2022 Nobel Prize in Literature
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The 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the French author
Annie Ernaux Annie Thérèse Blanche Ernaux (; born 1 September 1940) is a French writer, professor of literature and Nobel laureate. Her literary work, mostly autobiographical, maintains close links with sociology. Ernaux was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize ...
"for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory". It was announced by 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 ...
on 6 October 2022. Ernaux was the 16th French writer – the first Frenchwoman – and the 17th female author, to receive the
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 , ...
.


Laureate

Ernaux grew up in a
working-class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
background. Her parents eventually owned a café-grocery store that helped her study at the universities of
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...
and then Bordeaux, qualifying as a school-teacher, and gaining a higher degree in modern literature (1971). She started her literary career in 1974 with ''Les Armoires vides'' ("Cleaned Out"), an autobiographical novel. Very early in her career, she turned away from fiction to focus on
autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
, combining historic and individual experiences. In her different viewpoints, she consistently examines a life marked by strong disparities regarding gender, language and class. Her path to authorship was long and arduous, and all her oeuvres are written in plain language. Her books are followed by a wide readership, and are reviewed in most local and national newspapers in France, as well as being the subject of many radio and television interviews and programmes, and a large and growing international academic literature. Her famous works include ''La Place'' ("A Man's Place", 1983), '' L'événement'' ("Happening", 2000), ''L'Occupation'' ("The Possession", 2002), and '' Les Années'' ("The Years", 2008).


Prize announcement

Following the announcement, Carin Klaesson interviewed Nobel Committee chairman Anders Olsson. Asked why Ernaux was the 2022 laureate in Literature, he gave the following statement:


Reactions


Personal reactions

Interviewed by Claire Paetku, correspondent of the Nobel Prize's Outreach, Annie Ernaux confessed she learned about her win at around one o'clock while she was in her kitchen listening to her radio. She turned on the radio wanting to know who won the 2022 Nobel prize, but to her surprise it was actually her who was being mentioned as the latest laureate. She described her initial feeling "like... you are in the desert and there is a call that is coming from the sky." Asked what would be her message for young writers, especially for those who are writing in their native language, she said: At a public press conference, she told journalists the following statement regarding her responsibility with the prize:


International reactions

Right after 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 ...
announced Ernaux as the recipient of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature, it immediately received numerous praises from literary societies and critics. Jacques Testard, from
Fitzcarraldo Editions Fitzcarraldo Editions is an independent book publisher based in London, specialising in literary fiction and long-form essays. History Founded in 2014 by Jacques Testard, it focuses on ambitious, imaginative, and innovative writing, both in ...
which publishes the English translations of her works, described her as "exceptional and unique" and a "very important feminist" writer of the contemporary times. "With her interest in memory and in writing a life", said Testard, " Proust is quite an obvious antecedent" for Ernaux. Despite her being unsparing with President
Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...
, pouring scorn on his background in banking and said his first term as president failed to advance the cause of French women, the politician continued congratulating her for her literary achievement, saying through Twitter: "Annie Ernaux has been writing for 50 years the novel of the collective and intimate memory of our country. Her voice is that of women's freedom, and the century's forgotten ones." Professor Ruth Cruickshank, who specialises in contemporary
French fiction French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
at
Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...
, said: "When a woman wins the Nobel Prize for Literature it is always great news. Thirteen dead and two living white French men ( Le Clézio and Modiano) have been Nobel laureates since 1901... Ernaux explores memories of life experiences – both extraordinary and relatable – a backstreet abortion; failed affairs whether with a lover in Russia or a man 30 years younger; the death of her parents; breast cancer." American novelist Brandon Taylor joked about Ernaux's win, saying: "Cinema is back. Annie Ernaux is a Nobel laureate. Perhaps modernity is saved." David Levitz of the '' DW News'', described her as "an obscure choice" than authors Salman Rushdie and Michel Houellebecq, despite being the favorite to win in 2021. French author
Édouard Louis Édouard Louis (born Eddy Bellegueule; 30 October 1992) is a French writer. Biography Édouard Louis, born Eddy Bellegueule was born and raised in the town of Hallencourt in northern France, which is the setting of his first novel, the autobi ...
welcomed Ernaux's win, saying: "she didn't try to fit into existing definitions of literature, of what is beautiful: she came up with her own." He is often compared to her and referred to as her successor due to the similarities of their backgrounds and literary styles. "No one writes in the same way after reading Annie Ernaux," he said. Another admirer was philosopher
Didier Eribon Didier Eribon (born 10 July 1953) is a French author and philosopher, and a historian of French intellectual life. He lives in Paris. Life Didier Eribon was born in Reims into a working-class family. He was the first in his family to finish ...
, who expressed: "I have such admiration for her, not just as a writer, but for her activism... She always found a way to capture in one sentence what I couldn't say in a page." Eribon first met Ernaux in 2002, shortly after the death of Pierre Bourdieu, a leading French sociologist and globalization critic, becoming close acquaintances thereafter. Interviewed by a
Euronews Euronews (styled on-air in lowercase as euronews) is a European television news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. The network began broadcasting on 1 January 1993 and covers world news from a European perspective. The majority of Eurone ...
journalist whether he was disappointed that he was not awarded this year, despite being nominated annually, Albanian novelist Ismail Kadare replied that he had no such feelings. "As you can see," he said, "I have no thoughts. 40 years ago, I might have but not today." Kadare's wife, Helena Kadare, said that they did not know Ernaux and that they had not even heard of her before the ceremony, even though they have been living in France for many years. She said: "We don't know the writer who won the Nobel, even though we live in France. I've never heard her, to be sure, but I haven’t even heard her name before. As long as the Nobel jury is the same and has been saying no o Kadarefor 40 years, you don’t have to change your opinion about them."


