Nobel Prize in Literature 1960

[Ben Jackson]

For the Nobel Prize in Literature this year, which went to St John Perse, which real name is Alexis Leger, 59 writers were nominated. Writers nominated this year which later ok won the Nobel include: Steinbeck, Andric, Boll, Sartre. Famous names nominated this year include: Heidegger, Gaston Bachelard, Moravia, Silone, Pound, Aragon, Julien Grecq, Greene, Blixen, Krleza, Frost, Huxley, Malraux, Graves, Vessas.

Five writers were shortlisted for the Nobel this year. Ivo Andric, Serbian novelist, Heinrich Boll, Junichiro Tanizaki, the first Japanese writer to be shortlisted, and German philosopher Karl Jaspers.

Andric was backed by the Nobel committee chairman Osterling, who felt he was an accomplished writer who has brought to light the history of his country Yugoslavia (archaic name for Serbia). The committee were backing Andric except Dag Hammarskjold, who, as the most influential member of the committee and then UN Secretary-General, pushed for St John Perse, convincing the other committee members of the artistry demonstrated in works of John Perse, most especially in the then recent work Seamarks (Amers in French), and his masterpiece Anabasis. Henirich Boll was hailed as a writer who has brought a great renewal to German Literature, in the words of Osterling, but he was passed over in silence as he had published few novels at the time, while Tanizaki, hailed by the committee for his narrative mastery in the novel Makioka Sisters, was passed for lack of quality of his works due to poor translations. Karl Jaspers was dismissed for his philosophical works. It showed the committee lack of interest in awarding the prize to non-fiction writers.

I will have to read, apart from Boll, the rest of the shortlist entirely to know if Perse was actually deserving. For now, I will remain in silence.

 

[Verkhovensky]

Yugoslavia (archaic name for Serbia)

Yugoslavia (post World War II) was a federative republic consisting of six republics, including Serbia. Andrić himself was from Bosnia and Herzegovina and most of his work dealt with its history. He did live in the latter part of his life in Serbia which, as a largest republic, was dominant in Yugoslavia, similar as to how Russia was a dominant republic of the USSR, which also had many other republics.

As of this year, Saint-John Perse is probably the most "mysterious" post-WWII laureate, at least for me. I know nothing about him, was he a poet?

 

[Benny Profane]

Yugoslavia (post World War II) was a federative republic consisting of six republics, including Serbia. Andrić himself was from Bosnia and Herzegovina and most of his work dealt with its history. He did live in the latter part of his life in Serbia which, as a largest republic, was dominant in Yugoslavia, similar as to how Russia was a dominant republic of the USSR, which also had many other republics.

As of this year, Saint-John Perse is probably the most "mysterious" post-WWII laureate, at least for me. I know nothing about him, was he a poet?

Yeah. He wrote the masterpiece called Anabasis (translated into English by TS Elliot) and Amers (I don't know if it was translated into English).

A question, my dear: Are Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Macedonian mutually intelligible?

 

[alik-vit]

One of the tops on my list "deadly boooòring reads")))))

 

[Benny Profane]

Wise Ben! I also will remain in silence as I never heard about this author. I have a feeling that sometimes the committee goes for the least known author on the list. Maybe because it is an opportunity for surprising the public.

Well, my dear, Saint-John Perse was translated into Portuguese by Frei Bruno Palma, a father and poet. His dedication for translating Amers lasted for 40 years.
Anabasis is very rare in Brazil and such a masterpiece.

About Perse, he was a former French diplomat born in Guadalupe.

 

[Leseratte]

Well, my dear, Saint-John Perse was translated into Portuguese by Frei Bruno Palma, a father and poet. His dedication for translating Amers lasted for 40 years.
Anabasis is very rare in Brazil and such a masterpiece.

About Perse, he was a former French diplomat born in Guadalupe.

I just looked at his Wikipedia page. It seems he was a well known personage. He had a very interesting life and belonged to the Parisian political and cultural scene in the first decades of 19. C.

Saint-John Perse - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

So I deleted my first comment. Did You read Anabasis ?

