Nobel Writers on Writing

by Ottar G. Draugsvold (Editor)

Overview

Since its inception, the Nobel Prize for literature has given a very public voice to some of the world's greatest writers, and their responses to the honor—their acceptance speeches—have often been epochal. From the famed call to arms by William Faulkner to the multicultural song of Derek Walcott, from 1903's Bjornstjerne Bjornson to 1999's Gunter Grass, this collection of 28 speeches traces the ideals of the artists and the selection committee itself throughout the 20th century. Included are an introduction to each of the writers chosen, an abridged copy of the speech or lecture and a bibliography of works in English.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786466092
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	08/24/2011
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	303
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Ottar G. Draugsvold is a member of PEN New England and the Association of Literary Scholars and Critics. He previously worked as a health educator in Queensland, Australia, and has written numerous professional and trade articles. He lives in Winchendon, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Preface     

1. Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson     
2. William Butler Yeats     
3. Henri Bergson     
4. Sinclair Lewis     
5. Pearl S. Buck     
6. T.S. Eliot     
7. William Faulkner     
8. Bertrand Russell     
9. Pär Lagerkvist     
10. François Mauriac     
11. Ernest Hemingway     
12. Albert Camus     
13. John Steinbeck     
14. Mikhail Sholokhov     
15. Miguel Ángel Asturias     
16. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn     
17. Heinrich Böll     
18. Saul Bellow     
19. Isaac Bashevis Singer     
20. Czesùaw Miùosz     
21. Gabriel García Márquez     
22. William Golding     
23. Joseph Brodsky     
24. Naguib Mahfouz     
25. Nadine Gordimer     
26. Derek Walcott     
27. Toni Morrison     
28. KenzaburÉ ye     
29. Dario Fo     
30. José Saramago     
31. Günter Grass     

Appendix: List of Nobel Laureates in Literature     
Notes     
Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

essays work admirably to engage the reader”—Library Journal; “for most literary collections”—Public Library Quarterly; “very useful bibliographies...a book which will interest literateurs world-wide”—Reference Reviews.

From the Publisher

In presenting the selected speeches of 31 Nobel prize-winning authors, Draugsvold (a member of PEN New England and the Association of Literary Scholars and Critics) aims to give insight into their thoughts and imaginations and hence inspire us to read their works. As such, the speeches are supported by an introduction emphasizing what makes the writers relevant to a popular audience, focusing on the philosophical center of each writer's work rather than the craft of writing. While the essays work admirably to engage the reader, they fall short as critical introductions to the authors or as attempts to place them within their cultural and historical milieus. A more academic approach would perhaps be useful in raising the controversial issues (such as T.S. Eliot's anti-Semitism) with which some of the writers are identified. In addition, the editor shows a propensity toward post-World War II writers, whose introductions tend to be more complete. That being said, this anthology should work well within larger public libraries.--Karen E.S. Lempert, Facing History and Ourselves, Brookline, MA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

Library Journal

"very useful bibliographies...a book which will interest literateurs world-wide"

Reference Reviews

for most literary collections

Public Library Quarterly