1931 Nobel Prize in Literature
 The 1931 Nobel Prize in Literature | |
|---|---|
| Erik Axel Karlfeldt | |
 "The poetry of Erik Axel Karlfeldt." | |
| Date | October 08, 1931 |
| Location | Stockholm |
| Country | Sweden |
| Presented by | Swedish Academy |
| Hosted by | Per Hallström |
| First awarded | 1901 |
| Website | 1931 Nobel Prize in Literature |
The 1931 Nobel Prize in Literature was posthumously awarded to the Swedish poet Erik Axel Karlfeldt (1864–1931) with the citation: "The poetry of Erik Axel Karlfeldt."[1] He was the third Swede to win the prize and remains the only recipient to be posthumously awarded.[1] It has been rumored that he had been offered the award already in 1918 and 1919 but refused it, at least in part because of his position as permanent secretary to the Swedish Academy (1913–1931), which awards the prize.[2][3]
Laureate
Erik Axel Karlfeldt's poetry is deeply rooted in the region he grew up in and its traditions. The region, however, increasingly became a microcosm to reflect the universal in his Vildmarks- och kärleksvisor ("Songs of Wilderness and of Love", 1895). His works are basically of an untamed nature, while characterized by austerity and a rejection of egotism, and often use his alter ego, "Fridolin", to represent his mood, yearnings, loss and humor as in his poems Fridolins visor ("Fridolin's Songs", 1898) and Fridolins lustgård ("Fridolin's Pleasure Garden", 1901). Karlfeldt's poems demonstrate a wonderful grasp of language. Despite his close connection with his native region and its traditions, he tested the possibilities presented by both his imagination and poetry as an art form. His last collection, Hösthorn ("The Horn of Autumn", 1927) was published four years before his death.[4][3]
Deliberations
Nominations
Karlfeldt was nominated in 10 different occasions starting in 1916. In 1931, he received a single nomination from the 1930 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nathan Söderblom, also a member of the Swedish Academy, with which he was awarded posthumously afterwards.[5]
In total, the Nobel committee received 49 nominations for 29 individuals. Ten of the nominees are nominated first-time among them Hermann Hesse (awarded in 1946), Francis Jammes, Ole Edvart Rølvaag, Erich Maria Remarque, Ramón Pérez de Ayala, and Ramón Menéndez Pidal. The highest number of nominations were for the Spanish philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal with 8 nominations followed by Concha Espina de la Serna with 6 nominations. Three of the nominees were women namely Concha Espina de la Serna, Laura Mestre Hevia, and Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić.[6]
The authors Khalil Gibran, John Lawson Stoddard, Ieronim Yasinsky, Max Elskamp, Milan Šufflay, Ernst Didring, Arthur Schnitzler, Vachel Lindsay, Enrico Corradini, Frank Harris, Hall Caine, Arnold Bennett, Hara Prasad Shastri, Xu Zhimo, Mary St. Leger Kingsley (known as Lucas Malet), Rachel Bluwstein, and Ida B. Wells died in 1931 without having been nominated for the prize. Norwegian-American author Ole Edvart Rølvaag died weeks before the announcement.
