Announcement: Nobel Prize for Literature 2016 Speculation List

Hello Gentle Reader

It’s that time of year again, with a few months remaining to October, which means once again to speculate about this year’s possible Nobel Laureate in Literature. My personalised list will be coming on Sunday, August 14^th 2016. 

Here are the quick stats of the current speculation list:

A total of 56 writers have been listed.

38 of them are men.

18 of them are women.

Writers by Geographical Area:

Africa – 6

North Africa & Middle East – 7

Europe – 25

Australia & Oceania – 1

Asia & The Indo-Subcontinent – 12 

South & Latin America; Including the Caribbean – 5

To see the complete list, and those writers that have made it on the list, please come back Sunday August 14^th to review the entire list. Comments, thoughts, and other suggestions are always welcomed, and I would love to hear from you!

Big Government & The Nobel –

Now, I’d like to discuss some current thoughts, running around the Nobel Prize for Literature, at the moment. There is no denying the Nobel Prize for Literature is coveted, by writers. Philip Roth’s continual desire to achieve the greatest pinnacle of literary recognition is well-known. Yet it is not just writers that covet the prize; governments also seek the recognition, with equal vehement. One of the greatest examples, for this desire for cultural recognition, was China, who it has been whispered about, has been seeking the acknowledgement to validate their own culture; both contemporary and ancient. After the slip up of a few congratulatory remarks in China for the Nobel Laureate in Literature of 2000 Gao Xingjian, their stance towards the laureate and that years Prize, was cold and indifferent, going so far to congratulate France on their new Nobel Laureate. China’s statement was interesting though. The fact the government congratulated France for their new Nobel Laureate, shows their perception on the Nobel Prize for Literature, as well as writers. It can be argued – via the statement; that China views the award, as a national honour, rather than an individual honour for the writer. It is true, when discussing any Nobel, nationality and country of origin or current residency is often brought up; but it’s a myopic detail. The Nobel’s, are awards of individual achievement, which seek to better understand, the human condition, or advance human thought process further to greater understandings. The Nobel’s be it: Literature, Chemistry, Physics, Medicine or Physiology; are not the Olympics, where Countries compete via their athletic representations, in a horse race to achieve a medal. The Nobel’s are quite the opposite, as they are based around extrodinary individual achievement. Yet governments continue to push and lobby for one of their writers to receive the accolade. China may have shown success, finally in 2012, when one of its party approved writers finally received the award for literature: Mo Yan. Yet it is not just large authoritarian governments, who push for their writers to be recognized. South Korea is also lobbying greatly for a South Korean (or Korean) writer, to finally receive the accolade as well.

South Korea is now pushing its literature to greater international markets. It should come to no surprise when Dalkey Archive Press published numerous books in its: “The Library of Korean Literature,”; series that the publisher received a rather large and generous grant from the Literary Translation Institute of Korea, to publish the twenty-five books by Korean authors. This is just one example of how South Korea is pushing for its literary culture to reach greater international markets. However the battle is not just on international frontiers for South Korea, the literary battle is also at home. South Korea has a high literacy rate of 98%,, but when it came down to its citizens reading leisurely the country ranked 31^st, below other countries like the United States of America at 23^rd, and India ranking 1^st. Now the South Korean government is campaigning for its citizens to spend its leisure time reading more. This is an extreme cultural change for South Korea, who thirty years ago was less interested in the frivolity of reading and literature; but more concerned with the seriousness of the logical and analytical studies of science and mathematics.

