The Literary Politics of the Nobel Prize.(Essay)

The Nobel, the longest-running literary prize, has the greatest éclat . It has a dignified royal ceremony in Stockholm on December 10 (the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death), grants the largest amount of money ($1.3 million last year), and generates the most publicity for the winner. But the Swedish Academy--often blind to real distinction and unduly influenced by geography and politics, race and gender--has frequently awarded it to mediocrities. Most of the greatest authors of the twentieth century have not won the prize. If we look at how ...