1959 Nobel Prize in Literature explained

1959 Nobel Prize in Literature
Subheader:Salvatore Quasimodo
Presenter:Swedish Academy
Year:1901
Holder Label:1959 laureate
Date:
  • 21 October 1959 (announcement)
  • 10 December 1959
    (ceremony)
Location:Stockholm, Sweden
Previous:1958
Main:Nobel Prize in Literature
Next:1960

The 1959 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Italian poet Salvatore Quasimodo (1901–1968) "for his lyrical poetry, which with classical fire expresses the tragic experience of life in our own times"[1] He is the fourth Italian recipient of the said prize.[2]

Laureate

See main article: Salvatore Quasimodo. Salvatore Quasimodo was an Italian poet, critic and translator. He published his first poetry in Nuovo giornale letterario ("New Literary Journal"), which he created in 1917. His first collection of poems, Acque e terre ("Waters and Lands"), appeared in 1930, and beginning in 1938, he devoted himself entirely to writing. The two schools of poetry that are typically used to categorize his work are hermetic and post-hermetic. World War II caused a shift in the poet's style. Hermetic poetry rejected the use of words as a means of verbal coercion and believed that words have a subjective meaning that is determined more by their sound than by their actual meaning.[3] Along with Giuseppe Ungaretti and Eugenio Montale, he was one of the foremost Italian poets of the 20th century.[3] [4]

Nominations

Salvatore Quasimodo was nominated for the Nobel prize in literature twice, in 1958 (by 3 different nominators), and in 1959.[5]

In total, the Nobel committee received 83 nominations for 56 authors, including nominations for Saint-John Perse (awarded in 1960), Ivo Andric (awarded in 1961), John Steinbeck (awarded in 1962), Jean-Paul Sartre (awarded in 1964), Karen Blixen, André Malraux, Romulo Gallegos, Carl Sandburg, Graham Greene, Aldous Huxley, John Cowper Powys, Alberto Moravia, Ignazio Silone, Ezra Pound, E. M. Forster, Ramón Menéndez Pidal, Martin Buber, William Somerset Maugham, Thornton Wilder and Tarjei Vesaas. Twenty of the nominees were new recommendations, including Ernest Claes, Osbert Sitwell, Sacheverell Sitwell, Martin Heidegger, Juana de Ibarbourou, Heimito von Doderer, María Raquel Adler, Miguel Torga, Arnold Zweig, Étienne Gilson, Louis Aragon, Anna Seghers, Frank Raymond Leavis, Max Frisch and Julien Gracq. Most nominations, seven, were submitted for the Polish author Maria Dabrowska. There were women nominated namely: Elizabeth Goudge, Maria Dabrowska, Juana de Ibarbourou, Karen Blixen, Anna Seghers, Edith Sitwell, Gertrud von le Fort and María Raquel Adler.[6]

The authors Maxwell Anderson, Emil František Burian, Raymond Chandler, G. D. H. Cole, Laxmi Prasad Devkota, Laurence Housman, Hans Henny Jahnn, Edwin Muir, Luis Palés Matos, Benjamin Péret, Marta Rădulescu, Alfred Schütz, Galaktion Tabidze, José Vasconcelos, Boris Vian, Arthur Henry Ward (known as Sax Rohmer) and Percy F. Westerman died in 1959 without having been nominated for the prize.

Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize
scope=col No.scope=col Nomineescope=col Countryscope=col Genre(s)scope=col Nominator(s)
1María Raquel Adler (c. 1900–1974) Argentinapoetry, essaysConsejo del Escritor
2Stefan Andres (1906–1970) Germanynovel, short storyJosef Quint (1898–1976)
3Ivo Andrić (1892–1975) novel, short story, poetry
4Louis Aragon (1897–1982) Francenovel, short story, poetry, essays
5Werner Bergengruen (1892–1964) Germanynovel, short story, poetryJosef Quint (1898–1976)
6Karen Blixen (1885–1962) Denmarknovel, short story, memoirHjalmar Gullberg (1898–1961)
7Martin Buber (1878–1965) Austria
Israel
philosophySimon Halkin (1899–1987)
8Ernest Claes (1885–1968) Belgiumnovel, short story, dramaW. F. Mainland (?)
9Maria Dąbrowska (1889–1965) novel, short story, essays, drama, literary criticism
10Gonzague de Reynold (1880–1970) Switzerlandhistory, essays, biography, memoir
11Edward Morgan Forster (1879–1970) United Kingdomnovel, short story, drama, essays, biography, literary criticism
12Max Frisch (1911–1991) Switzerlandnovel, dramaSaxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities
13Christopher Fry (1907–2005) United Kingdompoetry, drama, screenplayWerner Kohlschmidt (1904–1983)
14Rómulo Gallegos (1884–1969) novel, short story
15Étienne Gilson (1884–1978) FrancephilosophyFritz Schalk (1902–1980)
16Jean Giono (1895–1970) Francenovel, short story, essays, poetry, dramaHenrik Cornell (1890–1981)
17Julien Gracq (1910–2007) Francenovel, poetry, drama, literary criticismAndré Lebois (1915–1978)
18Graham Greene (1904–1991) United Kingdomnovel, short story, autobiography, essays
19Elizabeth Goudge (1900–1984) United Kingdomnovel, short story, biography, autobiographyEdmond Privat (1889–1962)
20Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) Germanyphilosophy, essaysJosef Quint (1898–1976)
21Hans Egon Holthusen (1913–1997) Germanypoetry, literary criticism, essaysHelmut Viebrock (1912–1997)
22Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) United Kingdomnovel, short story, essays, poetry, screenplay, drama, philosophy
23Juana de Ibarbourou (1892–1979) Uruguaypoetry, essays
24Rudolf Kassner (1873–1959) Austriaphilosophy, essays, translation
25Miroslav Krleža (1893–1981)
poetry, drama, short story, novel, essaysAssociation of Writers of Yugoslavia
26Frank Raymond Leavis (1895–1978) United Kingdomliterary criticism, essaysCecil Arthur Hackett (1908–2000)
27André Malraux (1901–1976) Francenovel, essays, literary criticism
28William Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) United Kingdomnovel, short story, drama, essaysRobert Niklaus (1910–2001)
29Charles Mauron (1899–1966) Franceessays, literary criticism, translationCharles Rostaing (1904–1999)
30Ramón Menéndez Pidal (1869–1968) philology, history
31Alberto Moravia (1907–1990) Italynovel, literary criticism, essays, dramaHjalmar Gullberg (1898–1961)
32Seán O'Casey (1880–1964) Irelanddrama, memoirGeoffrey Tillotson (1905–1969)
33Marcel Pagnol (1895–1974) Francenovel, memoir, drama, screenplayMarcel Clavel (1894–1976)
34Jan Parandowski (1895–1978)essays, translationAnaniasz Zajączkowski (1903–1970)
35Saint-John Perse (1887–1975) Francepoetry
36Ezra Pound (1885–1972) United Statespoetry, essaysJohannes Edfelt (1904–1997)
37John Cowper Powys (1872–1963) United Kingdomphilosophy, novel, literary criticism, poetry, essays, short storyG. Wilson Knight (1897–1985)
38Vasco Pratolini (1931–1991) Italynovel, short story Paul Renucci (1915–1976)
39Salvatore Quasimodo (1901–1968) Italypoetry, translationCarlo Bo (1911–2001)
40Mario Roques (1875–1961) Peru
France
history, philology, essaysIda-Marie Frandon (1907–1997)
41Sochi Raut Roy (1916–2004) Indiapoetry, novel, short storyRadhakamal Mukerjee (1889–1968)
42Carl Sandburg (1878–1967) United Statespoetry, essays, biographyRoger Asselineau (1915–2002)
43Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) Francephilosophy, novel, drama, essays, screenplay
44Jean Schlumberger (1877–1968) poetry, essays Pierre Legouis (1891–1973)
45Anna Seghers (1900–1983) Germanynovel, short storyErich Kühne (1917–2016)
46Ignazio Silone (1900–1978) Italynovel, short story, essays, dramaHjalmar Gullberg (1898–1961)
47Edith Sitwell (1887–1964) United Kingdompoetry, essays, memoirAlexander Gillies (1907–1982)
48Osbert Sitwell (1892–1969) United Kingdomnovel, short story, essays, autobiography
49Sacheverell Sitwell (1897–1988) United Kingdompoetry, essays
50John Steinbeck (1902–1968) United Statesnovel, short story, screenplayEugène Vinaver (1899–1979)
51Miguel Torga (1907–1995) poetry, short story, novel, drama, autobiographyJean-Baptiste Aquarone (1903–1989)
52Tarjei Vesaas (1897–1970) Norwaypoetry, novel
53Heimito von Doderer (1896–1966) Austrianovel, short story, poetry, essaysHans Neumann (1903–1990)
54Gertrud von Le Fort (1876–1971) Germanynovel, short story, essays, poetryFriedrich von der Leyen (1873–1966)
55Thornton Wilder (1897–1975) United Statesdrama, novel, short storyJosef Quint (1898–1976)
56Arnold Zweig (1887–1968) Germanynovel, short storySaxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities

Prize decision

The Nobel committee was almost unanimous to propose that the Danish author Karen Blixen should be awarded the 1959 Nobel Prize in Literature. But committee member Eyvind Johnson (who himself fifteen years later accepted the 1974 Nobel Prize in Literature) opposed a prize to Blixen arguing that Scandinavians were overrepresentated among the Nobel laureates in literature. Johnson instead proposed an Italian laureate, Salvatore Quasimodo being his main candidate, followed by Alberto Moravia and Ignazio Silone. Unconventionally, the members of the Swedish Academy did not follow the Nobel committees recommendation to award Blixen, but was convinced about Quasimodo's candidacy and surprisingly awarded him the prize.[7]

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1959/summary/ The Nobel Prize in Literature 1960
  2. Web site: Italian Poet Wins Nobel Writing Prize. 22 October 1959. The New York Times.
  3. Web site: Salvatore Quasimodo . britannica.com .
  4. Web site: Quasimodo Literary Appreciation of a Prize Winner; Quasimodo: Prize Winner. 15 November 1959. The New York Times. C. M. Bowra.
  5. Web site: Nomination archive Salvatore Qouasimodo . nobelprize.org .
  6. Web site: Nomination archive 1959. nobelprize.org .
  7. Web site: Spelet bakom Blixens förlorade Nobelpris . Espmark, Kjell . 1 January 2010 . Svenska Dagbladet . Swedish .