The, resources in which South Korea is shoveling into training and educating translators, getting Korean writers published in international markets, and into foreign languages, is admirable. Yet there is a sense that something is missing in this entire formula. There is no argument, against South Korea’s desire and dream to have a Nobel Laureate in Literature; but perhaps the South Korean government fails to realize, the prizes greater individual understanding. It certainly cannot hurt, for the government to make Korean literature readily more available to international markets and promote its writers and its literature abroad. However, to openly lobby and in a formal or semi-formal manner for the Nobel Prize for Literature, could be more consequential then beneficial. The desire and dream is prestigious and noteworthy; but again it reiteration is required: the Nobel’s are not the Olympics; and the frustration of Korean literary enthusiasts abot a lack of a Korean Nobel writer, are best summarized by one literary supporter: Yun Jang, from the article: “Can a Big Government push bring the Nobel Prize in Literature to South Korea?”:

““It’s a very sophisticated language, Korean. Personally, I believe there’s lots of good literature in Korea. It’s frustrating. I think the Nobel committee needs to learn Korean first. Then a Korean will win the prize.”

Of course the sentiment is understandable. All cultures – especially as unique and ancient as Korean; have a pride in their culture. However, it can be noted now, that South Korea is just entering the world stage, with greater prominence, and appreciation of their culture will become more steady and loyal, as they expand their global reach to foreign markets and languages. However, there are also cautionary thoughts also presented about this drive to acquire a Nobel Prize for Literature, as a professor and translator Charles La Shure states: 

“If you look at the authors who have won the prize in the past, it’s not something that you really campaign to do, it’s not something where you come up with a battle plan and then be like, ‘We’re going to follow this plan and it’s going to end up with us winning the Nobel Prize,’”

[And continues . . .]

“That’s not really what happens. Nobel Prizes aren’t generally—at least in literature—manufactured.”

 If there is anything to learn from Korea’s current desire to get its literature and culture more open to the world, it is how they have gone about it. The financial funding, the educational seminars—in which it is driving its work to international markets, is a model in which numerous countries and cultures can take stock of, and attempt to replicate the a similar system, in order to allow international access to literature and culture.

A Note on Korean Writers –

The only Korean writer, which has been (to my speculative understanding) nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature, is Ko Un. Before Korea began its extensive marketing strategy to put its products into foreign languages, Ko Un would have been the only writer to emerge from Korea, in which most readers would have some knowledge of; be it they’ve read his poems or not. Ko Un is a unique voice from the twentieth century Korean perspective. He was a Buddhist monk at one point; a political activist, as well as a prisoner for his political activism. After his release from prison however, Ko Un began to publish at an extremely quick speed; and his poetry ranges from nature poems, to political analytical poems, to even biographical poems, and sketches of individuals. He has been an extraordinary writer to admire. Yet Ko Un is not popular among the South Korean reading public. Yet, the countries Nobel dreams reside and rest on him. Ko Un is considered the best chance, and currently there is no other writer, who is at that stage in their career or life, which can hold the nations dream; let alone achieve it.

Even if Ko Un were not to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature; the efforts of the Literary Translation Institute of Korea has achieved a great amount of success in getting its literature and its unique voices into new markets. Dalkey Archive Press, Autumn Hill Books, White Pine Press; just to name a few publishers, have each produced some Korean literature, and the works produced have been startling – from the dystopian to the mundane; the voices vary from the deranged to the subtlety socially critical. They writers and their books are startling and welcoming, and with this rise and outpour of writers being translated into English there are a few worth mentioning.

Shin Kyong Rim – Shin Kyong Rim would best be described as a peoples poet. Rim did not produce any work since his debut with three poems in the fifties; afterwards the poet immersed himself in the working class life of the people of his country. He worked as a farmer, miner and merchant, before producing more poetry. A striking feature of Shin Kyong Rim’s poetry, is the ‘we,’ collective used to narrate the poems, rather than the authors own authorial voice. The poetry of Shin Kyong Rim, is not sympathetic in observation of the poor or working class, rather it is a shared experience, where he documents and chronicles, their suffering, their small joys, and their disappointed hopes. Along with Moon Chung-hee and Ko Un, Shin Kyong Rim is one of three Korean writers to be awarded the Cikada Prize.

