 1965 Nobel Prize in Literature | |
|---|---|
| Mikhail Sholokhov | |
 "for the artistic power and integrity with which, in hisepic of the Don, he has given expression to a historic phase in the life of the Russian people." | |
| Date |
|
| Location | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Presented by | Swedish Academy |
| First award | 1901 |
| Website | Official website |
The 1965Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded the Soviet-Russian novelistMikhail Sholokhov (1905–1984) "for the artistic power and integrity with which, in hisepic of the Don, he has given expression to a historic phase in the life of the Russian people."[1] He is the thirdRussian-speaking author to become the prize's recipient.
Mikhail Sholokhov was born inVyoshenskaya, Russia. He fought in theRussian Civil War as aBolshevik at the age of 13. To pursue a career as a journalist, he relocated to Moscow in 1922. He returned to his birthplace two years later and concentrated solely on his literary career. He drew inspiration for his debut book,Donskie Rasskazy ("Tales from the Don", 1925), from his experiences in both the Russian Civil War andWorld War I.[2]
His magnum opusTikhii Don ("The Quiet Don", 1928–1966) was published in four volumes (translated asAnd Quiet Flows the Don (1934);The Don Flows Home to the Sea (1940);Quiet Flows the Don (1966)) to him 14 years to complete. It was praised as a potent illustration of socialist realism and became the most widely-read book in Soviet literature. Sholokhov had a keen interest in how people's lives played out against Russia's changes and problems. It took him 27 years to complete his other significant piece for the Don cycle,Podnyataya Tselina ("Virgin Soil Upturned", 1932–1960).[2][3]
Sholokhov started receiving nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature since1947. He received 20 nominations in total until he was eventually awarded.[4][5] He received the highest number of nominations in the year 1965.[5]
For this year, the Nobel Committee received 120 nominations[6] for 93 authors includingSimon Vestdijk,Ramón Menéndez Pidal,Nelly Sachs (awarded in1966),André Malraux,Ezra Pound,Pablo Neruda (awarded in1971),E. M. Forster,Max Frisch, andTaha Hussein. 21 of the nominees were newly nominated, such asAlejo Carpentier,Konstantin Paustovsky,Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh,Anna Akhmatova,Marguerite Yourcenar,Gyula Illyés,Marie Luise Kaschnitz,Gilbert Cesbron,Giovannino Guareschi, andAlan Sillitoe. The highest number of nominations was for the French authorAndré Malraux (with six nominations). Eight of the nominees were women, namely:Marguerite Yourcenar,Judith Wright,Anna Akhmatova,Katherine Anne Porter,Marie Luise Kaschnitz,Nelly Sachs,Maria Dąbrowska, andMaría Raquel Adler.[6]
The authorsJacques Audiberti,Alejandro Casona,Thomas B. Costain,Rampo Edogawa,Eleanor Farjeon,Lorraine Hansberry,Louis Hjelmslev,Mehdi Huseyn,Shirley Jackson,Randall Jarrell,Una Marson,Betty Miller,Edgar Mittelholzer,Fan S. Noli,Dawn Powell,Arthur Schlesinger, Sr.,Jack Spicer,Howard Spring,Thomas Sigismund Stribling,Paul Tillich, andAslaug Vaa died in 1965 without having been nominated for the prize.
| No. | Nominee | Country | Genre(s) | Nominator(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966) |  Soviet Union | poetry |
|
| 2 | María Raquel Adler (1901–1974) |  Argentina | poetry, essays | Catholic University of Cuyo |
| 3 | Theodor Adorno (1903–1969) |  West Germany | philosophy, essays | Helmut Viebrock (1912–1997) |
| 4 | Shmuel Yosef Agnon (1887–1970) |  Israel | novel, short story | Baruch Kurzweil (1907–1972) |
| 5 | Alceu Amoroso Lima (1893–1983) |  Brazil | philosophy, essays, literary criticism | Academia Mineira de Letras |
| 6 | Louis Aragon (1897–1982) |  France | novel, short story, poetry, essays |
|
| 7 | Tudor Arghezi (1880–1967) |  Romania | novel, short story, poetry, essays | Angelo Monteverdi (1886–1967) |
| 8 | Miguel Ángel Asturias (1899–1974) |  Guatemala | novel, short story, poetry, essays, drama | Erik Lindegren (1910–1968) |
| 9 | Wystan Hugh Auden (1907–1973) |  United Kingdom United States | poetry, essays, screenplay |
|
| 10 | Samuel Beckett (1906–1989) |  Ireland | novel, drama, poetry | William Stuart Maguinness (1903–1983) |
| 11 | René Béhaine (1880–1966) | France | novel, short story, essays | Yves Gandon (1899–1975) |
| 12 | Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) | Argentina | poetry, essays, translation, short story |
|
