Nobel Prize in Literature 1970

[Verkhovensky]

They’ve released the 1970 nominations list.

Harold Macmillan, former British Prime Minister? Was he a writer, or was there another person with the same name who was a writer?

Many usual suspects who never won, Nabokov, Greene, Ionesco, Borges of course.

As I expected, Yugoslav institutions (Academy and PEN Centre) nominated Krleža, as they were probably doing every year between Andrić's win and his death... I'm interested to see whom they were nominating after 1982, but I'll need to wait for another 12 years lol

Another nomination for Günther Grass, 29 years before he eventually won in 1999! Who knows how many nominations he had until finally winning, probably at least 20 or even 30. I always thought for example about Kundera that if they wanted to give it to him they would have already, but we can see that it took 30+ years of nominations for Grass to finally won, so I guess there is a chance for Kundera (and other common names today, Kadare, Ngugi etc.) as long as he is alive.

(another) nomination for Georges Simenon too, interesting.

 

[errequatro]

Harold Macmillan, former British Prime Minister? Was he a writer, or was there another person with the same name who was a writer?

Many usual suspects who never won, Nabokov, Greene, Ionesco, Borges of course.

As I expected, Yugoslav institutions (Academy and PEN Centre) nominated Krleža, as they were probably doing every year between Andrić's win and his death... I'm interested to see whom they were nominating after 1982, but I'll need to wait for another 12 years lol

Another nomination for Günther Grass, 29 years before he eventually won in 1999! Who knows how many nominations he had until finally winning, probably at least 20 or even 30. I always thought for example about Kundera that if they wanted to give it to him they would have already, but we can see that it took 30+ years of nominations for Grass to finally won, so I guess there is a chance for Kundera (and other common names today, Kadare, Ngugi etc.) as long as he is alive.

(another) nomination for Georges Simenon too, interesting.

Yep, that very Macmillan. Most likely for his autobiography and for his war time diaries. Many familiar names, but I am surpised to see so many Spanish speaking nominations and how they were snubbed....
Jorge Amado and Ferreira de Castro also there. (meh)

 

[Marba]

Yesterday the SA had its first meeting in person in over a year, maybe this has had something to do with the list not being published until now.
Anyway, here are some facts from the 1970 suggestion list:

In total 77 writers were suggested (down from 104 writers in 1969 and 78 writers in 1968).

Shortlisted writers:

1. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
2. Pablo Neruda
3. Patrick White
4. André Malraux
5. W.H. Auden

Nominees who would be awarded later:

• Pablo Neruda (awarded in 1971)
• Heinrich Böll (awarded in 1972)
• Patrick White (awarded in 1973)
• Eyvind Johnson (awarded in 1974)
• Harry Martinson (awarded in 1974)
• Eugenio Montale (awarded in 1975)
• Claude Simon (awarded in 1985)
• Günter Grass (awarded in 1999)

Most nominations:

• Tarjei Vesaas, 9 nominations
• André Malraux, 6 nominations
• Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, 6 nominations
• Simon Vestdijk, 6 nominations
• Patrick White, 6 nominations

Nominees who had been nominated for most years up to this point:

• Tarjei Vesaas - 22nd year
• André Malraux - 21st year
• Alberto Moravia - 16th year
• Graham Greene - 15th year
• Simon Vestdijk - 15th year

First-time nominees (25 in total, 5 fewer than in 1969 and 6 more than in 1968):

• Eugen Barbu
• Hugo Bergmann
• Hedin Brú
• Fazil Hüsnü Daglarca
• Salvador Espriu
• Robert Ganzo
• Paavo Haavikko
• Joseph Dorra-Haddad
• Sei Ito
• Tatsuzo Ishikawa
• Kwang-soo Lee
• Alexander Lernet-Holenia
• Saunders Lewis
• Harold Macmillan
• Mikha'il Nu'ayma
• Victoria Ocampo
• Emilio Oribe
• Pandelis Prevelakis
• Evaristo Ribera Chevremont
• Denis de Rougemont
• Abraham Sutzkever
• Luís Valeri
• Frank Waters
• Sándor Weöres
• Amado Yuzon

Nominations from members of the SA:

