Nobel Prize Laureates in Literature Part 3 - Lagerkvist - Pontoppidan

a~ i~ _~
N
Jlc Zmcricov Icvoissovcc iv Acw Ivglovd,
eolteo by |oel Myerson (l978)
O
Zmcricov Aovclists Sivcc !orld !or II,
eolteo by |effrey Helterman ano Rlch
aro Layman (l978)
P
Zvtcbcllum !ritcrs iv Acw 1orl ovd tlc
Soutl, eolteo by |oel Myerson (l979)
Q
Zmcricov !ritcrs iv Ioris, 1920-19J9,
eolteo by Karen Lane Rooo (l980)
R
Zmcricov Iocts Sivcc !orld !or II, 2 parts,
eolteo by Donalo |. Grelner (l980)
S
Zmcricov Aovclists Sivcc !orld !or II, Scc-
ovd Scrics, eolteo by |ames E. Klbler |r.
(l980)
T
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Zmcricov Dromotists, 2
parts, eolteo by |ohn MacNlcholas (l98l)
U
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Zmcricov Scicvcc-Iictiov
!ritcrs, 2 parts, eolteo by Davlo Cow
art ano Jhomas L. Wymer (l98l)
V
Zmcricov Aovclists, 1910-194, 3 parts,
eolteo by |ames |. Martlne (l98l)
NM
Modcrv ritisl Dromotists, 1900-194, 2
parts, eolteo by Stanley Welntraub (l982)
NN
Zmcricov Humorists, 1600-190, 2 parts,
eolteo by Stanley Jrachtenberg (l982)
NO
Zmcricov Icolists ovd Aoturolists, eolteo
by Donalo Plzer ano Earl N. Harbert
(l982)
NP
ritisl Dromotists Sivcc !orld !or II, 2
parts, eolteo by Stanley Welntraub (l982)
NQ
ritisl Aovclists Sivcc 1960, 2 parts,
eolteo by |ay L. Hallo (l983)
NR
ritisl Aovclists, 19J0-199, 2 parts,
eolteo by Bernaro Olosey (l983)
NS
Jlc cots: Iitcrory olcmiovs iv Iostwor
Zmcrico, 2 parts, eolteo by Ann Char
ters (l983)
NT
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Zmcricov Historiovs,
eolteo by Clyoe N. Wllson (l983)
NU
ictoriov Aovclists Zftcr 166, eolteo by
Ira B. Naoel ano Wllllam E. Ireoeman
(l983)
NV
ritisl Iocts, 1660-1914, eolteo by
Donalo E. Stanforo (l983)
OM
ritisl Iocts, 1914-194, eolteo by
Donalo E. Stanforo (l983)
ON
ictoriov Aovclists cforc 166, eolteo by
Ira B. Naoel ano Wllllam E. Ireoeman
(l983)
OO
Zmcricov !ritcrs for Clildrcv, 1900-1960,
eolteo by |ohn Cech (l983)
OP
Zmcricov Acwspopcr ourvolists, 167J-
1900, eolteo by Perry |. Ashley (l983)
OQ
Zmcricov Coloviol !ritcrs, 1606-17J4,
eolteo by Emory Elllott (l981)
OR
Zmcricov Acwspopcr ourvolists, 1901-
OS
Zmcricov Scrccvwritcrs, eolteo by Robert
E. Morsberger, Stephen O. Lesser, ano
Ranoall Clark (l981)
OT
Iocts of Crcot ritoiv ovd Irclovd, 194-
1960, eolteo by Vlncent B. Sherry |r.
(l981)
OU
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Zmcricov-cwisl Iictiov
!ritcrs, eolteo by Danlel Waloen (l981)
OV
PM
Zmcricov Historiovs, 1607-166, eolteo
by Clyoe N. Wllson (l981)
PN
Zmcricov Coloviol !ritcrs, 17J-1761,
PO
ictoriov Iocts cforc 160, eolteo by
Wllllam E. Ireoeman ano Ira B. Naoel
(l981)
PP
Zfro-Zmcricov Iictiov !ritcrs Zftcr 19,
eolteo by Jhaolous M. Davls ano
Jruoler Harrls (l981)
PQ
ritisl Aovclists, 1690-1929: Jroditiovol-
ists, eolteo by Jhomas I. Staley (l985)
PR
ictoriov Iocts Zftcr 160, eolteo by Wll
llam E. Ireoeman ano Ira B. Naoel (l985)
PS
ritisl Aovclists, 1690-1929: Modcrvists,
eolteo by Jhomas I. Staley (l985)
PT
Zmcricov !ritcrs of tlc Iorly Icpublic,
PU
Zfro-Zmcricov !ritcrs Zftcr 19: Dromo-
tists ovd Irosc !ritcrs, eolteo by Jhaol
ous M. Davls ano Jruoler Harrls (l985)
PV
ritisl Aovclists, 1660-1600, 2 parts,
eolteo by Martln C. Battestln (l985)
QM
Iocts of Crcot ritoiv ovd Irclovd Sivcc
1960, 2 parts, eolteo by Vlncent B.
Sherry |r. (l985)
QN
Zfro-Zmcricov Iocts Sivcc 19, eolteo by
Jruoler Harrls ano Jhaolous M.
Davls (l985)
QO
Zmcricov !ritcrs for Clildrcv cforc 1900,
eolteo by Glenn E. Estes (l985)
QP
QQ
Zmcricov Scrccvwritcrs, Sccovd Scrics,
eolteo by Ranoall Clark, Robert E.
Morsberger, ano Stephen O. Lesser
(l986)
QR
Zmcricov Iocts, 1660-194, Iirst Scrics,
eolteo by Peter _uartermaln (l986)
QS
Zmcricov Iitcrory Iublislivg Houscs,
1900-1960: Jrodc ovd Iopcrbocl, eolteo
by Peter Dzwonkoskl (l986)
QT
Zmcricov Historiovs, 1666-1912, eolteo
by Clyoe N. Wllson (l986)
QU
Zmcricov Iocts, 1660-194, Sccovd Scrics,
eolteo by Peter _uartermaln (l986)
QV
Zmcricov Iitcrory Iublislivg Houscs,
16J6-1699, 2 parts, eolteo by Peter
Dzwonkoskl (l986)
RM
Zfro-Zmcricov !ritcrs cforc tlc Horlcm
Icvoissovcc, eolteo by Jruoler Harrls
(l986)
RN
Zfro-Zmcricov !ritcrs from tlc Horlcm
Icvoissovcc to 1940, eolteo by Jruoler
Harrls (l987)
RO
Zmcricov !ritcrs for Clildrcv Sivcc 1960:
Iictiov, eolteo by Glenn E. Estes (l986)
RP
Covodiov !ritcrs Sivcc 1960, Iirst Scrics,
eolteo by W. H. New (l986)
RQ
Zmcricov Iocts, 1660-194, Jlird Scrics,
2 parts, eolteo by Peter _uartermaln
(l987)
RR
ictoriov Irosc !ritcrs cforc 1667, eolteo
by Wllllam B. Jheslng (l987)
RS
Ccrmov Iictiov !ritcrs, 1914-194,
eolteo by |ames Haroln (l987)
RT
ictoriov Irosc !ritcrs Zftcr 1667, eolteo
by Wllllam B. Jheslng (l987)
RU
ocobcov ovd Corolivc Dromotists, eolteo
by Ireoson Bowers (l987)
RV
Zmcricov Iitcrory Critics ovd Sclolors,
1600-160, eolteo by |ohn W. Rath
bun ano Monlca M. Grecu (l987)
SM
Covodiov !ritcrs Sivcc 1960, Sccovd
Scrics, eolteo by W. H. New (l987)
SN
Zmcricov !ritcrs for Clildrcv Sivcc 1960:
Iocts, Illustrotors, ovd Aovfictiov Zutlors,
eolteo by Glenn E. Estes (l987)
SO
Iliobctlov Dromotists, eolteo by Ireo
son Bowers (l987)
SP
Modcrv Zmcricov Critics, 1920-19,
eolteo by Gregory S. |ay (l988)
SQ
SR
Ircvcl Aovclists, 1900-19J0, eolteo by
Catharlne Savage Brosman (l988)
SS
Ccrmov Iictiov !ritcrs, 166-191J, 2
parts, eolteo by |ames Haroln (l988)
ST
Modcrv Zmcricov Critics Sivcc 19,
eolteo by Gregory S. |ay (l988)
SU
Covodiov !ritcrs, 1920-199, Iirst
SV
Covtcmporory Ccrmov Iictiov !ritcrs, Iirst
Scrics, eolteo by Wolfgang D. Elfe ano
|ames Haroln (l988)
TM
ritisl Mystcry !ritcrs, 1660-1919,
eolteo by Bernaro Benstock ano
Jhomas I. Staley (l988)
TN
TO
Ircvcl Aovclists, 19J0-1960, eolteo by
TP
Zmcricov Mogoivc ourvolists, 1741-
160, eolteo by Sam G. Rlley (l988)
TQ
Zmcricov Slort-Story !ritcrs cforc 1660,
eolteo by Bobby Ellen Klmbel, wlth
the asslstance of Wllllam E. Grant
(l988)
TR
Covtcmporory Ccrmov Iictiov !ritcrs, Scc-
ovd Scrics, eolteo by Wolfgang D. Elfe
ano |ames Haroln (l988)
TS
Zfro-Zmcricov !ritcrs, 1940-19,
eolteo by Jruoler Harrls (l988)
TT
ritisl Mystcry !ritcrs, 1920-19J9,
eolteo by Bernaro Benstock ano
Jhomas I. Staley (l988)
TU
Zmcricov Slort-Story !ritcrs, 1660-1910,
eolteo by Bobby Ellen Klmbel, wlth
the asslstance of Wllllam E. Grant
(l988)
TV
1900, eolteo by Sam G. Rlley (l988)
UM
Icstorotiov ovd Iigltccvtl-Ccvtury Dromo-
tists, Iirst Scrics, eolteo by Paula R.
Backscheloer (l989)
UN
Zustriov Iictiov !ritcrs, 167-191J,
eolteo by |ames Haroln ano Donalo G.
Davlau (l989)
UO
Clicovo !ritcrs, Iirst Scrics, eolteo by
Iranclsco A. Lomel ano Carl R. Shlr
ley (l989)
UP
Ircvcl Aovclists Sivcc 1960, eolteo by
UQ
tists, Sccovd Scrics, eolteo by Paula R.
Backscheloer (l989)
UR
Zustriov Iictiov !ritcrs Zftcr 1914, eolteo
by |ames Haroln ano Donalo G.
Davlau (l989)
US
Iirst Scrics, eolteo by Bobby Ellen Klm
bel (l989)
UT
ritisl Mystcry ovd Jlrillcr !ritcrs Sivcc
1940, Iirst Scrics, eolteo by Bernaro
Benstock ano Jhomas I. Staley (l989)
UU
Covodiov !ritcrs, 1920-199, Sccovd
UV
tists, Jlird Scrics, eolteo by Paula R.
Backscheloer (l989)
VM
Ccrmov !ritcrs iv tlc Zgc of Coctlc, 1769-
16J2, eolteo by |ames Haroln ano
Chrlstoph E. Schweltzer (l989)
VN
1960, Iirst Scrics, eolteo by Sam G.
Rlley (l990)
VO
Covodiov !ritcrs, 1690-1920, eolteo by
W. H. New (l990)
VP
ritisl Iomovtic Iocts, 1769-16J2, Iirst
Scrics, eolteo by |ohn R. Greenflelo
(l990)
VQ
Ccrmov !ritcrs iv tlc Zgc of Coctlc: Sturm
uvd Drovg to Clossicism, eolteo by |ames
Haroln ano Chrlstoph E. Schweltzer
(l990)
VR
Iigltccvtl-Ccvtury ritisl Iocts, Iirst
Scrics, eolteo by |ohn Sltter (l990)
VS
ritisl Iomovtic Iocts, 1769-16J2, Sccovd
Scrics, eolteo by |ohn R. Greenflelo
(l990)
VT
Ccrmov !ritcrs from tlc Ivligltcvmcvt to
Sturm uvd Drovg, 1720-1764, eolteo by
|ames Haroln ano Chrlstoph E.
Schweltzer (l990)
VU
Modcrv ritisl Issoyists, Iirst Scrics,
eolteo by Robert Beum (l990)
VV
Covodiov !ritcrs cforc 1690, eolteo by
W. H. New (l990)
NMM
Modcrv ritisl Issoyists, Sccovd Scrics,
eolteo by Robert Beum (l990)
NMN
ritisl Irosc !ritcrs, 1660-1600, Iirst
Scrics, eolteo by Donalo J. Slebert
(l99l)
NMO
Sccovd Scrics, eolteo by Bobby Ellen
Klmbel (l99l)
NMP
Zmcricov Iitcrory iogroplcrs, Iirst Scrics,
eolteo by Steven Serafln (l99l)
NMQ
ritisl Irosc !ritcrs, 1660-1600, Sccovd
Scrics, eolteo by Donalo J. Slebert
(l99l)
NMR
Zmcricov Iocts Sivcc !orld !or II, Sccovd
Scrics, eolteo by R. S. Gwynn (l99l)
NMS
ritisl Iitcrory Iublislivg Houscs, 1620-
1660, eolteo by Patrlcla |. Anoerson
ano |onathan Rose (l99l)
NMT
ritisl Iomovtic Irosc !ritcrs, 1769-
16J2, Iirst Scrics, eolteo by |ohn R.
Greenflelo (l99l)
NMU
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Spovisl Iocts, Iirst
Scrics, eolteo by Mlchael L. Perna
(l99l)
NMV
Iigltccvtl-Ccvtury ritisl Iocts, Sccovd
Scrics, eolteo by |ohn Sltter (l99l)
NNM
ritisl Iomovtic Irosc !ritcrs, 1769-
16J2, Sccovd Scrics, eolteo by |ohn R.
Greenflelo (l99l)
NNN
Zmcricov Iitcrory iogroplcrs, Sccovd
Scrics, eolteo by Steven Serafln (l99l)
NNO
ritisl Iitcrory Iublislivg Houscs, 1661-
196, eolteo by |onathan Rose ano
Patrlcla |. Anoerson (l99l)
NNP
Modcrv Iotiv-Zmcricov Iictiov !ritcrs,
Iirst Scrics, eolteo by Wllllam Luls (l992)
NNQ
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Itoliov Iocts, Iirst Scrics,
eolteo by Glovanna Weoel De Staslo,
Glauco Cambon, ano Antonlo Illlano
(l992)
NNR
Mcdicvol Ililosoplcrs, eolteo by |eremlah
Hackett (l992)
NNS
ritisl Iomovtic Aovclists, 1769-16J2,
eolteo by Braoforo K. Muoge (l992)
NNT
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Coribbcov ovd locl
Zfricov !ritcrs, Iirst Scrics, eolteo by
Bernth Llnofors ano Relnharo Sanoer
(l992)
NNU
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Ccrmov Dromotists, 1669-
1916, eolteo by Wolfgang D. Elfe ano
|ames Haroln (l992)
NNV
Aivctccvtl-Ccvtury Ircvcl Iictiov !ritcrs:
Iomovticism ovd Icolism, 1600-1660,
eolteo by Catharlne Savage Brosman
(l992)
NOM
Zmcricov Iocts Sivcc !orld !or II, Jlird
Scrics, eolteo by R. S. Gwynn (l992)
NON
Scvcvtccvtl-Ccvtury ritisl Aovdromotic
Iocts, Iirst Scrics, eolteo by M. Jhomas
Hester (l992)
NOO
Clicovo !ritcrs, Sccovd Scrics, eolteo by
ley (l992)
NOP
Aivctccvtl-Ccvtury Ircvcl Iictiov !ritcrs:
Aoturolism ovd cyovd, 1660-1900,
eolteo by Catharlne Savage Brosman
(l992)
NOQ
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Ccrmov Dromotists,
1919-1992, eolteo by Wolfgang D.
Elfe ano |ames Haroln (l992)
NOR
Zfricov !ritcrs, Sccovd Scrics, eolteo by
(l993)
NOS
Scvcvtccvtl-Ccvtury ritisl Aovdromotic
Iocts, Sccovd Scrics, eolteo by M.
Jhomas Hester (l993)
NOT
Zmcricov Acwspopcr Iublislcrs, 190-
NOU
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Itoliov Iocts, Sccovd
Scrics, eolteo by Glovanna Weoel De
Staslo, Glauco Cambon, ano Antonlo
Illlano (l993)
NOV
Aivctccvtl-Ccvtury Ccrmov !ritcrs, 1641-
1900, eolteo by |ames Haroln ano
Slegfrleo Mews (l993)
NPM
Zmcricov Slort-Story !ritcrs Sivcc !orld
!or II, eolteo by Patrlck Meanor (l993)
NPN
Scvcvtccvtl-Ccvtury ritisl Aovdromotic Iocts,
Jlird Scrics, eolteo by M. Jhomas Hes
ter (l993)
NPO
Sixtccvtl-Ccvtury ritisl Aovdromotic !rit-
crs, Iirst Scrics, eolteo by Davlo A. Rlch
aroson (l993)
NPP
Aivctccvtl-Ccvtury Ccrmov !ritcrs to 1640,
eolteo by |ames Haroln ano Slegfrleo
Mews (l993)
NPQ
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Spovisl Iocts, Sccovd
Scrics, eolteo by |erry Phllllps Wlnflelo
(l991)
NPR
ritisl Slort-Iictiov !ritcrs, 1660-1914:
Jlc Icolist Jroditiov, eolteo by Wllllam
B. Jheslng (l991)
NPS
crs, Sccovd Scrics, eolteo by Davlo A.
Rlcharoson (l991)
NPT
1960, Sccovd Scrics, eolteo by Sam G.
Rlley (l991)
NPU
Ccrmov !ritcrs ovd !orls of tlc Higl
Middlc Zgcs: 1170-1260, eolteo by
|ames Haroln ano Wlll Hasty (l991)
NPV
ritisl Slort-Iictiov !ritcrs, 194-1960,
eolteo by Dean Balowln (l991)
NQM
Zmcricov ool-Collcctors ovd ibliogro-
plcrs, Iirst Scrics, eolteo by |oseph
Rosenblum (l991)
NQN
ritisl Clildrcv`s !ritcrs, 1660-1914,
eolteo by Laura M. Zaloman (l991)
NQO
Iigltccvtl-Ccvtury ritisl Iitcrory iogro-
plcrs, eolteo by Steven Serafln (l991)
NQP
Jlird Scrics, eolteo by |ames R. Glles
ano Wanoa H. Glles (l991)
NQQ
Aivctccvtl-Ccvtury ritisl Iitcrory iogro-
NQR
Modcrv Iotiv-Zmcricov Iictiov !ritcrs, Scc-
ovd Scrics, eolteo by Wllllam Luls ano
Ann Gonzlez (l991)
NQS
Uld ovd Middlc Ivglisl Iitcroturc, eolteo
by |effrey Helterman ano |erome
Mltchell (l991)
NQT
Soutl Slovic !ritcrs cforc !orld !or II,
eolteo by Vasa D. Mlhallovlch (l991)
NQU
Ccrmov !ritcrs ovd !orls of tlc Iorly
Middlc Zgcs: 600-1170, eolteo by Wlll
Hasty ano |ames Haroln (l991)
NQV
Iotc Aivctccvtl- ovd Iorly Jwcvtictl-
Ccvtury ritisl Iitcrory iogroplcrs, eolteo
by Steven Serafln (l995)
NRM
Iorly Modcrv Iussiov !ritcrs, Iotc Scvcv-
tccvtl ovd Iigltccvtl Ccvturics, eolteo by
Marcus C. Levltt (l995)
NRN
ritisl Irosc !ritcrs of tlc Iorly Scvcvtccvtl
Ccvtury, eolteo by Clayton D. Leln
(l995)
NRO
Iourtl Scrics, eolteo by |ames R. Glles
NRP
Iotc-ictoriov ovd Idwordiov ritisl Aovcl-
ists, Iirst Scrics, eolteo by George M.
|ohnson (l995)
NRQ
Jlc ritisl Iitcrory ool Jrodc, 1700-
1620, eolteo by |ames K. Bracken ano
|oel Sllver (l995)
NRR
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury ritisl Iitcrory iogro-
NRS
ritisl Slort-Iictiov !ritcrs, 1660-1914:
Jlc Iomovtic Jroditiov, eolteo by Wll
llam I. Naufftus (l995)
NRT
Zfricov !ritcrs, Jlird Scrics, eolteo by
(l995)
NRU
ritisl Icform !ritcrs, 1769-16J2,
eolteo by Gary Kelly ano Eoo Apple
gate (l995)
NRV
eolteo by |ohn R. Greenflelo (l996)
NSM
eolteo by Donalo R. Hettlnga ano
Gary D. Schmlot (l996)
NSN
ritisl Clildrcv`s !ritcrs Sivcc 1960, Iirst
Scrics, eolteo by Carollne Hunt (l996)
NSO
eolteo by |ohn H. Rogers (l996)
NSP
eolteo by Meena Khorana (l996)
NSQ
Ccrmov oroquc !ritcrs, 160-1660,
NSR
Zmcricov Iocts Sivcc !orld !or II, Iourtl
Scrics, eolteo by |oseph Conte (l996)
NSS
ritisl Jrovcl !ritcrs, 16J7-167, eolteo
by Barbara Brothers ano |ulla Gerglts
(l996)
NST
crs, Jlird Scrics, eolteo by Davlo A.
Rlcharoson (l996)
NSU
Ccrmov oroquc !ritcrs, 1661-17J0,
NSV
Zmcricov Iocts Sivcc !orld !or II, Iiftl
NTM
Jlc ritisl Iitcrory ool Jrodc, 147-
1700, eolteo by |ames K. Bracken ano
|oel Sllver (l996)
NTN
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Zmcricov Sportswritcrs,
eolteo by Rlcharo Orooenker (l996)
NTO
crs, Iourtl Scrics, eolteo by Davlo A.
Rlcharoson (l996)
NTP
Iiftl Scrics, eolteo by |ames R. Glles
NTQ
ritisl Jrovcl !ritcrs, 1676-1909, eolteo
(l997)
NTR
Aotivc Zmcricov !ritcrs of tlc Uvitcd
Stotcs, eolteo by Kenneth M. Roemer
(l997)
NTS
Zvcicvt Crccl Zutlors, eolteo by Waro
W. Brlggs (l997)
NTT
Itoliov Aovclists Sivcc !orld !or II, 194-
196, eolteo by Augustus Pallotta
(l997)
NTU
ritisl Iovtosy ovd Scicvcc-Iictiov !ritcrs
cforc !orld !or I, eolteo by Darren
HarrlsIaln (l997)
NTV
Ccrmov !ritcrs of tlc Icvoissovcc ovd Icf-
ormotiov, 1260-160, eolteo by |ames
Haroln ano Max Relnhart (l997)
NUM
opovcsc Iictiov !ritcrs, 1666-194,
eolteo by Van C. Gessel (l997)
NUN
Soutl Slovic !ritcrs Sivcc !orld !or II,
eolteo by Vasa D. Mlhallovlch (l997)
NUO
opovcsc Iictiov !ritcrs Sivcc !orld !or
II, eolteo by Van C. Gessel (l997)
NUP
Zmcricov Jrovcl !ritcrs, 1776-1664,
eolteo by |ames |. Schramer ano
Donalo Ross (l997)
NUQ
Aivctccvtl-Ccvtury ritisl ool-Collcctors
ovd ibliogroplcrs, eolteo by Wllllam
Baker ano Kenneth Womack (l997)
NUR
Zmcricov Iitcrory ourvolists, 194-199,
Iirst Scrics, eolteo by Arthur |. Kaul
(l998)
NUS
Aivctccvtl-Ccvtury Zmcricov !cstcrv !rit-
crs, eolteo by Robert L. Gale (l998)
NUT
Zmcricov ool Collcctors ovd ibliogro-
plcrs, Sccovd Scrics, eolteo by |oseph
Rosenblum (l998)
NUU
Zmcricov ool ovd Mogoivc Illustrotors to
1920, eolteo by Steven E. Smlth,
Catherlne A. Hasteot, ano Donalo H.
Dyal (l998)
NUV
Zmcricov Jrovcl !ritcrs, 160-191,
eolteo by Donalo Ross ano |ames |.
Schramer (l998)
NVM
ritisl Icform !ritcrs, 16J2-1914,
eolteo by Gary Kelly ano Eoo Apple
gate (l998)
NVN
ritisl Aovclists ctwccv tlc !ors, eolteo
by George M. |ohnson (l998)
NVO
Ircvcl Dromotists, 1769-1914, eolteo by
Barbara J. Cooper (l998)
NVP
Zmcricov Iocts Sivcc !orld !or II, Sixtl
NVQ
ritisl Aovclists Sivcc 1960, Sccovd Scrics,
eolteo by Merrltt Moseley (l998)
NVR
ritisl Jrovcl !ritcrs, 1910-19J9, eolteo
(l998)
NVS
Itoliov Aovclists Sivcc !orld !or II, 196-
199, eolteo by Augustus Pallotta
(l999)
NVT
Iotc-ictoriov ovd Idwordiov ritisl Aovcl-
ists, Sccovd Scrics, eolteo by George M.
|ohnson (l999)
NVU
Iussiov Iitcroturc iv tlc Zgc of Iuslliv ovd
Cogol: Irosc, eolteo by Chrlstlne A.
Ryoel (l999)
NVV
ictoriov !omcv Iocts, eolteo by Wllllam
B. Jheslng (l999)
OMM
Zmcricov !omcv Irosc !ritcrs to 1620,
eolteo by Carla |. Mulforo, wlth
Angela Vletto ano Amy E. Wlnans
(l999)
OMN
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury ritisl ool Collcctors
ovd ibliogroplcrs, eolteo by Wllllam
OMO
Aivctccvtl-Ccvtury Zmcricov Iictiov !ritcrs,
eolteo by Kent P. Ljungqulst (l999)
OMP
Mcdicvol opovcsc !ritcrs, eolteo by
Steven D. Carter (l999)
OMQ
ritisl Jrovcl !ritcrs, 1940-1997, eolteo
by Barbara Brothers ano |ulla M. Ger
glts (l999)
OMR
Iussiov Iitcroturc iv tlc Zgc of Iuslliv ovd
Cogol: Ioctry ovd Dromo, eolteo by
Chrlstlne A. Ryoel (l999)
OMS
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Zmcricov !cstcrv !rit-
crs, Iirst Scrics, eolteo by Rlcharo H.
Cracroft (l999)
OMT
ritisl Aovclists Sivcc 1960, Jlird Scrics,
eolteo by Merrltt Moseley (l999)
OMU
Iitcroturc of tlc Ircvcl ovd Uccitov Middlc
Zgcs: Ilcvcvtl to Iiftccvtl Ccvturics, eolteo
by Deborah SlnnrelchLevl ano Ian S.
Laurle (l999)
OMV
Clicovo !ritcrs, Jlird Scrics, eolteo by
ley (l999)
ONM
Irvcst Hcmivgwoy: Z Documcvtory ol-
umc, eolteo by Robert W. Jrogoon
(l999)
ONN
Zvcicvt Iomov !ritcrs, eolteo by Waro
W. Brlggs (l999)
ONO
crs, Sccovd Scrics, eolteo by Rlcharo H.
Cracroft (l999)
ONP
Irc-Aivctccvtl-Ccvtury ritisl ool Collcc-
tors ovd ibliogroplcrs, eolteo by Wllllam
ONQ
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Dovisl !ritcrs, eolteo
by Marlanne StecherHansen (l999)
ONR
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Iostcrv Iuropcov !rit-
crs, Iirst Scrics, eolteo by Steven Serafln
(l999)
ONS
ritisl Iocts of tlc Crcot !or: roolc,
Ioscvbcrg, Jlomos. Z Documcvtory olumc,
eolteo by Patrlck _ulnn (2000)
ONT
Aivctccvtl-Ccvtury Ircvcl Iocts, eolteo by
Robert Beum (2000)
ONU
!or II, Sccovd Scrics, eolteo by Patrlck
Meanor ano Gwen Crane (2000)
ONV
I. Scott Iitgcrold`s Jhe Great Gatsby. Z
Documcvtory olumc, eolteo by Matthew
|. Bruccoll (2000)
OOM
crs, Sccovd Scrics, eolteo by Steven Sera
fln (2000)
OON
Zmcricov !omcv Irosc !ritcrs, 1670-
1920, eolteo by Sharon M. Harrls,
wlth the asslstance of Helol L. M.
|acobs ano |ennlfer Putzl (2000)
OOO
H. I. Mcvclcv: Z Documcvtory olumc,
eolteo by Rlcharo |. Schraoer (2000)
OOP
Sccovd Scrics, eolteo by Wesley J. Mott
(2000)
OOQ
!olt !litmov: Z Documcvtory olumc,
eolteo by |oel Myerson (2000)
OOR
Soutl Zfricov !ritcrs, eolteo by Paul A.
Scanlon (2000)
OOS
Zmcricov Hord-oilcd Crimc !ritcrs,
eolteo by George Parker Anoerson
ano |ulle B. Anoerson (2000)
OOT
Sixtl Scrics, eolteo by |ames R. Glles
ano Wanoa H. Glles (2000)
OOU
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Zmcricov Dromotists,
Sccovd Scrics, eolteo by Chrlstopher |.
Wheatley (2000)
OOV
Jlomos !olfc: Z Documcvtory olumc,
eolteo by Jeo Mltchell (200l)
OPM
Zustroliov Iitcroturc, 1766-1914, eolteo
by Sellna Samuels (200l)
OPN
ritisl Aovclists Sivcc 1960, Iourtl Scrics,
eolteo by Merrltt Moseley (200l)
OPO
crs, Jlird Scrics, eolteo by Steven Sera
fln (200l)
OPP
ritisl ovd Irisl Dromotists Sivcc !orld
!or II, Sccovd Scrics, eolteo by |ohn Bull
(200l)
OPQ
!or II, Jlird Scrics, eolteo by Patrlck
Meanor ano Rlcharo E. Lee (200l)
OPR
Jlird Scrics, eolteo by Wesley J. Mott
(200l)
OPS
ritisl Ilctoriciovs ovd Iogiciovs, 100-
1660, eolteo by Eowaro A. Malone
(200l)
OPT
Jlc cots: Z Documcvtory olumc, eolteo
by Matt Jheaoo (200l)
OPU
Iussiov Aovclists iv tlc Zgc of Jolstoy ovd
Dostocvsly, eolteo by |. Alexanoer
Ogoen ano |uolth E. Kalb (200l)
OPV
Zmcricov !omcv Irosc !ritcrs: 1620-
1670, eolteo by Amy E. Huoock ano
Katharlne Rooler (200l)
OQM
Iotc Aivctccvtl- ovd Iorly Jwcvtictl-
Ccvtury ritisl !omcv Iocts, eolteo by
Wllllam B. Jheslng (200l)
OQN
Zmcricov Sportswritcrs ovd !ritcrs ov
Sport, eolteo by Rlcharo Orooenker
(200l)
OQO
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Iuropcov Culturol Jlco-
rists, Iirst Scrics, eolteo by Paul Hansom
(200l)
OQP
Iourtl Scrics, eolteo by Wesley J. Mott
(200l)
OQQ
!or II, Iourtl Scrics, eolteo by Patrlck
Meanor ano |oseph McNlcholas (200l)
OQR
!or II, Jlird Scrics, eolteo by |ohn Bull
(200l)
OQS
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Zmcricov Culturol Jlco-
rists, eolteo by Paul Hansom (200l)
OQT
omcs oycc: Z Documcvtory olumc,
eolteo by A. Nlcholas Iargnoll (200l)
OQU
Zvtcbcllum !ritcrs iv tlc Soutl, Sccovd
Scrics, eolteo by Kent Ljungqulst (200l)
OQV
Jlird Scrics, eolteo by Chrlstopher
Wheatley (2002)
ORM
Zvtcbcllum !ritcrs iv Acw 1orl, Sccovd
Scrics, eolteo by Kent Ljungqulst (2002)
ORN
Covodiov Iovtosy ovd Scicvcc-Iictiov !rit-
crs, eolteo by Douglas Ivlson (2002)
ORO
ritisl Ililosoplcrs, 100-1799, eolteo
by Phlllp B. Demattels ano Peter S.
Iosl (2002)
ORP
Ioymovd Clovdlcr: Z Documcvtory olumc,
eolteo by Robert Moss (2002)
ORQ
Jlc Housc of Iutvom, 16J7-1672: Z Doc-
umcvtory olumc, eolteo by Ezra Green
span (2002)
ORR
ritisl Iovtosy ovd Scicvcc-Iictiov !ritcrs,
1916-1960, eolteo by Darren Harrls
Ialn (2002)
ORS
crs, Jlird Scrics, eolteo by Rlcharo H.
Cracroft (2002)
ORT
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Swcdisl !ritcrs Zftcr
!orld !or II, eolteo by AnnCharlotte
Gavel Aoams (2002)
ORU
Modcrv Ircvcl Iocts, eolteo by |ean
Iranols Leroux (2002)
ORV
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Swcdisl !ritcrs cforc
!orld !or II, eolteo by AnnCharlotte
Gavel Aoams (2002)
OSM
Zustroliov !ritcrs, 191-190, eolteo by
Sellna Samuels (2002)
OSN
ritisl Iovtosy ovd Scicvcc-Iictiov !ritcrs
Sivcc 1960, eolteo by Darren Harrls
Ialn (2002)
OSO
ritisl Ililosoplcrs, 1600-2000, eolteo
by Peter S. Iosl ano Leemon B. McHenry
(2002)
OSP
!illiom Slolcspcorc: Z Documcvtory ol-
umc, eolteo by Catherlne Loomls (2002)
OSQ
Itoliov Irosc !ritcrs, 1900-194, eolteo
by Luca Somlgll ano Rocco Capozzl
(2002)
OSR
Zmcricov Sovg Iyricists, 1920-1960, eolteo
by Phlllp Iurla (2002)
OSS
Iourtl Scrics, eolteo by Chrlstopher |.
Wheatley (2002)
OST
Jwcvty-Iirst-Ccvtury ritisl ovd Irisl Aov-
clists, eolteo by Mlchael R. Mollno (2002)
OSU
Scvcvtccvtl-Ccvtury Ircvcl !ritcrs, eolteo
by Iranolse |aoun (2002)
OSV
Aotlovicl Howtlorvc: Z Documcvtory ol-
umc, eolteo by Benjamln Iranklln V (2002)
OTM
Zmcricov Ililosoplcrs cforc 190, eolteo
by Phlllp B. Demattels ano Leemon B.
McHenry (2002)
OTN
ritisl ovd Irisl Aovclists Sivcc 1960,
eolteo by Merrltt Moseley (2002)
OTO
Iussiov Irosc !ritcrs ctwccv tlc !orld
!ors, eolteo by Chrlstlne Ryoel (2003)
OTP
I. Scott Iitgcrold`s Jenoer Is the Nlght.
Z Documcvtory olumc, eolteo by Matthew
|. Bruccoll ano George Parker Anoerson
(2003)
OTQ
olv Dos Iossos`s L.S.A.. Z Documcvtory
olumc, eolteo by Donalo Plzer (2003)
OTR
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Zmcricov Aoturc !rit-
crs: Irosc, eolteo by Roger Jhompson
ano |. Scott Bryson (2003)
OTS
ritisl Mystcry ovd Jlrillcr !ritcrs Sivcc 1960,
eolteo by Glna Macoonalo (2003)
OTT
Iussiov Iitcroturc iv tlc Zgc of Icolism, eolteo
by Alyssa Dlnega Glllesple (2003)
OTU
Zmcricov Aovclists Sivcc !orld !or II, Scvcvtl
Scrics, eolteo by |ames R. Glles ano
Wanoa H. Glles (2003)
OTV
Zmcricov Ililosoplcrs, 190-2000, eolteo by
Phlllp B. Demattels ano Leemon B.
McHenry (2003)
OUM
Doslicll Hommctt`s Jhe Maltese Ialcon.
Z Documcvtory olumc, eolteo by Rlch
aro Layman (2003)
OUN
ritisl Ilctoriciovs ovd Iogiciovs, 100-
1660, Sccovd Scrics, eolteo by Eowaro
A. Malone (2003)
OUO
Acw Iormolist Iocts, eolteo by |onathan
N. Barron ano Bruce Meyer (2003)
OUP
Modcrv Spovisl Zmcricov Iocts, Iirst Scrics,
eolteo by Mara A. Salgaoo (2003)
OUQ
Jlc Housc of Holt, 1666-1946: Z Docu-
mcvtory olumc, eolteo by Ellen D. Gll
bert (2003)
OUR
Iussiov !ritcrs Sivcc 1960, eolteo by
Marlna Ballna ano Mark Llpoyvetsky
(2001)
OUS
Costiliov !ritcrs, 1400-100, eolteo by
Irank A. Domnguez ano George D.
Greenla (2001)
OUT
Iortugucsc !ritcrs, j~
o ~ c jK `~ EOMMQF
OUU
Jlc Housc of ovi c Iivcriglt, 1917-
19JJ: Z Documcvtory olumc,
`~ b EOMMQF
OUV
Zustroliov !ritcrs, 190-197,
p~ p~ EOMMQF
OVM
Modcrv Spovisl Zmcricov Iocts, Sccovd
Scrics, j~~ ^K p~~ EOMMQF
OVN
Jlc Hoosicr Housc: obbs-Mcrrill ovd Its
Ircdcccssors, 160-196: Z Documcvtory
olumc, o~ gK p~
EOMMQF
OVO
Jwcvty-Iirst-Ccvtury Zmcricov Aovclists,
i~ ^ ~ p~
aJd EOMMQF
OVP
Icclovdic !ritcrs, m~ gK
p EOMMQF
OVQ
omcs Could Cocvs: Z Documcvtory ol-
umc, j~ gK _
EOMMQF
OVR
Iussiov !ritcrs of tlc Silvcr Zgc, 1690-
192, g bK h~ ~ gK
^~ l ~~J
fK dK s EOMMQF
OVS
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Iuropcov Culturol Jlco-
rists, Sccovd Scrics, m~ e~J
EOMMQF
OVT
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Aorwcgiov !ritcrs,
q~~ q EOMMQF
OVU
Hcvry Dovid Jlorcou: Z Documcvtory ol-
umc, o~ gK p
EOMMQF
OVV
Holocoust Aovclists, b~
p EOMMQF
PMM
Dovisl !ritcrs from tlc Icformotiov to Dcc-
odcvcc, 10-1900, j~~
pJe~ EOMMQF
PMN
Custovc Iloubcrt: Z Documcvtory olumc,
i `~ EOMMQF
PMO
Iussiov Irosc !ritcrs Zftcr !orld !or II,
` o EOMMQF
PMP
Zmcricov Iodicol ovd Icform !ritcrs, Iirst
Scrics, p o~
EOMMRF
PMQ
rom Stolcr`s a~~W Z Documcvtory
olumc, b~ j
EOMMRF
PMR
Iotiv Zmcricov Dromotists, Iirst Scrics,
^~ s EOMMRF
PMS
Zmcricov Mystcry ovd Dctcctivc !ritcrs,
d m~ ^
EOMMRF
PMT
roiliov !ritcrs, j~ oJ
~ c jK `~ EOMMRF
PMU
Irvcst Hcmivgwoy`s ^ c~ ^W
Z Documcvtory olumc, `~
l EOMMRF
PMV
olv Stcivbccl: Z Documcvtory olumc,
i i EOMMRF
PNM
!or II, Iourtl Scrics, g _
EOMMRF
PNN
Zrobic Iitcrory Culturc, 00-92,
j~ ` ~ p~~
jK q~~ EOMMRF
PNO
Zsiov Zmcricov !ritcrs, aJ
~ iK j~ EOMMRF
PNP
!ritcrs of tlc Ircvcl Ivligltcvmcvt, I,
p~~ fK p EOMMRF
PNQ
!ritcrs of tlc Ircvcl Ivligltcvmcvt, II,
p~~ fK p EOMMRF
PNR
Iovgstov Huglcs: Z Documcvtory olumc,
` `K a p~
EOMMRF
PNS
Zmcricov Irosc !ritcrs of !orld !or I: Z
Documcvtory olumc, p
q EOMMRF
PNT
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Iussiov Imigrc !ritcrs,
j~~ o EOMMRF
PNU
Sixtccvtl-Ccvtury Spovisl !ritcrs,
d _K h~~ EOMMSF
PNV
ritisl ovd Irisl Slort-Iictiov !ritcrs
194-2000, ` ^J
~ j~ ~ a~ j~
EOMMSF
POM
Iobcrt Icvv !orrcv: Z Documcvtory ol-
umc, g~ ^K d~ gK
EOMMSF
PON
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Ircvcl Dromotists,
j~ ^ lk EOMMSF
POO
Jwcvtictl-Ccvtury Spovisl Iictiov !ritcrs,
j~~ bK ^ ~ `~
j~J`~~ EOMMSF
POP
Soutl Zsiov !ritcrs iv Ivglisl,
c~ ^~ EOMMSF
POQ
olv U`Horo: Z Documcvtory olumc,
j~ gK _ EOMMSF
POR
Zustroliov !ritcrs, 197-2000,
p~ p~ EOMMSF
POS
oolcr Iric Aovcls, 1969-200,
j j EOMMSF
POT
Sixtccvtl-Ccvtury Ircvcl !ritcrs,
j~ `~ EOMMSF
POU
Clivcsc Iictiov !ritcrs, 1900-1949,
q~ j~ EOMMTF
POV
Aobcl Iric Iourcotcs iv Iitcroturc, Iort 1:
Zgvov-Iuclcv EOMMTF
PPM
Aobcl Iric Iourcotcs iv Iitcroturc, Iort 2:
Ioullvcr-Iiplivg EOMMTF
PPN
Aobcl Iric Iourcotcs iv Iitcroturc, Iort J:
Iogcrlvist-Iovtoppidov EOMMTF
a~ i~ _~ a~ p
N
Slcrwood Zvdcrsov, !illo Cotlcr, olv
Dos Iossos, Jlcodorc Drciscr, I. Scott
Iitgcrold, Irvcst Hcmivgwoy, Sivcloir
Icwis, j~~ ^K s~
^ ENVUOF
O
omcs Could Cocvs, omcs J. Iorrcll,
!illiom Ioullvcr, olv U`Horo, olv
Stcivbccl, Jlomos !olfc, Iiclord !riglt,
j~~ ^K s~ ^
ENVUOF
P
Soul cllow, ocl Icrouoc, Aormov
Moilcr, lodimir Aobolov, olv Updilc,
Iurt ovvcgut, j~ _J
ENVUPF
Q
Jcvvcsscc !illioms, j~~ ^K
s~ ^ ~ p~ g ENVUQF
R
Zmcricov Jrovsccvdcvtolists,
g j ENVUUF
S
Hordboilcd Mystcry !ritcrs: Ioymovd
Clovdlcr, Doslicll Hommctt, Ioss Moc-
dovold, j~ gK _
~ o~ i~~ ENVUVF
T
Modcrv Zmcricov Iocts: omcs Diclcy,
Iobcrt Irost, Moriovvc Moorc,
h~ iK o ENVUVF
U
Jlc locl Zcstlctic Movcmcvt,
g i a ENVVNF
V
Zmcricov !ritcrs of tlc ictvom !or: !. D.
