danielle Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Okay, maybe this is a show off, but how many of the Nobel Literature prize winners have you read? Count 'em up (short stories and poems count!) There are a ton of people I've never heard of, but a lot of goodies that are worth discovering. Comment on your favorites! Here's a link to a list. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Only 4 and only because I was forced in High School. I wonder what that says about me? :lol: Cool Poll! Dorinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeathenMom Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 i've read 12ish of them, but the only one i've read from the past 20 years, i loathed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tangerine Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Thank goodness for the poets on that list, or I would have felt even worse! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nutmeg Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 4 - Pirandello, Steinbeck, Hemingway, and Kipling, and only one work from each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 I did fairly well, but my score definitely improves with age. The newest authors I haven't even heard of. Guess I like the old stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 (edited) I did two counts...one was 39 the other was 40. Clearly no Nobel Prize in Mathematics for me :D And I did the count twice because I kept looking for the names Pramoedya Ananta Toer (which you'd think would pop-out) and Abdul Rahman Munif (which is also rather hard to miss :tongue_smilie:) because I'd convinced myself (wrongly) they had won Nobel Prizes. They should! The only Nobel prize winner for Literature I ever met was Czesław Miłosz. He was a professor of Slavic Languages at the time I attended UC Berkeley and I had the great honor to attend a number of his poetry readings in intimate settings. What a special experiences those were! When he won the Nobel Prize I shed tears of joy. Bill Edited October 8, 2009 by Spy Car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetbasil Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 19 - I don't hold this list in any high regard, given that so many of the Nobel teams are entirely political. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Mostly because of ds' GB homeschooling! Camus Steinbeck Grapes of Wrath with Ds, Red Pony in my own schooling Golding Lord of The Flies (I love this book, as weird as that is) Hemingway (Old Man and one other) Heaney Morrison (I was just discussing Beloved the other day!) Solhenitsyn Sartre (Huis Clos--read in French class in hi school) Elliot (Went thru Wastelands in church Sunday school class) S. Lewis (Ds and I read The Jungle in his 11th grade year) Yeats Kipling Sienkcwitz (I think I've misspelled this!) Did he write Quo Vadis? Read most of it. Buck The Pearl in hi school O'Neil read some in Drama class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Fourteen I did read many works by Steinbeck and Faulkner, so they're the ones I feel good about counting. The others were really one-time reads, many required for school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 I don't hold this list in any high regard, given that so many of the Nobel teams are entirely political. Ditto, though I've read 14, mainly in college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmom3tn Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 I have read a lot of books and poems, but I am embarrassed to admit having read only 5 of the authors from this list (Golding, Kipling, Neruda, Steinbeck, and Buck) . :blush: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhM Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 eleven - and the most recent was Golding ('83) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellifera Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 I've read about 16 of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutor Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 18... more than I thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Nineteen. The most recent author was Orhan Pamuk for Snow. The imagery was memorable but it moved soooo slowly. Part of the problem was that I was reading Shirin Ebadi's Iran Awakening at the same time. I think she was the Noble Peace Prize winner then. The writing was not at the same level, but her explanantion as to why someone would continue to live in a country where she is sporadically jailed, was gripping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Okay, maybe this is a show off, but how many of the Nobel Literature prize winners have you read? Count 'em up (short stories and poems count!) There are a ton of people I've never heard of, but a lot of goodies that are worth discovering. Comment on your favorites!Here's a link to a list. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/ I put 25-50. I've read /studied all of the playwrights, most of the Americans, all the Russians/Eastern Europeans. If I've read every Faulkner novel, can I count each one? What if I've read them all 3+ times each? :D Seriously though... I adore Faulkner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dayle in Guatemala Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 13...all before the year 1976. I guess I like the oldies better than the newbies?:001_smile: Oooops! Let's make that 16--I just looked again at some whose names I didn't put together with their work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slug hollow Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 I found 21. Most were for my own enjoyment. I guess I do read a lot. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 If I've read every Faulkner novel, can I count each one? What if I've read them all 3+ times each? :D Seriously though... I adore Faulkner. I adore Faulkner too. What is your favorite work/works? Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 15 and I was surprised it was that high. Most were not for classes or at least they were for elective classes (Yeats). But they were all some time ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 More than 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 8. No author later than 1964. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 The count was 18 for me, but a lot of them were a long time ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncmomo3 Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 only 9 *sigh* I REALLY wanted to cheat and click the 10-15 box:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 (edited) 27. I studied drama at university, and covered most of the listed playwrights. ETA: * 2007 - Doris Lessing * 2005 - Harold Pinter * 2003 - J. M. Coetzee * 2001 - V. S. Naipaul * 2000 - Gao Xingjian * 1997 - Dario Fo * 1995 - Seamus Heaney * 1993 - Toni Morrison * 1991 - Nadine Gordimer * 1986 - Wole Soyinka * 1983 - William Golding * 1982 - Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez * 1973 - Patrick White * 1969 - Samuel Beckett * 1964 - Jean-Paul Sartre * 1962 - John Steinbeck * 1957 - Albert Camus * 1954 - Ernest Hemingway * 1952 - François Mauriac * 1948 - T.S. Eliot * 1947 - André Gide * 1946 - Hermann Hesse * 1938 - Pearl Buck * 1936 - Eugene O'Neill * 1934 - Luigi Pirandello * 1929 - Thomas Mann * 1927 - Henri Bergson * 1925 - George Bernard Shaw * 1923 - William Butler Yeats * 1907 - Rudyard Kipling I miscounted. It came to 30. Thank goodness there's no Nobel for maths. Laura Edited October 8, 2009 by Laura Corin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 27. I studied drama at university, and covered most of the listed playwrights. Laura I wanted to count seeing the plays for which they won...but I didn't. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 1982 - Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez 1972 - Heinrich Böll 1971 - Pablo Neruda 1962 - John Steinbeck 1957 - Albert Camus 1954 - Ernest Hemingway 1949 - William Faulkner 1948 - T.S. Eliot 1946 - Hermann Hesse 1938 - Pearl Buck 1936 - Eugene O'Neill 1929 - Thomas Mann 1925 - George Bernard Shaw 1923 - William Butler Yeats 1909 - Selma Lagerlöf 1907 - Rudyard Kipling Okay, that's 16 - I'm surprised it was that many; as I was going down the top of the list, my reaction was: who??? I have to admit that some of these I'm only 90% sure I read, as a poem or short story in English (or German, or Spanish) class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I wanted to count seeing the plays for which they won...but I didn't. lol And read Bergson on comedy. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I've read 24 of them, but I have a M.A. in French literature, and quite a few of them were French authors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I've read 24 of them, but I have a M.A. in French literature, and quite a few of them were French authors. My degree is in French and Drama, so I read a lot of the playwrights and a lot of the French authors at university. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 (edited) I did two counts...one was 39 the other was 40. Clearly no Nobel Prize in Mathematics for me :D Good thing for you that there is no Nobel in Math, as Laura noted previously. Apparently my mind resides in the mid-20th century. I feel as if I may have read something by some of the other authors, but I can't come up with anything, so I'm not counting them. But I am certain I've read something by Keats and Kipling so I'm counting them. So that makes 15, for certain. I read most of them in high school, but some were my choice (most notably Pär Lagerkvist). I am inspired to branch out. Thanks for the wonderful idea! Edited October 9, 2009 by stripe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Good thing for you that there is no Nobel in Math, as Laura noted previously. :lol::lol::lol: I wonder if that's good news, or bad news :D Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 And read Bergson on comedy. Laura Oh, I know you read them! I was thinking "I saw this performed...but I didn't read it...can't check it, dang." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 28. Off the top of my head I could only think of the 3 Poles but it turns out I've read a chunk of the list. 2007 - Doris Lessing 2005 - Harold Pinter 1998 - José Saramago 1996 - Wislawa Szymborska (Polish!) 1993 - Toni Morrison 1982 - Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez 1980 - Czeslaw Milosz (Polish!) 1971 - Pablo Neruda 1970 - Alexandr Solzhenitsyn 1969 - Samuel Beckett 1964 - Jean-Paul Sartre 1962 - John Steinbeck 1958 - Boris Pasternak 1957 - Albert Camus 1954 - Ernest Hemingway 1953 - Winston Churchill 1950 - Bertrand Russell 1949 - William Faulkner 1948 - T.S. Eliot 1947 - André Gide 1946 - Hermann Hesse 1936 - Eugene O'Neill 1934 - Luigi Pirandello 1929 - Thomas Mann 1925 - George Bernard Shaw 1923 - William Butler Yeats 1907 - Rudyard Kipling 1905 - Henryk Sienkiewicz (Polish!) Lucky you Bill to have met Milosz!!! And my degree is in Political Science so not much of this was course work...