THE 2023 NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE AWARDED TO NORWEGIAN JON FOSSE

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse for “his innovative plays”, the jury announced this Thursday, October 5 during the ceremony in Stockholm (Sweden). The announcement took place during a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, where the jury praised her innovative pieces. Jon Fosse, reacting to this news, expressed himself by declaring that he was “surprised but not too much” by this distinction which had been awaited for almost two decades.

The Swedish Academy recognized the 64-year-old writer "for his innovative plays and prose that gave voice to the unspeakable", citing Septologen, a novel in seven chapters and three volumes, not yet translated. The winner "writes very refined novels in a style now known as Fosse minimalism", writes the Swedish Academy, which evokes "innovative plays and prose which gave voice to the unspeakable".

Dramaturgy its major art

Jon Fosse, novelist, essayist, poet and author of children's books, has made playwriting his major art, although his work is not always easily accessible to the general public. However, his plays are among the most performed in Europe, raising his status to that of the most represented contemporary author on European theater stages.

The child of the fjords, with a round face and Scandinavian blue eyes, Jon Fosse was born 64 years ago on the west coast of Norway. His reaction to this prestigious award was one of gratitude and humility, viewing this recognition as a celebration of authentic literature. “I have been preparing for this eventuality over the past decade, but I did not expect to receive the award today, even if there was a chance,” he humbly shared during a telephone interview.

A pessimistic vision like Samuel Beckett

Through his love of theater, his minimalist style and his characters with metaphysical resonances, Jon Fosse says he finds himself in the work of the great Samuel Beckett, "a painter for the theater rather than a real author", according to him. But it is another kinship that we find more often, more Nordic, with the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.

Jon Fosse is a versatile writer, although his access may seem difficult to the general public. After literary studies, he made his debut in 1983 with "Rouge, Noir", a novel marked by numerous temporal projections and changes of perspective. This distinctive style would become his artistic signature. Subsequently, he continued with works such as “The Boathouse” (1989) and “Melancholia” I and II (1995-96), which strengthened his critical reputation. Jon Fosse has also ventured into writing for young readers.

Fosse's dive into the world of theater began almost out of necessity, agreeing in the 1990s to write the first pages of a play due to lack of stable income. Encouraged by the success of his debut, he wrote his first play, "And Never We Will Be Separated", at the request of the young director Kai Johnsen in 1994, followed in 1995 by "The Name". These works mark the beginning of a series of successes, including “Someone Will Come” published in 1996, awarded the 2010 International Ibsen Prize, and the novel “Melancholia I”. Claude Régy will direct them, thus propelling Jon Fosse onto the French literary scene.

Jon Fosse is today recognized worldwide as a major playwright. Alongside Ibsen, he represents one of the most performed Norwegian playwrights of our time. His theatrical repertoire includes around ten plays, most of them translated by Terje Sinding, known for his translations of the works of Ibsen. Fosse's writings, whether novels, short stories, poetry, essays or plays, have been translated into more than forty languages. The most renowned directors, particularly in France, have staged his plays, including Patrice Chéreau, Jacques Lassalle, Thomas Ostermeier and Claude Régy. His novel “The Boathouse” (1989) particularly won over critics.

“A voice to the unspeakable”

Child of the fjords, Jon Fosse pays homage to this region beaten by natural elements by conserving and enhancing its language, Nynorsk, “new Norwegian”. Freeing himself from classical rules, he ignores the plot and uses a spare language, but musical in its rhythm and the astonishing silences of his characters which he knows how to make heard. “They are voices. I don’t write characters in the traditional sense of the term,” he confided to Le Monde in 2003. “I write about humans.”

Jon Fosse's theatrical work is characterized by sober and refined writing, often repetitive with slight variations. Its language, simple and ordinary, serves to create intense tension between the characters, plunging into an often dark universe. He has the unique ability to give his language multiple meanings, thus giving depth and complexity to his work. "His immense work, written in Nynorsk (one of the written forms of the Norwegian language, editor's note) and covering a wide variety of genres, consists of a multitude of plays, novels, collections of poetry, "essays, children's books and translations", estimated the jury.

“It is through his ability to evoke (...) the loss of orientation, and the way in which this can paradoxically give access to a deeper experience, close to divinity, that Fosse is considered an innovator” , detailed Anders Olsson, president of the Nobel committee for literature.