WLF Prize in Literature 2022

[hayden]

Since I wasn't part of the nominating process for this year's prize, can I still vote for any writer shortlisted?

Course

I've read one (additional) work by each author since they were nominated. I'm kinda done with Jaeggy (she was the one I was most familiar with), but I have one more book by Marias to read, and I'm hoping to dive into Murnane's short stories if I get a chance.

 

[Stevie B]

It's a good reminder that I've been dragging my feet on reading more by these authors. The nice thing about Jaeggy's books, at least, is that you can catch up in about two hours.

 

[Stevie B]

As far as the next round of nominations is concerned, I was considering the possibility of nominating three very well-regarded authors I've never read but would be excited to read. There are no explicit rules against doing this, but I fear doing so would go against the spirit of our endeavor. Any thoughts?

 

[Bartleby]

As far as the next round of nominations is concerned, I was considering the possibility of nominating three very well-regarded authors I've never read but would be excited to read. There are no explicit rules against doing this, but I fear doing so would go against the spirit of our endeavor. Any thoughts?

You mean for next year? I don't think there would be any impediments to that

 

[Stevie B]

You mean for next year? I don't think there would be any impediments to that

To clarify, I'm talking about the nominating process that would begin after the next Nobel is awarded in October. I think nominating one or more authors one hasn't read would be a way to diversify our lists from year to year, though I acknowledge that the lack of previous experience with an author's work could be problematic.

 

[Leseratte]

Since I wasn't part of the nominating process for this year's prize, can I still vote for any writer shortlisted?

If I rightly remember, the condition for voting for the Wolfie is to read at least one of the books by the shortlisted authors, which for the present edition are:Fleur Jaeggy, Gerald Murnane and Javier Maria's. But Bartleby can give you the best information on the contest. He organized it all last year.

 

[Leseratte]

To clarify, I'm talking about the nominating process that would begin after the next Nobel is awarded in October. I think nominating one or more authors one hasn't read would be a way to diversify our lists from year to year, though I acknowledge that the lack of previous experience with an author's work could be problematic.

The only risk would be reading authors one perhaps would not have nominated, if one had read them before. But I knew none of the authors chosen for this year and I liked the experience of reading them.

 

[Stevie B]

The only risk would be reading authors one perhaps would not have nominated, if one had read them before. But I knew none of the authors chosen for this year and I liked the experience of reading them.

Perhaps a mix of nominees might be best - some we've read and admired and some new ones about whom we've heard great things.

 

[Liam]

Perhaps a mix of nominees might be best - some we've read and admired and some new ones about whom we've heard great things.

What can I say, I have always been a fan of Jenna Jameson's work...

 

[Stevie B]

What can I say, I have always been a fan of Jenna Jameson's work...

I've never read her, but am a little familiar with her film work.

 

[Leseratte]

Perhaps a mix of nominees might be best - some we've read and admired and some new ones about whom we've heard great things.

It might be interesting to try it.

 

[Bartleby]

To clarify, I'm talking about the nominating process that would begin after the next Nobel is awarded in October. I think nominating one or more authors one hasn't read would be a way to diversify our lists from year to year, though I acknowledge that the lack of previous experience with an author's work could be problematic.

I see; we can come up with a rule stating that... In the previous nominations we were accepting any name, as long as the writer was alive and had not won the Nobel prize, without checking if the user had any knowledge about said author, but yes, we can think on it

 

[Stevie B]

I see; we can come up with a rule stating that... In the previous nominations we were accepting any name, as long as the writer was alive and had not won the Nobel prize, without checking if the user had any knowledge about said author, but yes, we can think on it

I'm not wanting to dictate how others select their nominees, but wanted to make sure it would be okay if I nominated an author or two I haven't read.

 

[Bartleby]

I'm not wanting to dictate how others select their nominees, but wanted to make sure it would be okay if I nominated an author or two I haven't read.

no problem, my friend! please feel free, you and everyone else, to voice your suggestions, so we can have a better experience in discussing and getting to know the authors we read ?

