The Swedish Academy Compromises with the Nobel Foundation

Hello Gentle Reader

The Swedish Academy has not only been bitterly divided internally, due to the spring sexual assault scandal, but also with the Nobel Foundation. As the scandal erupted and the Swedish Academy blew into disarray, the Nobel Foundation observed with concern, before deciding to see if it could help mediate and mitigate the crisis. The Swedish Academy immediately rebuked the offer of assistance, forcing the Nobel Foundation take a different stance with the crisis, where it applied pressure to the Swedish Academy to either straighten its affairs, or have the Nobel Prize stripped from it as an institution.

Initially the Nobel Foundation expressed concern for the Swedish Academy to maintain the integrity of the Nobel Prize for Literature, while it worked to reestablish its own reputation. The Nobel Foundation had expressed concern the scandal would tarnish and if not completely deprive the award of its own merit; therefore, the Nobel Foundation proposed to the Swedish Academy that a temporary Nobel Committee would be enacted to create a shortlist of potential winners for the Nobel Prize for Literature, which would allow the Swedish Academy to rectify and rebuild itself after the scandal. Not surprisingly the Swedish Academy rejected this offer.

Today, however, Gentle Reader the Swedish Academy has come to a compromise with the Nobel Foundation, they will allow an extra five external members to sit on the Nobel Committee to help them select a shortlist of authors who may receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. This temporary extension of the Nobel Committee is as follows:

The initial Nobel Committee:

Chairman – Per Wastberg

(pro-tempore) Permanent Secretary – Anders Olsson

Horace Engdahl

Kristina Lugn

Jesper Svenbro

The new external members are:

Mikaela Blomqvist (literary critic)

Rebecka Karde (literary critic)

Kristoffer Leandoer (literary critic and writer)

Gun-Britt Sundstrom (translator)

Henrik Petersen (publisher)

This temporary Nobel committee will not begin work until January of 2019, and is set to stay in place until 2020.

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader

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Stay Well Read

M. Mary


For Further Reading --

CBC: "Outsiders join Swedish Academy to pick Nobel Literature winners,"

Ida Vitale wins the 2018 Cervantes Prize

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The Uruguayan poet, Ida Vitale has won this year’s Miguel de Cervantes Prize (also known as: The Cervantes Prize).

Ida Vitale is considered one of the greatest posts of the Spanish language, as well as one of the greatest writers heralding from Uruguay, though she no longer resides in the nation, which she fled after 1973 due to a military junta taking political control and power of the country. During this time she fled to Mexico City, before finally settling in Austin, Texas. During her initial literary career she belonged to the literary group, deemed: Generation 45, which comprised of a, group writers (mainly from Uruguay) whose literary careers where nurtured or begun between: 1945-1950. She is now the sole survivor of the group, at the age of 95.

The jury for the Cervantes Prize has praised Ida Vitales poetry which they called both universal and personal, while also being able to balance popularity and accessibility, while maintaining its intellectual powers and observations. Her poems are renowned for their sparseness in form and often simple language eschewing ostentatious pomp and pretense. Yet her language and form never dismiss the larger questions of life, meaning, and philosophy, as the search and discover of hope is never a wasted venture.  

The Cervantes Prize is often noted as the Spanish Language Nobel, as it considered one of the most lucrative literary awards in the Spanish language, with a prize amount consist of €125, 000 (Euros); or $186, 658..31 Canadian Dollars; or $141, 782.03 American Dollars; or £ 110,825.91 English Pounds. The relation between the Cervantes Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature does not just end at the lucrative paycheque awaiting the fortunate author, many authors who have received the Cervantes Prize have also gone on to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature including: Octavio Paz, who won the Cervantes Prize in 1981 and would receive the Nobel nine years later in 1990 and Mario Vargas Llosa won the Cervantes Prize in 1994, and would receive the Nobel Prize in 2010; Camilo Jose Cela on the other hand, won the Nobel Prize for Literature first in 1989 and would receive the Cervantes Prize six years later in 1995.

Many great Spanish language authors have received the Cervantes Prize without receiving the Nobel nod. This includes Cuban avant-garde writer and precursor to Magical Realism, Alejo Carpentier; Carlos Fuentes the giant of Mexican literature, and considered one of the most prominent members of the Latin American Boom; the reclusive Cuban poet and pre-revolutionary lyricist Dulce María Loynaz; as well as the post-Spanish civil war, Grand Dame of Letters, Ana María Matute.

Since 1996, the Cervantes Prize had operated under a loose convention: one year the award would go to a European (Spanish) author, while the next year the award would be received by a South American author. Now over two decades later, this convention has been broken with two South American authors being awarded simultaneously after each other: Sergio Ramírez, from Nicaragua won the award in 2017; while this year’s award goes to the The Uruguayan poet, Ida Vitale.

