 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Camus | ||||
 "for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times." | ||||
| Date |
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| Location | Stockholm | |||
| Country | Sweden | |||
| Presented by | Swedish Academy | |||
| First award | 1901 | |||
| Website | Official website | |||
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The1957Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded the French writerAlbert Camus (1913–1960) "for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times."[1] He is the ninth French author to become a recipient of the prize after Catholic novelistFrançois Mauriac in 1952, and the fourth philosopher after British analytic philosopherBertrand Russell in1950.
Aged 44 when he received the prize, Camus is the second youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, after onlyRudyard Kipling (41).[2]
Camus made his debut as a writer in 1937, but his breakthrough came with the novelL’étranger ("The Stranger"), published in 1942. It concerns theabsurdity of life, a theme he returns to in other books, including his philosophical workLe mythe de Sisyphe ("The Myth of Sisyphus", 1942). He also worked as a journalist and playwright withCaligula (1944), which received praises from theatre critics. Because of his friendship withJean-Paul Sartre, Camus was labeled anexistentialist, but he preferred not to be linked with any ideology. His other successful novels includeLa peste ("The Plague", 1947),La chute ("The Fall", 1956), and an unfinished autobiography,Le Premier homme ("The First Man"), was published posthumously.[3][4]
Albert Camus was nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature on 11 occasions, the first time in1949. He was nominated once in 1957 by a French professor of Anglo-Saxon language and literature from the Caen University, which he was awarded afterwards.[5]
In total, the Nobel committee received 66 nominations for 49 writers includingNikos Kazantzakis,E. M. Forster,Alberto Moravia,Georges Duhamel,Jules Romains,Ezra Pound,Saint-John Perse (awarded in1960),Carlo Levi,Boris Pasternak (awarded in1958) andRobert Frost.[6] 12 of the nominees were nominated first-time among themJean-Paul Sartre (awarded in1964),Lennox Robinson,Jan Parandowski,Samuel Beckett (awarded in1969),Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz,André Chamson,Väinö Linna andCarlo Levi. The nominee with the highest number of nominations – 4 nominations – was forAndré Malraux. Four of the nominees were women namelyGertrud von Le Fort,Karen Blixen,Henriette Charasson, andMaria Dąbrowska.
The authorsNurullah Ataç,Erich Auerbach,Arturo Barea,Ernst Bertram,Roy Campbell,Joyce Cary,José Lins do Rego,Alfred Döblin,Claude Farrère,Peter Freuchen,Rose Fyleman,Oliver St. John Gogarty,Sacha Guitry,Laura Ingalls Wilder,Eric Alfred Knudsen,Barbu Lăzăreanu,Wyndham Lewis,Malcolm Lowry,Mait Metsanurk,Christopher Morley,Gilbert Murray,Ralph Barton Perry,Clemente Rebora,Aleksey Remizov,Umberto Saba,Dorothy L. Sayers, andGiuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa died in 1957 without having been nominated for the prize. French poetValery Larbaud died before the only chance to be rewarded.
| No. | Nominee | Country | Genre(s) | Nominator(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Aldanov (1886–1957) |  Ukraine France | biography, novel, essays, literary criticism | Samson Soloveitchik (1887–1974) |
| 2 | Riccardo Bacchelli (1891–1985) |  Italy | novel, drama, essays |
|
| 3 | Knuth Becker (1891–1974) |  Denmark | poetry, novel | Sven Clausen (1893–1961) |
| 4 | Samuel Beckett (1906–1989) |  Ireland | novel, drama, poetry | Robert-Léon Wagner (1905–1982) |
| 5 | Karen Blixen (1885–1962) | Denmark | novel, short story, memoir |
|
| 6 | Albert Camus (1913–1960) | France ( Algeria) | novel, short story, essays, philosophy, drama | Sylvère Monod (1921–2006) |
| 7 | André Chamson (1900–1983) | France | novel, essays | Jean-Baptiste Fort (1870-1942) |
| 8 | Henriette Charasson (1884–1972) | France | poetry, essays, drama, novel, literary criticism, biography | Serge Barrault (1887–1976) |
| 9 | Maria Dąbrowska (1889–1965) |  Poland | novel, short story, essays, drama, literary criticism | Charles Hyatt (1931–2007) |
| 10 | Gonzague de Reynold (1880–1970) |  Switzerland | history, essays, biography, memoir | Pierre-Henri Simon (1903–1972) |
| 11 | Henry de Montherlant (1895–1972) | France | essays, novel, drama | Eugène Napoleon Tigerstedt (1907–1979) |
| 12 | Georges Duhamel (1884–1966) | France | novel, short story, poetry, drama, literary criticism | André Plassart (1889–1978) |
| 13 | Mircea Eliade (1907–1986) |  Romania United States | history, philosophy, essays, autobiography, novel, short story | Ernest Koliqi (1903–1975) |
| 14 | Johan Falkberget (1879–1967) |  Norway | novel, short story, essays | Norwegian Authors' Union |
| 15 | Lion Feuchtwanger (1884–1958) |  GermanyUnited States | novel, drama | Viktor Klemperer (1881–1960) |
| 16 | Edward Morgan Forster (1879–1970) |  United Kingdom | novel, short story, drama, essays, biography, literary criticism |
|
| 17 | Robert Frost (1874–1963) | United States | poetry, drama | The American PEN-Club |
| 18 | Jean Giono (1895–1970) | France | novel, short story, essays, poetry, drama | Robert-Léon Wagner (1905–1982) |
| 19 | Armand Godoy (1880–1964) |  CubaFrance | poetry, translation |
|
| 20 | Hu Shih (1891–1962) |  China | essays, philosophy, history, poetry, pedagogy | The Chinese PEN-Club |
