1975 Nobel Prize in Literature

20px 1975 Nobel Prize in Literature Eugenio Montale Swedish Academy 1901 https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1975/summary/ 1975 laureate Eugenio montale 2.jpg "for his distinctive poetry which, with great artistic sensitivity, has interpreted human values under the sign of an outlook on life with no illusions" 1975 10 23 yes (announcement) 10 December 1975 (ceremony) Stockholm, Sweden 1974 Nobel Prize in Literature 1976 The 1975 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Italian poet Eugenio Montale (1896–1981) "for his distinctive poetry which, with great artistic sensitivity, has interpreted human values under the sign of an outlook on life with no illusions".https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1975/summary/ The Nobel Prize in Literature 1975 nobelprize.org He is the fifth Italian laureate for the literature prize. Laureate Eugenio Montale Along with Giuseppe Ungaretti and Salvatore Quasimodo, Eugenio Montale is associated with the poetic school of hermeticsm, the Italian variant of the French symbolism movement, although Montale himself did not consider himself to be part of the hermetic school. His poetry is often compared to T. S. Eliot. When the Swedish Academy awarded him with the Nobel Prize in 1975, they called him “one of the most important poets of the contemporary West”.https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/eugenio-montale Eugenio Montale 10 April 2023 poetryfoundation.org His notable oeuvres include Ossi di seppia ("Cuttlefish Bones", 1925), Le occasioni ("The Occasions", 1939), La bufera e altro ("The Storm and Other Things", 1956), Satura (1962–1970) (1971) and Diario del '71 e del '72 (1973). Deliberations Nominations Montale was first nominated for the prize in 1955 by Nobel laureate T. S. Eliot. It was followed in 1961 and from 1966 he became a regular nominee. By 1974, the Nobel committee had received 27 nominations in total before Montale was eventually awarded.https://www.nobelprize.org/nomination/archive/show_people.php?id=12090 Nomination archive – Eugenio Montale 2 January 2025 nobelprize.org 21 May 2024 In 1975, the Swedish Academy received nominations for 114 writers with 22 being from the Nobel Committee itself. Twenty-eight of the nominees were new recommendations such Chinua Achebe, Fernand Braudel, Dobrica Ćosić, Miloš Crnjanski, Mohammed Dib, Gabriel García Márquez (awarded in 1982), Wilson Harris, Masuji Ibuse, Tove Jansson, Naguib Mahfouz (awarded in 1988), Desanka Maksimović, Vasko Popa, Chaim Potok and Mary Renault. The oldest nominee was Estonian poet Marie Under (aged 92) and the youngest was the Irish poet Brendan Kennelly (aged 39). Since the establishment of the awarded, 1975 became the highest number of female contenders in a year with 13 nominees: Anna Banti, Simone de Beauvoir, Doris Lessing (awarded in 2007), Nadine Gordimer (awarded in 1991), Tove Jansson, Rina Lasnier, Desanka Maksimović, Kamala Markandaya, Victoria Ocampo, Mary Renault, Nathalie Sarraute, Anna Seghers and Marie Under.https://sa-admin.lb.se/assets/f1c80121-bf67-42d0-8cb5-4e22748aab51.pdf/1975%20%C3%A5rs%20f%C3%B6rslagslista.pdf Nobelarkivet–1975 svenskaakademien.se 1 January 2025 2 January 2025 sv The authors Peter Anson, Hannah Arendt, Mikhail Bakhtin, Kersti Bergroth, Arthur Herbert Dodd, Julian Huxley, Edward Hyams, Murray Leinster, Constance Malleson, Thomas H. Parry-Williams, Kate Seredy, Robert Cedric Sherriff, Sydney Goodsir Smith, Ivan Sokolov-Mikitov, Elizabeth Taylor and P. G. Wodehouse died in 1975 without having been nominated for the prize. Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize No. Nominee Country Nominator(s) Country 1 Chinua Achebe (1930-2013) Nigeria Clifford Hanley (1922-1999) Scotland 2 Rafael Alberti (1902-1999) Francoist Spain Spain Nobel Committee Sweden3Vicente Aleixandre (1898–1984) Francoist Spain Spain Juan Villegas Morales (1934–) United States 11 other professors of University of California, Irvine United States Philip Warnock Silver (1932–2020) United States 14 other professors of Columbia University United States Herb Jones (–)January 2026 United States Robert Felkel (–)January 2026 United States James Semelroth (–)January 2026 United States Elsa Fanjul Alvarez (1938–) CubaUnited States Mercedes Ramírez Cárdenas (1914–2007) CubaUnited States John Dowling (1920–2009) United States Manuel Ramirez (1914–1984) United States Ralph de Gorog (1922–2006) United States Ruth Lundelius (1931–) United States Manuel Mantero (1930–2024) Francoist Spain SpainUnited States Henryk Ziomek (1922–2018) Polish People's Republic PolandUnited States John Kelly Walsh (1930–2011) United States Samuel Jackson Cartledge (1935–2006) United States Oswaldo Arana (1925–2015) PeruUnited States Daniel Brondi (1938–2019) United States Walter Kline (1923–1995) United States Leon Gilbert (–)January 2026 United States Stephen Vasari (1921–2006) United States Jacqueline Kiraithe (–)January 2026 United States Ervie Peña (1934–) United States Damaso Alonso (1898-1990) Francoist Spain Spain 4 Louis Aragon (1897–1982) France Michel Cadot (1926–2022) France5Riccardo Bacchelli (1891–1985)Italy Giovanni Nencioni (1911–2008) Italy Enrico Cerulli (1898–1988) Italy 6 Anna Banti (1895-1985) Italy Gustavo Costa (1930–2012) Italy 7 Saul Bellow (1915–2005) CanadaUnited States Nobel Committee Sweden8Louis Paul Boon (1912–1979) Belgium A. Backx (–)January 2026 Netherlands Albert Bontridder (1921–2015) Belgium Gerrit Borgers (1917–1987) Netherlands Wim Hazeu (1940–2024) Netherlands Bernard Kemp (1926–1980) Belgium 9 Johan Borgen (1902–1979) Norway 20px Eyvind Johnson (1900–1976) Sweden10Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)Argentina Luis Droguett Alfaro (1922–2014) Chile Michel Cadot (1926–2022) France Jónas Kristjánsson (1924–2014) Iceland Aatos Ojala (1919–1987) Finland 11 Fernand Braudel (1902–1985) France John Harold Plumb (1911–2001) England 12 Elias Canetti (1905–1994) BulgariaEngland Manfred Durzak (1938–) West Germany 13 Camilo José Cela (1916–2002) Francoist Spain Spain Nobel Committee Sweden 14 Aimé Césaire (1913–2008) Martinique Jeanne-Lydie Goré (1924–2017) France15André Chamson (1900–1983) France Armand Lunel (1892–1977) France Giannēs Koutsocheras (1904–1994) Greece Henri Guiter (1909–1994) France Guy Nairay (1914–1999) France 16 René Char (1907–1988) France Henri Peyre (1901–1988) FranceUnited States17Sri Chinmoy (1931–2007) IndiaUnited States Willard Abraham (1938–1994) United States Karl Kroeber (1926–2009) United States Peter Pitzele (1942–) United States 18 Dobrica Ćosić (1921–2014) Socialist Republic of Serbia Serbia Pavle Ivić (1924–1999) Socialist Republic of Serbia Serbia19Miloš Crnjanski (1893–1977)Hungarian People's Republic HungarySocialist Republic of Serbia Serbia Miroslav Pantić (1926–2011) Socialist Republic of Serbia Serbia Pavle Ivić (1924–1999) Socialist Republic of Serbia Serbia Nikola Milošević (1929–2007) Socialist Republic of Serbia Serbia Miloslava Stojnić (–)January 2026 Socialist Republic of Serbia Serbia 20 Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca (1914–2008) Turkey Nobel Committee Sweden 21 Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) France Per Wastberg (1933–) Sweden 22 Malcolm de Chazal (1902–1981) Mauritius Camille de Rauville (1910–1986) Mauritius 23 Mohammed Dib (1920–2003) AlgeriaFrance Jeanne-Lydie Goré (1924–2017) France 24 Lawrence Durrell (1912–1990) England Jacques Schwartz (1914–1992) France25Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990)Switzerland Werner Betz (1912–1980) West Germany Keijo Holsti (1932–1989) Finland Herbert Penzl (1910–1995) AustriaUnited States Holger Frykenstedt (1911–2003) Sweden 26 Odysseas Elytis (1911–1996) Third Hellenic Republic Greece