The 1906 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Italian poet Giosuè Carducci (1835–1907) "not only in consideration of his deep learning and critical research, but above all as a tribute to the creative energy, freshness of style, and lyrical force which characterize his poetic masterpieces."The Nobel Prize in Literature 1906 nobelprize.org He was the first Italian author to receive the prize and was followed by Grazia Deledda in 1926.
Laureate
Carducci started composing poetry while he was young, influenced by both the poets of his own time and those he had studied in the ancient and Italian periods. Rime ("Rhymes", 1857) was his debut book of poetry. In his active life he became an atheist, and the provocative poem Inno a Satana ("Hymn to Satan", 1865) is where he best displays his criticism of Christianity.Giosuè Carducci – Facts nobelprize.org Carducci confessed his sins and was reconciled to the Catholic Church in 1895. His other well-known poetry collections include Primavere elleniche ("Hellenic Springs", 1872), Odi barbare ("Barbarian Odes", 1877), and Giambi ed Epodi ("Giambi and Epodi", 1882).Giosuè Carducci britannica.com
Deliberations Nominations Carducci was nominated on 9 occasions starting in 1902 by Antonio Fogazzaro, an Italian Senator and author. In 1906, he received four nominations from academics and writers which eventually led him to becoming the year's recipient.Nomination archive – Giosuè Carducci nobelprize.org
The Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy received 54 nominations for 24 writers among them Leo Tolstoy, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Selma Lagerlöf (awarded in 1909), Jaroslav Vrchlický, Georg Brandes, and Antonio Fogazzaro. Eleven of the nominees were nominated first-time such as Pedro Pablo Figueroa, Gaston Boissier, Louis Franck, George Lansing Raymond, Borden Parker Bowne, Angelo de Gubernatis, and William Booth. Selma Lagerlöf was the only female nominee recorded.Nomination archive – 1906 nobelprize.org
The authors Émile Boutmy, Eliza Brightwen, Ferdinand Brunetière, Ellen Mary Clerke, Anne Ross Cousin, José María de Pereda, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Max Eyth, Giuseppe Giacosa, Alexander Kielland, Jean Lorrain, Agnes Catherine Maitland, Bartolomé Mitre, Vasile Pogor, Charlotte Riddell, Hendrik Jan Schimmel, Elizabeth Missing Sewell, Eduard von Hartmann, and Adeline Dutton Whitney died in 1906 without having been nominated for the prize.
Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize No. Nominee Country Genre(s) Nominator(s)1Max Bewer (1861–1921)poetry, songwriting, essays2Gaston Boissier (1823–1908)history, essays, translationJacobus Johannes Hartman (1851–1924)3William Booth (1829–1912)theology, essays, songwritingOtto Classen (1868–1939)4Borden Parker Bowne (1847–1910) philosophy, theology, essays5Georg Brandes (1842–1927) literary criticism, essays Troels Frederik Lund (1840–1921)6Giosuè Carducci (1835–1907) poetry, literary criticism, biography, essays7Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927)philosophyLeopold von Schroeder (1851–1920)8Angelo de Gubernatis (1840–1913) drama, essays, philology, poetry9Pedro Pablo Figueroa (1857–1909)history, biography, essaysLeonardo Eliz y Las Rosas (1861–1939)10Antonio Fogazzaro (1842–1911) novel, poetry, short storyCarl Bildt (1850–1931)11Louis Franck (1868–1937)lawErnest Nys (1851–1920)12Gerhart Hauptmann (1862–1946) drama, novel35 German and Austrian professors and members of societies13Max Haushofer (1840–1907)poetry, drama, short story, essaysEmil Milan (1859–1917)14Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940) novel, short story15George Meredith (1828–1909) novel, poetryJohn Collier (1850–1934)16John Morley (1838–1923) biography, literary criticism, essaysJohn Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury (1858–1929)17Lewis Morris (1833–1907) poetry, songwriting, essays18William Jonathan Neidig (1870–1955)poetry, short story, essaysHenry Burrowes Lathrop (1867–1936)19George Lansing Raymond (1839–1929) essays, philosophy20Albert Sorel (1842–1906) history, essays21Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909) poetry, drama, literary criticism, novel35 members of the Society of Authors22Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) novel, short story, drama, poetryLudovic Halévy (1837–1908)23Jaroslav Vrchlický (1853–1912) ()poetry, drama, translation24Joseph Viktor Widmann (1842–1911) novel, short story, drama, literary criticism
Prize decision In their report to the Swedish Academy dated 24 September 1906, the Nobel committee unanimously proposed that that year's Nobel Prize in Literature should be awarded to the Italian poet Giosuè Carducci: "A learned literary historian, nourished by antiquity, Dante and Petrarch, Carducci is in his own right a poet (...) Now that his poems are of unusually high aesthetic value, he can be considered to be highly deserving of the Nobel Prize in Literature, for which the committee now proposes him. The Swedish Academy thereby pays tribute to a poet who has a world-wide reputation, and adds its measure of admiration to the many that have been bestowed upon him by his fatherland".
The members of the Swedish Academy voted unanimously for Carducci, a rare occasion by the Academy.Helmer Lång Hundra nobelpris i litteratur 1901-2001, Symposion 2001, p.50 The decision to award Carducci is considered one of the least controversial in the history of the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was the first and remain one of the few laureates who got all of the delivered votes from the members of the Swedish Academy.
Award ceremony At the award ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December 1906, Carl David af Wirsén, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy said:
Due to Carducci's declining health, he was not able to receive the prize personally in Stockholm. Instead, the Swedish ambassador in Italy received it on his behalf.1906 Award ceremony nobelprize.org
Notes
References
External links Award ceremony speech by C.D. af Wirsén nobelprize.org