Ben Jackson
Well-known member
This year's Nobel Prize was awarded to John Steinbeck "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception." Steinbeck defeated Blixen, Pound, Graves, Anouilh, Sartre and Lawrence Durell to win the Nobel Prize.
66 writers was nominated for this year's prize. Writers who would go on to win the Nobel Prize include: Sartre, George Seferis, Sholokhov, Yosef, Montale.
Osterling, in his report, confirmed that there weren't obvious candidates for Nobel Prize, which left the committee in an unenviable situation.
Pound was hailed, by committee member Henry Olsson, for his pioneering achievement in poetry, but was dismissed for his war-time activities, throwing his support for fascism. Committee, meanwhile, expressed their doubts over the works of Sartre, stressing that they weren't sure if his works had any historical importance. Blixen's death in September confirmed her lost chance of getting the Nobel, while the over-representation of French recipients and heavy presence of Sartre blocked the chances of Anouilh. Durrell's Alexandria Quartet was hailed by the Osterling, after dismissing the work in 196, but the Committee felt his masterpiece wasn't enough, so Durrell's progress was monitored.
The main debate was between Graves and Steinbeck. Graves, despite writing historical novels like I, Claudius, was seen as a poet. The committee was reluctant in awarding the Nobel to an Anglo-Saxon poet before Pound, which, unfortunately, no poet in English matched. Steinbeck's work was behind him since Grapes of Wrath, according to Osterling, but he expressed his admiration of Winter of our Discontent, a work which enabled Steinbeck to regain his position as social truth-teller, and is an authentic realist fully equal to his predecessors Sinclair Lewis and Hemingway.
I have read Ine or two books from the shortlisted writers: Steinbeck's East of Eden, a work I considered his best thus far, and Of Mice and Men, an emotional work, Pound's Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, first volume of Durrell's Quartet, Graves' Collected Poems, Blixen's Out of Africa, Sartre's The Words, Nausea, Existentialism is a Humanism. If there's anybody I would vote, it would be either Sartre or Pound, if you take away the political stance.
66 writers was nominated for this year's prize. Writers who would go on to win the Nobel Prize include: Sartre, George Seferis, Sholokhov, Yosef, Montale.
Osterling, in his report, confirmed that there weren't obvious candidates for Nobel Prize, which left the committee in an unenviable situation.
Pound was hailed, by committee member Henry Olsson, for his pioneering achievement in poetry, but was dismissed for his war-time activities, throwing his support for fascism. Committee, meanwhile, expressed their doubts over the works of Sartre, stressing that they weren't sure if his works had any historical importance. Blixen's death in September confirmed her lost chance of getting the Nobel, while the over-representation of French recipients and heavy presence of Sartre blocked the chances of Anouilh. Durrell's Alexandria Quartet was hailed by the Osterling, after dismissing the work in 196, but the Committee felt his masterpiece wasn't enough, so Durrell's progress was monitored.
The main debate was between Graves and Steinbeck. Graves, despite writing historical novels like I, Claudius, was seen as a poet. The committee was reluctant in awarding the Nobel to an Anglo-Saxon poet before Pound, which, unfortunately, no poet in English matched. Steinbeck's work was behind him since Grapes of Wrath, according to Osterling, but he expressed his admiration of Winter of our Discontent, a work which enabled Steinbeck to regain his position as social truth-teller, and is an authentic realist fully equal to his predecessors Sinclair Lewis and Hemingway.
I have read Ine or two books from the shortlisted writers: Steinbeck's East of Eden, a work I considered his best thus far, and Of Mice and Men, an emotional work, Pound's Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, first volume of Durrell's Quartet, Graves' Collected Poems, Blixen's Out of Africa, Sartre's The Words, Nausea, Existentialism is a Humanism. If there's anybody I would vote, it would be either Sartre or Pound, if you take away the political stance.
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