The Cervantes Prize is not the only award; Ida Vitale has found herself accepting in recent memory. Back in September she was the recipient of the FIL Prize in Romance Languages, which seeks to award an author from one of the romance languages (Catalan, French, Galician, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian or Spanish), for a lifetime achievement in their chosen field be it: fiction or prose, creative non-fiction or essays, or poetry. Ida Vitale received the award for her commitment to the poetic form, and maintaining its vitality through her craft.

Congratulations to Ida Vitale, for her deserved honours of the year; she is a remarkable poet, chronicler and testifier to the resilient path of poetry as both a literary form of existence but also commentator of beauty.

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader

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And As Always

Stay Well Read

M. Mary

Fernando del Paso, Dies Aged 83

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Fernando del Paso was one of the giants of Mexican literature, with company including: Carlos Fuentes, Nobel Laureate Octavio Paz, Sergio Pitol, and Elena Poniatowska. Much like Sergio Pitol and Octavio Paz, Fernando del Paso also served as a diplomat for the Mexican Consul, while also working for the BBC, while living in London and Radio France. Beyond his work in broadcasting and diplomacy, Fernando del Paso forged a career in literary pursuits, and became one of Mexico’s most renowned and internationally successful authors. His most successful novel “News from the Empire,” depicts the short reign of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico. Yet it defies traditional historical tropes, and has been described as a ‘histographic,’ novel, one in which intends to explore the multiple possibilities and versions of events and controversial moments. Beyond writing novels, Fernando del Paso wrote essays, poetry, and children’s books, as well as painting and explore the visual media arts. Fernando del Paso was awarded the Miguel de Cervantes Prize in two-thousand and fifteen, and before his death was the librarian overseeing the Octavio Paz Library.

The passing of Fernando del Paso is a loss to Mexico’s cultural and literary scene, as well as their arts. His novels were unique and exploratory; his interest in promoting and preserving Mexican cultural evident and apparent.

Rest in Peace, Fernando del Paso.

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader

Take Care

And As Always

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M. Mary

Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, Wins Nordic Council's Literature Prize

Hello Gentle Reader,

The Nordic Council’s Prize for Literature is such a quiet award; one is forgiven for not realizing it had been taking place. Generally speaking the Nordic Council’s Literature Prize is overshadowed by the Nobel Prize for Literature, in early October, and as the world reacts and responds to the winner; quietly in the peripherals the Nordic Council Prize names its winner for the year. Often nicknamed ‘The Little Nobel,’ the Nodic Council’s Literature Prize is awarded annually to a writer hailing from one of the Nordic nations (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Finland) as well as other regional areas and principalities (Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Åland Islands) as well as linguistic regions such as the Sami Language region, which includes the northern regions of: Norway, Sweden, Finland and North-West Russia.

The inaugural award was first given to, Eyvind Johnson and his famous novel: “The Days of His Grace,” in 1962. At the time Eyvind Johnson was a revered and renowned groundbreaking modernist Swedish writer. Though he is perhaps most notoriously remembered for the Nobel Prize for Literature debacle of 1974, where Eyvind Johnson was awarded the prize alongside Harry Martinson—both writers were members of the Swedish Academy.

Since then the award has gone to many prominent writers from region such as: Jon Fosse (2015) for his, “Trilogy,” Naja Marie Aidt (2008) for her short story collection, “Baboon,” Merethe Lindstrøm (2012) for her novel “Days in the History of Silence,” Sjon (2005) for his novel, “The Blue Fox,” Tua Forsström (1998) for her poetry collection, “After Having Spent a Night Among Horses,” Per Petterson (2009) “I Curse the River of Time,” and Sofi Oksanen (2010) for her novel “Purge.” Other writers of prominence who have received the award include: former Swedish Academy members, Sara Stridsberg and Kerstin Ekman; disgraced Swedish Academy member, Katarina Frostenson; Norwegian heavyweight Dag Solstad, and Swedish poet Göran Sonnevi.

This year’s Nordic Council’s Literature Prize winner is Icelandic novelist, poet, and playwright: Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, for her novel “Ör,” which has been translated into English as: “Hotel Silence.” The novel was praised by the jury for its emotional resonance and subtle humour, as it traces an emotional disenfranchised man from contemplating suicide, to finding hope and purpose in a stateless land on the brink of political upheaval and collapse. The novel questions the entitlements and privileges of the individual versus the collective, and with vital and invigorated language asks existential ponderings about life and death, as well as purpose and meaning in a world perpetually influx. It’s a novel which testifies to the resilient human tenacity and spirit.

Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir has become the most recent Icelandic author to win the award, after Gyrðir Elíasson (2011) with his short story collection, “Milli trjánna,” or “Through the Trees,” which has yet to be translated into English.

