The 2003

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

was awarded to the South African novelist

John Maxwell Coetzee John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

(born 1940), better known simply as J. M. Coetzee, "who in innumerable guises portrays the surprising involvement of the outsider." He is the fourth African writer to be so honoured and the second South African after

Nadine Gordimer Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognised as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writing has ... been of very great ben ...

in 1991.

Laureate

J. M. Coetzee's prose is rigorous and analytical, spanning through different genres from autobiographical novels to short fiction, essays to translations. He made his debut in 1974 with the novel '' Dusklands'', but his international breakthrough came a few years later with ''

Waiting for the Barbarians ''Waiting for the Barbarians'' is a novel by the South African writer J. M. Coetzee. First published in 1980, it was chosen by Penguin for its series '' Great Books of the 20th Century'' and won both the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and Geof ...

'' in 1980. A recurring theme in his novels is a crucial situation, where right and wrong are put to the test and where people's weaknesses and defeat become fundamental to the story's development. His other novels include '' Life & Times of Michael K'' (1983), '' Disgrace'' (1999), and his "Jesus" Trilogy: ''

The Childhood of Jesus ''The Childhood of Jesus'' is a 2013 novel by South African-born Australian Nobel laureate J. M. Coetzee. Synopsis The book follows a man and a boy who immigrate to a new land. Once there, they receive new names and rough estimates of their a ...

'' (2013), ''

The Schooldays of Jesus ''The Schooldays of Jesus'' is a 2016 novel by J. M. Coetzee. In July 2016, it was longlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize. Background and publication It is Coetzee's 13th novel and is a sequel to the 2013 novel '' The Childhood of Jesus''. It ...

'', and ''

The Death of Jesus ''The Death of Jesus'' is a 2019 novel by J. M. Coetzee. Background and publication Prior to its publication, ''The Death of Jesus'' was cited in media across the world as one of the most anticipated novels of 2020 in the English-speaking worl ...

'' (2019).

Reactions

The

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy (), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body t ...

's decision to award Coetzee the Nobel Prize in Literature was well received in South Africa. "On behalf of the South African nation, and indeed the continent of Africa, we salute our latest Nobel laureate and bask with him in the glory radiating from this recognition", president

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who served as the 2nd democratic president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Cong ...

said. 1991 Nobel laureate

said: "It's an honour for the country, and it

ives Ives is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Alice Emma Ives (1876–1930), American dramatist, journalist * Burl Ives (1909–1995), American singer, author and actor * Charles Ives (1874–1954), Ame ...

some indication of how South African literature has developed, particularly under the difficult conditions we have ad"

Nobel lecture

J. M. Coetzee delivered his Nobel Lecture entitled ''He and His Man'' at the

on December 7, 2003.2003 Nobel Lecture
nobelprize.org His lecture features the characters of

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' ( ) is an English adventure novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. Written with a combination of Epistolary novel, epistolary, Confessional writing, confessional, and Didacticism, didactic forms, the ...

and

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...

that borrows extensively from Defoe's ''

A Journal of the Plague Year ''A Journal of the Plague Year: Being Observations or Memorials, Of the most Remarkable Occurrences, As well Publick as Private, which happened in London During the last Great Visitation In 1665'', commonly called ''A Journal of the Plague Ye ...

'' (1722) and '' A Tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain'' (1724-26) where he whimsically explores several concerns of central importance for the activities of reading and writing, most notably the seemingly unavoidable phenomenon of displacement or substitution that is best characterized as

catachresis Catachresis (from Greek , "misuse"), originally meaning a semantic misuse or error, is also the name given to many different types of figures of speech in which a word or phrase is being applied in a way that significantly departs from conventi ...

Award ceremony speech

At the award ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December 2003,

Per Wästberg Per Erik Wästberg (born 20 November 1933) is a Swedish writer and a member of the Swedish Academy since 1997. Wästberg was born in Stockholm, son of Erik Wästberg and his wife Greta née Hirsch, and holds a degree in literature from Uppsala ...

of the

said:

References

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

J. M. Coetzee Nobel

Laureate

Reactions

Nobel lecture

Award ceremony speech

References

External links