Two Members Leave the Extended Nobel Committee

Hello Gentle Reader

As part of the Swedish Academy regaining legitimacy as a Nobel Awarding institution; after its previous scandalous ordeal, and its lost faith from the public; the Nobel Foundation facilitated certain caveats that the Swedish Academy was forced to give into, in order to restore its reputation and begin the process of reclaiming its legitimacy. One of those caveats, was allowing for a period of two years, for five external members to be brought into the Nobel Committee to assist the Swedish Academy prize selection, and assist in creating a more transparent process and image with the public and the media. These five external members are:

Rebecka Kärde

Mikaela Blomqvist

Henrik Petersen

Kristoffer Leandoer

Gun-Britt Sundstrom

When the Laureates for two-thousand and eighteen and two-thousand and nineteen, were announced in October, three of the above listed committee members:

Rebecka Kärde

Mikaela Blomqvist

Henrik Petersen

Stood alongside Swedish Academy members: Anders Olsson and Per Wästberg; to discuss this year’s laureates in Literature.

Now, however, Kristoffer Leandoer and Gun-Britt Sundstrom have formally announced that they have recused themselves from their two year term as external members of the Swedish Academy, much to the chagrin of many.

Kristoffer Leandoer has cited he has chosen to leave the blended framework of the Nobel Committee, due to the Swedish Academy’s slothful state of adapting to change, and he does not have the patience to encourage it. Further discrepancies between the perceptions of time were also contributing factors in his departure.

Gun-Britt Sundstrom has resigned due to the decision to award Peter Handke the Nobel Prize for Literature in two-thousand and nineteen. The decision to ward Handke the Nobel Prize for Literature has been one of consistent controversy since it was announced on October 10^th. Reactions have been divisive, critical, and uncompromising in their denouncement. The Swedish Academy in return, was forced to perform damage control, and sought to clarify their position that they do not condone Peter Handke’s political statements, views, perceptions, or defenses; but they chose to award him on purely literary terms. They further argued that despite his political discourse, his statements did not amount to facilitating violence, or condoning the atrocities of the Yugoslav Wars.

Gun-Britt Sundstrom disagreed with the notion of literature above politics. It is safe to presume that Gun-Britt Sundstrom believes the political statements made by Peter Handke are equally as relevant to his literary output as his literary work, and should be considered in weighing his merit in. For these reasons, Gun-Britt Sundstrom has chosen to recuse herself from the blended Nobel Committee.

The Swedish Academy in turn thanked them both for their support and service during their short tenure.

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader

Take Care

And As Always

Stay Well Read

M. Mary

For Further Reading

The Guardian: "Nobel prize for literature hit by fresh round of resignations,"

BBC: "Two Nobel literature prize committee members quit,"

The Swedish Academy Elects Final Member

Hello Gentle Reader

In March, Sara Danius the former Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy formally resigned from the Swedish Academy. A year prior, Sara Danius had stepped down as the Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy and recused herself from seat, Chair No. 7, due to the Frostenson-Arnault Scandal. Over the course of the past few months, as other vacant seats were filled, Chair No. 7 had remained vacant. On Friday the Swedish Academy announced that it has elected a new member to fill Chair No. 7: the theoretical philosopher and professor: Åsa Wikforss.

With the election of Åsa Wikforss to Chair No. 7, the Swedish Academy will herald bring in the new decade with a full roster for the first time in thirty years.

As a philosopher and a professor, Åsa Wikforss main areas of study and research have been language, philosophy of consciousness, and knowledge theory including epistemology (the philosophical study of knowledge). In two-thousand and seventeen, Professor Wikforss published a critical analysis titled: “Alternative Facts – On Knowledge and its Enemies,” where the author probes the strange and uncharted realms of ‘alternative facts,’ in the media and political usage, and how this notion that facts and information can be manipulated and interpreted to move facts and knowledge away from an objective certainty, to a more social subjective flotsam and jetsam notion. In it Åsa Wikforss discusses the philosophical theories and principles of knowledge, the philosophical perspective, as well as the biological components that make humans as a species unique in its ability to consume and disseminate information, facts, and knowledge from other species. It’s been praised as a relevant and striking analysis of the age of information, the rampant media saturation, and political manipulation of the notion of what information and knowledge is.

Beyond being a professor of theoretical philosophy and now a elected member of the Swedish Academy, Åsa Wikforss is also a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of the Sciences (the large institution which awards the science prizes), where she is a member of the Humanistic Sciences (or the Humanities).

The induction of Åsa Wikforss is considered unique for the Swedish Academy, whose membership conventionally concerns distinguished professionals such as: literary critics/theorists, linguists/translators, historians, writers (poets, playwrights, novelists), and philologists. Few philosophers and theologians are counted among the ranks. The most recent one of memory was the short stint of Jayne Svenungsson, a theology professor who sat on the academy for barely a year. Åsa Wikforss is therefore the most recent scholarly type included in the academy, and one who has a perspective beyond the typical notion of literature.

The induction of Åsa Wikforss is being praised as a powerful and striking choice; as she is a critical and clinical philosopher and scholar, not a writer, and not someone preoccupied with the sole realm of literature or language, but an individual who takes a broader unique perspective which should help with the Swedish Academy’s deliberations in future.

