1930 Nobel Prize in Literature
Award
Award
1930 Nobel Prize in Literature"for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humour, new types of characters."
Date
9 November 1930 (announcement)
10 December 1930 (ceremony)
Location Stockholm , SwedenPresented by Swedish Academy First awarded 1901 Website Official website
The 1930 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the American novelist Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951) "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humour, new types of characters."[ 1] [ 2] He is the first American Nobel laureate in literature.
Laureate
Sinclair Lewis was a prolific author having written 24 novels, more than 70 short stories, several plays and poetry collections. He is well known for the satirical novels Main Street (1920), Babbitt (1922), Dodsworth (1929), and It Can't Happen Here (1935) – all of which critical acknowledgments of American capitalism and materialism in the interwar period. His 1920 novel became a commercial success but did not win a Pulitzer Prize , which disappointed Lewis much that he declined the Pulitzer Prize when it was awarded to his novel Arrowsmith in 1925.[ 3] [ 4]
Dust jacket for the first edition of Sinclair Lewis' novel Babbitt .
Deliberations
Nominations
Lewis had not been nominated before for the prize, making him one of the laureates who won on a rare occasion when they have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature the same year they were first nominated.[ 5] He received only one nomination from Swedish Academy member Henrik Schück (1855–1947).[ 6]
In total, the Swedish Academy's Nobel Committee received 47 nominations for 30 writers. Thirteen of the authors were first-time nominated among them Theodore Dreiser , Edgar Lee Masters , Frans Eemil Sillanpää (awarded in 1939 ), Arvid Järnefelt , Paul Valéry , Lion Feuchtwanger , Rudolf Kassner , and Clotilde Crespo de Arvelo . The highest number of nomination was for the French poet and essayist Paul Valéry with six nominations. There were three female nominees: Concha Espina de la Serna , Clotilde Crespo de Arvelo and Edith Wharton .[ 7]
The authors Arthur St John Adcock , Vladimir Arsenyev , Florence Bell , Edward Bok , Alice Williams Brotherton , Mary Whiton Calkins , Herbert Croly , Georges de Porto-Riche , Arthur Conan Doyle , Florbela Espanca , Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman , Thomas Nicoll Hepburn , Pavlos Karolidis , D. H. Lawrence , William John Locke , Vladimir Mayakovsky , Olena Pchilka , Maria Polydouri , Marion Manville Pope , George Haven Putnam , Karam Singh , Arthur Way , Lucien Wolf , Joseph Wright , and Manuel Zeno Gandía died in 1930 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
Rudolf Hans Bartsch (1873–1952)
Austria
novel, short story, essays, drama
2
Rufino Blanco Fombona (1874–1844)
Venezuela
essays, literary criticism
José Francos Rodríguez (1862–1931)
3
Georg Bonne (1859–1945)
Germany
essays
Prince Maximilian of Saxony (1870–1951)[ a]
4
Ivan Bunin (1870–1953)
Soviet Union
short story, novel, poetry
Sigurd Agrell (1881–1937)
5
Clotilde Crespo de Arvelo (1887–1959)
Venezuela
novel, poetry, essays
Manuel María Villalobos (1858–1929)
6
Theodore Dreiser (1871–1945)
United States
novel, drama, poetry, essays
Anders Österling (1884–1981)
7
Hans Driesch (1867–1941)
Germany
philosophy
8
Olav Duun (1876–1939)
Norway
novel, short story
Halvdan Koht (1873–1965)
9
Paul Ernst (1866–1933)
Germany
novel, short story, drama, essays
10
Concha Espina de la Serna (1869–1955)
Spain
novel, short story
11
Édouard Estaunié (1862–1942)
France
novel, literary criticism
Erik Staaff (1867–1936)
12
Lion Feuchtwanger (1884–1958)
Germany
novel, drama
Ulrik Anton Motzfeldt (1871–1942)
13
Bertel Gripenberg (1878–1947)
Finland Sweden
poetry, drama, essays
Johannes Sundwall (1877–1966)
14
Yrjö Hirn (1870–1952)
Finland
essays, literary criticism
Olaf Homén (1879–1949)
15
Arvid Järnefelt (1861–1932)
Finland
law, essays, drama
Oiva Tuulio (1878–1941)
16
Alois Jirásek (1851–1930)
Czechoslovakia
novel, drama
Jan Novák (?) Josef Zubatý (1855–1931)
17
Rudolf Kassner (1873–1959)
Austria
philosophy, essays, translation
18
Karl Kraus (1874–1936)
Austria
essays, drama, poetry
Charles Andler (1866–1933)
19
Manfred Kyber (1880–1933)
Germany
drama, short story, poetry, essays, literary criticism
20
Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951)
United States
novel, short story, drama, poetry
Henrik Schück (1855–1947)
21
Edgar Lee Masters (1868–1950)
United States
poetry, biography, drama, novel, essays
Martin Lamm (1880–1950)
22
Dmitry Merezhkovsky (1865–1941)
Soviet Union
novel, essays, poetry, drama
Sigurd Agrell (1881–1937)[ b]
23
Kostis Palamas (1859–1943)
Greece
poetry, essays
24
Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869–1935)
United States
poetry, drama
Hjalmar Hammarskjöld (1862–1953)
25
Johann Rump (1871–1949)(pseud. Nathanael Jünger)
Germany
theology, essays
Fredrik Wulff (1845–1930)
26
Frans Eemil Sillanpää (1888–1964)
Finland
novel, short story, poetry
27
Paul Valéry (1871–1945)
France
poetry, philosophy, essays, drama
28
Ernst von der Recke (1848–1933)
Denmark
poetry, drama
29
Edith Wharton (1862–1937)
United States
novel, short story, poetry, essays
Tor Hedberg (1862–1931)
30
Anton Wildgans (1881–1932)
Austria
poetry, drama
Oswald Redlich (1858–1944)[ c]
Reactions
The choice of Sinclair Lewis received mixed reactions. The British and European press were, in general, favourable. But in the United States reactions among critics and commentators were largely negative, dismissing Lewis' writing artistically and politically.[ 8]
Notes
^ The nomination was corroborated by a number of German professors.
^ S. Agrell proposes that the Prize be awarded either solely to Dmitry Merezhkovsky , or shared with Ivan Bunin .
^ Anton Wildgans was also nominated by a number of professors at the University in Vienna, Austria, who were eligible to nominate a candidate.
References
External links
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