• Heinrich Böll (by Henry Olsson)
• Aimé Césaire (by Artur Lundkvist)
• Léopold Sedar Senghor (by Artur Lundkvist)
• Eyvind Johnson (by Pär Lagerkvist and Henry Olsson) - Johnson was at the time of nomination a member of the SA (just as Lagerkvist had been when he was awarded in 1951)
• Harry Martinson (by Pär Lagerkvist and Henry Olsson) - Martinson was at the time of nomination a member of the SA (just as Lagerkvist had been when he was awarded in 1951)
• Siegfried Lenz (by Johannes Edfelt)
• André Malraux (by Eyvind Johnson)
• Pablo Neruda (by Artur Lundkvist)
• Claude Simon (by Lars Gyllensten and Eyvind Johnson)
• Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (by Per Wästberg, as chairman of Swedish PEN) (Wästberg became a member of the SA in 1997 and was 2004-2017 the chairman of the Nobel Committee)
• Patrick White (by Artur Lundkvist)

Nominated women (3 fewer than in 1969 and 1968):

• Victoria Ocampo
• Marie Under

Nominations from former laureates:

• Except for SA member Pär Lagerkvist’s nominations of Eyvind Johnson and Harry Martinson there were no nominations from former laureates

Oldest and youngest nominees

• Compton Mackenzie - 87 years old
• Paavo Haavikko - 39 years old

 

[Marba]

Then I would like to conclude by saying that Simone de Beauvoir has said that she received a phone call from the Swedish Academy in 1970. They wanted to probe whether she, if she were to receive the Nobel Prize, intended to, like her partner Jean-Paul Sartre, decline it. Beauvoir had just joined the French feminist movement, so she replied that she would of course say yes for the sake of the women of the world. That year, Alexander Solzhenitsyn received the award instead. Not a bad choice, but I know that my and other feminists' lives would have become easier if Simone de Beauvoir, who became an icon after "The Second Sex", got it, then or some other year.

Well, now we know that Simone de Beauvoir was not even suggested in 1970.

 

[Johnny]

They’ve released the 1970 nominations list.

Thank you for posting, very interesting. It was great to see Tarjei Vesaas lead with the most nominations. I wonder how close he ever came to winning, a writer of beautiful books.

 

[hayden]

First-time nominees (25 in total, 5 fewer than in 1969 and 6 more than in 1968):

• Eugen Barbu
• Hugo Bergmann
• Hedin Brú
• Fazil Hüsnü Daglarca
• Salvador Espriu
• Robert Ganzo
• Paavo Haavikko
• Joseph Dorra-Haddad
• Sei Ito
• Tatsuzo Ishikawa
• Kwang-soo Lee
• Alexander Lernet-Holenia
• Saunders Lewis
• Harold Macmillan
• Mikha'il Nu'ayma
• Victoria Ocampo
• Emilio Oribe
• Pandelis Prevelakis
• Evaristo Ribera Chevremont
• Denis de Rougemont
• Abraham Sutzkever
• Luís Valeri
• Frank Waters
• Sándor Weöres
• Amado Yuzon

Nominated women (3 fewer than in 1969 and 1968):

• Victoria Ocampo
• Marie Under

Thanks for posting the list Bartleby, and the break down Marba. Will take me a second to go through.

Shockingly low amount of female writers nominated. Wonder if Tove Jansson, Maya Angelou, Elizabeth Bishop or Jean Rhys landed noms in the 70s. They definitely blatantly glossed over some prevalent names. The fact that the next female writer to win would be 21 years down the road feels skewed.

My favourite part of these lists is always looking at the first-time noms, particularly the names I don't know. Plenty this year (actually, I'd say it's the majority of that list— think I only know 8). Out of the names I do know, Hedin Brú might be the one I'm happiest to see. Glad he managed to be in contention. The Old Man And His Sons is a great novel.

Any recs by the new names are very welcome.

I'm having a hard time figuring out who Kwang-soo Lee is though. Does anyone have any information on them?

EDIT: And who exactly are Joseph Dorra-Haddad and Luís Valeri?

 

[hayden]

Thank you for posting, very interesting. It was great to see Tarjei Vesaas lead with the most nominations. I wonder how close he ever came to winning, a writer of beautiful books.

