 1916 Nobel Prize in Literature | ||||
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| Verner von Heidenstam | ||||
 "in recognition of his significance as the leading representative of a new era in our literature." | ||||
| Date |
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| Location | Stockholm, Sweden | |||
| Presented by | Swedish Academy | |||
| First award | 1901 | |||
| Website | Official website | |||
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The 1916Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Swedish poet and prose writerVerner von Heidenstam (1859–1940) "in recognition of his significance as the leading representative of a new era in our literature."[1] Heidenstam was the second Swedish Nobel laureate in Literature afterSelma Lagerlöf in 1909.
Verner von Heidenstam was the leader of the generation of poets of the 1890s that regenerated Swedish poetry. His first collection of poemsVallfart och vandringsår ("Pilgrimage: The Wander Years", 1888), which contains predominantly Oriental themes, marked a new epoch in the modern literature of Sweden. A new form of poetry characterized by rich imagination and the worship of beauty in contrast to the gloomy realistic school which had been dominant in Swedish literature before. In major works such asHans Alienus (1892) and especially inDikter ("Poems", 1895) Heidenstam opens perspectives to an inner life.
He was later noted for patriotic poetry linked to Swedish history in works such asEtt folk ("One People", 1902) and the prose poems inKarolinerna ("TheCharles Men", 1897-98). These were followed by major works such as the epic historical prose workFolkunga Trädet ("The Tree of theFolkungs", 1905-07) includingFolke Filbyter andBjälboarvet ("TheBjälbo Inheritance"). In 1915, the year before Heidenstam was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, another aspect of his writing appeared inNya dikter ("New poems"), a collection of mainly philosophical poems.[1]
Heidenstam received his first nomination in1909 from a Swedish politician and academic, Carl Carlson Bonde. Since then, he was nominated in 11 occasions before eventually being awarded in 1916 with which he received six nominations.[2]
In 1916, the Nobel committee received 47 nominations for 28 writers includingRomain Rolland (who was awarded the postponed prize for1915),Georg Brandes,Henry James,Benito Pérez Galdos andAnatole France (awarded in1921), and for one literary society.[3] 9 of the nominees were nominated first-time, among themErik Axel Karlfeldt (awarded posthumously in1931),Per Hallström,Ivan Franko andGunnar Heiberg. ThePāli Text Society, atext publication society established in 1881, was nominated by its founderThomas William Rhys Davids. Since 1916, it remains the first and last literary society nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.[4] The controversial German authorElisabeth Förster-Nietzsche was the only woman nominated. TheSwedish Academy'spermanent secretaryErik Axel Karlfeldt (awarded posthumously in1931) was nominated by the Swedish bishopNathan Söderblom.[3]
The authorsSholom Aleichem,Rubén Darío,Richard Harding Davis,Mário de Sá-Carneiro,Jane Dieulafoy,Pierre Duhem,Carolina Freyre,Simon Frug,Olindo Guerrini,Petar Kočić,Jack London,João Simões Lopes Neto,Ernst Mach,Hector Hugh Munro (known as Saki),James Whitcomb Riley,Josiah Royce,Charles Taze Russell,Natsume Sōseki,Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky,John Todhunter,Petko Todorov, andFrancis Warre-Cornish died in 1916 without having been nominated for the prize.
| No. | Nominee | Country | Genre(s) | Nominator(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juhani Aho (1861–1921) |  Russia(  Finland) | novel, short story | Karl Alfred Melin (1849–1919) |
| 2 | Georg Brandes (1842–1927) |  Denmark | literary criticism, essays | Vilhelm Andersen (1864–1953) |
| 3 | Otokar Březina (1868–1929) |  Austria-Hungary(  Czechoslovakia) | poetry, essays | Arne Novák (1880–1939) |
| 4 | Rabindranath Datta (1883–1917) |  India | poetry, pedagogy |
|
| 5 | Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche (1846–1935) |  Germany | essays, autobiography |
|
| 6 | Anatole France (1844–1924) |  France | poetry, essays, drama, novel, literary criticism |
|
| 7 | Ivan Franko (1856–1916) | Russia (  Ukraine) | poetry, novel, short story, drama, literary criticism, essays |
|
| 8 | Adolf Frey (1855–1920) |  Switzerland | biography, history, essays | Wilhelm Oechsli (1851–1919) |
| 9 | Arne Garborg (1851–1921) |  Norway | novel, poetry, drama, essays |
|
| 10 | Karl Adolph Gjellerup (1857–1919) | Denmark | poetry, drama, novel |
|
| 11 | Ángel Guimerá Jorge (1845–1924) |  Spain | drama, poetry |
|
| 12 | Per Hallström (1866–1960) |  Sweden | short story, drama, poetry |
|
| 13 | Gunnar Heiberg (1857–1929) | Norway | poetry, drama, literary criticism, essays | Jens Thiis (1870–1942) |
| 14 | Harald Høffding (1843–1931) | Denmark | philosophy, theology | Valdemar Vedel (1865–1942) |
| 15 | Henry James (1843–1916) |  United States Great Britain | novel, short story, drama, essays | Julio Nathaniel Reuter (1863–1937) |
| 16 | Erik Axel Karlfeldt (1864–1931) | Sweden | poetry | Nathan Söderblom (1866–1931) |
| 17 | Jakob Knudsen (1858–1917) | Denmark | novel, short story, pedagogy, theology | Valdemar Vedel (1865–1942) |
| 18 | Troels Frederik Lund (1840–1921) | Denmark | history | Frits Läffler (1847–1921) |
| 19 | Benito Pérez Galdós (1843–1920) | Spain | novel, short story, drama, essays |
|
| 20 | Edmond Picard (1836–1924) |  Belgium | drama, law, essays | 3 members of theRoyal Academy of Belgium |
| 21 | Henrik Pontoppidan (1857–1943) | Denmark | novel, short story | Otto Jespersen (1860–1943) |
| 22 | Romain Rolland (1866–1944) | France | novel, drama, essays |
|
| 23 | Henrik Schück (1855–1947) | Sweden | literary criticism, essays | Rabbe Axel Wrede (1851–1938) |
| 24 | Carl Spitteler (1845–1924) | Switzerland | poetry, essays |
|
| 25 | Émile Verhaeren (1855–1916) | Belgium | poetry, essays | unnamed |
| 26 | Ernst von der Recke (1848–1933) | Denmark | poetry, drama | Karl Alfred Melin (1849–1919) |
| 27 | Adolf von Harnack (1851–1930) | Germany | history, theology | Karl Alfred Melin (1849–1919) |
| 28 | Verner von Heidenstam (1859–1940) | Sweden | novel, short story, poetry |
|
| 29 | The Pāli Text Society (founded in 1881) | Great Britain | translation, history, publications | Thomas William Rhys Davids (1843–1922) |
The committee's shortlist for 1916 consisted of Swedish poetVerner von Heidenstam, Danish historianJakob Knudsen and Danish poetKarl Adolph Gjellerup. During the deliberations, the committee voted for a shared prize between the two Danish writers Knudsen and Gjellerup, but the Academy disagreed with the decision of the committee and instead awarded the prize, as a compromise choice, to Heidenstam.[5][page needed][6]
The decision to award Heidenstam, himself a member of the awarding institution theSwedish Academy, as the second Swedish Nobel laureate in just seven years was criticized by some. Internationally it was generally well received.[7] The decision to award Heidenstam has been seen as a result of the strong tendency ofnationalism in Sweden at the time.[8]
