1962 Nobel Prize in Literature

20px 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature John Steinbeck Swedish Academy 1901 https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1962/summary/ 1962 laureate JohnSteinbeck crop.JPG "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception." 25 October 1962 (announcement) 10 December 1962 (ceremony) Stockholm, Sweden 1961 Nobel Prize in Literature 1963 The 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the American author John Steinbeck (1902–1968) "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception."The Nobel Prize in Literature 1962 nobelprize.org Laureate John Steinbeck Social conditions of migrants and seasonal workers became a recurring theme in Steinbeck's writings and were particularly evident in Of Mice and Men (1937) and The Grapes of Wrath (1939). The latter relates how unemployment and abuse of power forced farmers to migrate from Oklahoma to California. Sympathy with the downtrodden and the poor characterizes his writing. It is expressed with a compassionate sense of humor and a sharp eye for social and economic injustices. His other outstanding works include East of Eden (1952), Tortilla Flat (1935) and The Pearl (1947).John Steinbeck nobelprize.org Deliberations Nominations Steinbeck was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature on 11 occasions, the first time in 1943. In 1962, the Nobel committee received two nominations for him.Nomination archive – John Steinbeck nobelprize.org Included in the shortlisted nominees were Steinbeck, Robert Graves, Lawrence Durrell, Jean Anouilh, and Karen Blixen. Steinbeck was awarded eventually, but the four never received the prize. In total, the Swedish Academy received 86 nominations for 66 writers. Fifteen of the nominees were nominated first-time among them William Heinesen, Pietro Ubaldi, Ronald Syme, Carl Zuckmayer, André Schwarz-Bart, Josep Carner and Eyvind Johnson (awarded in 1974). British novelist E. M. Forster earned the highest number of nominations (4 nominations) followed by Jean-Paul Sartre and Friedrich Dürrenmatt (3 nominations each). Three of the nominees were women namely Karen Blixen, Gertrud von le Fort and Giulia Scappino Murena.Nomination archive – 1962 nobelprize.org The authors Antonio Acevedo Hernández, Gerrit Achterberg, Richard Aldington, Jean Amrouche, Georges Bataille, Pierre Benoit, E. E. Cummings, Maria Dermoût, Jean Devanny, Mouloud Feraoun, Wilfrid Wilson Gibson, Mary Gilmore, Patrick Hamilton, Pierre Hamp, Agnes Henningsen, Robinson Jeffers, Helge Krog, Alda Lara, María Rosa Lida de Malkiel, Arthur Oncken Lovejoy, Francisco Méndez, Patrícia Rehder Galvão (known as Pagu), Vita Sackville-West, Hajime Tanabe, Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Sandu Tudor, Mohammad Yamin, and Ouyang Yuqian died in 1962 without having been nominated for the prize. Danish author Karen Blixen and German translator Rudolf Alexander Schröder died weeks before the announcement. Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize No. Nominee Country Genre(s) Nominator(s)1Jean Anouilh (1910–1987)Francedrama, screenplay, translationHarry Martinson (1904–1978)2Karen Blixen (1885–1962)Denmarknovel, short story, memoirHenry Olsson (1896–1985)3Heinrich Böll (1917–1985)West Germanynovel, short storyDuncan Mennie (1909–1998) Gustav Korlén (1915–2014)4Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)Argentinapoetry, essays, translation, short storyHenry Olsson (1896–1985)5Martin Buber (1878–1965)AustriaIsraelphilosophyMichael Landmann (1913–1984) Elias Wessén (1889–1981)6Josep Carner (1884–1970)Francoist Spain Spainpoetry, drama, translationJean Camp (1891–1968)7Franz Theodor Csokor (1885–1969)Austriadrama, essays, poetry, autobiographyThe Austrian