1962 Nobel Prize in Literature

The 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the American author John Steinbeck (1902–1968) "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception."The Nobel Prize in Literature 1962 nobelprize.org

Laureate

Social conditions of migrants and seasonal workers became a recurring theme in Steinbeck's writings and were particularly evident in Of Mice and Men (1937) and The Grapes of Wrath (1939). The latter relates how unemployment and abuse of power forced farmers to migrate from Oklahoma to California. Sympathy with the downtrodden and the poor characterizes his writing. It is expressed with a compassionate sense of humor and a sharp eye for social and economic injustices. His other outstanding works include East of Eden (1952), Tortilla Flat (1935) and The Pearl (1947).John Steinbeck nobelprize.org

Deliberations Nominations Steinbeck was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature on 11 occasions, the first time in 1943. In 1962, the Nobel committee received two nominations for him.Nomination archive – John Steinbeck nobelprize.org Included in the shortlisted nominees were Steinbeck, Robert Graves, Lawrence Durrell, Jean Anouilh, and Karen Blixen. Steinbeck was awarded eventually, but the four never received the prize.

In total, the Swedish Academy received 86 nominations for 66 writers. Fifteen of the nominees were nominated first-time among them William Heinesen, Pietro Ubaldi, Ronald Syme, Carl Zuckmayer, André Schwarz-Bart, Josep Carner and Eyvind Johnson (awarded in 1974). British novelist E. M. Forster earned the highest number of nominations (4 nominations) followed by Jean-Paul Sartre and Friedrich Dürrenmatt (3 nominations each). Three of the nominees were women namely Karen Blixen, Gertrud von le Fort and Giulia Scappino Murena.Nomination archive – 1962 nobelprize.org

The authors Antonio Acevedo Hernández, Gerrit Achterberg, Richard Aldington, Jean Amrouche, Georges Bataille, Pierre Benoit, E. E. Cummings, Maria Dermoût, Jean Devanny, Mouloud Feraoun, Wilfrid Wilson Gibson, Mary Gilmore, Patrick Hamilton, Pierre Hamp, Agnes Henningsen, Robinson Jeffers, Helge Krog, Alda Lara, María Rosa Lida de Malkiel, Arthur Oncken Lovejoy, Francisco Méndez, Patrícia Rehder Galvão (known as Pagu), Vita Sackville-West, Hajime Tanabe, Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Sandu Tudor, Mohammad Yamin, and Ouyang Yuqian died in 1962 without having been nominated for the prize. Danish author Karen Blixen and German translator Rudolf Alexander Schröder died weeks before the announcement.

Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize No. Nominee Country Genre(s) Nominator(s)1Jean Anouilh (1910–1987)drama, screenplay, translationHarry Martinson (1904–1978)2Karen Blixen (1885–1962)novel, short story, memoirHenry Olsson (1896–1985)3Heinrich Böll (1917–1985)novel, short story4Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)poetry, essays, translation, short storyHenry Olsson (1896–1985)5Martin Buber (1878–1965)philosophy6Josep Carner (1884–1970)poetry, drama, translationJean Camp (1891–1968)7Franz Theodor Csokor (1885–1969)drama, essays, poetry, autobiographyThe Austrian PEN-Club8Lawrence Durrell (1912–1990)novel, short story, poetry, drama, essays9Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990)drama, novel, short story, essays10Johan Falkberget (1879–1967)novel, short story, essaysJohannes Andreasson Dale (1898–1975)11Edward Morgan Forster (1879–1970)novel, short story, drama, essays, biography, literary criticism12Max Frisch (1911–1991)novel, drama13Robert Frost (1874–1963)poetry, dramaClive Staples Lewis (1898–1963)14Rómulo Gallegos (1884–1969)novel, short storyRudolf Grossmann (1892–1980)15Robert Graves (1895–1985)history, novel, poetry, literary criticism, essaysHarry Martinson (1904–1978)16Graham Greene (1904–1991)novel, short story, autobiography, essays17Jorge Guillén (1893–1984)poetry, literary criticismGeorges Poulet (1902–1991)18Leslie Poles Hartley (1895–1972)novel, short storyGeoffrey Tillotson (1905–1969)19Manfred Hausmann (1898–1986)novel, short story, poetry, essaysHeinrich Dörrie (1911–1983)20William Heinesen (1900–1991)poetry, short story, novelChristian Matras (1900–1988) 21Taha Hussein (1889–1973)novel, short story, poetry, translation22Roman Jakobson (1896–1982)essaysPeter Hartmann (1923–1984)23Eyvind Johnson (1900–1976)novel, short storyCarl-Eric Thors (1920–1986)24Erich Kästner (1899–1974)poetry, screenplay, autobiography25Yasunari Kawabata (1899–1972)novel, short storyThe Japanese PEN-Club26Humphrey Davy Findley Kitto (1897–1982)historyWilliam Beare (1933–2019)27Miroslav Krleža (1893–1981)poetry, drama, short story, novel, essaysThe Yugoslavian Writers Association28Frank Raymond Leavis (1895–1978)literary criticism, essaysCecil Arthur Hackett (1908–2000)29André Malraux (1901–1976)novel, essays, literary criticism30Gabriel Marcel (1889–1973)philosophy, drama31William Somerset Maugham (1874–1965)novel, short story, drama, essaysRichard Broxton Onians (1899–1986)32Max Mell (1882–1971)drama, novel, screenplayMoritz Enzinger (1891–1975)33Ramón Menéndez Pidal (1869–1968)philology, history34Vilhelm Moberg (1898–1973)novel, drama, historyGösta Bergman (1894–1984)35Alberto Moravia (1907–1990)novel, literary criticism, essays, dramaIngmar Bergman (1918–2007)36Stratis Myrivilis (1890–1969)novel, short storyWriters Association of the Hellenes37Pablo Neruda (1904–1973)poetryThe Chilean Authors Society38Junzaburō Nishiwaki (1894–1982)poetry, literary criticismNaoshiro Tsuji (1899–1979)39Hans Erich Nossack (1901–1977)novel, dramaJosef Matl (1897–1974)40Seán O'Casey (1880–1964)drama, memoirGeoffrey Tillotson (1905–1969)41Ezra Pound (1885–1972)poetry, essaysKarl Ragnar Gierow (1904–1982)42John Cowper Powys (1872–1963)philosophy, novel, literary criticism, poetry, essays, short storyGeorge Wilson Knight (1897–1985)43Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975)philosophy, essays, law44Aksel Sandemose (1899–1965)novel, essaysEyvind Johnson (1900–1976)45Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980)philosophy, novel, drama, essays, screenplay46Giulia Scappino Murena (1902–1967)poetryAlfredo Galletti (1872–1962)47Rudolf Alexander Schröder (1878–1962)poetry, translationErnst Zinn (1910–1990)48André Schwarz-Bart (1928–2006)novelIngerid Dal (1895–1985)49Giorgos Seferis (1900–1971)poetry, memoir, essays50Mikhail Sholokhov (1905–1984)novelHenrik Becker (1902–1984)51Ignazio Silone (1900–1978)novel, short story, essays, dramaElias Wessén (1889–1981)52John Steinbeck (1902–1968)novel, short story, screenplay53Ronald Syme (1903–1989)historyAlbrecht Dihle (1923–2020)54Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1886–1965)novel, short storyHoward Hibbett (1920–2019)55Frank Thiess (1890–1977)novelHelmuth Scheel (1895–1967)56Miguel Torga (1907–1995)poetry, short story, novel, drama, autobiographyHernâni Antonio Cidade (1887–1975)57Pietro Ubaldi (1886–1972)philosophy, essaysAcademia Santista de Letras58Tarjei Vesaas (1897–1970)poetry, novelSigmund Skard (1903–1995)59Simon Vestdijk (1898–1971)novel, poetry, essays, translationThe Austrian PEN-Club60Heimito von Doderer (1896–1966)novel, short story, poetry, essays61Gertrud von Le Fort (1876–1971)novel, short story, essays, poetryFriedrich von der Leyen (1873–1966)62Arthur David Waley (1889–1966)translation, essaysDavid Hawkes (1923–2009)63Thornton Wilder (1897–1975)drama, novel, short storyPeter Wapnewski (1922–2012)64Boris Zaytsev (1881–1972)poetry, drama, novelRostislav Pletnv (1903–1985)65Carl Zuckmayer (1896–1977)drama, screenplayRudolf Stark (1912–1966)66Arnold Zweig (1887–1968)novel, short storyHenrik Becker (1902–1984)

