Hello
Gentle Reader
The
Swedish Academy is adamant that it is doing its best to restore trust and legitimacy
as an institution with cultural and literary adjudicating authority and powers.
Last week they announced that they have elected two new members to the Swedish
Academy: Justice Eric Runesson (who had also been appointed to the Swedish
Supreme Court), and Jila Mossaed, an Iranian born naturalized Swedish citizen,
who is renowned for her poetry in both Persian and Swedish as well as a writer
of novels. The elections were received warmly, though neither will take their
seat respective seat until the annual meeting on December 20th,
where they will officially take their positions in Chair No. 1 and Chair No.
15.
Despite
the initial warm reception both appointees received, others have remained stony
in their judgement of the academy, as they have said: neither, Justice Eric
Runesson or Jila Mossaed are going to cleanse the academy of its previous five
months of poor behaviour; nor will they absolve the academy of its absorbent
behaviour over the past few months and even year. The academy can revise and modernize
its statutes and appoint as many new members as it needs to, the rotting taste
over the previous few months remains fresh in the mind and bitter on the
tongue. There has been no word from the Nobel Foundation, who as it stands has
a strained relationship with the academy, on whether or not it views these
appointments as significant enough in regaining trust and legitimacy.
After
today’s meeting, the Swedish Academy has once again come to a decision to
appoint two new members to the academy. Who they are is still a mystery, due to
the fact the Swedish Academy requires royal ascent in order to confirm publicly
the names of the proposed two new elected members. The announcement of the two
new members is expected to come either tomorrow or Monday. It was also
confirmed that Peter Englund and Kjell Espmark have also participated in
electing new members to the Swedish Academy; there has been no word on whether
or not former Permanent Secretary Sara Danius has.
The
question of Katarina Frostenson has also once again been revisited. It turns
out a majority of the Swedish Academy has finally come to its senses—at least
according to the Swedish Newspaper Dagens
Nyheter. The majority of the Swedish Academy has drafted and signed a
letter of intent, requesting that Katarina Frostenson relinquish and resign
herself from the Swedish Academy, due to the violation of Statute 48,
concerning locality and confidentiality. pro
tempore Permanent Secretary Anders Olsson did not comment on this; nor did
any other member. Though it is implied three members oppose the letter. I
speculate the three members opposing the letter are: Horace Engdahl, Sture
Allen, and Göran Malmqvist; who were some of the loudest members of opposition
to former Permanent Secretary Sara Danius and instigators in the crisis. There
is still no word on the future or fate of Katarina Frostenson with the Swedish
Academy.
Krista
Lugn, a current member of the Swedish Academy’s, Nobel Committee also announced
today that one winner has been decided for the Nobel Prize for Literature for
two-thousand and nineteen; but did note that this may change in the following
months.
With
that aside, what does the Swedish Academy think of the Alternative Nobel Prize
for Literature, which will announce its winner tomorrow? In short, they do not
hold a high opinion of the reactionary award or Alexandra Pascalidou the
Swedish-Greek journalist who had spearheaded the award. I should note Ms. Pascalidou
does not appreciate the term: Alternative Nobel Prize for Literautre, she
claims the award is not an alternative, but a separate award based on different
passions and idealistic pillars, such as transparency and egalitarianism. Members
of the Swedish Academy, however disagrees. Horace Engdahl has called the entire
idea a joke, and proposes the idea is a blatant attempt at trying to create a substitute
the Nobel Prize for Literature.
With
regards to his friend Jean-Claude Arnault, Horace Engdahl remains firm that the
Swedish Academy could not do anything with regards to the scandal let alone
prevent: “the wicked deeds, if there were any.” He said in an e-mail to CNN.
Anders Olsson also agrees with Horace Engdahl on his perspective of the new
award and the ‘New Academy,’ which he says lacks the financial resources of the
Swedish Academy as well as its intellectual authority. Alexandra Pascalidou
dismisses these claims as reactionary and fearful, but expected, as well as
hopes the Swedish Academy will be able to renew itself for the sake of the
Nobel Prize for Literature.
Tomorrow
Gentle Reader, the ‘New Academy,’ will release who will win their new award—to blunt
the Alternative Nobel Prize for Literature. One of three authors are up to win
the award, as Haruki Murakami had resigned himself, they are:
Maryse
Condé – Guadeloupe
Neil
Gaiman – United Kingdom
Kim
Thúy – Vietnam/Canada
Thank-you
For Reading Gentle Reader
Take
Care
And
As Always
Stay
Well Read
M. Mary
For Further Reading
Judith Vonberg, CNN: "New literature award emerges in absence of #MeToo-hit Nobel,"
Kkuriren "Contradictory information about invasion of the Academy,"
Aftonbladet: "Tasks: Decide on Frostenson's future - should leave the Swedish Academy,"
Dagens Nyheter: "Academy decision: Katarina Frostenson should leave his chair,"
No comments:
Post a Comment