Åsa Wikforss will be formally inducted in the Swedish Academy during its General Meeting on December 20^th. The current roster for the Swedish Academy appears as the following:

Chair No. 1 – Justice Eric M. Runesson

Chair No. 2 – Bo Ralph

Chair No. 3 – Sture Allen

Chair No. 4 – Anders Olsson (pro-tempore Permanent Secretary, tenure complete June 1^st)

Chair No. 5 – Göran Malmqvist

Chair No. 6 – Tomas Riad

Chair No. 7 – Åsa Wikforss (formal induction December 20^th)

Chair No. 8 – Jesper Svenbro

Chair No. 9 – Ellen Mattson (formal induction December 20^th)

Chair No. 10 – Peter England

Chair No. 11 – Mats Malm (Permanent Secretary, after June 1^st)

Chair No. 12 – Per Wästberg

Chair No. 13 – Anne Swärd (formal induction December 20^th)

Chair No. 14 – Kristina Lugn

Chair No. 15 – Jila Mossaed

Chair No. 16 – Kjell Espmark

Chair No. 17 – Horace Engdahl

Chair No. 18 – Tua Forsström (formal induction December 20^th)

There you have it Gentle Reader, the Swedish Academy at its complete roster: twelve men and six women.

Congregations are in order for Åsa Wikforss. May she bring a unqiue perspective to the discussions and deliberations of the Swedish Academy.

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader

Take Care

And As Always

Stay Well Read

M. Mary

For Further Reading—

Svenska Akademien: "Swedish Academy Elects New Member," 

Saarbruecker-Zeitung: "Swedish Academy is complete again,"

The Swedish Academy Elects Two New Members

Hello Gentle Reader

The Swedish Academy is working diligently to rebuild its roster to a full eighteen member capacity. Recently the vacant seats: Chair No. 9—formerly held by: Jayne Svenungsson; and Chair No. 13—Formerly held by: Sara Stridsberg, will now be held by the two newly elected members: Ellen Mattson and Anne Swärd. These new appointees will be formally inducted on December 20^th (two-thousand and nineteen) alongside the Finnish-Swedish language poet: Tua Forsström.

Gender is an obvious contender and component to the appointments of, Ellen Mattson and Anne Swärd, as the Swedish Academy continually attempts to change its image as a male dominated institution, after recent events and scandal. Anders Olsson, the current Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, has also stated—and attempted to mitigate the conversation away from gender politics—that the two newly appointed members are great prose stylists in their own right, and should help balance the perspective of the Swedish Academy; as both Tua Forsström and Jila Mossaed who are renowned and recognized for their poetic activities. Beyond their prose work as authors, Anders Olsson has credited both, Ellen Mattson and Anne Swärd, as experienced literary assessors, and important readers.

Both the new appointees are best described as writers, rather than academics. However, Ellen Mattson has written more than just novels. She has expanded her writings into the theatre and dramatic texts for radio, and is an accomplished literary critic. Anne Swärd by comparison is a working and living author, and is renowned for her intense narratives and novels. Their induction to the Swedish Academy will be unique and interesting to observe in the coming years.

Their appointments have not gone unnoticed by critics, who feel that the desire to appointment new members based on gender is rather egregious, something akin to the pity diversity hire, where a candidate is chosen because they minority social factors rather than core competencies. Björn Wiman of Dagens Nyheter viewed the inclusions as a slight step down for the Swedish Academy, as he believed the two authors chosen was based on gender rather than competency and merit, and found that neither novelist had truly made a signifigant or lasting impact on Swedish literature or language in the same fashion as Sara Stridsberg, or going further Tua Forsström. Personally, I believe Goran Sonnevi an accomplished poet and academic would be a suitable choice for the academy, but then again as it stands he is not a woman, a matter the Swedish Academy will need to carefully consider as they choose to induct new members: is it based off competency or off social perspective or social pressure?

Currently the Swedish Academy hosts the following members, with a seventeen strong roster:

Chair No. 1 – (Justice) Eric M. Runesson (also a Supreme Court Judge)

Chair No. 2 – Bo Ralph

Chair No. 3 – Sture Allen

Chair No. 4 – Anders Olsson

Chair No. 5 – Göran Malmqvist       

Chair No. 6 – Tomas Riad

Chair No. 7 – Vacant

Chair No. 8 – Jesper Svenbro

Chair No. 9 – Ellen Mattson (to be inducted: December 20^th)

Chair No. 10 – Peter Englund

Chair No. 11 – Mats Malm

Chair No. 12 – Per Wästberg

Chair No. 13 – Anne Swärd (to be inducted: December 20^th)

Chair No. 14 – Kristina Lugn

Chair No. 15 – Jila Mossaed

Chair No. 16 – Kjell Espmark

Chair No. 17 – Horace Engdahl

Chair No. 18 – Tua Forsström (to be inducted: December 20^th)

The final chair to be filled is Chair No. 7, formally held by the former Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, Sara Danius. It has not been announced or decided when this seat will be filled, but there is precedence and speculation that it will be also be filled by a woman to help round out the numbers and ratio of male to female in the academy.

