Herta who?
If you have not heard of Herta Mueller, the winner of this year's Nobel prize for literature, then you might feel that the Committee have done it again - pulling an obscure writer out of their large, literary hats. But Pete Ayrton, her UK publisher at Serpent's Tail, argues that that is precisely their role: To bring to our attention the work of neglected writers who are underappreciated in the Anglo Saxon world.
It is certainly true that there is always less interest in the Nobel Prize for Literature in this country unless a British or American writer wins the prize. So, here is the case for "obscurity" being a good thing. When the announcement was made live on air, I was unable to comment because, apart from her novel, The Land of Green Plums, which won the IMPAC prize in 1998, I couldn't say very much about her. In fact, I couldn't even remember the name of that novel!
I have since read extracts of said book and I will now buy it and read it properly. Mueller writes about a group of young students whose experiences under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu are graphically observed.
Interestingly, the book was not written in Romanian, but in German. Mueller comes from a family who were a part of the German-speaking minority in Romania, and her sensibility is informed by that perspective. She now lives in Berlin, where her novels are published to great critical acclaim. A bit like Franz Kafka writing in German in Prague, Mueller saw in her mother tongue a direct and poignant expression of alienation. It could be argued that the work loses some of its significance when read in translation.
All of this, though, forces the reader to confront the complex tapestry of Eastern European history in the late 20th Century. And although the author left Romania in the 1980s, she remains interested in the issues of oppression and exile, which makes her a universal writer.
In fact, she sees it as her duty to write about those things, and she wrote the Land of Green Plums in memory of Romanian friends who were killed under Ceausescu.
James Joyce never won the Nobel Prize, nor did Vladimir Nabokov, but they were giants in their lifetimes. I am glad Herta Mueller has won, because from today, she will be known to a much wider readership than she ever thought possible.
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Okay, here’s an admission: Yet another recent Nobel laureate whom I’ve never even heard of, and this confession coming from one who has considered himself very well-read and pretty well versed in literature. This is not to diminish Ms. Muller’s achievement, and I congratulate her. I just wonder if, as an American and English-speaker only, I’m somehow missing out on a lot of erstwhile magnificent literature because it isn’t translated into my mother tongue, and if this is so, why? Are we so overwhelmed by the Dan Browns and Stephanie Meyers and Oprah’s choices that a world of great literature is being eclipsed here by the shadow of towering blockbusters?
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"The glitter of Strictly will have been tarnished.."
Do me a favour, it will not !!
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I am Dearg Doom.
Interesting post Razia. As always much appreciated.
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I make a point of never reading anything by a writer who has won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
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The omission of giants like Joyce and Graham Greene from the list of prize winners is unfortunate, but everyone knows their worth. Awards also serve to highlight the neglected or oppressed or just not very well known. Not 'very well known' or 'totally unknown' are tags too easily achieved amongst writers whose first language is not English. An example, recently brought to my attention, is Dario Fo. He had even slipped from the minds of many Italians, having disappeared from the popular media because of his non-conformist views. His Nobel has served well.
I hope that prize givers will continue to find the lesser known greats to enrich them and all of us.
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"I make a point of never reading anything by a writer who has won the Nobel Prize for Literature."
I was just going to say that, easterngreen!
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The Euro-centric focus of the award often misses the literature from many other countries. In other categories multiple winners are awarded and maybe that should be a consideration for literature. This is often like painting and in the eye of the beholder. Cultural references, historical information and the language itself become barriers to great books and authors. A grand but unfair award for anyone to carry alone.
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I have to say that I am very much drawn to a book with a title like The Land Of Green Plums Razia. A bit like writing a song with a wonderful title and then wondering how on earth no one has thought of that one before!
By the way I'm sure that you are fed up with me banging on about Lincoln City, but have a look at their myspace /lincolncityband and the new video of the inaugural gigs in Edinburgh last week.
But,perhaps, leave it for a day or so, to see the posting of band front man Ali Campbell's unplugged set. It is approaching the iconic and the tunes such as Don't Turn Your Back On Me This Way and Safe In Your Arms destined, I feel sure, to be right up there with the all time greats
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Only 1 article a month for Sept & Oct
Razia, are you too busy or is there really so little happening in the arts to post on?
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Hi Razia, just wondered when you would be back? Shame you didn't get the big job, as it would undoubtedly have been a very good appointment. I thought you might like to know that the Lincoln City preview gigs went really well. The first one can be seen on Myspace. The usual address then /lincolncityband
I wonder how many people actuallywent out and bought Herta's book? I've got it on order from the library.
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