Other writers nominated for this years, Nordic Council's Literature Prize included, the Finnish-Swedish Language dramatist, novelist and short story writer, Susanne Ringell, who was nominated alongside her short story collection: “God morgon,” or “Good Morning.” Secretly, I had hoped Ringell and her short story collection would receive the award, as she appears to be a striking and unique writer, who has yet been translated into English. Swedish dramatist, poet, literary critic and novelist, Agneta Pleijel was also nominated for the award, for her novel “Doften av en man,” or “The Scent of a Man,” which had won the Swedish Academy Nordic Prize back in the spring. She also beat the Finnish poet superstar and Runeberg Poetry winner, Olli-Pekka Tennilä and his poetry collection: “Ontto harmaa,” or “Hollow Grey.”

Congratulations to Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, on receiving this year’s Nordic Council’s Literature Prize.

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader

Take Care

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Stay Well

M. Mary  

Jayne Svenungsson, Resigns from the Swedish Academy

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Jayne Svenungsson becomes the latest member to formally recuse herself from the Swedish Academy.  Jayne Svenungsson was the most recently elected member of the Swedish Academy. She was appointed to the Academy in September 2017, and was formally elected December 20^th 2017, to Chair No. 9, succeeding the late author Torgny Lindgren. After her election, the Swedish Academy soon found itself embroiled in scandal and crisis. She was one of the members who initially voted against the expulsion of Katarina Frostenson; and remained silent and absent from all public discourse and dissidence that took place following the decision, which included Sara Danius resigning from her position as Permanent Secretary, and becoming inactive alongside, Peter Englund and Kjell Espmark.

Since the spring crisis, the Swedish Academy has been actively seeking to resolve the scandal crisis. Through most of it, the academy has often been reduced to putting out the fires as they begin, rather than preventing them being started. The Nobel Foundation has been vocal in its disproval and disappointment in the Swedish Academy, and has been actively applying pressure to the Swedish Academy, to get its affairs in order. In the autumn, however, the Swedish Academy has since sought to improve its situation by reviewing and renewing its statutes, and seeking to update its internal governance policies and procedures. Afterwards it sought to fill the vacant seats, and so far has appointed three new members, who will be elected in a formal ceremony on December 20^th. When it comes to the question of the fate of Katarina Frostenson, the Swedish Academy has issued a letter to the poet, asking her to voluntarily resign from the academy. As it stands, Katarina Frostenson has refused to voluntarily remove herself from the academy, and has hired legal representation to represent her case and perspective to the academy, as they bring in a new investigation with regards to allegations of her breaking the statute of secrecy and confidentiality, conflicts of interest between her own private and personal business and her membership with the Swedish Academy, as well the issue of financial mismanagement.

As for Jayne Svenungsson, she has remained polite with her resignation and exit of the Swedish Academy. She has stated she had decided to stay on with the Swedish Academy to assist in making important decisions and elections of new members. Now that the Swedish Academy has begun to find its feet again, Jayne Svenungsson has decided to withdraw from it and work full time as professor of Systematic Theology at Lund University.

With the departure of Jayne Svenungsson, there is now only one female member participating in the Swedish Academy: dramatist and poet: Kristina Lugn, on Chair No. 14.

Jayne Svenungssons resignation has dampened the mood of the Swedish Academy, with members having no desire to answer any questions regarding her departure. Yet, pro tempore Permanent Secretary Anders Olsson, did respond to a few questions, and stated he was not disappointed in Jayne Svenungsson or her departure, and stated the situation is understandable, as the academy has been at war with itself since her election. Since then, member after member has resigned after a tumultuous scandal had erupted. In her parting wards, Jayne Svenungsson hopes the Swedish Academy will regain its prominence as a cultural institution, but believes her time is best suited as a fulltime professor at Lund University.  

The departure would best be described as bitter sweet and even perhaps a sorrowful note for some. To be appointed to the Swedish Academy must ring with the sweetest silver bells. After all it’s an institution of select and few seats, and appointments are hard to come by. Yet what happens when the silver dream turns into a rusted iron nightmare? Sadly for Jayne Svenungsson her Swedish Academy dream has been tarnished by the institution, and certain members, and eventually it turned into a full nightmare. How disappointing it must be for Jayne Svenungsson, to have seen what is coveted, only to find the gold is plated and stripping to reveal rusted iron, and an academy rotting to its core.

Though the Swedish Academy has had a few success this autumn, there is still a lot of work ahead. The most pressing is dealing with the issue of Katarina Frostenson, the second retaining current members, as well as perhaps inviting and welcoming the return of others by concession and compromise.

In the end: one can only wish Jayne Svenungsson the best of luck as she peruses her academic career.

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader

Take Care

And As Always

Stay Well Read

M. Mary