| 13 | Henri Bosco (1888–1976) | France | novel, short story | Barthélémy-Antonin Taladoire (1907–1976) |
| 14 | Maurice Bowra (1898–1971) | United Kingdom | history, essays, literary criticism, poetry | Ernest Ludwig Stahl (1902–1992) |
| 15 | Martin Buber (1878–1965) |  AustriaIsrael | philosophy |
|
| 16 | Heinrich Böll (1917–1985) | West Germany | novel, short story | Gustav Korlén (1915–2014) |
| 17 | Josep Carner (1884–1970) |  Spain | poetry, drama, translation | Robert Guiette (1895–1976) |
| 18 | Alejo Carpentier (1904–1980) |  Cuba | novel, short story, essays | Jean-Louis Flecniakoska (1913–2005) |
| 19 | Gilbert Cesbron (1913–1979) | France | novel, short story, essays, drama, poetry | Pierre Jonin (1912–1997) |
| 20 | André Chamson (1900–1983) | France | novel, essays | Charles Rostaing (1904–1999) |
| 21 | René Char (1907–1988) | France | poetry | Georges Blin (1917–2016) |
| 22 | Maria Dąbrowska (1889–1965) |  Poland | novel, short story, essays, drama, literary criticism | Carl Stief (1914–1998) |
| 23 | Lawrence Durrell (1912–1990) | United Kingdom | novel, short story, poetry, drama, essays | Paul Gerhard Buchloh (1922–1986) |
| 24 | Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990) |  Switzerland | drama, novel, short story, essays | Friedrich Sengle (1909–1994) |
| 25 | Johan Falkberget (1879–1967) |  Norway | novel, short story, essays | Hans Heiberg (1904–1978) |
| 26 | Edward Morgan Forster (1879–1970) | United Kingdom | novel, short story, drama, essays, biography, literary criticism | Pierre Legouis (1891–1975) |
| 27 | Max Frisch (1911–1991) | Switzerland | novel, drama |
|
| 28 | Sudhindra Nath Ghose (1899–1965) |  India | novel, short story, essays | Henri de Ziégler (1885–1970) |
| 29 | Gopal Singh (1917–1990) | India | biography, law, essays, translation |
|
| 30 | Giovannino Guareschi (1908–1968) |  Italy | novel, short story, essays | Mario Manlio Rossi (1895–1971) |
| 31 | Jean Guéhenno (1890–1978) | France | essays, literary criticism | Edmond Jarno (1905–1985) |
| 32 | Jorge Guillén (1893–1984) | Spain | poetry, literary criticism | Henri Peyre (1901–1988) |
| 33 | Jean Guitton (1901–1999) | France | philosophy, theology | Édouard Delebecque (1910–1990) |
| 34 | Gunnar Gunnarsson (1889–1975) |  Iceland | novel, short story, poetry | Stellan Arvidson (1902–1997) |
| 35 | Leslie Poles Hartley (1895–1972) | United Kingdom | novel, short story, essays | Geoffrey Tillotson (1905–1969) |
| 36 | Pêr-Jakez Helias (1914–1995) | France | poetry, drama, essays | André Lebois (1915–1978) |
| 37 | Taha Hussein (1889–1973) |  Egypt | novel, short story, poetry, translation | Charles Pellat (1914–1992) |
| 38 | Gyula Illyés (1902–1983) |  Hungary | poetry, novel, drama, essays | János Lotz (1913–1973) |
| 39 | Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz (1894–1980) | Poland | poetry, essays, drama, translation, short story, novel | Jean Fabre (1904–1975) |
| 40 | Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh (1892–1997) |  Iran | short story, translation | Richard Nelson Frye (1920–2014) |
| 41 | Eyvind Johnson (1900–1976) |  Sweden | novel, short story | Carl-Eric Thors (1920–1986) |
| 42 | Marcel Jouhandeau (1888–1979) | France | short story, novel | Jean Gaulmier (1905–1997) |
| 43 | Ernst Jünger (1895–1998) | West Germany | philosophy, novel, memoir |
|
| 44 | Marie Luise Kaschnitz (1901–1974) | West Germany | novel, short story, essays, drama | Hermann Tiemann (1899–1981) |
| 45 | Yasunari Kawabata (1899–1972) |  Japan | novel, short story | Harry Martinson (1904–1978) |
| 46 | Miroslav Krleža (1893–1981) |  Yugoslavia | poetry, drama, short story, novel, essays | Association of Writers of Yugoslavia |
| 47 | Erich Kästner (1899–1974) | West Germany | poetry, screenplay, autobiography | Werner Betz (1912–1980) |
| 48 | André Malraux (1901–1976) | France | novel, essays, literary criticism |
|
| 49 | Gabriel Marcel (1889–1973) | France | philosophy, drama | Olof Gigon (1912–1998) |
| 50 | William Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) | United Kingdom | novel, short story, drama, essays | Jean-Albert Bédé (1903–1977) |
| 51 | Ramón Menéndez Pidal (1869–1968) | Spain | philology, history |
|
| 52 | Yukio Mishima (1925–1970) | Japan | novel, short story, drama, literary criticism | Harry Martinson (1904–1978) |
| 53 | Vilhelm Moberg (1898–1973) | Sweden | novel, drama, history | Gösta Bergman (1894–1984) |
| 54 | Henry de Montherlant (1895–1972) | France | essays, novel, drama | Louis Moulinier (1904–1971) |
