculated choice. October 13th
will tell Gentle Reader.
Thank-you
all for your support, comments, suggestions and discussions with this year’s
award! I look forward to continuing with the discussion with you, as well as
hearing your comments and suggestions, as we speak my future lists continue to
grow!
Thank-you
again, I look forward to seeing you back here on October 13th for
the announcement; and perhaps some Post-Noble thoughts.
Thank-you
For Reading Gentle Reader
Take
Care
And
As Always
Stay
Well Read
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