Nobel Prize in Literature goes to Norwegian Jon Fosse

The 64-year-old playwright is being honored “for his innovative plays and prose” that “give voice to the unsayable,” according to the Nobel Committee in Stockholm.

Norwegian author Jon Fosse receives the Nobel Prize for Literature. This was announced by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm. He received the award “for his innovative plays and prose, which give a voice to the unspeakable,” it said.

Last year the Nobel Prize in Literature went to the French writer Annie Ernaux. The prize is worth eleven million Swedish kroner (currently around 950,000 euros).

The awards gala traditionally takes place on December 10th in Sweden’s capital Stockholm, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. In 2021, the London-based Tanzanian writer Abdulrazak Gurnah was honored with the Nobel Prize, the first time an African author had been honored in 18 years. In 2020, the American poet Louise Glück received the prestigious award.

Nobel Prize in Literature 2023 / Here is the life of the Norwegian Writer…

The 2023 Nobel Prizes continue to find their winners. Finally, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was given yesterday.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 was awarded to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov for their work on the ‘discovery and synthesis of quantum dots’. Just before, Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier won the Nobel Prize in Physics. The Nobel Prize in Literature 2023 has found its winner. So, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature? Here is the life of the Norwegian Writer…

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2023 winner has been announced. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that Norwegian writer Jon Fosse was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “for his innovative plays and prose that express the unsayable.”

“His enormous body of work, written in the Norwegian Nynorsk language and spanning a variety of genres, includes numerous plays, novels, poetry collections, essays, children’s books and translations,” the statement said. “While he is one of the most staged playwrights in the world today, he is also increasingly known for his prose writings.”

So, who is Jon Fosse, how old is he, what are his works? Here’s what you’re curious about…

WHO IS JON FOSSE?

Jon Olav Fosse (born 29 September 1959) is a Norwegian author and playwright. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2023 “for his innovative plays and prose that express the unspeakable”. He is the most performed Norwegian playwright after Henrik Ibsen.

Jon Fosse was born in Haugesund, Norway. A serious accident when he was seven years old brought him to the brink of death; this experience significantly influenced his writing as an adult. He enrolled at the University of Bergen and studied comparative literature, later embarking on a literary career, writing in Nynorsk, one of the two written standards of the Norwegian language. His first novel, Raudt, svart (Red, Black), was published in 1983. His first play, Og aldri skal vi skiljast (And We Will Never Part), was staged and published in 1994. Fosse has written novels, short stories, poems, children’s books, essays, and plays. His works have been translated into more than forty languages. He also played music (violin), and much of his writing practice as a teenager involved creating his own lyrics for pieces of music.

Fosse was awarded the title of knight of France’s Ordre national du Mérite in 2003. Fosse was also ranked 83rd on The Daily Telegraph’s “100 Greatest Living Geniuses” list.

Since 2011, Fosse has been awarded the Grotten, an honorary residence owned by the Norwegian state and located in the Royal Palace building in downtown Oslo. The use of the Grotten as a permanent residence is an honor specially bestowed by the King of Norway in recognition of his contribution to Norwegian art and culture.

Fosse was among the literary advisors for Bibel 2011, the Norwegian translation of the Bible published in 2011.

Fosse was awarded the 2015 Nordic Council Prize for Literature for his trilogy Andvake (Awake), Olavs draumar (Olav’s Dreams) and Kveldsvævd (Fatigue).

Many of Fosse’s works were translated into Persian by Muhammad Hamed and his works were performed in main halls in Tehran, Iran.

His novel A New Name: Septology VI-VII, translated into English by Damion Searls in April 2022, was nominated for the International Booker Prize. The book was named a finalist for the 2023 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction.

While working on his novels, Fosse also works as a translator on the works of other writers.