Jung Mikyung – Jung Mikyung first debuted as a playwright, but after the first success of her first play, she stopped writing for a decade, and re-emerged on the literary scene as a prose writer. Since emerging as a prose writer, Mikyung has found great success. Jung Mikyung is noted for her traditional format of her novels and short stories, but writes with a scathing sarcastic critique of the twenty-first century. The greatest source of vitriol for Mikyung, in the information age, and this shimmering technological century, is the rampant consumerism, with desire for materialism, and the falsities, which exist in todays saturated socially connected world.

Yi Mum-yol – Yi Mum-yol, is the first Korean writer, to be published in the New Yorker, in the year two-thousand and eleven, with his short story “An Anonymous Island.” Mum-yol’s however has been turbulent. The greatest haunt of his early life, was the fact that his father had defected from the south to North Korea. For this transgression, Yi Mum-yol was treated as a child of a: “political offender,” and was often ostracised for the actions of his father. After dropping out of university, and winning a literary contest, he began his literary career. His work discusses the divide of Korea, into South and North; but pays particular attention to the imperialistic change over(s) of Korea through the years, as well as the military dictatorship, which had grasped the country. Yi Mum-yol is considered one of South Korea’s greatest and most treasured writers.

Honourable Mentions –                                     

These are writer, who are not included on the list. However, the following writers are honourable mentioned for a multitude of reasons; from subjective and perceptive observations, in order to mention either their merits, or their contribution to literature; or the highly speculative nature that they are a possible or plausible contender for the Nobel Prize for Literature; or are mentioned in order to elevate them beyond their parochial confines they may (or may not) find themselves in. 

William Trevor – Ireland – Now at the age of eighty-eight, it can be clearly stated, that William Trevor, will most likely not receive a Nobel Prize for Literature. The oldest Nobel Laureate (in any category), was Doris Lessing at the age of 87, in two-thousand and seven. Still Nobel or no Nobel for Trevor, his success as being called a master of the shorty story, for showcasing his well noted wry sense of humour, as his characters go through the often comedic motions of their existence. Though Trevor found initial success with his short stories, Trevor is noted for his novels. William Trevor’s novels are known for being more complex than his short stories, with multiple narratives used to comment on the same subject, and a heavy use of unreliable narrators to often present a fragmented narrative, to mimic and emulate the current state of the modern world. Beyond the short story and the novel; William Trevor has also written plays and childrens books.

Tõnu Õnnepalu – Estonia – Before this year, Tõnu Õnnepalu (Emil Tode, Anton Nigov) has been a perennial fixture on the list. Õnnepalu is seen in Estonia as a “Eurowriter,” rather then specifically an Estonian writer. Tõnu Õnnepalu came to international reputation, with his short novel “Border State,” in which he discusses an expat homosexual man’s confession of murdering his lover/partner in Paris; as well as discussing the duel hells of both a former Communist Eastern European country, as well as the materialistic nihilism of a consumerist western country. Since then only one other work of fiction has been translated and published into English by Tõnu Õnnepalu; the large and disappointing novel “Radio.” Õnnepalu’s work deals with homosexuality openly, and the individual’s plight in a world stuck between dimensions: the communist past and the consumerist present.

Lygia Fagundes Telle – Brazil – Lygia Fagundes Telles is a Brazilian novelist and short story writer, as well as one of only three women members of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. Telle received the Camões Prize in 2005. Lygia Fagundes Telle is most well-known for her novel “As Meninas,” or in English: “The Girl in the Photograph,” which tells the story of three young women during the backdrop of the 1970’s and the dictatorship which had gripped Brazil at the time. Earlier this year, the Brazilian Writers Union announced that they’ve sent in a nomination for Lygia Fagundes Tell to be considered for this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature. Lygia Fagundes Tell is 93 years old, and this may work against the odds for Lygia Fagundes Telle. However, she is considered one of Brazil’s foremost contemporary writers.

