The 1956 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Spanish poet Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881–1958) "for his lyrical poetry, which in Spanish language constitutes an example of high spirit and artistical purity"The Nobel Prize in literature 1956 nobelprize.org He is the third Spanish recipient of the prize after the dramatist Jacinto Benavente in 1922.
Laureate
Juan Ramón Jiménez belonged to the literary movement called modernismo. His early poetry was inspired by German romanticism and French symbolism that is visual and full of imagery and predominated by the colors yellow and green. Then he later turned to poetic prose in which the color white predominates; this is clearly evident in Diario de un poeta recién casado ("Diary of a Recently Married Poet", 1917). Jimenez worked as a poet, literary critic and editor of a literary magazine. Among his famous poem collections include Platero y yo ("Platero and I", 1956), Piedra y cielo ("Stones and Sky", 1919), and Voces de mi copla ("Voices of My Song", 1945)Juan Ramón Jiménez nobelprize.org
Deliberations Nominations Jiménez was first nominated in 1952 before being awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Literature. Each year he received a single nomination, summing up to 5 nominations in all. His last nomination was made by the Swedish academy member, Harry Martinson.Nomination archive – Juan Ramón Jiménez nobelprize.org
In total, the Nobel committee received 158 nominations for 44 writers. Among the nominees include Graham Greene, Nikos Kazantzakis, André Malraux, Albert Camus (awarded in 1957), Zalman Shneour, Johan Falkberget, Ezra Pound, and Giuseppe Ungaretti. The most nominations were for Ramón Menéndez Pidal with 95 nominations, but was not awarded. Seventeen of the nominees were nominated first-time including Henry de Montherlant, Jorge Luis Borges, Marcel Pagnol, Gabriel Marcel, Gonzague de Reynold, Pablo Neruda (awarded in 1971), and Jules Supervielle. Four of the nominees were women: Melpo Axioti, Elizabeth Goudge, Marthe Bibesco, and Karen Blixen.Nomination archive – 1956 nobelprize.org
The authors Pío Baroja, Devorah Baron, Edmund Clerihew Bentley, Louis Bromfield, Carlos Bulosan, Ion Călugăru, Owen Davis, Alexander Fadeyev, Reşat Nuri Güntekin, Sheila Kaye-Smith, Yakub Kolas, Paul Léautaud, Louis Madelin, Henry Louis Mencken, Alan Alexander Milne, Leonora Speyer, Michael Ventris, Samad Vurgun, and Robert Walser died in 1956 without having been nominated for the prize. German playwright Bertolt Brecht died before the only chance to be rewarded.
Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize No. Nominee Country Genre(s) Nominator(s)1Mark Aldanov (1886–1957)()biography, novel, essays, literary criticismSamson Soloveitchik (1887–1974)2Melpo Axioti (1905–1973)novel, short story, poetryAndré Bonnard (1888–1959)3Eugène Baie (1874–1964)law, essays4Gottfried Benn (1886–1956)poetry, essaysErnst Alker (1895–1972)5Marthe Bibesco (1886–1973)novel, poetry, memoir6Karen Blixen (1885–1962)novel, short story, memoir7Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)poetry, essays, translation, short storyRené Étiemble (1909–2002)8Henri Bosco (1888–1976)novel, short storyRaymond Las Vergnas (1902–1994)9Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956)drama, screenplay, poetry, novel, essaysAndré Bonnard (1888–1959)10Albert Camus (1913–1960)()novel, short story, essays, philosophy, drama11Hans Carossa (1878–1956)poetry, autobiography, essaysMaurice Le Boucher (1882–1964)12Francesco Chiesa (1871–1973)poetry, short story, essays13Henry de Montherlant (1895–1972)essays, novel, dramaHenri Morier (1910–2004)14Gonzague de Reynold (1880–1970)history, essays, biography, memoirPierre-Henri Simon (1903–1972)15Georges Duhamel (1884–1966)novel, short story, poetry, drama, literary criticism16Johan Falkberget (1879–1967)novel, short story, essaysHarald Beyer (1891–1960)17Lion Feuchtwanger (1884–1958)novel, dramaWalter Arthur Berendsohn (1884–1984)18Edward Morgan Forster (1879–1970)novel, short story, drama, essays, biography, literary criticismPierre Legouis (1891–1973)19Christopher Fry (1907–2005)poetry, drama, screenplayWerner Kohlschmidt (1904–1983)20Graham Greene (1904–1991)novel, short story, autobiography, essays21Armand Godoy (1880–1964)poetry, translationAntonio Iraizoz