1916 Nobel Prize in Literature

Nobel prize medal.svg The 1916 Nobel Prize in Literature
Verner von Heidenstam in the 1890s.jpg
"in recognition of his significance as the leading representative of a new era in our literature."
Date6 October 1916
LocationStockholm
CountrySweden
Presented bySwedish Academy
Hosted byErik Axel Karlfeldt
First awarded1901
1916 laureateVerner von Heidenstam
Website1916 Nobel Prize in Literature

The 1916 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Swedish poet and prose writer Verner von Heidenstam (1859–1940) "in recognition of his significance as the leading representative of a new era in our literature." Heidenstam was the second Swedish Nobel laureate in Literature after Selma Lagerlöf in 1909.

Laureate

Verner von Heidenstam was the leader of the generation of poets of the 1890s that regenerated Swedish poetry. His first collection of poems Vallfart 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 as Hans Alienus (1892) and especially in Dikter ("Poems", 1895) Heidenstam opens perspectives to an inner life. He was later noted for patriotic poetry linked to Swedish history in works such as Ett folk ("One People", 1902) and the prose poems in Karolinerna ("The Charles Men", 1897-98). These were followed by major works such as the epic historical prose work Folkunga Trädet ("The Tree of the Folkungs", 1905-07) including Folke Filbyter and Bjälboarvet ("The BjäIbo Inheritance"). In 1915, the year before Heidenstam was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, another aspect of his writing appeared in Nya dikter ("New poems"), a collection of mainly philosophical poems.

Nominations

Heidenstam received his first nomination in 1909 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.

In 1916, the Nobel committee received 47 nominations for 28 individuals, including Romain Rolland (who was awarded the postponed prize for 1915), Georg Brandes, Henry James, Benito Pérez Galdos and Anatole France (awarded in 1921), and for one literary society. 9 of the nominees were nominated first-time, among them Erik Axel Karlfeldt (awarded in 1931), Per Hallström, Ivan Franko and Gunnar Heiberg. The Pāli Text Society, a text publication society established in 1881, was nominated by its founder Thomas William Rhys Davids. Since 1916, it remains the first and last literary society nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. The controversial German author Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche was the only woman nominated.

The authors Jack London, Josiah Royce, Natsume Sōseki, Mário de Sá-Carneiro, Sholom Aleichem, Petar Kočić, James Whitcomb Riley, Olindo Guerrini, John Todhunter, Hector Hugh Munro (known as Saki), Rubén Darío, Carolina Freyre, and Jane Dieulafoy died in 1916 without having been nominated for the prize.

Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize
No. Nominee Country Genre(s) Nominator(s)
1 Adolf Frey (1855–1920)   Switzerland biography, history, essays Wilhelm Oechsli (1851–1919)
2 Carl Spitteler (1845–1924)   Switzerland poetry, essays
3 Anatole France (1844–1924)  France poetry, essays, drama, novel, literary criticism
4 Rabindranath Datta (1883–1917)  India poetry, pedagogy
  • Raya Yatindra Chondhury (?)
  • Mano Gangedy (?)
5 Ivan Franko (1856–1916)  Ukraine poetry, novel, short story, drama, literary criticism, essays
6 Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche (1846–1935)  Germany essays, autobiography
7 The Pāli Text Society (founded in 1881)  United Kingdom translation, history, publications Thomas William Rhys Davids (1843–1922)
8 Edmond Picard (1836–1924)  Belgium drama, law, essays 3 members of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium
9 Otokar Březina (1868–1929)  Czech Republic poetry, essays Arne Novák (1880–1939)
10 Arne Garborg (1851–1921)  Norway novel, poetry, drama, essays
  • Alexander Seippel (1851–1938)
  • Oluf Kolsrud (1885–1945)
11 Karl Adolph Gjellerup (1857–1919)  Denmark poetry, drama, novel
12 Romain Rolland (1866–1944)  France novel, drama, essays
13 Per Hallström (1866–1960)  Sweden short story, drama, poetry
  • Karl Helm (1871–1960)
  • Josef Collin (1864–1939)
  • Conrad Borchling (1872–1946)
  • Oskar Walzel (1864–1944)
  • Andreas Heusler (1865–1940)
14 Verner von Heidenstam (1859–1940)  Sweden novel, short story, poetry
15 Ángel Guimerá Jorge (1845–1924)  Spain drama, poetry
16 Henrik Pontoppidan (1857–1943)  Denmark novel, short story Otto Jespersen (1860–1943)
17 Henrik Schück (1855–1947)  Sweden literary criticism, essays Rabbe Axel Wrede (1851–1938)
18 Georg Brandes (1842–1927)  Denmark literary criticism, essays Vilhelm Andersen (1864–1953)
19 Henry James (1843–1916)  United States
 United Kingdom
novel, short story, drama, essays Julio Nathaniel Reuter (1863–1937)
20 Gunnar Heiberg (1857–1929)  Norway poetry, drama, literary criticism, essays Jens Thiis (1870–1942)
21 Harald Høffding (1843–1931)  Denmark philosophy, theology Valdemar Vedel (1865–1942)
22 Jakob Knudsen (1858–1917)  Denmark novel, short story, pedagogy, theology
23 Erik Axel Karlfeldt (1864–1931)  Sweden poetry Nathan Söderblom (1866–1931)
24 Troels Frederik Lund (1840–1921)  Denmark history Frits Läffler (1847–1921)
25 Ernst von der Recke (1848–1933)  Denmark poetry, drama Karl Alfred Melin (1849–1919)
26 Juhani Aho (1861–1921)  Finland novel, short story
27 Adolf von Harnack (1851–1930)  Estonia
 Germany
history, theology
28 Benito Pérez Galdós (1843–1920)  Spain novel, short story, drama, essays
29 Émile Verhaeren (1855–1916)  Belgium poetry, essays unnamed

Reactions

The decision to award Heidenstam, himself a member of the awarding institution the Swedish Academy, as the second Swedish Nobel laureate in just seven years was critisized by some. Internationally it was generally well received. The decision to award Heidenstam has been seen as a result of the strong tendency of nationalism in Sweden at the time.


This page was last updated at 2022-08-02 11:50 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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