Nobelity
October is the month when the Nobel Prize for Literature is awarded. I can’t say it bothers me that it is often given to less-deserving authors (the early 1990s were a terrible time for the awards; perhaps because it coincided with the height of PC-ness). Yahoo report that, among others, Cees Nooteboom, the well-known Dutch author (no, not Charles Dikkens), is being considered this year. His latest novel to be translated into English, the highly enjoyable All Souls� Day, will be reviewed in Spike any minute now.
What intrigues me is Alfred Nobel’s original criteria for the prize, left in his will. Kjell Espmark tells us that he stipulated that the author’s work should be “the most outstanding work in an ideal direction”. He goes on to discuss the complexity of interpreting this line. It’s something to think about. For me, “an ideal direction” indicates writing that pursues its own direction; that is, the mystery of literature itself, which is also, in the end, the mystery of human life. With this in mind - and where else would the ideal reside? - my own nominations would be Peter Handke (and don�t miss the website, it has to be the craziest ever in terms of design) and Maurice Blanchot. I’m not holding my breath.
Other SpikeMagazine.com posts of interest:
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