Ilrlort, Iorry Hcivcmovv, Jim U`ricv,
!oltcr McDovold, olv M. Dcl ccclio,
o~ _~~ ENVVNF
NM
Jlc loomsbury Croup,
b~ iK _ ENVVOF
NN
Zmcricov Irolctoriov Culturc: Jlc Jwcv-
tics ovd Jlc Jlirtics, g
`~ p ENVVPF
NO
Soutlcrv !omcv !ritcrs: Ilovvcry U`Cov-
vor, Iotlcrivc Zvvc Iortcr, Iudoro !clty,
j~ ^ t~ ~
h~ iK o ENVVQF
NP
Jlc Housc of Scribvcr, 1646-1904,
g a~ ENVVSF
NQ
Iour !omcv !ritcrs for Clildrcv, 1666-
1916, `~ `K e ENVVSF
NR
Zmcricov Ixpotriotc !ritcrs: Ioris iv tlc
Jwcvtics, j~ gK _J
~ o tK q ENVVTF
NS
Jlc Housc of Scribvcr, 190-19J0,
g a~ ENVVTF
NT
Jlc Housc of Scribvcr, 19J1-1964,
g a~ ENVVUF
NU
ritisl Iocts of Jlc Crcot !or: Sossoov,
Crovcs, Uwcv, m~ n
ENVVVF
NV
omcs Diclcy, g pK
_~~ ENVVVF
p ~ ai_ ONMI ONSI ONVI OOOI OOQI
OOVI OPTI OQTI ORPI ORQI OSPI OSVI
OTPI OTQI OUMI OUQI OUUI OVNI OVQI
OVUI PMNI PMQI PMUI PMVI PNRI PNSI
POMI POQ
a~ i~ _~ v~
NVUM
eolteo by Karen L. Rooo, |ean W.
Ross, ano Rlcharo Zlegfelo (l98l)
NVUN
eolteo by Karen L. Rooo, |ean W.
Ross, ano Rlcharo Zlegfelo (l982)
NVUO
eolteo by Rlcharo Zlegfelo; asso
clate eoltors. |ean W. Ross ano
Lynne C. Zelgler (l983)
NVUP
eolteo by Mary Bruccoll ano |ean
W. Ross; assoclate eoltor Rlcharo
Zlegfelo (l981)
NVUQ
eolteo by |ean W. Ross (l985)
NVUR
eolteo by |ean W. Ross (l986)
NVUS
eolteo by |. M. Brook (l987)
NVUT
NVUU
NVUV
NVVM
eolteo by |ames W. Hlpp (l99l)
NVVN
eolteo by |ames W. Hlpp (l992)
NVVO
eolteo by |ames W. Hlpp (l993)
NVVP
eolteo by |ames W. Hlpp, contrlb
utlng eoltor George Garrett (l991)
NVVQ
NVVR
NVVS
eolteo by Samuel W. Bruce ano L.
Kay Webster, contrlbutlng eoltor
George Garrett (l997)
NVVT
eolteo by Matthew |. Bruccoll ano
George Garrett, wlth the assls
tance of L. Kay Webster (l998)
NVVU
eolteo by Matthew |. Bruccoll,
contrlbutlng eoltor George Gar
rett, wlth the asslstance of D. W.
Jhomas (l999)
NVVV
rett, wlth the asslstance of D. W.
Jhomas (2000)
OMMM
rett, wlth the asslstance of George
Parker Anoerson (200l)
OMMN
rett, wlth the asslstance of George
Parker Anoerson (2002)
OMMO
eolteo by Matthew |. Bruccoll ano
George Garrett; George Parker
Anoerson, Asslstant Eoltor (2003)
` p
` a~ ^~ i~ _~I 7 volumes (l988-l999). Jlc Acw
Covsciousvcss, 1941-1966; Coloviotiov to tlc Zmcricov Icvoissovcc, 1640-166; Icolism, Aoturol-
ism, ovd Iocol Color, 166-1917; Jlc Jwcvtics, 1917-1929; Jlc Zgc of Moturity, 1929-1941;
roodcvivg icws, 1966-1966; Supplcmcvt: Modcrv !ritcrs, 1900-1996.
` a~ _ i~ _~I 8 volumes (l99l-l992). !ritcrs
of tlc Middlc Zgcs ovd Icvoissovcc cforc 1660; !ritcrs of tlc Icstorotiov ovd Iigltccvtl Ccv-
tury, 1660-1769; !ritcrs of tlc Iomovtic Icriod, 1769-16J2; ictoriov !ritcrs, 16J2-
1690; Iotc-ictoriov ovd Idwordiov !ritcrs, 1690-1914; Modcrv !ritcrs, 1914-194;
!ritcrs Zftcr !orld !or II, 194-1960; Covtcmporory !ritcrs, 1960 to Ircscvt.
` a~ t i~ _~I 1 volumes (l999-2000). Zvcicvt
Crccl ovd Iomov !ritcrs; Ccrmov !ritcrs; Zfricov, Coribbcov, ovd Iotiv Zmcricov !ritcrs; Soutl
Slovic ovd Iostcrv Iuropcov !ritcrs.
a~ i~ _~

s q e qJl

k m i~~ i~I
m~ PW i~m~

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`
m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K
^ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K
m i~ ENUVNNVTQF K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K P
`~ p
NVRN k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K OO
^ I m~ p~ p ^~
i~W _~ pK K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K OQ
p~ i~ ENURUNVQMF K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K OT
h~ m ~ g t~
NVMV k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K QO
`~ Î m p ^~I NM a NVMV
i~W _~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K QQ
e~ i~ Ee~ dF ENVMONVVUF K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K QS
e~ h
NVRR k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K SP
b~ tI j p ^~
i~W _~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K SQ
p~ i ENUURNVRNF K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K SS
o~ i~
NVPM k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K UM
b ^ h~I m~ p~ p ^~I NM a NVPM
iW ^~~ p~ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K UQ
iW k iI NO a NVPM K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K US
j~ j~ ENUSONVQVF K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K VO
i oK t ~ i p~
NVNN k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K NMQ
`K aK ~ tI m~ p~ p ^~I NM a NVNN
j~W _~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K NMT
` ai_ PPN
k~ j~ Ek~ j~F ENVNNOMMSF K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K NMV
Iogcr Zllcv
NVUU k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K NNT
by Irofcssor Sturc Zllcv, of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy (Trovslotiov from Swcdisl)
m o~W q k m i~ NVUU K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K NNU
j~W k iI U a NVUU K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K NOM
q~ j~ ENUTRNVRRF K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K NOO
Dictcr !. Zdolpls ovd Igov Sclwor
NVOV k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K NQP
by Ircdril l, Mcmbcr of tlc òbcl Committcc for Iitcroturc, 10 Dcccmbcr 1929
j~W _~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K NQR
j~W ^~~ p~ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K NQS
o j~ d~ ENUUNNVRUF K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K NQU
Cotlorivc Sovogc rosmov
NVPT k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K NSQ
by Icr Hollstrm, Icrmovcvt Sccrctory of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy
j~ d~W _~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K NSS
e~ j~ ENVMQNVTUF K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K NSU
Ioul òrlcv
NVTQ k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K NUO
by Iorl Iogvor Cicrow, of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy (Trovslotiov from tlc Swcdisl)
j~W _~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K NUQ
c~ j~~ ENUURNVTMF K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K NUR
Slovo M. Iuslvir
NVRO k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K OMM
by Zvdcrs stcrlivg, Icrmovcvt Sccrctory of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy
j~~W _~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K OMO
`~ j ENVNNOMMQF K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K OMR
ogdov Coylowsli
NVUM k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K ONU
by Irofcssor Iors Cyllcvstcv, of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy (Trovslotiov from tlc Swcdisl)
jW _~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K ONV
jW k iI U a NVUM K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K OON
c j~ ENUPMNVNQF K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K OOS
Zvobcl Iccscr
NVMQ k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K OPU
by C. D. of !irscv, Icrmovcvt Sccrctory of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy, ov 10 Dcccmbcr 1904
d~~ j~ ENUUVNVRTF K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K OQP
Sovtiogo Doyd-Tolsov
NVQR k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K ORQ
by Hjolmor Cullbcrg, Mcmbcr of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy
j~W _~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K ORS
ai_ PPN `
q j ENUNTNVMPF K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K ORT
b~ _~
NVMO k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K OSO
`K aK ~ tI m~ p~ p ^~I NM a NVMO
b j~ ENUVSNVUNF K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K OSR
o~ t
NVTR k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K OTR
^ I p ^~ Eq~~ pF
j~W _~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K OTS
m o~W q k m i~ NVTR K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K OTT
j~W k iI NO a NVTR K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K OTU
q j ENVPN F K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K OUO
a e ~ p~~ ^
NVVP k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K OVV
m p Î m~ p~ p ^~ Eq~~ pF
jW _~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K PMM
m o~W q k m i~ NVVP K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K PMN
jW k iI T a NVVP K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K PMO
sK pK k~~ ENVPO F K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K PMS
k~ _
OMMN k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K POM
e~ b~I mKaKI m~ p~ p ^~I j k `
k~~W _~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K PON
m o~W q k m i~ OMMN K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K POO
k~~W k iI a OMMN K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K POP
m~ k~ ENVMQNVTPF K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K POV
b~~ o
NVTN k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K PQV
h~ o~~ dI p ^~ Eq~~F
k~W _~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K PRN
k~W k iI NP a NVTN K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K PRO
h~ ENVPR F K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K PRS
e~ e~
NVVQ k m i~ m~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K PSR
m h b~I j p ^~ Eq~~ pF
W _~ p K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K PSS
m o~W q k m i~ NVVQ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K PST
W k iI T a NVVQ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K PSU
xlv
` ai_ PPN
b lk ENUUUNVRPF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Iogcr . Stillivg
l936 Nobel Prlze ln Llterature Presentatlon Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
O`Nelll. Banquet Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
O`Nelll. Autoblographlcal Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
_ m~~ ENUVMNVSMF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
Iorcv Ivovs-Iomoivc
l958 Nobel Prlze ln Llterature Announcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1l6
l~ m~ ENVNQNVVUF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1l7
orgc Zguilor Moro
by Irofcssor Ijcll Ispmorl, of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy (Trovslotiov from Swcdisl)
Paz. Banquet Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Press Release. Jhe Nobel Prlze ln Llterature l990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
m~W k iI U a NVVM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
p~Jg m E^ iF ENUUTNVTRF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11l
Cotlorivc Sovogc rosmov ovd Irovl Z. Zvsclmo
Perse. Banquet Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
e~ m ENVPM F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Stcvcv H. Colc
2005 Nobel Prlze ln Llterature Presentatlon Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
by Icr !ostbcrg, Mcmbcr of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy, Cloirmov of its òbcl Committcc
mW k iI T a OMMR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
i m~ ENUSTNVPSF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18l
Movuclo Cicri
l931 Nobel Prlze ln Llterature Presentatlon Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50l
Plrandello. Banquet Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503
e m~ ENURTNVQPF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
Ilcmmivg clrcvdt
l9l7 Nobel Prlze ln Llterature Presentatlon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5l5
Pontoppldan. Autoblographlcal Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5l8
Nobel Prlze Laureates ln Llterature, l90l-2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5l9
Contrlbutors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52l
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
xv
m~ p
. . . Zlmost tlc most prodigious ossct of o couvtry, ovd pcr-
lops its most prccious posscssiov, is its votivc litcrory product
wlcv tlot product is fivc ovd voblc ovd cvdurivg.
Mark Jwaln*
Jhe advlsory board, the edltors, and the pub
llsher of the Dictiovory of Iitcrory iogroply are jolned ln
endorslng Mark Jwaln`s declaratlon. Jhe llterature of a
natlon provldes an lnexhaustlble resource of permanent
worth. Our purpose ls to make llterature and lts cre
ators better understood and more accesslble to students
and the readlng publlc, whlle satlsfylng the needs of
teachers and researchers.
Jo meet these requlrements, litcrory biogroply has
been construed ln terms of the author`s achlevement.
Jhe most lmportant thlng about a wrlter ls hls wrltlng.
Accordlngly, the entrles ln DI are career blographles,
traclng the development of the author`s canon and the
evolutlon of hls reputatlon.
Jhe purpose of DI ls not only to provlde rell
able lnformatlon ln a usable format but also to place the
flgures ln the larger perspectlve of llterary hlstory and
to offer appralsals of thelr accompllshments by quallfled
scholars.
Jhe publlcatlon plan for DI resulted from two
years of preparatlon. Jhe project was proposed to Bruc
coll Clark by Irederlck G. Ruffner, presldent of the
Gale Research Company, ln November l975. After
speclmen entrles were prepared and typeset, an advl
sory board was formed to reflne the entry format and
develop the serles ratlonale. In meetlngs held durlng
l976, the publlsher, serles edltors, and advlsory board
approved the scheme for a comprehenslve blographlcal
dlctlonary of persons who contrlbuted to llterature. Edl
torlal work on the flrst volume began ln |anuary l977,
and lt was publlshed ln l978. In order to make DI
more than a dlctlonary and to complle volumes that
lndlvldually have clalm to status as llterary hlstory, lt
was declded to organlze volumes by toplc, perlod, or
genre. Each of these freestandlng volumes provldes a
blographlcalblbllographlcal gulde and overvlew for a
partlcular area of llterature. We are convlnced that thls
organlzatlonas opposed to a slngle alphabet method
constltutes a valuable lnnovatlon ln the presentatlon of
reference materlal. Jhe volume plan necessarlly
requlres many declslons for the placement and treat
ment of authors. Certaln flgures wlll be lncluded ln sep
arate volumes, but wlth dlfferent entrles emphaslzlng
the aspect of hls career approprlate to each volume.
Ernest Hemlngway, for example, ls represented ln Zmcr-
icov !ritcrs iv Ioris, 1920-19J9 by an entry focuslng on
hls expatrlate apprentlceshlp; he ls also ln Zmcricov òv-
clists, 1910-194 wlth an entry surveylng hls entlre
career, as well as ln Zmcricov Slort-Story !ritcrs, 1910-
194, Sccovd Scrics wlth an entry concentratlng on hls
short flctlon. Each volume lncludes a cumulatlve lndex
of the subject authors and artlcles.
Between l98l and 2002 the serles was aug
mented and updated by the DI Jcorbools. Jhere have
also been nlneteen DI Documcvtory Scrics volumes,
whlch provlde lllustratlons, facslmlles, and blographlcal
and crltlcal source materlals for flgures, works, or
groups judged to have partlcular lnterest for students.
In l999 the Documcvtory Scrics was lncorporated lnto the
DI volume numberlng system beglnnlng wlth DI
210: Irvcst Hcmivgwoy.
We deflne llterature as the ivtcllcctuol commcrcc of o
votiov: not merely as belles lettres but as that ample and
complex process by whlch ldeas are generated, shaped,
and transmltted. DI entrles are not llmlted to 'cre
atlve wrlters" but extend to other flgures who ln thelr
tlme and ln thelr way lnfluenced the mlnd of a people.
Jhus the serles encompasses hlstorlans, journallsts,
publlshers, book collectors, and screenwrlters. By thls
means readers of DI may be alded to percelve lltera
ture not as cult scrlpture ln the keeplng of lntellectual
hlgh prlests but flrmly posltloned at the center of a
natlon`s llfe.
DI lncludes the major wrlters approprlate to
each volume and those standlng ln the ranks behlnd
them. Scholarly and crltlcal counsel has been sought ln
decldlng whlch mlnor flgures to lnclude and how full
thelr entrles should be. Wherever posslble, useful refer
*Irom ov uvpublislcd scctiov of Morl Twoiv`s outobiog-
roply, copyriglt by tlc Morl Twoiv Compovy
xvl
m~ p ai_ PPN
ences are made to flgures who do not warrant separate
entrles.
Each ai_ volume has an expert volume edltor
responslble for plannlng the volume, selectlng the flg
ures for lncluslon, and asslgnlng the entrles. Volume
edltors are also responslble for preparlng, where appro
prlate, appendlces surveylng the major perlodlcals and
llterary and lntellectual movements for thelr volumes,
as well as llsts of further readlngs. Work on the serles as
a whole ls coordlnated at the Bruccoll Clark Layman
edltorlal center ln Columbla, South Carollna, where the
edltorlal staff ls responslble for accuracy and utlllty of
the publlshed volumes.
One feature that dlstlngulshes ai_ ls the lllustra
tlon pollcylts concern wlth the lconography of lltera
ture. |ust as an author ls lnfluenced by hls surroundlngs,
so ls the reader`s understandlng of the author enhanced
by a knowledge of hls envlronment. Jherefore ai_
volumes lnclude not only drawlngs, palntlngs, and pho
tographs of authors, often deplctlng them at varlous
stages ln thelr careers, but also lllustratlons of thelr fam
llles and places where they llved. Jltle pages are regu
larly reproduced ln facslmlle along wlth dust jackets for
modern authors. Jhe dust jackets are a speclal feature
of ai_ because they often document better than any
thlng else the way ln whlch an author`s work was per
celved ln lts own tlme. Speclmens of the wrlters`
manuscrlpts and letters are lncluded when feaslble.
Samuel |ohnson rlghtly decreed that 'Jhe chlef
glory of every people arlses from lts authors." Jhe pur
pose of the a~ i~ _~ ls to complle llt
erary hlstory ln the surest way avallable to usby
accurate and comprehenslve treatment of the llves and
work of those who contrlbuted to lt.
Jhe ai_ Advlsory Board
xvll
^
Jhls book was produced by Bruccoll Clark Lay
man, Inc. Jracy Slmmons Bltontl was the lnhouse edl
tor. She was asslsted by Penelope M. Hope.
Productlon manager ls Phlllp B. Demattels.
Admlnlstratlve support was provlded by Carol A.
Cheschl.
Accountant ls AnnMarle Holland.
Copyedltlng supervlsor ls Sally R. Evans. Jhe
copyedltlng staff lncludes Phyllls A. Avant, Caryl
Brown, and Rebecca Mayo. Ireelance copyedltors are
Brenda Cabra, |ennlfer Cooper, and Dave Klng.
Dlgltal photographlc copy work was performed
by Zoe R. Cook.
Edltorlal assoclates are Ellzabeth Leverton and
Dlckson Monk.
Layout and graphlcs work was performed by Zoe
R. Cook.
Permlsslons edltor ls Amber L. Coker.
Photography edltor ls Crystal A. Leldy.
Plpellne manager ls |ames I. Jldd |r.
Offlce manager ls Kathy Lawler Merlette.
Systems manager ls |ames Sellers.
Jypesettlng supervlsor ls Kathleen M. Ilanagan.
Jhe typesettlng staff lncludes Patrlcla Marle Ilanagan.
Llbrary research was facllltated by the followlng
llbrarlans at the Jhomas Cooper Llbrary of the Lnl
verslty of South Carollna. Ellzabeth Suddeth and the
rarebook department; |o Cottlngham, lnterllbrary
loan department; clrculatlon department head Jucker
Jaylor; reference department head Vlrglnla W. Weath
ers; reference department staff Laurel Baker, Marllee
Blrchfleld, Kate Boyd, Paul Cammarata, |oshua Gar
rls, Gary Geer, Jom Marcll, Rose Marshall, and
Sharon Verba; lnterllbrary loan department head
Marna Hostetler; and lnterllbrary loan staff Blll Ietty
and Nelson Rlvera.
3
a~ i~ _~
m i~
(2J Moy 1S91 - 11 uly 1974)
`~ p
Jhls entry was expanded by Slkls from hls Lagerkvlst
entry ln DI 29: Twcvtictl-Ccvtury Swcdisl !ritcrs cforc
!orld !or II.
BOOKS. Movvislor (Stockholm. Iram, l9l2);
Urdlovst ocl bildlovst: Um modorv slvlittcroturs dclodovs:
Um dcv modorvo lovstcvs vitolitct (Stockholm.
Brderna Lagerstrms, l9l3); translated by Roy
Arthur Swanson and Everett M. Ellestad as Iitcr-
ory Zrt ovd Iictoriol Zrt: Uv tlc Dccodcvcc of Modcrv
Iitcroturcov tlc !itolity of Modcrv Zrt (Storbrltt
anlen. Ralnbow Press, l99l);
Tv sogor om livct (Stockholm. Iram, l9l3);
Motiv (Stockholm. Bonnler, l9l1);
orv ocl movvislor (Stockholm. Bonnler, l9l5);
Zvgcst (Stockholm. Bonnler, l9l6);
Sisto movslov (Stockholm. Bonnler, l9l7);
Tcotcr: Dcv svro stuvdcv, trc cvoltorc: Modcrv tcotcr, Syv-
puvltcr ocl ovgrcpp (Stockholm. Bonnler, l9l8);
Ioos (Stockholm. Bonnler, l9l9);
Dct cvigo lccvdct (Stockholm. Bonnler, l920); translated
by Erlk Mesterton and Denys W. Hardlng as Tlc
Itcrvol Smilc (Cambrldge. Iraser, l931);
Dcv lyclligos vog (Stockholm. Bonnler, l92l);
Dcv osyvligc (Stockholm. Bonnler, l923);
Uvdo sogor (Stockholm. Bonnler, l921);
Cost los vcrlliglctcv (Stockholm. Bonnler, l925);
Hjortots svgcr (Stockholm. Bonnler, l926);
Dct bcscgrodc livct (Stockholm. Bonnler, l927);
Hov som ficl lcvo om sitt liv (Stockholm. Bonnler, l928);
translated by Walter Gustafson as Tlc Mov !lo
Iivcd His Iifc Uvcr ln Iivc Modcrv Scovdivoviov Iloys
(New York. Jwayne, l97l);
Iompovdc ovdc (Stockholm. Bonnler, l930);
Iovuvgcv (Stockholm. Bonnler, l932);
!id logcrcld (Stockholm. Bonnler, l932);
dclv (Stockholm. Bonnler, l933);
Dcv lvutvo vovcv (Stockholm. Bonnler, l931);
I dcv tidcv (Stockholm. Bonnler, l935);
Movvcv utov sjol (Stockholm. Bonnler, l936); translated
by Helge Kkerltz as Tlc Mov witlout o Soul ln
Scovdivoviov Iloys of tlc Twcvtictl Ccvtury, Iirst Scrics,
m i~ k m i~I NM a
NVRN E f pI m i~W b ~I NVUTX
t i~I e~~ rF
1
m i~ ai_ PPN
edlted by Henry Alexander (Prlnceton. Prlnceton
Lnlverslty Press, l911), pp. 69-ll1;
Ccvius (Stockholm. Bonnler, l937);
Dcv bcfriodc movvislov (Stockholm. Bonnler, l939);
Scgcr i mrlcr (Stockholm. Bonnler, l939);
Svg ocl strid (Stockholm. Bonnler, l910);
!crvcr vov Hcidcvstom: Ivtrodcstol i Svcvslo olodcmicv dcv 20
dcccmbcr 1940 (Stockholm. Bonnler, l910);
Diltcr (Stockholm. Bonnler, l91l);
Midsommordrm i fottiglusct (Stockholm. Bonnler, l91l);
translated by Alan Blalr as Midsummcr Drcom iv tlc
!orllousc (London. Hodge, l953);
Hcmmct ocl stjorvov (Stockholm. Bonnler, l912);
Dvorgcv (Stockholm. Bonnler, l911); translated by
Alexandra Dlck as Tlc Dworf (New York. Hlll
Wang, l915);
Dc viscs stcv (Stockholm. Bonnler, l917);
It movvislov lcvo (Stockholm. Bonnler, l919); trans
lated by Alexander and Llewellyn |ones as Ict
Mov Iivc ln Scovdivoviov Iloys of tlc Twcvtictl Ccv-
tury, Tlird Scrics (Prlnceton. Prlnceton Lnlverslty
Press, l95l);
orobbos (Stockholm. Bonnler, l950); translated by
Blalr (New York. Random House, l95l; London.
Chatto Wlndus, l952);
Zftovlovd (Stockholm. Bonnler, l953); translated by
W. H. Auden and Lelf Sjberg as Ivcvivg Iovd
(New York. Wayne State Lnlverslty Press, l975;
London. Souvenlr, l977);
Sibyllov (Stockholm. Bonnler, l956); translated by
Naoml Walford as Tlc Sibyl (New York. Random
House, l958; London. Chatto Wlndus, l958);
Zlosvcrus dd (Stockholm. Bonnler, l960); translated by
Walford as Tlc Dcotl of Zlosucrus (New York.
Random House, l962; London. Chatto Wln
dus, l962);
Iilgrim p lovct (Stockholm. Bonnler, l962); translated
by Walford as Iilgrim ot Sco (New York. Random
Dct lcligo lovdct (Stockholm. Bonnler, l961); translated
by Walford as Tlc Holy Iovd (New York. Random
!oldo Diltcr (Stockholm. Bonnler, l965);
Moriomvc (Stockholm. Bonnler, l967); translated by
Walford as Hcrod ovd Moriomvc (New York.
Knopf, l968);
Dcv svro rcsov (Stockholm. Bonnler, l985).
b ~ `W !oldo Sidor (Stockholm. Bon
nler, l926);
Slriftcr, 3 volumes (Stockholm. Bonnler, l932);
Diltcr (Stockholm. Bonnler, l91l);
Dromotil (Stockholm. Bonnler, l916);
Iroso, 5 volumes (Stockholm. Bonnler, l956);
Dromotil, 3 volumes (Stockholm. Bonnler, l956);
Sogor, Soticrc ocl vovcllcr (Stockholm. Bonnler, l957);
Diltcr (Stockholm. Bonnler, l965);
Iilgrimcv (Stockholm. Bonnler, l966)comprlses Zlos-
vcrus dd, Iilgrim p lovct, and Dct lcligo lovdct;
Zvtcclvot: Ur cftcrlomvodc dogbclcr ocl ovtcclvivgor, edlted
by Elln Lagerkvlst (Stockholm. Bonnler, l977).
b bW Cucst of Icolity, translated by Erlk
Mesterton and Denys W. Hardlng (London.
Cape, l936)comprlses Tlc Itcrvol Smilc, Cucst of
Icolity, and Tlc Hovgmov;
Tlc Itcrvol Smilc, ovd Utlcr Storics, translated by Alan
Blalr and others (New York. Random House,
l951);
Tlc Morriogc Icost, translated by Blalr (New York. Hlll
Wang, l951); republlshed as Tlc Morriogc Icost,
ovd Utlcr Storics (London. Chatto Wlndus,
l955)comprlses 'Jhe Marrlage Ieast," 'Iather
and I," 'Jhe Adventure," 'A Hero`s Death,"
'Jhe Venerated Bones," 'Savlour |ohn," 'Jhe
Experlmental World," 'Jhe Llft Jhat Went
Down lnto Hell," 'Love and Death," 'Jhe Base
ment," 'Jhe Evll Angel," 'Jhe Prlncess and All
the Klngdom," 'Paradlse," 'Jhe Chlldren`s Cam
palgn," 'God`s Llttle Jravelllng Salesman," 'Jhe
Masquerade of Souls," 'Jhe Myth of Manklnd,"
'On the Scales of Oslrls," and 'Jhe Strange
Country";
Modcrv Tlcotrc: Scvcv Iloys ovd ov Issoy, translated by
Jhomas R. Buckman (Llncoln. Lnlverslty of
Nebraska Press, l966)comprlses 'Modern Jhe
atre. Polnts of Vlew and Attack"; Tlc Difficult
Hour: Tlrcc Uvc-Zcts; Tlc Sccrct of Hcovcv; Tlc Iivg;
Tlc Hovgmov; and Tlc Ililosoplcr`s Stovc;
Tlc Itcrvol Smilc, ovd Utlcr Storics, translated by Mester
ton, Hardlng, and Davld O`Gorman (London.
Chatto Wlndus, l97l); republlshed as Tlc Itcr-
vol Smilc, Tlrcc Storics (New York. Hlll Wang,
l97l)comprlses Tlc Itcrvol Smilc, Cucst of Icolity,
and Tlc Ixccutiovcr;
Iivc Iorly !orls, translated by Roy Arthur Swanson
(Lewlston, N.Y.. Edwln Mellen Press, l989)
comprlses Irov ovd Mcv, Tlc Iost Mov, 'Jhe
Expectant Guest," Tlc Morvivg, and Tlc Clcvclcd
Iist;
Cucst of Icolity, translated by Robln Iulton (London
New York. _uartet, l989)comprlses Cucst of
Icolity, 'Iather and I," and Tlc Difficult ourvcy.
PLAY PRODLCJIONS. Dcv svro stuvdcv, Dssel
dorf, Schausplelhaus, l9l9;
Himlcvs lcmliglct, Stockholm, Intlma Jheater, l92l;
Dcv osyvligc, Stockholm, Royal Dramatlc Jheater, l921;
Hov som ficl lcvo om sitt liv, Stockholm, Royal Dramatlc
Jheater, l928;
5
ai_ PPN m i~
_I Bergen, Den Natlonale Scene, l931;
j~ ~ I Malm, Clty Jheater, l937;
j~ ~I Stockholm, Blancheteatern,
l91l;
a I Stockholm, Royal Dramatlc Jheater, l918;
hI Malm, Clty Jheater, l950;
i ~ ~I Stockholm, Royal Dramatlc Jheater,
l950;
_~~~I Stockholm, Royal Dramatlc Jheater, l953;
p I Oslo, Natlonal Jheater, l979.
OJHER. c~ ~~I text by Lagerkvlst, muslc by
Gunnar De Irumerle (Stockholm, l915);
q ~~I text by Lagerkvlst, muslc by Irumerle (Ioe
renlngen svenska tonsttare, l916);
'Angulsh," 'At the Salvatlon Army," 'Llttle Hand that
ls not Mlne," 'My Chlld, my Chlld, I come to
you," 'My beloved wlll not return," 'How
dellghtful to smell the fragrance of your garden,"
'When you close my eyes," 'Jhought has no
goal," 'Jhe shlp of llfe," 'Wlth my old eyes I
look back," and 'In the qulet evenlng rlver," ln
p p mI edlted and translated by Ire
derlc Ilelscher (Malm Lund. Cavefors, l963),
pp. 33-50.
Jhe posltlon of Pr Lagerkvlst as one of the lead
lng Swedlsh wrlters of the twentleth century has long
been assured. In a llterary career that spanned more
than slxty years, Lagerkvlst dlsplayed a remarkable ver
satlllty ln hls wrltlng. Hls opus lncludes poetry, short
storles, dramas, and novels alongslde llterary programs
and phllosophlcal essays. Yet, wlthln these varlous
genres Lagerkvlst`s wrltlngs as a whole dlsplay a note
worthy styllstlc conslstency and thematlc unlty. In a
slmple and sparlng llterary style he repeatedly turns hls
attentlon to an examlnatlon of the duallstlc and contra
dlctory nature of the human condltlon. By poslng ques
tlons relatlng to the fundamentals of human exlstence
ln hls presentatlons of the relatlonshlps between llfe and
death, between the human and the dlvlne, the ratlonal
and the lrratlonal, rellglous falth and doubt, and good
and evll, Lagerkvlst seeks to come closer to a unlver
sally valld, tlmeless understandlng.
Desplte the unlversal themes ln Lagerkvlst`s wrlt
lngs and hls relatlve lsolatlon from malnstream Swedlsh
llterary llfehe never belonged to a llterary group or
movementhls keen awareness of contemporary trends,
both llterary and otherwlse, ls beyond dlspute. hls early
poetry and plays establlshed hlm as one of the foremost
exponents of llterary modernlsm ln Sweden, whlle hls
llterary actlvltles of the l930s announced hlm as one of
the earllest and most uncompromlslng Swedlsh oppo
nents of totalltarlan movements ln Europe. Irom the
l910s Lagerkvlst`s reputatlon grew both at home and
abroad, and publlc and crltlcal acclalm culmlnated ln
the early l950s wlth the publlcatlon of hls blbllcal novel
_~~~ ln l950 (translated, l95l) and the awardlng of
the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature ln l95l. By the mld l960s
Lagerkvlst was one of the most wldely translated Swed
lsh wrlters of all tlme, wlth publlcatlons appearlng ln no
fewer than thlrtyfour languages.
In the hlstory of twentlethcentury Swedlsh lltera
ture there are few promlnent wrlters of whom as llttle
was known durlng thelr llfetlmes as of Lagerkvlst. An
extremely prlvate man who decllned to speak publlcly
about elther hls llfe or hls works, Lagerkvlst clalmedat
the tlme of the lntense medla lnterest surroundlng hls
recelvlng of the Nobel Prlzethat all he wanted to say
could be found ln hls wrltlng. If Lagerkvlst`s lntense
prlvacy has been a source of frustratlon for crltlcs and
blographers allke, lt also hlghllghts the partlcular slgnlf
lcance he attached to hls llterary calllng as a means of
personal expresslon and communlcatlon. After hls
death ln l971 lt was made publlc that Lagerkvlst had
bequeathed to the Royal Llbrary ln Stockholm an
extenslve collectlon of hls prlvate wrltlngsnotebooks,
letters, and paperswhlch provlde addltlonal lnslghts
lnto hls llfe and hls creatlve process.
Per Iablan Lagerqvlst (he adopted the phonetl
cally more accurate spelllng of hls name ln hls school
days) was born on 23 May l89l ln the town of Vxj
ln the provlnce of Smland. Jhe youngest of seven chll
dren, Lagerkvlst grew up ln modest surroundlngs ln a
famlly whose dally llfe was strongly lnfluenced by the
tradltlonal conservatlsm and pletlstlc Lutheranlsm of
rural Smland. Lagerkvlst`s parentsAnders |ohan
Lagerqvlst, a foreman on the rallway, and |ohanna
(Hanna) Bladhad moved to Vxj from the country ln
the l870s but malntalned strong tles wlth the nearby
farmlng communltles ln whlch they had been ralsed.
Ior Lagerkvlst, too, the tradltlons of rural Smland, the
llfe of qulet contemplatlon and rellglous devotlon he
observed at home, had a lastlng lnfluence. As a school
boy he was lntroduced to the teachlngs of Charles Dar
wln and was lnfluenced by soclallst ldeas. Jhese new
ldeas preclpltated hls break wlth the rellglon and the
conservatlsm of hls famlly; yet, as many of hls works
attest, he appeared to be caught between the two
worlds, malntalnlng a declded amblvalence toward
both the old and the new, toward the tradltlonal and the
modern. Indeed, whlle Darwlnlsm may have conflrmed
hls own skeptlclsm at hls parents` bellef system, lt also
served to lncrease hls own exlstentlal uncertalnty, mak
lng hlm yearn ln valn for the type of securlty and com
fort hls parents derlved from thelr slmple llfe of falth.
Jhe lnfluence of soclallst ldeas upon the young
Lagerkvlst also became apparent ln hls flnal years at
6
m i~ ai_ PPN
Vxj Secondary Grammar School, flrst when he
became a member of an anarchlst group and then, ln
l909, was the cofounder of a debatlng soclety called
Rda Rlngen (Jhe Red Rlng). In the conservatlve and
rellglous atmosphere of Vxj, the group slgnaled lts
lntentlon by holdlng meetlngs on Sunday mornlngs
when the majorlty of the populatlon was attendlng
church. Although radlcal ln thelr polltlcal outlook, the
members of Rda Rlngen concerned themselves less
wlth polltlcal lssues than wlth rellglous questlons and
wlth new developments ln the natural sclences.
Between l9l0 and l9l6 Lagerkvlst submltted poems,
lncludlng some of a dlstlnctly radlcal nature, to soclallst
newspapers and perlodlcals. Ior the most part, how
ever, hls early foray lnto polltlcal lssues had come to an
end by the tlme of hls full llterary debut ln l9l2, wlth
hls radlcallsm lncreaslngly belng dlrected at experlmen
tatlon wlth llterary style and theme and wlth a short
llved phonetlc orthography.
Iollowlng hls graduatlon from grammar school ln
l9l0, Lagerkvlst left Vxj wlth hls slghts set on
becomlng a wrlter. In l9ll he enrolled at the Lnlver
slty of Lppsala to study llterature and art hlstory but
wlthdrew after a term to concentrate on hls llterary
ambltlons. Hls debut came the followlng year wlth the
publlcatlon of the short prose plece Movvislor (l9l2,
People). Although a mlnor work ln Lagerkvlst`s opus,
Movvislor ls not wlthout slgnlflcance, notably ln lts new
and radlcally dlfferent style and form. Lagerkvlst fol
lowed Movvislor wlth Tv sogor om livct (l9l3, Jwo Jales
of Llfe), another mlnor work, the baslc theme of whlch
ls the confllct between reallty and llluslon.
Durlng thls perlod Lagerkvlst llved wlth hls only
brother, Gunnar, a schoolteacher, who was a constant
source of support durlng hls brother`s early struggle to
establlsh hlmself as a wrlter, and whose slgnlflcance for
the development of Lagerkvlst`s llterary career cannot
be underestlmated. Jhe flnanclal support of hls brother
and two of hls slsters enabled Lagerkvlst to vlslt Parls ln
l9l3, a trlp that had farreachlng repercusslons for the
form and content of hls art. In Parls, Lagerkvlst came
lnto contact wlth the artlstlc communlty and developed
a partlcular lnterest ln the currents of modern art, most
slgnlflcantly those of Cublsm and Expresslonlsm, two
movements ln whlch he saw a concerted effort to glve
expresslon to the splrlt of the modern age.
In hls flrst llterary manlfesto, Urdlovst ocl bildlovst:
Um modorv slvlittcroturs dclodovs: Um dcv modorvo lovstcvs
vitolitct (l9l3; translated as Iitcrory Zrt ovd Iictoriol Zrt:
Uv tlc Dccodcvcc of Modcrv Iitcroturcov tlc !itolity of Mod-
crv Zrt, l99l), Lagerkvlst calls for the renewal of lltera
ture that parallels the dynamlc developments and
formal experlmentatlon to be found ln contemporary
art. Surveylng currents ln modern art, he polnts not
only to the extreme, formal nature of Cublsm, based on
mathematlcal prlnclples, but also to the raw emotlon of
a style such as Expresslonlsm. On the basls of hls obser
vatlons of modern art Lagerkvlst demands a llterature
of formal concentratlon, archltectonlc structure, and
muslcallty. Lnable to flnd hls examples ln a contempo
rary llterature domlnated by reallsm and naturallsm,
Lagerkvlst polnts to the monumental and slmple style
of earller llterature; he names the Norse poems of the
Edda, folk ballads, and the Ilnnlsh Kalevala from Euro
pean culture and expresses partlcular lnterest ln the
anclent llterature of the East and of Indla. Jhe Blble,
the Koran, and the Avesta of the Zoroastrlans are all
named as examples of the requlred artlstlc form and
style, whlch comblne slmpllclty and expresslveness.
Jhe prlnclples outllned ln Urdlovst ocl bildlovst are
followed ln Lagerkvlst`s next publlcatlons, Motiv (l9l1,
Motlfs), a collectlon of poetry and prose, and orv ocl
movvislor (l9l5; translated as Irov ovd Mcv, l989), a col
lectlon of flve short storles that deal wlth human exlst
ence ln the face of the vlolence and anxlety of World
War I. Both dlsplay Lagerkvlst`s attempts to put hls llt
erary prlnclples of Cublsm lnto practlce, but there ls a
degree of styllzatlon and a tenslon between vlolent con
tent and artlstlc form that has led them to be consldered
among Lagerkvlst`s least successful works.
Lagerkvlst`s llfe durlng World War I was marked
by restless wanderlng; after fulfllllng part of hls compul
sory mllltary servlce, he was dlscharged because of ner
vous exhaustlon ln early l9l5 and moved to Stockholm.
In the same year, he traveled to Berlln to report on an
Expresslonlst exhlbltlon on behalf of the natlonal news
paper Svcvslo Dogblodct. In l9l6 he moved to Copen
hagen and began an lntenslve study of drama, showlng
partlcular lnterest ln Eastern and medleval drama. Whlle
he was llvlng ln Copenhagen, he met Karen Srensen,
who later became hls flrst wlfe. By all accounts thelr rela
tlonshlp was passlonate and tempestuous, and thelr llfe
together was deflned by extreme poverty.
Lagerkvlst`s llterary breakthrough came ln l9l6
wlth the publlcatlon of Zvgcst (Angulsh), a slender vol
ume of poetry that establlshed hlm at the forefront of
llterary modernlsm ln Sweden. Jhe tltle poem evokes
the earller llterary tradltlon of the prevlous generatlon
of Swedlsh poets but also subverts lt, and ln so dolng
Lagerkvlst ls able to announce hls break from the dom
lnant lyrlc tradltlon ln order to express the splrlt of the
age. Jhe collectlon ls clearly lnfluenced by the war ln
Europe, encapsulatlng the mood and feellngs of a gen
eratlon traumatlzed by the experlence of war, but
equally lt ls a powerful expresslon of a personal, exls
tentlal crlsls. Jhe poet`s angulsh ls drlven by hls allen
atlon from a unlverse that ls barren and harsh and
slmply helghtens the sense of modern man`s absurd
7
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condltlon. Lagerkvlst presents a world ln whlch per
sonal, human contact ls fleetlng and fraglle and ultl
mately lneffectlve agalnst thls allpervadlng experlence
of angulsh. Jhe poet ls acutely aware of hls own lnslg
nlflcance, contrastlng hls lmpermanent exlstence on
Earth wlth the vastness and eternlty of a unlverse ln
whlch God has now fallen sllent. Lagerkvlst`s doubts of
locatlng meanlng ln orthodox falth are also suggested ln
'P frlsnlngsarmn" (At the Salvatlon Army), ln whlch
he hlghllghts the contrasts between the poverty of
human llfe and the longlng for salvatlon. And yet, how
ever tentatlvely, the poet contlnues to search for a tran
scendental reallty even lf the ultlmate truth ln human
exlstence remalns beyond human conceptlon.
Wlth lts lmmedlacy of emotlon, lts presentatlon
of extreme lnner turmoll, and lts expresslve use of
vlsual lmagery, Zvgcst ls a more dlrectly Expresslonlst
work than any of Lagerkvlst`s earller publlcatlons.
Although Lagerkvlst clearly modlfles hls llterary tech
nlque wlth great success, he does not abandon hls
adherence to the formal prlnclples outllned ln Urdlovst
ocl bildlovst: the collectlon ls carefully structured, wlth
each poem complementlng the other. Jhe same themes,
lmages, dualltles, and contradlctlons run throughout
the collectlon, and each poem contrlbutes to and
expands upon the overall presentatlon of the domlnant
moods of angulsh and despalr.