Nobel Committee Sweden 27 Salvador Espriu (1913–1985) Francoist Spain Spain Antoni Comas i Pujol (1931–1981) Francoist Spain Spain28James Thomas Farrell (1904–1979) United States Edgar Marquess Branch (1913–2006) United States Duane Schneider (1937–2012) United States29Max Frisch (1911–1991) Switzerland Manfred Durzak (1938–) West Germany Karl Hyldgaard-Jensen (1917–1995) DenmarkSweden Holger Frykenstedt (1911–2003) Sweden 30 Gabriel García Márquez (1927–2014) Colombia Walter Ralph Johnson (1933–2024) United States 31 William Golding (1911–1993) England Irma Koskenniemi (1936–) Finland 32 Nadine Gordimer (1923–2014) South Africa 1928 Nobel Committee Sweden33Günter Grass (1927–2015) West Germany Brian Rowley (1923–2013) England Manfred Windfuhr (1930–) West Germany 34 Julien Green (1900–1998) France Nobel Committee Sweden35Graham Greene (1904–1991) England Walter Ralph Johnson (1933–2024) United States Esko Pennanen (1912–1990) Finland Victor Sawdon Pritchett (1900–1997) England Mary Renault (1905–1983) EnglandSouth Africa 1928 Hugh Macrae Richmond (1932–) England Herbert Morgan Waidson (1916–1988) England Wolfgang Weiss (1932–2019) West Germany 36 Jean Guitton (1901–1999) France Charles Dédéyan (1910–2003) FranceArmenia 37 Okiuyama Gwyn (1920–1977) India Indra Bahadur Rai (1927–2018) India38Paavo Haavikko (1931–2008) Finland Eeva Kilpi (1928–2026) Finland Rauno Toivonen (1924–1999) Finland39Wilson Harris (1921–2018)Guyana Joyce Sparer Adler (1915–1999) United States Jeanne Delbaere-Garant (–)January 2026 Belgium Michel Fabre (1933–2007) France Robert Merle Farnsworth (1929–2022) United StatesAlexander Norman Jeffares (1920–2005) Ireland Arthur Ravenscroft (1924–1989) England Robert Thomas Robertson 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(1913–1996) United States60Väinö Linna (1920–1992) Finland Åke Hansson (–)January 2026 Finland Eeva Kilpi (1928–) Finland 61 Robert Lowell (1917–1977) United States Hans Galinsky (1909–1991) West GermanyUnited States 62 Hugh MacDiarmid (1892–1978) Scotland David Daiches (1912–2005) Scotland 63 Józef Mackiewicz (1902–1985) Polish People's Republic Poland Jadwiga Maurer (1930–2012) Polish People's Republic Poland 64 Naguib Mahfouz (1911–2006) Egypt Michel Cadot (1926–2022) France 65 Norman Mailer (1923–2007) United States Nobel Committee Sweden 66 Desanka Maksimović (1898–1993) Socialist Republic of Serbia Serbia Miljan Mojašević (1918–2002) Socialist Republic of Serbia Serbia 67 Bernard Malamud (1914–1986) United States Nobel Committee Sweden68André Malraux (1901–1976) France Inge Jonsson (1928–2020) Sweden Jan Kott (1914–2001) Polish People's Republic Poland Maija Lehtonen (1924–2015) Finland Georges Matoré (1908–1998) France Henri Peyre (1901–1988) FranceUnited States Laurent Versini (1932–2021) France Michel Cadot (1926–2022) France 69 Kamala Markandaya (1924–2004) IndiaEngland Horacio Serrano (1904–1980) Chile 70 Segismundo Masel (1895–1985) Argentina Antonio de Tornes Ballesteros (–)January 2026 Argentina71Henri Michaux (1899–1984) BelgiumFrance Andri Peer (1921–1985) Switzerland Kazimir Geza Werner (1900–1985) Hungarian People's Republic HungaryWest Germany 72 Eugenio Montale (1896–1981) Italy Umberto Limentani (1913–1989) Italy Henri Peyre (1901–1988) FranceUnited States 73 Giuseppe Morabito (1900–1997) Italy Giovanni Giraldi (1915–2014) Italy 74 Federico Morador Otero (1897–1977) Uruguay Eduardo Payssé Reyes (1902–1986) Uruguay75Alberto Moravia (1907–1990) Italy Per Wästberg (1933–) Sweden Jacques Robichez (1914–1999) France76Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977) Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic RussiaUnited States Robert Alter (1935–) United States Hans Bielenstein (1920–2015) Sweden Harry Levin (1912–1994) United States Franz Norbert Mennemeier 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S. Naipaul (1932–2018) Trinidad and TobagoEngland