Date set for Nobel Prize in literature

This week, the literary community has been talking about one Horace Engdahl, the heretofore unknown permanent secretary of the Nobel Foundation. On the heels of releasing the announcement date for the prize in literature—Oct. 9—Engdahl  gave a controversial interview, telling the AP that "Europe still is the center of the literary world... not the United States."

Engdahl is the top member of a 16-person award jury. While no hints have been dropped regarding the finalists, the secretary didn't mince words about his opinion on American lit. "The U.S. is too isolated, too insular. They don't translate enough and don't really participate in the big dialogue of literature," he said. "That ignorance is restraining."

Several lit officials reacted publicly to Engdahl's comments, including David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, and Harold Augenbraum, director of the National Book Foundation, who offered to send Engdahl a reading list. 

Nobel Prize announcements begin Monday with physiology or medicine, and run through Oct. 13, when economics will close this year's awards group. Engdahl presents the prizes at the Dec. 10 ceremonies in Stockholm.

Related links:
NobelPrize.org
AP: Nobel literature prize to be announced on Oct. 9
News: Doris Lessing wins '07 Nobel prize for literature

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.