1901 Nobel Prize in Literature
1901 Nobel Prize in Literature | |
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Sully Prudhomme | |
Date |
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Location | Stockholm, Sweden |
Presented by | Swedish Academy |
First awarded | 1901 |
Website | Official website |
The 1901 Nobel Prize in Literature was the first awarded Nobel Prize in Literature. It was awarded to the French poet Sully Prudhomme (1839–1907) "in special recognition of his poetic composition, which gives evidence of lofty idealism, artistic perfection and a rare combination of the qualities of both heart and intellect."[1]
Laureate
Sully Prudhomme belonged to a school of poets that wanted to write in a classic and formally elegant style. His poetry combined formal perfection with an interest in science and philosophy. According to the Swedish Academy, his elevated poetry fit in Alfred Nobel's formulation about works "in an ideal direction".[2]
Deliberations
Nominations
Sully Prudhomme was nominated for the prize by 17 members of the
The notable authors R. D. Blackmore, Anne Beale, Victoire Léodile Béra, Stephen Crane, Ernest Dowson, José Maria de Eça de Queiroz, Carit Etlar, Naim Frashëri, Mary Kingsley, Max Müller, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigbjørn Obstfelder, Pyotr Lavrov, John Ruskin, Henry Sidgwick, Charles Dudley Warner, Oscar Wilde, Vladimir Solovyov and Gheorghe Dem Teodorescu all died in 1900, making them ineligible for the 1901 nominations. The nominated French theologian Louis Sabatier died months before the announcement, and authors Leopoldo Alas, Víctor Balaguer i Cirera, Walter Besant, Ada Christen, Ramón de Campoamor, Luis Mariano de Larra, Kate Greenaway, Julien Leclercq, William Cosmo Monkhouse, Frederic W. H. Myers, Johanna Spyri, Grigore Sturdza, Maurice Thompson, Vasile Alexandrescu Urechia, Brooke Foss Westcott and Charlotte Mary Yonge died in 1901 without having been nominated for the prize.
No. | Nominee | Country | Genre(s) | Nominator(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Alexander Baumgartner, S.J.[a] (1841–1910) | Switzerland | poetry, history | Knud Karl Krogh-Tonning (1842–1911) |
2 | Charles Borgeaud[b] (1861–1940) | Switzerland | history, law |
|
3 | João da Câmara[c] (1852–1908) | Portugal | drama, essays | Joaquim José Coelho de Carvalho (1855–1934) |
4 | Louis Ducros[d] (1846–1927) | France | literary criticism, history | Michel Clerc (1857–1931) |
5 | Paul Duproix[e] (1851–1912) | France | pedagogy | Émile Redard (1848–1913) |
6 | Carl Gustaf Estlander[f] (1834–1910) | Russia (Finland) |
history, essay | Johan Gustaf Frosterus (1826–1901) |
7 | Antonio Fogazzaro[g] (1842–1911) | Italy | novel, poetry, short story | Hans Forssell (1843–1901) |
8 | Julius Gersdorff[h] (1849–1907) | Germany | poetry, songwriting | Carl Heinrich Döring (1834–1916) |
9 | Oscar le Pin[i] (?) | Switzerland | drama | P. L. Bonnaviat (?) |
10 | Ossip Lourié[j] (1868–1955) | France | history, philosophy, essays | Kristian Birch-Reichenwald Aars (1868–1917) |
11 | Ferenc Kemény[k] (1860–1944) | Austria–Hungary ( Hungary) |
essays | Imre Rudolf Pauer (1845–1930) |
12 | Frédéric Mistral[l] (1830–1914) | France | poetry, philology |
|
13 | Gaspar Núñez de Arce[m] (1832–1903) | Spain | poetry, drama, law | Mariano Catalina Cobo (1842–1913) |
14 | Gaston Paris[n] (1839–1903) | France | history, poetry, essays | Fredrik Wulff (1845–1930) |
15 | Sully Prudhomme[o] (1839–1907) | France | poetry, essay |
|
16 | Charles Renouvier[p] (1815–1903) | France | philosophy | Antoine Benoist (1846–1922) |
17 | Edmond Rostand[q] (1868–1918) | France | poetry, drama |
|
18 | Auguste Sabatier[r] (1839–1901) | France | history, essays, theology | Gabriel Monod (1844–1912) |
19 | Paul Sabatier[s] (1858–1928) | France | history, theology, biography | Carl Bildt (1850–1931) |
20 | Henryk Sienkiewicz[t] (1846–1916) | Russia ( Poland) |
novel |
|
21 | Giacomo Stampa[u] (?) | Italy | essays | Ármin Vámbéry (1832–1913) |
22 | René Vallery-Radot[v] (1853–1933) | France | essays, biography |
|
23 | Malwida von Meysenbug[w] (1816–1903) | Germany | memoirs | Gabriel Monod (1844–1912)[x] |
24 | Alexandru Dimitrie Xenopol[y] (1847–1920) | Romania | history, philosophy, essays | Ion Găvănescu (1859–1949) |
25 | Émile Zola[z] (1839–1907) | France | novel, drama, short story | Marcellin Berthelot (1827–1907) |