Kazuo Ishiguro – England (born in Japan) – Ishiguro would not be considered a prolific writer by average standards. He has seven novels to his name; the most recent novel was published in two-thousand and fifteen: “The Buried Giant.” However, Ishiguro is most well-known for his emotionally stunted, and obligatory character “Stevens,” from his quintessential English novel: “The Remains of the Day,” as well as for his ‘dystopian,’ novel set in the past “Never Let Me Go,” where the discussion of cloning, human souls and what it means to be human is discussed. Beyong Ishiguro’s novels, he has one short story collection, as well as four screenplays added to his resume. Speculation about Kazuo Ishiguro got interesting on the World Literature Forum, with a post on a thread about the Nobel Library, where one member, posted that ten of Ishiguro’s novels (duel copies) where out at the time of their investigation, and would be due back in May. It was theorized; this meant that Kazuo Ishiguro was inducted on the longlist for this year’s Nobel. However, the last English language writer to have become a Nobel Laureate in Literature, was three years ago with Alice Munro, it is hard to tell if this will help or hinder Ishiguro’s chances. This being said though, two English language writers were awarded relatively close, in the beginning of the twenty-first century: Harold Pinter (2005) and Doris Lessing (2007). Only October will tell Gentle Reader.

Göran Sonnevi – Sweden – It is with welcoming thanks to: Bror Axel Dehn that Göran Sonnevi came to my attention. Göran Sonnevi is one of Sweden’s most renowned contemporary poets, who (as previously stated) in 2005 won the Swedish Academy Nordic Prize (the ‘little Nobel,’) and in 2006 won the Nordic Council Prize for Literature; a rare accomplishment. Göran Sonnevi is a contemporary of Tomas Transtromer, but the two poets differ immensely in their subject matters. Transtromer’s poetry was nature inspired, and discussed the mysteries, awes and wonders of daily life. Sonnevi’s poetry is more topical in its discussion of current events; from the Vietnam War, Cold War, 9/11, globalization, and cultural/ethnic conflicts; but rather then close his poetry with his own opinion or view point of the matter, Göran Sonnevi leaves them searching and questioning, on the search for something beyond the historical context in which they have been documented and laid to rest. Göran Sonnevi writes poetry which is complex and complicated, but rewarding to diligent and patient readers. His poems are epicist in their scope and content.

Sjon – Iceland – If Bjork was Iceland’s musical and cultural export, to have been welcomingly received by Western countries, Sjon is then their literary export. The comparison between Sjon and Bjork is not limited to their national identity; both musician/singer and writer have had a working relationship as well, with Sjon writing numerous lyrics with Bjork. However, Sjon has made his own mark and debut with his novels, which the writer asserts are his bedrock. The writer has written twelve novels, along with twelve collections of poetry, with one collected collection of poetry. Sjon’s first foray into writing was when he was fifteen years old, and published his first collection of poetry. His greatest success however, has been his short novel “The Blue Fox,” which would receive The Nordic Council Prize for Literature in 2005. Since the publication of “The Blue Fox,” three other novels were published; the most recent “Moonstone: The Boy That Never Was,” recently released this year.

[ Please Note Gentle Reader, the following two writers from China, I had once remarked as concerning, given their status as prominent writers within the country, and immediately found this concerning, as it may be viewed as a Mo Yan repeat. Yet of the two, I did realize Wang Anyi, experienced her own upending of life during the Cultural Revolution, and had made a serious name for herself as a writer since then. Chi Zijian remains a fascinating writer; however, her political loyalties or learnings remain unknown, and is viewed with slight political suspicion. This being said, her literary work has been proclaimed as stunning and original. ]

Wang Anyi – China – Wang Anyi is well revered writer in her home country of China, but is scarcely known outside of it; despite being nominated for such international prizes like the Man Booker Booker International prize in 2011. The lack of interest in her work, could be because of Anyi’s aesthetic. She does not occupy herself with large narratives, which deal with themes of China’s cultural history, or its political issues today. Much like Eileen Chang, Wang Anyi writes about the ordinary lives of the public, and their romances, their surprised desires, their dreams (both clung too, and shattered); and yet, Anyi is not a writer of psychological realism in the western tradition, her characters inner thoughts, desires, and dreams, meld into the external landscape; landscape and the individual exists on similar existential planes, both as victims and landmarks of history and time. Much like her predecessor, Eileen Chang (who Wang Anyi is favourably and endearingly compared to), Anyi captures the essence, spirit, soul, and sounds of shanghai in her novels and stories.

