The 1917 Nobel Prize in Literature was equally divided between the Danish authors Karl Adolph Gjellerup (1857–1919) "for his varied and rich poetry, which is inspired by lofty ideals," and Henrik Pontoppidan (1857–1943) "for his authentic descriptions of present-day life in Denmark." It is the second of four occasions when the Nobel Prize in Literature has been shared between two individuals.Facts on the Nobel Prize in Literature nobelprize.org
Laureates Karl Adolph Gjellerup
The son of a parson, Gjellerup studied theology, but after coming under the influence of Darwinism and the ideas of fellow countryman Georg Brandes, he thought of himself as an atheist. Later in life, he turned to religion once more and discovered inspiration for his writing in Buddhism. Gjellerup moved to Dresden in 1923. The subject of Karl Gjellerup's debut book, En idealist shildring af Epigonus ("An Idealist, A Description of Epigonus", 1878), was his personal conversion to atheism. In Minna (1889) and Der Pilger Kamanita ("The Pilgrim Kamanita", 1906), an exotic tale of reincarnation set in India, he displays his interest in Buddhism. Up until around 1900, Gjellerup wrote in Danish. Then, he switched to write exclusively in German, which he believed helped him grow as an artist. Das heiligste Tier ("The Holiest Animal", 1919) was his last work.Karl Gjellerup – Facts nobelprize.orgKarl Adolph Gjellerup britannica.com
Henrik Pontoppidan
Like Gjellerup, Pontoppidan himself is also a son of a clergyman. He partly revolted against his religious environment by studying engineering in Copenhagen in 1873. Becoming a primary school teacher for a short time, he started writing full-time and became a freelance journalist, making his debut in 1881. Most facets of Danish life are covered in his novels and short stories. He wrote his three main works between 1890 and 1920: Det forjættede Land ("The Promised Land", 1891–95), Lykke-Per ("Lucky Per", 1898–1904) – the partially autobiographical story of a self-assured, extraordinarily bright guy, who defies his religious family to become an engineer, free of heritage and cultural context, and De dødes Rige ("The Realm of the Dead", 1912–16). He depicts Denmark in these works during the time of the constitutional conflict between conservatives and liberals, the growth of industrialization, and the emergence of revolutionary groups.Henrik Pontoppidan – Facts nobelprize.orgHenrik Pontoppidan britannica.com
Deliberations Nominations In total, the Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy received 26 nominations for 20 writers such as William Chapman, Arne Garborg, Carl Spitteler (awarded in 1919), Georg Brandes, Juhani Aho, and Àngel Guimerà. Most of the nominees were Scandinavian and six were newly nominated: Ivan Vazov, Otto Ernst, Jeppe Aakjær, Johan Bojer, and Bertel Gripenberg. Two female authors were nominated, the controversial Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche and the Italian writer Grazia Deledda (awarded in 1926). The Swedish Academy's permanent secretary Erik Axel Karlfeldt received two nominations.Nomination archive – 1917 nobelprize.org
The authors Joseph Ashby-Sterry, Maksim Bahdanovič, Jane Barlow, Edmund Bishop, Léon Bloy, Oscar Blumenthal, Franz Brentano, Francis Cowley Burnand, William De Morgan, Mathilde-Marie de Peyrebrune, George Diamandy, Joaquín Dicenta, Émile Durkheim, António Feijó, Judith Gautier, Paul Hervieu, Agnes Leonard Hill, Emma Lili'uokalani, Katharine Sarah Macquoid, Titu Maiorescu, Octave Mirbeau, James Hope Moulton, Andrew Murray, José Enrique Rodó, and Mendele Mocher Sforim died without in 1917 without having been nominated for the prize.
Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize No. Nominee Country Genre(s) Nominator(s)1Jeppe Aakjær (1866–1930)novel, short story, drama, poetry, essays, autobiographyChristen Collin (1857–1926)2Juhani Aho (1861–1921) ()novel, short storyErik Axel Karlfeldt (1864–1931)3Johan Bojer (1872–1959)novel, dramaChristen Collin (1857–1926)4Georg Brandes (1842–1927) literary criticism, essays5Otokar Březina (1868–1929) ()poetry, essaysArne Novák (1880–1939)6Olaf Bull (1883–1933) poetryChristen Collin (1857–1926)7William Chapman (1850–1917) poetry, translationrectors of the universities in Ottawa and Montreal8Grazia Deledda (1871–1936) novel, short story, essays9Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche (1846–1935) essays, autobiographyHans Vaihinger (1852–1933)10Adolf Frey (1855–1920) biography, history, essays Wilhelm Oechsli (1851–1919)11Arne Garborg (1851–1921) novel, poetry, drama, essaysOluf Kolsrud (1885–1945)12Karl Adolph Gjellerup (1857–1919) poetry, drama, novel13Bertel Gripenberg (1878–1947)()poetry, drama, essaysHarald Hjärne (1848–1922)14Ángel Guimerá Jorge (1845–1924) drama, poetry15Erik Axel Karlfeldt (1864–1931) poetry16Edmond Picard (1836–1924) drama, law, essays17Henrik Pontoppidan (1857–1943) novel, short story18Otto Ernst Schmidt (1862–1926)poetry, drama, essaysPer Hallström (1866–1960)19Carl Spitteler (1845–1924) poetry, essays20Ivan Vazov (1850–1921)novel, poetry, drama, essaysIvan Shishmanov (1862–1928)
Prize decision In 1916, a shared prize between the Danish authors Jakob Knudsen and Karl Gjellerup had been considered by the Nobel committee but was rejected by the Academy in favour of the Swedish author Verner von Heidenstam. With the death of Knudsen in January 1917, he was replaced by Pontoppidan as the committee paired him with Gjellerup for the 1917 prize.
Reactions The prize to Gjellerup and Pontoppidan was heavily criticised. In Denmark, the award to Gjellerup was particularly criticised as he was not writing in Danish but in German.
References
External links Banquet speech by Sven Söderman