Prize decision
For the year 1901, the main candidates for the prize were the French writers
Reactions
The Swedish Academy's decision to award Sully Prudhomme the first Nobel Prize in Literature was heavily criticised at the time and remains one of the most criticised prize decisions in the history of the Nobel Prize in literature. The choice of Sully Prudhomme was interpreted as a politeness towards the
Notes
- ^ Baumgartner: Geschichte der Weltliteratur ("The History of World Literature", 1897—1901)[5]
- ^ Borgeaud: Histoire de l'Université de Genève. L'académie de Calvin. 1559—1798 ("The History of the Geneva University: Calvin's Academy", 1900)[5]
- ^ Câmara: Meia-Noite ("The Midnight", 1900)[5]
- ^ Ducros: Les Encyclopédistes (Encyclopedists, 1900)[5]
- ^ Duproix: Kant et Fichte et le problème de l´éducation ("Kant, Fichte, and the Problem of Education", 1895)[5]
- ^ Estlander: Vitterhetens utveckling hos de nyare folken i medeltiden: förra perioden (Witnesses of the Newer People's Development in the Middle Ages: The Last Period", 1900)[5]
- ^ Fogazzaro: Malombra: romanzo ("Malombra: A Novel", 1881), Daniele Cortis (1885), Il mistero del poeta ("The Mystery of the Poet", 1888), and Ascensioni umane ("Human Ascensions", 1899)[5]
- ^ Gersdorff: 600 bis 700 Lieder ("Songs 600-700")[5]
- ^ Le Pin: La recherche de l'idéal ("Searching of the Ideal", 1900)[5]
- ^ Lourié: La philosophie de Tolstoï ("The Philosophy of Tolstoy", 1899) and La philosophie sociale dans le théâtre d'Ibsen ("The Social Philosophy of Ibsen's Theatre", 1900)[5]
- ^ Kemény: Entwurf einer internationalen Gesammt-Academie: Weltakademie ("The Draft of an Total International Academy: World Academy", 1901)[5]
- ^ Mistral: Mirèio and La Respelido (1900).
- ^ Núñez de Arce: Gritos del combate: Poesías ("Cries of Combat: Poems", 1875), Obras dramáticas ("Dramatic Works", 1879), La selva oscura: Poema ("The Dark Forest: Poem", 1879), and Sursum Corda! ("Ascend the Heart!", 1900)[5]
- ^ Paris: La poésie du moyen âge ("The Poetry of the Middle Ages", 1885–95) Discours de réception ("Reception Speech", 1897), Penseurs et poètes ("Thinkers and Poets", 1896), Poèmes et légendes du moyen âge ("Poems and Legends of the Middle Ages", 1900), and François Villon (1901)[5]
- ^ Prudhomme: Oeuvres ("Works", 1865–1888), Que sais-je? Examen de conscience ("What Do I Know? Examining Our Conscience", 1896), Testament poétique ("Poetic Testament", 1901.)
- ^ Renouvier: La nouvelle monadologie ("The New Monadology", 1899)[5]
- ^ Rostand: Cyrano de Bergerac (1897) and L'Aiglon ("Eaglet, 1900)[5]
- ^ A. Sabatier: Esquisse d'une philosophie de la religion d'après la psychologie et l'histoire ("Outlines of a Philosophy of Religion based on Psychology and History", 1897)[5]
- ^ P. Sabatier: Vie de S. François d'Assise ("The Life of St. Francis of Assisi", 1894)[5]
- ^ Sienkiewicz: Quo Vadis? (1896) and Ogniem i mieczem ("With Fire and Sword", 1884)
- ^ Stampa: Arcanum anima [sic!]. Gedanken eines Menschenfreundes ("Mysterious Soul: Thoughts of a Philanthropist")[5]
- ^ R. Valery-Radot: La Vie de Pasteur ("Life of Pasteur", 1900)[5]
- ^ Meysenbug: Memoiren einer Idealistin ("Memoirs of an Idealist", 1869–76), Stimmungsbilder ("Shades of Mood", 1879), and Der Lebensabend einer Idealistin: Nachtrag zu den "Memoiren einer Idealistin" ("The Retirement of an Idealist: Addendum to the 'Memoirs of an Idealist'", 1898)[5]
- Björnstjerne Björnson.
- ^ Xenopol: Les principes fondamentaux de l'histoire ("The Fundamental Principles of History", 1899)[5]
- ^ Zola: "for his works in general."[5]
References
- ^ The Nobel Prize in Literature 1901 nobelprize.org
- ^ Sully Prudhomme nobelprize.org
- ^ Nomination archive nobelprize.org
- ^ Helmer Lång Hundra nobelpris i litteratur 1901-2001 Bokförlag Symposion 2001, p. 24 (in Swedish)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Svensén, Bo. "Nobelpriset i litteratur. Nomineringar och utlåtanden 1901–1950". Swedish Academy. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ Gustav Källstrand Andens olympiska spel. Nobelprisets historia Fri Tanke 2021, p. 184
- ^ a b Helmer Lång Hundra nobelpris i litteratur 1901-2001 Bokförlag Symposion 2001, p. 23-24 (in Swedish)
- ^ Gustav Källstrand Andens olympiska spel. Nobelprisets historia Fri Tanke 2021, p. 185
External links
- Award ceremony speech by C.D. af Wirsén nobelprize.org