Nobel prize for literature, in an alternate universe
a rogue AI
Posts: 128MI6 Agent
http://www.greatbooksguide.com/nobel2.html
An interesting list, a "what if" scenario where the prize was given to influential writers who significantly promoted the cause of reading.
Ian Fleming won the 1960 Nobel prize for literature (in our reality it was Saint-John Perse) and so did his friend Raymond Chandler in 1956. (in our reality it was Juan Ramón Jiménez)
Ted Gioia wrote:"I had a hunch a woman writer living in England would win the Nobel Prize in
Literature this year. But I still wasn't prepared for the thrill I experienced when I
learned that J.K. Rowling had won the coveted prize. After all, who has done
more for the cause of reading in recent decades? The last time a British woman
had received this honor was back in 1966 when Dame Agatha Christie shared the
award with Jorge Luis Borges. I expect Rowling's acceptance speech will rank
among the most memorable. (Although it's hard to imagine anything topping that
moment in 1997, when Dr. Hunter S. Thompson mounted the podium in Stockholm
to share his surprising sentiments with the audience.) . . ."
No, this is not the real Nobel Prize in Literature, but the way the award might exist
in an alternative universe -- a world in which such honors are exempt from
pettiness, politics and tokenism. Imagine a Nobel Prize in which the contributions
of Proust, Kafka, Nabokov and Joyce are not forgotten. Imagine a Nobel Prize in
Literature in which genre writers have a chance. Imagine a Nobel Prize in
Literature that doesn't bend over backward to exclude native born U.S. writers
(only three honored during the last 52 years!). Ah, don't just imagine . . . read
about it here.
For my part, I'm just happy the committee from the alternative universe honored
Philip K. Dick three years before his passing.
An interesting list, a "what if" scenario where the prize was given to influential writers who significantly promoted the cause of reading.
Ian Fleming won the 1960 Nobel prize for literature (in our reality it was Saint-John Perse) and so did his friend Raymond Chandler in 1956. (in our reality it was Juan Ramón Jiménez)
Comments
I enjoyed reading that! Maybe it's similar to the thinking behind Academy Awards, where genre movies are similarly dealt with.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article3127837.ece
Also worth noting is that Kingsley Amis (#9, no less!) and Roald Dahl, who both have Bond connections, are also there. But John Le Carre must be pitching a fit that he's ranked so far below Fleming (and that IF is even on the list at all). All in all, I like what the Times came up with--very eclectic, with popular writers right up there with the literary ones.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM