1920 Nobel Prize in Literature

The 1920 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Norwegian author Knut Hamsun (1859–1952) "for his monumental work, Growth of the Soil."[1] He was the second Norwegian Nobel laureate in literature after Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson won in 1903.

1920 Nobel Prize in Literature
Knut Hamsun
"for his monumental work, Growth of the Soil."
Date
  • 13 November 1920 (announcement)
  • 10 December 1920
    (ceremony)
LocationStockholm, Sweden
Presented bySwedish Academy
First awarded1901
WebsiteOfficial website

Laureate
Main article: Knut Hamsun

The novel Sult ("Hunger", 1890), widely regarded as the first modern novel in Norwegian literature, marked Knutman's debut as a writer. In his writings, he basically highlights the simple life lived in harmony with nature and shows an aversion to civilization. He admired Germany, which made him sympathetic to the Nazi invasion of Norway in 1940. After the World War II, he was ordered to forfeit his possessions and placed under psychiatric monitoring for a period. He pioneered psychological literature with techniques of stream of consciousness and interior monologue influencing authors such as Kafka, Mann, Miller and Hesse. Among his famous oeuvres include Mysterier ("Mysteries", 1892), Pan (1894), and Victoria (1898), and published one poetry collection, Det vilde Kor ("The Wild Choir", 1904).[2][3]

Growth of the Soil

The Nobel Prize was given to Hamsun for his 1917 novel Markens Grøde ("Growth of the Soil"), which is regarded as an epic ode to labor and the interdependence of man and nature. The protagonists in the novel are portrayed as actual individuals, but Hamsun gives the settlers' attempts to develop the wilderness heroic aspects in the manner of the classical poet Hesiod.[2] Employing stream of consciousness, the novel exemplified his aversion to modernity and inclination towards primitivism and the agrarian lifestyle.[4]

Deliberations

Nominations

Hamsun only received 3 nominations in total for consecutive two years. He first received his nomination in 1918 from Norwegian art historian Harry Fett, but no award was that year due to the deliberations being disrupted by World War I. He then received two nominations in 1920 once again from Harry Fett and Academy member Erik Axel Karlfeldt.[5]

In total, the Nobel Committee earned 27 nominations for authors like Thomas Hardy, Grazia Deledda (awarded in 1926), Georg Brandes, John Galsworthy (awarded in 1932), Władysław Reymont (awarded in 1924), Ebenezer Howard and Juhani Aho. Only one author was newly recommended namely the American historian Wilbur Cortez Abbott and Italian writer Grazia Deledda was the only female nominee.[6]

The authors Paul Adam, Alice E. Bartlett, Alberto Blest Gana, Rhoda Broughton, Giovanni Capurro, Bithia Mary Croker, Richard Dehmel, Paul Ferrier, Mary Evelyn Hitchcock, Matthías Jochumsson, Amanda Kerfstedt, Haralamb Lecca, Alexandru Macedonski, Alexius Meinong, Julia A. Moore, Panas Myrny, Manuel Pérez y Curis, Eleanor H. Porter, Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport (known as S. Ansky), Adolphe-Basile Routhier, Olive Schreiner, Ömer Seyfettin, Helen Ekin Starrett, Maria Antonietta Torriani, Mary Augusta Ward, Max Weber and Wilhelm Wundt died in 1920 died without having been nominated for the prize.

Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize
No. Nominee Country Genre(s) Nominator(s)
1 Wilbur Cortez Abbott (1869–1947)  United States history Dana Carleton Munro (1866–1933)
2 Juhani Aho (1861–1921)  Finland novel, short story Yrjö Hirn (1870–1952)
3 Georg Brandes (1842–1927)  Denmark literary criticism, essays
4 Otokar Březina (1868–1929)  Czechoslovakia poetry, essays Arne Novák (1880–1939)
5 Grazia Deledda (1871–1936)  Italy novel, short story, essays Carl Bildt (1850–1931)
6 Adolf Frey (1855–1920)   Switzerland biography, history, essays Wilhelm Oechsli (1851–1919)
7 John Galsworthy (1867–1933)  Great Britain novel, drama, essays, short story, memoir Henrik Schück (1855–1947)
8 Arne Garborg (1851–1921)  Norway novel, poetry, drama, essays
9 Ángel Guimerá Jorge (1845–1924)  Spain drama, poetry Reial Acadèmia de Bones Lletres de Barcelona
10 Knut Hamsun (1859–1952)  Norway novel, short story, drama, poetry, essays
11 Thomas Hardy (1840–1928)  Great Britain novel, short story, poetry, drama
12 Ebenezer Howard (1850–1928)  Great Britain essays Christen Collin (1857–1926)
13 Alois Jirásek (1851–1930)  Czechoslovakia novel, drama Czech Academy of Sciences
14 Hans Ernst Kinck (1865–1926)  Norway philology, novel, short story, drama, essays Gerhard Gran (1856–1925)
15 Władysław Reymont (1867–1925)  Poland novel, short story Per Hallström (1866–1960)
16 Carl Spitteler (1845–1924)   Switzerland poetry, essays

Prize decision

As for the prize in 1920 which went to Knut Hamsun, he was shortlisted alongside his countryman Arne Garborg, Swiss poet Carl Spitteler and Finnish novelist Juhani Aho, wherein, during the deliberations, the publication of his 1917 novel Growth of the Soil proved crucial for the Nobel Committee to award him. Spitteler was voted by the committee for the previous year.[7][8]

References
  1. The Nobel Prize in Literature 1920 nobelprize.org
  2. Knut Hamsun – Facts nobelprize.org
  3. "Knut Hamsun | Norwegian author". Encyclopedia Britannica. 31 July 2023.
  4. Zagar, Monika (2009). Knut Hamsun: The Dark Side of Literary Brilliance. University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0295989457.
  5. Nomination archive – Knut P Hamsun nobelprize.org
  6. Nomination archive – Literature 1920 nobelprize.org
  7. Gustav Källstrand Andens Olympiska Spel: Nobelprisets historia, Fri Tanke 2021
  8. The Nobel Prize in Literature: Nominations and Reports 1901–1950 nobelprize.org
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