Closely related to Zvgcst thematlcally ls
Lagerkvlst`s flrst publlshed drama, the Expresslonlst
Sisto movslov (l9l7; translated as Tlc Iost Mov, l989).
Set ln a barren, postapocalyptlc world, where the last
remalnlng humans are dylng out, the play examlnes
themes of the meanlnglessness of llfe, manklnd`s exls
tentlal angulsh, and the fear of death. Jhe domlnant
mood ls set from the beglnnlng of the play, whlch opens
wlth screams of angulsh from the darkness. In the
destructlve, lovehate relatlonshlp between the major
characters, and ln the destructlon of lnnocence, good
ness, and love, Lagerkvlst presents a bleak and pessl
mlstlc understandlng of the human condltlon. Desplte
several attempts by the author to engage dlrectors to
produce Sisto movslov, the play remalns the only
Lagerkvlst drama never to have been performed.
Ior Lagerkvlst the years l9l7 and l9l8 were
agaln marked by flnanclal hardshlp and contlnued emo
tlonal fluctuatlons. Jhe flrst half of l9l7 was spent ln
Norway, followed by a return to Copenhagen. Hls let
ters repeatedly lnclude requests to hls famlly for flnan
clal asslstance and to hls publlsher, Karl Otto Bonnler,
for advances. Correspondence from thls perlod records
the stralned relatlonshlp between Bonnler and
Lagerkvlst. ln a letter to Lagerkvlst ln l9l7, Bonnler
expressed hls own negatlve evaluatlon of Lagerkvlst`s
work, whlch ln turn ellclted a strong response from an
lmpoverlshed Lagerkvlst. Hls dlary entrles further
record perlods of lsolatlon, nearstarvatlon, and vlolent
quarrels between hlmself and Srensen. In early l9l8
they were marrled, and shortly afterward Srensen
gave blrth to a baby glrl, Elln.
In l9l8 Lagerkvlst publlshed three oneact plays
under the collectlve tltle Tcotcr: Dcv svro stuvdcv, trc cvol-
torc: Modcrv tcotcr, Syvpuvltcr ocl ovgrcpp (translated as Tlc
Difficult Hour: Tlrcc Uvc-Zcts and 'Modern Jheatre.
Polnts of Vlew and Attack," l966). In each of these
Expresslonlst plays Lagerkvlst presents the moment of
death and evokes a sense of dlsorlentatlon and unreallty
as hls characters make thelr way through a dark, bleak
landscape. Hls major themes of angulsh, the fear of
death, and the meanlnglessness of llfe are agaln proml
nent, as are early examples of hls frequent use of physl
cal deformlty to deplct aspects of the human condltlon.
Dcv svro stuvdcv has the dlstlnctlon of belng the flrst of
Lagerkvlst`s plays ever to be performed, at the Dssel
dorf Schausplelhaus ln l9l9, although the publlc`s
receptlon was far from posltlve, wlth the dlrector, Knut
Strm, belng attacked ln the street by members of the
audlence after the performance.
Publlshed together wlth Dcv svro stuvdcv was
Lagerkvlst`s second llterary program, Modcrv tcotcr, Syv-
puvltcr ocl ovgrcpp, an essay that demonstrates the results
of Lagerkvlst`s ongolng study of drama ln Copenhagen
and of hls experlences as a drama crltlc. Central to Mod-
crv tcotcr ls Lagerkvlst`s unsparlng crltlclsm of natural
lsm, whlch he contlnues to vlew wlth the dlstrust and
skeptlclsm he had expressed ln Urdlovst ocl bildlovst flve
years earller. Reservlng hls harshest crltlclsm for the
plays of Henrlk Ibsen, Lagerkvlst argues that naturallst
drama ls outdated and allenated from theater. Ior
Lagerkvlst, drama ls the creatlon of mood and effects,
the expresslon of a dramatlst`s lmaglnatlon rather than
proof of hls mlmetlc abllltles. In hls search for models
upon whlch modern drama should be based, Lagerkvlst
makes partlcular mentlon of medleval drama and polnts
to lts expresslve, theatrlcal wealth. Jhe flnal sectlon of
the essay ls devoted to a dlscusslon of August Strlnd
berg, who, ln hls later dramas and wlth great vlrtuoslty,
Lagerkvlst argues, has already brought about the much
needed revolutlon ln modern theater by breaklng wlth
the domlnant tradltlon of naturallsm. By exempllfylng
hls own theory of drama wlth the dramatlc technlques
used by Strlndberg, Lagerkvlst clearly regards hls own
dramas as the contlnuatlon of thls legacy, and ln all of
Lagerkvlst`s early plays the lnfluence of Strlndberg ls
readlly evldent.
Lagerkvlst`s next publlcatlon, Ioos (l9l9, Chaos),
demonstrates hls abllltles ln several genres. Comprlslng
another oneact play, a short story, and a collectlon of
poems, Ioos proved to be Lagerkvlst`s flrst crltlcal suc
8
m i~ ai_ PPN
cess. Jhe play Himlcvs lcmliglct (translated as Tlc Sccrct
of Hcovcv, l966) recelved lts premlere ln l92l at the
Intlma Jheater ln Stockholm, thus becomlng the flrst
Lagerkvlst drama to be performed ln Sweden. Jhe
themes of human allenatlon and exlstentlal angulsh ln a
harsh, meanlngless unlverse are played out on a stage
set that ls suggestlve of a barren globe. Dlsparate char
acters seek answers to the meanlng of llfe, but none suc
ceed; a young man who flnds brlef meanlng ln love
ultlmately experlences despalr as hls love remalns unre
qulted, and he throws hlmself out lnto the vold. Jhe
use of symbollc characters ls a promlnent feature of thls
play; most noteworthy are Lagerkvlst`s representatlons
of God as an old woodcutter who remalns undlstracted
from hls task of sawlng wood and of Death as a man
methodlcally pulllng the heads off dolls. In the short
story 'Den frdrlngsfulla gsten" (translated as 'Jhe
Expectant Guest," l989) Lagerkvlst portrays the allen
atlon of modern man ln a chaotlc world. Perhaps taklng
some lnsplratlon from hls own rootless exlstence and
restless travels, he creates a masterful representatlon of
the absurdlty of modern exlstence ln hls story of a
guest`s stay at a hotel that ls ln a constant state of
upheaval, dlsarray, and constructlon; hls longlng for
peace and for a tlme of qulet contemplatlon to make
sense of hls llfe ls conslstently thwarted by the nolse,
chaos, and physlcal dlscomfort he experlences. Lltl
mately he can nelther flnd nor be provlded wlth mean
lng for hls own exlstence. In several of the poems
lncluded ln Ioos there ls, however, at least the lndlcatlon
that Lagerkvlst ls movlng away from the allpervadlng
despalr that characterlzes Zvgcst. Although he stresses
man`s translence and expresses reslgnatlon at the loss of
love, he also holds out hope for the future ln several
poems ln whlch the poet addresses hls chlld.
Durlng the flrst half of the l920s Lagerkvlst`s
marrlage steadlly deterlorated. In l920 he abruptly left
hls wlfe and daughter behlnd ln Copenhagen and trav
eled to Parls vla London, leavlng lnstructlons for
Srensen to contact hls brother, Gunnar, lf she found
herself ln flnanclal dlfflcultles. After a stay ln Parls,
Lagerkvlst contlnued hls travels for the next few years,
spendlng perlods of tlme ln southern Irance, Italy, and
North Afrlca, occaslonally accompanled by hls wlfe and
young daughter. He also spent tlme among the Swedlsh
artlstlc communlty ln Parls and travellng wlth frlends
and fellow artlsts. Jhe contentment and happlness that
was clearly absent from Lagerkvlst`s stralned marrlage
was afforded hlm ln the creatlve process of wrltlng,
somethlng that he noted ln Italy durlng work on the
prose plece Dct cvigo lccvdct (l920; translated as Tlc Itcr-
vol Smilc, l931).
In Dct cvigo lccvdct a group of the dead pass tlme ln
eternlty by recountlng storles about thelr llves; whlle
some of these storles are scarcely more than brlef anec
dotes, several are of greater length and can be regarded
as selfcontalned short storles ln thelr own rlght. Wlth the
scope of the llfe storles presented, and ln the dlsparate
characters recountlng thelr llves, Lagerkvlst alms at dem
onstratlng the varlety and the totallty of the human expe
rlence. Lnable to agree on the ultlmate meanlng of thelr
llves, the dead declde to seek an answer by undertaklng a
journey to God. When, after many centurles, they flnally
confront God, they dlscover an old man sawlng wooda
character recognlzable from Himlcvs lcmliglctwhose
humlllty and slmpllclty ls far removed from thelr notlons
of an omnlpotent and omnlpresent belng. Jo thelr ques
tlon about the meanlng of llfe, God can only respond
that hls lntentlon had been that they should not be con
tent wlth nothlng. When the chlldren are brought before
hlm, the old man professes to havlng meant nothlng spe
clal wlth them, that they were only created out of happl
ness. Jhe old woodcutter`s humlllty and goodness brlngs
about ln the dead a new acceptance of llfe that creates a
sense of harmony and mutual understandlng. In hls pre
sentatlon of a profoundly human God, Lagerkvlst
stresses that the posslbllltles ln human llfe and the search
for meanlng are to be located ln man.
Jhe acceptance of llfe deplcted ln Dct cvigo lccvdct
ls also apparent ln the poems that comprlse Dcv lyclligos
vog (l92l, Jhe Path of the Happy One). Jhe collectlon
ls characterlzed by a llghter, mllder tone and lncludes
love and nature poetry as well as several evocatlve
poems centered upon the flgure of the mother, who,
through her slmple rural exlstence and devout rellglos
lty, brlngs assoclatlons of the eternal and of a lovlng,
human God. In other poems the personal transforma
tlon of the poet from a man consumed by angulsh and
despalr to a seeker of happlness poslts the wealth of llfe
and the rlchness of the human experlence.
Wlth lts themes of the dualltles lnherent ln
human exlstence, the struggle between good and evll,
and the confllct between llfe and death, Lagerkvlst`s
flrst fulllength play, Dcv osyvligc (l923, Jhe Invlslble
One), has generally been regarded as marklng a return
to a bleaker vlew of human exlstence. In Dcv osyvligc,
Lagerkvlst creates a modern mystery play, an allegorl
cal drama wlth dlverse lnfluences, most notably from
medleval drama, Strlndberg`s Itt drmspcl (l902; trans
lated as Z Drcom Iloy, l902), and Rablndranath
Jagore`s Iojo (l9l0; translated as Tlc Iivg of tlc Dorl
Clombcr, l9l1). In the tltle character, Lagerkvlst creates
a representatlon of the human splrlt who accompanles
manklnd and wltnesses and reacts to the human strug
gle between good and evll as lt plays out.
Dcv osyvligc opens wlth dlverse characters curslng
Earth as they struggle, enslaved, under the merclless
control of the Caretaker. Jhe ldeallstlc Hero, a savlor
9
ai_ PPN m i~
llke flgure who has devoted hlmself to overthrowlng the
Caretaker, ls glven courage to fulflll hls calllng through
the love of the Glrl. Jhe Invlslble One fells the Care
taker but also acknowledges that hls own belng ls made
up of both llght and darkness, of good and evll. Ior a
perlod an ldylllc world of llght and freedom ls created,
and the love between the Hero and the Glrl blossoms.
Yet, manklnd contlnues to dlsplay lts pettlness and
hatred, notably ln the destructlve relatlonshlp between
the Man and the Woman. Angulsh, vlolence, and
destructlon soon return to Earth, and the cry goes up
that God ls dead. Lltlmately, all the characters are annl
hllated by the flgure of Death, but the Hero and the
Glrl dle unlted ln a bellef ln thelr love. Only the Invlsl
ble One stands unbowed before the flgure of Death,
who remalns powerless over hlm. In the flgure of the
Invlslble One, Lagerkvlst lntroduces a recurrlng and
central concept ln hls wrltlng, namely that of the
human splrlt as an lndefatlgable, eternal force that tran
scends lndlvldual llfe and death. In thls flgure he
declares the trlumph of the human splrlt ln the face of
evll and ultlmately of death, and by posltlng lts eternal
nature ln a godless unlverse he holds out hope for the
human condltlon and proffers meanlng ln human exlst
ence. a was a conslderable crltlcal and publlc
success when performed at the Dramatlc Jheater ln
Stockholm ln l921 and contrlbuted substantlally to
establlshlng Lagerkvlst`s reputatlon as a dramatlst.
Wlth the publlcatlon of l~ ~ (l921, Evll
Jales) Lagerkvlst demonstrated hls mastery of and
experlmentatlon wlthln the genre of short prose, settlng
predomlnantly reallstlc storles and sharply satlrlcal tales
slde by slde wlth short fables and parables. Generally
consldered to be one of the hlgh polnts of Lagerkvlst`s
early prose flctlon, l~ ~ has also tradltlonally been
seen as an expresslon of hls growlng pesslmlsm, wlth
hls satlrlcal attacks on contemporary llfe and soclety ln
partlcular dlsplaylng a mlsanthropy on a par wlth
|onathan Swlft or Strlndberg. Of the attacks on human
folly and weakness ln l~ ~I none are as extreme ln
thelr satlre as 'En hjltas dd" (translated as 'A Hero`s
Death," l951), ln whlch Lagerkvlst attacks the materlal
lsm, sensatlonallsm, and superflclallty of modern socl
ety wlth the story of a young man who ls pald 500,000
crowns to fall to hls death as a form of publlc entertaln
ment. In 'De vrdade benen" (translated as 'Jhe Ven
erated Bones," l951) Lagerkvlst satlrlzes the romantlc
vlew of war and fervent natlonallsm wlth the story of
dead soldlers rlslng from the battlefleld, not to effect
some form of reconclllatlon but slmply to exchange
bones left scattered on the opposltlon`s terrltory. In
'Hlssen som glck ner l helvete" (translated as 'Jhe Llft
Jhat Went Down lnto Hell," l951) human superflclal
lty ls exempllfled by a man and hls mlstress who treat a
trlp to Hell as a sexually excltlng experlence and are
unable to draw any deeper moral or exlstentlal conclu
slon. In 'Irlsar |ohan" (translated as 'Savlour |ohn,"
l951) lrony and grotesque humor characterlze
Lagerkvlst`s portrayal of the pllght of a man convlnced
of hls own calllng as the savlor of modern manklnd;
rldlculed and scorned by those around hlm,
Lagerkvlst`s savlor ls unwanted ln the modern world
and ls a profound fallure, polntlessly sacrlflclng hlmself
ln a mlsgulded attempt to rescue people from a flre ln
an empty poorhouse.
A more overtly posltlve message ls to be found ln
'Kllarvnlngen" (translated as 'Jhe Basement,"
l951), ln whlch the severely crlppled Llndgren, humbly
acceptlng hls own lot ln llfe, propounds hls bellef ln the
fundamental goodness of manklnd. However, ln the
evocatlve, autoblographlcal sketch 'Iar och jag" (trans
lated as 'Iather and I," l951), the narrator as a boy ls
glven a forewarnlng of the exlstentlal angulsh that ls to
accompany hls llfe; an ldylllc country walk along the
rallway llnes wlth hls father, a rallwayman, ls trans
formed for the boy lnto an exlstentlally terrlfylng expe
rlence as nlght draws ln. Jhe unscheduled traln that
surprlses them as lt hurtles through the darkness ls
lnterpreted by the narrator as a foreshadowlng of hls
llfe of angulsh, from whlch hls father and hls father`s
bellef ln God wlll afford hlm no securlty or protectlon.
Wlth Lagerkvlst`s refusal to dlscuss detalls of hls
llfe publlcly, lt ls scarcely surprlslng that a great degree
of crltlcal attentlon has been focused on hls autoblo
graphlcal wrltlngs, and lndeed 'Iar och jag" and partlcu
larly Lagerkvlst`s subsequent, longer, autoblographlcal
prose work d (l925; translated as d
o~I l936) have frequently been used as startlng
polnts ln examlnatlons of Lagerkvlst`s chlldhood experl
ences. In d he portrays the early years
of a boy, Anders, the youngest chlld of a rallway fore
man ln an unnamed small town ln Sweden. Jhe descrlp
tlons of the rallway statlon, the town, and the
surroundlng countryslde accurately portray Vxj at the
end of the nlneteenth century, and, by all accounts, the
deplctlon of Anders`s famlly llfe, the peaceful, secure
home envlronment, the deep rellgloslty of hls parents,
and the slmple, rural llfe of hls grandparents all have
dlrect parallels ln Lagerkvlst`s own early llfe. Yet, the slg
nlflcance of d extends far beyond these
now welldocumented autoblographlcal elements,
evlnced by the fact that even wlth the publlc avallablllty
of Lagerkvlst`s journals and notebooksand, thus, a
large amount of blographlcal datalt contlnues to be
regarded as a semlnal work ln the author`s opus.
In d Lagerkvlst`s portrayal of the
young protagonlst ls structured around a serles of epl
sodes. In each of these eplsodes Anders experlences a
l0
m i~ ai_ PPN
type of eplphany that contrlbutes to the overall deplc
tlon of a character whose confuslon, fear, and extreme
sensltlvlty set hlm apart from hls famlly and envlron
ment. Hls early reallzatlon that the maglcal vlslon of the
pavlllon at nlght ls revealed as a dlrty, desolate place by
day fllls hlm wlth a growlng dlsqulet and lntroduces a
major theme of d I namely the confllct
Anders experlences between llluslon and reallty. Lltl
mately, however, Anders`s lnner turmoll ls nowhere bet
ter expressed than ln hls awareness and fear of death,
exempllfled by hls reactlons to hls grandmother`s fatal
lllness and encapsulated ln hls vlslts to a prayer stone ln
the forest. Jhe sharp contrasts Anders experlences
between the securlty of hls famlly`s world and hls own
lnner turmoll compel hlm ln hls youth to break away
from hls parents` rellglon and turn to new teachlngs,
ostenslbly Darwlnlsm. Jhese teachlngs, however, far
from provldlng comfort, slmply conflrm hls own exls
tentlal angulsh ln a confuslng, meanlngless unlverse.
At the tlme of the wrltlng of d I
Lagerkvlst`s marrlage to Srensen had reached a crlsls
polnt. Years of flnanclal hardshlp, and Lagerkvlst`s decl
slons to travel and llve alone for much of the flrst half of
the l920s, had taken thelr lnevltable toll. Jhe poor
state of the marrlage ls evldent ln thelr correspondence
ln thls perlod, whlch reveals Lagerkvlst, ln partlcular, at
hls most fractlous. Jhe couple was dlvorced ln the fall
of l925, and Lagerkvlst chose never to see Srensen
agaln. He galned custody of thelr daughter, Elln, who
went to llve wlth Lagerkvlst`s brother and slster and
whose own relatlonshlp wlth her mother ceased a few
years later, only to be reestabllshed ln the mld l970s
after Lagerkvlst`s death.
Jhe profound effect upon Lagerkvlst of hls flrst
marrlage ls evldent ln the frequent portrayals of
destructlve relatlonshlps ln hls wrltlngs and galns lts
most dlrect expresslon ln another autoblographlcal
prose work, a contlnuatlon of d tltled
a ~ ~ (translated as q a gI l989).
Wrltten ln l925, a ~ ~ was dlscovered among
Lagerkvlst`s papers after hls death but was not pub
llshed untll l985. In a ~ ~ he contlnues the
story of Anders, now an adult llvlng ln Denmark, who
meets and falls ln love wlth a young woman, Hllde.
Drawn to the raw vltallty he sees ln Hllde, Anders
embarks on a passlonate affalr wlth her, but thelr rela
tlonshlp from the outset ls caught between a strong,
mutual attractlon and deeply destructlve emotlons.
Although Lagerkvlst consldered a ~ ~ on a par
wlth d I lt ls regarded as a less success
ful work than lts predecessor, desplte lts obvlous blo
graphlcal slgnlflcance. Wlth lts focus dlvlded between a
descrlptlon of Hllde`s loveless chlldhood and youth and
a portrayal of the emotlonally destructlve relatlonshlp
between the two protagonlsts, lt lacks the broader scope
of d K Out of deference to her mother,
Elln Lagerkvlst chose not to have a ~ ~ pub
llshed untll the year after her mother`s death.
Shortly after hls dlvorce, Lagerkvlst marrled
Elalne Hallberg Sandels. Wlth hls second marrlage
Lagerkvlst experlenced a degree of stablllty hltherto
unknown, and although the couple spent the next sev
eral years llvlng abroad, mostly ln Italy and Irance, hls
llfe of restless wanderlng was at an end. In the summer
of l926 Sandels gave blrth to twln sons. Correspon
dence between Lagerkvlst and hls publlshers stlll reveals
dlsagreements about flnanclal arrangements, wlth the
author urglng the publlcatlon of hls selected works to
afford hlm a greater lncome to match hls responslbllltles
as the father of two new chlldren. Jhe poems that com
prlse e~ (l926, Songs of the Heart) also
reflect the changes ln Lagerkvlst`s personal llfe, notably
ln the second sectlon of the collectlon, dedlcated to San
dels, whlch lncludes what ls regarded as some of the fln
est love poetry ln modern Swedlsh llterature.
Lagerkvlst`s greater optlmlsm ls also expressed ln
the short, aphorlstlc essay a ~ (l927, Jhe
Conquered Llfe). Here he develops hls earller presenta
tlons of the dlchotomous relatlonshlp between man and
llfe and makes a sharp dlstlnctlon between llfe as the
baslc human condltlon of exlstlng and belng as the
potentlal ln human exlstence. Only through the strug
gle agalnst, and ultlmately through vlctory over, llfe can
manklnd assert that whlch ls dlstlnctlvely human. By
professlng hls bellef not ln a dlvlne belng but ln the
dlvlne ln all manklnd, Lagerkvlst can thus further
assert the exlstence of the eternal ln the human splrlt.
Wlth the form of transcendental humanlsm he espouses
ln a ~ I he dlstances hlmself not only from
the tradltlonal, Chrlstlan conceptlons of llfe and of the
dlvlne but also takes lssue wlth the ratlonallst, sclentlflc
doctrlnes of the day.
In hls next two works, the play e~ ~
(l928; translated as q j~ t i e i
lI l97l) and the shortstory collectlon h~ ~
(l930, Struggllng Splrlt), Lagerkvlst contlnues hls
examlnatlon of the struggle of the human splrlt to rlse
above the restrlctlve nature of llfe. e~ ~
marks a turnlng polnt ln hls dramatlc technlque;
the play ls more reallstlc than any of hls earller dramas,
wlth an ldentlflable settlng, everyday language, and
characters who are not allegorlcal representatlons but
named lndlvlduals. In the flgure of Danlel, a shoemaker
who ls allowed to llve hls llfe over, Lagerkvlst drama
tlzes the dualltles of the human condltlon and asks how
man ls to llve hls real llfe. In hls new llfe Danlel vows to
control the emotlons that had drlven hls actlons ln hls
prevlous llfe and had led hlm to commlt murder. Yet,
ll
ai_ PPN m i~
hls attempts to llve a llfe ln whlch hls emotlons are
strlctly controlled and hls actlons deflned by reason also
end ln personal tragedy, thls tlme wlth the sulclde of hls
son, who ls unable to llve up to hls father`s rlgld moral
code. Jhe fallure of the extremes represented by the
former and the present Danlel, Lagerkvlst lntlmates,
lles ln the refusal to accept, or reconclle, the contradlc
tlons lnherent ln the totallty of the human experlence,
whlch lncorporates both reason and emotlon, lntellect
and lnstlnct, and good and evll.
In h~ ~I a collectlon of predomlnantly
reallstlc short storles, Lagerkvlst hlghllghts the slgnlfl
cance of splrltual experlences ln even the most ordlnary
of people; ln 'Guds lllle handelsresande" (translated as
'God`s Llttle Jravellng Salesman," l951) a salesman of
rellglous tracts falls on hard tlmes and vaclllates
between falth and doubt but eventually returns to hls
rellglous devotlon a more honest man. Jhe paramount
lmportance of love ln the human experlence ls
expressed ln the ldylllc romance and traglc love story of
'Sjlernas maskerad" (translated as 'Jhe Masquerade
of Souls," l951) and ln the weddlng of two lonely out
slders ln 'Brllopsfesten" (translated as 'Jhe Marrlage
Ieast," l951). Consldered by many Lagerkvlst scholars
to rank among Lagerkvlst`s best short storles,
'Brllopsfesten" tells of an older couple, Irlda and
|onas, who experlence thelr weddlng day as an occaslon
of solemnlty and wonderment desplte the dlsapproval
and mockery of thelr weddlng guests. Wlth lrony and
humor, but also wlth genulne pathos, Lagerkvlst pre
sents the profound love and devotlon experlenced by
the couple and deplcts wlth sensltlvlty, although not
wlthout humor, thelr awkwardness on thelr weddlng
nlght. Jhe tale concludes wlth |onas and Irlda`s love
belng glven a cosmlc, eternal perspectlve as they fall
asleep under a nlght sky of everlncreaslng stars.
By the tlme h~ ~ was publlshed ln l930,
Lagerkvlst and hls famlly had settled ln Lldlng, near
Stockholm. After more than a decade of llvlng abroad
he was, as hls correspondence reveals, ready to return
home. Although he contlnued to travel extenslvely, Lld
lng and a summer house on the lsland of Jjrn were
the flxed polnts for hlm and hls famlly from the l930s
onward.
Earller than most of hls contemporarles
Lagerkvlst sensed the dangerous currents ln European
polltlcal llfe and qulckly establlshed hlmself as an
uncompromlslng opponent of totalltarlan movements ln
Europe. Hls growlng unease at polltlcal developments
and hls call for vlgllance ln thls volatlle perlod can be
percelved ln the verse collectlon s (l932, By
the Campflre). Yet, thls volume ls composed of poems
that are not overtly polltlcal and focus rather on the
dualltles that deflne the human condltlon, notably ln
the struggle between good and evll and between the
forces of llght and darkness lnherent ln man.
A more dlrectly polltlcal theme ls to be found ln
the complex, rlchly textured, hlstorlcal play h
(translated as 'Jhe Klng," l966), also publlshed ln
l932. Lagerkvlst dlsplays the sklll of the mature drama
tlst ln comblnlng soclal and polltlcal themes wlth phllo
sophlcal concerns ln a drama patterned on rltual,
mythlcal elements. Jhe settlng of h ls hlstorlcal
Babylon, and the theme ls that of a sacrlflclal rltual ln
whlch the legltlmate klng ls replaced for several days by
a crlmlnal, who ls later sacrlflced when order ls
restored. Although lnfluenced by Lagerkvlst`s readlng
of |ames Irazer`s semlnal anthropologlcal study, q
d _ (l922), h has undenlable relevance
to contemporary polltlcal condltlons. In the play the
crlmlnal, IreamAzu, upon replaclng the rlghtful klng,
AmarAzu, preclpltates a bloody revolutlon of the
masses and asserts hls own supremacy. Wlth clear refer
ences to polltlcal upheaval ln Europe, notably to the
Russlan Revolutlon, Lagerkvlst questlons the role and
valldlty of polltlcal vlolence and dlscusses the nature of
revolutlon and of democracy. Jhe slgnlflcance of the
play, however, extends well beyond lts polltlcal dlscus
slon. In AmarAzu, Lagerkvlst presents a seeker of
truth whose phllosophlcal speculatlons mlrror hls own
and lead the klng to the awareness of the lllusory nature
of human exlstence. Jhe exlstentlal doubt that charac
terlzes AmarAzu`s progresslon from klng to beggar ls
countered by the falth and love represented by two of
the other major characters, Nadur and Slblle. Yet,
h remalns a bleak presentatlon of human brutal
lty and destructlveness and exempllfles the profoundly
dlaloglc nature of Lagerkvlst`s opus as a whole when
contrasted wlth hls earller optlmlsm ln a ~ K
Although h was recelved well, and although the
Dramatlc Jheater ln Stockholm made prellmlnary
plans to stage lt, the play dld not recelve lts premlere
untll l950.
In the sprlng of l933 Lagerkvlst traveled to
North Afrlca, Greece, and Palestlne, a trlp that had a
profound lnfluence upon hls wrltlngs for the next
decade. In Palestlne he wltnessed the flrst wave of |ew
lsh refugees from Europe, whlle hls return trlp took hlm
through Germany only a few weeks after Adolf Hltler`s
selzure of power. Jhe mllltarlsm, antlSemltlsm, and
growlng state propaganda already apparent ln the earll
est days of the Jhlrd Relch dlsturbed Lagerkvlst
greatly, and upon hls return to Sweden he wrote the
novella _ (translated as q e~~I l936). Pub
llshed ln the autumn of l933, _ ls a remarkable
early warnlng of the threat posed by Nazl Germany.
_ ls dlvlded lnto two parts. the flrst set ln a
tavern ln the Mlddle Ages, the second ln a contempo
l2
m i~ ai_ PPN
rary dance club. Lnltlng the two parts ls the domlnant
but sllent flgure of the Hangman; ln the flrst part hls
presence ls vlewed wlth awe and fear and preclpltates a
dlscusslon among the tavern guests ln whlch they
recount storles of hls mysterlous powers, hlghllghtlng
the superstltlons and taboos assoclated wlth thls
soclally llmlnal character. In the second part of the
novella, the atmosphere ln the nlghtclub ls one of overt
erotlclsm and barely contalned aggresslon. Lnlformed
men greet each other wlth stralghtarmed salutes and
calls of 'Hell!"the most dlrect lndlcatlons as to the
object of Lagerkvlst`s crltlclsm. Jhe polltlcal ldeology
espoused by the clubgoers, and the language used to
express thls ldeology, ls also a chllllngly accurate
expresslon of Nazl propaganda. In thls new age of bru
tallty the Hangman ls regarded as a celebrlty for the
deeds he performs; yet, he slts lmpasslvely as he wlt
nesses the escalatlng vlolence around hlm, whlch culml
nates ln a vlolent, raclst attack upon black jazz
muslclans.
Only when he ls lauded as the leader of the new
age does the Hangman flnally rlse and dellver hls
lmpassloned speech, rlch wlth blbllcal alluslons and
dark lmagery, ln whlch he recounts the odlous role he
has been forced to play on behalf of manklnd. from the
outset, the Hangman has accompanled manklnd, com
mlttlng manklnd`s crlmes, bearlng the burden of the
gullt and responslblllty for these acts. He recounts that
hls deslre to be released from hls role had grown all the
greater after he had cruclfled a man clalmlng to be the
Son of God. Hls subsequent journey to God to be freed
from hls burden had ended ln despalr as God had long
slnce turned to stone.
In the flgure of the Hangman, Lagerkvlst creates
a complex symbollc character, part executloner and
part scapegoat; he ls the representatlve for human evll
who nevertheless deslres to be freed from hls role. Hls
lnverslon of the message of Chrlst ls a powerful and
deeply pesslmlstlc commentary on the nature of human
evll, partlcularly ln lts modern manlfestatlons; yet, lt
also reflects Lagerkvlst`s ongolng evaluatlon of the
nature of evll and lts relatlonshlp to good. By presentlng
a modern world where God no longer exlsts,
Lagerkvlst uses the perpetrator of evll acts to make an
lmpassloned call for the paramount lmportance of
human responslblllty ln the face of growlng polltlcal
ldeologles based on vlolence and a rlgld, quaslrellglous
adherence to the party llne.
On the encouragement of the dlrector Per Llnd
berg, among others, Lagerkvlst rewrote _ as a
drama, and ln lts dramatlc form the work achleved lts
llterary breakthrough. Its premlere was ln Bergen,
where lt played to full houses for slxty nlghts ln the
autumn of l931. Productlons ln Oslo and Stockholm
were met wlth less than unanlmous approval, wlth
some conslderlng the play to be an unprovoked attack
on a 'frlendly" natlon. _ dld much to ralse
Lagerkvlst`s proflle both wlthln Scandlnavla and fur
ther afleld, however; the play was also staged ln
Amsterdam and London ln l935.
Lagerkvlst`s lmpresslons of hls trlp to Palestlne
and Greece ln l933 form the basls for hls next publlca
tlon, a ~ (l931; translated as q `
cI l989), a collectlon of four travel essays. In the tltle
essay Lagerkvlst flnds hls ldeal symbollc representatlon
for the splrlt of Western cultural development ln the
Acropollsthe 'clenched flst" of the tltleand regards
thls edlflce, bearlng the ravages of Western hlstory, as
the foremost bastlon of the splrlt of humanlsm and
democracy that pervades all of Western culture. At a
tlme when Europe was lncreaslngly threatened by total
ltarlanlsm and polltlcal vlolence, Lagerkvlst turns to the
tradltlons of democracy, freedom, and justlce that he
sees represented by the Acropolls and asserts hls relent
less opposltlon to dlctatorshlp ln terms of hls brand of
'kmpande humanlsm" (flghtlng humanlsm).
In the second essay, 'Strldsland, evlghetsland"
(Land of Confllct, Land of Eternlty), Lagerkvlst`s decla
ratlons of humanlsm take on a metaphyslcal slant. In
the landscape of Palestlne, at the meetlng polnt between
the fertlle Valley of Kldron and the desert leadlng to the
Dead Sea, he flnds another rlchly symbollc representa
tlon, thls tlme for the human, exlstentlal struggle
agalnst the nothlngness of death. Also ln thls essay
Lagerkvlst glves deflnltlve expresslon to hls paradoxlcal
relatlonshlp to the Chrlstlan falth, referrlng to hlmself
as 'en rellgls atelst" (a rellglous athelst), who can see
Chrlst only ln human terms and who regards Chrlst`s
message of love as a profoundly human message.
Jhe next essay, 'Lndret l Delphl" (Jhe Mlracle at
Delphl), returns to Lagerkvlst`s examlnatlon of the dual
lstlc nature of human exlstence. Jhe lnterplay between
splrlt and nature and the constructlve and destructlve
forces lnherent ln the human condltlon are descrlbed ln
Nletzschean terms as the confllct between the Apollo
nlan and Dlonyslan. Slgnlflcantly, Lagerkvlst argues that
Western culture ltself ls the product of the lmpulses of
both forces and ls at lts most dynamlc when these ele
ments are ln harmony and balance. Lagerkvlst expresses
the fervent hope that manklnd wlll recognlze the slgnlfl
cance of thls lnterplay rather than choose to cultlvate the
destructlve forces ln the manner of totalltarlan move
ments. 'Hellensk morgondrm" (Hellenlc Mornlng
Dream), the fourth and flnal essay, ls a short but succlnct
summatlon of Lagerkvlst`s nonpartlsan stance; a clear
mornlng ln Greece provldes hlm wlth a brlef gllmpse of
the reallty that ls normally obscured by the bellef sys
tems, dogmas, and ldeologles wlth whlch manklnd sur
l3
ai_ PPN m i~
rounds ltself. Ior Lagerkvlst, clarlty ln human llfe, the
reallty of exlstence, can only be percelved, and only
brlefly at that, when manklnd struggles to free ltself
from the shackles of lts own ldeologlcal prlson.
Lagerkvlst`s satlrlcal volce, Swlftlan ln lts lnten
slty, ls at the fore ln the shortstory collectlon f
(l935, In Jhat Jlme). 'Det lllla flltoget" (translated as
'Jhe Chlldren`s Campalgn," l951), frequently com
pared to Swlft`s ^ j m~ (l729), ls an account
of a mllltary campalgn undertaken by an army of chll
dren agalnst a nelghborlng state. Certalnly taklng some
lnsplratlon from the growth of mllltarlstlc youth move
ments ln Germany, Italy, and the Sovlet Lnlon,
Lagerkvlst uses the story to derlde the valorlzlng of war
and the fanatlcal natlonallsm evldent ln the Europe of
hls day. Lagerkvlst`s narratlve dlsplays a masterful
blend of grotesque humor and graphlc reallsm and
lncludes elements of factual, mllltary reportage.
'Det mrkvrdlga landet" (translated as 'Jhe
Strange Country," l951) ls a tale set ln a dystoplan,
totalltarlan future, ln whlch the strange country of the
tltle ls the only place where democracy and personal
freedoms have survlved. Now an archalc and pecullar
backwater, lt has been malntalned as a llvlng museum
and tourlst destlnatlon. Jhe reglmented, unlformed
tourlsts that arrlve ln the country wltness wlth bemuse
ment the personal freedoms of the locals who wear what
they llke, engage ln unlnhlblted polltlcal dlscusslons,
and are free to assoclate wlth anyone, regardless of race.
In 'Det mrkvrdlga landet" Lagerkvlst`s crltlclsm of
totalltarlanlsm ls comblned wlth a dlstlnct warnlng of
the potentlal loss of the democratlc Western tradltlon.
Lndoubtedly lnfluenced by the Spanlsh Clvll
War, Lagerkvlst`s next play, j~ ~ (l936;
translated as q j~ ~ pI l911), nevertheless
demonstrates Lagerkvlst`s ablllty to turn a predoml
nantly reallstlc, polltlcal themea polltlcal assasslnatlon
and lts consequenceslnto metaphyslcal drama. Crltlcs
have frequently compared j~ ~ to the medl
eval morallty plays, emphaslzlng the allegorlcal nature
of the drama. Jhe tltle flgure, a polltlcal assassln, meets
and falls ln love wlth the glrlfrlend of hls most recent
vlctlm. Jhrough the experlence of love, the man
progresses from a posltlon of unreflectlng actlon ln hls
adherence to a polltlcal ldeology to a moral questlonlng
of the nature of polltlcal vlolence and ultlmately to tran
scendental speculatlons. j~ ~ enjoyed a suc
cessful run under the dlrectlon of Llndberg ln
Stockholm and was later taken on a tour of reglonal
theaters ln Sweden, much to Lagerkvlst`s approval.
Jhe poems that comprlse the collectlon d
(l937) reflect Lagerkvlst`s contlnulng examlnatlon of
the confllctlng and contradlctory forces at work ln
human consclousness. In tone and mood the collectlon
resembles some of the more reflectlve passages from
a ~ K Jhe search for truth and the relatlon
shlp between the temporal and the eternal ln human
exlstence are central to the collectlon, as ls the presenta
tlon of the struggle between the Apollonlan forces of
llght and Dlonyslan forces of darkness ln man.
Jhe relatlonshlp between the Apollonlan and the
Dlonyslan ls further examlned ln Lagerkvlst`s next
play, p (l939, Vlctory ln Darkness). Jhe
most reallstlc and conventlonal of all Lagerkvlst`s dra
masand consldered by many crltlcs to be one of hls
weakestp deals wlth central polltlcal lssues
of the day, notably the struggle between democracy and
dlctatorshlp, and the use of polltlcal vlolence. Here too,
however, ln the flgures of the two brothers, Gabrlel Ion
tan, the democratlc prlme mlnlster, and Robert Grant,
the extremlst agltator, Lagerkvlst presents the polltlcal
confllct as one element ln the struggle between contra
dlctory aspects lnherent ln manklnd. Grant galns hls
polltlcal vlctory, and yet, ln the struggle between the
constructlve and destructlve forces represented by Ion
tan and Grant respectlvely, lt ls Iontan who goes to hls
death secure ln the knowledge of hls own transcenden
tal vlctory brought about by the love of hls wlfe, Stella.
Shortly after the outbreak of war Lagerkvlst pub
llshed a short phllosophlcal essay, a ~ ~
(l939, Jhe Llberated Man). Intended as hls testament
were anythlng to befall hlm durlng the war, the essay ls
a summatlon and development of the prlnclples of hls
brand of transcendental 'flghtlng humanlsm." It ls an
optlmlstlc declaratlon of hls bellef ln the good ln man
klnd and ln the notlon of llfe as an eternal, unlfylng
force of whlch each lndlvldual ls a part. Much to
Lagerkvlst`s dlsappolntment, the essay was largely over
looked upon lts publlcatlon.
Durlng the war years Lagerkvlst`s most dlrect
polltlcal statements were made ln hls poetry. Indeed, hls
flrst play of the l910s, j~ ~ (l91l;
translated as j a~ tI l953), ls
a rlch evocatlon of love, dreams, and poetry as means
of transformlng reallty, and the work appears to be a
consclous effort on Lagerkvlst`s part to move away
from the polltlcal engagement that had characterlzed hls
dramas of the l930s. In contrast, Lagerkvlst`s two
poetry collectlons of thls perlod, p (l910,
Song and Struggle) and e ~ (l912, Jhe
Home and the Stars), are both marked by a degree of
polltlcal referentlallty unseen, for example, ln hls poems
of the l930s, and whlch contrlbuted to thelr posltlve
receptlon upon publlcatlon.
Ior all lts dlfflcultles and hardshlps, the flrst half of
the l910s was not wlthout lts hlgh polnts for Lagerkvlst.
In l910 he was elected as one of elghteen 'Immortals" to
the Swedlsh Academy, and ln the same year he recelved
l1
m i~ ai_ PPN
an honorary doctorate from the Lnlverslty of Gteborg,
whlle hls reputatlon both at home and abroad lncreased
slgnlflcantly wlth the publlcatlon ln l911 of the novel
a (translated as q a~I l915).
A masterplece of modern Swedlsh prose, a
ls a complex work ln whlch varlous elementsthe psy
chologlcal, the allegorlcal, and the symbollcare lnter
twlned ln a rlchly textured hlstorlcal novel. Jhe novel ls
set ln Renalssance Italy and concerns the events lnvolv
lng an unnamed prlnclpallty and lts major flgures. Jhe
flctlonal world ln the novel, albelt a styllzed representa
tlon of the Renalssance, reveals Lagerkvlst`s customary
attentlon to hlstorlcal detall and makes clear alluslons to
the Italy of Leonardo da Vlncl, Nlccol Machlavelll, the
Medlcls, and the Borglas. Lagerkvlst`s deplctlon of
Renalssance court llfe hlghllghts the contradlctlons of
the age; the Renalssance, regarded as a hlgh polnt ln
humanlsm, was a tlme of remarkable developments and
advances ln the sclences and the arts. Equally lt was a
perlod characterlzed by brutallty and bloodshed, a tlme
of polltlcal power struggles, court lntrlgues, and wars.
In Lagerkvlst`s novel the Prlnce`s humanlstlc and sclen
tlflc lnterests, evlnced by the number of artlsts, astrono
mers, and sclentlsts present at hls court, run alongslde
hls polltlcal asplratlons. Jhe latter preclpltate a costly
war agalnst a nelghborlng state, culmlnatlng ln a mass
polsonlng, a lengthy slege, and an outbreak of plague.
In another major narratlve thread the reader ls wltness
to Prlncess Jeodora`s lasclvlous behavlor and, later, her
torturous rellglous converslon; there ls also the traglc
love story lnvolvlng the young Prlncess Angellca and
the enemy Prlnce Glovannl, and the actlvltles of the
mercurlal, Da Vlncl-llke flgure, Maestro Bernardo.
