Norwegian Master Of Spare Nordic Writing Jon Fosse Wins Literature Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize in literature was awarded to Jon Fosse on Thursday for his works that “give voice to the unsayable.” Fosse is a master of spare Nordic writing who has produced a vast body of work that includes plays, novels, and children’s books.

The Nobel literature committee’s chairman, Anders Olsson, stated that Fosse’s writing is “rooted in the language and nature of his Norwegian background.”

“I was both surprised and unsurprised when they called. In the previous ten years, I have cautiously prepared myself for the possibility that this might occur, said 64-year-old Fosse to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. “Getting the call was a great joy for me.”

Fosse, one of his nation’s most popular playwrights, is the author of more than 40 plays as well as books for children, novels, short stories, poetry, and essays. The prize, which is given out by the Swedish Academy, was given “for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable.”

The academy’s permanent secretary, Mats Malm, called Fosse to inform him of the victory. He explained that the author was traveling through rural areas and pledged to make a careful return trip.

Fosse is the fourth author from Norway to receive the award. It was given to Bjrnstjerne Bjrnson in 1903, Knut Hamsun in 1920, and Sigrid Undset in 1928.

Olsson referred to Fosse’s “A New Name: Septology VI-VII” as his “magnum opus” and it was a finalist for the 2022 International Booker Prize.

Fosse stated that he saw the award “as an award to the literature that first and foremost aims to be literature, without other considerations” in a statement issued by his publishing house, Samlaget.

Alfred Nobel, a Swedish inventor, established the Nobel Prizes, which come with a cash prize of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million). At the award ceremonies in December, winners also get a diploma and a medal made of 18-carat gold.

The prize-giving Swedish Academy cited the books written by French author Annie Ernaux last year as having “the courage and clinical acuity” to be based on her upbringing in a small town in the Normandy region of northwest France.

Among the 119 recipients of the Nobel Prize in literature, Ernaux was the 17th woman. The literature prize has long been criticized for being overly male-dominated and overly focused on European and North American authors.

After sex abuse allegations shook the Swedish Academy, which appoints the Nobel literature committee, and caused a member exodus, the award was postponed in 2018. In spite of the academy’s reforms, Peter Handke of Austria, who has been dubbed an apologist for Serbian war crimes, received the 2019 award. This decision brought the academy more criticism.