Prize Decision In 2012 (50 years later), the Nobel Prize opened its archives and it was revealed that Steinbeck was a "compromise choice" among a shortlist consisting of Steinbeck, British authors Robert Graves and Lawrence Durrell, French dramatist Jean Anouilh and Danish author Karen Blixen. The declassified documents showed that he was chosen as the best of a not so noteworthy group: "There aren't any obvious candidates for the Nobel prize and the prize committee is in an unenviable situation," wrote committee member Henry Olsson. Blixen died in September making her ineligible for the prize, Durrell's The Alexandria Quartet was not considered enough for a Nobel prize and Anouilh was also passed over, which left Robert Graves and John Steinbeck as the main contenders for the prize. "Between Graves and Steinbeck, I find the choice very difficult – Graves is the older, and at the same time less high profile, while Steinbeck's reputation is of course more popular," wrote committee member Anders Österling. "Since Steinbeck's candidacy nevertheless appears to me to have a larger chance of gathering unqualified support, I consider myself free to give it precedence."

Although the committee believed Steinbeck's best work was behind him by 1962, Österling believed the release of his novel The Winter of Our Discontent showed that "after some signs of slowing down in recent years, [Steinbeck has] regained his position as a social truth-teller [and is an] authentic realist fully equal to his predecessors Sinclair Lewis and Ernest Hemingway."

In 2010, Swedish Academy's archives later revealed that Danish writer Karen Blixen was a favorite candidate since 1959 but was missed out because the committee were concerned about showing favoritism to Scandinavian writers. "The Nobel academy was probably afraid to appear provincial," Johannes Riis, literary director at Gyldendals publishing house told Politiken. "And so a mistake was made, because obviously Karen Blixen ought to have received the Nobel prize. Instead, it was a kind of reverse provincialism."

Reactions The selection of Steinbeck was heavily criticized, and described as "one of the Academy's biggest mistakes" in one Swedish newspaper. While there were some positive reactions in America,Helmer Lång 100 nobelpris i litteratur Symposion 2001, ISBN 91-7139-537-7 p. 224 (in Swedish) The New York Times asked why the Nobel committee gave the award to an author whose "limited talent is, in his best books, watered down by tenth-rate philosophising", adding, "we think it interesting that the laurel was not awarded to a writer ... whose significance, influence and sheer body of work had already made a more profound impression on the literature of our age". Steinbeck himself, when asked if he deserved the Nobel on the day of the announcement, replied: "Frankly, no." Today, however, many of Steinbecks works are widely read and considered classics of Western literature.

Award ceremony At the award ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December 1962, Anders Österling, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, said:

References

External links Prize presentation nobelprize.org Award ceremony speech nobelprize.org The Nobel Prize Award Ceremony 1962 - NobelPrize.org John Steinbeck Banquet speech nobelprize.org