Thirty-one is the number of authors who wrote in English and were awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature since it started in Sweden in 1901. The first was Rudyard Kipling in 1907 and the last Abdulrazak Gurnah in 2021, from Tanzania, whose work he carried out in English.
As also happens with authors who wrote in Spanish, and in other languages and literatures that were awarded, the Anglo-Saxon writers who have won it stand out for the magnificence of his work, for its quality, rigor and tenacity, forging a career of letters throughout a lifetime. These are the ones who with their work contributed to improving society.
List of American authors
Sinclair Lewis–1930
The first American author to win the Literature Nobel, his realistic novels are a criticism of the bourgeoisie of the time. That can't happen here (It Can't Happen Here) is a dystopian satire about the creation of a fascist state in the US with Nazi overtones in 1935; although maybe babbitt be his most important work. They also highlighted his theatrical and journalistic works. He died in Rome in 1951.
For his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of characters.
Eugene O'Neill – 1936
No less than four times he got the Pulitzer Prize this illustrious New York playwright who wrote works full of dramatic realism. They are known for daring to tell the most ungrateful part of life, their characters being survivors and social misfits. His best known work is perhaps Wish under the elms (Desire under the Elms), an updated interpretation of classical tragedy.
For the powerful, honest and deep emotions perceived in his dramatic works, which represent an original concept of tragedy.
Pearl S. Buck – 1938
She was the first American woman and the first English-language writer to receive this award.. She is also known by the Chinese name of Sai Zhen, as she spent the first part of her life in China. She especially cultivated novel and biographical genre. She won the Pulitzer in 1932 and his most popular novel was The good land. Likewise, she was a feminist and human rights activist, and a defender of Asian culture.
For his rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for his biographical masterpieces.
William Faulkner – 1949
He was a novel and story writer who received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His work is confined to modernism and experimental literature. He is considered a benchmark of Anglo-Saxon letters and his influence is transversal in the XNUMXth century, reaching Hispanic authors such as García Márquez and Vagas Llosa. One of his great works is the novel The noise and the fury.
For his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the contemporary American novel.
Ernest Hemingway-1954
Writer with extensive literary career in narrative fiction and journalism. He also received the Pulitzer Prize. He highlights his fondness for Spain and his traditions, working as a journalist during the civil war. His life was full of adventures as he witnessed some of the most important historical events of the XNUMXth century. Some of his best known works are The old man and the sea, Farewell to arms y For whom the Bell Tolls. He committed suicide at the age of 61.
For his mastery of the art of narrative, most recently demonstrated in The old man and the sea, and for the influence it has exerted on contemporary style.
John Steinbeck-1962
He was a writer of classic novels that inspired many movies. In addition to being a novelist, he was also an author of short stories and a film screenwriter, becoming nominated for several Oscar. He also won the Pulitzer Prize. Some of his most outstanding works are Of mice and men, The grapes of wrath y East of Eden.
For his realistic and imaginative writing, combined in such a way as to incorporate engaging humor as well as enthusiastic social insight.
Saul Bellow-1976
Born in Canada, he moved to the United States as a child. Like many other authors, this writer of Jewish-Russian origin was multifaceted. In addition to writing, he was a university professor and essentially devoted himself to the novel. The best known is The Adventures of Augie March, a picaresque story during the Great Depression in which the life events and growth of its main character, Augie March, are narrated.
For the human understanding and the subtle analysis of contemporary culture that are combined in his work.
Tony Morrison – 1993
She was the first black fiction editor for the editorial Penguin random house and got the Pulitzer Prize. She was an active advocate for the civil rights of the African-American population. This will be a recurring theme in her novels and essays. Beloved is one of his most famous novels in which he deals with the subject of slavery in the United States.
Who in novels characterized by visionary strength and poetic sense, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality.
Bob Dylan-2016
When Bob Dylan stole the Literature Nobel He received criticism from both him and the Swedish Academy, with many expecting the singer to decline the award. Nevertheless, Dylan has a dedicated career in poetic composition, and the institution valued his musical work when it decided to award him the prize. In addition, he is considered one of the most renowned personalities in the contemporary music industry, and has a vast career in this field.
For having created a new poetic expression within the great American tradition of song.
Louise Gluck – 2020
American poet whose work has also been recognized with the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Some of his most important poetry books are Averno o Wild Iris, translated in Spanish as the wild iris. In total he has written eleven collections of poems. However, among his work we find essays and also essays on poetry.
For his unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.
List of British authors
Rudyard Kipling-1907
The author of The book of the jungle born in Bombay, in the British Raj in 1865. He was the first English-language recipient of the Literature Nobel (1907) He wrote poetry, stories and novels; very interested in children's stories and in the sobering backstories, such as Kim, a picaresque and espionage novel. Member of the Royal Society of Literature of Great Britain, refused, however, to be named sir and Knight of the Order of the British Empire. He died in London in 1936.
In consideration of his power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and an extraordinary talent for storytelling that characterize the creations of this world famous author.
John Galsworthy-1932
John Galsworthy was a novelist and playwright. He rejected the title of sir and was the first president of the select literary club pen international. His most representative work is the series of novels The Forsyte Saga (1906-1921) about the life of an upper-middle-class English family. She couldn't pick up the Literature Nobel because he was sick; he died weeks later in 1933.
For his distinguished art of storytelling which takes its highest form in The Forsyte Saga.
T.S. Eliot – 1948
TS Eliot was born in the United States and in his youth he moved to the United Kingdom and changed his American nationality to British. His most important work is The wasteland, a poem of nearly 500 lines divided into five sections. The author has reaffirmed himself in the essence of his work, as a result of the North American and English influence. He cultivated poetry, theater, essays and stories.
For his outstanding and pioneering contribution to poetry today.
Bertrand Russell – 1950
In addition to being a writer, he was also a mathematician and philosopher and was a member of the House of Lords for the Labor Party for almost 40 years until his death. His philosophical work belongs to the analytical movement, therefore he always sought reason through logic and science.. He was an atheist and one of his most notable works is his essay About the denotation. His work has influenced the thinkers of the XNUMXth century in a transversal way.
In recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he defends humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought.
Winston Churchill-1953
Politician and military whose work was fundamental during the Second World War and the subsequent years. Undoubtedly one of the most influential personalities of the XNUMXth century. He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the British Conservative Party. His magnum opus as a writer and for which he received the highest literary recognition was The Second World War, a six-volume historical work covering the final years of World War I through 1945.
For his mastery of biographical and historical descriptions as well as for his brilliant oratory in defense of exalted human values.
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William Golding-1983
British novelist and poet, his masterpiece is the renowned novel Lord of the Flies. It is a youth book with a group of children and young people as protagonists; the novel invites learning and questioning, perhaps for this reason it is an essential work in schools in England. The main theme is the human condition and its cruel and capricious essence.
For his novels that, with the insight of realistic narrative art and the diversity and universality of myth, illuminate the human condition in the world today.
VS Naipaul – 2001
VS Naipaul was a British-Trinidadian writer. He was born in Trinidad and Tobago. His fields were the novel, the essay and journalism. He belonged to the Royal Society of Literature and his most recognized works are A house for Mr. Biswas y A bend in the river. In his work he focuses on colonialism and the cultural subjugation suffered by the inhabitants in the face of a foreign invasion.
For having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible control in works that force us to see the presence of suppressed stories.
Harold Pinter-2005
Harold Pinter was a playwright, theater director, screenwriter, poet, actor, and member of the Royal Society of Literature From great britain. Likewise, He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award, the highest recognition in British theater. One of his best-known plays is The room.
Who in his works reveals the precipice under the daily talk and forces entry into the closed rooms of oppression.
Doris Lessing-2007
Doris Lessing was born in Iran. She wrote under the literary pseudonym Jane Somers. She also received the Princess of Asturias Award for Letters. He wrote a novel under the different mantle of realism and dystopia. The golden notebook perhaps his most notable novel and reaches different themes and concerns, such as feminism, sexuality, communism in England or the war.
That epic narrator of the female experience who, with skepticism, ardor and visionary power, has subjected a divided civilization to scrutiny.
Kazuo Ishiguro – 2017
Kazuo Ishiguro was born in Japan and has held British nationality since 1982.; he also develops his work in English. He is a member of the Royal Society of Literature of Great Britain and is dedicated to the writing of novels. However, he is also a screenwriter and composer. His novels revolve around science fiction and dystopian worlds, one of his most recognized works is the novel of this genre Never leave me. The remains of the day o What remains of the day is another highly acclaimed novel and made into a film with great success, although with a different theme.
Who, in his emotionally powerful novels, has discovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection to the world.
List of Irish authors
William Butler Yeats – 1923
This writer is a renowned Irish poet and playwright. The signs of identity in his work are found in symbolism, mysticism and astrology. He was a member of the Royal Society of Literature of Great Britain and also had English nationality. He was politically active when Ireland became an independent nation. He died in France in 1939.
For his always inspired poetry, which gives expression to the spirit of an entire nation in a highly artistic way.
