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László Krasznahorkai received the Nobel Prize in Literature on Wednesday in Stockholm.
On behalf of the Nobel Foundation, Astrid Söderbergh Widding, Chair of the Board of Trustees, greeted the laureates. In her speech, she emphasized that the processes taking place in the world form a dark backdrop to the ceremony.
"Due to rapid, unpredictable, paradoxical and tangled processes, it seems difficult to inspire hope and confidence in the future. In this world, the legacy of Alfred Nobel's vision is a powerful reminder that science, literature and peace have transformative power," she stated.
She said that science serves as a language for humanity to explore and expand the boundaries of knowledge. Astrid Söderbergh Widding added that they respect Alfred Nobel's principle, according to which "nationality does not matter, the prize should be awarded to the most deserving person."
Praising the work of the laureates, she also spoke about László Krasznahorkai's Nobel Prize in Literature.
"We recognize a career of writers in which melancholy and apocalypse dominate the picture, but where the power of art and creation, however incomprehensible, can still transcend dark and violent forces," said the chairman of the Nobel Foundation's board of trustees.
She believed that the laureates offer hope through knowledge, integrity, excellence, creativity and inspiration. She also spoke about the need to actively contribute to the protection of scientific and literary freedom, and to the pursuit of peace, so that the world becomes a better place for humanity, instead of passively observing.
László Krasznahorkai received the Nobel Prize in Literature for his visionary life's work, which strengthens the power of art in the midst of apocalyptic terror.
"László Krasznahorkai's greatness as a writer is that he successfully combined an artistic vision free from illusions, one that sees through the fragility of man-made orders, with an unwavering faith in the power of literature," said Anders Olsson, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Literature, in praising the Hungarian writer.
As he emphasized, László Krasznahorkai's literary prize this year recognizes a rare force in contemporary literature. He recalled his first novel, Sátántangó, published in 1985, which caused a great sensation and in which he depicts, in powerfully suggestive terms, a hopeless group of people on an abandoned agricultural estate, just before the fall of communism.
"This apocalyptic theme is further strengthened in Krasznahorkai's second major novel, The Melancholy of Resistance, which is set in a small town. (…) The writer masterfully depicts in nightmarish scenes the brutal struggle between order and disorder, where no one can escape the effects of terror," said Anders Olsson.
The chairman of the Nobel Committee for Literature noted that in his later works Krasznahorkai further developed his sharply existentialist writing style, rooted in the Central European traditions of dark absurdity and burlesque humor, from Franz Kafka to Thomas Bernhard.
He mentioned the novel Herscht 07769, published in 2021, touching on its Dostoevskyian influences, emphasizing that "in a single sentence of four hundred pages, the novel not only captures the complexity of reality, but also blurs it, using a language that becomes a musical form."
"Krasznahorkai's writing is characterized by a fluid syntax that is both serious and light, melancholic and inspiring, with a fairy-tale and poetic intensity. His inner search led him to China and Japan, which broadened the Central European context of his work, lending it a new, contemplative atmosphere," noted Anders Olsson, who also mentioned Krasznahorkai's prose collection Seiobo yorát odádenő as an example, as well as one of the essays in the book Megy a világ, which contains short stories.
Other laureates
At the Stockholm ceremony, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to the British John Clarke, the French Michel H. Devoret and the American John M. Martinis for their research into quantum mechanics.
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to the Japanese scientist Kitagawa Susumu, the British Richard Robson and the Jordanian-born American scientist Omar M. Yaghi for their achievements in the development of metal-organic frameworks.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Mary E. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell of the United States and Simon Sakaguchi of Japan for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.
The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Joel Mokyr, an American-Israeli economic historian, Philippe Aghion of France and Peter Howitt of Canada for their explanations of innovation-driven economic growth.
The ceremony was attended by some 1,500 invited guests, including the laureates' families, former laureates, members of the royal family, representatives of the awarding institutions, members of the Swedish government and parliament, and representatives of the diplomatic corps.
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in Oslo before the Stockholm ceremony. The award went to María Corina Machado. The Venezuelan opposition leader has been in hiding from Venezuelan authorities for more than a year, so he was not present in person at the award ceremony, and his daughter, Ana Corina Sosa Machado, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in his place.
Source: MTI.hu
Photos: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd