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader

Take Care

And As Always

Stay Well Read

M. Mary

For Further Reading—

Expressen :"New members of the Swedish Academy,"

Svt: "Ellen Mattson and Anne Swärd are elected to the Academy,"

The Nobel Foundation Agrees to the Nobel Prize for Literature

Hello Gentle Reader

As already mentioned the final chapters of the Swedish Academy’s scandal are beginning to end, which will mean the book will soon be closed and written on as a unsightly chapter of the academy’s illustrious history. Through the previous year, the Swedish Academy maintained with great confidence that they will award two laureates for the Nobel Prize for Literature this autumn. The Nobel Foundation, however, viewed the situation differently, going so far as to contemplate that this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature could very well go without a laureate as well.

Yet, through the past few months and late last year, the Nobel Foundation had consulted, counselled, and directed the Swedish Academy to reorganize and rearrange its affairs. The Nobel Foundations Executive Director: Lars Heikensten had even publicly stated the Nobel Foundation would go so far as to consider finding another institution to award the Nobel Prize for Literature. Thankfully the Swedish Academy compromised on the caveats issued to them and will be able to retain its status as a Nobel Awarding Institution.

It should be noted and reminded that one of the caveats that the Nobel Foundation issued to the Swedish Academy with regards to retaining its awarding privileges, is that the Nobel Committee will also be open to five external members who are completely sovereign and separate from the Swedish Academy. These five external members are of course prominent or up and coming critics, journalists, academicians, writers, poets and playwrights in their own right—so they are not completely ignorant or rebellious to what the prize represents. This being said: another caveat has been issued with regards to how the Nobel Committee exists and who sits on it. For the past decade or more Horace Engdahl has been a prominent member of the Nobel Committee, first as Permanent Secretary, and then as a regular member of the committee since his resignation as the Permanent Secretary in two-thousand and eight. Over the past year though, Horace Engdahl has been a polarizing figure within the Swedish Academy as well as the public, due to his blatant use of external media to vent his frustrations of the academy as well as defend his friend and now convicted sexual assault/rapist Jean-Claude Arnault. Due to this, the Nobel Foundation and the Swedish Academy agreed that Horace Engdahl will no longer be sitting as member on the Nobel Committee, and will not have a guiding opinion on who will win the prize. Engdahl will retain his seat as a member of the Swedish Academy.

The newspaper Svenska Yle, has also reported that there have been changes to how the Nobel Committee will conduct its business as well. In years past, the Nobel Committee would draft a shortlist of five authors who they presented to the Swedish Academy as potential possible Nobel Laureates for the year; this shortlist was then read and reviewed; discussed and debated by the academy as a whole, before a final decision was made. Now, it appears the Nobel Committee will only present one potential and possible laureate for review and discussion. If this is true, the future laureates could be considered more controversial then those of years past, as it limits the input, expertise, and advise of all members of the academy, from being able to choose the future Nobel Laureate(s) for Literature.

The Swedish Academy is expected to host a press release later this week (most likely Thursday) to give its perspective on the matter as well.

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader

Take Care

And As Always

Stay Well Read

M. Mary

For Further Reading—

The Nobel Prize (Website) Press Release 

DW: "Nobel literature prize for 2018 and 2019 to be awarded this year,"

Politiken: "Two Nobel Prizes will be distributed in literature this year - prominent member thrown out,"

Aftonbladet: "Horace Engdahl leaves the Nobel Committee,"

Svenska.Yle: "This year, two Nobel Prizes will be awarded in literature - and Horace Engdahl will be petted from the Nobel Prize work,"

Sara Danius Relinquishes Seat with Swedish Academy

Hello Gentle Reader

The Scandal that left the Swedish Academy in ruin last year is now entering its final stages of closure. The remaining smoldering hot spots have either been extinguished or are in the process of being extinguished. There is no denying that the past year had seen the once magnanimous and secretive royal institution, pushed to the brink of obliteration and implosion. Member vacancy rates were unprecedentedly high, to the point the academy could no longer hold a quorum, which resulted in Royal intervention and an amendment to the statutes, including the statute that membership was for life.

The scandal, however, was a public affair, which tantalized and entertained the public with both disgust and intrigue. The usual graceful and silent veneer of the secretive eighteen members, quickly dissolved, showcasing how human they were in their publicly advertised faults. Each new day brought a new chapter in the ensuing chaos of the scandal. Alliances were formed and allegiances were broken. Two former members are often considered the sacrificial offerings to the scandal:

Katarina Frostenson, whose husband originally caused the foundation to crumble, due to allegations and accusations of sexual assault and nonconsensual sex, which allegedly the Swedish Academy was aware of, and did nothing to dissuade or stop. The allegations grew more intertwined with the academy as the assaults allegedly took place on Swedish Academy owned property, and that Katarina Frostenson had leaked future laureate(s) and Nobel Prize winners to her husband, Jean-Claude Arnault. Further issues grew, with the fact that the Swedish Academy had been funding the Forum, a cultural club owned and operated by Jean-Claude Arnault and Katarina Frostenson, which has been called a severe ethical violation and conflict of interest. Needless to say, Jean-Claude Arnault was formally charged with sexual assault and was convicted of two counts, whereby he is serving his sentence in prison. Katarina Frostenson, however, bitterly refused to rescind her seat, until after she had received financial compensation from the academy as a whole, despite the fact, via two different external investigations had proven she had broken the statute of secrecy on multiple occasions. She has since resigned from her chair, earlier this year.