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Lucky you Bill to have met Milosz!!! And my degree is in Political Science so not much of this was course work...... It was incredible. Really! I have strong memories of these reading. Especially one just prior to his winning the prize. Things were very tense in Poland. "Solidarity" was just in its fledgling state. No one knew how General Jaruzelski was going to respond, but there were obvious fears of of violent reprisals. It was a time of great tension and fear, mixed with tremendous hope. As you are no doubt aware. In this emotionally charged atmosphere Milosz held a reading. He was not yet wildly famous, even on campus. Most of the audience (it was held in a intimate room) were silver-haired elderly Poles. People who obviously lived through great suffering. I was one of very few students. When Milosz read his poems (in Polish) tears streamed from crystal blue eyes all around the room. It was an absolutely unforgettable moment to experience. A whole audience in tears. But not "crying" exactly. Rather they listened in un-blinking attention while tears almost unconsciously flowed down their faces. I can't adequately describe what an emotional experience that was. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 And my degree is in Political Science so not much of this was course work...... Many of the high scorers did a lot of the reading at university. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in SJ Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I counted myself as having achieved all of them because I have to "potential" to do so. Also many people have the "hope" that I will do great things in this area. The mere fact that I could be in the position to read all of the authors is an achievement in itself as it wasn't too long ago that people of my gender, race, or creed would not have been able to do so. Therefore I deserve all the awards, honors and acolades due to someone who might have actually read all of the authors on this list. Where do I pick up my prize? :tongue_smilie: Amber in SJ I couldn't help myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 :lol::lol::lol: I wonder if that's good news, or bad news :D Bill The BBC believes this story to be apocryphal, however. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Luckily, there is an Ig Nobel in Math! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyinNNV Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 The prize has become so politicized in recent years that I would take the list and avoid the authors/books on it. Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SusanAR Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Only eleven. Most (except Buck and Sigrid Undset) were read long ago in college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 My list (like anyone cares, but it will keep bumping the thread :D) 2007 - Doris Lessing 2005 - Harold Pinter 2001 - V. S. Naipaul 1999 - Günter Grass 1995 - Seamus Heaney 1994 - Kenzaburo Oe 1993 - Toni Morrison 1992 - Derek Walcott 1991 - Nadine Gordimer 1990 - Octavio Paz 1988 - Naguib Mahfouz 1983 - William Golding 1982 - Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez 1980 - Czeslaw Milosz 1978 - Isaac Bashevis Singer 1976 - Saul Bellow 1972 - Heinrich Böll 1971 - Pablo Neruda 1970 - Alexandr Solzhenitsyn 1969 - Samuel Beckett 1964 - Jean-Paul Sartre 1962 - John Steinbeck 1958 - Boris Pasternak 1957 - Albert Camus 1954 - Ernest Hemingway 1953 - Winston Churchill 1951 - Pär Lagerkvist 1950 - Bertrand Russell 1949 - William Faulkner 1948 - T.S. Eliot 1947 - André Gide 1946 - Hermann Hesse 1938 - Pearl Buck 1936 - Eugene O'Neill 1930 - Sinclair Lewis 1929 - Thomas Mann 1925 - George Bernard Shaw 1923 - William Butler Yeats 1920 - Knut Hamsun 1907 - Rudyard Kipling I had two "close calls" that I left off. Mikhail Sholokhov, as I started, but never finished, And Quiet Flows the Don. And Wislawa Szymborska, because I have read some of her poems, but not enough (or with careful enough study) to claim her as my own. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 16 that I can remember off the top of my head (some I've only read one work, others I have read lots of their stuff). Probably forgot a few though. Some I haven't even heard of! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 I'd forgotten about several of them. It is really interesting to see the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielle Posted October 10, 2009 Author Share Posted October 10, 2009 The prize has become so politicized in recent years that I would take the list and avoid the authors/books on it. Holly Ah, shucks, Holly! If someone called you up at 5 in the morning and offered you more than a million bucks and you'd been writing your little heart out for 30 years, I bet you'd take the prize even though you knew there were better writers out there. I know I would.:001_smile: It's not their fault they won. Sure, there's duds in the list, but I think it's fun to look at and find out about some great writers that you might have missed, and some that you might get around to because you were reminded by the list. I love Bellow, Lessing, Paz, Neruda, but I'm not sure if I would have ever heard of one of my all time favorites--Nahguib Mahfouz--if he hadn't won the prize. At the time LeClezio won, only one of his works was available in English. It gives us a great opportunity to broaden our horizons beyond our little corner of the universe, and some exposure for serious writers who are often far from bestsellers. And no, I've never heard of the current winner. Interestingly, I'm usually quite familiar with the authors/works that win the National Book Award(s) each year. Fun comments on this poll! Thanks to all. Danielle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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