Villar (1890–1976)22Elizabeth Goudge (1900–1984)novel, short story, biography, autobiographyEdmond Privat (1889–1962)23Jean Guitton (1901–1999)philosophy, theologyÉdouard Delebecque (1910–1990)24Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881–1958)poetry, novel Harry Martinson (1904–1978)25Ernst Jünger (1895–1998)philosophy, novel, memoirMaurice Le Boucher (1882–1964)26Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957)novel, philosophy, essays, drama, memoir, translation27André Malraux (1901–1976)novel, essays, literary criticism28Gabriel Marcel (1889–1973)philosophy, dramaJules-Augustin Bizet (1908–1977)29Ramón Menéndez Pidal (1869–1968)philology, history30Pablo Neruda (1904–1973)poetryAndré Joucla-Ruau (1923–1972)31Marcel Pagnol (1895–1974)novel, memoir, drama, screenplayJean Ricci (1933–2011)32Saint-John Perse (1887–1975)poetry33Ezra Pound (1885–1972)poetry, essaysErik Hjalmar Linder (1906–1994)34Vasco Pratolini (1913–1991)novel, short storyPaul Renucci (1915–1976)35Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975)philosophy, essays, lawNirmal Kumar Sidhanta (1929–2014)36Alfonso Reyes Ochoa (1889–1959)philosophy, essays, novel, poetryNational Autonomous University of Mexico37Jean Schlumberger (1877–1968)poetry, essays Pierre Legouis (1891–1973)38Zalman Shneour (1887–1959)()poetry, essaysRobert Henry Pfeiffer (1892–1958)39Mikhail Sholokhov (1905–1984)novel40Stijn Streuvels (1871–1969)novel, short storyPierre Brachin (1914–2004)41Jules Supervielle (1884–1960)poetry, novel, short storyMaurice Le Boucher (1882–1964)42George Macauley Trevelyan (1876–1962)biography, autobiography, essays, historyNils Ahnlund (1889–1957)43Giuseppe Ungaretti (1888–1970)poetry, essays, literary criticismMarcel Raymond (1897–1981)44Tarjei Vesaas (1897–1970)poetry, novel
Reactions
The strongest contender for the 1956 Nobel Prize was the Spanish historian and philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal with 95 nominations from academics, critics, authors, literary societies and politicians.Nomination archive - Ramón Menéndez Pidal nobelprize.org His surmounting nomination was snubbed instead by the Swedish Academy and given to the poet, Juan Ramón Jiménez, who was nominated by Harry Martinson, an academy member. The rejection of Menéndez Pidal sparked heavy criticisms from the literary world. He received 154 nominations in all since 1931 up to 1968, the year he died.
The Nobel citation for Juan Ramón Jiménez, says:
According to Burton Feldman, in his book The Nobel Prize: A History of Geniuses Controversy, and Prestige, the selection of Jiménez was made as form of recompense for the neglected past generation of writers who had set out a unique revival of Spanish writing in 1898, which includes Antonio and Manuel Machado, Ramón del Valle-Inclán, Miguel de Unamuno, the Nicaraguan Rubén Darío (then living in Spain), and Jiménez among them. Feldman said: "But making him a stand-in for a neglected generation renders his own honor ambiguous. Did he deserve the honor on his own, or because the others died ignored and he happened to live so long?"Burton Feldman, The Nobel Prize: A History of Geniuses Controversy, and Prestige, p. 56
Award Ceremony At the award ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December 1956, Hjalmar Gullberg of the Swedish Academy said:
Nobel banquet Jiménez was unable to be present at the award ceremony and the Nobel Banquet in Stockholm, December 10, 1956, thus his speech was read by Jaime Benítez Rexach, Rector of the University of Puerto Rico. He was unable to participate in the event because he was emotionally devastated over the death of his wife, Zenobia Camprubí, from ovarian cancer and because of his intermittent sickness caused by old age. In his sorrow, Jiménez said: "Besieged by sorrow and sickness, I must remain in Puerto Rico, unable to participate directly in the solemnities... My wife Zenobia is the true winner of this Prize. Her companionship, her help, her inspiration made, for forty years, my work possible. Today, without her, I am desolate and helpless."Juan Ramón Jiménez – Speech nobelprize.org
Prior to the speech, Ragnar Granit, a member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences, said of Juan Ramón Jiménez:
References
External links Award Ceremony speech nobelprize.org Banquet speech nobelprize.org