1964 Nobel Prize in Literature

The 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the French writer Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) "for his work which, rich in ideas and filled with the spirit of freedom and the quest for truth, has exerted a far-reaching influence on our age".Nobel Prize in Literature 1964 nobelprize.org

Sartre declined the prize, saying that he never accepted any official honours and that he did not want the writer to become an institution. Furthermore, regarding the political grounds for his action, Sartre declared about the Nobel prize that it is one that goes only to Westerners "or to rebels of the East". "It is regrettable that the only Soviet work honored was one that was published abroad and forbidden in its own country."Sartre Explains Stand nytimes.com The Swedish Academy said in announcement:

It is the only known occasion where a Laureate has voluntarily declined to accept the Nobel Prize in Literature after the Swedish Academy's permanent secretary Erik Axel Karlfeldt declined to accept the cancelled prize in 1919, and the first of only two occasions where any Nobel Prize has been voluntarily declined.Kaj Schueler Sartres brev kom försent till Akademien Svenska Dagbladet 2 January 2015 (in Swedish)

Laureate

Sartre was a philosopher – formulated and popularized the philosophy existentialism largely formed in his Being and Nothingness ("L'Être et le néant", 1943) – and playwright but also wrote novels and short stories. Through the protagonist Antoine Roquentin, his first novel La Nausée ("Nausea", 1938) articulates the existentialist themes of alienation, devotion and loneliness. His play Huis Clos ("No Exit", 1944) depicts hell as a perpetual co-existence with other people, while Les Mouches ("The Flies", 1943) is an adaptation of the ancient Electra myth. His autobiography Les Mots ("The Words", 1964), in which the author tries to distance himself from his writing and reconstruct his childhood, was received with great acclaim when it came out.Jean-Paul Sartre nobelprize.org

Deliberations Nominations Sartre had received 16 nominations since 1957. In 1964, the Swedish Academy received two nominations for him with which he was eventually awarded. He was nominated by the Swedish PEN-Club and a professor of German language from the University of Strasbourg. Sartre was included in the shortlisted nominees together with Russian novelist Mikhail Sholokhov (awarded in 1965) and British writer W. H. Auden.

There were 76 authors nominated in 1964. Nineteen of them were nominated first-time, among them Eugène Ionesco, Paul Celan, José María Pemán, Hossein Ghods-Nakhai, James T. Farrell, Camilo José Cela (awarded in 1989), Harry Martinson (awarded in 1974), Hugh MacDiarmid, and Miguel Ángel Asturias (awarded in 1967). The highest number of nominations – 3 nominations each – were for Väinö Linna, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, André Malraux, and Mikhail Sholokhov (awarded in 1965). Four of the nominees were women: Judith Wright, Ina Seidel, Nelly Sachs (awarded in 1966), and Katherine Anne Porter.

The authors Halide Edib Adıvar, Abbas Mahmoud al-Aqqad, Brendan Behan, Angel Cruchaga Santa María, J. Frank Dobie, Wenceslao Fernández Flórez, Ian Fleming, Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange, Vassily Grossman, Ben Hecht, Thakin Kodaw Hmaing, Samuil Marshak, Moa Martinson, Flannery O'Connor, Karl Polanyi, Davíð Stefánsson, Păstorel Teodoreanu, Ion Vinea, Felix Weltsch, T. H. White, María Wiesse Romero, Helen Wodehouse, and Madeleva Wolff all died in 1964 without having been nominated for the prize.

Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize No. Nominee Country Genre(s) Nominator(s)1Jean Anouilh (1910–1987)drama, screenplay, translationRagnar Josephson (1891–1966)2Miguel Ángel Asturias (1899–1974)novel, short story, poetry, essays, dramaErik Lindegren (1910–1968)3Wystan Hugh Auden (1907–1973)poetry, essays, screenplay4Samuel Beckett (1906–1989)novel, drama, poetry5Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)poetry, essays, translation, short storyHenry Olsson (1896–1985)6André Breton (1896–1966)history, poetry, essays, literary criticism7Martin Buber (1878–1965)philosophyAndré Neher (1914–1988)8Michel Butor (1926–2016)poetry, novel, essays, translationFélix Carrère (1911–1991)9Heinrich Böll (1917–1985)novel, short storyGustav Korlén (1915–2014)10Josep Carner (1884–1970)poetry, drama, translation11Jérôme Carcopino (1881–1970)historyPierre Grimal (1912–1996)12Camilo José Cela (1916–2002)novel, short story, essay, poetry, drama, memoirDaniel Poyán Díaz (1923–2007)13Paul Celan (1920–1970)poetry, translation14Heimito von Doderer (1896–1966)novel, short story, poetry, essaysErnst Alker (1895–1972)15Lawrence Durrell (1912–1990)novel, short story, poetry, drama, essaysGeorg Luck (1926–2013)16Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990)drama, novel, short story, essays17Gunnar Ekelöf (1907–1968)poetry, essaysGunnar Tideström (1906–1985)18Pierre Emmanuel (1916–1984)poetryJacques Robichez (1914–1999)19James Thomas Farrell (1904–1979)novel, short story, poetryEdgar Marquess Branch (1913–2006)20Edward Morgan Forster (1879–1970)novel, short story, drama, essays, biography, literary criticismPierre Legouis (1891–1980)21Max Frisch (1911–1991)novel, dramaHennig Brinkmann (1901–2000)22Christopher Fry (1907–2005)poetry, drama, screenplayCarl Becker (1925–1973)23Rómulo Gallegos (1884–1969)novel, short storyJohn Callan James Metford (1916–2007)24Hossein Ghods-Nakhai (1911–1977)poetry, essaysAhmad Matin-Daftari (1897–1971)25Étienne Gilson (1884–1978)philosophyPierre Mesnard (1900–1969)26Jean Giono (1895–1970)novel, short story, essays, poetry, drama27Robert Graves (1895–1985)history, novel, poetry, literary criticism, essaysSigfrid Siwertz (1882–1970)28Jean Guéhenno (1890–1978)essays, literary criticismEdmond Jarno (1905–1985)29Taha Hussein (1889–1973)novel, short story, poetry, translation30Eugène Ionesco (1909–1994)drama, essaysErik Lindegren (1910–1968)31Eyvind Johnson (1900–1976)novel, short storyCarl-Eric Thors (1920–1986)32Marcel Jouhandeau (1888–1979)short story, novelJean Gaulmier (1905–1997)33Pierre Jean Jouve (1887–1976)poetry, novel, literary criticismClaude Pichois (1925–2005)34Ernst Jünger (1895–1998)philosophy, novel, memoirRudolf Till (1911–1979)35Yasunari Kawabata (1899–1972)novel, short storyHarry Martinson (1904–1978)36Miroslav Krleža (1893–1981)poetry, drama, short story, novel, essaysThe Yugoslavian Writers Association37Väinö Linna (1920–1992)novel38Robert Lowell (1917–1977)poetry, translationErik Lindegren (1910–1968)39Karl Löwith (1897–1973)philosophyFranz Dirlmeier (1904–1977)40Hugh MacDiarmid (1892–1978)poetry, essaysDavid Daiches (1912–2005)41André Malraux (1901–1976)novel, essays, literary criticism42Gabriel Marcel (1889–1973) philosophy, dramaYves Le Hir (1919–2005)43Harry Martinson (1904–1978)poetry, novel, drama, essaysSigurd Erixon (1888–1968)44William Somerset Maugham (1874–1965)novel, short story, drama, essaysRichard Broxton Onians (1899–1986)45Ramón Menéndez Pidal (1869–1968)philology, historyGunnar Tilander (1894–1973)46Henri Michaux (1899–1984)poetry, essaysBengt Holmqvist (1924–2002)47Yukio Mishima (1925–1970)novel, short story, drama, literary criticismHarry Martinson (1904–1978)48Vilhelm Moberg (1898–1973)novel, drama, history49Henry de Montherlant (1895–1972)essays, novel, dramaEugène Napoleon Tigerstedt (1907–1979)50Alberto Moravia (1907–1990)novel, literary criticism, essays, dramaUberto Limentani (1913–1989)51Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)novel, short story, poetry, drama, translation, literary criticism, memoirElizabeth Hill (1900–1996)52Pablo Neruda (1904–1973)poetry53Junzaburō Nishiwaki (1894–1982)poetry, literary criticismNaoshirō Tsuji (1899–1979)54José María Pemán (1897–1981)poetry, drama, novel, essays, screenplay55Jacques Perret (1901–1992)novel, short story, memoir, essaysPaul Pédech (1912–2005)56Jacques Pirenne (1891–1972)history, lawPierre Nothomb (1887–1966)57Katherine Anne Porter (1890–1980)short story, essaysGeorge Hendrick (1929–2021)58John Boynton Priestley (1894–1984)novel, drama, screenplay, literary criticism, essaysHugh Sydney Hunt (1911–1993)59Nelly Sachs (1891–1970)poetry, dramaWalter Arthur Berendsohn (1884–1984)60Aksel Sandemose (1899–1965) novel, essays61Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980)philosophy, novel, drama, essays, screenplay62Jean Schlumberger (1877–1968)poetry, essaysPierre Legouis (1891–1973)63Ina Seidel (1885–1974)poetry, novelGünther Jachmann (1887–1979)64Ramón Jose Sender (1901–1982)novel, essaysRobert Graves (1895–1985)65Charles Percy Snow (1905–1980)novel, essaysFriedrich Schubel (1904–1991)66Mikhail Sholokhov (1905–1984)novel67Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1886–1965)novel, short storyHarry Martinson (1904–1978)68Gustave Thibon (1903–2001)philosophyÉdouard Delebecque (1910–1990)69Pietro Ubaldi (1886–1972)philosophy, essaysJoão de Freitas Guimarães (d. 1996)70Giuseppe Ungaretti (1888–1970)poetry, essays, literary criticismGeorges Poulet (1901–1991)71Arthur David Waley (1889–1966)translation, essaysDavid Hawkes (1923–2009)72Mika Waltari (1908–1979)short story, novel, poetry, drama, essays, screenplayAapeli Saarisalo (1896–1986)73Tarjei Vesaas (1897–1970)poetry, novelEdvard Beyer (1920–2003)74Simon Vestdijk (1898–1971) novel, poetry, essays, translationRoyal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences 75Thornton Wilder (1897–1975)drama, novel, short story76Judith Wright (1915–2000)poetry, literary criticism, novel, essays