 

[Corswandt]

As of this year, Saint-John Perse is probably the most "mysterious" post-WWII laureate, at least for me. I know nothing about him, was he a poet?

A poet, yes. I've read his Anabasis. It reads well, and has some nice imagery.

Saint-John Perse was a career diplomat, and the eminence grise of the Quay d'Orsay during the crucial 1930s, either in his official position as secretary general or as de facto French Foreign Affairs minister.

I think it's Carrere who has plenty of harsh words about Saint-John Perse as a diplomat. Perse's (very thorough) English Wikipedia entry paints a more nuanced portrait of his diplomatic career, but on IMHO it can best be summed up as some good intentions, some  realpolitik, lots of intrigue and backstabbing, and no practical results in the end.

 

[Benny Profane]

I just looked at his Wikipedia page. It seems he was a well known personage. He had a very interesting life and belonged to the Parisian political and cultural scene in the first decades of 19. C.

Saint-John Perse - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

So I deleted my first comment. Did You read Anabasis ?

Entirely? Not yet! I read some parts on his Collected Poems (Brazilian Edition by the defunct Editora Delta).
I also read Eloges and I have a copy of Amers (Brazilian Edition). I will read as soon as possible. It's him most dense book.
In my opinion, he was one of the best choices by SA.

 

[Leseratte]

Entirely? Not yet! I read some parts on his Collected Poems (Brazilian Edition by the defunct Editora Delta).
I also read Eloges and I have a copy of Amers (Brazilian Edition). I will read as soon as possible. It's him most dense book.
In my opinion, he was one of the best choices by SA.

I will see what I can find in the net of his oeuvres..

 

[Benny Profane]

I will see what I can find in the net of his oeuvres..

His books into Portuguese are very rare and expensive. You can try on www.estantevirtual.com.br , my dear!

 

[Leseratte]

His books into Portuguese are very rare and expensive. You can try on www.estantevirtual.com.br , my dear!

Anyway, here is the Anabasis by archive.org

Anabasis : a poem by St.-J. Perse translated by T. S. Eliot : Saint-John Perse, 1887-1975 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

archive.org

 

[Ben Jackson]

Yeah. He wrote the masterpiece called Anabasis (translated into English by TS Elliot) and Amers (I don't know if it was translated into English).

A question, my dear: Are Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Macedonian mutually intelligible?

All his works are translated into English. Sea marks was translated in the 60s I think, few years after his Nobel triumph. As well Eloges and Other Poems, Chronicles, Exile, Birds, Winds. His poetry was influenced by Paul Claudel, Baudelaire and TS Eliot. Eliot was one of the first individuals to nominate him for the Nobel after translating Anabasis in the 50s.

I have only read a poem of his which I liked Pictures of Crusoe, published in his first collection Eloges and Other Poems. I haven't read his works yet.

 

[Verkhovensky]

Are Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Macedonian mutually intelligible?

First three yes. During Yugoslavia the language was called Serbo-Croatian or more rarely Croato-Serbian, although it had two variants, "Western" and "Eastern" which roughly correspond to modern Croatian and Serbian standards.

Macedonian not. Macedonian is very similar to Bulgarian, which is why Bulgarian nationalists claim that it is just a dialect of their language. Of course, just like Croatian/Serbian/Bosnian/Montenegrin and Slovenian, they both belong to South Slavic Language group.

Also you have the distinction of alphabet. Bulgarians and Macedonians write exclusively in Cyrillic. Croatians and Bosnians in Latin alphabet, and Serbs use both alphabets, which is probably the only such case in the "Western world" as far as I know.

 

[alik-vit]

In my opinion, he was one of the best choices by SA.

It's interesting)))) why he is so great?

 

[Benny Profane]

It's interesting)))) why he is so great?

Well, brother, I don't known whether poems in general are your strenght and, hence, you might appreciate them or whether you might prefer novels, essays, short stories, etc.
But he did a stuff that Rimbaud didn't: to transforme Prose into a Poetry with a strong lyricism and rythm without being a "Poetic Prose" or a "Prose in Verses".
Amers, for example, isn't a Drama in Verses, but it is Prose in Verses with dramatic perceptions.

His style is so unique and ecumenical!!

