The Swedish Academy announced on Thursday that Norwegian author Jon Fosse has been honored with the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature for his innovative contributions to plays and prose that give voice to the unsayable. The recognition encompasses his entire body of work, spanning more than three dozen plays, novels, short stories, children’s books, poetry, and essays.
Primarily writing in Norwegian, Fosse’s works have been translated into various languages, including English. The Nobel Prize was granted in acknowledgment of his exceptional literary achievements.
Fosse, 64, expressed his gratitude and overwhelming feelings, stating, “I see this as an award to the literature that first and foremost aims to be literature, without other considerations.”
His debut novel, “Raudt, svart,” published in 1983, explored emotionally raw themes, setting the stage for his later impactful works that delve into the complexities of human experiences. Fosse gained European recognition with his 1996 play “Nokon kjem til å komme,” which was performed in Paris in 1999 and translated in 2002 as “Someone Is Going to Come.”
The Nobel Prize organizers highlighted Fosse’s prose magnum opus, titled “Septology,” completed in 2021. Comprising “Det andre namnet” (The Other Name), “Eg er ein annan” (I is Another), and “Eit nytt namn” (A New Name), this 1,250-page novel is a monologue where an elderly artist speaks to himself as another person over seven days, written without sentence breaks.
Fosse joins the esteemed list of Nobel laureates in Literature, including Annie Ernaux in 2022, Bob Dylan in 2016, and Toni Morrison in 1993. The remaining Nobel Prizes, in Peace and Economic Sciences, are scheduled to be awarded on Friday and Monday, respectively.
