 1933 Nobel Prize in Literature | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ivan Bunin | ||||
.jpg) "for the strict artistry with which he has carried on the classical Russian traditions in prose writing." | ||||
| Date |
| |||
| Location | Stockholm, Sweden | |||
| Presented by | Swedish Academy | |||
| First award | 1901 | |||
| Website | Official website | |||
| ||||
The1933Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded toIvan Bunin (1870–1953) "for the strict artistry with which he has carried on the classical Russian traditions in prose writing".[2] Bunin was thefirst Russian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.[3]
Ivan Bunin was a poet and prose writer, best known for his short stories and novellas such asThe Gentleman from San Francisco (1916) andMitya's Love (1924). Bunin is regarded as one of the best stylists in the Russian language.[3]
Ivan Bunin was nominated for the prize 18 times starting in 1923, when he was nominated by the 1915 Nobel laureateRomain Rolland. In 1933 five nominations were submitted for Bunin.[4] In total the Nobel committee received 47 nominations for 29 individuals includingFrans Eemil Sillanpää (awarded in 1939),Johannes V. Jensen (awarded in 1944),Paul Valéry,Karel Capek,Coelho Neto,Olav Duun andUpton Sinclair.[5]
The decision to award Ivan Bunin the 1933 Nobel Prize in Literature was preceded by a long campaign.[6] Starting in 1923, the Armenia-born Mihaïl Handamirov, a lecturer in the Russian language and literature atLund University, particularly pushed for a prize to Bunin. Handamirov hired the accomplished translatorsSigurd Agrell and Ruth Wedin Rothstein to introduce Bunin's work in Swedish and made sure that Agrell, in his capacity as professor, continously and eloquently nominated Bunin for the prize. Gradually, positive opinions about Bunin's worthiness to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature accumulated in the relevant Swedish literary circles, and in 1933 the Nobel committee decided to award him the prize.[6]
At the award ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December 1933,Per Hallström, permanent secretary of theSwedish Academy, said:
In the literary history of his country, the place of Ivan Bunin has been clearly defined and his importance recognized for a long time and almost without divergence of opinions. He has followed the great tradition of the brilliant era of the nineteenth century in stressing the line of development which can be continued. He perfected concentration and richness of expression – of a description of real life based on an almost unique precision of observation. With the most rigorous art he has well resisted all temptations to forget things for the charm of words; although by nature a lyric poet, he has never embellished what he has seen but has rendered it with the most exact fidelity. To his simple language he has added a charm which, according to the testimonies of his compatriots, has made of it a precious drink that one can often sense even in the translations. This ability is his eminent and secret talent, and it gives the imprint of the masterpiece to his literary work.[7]
