| 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature | |
| Subheader: | Jon Fosse |
| Presenter: | Swedish Academy |
| Year: | 1901 |
| Date: |
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| Location: | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Previous: | 2022 |
| Main: | Nobel Prize in Literature |
| Next: | 2024 |
The 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Norwegian playwright and author Jon Fosse for "his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable".[1] He is the fourth Norwegian recipient of the prize.[2] [3]
See main article: Jon Fosse. Jon Fosse was born in 1959 in Haugesund on the west coast of Norway. His immense bibliography spans a variety of genres such as plays, novels, poetry collections, essays, children's literature and translations.
Fosse's breakthrough plays Namnet (1995; The Name, 2002), Natta syng sine songar (1998; Nightsongs, 2002), Draum om hausten (1999; Dream of Autumn, 2004), and Dødsvariasjonar (2002; Death Variations, 2004) explore the existential themes of human emotion, paradox, experience of divinity, and vulnerability in a harrowing yet innovative way with language and modernist artistic techniques. [Fosse] developed his dramatic ingenuity through the influences of Vesaas, Beckett, Bernhard and Trakl.[4] For his plays, he has been regarded as the most performed Norwegian playwright after Henrik Ibsen.[5]
Some consider Fosse's magnum opus in prose to be Septology,[5] which he completed in 2021: Det andre namnet (2019; The Other Name, 2020), 'Eg er ein annan (2020; 'I is Another, 2020), and Eit nytt namn (2021; A New Name, 2021). The series follows extraordinarily an aging artist's encounter with another version of himself, explorations of the human condition, reckoning with the divine, and daring reflections of what it means to live.[2]
Minutes after the prize announcement, Carin Klaesson interviewed Nobel Committee chairman Anders Olsson. Asked as to why Fosse was selected as the 2023 laureate in Literature, he explained:
Interviewed by Manisha Lalloo, a correspondent of the Nobel Prize's Outreach, Fosse expressed that he was greatly surprised when he won the prize even though he was used to being on the betting list speculations. Fosse was driving at the time on his way to Frekhaug, a village on Norway's west coast near the city of Bergen, when permanent secretary Mats Malm called him to inform he was this year's Nobel laureate. Malm told him that if he did not believe it he could watch the television and watch the announcement.
Asked as to how he spent his first day as a laureate, he responded: Fosse made mention of one particular reader, a Greek woman, who wrote a very touching email to him saying that his play Dødsvariasjonar (Death Variations) was "the reason she was still alive otherwise she would have already parted." He also gave advice to aspiring writers, saying:
Egyptian-Sudanese novelist Tarek Eltayeb posted on Facebook about Fosse's victory, expressing his happiness "to get acquainted with a name worthy of attention."[6] While jeering Fosse as a writer of "domestic literature", Iraqi writer Azher Jerjis also critiqued, saying
King Harald V of Norway sent a personal message heartily congratulating Fosse for being awarded the Nobel Prize.[7] Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre also wrote a message to Fosse on X (formerly Twitter): "A great recognition of outstanding authorship that makes an impression and touches people all over the world. All of Norway offers congratulations and is proud today!"[8]
On 18 October 2023, Pope Francis sent a personal letter to Fosse, expressing salutations and his appreciation on his "ability to evoke Almighty God's gifts of grace, peace, and love in our often darkened world will surely enrich the lives of those who share the pilgrimage of faith." Concluding with the assurance of the Pope's prayers and a blessing, the Pope also added that Fosse's "gentle testimony of faith and committed literary voice will now reach a wide-ranging audience."[9]
Being a convert to Catholicism, Catholics in Norway celebrated Fosse's Nobel Prize, hoping the honor could bring a recognition to the Catholic faith in an entirely Protestant country.[10] [11] Bishop Bernt Ivar Eidsvig of Oslo said in a statement that honoring Fosse was the best news for Norway's Catholics, adding that he was pleased the writer, while not "seeing himself as an apologist," was "bearing witness to his faith."[10] Bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim said
Norwegian Academy president, Nils Kristian Heyerdahl, also a Catholic convert, said Fosse has been a well established writer before becoming a Catholic, but had always included a religious dimension in his work – "not in the form of intrusive opinions, but as a mysterious presence in the language."[10] Gregory Wolfe, publisher and editor of Slant Books, commented of Fosse's victory, saying:
Fosse became the second Norwegian Catholic author to win the Nobel Prize after Sigrid Undset in 1928.[12]
Jon Fosse delivered his Nobel lecture on 7 December 2023 at the Swedish Academy. Entitled The Silent Language, he spoke about the difference between spoken language and written language and the use and effect of silence in his works.[13]
The Swedish Academy's 2023 Nobel Committee is composed of the following members:[14]
| Committee Members | ||||||
| Seat No. | Picture | Name | Elected | Position | Profession | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Anders Olsson (b. 1949) | 2008 | committee chair | literary critic, literary historian | ||
| 11 | Mats Malm (b. 1964) | 2018 | associate member permanent secretary | translator, literary historian, editor | ||
| 12 | Per Wästberg (b. 1933) | 1997 | member | novelist, journalist, poet, essayist | ||
| 13 | Anne Swärd (b. 1969) | 2019 | member | novelist | ||
| 9 | Ellen Mattson (b. 1963) | 2019 | member | novelist, essayist | ||
| 14 | Steve Sem-Sandberg (b. 1958) | 2021 | member | journalist, author, translator | ||