Award ceremony


Nobel lecture

Ernaux delivered her Nobel lecture on December 7, 2022, and spoke of how she hopes her work, which mixes fiction and memoir, has affected others, or in her own words, "shatter the loneliness of experiences endured and repressed and enable beings to reimagine themselves."Annie Ernaux – Nobel Prize lecture
nobelprize.org
She said she took to writing her personal experiences because "a book can contribute to change" and "enable beings to reimagine themselves". She mentioned Rimbaud, Flaubert, Proust,
Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...
,
Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His works ...
, Rousseau, Kafka,
Hugo Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...
and among others as authors who somehow shaped her views and influenced her writing style. In her youth, she began to love a wide array of literary masterpieces due to her mother's passion. She elaborated:


Prize presentation

Ernaux received her Nobel diploma and medal from
Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. He ascended the throne on the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, on 15 September 1973. He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Du ...
, King of Sweden, on 10 December 2022. Nobel Committee chairman Anders Olsson described her as an author who regards "language sa means to dispel the fog of memory and a knife to uncover the real".2022 Presentation speech
nobelprize.org
He noted:


Banquet speech

In her banquet speech at Stockholm City Hall on 10 December 2022, Ernaux hailed Albert Camus, who was awarded the
1957 Nobel Prize in Literature The 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded the French writer Albert Camus (1913–1960) "for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times." He is the ninth ...
. She said:


Other Nobel-related events


Nobel campaigns for Rushdie

Following the attack on the British author Salman Rushdie on August 12, 2022, as he was about to give a public lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, U.S., numerous academic institutions and societies started calling the attention 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 ...
's Nobel Committee to bestow him this year's
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 , ...
. Among the authors calling to recognize Rushdie were French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, French Minister of Culture
Françoise Nyssen Françoise Nyssen (born 9 June 1951) is a French-Belgian publisher and politician and a former director of the Actes Sud publishing house. From 2017 until 2018, she served as Minister of Culture of France in the government of Prime Minister É ...
, British writers Ian McEwan and
Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...
, Indian writers Kavery Nambisan and Adil Jussawalla, and Canadian author
Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...
who declared, "If we don’t defend free speech, we live in tyranny: Salman Rushdie shows us that." American journalist David Remnick explains why Rushdie deserves the Nobel Prize: Rushdie, known for his controversial 1988 novel '' The Satanic Verses'' which earned him a fatwā from Iran's supreme leader
Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
, has annually been included in the Ladbrokes odds. Journalist Jeff Simon of '' The Buffalo News'' expressed the possibility of Rushdie winning the prestigious prize, saying: It was not until 27 years later when 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 ...
, which had been neutral regarding the Rushdie affairs, condemned the Iranian death warrant against the British author. Prior to the condemnation, two of the Academy's members,
Kerstin Ekman Kerstin Lillemor Ekman, née Hjorth, (born 27 August 1933) is a Swedish novelist. Life and career Kerstin Ekman wrote a string of successful detective novels (among others ''De tre små mästarna'' and ''Dödsklockan'') but later went on to ps ...
and Lars Gyllensten, stopped participating in the Academy's work in protest at its refusal to make an appeal to the
Swedish cabinet The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden ( sv, Konungariket Sveriges regering) is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Ministerappointed and dismissed by the Speaker of the R ...
in support for Rushdie. Associated Press
"Who Deserves Nobel Prize? Judges Don't Agree"
, MSNBC, 11 October 2005. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
Rushdie is noted for his literary works such as ''
Midnight's Children ''Midnight's Children'' is a 1981 novel by Indian-British writer Salman Rushdie, published by Jonathan Cape with cover design by Bill Botten, about India's transition from British colonial rule to independence and partition. It is a postcolo ...
'' (1981), ''
The Moor's Last Sigh ''The Moor's Last Sigh'' is the fifth novel by Salman Rushdie, published in 1995. It is set in the Indian cities of Bombay and Cochin. Title and influences The title is taken from the story of Muhammad XII of Granada, Boabdil, the last Moor ...
'' (1995), ''
Shalimar the Clown ''Shalimar the Clown'' is a 2005 novel by Salman Rushdie. The novel took Rushdie four years to write, and was initially published on 6 September 2005 by Jonathan Cape. ''Shalimar the Clown'' derives its name from Shalimar Gardens, in the vici ...
'' (2005), and '' Joseph Anton: A Memoir'' (2012), an account of his life in the wake of the events following ''The Satanic Verses''. Since then he has become an icon for "
freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
" in the realm of literature. Following Ernaux's win, many Rushdie supporters as well as some writers expressed disappointment for Rushdie not being awarded despite the campaigns and appeals. If given the chance to win in the future, he will be the second Indian to do so – after Rabindranath Tagore won it for ''Gitanjali'' way back in
1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos (1913), Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not ven ...
.


Nobel Committee

In 2022, the Swedish Academy's Nobel Committee was composed of the following members:The Nobel Committee 2022 – Nobel Prize in Literature
svenskaakademien.se


References


External links


The Nobel Prize in Literature
nobelprize.org
Swedish Academy
svenskaakademien.se/en {{2022 Nobel Prize winners
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
Nobel Literature