Lnltlng all these events and flgures and domlnat
lng the novel ls the mallgn tltle character, the court
dwarf, who ls the flrstperson narrator. In the persona
of the Dwarf, Lagerkvlst creates the consummate repre
sentatlon of evll, a character whose stunted emotlonal
development ls dlrectly assoclated wlth hls arrested
physlcal development. He ls a conslstent character
whose actlons and bellefs are ln accordance wlth a
nature that ls governed by evll and hatred.
Lagerkvlst`s dlmlnutlve protagonlst does not, how
ever, functlon solely as a symbol of evll. He also func
tlons as an lndlvldual wlthln the flctlonal world of the
novel. Indeed, Lagerkvlst provldes the Dwarf wlth a
background that suggests the psychologlcal motlvatlon
behlnd hls adherence to evll and hls hatred of manklnd.
Jhere ls undenlable pathos ln the Dwarf`s enraged retell
lng of hls loveless chlldhood, the dlsgust that hls mother
felt toward hlm, and the urgency wlth whlch he was sold
lnto the servlce of the Prlnce. He ls a character who has
been denled the experlence of love and turns lnstead to a
llfe governed by hatred. He llves an lsolated and solltary
llfe, can tolerate no physlcal contact, and ls dlsgusted by
all manlfestatlons of human physlcallty. Slgnlflcantly, the
Dwarf equates love solely wlth the sexual act, an act that
physlcally slckens hlm, and thus cannot dlstlngulsh
between the sensual love represented by Prlncess
Jeodora and the lnnocent love of Prlncess Angellca.
Jhe Dwarf`s hatred ls allencompasslng, dlrected
both at manklnd and at hls own sterlle race, the
dwarves, who choose to make a mockery of thelr own
physlcal appearance for the amusement of prlnces and
thelr courts. Hls message of hatred ls made expllclt
when he presldes over a mock mass for the entertaln
ment of the court. Jhe Dwarf`s lnverted Eucharlst
lnvolvlng the purlflcatlon of human sln through hatred
(and ln vengeance for hls own sufferlng) ls a dark and
threatenlng message that unsettles the court and has a
partlcularly strong effect upon the rellglous Prlncess
Jeodora. In the Dwarf, Lagerkvlst characterlstlcally
blurs the dlstlnctlons between good and evll, as, ultl
mately, lt ls through hlm, actlng as the scourge of God,
that Jeodora attempts to explate her slns, ls destroyed,
but ls also sanctlfled after her death.
Jhe Dwarf ls a pecullarly onedlmenslonal char
acterhe ls lncapable, for example, of humor or lrony
and ls unable to comprehend the lnherent dualltles and
contradlctlons ln manklnd, asslgnlng them to the all
pervadlng hypocrlsy of a base and lnauthentlc race. He
ls lnfurlated and baffled by all notlons of play or dlsslm
ulatlonamong whlch he counts art. Jhe llmltatlons of
hls polnt of vlew are set lnto sharp rellef ln hls relatlon
shlp to all the major characters, but perhaps nowhere
more clearly than ln hls deallngs wlth Maestro Ber
nardo, Lagerkvlst`s representatlve of the Renalssance
man, the breadth of whose sclentlflc and artlstlc lnter
ests leaves the Dwarf alternately confused, dlsgusted,
and enraged. Wlth characterlstlc lncomprehenslon and
obvlous lrrltatlon, the Dwarf also observes Maestro
Bernardo`s vaclllatlon between powerful falth ln the
human splrlt and deep despalr at the llmltatlons of the
human condltlon.
Jhe Dwarf does, however, flnd one form of dual
lty comprehenslble. the dupllclty that he clalms to
observe ln the Prlnce. He actlvely cultlvates the slmllar
ltles between hlmself and the Prlnce, and thls close
ldentlflcatlon culmlnates ln the 'reconclllatlon" ban
quet, where the Dwarf not only follows hls Prlnce`s
orders ln polsonlng hls enemles but also lnterprets hls
wlshes by polsonlng the Prlnce`s frlend and rlval, Don
Rlccardo. As the Prlnce lncreaslngly follows the evll
slde of hls nature, so the Dwarf`s lnfluence grows;
elther dlrectly or lndlrectly, he partlclpates not only ln
the murder of Don Rlccardo but also ln the deaths of
Prlnce Glovannl and the Prlncesses Angellca and
Jeodora. At the end of the novel the Prlnce has the
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Dwarf locked up and chalned ln the palace dungeon;
yet, the Dwarf remalns unperturbed, patlently waltlng
for the day when, lnevltably, the Prlnce wlll send for
hlm agaln. At the tlme of the publlcatlon of aI
readers were ln no doubt as to the contemporary rele
vance of the Dwarf`s concludlng statements. Indeed,
wlth lts deplctlon of war and polltlcal power, and lts
descrlptlons of human brutallty and sufferlng,
Lagerkvlst`s novel lncludes enough clear parallels to the
modern age to be read also as an allegory of contempo
rary Europe.
Lagerkvlst`s novel ls a masterful study of the
bleak and sterlle world of hls evll protagonlst. And yet,
the Dwarf`s narratlve ls not wlthout truth, and many of
hls observatlons on human nature are dlsconcertlngly
valld. Jhe power of Lagerkvlst`s novel lles not only ln
what the Dwarf observes and comments upon, how
ever, but equally ln what he leaves unsald or reveals
through other characters. Even through hls narrow per
spectlve, the asplratlons and scope of the human splrlt
are evldent ln the art, rellglon, and phllosophy of the
age. Jhe Dwarf, however, can only ever provlde a par
tlal understandlng of human exlstence, and, characterls
tlcally, he ls conslstently lncapable of seelng beyond the
materlal level. He dlsmlsses all notlons of the transcen
dental ln the human experlence; slgnlflcantly, for all hls
selfproclalmed persplcaclty, he reveals that he has
never been capable of seelng the stars ln the nlght sky.
On lts publlcatlon, a was heralded as a mas
terplece and was a crltlcal and popular success. It became
a bestseller ln Sweden and also establlshed Lagerkvlst`s
reputatlon lnternatlonally. Wlthln two years of lts publl
catlon ln Sweden, a had been translated lnto
Engllsh, Irench, and German and subsequently lnto
other languages, lncludlng Itallan and Spanlsh.
Jhe second half of the l910s began wlth the pub
llcatlon of two more works, both dramas. a
(l917; translated as q m pI l966) ls set ln
the late Mlddle Ages and has as lts focus the alchemlst
Albertus, whose relentless search for truth and knowl
edge leads to the destructlon of hls famlly`s happlness
and love. Desplte lts hlstorlcal settlng, a has
clear contemporary references both ln the exlstentlal
questlonlng that runs throughout the play and ln the
central dlaloglc presentatlon of the relatlonshlp between
sclence and rellglon. Slgnlflcantly, Albertus`s counter
part, Rabbl Slmonldes, follows a course of actlon that
proves to be slmllarly destructlve as a result of a dog
matlc adherence to hls rellglous bellefs. Jhe cautlonary
nature of a ls clear, and as ln many of
Lagerkvlst`s works, thls play too lncludes a warnlng of
the dangers of the search for absolutes ln human exlst
ence. Jhe play was a crltlcal success and was performed
at the Dramatlc Jheater ln l918. Accordlng to
Lagerkvlst lt was the best productlon of any of hls plays
performed ln Stockholm.
Jhe short play i ~ ~ (l919; translated
as i j~ iI l95l) has generally been regarded less
as a drama than a stage llturgy or oratorlo; lt ls a deeply
moral plece ln whlch Lagerkvlst calls for human under
standlng and love ln a powerful, paclflstlc message. On
a barren stage fourteen martyrs step forth to recount
the judgment passed upon them. Each character`s
monologue contrlbutes to Lagerkvlst`s dlscusslon of
morallty and judgment, the relatlonshlp between good
and evll, and ultlmately to the fundamental nature of
human exlstence. Although i ~ ~ ls not
consldered to rank among Lagerkvlst`s most slgnlflcant
plays, lt stands as a flttlng eplloguelt was Lagerkvlst`s
last orlglnal playfor a dramatlst who repeatedly
sought to experlment wlth the dramatlc form.
Jhe publlcatlon of the novel _~~~ ln l950
marked a new dlrectlon ln Lagerkvlst`s wrltlngs, one
that hlghllghted a move to a more personal presentatlon
of hls major concerns. In the majorlty of hls works pub
llshed between l950 and l967a total of slx novels and
one collectlon of poetryLagerkvlst`s prlmary focus ls
the examlnatlon of the relatlonshlp between the human
and the dlvlne, and speclflcally man`s relatlonshlp to
the Chrlstlan God.
In _~~~I the scant blbllcal references to the
robber and lnsurrectlonlst who was released lnstead of
Chrlst are Lagerkvlst`s startlng polnt for a masterful
novel about the relatlonshlp between doubt and falth,
the human and the dlvlne, llfe and death, and good and
evll. Lagerkvlst uses a sparse, monumental style, con
sclously modeled on that of the Blble but also owlng
much to the narratlve technlques of popular storytell
lng. Jhe slmpllclty of style ln the novel ls evldent also
ln the broad characterlzatlons of flgures such as the glrl
wlth a harellp and Barabbas hlmself. Chrlst ls descrlbed
as weak and underdeveloped, scarcely a fullgrown
man; the unnamed Peter, deplcted as a large and slmple
peasant; and Mary, a stern and reproachful peasant
woman, appear to have more ln common wlth people
from Lagerkvlst`s own rural background than wlth rec
ognlzable representatlons from the Chrlstlan tradltlon.
In the character of Barabbas, Lagerkvlst deplcts
the fate of a speclflc lndlvldual whose llfe ls profoundly
altered by hls partlcular relatlonshlp to Chrlst, and yet
thls sltuatlon also hlghllghts Barabbas`s relatlonshlp to
manklnd ln general. Barabbas, whose place ls taken by
Chrlst, ls qulte llterally the man for whom Chrlst dles
on the cross and, by extenslon, can be regarded as the
representatlve for all manklnd. Hls journey through llfe
followlng Chrlst`s Cruclflxlon ls one characterlzed by
an exlstentlal doubt and a deslre for falth that also
reflects the modern consclousness. Indeed, for all the
l6
m i~ ai_ PPN
blbllcal references and styllstlc technlques ln the novel,
Lagerkvlst`s protagonlst ls throughout also a modern
character, a flgure whose relatlonshlp to the Chrlstlan
falth, and whose doubt and questlonlngs, are clearly
akln to those of Lagerkvlst hlmself.
Irom the outset of _~~~ the sense of amblgu
lty that characterlzes the novel ls establlshed. Lslng a
narratlve technlque that alternates between omnlsclence
and thought represented ln thlrdperson volce,
Lagerkvlst hlghllghts the uncertalnty that pervades hls
protagonlst`s experlences. Barabbas flrst sees the flgure
of Chrlst upon hls release from the palace dungeon; he
observes a dazzllng llght surroundlng Chrlst but
remalns uncertaln lf lt ls a trlck of the llght on emerglng
from the darkness of prlson. Strangely drawn to Chrlst,
Barabbas follows hlm at a dlstance, ls wltness to hls
Cruclflxlon, and experlences the darkness that falls
over Golgotha at Chrlst`s death.
After Chrlst`s Cruclflxlon, Barabbas ls unable to
free hlmself of thoughts of the lnnocent man who dled
ln hls place, and who, he learns, ls regarded by some as
the Messlah. He seeks out the followers of Chrlst,
among them the unnamed Peter, but he ls rejected by
them when they learn hls ldentlty. In order to prove for
hlmself that Chrlst ls not the Savlor and wlll not rlse
from the dead, Barabbas holds watch over hls tomb.
Amblgulty agaln characterlzes the events surroundlng
the Resurrectlon; unllke the glrl wlth the harellp, who
wltnesses Chrlst`s Resurrectlon, Barabbas observes
nothlng but the empty tomb. Later, when the glrl ls
stoned to death for her bellef ln Chrlst, Barabbas
regards her death as the betrayal of her falth, a slgn of
the lneffectuallty of a savlor who can offer no protec
tlon and no salvatlon to hls own followers. He returns
to hls robber band but ls a changed man, and hls
thoughts repeatedly turn to the events on Golgotha.
In a style remlnlscent of the Gospels, the narratlve
moves ahead to a tlme when Barabbas, now ln hls flf
tles, ls a slave ln the Cyprlot copper mlnes. Barabbas`s
llnk to Chrlst remalns close, thls tlme ln the flgure of
Sahak, a Chrlstlan slave to whom he ls llterally chalned.
Although Barabbas ls brlefly converted by Sahak, the
two characters serve to emphaslze two dlvergent attl
tudes to Chrlst; ln contrast to Sahak, who possesses
unquestlonlng falth, Barabbas remalns the man who
has seen but cannot belleve. Later, followlng thelr
release from the mlnes, Sahak ls dlscovered to be a
Chrlstlan and condemned to death for hls falth. Barab
bas, wlth an acute awareness of hls betrayal of Sahak, ls
agaln acqultted; asked lf he ls a Chrlstlan, he can only
answer truthfully that he ls not, although he wants to
belleve. Barabbas`s deslre for falth ls hlghllghted at
Sahak`s cruclflxlon. As on Golgotha many years prevl
ously, Barabbas wltnesses the sufferlngs of a cruclfled
man, and whlle there are no mlracles or unexplalned
events, Barabbas kneels as lf ln prayer but knows he has
no one to pray to.
After Sahak`s death, Barabbas`s amblguous rela
tlonshlp to Chrlst contlnues; on hls return to Rome, he
trles, ln valn, to seek out the Chrlstlans. He throws hlm
self lnto actlon, bellevlng he ls jolnlng a Chrlstlan lnsur
rectlon that ls settlng flre to Rome. Barabbas flnally
belleves he ls actlng upon Chrlst`s blddlng, but lt tran
splres that he ls servlng the wrong masterthe Roman
emperor, Nero. Barabbas ls arrested, lmprlsoned, and
condemned to death wlth the Chrlstlans. He ls cruclfled
along wlth the others but at a sllght dlstance from them,
a further symbollc lndlcatlon of hls relatlonshlp to the
Chrlstlan falth. Perhaps the characterlstlc amblgulty of
Barabbas, and speclflcally of the experlences of the pro
tagonlst, are nowhere demonstrated as clearly as ln the
flnal llnes of the novel, when Barabbas feels death
approachlng and crles out. Hls flnal words have been
much dlsputed ln Lagerkvlst scholarshlp. 'Nr han
knde dden komma, den som han altld hade varlt s
rdd fr, sade han ut l mrkret, som om han talade tlll
det.Jlll dlg verlmnar jag mln sjl" (When he felt
death approachlng, that whlch he had always been so
afrald of, he sald out lnto the darkness, as though he
were speaklng to lt.Jo thee I dellver up my soul).
Does he ln hls flnal moments address God or the
approachlng darkness of death? It ls a questlon that, ln
Lagerkvlst`s presentatlon of Barabbas, can have no
clear answer or deflnlte resolutlon.
Desplte the apparent slmpllclty of Lagerkvlst`s
narratlve, the clear plot structure (bullt upon the three
cruclflxlons), and the broad characterlzatlons, the novel
ls one of Lagerkvlst`s most complex works, wlth Barab
bas`s central confllct hlghllghted as much ln the deplc
tlon of hls relatlonshlp to other contrastlng characters
as lt ls ln the amblgultles of the narratlve. Of these the
most slgnlflcant one ls Barabbas`s relatlonshlp to Chrlst
hlmself, a relatlonshlp that ls marked by contrasts from
the outset when Barabbas emerges from the darkness to
see Chrlst surrounded by a dazzllng llght. Barabbas`s
powerful bulld ls contrasted wlth the physlcal weakness
of Chrlst; hls gullt wlth Chrlst`s lnnocence; hls acqulttal
wlth Chrlst`s Cruclflxlon; and hls experlence of hatred
wlth Chrlst`s llfe surrounded by love. Slmllarly, ln other
contrastlng flgures such as the glrl, Sahak, and Peter,
Lagerkvlst presents the alternatlves to Barabbas`s doubt
and skeptlclsm. Yet, whlle these paradlgmatlc relatlon
shlps serve to set Barabbas apart from Chrlst and hls
followers, they also lndlcate the lntrlcate llnks between
doubt and falth, the human and the dlvlne, and llfe and
death. Jhe glrl experlences human love ln her relatlon
shlp to Barabbas and dlvlne love ln her relatlonshlp to
Chrlst; Barabbas`s closest frlendshlp, wlth Sahak, also
l7
ai_ PPN m i~
brlngs hlm closest to acceptlng Chrlst; whlle Peter, the
dlsclple who denles Chrlst and who (unllke Barabbas)
ls not a wltness to Chrlst`s Cruclflxlon, acknowledges
the dlfflcultles lnherent ln the struggle for Chrlstlan
falth. Barabbas`s condltlon, however, wlll never allow
hlm to arrlve at the Chrlstlan truth espoused by these
characters; slgnlflcantlyand ln terms famlllar from
Lagerkvlst`s own declaratlons ln a ~
Barabbas can understand the Cruclflxlon at Golgotha
but not the Resurrectlon at the tomb, and, characterlstl
cally, hls meetlng wlth another unnamed blbllcal flgure,
Lazarus, emphaslzes not the mlracle of hls rlslng from
the dead but Barabbas`s own fear of death.
At the tlme of the publlcatlon of _~~~ ln l950
Lagerkvlst was travellng wlth hls wlfe ln southern
Europe and the Mlddle East. Letters and telegrams
from famlly and frlends kept hlm lnformed of the crltl
cal and publlc success of the novel, whose flrst prlntlng
ran to the conslderable flgure of twentyflve thousand
coples. Jhe success of _~~~ flrst ln Sweden and then
lnternatlonally (most notably ln Irance, where Andr
Glde became a partlcular admlrer of the novel) con
vlnced the Swedlsh Academy to overcome lts reluctance
to honor a natlve Swede. Jhe commlttee awarded the
l95l Nobel Prlze ln Llterature to Lagerkvlst 'for the
artlstlc vlgor and true lndependence of mlnd wlth
whlch he endeavors ln hls poetry to flnd answers to the
eternal questlons confrontlng manklnd." (Jhe word
translated as 'poetry" was actually I whlch ln
Swedlsh can mean 'llterary works" ln a broader sense
and almost certalnly dld so ln Lagerkvlst`s case; the art
work on hls Nobel dlploma deplcted scenes represent
lng hls novels a and _~~~.) At the award
ceremony Lagerkvlst, a notorlously reluctant publlc
speaker, chose not to make a speech but lnstead read
out an unpubllshed prose plece, 'Myten om mnnlsko
rna" (Jhe Myth of Manklnd), wrltten thlrty years ear
ller. Jhe contlnulng success of _~~~ was further
ensured when Lagerkvlst dramatlzed the novel ln l952.
Jhe novel was also made lnto a movle starrlng
Anthony _ulnn ln l962.
Lagerkvlst had been a member of the Swedlsh
Academy slnce l910. Jhe award of the Nobel Prlze by
the Academy to one of lts own members mlght have
been questloned, partlcularly by those ln the Engllsh
speaklng world, for whom Lagerkvlst was stlll a rela
tlvely llttle known author. However, as a member of the
Academy, Lagerkvlst could nelther nomlnate hlmself
nor vote for hlmself. Nevertheless, lt was an lssue that
he felt he dld need to address ln hls lntroductory
remarks at the Nobel Prlze banquet, even maklng the
polnt that he could enjoy the award ln good consclence
on llterary merlts preclsely because he had not been
lnvolved ln the selectlon process that year. Hls renown
ln Scandlnavla and Germany, andwlth the publlcatlon
of _~~~hls growlng reputatlon ln Irance had made
hlm a popular and loglcal cholce.
In fact, the award to Lagerkvlst ln l95l could not
have come as a complete surprlse. He had flrst been
nomlnated ln l917, and ln l950 there had been consld
erable speculatlon ln the Swedlsh medla and even the
lnternatlonal press that Lagerkvlst would be awarded
the prlze for l919 (whlch had been deferred to l950).
Jhe l919 prlze went lnstead to Wllllam Iaulkner, wlth
the prlze for l950 golng to Bertrand Russell. Ior
Lagerkvlst thls dlsappolntment was certalnly also com
blned wlth some embarrassment. He was an lntensely
prlvate man, and the medla lnterest ln hlm durlng l950
had already made hlm uncomfortable. Even when the
prlze was awarded to hlm ln l95l he eschewed lnter
vlews wlth the medla. Whlle he welcomed journallsts at
hls home ln Lldlng followlng the announcement, even
happlly poslng for photographs, he decllned all requests
for lntervlews, would not be drawn lnto dlscusslons
about hls work, and would not permlt access to hls
study. Even at the hlgh polnt of crltlcal and publlc rec
ognltlon, Lagerkvlst felt that hls prlvacy and creatlve
lntegrlty should not be compromlsed.
Jhe Nobel Prlze threw Lagerkvlst lnto the lnter
natlonal spotllght and certalnly guaranteed hlmalmost
overnlghta much broader lnternatlonal readershlp. All
of hls subsequent novels were translated and publlshed
ln Engllsh (and other major world languages). In addl
tlon, by the mld l950s, many of hls earller short storles,
hltherto unavallable ln Engllsh, had also been trans
lated and publlshed ln collectlons both ln the Lnlted
States and the Lnlted Klngdom. Although Lagerkvlst
never concealed hls obvlous pleasure and prlde at belng
the reclplent of the Nobel Prlze, he refused to be drawn
lnto a more publlc role as a result. He decllned lnvlta
tlons to conferences and congresses, and, accordlng to
hls correspondence, was anxlous to return to a more
prlvate exlstence away from the llmellght. It can also be
argued that thls deslre for prlvacy ls also reflected ln the
lncreaslngly lntrospectlve nature of hls later works,
replete wlth personal symbollsm ln contrast to the pollt
lcal engagement found ln the majorlty of hls works
from the l930s and l910s.
^~ (l953; translated as b i~I l975),
Lagerkvlst`s flnal collectlon of verse, ls a poetlc master
plece and an undlsputed hlgh polnt ln Lagerkvlst`s
poetry. Characterlzed by a greater degree of experlmen
tatlon wlth form than hls earller collectlons, ^~
lncludes many poems that are rhymeless or have free
rhythm. Lagerkvlst`s examlnatlon of hls baslc themes
contlnues, however, ln a serles of poems that hlghllghts
man`s relatlonshlp to the God who may not exlst, the
nature of human exlstence ln the vastness of the unl
l8
m i~ ai_ PPN
verse, and the poet`s contlnued transcendental longlng.
Hls poetlc landscape ls the evenlng land of the soul, a
landscape ln whlch the poet cannot declpher the message
of the stars ln the nlght sky or the lmpenetrable slgns left
by God, and ln whlch the flgure of the stranger and wan
derer, representlng elther man or God, appears.
In several key poems ln the collectlon, the poet
recounts memorles revolvlng around chlldhood experl
ences. In 'Vem glck frbl mln barndoms fnster" (Who
Walked Past the Wlndow of My Chlldhood) the poet`s
chlldhood awareness of God causes hls early feellngs of
allenatlon and lonellness, whlle ln 'Vad upplevde jag
den kvllen" (What Dld I Experlence Jhat Evenlng)
the chlld, under the nlght sky, experlences for the flrst
tlme the vastness and the mystery of the unlverse. In a
thlrd poem, 'Med gamla gon ser jag mlg tlllbaka"
(Wlth Old Eyes I Look Back), dlsparate lmages from
the poet`s chlldhood home are recalled, but the poet
cannot account for thelr slgnlflcance ln a llfe that has
been characterlzed by allenatlon and estrangement.
Central to the collectlon ls the poet`s relatlonshlp to
God; the paradox lnherent ln falth ln a nonexlstent god
ls demonstrated ln 'Om du tror p gud och ngon gud
lnte flnns" (If You Belleve ln God and No God Exlsts),
and yet manklnd reveals lts rellglous, transcendental
longlng ln the act of falth. In another poem, 'En frm
llng r mln vn" (My Irlend Is a Stranger), Lagerkvlst
expresses the paradox of thls longlng ln the llnes 'Vem
r du som uppfyller mltt hjrta med dln frnvaro? /
Som uppfyller hela vrlden med dln frnvaro?" (Who
are you who so flll my heart wlth your absence? / Who
flll the entlre world wlth your absence?). In ^~I
Lagerkvlst characterlstlcally leaves man`s relatlonshlp
to God unresolved and yet lndlcates that man can flnd
meanlng ln exlstence through rellglous longlng and the
relentless search drlven by the experlence of thls God.
Lagerkvlst contlnues hls examlnatlon of man`s
relatlonshlp to the dlvlne ln hls next novel, p~
(l956; translated as q pI l958), ln thls case ln a
dlaloglc form ln the presentatlon of two characters
whose llves have been profoundly shaped by thelr decl
slve meetlngs wlth God. In p~ a young man arrlves
at the Jemple of Delphl ln search of answers to hls fate.
Jhe man ls recognlzable as Ahasuerus, the Wanderlng
|ew of Chrlstlan legend, cursed by Chrlst for refuslng
hlm permlsslon to rest at hls door on hls way to
Golgotha and condemned to an eternal llfe of splrltual
unrest. He ls dlrected to a mountaln cave overlooklng
the town, where an old woman, a former Pythla, llves
wlth her lmbeclle son, a graylng man wlth a permanent
smlle on hls chlldllke face.
Ahasuerus recounts hls tale to the old woman and
the way ln whlch Chrlst`s curse transformed hls happy,
slmple llfe wlth hls wlfe and son lnto the splrltual tor
ment of an eternal llvlng death. Ahasuerus does not
experlence Chrlst as the god of love but as a mallgn god
whose own Cruclflxlon ls further lndlcatlon of the cru
elty of the dlvlne.
Jhe old woman`s response ls to recount the story
of her own llfe fllled wlth the experlence of the power
and terror of her god. As a young woman she was
taken from her parents, slmple and devout peasants,
and chosen to serve at the Jemple at Delphl. Jhere she
was taken deep lnto the sanctuary to the oracle plt,
where she experlenced not only the dellght and ecstasy
but also the paln and agony of dlvlne possesslon. Iol
lowlng each possesslon she felt forsaken by the god
whose absence fllled her wlth loss and longlng. Jhe
power of the woman`s raptures soon led her to be
regarded as a great Pythla, and yet lt also led to her
lncreaslng lsolatlon from humanklnd. On a vlslt home,
however, she met a onearmed soldler who was
unaware of her true ldentlty, and wlth hlm she experl
enced the fullness and happlness of human love. On her
return to the oracle, her god took vengeance upon her
experlence of love by vlolatlng her ln the form of a
black goat and drownlng her lover. When, later, the
rumors of the Pythla`s pregnancy were conflrmed, she
was assaulted by the crowds and rescued from certaln
death only by the lnterventlon of the compasslonate
temple servant. Escaplng to the cave ln the mountalns,
she gave blrth to her wltless son, whose sllent presence
ls a constant mockery of the beauty and joy of the love
she experlenced wlth the soldler.
Jhe mysterlous and enlgmatlc nature of man`s
experlence of the dlvlne ls hlghllghted at the concluslon
of the novel. At the end of her story, the old woman
notlces that her son has dlsappeared. Accompanled by
Ahasuerus, she follows hls footprlnts ln the snow up the
mountaln untll they vanlsh wlthout a trace. Ior the
woman comes the reallzatlon that she has glven blrth to
the son of her god, who has now returned to hls father.
Ior Ahasuerus, the enlgmatlc smlle on the face of the
woman`s son represents the enlgma of God, who ls nel
ther good nor evll, but he cannot rld hlmself of hls
hatred for the god under whose curse he contlnues to
suffer. In the partlng words of the old woman,
Lagerkvlst glves full expresslon to the paradox of the
dlvlne ln the human condltlon. She acknowledges both
the happlness and unhapplness that her experlence of
her god has brought her, both the curse and the bless
lng that comes from belng fllled wlth the dlvlne splrlt,
but also acknowledges that her llfe has been profoundly
rlcher for the experlence. Jo Ahasuerus, as well, she
offers hope, perhaps even reconclllatlon ln hls relatlon
shlp to God, and recognlzes that hls allencompasslng
despalr ls equally and also the experlence of the dlvlne.
l9
ai_ PPN m i~
Jhe broad characterlzatlons ln Sibyllov also con
trlbute to Lagerkvlst`s exposltlon of hls central thematlc
concern; the two major characters, as well as the
Pythla`s wltless son, her parents, and the temple atten
dant, functlon less as clearly deflned lndlvlduals than as
types through whlch he dlscusses man`s relatlonshlp to
God; slgnlflcantly, attltudes to the dlvlne are not pre
sented solely ln the two major characters. Jhe portrayal
of the humble and compasslonate temple servant brlngs
to mlnd several representatlves of the dlvlne from ear
ller Lagerkvlst works, whlle the deplctlon of the slmple
falth and devout nature of the Pythla`s parents ls strlk
lng ln lts slmllarltles to Lagerkvlst`s presentatlon of the
world of the parents ln Cost los vcrlliglctcv. Indeed, the
Pythla`s sense of allenatlon from her parents` slmple
llfestyle appears rooted ln Lagerkvlst`s own estrange
ment from the rural Smland ln whlch he was ralsed.
Jhe deeply personal nature of the novel ls further
emphaslzed ln the flgure of Ahasuerus, wlth whom
Lagerkvlst clearly ldentlfles; ln hls work notes he
planned to draw a parallel between the man who
denled Chrlst permlsslon to rest at hls threshold and hls
own relatlonshlp to the Chrlstlan falth.
Jhe flgure of the Wanderlng |ew reappears, now
ln a medleval settlng, ln Lagerkvlst`s next novel, Zlos-
vcrus dd (l960; translated as Tlc Dcotl of Zlosucrus,
l962). Jhe tltle flgure of the novel clearly connects
Zlosvcrus dd to Sibyllov, and yet lt ls an lndlcatlon of the
lnterconnectedness of Lagerkvlst`s late novels that Zlos-
vcrus dd also constltutes the flrst volume ln a trllogy
focuslng on Joblas and hls pllgrlmage; the second
novel, Iilgrim p lovct (translated as Iilgrim ot Sco, l961),
appeared ln l962 and the concludlng part, Dct lcligo lov-
dct (translated as Tlc Holy Iovd, l966), ln l961. Jhe
three volumes also appeared together under the collec
tlve tltle of Iilgrimcv (Jhe Pllgrlm) ln l966.
In Zlosvcrus dd, the Wanderlng |ew arrlves at an
lnn full of pllgrlms headlng for the Holy Land. Jhere
he ls drawn to the lntlmldatlng Joblas, a former stu
dent, soldler, and brutal bandlt, who recounts hls llfe
and the unusual events that preclpltate hls own,
unwllled pllgrlmage. In response to Ahasuerus`s ques
tlon of whether he really ls a pllgrlm, Joblas tells of the
day when he came across a dead woman bearlng the
marks of stlgmata. Ior reasons he cannot hlmself fully
explaln, he fell to hls knees and made a promlse to
undertake a pllgrlmage ln her place. Ahasuerus sees the
lnfluence of Chrlst leadlng Joblas to the stlgmatlc.
Whlle the experlence transforms hlm from hls llfe of
vlolence and awakens hls rellglous longlng, he ls also
bound to earthly, human love for the woman he refers
to as Dlana. She ls a complex and amblguous flgure; a
woman close to nature, she ls deflled and used by
Joblas and becomes a harlot for hls robber band, but
her love for hlm remalns constant. She accompanles
Joblas on the start of hls pllgrlmage and ultlmately sac
rlflces her llfe for hlm when she lntercepts an arrow of
unknown provenance almed at hlm. After Dlana`s
death Joblas contlnues hls attempts to reach the Holy
Land, and, havlng mlssed the last scheduled boat, he
negotlates passage wlth a questlonable crew on a less
thanseaworthy vessel. Ahasuerus holds out llttle hope
of Joblas`s success.
In Zlosvcrus dd the relatlonshlp between Ahasu
erus and Joblas hlghllghts the central theme of human
fellowshlp. Ahasuerus`s meetlng wlth Joblas provldes
hlm wlth a sense of brotherhood for the flrst tlme and
allows hlm to embark on a revelatory journey that ultl
mately frees hlm from the curse that has governed hls
llfe. He comes to the reallzatlon that lt ls God who sepa
rates man from the dlvlne. Yet, ln the flgure of Joblas, a
pllgrlm unllke the others, he recognlzes the value of
bellef ln the Holy Land that may remaln lnaccesslble to
manklnd and that ls concealed by the dlstortlons and
falslflcatlon of rellglous bellef.
In hls central, concludlng monologue Ahasuerus
ls able to reevaluate hls relatlonshlp to Chrlst, begln
nlng wlth a llne of questlonlng that ls famlllar from
orobbos, Zftovlovd, and Sibyllov, namely, man`s persecu
tlon at the hands of God. Ahasuerus goes on to accuse
Chrlst for marklng hlm out for hls crlme agalnst hlm
and sees Chrlst`s Cruclflxlon not as a unlque or decl
slve event but as one example of the sufferlng and stlg
matlsm that characterlzes human llfe ln general.
Gradually, he comes to reconclle hls fate wlth that of
Chrlstrecognlzlng thelr brotherhoodas he galns an
understandlng that Chrlst ls not vlndlctlve but, llke
hlmself, has suffered and has been cursed by a vlndlc
tlve, cruel God. Wlth thls reallzatlon comes the peace
for whlch Ahasuerus has been longlng; he dles ln a
monastery, watched over by a klnd, smlllng monk, who
appears to klndle a dlstant memory ln Ahasuerus.
In Iilgrim p lovct Lagerkvlst contlnues the story
of Joblas`s pllgrlmage. It transplres that Joblas has
secured passage to the Holy Land onboard a plrate
shlp. Among the unsavory crew ls the godless but good
Glovannl, a defrocked prlest, whom Joblas befrlends
and who later saves hls llfe. Glovannl, who has glven
hlmself over to llfe at sea and has derlved a sense of
peace from lt, understands that the only certaln thlngs
ln llfe are lts lnsecurlty and uncertalnty.
In Iilgrim p lovct Lagerkvlst utlllzes a slmllar dla
loglc structure to that of Zlosvcrus dd, wlth one charac
ter relatlng hls story to the other for whom these
narrated experlences are slgnlflcant for hls own splrltual
development. Jhls tlme Glovannl recounts hls story to
Joblas. hls llfe ln a strlctly rellglous famlly, hls tralnlng
as a prlest, and hls love affalr wlth a marrled woman
20
m i~ ai_ PPN
who ls obsessed wlth thoughts of her true love. When
Glovannl`s affalr wlth the woman ls dlscovered, he ls
excommunlcated. Glovannl shows Joblas the locket
that he constantly wears around hls neck. It used to
belong to the marrled woman, who had clalmed that lt
contalned the lmage of her lover. Glovannl wlll not be
parted from thls object, even though he reveals that the
locket lsand always has beenempty, and thus that the
object of her love has been lllusory. Jhe story of the
woman ls flnally connected to Joblas`s own pllgrlmage
when Glovannl recounts hearlng that she had dled onboard a
pllgrlm boat approachlng the Holy Land.
Glovannl`s story allows Joblas to contemplate the
nature of both man`s splrltual longlng (represented by
the pllgrlmage) and hls experlence of love (represented
by the locket). Ior Joblas, the Holy Land, llke the expe
rlence of perfect love, ls beyond human reach, and
manklnd can only ever flnd ltself on a journey toward
lt. And yet, nelther the emptlness of the locket nor the
lnaccesslblllty of the shore that lles beyond the sea can
detract from the slgnlflcance of elther ln manklnd`s
transcendental search. In the sea and the locket, and the
complexltles and paradoxes assoclated wlth them,
Lagerkvlst creates some of hls most complete symbollc
representatlons for the two lnterrelated themes that
domlnate hls opus; lt ls the longlng, whether ln the rell
glous search or for the experlence of perfect loveeven
lf they may appear lllusory or beyond reachthat
deflnes the transcendental ln the human experlence.
Jhe concludlng part of the trllogy, a ~ ~J
I ls a dlfflcult novel, replete wlth obscure, personal
symbollsm. Many years have passed, and Glovannl,
now bllnd, and Joblas have been set ashore on the
coast of a barren and wlndswept country that, wlth the
exceptlon of a rulned temple, ls devold of any trace of
culture or rellglon. Jhe populatlon conslsts almost
entlrely of old shepherds who llve ln mud huts wlthout
women or chlldren. In thls settlng Glovannl and Joblas
experlence a serles of mysterlous events; the shepherds
lead them to a hut at the bottom of a mountaln where
an lnfant chlld has become an object of worshlp. Joblas
dlgs up an lmage from the ground, a face carved lnto
stone wlth a derlslve smlle; vultures start to appear
above the country as the sheep begln to dle. A sacrlfl
clal prlest kllls and performs a rltual on a blrd and then
sacrlflces a lamb. A strange woman arrlves from the
mountaln, carrylng ln a basket a snake that causes the
death of the chlld. Jhe woman also removes the locket
from around Glovannl`s neck, whlch causes hls death,
and hands the locket to Joblas.
In the flnal part of the novel the landscape sur
roundlng Joblas becomes lncreaslngly undeflned and
dreamllke as he makes hls way across the mountalns.
In hls wanderlngs he comes across three empty crosses
on a hlll and understands each cross to be of equal slg
nlflcance. Later on he sees the flgure of a man at a rlver,
but when he approaches hlm and looks down at the
man`s reflectlon, he sees only hlmself. Comlng across a
flgure of the Madonna on the slde of the path, Joblas
rests and ls remlnded of hls youthful betrayal of a
young woman who became pregnant by hlm; Joblas
forced her to abort the chlld, and she subsequently
commltted sulclde. Jhe Madonna comes to llfe and
transforms lnto the young woman, who forglves Joblas
and removes the locket from hls neck; as she places lt
around her neck, the locket beglns to glow brlghtly, and
Joblas can dle ln peace. In a ~ ~I Lagerkvlst
thus leaves the flnal word to the power of human love
and suggests, ln the Madonna`s transformatlon lnto the
woman, that only human love can brlng Joblas to hls
holy land.
Jhe notlon of the redemptlve posslbllltles of love
flgures centrally ln Lagerkvlst`s flnal work, the short
novel j~~ (l967; translated as e ~ j~~I
l968). In j~~ Lagerkvlst tells the story of Herod
the Great, the tyrannlcal klng of |udea, and of hls love
for hls queen, the good and compasslonate Marlamne.
Herod ls a forblddlng flgure over whose evll nature not
even love can effect a permanent change. And yet, for a
whlle, Herod`s manner ls altered by Marlamne, and a
mllder perlod of rule beglns. Lltlmately, however, he ls
unable to deny hls evll nature; hls love for Marlamne
turns to jealousy and hate, and he returns to hls earller
ways. On Herod`s orders Marlamne ls murdered. Iol
lowlng her death he becomes lncreaslngly lsolated and
ls gradually destroyed by a termlnal lllness, the result of
hls dlssolute llfestyle. He fears the newsheralded by
three wlse men who arrlve at hls palaceof a new klng
born ln hls land and orders the slaughter of the lnno
cents. Abandoned and alone, Herod dles ln hls empty
palace, repeatedly calllng out Marlamne`s name.
In thls flnal novel Lagerkvlst dlspenses wlth all
narratlve embelllshments; the style ls sparse, the lan
guage ls slmple and characterlzed by a hlgh degree of
repetltlon, and the plot ls stralghtforward. As ln all hls
works, the slmpllclty of hls prose belles the complexltles
lnherent ln thls novel. Lagerkvlst`s narratlve contrasts
appearance and reallty and questlons the relatlonshlp
between actlons and motlvatlon, thus emphaslzlng the
dlfflculty of arrlvlng at the truth ln the story. Even the
confllct between good and evll represented ln the antl
thetlcal characters of Herod and Marlamne appears
anythlng but clearcut; Marlamne`s lnfluence over
Herod ls conslderable at tlmes, and even after her death
he cannot free hlmself from hls feellngs for her and dles
wlth her name on hls llps. In the flgure of Marlamne,
Lagerkvlst creates an embodlment of purlty, goodness,
and the posslblllty of salvatlon through love. He sug
2l
ai_ PPN m i~
gests that the love represented by Marlamne ls close to
the dlvlne, and wlth clear alluslons to Paul`s converslon
he has Herod`s flrst (and profound) meetlng wlth Marl
amne take place at the Damascus gate. Yet, because of
Herod`s nature hls experlence of love ls never entlrely
free of evll. Hls attempt to arrlve at the love represented
by Marlamne, however, ls closely connected to the
search for the dlvlne and the transcendental ln the
human experlence that concerned Lagerkvlst through
out hls llfe.
Moriomvc was publlshed ln the year after the death
of Elalne Lagerkvlst. In hls notes Lagerkvlst acknowl
edged the autoblographlcal element ln hls story, wrltlng
that the sense of loss experlenced by Herod was hls
own at the death of hls wlfe. After hls wlfe`s death he
contlnued to llve at Lldlng, mostly ln the company of
hls daughter. Although he contlnued to make prellml
nary sketches for new llterary works, Lagerkvlst pub
llshed nothlng else. Hls flnal notebook, begun ln l970,
reveals hls contlnued actlvlty and tradltlonal llterary
themes; lt runs to more than one thousand pages and
conslsts prlmarlly of personal reflectlons on hls amblva
lent relatlonshlp to God and on hls own approachlng
death. Pr Lagerkvlst dled on ll |uly l971.
iW
rcv, edlted by Ingrld Schler (Stockholm. Bonnler,
l99l).
_~W
Lno Wlllers, Ior Iogcrlvists bibliogrofi p scxtiorsdogcv,
2J moj 191 (Stockholm. Bonnler, l95l);
Anders Ryberg, Ior Iogcrlvist iv Trovslotiov (Stockholm.
Bonnler, l961);
Rolf Yrlld, Ior Iogcrlvists lritilcr: Iv rcccvsiovsbibliogrofi
(Lund. Studentlltteratur, l970);
Ray Lewls Whlte, Ior Iogcrlvist iv Zmcrico (Stockholm.
Almqvlst Wlksell / Atlantlc Hlghlands, N.|..
Humanltles Press, l979).
_~W
Ingrld Schler, Ior Iogcrlvist: Iv biogrofi (Stockholm.
