The 1952 Nobel Prize in Literature
François Mauriac
"for the deep spiritual insight and the artistic intensity with which he has in his novels penetrated the drama of human life."
Date
  • 6 November 1952 (announcement)
  • 10 December 1952
    (ceremony)
LocationStockholm, Sweden
Presented bySwedish Academy
First awarded1901
WebsiteOfficial website
← 1951 · Nobel Prize in Literature · 1953 →

The 1952 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the French Catholic writer François Mauriac (1885–1970) "for the deep spiritual insight and the artistic intensity with which he has in his novels penetrated the drama of human life."[1] He is the eight French author to receive the prize after the novelist André Gide in 1947.

Laureate

Main article: François Mauriac

François Mauriac made his breakthrough with the poetry book Les Mains jointes ("Clasped Hands", 1909), but went on to become as a dramatist and novelist. His works are frequently set in and around Bordeaux, France, and investigate human nature through the lens of Catholicism. The characters struggle with money, self-righteousness, and guilt. As a result, Mauriac has been portrayed as a misanthrope at times, but he replied to this criticism by stating that the repeated messages in his writings about divine mercy and compassion were designed to inspire hope and confidence. His most well-known works include La Chair et le Sang ("Flesh and Blood", 1920), Le Désert de l'amour ("The Desert of Love", 1925), Thérèse Desqueyroux (1927), Le Nœud de vipères ("Vipers' Tangle", 1932).[2][3]

Deliberations

Nominations

In total, the Swedish Academy's Nobel Committee received 57 nominations for 40 individuals. Fourteen of the nominees were newly nominated such as Paul Vialar, Juan Ramón Jiménez (awarded in 1956), Walter de la Mare, Julien Benda, Salvador de Madariaga, Albert Schweitzer (awarded the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize), Werner Bergengruen, and Van Wyck Brooks. Only one female author was nominate: Spanish author Concha Espina de la Serna.[4]

The authors August Alle, Mariano Azuela, Ioan Alecu Bassarabescu, Margaret Wise Brown, Paul Bujor, Romain Coolus, Annie Sophie Cory, Norman Douglas, Paul Éluard, Jeffery Farnol, Gilbert Frankau, Cicely Hamilton, Aaro Hellaakoski, Masao Kume, Nadezhda Alexandrovna Lokhvitskaya (known as Teffi), Harold John Massingham, Charles Maurras, Ferenc Molnár, Maria Montessori, Pedro Prado, Josephine Tey, Lodewijk van Deyssel, Louis Verneuil, Clara Viebig, and Roger Vitrac died in 1952 without having been nominated for the prize. The Belgian writer Charles Plisnier died months before the announcement.

Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize
No. Nominee Country Genre(s) Nominator(s)
1 Mark Aldanov (1886–1957)  Soviet Union
( Ukraine)
 France 		biography, novel, essays, literary criticism Ivan Bunin (1870–1953)
2 Louis Artus (1870–1960)  France drama, novel, literary criticism, essays
3 Julien Benda (1867–1956)  France novel, philosophy, essays, literary criticism Hans Peter Sørensen (1886–1962)
4 Werner Bergengruen (1892–1964)  Germany novel, short story, poetry Hans Neumann (1903–1990)
5 Jacobus Cornelis Bloem (1887–1966)  Netherlands poetry, essays The Dutch PEN-Club
6 Van Wyck Brooks (1886–1963)  United States literary criticism, biography, history, essays
7 Albert Camus (1913–1960)  France
( Algeria) 		novel, short story, essays, philosophy, drama Hjalmar Gullberg (1898–1961)
8 Hans Carossa (1878–1956)  Germany poetry, autobiography, essays Hans Heinrich Borcherdt (1887–1964)
9 Winston Churchill (1874–1965)  United Kingdom history, essays, memoir
10 Benedetto Croce (1866–1952)  Italy history, philosophy, law
11 Walter de la Mare (1873–1956)  United Kingdom novel, short story, poetry, literary criticism, essays Harry Martinson (1904–1978)
12 Salvador de Madariaga (1886–1978)  Spain essays, history, law, novel Sigurd Erixon (1888–1968)
13 Concha Espina de la Serna (1869–1955)  Spain novel, short story
14 José Maria Ferreira de Castro (1898–1978)  Portugal novel João de Barros (1881–1960)
15 Edward Morgan Forster (1879–1970)  United Kingdom novel, short story, drama, essays, biography, literary criticism The English PEN-Club
16 Robert Frost (1874–1963)  United States poetry, drama Edwin Harrison Cady (1917–2003)
17 Manuel Gálvez (1882–1962)  Argentina novel, poetry, drama, essays, history, biography Sociedad Argentina de Escritores
18 Jean Giono (1895–1970)  France novel, short story, essays, poetry, drama Société des gens de lettres
19 Enrique González Martínez (1871–1952)  Mexico poetry Academia Mexicana de la Lengua
20 Graham Greene (1904–1991)  United Kingdom novel, short story, autobiography, essays Hjalmar Gullberg (1898–1961)
21 Taha Hussein (1889–1973)  Egypt novel, short story, poetry, translation Karl Vilhelm Zetterstéen (1866–1953)
22 Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881–1958)  Spain poetry, novel Maurice Bowra (1898–1971)
23 Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957)  Greece novel, philosophy, essays, drama, memoir, translation Norwegian Authors' Union
24 Halldór Laxness (1902–1998)  Iceland novel, short story, drama, poetry
25 André Malraux (1901–1976)  France novel, essays, literary criticism Jean-Marie Carré (1887–1958)
26 François Mauriac (1885–1970)  France novel, short story
27 Ramón Menéndez Pidal (1869–1968)  Spain philology, history
28 Charles Plisnier (1896–1952)  Belgium novel, short story, poetry, essays
29 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975)  India philosophy, essays, law The Indian PEN-Club
30 Henriette Roland Holst (1869–1952)  Netherlands poetry, essays, biography The Dutch PEN-Club
31 Jules Romains (1885–1972)  France poetry, drama, screenplay
  • Maurice Gravier (1912–1992)
  • Alfred Jolivet (1885–1966)
32 Carl Sandburg (1878–1967)  United States poetry, essays, biography Axel Boëthius (1889–1969)
33 Jean Schlumberger (1877–1968)  France poetry, essays International Centre of the PEN Club
34 Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965)  France
 Germany 		philosophy, theology, essays Nils Ahnlund (1889–1957)
35 Zalman Shneour (1887–1959)  Belarus
 United States 		poetry, essays
36 Tarjei Vesaas (1897–1970)  Norway poetry, novel Olav Midttun (1883–1972)
37 Simon Vestdijk (1898–1971)  Netherlands novel, poetry, essays, translation The Dutch PEN-Club
38 Paul Vialar (1898–1996)  France novel, short story, essays, drama Société des gens de lettres
39 Mika Waltari (1908–1979)  Finland short story, novel, poetry, drama, essays, screenplay Aarne Anttila (1892–1952)
40 John Dover Wilson (1881–1969)  United Kingdom essays, literary criticism Charles Jasper Sisson (1885–1966)

References

  1. ^ Nobel Prize in Literature 1952 nobelprize.org
  2. ^ François Mauriac – Facts nobelprize.org
  3. ^ François Mauriac britannica.com
  4. ^ Nomination archive – 1952 nobelprize.org

External links

Laureates of the Nobel Prize in Literature
Categories