| 21 | Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz (1894–1980) | Poland | poetry, essays, drama, translation, short story, novel | Charles Hyatt (1931–2007) |
| 22 | Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957) |  Greece | novel, philosophy, essays, drama, memoir, translation |
|
| 23 | Valery Larbaud (1881–1957) | France | novel, poetry, literary criticism | Pierre Costil (1901–1968) |
| 24 | Carlo Levi (1902–1975) | Italy | memoir, novel, short story | Mario Praz (1896–1892) |
| 25 | Väinö Linna (1920–1992) |  Finland | novel | Rolf Lagerborg (1874–1959) |
| 26 | André Malraux (1901–1976) | France | novel, essays, literary criticism |
|
| 27 | Gabriel Marcel (1889–1973) | France | philosophy, drama | Charles Dédéyan (1910–2003) |
| 28 | Ramón Menéndez Pidal (1869–1968) |  Spain | philology, history |
|
| 29 | Alberto Moravia (1907–1990) | Italy | novel, literary criticism, essays, drama | Gennaro Perrotta (1900–1962) |
| 30 | Seán O'Casey (1880–1964) | Ireland | drama, memoir | Oscar Cargill (1898–1972) |
| 31 | Jan Parandowski (1895–1978) | Poland | essays, translation | Charles Hyatt (1931–2007) |
| 32 | Boris Pasternak (1890–1960) |  Russia | poetry, novel, translation | Harry Martinson (1904–1978) |
| 33 | Saint-John Perse (1887–1975) | France | poetry | Dag Hammarskjöld (1905–1961) |
| 34 | Ezra Pound (1885–1972) | United States | poetry, essays | Ingvar Andersson (1899–1974) |
| 35 | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975) |  India | philosophy, essays, law |
|
| 36 | Lennox Robinson (1886–1958) | Ireland | drama, poetry | The Irish PEN-Club |
| 37 | Jules Romains (1885–1972) | France | poetry, drama, screenplay |
|
| 38 | Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) | France | philosophy, novel, drama, essays, screenplay | Jacques Scherer (1912–1997) |
| 39 | Zalman Shneour (1887–1959) |  BelarusUnited States | poetry, essays | Simon Rawidowicz (1897–1957) |
| 40 | Ignazio Silone (1900–1978) | Italy | novel, short story, essays, drama | Gennaro Perrotta (1900–1962) |
| 41 | Stijn Streuvels (1871–1969) |  Belgium | novel, short story |
|
| 42 | Jules Supervielle (1884–1960) | France Uruguay | poetry, novel, short story | Maurice Le Boucher (1882–1964) |
| 43 | Herman Teirlinck (1879–1967) | Belgium | novel, poetry, essays, drama |
|
| 44 | Frank Thiess (1890–1977) | West Germany | novel | Kasimir Edschmid (1890–1966) |
| 45 | Arnold Joseph Toynbee (1889–1975) | United Kingdom | history, philosophy | Claude Backvis (1910–1998) |
| 46 | George Macauley Trevelyan (1876–1962) | United Kingdom | biography, autobiography, essays, history | Elias Wessén (1889–1981) |
| 47 | Tarjei Vesaas (1897–1970) | Norway | poetry, novel | Sigmund Skard (1903–1995) |
| 48 | Simon Vestdijk (1898–1971) |  Netherlands | novel, poetry, essays, translation | The Belgian PEN-Club |
| 49 | Gertrud von Le Fort (1876–1971) | West Germany | novel, short story, essays, poetry | Poetry Department of the Prussian Academy of Arts |
According to theNew York Times, the members of theSwedish Academy voted unanimously for Albert Camus as the 1957 laureate.[7]Anders Österling, permanent secretary of the Academy, said that Camus work "can unhesitatingly be said to conform with the idealistic aim which is the very base of the Nobel Prize."[7] The Danish authorKaren Blixen was told by a Swedish journalist the she was the favourite among the judges to be awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature and expected to win the prize.[8]
The choice of Albert Camus was well received in France. Following the prize announcement, author and literature criticÉmile Henriot wrote inLe Monde: "He is one of the men whose thought and talent honor France, and it is wonderful that this title is recognized with such brilliance abroad. The high literary qualities of his work have, with five or six important books, undoubtedly deserved the place he occupies at the forefront of our writers".[9] Camus himself modestly said: "I wishMalraux had got the prize. He deserved it more than I did".[10]
At the award ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December 1957Anders Österling, permanent secretary of theSwedish Academy, said:
Active and highly creative, Camus is in the centre of interest in the literary world, even outside of France. Inspired by an authentic moral engagement, he devotes himself with all his being to the great fundamental questions of life, and certainly this aspiration corresponds to the idealistic end for which the Nobel Prize was established. Behind his incessant affirmation of the absurdity of the human condition is no sterile negativism. This view of things is supplemented in him by a powerful imperative, a nevertheless, an appeal to the will which incites to revolt against absurdity and which, for that reason, creates a value.[11]
At theNobel banquet inStockholm City Hall on 10 December 1957, Albert Camus held a speech in which he spoke about his idea of his art and the role of the writer. Prior to the speech,Bernard Karlgren, a member of theSwedish Royal Academy of Sciences, addressed Camus, pointing out the prominent role of France in Western culture and said:
In your writings we find manifested to a high degree the clarity and the lucidity, the penetration and the subtlety, the inimitable art inherent in your literary language, all of which we admire and warmly love. We salute you as a true representative of that wonderful French spirit.[12]
