Stockholm: This year’s Nobel Prize for Literature goes to Norwegian novelist and playwright John Fosse. The Swedish Academy, which announced the award, assessed that Fosse became the voice of the voiceless through innovative techniques in drama and prose writing.
A prolific literary figure, Fosse wrote plays, novels, poetry collections, essays, children’s literature, and translations in Nynorsk, one of the Norwegian dialects. Fossey responded passionately that he sees the award primarily and foremost as a recognition of literature, without any other considerations. The prize money is $915,000.
Not only as the author of plays that are widely performed in the contemporary world, but also as a writer of other literary forms, the Swedish Academy pointed out that Fossey, who gave the award, has left his own mark. His works have been translated into more than forty languages. If you haven’t read Fosse yet, you can start with any of his plays, says Mats Malm, president of the Swedish Academy. They are so readable. However, if you want to read his other prose works, you should start with Morning and Evening (Novella/2000). It is a wonderful little work – said Malam.
Fosse’s first novel Red, Black (1983) deals with the issues of suicide. His first play, And We Will Never Be Parted, was published in 1994. Another notable play is Someone Is Going To Come (1999).
Abhinava Ibson
The Swedish Academy also gave him the epithet Abhinava Ibson, comparing Fosse to the famous Norwegian playwright Hentik Ibsen. He also claimed a writing style called Fosse Minimalism through an extremely simple narrative. Indian-born novelist Salman Rushdie was also included in this year’s literature Nobel list.
