Nobel Papers Reveal Beckett's Narrow Win

Samuel Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1969. But as recently opened archives show, the award was granted with strong resistance by some members of the Swedish Academy. Alison Flood at The Guardian reports:

Announcing that the Waiting for Godot author had won the laureateship in 1969, the Swedish Academy praised “his writing, which – in new forms for the novel and drama – in the destitution of modern man acquires its elevation”.

But with Nobel archives only being made public after 50 years, documents have now revealed there were major disagreements within the Swedish Academy over the choice of the Irish writer. According to Svenska Dagbladet, the split was between Beckett and French writer André Malraux, with other nominations including Simone de Beauvoir, Jorge Luis Borges, Pablo Neruda and Graham Greene.

Four members of the committee supported Beckett and two backed Malraux, with the primary objections to Beckett coming from Nobel committee chair Anders Österling, who had campaigned against the playwright for years. Österling questioned whether writing of “a demonstratively negative or nihilistic nature” like Beckett’s corresponded to the intention laid out in Alfred Nobel’s will, to reward “the person who, in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction”.

We're happy the four members prevailed! Learn more at The Guardian.