"It is a sort of world literature where the world is tightly focused on how the literary arts -- mostly the novel -- lives and breathes in Swedish and English, and, to a lesser extent, French."
Good Morning, Ladbrokes: Nobel Betting Beyond Adonis and Nawal El Saadawi
Ladbrokes suggests they let the market determine the shortlist. However, their market seems to be a bit hung up on 1999.
Remembering a Nobel Laureate Who Got Away: Tawfiq al-Hakim
"Had the committee for the Nobel Prize decided at an earlier date than 1988 that recognition should be given to the renaissance that was occurring in modern Arabic literature, the prize would surely have been awarded to Tawfiq al-Hakim."
Nobel Prize Announcement Thursday: Arabs in the Betting
The winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize for Literature will be revealed this Thursday. There's no way of knowing who is on the Swedish Academy's shortlist -- at least not until the archives are opened up fifty years from now -- but we do know who's on the betting rolls.
Why Didn’t Assia Djebar Win the Nobel Prize for Literature?
Le Figaro raised the question, and some possible answers.
Which Arab Authors Are in the ‘Running’ for This Year’s Nobel Lit Prize?
If we can trust the Ladbrokes betting odds -- and I'd imagine that we can't -- it's more or less the same authors as last year.
The First Egyptian Nominated for the Nobel Prize (for Literature)
I learn all sorts of interesting things from Michael Orthofer over at The Literary Saloon; for instance, that at the beginning of each year, the Nobel Prize folks open up their archives from 50 years ago. That means it will be quite some time before the 1988 data comes clear (2038!), the year Naguib Mahfouz … Continue reading The First Egyptian Nominated for the Nobel Prize (for Literature)
Nobel Winner Mo Yan: ‘Limitations or Censorship is Great for Literature Creation’
Chinese novelist Mo Yan, who today received the Nobel Prize for Literature, previously spoke with Granta magazine about state and self-censorship. He said: Many approaches to literature have political bearings, for example in our real life there might be some sharp or sensitive issues that they do not wish to touch upon. At such a … Continue reading Nobel Winner Mo Yan: ‘Limitations or Censorship is Great for Literature Creation’
An Arab Woman’s Nobel
If an Arab woman was going to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, who would it be?
What It’s Like to Work for Adonis
It's Nobel Day, which means that, around the world, curiosity-seekers such as myself will be glued to their computers at 1 p.m. CET. With "Arab Spring" chatter in the air, it becomes perhaps more likely but certainly less pleasant to think about an Arab or Arabic-writing author taking the literary prize of prizes. It's both … Continue reading What It’s Like to Work for Adonis
Nobel Speculation (and Betting) Continues
Ladbrokes is just one handicapper for the big Swedish prize, which is set to be announced some Thursday this month. The Unibet* is another.
Nobel Speculation: Arab Writers for Peace and Literature Prizes
It's nearly October, the time for burning rice chaff, eating candy, and speculating about the various Nobel prizes. Literature Prize Adonis. Up until January 28, I believed Adonis had a good shot at this year's Nobel Prize for Literature. Khaled Mattawa brilliantly edited and compiled a collection of Adonis's works in translation, published in the … Continue reading Nobel Speculation: Arab Writers for Peace and Literature Prizes
