The Only Politician Who Rejected Peace Prize But Got One in Literature !

 

  Did Churchill's works really mattered? Churchill is a great writer, no doubt. But do his works confer the greatest benefit on mankind as stipulated in Nobel's Will? Was he really worth the Prize in Literature? Did he really deserve the Nobel Prize in Literature? What went on behind the doors? Here are the interesting facts dug out from the history of Nobel Prizes. Read on… they make good reading. This article does not intend to belittle the stature of one of the finest writers and the greatest Statesman, Sir Winston Churchill. 

  

Sir Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill {1874-1965}

  Here is one more instance of favoritism. In 1953, the Nobel trustees were anxious to award one of their Prizes to Winston Churchill. But which Prize? They racked their brains, as there is no Prize for Statesmanship. But a peace Prize does exist. And they decided to thrust it on him. 

  But Churchill after going through the list said, “Thank you very much I would rather not”. Churchill pretty well knew it would become a sham if he accepted it, for he was the man who ran all over the world looking for wars, Cuba, Indian frontiers, Sudan and South Africa and thrusting himself into them. And he strode onto the world stage as one of the greatest leader of a nation and an empire at wars that history recorded.

  In such circumstances, it is quite natural for the Nobel trustee to have been awed by this giant with an intending desire to honor him with one of their Prizes.

  Undaunted by his rejection of Peace Prize, the Nobel Committee on Literature delightfully decided to thrust the Literature Prize on him. Thus Winston Churchill won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953. His citation reads, ‘For his mastery in the presentation of history and biography and for the brilliant oratory with which he has stepped forward to the defense of our civilizations’. He won the Nobel Prize for his “My Early Life’ an account of his youthful adventures and "also one of the world's most entertaining adventure stories" according to S. Siwertz, Member of the Swedish Academy. 

The 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature

  The 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Tomas Tranströmer of Sweden. The Prize motivation read as "because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality".

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Was Pearl Buck Worth The Nobel Prize in Literature ?

  Did her works really mattered? Was she really worth the Prize in Literature? What went on behind the doors? Here are the interesting facts dug out from the history of Nobel Prizes. Read on… they make good reading.

Pearl S Buck

Pearl Sydenstricker Buck {1892-1973}

  Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) was born in Hillsboro, West Virginia. She grew up in China and lived there till 1934. Pearl S Buck began her writings in 1920s. Her first collection of short stories titled, "East Wind, West Wind, was published in 1930. It was followed by "The Good Earth" (1931), "Sons" (1932), "The First Wife and Other Stories" (1933), "The Mother" (1934), "A House Divided" (1935), and "This Proud Heart" (1938) and several other books. She also published a biographical novel of her parents titled "The Exile" and "Fighting Angel" were published in 1936 and later brought out together as "The Spirit and the Flesh" (1944). Her novel "The Good Earth" (1931) became the best-selling book ultimately winning her the Pulitzer Prize in 1932 and Nobel Prize in 1938.
 

  When Pearl Sydenstricker Buck’s name was proposed in 1938 for the laureate in literature, ten of the eighteen judges opposed her. Dr Osterling, the then Secretary of Swedish Academy with a voting right on literary awards led the opposition from the front while Dr Hedin along with Selma Lagerlof, a laureate in 1909 successfully rallied round Buck.

  What is emphasized here is the division in Committee vote was not due to the questionable merits of her works; but because Dr Osterling was eminently prejudiced against Americans. He is reported to have quipped that the Americans do not need Nobel Cheque for they receive more money from Hollywood than the Prize is worth.

Sven Anders Hedin – 1865-1952

  And Sven Anders Hedin’s support to Buck… well read on what Hedin said later ruefully, ‘Pearl Buck and her husband published my last book, a biography of Chiank Kai-Shek. They gave me too little money for it, and to think of how I got her the Prize.’ This is how the judges deliberated. 

  Anyway Pearl S Buck got her Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938 much to the delight of her fans; and her citation read as follows: "for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces". 

The 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature

  The 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Tomas Tranströmer of Sweden. The Prize motivation read as "because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality".

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Why No Nobel Prize For Iconic Sci-Fi Writer Sir Isaac Asimov !

  What makes Isaac Asimov the greatest science fiction writer? Why this iconic sci-fi writer was denied the Nobel Prize in Literature? Is he not worth the Prize?

  No doubt, the Nobel Committee has truly honoured the most eminent people whose contribution has ennobled the world and bettered the lives of the entire mankind. Great scientists like Roentgen, Einstein, Raman, Fleming Curie-couple, Teresa, Tutu and Tagore have all been honoured and awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize. 

  But it is also a fact, that history of Nobel Prizes is also a history of inexplicable sins of omission with many people left out who rightly deserved the Prize - Edison, Wright Brothers, James Joyce, Tolstoy, H G Wells, Maugham, Greene and so on and especially Sir Isaac Asimov too.

  Yes, Sir Isaac Asimov truly deserved the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Sir Isaac Asimov {1920-1992}

  The author of more than 400 books, Isaac Asimov born in Russia in 1920, soon migrated to United States at the age of three. An exceptional student, Asimov soon proved that he was a born writer. In 1934, Asimov published his first story in his school's newspaper. Asimov received a doctorate in biochemistry from Columbia University in 1948 and since 1949 has been a professor of biochemistry at Boston University until he retired in 1958. Soon after his retirement, Asimov became a full time writer.

  Asimov has produced classics such as ‘I, Robot’, ‘The Naked Sun’, and ‘The Caves of Steel’, ‘The Foundation’ trilogy have all won him the respect for science fiction. His stories too ‘Nightfall’ and ‘The Bicentennial Man’, and novels such as ‘The Gods Themselves’, and ‘Foundation's Edge’ have been recognized as the best science fiction ever written earning him numerous honors and accolades. It is believed that Sir Isaac Asimov is associated with the invention and coinage of a word Robotics, when he used the word is his Robot series. Asimov has also written popular essays on science and technology in several magazines.

  Presenting the complexities of science in a simple and arresting manner is the hallmark of Asimov's genre. His simple arresting genre earned him the nickname 'The Great Explainer'. Any student or children who are found to be wary of science must be presented Asimov's books’ for they would soon discover how wonderful and interesting the science is.

  Indeed Asimov was the man, who laid bare the intricacies and complexities of science, before the common man imparting him the knowledge, thereby creating and sustaining the interest in science especially in the field of astronomy or space science. His genre, so simple and arresting, tells us how fascinating the science is.

  Until his death in 1992, Asimov’s zestfulness has not died. He was full of energy and on fire. Always ready to explain things to laymen. Asimov commented before his death, "I'm on fire to explain, and happiest when it's something reasonably intricate which I can make clear step by step. It's the easiest way I can clarify things in my own mind."

  Sir Isaac Asimov’s entire corpus confer the greatest benefit on mankind - as stipulated in Nobel’s will– the dissemination of scientific knowledge to laymen. Asimov truly deserved the Nobel Prize in Literature. But sadly he was ignored.

  Yet if Sir Isaac Asimov had been awarded the Prize in literature it still would have been too small a gesture when compared to his works in the field of literature. But unfortunately, to the dismay of his millions of fans, who understood science in his language, Sir Isaac Asimov was denied the Nobel Prize in Literature. No one knows the reason why.

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