Bonnler, l987);
Llf Lagerkvlst, Dcv bortvovdcs ovsiltc: Iv mivvcsbol
(Stockholm. Bromberg, l99l);
Bengt Lagerkvlst, !cm spclor iv vottcv: Dcv uvgc Ior
Iogcrlvist (Stockholm. Atlantls, 200l).
oW
A. B. Benson, 'Pr Lagerkvlst. Nobel Laureate," Collcgc
Ivglisl, l3 (l952). 1l7-121;
|an Bjndal, Iildcv og dcv lclligc lcvgscl: Iv studic i Ior
Iogcrlvists scvcrc romovcr (Oslo. Solum, 2000);
Jhomas Buckman, 'Pr Lagerkvlst and the Swedlsh
Jheatre," Tulovc Dromo Icvicw, 6 (l96l). 60-89;
Plotr Bukowskl, UrdvuvgssclwuvdUrdvuvgswovdcl: Ior
Iogcrlvist uvd dcr dcutsclc Ixprcssiovismus (Irankfurt
am Maln. Peter Lang, 2000);
Agnleszka ClenkowskaSchmldt, Sclvsuclt vocl dcm
Hciligcv Iovd: Iivc Studic u Ior Iogcrlvists spotcr
Iroso (Irankfurt am Maln New York. Peter
Lang, l985);
Vlktor Claes, Ior Iogcrlvists 'orobbos som romov
(Vxj. Pr Lagerkvlst-samfundets frlag, l993);
Everett M. Ellested, 'Pr Lagerkvlst and Cublsm. A
Study of Hls Jheory and Practlce," Scovdivoviov
Studics, 15 (Wlnter l973). 37-52;
Karln Iabreus, Sogcv, mytcv ocl modcrvismcv i Ior
Iogcrlvists tidigostc proso ocl Uvdo sogor (Stockholm.
Almqvlst Wlksell Internatlonal, 2002);
Ragnhlld Iearnley, Ior Iogcrlvist (Oslo. Gyldendal,
l950);
Gustaf Iredn, Ior Iogcrlvist frv Cudstovlcv till orob-
bos, second edltlon (Stockholm. Svenska bokfr
laget/Bonnler, l951);
Hans O. Granlld, Dct mcdvctvo borvct: Stil ocl ivvcbrd i
Ior Iogcrlvists Cost los vcrlliglctcv (Gteborg.
Akademlefrlaget/Gumpert, l96l);
Peter Hallberg, 'Stjrnesymbollken l Pr Lagerkvlsts
lyrlk," Ctcborgs-studicr i littcroturlistoric tillogvodc
Svcrlcr Il (l951). 3l3-312;
Arne Hannevlk, 'Pr Lagerkvlsts drama Bdeln,"
Iddo, 61 (l961). l-l7;
Kjell Heggelund, Iilsjov og virlcliglct: Iv studic i trc vord-
islc jcg-romovcr (Oslo. Lnlversltetsforlag / Stock
holm. Bonnler, l966);
Kal Henmark, Iromlivgcv Iogcrlvist (Stockholm. Rabn
Sjgren, l966);
Erlc O. |ohannesson, 'Pr Lagerkvlst and the Art of
Rebelllon," Scovdivoviov Studics, 30 (l958). l9-29;
Wllly |nsson, Cud, motos ocl lorlcl: Um Ior Iogcrlvists
fodcrvmilj ocl borvdomsvorld (Vxj. Oja hem
bygdsoch Kultyurmlnnesfrenlng, l978);
|nsson, Som or frv cviglct: Um trygglctsgruvdcr ocl
oroslordor i Ior Iogcrlvists liv ocl diltvivg (Vxj.
Kulturfrenlngen Memorla, l99l);
LrpuLllsa Karahka, ogct ocl ismcrvo: Studicr i Ior
Iogcrlvists cstctislo tcori ocl lyrislo proltil t.o.m. 1916
(Lund. Cavefors, l978);
LllaBrltta Lagerroth, Icgi i mtc mcd dromo ocl somlollc:
Icr Iivdbcrg tollor Ior Iogcrlvist (Stockholm.
Rabn Sjgren, l978);
Bengt Larsson, Ior Iogcrlvist ocl dct storo somlollsbyggct:
Irivg ctt motiv i cv opubliccrod bcrottclsc frv lstcv
1917 (Vxj. Pr Lagerkvlst-samfundets frlag,
l995);
22
m i~ ai_ PPN
Larsson, 'Pr Lagerkvlsts lltterra kublsm," Somlorcv,
85 (l965). 66-95;
Per Llndberg, 'Ngra synpunkter p Pr Lagerkvlsts
dramatlk," Svcvsl littcroturtidslrift, 3 (l910). l55-
l86;
Orjan Llndberger, Ior Iogcrlvist ocl vldsmoltcrvo:
Irclosvivg lllcv vid Ior Iogcrlvist-somfuvdcts
rsmtc: Iidivg lrdogcv dcv 2J moj 1992 (Vxj.
frlag, l992);
Sven Llnnr, Ior Iogcrlvists livstro (Stockholm. Bonnler,
l96l);
Llnnr, 'Pr Lagerkvlst`s 'Jhe Eternal Smlle` and Tlc
Sibyl," Scovdivoviov Studics, 37 (l965). l60-l67;
Gunnel Malmstrm, Mcvvcslcljcrtcts vcrdcv: Hovcdmotiv i
Ior Iogcrlvists diltvivg (Oslo. Gyldendal, l970);
|ran Mjberg, Zvgcst vor lovs orvcdcl: Um Ior Iogcrlvist
som lyrilcr (Vxj. Pr Lagerkvlstsamfundet,
l999);
Mjberg, 'Det frnekade mrkret," Somlorcv, 35
(l951). 78-ll2;
Otto Oberholzer, Ior Iogcrlvist: Studicv u scivcr Iroso uvd
scivcv Dromcv (Heldelberg. Wlnter, l958);
Yngve B. Olsson and Gunnar Syrhn, Tv Iogcrlviststud-
icr (Vxj. Pr Lagerkvlst-samfundets frlag,
l993);
Ior Iogcrlvist 100 r: Irclosvivgor ocl ovfrovdcv i !oxj
vrcv 1991, edlted by the Pr Lagerkvlst-samfun
det (Vxj. Pr Lagerkvlst-samfundets frlag,
l992);
Anders Rlngblom, Smlovd i vorldcv: Um Iogcrlvist ocl
Mobcrg (Vxj. Pr Lagerkvlstsamfundet, l998);
Scovdivovico, speclal Lagerkvlst lssue, edlted by Sven
Llnnr, l0 (l97l);
Ingrld Schler, Som i Zftovlovd: Studicr lrivg tcmoto, motiv
ocl mctod i Ior Iogcrlvists sisto diltsomlivg (Stock
holm. Akademllltteratur, l98l);
Schler, 'Lnder stjrnorna. 'Det humanlstlska manl
festet` hos Pr Lagerkvlst," òrdisl tidslrift, 68
(l992). 39-61;
Rlkard Schnstrm, Diltcv som bcsvorjclsc: cgorcts diolcl-
til i Ior Iogcrlvists frfottorslop (Stockholm
Lund. Symposlon, l987);
Irene Scobble, 'Pr Lagerkvlst," ln Zspccts of Modcrv
Swcdisl Iitcroturc (Norwlch, L.K.. Norvlk, l988),
pp. l12-l67;
Scobble, Ior Iogcrlvist: Cost los vcrlliglctcv (Hull. Lnl
verslty of Hull Press, l971);
Lelf Sjberg, Ior Iogcrlvist (New York. Columbla Lnl
verslty Press, l976);
Osten Sjstrand, Ior Iogcrlvist: Ivtrodcstol i Svcvslo olod-
cmicv (Stockholm. Norstedt, l975);
Andreas Skartvelt, Cud slopt i mcvvcslcts bilctc: Iiv
Iogcrlvist-studic (Oslo. Norske samlaget, l966);
Robert D. Spector, 'Lagerkvlst and Exlstentlallsm,"
Scovdivoviov Studics, 32 (l960). 203-2ll;
Spector, 'Lagerkvlst, Swlft and the Devlces of Iantasy,"
!cstcrv Humovitics Icvicw, l2 (l958). 75-79;
Spector, 'Lagerkvlst`s Lses of Deformlty," Scovdivoviov
Studics, 33 (l96l). 209-2l7;
Spector, Ior Iogcrlvist (New York. Jwayne, l973);
Jhure Stenstrm, crottortclvislo studicr i Ior Iogcrlvists,
Iors Cyllcvstcvs ocl Coro Sovdcls proso (Stockholm.
Bonnler, l961), pp. l-20;
Roy A. Swanson, 'Evll and Love ln Lagerkvlst`s Crucl
flxlon Cycle," Scovdivoviov Studics, 38 (l966).
302-3l7;
Swanson, 'Lagerkvlst`s Dwarf and the Redemptlon of
Evll," Discoursc, l3 (l970). l92-2ll;
Gunnar Jldestrm, ed., Syvpuvltcr p Ior Iogcrlvist
(Stockholm. Aldus/Bonnler, l966);
Egll Jrnqvlst, 'Pr Lagerkvlst. Bdeln," ln Svcvslo
dromostrulturcr (Stockholm. Prlsma, l973), pp. 85-
l07;
Rlchard B. Vowles, 'Jhe Ilctlon of Pr Lagerkvlst,"
!cstcrv Humovitics Icvicw, 8 (l951). lll-ll9.
m~W
An extenslve collectlon of Pr Lagerkvlst`s notebooks,
letters, and papers are housed at the Royal Llbrary ln
Stockholm.
NVRN k m i~
m~ p
by Zvdcrs stcrlivg, Icrmovcvt Sccrctory of tlc
Swcdisl Zcodcmy
In a youthful manlfesto of l9l3 entltled Urdlovst ocl
bildlovst |Verbal Art and Plctorlal Art|, Pr Lagerkvlst,
whose name was then unknown, had the audaclty to flnd
fault wlth the decadence of the llterature of hls tlme
whlch, accordlng to hlm, dld not answer the requlre
ments of art. Hls essay contalns declaratlons whlch ln
thelr far too categorlal form border on trulsm, but whlch
ln the llght of hls later work take on another, more pro
found meanlng. Jhus the young wrlter declared, 'Jhe
wrlter`s mlsslon ls to explaln hls tlme from an artlst`s
polnt of vlew and to express the thought and feellng of
thls tlme for us and generatlons to come." Joday we can
afflrm that Lagerkvlst hlmself, as far as one can follow
hlm ln hls ascent toward maturlty and greatness, amply
accompllshed thls goal.
Joday we call attentlon to thls Swedlsh wrlter, not
to present hlm ln a general fashlonwhlch would lndeed
seem superfluousbut to render to hls work and to hls
23
ai_ PPN m i~
person the homage due to them. Our attentlon ls drawn
above all to the lmpassloned, unfalterlng slncerlty, the
ardent, unwearylng patlence, that have been the llvlng
forces behlnd hls work. By these purely splrltual quall
tles, Pr Lagerkvlst should answer falrly well, at least as a
type of creatlve mlnd, to what Nobel sald ln the Slbylllne
terms of hls wlll. 'ln an ldeallstlc sense." Lndenlably he
belongs to that group of wrlters who, boldly and dlrectly,
have dedlcated themselves to the vltal questlons of
humanlty, and who have tlrelessly returned to the funda
mental problems of our exlstence, wlth all that ls over
whelmlng and sorrowful. Jhe era ln whlch he llved,
whose materlals determlned hls vocatlon, was menaced
by rlslng clouds and by the eruptlons of catastrophes. It ls
on thls sombre and chaotlc scene that he began to flght;
lt ls ln thls country wlthout sun that he dlscovered the
flame of hls lnsplratlon.
Lagerkvlst, wlth a precoclous lnstlnct of the lmagl
natlon, apprehended the approachlng dlsaster so far ln
advance that he was the prophet of angulsh ln Nordlc llt
erature; but he ls also one of the most vlgllant guardlans
of the splrlt`s sacred flre whlch threatens to be extln
gulshed ln the storm. A number of those llstenlng to me
surely recall the short story ln Lagerkvlst`s l~ p~
(l921) |Evll Jales|, ln whlch one sees the chlld of ten, on
a lumlnous sprlng day, walklng wlth hls father along the
rallroad track; they hear together the songs of the blrds
ln the forest, and then, on thelr way back, ln the dusk,
they are suddenly surprlsed by the unknown nolse whlch
cleaves the alr. 'I had an obscure forebodlng of what that
meant; lt was the angulsh whlch was golng to come, all
the unknown, whlch Iather dld not know, and from
whlch he could not protect me. Here ls what thls world
wlll be, what thls llfe wlll be for me, not llke Iather`s llfe
ln whlch everythlng was reassurlng and well establlshed.
It was not a real world, not a real llfe. It was only some
thlng ablaze whlch rushed lnto the depths of obscurlty,
obscurlty wlthout end." Jhls chlldhood memory now
appears to us as a symbol of the theme that domlnates
Pr Lagerkvlst`s work; at the same tlme, one mlght say
that lt proves to us that hls subsequent works are authen
tlc and loglcally necessary.
It ls lmposslble, wlth the short tlme at our dlsposal
today, to examlne all these works ln turn. Jhe lmportant
thlng ls that, whlle Pr Lagerkvlst makes use of dlfferent
genres, dramatlc or lyrlc, eplc or satlrlc, hls way of grasp
lng reallty remalns fundamentally the same. It does not
matter ln hls case lf the results are not always on a level
wlth the lntentlons, for each work plays the role of a
stone ln an edlflce he lntends to bulld; each ls a part of
hls mlsslon, a mlsslon that always bears on the same sub
ject. the mlsery and grandeur of what ls human, the sla
very to whlch earthly llfe condemns us, and the herolc
struggle of the splrlt for lts llberatlon. Jhls ls the theme
ln all the works we choose to recall at thls tlme. d
(l925) |Guest of Reallty|; e~
(l926) |Songs from the Heart|; e~ ~
(l928) |He Who Llved Hls Llfe Over Agaln|; a
(l911) |Jhe Dwarf|; _~~~ (l950). It ls needless to clte
others to glve an ldea of the scope of Lagerkvlst`s lnsplra
tlons and the power of hls genlus.
One of the forelgn experts who, on the flftleth
annlversary of the Nobel Ioundatlon, crltlclzed the hls
torlc serles of Nobel Prlze laureates, gave as crlterla two
condltlons whlch seemed equally lndlspensable to hlm.
on the one hand the artlstlc value of the flnlshed work,
on the other lts lnternatlonal reputatlon. Insofar as thls
last condltlon ls concerned, lt can lmmedlately be
objected that those who wrlte ln a language that ls not
wldespread wlll flnd themselves at a great dlsadvantage.
In any case, lt ls extremely rare that a Nordlc wrlter
could make a reputatlon wlth the lnternatlonal publlc,
and, therefore, a falr judgment on thls klnd of candldate
ls an especlally dellcate matter. However, Nobel`s wlll
expllcltly prescrlbes that the Prlzes should be awarded
'wlthout any conslderatlon of natlonallty, so that they
should be awarded to the worthlest, be he Scandlnavlan
or not." Jhat should also slgnlfy that lf a wrlter seems
worthy of the Nobel Prlze, the fact that he ls Swedlsh, for
example, should not ln the end hlnder hlm from obtaln
lng lt. As for Pr Lagerkvlst, we must conslder another
factor, whlch pleases us very much. hls last work has
attracted much sympathy and esteem outslde our fron
tlers. Jhls was further proved by the lnslstent recommen
datlons wlth whlch Lagerkvlst`s candldacy has been
sustalned by a majorlty of forelgn advlsers. He does not
owe hls Prlze to the Academy clrcle ltself. Jhat the mov
lng lnterpretatlons of the lnner confllcts of Barabbas have
found such repercusslons even ln forelgn languages
clearly shows the profoundly lnsplred character of thls
work, whlch ls all the more remarkable as the style of lt ls
orlglnal and ln a sense untranslatable. Indeed, ln thls lan
guage at once harsh and sensltlve, Lagerkvlst`s compatrl
ots often hear the echo of Smland folklore reecholng
under the starry vault of Blbllcal legend. Jhls remlnds us
once more that reglonal lndlvlduallty can sometlmes be
transformed lnto somethlng unlversal and accesslble to
all.
On each page of Pr Lagerkvlst`s work are words
and ldeas whlch, ln thelr profound and fearful tender
ness, carry at the very heart of thelr purlty a message of
terror. Jhelr orlgln ls ln a slmple, rustlc llfe, laborlous
and frugal of words. But these words, these thoughts,
handled by a master, have been placed at the servlce of
other deslgns and have been glven a greater purpose,
that of ralslng to the level of art an lnterpretatlon of the
tlme, the world, and man`s eternal condltlon. Jhat ls
why ln the statement of the reasons for awardlng the
21
m i~ ai_ PPN
Nobel Prlze to Pr Lagerkvlst, lt seems legltlmate to us to
afflrm that thls natlonal llterary productlon has rlsen to
the European level.
Dr. LagerkvlstWe who have followed you from
close by know how repugnant lt ls to you to be placed ln
the llmellght. But slnce that seems lnevltable at thls
moment, I beg you only to belleve ln the slncerlty of our
congratulatlons at the moment when you recelve thls
award whlch, accordlng to us, you have deserved more
than any other at the present tlme. I have been obllged to
slng your pralses ln front of you. But lf the occaslon were
less solemn, I would be tempted to tell you qulte slmply,
ln the old Swedlsh manner. may lt brlng you happlness.
And now, lt remalns for me to ask you to recelve
from the hands of our Klng the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature
for l95l.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l95l.|
i~W _~ p
f ~ b~ iI j
p ^~ ~ o~ ^~ pI ~
k _~ ~ ` e~ pI NM a
NVRNW
Is there a secret llnk between sclence and poetry?
Perhaps there ls. An Engllsh wrlter has sald. 'Poetry ls
the lmpassloned expresslon whlch ls ln the countenance
of all sclence." Whether these words apply to every scl
ence ls open to questlon, but they do volce a very deep
truth. Great poetry, as well as great sclence, ls a form of
obsesslon. Jhey both want to llft man out of hlmself
and to seek the answer to hls eternal questlons. Wlth a
vlslonary`s strength and an ever deeper earnestness,
you, Pr Lagerkvlst, have sought to throw llght on the
problems of humanlty ln our tlme. Long before most,
you have glven expresslon to the ^ occasloned by
the threatenlng mechanlzatlon and barrenness of mod
ern clvlllzatlon. You have seen the human mlnd as a car,
black and empty, roarlng along ln the dark through
unknown towns to an unknown goal. But by degrees
you have also heard the dellcate flute of tenderness
playlng ln the nlght, and you have seen q b~ p
ln the llfe of humble folk when lt ls llved ln love and
trust. And ln _~~~I your recent great work, you
have shown us mantorpld, uncertaln, gulltladen, llke
most of ushalf unconsclously followlng the Lnknown
One who dled to save manklnd.
We offer you our thanks and congratulatlons and
are happy to have been able to bestow on you, on the
repeated recommendatlon from other countrles, the
honour of the Nobel Prlze.
i~ Eq~~F
I wlsh to express my warm thanks to the Swedlsh
Academy for awardlng me the Nobel Prlze ln Lltera
ture. Jhls ls so great an honour that one may be
excused for asklng oneselfhave I really deserved lt?
Speaklng for myself, I dare not even pose the questlon!
Havlng taken no part ln maklng thls declslon, however,
I can enjoy lt wlth a free consclence. Jhe responslblllty
rests wlth my esteemed colleagues and for thls, too, I
am truly thankful!
We have heard great speeches today and wlll pres
ently hear more. I shall therefore refraln from maklng
one but wlll ask you lnstead to bear wlth me whlle I
read you a passage from a book of mlne that has never
been publlshed. I was wonderlng what I should say on
thls solemn occaslon, when somethlng rather strange
happened; I unearthed an old manuscrlpt datlng back
to l922, twentynlne years ago. As I read lt, I came
upon a passage whlch more or less expressed what I
would have sald ln my speech, except that lt dld so ln
the form of a story, whlch ls much better sulted to my
taste. It ls about the enlgma of our llfe whlch makes
human destlny at once so great and so hard.
I wrote lt nearly thlrty years ago. I was staylng at
the tlme ln a llttle place ln the Pyrenees on the shores of
the Medlterranean, a very lovely part of the world. I
wlll now read you the flrst part of lt as well as I can.
Jhe Myth of Manklnd
Once upon a tlme there was a world, and a man
and a woman came to lt on a flne mornlng, not to dwell
there for any length of tlme, but just for a brlef vlslt.
Jhey knew many other worlds, and thls one seemed to
them shabbler and poorer than those others. Jrue, lt
was beautlful enough wlth lts trees and mountalns, lts
forests and copses, the skles above wlth everchanglng
clouds and the wlnd whlch came softly at dusk and
stlrred everythlng so mysterlously. But, for all that, lt
was stlll a poor world compared to those they possessed
far, far away. Jhus they declded to remaln here for only
a short whlle, for they loved each other and lt seemed
as though nowhere else was thelr love so wonderful as
ln just thls world. Here, love was not somethlng one
took for granted and that permeated everyone and
everythlng, but was llke a vlsltor from whom wondrous
thlngs were expected. Everythlng that had been clear
and natural ln thelr llfe became mysterlous, slnlster, and
velled. Jhey were strangers abandoned to unknown
powers. Jhe love that unlted them was a marvellt was
25
ai_ PPN m i~
perlshable; lt could fade away and dle. So for a whlle
they wlshed to remaln ln thls new world they had
found for themselves.
It was not always dayllght here. After the llght of
day, dusk would fall upon all thlngs, wlplng out, obllter
atlng them. Jhe man and woman lay together ln the
darkness llstenlng to the wlnd as lt whlspered ln the
trees. Jhey drew closer to each other, asklng. why are
we here at all?
Jhen the man bullt a house for hlmself and the
woman, a house of stones and moss, for were they not
to move on shortly? Jhe woman spread sweetscented
grass on the earthen floor and awalted hlm home at
dusk. Jhey loved each other more than ever and went
about thelr dally chores.
One day, when the man was out ln the flelds, he
felt a great longlng come upon hlm for her whom he
loved above all thlngs. He bent down and klssed the
earth she had laln upon. Jhe woman began to love the
trees and the clouds because her man walked under
them when he came home to her, and she loved twlllght
too, for lt was then that he returned to her. It was a
strange new world, qulte unllke those other worlds they
owned far, far away.
And so the woman gave blrth to a son. Jhe oak
trees outslde the house sang to hlm, he looked about
hlm wlth startled eyes and fell asleep lulled by the
sound of the wlnd ln the trees. But the man came home
at nlght carrylng gory carcasses of slaln anlmals; he was
weary and ln need of rest. Lylng ln the darkness, the
man and woman talked bllssfully of how they would
soon be movlng on.
What a strange world thls was; summer followed
by autumn and frosty wlnter, wlnter followed by lovely
sprlng. One could see tlme pass as one season released
another; nothlng ever stayed for long. Jhe woman bore
another son and, after a few years, yet another. Jhe
chlldren grew up and went about thelr buslness; they
ran and played and dlscovered new thlngs every day.
Jhey had the whole of thls wonderful world to play
wlth and all that was ln lt. Nothlng was too serlous to
be turned lnto a toy. Jhe hands of the man became cal
loused wlth hard work ln the flelds and ln the forest.
Jhe woman`s features became drawn and her steps less
sprlghtly than before, but her volce was as soft and
melodlous as ever. One evenlng, as she sat down tlred
after a busy day, wlth the chlldren gathered round her,
she sald to them, 'Now we shall soon be movlng from
here. We wlll be golng to the other worlds where our
home ls." Jhe chlldren looked amazed. 'What are you
saylng, Mother? Are there any other worlds than thls?"
Jhe mother`s eyes met the husband`s and paln plerced
thelr hearts. Softly, she replled, 'Of course there are
other worlds," and she began to tell them of the worlds
so unllke the one ln whlch they were llvlng, where
everythlng was so much more spaclous and wonderful,
where there was no darkness, no slnglng trees, no strug
gle of any sort. Jhe chlldren sat huddled around her,
llstenlng to her story. Now and then, they would look
up at thelr father as lf asklng, 'Is thls true, what Mother
ls telllng us?" He only nodded and sat there deep ln hls
own thoughts. Jhe youngest son sat very close to hls
mother`s feet; hls face was pale, hls eyes shone wlth a
strange llght. Jhe eldest boy, who was twelve, sat fur
ther away and stared out. Ilnally, he rose and went out
lnto the darkness.
Jhe mother went on wlth her story and the chll
dren llstened avldly. She seemed to behold some faroff
country wlth eyes that stared unseelng; from tlme to
tlme she paused as though she could see no more,
remember no more. After a whlle, though, she would
resume her story ln a volce that grew falnter and
falnter. Jhe flre was fllckerlng ln the sooty flreplace; lt
shone upon thelr faces and cast a glow over the warm
room. Jhe father held hls hand over hls eyes. And so
they sat wlthout stlrrlng untll mldnlght. Jhen the door
opened; a gust of cold alr lnvaded the room and the
eldest son appeared. He was holdlng ln hls hand a large
black blrd wlth blood gushlng from lts breast. Jhls was
the flrst blrd he had kllled on hls own. He threw lt
down by the flre where lt reeked of warm blood. Jhen,
stlll wlthout utterlng a word, he went lnto a dark corner
of the room at the back and lay down to sleep.
All was qulet now; the mother had flnlshed her
story. Jhey gazed bewlldered at each other, as lf wak
lng from a dream, and stared at the blrd as lt lay there
dead, the red blood seeplng from lts breast, stalnlng the
floor about lt. All arose sllently and went to bed.
After that nlght, llttle was sald for a tlme; each
one went hls own way. It was summer, bumblebees
were buzzlng ln the lush meadows, the copses had been
washed a brlght green colour by the soft ralns of sprlng,
and the alr was crystal clear. One day, at noon, the
smallest chlld came up to hls mother as she was slttlng
outslde the house. He was very pale and qulet and
asked her to tell hlm about the other world. Jhe
mother looked at hlm ln amazement. 'Darllng," she
sald, 'I cannot speak of lt now. Look, the sun ls shlnlng!
Why aren`t you out playlng wlth your brothers? ' He
went quletly away and crled, but no one knew.
He never asked her agaln but only grew paler and
paler, hls eyes burnlng wlth a strange llght. One morn
lng, he could not get up at all, but just lay there. Day
after day, he lay stlll, hardly saylng a word, gazlng lnto
space wlth hls strange eyes. Jhey asked hlm where the
paln was and promlsed that he would soon be out agaln
ln the sun and see all the flne new flowers that had come
up. He dld not reply, but only lay there not even seem
26
m i~ ai_ PPN
lng to see them. Hls mother watched over hlm and crled
and asked hlm lf she should tell hlm of all the wonderful
thlngs she knew, but he only smlled at her.
One nlght, he closed hls eyes and dled. Jhey all
gathered round hlm, hls mother folded hls small hands
over hls breast and, when the dusk fell, they sat hud
dled together ln the darkenlng room and talked about
hlm ln whlspers. He had left thls world, they sald, and
gone to another world, a better and happler one, but
they sald lt wlth heavy hearts and slghed. Ilnally, they
all walked away frlghtened and confused, leavlng hlm
lylng there, cold and forsaken.
In the mornlng, they burled hlm ln the earth. Jhe
meadows were scented, the sun was shlnlng softly, and
there was gentle warmth everywhere. Jhe mother sald,
'He ls no longer here." A rose tree near hls grave burst
lnto blossom.
And so the years came and went. Jhe mother
often sat by the grave ln the afternoons, starlng over the
mountalns that shut everythlng out. Jhe father paused
by the grave whenever he passed lt on hls way, but the
chlldren would not go near lt, for lt was llke no other
place on earth.
Jhe two boys grew up lnto tall strapplng lads, but
the man and the woman began to shrlnk and fade
away. Jhelr halr turned grey, thelr shoulders stooped,
and yet a klnd of peace and dlgnlty came upon them.
Jhe father stlll trled to go out huntlng wlth hls sons,
but lt was they who coped wlth the anlmals when they
were wlld and dangerous. Jhe mother, aglng, sat out
slde the house and groped about wlth her hands when
she heard them returnlng home. Her eyes were so tlred
now that they could only see at noon when the sun was
at lts hlghest ln the sky. At other tlmes, all was darkness
about her and she used to ask why that was so. One
autumn day, she went lnslde and lay down, llstenlng to
the wlnd as to a memory of long long ago. Jhe man sat
by her slde and, together, they talked about thlngs as lf
they were alone ln the world once more. She had grown
very frall but an lnner llght lllumlnated her features.
One nlght, she sald to them ln her falllng volce, 'Now I
want to leave thls world where I have spent my llfe and
go to my home." And so she went away. Jhey burled
her ln the earth and there she lay.
Jhen lt was wlnter once more and very cold. Jhe
old man no longer went out, but sat by the flre. Jhe
sons came home wlth carcasses and cut them up. Jhe
old man turned the meat on the splt and watched the
flre turn a brlghter red where the meat was roastlng on
lt. When the sprlng came, he went out and looked at
the trees and flelds ln all thelr greenery. He paused by
each one and gave lt a nod of recognltlon. Everythlng
here was famlllar to hlm. He stopped by the flowers he
had plcked for her he loved the flrst mornlng they had
come here. He stopped by hls huntlng weapons, now
covered wlth blood, for one of hls sons had taken them.
Jhen he walked back lnto the house and lay down and
sald to hls sons as they stood by hls deathbed, 'Now I
must depart from thls world where I have llved all my
llfe and leave lt. Our home ls not here." He held thelr
hands ln hls untll he dled. Jhey burled hlm ln the earth
as he had bld them do, for lt was there he wlshed to lle.
Now both the old people were gone and the sons
felt a wonderful rellef. Jhere was a sense of llberatlon
as though a cord tylng them to somethlng whlch was
no part of them had been severed. Early next mornlng,
they arose and went out lnto the open, savourlng the
smell of young trees and of the raln whlch had fallen
that nlght. Slde by slde they walked together, the two
tall youngsters, and the earth was proud to bear them.
Llfe was beglnnlng for them and they were ready to
take possesslon of thls world.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l95l. Pr Lagerkvlst ls the
sole author of hls speech.|
27
p~ i~
(20 òvcmbcr 1SS - 16 Morcl 1940)
h~ m
Uvivcrsity Collcgc Iovdov
and
g t~
Uvivcrsity of !iscovsivMilwoulcc
Jhls entry was expanded by Watson from Petherlck`s
Lagerlf entry ln DI 29: Twcvtictl-Ccvtury Swcdisl
!ritcrs cforc !orld !or II.
BOOKS. Csto crlivgs sogo, 2 volumes (Stockholm.
Hellberg, l89l); translated by Paullne Bancroft
Ilach as Tlc Story of Csto crlivg (London. Gay
Blrd, l898; Boston. Llttle, Brown, l898);
Usyvligo lovlor (Stockholm. Bonnler, l891); translated
by Ilach as Ivvisiblc Iivls (Boston. Llttle, Brown,
l899);
Zvtilrists mirollcr (Stockholm. Bonnler, l897); translated
by Ilach as Tlc Miroclcs of Zvticlrist (Boston. Llttle,
Brown, l899; London. Gay Blrd, l899);
Drottvivgor i Iuvgolollo, jomtc ovdro bcrottclscr (Stockholm.
Bonnler, l899); translated by |essle Brchner as
Tlc _uccvs of Iuvgolollo ovd Utlcr Slctclcs Irom o
Swcdisl Homcstcod (London. Helnemann, l90l;
Garden Clty, N.Y.. Doubleday, Page, l90l);
Iv lcrrgrdssogcv (Stockholm. Bonnler, l899); translated
by C. Ileld as Tlc Tolc of o Movor ovd Utlcr Slctclcs
(London. Laurle, l922)lncludes 'Roman
Blood," 'Vlneta," and 'Jale Jhott";
crusolcm: Tv bcrottclscr, 2 volumes (Stockholm. Bon
nler, l90l-l902; revlsed, l909); translated by
Brchner as crusolcm, 2 volumes (London. Hel
nemann, l903);
Hcrr Zrvcs pcvvivgor (Stockholm. Idun, l903); translated
by Arthur G. Chater as Hcrr Zrvc`s Hoord (Lon
don. Gyldendal, l923); translatlon republlshed as
Tlc Trcosurc (Garden Clty, N.Y.. Doubleday, Page,
l925);
Iristuslcgcvdcr (Stockholm. Bonnler, l901); translated by
Velma Swanston Howard as Clrist Icgcvds (New
York. Holt, l908; London. Mathews Marrot,
l930);
ìls Holgcrssovs uvdcrboro rcso gcvom Svcrigc, 2 volumes
(Stockholm. Bonnler, l906-l907; revlsed, l vol
p~ i~I ~ NVOM Ee ^Ld f~F
28
p~ i~ ai_ PPN
ume, l92l); volume l translated by Howard as
Tlc !ovdcrful Zdvcvturcs of ìls (Garden Clty, N.Y..
Doubleday, Page, l907; London. Blrd, l908); vol
ume 2 translated by Howard as Tlc Iurtlcr Zdvcv-
turcs of ìls (Garden Clty, N.Y.. Doubleday, Page,
l9ll; London. Hodder Stoughton, l9ll);
Iv sogo om cv sogo ocl ovdro sogor (Stockholm. Bonnler,
l908); translated by Howard as Tlc Cirl from tlc
Morsl Croft (Boston. Llttle, Brown, l9l0; London.
Laurle, l9ll);
Hcm ocl stot: Ircdrog vid rstrottslovgrcsscv dcv 1J juvi
1911 (Stockholm. Bonnler, l9ll); translated by
C. Lrsula Holmstedt as Homc ovd Stotc: civg ov
Zddrcss Dclivcrcd ot Stocllolm ot tlc Sixtl Covvcvtiov of
tlc Ivtcrvotiovol !omov Suffrogc Zlliovcc, uvc 1911
(New York. Woman Suffrage Party, l9ll; Lon
don. Internatlonal Woman Suffrage Alllance,
l9l2);
Iiljccrovos lcm (Stockholm. Bonnler, l9ll); translated by
Anna Barwell as Iiliccrovo`s Homc (London. Dent,
l9l3; New York. Dutton, l9l1);
Irlorlcv (Stockholm. Bonnler, l9l2); translated by
Wllllam Irederlck Harvey as Tly Soul Sloll cor
!itvcss! (London. Odhams, l92l);
Stormyrtscv: Iollsldcspcl i 4 oltcr, by Lagerlf and Bernt
Iredgren (Stockholm. Bonnler, l9l3);
Icjsorv ov Iortugollicv (Stockholm. Bonnler, l9l1); trans
lated by Howard as Tlc Impcror of Iortugollio (Gar
den Clty, N.Y.. Doubleday, Page, l9l6);
Duvuvgcv: Iustspcl i fyro oltcr (Stockholm. Bonnler,
l9l1);
Troll ocl movvislor, 2 volumes (Stockholm. Bonnler,
l9l5, l92l);
ovvlyst (Stockholm. Bonnler, l9l8); translated by W.
Worster as Tlc Uutcost (London. Gyldendal, l920;
Garden Clty, N.Y. Joronto. Doubleday, Page,
l922);
oclris Topclius utvccllivg ocl mogvod (Stockholm. Bonnler,
l920);
Mrboclo (Stockholm. Bonnler, l922); translated by
Howard (Garden Clty, N.Y.. Doubleday, Page,
l921);
Iwcvslldslo rivgcv (Stockholm. Bonnler, l925); trans
lated by Irancesca Martln as Tlc Ccvcrol`s Iivg
(London. Laurle, l928); translatlon republlshed
ln Tlc Iivg of tlc Iwcvsllds (Garden Clty, N.Y..
Doubleday, Doran, l93l);
Clorlottc Iwcvslld (Stockholm. Bonnler, l925); trans
lated by Howard ln Tlc Iivg of tlc Iwcvsllds
(Garden Clty, N.Y.. Doubleday, Doran, l93l);
Zvvo Svord (Stockholm. Bonnler, l928); translated by
Howard ln Tlc Iivg of tlc Iwcvsllds (Garden
Clty, N.Y.. Doubleday, Doran, l93l);
Iv lcrrgrdssogcv: Sldcspcl i fyro oltcr (Stockholm. Bon
nler, l929);
Itt borvs mcmoorcr: Mrboclo 2 (Stockholm. Bonnler, l930);
translated by Howard as Mcmorics of My Clildlood:
Iurtlcr Jcors ot Mrboclo (Garden Clty, N.Y.. Dou
bleday, Doran, l931; London. Laurle, l931);
Dogbol. Mrboclo J (Stockholm. Bonnler, l932); trans
lated by Howard as Tlc Diory of Sclmo Iogcrlf
(Garden Clty, N.Y.. Doubleday, Doran, l936;
London. Laurle, l937);
Hst (Stockholm. Bonnler, l933); translated by Ilorence
and Naboth Hedln as Horvcst (London. Laurle,
l935; Garden Clty, N.Y.. Doubleday, Doran,
l935);
Csto crlivgs sogo: Sldcspcl i fyro oltcr mcd prolog ocl cpilog
cftcr romovcv mcd sommo vomv (Stockholm. Bonnler,
l936);
Irv slildo tidcr: Iftcrlomvodc slriftcr, 2 volumes, edlted by
Nlls Afzellus (Stockholm. Bonnler, l913-l915);
Docltcotcrspcl, wlth lntroductlon and commentary by
Ylng JoljerNllsson (Malm. Allhem, l959);
Modomc dc Costro: Iv uvgdomsdilt, wlth an afterword by
Blrgltta Holm (Stockholm. Bonnler, l981).
bW Icgcvdcr (Stockholm. Bonnler, l901);
Slriftcr, l2 volumes (Stockholm. Bonnler, l933-l966);
Mrboclo: Mcd Itt borvs mcmoorcr ocl Dogbol (Stockholm.
Bonnler, l958).
b bW Csto crlivg`s Sogo, translated by
Llllle Judeer (London. Chapman Hall, l898);
crusolcm, 2 volumes, translated by Velma Swanston
Howard (New York. Doubleday, Page, l9l6-
l9l8);
Tlc _uccvs of Iuvgolollo ovd Utlcr Slctclcs, translated by
C. Ileld (London. Laurle, l9l7);
Hcrr Zrvc`s Hoord, translated by Phlllp Brakenrldge
(Stockholm. |an, l952);
Tlc Story of Csto crlivg, translated, wlth an afterword,
by Robert Bly (New York. New Amerlcan
Llbrary, l962);
Mrboclo, translated by Howard, facslmlle edltlon
(Detrolt. Gale Research, l971);
Tlc Iwcvslld Iivg, translated by Llnda Schenck (Nor
wlch, L.K.. Norvlk / Chester Sprlngs, Pa..
Dufour, l99l).
PLAY PRODLCJIONS. Sovlto Zvvos llostcr, Copen
hagen, Dagmar Jheatre, September l895;
Tscv frv Stormyrtorpct, Gotborg, Nya teatern, l3 Aprll
l908;
Tlc Tolc of o Movor, Stockholm, Skansens frlluftsteater,
29 |une l908;
Duvuvgcv, Stockholm, Dramatlc Jheater, l1 September
l9l1;
29
ai_ PPN p~ i~
d~ _ ~~I Stockholm, Dramatlc Jheater, 26
Iebruary l936.
JRANSLAJION. Gerhart Hauptmann, s~~
(Stockholm. Bonnler, l9l9).
OJHER. Ida Bckmann, d~~I foreword by
Lagerlf (Stockholm. Medn, l910).
In l909 Selma Lagerlf became the flrst woman
and the flrst Swede to be awarded the Nobel Prlze ln
Llterature. By her elghtleth blrthday her works had
been translated lnto forty languages. Her flrst novel,
d~ _ ~~ (l89l; translated as q p d~
_I l898), was a turnlng polnt ln Swedlsh llterature.
It also helped promote the actlng career of Greta Garbo
when lt was made lnto a sllent movle ln l921. Jhe two
volume work k e ~~ ~ p
(l906-l907; translated as q t ^
kI l907, and q c ^ kI l9ll) was
commlssloned by the Swedlsh school authorltles for prl
maryschool study of Swedlsh geography and hlstory
and was cleverly devlsed as the journey of a boy who
flles over Sweden on a goose`s back. Jhe book enjoyed
lmmense lnternatlonal success. Lagerlf ls a begulllng
storyteller, whlch has caused many crltlcs to fall to rec
ognlze her sophlstlcatlon and subtexts. She belonged to
the llterary generatlon ln Sweden that succeeded the
naturallsts (of whom August Strlndberg was the
acknowledged leader untll hls rellglous converslon
around l896). Jhls young neoRomantlc group of the
l890s lncluded the poets Verner von Heldenstam (hlm
self a Nobel llterature laureate ln l9l6), Gustaf Irdlng,
and Erlk Axel Karlfeldt (the l93l Nobel llterature lau
reate). Jhey were Romantlc wlthout subscrlblng to the
Jranscendentallsm of the early nlneteenth century.
Jhey rejected the dlctates of naturallsm and the materl
allst school and the strlct conflnes of soclal observatlon;
they wlshed for freedom of lmaglnatlon and form.
Lagerlf had the ablllty to lntroduce the supernatural
and mysterlous lnto her works wlthout adoptlng a rell
glous tone unattractlve to nonbellevers. Her hJ
(l901; translated as ` iI l908) are
concerned wlth goodness, not Chrlstology.
Selma Ottlllana Lovlsa Lagerlf was born on 20
November l858 ln a small manor house called Mr
backa ln the provlnce of Vrmland ln western Sweden.
She was the fourth of flve chlldren of retlred lleutenant
and gentleman farmer Erlk Gustaf Lagerlf and hls
wlfe, Lovlsa Ellsabeth (ne Wallroth), the daughter of a
wealthy merchant and mlne owner ln Vrmland. Jhe
Lagerlfs had centurleslong roots ln Vrmland and had
famlly connectlons to the wrlters Esalas Jegnr, Erlk
Gustaf Gelejer, and Irdlng. Selma Lagerlf`s father
was also born at Mrbacka and was the son of a regl
mental paymaster, Danlel Lagerlf, and Ellsabet Marla
(known as Llsa Maja), ne Wennervlk. Llsa Maja Wen
nervlk, Selma Lagerlf`s paternal grandmother, lnher
lted Mrbacka from her parents and brought her
husband there, just as her own mother, and her mother`s
mother before that, each ln turn had lnherlted Mr
backa and brought a husband lnto the famlly home.
j~~ (l922; translated, l921) lncludes the
story (told ln the thlrd person) of how Selma, three and
a half years old, mysterlously lost the use of her legs,
probably because of the terror of once waklng alone ln
an attlc room, and had to be carrled everywhere. Jwo
years later, her father arranged for the whole famlly to
vlslt the westcoast town of Strmstad ln the hope of
lmprovlng her health. Jhey were lnvlted onboard a
shlp whose captaln had returned from the Iar East
wlth, reputedly, a blrd of paradlse. Selma prlvately
determlned to ask the blrd to cure her. Once the dlnghy
carrylng the famlly had reached the shlp, she was the
flrst person to be carrled up a rope ladder and placed
on the deck. Onboard she asked a cabln boy where the
blrd of paradlse was, and she followed hlm down the
stalrs lnto the captaln`s cabln and cllmbed onto the
table on whlch the beautlful stuffed blrd stood. Jhere
was a commotlon on deck when Selma was mlssed, and
lt was not untll the famlly found her and asked how she
got to the captaln`s cabln that she reallzed she had actu
ally walked. Lagerlf`s works are full of mlraculous and
unaccountable events, lncludlng examples of overcom
lng psychosomatlc and mental lllnesses. After her
astoundlng cure she was left wlth a faulty and palnful
hlp (a congenltal dlsplacement)causlng a llfelong llmp.