| No. | Nominee | Country | Genre(s) | Nominator(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georg Bonne (1859–1945) |  Germany
|
essays | Carl Heldmann (1869–1943) |
| 2 | Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić (1874–1938) |  Croatia
|
novel, short story | Gavro Manojlović (1856–1939) |
| 3 | Olaf Bull (1883–1933) |  Norway
|
poetry | Jens Thiis (1870–1942) |
| 4 | Ivan Bunin (1870–1953) |  Russia
|
short story, novel, poetry |
|
| 5 | Olav Duun (1876–1939) | Norway
|
novel, short story | Helga Eng (1875–1966) |
| 6 | Paul Ernst (1866–1933) | Germany
|
novel, short story, drama, essays |
|
| 7 | Concha Espina de la Serna (1869–1955) |  Spain
|
novel, short story |
|
| 8 | Édouard Estaunié (1862–1942) |  France
|
novel, essays | Erik Staaff (1867–1936) |
| 9 | John Galsworthy (1867–1933) |  United Kingdom
|
novel, drama, essays, short story, memoir | Martin Lamm (1880–1950) |
| 10 | Stefan George (1868–1933) | Germany
|
poetry, translation | Andreas Hofgaard Winsnes (1889–1972) |
| 11 | Bertel Gripenberg (1878–1947) |  Finland Sweden
|
poetry, drama, essays |
|
| 12 | Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) | Germany Switzerland
|
novel, poetry, short story, essays | Thomas Mann (1875–1955) |
| 13 | Francis Jammes (1868–1938) | France
|
poetry, songwriting, essays | Anders Österling (1884–1981) |
| 14 | Johannes Vilhelm Jensen (1873–1950) |  Denmark
|
novel, short story, poetry |
|
| 15 | Erik Axel Karlfeldt (1884–1981) | Sweden
|
poetry | Nathan Söderblom (1866–1931) |
| 16 | Rudolf Kassner (1873–1959) |  Austria
|
philosophy, essays, translation | 19 professors from Austria, Germany and Switzerland |
| 17 | Ramón Menéndez Pidal (1869–1968) | Spain
|
philology, history |
|
| 18 | Dmitry Merezhkovsky (1865–1941) | Russia
|
novel, essays, poetry, drama | Sigurd Agrell (1881–1937) |
| 19 | Laura Mestre Hevia (1867–1944) |  Cuba
|
translation | Juan Miguel Dihigo Mestre (1866–1952) |
| 20 | Martin Andersen Nexø (1869–1954) | Denmark
|
novel, short story | Alfred Döblin (1878–1957) |
| 21 | Kostis Palamas (1859–1943) |  Greece
|
poetry, essays |
|
| 22 | Ramón Pérez de Ayala (1880–1962) | Spain
|
novel, poetry, literary criticism | Ramón Menéndez Pidal (1869–1968) |
| 23 | Erich Maria Remarque (1898–1970) | Germany
|
novel, short story, essays, drama | Tor Hedberg (1862–1931) |
| 24 | Ole Edvart Rølvaag (1876–1931) | Norway United States
|
novel, short story, essays | Laurence Marcellus Larson (1868–1938) |
| 25 | Johann Rump (known as Nathanael Jünger) (1871–1941) |
Germany
|
theology, essays | Fredrik Wulff (1845–1930) |
| 26 | Ivan Shmelyov (1873–1950) | Russia France
|
novel, short story | Thomas Mann (1875–1955) |
| 27 | Frans Eemil Sillanpää (1888–1964) | Finland
|
novel, short story, poetry | Rafael Erich (1879–1946) |
| 28 | Paul Valéry (1871–1945) | France
|
poetry, philosophy, essays, drama | Denis Saurat (1890–1958) |
| 29 | Anton Wildgans (1881–1932) | Austria
|
poetry, drama | Axel Romdahl (1880–1951) |
Award ceremony
His wife, Gerda Holmberg–Karlfeldt, was the one who received the Nobel diploma, medal and monetary prize worth SEK173,206 from King Gustaf V and permanent secretary, Per Hallström.[4]
In the award ceremony held on 10 December 1931, Anders Österling, Swedish Academy member, explained the Nobel Committee's justification of awarding the prize posthumously, by saying:
Thus the decision to honour the poetry of Erik Axel Karlfeldt with this year’s Nobel Prize is intended as an expression of justice by international standards. Death has stepped between the laureate and his reward; under the circumstances the Prize will be given to his family. He has left us, but his work remains. The tragic world of chance is outshone by the imperishable summer realm of poetry. Before our eyes we see the tomb in the dusk of winter. At the same time we hear the great victorious harmonies sung by the happiness of the creative genius; we feel the scents from the Northern pleasure garden that his poetry created for the comfort and joy of all receptive hearts.[7]
Reactions
The prize was controversial not just because it was the first and only time the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded posthumously, but because the Academy had previously awarded two other Swedish writers of the same literary era, Selma Lagerlöf in 1909 and Verner von Heidenstam in 1916. Internationally, it was heavily criticized as few had heard of Karlfeldt.[8]
References
- ^ a b The Nobel Prize in Literature 1931 nobelprize.org
- ^ Karlfeldtsamfundet Archived 26 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine (Swedish). Retrieved 21 May 2021.
- ^ a b Erik Axel Karlfeldt britannica.com
- ^ a b Erik Axel Karlfeldt – Facts nobelprize.org
- ^ Nomination archive – Erik Axel Karlfeldt nobelprize.org
- ^ Nomination archive – 1931 nobelprize.org
- ^ 1931 Award ceremony nobelprize.org
- ^ Helmer Lång, 100 nobelpris i litteratur 1901–2001, Symposion 2001, page 131
External links
- Award ceremony speech by Anders Österling nobelprize.org