Nobel Prize Winners In Literature

Year

Nationality

Reason for Award

Answer

2017

British

"who, in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world".

2016

American

"for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition"

2015

Belarusian

"for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time"

2014

French

"for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the occupation"

2013

Canadian

"master of the contemporary short story"

2012

Chinese

"who with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary"

2011

Swedish

"because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality"

2010

Peruvian

"for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat"

2009

Romanian, German

"who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed"

2008

French, Mauritian

"author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization"

2007

British

"that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny"

2006

Turkish

"who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures"

2005

British

"who in his plays uncovers the precipice under everyday prattle and forces entry into oppression's closed rooms"

2004

Austrian

"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

South African

"who in innumerable guises portrays the surprising involvement of the outsider"

2002

Hungarian

"for writing that upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history"

2001

Trinidadian and Tobagoan, British

"for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories"

2000

Chinese

"for an æuvre of universal validity, bitter insights and linguistic ingenuity, which has opened new paths for the Chinese novel and drama"

1999

German

"whose frolicsome black fables portray the forgotten face of history"

1998

Portuguese

"who with parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony continually enables us once again to apprehend an elusory reality"

1997

Italian

"who emulates the jesters of the Middle Ages in scourging authority and upholding the dignity of the downtrodden"

1996

Polish

"for poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality"

1995

Irish

"for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past"

1994

Japanese

"who with poetic force creates an imagined world, where life and myth condense to form a disconcerting picture of the human predicament today"

1993

American

"who in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality"

1992

Saint Lucian

"for a poetic oeuvre of great luminosity, sustained by a historical vision, the outcome of a multicultural commitment"

1991

South African

"who through her magnificent epic writing has - in the words of Alfred Nobel - been of very great benefit to humanity"

1990

Mexican

"for impassioned writing with wide horizons, characterized by sensuous intelligence and humanistic integrity"

1989

Spanish

"for a rich and intensive prose, which with restrained compassion forms a challenging vision of man's vulnerability"

1988

Egyptian

"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

Russian, American

"for an all-embracing authorship, imbued with clarity of thought and poetic intensity"

1986

Nigerian

"who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence"

1985

French

"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

Czech

"for his poetry which endowed with freshness, sensuality and rich inventiveness provides a liberating image of the indomitable spirit and versatility of man"

1983

British

"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

Colombian

"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

Bulgarian, British

"for writings marked by a broad outlook, a wealth of ideas and artistic power"

1980

Polish

"who with uncompromising clear-sightedness voices man's exposed condition in a world of severe conflicts"

1979

Greek

"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

Polish, Jewish

"for his impassioned narrative art which, with roots in a Polish-Jewish cultural tradition, brings universal human conditions to life"

1977

Spanish

"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 between the wars"

1976

Canadian, American

"for the human understanding and subtle analysis of contemporary culture that are combined in his work"

1975

Italian

"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

Swedish

"for a narrative art, far-seeing in lands and ages, in the service of freedom"

1974

Swedish

"for writings that catch the dewdrop and reflect the cosmos"

1973

Australian

"for an epic and psychological narrative art which has introduced a new continent into literature"

1972

German

"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

Chilean

"for a poetry that with the action of an elemental force brings alive a continent's destiny and dreams"

1970

Russian

"for the ethical force with which he has pursued the indispensable traditions of Russian literature"

1969

Irish

"for his writing, which - in new forms for the novel and drama - in the destitution of modern man acquires its elevation"

1968

Japanese

"for his narrative mastery, which with great sensibility expresses the essence of the Japanese mind"

1967

Guatemalan

"for his vivid literary achievement, deep-rooted in the national traits and traditions of Indian peoples of Latin America"

1966

Israeli

"for his profoundly characteristic narrative art with motifs from the life of the Jewish people"

1966

German, Swedish

"for her outstanding lyrical and dramatic writing, which interprets Israel's destiny with touching strength"

1965

Russian/Soviet

"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

French

"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

Greek

"for his eminent lyrical writing, inspired by a deep feeling for the Hellenic world of culture"

1962

American

"for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception"

1961

Yugoslavian

"for the epic force with which he has traced themes and depicted human destinies drawn from the history of his country"

1960

French

"for the soaring flight and the evocative imagery of his poetry which in a visionary fashion reflects the conditions of our time"

1959

Italian

"for his lyrical poetry, which with classical fire expresses the tragic experience of life in our own times"

1958

Russian/Soviet

"for his important achievement both in contemporary lyrical poetry and in the field of the great Russian epic tradition"

1957

French

"for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times"

1956

Spanish

"for his lyrical poetry, which in Spanish language constitutes an example of high spirit and artistical purity"

1955

Icelandic

"for his vivid epic power which has renewed the great narrative art of Iceland"

1954

American

"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

British

"for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values"

1952

French

"for the deep spiritual insight and the artistic intensity with which he has in his novels penetrated the drama of human life"

1951

Swedish

"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

British

"in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought"

1949

American

"for his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel"

1948

British

"for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry"

1947

French

"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

German, Swiss

"for his inspired writings which, while growing in boldness and penetration, exemplify the classical humanitarian ideals and high qualities of style"

1945

Chilean

"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

Danish

"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

N/A

N/A

No Award Given

1942

N/A

N/A

No Award Given

1941

N/A

N/A

No Award Given

1940

N/A

N/A

No Award Given

1939

Finnish

"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

American

"for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces"

1937

French

"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

American

"for the power, honesty and deep-felt emotions of his dramatic works, which embody an original concept of tragedy"

1935

N/A

N/A

No Award Given

1934

Italian

"for his bold and ingenious revival of dramatic and scenic art"

1933

Russian

"for the strict artistry with which he has carried on the classical Russian traditions in prose writing"

1932

British

"for his distinguished art of narration which takes its highest form in The Forsyte Saga"

1931

Swedish

"The poetry of [award winner's name]"

1930

American

"for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humour, new types of characters"

1929

German

"principally for his great novel, Buddenbrooks, which has won steadily increased recognition as one of the classic works of contemporary literature"

1928

Norwegian

"principally for her powerful descriptions of Northern life during the Middle Ages"

1927

French

"in recognition of his rich and vitalizing ideas and the brilliant skill with which they have been presented"

1926

Italian

"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

British, Irish

"for his work which is marked by both idealism and humanity, its stimulating satire often being infused with a singular poetic beauty"

1924

Polish

"for his great national epic, The Peasants"

1923

Irish

"for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation"

1922

Spanish

"for the happy manner in which he has continued the illustrious traditions of the Spanish drama"

1921

French

"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

Norwegian

"for his monumental work, Growth of the Soil"

1919

Swiss

"in special appreciation of his epic, Olympian Spring"

1918

N/A

N/A

No Award Given

1917

Danish

"for his varied and rich poetry, which is inspired by lofty ideals"

1917

Danish

"for his authentic descriptions of present-day life in Denmark"

1916

Swedish

"in recognition of his significance as the leading representative of a new era in our literature"

1915

French

"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

N/A

N/A

No Award Given

1913

Bengali

"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

German

"primarily in recognition of his fruitful, varied and outstanding production in the realm of dramatic art"

1911

Belgian

"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

German

"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

Swedish

"in appreciation of the lofty idealism, vivid imagination and spiritual perception that characterize her writings"

1908

German

"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

British

"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

Italian

"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

Polish

"because of his outstanding merits as an epic writer"

1904

French

"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

Spanish

"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

Norwegian

"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

German

"the greatest living master of the art of historical writing, with special reference to his monumental work, A history of Rome"

1901

French

"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"