Thursday thought: Prize winning and its Purpose

I have spent some time considering the recent comments made by Horace Engdahl, the Permanent Secretary of the Nobel Committee for Literature when he told the Associated Press that American literature is, "too isolated, too insular," and American writers are "too sensitive to trends in their own mass culture". So many of the web comments made in response demonstrate a lack of respect for an experienced and educated man in a position of authority. It would appear that many readers believe that someone of his standing would make totally unconsidered remarks not worthy of examining before launching into an emotively charged statement along the lines of 'what does he know about American literature, anyway?' When the prize was announced today, I wondered how it would be reported in the media. I wondered if the announcement of the winner would have been reported as much had there been no controversial remarks made a week earlier? Especially since it appears few have heard of him. I make this assumption based on my own ignorance and the comment made in the Time article:

"The sound of America's literary journalists searching Wikipedia en masse is deafening."
Time magazine

So what could journalists write about, when the author was someone they did not know, much of whose work is currently unavailable to English speaking journalists, untranslated or out of print and getting few hits about his books' background?

The controversy.

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It didn't go to an American author. That's what the headlines of most papers seem to report, of the news that Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio has been awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize for Literature. The Herald Tribune and Fox News carry the same story, and the Washington Post shares the same headline, "France's Le Clezio Wins Nobel Literature Prize". Even the New York Times appears to want to underline the sentiment, by listing previous prize winners alongside their country of birth. The BBC website simply states, "Author Le Clezio wins Nobel prize." Reuters in contrast, reads "Nomadic" writer wins Nobel prize." Where few choose to focus is on Le Clezio's diverse background, ethnicity and extensive writing, with its engaging positions on ecology and humanity. The Post dedicates one paragraph to his writing, and four surrounding 'the controversy.'

(read my complete article at The View From Here Magazine; where I examine the purpose of the Nobel prize and reactions to the news.)

image ©Jan Tik - Flickr