PEN-Club8Lawrence Durrell (1912–1990)United Kingdomnovel, short story, poetry, drama, essaysWolfgang Iser (1926–2007) Erich Burck (1901–1994)9Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990)Switzerlanddrama, novel, short story, essaysFriedrich Sengle (1909–1994) Jean-Pierre Schmid (1920–1977) Bjarne Ulvestad (1922–2004)10Johan Falkberget (1879–1967)Norwaynovel, short story, essaysJohannes Andreasson Dale (1898–1975)11Edward Morgan Forster (1879–1970)United Kingdomnovel, short story, drama, essays, biography, literary criticismKurt Wais (1907–1995) Simeon Potter (1898–1976) The English PEN-Club Kenneth Muir (1907–1996)12Max Frisch (1911–1991)Switzerlandnovel, dramaHildebrecht Hommel (1899–1986) Johannes Holthusen (1924–1985)13Robert Frost (1874–1963)United Statespoetry, dramaClive Staples Lewis (1898–1963)14Rómulo Gallegos (1884–1969)Venezuela 1930novel, short storyRudolf Grossmann (1892–1980)15Robert Graves (1895–1985)United Kingdomhistory, novel, poetry, literary criticism, essaysHarry Martinson (1904–1978)16Graham Greene (1904–1991)United Kingdomnovel, short story, autobiography, essaysRobert Niklaus (1910–2001) Frede Løkkegaard (1915–1990)17Jorge Guillén (1893–1984)Francoist Spain Spainpoetry, literary criticismGeorges Poulet (1902–1991)18Leslie Poles Hartley (1895–1972)United Kingdomnovel, short storyGeoffrey Tillotson (1905–1969)19Manfred Hausmann (1898–1986)West Germanynovel, short story, poetry, essaysHeinrich Dörrie (1911–1983)20William Heinesen (1900–1991)Faroe Islandspoetry, short story, novelChristian Matras (1900–1988) 21Taha Hussein (1889–1973)United Arab Republic Egyptnovel, short story, poetry, translationOlle Hedberg (1899–1974) Henrik Samuel Nyberg (1889–1974)22Roman Jakobson (1896–1982)Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic RussiaUnited StatesessaysPeter Hartmann (1923–1984)23Eyvind Johnson (1900–1976)Swedennovel, short storyCarl-Eric Thors (1920–1986)24Erich Kästner (1899–1974)West Germanypoetry, screenplay, autobiographyFriedrich Sengle (1909–1994) Henry Olsson (1896–1985)25Yasunari Kawabata (1899–1972)Japannovel, short storyThe Japanese PEN-Club26Humphrey Davy Findley Kitto (1897–1982)United KingdomhistoryWilliam Beare (1933–2019)27Miroslav Krleža (1893–1981)Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslaviapoetry, drama, short story, novel, essaysThe Yugoslavian Writers Association28Frank Raymond Leavis (1895–1978)United Kingdomliterary criticism, essaysCecil Arthur Hackett (1908–2000)29André Malraux (1901–1976)Francenovel, essays, literary criticismJohn Martin Cocking (1914–1986) Ingvar Andersson (1899–1974)30Gabriel Marcel (1889–1973)Francephilosophy, dramaLeo Gabriel (1902–1987) Harald Weinrich (1927–2022)31William Somerset Maugham (1874–1965)United Kingdomnovel, short story, drama, essaysRichard Broxton Onians (1899–1986)32Max Mell (1882–1971)Austriadrama, novel, screenplayMoritz Enzinger (1891–1975)33Ramón Menéndez Pidal (1869–1968)Francoist Spain Spainphilology, historyAcademia Boliviana de la Lengua Gunnar Tilander (1894–1973)34Vilhelm Moberg (1898–1973)Swedennovel, drama, historyGösta Bergman (1894–1984)35Alberto Moravia (1907–1990)Italynovel, literary criticism, essays, dramaIngmar Bergman (1918–2007)36Stratis Myrivilis (1890–1969)Kingdom of Greece Greecenovel, short storyWriters Association of the Hellenes37Pablo Neruda (1904–1973)ChilepoetryThe Chilean Authors Society38Junzaburō Nishiwaki (1894–1982)Japanpoetry, literary criticismNaoshiro Tsuji (1899–1979)39Hans Erich Nossack (1901–1977)West Germanynovel, dramaJosef Matl (1897–1974)40Seán O'Casey (1880–1964)Irelanddrama, memoirGeoffrey Tillotson (1905–1969)41Ezra Pound (1885–1972)United Statespoetry, essaysKarl Ragnar Gierow (1904–1982)42John Cowper Powys (1872–1963)United Kingdomphilosophy, novel, literary