Chi Zijian – China – Zijian is a relatively young writer, at the age of fifty-two, but her work was taken note of immediately when she first published as a junior in college, for its narrative technique, and mastery. Her only known book to be published in English is “The Last Quarter of the Moon,” which relates the story of a unnamed narrator, of the Evenki – reindeer herders in the northern part of China, on the border with Russia; the novel was masterful as reviewers noted, for its startling and realistic depiction of the landscape, and shamanistic traditions of the peoples; but also of the threat of modernization, and a cultural extinction, which looms over them. This is just one example of her ability to capture the unique land of China and its inhabitants. Zijian’s novels and stories are often known for their unique settings – historical and contemporary; and their often fairy tale and magical glow, which radiates from them. Chi Zijian is noted for her poetic eye for detail, but her contemporary writing methods, often gathering her praise, for writing that is both old and new, in a fresh pastiche. The mixture of her graceful lyricism is contrasted with the contemporary dialogue, often making her a unique writer. 

Nicanor Parra – Chile – Parra is an influential Latin American and Spanish language poet. He is also a centennial at the age of 101 (going on 102 in September). Despite being a poet Parra did not study writing in his university education; rather he studied mathematics, physics, and cosmology; writing it were to appear was simply a artistic passion which he did on the side, while the ‘hard,’ sciences were at the forefront of his education. Nicanor Parra is not a typical poet, as he has renounced the pomp and stylistic formalities of poetry, in favour of a more down to earth and colloquial form of poetry.  He refers to his style as ‘antipoetry,’ where he deconstructs preconceived notions of poetry, and instead binds the elements of his poetry to life itself, expressing the realities of life and their social realities, in a plan language format. With his revolutionary style and language, in which he discusses the everyday while deconstructing held prejudices and perspectives of poetry, Parra has become one of the greatest Spanish language poets, and has been revered and appreciated because of it. Going on 102, there would be strong doubts about his ability to receive the Nobel accolade.

Two Nonagenarian Poets –

Philippe Jaccottet – Switzerland – In years past, Jaccottet was included on the list along with two other nonagenarian poets; Jaccottet always appeared at the bottom of the three, because he was the youngest of the three, now at the age of ninety-one. Now this year he will go first, as the youngest of the now two (as Yves Bonnefoy departed earlier this summer). Philippe Jaccottet is a critically acclaimed poet and translator from Switzerland writing in French; and because of his French language, he was included in the ““Bibliothèque de la Pléiade,” (Pleiades Library),” in two-thousand and fourteen; Jaccottet is also one of the four Swiss writer to be included in the library, and a rare writer to be included while still alive. Despite this critical acclaim, Jaccottet, like all foreign language poets (or poets period) he is not well known, or has been cast aside by contemporary culture as a practitioner of an obsolete form of communication. Still what poems I have read by this poet, show an individual who has refined his perspective over the years.

Friederike Mayröcker – Austria – Mayröcker is considered one of those refined great Austrian contemporary poets. Despite this though, she like Jaccottet has not been widely translated into English. Friederike Mayröcker’s poetry has often been defined as avant-garde and experimental; two terms when referring to poetry, which will put off any general reader, and any publisher, with the expectation of some who specialize in such work, and readers who devour it with ivory tower exceptionalism. Despite this Mayröcker’s years of writing and devotion to poetry cannot go under estimated or undervalued. Her poetry has been called a deeply personal obsession, which eschews sociological content, and disassociates itself away from grander ideas and concepts of a social entity, which makes her poetry a more concrete and colloquial literary mode of writing, but this often does risk alienating readers from other languages, and her poetry upon first reading can often be seen as poetry which one would distribute to graduate students studying comparative poetics. In the end though Mayröcker has shown herself to be a disciplined patron and practitioner of poetry, and such years of servitude cannot go underappreciated.