 

[alik-vit]

Well, brother, I don't known whether poems in general are your strenght and, hence, you might appreciate them or whether you might prefer novels, essays, short stories, etc.
But he did a stuff that Rimbaud didn't: to transforme Prose into a Poetry with a strong lyricism and rythm without being a "Poetic Prose" or a "Prose in Verses".
Amers, for example, isn't a Drama in Verses, but it is Prose in Verses with dramatic perceptions.

His style is so unique and ecumenical!!

It sounds great. In my personal reality it was such pompous torture)))) I did read Anabase, Chronique, Exile and something else and it was like walking with naked.... feet through thicket of brumble decorated with gilded ribbons.

 

[Benny Profane]

It sounds great. In my personal reality it was such pompous torture)))) I did read Anabase, Chronique, Exile and something else and it was like walking with naked.... feet through thicket of brumble decorated with gilded ribbons.

For me, it was the same. I'd add that it was like to breathe the smell and to sunbathe of Caribbean and to sing like Ancient Greek poets.

 

[Leseratte]

First three yes. During Yugoslavia the language was called Serbo-Croatian or more rarely Croato-Serbian, although it had two variants, "Western" and "Eastern" which roughly correspond to modern Croatian and Serbian standards.

Macedonian not. Macedonian is very similar to Bulgarian, which is why Bulgarian nationalists claim that it is just a dialect of their language. Of course, just like Croatian/Serbian/Bosnian/Montenegrin and Slovenian, they both belong to South Slavic Language group.

Also you have the distinction of alphabet. Bulgarians and Macedonians write exclusively in Cyrillic. Croatians and Bosnians in Latin alphabet, and Serbs use both alphabets, which is probably the only such case in the "Western world" as far as I know.

Thanks for the explanation, @Verkhovensky !

 

[Corswandt]

Saint-John Perse is between Mussolini and Count Ciano in this famous photo from the signing of the 1938 Munich Agreement:

 

[Ben Jackson]

St John Perse was awarded the Nobel Prize "for the soaring of flight and evocative imagery of his poetry which in a vslisionaey fashion reflects conditions of our time." 58 names were suggested, and was announced on 26th October.

Some Facts:

Nominations from Academy Members:

Albert Moravia--- Eyvnid Johnson
Ignazio Silone--- Eyvnid Johnson
Julian Gracq--- Eyvnid Johnson
Simon Vestidjk--- Sigfried Siwertz
Louis Aragon--- Henry Olsson
John Steinbeck--- Henry Olsson
Ivo Andric--- Eyvnid Johnson
Robert Graves--- Johannes Edfelt
Aksel Sandemose--- Eyvnid Johnson
Ivo Andric--- Harry Martinson
George Trevelyan--- Harry Martinson
E.M Forster--- Eyvnid Johnson
St John Perse--- Eyvnid Johnson
Junichiro Tanizaki--- Sigfried Siwertz

Nominees that later becomes Laureates:

Heinrich Boll (Nobel Laureate 1972)
Ivo Andric (Nobel Laureate 1961)
Jean Paul Sartre (Nobel Laureate 1964)
John Steinbeck (Nobel Laureate 1962)

Women writers nominated:

Juana de Ibarbourou
Karen Blixen
Marie Noel
Maria Dabrowska

First Time Nominees:

Heinrich Boll
James Thurber
Aquilino Ribeiro
Marie Noel
Wihelm Lehmann
Jean Price-Mars
Karl Waggerhl
Wesley Laviolette
Franz Theodor Csokor

Committee Members for the year 1960:

Sigfried Siwertz
Hjalmar Gullberg
Eyvnid Johnson
Anders Osterling (chairman)
Henry Olsson
Dag Hammarskjold (co-opt member)

Famous Names nominated including writers formerly shortlisted in previous years:

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Robert Frost
Aldous Huxley
Miroslav Krleza
Ramon Menedez Pidal
Ezra Pound
Louis Aragon
Heimito Von Doderer
Gunnar Gunnarson
Rene Char
Andre Malraux
Martin Heidegger
Robert Graves
Johan Falkberget
Stratis Myrivilis
Henry Motherlant