criticism, poetry, essays, short storyGeorge Wilson Knight (1897–1985)43Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975)Indiaphilosophy, essays, lawArthur John Arberry (1905–1969) Nirmal Kumar Sidhanta (1929–2014)44Aksel Sandemose (1899–1965)DenmarkNorwaynovel, essaysEyvind Johnson (1900–1976)45Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980)Francephilosophy, novel, drama, essays, screenplayCecil Arthur Hackett (1908–2000) Stephen Ullmann (1914–1976) Johannes Edfelt (1904–1997)46Giulia Scappino Murena (1902–1967)ItalypoetryAlfredo Galletti (1872–1962)47Rudolf Alexander Schröder (1878–1962)West Germanypoetry, translationErnst Zinn (1910–1990)48André Schwarz-Bart (1928–2006)FrancenovelIngerid Dal (1895–1985)49Giorgos Seferis (1900–1971)Kingdom of Greece Greecepoetry, memoir, essaysConstantine Athanasius Trypanis (1909–1993) Eyvind Johnson (1900–1976)50Mikhail Sholokhov (1905–1984)Soviet UnionnovelHenrik Becker (1902–1984)51Ignazio Silone (1900–1978)Italynovel, short story, essays, dramaElias Wessén (1889–1981)52John Steinbeck (1902–1968)United Statesnovel, short story, screenplayThe Danish PEN-Club Eyvind Johnson (1900–1976)53Ronald Syme (1903–1989)New ZealandUnited KingdomhistoryAlbrecht Dihle (1923–2020)54Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1886–1965)Japannovel, short storyHoward Hibbett (1920–2019)55Frank Thiess (1890–1977)West GermanynovelHelmuth Scheel (1895–1967)56Miguel Torga (1907–1995)Estado Novo (Portugal) Portugalpoetry, short story, novel, drama, autobiographyHernâni Antonio Cidade (1887–1975)57Pietro Ubaldi (1886–1972)Italyphilosophy, essaysAcademia Santista de Letras58Tarjei Vesaas (1897–1970)Norwaypoetry, novelSigmund Skard (1903–1995)59Simon Vestdijk (1898–1971)Netherlandsnovel, poetry, essays, translationThe Austrian PEN-Club60Heimito von Doderer (1896–1966)Austrianovel, short story, poetry, essaysErnst Alker (1895–1972) The Austrian PEN-Club61Gertrud von Le Fort (1876–1971)West Germanynovel, short story, essays, poetryFriedrich von der Leyen (1873–1966)62Arthur David Waley (1889–1966)United Kingdomtranslation, essaysDavid Hawkes (1923–2009)63Thornton Wilder (1897–1975)United Statesdrama, novel, short storyPeter Wapnewski (1922–2012)64Boris Zaytsev (1881–1972)Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Russiapoetry, drama, novelRostislav Pletnv (1903–1985)65Carl Zuckmayer (1896–1977)West Germanydrama, screenplayRudolf Stark (1912–1966)66Arnold Zweig (1887–1968)East Germanynovel, short storyHenrik Becker (1902–1984) Prize Decision In 2012 (50 years later), the Nobel Prize opened its archives and it was revealed that Steinbeck was a "compromise choice" among a shortlist consisting of Steinbeck, British authors Robert Graves and Lawrence Durrell, French dramatist Jean Anouilh and Danish author Karen Blixen. The declassified documents showed that he was chosen as the best of a not so noteworthy group: "There aren't any obvious candidates for the Nobel prize and the prize committee is in an unenviable situation," wrote committee member Henry Olsson. Blixen died in September making her ineligible for the prize, Durrell's The Alexandria Quartet was not considered enough for a Nobel prize and Anouilh was also passed over, which left Robert Graves and John Steinbeck as the main contenders for the prize. "Between Graves and Steinbeck, I find the choice very difficult – Graves is the older, and at the same time less high profile, while Steinbeck's reputation is of course more popular," wrote committee member Anders Österling. "Since Steinbeck's candidacy nevertheless appears to me to have a larger chance of gathering unqualified support, I consider myself free to give it precedence." Although the committee believed Steinbeck's best work was behind him