| 2010 |
Mario
Vargas Llosa |
"for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt,
and defeat" |
| 2009 |
Herta Müller |
"who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed" |
| 2008 |
Jean-Marie
Gustave Le Clézio |
"author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the
reigning civilization" |
| 2007 |
Doris
Lessing |
"that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided
civilisation to scrutiny" |
| 2006 |
Orhan
Pamuk |
"who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and
interlacing of cultures" |
| 2005 |
Harold
Pinter |
"who in his plays uncovers the precipice under everyday prattle and forces entry into oppression's closed
rooms" |
| 2004 |
Elfriede
Jelinek |
"for her musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that with extraordinary linguistic
zeal reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and their subjugating power" |
| 2003 |
J.M.
Coetzee |
"who in innumerable guises portrays the surprising involvement of the outsider" |
| 2002 |
Imre
Kertész |
"for writing that upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history"
|
| 2001 |
V.S.
Naipaul |
"for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence
of suppressed histories" |
| 2000 |
Gao Xingjian
|
"for an œuvre of universal validity, bitter insights and linguistic ingenuity, which has opened new paths
for the Chinese novel and drama" |
| 1999 |
Günter
Grass |
"whose frolicsome black fables portray the forgotten face of history" |
| 1998 |
José
Saramago |
"who with parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony continually enables us once again to apprehend
an elusory reality" |
| 1997 |
Dario Fo
|
"who emulates the jesters of the Middle Ages in scourging authority and upholding the dignity of the downtrodden"
|
| 1996 |
Wislawa
Szymborska |
"for poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments
of human reality" |
| 1995 |
Seamus
Heaney |
"for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past" |
| 1994 |
Kenzaburo
Oe |
"who with poetic force creates an imagined world, where life and myth condense to form a disconcerting picture
of the human predicament today" |
| 1993 |
Toni
Morrison |
"who in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American
reality" |
| 1992 |
Derek
Walcott |
"for a poetic oeuvre of great luminosity, sustained by a historical vision, the outcome of a multicultural
commitment" |
| 1991 |
Nadine
Gordimer |
"who through her magnificent epic writing has - in the words of Alfred Nobel - been of very great benefit
to humanity" |
| 1990 |
Octavio
Paz |
"for impassioned writing with wide horizons, characterized by sensuous intelligence and humanistic integrity"
|
| 1989 |
Camilo
José Cela |
"for a rich and intensive prose, which with restrained compassion forms a challenging vision of man's vulnerability"
|
| 1988 |
Naguib
Mahfouz |
"who, through works rich in nuance - now clear-sightedly realistic, now evocatively ambiguous - has formed
an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind" |
| 1987 |
Joseph
Brodsky |
"for an all-embracing authorship, imbued with clarity of thought and poetic intensity" |
| 1986 |
Wole
Soyinka |
"who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence |
| 1985 |
Claude
Simon |
"who in his novel combines the poet's and the painter's creativeness with a deepened awareness of time in
the depiction of the human condition" |
| 1984 |
Jaroslav
Seifert |
"for his poetry which endowed with freshness, sensuality and rich inventiveness provides a liberating image
of the indomitable spirit and versatility of man" |
| 1983 |
William
Golding |
"for his novels which, with the perspicuity of realistic narrative art and the diversity and universality
of myth, illuminate the human condition in the world of today" |
| 1982 |
Gabriel
García Márquez |
"for his novels and short stories, in which the fantastic and the realistic are combined in a richly composed
world of imagination, reflecting a continent's life and conflicts" |
| 1981 |
Elias
Canetti |
"for writings marked by a broad outlook, a wealth of ideas and artistic power" |
| 1980 |
Czeslaw
Milosz |
"who with uncompromising clear-sightedness voices man's exposed condition in a world of severe conflicts"
|
| 1979 |
Odysseus
Elytis |
"for his poetry, which, against the background of Greek tradition, depicts with sensuous strength and intellectual
clear-sightedness modern man's struggle for freedom and creativeness" |
| 1978 |
Isaac
Bashevis Singer |
"for his impassioned narrative art which, with roots in a Polish-Jewish cultural tradition, brings universal
human conditions to life" |
| 1977 |
Vicente
Aleixandre |
"for a creative poetic writing which illuminates man's condition in the cosmos and in present-day society,
at the same time representing the great renewal of the traditions of Spanish poetry beween the wars" |
| 1976 |
Saul
Bellow |
"for the human understanding and subtle analysis of contemporary culture that are combined in his work"
|
| 1975 |
Eugenio
Montale |
"for his distinctive poetry which, with great artistic sensitivity, has interpreted human values under the
sign of an outlook on life with no illusions" |
| 1974 |
Eyvind
Johnson |
"for a narrative art, far-seeing in lands and ages, in the service of freedom" |
| 1974 |
Harry
Martinson |
"for writings that catch the dewdrop and reflect the cosmos" |
| 1973 |
Patrick
White |
