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1906 Nobel Prize in Literature

The 1906 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Italian poet Giosuè Carducci (1835–1907) "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."[1] He was the first Italian author to receive the prize and was followed by Grazia Deledda in 1926.[2]

1906 Nobel Prize in Literature
Giosuè Carducci
"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."
Date
  • 4 October 1906 (announcement)
  • 10 December 1906
    (ceremony)
LocationStockholm, Sweden
Presented bySwedish Academy
First awarded1901
WebsiteOfficial website
← 1905 · Nobel Prize in Literature · 1907 →

Laureate

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Main article: Giosuè Carducci

Carducci started composing poetry while he was young, influenced by both the poets of his own time and those he had studied in the ancient and Italian periods. Rime ("Rhymes", 1857) was his debut book of poetry. In his active life he became an atheist, and the provocative poem Inno a Satana ("Hymn to Satan", 1865) is where he best displays his criticism of Christianity.[3] Carducci confessed his sins and was reconciled to the Catholic Church in 1895.[4] His other well-known poetry collections include Primavere elleniche ("Hellenic Springs", 1872), Odi barbare ("Barbarian Odes", 1877), and Giambi ed Epodi ("Giambi and Epodi", 1882).[5]

Deliberations

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Nominations

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Carducci was nominated on 9 occasions starting in 1902 by Antonio Fogazzaro, an Italian Senator and author. In 1906, he received four nominations from academics and writers which eventually led him to becoming the year's recipient.[6]

The Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy received 54 nominations for 24 writers among them Leo Tolstoy, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Selma Lagerlöf (awarded in 1909), Jaroslav Vrchlický, Georg Brandes, and Antonio Fogazzaro. Eleven of the nominees were nominated first-time such as Pedro Pablo Figueroa, Gaston Boissier, Louis Franck, George Lansing Raymond, Borden Parker Bowne, Angelo de Gubernatis, and William Booth. Selma Lagerlöf was the only female nominee recorded.[7]

The authors Émile Boutmy, Eliza Brightwen, Ferdinand Brunetière, Ellen Mary Clerke, Anne Ross Cousin, José María de Pereda, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Max Eyth, Giuseppe Giacosa, Alexander Kielland, Jean Lorrain, Agnes Catherine Maitland, Bartolomé Mitre, Vasile Pogor, Charlotte Riddell, Hendrik Jan Schimmel, Elizabeth Missing Sewell, Eduard von Hartmann, and Adeline Dutton Whitney died in 1906 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 Max Bewer[a] (1861–1921)   Germany poetry, songwriting, essays
2 Gaston Boissier (1823–1908)   France history, essays, translation Jacobus Johannes Hartman (1851–1924)
3 William Booth[b] (1829–1912)   Great Britain theology, essays, songwriting Otto Classen (1868–1939)[c]
4 Borden Parker Bowne[d] (1847–1910)   United States philosophy, theology, essays
5 Georg Brandes (1842–1927)   Denmark literary criticism, essays Troels Frederik Lund (1840–1921)[f]
6 Giosuè Carducci (1835–1907)   Italy poetry, literary criticism, biography, essays
7 Houston Stewart Chamberlain[g] (1855–1927)   Great Britain
  Germany 		philosophy Leopold von Schroeder (1851–1920)
8 Angelo de Gubernatis (1840–1913)   Italy drama, essays, philology, poetry
  • Francesco Lorenzo Pullè (1850–1934)
  • Angelo Valdarnini (1847–1930)
  • Paolo Boselli (1838–1932)
  • Gaspare Finali (1829–1914)
  • Tancredi Canonico (1828–1908)
9 Pedro Pablo Figueroa (1857–1909)   Chile history, biography, essays Leonardo Eliz y Las Rosas (1861–1939)[h]
10 Antonio Fogazzaro (1842–1911)   Italy novel, poetry, short story Carl Bildt (1850–1931)[i]
11 Louis Franck (1868–1937)   Belgium law Ernest Nys (1851–1920)
12 Gerhart Hauptmann (1862–1946)   Germany drama, novel 35 German and Austrian professors and members of societies[j]
13 Max Haushofer[k] (1840–1907)   Germany poetry, drama, short story, essays Emil Milan (1859–1917)[l]
14 Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940)   Sweden novel, short story
15 George Meredith (1828–1909)   Great Britain novel, poetry John Collier (1850–1934)
16 John Morley (1838–1923)   Great Britain biography, literary criticism, essays John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury (1858–1929)
17 Lewis Morris (1833–1907)   Great Britain poetry, songwriting, essays
18 William Jonathan Neidig[m][d] (1870–1955)   United States poetry, short story, essays Henry Burrowes Lathrop (1867–1936)
19 George Lansing Raymond[n][d] (1839–1929)   United States essays, philosophy
  • Charles Needham (1848–1935)
  • William Allen Wilbur (1864–1945)
  • Mitchell Carroll (1870–1925)
  • Hermann Schoenfeld (1861–1926)
  • Charles Clinton Swisher (1856–1940 )
20 Albert Sorel (1842–1906)   France history, essays
21 Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909)   Great Britain poetry, drama, literary criticism, novel 35 members of the Society of Authors
22 Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910)   Russia novel, short story, drama, poetry Ludovic Halévy (1837–1908)
23 Jaroslav Vrchlický (1853–1912)   Austria-Hungary
(  Czechoslovakia) 		poetry, drama, translation
  • Bohuslav Raýman (1852–1910)
  • Josef Hlávka (1831–1908)
  • Arnošt Kraus (1859–1943)
24 Joseph Viktor Widmann[o] (1842–1911)    Switzerland novel, short story, drama, literary criticism