 

[errequatro]

I don't oppose to it. I wouldn't do it, personally. But I have nothing against it

 

[namelesshere]

Can I just check, how long do we have left to finish our reading?

 

[Bartleby]

Can I just check, how long do we have left to finish our reading?

last year we had until about the middle-to-end of September to finish our readings. I think the same goes for this year

 

[hayden]

Not to jump the gun, but I think I'm ready to vote.

(Just in case I don't have time to post this later), here's my submission—

1) ?? Gerald Murnane
The Plains
Tamarisk Row
Border Districts*

2) ?? Fleur Jaeggy
Sweet Days of Discipline
These Possible Lives*
I Am the Brother of XX
The Water Statues*

3) ?? Javier Marias
A Heart So White*
Bad Nature, or With Elvis in Mexico
When I Was Mortal*

I've included all the works I've read by each writer. The asterisk indicates titles I read since the inception of this year's prize.

While I'm still hoping to read Murnane's short stories, he's already won my vote, and I'm sure they would only add to his lead. The ranking of the three authors was surprisingly easy for me— I feel absolute with my choice. I wasn't too familiar with Marias going into this, but I remain unmoved by most of his material (bar the first quarter of A Heart So White, he never quite grabbed me... his writing is far too repetitive/rambling/wordy for my taste). I like Jaeggy— she's great, truly. Stylistically, she might be my favourite of the three (albeit, please do not quiz me on The Water Statues, I think it went over my head), yet I can't deny Murnane the top spot. The Plains alone seems to be enough weight against the other two writers, then you have Tamarisk Row, where his childhood words became absolutely etched in my head, and Border Districts (Murnane's supposed final work) is so earnest and rugged yet loose and dreamlike... he flows, but it's a growl— I don't know what Murnane sounds like, but I can hear him. His selective and minimalist imagery transports me. I feel like I'm somewhere else when reading his words— with Jaeggy and Marias, I'm still reading a book. It's an above and beyond textural quality to his writing that cements him at the top.

Looking forward to how others vote— I'm under the impression my rankings won't be the final outcome.

 

[Liam]

^I completely agree, and so far this would be my ranking as well. There's just something profound about Murnane's seemingly mundane (even boring) style of storytelling: droning on and on about the act of... writing a story! But somehow it all connects; I think he taps into memory and narrative in order to make us understand how his mind works, and I, for one, find it fascinating.

Jaeggy is a great (if slim) storyteller; she reminds me of Muriel Spark in that regard.

And I completely agree with you about Marias--perhaps the fault is my own--but I'm just not the right person to appreciate his work! Some people have called it hypnotic, but I find it boring beyond belief (and I read St Thomas Aquinas for FUN!, LOL), he just goes on and on and ON and never seems to make a point, which might be a point in itself (that all of our lives are pointless), but I remain bored and unmoved. I am really disappointed in this author whom many people tout as the greatest living writer, ?‍

 

[hayden]

^I completely agree, and so far this would be my ranking as well.

It's odd, usually I'm quite bad at ranking writing, but this felt definitive. I've read a little less from this year's nominees than the last, but I still think I have a conclusive idea about who I enjoy the most (actually, I'm not even sure what more of Jaeggy's I would even read). I imagine there will be people here who strongly disagree with me, but Marias needs an editor. Or a different editor. At minimum, a barber. Stuff needs to be trimmed. There were swathes of empty passages in the works I read by him, including the short stories.

Murnane's books make me imagine art from an artist whose work I don't think we've ever come across. Like if Richard Serra was a landscape painter. It's this colossal minimalist that swallows you right up... it's sharp, massive, captivating, and you get lost in these rooms built with nothing resembling walls. The Plains really is a masterpiece. Might even be the best book to come out of Australia.