Every day she llstened eagerly to storles told by
her paternal grandmother, who retalned a bellef ln
dreams and presentlments and was later flctlonallzed as
the herolne of the novel i~ (l9ll; translated
as i~ eI l9l3). Lagerlf absorbed folklore,
tradltlons, supernatural tales, and anecdotes about the
llvlng and the dead, and lt was a great sadness to her
when her grandmother dled. She read voraclously, and
the romance l~ (l859), by Mayne Reld, wlth lts
beautlful herolne and breathtaklng adventures, opened
up a new world for her. 'fr mlg bllr bekantskapen
med lndlanboken l~ avgrande fr hela llvet. Den
vcker hos mlg en djup, stark lngtan att en gng stad
komma ngot llka hrllgt. Det r den boken, som gr,
att jag vld mlna unga r redan vet, att vad jag helst av
allt vlll syssla med under mlna kommande dagar, det r
att skrlva romaner" (for me acqualntanceshlp wlth the
Red Indlan book l~ becomes a turnlng polnt ln my
whole llfe. It awakens ln me a deep, powerful longlng at
some tlme to create somethlng equally wonderful. It ls
thls book whlch enables me already at thls tender age to
30
p~ i~ ai_ PPN
know that what I above all else want to devote myself
to durlng my comlng llfe, ls to wrlte novels). Jhls decla
ratlon was wrltten for her German publlsher ln l908
and prlnted ln Troll ocl movvislor (l9l5, Jrolls and
Humans). Lntll her change to prose wlth Csto crlivgs
sogo, however, Lagerlf wrote almost excluslvely verse
because of her deepseated reverence for what she had
been brought up to regard as the noblest medlum.
Jhe Lagerlf daughters were taught by govern
esses, whlle the sons had the usual male advantage of a
school and unlverslty educatlon. Whereas Mrboclo
shows Erlk Lagerlf as a man wlth a glft for frlendshlp
and laughter, Itt borvs mcmoorcr: Mrboclo 2 (l930;
translated as Mcmorics of My Clildlood: Iurtlcr Jcors ot
Mrboclo, l931) lndlcates the clouds gatherlng around
Lagerlf`s father and home. At fourteen years old she
was sent for the second tlme (the flrst tlme she was only
nlne years old) to stay for three months ln Stockholm
wlth her maternal aunt, Georglna Afzellus, and her
famlly, ln order to attend remedlal gymnastlc classes.
Jhls perlod ls covered ln Dogbol. Mrboclo J (l932;
translated as Tlc Diory of Sclmo Iogcrlf, l936). Jhe dla
rles provlde lndlspensable lnslghts lnto the formatlve
experlences and the thoughts of the wrlter as a glrl.
Jhe Lagerlf famlly`s comfortable flnanclal sltua
tlon became precarlous ln the mountlng recesslon of the
l870s, whlch threatened mlnlng and agrlculture ln
Vrmland. Lagerlf`s father, whom she adored, became
lncreaslngly helpless and unwell and, faced wlth
lmpendlng dlsaster, began drlnklng heavlly. (He dled ln
l885.) Lagerlf herself lacked domestlc talents, and ln
the famlly`s lmpoverlshed state she was reduced to act
lng as her younger slster`s governess; she was lame and
plaln, and, wlthout hope of marrlage, her prospects were
bleak. She had ln abundance a burnlng deslre to become
a wrlter, however. At age nlneteen she wrote plays for a
puppet theater, Docltcotcrspcl (Puppet Jheater Plays, pub
llshed ln l959)her younger slster enthuslastlcally made
the puppets. She wrote poetry but was never serlously
encouraged to wrlte untll the age of twentytwo, when
she met the wrlter Anna Iryxell, champlon of female
educatlon and daughter of the wellknown prelate and
hlstorlan Anders Iryxell. Anna Iryxell dlscovered
Lagerlf at a weddlng where the young woman was
called upon to read some celebratory verses she had
composed. Lpon hearlng the verses, Iryxell encouraged
Lagerlf to leave home and traln as a teacher. In order
to do so, Lagerlf was forced to battle her father`s
wlshes and lncur a loan ln order to flnance four years of
study ln Stockholm wlth the ultlmate alm of becomlng
selfsufflclent. She spent a year of preparatory study at
Sjbergs lyceum ln Stockholm beglnnlng ln the autumn
of l88l and then three years, from l882 to l885, at
Stockholm`s Women`s Hlgher Jeacher Jralnlng Col
lege, ln lts day a prestlglous lnstltutlon for glfted young
women. Durlng thls tlme she agaln llved wlth the Afze
llus famlly. Jhe college was a stlmulatlng envlronment
for the asplrlng author; she descrlbed lt as a tlme of
awakenlng and rapld development.
Whlle studylng ln Stockholm (ln all llkellhood, ln
the sprlng of l885) Lagerlf wroteprobably to enter
taln her fellow studentsthe narratlve poem Modomc dc
Costro (flrst publlshed ln l981), the actlon of whlch takes
place ln a clrcus tent and at a grand ball. Because of her
handlcap, dances were palnful events for Lagerlf. In
Modomc dc Costro a clrcus artlst and her young daughter
are both soclal lnferlors and unacceptable ln the ball
room where they, nevertheless, perform. Jhe radlant
young clrcus glrl captlvates Selma (the narrator) and
symbollcally stows away ln the Lagerlf famlly`s home
bound carrlage after the ball. In her foreword to Modomc
dc Costro, the femlnlst scholar Blrgltta Holm presents the
poem as the metaphorlcal arrlval on the llterary stage of
the new female wrltersuccessor to Iredrlka Bremer, the
socalled mother of the Swedlsh noveland challenger to
the male llterary establlshment.
Jhe college that Lagerlf was attendlng provlded
a wlderanglng llberal educatlon. She read Ernest
Renan, Charles Darwln, Henry Spencer, and Jheodore
Parker and admlred the Swedlsh poet and thlnker Vlk
tor Rydberg, who, llke Renan, revered |esus Chrlst`s
goodness but denled hls dlvlnlty. Lagerlf was not a
bellever ln Chrlstlan dogma, although she flrmly
belleved that God ls love and that the unlverse ls gov
erned by hls moral laws. Her tlme ln Stockholm was
spent not only readlng but also partlclpatlng ln the actlve
cultural llfe of the clty. Lagerlf was an avld opera and
theatergoer. She gave form to her theater experlence ln a
serles of sonnets that deplct flgures from the stage. Hjl
mar Gullberg, Lagerlf`s successor as a member of the
Swedlsh Academy, noted that her theater sonnets
(publlshed ln the perlodlcal Dogvy) are a type of llterary
dress rehearsal for the cavallers and ladles of Csto cr-
livgs sogo. Whlle ln Stockholm, Lagerlf also met the
femlnlst Countess Sophle Adlersparre, founder of the
Iredrlka Bremer Soclety and edltor of lts perlodlcal
Dogvy. Lagerlf (stlll bellevlng that poetry would be her
medlum) publlshed four sonnets ln Dogvy ln l886, but
Adlersparre counseled her to wrlte prose lnstead.
Desplte the strong deslre to wrlte, Lagerlf strug
gled to flnd materlal and a language of her own. Her
lnsplratlon came suddenly one day whlle she was walk
lng down Malmsklllnad Street ln Stockholm. She relates
thls experlence ln Iv sogo om cv sogo ocl ovdro sogor
(l908, A Story about a Story and Other Storles; trans
lated as Tlc Cirl from tlc Morsl Croft, l9l0).
3l
ai_ PPN p~ i~
Och d p en gng uppstod denna tanke lnom henne.
'Denne vrld, som du har levat l nere l Vrmland, r
lnte mlndre egendomllg n Fredmans eller Fnrlk Stls.
Kan du bara lra dlg att behandla det, nog har du llka
bra stoff att bearbeta som dessa bda.` P detta stt glck
det tlll, att hon frsta gngen flck syn p sagan. Och I
samma gonbllck hon sg den, brjade marken gunga
under henne. Hela lnge Malmsklllnadsgatan frn
Hamngatasbacken nda opp tlll brandstatlonen hvde
slg mot hlmlen och sjnk ner lgen, hvde och sjnk. . . .
I denna stund beslt den unga fllckan, att hon skulle
skrlva sagan om Vrmlandskvaljererna, och hon ver
gav aldrlg ngonsln tanken pa den. Men mnga och
lnga r drjde det, lnnan beslutet kom tlll utfrande.
(And then, all at once, the thought came to her. 'the
world ln whlch you llved down ln Vrmland ls not any
less unusual than Fredman`s or Enslgn Second Lleuten
ant Stl`s. If you can only flnd a way to approach lt,
you wlll have just as good materlal to work wlth as
those two." In just that way she flrst got the ldea for her
story. And at the same moment she reallzed thls, the
ground began to shake beneath her. All of Malm
sklllnad Street, from Hamn Street Hlll all the way up to
the flre statlon, heaved up toward the sky and sank
down agaln, heaved up and sank. . . . At thls moment
the young glrl declded that she would wrlte the story of
the Vrmland land cavallers and she never gave up on
thls thought. But many long years would go by before
her declslon could be reallzed.)
As she herself lndlcates, lt took several years before her
vlslon was concretely reallzed, partly because, at the
tlme, she was a consclentlous, hardworklng student,
and from the fall of l885 she held her flrst teachlng
post, whlch she took serlously, ln the southern Swedlsh
town of Landskrona.
Jlme, however, was not the only struggle. She also
could not flnd a comfortable way to present her materlal.
It was not untll the death of her father and, shortly there
after, the sale of her famlly home, Mrbacka, that Lager
lf found the lmportant perspectlve on her orlglnal
mllleu and the language to wrlte her flrst novel.
Denna lngtan kom over henne p s stt att grden, dr
hon hade vuxlt upp, blev sld. Hon for d tlll sltt barn
domshem fr att se det n en gng, lnnan frmllngar
skulle ta det l beslttnlng.
Och kvllen lnnan hon reste drlfrn fr att kanske aldrlg
mer terse denn kra plats, beslt hon l all dmjuket att
skrlva boken pa sltt eget stt och efter egen fattlg frmga.
Det skulle lnte bll ngot msterverk, ssom hon hade hop
pats. Det skulle bll en bok, som mnnlskor torde komma
skratta t, men hon skulle nd skrlva den. Skrlva den fr
slg sjlv, fr att rdda t slg vad hon nnu kunde rdda av
hemmet. de kra gamla hlstorlerna, de sorglsa dagarnas
glad frld och det vackra landskapet med den lnga sjn
och de blsklftande kullarna.
(Jhe deslre |to wrlte the novel| came over her when the
farm, where she had grown up, was sold. When thls
occurred, she drove to her chlldhood home ln order to
see lt one more tlme before strangers moved ln. And
the nlght before she left her old home for good, per
haps never to see the dear place agaln, she humbly
declded to wrlte the book ln her own way and ln her
own poor wrltlng style. It would not be a masterplece,
as she had hoped. It would be a book, whlch people
would dare to laugh at, but she would wrlte lt anyway.
She would wrlte lt for herself, to save for herself what
she could of her home. the dear old storles, the careless
days of bllssful peace and the beautlful landscape wlth
the long lakes and the blue shlftlng hllls.)
She chose prose rather than poetry, as Adlersparre had
advlsed her, and the storles came to llfe.
In l890 Lagerlf sent a few of the chapters she
had flnlshed of d~ _ ~~ to the magazlne fI
whlch resulted ln her wlnnlng thelr llterary competl
tlon. Wlth the ald of the prlze money and help from
frlends, she was granted slx months of leave from her
teachlng post and flnlshed the book for publlcatlon ln
l89l. Jhe hero, Gsta Berllng, a defrocked pastor, ls
handsome, passlonate, and an unregenerate romantlc
who spreads llght and joy but also chaos and destruc
tlon. He ls saved from death ln a snowdrlft by a com
mandlng woman, the socalled Majorskan (Major`s
wlfe), no longer young but wlth traces of past beauty.
She ls an owner of seven mlnes and the most powerful
woman ln Vrmland. Gsta ls lnvlted to joln a band of
pennlless but eternally carefree, partylovlng 'cava
llers," mostly aglng former army men who llve as her
guests ln a wlng of Ekeby manor. Jhe Major`s wlfe has
a past to atone for, however, and whlle she sets out on
foot on a penltentlal pllgrlmage, the cavallers become
masters of Ekeby for the space of a year, havlng slgned
a Mephlstophellan pact to do nothlng useful or galnful
durlng that tlme. Jhe confllct played out ls between
everythlng attractlve and lrresponslble (lncludlng the
credo ~ ~I art for art`s sake) on the one hand,
and serlousness and useful work on the other. Jhe
lnevltablllty of falllng ln love wlth beauty and the sacrl
flces demanded by real love constltute a varlatlon of the
theme. Lagerlf had been nourlshed on Romantlc
poetry and the myths and storles of bygone adventures;
she was also soclally commltted. Hence, her cavallers
are deplcted as lovable men but also destructlve because
of thelr neglect of the lron foundry, on whlch Ekeby
and all lts employees and nelghbors flnanclally depend,
a lesson relnforced by Nature when a raglng flood
threatens to sweep away the neglected foundry. Jhe
central problem of the novel ls how can a man be both
joyful and good? Is lt posslble to reconclle a love of
romance and galety wlth soclal concerns?
32
p~ i~ ai_ PPN
Georg Brandes, the lnfluentlal Danlsh crltlc who
ln l872 had lamented that Scandlnavlan llterature had
not yet jolned ln the 'Modern Breakthrough" plo
neered ln Irench and German llterature, was the flrst
major crltlc to recognlze the remarkable qualltles of
Csto crlivgs sogo ln a revlew ln Iolitilcv (l6 |anuary
l893). He recognlzed that an unknown splnster teacher
ln Landskrona had lllustrated ln a most orlglnal way hls
dlctum that the proof of a llterature belng allve ls that lt
debates problems. Each chapter of the book contrlbutes
to the exposltlon and ultlmate resolutlon of the
dllemma of how to comblne a sense of duty wlth a
sense of beauty. Hls revlew dld not appear, however,
untll two years after the release of the novel. Inltlal
Swedlsh receptlon of the flnlshed novel proved a dlsap
polntment to lts author. Its exuberant mlxture of
romantlc adventures and supernatural elements, lts epl
sodlc chapters and the rhapsodlc dlctlon, far from the
conflnes of sober naturallsm, lnltlally bllnded crltlcs to
the lmaglnatlve power of the book and the sklll wlth
whlch each chapter, complete ln ltself, slmultaneously
constltuted a necessary element of the totallty. Jhe
leadlng crltlc of the tlme, Oscar Levertln, admlrlngly
regarded Lagerlf as an lnsplred and essentlally sponta
neous storyteller ln the oral tradltlon, whlch must have
lrked the hlghly consclous craftsman Lagerlf. Jhe
crltlc Karl Warburg, ln the newspaper Ctcborgs Hovdcl-
stidvivg (l7 Iebruary l89l), acknowledged that the
work had merlts here and there but also wrote of lts
supposed 'grodor" (tasteless blunders), and Carl Davld
af Wlrsn, secretary of the Swedlsh Academynotorl
ous for hls prejudlce agalnst anythlng other than ldylllc
ldeallsm ln the classlcal mode, and eternally hostlle to
August Strlndbergwrote a destructlve revlew of lt that
appeared ln !rt Iovd on 3l December l89l. Lagerlf,
after the euphorla of wlnnlng the Iduv competltlon, felt
deeply dlscouraged. Her ultlmate vlndlcatlon came
wlth Brandes`s glowlng revlew, whlch was followed by
several other enthuslastlc Danlsh ones. In a sense,
Lagerlf`s modernness ln Csto crlivgs sogo prevented
the majorlty of crltlcal oplnlon at home from adjustlng
to her mlxture of playful parody, lrony, romance, and a
genulne concern to debate problems. Subsequent crlt
lcs, however, have afflrmed that the work ls a modern
classlc. In partlcular, femlnlst crltlcs have found a rlch
veln to mlne ln her flrst work, polntlng out that women
are the real heroes of the book.
Lagerlf was aware that the hlgh rhetorlc of her
flrst book could not and should not be repeated. She
applled herself to another dlctlonsparer, more laconlc,
and lnsplred by the slmpllclty of Old Norse sagasln
some of the short storles set ln medleval tlmes for her
second book, Usyvligo lovlor (l891; translated as Ivvisiblc
Iivls, l899), storles reflectlng the confllct between Old
Norse heathendom and Chrlstendom. Others, such as
'Dunungen" (translated as 'Downle" ln Ivvisiblc Iivls),
have contemporary settlngs. Jhat same year she
formed a frlendshlp of lncalculable lmportance wlth the
asplrlng wrlter Sophle Elkan, a wldow who had lost her
only chlld. Her grace, lntelllgence, and, above all, the
alr of tragedy that surrounded her captlvated Lagerlf,
and they qulckly establlshed a llterary companlonshlp,
travellng together and readlng and crltlclzlng each
other`s drafts. Ior Lagerlf the frlendshlp was llberatlng
and qulckened her lmaglnatlon. As ls clear from the
selectlon of Lagerlf`s letters to Elkan publlshed ln
l992 as Du lor mig ott bli fri: Sclmo Iogcrlf slrivcr till
Soplic Illov (You Jeach Me to Be Iree. Selma Lagerlf
Wrltlng to Sophle Elkan), Lagerlf experlenced the joy
and exhllaratlon of falllng ln love wlth Elkan.
Elkan, who was |ewlsh but nonrellglous, llved ln
Gotborg, and the dlstance between the two women
resulted ln much correspondence over the years; a col
lectlon of 3,200 letters exchanged between them was
made avallable to scholars by the Royal Llbrary ln
Stockholm ln l992. Out of Lagerlf`s own 2,0l5 letters,
Du lor mig ott bli fri collects some 250, wlth the edltor,
Ylng JoljerNllsson, supplylng llnks based on Elkan`s
letters. As Lagerlf`s llterary success lncreased, Elkan
became lncreaslngly jealous and a burden, desplte
Lagerlf`s unceaslng attempts to play down her own
achlevements and encourage her frlend.
Usyvligo lovlor appeared ln May l891; some of the
storles had prevlously appeared ln magazlnes, but the
novella 'Dunungen" was wrltten after Lagerlf had met
Elkan ln |anuary l891. Adapted as a drama by the
author ln l9l1 and successfully produced the same year,
'Dunungen" ls a story full of lrony and an lnfectlous
dellght at love ultlmately trlumphlng over adverslty,
wlth an lmmense power to engage readers on behalf of
the two characters who flnally flnd happlness together. It
ls also modern ln the sense that the actlon ls acutely
observed and played out wlthln the space of three days.
Brandes`s one caveat concernlng Csto crlivgs sogo had
been that lts scenes of elopements and klsses lacked flre
and were clearly wrltten by a splnster. Jhe psychology
and descrlptlons of falllng ln love ln 'Dunungen" are, by
contrast, totally convlnclng. Usyvligo lovlor was admlred
by revlewers and the readlng publlc.
As a result of her recent llterary successes, Lager
lf was sought after by several journals. Yet, she stlll
could not afford to devote herself fulltlme to wrltlng.
Only ln l895, wlth royaltles from the second edltlon of
Csto crlivgs sogo, a large travellng stlpend from Klng
Oskar II and hls son Prlnce Eugen, and a grant from
the Swedlsh Academy, was Lagerlf able to break out of
the conflnes of her exlstence. She declded to become a
professlonal wrlter, qult her job, and use the stlpend to
33
ai_ PPN p~ i~
travel wlth Elkan to Italy, where they vlslted Rome and
Slclly, the settlng for ^ ~ (l897; translated
as q j~ Î l899). When Lagerlf and
Elkan vlslted the baslllca of Ara Coell on the Capltol ln
Rome, the custodlan showed them the famous Bam
blno, or Chrlst chlld, studded wlth jewels, explalnlng
that once, ln error, a counterfelt verslon had been wor
shlped there. At the same tlme, Lagerlf read a tourlst
gulde that repeated the legend of Emperor Augustus`s
vlslon of the newborn chlldgod on the flrst Chrlstmas
Eve and the Slbyl`s prophecy that Chrlst and Antlchrlst
would one day both be worshlped on the Capltol. Irom
these strands Lagerlf wove her story of a preclous
Chrlstchlld statue, whlch ls stolen and replaced wlth a
copy whose concealed lnscrlptlon reads 'Mltt rlke r
endast au denna vrlden" (My klngdom ls only of thls
world). Both statues work mlracles through the falth
they awaken, although the soclallsts wlsh ultlmately to
wean people off thls oplum. Jhe novel lndlcates Lager
lf`s complex attltude toward rellglous falth, whlch she
expressed years later, ln a 27 Aprll l930 letter to her
frlend Countess Henrlette Coyet.
|ag hade naturllgtvls lst Rydbergs Blbelns lra om
Krlstus l mln ungdom, och jag hade, medan jag stud
erade l Stockholm, ftt umgs med rlktlga frltnkare, s
att jag hade nog kommlt lngt bort frn allt vad rellglon
hette. Men s hnde slg under de mnga r, som jag
kmpade fr att lra mlg frfatta, att jag mrkte, att den
torra frstndstron lnte passade mlg. Om jag lnte flck
skrlva om under, om det vernaturllga, s dg jag tlll
lngentlng, och detta lnre tvng frde mlg tlllbaka tlll att
tro, att det dock mste flnnas en annan vrld. Ngon
rellglon bland de mnga, som flnnas, har jag lnte fun
nlt, som jag kan sluta mlg tlll, men dr jag rkar p tro
p Gud och oddllghet, dr tycker jag, att jag tlllfres
llv, det ger mlg vxtkraft, hjlper mlg, medan otro p
ngot stt gr mlg maktls, ddar det lntultlva llvet.
(I had naturally read Rydberg`s q _ a
` ln my youth, and whlle studylng ln Stockholm I
assoclated wlth real free thlnkers, so I had lndeed
moved a long way from everythlng rellglous. But then
durlng the many years when I was struggllng to
become a wrlter, I notlced that a dryasdust ratlonallty
dldn`t sult me. If I was not allowed to wrlte about mlra
cles and the supernatural, I was qulte useless, and thls
lnner compulslon brought me back to the bellef that
another world must exlst after all. I haven`t found a
speclflc rellglon among the many whlch exlst, to whlch
I can attach myself, but where I meet falth ln God and
lmmortallty, there I feel that I`m glven llfe, lt glves me
the ablllty to grow, lt helps me, whlle lack of falth some
how robs me of power, kllls my lntultlve llfe.)
In thls novel of ldeas Lagerlf ls not partlsan; a synthe
sls of Chrlstlanlty and soclallsm appears to be her solu
tlon. Jhe most captlvatlng chapters descrlbe Mount
Etna (called 'Monglbello") and the falth and colorful
experlences of the local people, but she was also aware
that thls apparent Slclllan paradlse lnvolved hunger,
exploltatlon, and chlld labor ln sulphur mlnesall fertlle
ground for soclallst agltatlon.
It took Lagerlf a year longer to flnlsh the book
than she had antlclpated. ^ ~ was pub
llshed the same year as Strlndberg`s fI whlch over
shadowed lt, but lt sold more rapldly than her two
prevlous works. Levertln was well dlsposed but not par
tlcularly lnterested ln Antlchrlst and lts lnscrlptlon; ln
hls oplnlon, the best thlng about the book was lts local
color (p~ a~~I 9 December l897). Lagerlf
wrote to Ellen Key, a leadlng femlnlst ln Sweden, on l5
December l897 that the eplsodes that befall the Antl
chrlst statue (whlch ls proselytlzlng for soclallsm under
the gulse of Chrlstlanlty) have to be understood as an
extended allegory of Chrlst`s llfe as portrayed ln the
Gospels, and that Levertln must have mlssed that polnt
because of lnsufflclent famlllarlty wlth the New Jesta
ment. Jhe Swedlsh Soclallst leader Hjalmar Brantlng
malntalned ln hls revlew ln p~Ja~ (3l
December l897) that Lagerlf, llke other bourgeols
authors, was unable to dlstlngulsh between phllan
thropy and soclallsm.
In l897 Lagerlf moved from Landskrona to
Ialun, ln the provlnce of Dalecarlla, borderlng on
Vrmland, where her younger slster Gerda llved.
Jhere she began her most productlve perlod of wrltlng,
one that lasted untll World War I, and she also found a
llfelong helper and frlend ln Valborg Olander, a teacher
and Swedlshlanguage speclallst. Irom then on, Olan
der acted as Lagerlf`s personal asslstant, tlrelessly
readlng, correctlng, and typlng out her drafts and help
lng wlth her everlncreaslng volume of correspondence.
Elkan was lncllned to be jealous of Olander, thereby
addlng to Lagerlf`s worrles. Jhat summer she and
Elkan agaln vlslted Gotland as well as exchanglng
home vlslts. Jhelr relatlonshlp had changed, however;
Elkan had become lncreaslngly nervous about her own
work and health, and lt requlred all Lagerlf`s tact and
sympathy to calm her, so that what had begun as a joy
ful, lnsplratlonal frlendshlp often became burdensome
and compllcated.
In l899 Lagerlf publlshed a~ hJ
~~I ~~ (translated as q n
h~~ ~ l p ~ p e~I
l90l). Her brother Danlel was now a physlclan ln
Kunglv (ln medleval tlmes known as Kungahlla),
near Gteborg, ln the county of Bohusln. She got to
know the area well and sltuated several of her works
there. Some storles ln a~ h~~I ~~
are based on Snorre Sturlason`s thlrteenth
31
p~ i~ ai_ PPN
century medleval hlstorles (fragments of an earller
verse cycle adapted from the same source have been
found), and she shapes them to reflect the confrontatlon
between heathendom and Chrlstlanlty; the other storles
ln the collectlon are malnly legends. Iv lcrrgrdssogcv
(translated as Tlc Tolc of o Movor ovd Utlcr Slctclcs, l922)
also was publlshed ln l899. Wlth echoes of the falry
tale 'Beauty and the Beast," lt demonstrates a dazzllng
blend of apparent slmpllclty and psychologlcal sophlstl
catlon. As Lagerlf wrote on l8 March l89l to the
crltlc Helena Nyblom ln response to Nyblom`s revlew
of Costo crlivgs sogo: '|ag tar alldeles medvetet mlna
lsare tlll hjlp. |ag r s trtt p att lsa hvad jag sjlf
vet, som man s ofta fr gra att jag ofta tnker. 'Det
dr behfver jag ej skrlfva det tnka de ut sjlfva`" (I
qulte dellberately let my readers help me. I am so tlred
of readlng what I myself know, whlch one ls so often
forced to, that I often thlnk, 'I don`t need to wrlte that,
they wlll work lt out for themselves"). Jhe two protago
nlsts of the story ultlmately glve each other the courage
to go on llvlng.
In l897 Lagerlf read ln the press about a group
of thlrtyseven Dalecarllan farmers from Ns who for
rellglous reasons had left thelr farms ln l896 and lmml
grated to Palestlne to llve ln a Chrlstlan Soclallst com
munlty of Amerlcans (many of Swedlsh descent) and
awalt the Second Comlng of |esus. It appeared to her to
be a promlslng subject for a novel. In l900 she traveled
to |erusalem (and to Egypt) wlth Elkan and met the col
onlsts. On returnlng to Sweden she vlslted Ns and met
thelr relatlves and frlends.
Although she had researched her subject thor
oughly, the characters ln her twopart novel, crusolcm
(l90l-l902; translated, l903), are flctlonal. She deals
falrly wlth the two groups resultlng from the revlvallst
fervor. the ones who abandon everythlng and those
who stay behlnd. Jhe flrst volume of crusolcm conjures
up the vlrtues and values of a farmlng communlty;
Lagerlf wrote to Norweglan author Bjrnstjerne
Bjrnson (wlnner of the l903 Nobel Prlze ln Llterature)
that she had been lnsplred by hls lovlng portrayals of
rural llfe. Volume two shows how |erusalem encourages
a bellef ln the supernatural as well as belng a breedlng
ground for feuds and jealousles among the varlous rell
glous communltles. Whlle Lagerlf was worklng on
part 2 at the bathlng resort of Marstrand, ln company
wlth Elkan, she wrote reveallngly to Olander ln a letter
of 28 |une l902, 'en stor harm och mlssrknlng vl
lades mlg frsta dagen hr d mln krltlker alldeles ref
omkull mltt frsta kapltel, det som jag var s glad t och
som du hade s mycket arbete med. |ag har mst bja
mln svagare vllja under den starkare, men det var
mycket trklgt och pkostande och tldsdande. Dre
mot har vl varlt goda vnner angende fortsttnlngen
och jag tror att hon r ganska njd" (great resentment
and dlsappolntment occasloned me the flrst day here
when my crltlc |Elkan| totally demollshed my flrst
chapter whlch I was so pleased wlth and whlch you had
worked so hard at. I had to submlt my weaker wlll to
the stronger one, but lt was very upsettlng and a straln
and very tlmeconsumlng). Jhe lntroductory chapter
descrlblng the emlgrants` journey from Gteborg to
Antwerp, whlch Elkan forced Lagerlf to cut, was
replaced by a new one wrltten accordlng to Elkan`s
lnstructlons, of whlch Vlvl Edstrm wrote ln ''Gud
styr`. Motlvfrskjutnlngen l |erusalem" (l958, 'God
Rules". Jhe Jhematlc Shlft ln |erusalem). 'Om detta
kapltel kan vl endast en menlng rda. att Selma Lager
lf knappast ngonsln stadkommlt ngot s pko
stande groteskt" (Only one vlew of thls chapter can
surely be held. that Selma Lagerlf scarcely ever has
produced anythlng so trylngly grotesque). Jhls chapter
dlsappeared from the flfth and subsequent edltlons and
was replaced by an entlrely new chapter wrltten wlth
out lnterference (Lagerlf had evldently thrown away
the orlglnal one ln frustratlon).
Jhe flrst volume of crusolcm got an enthuslastlc
receptlon from the publlc and many superlatlves from
Levertln ln two long artlcles ln Svcvslo Dogblodct (30, 3l
December l90l). In the case of two lmportant crltlcs
who had reacted negatlvely to Csto crlivgs sogo, Karl
Warburg declared (Ctcborgs Hovdcls- ocl Sjfortstidvivg,
l3 December l90l) and Wlrsn conceded (Iost ocl
Ivrilcstidvivgor, 2l December l90l) that crusolcm ls a
remarkable work of noble slmpllclty and great lmaglna
tlon. Lagerlf herself was not entlrely happy wlth part
2, and she undertook a major revlslon of lt for the l909
edltlon, ln whlch the colonlsts` actlvltles are seen ln a
more posltlve llght and as contrlbutlng to Palestlne`s
regeneratlon.
Jhe novella Hcrr Zrvcs pcvvivgor (l903; translated
as Hcrr Zrvc`s Hoord, l923), set ln slxteenthcentury
Bohusln, concerns the murder of lnnocent people and
the retrlbutlon that flnally catches up wlth the perpetra
tors. Dreams, portents, and ghosts are vltal lngredlents.
Durlng vlslts to her brother Danlel, Lagerlf had
become lnterested ln the hlstory and topography of the
reglon, and the novella bullds on a reference to a
gruesome multlple murder brlefly descrlbed ln an
elghteenthcentury source, |ohan Dedman`s Clorogrofio
bolusicvsis (l716). Lagerlf`s account conjures up the
supernatural forces, whlch unabatedly send slgnals
both before and after the crlme, not subsldlng untll jus
tlce has been done ln thls stark tale remlnlscent of Old
Icelandlc llterature. Lagerlf`s fasclnatlon wlth the
supernatural ls well documented and tles ln wlth her
lnterest ln splrltuallsm, anthroposophy, and theoso
phy. Elkan found the novella gruesome and exhorted
35
ai_ PPN p~ i~
Lagerlf`s publlsher, Karl Bonnler, to persuade Lagerlf
not to publlsh lt, slnce Elkan belleved thls blood
curdllng text would harm Lagerlf`s reputatlon lrre
trlevably. It was publlshed serlally ln the magazlne f
ln l903, but Bonnler had to set lt aslde untll he recelved
a letter from Lagerlf, dated l8 October l901, saylng
that she was dellghted to announce the work had flnally
recelved Elkan`s lmprlmatur. 'Det r lnte alltld s ltt
fr en nervs mnnlska att veta hvad hon vlll och lnte
vlll, men l detta fall bruka alltld frstnd och god vllja
bll rdande bara hon fr tld p slg" (It ls not always
easy for a person of nervous dlsposltlon to know what
she wants and doesn`t want, but ln thls case reason and
good wlll always assert themselves lf she ls glven tlme).
One llkely reason Lagerlf agreed to the long delay was
so that Elkan`s blg hlstorlcal novel, h (l901, Jhe
Klng), mlght be publlshed flrst, ln order to avold the
two books belng revlewed slmultaneously.
Desplte Elkan`s dlsllke of the novella, e ^
~ met wlth good revlews and had many admlr
ers ln the arts. It formed the basls for an opera by the
Swedlsh composer Gsta Nystroem ln l959. It also
attracted the attentlon of German wrlter Gerhart
Hauptmann (the l9l2 Nobel laureate ln llterature),
who ln l9l7 publlshed hls dramatlzatlon of lt, tltled
t~~K Although Lagerlf dld not partlcularly
llke the drama and was perturbed by the fact that
Hauptmann had not asked permlsslon to use her mate
rlal, she lmmedlately translated the plece lnto Swedlsh
and found lt a stage. It met wlth llttle success ln elther
Germany or Sweden (where lt was flrst performed ln
Gteborg, 20 September l9l8). Ilnally, the novella
attracted the attentlon of motlonplcture dlrectors, two
ln Sweden alone. Maurltz Stlller, who created a world
renowned sllent movle of the materlal ln l9l9, and
Gustaf Molander, who made lnto a strlklng motlon plc
ture ln l951.
Ior the thlrd edltlon of i (l901), Lagerlf
rewrote the chapter 'In Palermo" ln ^ ~ and
rearranged the storles ln l~ ~ and a~
h~~I ~~ K Jhls new arrangement
left three orlental legends that were not lncluded ln the
collectlon. Lagerlf comblned these legends wlth three
prevlously publlshed ln magazlnes, and then she wrote
flve more, bulldlng on slender elements ln apocryphal or
sometlmes canonlcal sources. Jhese eleven storles
appeared as h. Bellevers found value ln these
storles, and, for dlfferent reasons, so dld unbellevers,
who felt that Lagerlf`s beautlful storles mlght encourage
the falthful to read the Blble, partlcularly the Gospels, as
legendary materlal rather than the word of God.
Lagerlf next applled herself to her promlsed text
book for prlmaryschool chlldren. Jhe school authorl
tles who commlssloned the book expected a collectlon
of tales from dlfferent parts of Sweden. But Lagerlf
wanted the book to have a unlfylng ldea that would
exclte and appeal to chlldren. She struggled for qulte a
whlle trylng to flnd a way to unlfy the book; she wrote
ln the fortynlnth chapter of k e ~~
~ p that only when she returned to her
chlldhood home ln search of motlvatlon dld she come
upon the ldea of a young boy on the back of a goose
(the tame creature ls based on a goose she had known
at Mrbacka). Wlth thls ldea, Lagerlf began an
lmmense study of Sweden`s geography and hlstory.
Much materlal was sent to her by teachers and school
chlldren from dlfferent parts of the country. facts about
the natural envlronment, cultural and hlstorlcal notes,
tales and legends, and storles of people who had per
formed great deeds. In the summer of l901 Lagerlf
and Elkan also made a speclal journey to Norrland, the
northernmost of the three maln reglons of Sweden, ln
order to get an lmpresslon of the envlronment.
Jhls trlp was dlfflcult for Lagerlf, because
although she was lmmensely loyal to her frlend, who
was then worklng on hI Lagerlf`s need for
f~ ~ ~~ p ~ p~
a~~ ENN a NVMVF i~
k m i~ h d~ s p
E i~ i~I NMM p~
~~I NUUQNVUQW b ~
I NVUQX r
tj~F
36
p~ i~ ai_ PPN
peace and tranqulllty was by now supplled by Olander.
Slnce they met ln l902 Olander had become an essen
tlal part of Lagerlf`s llfe, but she felt left out durlng
Lagerlf`s monthlong journeys wlth and vlslts to Elkan,
and she had wrltten of movlng from Ialun to Stock
holm. Lagerlf responded, 'Du fr lov att alltld vara
mlg trogen, d fr aldrlg bll ond p mlg och aldrlg
tvlvla p mlg och framfr allt fr du lnte flytta lfrn
mlg" (You must always be true to me, you must never
get angry wlth me and never lose falth ln me and above
all you must never move away from me), begglng Olan
der to understand her need to be loyal to Elkan and to
avold an embarrasslng confrontatlon. In the summer of
l905 Lagerlf and Elkan vlslted London and other
places ln south England and Wales, after whlch they
traveled home vla Belglum.
When k e ~~ ~ p was
released ln l906 and l907, lt was enthuslastlcally recelved
by llterary crltlcs and the general publlc, although some
adherents of oldfashloned pedagogy were dlssatlsfled,
malntalnlng that schools should not encourage readlng for
pleasure and that puplls should learn to exert themselves
when studylng, and furthermore (dlsregardlng Nlls`s posl
tlve moral development durlng the course of hls adven
tures) they complalned that he was a naughty and
heartless boy who set a bad example. In the newspaper
p a~~ (22 May l907) a zoologlst enumerated a
strlng of zoologlcal errors and polnted to the unsultablllty
of someone wlth such lnadequate expertlse wrltlng a text
book (the errors were rectlfled ln subsequent edltlons).
Days after the zoologlst`s attack, however, Lagerlf had an
honorary doctorate conferred on her by Lppsala Lnlver
slty, on 25 May l907.
In early l907 Lagerlf`s muchloved paternal
aunt, Lovlsa, dled ln the home she shared wlth Lagerlf
ln Ialun; she was lald to rest ln the famlly plot ln Ostra
mtervlk, so her funeral brought Lagerlf back to
Vrmland, where she found that the badly dllapldated
Mrbacka was for sale. Elkan had planned a trlp for
them to Budapest, Vlenna, Jrleste, Montenegro, and
Dlnant ln Belglum, although, accordlng to Elln Wgner
ln p~ i~ (l912-l913), Lagerlf`s thoughts were
too occupled wlth the second volume of k e
~~ ~ pI due out ln December l907,
for her to absorb what they saw. On her return home,
encouraged by a flftythousandcopy school edltlon of
the flrst volume, Lagerlf bought back Mrbacka and
flnlshed k e ~~ ~ pK
Lagerlf celebrated her flftleth blrthday ln l908.
Jhat year was also, accordlng to Wgner, what Lager
lf consldered 'ett vllans r" (a year of rest), whlch
meant that Lagerlf dld not feel she had to complete a
masterplece that year. Jo commemorate her half
century blrthday, her publlsher wanted to release a col
lectlon of her storles. Lagerlf collected all that she had
lylng around and called the volume b ~~ ~~
~~ ~. Jhe tltle plece ln the collectlon was orlgl
nally wrltten for a l902 anthology of remlnlscences by
Swedlsh authors about the beglnnlngs of thelr careers.
Another story, 'Jsen frn stormytorpet" (Jhe Glrl
from the Marsh Croft), was chosen as the tltle plece for
the Engllsh translatlon. In contrast to her usual work
ethlc, she let the volume out of her hands before she
was happy wlth lt (although she was especlally pleased
wlth one legend called 'Legenden om |ulrosen"). Dur
lng thls year of rest, Lagerlf was malnly concentratlng
her efforts on Ialun and Mrbacka. She had heat and
electrlclty put lnto Ialun and began the restoratlon of
Mrbacka, a project that was extremely costly but also
clearly lmportant to her. She was lntent on havlng Mr
backa as her summer home and belng there as soon as
posslble. Jhe questlon was, though, how to achleve thls
goal, for she dld not have the flnanclal means to do so.
Her answer came on l6 November l909, when she
was lnformed that she was to be awarded the Nobel Prlze
ln Llterature 'ln appreclatlon of the lofty ldeallsm, vlvld
lmaglnatlon and splrltual perceptlon that characterlze her
wrltlngs," as the cltatlon read. Jhe conferrlng of thls
award was a great honor, for Lagerlf was not only the
flrst Swede chosen to recelve thls award but also the flrst
woman. Lagerlf recognlzed thls honor but was qulte
reluctant to glve a speech at the Nobel ceremony, as was
expected. She was an extremely prlvate person and dld
not enjoy belng the center of attentlon. Moreoever, she
was not well that fall. However, once ln Stockholm for the
ceremonles, Lagerlf felt compelled to speak and thank all
those who had helped her. In her banquet speech, Lagerlf
lmaglned a dlalogue wlth her father ln heaven, explalnlng
that she was heavlly ln debtowlng not money but the
many sources of her lnsplratlon.
Jnk p alla de dr fattlga och hemlsa kavaljererna, som
brukade fara omkrlng l Vrmland l dln ungdom och spela
kllle och sjunga vlsor! Jlll dem str jag l skuld fr galna
fventyr och upptg och skmt l ondllghet. Och tnk p
alla de gamla, som ha suttlt l sm gr stugor l skogsbrynet
och berttat om nck och troll och bergtagna jungfrur!
Det r vl de, som ha lrt mlg hur det kan bredas ut poesl
fver hrda fjll och svarta skogar.Och s, far, tnk p
alla de bleka och hlgda munkar och nunnor, som ha
suttlt l skumma kloster och sett syner och hrt rster! Jlll
dem str jag l skuld fr ln ur den stora legendskatten,
som de ha samlat slg. Och tnk p dalbnderna, som
drogo tlll |erusalem! r jag lnte l skuld hos dem, drfr att
de gfvo mlg ett stordd att skrlfva om? Och det r lnte
nog med att jag str l skuld hos mnnlskor, far, det r hela
naturen ocks. Det r markens djur och hlmmelens fglar
och blommor och trdde ha allesammans haft slna hem
llgheter att bertta mlg.
