The 1990
Nobel Prize in Literature
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, caption =
, awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature
, presenter = Swedish Academy
, holder = Annie Ernaux (2022)
, location = Stockholm, Sweden
, year = 1901
, ...
was awarded to the Mexican poet and diplomat
Octavio Paz (1914–1998) "for impassioned writing with wide horizons, characterized by sensuous intelligence and humanistic integrity." He is the only Nobel Prize recipient from
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
[Octavio Paz]
britannica.com
Laureate
One of the best known works by Octavio Paz is ''
El laberinto de la soledad
''The Labyrinth of Solitude'' ( es, El laberinto de la soledad) is a 1950 book-length essay by the Mexican poet Octavio Paz. One of his most famous works, it consists of nine parts: "The Pachuco and other extremes", "Mexican Masks", "The Day of th ...
'' ("The Labyrinth of Solitude", 1950), a collection of essays in which he analyzes
Mexican history and culture. Paz has solely released poetry volumes up to this time including ''
Piedra de Sol
Piedra de Sol ("Sunstone") is the poem written by Octavio Paz in 1957 that helped launch his international reputation. In the presentation speech of his Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize in 1990, ''Sunstone'' was later praised as "one of the h ...
'' ("Sunstone", 1957). He started a number of literary publications, such as ''Vuelta'' and ''El hijo pródigo''.
Marxism
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
,
surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...
,
existentialism
Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...
,
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, and
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
were just a few of the philosophies that had an impact on him. Love and sexuality were major topics in his later works. His works include the poetry collections ''Águila o sol?'' ("Eagle or Sun?", 1951), ''La Estación Violenta'' ("The Violent Season", 1956) and ''El Arco y la Lira'' ("The Bow and The Lyre", 1956).
Nominations
At the prize announcement in October 1990,
Sture Allén permanent secretary of the
Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden, Gustav III, is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish lang ...
, revealed that there were 150 candidates for the prize in 1990, 25 of them women.
Octavio Paz had been a candidate for the prize throughout the 1980s.
Literary circles believed that among the nominees for that year were the perennial candidates such as
Carlos Fuentes, another Mexican writer;
Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognized as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writin ...
, a South African writer (awarded the following year);
V. S. Naipaul, a Trinidad-born novelist who lives in Britain (awarded in
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
);
Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera (, ; born 1 April 1929) is a Czech writer who went into exile in France in 1975, becoming a naturalised French citizen in 1981. Kundera's Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, then conferred again in 2019. He "sees himself ...
, a Czech novelist exiled in France;
Max Frisch, a Swiss playwright; and
Mario Vargas Llosa
Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (, ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Ll ...
, a Peruvian writer (awarded in
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
).
[
]
Reactions
Octavio Paz had been expected to receive the award for years.[Helmer Lång ''Hundra nobelpris i litteratur 1901-2001'', Symposion 2001, p.342] Paz himself said: "I was surprised because I didn't expect the prize. One or two years ago I knew I was a candidate, but this time, no. I didn't have the slightest idea, so I was doubly surprised."
References
External links
1990 Press release
nobelprize.org
Award ceremony speech
nobelprize.org
{{1990 Nobel Prize winners
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
Octavio Paz