Lest We Forget –                  

There are always writers whose time comes before the Nobel accolade has arrived. Some call these oversights the Nobel snubs, when referring to famous writers: Leo Tolstoy, Anton Checkhov, James Joyce, Franz Kafka, Jorge Luis Borges, and Virginia Woolf among many others. Nobel or no Nobel, these writers stand the test of time and remain great writers. Listed here are great and memorable writers, who did not receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. The following list includes numerous personal choice writers who it’s unfortunate to say could not be included on the speculation list; however there works shall stand the test of time.

Mahasweta Devi – India (Bangladesh) – Devi was a well-known social activist and writer within India. She died this summer at the age of ninety (some reports state ninety-one). She was a persistent socially aware writer, who showcased great sympathy towards the tribal communities within her country; specifically though in: Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya, Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.  Devi’s work is known for its critical view of supper society and how it treats the less privileged, the untouchables, the poor and the tribal. Writing for Devi, was as much a form of activisms, as was her early research, teaching of working women. If there ever was a writer who embodied the ideological perspective of progressing mankind in a positive direction, Devi certainly fit the bill, as she tackled social issues, anthropological issues, as well as gender issues. The writer herself may have passed away, but her work shall hopefully persist on in her legacy.

Yves Bonnefoy – France – Before his death at the age of ninety-two, Yves Bonnefoy was considered one of the greatest poets of contemporary French literature. However, Bonnefoy’s interest extended past poetry, as he was also well known artic critic, but also lecturer. Yves Bonnefoy’s poetry is known for his stark language which is combined with a deeper felt sensuality, and a sincere longing for somewhere else. Though his work has been noted to have hints or subtle flavours of surrealism, Bonnefoy reject such statements, as he thought that surrealistic language and images in poetry would obscure and alienate readers from the everyday and its immediacy.

Mu Xin – China – The twentieth century is filled with innumerable amount of victims who have passed on to oblivion and been whitewashed by the hands of time. Those who do survive the corroding touch of history are either painted as villain or victor or victim; or in some cases collateral damage, and it’s just statistical data. Mu Xin was one writer was best defined as both victim and victor. Xin was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution of China; he was one of the last writers to remain classically trained, and was born to an affluent intellectually defined family. However during the twentieth century, Mu Xin’s family and fortunate future were crushed by political upheaval. His art work and writings were destroyed, and the persecution and torture of his soul and spirit, would be underway shortly after, as he found himself a political prisoner. However, Mu Xin did survive this political persecution and would later flee into exile and continue to write and paint; but found no real place for his work to be published and few places in which his art work gathered any notable acclaim. However, while in exile Mu Xin practiced his art and produced literature, despite its inability to be published in his home country. In these regards Mu Xin was a quiet giant of literature, who went heavily unnoticed and underappreciated; then something changed in his twilight years. The relaxation of censorship or perhaps communist ideology overtaking personal liberty, allowed for Mu Xin’s work to be published and enjoyed at long last in his native country, and soon after the writer himself was welcomed home. Xin, however died in 2011, and since then a museum has been erected in his home town of Wuzhen, which is aptly called: [the] Mu Xin Museum of Art. Currently there is only book of Mu Xin’s available in English, and that is titled “An Empty Room.” Hopefully in the coming years, the rest of his work will also reach the English language.

Assia Djebar – Algeria – Before her surprisingly and untimely death, Djebar was a fierce lioness critical of the obstacles that faced women in Middle Eastern and North African countries; and was a repeated and speculated contender for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Despite not receiving the award, Djebar did achieve numerous other literary accolades including the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, as well as the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. Djebar was also the first North African born writer to be elected to the Académie Française. She was a proponent for women’s rights, and a feminist writer who wrote extensively about women oppressed under patriarchal societies.