George Bernard Shaw-1925
Famous playwright fond of controversy on very diverse subjects. His authority in the cultural world extends beyond his plays, steeped in satire; his work will also affect public life. He belonged to the Royal Society of Literature and got to get the Oscar for best adapted screenplay for the big screen version of Pygmalion in 1938. He died in 1950.
For his work that is marked by both idealism and humanity and his thought-provoking satire that is often laced with singular poetic beauty.
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Samuel Beckett-1969
Samuel Beckett wrote in French and English poetry, plays, novels and literary criticism.. He was a student of James Joyce and is one of the most influential authors of the last century. His works, which belong to modernism and experimentalism, also have as characteristics the pessimistic decadence of the themes, minimalism, or black humor. His most famous work is Waiting for Godot, belonging to the theater of the absurd, written in French and translated into English by Beckett himself. His work is also transversal and has had weight in cinema, music or psychoanalysis.
For his writing, which - in the new forms of the novel and the drama - in the misery of modern man acquires its elevation.
Seamus Heaney-1995
UK-born Irish poet. Likewise, he worked as a teacher at universities such as Harvard and Berkeley. He belonged to the Royal Society of Literature of Great Britain, as well as the Royal Irish Academy. His poetic work is considered, together with that of W. Butler Yeats, one of the most important in the English language of the XNUMXth century..
For works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, extolling daily miracles and past lives.
Other English-speaking authors
Rabindranath Tagore (British Raj) – 1913
Tagore wrote his work in both Bengali and English. He was born into the British Raj in 1861; he is a Bengali author. This author was a multifaceted philosopher-poet linked to Hinduism. He also cultivated drama, music, stories and novels, painting and essays. He understood art as a multidisciplinary form of expression and expanded Bengali art from this point of view. He died in Calcutta in 1941.
Because of his deeply sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, with which, with consummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of Western literature.
Patrick White (Australia) – 1973
Born in the UK, Patrick White's writing is mythical and delves into psychology. He made a great contribution to oceanic literature, because, having English origins, he knew how to elevate the letters of a new continent such as Oceania to Western eyes. He wrote novels, short stories and plays, mainly. His landmark work was the focus of the storm.
For an epic and psychological narrative art that has introduced a new continent to literature.
Wole Soyinka (Nigeria) – 1986
Wole Soyinka is the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature almost one hundred years after its first edition. His language and literature is in English despite the conflict this poses for many African writers aware of African colonial history. Soyinka was imprisoned for taking a stand for peace during Nigeria's civil war. He is a writer of plays, poetry, essays and novels, in addition to having a long career as a literature teacher.
Who, in a broad cultural perspective and with poetic nuances, innovates the drama of existence.
Nadine Gordimer (South Africa) – 1991
This South African storyteller was very committed to the conflicts caused by the apartheid in his country and this will be a key theme in his work. She developed a novel, a short novel and a short story and was part of the Royal Society of Literature from England. Some of his works are A Soldier's Embrace o July's People, although they have been little published in Spanish.
Who, through his magnificent epic writing has been -in the words of Alfred Nobel- of great benefit to humanity.
Derek Walcott (Saint Lucia) – 1992
He was a poet and playwright born in Saint Lucia, a state belonging to the Organization of American States. He also was also a visual artist. In fact, One of his most acclaimed works was the Broadway musical, The Capeman, in which he participated with the enormous structure of the lyrics of his songs.
For a poetic work of great luminosity, supported by a historical vision, the result of a multicultural commitment.
JM Coetzee (South Africa) – 2003
South African novelist who holds Australian nationality as well. His work covers many fields within letters and the arts: he is a linguist, translator, university professor, critic and screenwriter, as well as a literary author. He develops as a poet, novelist and essayist. He is also a member of the Royal Society of Literature y his most famous work is Life and times of Michael K.
Who in innumerable disguises portrays the surprising involvement of the outsider.
Alice Munro (Canada) – 2013
This Canadian writer has developed the short story and is considered to be at the level of Anton Chekhov. Too much happiness It is his greatest work. It is a collection of ten stories. Munro blends fact and fiction and draws his inspiration from casual events and anecdotes, as well as other literary creations. The author writes without artifice, with complete naturalness and without fanfare.
Teacher of the contemporary short story.
Abdulrazak Gurnah (Tanzania) – 2021
Of British and Tanzanian nationality, this novelist writes his work in English and has lived in the UK for several decades. He is also a professor at the University of Kent and belongs to the Royal Society of Literature From great britain. His most notable work is Paradise, a historical novel that narrates the harshness of life in Africa recounting the servitude to which its protagonist is forced, in a wild and ungrateful landscape, and always at the mercy of others.
For his compassionate and uncompromising insight into the effects of colonialism and the fate of refugees in the chasm between cultures and continents.