Sara Danius, was the former Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, when the scandal first broke out. As the public face and voice of the Swedish Academy, it was her responsibility to be the media relations representative of the academy as it wished to assure the public the issue was being handled internally and would be resolved without complications. Sadly, by the spring of two-thousand and eighteen, the scandal had erupted and no internal governance was in place to contain the contamination which had spewed forth. Sara Danius, as Permanent Secretary, was immediately met with mutiny by members of the Swedish Academy: Horace Engdahl, Sture Allen, and Goran Malmqvist, who publicly denounced and decried her as a failure in her position; and from there the dogs of war had been released. As the scandal grew increasingly out of control, and the academy was pushed to the brink of obliteration, it became apparent that the two warring sides needed to compromise. It was agreed, that Katarina Frostenson was to recuse herself from the academy’s work (not formally resign) and Sara Danius would relinquish her position as Permanent Secretary. Danius not only relinquished her position but also formally recused herself from the academy’s work, at which point Anders Olsson became the pro-tempo Permanent Secretary.

Now almost year later, Sara Danius has decided to also formally resign from the Swedish Academy. The decision has not been made entirely clear, but it has been reported that Anders Olsson will soon be stepping down as the Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy due to age, and Sara Danius had shown an interest in reclaiming the position she formally held. The academy is said to have declined. Danius accepted the motion as is and has decided to formally resign from the academy, which also includes financial easement.

The Swedish Academy now has three seats sitting vacant:

Chair No. 7 – Formally held by Sara Danius

Chair No. 9 – Formally held by Jayne Svenungsson

Chair No. 13 – Formally held by Sara Stridsberg

Chair No. 18 – Is currently elected to: Tua Forsström – though her induction does not take place until December 20^th of this year.

In a statement, Anders Olsson has said all three remaining vacant seats will be filled by women.

It is sad to see Sara Danius’s role with the Swedish Academy so quickly dismissed and painted over. As Permanent Secretary Sara Danius relished and thrived in the role of media relations, though the decision to choose Bob Dylan as a Nobel Laureate (though not her decision to make singularly), was controversial and not appreciated by the literary community. Yet, her handling of the situation was impeccable, though often challenging. In the end, Sara Danius’s role and function within the Swedish Academy has expired, and she will move on to other ventures. When asked about the current reputation of the academy, she had said it will most likely take ten years for it to regain its full integrity back, as the damage has rippled and been viewed globally.

This my Dear Gentle Readers, certainly must mark the closing chapter(s) of the Swedish Academy crisis and scandal. Though a torrid and dirty affair to watch, it was like a slow train wreck one could not help but continue to watch, with almost sadistic guilty pleasure. The scandal showed the internal workings of the Swedish Academy—or lack thereof—with frank and brutal honesty, as the academy severely lacked formal policies, procedures, and governance practices with regards to transparency. For all its glitz and glamour, there existed at the heart of the matter a dark and disturbing and even rotting festering fiendish culture of silence and explicit corruption, which denied all attempts at change or transparency, out of fears it would be exposed.

In the end it was exposed, with no winner to be crowned, and the world was deprived of its Nobel Prize for Literature for a year. 

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader

Take Care

And As Always

Stay Well Read

M. Mary

For Further Reading—

The Economic Time: "A Year after quitting as permanent secretary. Sara Danius steps down from Swedish Academy," 

Vt.se: "Sara Danius ville tillbaka – fick nej,"

Katarina Frostenson Leaves the Swedish Academy

Hello Gentle Reader

The Swedish Academy and Katarina Frostenson have to come to an agreement with regards to both her membership, allegations of violations of breaking the statute of secrecy, and conflicts of interest. During two legal investigations by a law firm, the Swedish Academy was presented with two reports outlining the same evidence and results: on several different occasions she had a violated the statute of secrecy as outlined in Alfred Nobel’s will, and had engaged in activities which were a conflict of interest between herself as a member of the Swedish Academy, and as a co-owner of a cultural club with her husband Jean-Claude Arnault, which received financial compensation from the Swedish Academy.

Since Katarina Frostenson refused to excuse herself from the Swedish Academy, the academy initiated a vote of expulsion, under the tenure of the former Permanent Secretary Sara Danius. The vote failed, with the majority voting to allowing Frostenson to keep her seat on the Swedish Academy. This failed vote was the beginning of the crisis which saw the Nobel Prize for Literature postponed and the Swedish Academy’s members dwindle. Since then, the academy has reviewed and renewed its statutes as an institution, and the Swedish King has now made it possible for members to voluntarily resign from the academy, while allowing their seats to be filled. Yet the damage was done, the academy was in crisis, and members saw fit to accuse and allege each other as mishandling the situation as well as violating the statutes.

