Swedish Academy Controversy (Continued)

Hello Gentle Reader

The controversy of the Swedish Academy continues to reverberate and ripple. After three members have publicly resigned, and a fourth member admitting she has no interaction with the Swedish Academy and its business since two-thousand and sixteen, and an investigation reviewing the internal operations of the academy with regards to a members husband and his privately run artistic and cultural club, and the subsequent accusations made against him with regards to sexual misconduct. As the media has quite a piece of meat to chew on, more information has come to light; many institutions and figures have now been forced to offer commentary on the situation.

It has now been confirmed to the public that the resignations of three members: Peter Englund (former Permanent Secretary), Klas Östergren, and Kjell Espmark; have resigned due to the Academy’s inability to internally govern the situation and accusations levelled against  Jean-Claude Arnault, who the academy had close dealings with, and more specifically his wife Katarina Frostenson, who is a member of the Swedish Academy, and is now being accused of using her membership to financial assist her husband via lobbying the Swedish Academy, as well as leaking information about the Nobel Prize for Literature to him.

The Academy as already mentioned held a vote on whether or not to exclude (in essence remove Frostenson) from the Academy and any business or dealings which would take place in future. We know the votes require a majority, in order for the decision to be passed. It has been recently released that the votes where broken into the following:

Chair No. 1 – Lotta Lotass – No Vote Cast (considered an inactive member)

Chair No. 15 – Kerstin Ekman – No Vote Cast (considered an inactive member)

Chair no. 13 – Sara Stridsberg – No Vote Cast (no specified reason)  

Chair No. 2 – Bo Ralph – Vote to Retain

Chair No. 3 – Sture Allén – Voted to Retain

Chair No. 4 – Anders Olsson – Voted to Retain

Chair No. 5 – Göran Malmqvist – Voted to Retain

Chair No. 6 – Tomas Riad – Voted to Retain

Chair No. 9 – Jayne Svenungsson – Voted to Retain

Chair No. 14 – Kristina Lugn – Voted to Retain

Chair No. 17 – Horace Engdahl – Voted to Retain

Chair No. 7 – Sara Danius – Voted to Exclusion

Chair No. 8 – Jesper Svenbro – Voted for Exclusion

Chair No. 10 – Peter Englund – Voted for Exclusion

Chair No. 11 – Klas Östergren – Voted for Exclusion

Chair No. 12 – Per Wästberg – Voted for Exclusion

Chair No. 16 – Kjell Espmark – Voted for Exclusion

Chair No.18 – Katarina Frostenson – Could Not Vote (for obvious reasons)   

The eight members who voted to retain Frostenson in the academy gave the reasoning that they did not feel or think that the accusations level against her, were substantial enough to have her excluded from the academy. Needless to say this decision has divided the academy with the abrupt departures of three members, and a possible fourth (Sara Stridsberg) considering departing as well.

As the crisis continues to whirl, the Swedish Royal family has also made a statement regarding the issue currently surrounding the academy. His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has announced he is saddened by the current situation of the Swedish Academy. As the Academy’s patron, has informed the press that he is kept informed of the developments, and stressed the importance of the institution to strive beyond its current situation and come to a resolution sooner or later.

However, the Royal family is now being urged by some to step in and take control of the situation. One prominent literary critic, Ingrid Elam, has urged His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, to his patronage powers to remove all current members of the Academy and replace them. This sentiment appears to being gaining traction with other members of the public, as well as cultural institutions and literary establishments, as they feel the current members of the Swedish Academy has lost the trust of the public, damaged the institutions reputation, and even tarnished the Royal Family’s patronage. It has also been reported that His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, met with the Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, Sara Danius, on Saturday. The conversation and meeting was a private matter, and no information has been released about it. However, it was noted that the conversation was constructive, with regards to the emerging situation.

It has also been revealed that Katarina Frostenson is accused of disclosing on seven different occasions who will receive the Nobel Prize for Literature to the Forum (the club her husband is the director of).

The Nobel Laureates who have been said to have been leaked are:

Wislwa Szymborska (1996)

Elfiede Jelienk (2004)

Harold Pinter (2005)

Jean-Marie Gustave (J.M.G) Le Clezio (2008)

Patrick Modiano (2014)

Svetlana Alexievich (2015)

Bob Dylan (2016)

Thank-you for Reading Gentle Reader, I will keep you posted and informed as more information is released.

M. Mary

For further reading please see the following Articles:

https://www.svt.se/kultur/konflikten-kring-katarina-frostenson-splittrar-akademien

http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/nobel-swedish-academy-resignations-1.4611048

https://www.svt.se/kultur/svenska-akademiens-utredning-visar-kulturprofilen-lackte-uppgifter-om-sju-nobelpristagare