Nobel Prize in Literature
Context:
The 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Han Kang, a South Korean author, recognized for her “intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.”
About Han Kang:
- Birth Year: 1970
- Notable Works: Her acclaimed works include The Vegetarian, Human Acts, and Greek Lessons.
- The Vegetarian gained international attention after winning the Man Booker International Prize in 2016.
- Significance: Han Kang is the first South Korean and the first Asian female laureate to receive this honour in literature, marking a historic achievement for both her and Korean literature.
Praise:
- In its bio-bibliography, the academy says that in We Do Not Part, Han Kang, with “imagery that is as precise as it is condensed, conveys the power of the past over the present,” and also “traces the friends’ unyielding attempts to bring to light what has fallen into collective oblivion and transform their trauma into a joint art project, which lends the book its title.”
- In her oeuvre, the academy says Han Kang, confronts historical traumas and invisible sets of rules and, in each of her works, exposes the fragility of human life.
- “She has a unique awareness of the connections between body and soul, the living and the dead, and in her poetic and experimental style has become an innovator in contemporary prose,” it contends. But most of all, Han Kang has shown the power of literature to “speak the truth.”
India and Nobel in LiteratureThe only Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to an Indian is to Rabindranath Tagore, who received the honour in 1913. He was recognised for his “profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse,” which he skillfully expressed in English, making his poetic thought a part of Western literature. Tagore is celebrated for his contributions to poetry, music, and art, and he is often referred to as the Bard of Bengal or Gurudev. Notable Works: His renowned collection Gitanjali (“Song Offerings”) played a significant role in his recognition. Other important works include Gora and Ghare-Baire. |