Now order is once again taken hold of the Swedish Academy, where logic and reason are beginning to hold greater importance then comradery and loyalty based off previous friendship. Katarina Frostenson resignation is not without a few purse strings attached. She will receive monetary compensation of 12, 875 Kr a month (or $1, 889. 97 Canadian Dollars a month, or $1, 426.62 US Dollars, or €1, 254. 45 Euro’s a month, or £1,107.72 English Pounds a month) along with continual rent of a apartment owned by the Swedish Academy. This is not entirely an award for Katarina Frostenson, the current Pro-Tempo Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, Anders Olsson, has stated the academy is considering making these arrangements for all academy members who wish to resign or retire from the institution, as thanks and appreciation for their servitude.

Both parties have also since dropped all legal proceedings facing each other since they have come to this agreement. Katarina Frostenson is not yet entirely out of the thick of it. The Swedish Academy’s financial crimes unit is still investigating the poet and former member over the entangled finances between the Swedish Academy and the club she co-owned with her husband. This investigation is entirely separate from the Swedish Academy.

For now though Gentle Reader, the Swedish Academy is finally getting its affairs in order, its house cleaned and cleared, and perhaps it will finally continue the good work it was supposed to do in the first place. With Katarina Frostenson recusing herself from the academy, this will leave three vacant seats:

Chair No. 9 (formally held by, Jayne Svenungsson)

Chair No. 13 (formally held by, Sara Stridsberg

Chair No. 18 (formally held by, Katarina Frostenson)

Chair No. 7 is still held by Sara Danius, but she is still considered inactive. Whether or not she will return to the Swedish Academy is still unclear.

The Nobel Foundation is said to announce next week whether or not it finds the current restitution aporpriate enough for the Nobel Prize for Literature to be awarded this announced this autumn and awarded this winter, and whether or not the Swedish Academy may retain its authority as a awarding institution.

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader

Take Care

And As Always

Stay Well Read

M. Mary

For Further Reading Please See the Following –

Expressen: "Katarina Frostenson leaves the Academy," 

The Swedish Academy in the New Year

Hello Gentle Reader

With the New Year now settling in, the Swedish Academy appears to finally getting its affairs in order, considering the scandal of the previous year that saw the Nobel Prize for Literature postponed and members of the academy to resign in protest over the academy’s inability to handle the scandal with appropriate care and governance. By the summer of last year, the Swedish Academy’s members had dwindled so low they were unable to host a quorum and the Swedish King himself was forced to intervene as patron to allow members to resign officially from the academy in order to fill vacant seats. The Nobel Foundation in turn grew increasingly concerned over the Swedish Academy’s growing ineptitude to handle and govern the situation, which had tarnished the Nobel Prize for Literature by association, destroyed public trust, and brought into question the integrity of the institution. The Swedish Academy in turn rejected the assistance offered by the Nobel Foundation, which in turn caused the Nobel Foundation to wash its hands of the academy and threaten the academy with losing the privilege of being awarding institutions if they continued to fail to get their affairs in order. In the summer the Swedish Academy began to tackle a few issues facing the Swedish Academy, but sitting members and absent members often used public media outlets to criticize each other, which always put the amendments on hold or at void. Come the autumn the Swedish Academy faced the reality of its state, but thanks to amended statutes, it was able to elect new members to vacant seats. Shortly after, more members would recuse themselves from the academy. By the time the annual general meeting of the Swedish Academy was held, a visual representation could be seen on the ruin of the academy, with scant few members seated around the table, with a majority left empty. Before the New Year: Jean-Claude Arnault was convicted of statutory rape, the Swedish Academy introduced five external members to sit with the Nobel Committee, and the issue of Katarina Frostenson was reaching its conclusion.

Now in the New Year, Katarina Frostenson has decided to resign from the Swedish Academy with monetary compensation to allow her to continue to work as a poet. There has been no set date as to her departure or the amount of her severance. Now two members who had left their seats inactive (though they did not formally request removal) are set to return. Former Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, Peter Englund will return to Chair No. 10; and Kjell Espmark is set to return to Chair No. 16. The members had previously sat in passive roles, helping the academy make bigger decisions such as the election of new members, now they are ready to return to the academy with Katarina Frostenson departing, and begin to help rebuild the academy into an institution based on integrity and moral probity. There is no word on whether or not former Permanent Secretary Sara Danius will return to Chair No. 7. Sara Danius has remained elusive on the matter, stating she is merely waiting to see how events unfold in order to make up her decision on whether or not she will return to her seat.

For now though Gentle Reader, it appears the Swedish Academy is perhaps moving in a slightly more positive direction then it had over the past year.

Peter Englund and Kjell Espmark are set to take their seats formally Next Thursday, January 17th 2019. 

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader

Take Care

And As Always

Stay Well Read

M. Mary

For Further Reading, Please See the Following Articles:

Expressen: "Members Return to the Academy - After Crisis," 

Aftonbladet: "The situation is still acute for the Swedish Academy,"

Svt: "Peter Englund and Kjell Espmark return to the Swedish Academy,"

The Swedish Academy General Meeting

Hello Gentle Reader

The Swedish Academys’ supplementary investigation into the accusations that member and poet: Katarina Frostenson, had broken the statuettes of secrecy, has recently concluded. This second investigation was solicited by current Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy Anders Olsson, and its findings remain consistent with the initial investigation petitioned by former Permanent Secretary Sara Danius. The investigation concludes on numerous occasions, Katarina Frostenson prematurely provided information regarding the winning laureate to her husband, Jean-Claude Arnault, who then subsequently advertised the information on a selective basis.