| 56 | Alberto Moravia (1907–1990) | Italy | novel, literary criticism, essays, drama | Uberto Limentani (1913–1989) |
| 57 | Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977) |  RussiaUnited States | novel, short story, poetry, drama, translation, literary criticism, memoir |
|
| 58 | Pablo Neruda (1904–1973) |  Chile | poetry |
|
| 59 | Junzaburō Nishiwaki (1894–1982) | Japan | poetry, literary criticism | Naoshirō Tsuji (1899–1979) |
| 60 | Konstantin Paustovsky (1892–1968) | Soviet Union | novel, poetry, drama | Karl Ragnar Gierow (1904–1982) |
| 61 | Katherine Anne Porter (1890–1980) | United States | short story, essays | George Hendrick (1929–2021) |
| 62 | Ezra Pound (1885–1972) | United States | poetry, essays | Hans Galinsky (1909–1991) |
| 63 | Zayn al-ʻĀbidīn Rahnamā (1894–1990) | Iran | history, essays, translation | Ali-Asghar Hekmat (1893–1980) |
| 64 | Wilhelm Röpke (1899–1966) | West Germany Switzerland | essays | Olof Gigon (1912–1998) |
| 65 | Nelly Sachs (1891–1970) | West GermanySweden | poetry, drama |
|
| 66 | Aksel Sandemose (1899–1965) |  DenmarkNorway | novel, essays | Eyvind Johnson (1900–1976) |
| 67 | Alan Sillitoe (1928–2010) | United Kingdom | novel, short story, essays, poetry, translation | Robert Graves (1895–1985) |
| 68 | Georges Simenon (1903–1989) |  Belgium | novel, short story, memoir | René Kaech (1909–1989) |
| 69 | Upton Sinclair (1878–1968) | United States | novel, short story, drama, autobiography, essays | Sidney Kaplan (1913–1993) |
| 70 | Charles Percy Snow (1905–1980) | United Kingdom | novel, essays |
|
| 71 | Mikhail Sholokhov (1905–1984) | Soviet Union | novel |
|
| 72 | Carl Erik Soya (1896–1983) | Denmark | short story, drama, screenplay, poetry, essays | The Danish PEN-Club |
| 73 | Stijn Streuvels (1871–1969) | Belgium | novel, short story | Maurice Gilliams (1900–1982) |
| 74 | Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1886–1965) | Japan | novel, short story | Harry Martinson (1904–1978) |
| 75 | Gustave Thibon (1903–2001) | France | philosophy | Édouard Delebecque (1910–1990) |
| 76 | Miguel Torga (1907–1995) |  Portugal | poetry, short story, novel, drama, autobiography | Göran Hammarström (1922–2019) |
| 80 | Lionel Trilling (1905–1975) | United States | essays, literary criticism, short story | Lewis Gaston Leary (1906–1990) |
| 81 | Henri Troyat (1911–2007) | France | novel, biography, history | Ernst Dickenmann (1902–1985) |
| 82 | Pietro Ubaldi (1886–1972) | Italy | philosophy, essays | Academia Santista de Letras |
| 83 | Giuseppe Ungaretti (1888–1970) | Italy | poetry, essays, literary criticism | Otis Fellows (1908–1993) |
| 84 | Tarjei Vesaas (1897–1970) | Norway | poetry, novel |
|
| 85 | Simon Vestdijk (1898–1971) |  Netherlands | novel, poetry, essays, translation |
|
| 86 | Robert Penn Warren (1905–1989) | United States | novel, poetry, essays, literary criticism | Cleanth Brooks (1906–1994) |
| 87 | Thornton Wilder (1897–1975) | United States | drama, novel, short story |
|
| 88 | Edmund Wilson (1895–1972) | United States | essays, literary criticism, short story, drama |
|
| 89 | Judith Wright (1915–2000) |  Australia | poetry, literary criticism, novel, essays | Greta Hort (1903–1967) |
| 90 | Marguerite Yourcenar (1903–1987) | France | novel, essays, poetry | Ida-Marie Frandon (1907–1997) |
| 91 | Juan Antonio de Zunzunegui (1901–1982) | Spain | novel | Elie Poulenard (1901–1985) |
| 92 | Arnold Zweig (1887–1968) |  East Germany | novel, short story |
|
| 93 | Arnulf Øverland (1889–1968) | Norway | poetry, essays |
|
The Nobel committee of theSwedish Academy was unanimous to propose that the prize should be awarded to Mikhail Sholokhov, who had been a candidate for many years and a main candidate for the prize the previous year. Committee memberAnders Österling stated that "His series of novels from the land of the Don Cossacks is a classic masterpiece that retains its brilliance with every re-reading, and this folk epic still constitutes an indisputable basis for the award, even if it comes quite late." The committee discussed a proposal to share the prize between Sholokhov andAnna Akhmatova, but the idea was rejected by Anders Österling, saying that the authors had nothing but their language in common. The committee also discussed the possibility of a shared prize toMiguel Angel Asturias andJorge Luis Borges, and toShmuel Yosef Agnon andNelly Sachs respectively.[7]
The choice of Sholokhov was widely criticised for being allegedly politically motivated, but was celebrated by the authorities in theSoviet Union.[7]