"for an epic and psychological narrative art which has introduced a new continent into literature" |
| 1972 |
Heinrich
Böll |
"for his writing which through its combination of a broad perspective on his time and a sensitive skill in
characterization has contributed to a renewal of German literature" |
| 1971 |
Pablo
Neruda |
"for a poetry that with the action of an elemental force brings alive a continent's destiny and dreams"
|
| 1970 |
Alexandr Solzhenitsyn |
"for the ethical force with which he has pursued the indispensable traditions of Russian literature" |
| 1969 |
Samuel
Beckett |
"for his writing, which - in new forms for the novel and drama - in the destitution of modern man acquires
its elevation" |
| 1968 |
Yasunari
Kawabata |
"for his narrative mastery, which with great sensibility expresses the essence of the Japanese mind" |
| 1967 |
Miguel
Angel Asturias |
"for his vivid literary achievement, deep-rooted in the national traits and traditions of Indian peoples of
Latin America" |
| 1966 |
Samuel
Agnon |
"for his profoundly characteristic narrative art with motifs from the life of the Jewish people" |
| 1966 |
Nelly
Sachs |
"for her outstanding lyrical and dramatic writing, which interprets Israel's destiny with touching strength"
|
| 1965 |
Mikhail
Sholokhov |
"for the artistic power and integrity with which, in his epic of the Don, he has given expression to a historic
phase in the life of the Russian people" |
| 1964 |
Jean-Paul
Sartre |
"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" |
| 1963 |
Giorgos
Seferis |
"for his eminent lyrical writing, inspired by a deep feeling for the Hellenic world of culture" |
| 1962 |
John
Steinbeck |
"for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception"
|
| 1961 |
Ivo Andric
|
"for the epic force with which he has traced themes and depicted human destinies drawn from the history of
his country" |
| 1960 |
Saint-John
Perse |
"for the soaring flight and the evocative imagery of his poetry which in a visionary fashion reflects the
conditions of our time" |
| 1959 |
Salvatore
Quasimodo |
"for his lyrical poetry, which with classical fire expresses the tragic experience of life in our own times"
|
| 1958 |
Boris
Pasternak |
"for his important achievement both in contemporary lyrical poetry and in the field of the great Russian epic
tradition" |
| 1957 |
Albert
Camus |
"for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the
human conscience in our times" |
| 1956 |
Juan
Ramón Jiménez |
"for his lyrical poetry, which in Spanish language constitutes an example of high spirit and artistical purity"
|
| 1955 |
Halldór
Laxness |
"for his vivid epic power which has renewed the great narrative art of Iceland" |
| 1954 |
Ernest
Hemingway |
"for his mastery of the art of narrative, most recently demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea, and for the
influence that he has exerted on contemporary style" |
| 1953 |
Winston
Churchill |
"for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending
exalted human values" |
| 1952 |
François
Mauriac |
"for the deep spiritual insight and the artistic intensity with which he has in his novels penetrated the
drama of human life" |
| 1951 |
Pär
Lagerkvist |
"for the artistic vigour and true independence of mind with which he endeavours in his poetry to find answers
to the eternal questions confronting mankind" |
| 1950 |
Bertrand
Russell |
"in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom
of thought" |
| 1949 |
William
Faulkner |
"for his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel" |
| 1948 |
T.S. Eliot
|
"for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry" |
| 1947 |
André Gide
|
"for his comprehensive and artistically significant writings, in which human problems and conditions have
been presented with a fearless love of truth and keen psychological insight" |
| 1946 |
Hermann
Hesse |
"for his inspired writings which, while growing in boldness and penetration, exemplify the classical humanitarian
ideals and high qualities of style" |
| 1945 |
Gabriela
Mistral |
"for her lyric poetry which, inspired by powerful emotions, has made her name a symbol of the idealistic aspirations
of the entire Latin American world" |
| 1944 |
Johannes
V. Jensen |
"for the rare strength and fertility of his poetic imagination with which is combined an intellectual curiosity
of wide scope and a bold, freshly creative style" |
| 1943 |
|
The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section |
| 1942 |
|
The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section |
| 1941 |
|
The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section |
| 1940 |
|
The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section |
| 1939 |
Frans
Eemil Sillanpää |
"for his deep understanding of his country's peasantry and the exquisite art with which he has portrayed their
way of life and their relationship with Nature" |
| 1938 |
Pearl Buck
|
"for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces"
|
| 1937 |
Roger Martin
du Gard |
"for the artistic power and truth with which he has depicted human conflict as well as some fundamental aspects
of contemporary life in his novel-cycle Les Thibault" |
| 1936 |
Eugene
O'Neill |
"for the power, honesty and deep-felt emotions of his dramatic works, which embody an original concept of
tragedy" |
| 1935 |
The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section |
| 1934 |
Luigi
Pirandello |
"for his bold and ingenious revival of dramatic and scenic art" |