The investigation summarized the following laureates were leaked by Katarina Frostenson in order:

(1996) Wisława Szymborska

(2004) Elfriede Jelinek

(2005) Harold Pinter

(2008) Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio

(2014) Patrick Modiano

(2015)  Svetlana Alexievich

(2016) Bob Dylan

The investigation advises the Swedish Academy to either exclude—or expel— Katarina Frostenson or urge her to voluntarily resign from the institution. It has been rumored that in two-thousand and fourteen, then Permanent Secretary Peter Englund, had grown suspicious of leaks within the academy, and questioned Frostenson about the heightened interest in the then unknown laureate, Patrick Modiano. Frostenson is said to have rebuffed the accusation. Yet, this would explain why leading up to the announcement date, how Patrick Modiano flew through the betting sites lists with lightning speed, considering years prior his name was rarely mentioned and he appeared to be a dark horse.

It should also be noted that Katarina Frostenson also stands accused of leaking of new elected members prematurely to her husband, who is said to have used this information for his own gain and at the expense of the Swedish Academy.

Testimonials provided for the investigation where often anonymous, as the witnesses had concerns regarding retaliation. Former academy member: Klas Östergren, has openly been named as testimonial witness in the investigation as well as playwright, Anna Kölén. It is rumoured that Peter Englund and Sara Danius were also interviewed during this supplemental investigation. Klas Östergren specifically testified that Jean Claude-Arnault informed him that Polish poet Wisława Szymborska would win the Nobel Prize in 1996; and Anna Kölén testified that Arnault openly touted that Elfriede Jelinek and Harold Pinter would receive the award in 2004 and 2005 respectively. Anna Kölén believes in an opinion article that she wrote that, Arnault often leaked names with audacity to showcase his knowledge, his connections, as well as his might, and to help him build relationships and further social advantages within the Stockholm cultural scene.

Other parts of the investigation have not yet been released, as they are currently under review by the financial crimes unit of the Stockholm police. Permanent Secretary Anders Olsson also did not comment on whether or not the academy will once again vote on whether or not to exclude Katarina Frostenson, but did state the investigation will be reviewed in full come the New Year, along with a solution.

On December 20^th, the Swedish Academy hosted its general meeting where three new members were formally inducted into the academy:

Chair No. 1 – (Justitieråd/Justice) Eric Runesson

Chair No. 11 – Mats Malm

Chair No. 15 – Jila Mossaed

The general meeting was contentious as the rest of the year. Held in the company of the Swedish Royal family and five hundred invited guests, the Swedish Academy inducts new members and reviews its year. Yet, some of the invited guests chose to boycott the event, including the Archbishop Antje Jackelén, and invited guest Agneta Pleijel. The blue table situated in the middle of the room like a grand dinner table of literary theatre, was also noticeably vacant. Eight seats were left vacant, which included four inactive members:

Chair No. 7 – Sara Danius

Chair No. 10 – Peter Englund

Chair No. 16 – Kjell Espmark

Chair No. 18 – Katarina Frostenson

As well as two vacant seats:

Chair No. 9 – (Previously held by, Jayne Svenungsson)

Chair No. 13 – (Previously held by, Sara Stridsberg)

Chair No. 14 – Kristina Lugn – was also noticeably absent during the meeting, as were other members, whose identities are not known.  

It’s a startling photo to review to see the academy in ruin and by its own volition; its own missteps; its own lack of governing capabilities. The meeting of December 20^th appeared somber in appearance and is an astute physical representation of the grave year of scandal.

As for Katarina Frostenson, through her legal representation, she is willing to voluntarily resign herself from the academy, but only after negotiating a settlement of monetary value, between herself and the Swedish Academy. Whether or not the Swedish Academy will entertain the thought of negotiating with Frostenson over her removal from the academy is yet unknown. To reiterate, Permanent Secretary Anders Olsson, has stated the academy will not agree on any solution until the New Year, and will not convict itself to any resolution prematurely until then.

The Swedish Academy now wraps up its year of calamity just before Christmas. Their general meeting a somber occasion wrapped in the cloak of pomp and ceremony that did little to conceal and mask the grievous wounds left behind. Chair after chair was vacant, while few were populated. Hopefully the Swedish Academy can find a appropriate solution away from cronyism and personal biases in the New Year, and begin to rebuild itself from ash and ruin, restore trust and peace among itself and the public, and begin anew to do the great work it has done in decades past.

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader

Take Care

And As Always

Stay Well Read

M. Mary

For Further Reading Please See The Following Links and Articles –

The Local Sweden: "Names of Nobel Prize winners were leaked: report,"

Sveriges Radio: "Witnesses: Arnault revealed Nobel laureates,"

SVT Nyheter: "Arnault revealed Nobel laureates in advance, according to witnesses,"

SVT Nyheter: "Anna Kölén: The Academy should publish the investigation,"

SVT Nyheter: "Katarina Frostenson ready to negotiate exit,"

Sveriges Radio - The Swedish Academy General Meeting [Photo]

The Closed Company

 Hello Gentle Reader

Earlier this week the Swedish Appeals Court, found Jean-Claude Arnault’s initial conviction not only stood, but also added another six months to his sentence, while finding him guilty of a second rape. Arnault continues to profess his innocence with relation to the charges, and his lawyers announced they plan on appealing this added conviction further to the Supreme Court.

