Guwahati: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Thursday awarded the Noble Prize in Literature 2023 to Norwegian author Jon Fosse.
His immense oeuvre written in Norwegian Nynorsk and spanning a variety of genres consists of a wealth of plays, novels, poetry collections, essays, children’s books and translations. While he is today one of the most widely performed playwrights in the world, he has also become increasingly recognised for his prose.
Fosse has written novels, short stories, poetry, children’s books, essays and plays. His works have been translated into more than forty languages. Fosse’s writing style has been known as “Fosse minimalism” because of the way his pieces are pared down to their most simplistic versions.
Born in 1959 in Norway, Fosse was made a chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite of France in 2003. He also has been ranked number 83 on the list of the Top 100 living geniuses by The Daily Telegraph.
Fosse’s debut novel was Raudt, svart (1983), which dealt with the subject of suicide and in some ways also paved the tone for his later writings.
The novelist and dramatist made his European debut in 1999 when Claude Régy produced his play Nokon kjem til komme; Someone Is Going to Come, in Paris. His dealing with human emotions has always stood out because of his handling of human emotions in a way that can be described as more of action than words.
In April 2022, his novel A New Name: Septology VI-VII, translated into English by Damion Searls, was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize.
This year, the prize money which is given to the winner has been hiked to 11 million Swedish kronor from 10 million SEK. Since 1901, when the Nobel Prizes were established, 119 noted litterateurs, only 17 of them women, have been awarded by the Swedish Academy.
In 2022, the Nobel Prize for Literature was given to French author Annie Ernaux, whose work provides an insight into life and society in modern-day France.