| 1933 |
Ivan
Bunin |
"for the strict artistry with which he has carried on the classical Russian traditions in prose writing"
|
| 1932 |
John
Galsworthy |
"for his distinguished art of narration which takes its highest form in The Forsyte Saga" |
| 1931 |
Erik
Axel Karlfeldt |
"The poetry of Erik Axel Karlfeldt" |
| 1930 |
Sinclair
Lewis |
"for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humour, new types
of characters" |
| 1929 |
Thomas
Mann |
"principally for his great novel, Buddenbrooks, which has won steadily increased recognition as one of the
classic works of contemporary literature" |
| 1928 |
Sigrid
Undset |
"principally for her powerful descriptions of Northern life during the Middle Ages" |
| 1927 |
Henri
Bergson |
"in recognition of his rich and vitalizing ideas and the brillant skill with which they have been presented"
|
| 1926 |
Grazia Deledda |
"for her idealistically inspired writings which with plastic clarity picture the life on her native island
and with depth and sympathy deal with human problems in general" |
| 1925 |
George
Bernard Shaw |
"for his work which is marked by both idealism and humanity, its stimulating satire often being infused with
a singular poetic beauty" |
| 1924 |
Wladyslaw Reymont |
"for his great national epic, The Peasants" |
| 1923 |
William
Butler Yeats |
"for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole
nation" |
| 1922 |
Jacinto
Benavente |
"for the happy manner in which he has continued the illustrious traditions of the Spanish drama" |
| 1921 |
Anatole
France |
"in recognition of his brilliant literary achievements, characterized as they are by a nobility of style,
a profound human sympathy, grace, and a true Gallic temperament" |
| 1920 |
Knut
Hamsun |
"for his monumental work, Growth of the Soil" |
| 1919 |
Carl
Spitteler |
"in special appreciation of his epic, Olympian Spring" |
| 1918 |
The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section |
| 1917 |
Karl
Gjellerup |
"for his varied and rich poetry, which is inspired by lofty ideals" |
| 1917 |
Henrik Pontoppidan |
"for his authentic descriptions of present-day life in Denmark" |
| 1916 |
Carl Gustaf Verner
von Heidenstam |
"in recognition of his significance as the leading representative of a new era in our literature" |
| 1915 |
Romain Rolland |
"as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary production and to the sympathy and love of truth with
which he has described different types of human beings" |
| 1914 |
The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section |
| 1913 |
Rabindranath
Tagore |
"because of his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with consummate skill, he has made
his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West" |
| 1912 |
Gerhart
Hauptmann |
"primarily in recognition of his fruitful, varied and outstanding production in the realm of dramatic art"
|
| 1911 |
Maurice Maeterlinck |
"in appreciation of his many-sided literary activities, and especially of his dramatic works, which are distinguished
by a wealth of imagination and by a poetic fancy, which reveals, sometimes in the guise of a fairy tale, a deep
inspiration, while in a mysterious way they appeal to the readers' own feelings and stimulate their imaginations"
|
| 1910 |
Paul
Heyse |
"as a tribute to the consummate artistry, permeated with idealism, which he has demonstrated during his long
productive career as a lyric poet, dramatist, novelist and writer of world-renowned short stories" |
| 1909 |
Selma
Lagerlöf |
"in appreciation of the lofty idealism, vivid imagination and spiritual perception that characterize her writings"
|
| 1908 |
Rudolf
Eucken |
"in recognition of his earnest search for truth, his penetrating power of thought, his wide range of vision,
and the warmth and strength in presentation with which in his numerous works he has vindicated and developed an
idealistic philosophy of life" |
| 1907 |
Rudyard
Kipling |
"in consideration of the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable
talent for narration which characterize the creations of this world-famous author" |
| 1906 |
Giosuè
Carducci |
"not only in consideration of his deep learning and critical research, but above all as a tribute to the creative
energy, freshness of style, and lyrical force which characterize his poetic masterpieces" |
| 1905 |
Henryk Sienkiewicz |
"because of his outstanding merits as an epic writer" |
| 1904 |
Frédéric
Mistral |
"in recognition of the fresh originality and true inspiration of his poetic production, which faithfully reflects
the natural scenery and native spirit of his people, and, in addition, his significant work as a Provençal philologist"
|
| 1904 |
José
Echegaray |
"in recognition of the numerous and brilliant compositions which, in an individual and original manner, have
revived the great traditions of the Spanish drama" |
| 1903 |
Bjørnstjerne
Bjørnson |
"as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished by both
the freshness of its inspiration and the rare purity of its spirit" |
| 1902 |
Theodor
Mommsen |
"the greatest living master of the art of historical writing, with special reference to his monumental work,
A history of Rome" |
| 1901 |
Sully
Prudhomme |
"in special recognition of his poetic composition, which gives evidence of lofty idealism, artistic perfection
and a rare combination of the qualities of both heart and intellect" |