Friend and ally Horace Engdahl has refuted the court’s decision as baseless, and decried the extended prison sentence and added conviction as unjustified, due to the evidence being testimonial in nature, with little to no ‘physical evidence,’ produced by either the prosecutes or accusers. Beyond throwing his support behind Jean-Claude Arnault, Horace Engdahl has also once again taken it upon himself to offer a dissenting opinion of the current gender divide forming in the world. His new book “De Obekymrade,” or “The Obsessed,” Engdahl takes aim and issue with the current fragmenting social climate. It’s considered a personal polemic testament and observation of social movements currently at work—specifically the ‘MeToo Movement.’ When discussing “De Obekymrade,” stated it will offer the perspective from the other side of the conversation and reaffirmed it is not a misogynistic manifesto.

Despite this, Horace Engdahl then makes a ludicrous claim in another direction, which undermines his previous statements. In refrence to the recent departure of Jayne Svenungsson and alluding to: Sara Stridsberg, Sara Danius, Lotta Lotass as well as Katarina Frostenson) Horacen Engdahl proposes that men are perhaps better equipped to dealing with the power struggles, pressures, and extreme stresses associated with institutions like the Swedish Academy, in a recent documentary with Sveriges Television.

As for the fate of former Permanent Secretary Sara Danius, it has been reported that she is considering returning to her work with the Swedish Academy. According to an article with Expressen, Sara Danius had stated she would wait for the court’s decision before she decided to either move into an active role with the Swedish Academy or remain passive. In the meantime she was featured in a calendar photoshoot celebrating the ‘MeToo Movement,’ where she was depicted as Joan of Arc, with an ensemble of armour and sword. For now it appears Sara Danius will remain passive or inactive with matters concerning the Swedish Academy.

Katarina Frostenson remains the greatest liability for the Swedish Academy. Despite being declawed and toothless, the notoriety of her husband’s conviction and his previous behaviors will shadow her; not to mention her own lacking moral compass with regards to ethics on conflicts of interest, especially of a financial nature. Yet, the Swedish Academy continues to hold a stony silence with regards to the Frostenson problem. The academy has requested she voluntarily resign from her seat and she refuses, going so far as to hire a lawyer to help navigate the legal proceedings she herself may face, as the Swedish Academy once again takes the mantel of an investigation to inspect and examine her alleged transgressions.

Yet it is not entirely fair to crucify Katarina Frostenson as the only member who should resign from her seat with the academy. There are a few members who have failed astronomically in their duties past and present both as Permanent Secretaries as well as members of the academy. They have shown themselves to lack moral probity, sober thought, clear and concise perspective, and an ability to rely on simple principles and pillar of justice. These members have been quick to criticize the short comings of others in order to protect either their own personal vested interest or reputation, often at the expense of the academy’s reputation, and on the backs of other members. These members have proven themselves to being rotten and lacking in simple ideas of comradery beyond their corrupted version. Their actions along with the scandal, have subsequently tarnished the Nobel Prize for Literature, and forced the Nobel Foundation to demand caveats and concessions, as well as suggest amendments and reforms on the threat of punitive action.

Next year there is the expectation the Swedish Academy will announce two winners for the Nobel Prize for Literature, to make up for this year’s postponement. The question is, will the chosen writes accept the award, or will the Nobel Prize rise above the trivialities of scandal and remain a shining golden beacon of culture and literary merit?

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader

Take Care

And As Always

Stay Well Read

M. Mary

For Further Reading (and watching) –

Sveriges Television - Documentary - "The Closed Company," 

The Globe & Mail: "Swedish court adds second rape conviction for man in Nobel scandal,"

SVT Nyheter: "Horace Engdahl on the new book: "Will beat the pure feminists"'

Expressen: "Sara Danius: "I am a passive member, I wait and see"

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

Take Care

And As Always

Stay Well Read

M. Mary


For Further Reading --

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

Jayne Svenungsson, Resigns from the Swedish Academy

Hello Gentle Reader

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

Further News from the Swedish Academy

Hello Gentle Reader

Last week the Swedish Academy had released they have appointed a new member to its ranks: Mats Malm, a literature professor who has a specialization in ancient Nordic languages. Professor Mats Malm, becomes the newest recruit for the Swedish Academy, and will be formally elected during a ceremony on December 20th, whereby he will take his seat Chair No. 11, along with two other newly elected members: Justice Eric Runesson, and poet and author Jila Mossaed. Dramatist, poet, and novelist Niklas Rådström, is said to have received a request to join the Swedish Academy as well, but it appears has turned the offer down. Pro Tempore Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, Anders Olsson has stated that Chair No. 13 formally held by Sara Stridsberg, will most likely remain vacant for the remainder of the year. Anders Olsson believes the Swedish Academy has found greater stability with the election of the three new members. Anders Olsson had stated the goal is to host an election in the early spring to fill Chair No. 13.