Prize decision

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For 1906, the committee's shortlist only consisted of Leo Tolstoy and Giosuè Carducci.[citation needed] During the deliberations, the chair of the committee Carl David af Wirsén had ordered for the copy of Tolstoy's recent works for assessment, but Tolstoy wrote a letter to one of the friends of the Nobel Committee member stating his lack of interest in the Nobel Prize.[citation needed] With that decision, the Swedish Academy voted unanimously for Carducci, a rare occasion by the Academy.[9] The decision to award Carducci is considered one of the least controversial in the history of the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was the first and remain one of the few laureates who got all of the delivered votes from the members of the Swedish Academy.[9]

Award ceremony

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Due to Carducci's declining health, he was not able to receive the prize personally in Stockholm. Instead, the Swedish ambassador in Italy received it on his behalf.[10]

Notes

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  1. ^ Bewer: Germanisch-religiöser Dichter ("Germanic Religious Poet")[8]
  2. ^ Booth: In Darkest England and the Way Out (1890)[8]
  3. ^ This nomination was later declared invalid by the Nobel committee because Classen was found to be ineligible.
  4. ^ a b c B. P. Bowne, W. Neidig and G. L. Raymond were the first three nominees for the Nobel Prize in Literature from United States.
  5. ^ Miss Caroline Borden is the sister of Borden Parker Bowne.
  6. ^ The nomination was made by Troels Frederik Troels-Lund and 17 other members of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters.
  7. ^ Chamberlain: "for his work on Immanuel Kant."[8]
  8. ^ This nomination was later declared invalid by the Nobel Committee because Eliz was found to be ineligible.
  9. ^ Carl Bildt nominated Antonio Fogazzaro if Giosué Carducci could not receive the Prize.
  10. ^ The nomination was made by 35 German and Austrian professors and members of societies authorized to nominate a candidate for the Nobel Prize.
  11. ^ Haushofer: Die Verbannten ("The Banned")[8]
  12. ^ This nomination was later declared invalid by the Nobel committee because Milan was found to be ineligible.
  13. ^ Neidig: The First Wardens and Other Poems (1901)[8]
  14. ^ Lansing Raymond: The Essentials of Aesthetics (1906)[8]
  15. ^ Widmann: Der Heilige und die Thiere ("The Saint and the Animals", 1905) and Maikäferkomödie ("May Beetle's Comedy")[8]

References

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  1. ^ The Nobel Prize in Literature 1906 nobelprize.org
  2. ^ "Giosue Carducci | Italian poet". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  3. ^ Giosuè Carducci – Facts nobelprize.org
  4. ^ "Inside the secret conversion of Italy's Christopher Hitchens". Crux. 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
  5. ^ Giosuè Carducci britannica.com
  6. ^ Nomination archive – Giosuè Carducci nobelprize.org
  7. ^ Nomination archive – 1906 nobelprize.org
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Svensén, Bo (2001). Nobelpriset i litteratur. Nomineringar och utlåtanden 1901–1950. Swedish Academy. ISBN 9789113010076. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  9. ^ a b Helmer Lång Hundra nobelpris i litteratur 1901-2001, Symposion 2001, p.50
  10. ^ 1906 Award ceremony nobelprize.org
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