Scholars scuffle over Nobel Literature Prize

Joyce Carol Oates is tipped to be a hot favourite for the Nobel Literature Prize. Picture / Herald file

STOCKHOLM - This year's winner of the Nobel literature prize will be named Thursday, the Swedish Academy announced, as one of its members quit in disgust at last year's choice whose work he termed "violent pornography."

The Swedish Academy keeps the exact date of its literature award secret until just beforehand. Academician Knut Ahnlund's resignation and criticism of the 2004 winner, Austrian author Elfriede Jelinek, appeared timed to gain maximum impact.

In a signed newspaper article, Ahnlund said giving the prize to Jelinek -- which surprised even Austria -- "caused irreparable harm to the value of the award for the foreseeable future."

He called Jelinek's writing "whingeing, unenjoyable, violent pornography."

Ahnlund did not explain why he had waited a year after the prize went to Jelinek to quit, but Academy head Horace Engdahl suggested it was timed to spoil this year's announcement.

"This very possibly has something to do with the fact that this week the Academy will announce this year's winner," Engdahl told TT news agency.

There was no immediate response from Jelinek.

The world's top literary award, worth 10 million crowns and given by the king in December, is usually announced on one of the first two Thursdays in October.

Unlike the Nobels for peace, medicine, physics, chemistry and economics, the literature prize date is only announced two days beforehand. The Nobel Prize website (link below) said Tuesday it was scheduled for Thursday after 1 pm (11.00 NZT).

But the lack of news last week gave rise to speculation the 18 Academy members were split, with a British paper reporting that the divisive choice was Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk.

Bookmaker Ladbrokes makes Syrian poet Adonis the 2-to-1 favorite followed by US novelist Joyce Carol Oates and poets Tomas Transtromer of Sweden and South Korean Ko Un.

Belgian poet Hugo Claus, American novelist Philip Roth, Italians Claudio Magris and Antonio Tabucchi, Czech novelist Milan Kundera, Indonesian novelist Pramoedya Ananta Toer and Dutch poet and novelist Cees Nooteboom are also tipped.

Scandal

The Academy, which has awarded the prize founded by dynamite millionaire Alfred Nobel since 1901, never leaks its shortlist.

A rare indication of scandal inside the ivory tower of the Academy -- motto "genius and taste" -- came with the news of Ahnlund's resignation. "After this I cannot even formally remain in the Swedish Academy," he wrote.

Engdahl said Ahnlund had not been active in the Academy for nearly 10 years and was not privy to the Jelinek prize debate.

"He knows nothing about the discussion that led to the choice of Elfriede Jelinek so what he says in this article of his must be seen as empty speculation," Engdahl told TT.

The choice of Nobel laureates is often dismissed as obscure when the winner comes from outside the publishing mainstream of Anglophone authors translated into dozens of languages.

South African J.M. Coetzee -- whose novels written in English are widely read -- was a popular choice in 2003.

(additional reporting by Niklas Pollard)

- REUTERS