The situation and predicament of Katarina Frostenson has once again been raised. Anders Olsson stated it all depends on how, Frostenson responds to the request she voluntarily resigns. In the event she chooses not to resign from the Swedish Academy, she will be investigated with regards to the accusations and allegations of her breaking the statutes of secrecy, as well as the statute of conflict of interest. Otherwise, the situation of Katarina Frostenson remains unchanged; as it sits in the precarious purgatory of ambiguity.

Despite the waters of the Swedish Academy calming, back to their reflective glassy sheen, a few grumbles and bubbles escape the recently restored façade:

In an interview with the Times Literary Supplement Horace Engdahl commented on the situation of the Swedish Academy and called the times dangerous. He linked the recent social media movement (#MeToo) to the Reign of Terror in post-revolutionary France. In this same interview Horace Engdahl, rejected the depiction of fraternization he apparently had with Jean-Claude Aranult, the man recently convicted and associated with the erupting scandal for the Swedish Academy. During this interview Horace Engdahl also depicted himself as a causality of the movement and accusations against Arnault, and firmly stands by the fact everything he has stated and acted on, was done in with the hopes to sustain and maintain the Swedish Academy through the crisis. Though I do believe Horace Engdahl has in previous years always kept the Swedish Academy’s interests aligned with his own; the events of the scandal and his behavior would be questionable as to whether or not Engdahl was completely objective in his attempts to maintain the reputation of the academy; or perhaps lost the objectivity to the twirling swirls of the emotional undercurrents, as he sought to protect his friends: Jean-Claude Arnault and Katarina Frostenson. During the scandal, Horace Endgahl made churlish and bullheaded public accusations against the former Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, Sara Danius, as well as other members who left the Swedish Academy in the wake of the crisis. It became apparent that Horace Engdahl played politics during the crisis of the Swedish Academy, and he was publicly tried in the court of public opinion, where he was found guilty. During this time, Horace Engdahl was not interested in facilitating any dialogue with any member of the public of the time or the Swedish Academy itself, instead Engdahl dictated his interpretation of the facts, and propagated them with propagandist zeal. With regards to himself depicting himself as a victim during the situation, who had been unjustly been convicted—it would not be insufficient to state the grounds of his appeal are meritless. To this day, Horace Engdahl showcases and states implications he finds the conviction of Jean-Claude Arnault baffling, and even unwarranted. He lambasts and decries the treatment of Katarina Frostenson as unsavory and disagreeable, stating since the scandal and conviction of her husband she has always been referred to in the context of either the situation or as the wife, never as a prominent and groundbreaking poet of her generation. On these grounds, Horace Engdahl states, history will judge Katarina Frostenson with greater light, in which it will highlight her poetry over her marriage and the scandal of the Swedish Academy.

Though I do not necessarily disagree with everything Horace Engdahl has stated in his interview, it is easy to see how he erupted with such scolding venom during the scandal. I must concede that I do agree that the social media movement (#MeToo) has begin to lose its own merits, where it believes it can curtail the procedures of justice and the principles and pillars of a fair trial, whereby it seeks to publicly deface, slander, tar and feather the accused without any consequence to their own actions, and without providing any evidence other than accusations, allegations, with no to little testimony. With regards to Katarina Frostenson, I retain my stance that Frostenson had by all legal definitions—as well as definitions of reasonable common sense—would see that she had behaved and acted without moral probity or a sober ethical perspective in mind. Together with Jean-Claude Arnault (her husband) she had accepted financial assistance from the Swedish Academy, to help run the club Forum, again with her husband. This proven allegation, states alone she should have been expelled from the academy; but alas thanks in part to the machinations of Horace Engdahl, Sture Allen and Göran Malmqvist, the academy (by majority—with former member Sara Stridsberg abstaining) voted to allow Katarina Frostenson to retain her seat, and the subsequent scandal ensured, leaving the academy in its current predicament. Despite her lack of business acumen as well as probity and sober moral conscious, it is a shame that the poetry of Katarina Frostenson is now considered a secondary feature of her character, within the reflection of the current scandal and situation. Before the scandal, Katarina Frostenson was considered a revolutionary and striking feminist voice of poetry during the late seventies and eighties in Sweden. She would later be elected to the Swedish Academy in the early nineties; yet her poetic endeavors have not diminished during her appointment to the academy, where she began to write and produce experimental dramatic texts and plays. In two-thousand and sixteen she would receive the Nordic Council’s Literature Prize, for poetry collection: “Sånger och former,” (English: “Songs and Formulae,”). Yet as someone once told me: shit sticks longer then honey—and unfortunately it appears to be the case here for Katarina Frostenson and her poetry.

All of this However, my dear Gentle Reader is all rather old news. Most of it took place a week ago, or more. During that time, I suffered a terrible bout of influenza and was not able to report on these events as they had occurred and for that I do apologize. Finally: I am on the mend and am happy to report the above information. I suspect now and moving forward, Gentle Reader, the Swedish Academy will fall back into its usual routine, whereby all inquiries will be met with stony silence or indifference. 

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader

Take Care

And As Always

Stay Well Read

M. Mary  

For Further Reading Gentle Reader, Please See the Following Links: 

Ekuriren: "Academy message: No new member this year,"

The Times Literary Supplement: "No peace prize Richard Orange reveals the crisis inside the Swedish Academy,"