37
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(Jhlnk how many credltors I have. Jhlnk of those
poor, homeless vagabonds who used to travel up and
down Vrmland ln your youth, playlng the fool and
slnglng all those songs. What do I not owe to them, to
thelr mlschlef and mad pranks! And the old men and
women slttlng ln thelr small grey cottages as one came
out of the forest, telllng me wonderful storles of water
sprltes and trolls and enchanted maldens lured lnto the
mountalns. It was they who taught me that there ls
poetry ln hard rocks and black forests. And thlnk,
Father, of all those pale, hollowcheeked monks and
nuns ln thelr dark clolsters, the vlslons they saw and
the volces they heard. I have borrowed from thelr trea
sure of legends. And our own peasants who went to
|erusalemdo I owe them nothlng for glvlng me such
glorlous deeds to wrlte about? And I am ln debt not
only to people; there ls the whole of nature as well. Jhe
anlmals that walk the earth, the blrds ln the skles, the
trees and flowers, they have all told me some of thelr
secrets.)
Lagerlf also recognlzed her debts to the Swedlsh lan
guage; contemporary Norweglan, Russlan, and Swed
lsh authors; the klng and hls son; frlends and famlly;
her readers; and the Swedlsh Academy. Jhe days fol
lowlng the Nobel ceremonles were taken up wlth other
festlvltles, lncludlng royal vlslts, a llterary lunch, and a
fest glven by a Women`s Soclety ln her honor.
Jhe days ln Stockholm were dralnlng, and she
returned home as soon as she could, where she lmmedl
ately began negotlatlons to buy back the land around
Mrbacka. Desplte warnlngs from frlends that she
should not take on any new adventures at the moment,
Lagerlf bought the land on 8 |anuary l9l0, clalmlng
that the farm wanted to return to the Lagerlfs. Wlth
thls purchase, Lagerlf began a new part of her llfeshe
became a farm ownerand wlth that came new respon
slbllltles, new experlences, and uncertalnty, as she her
self wrote ln her autoblography from l9l0 (lncluded ln
c ~ W b~ |l913-l915, Irom
Varlous Jlmes. Survlvlng Works|). 'Hon har nu
slunda bllvlt en jordbrukare ssom hennes far och far
far voro det fr henne och brukar samma jord som de.
Ltan tvlvlel str hon hrmed lnfr en nybrjad avdeln
lng av sln llvshlstorla, men vem vgar sga vad den
skall brlnga henne?" (She had now become a farmer,
just llke her father and her grandfather were before her,
and she tllled the same land as they dld. Wlthout ques
tlon she stands now faclng a new chapter ln her llfe hls
tory, but who can venture to say what lt wlll brlng her?)
Yet, lt was not only the farm that took her tlme
and money. Lagerlf was at the helght of her fame at
thls polnt, and she was ln great publlc demand. She was
often asked to speak for causes ln whlch she belleved,
such as the women`s rlght to vote (l9ll), as well as to
wrlte artlcles for soclal and llterary journals. She was
also asked, by acqualntances and strangers allke, from
all over the world, for flnanclal and professlonal help.
She spent hours a day answerlng the letters and pleas
she recelved. Lagerlf found lt next to lmposslble to bal
ance what she called 'llfe" and her wrltlng, as she wrote
to Olander ln l9l0.
|ag str nu llksom vld en vndpunkt l llvet. Alla vllja
bjuda mlg och rycka mlg ut l llvet, och detta kunde ju
vara ett stt att drlva bort ett par r p. Naturllgtvls
flnge jag se mycket och vara med om mycket rollgt,
men med frfattarskapet blev det nog slut fr en lng
tld framt. Och frfattare r vl nda mln kallelse att
vara framfr allt annat.
(I stand now at a turnlng polnt ln my llfe. Everyone
wlshes to lnvlte me and push me out lnto llfe and that
could, of course, be a way to let a few years drlft by.
Naturally I would be able to see much and partlclpate
ln a great deal of fun, but lt would mean the end of my
wrltlng career for a long tlme. And to be a wrlter ls my
calllng above all else.)
Although she dld not let herself be pulled 'out lnto llfe,"
Lagerlf dld, as a result of all the demands on her, have
to put off wrltlng what she called her blg projectan hls
torlcal chronlcle of Mrbacka (as opposed to her 'blogra
phy," j~~), whlch she never dld wrlte.
She dld, however, use some of the hlstory of Mr
backa ln her next work, i~ K In thls novel
Lfdala ls the home, ln the early nlneteenth century, of
seventeenyearold Maja Llsa (based on Lagerlf`s pater
nal grandmother), who adores her wldowed clergyman
father. He commlts the fatal error of brlnglng lnto the
house a slngularly wlcked stepmother who reserves her
bltterest mallce for her beautlful and submlsslve step
daughter and succeeds ln turnlng father agalnst daughter
(Lagerlf famlly hlstory spoke of a cruel stepmother,
although ln thls case she assumes mythlcal proportlons).
An lntelllgent thlrteenyearold servant glrl ls Maja Llsa`s
only ally. In the end the stepmother ls revealed as a nlx, a
wlcked water sprlte, and returns whence she came, but
Maja Llsa would not have survlved her ordeal had not
the tormented vlollnlst Llljecrona revealed the step
mother`s lnfamles. i~ recelved enthuslastlc
revlews from two of the leadlng crltlcs ln the country,
|ohn Landqulst ln a~ k (2 December l9ll) and
Iredrlk Bk ln p~ a~~ (3 December l9ll). Its
psychologlcal and symbollc depths have also become
the subject of ( predomlnantly femlnlst) scholarly
research. At her death Lagerlf left uncompleted drafts of
a sequel to i~ K She told Olander ln an undated
letter ( probably l9l2) that the author Per Hallstrm had
wrltten admlrlngly to her about i~ but had
added that lt would have been even more enjoyable lf lt
38
p~ i~ ai_ PPN
had not touched on 'Llljecronas redan knda de" (Lllje
crona`s already famlllar fate), a reference to the chapter
bearlng hls name ln Csto crlivgs sogo. Jhls observatlon
struck Lagerlf as true; faced wlth a sequel that everyone
already knew the endlng to, she declded for her next
novel to wrlte lnstead on two presslng soclal problems,
tuberculosls (at the request of the natlonal soclety for lts
preventlon) and alcohollsm (wlth whlch she was all too
famlllar from her father`s decllnlng years).
Although Lagerlf`s l9l2 novel Irlorlcv was
translated as Tly Soul Sloll cor !itvcss! (l92l), the orlgl
nal tltle means 'Jhe Coachman" and ls derlved from the
superstltlon of Breton folklore that whoever dles on the
stroke of mldnlght on New Year`s Eve must drlve
Death`s cart, collectlng the souls of all who pass away
durlng the followlng year. Lagerlf mlngles reallstlc slum
lnterlors wlth halluclnatory descrlptlons of the state of
mlnd of the new coachman, Davld Holm, a tubercular
drunkard who has tormented hls wlfe and chlldren.
Lagerlf had flrsthand knowledge from her Landskrona
days of the soclal work of the Salvatlon Army, and the
dynamlc of the story ls played out between Edlth, the
Salvatlon Army worker asslgned to Davld`s case, who
loves hlm desplte herself, and the man hlmself, full of
anger and resentment, but who ultlmately ls moved by
Edlth`s goodness and determlnes to take responslblllty
for hls famlly and make amends for hls pastand hence
ls supernaturally granted a reprleve from death, although
death ls what he longs for. Davld prays, 'Gud, lt mln
sjl fr Komma tlll mognad, lnnan den skall skrdas!"
(Lord, let my soul rlpen before lt ls harvested!).
Jhe novella develops somethlng of a moral ln the
form of a prayer to God to let souls rlpen before they are
harvested, and Lagerlf wrltes vlvldly of the frontler
between llfe and death. She wrote to her publlsher that
she had ln mlnd somethlng resembllng Charles Dlck
ens`s Z Clristmos Corol (l813), but that her novella had
turned out to be somber, serlous, and fantastlcal.
Revlewers ln l9l2 read lt as lndlcatlve of Lagerlf`s wlsh
to undertake a dlfflcult llterary experlment, and Sven
Delblanc wrote ln Sclmo Iogcrlf (l986). 'In terms of
technlque, lt presented enormous dlfflcultles whlch she
surmounted wlth an lntrlcate system of 'lndlrect` narra
tlonthoroughly refutlng all notlons of her lack of narra
tlve sophlstlcatlon." He also makes the polnt that ln her
work the supernatural and mythlcal often emerge where
the doctrlne of love ls most severely tested (as ln Iv lcrr-
grdssogcv). An lnterestlng psychologlcal study (l997) by
the playwrlght Per Olov Enqulst reads the trlangle of
Davld Holm, Slster Edlth, and Mrs. Holm as a symbollc
representatlon of Lagerlf`s father and the two sldes of
her own personallty, the alternately adorlng and resentful
daughter.
Early ln l9l1 Lagerlf wrote to Olander that she
was worklng on 'tv stora romaner" (two blg novels),
but only Icjsorv ov Iortugollicv (l9l1; translated as Tlc
Impcror of Iortugollio, l9l6) was completed. Set ln Vrm
land, lt features the dour day laborer |an, whose llfe ls
transformed by the blrth of hls daughter, Klara Gulla.
Wlth her ln hls arms he learns for the flrst tlme what lt ls
to love. When she becomes a prostltute ln Stockholm
later ln llfe, the knowledge ls too grlm for hlm to bear,
and he goes out of hls mlnd, clalmlng that she has
become the empress of Portugallla. He hlmself becomes
emperor and wears an old mllltary casque on whlch he
has glued stars of gold foll. |an`s love for hls daughter
burns so brlghtly ln hls slck mlnd that lt flnally melts the
hardened heart of hls daughter, who had rejected and
abandoned |an.
Lagerlf transforms thls story so that lt ls about
more than just an escape lnto lnsanlty. Jhe worst state of
man ls not anger but hardheartedness. Indeed, ln hls
madness |an has the wlsdom to see that hls daughter the
empress ls surrounded by her enemlesPrlde, Loveless
ness, and Lust. In order to save her from them he throws
hlmself lnto a lake and drowns attemptlng to reach her as
she salls away. She keeps a lengthy vlgll by the jetty, walt
lng for hls body to be found, because she ls terrlfled that
her father`s splrlt wlll haunt her unless he ls glven a
Chrlstlan burlal. She embarks on her vlgll ln fear and
anger, but lt turns lnto one of repentance and reconcllla
tlon. In the autumn of l9l1 revlewers ranked Icjsorv ov
Iortugollicv equal to Csto crlivgs sogo and the flrst volume
of crusolcm. Jhe publlc also loved her dramatlzatlon of
'Dunungen," whlch premlered ln Stockholm ln Septem
ber. Lagerlf was elected a member of the Swedlsh Acad
emy, the flrst woman to be so honored.
In l9l5 Lagerlf read the Swedlsh scholar Martln
Lamm`s recently publlshed Swcdcvborg, ln whlch he traces
Emanuel Swedenborg`s transltlon from sclentlst to rell
glous mystlc. Accordlng to Wgner, she told Olander that
she recognlzed ln herself and her own experlences many
of the stages through whlch Swedenborg had passed.
Shortly after she had read Lamm`s book, her mother
dled. Lagerlf grleved that she had been attendlng a meet
lng ln Stockholm that day, but ln an undated draft of a
short story, whlch was found after Lagerlf`s death, she
descrlbes how durlng the funeral her mother flew lnvlsl
bly to her rlght shoulder and conveyed to her that she
was happy and llberated. 'Mln mamma hade frsttt
olyckllg jag var. Hon vllle trsta mlg. Och jag tackar
henne" (My mother had understood how unhappy I was.
She wanted to comfort me. And I thank her).
Desplte constantly struggllng at her wrltlng desk,
Lagerlf found lt lmposslble, ln the cllmate of World War
I, to produce llterary works. She wrote to her frlend Ida
Bckmann ln l9l7 that she felt that people expected her
39
ai_ PPN p~ i~
to wrlte 'vrlds frbtt rarbok" (worldreformlng books),
but that she was slmply unable to. She and Bckmann
had met ln l9ll at a congress of the Internatlonal Alll
ance for Iemale Suffrage, whlch Lagerlf addressed wlth
the speech Hcm ocl stot (translated as Homc ovd Stotc,
l9ll), a persuaslve argument that women, creators of
the home slnce the dawn of tlme, should joln forces wlth
men to create a good government. Jhe eccentrlc Bck
mann clalmed to have befrlended the recently deceased
poet Irdlng and clalmed that he now, from the other
slde, wlshed Lagerlf to be the one 'som sdde grnt
grs dr han sjlv och andra farlt fram som hunner"
(who sowed green grass where he and others had ram
paged llke Huns).
Lagerlf`s attltude toward Bckmann was amblva
lent, but she consldered her someone wlth whom she
could speak the language of the beyond, whlch greatly
lnterested her. Bckmann was revlled by Irdlng`s famlly
for her book Custof Irdivg (l9l3); Lagerlf sympathlzed
wlth her but was unwllllng to enter lnto publlc contro
versy. Hence, she avolded wrltlng the foreword to Custof
Irdivg, whlch greatly upset Bckmann. She dld, how
ever, wrlte a foreword to Bckmann`s second book about
the poet, Crolslorcv (l910, Jhe Grall Seeker).
In l9l7 Vlctor Sjstrm was the flrst motlon
plcture dlrector to approach Lagerlf about fllmlng her
work, whlch led to a serles of sllent movles. Jhat same
year he dlrected Tscv frv Stormyrtorpct, based on Lager
lf`s l908 play, and ln l9l8 he dlrected Ivgmorssvvcrvo
(Jhe Sons of Ingmar), based on the flrst volume of crus-
olcm, and a sequel, Ioriv Ivgmorsdottor (Karln, Daughter of
Ingmar) ln l920. He also dlrected an adaptatlon of
Irlorlcv ln l920. Stlller dlrected Hcrr Zrvcs pcvgor ln
l9l9, Cuvvor Hcdcs sogo (based on Iv lcrrgrdssogcv) ln
l922, and an adaptatlon of Csto crlivgs sogo ln l921 (to
whlch hewlth Lagerlf`s dlsapprovaladded a happy
endlng, ln whlch the Major`s wlfe rlses from her slckbed
to general rejolclng), wlth Garbo playlng Ellsabeth
Dohna, Gsta Berllng`s beloved.
Durlng World War I the llfelong paclflst Lagerlf
sought dlvlne lnsplratlon for her wrltlng, as a note on a
draft from the tlme lndlcates. 'Gode Gud, hjlp Selma
Lagerlf! Krlstus |esus, kom och hjlp mlg, sg vad jag
skall skrlva" (Dear God, help Selma Lagerlf! Chrlst
|esus, come and help me, tell me what to wrlte). Early ln
l9l8 lnsplratlon came to her ald ln the form of a new
novel. ovvlyst (l9l8; translated as Tlc Uutcost, l920) has
two narratlve strandsone concernlng the vlolent jeal
ousy exhlblted by Pastor Rhnge toward hls beautlful
and vlrtuous wlfe, and the other the unbounded horror
and dlsgust felt by fellow humans toward the outcast of
the tltle, Sven Elverson, who ls pursued by the accusatlon
that he, whlle slck, dellrlous, and ln the company of
starvlng companlons, ate the flesh of a dead man. When
a seemlngly endless mass of bloated corpses from the
naval Battle of |utland ln l9l6 ls encountered by local
flshermen, the townsfolk reallze that lt ls far worse to klll
the llvlng than to eat the dead. Both Elkan and Olander
lnslsted that Lagerlf should absolve Sven from the accu
satlon of even excusable cannlballsm. She belleved thls
alteratlon would be lnartlstlc but was unwllllngly per
suaded to follow thelr advlce and lntroduced ln the novel
a letter from one of the expedltlon`s members declarlng
Sven to be lnnocent of the act commltted by some of hls
companlons. In a 5 Aprll l9l9 letter to a frlend, Kaja
Hansen, Lagerlf wrote that Swedlsh crltlcs had concen
trated on the romantlc part of ovvlyst, not wantlng to see
what lay behlnd lt, slnce morallzlng books were not ln
fashlon.
In l920 Lagerlf commlssloned the dlstlngulshed
archltect Gustaf Clason to deslgn a new maln house at
Mrbacka, and he bullt her a grandlose, threestory, neo
classlcal one. She lntended lt to represent a movlng act of
flllal plety toward her father, whose unreallzed and
lmposslble lmprovement schemes had been, to her, heart
breaklng symptoms of hls decllne. Her blography of the
Ilnnlsh wrlter and hlstorlan Zacharlas Jopellus appeared
late ln l920. Grlpped by her subject, she wrote to her
Danlsh translator. 'Jopellus var en ovanllgt lskvrd och
rlkt utrustad mnnlska, sd an som man vlll tnka slg att
mnnlskosjlarna skola bll d de genom ett mngtal av
lnkarnatloner ha ntt fullndnlngen" (Jopellus was an
exceptlonally lovable and rlchly endowed person, such
as one would llke to thlnk that human souls become
when they have undergone numerous lncarnatlons and
achleve perfectlon), whlch tells as much about the blogra
pher`s splrltual bellefs as about Jopellus`s merlts. Next,
ln l92l she collected short storles and artlcles ln a second
volume of Troll ocl movvislor. She was ln her slxtles and
was tlred and plagued by hlp palns. A Danlsh book on
yoga and Indlan wlsdom provlded some rellef. Elkan,
however, dled of a cerebral hemorrhage early ln l92l.
Whlle busy bulldlng the new Mrbacka, Lagerlf
embarked on wrltlng about the old house. Mrboclo por
trays her chlldhood as an ldylllc falry tale, over whlch
her father relgns as Prlnce Charmlng.
Elght years later Lagerlf recommenced her mem
olrs, but flrst came the Lwenskld trllogy. Jhe flrst vol
ume, Iwcvslldslo rivgcv (l925; translated as Tlc
Ccvcrol`s Iivg, l928), ls a ghost story set ln the elghteenth
century, flrst serlallzed ln the journal ovvicrs !cclotidvivg.
Jhe second volume, Clorlottc Iwcvslld (l925; trans
lated, l93l), ls set ln the l830s, but the style ls modern,
assured, wltty, and lronlc; ln the manner of the modern
psychologlcal novel, characters reveal thelr thoughts and
emotlons not by authorlal explanatlon but by what they
say and do. A descendant of General Lwenskld, the
lnsufferably selfcentered, lncreaslngly obsesslve young
10
p~ i~ ai_ PPN
curate Karl Artur Ekenstedt has slmllarltles to a realllfe
pastor, C. C. Estenberg (born l807), about whom Lager
lf had seen some documentsEstenberg fell out wlth hls
flance, marrled a slmple Dalecarllan glrl, quarreled wlth
hls parents, and fell lnto the clutches of an obsequlous
flatterer. Lagerlf`s portrayal of Karl Artur ls both fascl
natlng and appalllng; lt ls balanced by the charmlng por
trayals of hls flance, Charlotte, and hls subsequent
Dalecarllan wlfe, the tltle character of the flnal volume,
^~ p (l928; translated, l93l). Equally memorable
ls the unctuous snakelnthegrass Jhea Sundler, who
destroys Charlotte`s engagement and breaks up Anna`s
marrlage. Delblanc wrote that Lagerlf had shaped her
characters 'wlth unsurpassed mastery" and that ^~
p 'would be consldered by many to be her best. One
can only regret that Sartre never had the opportunlty to
analyze thls book. He never could have found better
examples of authentlclty and selfdeceptlon than the farm
glrl Anna Svrd and the garrulous Karl Artur." Accord
lng to Wgner, Lagerlf wrote to Olander that ^~
p really should end at the polnt when Jhea has done
her worst, but that unresolved remnants of the lntrlgue
from volume one entalled a flnal twlst that Lagerlf had
nelther the tlme nor the strength to solve to her own sat
lsfactlon. Llla Jorpe, who offers a femlnlst readlng of the
work ln her 'Den vedervrdlga kvlnnan frn Kor
skyrka" (l983, Jhe Repugnant Woman from Cruclform
Church), advances the theory that Jhea ls metaphorl
cally the female wrlter, the motor behlnd the actlon, who
llberates Charlotte and Anna from Karl Artur.
On Lagerlf`s seventleth blrthday she was feted
wlth a gala performance at the Stockholm Opera of the
Itallan composer Rlccardo Zandonal`s f ~~ b
(Jhe Cavallers of Ekeby), an opera based on d~ _J
~~ that had opened to great acclalm ln Mllan on 7
March l925. Shortly afterward, she made a new frlend
of her own age, Coyet. In a muted way Lagerlf felt the
same surge of happlness and vltallty that she had when
meetlng Elkan years before. On 20 |uly l930 she wrote
to Coyet. 'jag tnker nog, att jag frefll dlg bra llkglltlg l
brjan, ty jag var sdan d, jag vntade mlg lnte, att llvet
skulle kunna tlllfra mlg ngon mnnlska, fr vllken jag
kunde knna varmt och lnnerllgt, ngon som var vrd
att lntressera slg fr, jag var s desllluslonerad" (I can
lmaglne that I seemed very lndlfferent to begln wlth,
because that`s how I was then, I had no expectatlon that
llfe would brlng me someone for whom I could care
warmly and deeply, someone worth belng lnterested ln, I
was so dlslllusloned). Jhelr frlendshlp lasted the remaln
der of Lagerlf`s llfe.
b ~ ~ deplcts Lagerlf`s llfe from the
ages of ten to thlrteen years. A semlnal experlence was
playlng cards and eruptlng ln fury at belng cheated (as
she belleved) of her vlctory by an adult. She was carrled
upstalrs ln dlsgrace, and suddenly her eyes turned
lnward and she had a vlslon of a plt lnslde herself, from
whlch a monster began to push lts way up, aroused by
her fury. She determlned to be qulte stlll, for lf lt emerged
ln lts full length lt mlght be lmposslble to force lt down
agaln. Jhe experlence taught Lagerlf the necesslty of
balanclng lmaglnatlon wlth dlsclpllne and selfcontrol.
a~ was publlshed as a dlary coverlng the tlme
that Lagerlf stayed ln Stockholm wlth her aunt and
uncle when she was fourteen years old so that she mlght
attend gymnastlcs classes. Jhe work ls not a genulne
dlary, however, as Lagerlf wrote lt whlle ln her seven
tles. It provldes lnvaluable lnslghts lnto her palnful real
lzatlon of her adored father`s lncreaslng helplessness and
her struggles to contaln a vlvldly lmaglned, mallclous
lmp that emerges ln her selfpltylng or angry moods and,
llke the sllmy monster, must be subdued. On the traln
journey to Stockholm wlth her brother Danlel, a student
frlend of hls jolns them and wlns her heart, and she splns
fantasles around hlm. When Olander asked where the
student came from, Lagerlf replled that he was a flgure
who had accompanled her ever slnce chlldhood. He pro
vlded Lagerlf wlth the stuff of dreams; ln her dlary she
sees hlm ln hlstorlcal palntlngs, devlses a role for hlm ln
an hlstorlcal novel she plans to wrlte, and dreams that
she lntervenes on hls behalf at court so that he can marry
hls flance and become governor of St. Barthlemy. In
return he tells Lagerlf that so lgnoble an emotlon as jeal
ousy could never arlse ln her breast. He performs a
moral functlon by brlnglng out the best of Lagerlf ln her
fantasy llfe.
In l933 Lagerlf`s complete works, up to that
polnt, were publlshed. In l935 she dramatlzed d~ _J
~~ as a fouract play, whlch premlered at the Dra
matlc Jheatre ln Stockholm ln early l936. Its success
stlmulated her, and she had the pleasure of flnally meet
lng Garbo, who called at her lnvltatlon.
Yet, the l930s were grlm years ln Europe polltl
cally, and Lagerlf could not lgnore thls fact. A growlng
number of lntellectual, largely |ewlsh, refugees from Ger
many were fleelng the Jhlrd Relch. Lagerlf supported
them by donatlng one of her legends about Chrlst,
'Skrlften p jordgolvet" (Jhe Wrltlng on the Earthen
Iloor), whlch was translated lnto many languages and
sold to ralse money for the refugees. Jhe legend was
publlshed ln e (l933; translated as e~I l935), a
collectlon of storles and speeches wrltten between l9l1
and l933. Jhe offlclal German radlo network had
planned a blrthday program ln her honor that year, but lt
was canceled. Desplte the threat of loslng popularlty ln
Germany, the forelgn country ln whlch she was most
popular, Lagerlf stood by her convlctlons. In fact, ln
l910, desplte great lllness, she worked to get Nelly Sachs,
a young |ewlsh poet, and her mother out of Nazl Ger
1l
ai_ PPN p~ i~
many. She agreed to sponsor the two ln Sweden and
arranged for thelr care once they had arrlved. Sachs and
her mother escaped Nazl Germany on the last passenger
plane to leave for Sweden. In l966 Sachs also became a
Nobel Prlze laureate for her wrltlng.
After her elghtleth blrthday Selma Lagerlf was
tlred, but as late as the fall of l939 she began prellmlnary
work on a blography of Elkan. She also had other thlngs
on her mlnd; ln l910 she gave, as a symbollc gesture, the
gold medal bestowed on her by the Swedlsh Academy to
a collectlon for Ilnland, whose sltuatlon ln lts defenslve
war wlth the Sovlet Lnlon was desperate. Correspon
dents, who lnvested her wlth great moral authorlty, had
beseeched her to lntervene and help. On 8 March, Lager
lf had a cerebral hemorrhage, and on l6 March l910
she dled. She was lald to rest ln the famlly grave ln Ostra
mtervlk.
iW
rcv, 2 volumes, edlted by Ylng JoljerNllsson (Lund.
Gleerup, l967-l969);
Du lor mig ott bli fri: Sclmo Iogcrlf slrivcr till Soplic Illov,
edlted by JoljerNllsson (Stockholm. Bonnler ln
conjunctlon wlth Selma Lagerlfsllskapet,
l992);
Mommos Sclmo: Sclmo Iogcrlfs brcv till modcrv, edlted by
JoljerNllsson (Stockholm. Bonnler, l998).
_~W
Hanna Astrup Larsen, 'A Chronologlcal Checkllst of
the Books of Selma Lagerlf Publlshed ln Amer
lca," ln her Sclmo Iogcrlf (Garden Clty, N.Y..
Doubleday, Doran, l936);
Nlls Afzellus, Sclmo Iogcrlfs bibliogrofi: Urigivolslriftcr,
edlted by Eva Andersson, Acta Blbllothecae
Reglae Stockholmlensls, no. 23 (Stockholm.
Royal Llbrary, l975);
Slbylle Schweltzer, Sclmo Iogcrlf: Iivc bibliogroplic,
edlted by Gunllla Rlslng Hlntz (Marburg. Lnlver
slttsblbllothek Marburg, l990).
_~W
Walter A. Berendsohn, Sclmo Iogcrlf: Hcr Iifc ovd !orl,
adapted by George I. Jlmpson (London. Nlchol
son Watson, l93l);
Sven Jhulln, ed., Mrboclo ocl vrolid: Mivvcv ov Sclmo
Iogcrlf ocl !crvcr vov Hcidcvstom, volumes 20 and
2l of Hglomstcr ocl livsivtrycl ov svcvslo mov ocl
lvivvor, edlted by Jhulln (Lppsala. Llndblad,
l910-l91l);
Elln Wgner, Sclmo Iogcrlf, 2 volumes (Stockholm.
Bonnler, l912-l913);
I. S. de Vrleze, Ioct ovd Iictiov iv tlc Zutobiogroplicol !orls
of Sclmo Iogcrlf (Stockholm. Almkvlst Wlksell,
l958).
oW
Nlls Afzellus, 'Jhe Scandalous Selma Lagerlf," Scovdi-
vovico, 5, no. 2 (l966). 9l-99;
Afzellus, Sclmo IogcrlfDcv frorgclscvoclovdc (Lund.
Gleerup, l973);
KarlRalner Ahe, Iccptiov sclwcdisclcr Iitcrotur iv
Dcutscllovd: 19JJ-194 (Hattlngen. Verlag Dr.
Bernd Kretschner, l982);
Walter A. Berendsohn, Sclmo Iogcrlf: Hcimot uvd Icbcv /
Ivstlcrscloft / !crlc / !irluvg uvd !crt (Munlch.
Albert Langen, l927);
|ohn Budd, 'Selma Lagerlf l858-l910," ln Iiglt Scov-
divoviov òvclists: Criticism ovd Icvicws iv Ivglisl,
complled by Budd (Westport, Conn. Greenwood
Press, l98l), pp. 2l-39;
Sven Delblanc, Sclmo Iogcrlf (Stockholm. Swedlsh Instl
tute, l986);
Vlvl Edstrm, ''Gud styr`. Motlvfrskjutnlngen l |erus
alem," ln Iogcrlfstudicr, volume l (Malm. Selma
Lagerlfsllskapet, l958), pp. l57-l87;
Edstrm, 'Llvets stlgar. Jlden, handllngen och
llvsknslan l Gsta Berllngs saga," dlssertatlon,
Gteborg Lnlverslty, l960;
Edstrm, Sclmo Iogcrlf, translated by Barbara Llde
(Boston. Jwayne, l981);
Bengt Ek, Sclmo Iogcrlf cftcr Csto crlivgs sogo: Iv studic
vcr gcvombrottsrcv 1S91-1S97 (Stockholm. Bon
nler, l95l);
Hjlmar Gullberg, Sclmo Iogcrlf: Ivtrodcstol i Svcvslo
Zlodcmicv dcv 20 dcccmbcr 1940 (Stockholm. Nor
stedt, l910);
Alrlk Gustafson, 'Saga and Legend of a Provlnce," ln
Six Scovdivoviov òvclists: Iic, ocobscv, Hcidcv-
stom, Sclmo Iogcrlf, Homsuv, Sigrid Uvdsct
(Prlnceton. Prlnceton Lnlverslty Press / New
York. AmerlcanScandlnavlan Ioundatlon,
l910), pp. l77-225;
Blrgltta Holm, Sclmo Iogcrlf ocl urspruvgcts romov (Stock
holm. Norstedt, l981);
Iogcrlf-studicr, l3 volumes (Sunne, Sweden. Selma
Lagerlfsllskapet, l958- );
Erland Lagerroth, 'Jhe Narratlve Art of Selma Lager
lf. Jwo Problems," Scovdivoviov Studics, 33
(l96l). l0-l7;
Lagerroth, 'Selma Lagerlf Research l900-l961. A
Survey and an Orlentatlon," Scovdivoviov Studics,
37, no. l (l965). l-30;
LllaBrltta Lagerroth, Irlorlcv ocl ovvlyst: Motiv ocl
idcstudicr i Sclmo Iogcrlfs 10-tolsdiltvivg (Stock
12
p~ i~ ai_ PPN
Lagerroth, 'Jhe Jroll ln ManA Lagerlf Motlf," Scov-
divoviov Studics, 10, no. l (l968). 5l-60;
|rgen Ravn, Mcvvcslclcvdcrcv Sclmo Iogcrlf (Copen
hagen. Gad, l958);
Llla Jorpe, 'En enda lng varlatlon ver ordet vllja.
Om Selma Lagerlf," ln !ido vorldcv 1900-1960,
volume 3 of òrdisl lvivvolittcroturlistorio, edlted by
Ellsabeth Mller |ensen and others (Hgans.
Bra Bcker, l996), pp. ll3-l25;
Jorpe, 'Den vedervrdlga kvlnnan frn Korskyrka,"
Ivivvoros littcroturlistorio, 2 (l983). 57-7l;
|ennlfer Watson, Swcdisl òvclist Sclmo Iogcrlf, 1SS-
1940, ovd Ccrmovy ot tlc Turv of tlc Ccvtury: 'U Du
Stcrv ob mcivcm Cortcv, Scandlnavlan Studles
Serles, l2 (Lewlston, N.Y.. Edwln Mellen Press,
2001);
Gunnel Weldel, Hclgov ocl gcvgvgorc: Ccstoltvivgcv ov
lorlcl ocl rottviso i Sclmo Iogcrlfs diltvivg (Lund.
Gleerup, l961);
Henrlk Wlvel, SvdrottvivgcvIv bol om Sclmo Iogcrlf ocl
lorlclcv, translated by Blrglt Edlund (Stockholm.
Bonnler, l990).
m~W
Jhe major part of Selma Lagerlf`s archlve, comprlslng
manuscrlpts, drafts, notebooks, dlarles, and correspon
dence, ls held by the Royal Llbrary, Stockholm, ln the
Mrbacka Collectlon. Jhe Royal Llbrary also has an
extenslve collectlon of letters from Lagerlf to Sophle
Adlersparre, Ida Bckmann, Sophle Elkan, Ellen Key,
Valborg Olander, and Lagerlf`s two Danlsh transla
tors, Ida Ialbe Hansen and Ellsabeth Grundtvlg. Jhe
Gteborg Lnlverslty Llbrary has letters to Gustaf af
Geljerstam, and Lppsala Lnlverslty Llbrary has letters
to Eva Iryxell and Helena Nyblom.
NVMV k m i~
m~ p
by Clocs Zvvcrstcdt, Ircsidcvt of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy,
10 Dcccmbcr 1909
Hlstory tells us that there was a tlme when Swe
den fought for a world prlze on the fleld of martlal
honour. Jhe tlme of arms has passed, but ln the lnter
natlonal competltlon for peaceful prlzes our people
have for a long tlme held a posltlon of esteem, and now
the hour has flnally come when Sweden can enter lnto
llterary competltlon wlth the great natlons. Jhe realm
of the mlnd ls determlned by llvlng powers that are not
measured by populatlon or golden mllllons but by the
ldeallstlc and ethlcal demands whlch they satlsfy.
Geljer, Jegnr, or Runeberg, to mentlon only
them, could justly have lald clalm to the Nobel Prlze,
and the development whlch these great men have
started has grown to fuller bloom. But among the wrlt
ers of the younger generatlon who have contrlbuted so
much to our llterature, there ls one name that enjoys
the speclal splendour of a star of the flrst magnltude. In
the works of Selma Lagerlf we seem to recognlze the
purest and best features of our Great Swedlsh Mother.
Ilve years ago the Swedlsh Academy recognlzed the
lmportance and strength of her achlevement for Swed
lsh poetry by awardlng her the Gold Medal 'because of
the lmaglnatlve wealth, ldeallsm, and narratlve talent
that are evldenced ln her works, whlch are beloved
lnslde and outslde the borders of Sweden." Jhls hom
age was strongly appreclated by all classes ln our
natlon. Surely the same natlon wlll be proud to hear
today that the Swedlsh Academy has found Selma
Lagerlf`s llterary achlevement so lmportant that her
works should be counted among those consldered the
property of all manklnd and that they are full of the lde
allsm whlch Nobel requlred for the award of the Nobel
Prlze. It should not be thought that thls declslon was
lnsplred by excesslve natlonal selfesteem, especlally
slnce many lmportant forelgn oplnlons have supported
her candldacy. Nor would anybody conslder lt a lack of
modesty lf the Nobel Prlze, whlch ls now belng
awarded for the nlnth tlme, remalns ln the country of
lts founder; on the contrary, such modesty could be
lnterpreted as a lack of natlonal selfconfldence.
Iew flrst novels have attracted so much attentlon
as Csto crlivgs sogo (l89l). Jhe work was slgnlflcant
not only because lt broke declslvely wlth the unhealthy
and false reallsm of the tlmes, but also because of lts
own orlglnal character. Yet the work was not unanl
mously pralsed; lf most people admlred lt greatly, some
crltlclzed lt severely. Jhere could be no better proof of
lts extraordlnary character. One could not help admlr
lng an lmaglnatlon that had not had lts peer slnce Alm
qvlst`s days. However pecullar the characters and
sltuatlons created by thls lmaglnatlon mlght be, they
were covered by the marvellous bloom of artlstlc
genlus, and the presentatlon at tlmes exhlblted raptur
ous beauty. Jhe reader was partlcularly moved by the
profound feellng that ln thls work he was encounterlng
a forgotten plece of what had once been Swedlsh coun
try llfe; hls heart was captured, just as the curlous, radl
ant surface of the plcture enchanted hls senses. Jhls
flrst novel dld have lts weaknesses; how could lt be
otherwlse! Where ls gold found pure; when does a
genlus enter the world completely mature? But one
thlng was abundantly clear. a new genlus of genulne
Swedlsh nature was trylng lts wlngs.
13
ai_ PPN p~ i~
Soon she was to enter the realm of her true herl
tage, the mystlcal world of falry tales and legends. Only
a soul that had fed on legends slnce the days of chlld
hood, and that added love to a rlch lmaglnatlon, could
dare to lnterpret the secrets of the lnvlslble world that
the vlslonary always sees beslde or rather beneath the
vlslble world. Jhe vlslonary quallty that ls so character
lstlc ln Lagerlf`s wrltlngs has been stronger ln her than
ln anyone slnce the days of St. Blrgltta. |ust as refrac
tlons ln the hot alr of the desert create a vlvld fata mor
gana for the wanderer, so her warm and colourful
lmaglnatlon possesses a wonderful power of glvlng to
her vlslons the force of llvlng reallty, whlch ls lnstlnc
tlvely recalled by whoever llstens to her poetry. Jhls ls
partlcularly true of her descrlptlon of nature. Ior her,
everythlng, even what ls called lnanlmate nature, has lts
own, lnvlslble, but real llfe; and therefore her artlst`s
hand ls not content wlth representlng the outward
beauty of nature. Her lovlng eye follows the lnner llfe
whose sllent language has been caught by her flne ear.
Jhat ls why she has succeeded ln ellcltlng beautlful
secrets from falry tales, llvlng folk legends, and salnts`
storles; secrets that had been hldden from the worldly
wlse but whlch true slmpllclty percelves because, as the
poet has the old grandmother say, lt 'has eyes to see the
secrets of God."
As a palnter of peasant llfe she ls completely orlg
lnal and can compete wlth the best of other countrles.
q p (l908) xq d j~
`z ls lnlmltable ln lts reallstlc and falthful descrlp
tlons, and lt contalns a new and deeper beauty ln the
lrreslstlble power of unselflsh love whlch underlles the
whole work. And there are many other pleces of equal
beauty. But Selma Lagerlf`s talent comes out most
clearly ln the proud achlevement that bears the name
g~ (l90l-02) xq e `zK Jhe deep splrltual
movements that have from tlme to tlme aroused the
peasant populatlon of our country have rarely been
traced so clearly as ln thls descrlptlon of the pllgrlmage
of the people of Dalekarlla to the Holy Land. Jhe
reader sees thlngs as clearly as lf he hlmself were experl
enclng how thls strong breed wlth lts serlous and lntro
spectlve character goes lts way, broodlng heavlly over
the rlddles of llfe. And lt ls not surprlslng lf these peo
ple, torn between bellef and superstltlon, ln the palnful
struggle between thelr love of the lnherlted soll and
thelr fear that they may not walk wlth God, flnally
abandon home, slnce they belleve that the bells on hlgh
admonlsh them to march toward the holy clty. But lt ls
no less natural lf these chlldren of voluntary exlle, ln
the mldst of thelr dellght at havlng seen the earth that
had been touched by the foot of the Savlour, are deep ln
thelr hearts consumed by the deslre for the slmple green
soll far north ln old Dalarna. Jhe sound of rlvers and
forests ls always ln thelr ears. Wlth lovlng perceptlon
the poet has sounded the secret depth of thelr souls and
a bloom of purest poetry transforms the reallstlc and
falthful descrlptlon of thelr touchlng and slmple llves.
Jhe lntroductlon to g~I entltled 'Ingemars
snerna" |Ingemar`s Sons|, movlngly lntlmates that the
llves and deeds of the fathers work llke a force of des
tlny on later generatlons.
Selma Lagerlf`s style deserves our full apprecla
tlon. Llke a loyal daughter, she has admlnlstered the rlch
herltage of her mother tongue; from thls source come the
purlty of dlctlon, the clarlty of expresslon, and the musl
cal beauty that are characterlstlc of all her works.
Purlty and slmpllclty of dlctlon, beauty of style,
and power of lmaglnatlon, however, are accompanled
by ethlcal strength and deep rellglous feellng. And
lndeed lt could not be otherwlse ln someone to whom
the llfe of man ls a 'thread on God`s great loom." In
poetry of such elevatlon the alr ls always pure; more
than one of her beautlful legends reflect the slmpllclty
and loftlness of Scrlpture. But what makes Selma Lager
lf`s wrltlngs so lovable ls that we always seem to hear
ln them an echo of the most pecullar, the strongest, and
the best thlngs that have ever moved the soul of the
Swedlsh people. Iew have comprehended the lnnermost
nature of thls people wlth a comparable love. It ls her
own heart that speaks when ln q p
the strlct judge, whose severe features have lncreaslngly
brlghtened at the slght of the sacrlflclal love of the
young glrl, flnally says wlth deep emotlon to hlmself.
'Jhat ls my people. I shall not be angry wlth them
slnce there ls so much love and fear of God ln one of
thelr humblest creatures." Such an lntlmate and pro
found vlew ls posslble only for one whose soul ls
deeply rooted ln the Swedlsh earth and who has sucked
nourlshment from lts myths, hlstory, folklore, and
nature. It ls easy to understand why the mystlcal, nos
talglc, and mlraculous dusk that ls pecullar to the Nor
dlc nature ls reflected ln all her works. Jhe greatness of
her art conslsts preclsely ln her ablllty to use her heart
as well as her genlus to glve to the orlglnal pecullar
character and attltudes of the people a shape ln whlch
we recognlze ourselves.
We are actlng accordlng to the wlll of the founder lf
we honour those who have had such success ln appeallng
to the best sldes of the human heart, and whose name
and achlevement have penetrated far beyond the borders
of Sweden. Nor should anyone who bears a famous llter
ary name, whether lnslde or outslde the country, be envl
ous lf the Swedlsh Academy today pronounces that lt has
awarded thls year`s Nobel Prlze ln Llterature to Sweden`s
dlstlngulshed daughter, Selma Lagerlf.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l909.|
11
p~ i~ ai_ PPN
i~W _~ p
p~ i~ ~ k _~ ~ d~ eI
pI NM a NVMV Eq~~FW
A few days ago I was slttlng ln the traln, bound
for Stockholm. It was early evenlng; there was llttle
llght ln my compartment and none at all outslde. My
fellow passengers were dozlng ln thelr respectlve cor
ners, and I was very qulet, llstenlng to the rattllng of the
traln.
And then I began to thlnk of all the other tlmes I
had come up to Stockholm. It had usually been to do
somethlng dlfflcultto pass examlnatlons or to flnd a
publlsher for my manuscrlpt. And now I was comlng to
recelve the Prlze ln Llterature. Jhat, too, I thought
would be dlfflcult.
All through thls autumn I had llved at my old
home ln Vrmland ln complete solltude, and now I
should have to step forward ln the presence of so many
people. I had become shy of llfe`s bustle ln my solltary
retreat and was apprehenslve at the thought of faclng
the world.
