SRINAGAR: Norwegian author Jon Fosse was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on October 5th “for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable.” The Nobel Prize will be presented to him by King Carl XVI Gustaf during a formal event in Stockholm on December 10, which also marks the death anniversary of scientist Alfred Nobel.
The Nobel Prize winner’s work has been translated in over 40 languages.
Considered Norway’s leading contemporary playwright, the 64-year-old Fosse has had a prolific career spanning over four decades and is known for his minimalist writing style and existential themes of mortality, religion, and human relationships.
Early Life and Influences
Fosse was born in 1959 in Haugesund on Norway’s west coast. He grew up on a small farm and began writing poems and stories at age 12 as an escape and a way to create his “own space in the world.” As a young man, he studied comparative literature at the University of Bergen. Fosse writes in Nynorsk, one of Norway’s two official written languages, rather than the more widely used Bokmål. His early influences included Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen and poets such as Samuel Beckett, Thomas Bernhard and Georg Trakl.
Career Highlights
Fosse published his debut novel Raudt, Svart (Red, Black) in 1983 and quickly established a reputation as an innovative writer. He has gone on to publish over 40 plays, several novels and poetry collections, children’s books, essays and translations.
His plays brought him international acclaim, starting with the 1996 Paris production of Nokon kjem til å komme (Someone Is Going to Come). He is one of the most produced living playwrights in the world. His spare, dreamlike dramas explore themes of loneliness, loss, and human relationships with little plot and much left unsaid. Critics have compared his work to Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett.
Some of Fosse’s most renowned plays include Namnet (The Name, 1995), Natta syng sine songar (Nightsongs, 1997), and Draum om hausten (Dream of Autumn, 1999). He shifted focus to novels in the 2000s, including the acclaimed Morgon og kveld (Morning and Evening) in 2000 and the 1,000+ page Septology series published 2019-2021.
Fosse’s writing, while sparse, has been described as immersive and gripping. His repetition of words and phrases creates a poetic, hypnotic quality. The fragmentation and open-endedness of his narratives engage readers in filling the gaps.
Nobel Prize Recognition
Fosse has been rumored as a top Nobel contender for over a decade. In awarding him the prize, the Nobel Committee praised his “sensitive language, which probes the limits of words.” They stated, “Jon Fosse gives voice to the unsayable.”
Fosse joins a long list of laureates including Toni Morrison, Kazuo Ishiguro, Bob Dylan and Annie Ernaux. The Nobel Prize in Literature comes with a cash award of 10 million krona (around 900,000 USD) and will significantly boost Fosse’s international readership.
In reaction to the news, Fosse expressed being “overwhelmed, and somewhat frightened” but also “really happy and really surprised.” Regarding his literary aims, he stated: “I hope they can find a kind of peace in, or from, my writing.”
At the pinnacle of his decades-long career, the Nobel prize recognizes Jon Fosse’s innovative and influential contributions to world literature. His meditative, mystical works will continue to inspire readers and playgoers for generations to come.