by 1962, Österling believed the release of his novel The Winter of Our Discontent showed that "after some signs of slowing down in recent years, [Steinbeck has] regained his position as a social truth-teller [and is an] authentic realist fully equal to his predecessors Sinclair Lewis and Ernest Hemingway." In 2010, Swedish Academy's archives later revealed that Danish writer Karen Blixen was a favorite candidate since 1959 but was missed out because the committee were concerned about showing favoritism to Scandinavian writers. "The Nobel academy was probably afraid to appear provincial," Johannes Riis, literary director at Gyldendals publishing house told Politiken. "And so a mistake was made, because obviously Karen Blixen ought to have received the Nobel prize. Instead, it was a kind of reverse provincialism."https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/feb/01/karen-blixen-nobel-prize#:~:text=Blixen%20never%20won%20a%20Nobel,in%20the%20service%20of%20freedom%22. 'Reverse provincialism' denied Karen Blixen Nobel prize 1 February 2010 21 May 2022 Alison Flood The Guardian Reactions The selection of Steinbeck was heavily criticized, and described as "one of the Academy's biggest mistakes" in one Swedish newspaper.https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jan/03/swedish-academy-controversy-steinbeck-nobel Swedish Academy reopens controversy surrounding Steinbeck's Nobel prize The Guardian Alison Flood 3 January 2013 3 January 2013 While there were some positive reactions in America,Helmer Lång 100 nobelpris i litteratur Symposion 2001, ISBN 91-7139-537-7 p. 224 (in Swedish) The New York Times asked why the Nobel committee gave the award to an author whose "limited talent is, in his best books, watered down by tenth-rate philosophising", adding, "we think it interesting that the laurel was not awarded to a writer ... whose significance, influence and sheer body of work had already made a more profound impression on the literature of our age". Steinbeck himself, when asked if he deserved the Nobel on the day of the announcement, replied: "Frankly, no." Today, however, many of Steinbecks works are widely read and considered classics of Western literature.Who, what, why: Why do children study Of Mice and Men? https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-12829392 BBC December 6, 2014 live https://web.archive.org/web/20150107080104/http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-12829392 January 7, 2015 BBC News March 25, 2011 Award ceremony At the award ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December 1962, Anders Österling, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, said: Among the masters of modern American literature who have already been awarded this Prize – from Sinclair Lewis to Ernest Hemingway – Steinbeck more than holds his own, independent in position and achievement. There is in him a strain of grim humour which, to some extent, redeems his often cruel and crude motif. His sympathies always go out to the oppressed, to the misfits and the distressed; he likes to contrast the simple joy of life with the brutal and cynical craving for money. But in him we find the American temperament also in his great feeling for nature, for the tilled soil, the wasteland, the mountains, and the ocean coasts, all an inexhaustible source of inspiration to Steinbeck in the midst of, and beyond, the world of human beings.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1962/ceremony-speech/ Award ceremony speech nobelprize.org References External links Prize presentation nobelprize.org Award ceremony speech nobelprize.org The Nobel Prize Award Ceremony 1962 - NobelPrize.org John Steinbeck Banquet speech nobelprize.org 1962 Category:John Steinbeck Nobel