Prize Decision On 17 September 1964 the Nobel committee proposed that the prize should be awarded to Jean-Paul Sartre. The second name on the list was Mikhail Sholokov (who was awarded the prize in 1965) and the third name was W.H. Auden. There was some ambivalence within the Swedish Academy to award Sartre. He had been nominated the first time in 1957, but his candidacy was postponed for the future as the Academy was not sure if Sartre's work would have any historical importance. His candidacy was considered and postponed again in 1962 for similar reasons. The publication of Les Mots in 1963 is believed to have strengthened Sartre's candidacy and in October 1964 the Academy decided to award Sartre, their decision was sealed with a final vote on 22 October 1964. A week earlier Sartre, knowing that he was a candidate for the prize, had sent a letter to the Swedish Academy saying he would not accept the award, but as the Academy had already made their decision before the formal final vote they disregarded the letter. The Academy's permanent secretary Karl Ragnar Gierow replied to Sartre's letter saying that the decision had already been made and urged Sartre to reconsider and accept the prize.

Reactions In a text published in Le Figaro on 23 October 1964, Sartre wrote that he regretted that his refusal to accept the prize had caused a scandal. He explained that he never accepted any prizes or membership of institutions as he believed an author who accepted such things became forever associated with the prize or institution, and that the author should not allow himself to become an institution.

Aftermath In his memoirs Lars Gyllensten claimed that someone, either Sartre himself or someone related to him, in 1975 had contacted the Swedish Academy and asked if the prize money was available.

References

External links List of all nominations for the 1964 Nobel Prize in literature nobelprize.org