Who knows. Maybe he even would have won in 1970 had he not died. 9 nominations is nothing to write off, and if Grass could win in his 33rd year nominated, I can't say 22nd time can't be the charm.

I've only read his work The Ice Palace, but it was phenomenal. Perhaps I should give The Birds a shot soon.

 

[Cleanthess]

Besides the number of nominations, it's also interesting to see who was doing the nominating. In Borges case, none other than Helen Gardner proposed his name. Helen. Gardner. The woman who replaced Arthur Quiller-Couch, being followed in turn by Christopher Ricks.

 

[kpjayan]

Out of the names I do know, Hedin Brú might be the one I'm happiest to see. Glad he managed to be in contention. The Old Man And His Sons is a great novel.

Same here. That would have been great. Faroe Island with a population of around 30000, with a Nobel Laureate. I really liked this book.

 

[hayden]

Same here. That would have been great. Faroe Island with a population of around 30000, with a Nobel Laureate. I really liked this book.

It's not in literature, but the Faroe Islands have held the record for most Nobels per capita for 118 years now (with 1).

Despite their population, Faroese literature is actually fairly prevalent. William Heinesen, the country's best bet, probably would have won had he not written to the SA saying he didn't want it. It could have made an excellent split award with Heðin Brú. Could have also lead to more of their work being translated.

I've only read The Lost Musicians by Heinesen, but I hope to dive further into his work eventually (and the more it becomes available).

 

[redhead]

Yep, that very Macmillan. Most likely for his autobiography and for his war time diaries.

It seems odd to nominate politicians, but I wonder if any modern day ones have been nominated. Given the publicity surrounding Obama's books, I could see someone nominating him (and given Trump's cult-like fanbase, I could see some nut putting him in).

I'm having a hard time figuring out who Kwang-soo Lee is though. Does anyone have any information on them?

EDIT: And who exactly are Joseph Dorra-Haddad and Luís Valeri?

I'm struggling to find info about them as well. Does anyone on here know anything about them?

 

[hayden]

It seems odd to nominate politicians, but I wonder if any modern day ones have been nominated. Given the publicity surrounding Obama's books, I could see someone nominating him (and given Trump's cult-like fanbase, I could see some nut putting him in).

I'm struggling to find info about them as well. Does anyone on here know anything about them?

Not sure how modern you're thinking, but I'd count Mario Vargas Llosa. He came quite close to becoming president of Peru. I also imagine Václav Havel landed a few nominations (for literature and/or peace).

And no luck on the other two, but after a bit of digging it seems Joseph Dorra-Haddad was a Lebanese religious writer. That's all I got.

EDIT: As far as Kwang-Soo Lee goes, maybe... this guy? A screenwriter of films it seems nobody has watched. The only other thing I can think of is perhaps there was an odd misunderstanding with a nomination for Kwang-su Yi, who died 20 years prior.

 

[garzuit]

We should take these nominations with a grain of salt. I am not trying to discredit any of the writers in the list, but I see that the Uruguayan professor/writer nominated an obscure Uruguayan poet, the Puerto Rican professor/writer nominated an obscure Puerto Rican poet, the Argentinian professor/writer nominated...
The acolytes of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo sent to the Swedish Academy the nomination of María Martínez, the dictator´s wife, who didn´t even know how to read. The nomination was discarded of course, but we can assume there are many nominations, as for the Peace prize, that are only political.
Of course, it only makes sense that academics nominate people from their own country, as they know their literature better than the Swedish Academy, but I would be more interested in the shortlist for every year, as those are the authors that were really taken seriously.

 

[Ben Jackson]

Well, for me, Solzhenistyn was one of those writers who wasn't deserving of the Nobel till the arrival of his acclaimed masterpiece about life in Gulag camps. Looking at his biography, he had already published Ivan Denisovich, First Circle and, if I remember correctly, Cancer Ward before Nobel Prize. If he was awarded after Gulag, sure, but before that, I'm not sure.

 

[Leseratte]

Yesterday the SA had its first meeting in person in over a year, maybe this has had something to do with the list not being published until now.
Anyway, here are some facts from the 1970 suggestion list:

In total 77 writers were suggested (down from 104 writers in 1969 and 78 writers in 1968).