Nobel Committee Sweden79R. K. Narayan (1906–2001) India Suniti Kumar Chatterji (1890–1977) India K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar (1908–1999) India 80 Victoria Ocampo (1890–1979) Argentina Fryda Schultz de Mantovani (1912–1978) Argentina 81 Kenzaburō Ōe (1935–2023) Japan Nobel Committee Sweden82Germán Pardo García (1902–1991) ColombiaMexico Eduardo Guzmán Esponda (1889–1988) Colombia James Willis Robb (1918–2010) United States Estelle Irizarry (1937–2017) United States Oscar Abel Ligaluppi (1927–2000) Argentina 83 Octavio Paz (1914–1998) Mexico Nobel Committee Sweden84José María Pemán (1897–1981) Francoist Spain Spain Manuel Halcón (1900–1989) Francoist Spain Spain Antonio Iraizoz (1890–1976) Cuba Emeterio Barcelon (1897–1978) Philippines 85 Harold Pinter (1930–2008) England Nobel Committee Sweden 86 Vasko Popa (1922–1991) Socialist Republic of Serbia Serbia Nils Åke Nilsson (1917–1995) Sweden 87 Chaim Potok (1929–2002) United States Nobel Committee Sweden 88 Satya Prakasha 'Nirad' (–)January 2026 India Y. K. 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A speech by Academy member and former Nobel committee member Henry Olsson on 25 September appears to have convinced the members of the Swedish Academy to agree on awarding the fifth shortlisted candidate, Eugenio Montale. As none of the committee members had placed him as their first proposal, Montale is said being a compromise second choice by the Swedish Academy.https://www.svd.se/a/K8376e/valet-av-nobelpristagare-1974-eugenio-montale-ett-andrahandsval Efter krisen: Nobelpris till andrahandsvalet Schueler, Kaj 2 January 2026 Svenska Dagbladet Swedish Reactions According to the Associated Press, Montale said that award had overwhelmed him and made his life, "which was always unhappy, less unhappy." In Italy, the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Montale was positively received. Their Prime Minister, Aldo Moro, congratulated him, said that the award "consecrates the validity of your poetical and human message, and, in you, honors the Italian culture,"https://www.nytimes.com/1975/10/24/archives/montale-a-poet-awarded-nobel-prize-for-literature.html Montale, a Poet, Awarded Nobel Prize for Literature 24 October 1975 The New York Times and President Giovanni Leone commented that his work's contained "tormented and lucid singling‐out of the anxieties and the aspirations of modern man." Award ceremony At the award ceremony on 10 December 1975, Anders Österling of the Swedish Academy said: "at his best Montale, with strict discipline, has attained a refined artistry, at once personal and objective, in which every word fills its place as precisely as the glass cube in a coloured mosaic. The linguistic laconicism cannot be carried any further; every trace of embellishment and jingle has been cleared away. When, for instance, in the remarkable portrait-poem of the Jewes Dora Markus, he wants to indicate the current background of time, he does so in five words: Distilla veleno una fede feroce (“A fierce faith distils poison”). In such masterpieces both the fateful perspective and the ingeniously concentrated structure are reminiscent of T.S. Eliot and “The Waste Land”, but Montale is unlikely to have received impulses from this quarter and his development has, if anything, followed a parallel path"https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1975/ceremony-speech/ Award ceremony speech nobelprize.org Nobel lecture Eugenio Montale delivered his Nobel lecture on 12 December 1975. Entitled "Is Poetry Still Possible?", he spoke about the art of poetry and poetry's place in the modern world of mass communication.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1975/montale/lecture/ Eugenio Montale Nobel lecture nobelprize.org References External links Award ceremony speech nobelprize.org Eugenio Montale Nobel lecture nobelprize.org 1975 Nobel