Antonio Tabucchi – Italy – Antonio Tabucchi was often considered the heir of Italo Calvino in Italian literature; but Tabucchi himself brought a different dimension to his works, as a scholar of the esoteric and mystical fragmented Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa. As being a scholar of the poets work, Tabucchi often straddled two countries, two languages, and two cultures in his work. Tabucchi famously learned to speak, read and write Portuguese in order to gather a greater appreciation of Fernando Pessoa; and in doing so wrote on his novels: “Requiem: a hallucination,” in Portuguese. Tabucchi also differed from Italo Calvino in the fact that he did not hide any political inclinations and leanings in his work, and was an active dissident and opposed totalitarian governments; whereas Italo Calvino was often quiet on political matters, but had a stint as a resistance fighter during the second world war; but after his disillusionment with communism, remained silent in regards to political matters. Tabucchi himself would have been a fine writer for the Nobel, an intellectual, a master short story writer and writer; as well as a writer who decried political authority which reveled in oppression.

Clarice Lispector – Brazil –  In honour of host country, hosting this year’s summer Olympics it would only be appropriate to include the: witch of Brazilian letters: Clarice Lispector herself. Lispector was a literary hurricane, she wrote to the beat of her own drum. She wrote in different styles and literary schools like a wandering ghost, completely unaware of the formal stylistic matters in which she adopted for her own benefit. She moved from modernism, to surrealism, to postmodernism, and often delved into the esoteric mystical introspection which would often been hallmarks of her work; though as some of her short stories can testify to, Lispector was not above realistic narratives either, they however just received her signature introspection in how they were outlaid and delivered. Lispector died at the young age of fifty-seven, and though at the time her work often fell into cult like status, readers in the English language who have been introduced to the writer have come to appreciate and admire, one of Brazil’s greatest writer of the twentieth century.

Vijaydan Detha – India – Detha was a modern short story master, who left eight hundred short stories behind upon in his death in two-thousand and thirteen. Detha was well known for his documentation and colourful take on local folk tales of Rajasthan which he would publish. Vijaydan Detha was often herald as the Indian equivalent of Shakespeare, in regard to his literary achievements and becoming one of the greatest colossal giants of Indian literature. In two-thousand eleven Detha was speculated to be a serious contender for the Nobel Prize for Literature, that year’s winner was the Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer. Still Detha is one of those marvellous writers who was capable of showing how a myopic or insignificant event could usher in more powerful thoughts and ideas, as well as contemplation of ones place in history.

FIN –

Well Gentle Reader, so ends my introduction to this year’s speculation list. This year has been finicky for blogging, as I continue to be bombarded by my studies; at the moment I am in process of studying (and I use the word studying loosely and in very lukewarm terms) for a exam, while also battling with a political science course which has proven to be both fascinating, enlightening; but also controversial and frustrating. I do plan though to set aside greater times of the day shortly, to sit down and read, as currently I have too many books on the go, and certainly do plan on finishing them eventually.  

Still the above introduction, introduces you to the general stats for the upcoming list; it discusses the process of lobbying for cultural superiority by governments, as exemplified by South Korea’s government to realize the dream of seeing a writer from the country receive the award. For more information on the South Korean government’s desire for a Nobel worthy writer please see Mythili G. Rao’s article with “The New Yorker,” titled: “Can a Big Government push bring the Nobel Prize in Literature to South Korea?” – a link will be provided in the end. Included also with this list are my honourable mentions, as well as those who have departed without the accolade, but do deserve the mention as well.

Thank-you for reading Gentle Reader, I look forward to your comments as well as your suggestions for future lists, and of course for future personal readings!

Until then though Gentle Reader,

Take Care

And As Always

Stay Well Read

M. Mary

P.S. As promised the article:

http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/can-a-big-government-push-bring-the-nobel-prize-in-literature-to-south-korea


** To see the completed list please click on the following link **

http://morose-mary.blogspot.ca/2016/08/nobel-prize-for-literature-2016.html