Shortlisted writers:

1. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
2. Pablo Neruda
3. Patrick White
4. André Malraux
5. W.H. Auden

Nominees who would be awarded later:

• Pablo Neruda (awarded in 1971)
• Heinrich Böll (awarded in 1972)
• Patrick White (awarded in 1973)
• Eyvind Johnson (awarded in 1974)
• Harry Martinson (awarded in 1974)
• Eugenio Montale (awarded in 1975)
• Claude Simon (awarded in 1985)
• Günter Grass (awarded in 1999)

Most nominations:

• Tarjei Vesaas, 9 nominations
• André Malraux, 6 nominations
• Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, 6 nominations
• Simon Vestdijk, 6 nominations
• Patrick White, 6 nominations

Nominees who had been nominated for most years up to this point:

• Tarjei Vesaas - 22nd year
• André Malraux - 21st year
• Alberto Moravia - 16th year
• Graham Greene - 15th year
• Simon Vestdijk - 15th year

First-time nominees (25 in total, 5 fewer than in 1969 and 6 more than in 1968):

• Eugen Barbu
• Hugo Bergmann
• Hedin Brú
• Fazil Hüsnü Daglarca
• Salvador Espriu
• Robert Ganzo
• Paavo Haavikko
• Joseph Dorra-Haddad
• Sei Ito
• Tatsuzo Ishikawa
• Kwang-soo Lee
• Alexander Lernet-Holenia
• Saunders Lewis
• Harold Macmillan
• Mikha'il Nu'ayma
• Victoria Ocampo
• Emilio Oribe
• Pandelis Prevelakis
• Evaristo Ribera Chevremont
• Denis de Rougemont
• Abraham Sutzkever
• Luís Valeri
• Frank Waters
• Sándor Weöres
• Amado Yuzon

Nominations from members of the SA:

• Heinrich Böll (by Henry Olsson)
• Aimé Césaire (by Artur Lundkvist)
• Léopold Sedar Senghor (by Artur Lundkvist)
• Eyvind Johnson (by Pär Lagerkvist and Henry Olsson) - Johnson was at the time of nomination a member of the SA (just as Lagerkvist had been when he was awarded in 1951)
• Harry Martinson (by Pär Lagerkvist and Henry Olsson) - Martinson was at the time of nomination a member of the SA (just as Lagerkvist had been when he was awarded in 1951)
• Siegfried Lenz (by Johannes Edfelt)
• André Malraux (by Eyvind Johnson)
• Pablo Neruda (by Artur Lundkvist)
• Claude Simon (by Lars Gyllensten and Eyvind Johnson)
• Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (by Per Wästberg, as chairman of Swedish PEN) (Wästberg became a member of the SA in 1997 and was 2004-2017 the chairman of the Nobel Committee)
• Patrick White (by Artur Lundkvist)

Nominated women (3 fewer than in 1969 and 1968):

• Victoria Ocampo
• Marie Under

Nominations from former laureates:

• Except for SA member Pär Lagerkvist’s nominations of Eyvind Johnson and Harry Martinson there were no nominations from former laureates

Oldest and youngest nominees

• Compton Mackenzie - 87 years old
• Paavo Haavikko - 39 years old

Under 77 writers, only 2 women nominees!

 

[Ben Jackson]

We should take these nominations with a grain of salt. I am not trying to discredit any of the writers in the list, but I see that the Uruguayan professor/writer nominated an obscure Uruguayan poet, the Puerto Rican professor/writer nominated an obscure Puerto Rican poet, the Argentinian professor/writer nominated...
The acolytes of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo sent to the Swedish Academy the nomination of María Martínez, the dictator´s wife, who didn´t even know how to read. The nomination was discarded of course, but we can assume there are many nominations, as for the Peace prize, that are only political.
Of course, it only makes sense that academics nominate people from their own country, as they know their literature better than the Swedish Academy, but I would be more interested in the shortlist for every year, as those are the authors that were really taken seriously.

Most of the books I have been reading for years now are mostly those by Nobel shortlisted writers/finalists. I think it quickens my approach in reading classic novels faster.