Deep wlthln me, however, was a wondrous joy at
recelvlng thls Prlze, and I trled to dlspel my anxlety by
thlnklng of those who would rejolce at my good for
tune. Jhere were my good frlends, my brothers and sls
ters and, flrst and foremost, my old mother who, slttlng
back home, was happy to have llved to see thls day.
But then I thought of my father and felt a deep
sorrow that he should no longer be allve, and that I
could not go to hlm and tell hlm that I had been
awarded the Nobel Prlze. I knew that no one would
have been happler than he to hear thls. Never have I
met anyone wlth hls love and respect for the wrltten
word and lts creators, and I wlshed that he could have
known that the Swedlsh Academy had bestowed on me
thls great Prlze. Yes, lt was a deep sorrow to me that I
could not tell hlm.
Anyone who has ever sat ln a traln as lt rushes
through a dark nlght wlll know that sometlmes there
are long mlnutes when the coaches sllde smoothly
along wlthout so much as a shudder. All rustle and bus
tle cease and the sound of the wheels becomes a sooth
lng, peaceful melody. Jhe coaches no longer seem to
run on ralls and sleepers but gllde lnto space. Well, that
ls how lt was as I sat there and thought how much I
should llke to see my old father agaln. So llght and
soundless was the movement of the traln that I could
hardly lmaglne I was on thls earth. And so I began to
daydream. '|ust thlnk, lf I were golng to meet Iather ln
Paradlse! I seem to have heard of such thlngs happen
lng to other peoplewhy, then, not to myself?" Jhe
traln went glldlng on but lt had a long way to go yet,
and my thoughts raced ahead of lt. Iather wlll certalnly
be slttlng ln a rocklng chalr on a veranda, wlth a garden
full of sunshlne and flowers and blrds ln front of hlm.
He wlll be readlng c ~~I of course, but when he
sees me he wlll put down hls book, push hls spectacles
hlgh up on hls forehead, and get up and walk toward
me. He wlll say, 'Good day, my daughter, I am very
glad to see you," or 'Why, you are here, and how are
you, my chlld," just as he always used to do.
He wlll settle agaln ln hls rocklng chalr and only
then begln to wonder why I have come to see hlm.
'You are sure there ls nothlng amlss?" he wlll ask sud
denly. 'No, Iather, all ls well," I wlll reply. But then,
just as I am about to break my news to hlm, I wlll
declde to keep lt back just a whlle longer and try the
lndlrect approach. 'I have come to ask you for advlce,
Iather," I wlll say, 'for I am very heavlly ln debt."
'I am afrald you wlll not get much help from me
ln thls matter," Iather wlll reply. 'One may well say of
thls place that, llke the old estates ln our Vrmland, lt
has everythlng except money."
'Ah, but lt ls not money that I owe, Iather." 'But
that`s even worse," Iather wlll say. 'Begln rlght at the
beglnnlng, daughter."
'It ls not too much to ask that you should help,
Iather, for lt was all your fault rlght from the beglnnlng.
Do you remember how you used to play the plano and
slng Bellman`s songs to us chlldren and how, at least
twlce every wlnter, you would let us read Jegnr and
Runeberg and Andersen? It was then that I flrst fell lnto
debt. Iather, how shall I ever repay them for teachlng
me to love falry tales and sagas of heroes, the land we
llve ln and all of our human llfe, ln all lts wretchedness
and glory?"
Iather wlll stralghten up ln hls rocklng chalr and
a wonderful look wlll come lnto hls eyes. 'I am glad
that I got you lnto thls debt," he wlll say. 'Yes, you may
be rlght, Iather, but then remember that that ls not all
of lt. Jhlnk how many credltors I have. Jhlnk of those
poor, homeless vagabonds who used to travel up and
down Vrmland ln your youth, playlng the fool and
slnglng all those songs. What do I not owe to them, to
thelr mlschlef and mad pranks! And the old men and
women slttlng ln thelr small grey cottages as one came
out of the forest, telllng me wonderful storles of water
sprltes and trolls and enchanted maldens lured lnto the
mountalns. It was they who taught me that there ls
poetry ln hard rocks and black forests. And thlnk,
Iather, of all those pale, hollowcheeked monks and
nuns ln thelr dark clolsters, the vlslons they saw and
the volces they heard. I have borrowed from thelr trea
15
ai_ PPN p~ i~
sure of legends. And our own peasants who went to
|erusalemdo I owe them nothlng for glvlng me such
glorlous deeds to wrlte about? And I am ln debt not
only to people; there ls the whole of nature as well. Jhe
anlmals that walk the earth, the blrds ln the skles, the
trees and flowers, they have all told me some of thelr
secrets."
Iather wlll smlle and nod hls head and look not at
all worrled. 'But don`t you understand, Iather, that I
carry a great burden of debt?" I wlll say, and look more
and more serlous. 'No one on earth knows how I can
repay lt, but I thought that you, ln Heaven, would
know." 'We do," Iather wlll say and be as carefree and
relaxed as he used to be. 'Never fear, chlld, there ls a
remedy for your trouble."
'Yes, Iather, but that`s not all. I am also heavlly ln
debt to those who have formed and moulded our lan
guage lnto the good lnstrument that lt ls, and taught me
to use lt. And, then, am I not ln debt to those who have
wrltten ln prose and ln verse before my tlme, who have
turned wrltlng lnto art, the torchbearers, the pathflnd
ers? Jhe great Norweglans, the great Russlans who
wrote when I was a chlld, do I not owe them a thou
sand debts? Has lt not been glven to me to llve ln an
age ln whlch my own country`s llterature has reached
lts hlghest peak, to behold the marble emperors of Ryd
berg, the world of Snollsky`s poetry, Strlndberg`s cllffs,
Geljerstam`s countryfolk, the modern men of Anne
Charlotte Edgren and Ernst Ahlgren, Heldenstam`s
Orlent? Sophle Elkan, who has brought hlstory to llfe,
Irdlng and hls tales of Vrmland`s plalns, Levertln`s
legends, Hallstrm`s q~~I and Karlfeldt`s Dalekar
llan sketches, and much else that was young and new,
all that nourlshed my fantasy, drove me on to compete,
and made the dreams bear frultdo I not owe them
anythlng?"
'Yes, yes," Iather wlll say. 'You are rlght, yours ls
a heavy debt but, never fear, we wlll flnd a way."
'I don`t thlnk, Iather, that you really understand
how hard lt ls for me. You don`t reallze that I am also ln
debt to my readers. I owe them so muchfrom the old
Klng and hls youngest son, who sent me on my appren
tlce`s wanderlngs through the South, to the small
schoolchlldren who scrlbbled a letter of thanks for Nlls
Holgersson. What would have become of me lf no one
had wanted to read my books? And don`t forget all
those who have wrltten of me. Remember the famous
Danlsh crltlc who, wlth a few words, won me frlends all
over Denmark! And he who could mlx gall and ambro
sla ln a more masterly fashlon than anyone ln Sweden
had ever done before hls tlme. Now he ls dead. Jhlnk
of all those ln forelgn lands who have worked for me. I
owe them gratltude, Iather, both for thelr pralse and for
thelr censure."
'Yes, yes," Iather wlll say, and I shall see hlm
look a llttle less calm. Surely, he wlll begln to under
stand that lt wlll not be easy to help me.
'Remember all who have helped me, Iather!" I
shall say. 'Jhlnk of my falthful frlend, Esselde, who
trled to open doors for me when no one dared to
belleve ln me. Jhlnk of others who have cared for and
protected my work! Jhlnk of my good frlend and trav
elllng companlon, who not only took me south and
showed me all the glorles of art but made llfe ltself hap
pler and llghter for me. All the love that has come to
me, the honours, the dlstlnctlons! Do you not under
stand now that I had to come to you to ask how such
debts can be pald?"
Iather has lowered hls head and does not look so
hopeful any more.
'I agree, Daughter, lt ls not golng to be easy to
flnd help for you but, surely, there ls nothlng more you
owe anyone?"
'Yes, Iather, I have found lt dlfflcult enough to
bear all that I owed before, but my blggest debt has not
yet come. Jhat ls why I had to come to you for advlce."
'I cannot understand how you could owe stlll more,"
Iather wlll say. 'Oh, yes," I wlll reply, and then I wlll
tell hlm all about thls.
'I just cannot belleve the Academy . . . ," Iather
wlll say but, looklng at me and seelng my face, he wlll
know lt ls all true. And, then, every wrlnkle ln hls face
wlll tremble and tears wlll come lnto hls eyes.
'What am I to say to those who put my name up
for the Prlze and to those who have made the declslon
thlnk, Iather, lt ls not only honour and money they are
bestowlng on me. Jhey have shown that they have
trust enough ln me to slngle me out before the whole
world. How shall I repay thls debt?"
Iather wlll slt and stlll no words wlll come as he
thlnks. Jhen, drylng tears of joy from hls eyes, he wlll
bang down hls flst on the arm of the rocklng chalr and
say, 'I wlll not rack my bralns about problems that no
one ln Heaven or on earth can solve. I am too happy
that you have been glven the Nobel Prlze to worry
about anythlng!"
Your Majestles, Your Royal Hlghnesses, Ladles
and Gentlemenhavlng recelved no better answer than
thls to all my questlons, lt only remalns to me to ask
you to joln me ln the toast whlch I have the honour to
propose to the Swedlsh Academy.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l909. Selma Lagerlf ls the
sole author of her speech.|
16
e~ i~
Ee~ dF
(2J Zpril 1902 - S Icbruory 199S)
e~ h
Hsloli Islovds
( Jranslated by Allson Jartt)
Jhls entry has been revlsed from Kress`s Laxness entry
ln DI 29J: Icclovdic !ritcrs.
BOOKS. orv vttruvvor: storsogo (Reykjavk. Hall
dr Klljan Laxness, l9l9);
òllror sgur (Reykjavk. safoldarprentsmlja, l923);
Uvdir Hclgolvl (Reykjavk. Bkaverslun rsls rna
sonar, l921);
Ioolsl vilorf: Svor gcgv rsum (Reykjavk. Bkaverslun
rsls rnasonar, l925);
!cforivv milli fr Iosmr (Reykjavk. Halldr Klljan Lax
ness, l927);
Zlyuboliv (Reykjavk. |afnaarmannaflag slands,
l929);
Ivolvcr (Reykjavk. Acta, l930; enlarged edltlon,
Reykjavk. Helgafell, l919);
Sollo !ollo, 2 volumes (Reykjavk. Mennlngarsjur,
l93l, l932); translated lnto Danlsh by Gunnar
Gunnarsson as Sollo !ollo (Copenhagen. Hassel
balch, l931); translated from Danlsh lnto Engllsh
by I. H. Lyon as Sollo !ollo: Z òvcl of Icclovd
(London. Allen Lnwln, l936);
I Zusturvcgi (Reykjavk. Sovtvlnaflag slands, l933);
Iototol movvo: Sj ttir (Akureyrl. orstelnn M. |ns
son, l933); 'Lngfrln ga og hsl" translated
by Kenneth G. Chapman as Tlc Hovour of tlc
Housc (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l959); 'Nja sland"
translated by Axel Eyberg and |ohn Watklns as
'New Iceland," ln Scvcv Icclovdic Slort Storics,
edlted by sgelr Ptursson and Stelngrmur |.
orstelnsson (New York. AmerlcanScandlnavlan
Ioundatlon, l960), pp. l5l-l66; 'Lllja. Sagan af
Nebkadnesar Nebkadnesarssynl lfs og
llnum" translated by Eyberg and Watklns as
'Llly. Jhe Story of Nebuchadnezzarson ln Llfe
and Death," ln Crcot Storics by òbcl Iric !ivvcrs,
edlted by L. Hamallan and E. L. Edmond (New
York. Noonday Press, l959), pp. 3l7-328;
Sjlfsttt foll: Hctjusogo, 2 volumes (Reykjavk. E. P.
Brlem, l931, l935); translated by |. A. Jhomp
son as Ivdcpcvdcvt Icoplc: Zv Ipic (London. Allen
Lnwln, l915; New York. Knopf, l916);
Stroumrof: Sjovlcilur (Reykjavk. Helmskrlngla, l931);
Doglci fjllum: Crcivor (Reykjavk. Helmskrlngla,
l937);
Hcimsljos, 1 volumes (Reykjavk. Helmskrlngla, l937-
l910); translated by Magnus Magnusson as !orld
e~ i~ E ~ f mW
^ bI NVQSX o~ ` m i~F
17
ai_ PPN e~ i~
iI Nordlc Jranslatlons Serles (Madlson. Lnl
verslty of Wlsconsln Press, l969);
d~ W j (Reykjavk. Helmskrlngla,
l938);
p ~W (Reykjavk. Helmskrlngla, l912);
s ~W o (Reykjavk. Helmskrlngla,
l912);
~~I 3 volumes (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l913-
l916); translated by Phlllp Roughton as f~
_ (New York. Vlntage, 2003);
p~ W o (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l916);
^ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l918); translated by
Magnusson as q ^ p~ (London. Meth
uen, l96l);
p ~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l950);
o~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l950);
d~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l952); translated by
Katherlne |ohn as q e~ t~ (London.
Methuen, l958);
e~ W p ~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell,
l952);
pW p (Reykjavk. Helga
fell, l951);
a~ W o~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l955);
_~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l957); translated
by Magnusson as q c `~ p (London.
Methuen, l966; New York. Crowell, l967);
d~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l959);
m~~~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l960); translated
by Magnusson as m~~ o~ (London.
Methuen, l962; New York. Crowell, l962);
pW d~~ (Reykjavk.
Helgafell, l96l);
m~~ pW d~~ (Reykjavk.
Helgafell, l962);
p~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l963);
p~~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l961); translated by
Alan Boucher as ^ n p (Reykjavk. Ice
land Revlew, l971);
r~ ~~W o (Reykjavk. Helgafell,
l965);
a~~W p~ (Reykjavk.
Helgafell, l966); translated by Boucher as q
m _~I ln j k m~ (Oslo. Lnl
versltetsforlaget, l973), pp. 23-l35;
~~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l967);
h~ g (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l968); trans
lated by Magnusson as `~ ~ d~ (Reyk
javk. Helgafell, l972); translatlon republlshed as
r d~ (Reykjavk. VakaHelgafell,
l990; New York. Vlntage, 2005);
s~~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l969);
f~~~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l970); 'Sagan
af braulnu dra" translated by Magnusson as
q _~ i (Reykjavk. VakaHelgafell,
l987);
v ~W ~ ~~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell,
l97l);
d~~~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l972);
~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l975);
~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l976);
pI (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l977);
p~~~~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l978);
d~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l980);
s ~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l98l);
l ~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l981);
^ ~~I edlted by Olafur Ragnarsson (Reykja
vk. VakaHelgafell, l986);
a~~ (Reykjavk. VakaHelgafell, l987).
bW s~ h~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell,
l918);
p~~ s~~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l95l);
p W e~~ (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l952);
(Reykjavk. Helgafell, l951);
e (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l955);
g ~I lllustrated by Snorrl Svelnn Irlrlks
son (Reykjavk. VakaHelgafell, l992).
PLAY PRODLCJIONS. p~W pI Reykja
vk, Lelkflag Reykjavkur, 29 November l931;
~ g~~ e~~I Reykjavk, Jrpll
lelkhsl, 26 May l915;
~~I Reykjavk, jlelkhsl, l0 October
l950;
pW p I Reykjavk,
jlelkhsl, 9 October l951;
pW d~~ I Reykjavk,
jlelkhsl, ll October l96l;
m~~ pW d~~ I Reykjavk,
jlelkhsl, 20 Aprll l966;
a~~W p~ I Reykjavk,
Lelkflag Reykjavkur, 29 Aprll l966.
RECORDINGS. ~~ (the play productlon),
Ilklnn, l966;
i~ I VakaHelgafell, l989;
~ I read by Halldra Bjrnsdttlr,
VakaHelgafell, l999;
h~ gI read by Halldr Laxness, Vaka
Helgafell, 2002.
OJHER. i~~ ~~I edlted, wlth a preface, by Lax
ness (Reykjavk. Ragnar |nsson, Stefn
Ogmundsson, l91l);
18
e~ i~ ai_ PPN
Hrofvlotlo, edlted, wlth a preface, by Laxness (Reyk
javk. Ragnar |nsson, Stefn Ogmundsson,
l912);
rcvvuvjls sogo, edlted, wlth an afterword, by Laxness
(Reykjavk. Helgafell, l915);
Zlcxovdcrs sogo, edlted, wlth a preface, by Laxness
(Reykjavk. Helmskrlngla, l915);
Crcttis sogo, edlted, wlth a preface, by Laxness (Reyk
javk. Helgafell, l916);
|hann |nsson, Ivi og ritgcrir, edlted, wlth a preface,
by Laxness (Reykjavk. Helmskrlngla, l952);
republlshed as |hann |nsson, Ijo og ritgcrir
(Reykjavk. Mennlngarsjur, l986).
JRANSLAJIONS. Ernest Hemlngway, !opviv lvdd
(Reykjavk. Ml og mennlng, l91l);
Gunnar Gunnarsson, Iirljov fjollivu (Reykjavk. Land
nma, l91l-l913);
Voltalre, irtvgur (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l915);
Gunnarsson, Ir blivdlsum (Reykjavk. Landnma,
l918);
Gunnarsson, !ilivoli (Reykjavk. Landnma, l918);
Hemlngway, !cislo forvgrivum (Akureyrl. Prentverk
Odds Bjrnssonar, l966).
Halldr Laxness ls both an lnternatlonal author
and a thoroughly Icelandlc one. He wrote almost exclu
slvely ln Icelandlc, took hls subject matter from the real
ltles of Icelandlc soclety and hlstory, and produced a
body of work deeply rooted ln the Icelandlc eplc tradl
tlon. At the same tlme, hls work has unlversal appeal.
'Helmurlnn er elnmltt hr, Oseyrl vl Axlarfjr"
(Jhe world ls rlght here, at Oseyrl ln Axlarfjrur), he
remarks ln one of hls flrst novels, Sollo !ollo (l93l,
l932; translated from Danlsh lnto Engllsh as Sollo
!ollo: Z òvcl of Icclovd, l936), whlch takes place ln a
povertystrlcken flshlng vlllage ln one of the most
remote areas of the country near the Arctlc Clrcle. A
major theme ln the work of Laxness ls the confllct of
natlonalltyhow to belong to one`s own country and
the whole world at the same tlme.
Laxness was extraordlnarlly prollflc and versatlle
as a wrlter. Durlng hls long career he publlshed more
than slxty books, representlng many genresnovels,
short storles, poetry, plays, and autoblographlcal
sketches and memolrs. He was no less productlve as a
cultural commentator and wrote many essays on lltera
ture, educatlon, rellglon, and hlstory as well as on
soclal, polltlcal, and envlronmental lssues. He was
always a controverslal flgure, especlally ln hls younger
years, because of hls radlcal themes and polltlcal vlews.
He consldered hlmself flrst and foremost an eplc
author; he belleved he understood soclal lssues no bet
ter than anyone else. Indeed, lt was for renewlng the
great narratlve art of Iceland through the eplc power of
hls work that he was awarded the Nobel Prlze ln Lltera
ture ln l955. Jhrough hls novels he has won more
fame than any other Icelandlc author slnce Snorrl
Sturluson and the nameless authors of the Icelandlc
sagas. Hls works have been translated lnto more than
forty languages and publlshed ln countrles around the
globe. Ior Icelanders, Halldr Laxness has become a
natlonal lcon, and hls house, Gljfrastelnn, has now
been deslgnated a natlonal museum.
He was born Halldr Gujnsson ln Reykjavk
on 23 Aprll l902 ln a llttle rear house at Laugavegur
32. Hls parents, Gujn Helgason and Slgrur Hall
drsdttlr, made thelr home on a maln thoroughfare of
the capltal, a clty wlth a populatlon of slx thousand at
that tlme. When Halldr was three years old, the famlly
moved to the farm Laxnes ln Mosfellssvelt (the Mosfell
dlstrlct) near Reykjavk. Hls parents farmed, and hls
father also worked as the foreman of a road crew ln the
summers. Halldr`s slsters, Slgrur and Helga, were
born at Laxnes ln l909 and l9l2, respectlvely. Halldr
later took the name of the farm as hls pen name and
surname, Laxness (llterally, 'from Laxnes"). In the flrst
volume of hls memolrs, I tvivu lcimo (l975, In the Ileld
Back Home), he descrlbes hls chlldhood at Laxnes.
Although these years ln the country were prlceless and
lald the foundatlon for the rest of hls llfe, he says that he
was lucky to have been born and bred on the longest
clty street ln Iceland, for he dld not have to spend years
purglng hlmself of the hayseed. Laxness recalls hls par
ents wlth warmth and respect. Hls father, who had
grown up ln the country, was a selfeducated man who
both read and spoke Engllsh; he was also muslcally
lncllned and played the flddle. Muslc was a favorlte pas
tlme ln the home, and nelghbors from all over the coun
tryslde gathered there to play thelr lnstruments and
slng. 'Allar bernskumlnnngar mnar hafa undlrlelk af
tnllst" (All my chlldhood memorles are accompanled
by muslc), says Laxness ln I tvivu lcimo. Jhe sounds
that fllled the house stayed wlth hlm for the rest of hls
llfe, and muslc as a motlf flgures promlnently ln hls
works. Laxness descrlbes hls mother as temperamental
and so reserved that he felt he never really knew her.
She was a 'huldukona" (hldden woman), he says, and
he felt her presence as hls guardlan as long as she
llvedand even longer.
In addltlon to hls parents and the muslcal envl
ronment at Laxnes, a strong lnfluence ln young Hall
dr`s llfe was hls maternal grandmother, Gun
Klngsdttlr, who llved wlth the famlly. Halldr was
attached to her and as a chlld sat next to her on the bed
as she spun and kept hlm amused wlth nursery rhymes,
songs, and ballads. In the autoblographlcal sketch
Hcimov cg for: Sjlfsmyvd slumovvs (l952, Leavlng
19
ai_ PPN e~ i~
Home. SelfPortralt of a Young Man), Laxness says that
hls grandmother was not the least lnterested ln current
affalrs, polltlcs, or technologlcal advances, but she
spoke a purer form of Icelandlc than anyone else he
ever knew. Jhls grandmother, who gave Laxness an
appreclatlon for the land and the past, appeared later ln
hls work as a posltlve symbol for bygone tlmes, ln odd
contrast to the modernlsm he was otherwlse qulck to
espouse.
By hls own admlsslon, Laxness had an averslon
to physlcal labor, and members of the household often
lost patlence wlth hls mallngerlng ways. Hls mother,
however, understood her son`s lnterests and spoke up
for hlm. Readlng constantly, he spent every waklng
hour wlth hls books. At Laxnes he wrote thousands of
pages, fllllng up many chests wlth notebooks crammed
wlth novels, short storles, poems, essays, and journals.
He evldently bullt a bonflre and burned them all before
he was sent off to school ln the autumn of l9l5 after
completlng the rural grammar school.
In the wlnter of l9l5-l9l6 Laxness attended the
technlcal school ln Reykjavk, where he was an erratlc
pupll, especlally ln draftsmanshlp. He also took organ
lessons, for hls father was convlnced of hls muslcal tal
ent and had glven hlm a harmonlum. Jhat wlnter he
wrote a long novel that emulated Ildivg (l889, Llght
nlng), an equally long hlstorlcal novel by Jorfhlldur
Hlm that deplcted Iceland`s adoptlon of Chrlstlanlty.
In l882 Hlm, who was born ln l815, had publlshed
ryvjolfur bislup Svcivssov (Blshop Brynjlfur Svelnsson),
whlch was about an emlnent Icelandlc blshop of the
seventeenth century. It was Iceland`s flrst novel by a
woman as well as the flrst hlstorlcal novel ln modern
Icelandlc llterature. In Sjmcistorosogov (l978, Jhe
Chronlcle of Seven Masters), the second volume of hls
memolrs, Laxness says that durlng hls chlldhood he
vowed to be a better wrlter than Hlm. Echolng the
tltle of her book, Laxness called hls novel 'Aftureldlng"
(Dawn), whlch he descrlbed as slx hundred densely
wrltten pages. He later clalmed that the manuscrlpt had
been lost and that he could not even recall two consecu
tlve words of lt.
Many Icelandlc wrlters, lncludlng Hlm, llved ln
Canada for many years or settled there permanently.
When Laxness was growlng up, the Icelandlc lmmlgra
tlons to Amerlca had largely come to an end, but they
were stlll fresh ln people`s mlnds and frequently men
tloned. As a chlld, Laxness was engrossed by the mlgra
tlons, and they later came to symbollze ln hls work the
dllemma of belng an Icelanderwhether to stay or
leave. In hls works Laxness llnks the westward journeys
to the Icelandlc language, poets, and poetry, and also to
women. Hls flrst publlshed works, ln fact, were two
short eplstolary essays concernlng the Icelandlc lmml
grants. Appearlng ln |une l9l6, one ln the chlldren`s
magazlne slov and the other ln the chlldren`s column
of the Icelandlc Canadlan paper Igbcrg, they were
slgned 'H. Gujnsson of Laxnes." In both pleces Lax
ness pralses the Icelandlc Canadlan chlldren for thelr
verses and anecdotes, and pronounces them to be gen
erally much better wrlters than Icelandlc chlldrenwlth
some exceptlons, he hastens to add. He tells them all
about Iceland and encourages them to learn Icelandlc
verses and to read the Icelandlc classlcs. In November
of that same year, Laxness wrote another eplstolary
essay for the chlldren`s column ln Igbcrg. He agaln dls
cusses poetry and Icelandlc nature, offers some quota
tlons from Icelandlc poems, and concludes by sendlng
some of hls own versesthe flrst of hls poems to appear
under hls name. In these poems he lmplores the Cana
dlan Icelandlc chlldren never to forget the homeland
and closes wlth these words. 'Eg tel ykkur aelns
tleg!" (I regard you as merely belng ln exlle!). In the
same year, Laxness publlshed a few poems and storles
ln newspapers and magazlnes under the pen name
'Snr svlnnl" (Snr the Wlse). In November l9l6, for
the Reykjavk newspaper Morguvbloi, he wrote an artl
cle under hls own name about an old clock that
belonged to a maternal greataunt.
In the wlnter of l9l8-l9l9 Laxness entered
Reykjavk`s secondary school. Lnhappy ln school, he
neglected hls studles and lmmersed hlmself ln wrltlng.
At the end of the term he dropped out of school and
ended hls formal educatlon forever. In l921 he took the
examlnatlon for a hlghschool dlploma but dld not pass.
In the summer of l9l9, when Laxness was seven
teen, hls father, only fortynlne years old, dled of pneu
monla. Laxness had just completed orv vttruvvor:
storsogo (Chlld of Nature. A Romance), hls flrst pub
llshed novel, selfpubllshed that autumn under the
name 'Halldr fr Laxnesl" (Halldr from Laxnes).
orv vttruvvor ls about an Icelandlc Canadlan
realestate agent named Randver, who returns to Ice
land after thlrty years ln Wlnnlpeg and starts a new llfe
as a farmer. He meets the lnnocent Hulda (a name that
means 'hldden woman"), a freesplrlted young woman
who llves ln the mountalns and spends her days slng
lng, composlng her own poems and songs, and playlng
the gultar. When Hulda loses lnterest ln Randver for a
tlme, he takes up drlnklng, forgets hls natlve language,
and reverts to speaklng Engllsh. orv vttruvvor ls
nalve and lmltatlve of the exotlclsm that characterlzed
the works of the Icelandlc wrlters who had moved to
Denmark and were wrltlng ln Danlsh. Jhe book was
not well recelved. the author was labeled a 'chlld" and
the story 'chlldlsh" by Arngrmur |nsson ln the news
paper Zlyubloi (Iolk Newspaper) on 6 November
l9l9. Jhe crltlc, however, remlnded Icelanders that
50
e~ i~ ai_ PPN
they should coddle the country`s young wrlters to keep
them from movlng abroad and wrltlng ln a forelgn lan
guage. In the preface to the second edltlon of the novel,
publlshed ln l961, Laxness calls orv vttruvvor hls
best book, because lt preserves the sounds of chlld
hood. It was hls farewell to thls perlod of hls llfe.
Wlthout waltlng for hls novel to come out, Lax
ness salled to Copenhagen ln the summer of l9l9.
Jhere he rented a room and put hls calllng card on the
door. 'Halldr fr Laxnesl. Pota." Jhls flrst trlp
abroad, whlch lasted less than a year, ls descrlbed ln the
thlrd volume of hls memolrs, Uvgur cg vor (l976, Young
Was I). Immerslng hlmself ln llterature, phllosophy, and
rellglous questlons, he was captlvated by the Swedlsh
modernlst August Strlndberg and by the Chlnese mys
tlc Laotzu.
About thls tlme several Icelandlc wrlters were mak
lng names for themselves ln Denmark, wrltlng ln Danlsh.
Jhey lncluded |hann Slgurjnsson, Gumundur Kam
ban, and Gunnar Gunnarsson, all born ln the l880s.
Laxness perhaps asplred to jolnlng the group, for he
soon trled hls hand at wrltlng short storles ln Danlsh.
Jhree of them were publlshed ln the respected newspa
per crlivgslc Tidcvdc: 'Den tuslndaarlge Islndlng"
(Jhe JhousandYear Icelander, l9 October l9l9),
'Jhordur l Kalfakot" (Jhordur at Kalfakot, 20 Iebru
ary l920), and 'Dlgteren og Zeus" (Jhe Poet and Zeus,
2 May l920). Jhe storles were later publlshed ln Icelan
dlc ln the author`s flrst volume of short storles, òllror
sgur (l923, A Iew Storles). As lts tltle suggests, 'Den
tuslndaarlge Islndlng" deplcts the archetypal Icelander
and hls struggle wlth the forces of nature. Jhe protago
nlst ls Helgl, a farmhand who llves by the herolc code
of the Icelandlc sagas and belleves ln the pagan gods.
Hls opposlte ls the cosmopolltan artlst Helbs, who
comes to the farm to palnt. When a volcano erupts fol
lowlng a masslve earthquake, the frlghtened artlst ls
lntent on fleelng, whlle Helgl fearlessly rushes out to
rescue the llvestock. Jhe young woman, who ls belng
courted by both men, no longer has any doubt about
whlch one to choose. 'Jhordur l Kalfakot" ls about a
poor farmer who struggles to survlve on a remote patch
of barren land and turns to rustllng sheep to feed hls
starvlng chlldren. Lnllke the thousandyear Icelander,
Jhordur ls defeated not only by the forces of nature but
also by a hostlle soclety. Jhe story ls Laxness`s flrst to
portray the Icelandlc subslstence farmer, a subject that
he wrestled wlth for decades. 'Dlgteren og Zeus" con
cerns an Icelandlc poet llvlng abroad and hls most
trusted frlend, a dog named Zeus. In hls preface to the
second edltlon of òllror sgur, publlshed ln the collec
tlon Ittir (l951, Storles), Laxness dlsmlsses these early
storles, saylng that ln those days he could wrlte a whole
story ln the length of tlme lt would now take hlm to
wrlte one sentence, for he had not yet learned the art of
strlklng out words.
When Laxness returned to Iceland early ln the
summer of l920, he seems to have already glven up the
ldea of wrltlng ln Danlsh. Jhe scholar and poet
Slgurur Nordal was belng halled for hls story 'Hel"
(Jhe Goddess of Death), whlch had appeared the prevl
ous year ln Iorvor stir (Anclent Passlons), a collectlon
of Nordal`s short storles. Wrltten ln a fragmentary, lyrl
cal prose style, the story concerns a young man who
ventures out lnto the world to flnd hlmself but then
returns home as an old man to face hls death. Nordal`s
poetlc use of language ln 'Hel" apparently demon
strated to the young wrlter new posslbllltles. In paylng
trlbute to Nordal`s llterary genlus many years later, he
acknowledges that 'Hel" was a turnlng polnt for hlm
for a young Icelander to thlnk of wrltlng ln Danlsh sud
denly seemed absurd when there was a chance of wrlt
lng such flne Icelandlc.
Jhe year followlng Laxness`s return from Den
mark ln l920 ls the subject of the fourth and last vol
ume of hls memolrs, Crilllovdsri (l980, Jhe Year ln
Greece)a somewhat mlsleadlng tltle, as Laxness had
never gone to Greece but had only dreamed of dolng
so. Ior most of thls tlme he llved at home wlth hls fam
lly at Laxnes ln addltlon to pursulng hls studles and fre
quentlng the coffeehouses ln Reykjavk. In the autumn
he accepted a posltlon as a tutor on a farm ln Horna
fjrur ln southeastern Iceland, ln those days one of the
most lsolated reglons of the country. Jhe chlldren of
the household turned out to be generally older than he
was, and he had ample tlme for readlng and wrltlng.
Whlle there he worked on a long novel tltled 'Salt
jarar" (Jhe Salt of the Earth), but he never flnlshed lt,
and the manuscrlpt ls now lost.
In the autumn of l92l Laxness agaln set out to
see the world, travellng around Europe and spendlng
most of hls tlme ln Germany and Austrla. At Innsbruck
he wrote a phllosophlcal book tltled 'Raua kverl"
(Jhe Red Booklet), wrltten ln red lnk and clearly lnflu
enced by Strlndberg. Jhe book was not publlshed untll
several decades later when most of lt was lncorporated
lnto Hcimov cg for. Evldently, Laxness`s ultlmate destlna
tlon on thls trlp was Amerlca, perhaps wlth the ldea of
settllng there. Jo that end he applled to the Canadlan
authorltles for a permlt to reslde ln Saskatchewan,
where he lntended to work on a relatlve`s farm. Appar
ently, hls appllcatlon was elther lost or processed too
late, for when Laxness arrlved ln New York ln the
sprlng of l922, he was promptly sent back to Europe
on the same shlp that brought hlm. Durlng the return
voyage he wrote the short story '|dt Lvoff," pub
llshed ln òllror sgur. In hls preface to the second edl
tlon ln Ittir he says that the story shows a clear
5l
ai_ PPN e~ i~
dovetalllng of certaln characterlstlcs that stayed wlth
hlm over tlme. He ls obvlously referrlng to the confllct
between Iceland and the outslde world, the Icelander
and the cosmopolltan. Jhe story ls narrated by a wrlter
who, as an Icelander and a man of the world, medlates
between these two realms. Jhe tltle character ls a wlld
and exotlc young Russlan woman who comes to Ice
land and seduces an lnnocent, hardworklng farmer`s
son. She leaves the country, promlslng to come back,
but then marrles a rlch Amerlcan buslnessman and set
tles ln Amerlca. In thls story Iceland ls poor and prlml
tlve but genulne and true. Iorelgn countrles are
superflclal, treacherous, and rlch. In the end the Amerl
can buslnessman offers to lntroduce the wrlter to hls
frlends ln Hollywood.
Back ln Europe, Laxness stayed several months ln
Denmark, malnly on the lsland of Bornholm. Jhere he
met a young Icelandlc woman, Mlfrur |nsdttlr,
and ln Aprll l923 had a chlld, Mara Halldrsdttlr.
Jhe news that he was to become a father came as a
great shock to Laxness and was one of the factors ln hls
declslon to enter a monastery. Wlth the help of the
Danlsh wrlter and Cathollc |ohannes |rgensen, he was
admltted to the Benedlctlne monastery of St. Maurlce
de Clervaux ln the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
toward the end of l922. In |anuary l923 he was bap
tlzed a Cathollc by the blshop of Luxembourg and
adopted the name of the Irlsh martyr Klllan (mlsslon
ary blshop beheaded at Wrzburg, clrca 689). Laxness
then called hlmself Halldr Klljan Laxness, publlshlng
hls books under thls name untll l963, when he
dropped the Klljan monlker.
In the monastery Laxness kept a dlary, whlch he
publlshed slxtyflve years later, along wlth a prologue
and an epllogue, as Dogor lj mvlum (l987, Days wlth
Monks), hls flnal book. In the dlary he descrlbes hls
dally actlvltles, whlch conslsted of readlng and wrltlng,
regular prayers, and theologlcal dlscusslons wlth the
masters of the novlces. Jhe Gregorlan chants
lmpressed hlm most of all.
In the monastery Laxness wrote the novel Uvdir
Hclgolvl (l921, Lnder the Holy Mountaln), whlch
tells the story of Snjlfur and Kjartan, two Icelanders
who become frlends whlle studylng ln Copenhagen.
Snjlfur marrles an Amerlcan wldow and moves wlth
her to Canada, whereas Kjartan returns to Iceland and
becomes a country parson after marrylng an Icelandlc
woman who has grown up ln Copenhagen. Many years
later, after the death of hls wlfe, Snjlfur moves back to
Iceland wlth hls young daughter, slaug, and takes up
farmlng the land at Kjartan`s parsonage. Kjartan`s wlfe,
a sensltlve, artlstlc woman who can no longer bear the
lsolatlon of rural llfe, commlts sulclde. Jhe story then
shlfts to Atll, Kjartan`s son, who has hls mother`s artls
tlc bent as well as a longlng to see the world and
become a great man, and to slaug, who feels that she
has been taken away from a beautlful country and
brought to 'etta ljta land . . . fugum sta
jrlnnl" (thls ugly country . . . on the wrong slde of the
earth).
In October l923 Laxness left the monastery, com
mltted to becomlng a Cathollc theologlan and devotlng
hls llfe to God. After a sojourn ln England, where he
stayed for some months ln |esult and Carthuslan mon
asterles, he returned to Iceland early ln l921. 'a var
gott a koma aftur helm" (It was good to come back
home), he concludes ln Dogor lj mvlum.
In England, Laxness started a draft of Hcimov cg
for, whlch he flnlshed ln Iceland ln l921 but dld not
publlsh untll l952. Subtltled Sjlfsmyvd slumovvs (A
SelfPortralt of a Young Man), a polnted alluslon to
|ames |oyce`s Z Iortroit of tlc Zrtist os o Jouvg Mov (l9l6),
one of the ploneerlng works of European modernlsm,
Hcimov cg for has clear autoblographlcal elements. Lax
ness rejects all that ls tradltlonal and preaches modern
tlmes. Icelanders would be better off, he argues, lf they
would forget thelr herltage and open themselves up to
the outslde world. He pronounces Hcimslrivglo (clrca
l220, Orb of the World) by Snorrl Sturluson the most
borlng work he has ever read and the language of the
Icelandlc sagas lnslgnlflcant compared wlth the beauty
of modern llterature ln Danlsh and Engllsh.
Laxness had planned to wrlte a sequel to Uvdir
Hclgolvl but gave up the ldea ln favor of a 'mels
taraverk" (masterplece) about Lelf the Lucky (Lelfur
Elrksson), whlch, as he revealed ln a letter to a frlend
ln August of l921, was to be a fashlonable, monumen
tal novel. Jhls fashlonable novel about the Icelander
who dlscovered Amerlca ln the year l000 also came to
naught. In l925 he publlshed an essay defendlng the
Cathollc Church, Ioolsl vilorf: Svor gcgv rsum (Cath
ollc Vlews. A Reply to Attacks), occasloned by the
attacks of rbergur rarson ln rcf til Iru (Letters
to Lra), whlch had appeared the prevlous year. He
devoted most of the wlnter of l921-l925 to hls surreal
lstlc poem 'Lnglngurlnn skglnum" (Jhe Youth ln
the Woods), whlch he tlnkered wlth for months and
whlch turned out to be hls most expenslve poem, as he
remarked ln the l919 edltlon of Ivolvcr (A Booklet of
Poems, orlglnally publlshed ln l930). He had planned
on golng to Slclly that sprlng to work on a new novel
and had assurances of a travel grant from the Icelandlc
Parllament. But when 'Lnglngurlnn skglnum"
appeared ln the perlodlcal Iimrciiv ln |anuary l925, the
avantgarde style of the poem created a scandal, and
Parllament wlthdrew the grant.
In an lntervlew wlth Laxness that appeared ln
Morguvbloi (l3 December l921), he was asked
52
e~ i~ ai_ PPN
whether he was now back ln Iceland for good. 'Nel,
nel, nel" (No, no, no), he answered, and went on to say
that he dld not even llve there. He had lntended to
amuse hlmself ln Iceland for only a few months, but
now lt was llkely that he would have to suffer the bore
dom of staylng on lnto the sprlng. When he was asked
about hls next destlnatlon, he replled, 'Suur,alfarlnn.
|eg er vantraur plarloftslagl" (Southfor good.
I`m skeptlcal of the polar cllmate).
In the sprlng of l925 Laxness once agaln left the
country, thls tlme for Jaormlna ln Slclly, where he
spent the summer worklng on s~ h~
(l927, Jhe Great Weaver from Kashmlr) ln swelterlng
heat and a swarm of lnsects, strlpped down to hls mon
ocle, as he phrases lt ln hls llterary memolr, p~
(l963, Poet`s Jlme). Jhat summer he also wrote artl
cles about varlous soclal lssues and sent them home to
be publlshed by the Icelandlc press. Jhese artlcles
lncluded 'Drengjakollurlnn og slenska konan"
(Bobbed Halr and the Icelandlc Woman), whlch created
qulte a stlr when lt appeared ln j~ on 9
August l925. Jhat autumn Laxness headed north wlth
great rellef and flnlshed the novel over the wlnter at the
monastery ln Clervaux. In the sprlng of l926, when he
returned to Reykjavk wlth the manuscrlpt ln hand, he
could flnd no publlsher to prlnt a work 'eftlr ntt sen,
samanskrlfa uppr llu v sem var efst baugl
tmanum, a surreallsmanum ekkl undansklldum" (by
a new genlus, cobbled together from everythlng that
was then ln vogue, lncludlng surreallsm), as he says ln
p~K Jhus, he declded to publlsh the book hlm
self, and lt appeared ln elght lnstallments ln the flrst half
of l927.
Laxness consldered s~ h~ the
flrst of hls works that deserved to be called a novel.
Shortly after lts publlcatlon, ln an lntervlew ln the 21
August lssue of e~I he explalned that the work
had grown out of a need to explore varlous problems
that welgh most heavlly on the soul of modern man. In
s~ h~I Laxness rebels agalnst the Ice
landlc llterary tradltlon ln both subject matter and style.
Jhe protagonlst of the novel, Stelnn Ellll, ls a modern
cosmopolltan man and a wrlter, a sponge for doctrlnes
that he constantly flaunts. Much llke Laxness hlmself
durlng thls perlod, Stelnn wants to sever all tles wlth
the past and dedlcate hlmself to the latest trends
lnstead. He says that to refer to a work that had been
wrltten before l9l1 would never enter hls mlnd, even
though he ls thoroughly versed ln all the world`s llter
ary masterpleces. Nevertheless, the author chose for the
book an eplgram ln Latln from m~~I Canto l7, of
Dante`s a ` (clrca l307-l32l), ln whlch the
poet ls urged to tell the truth desplte the lll that may
befall hlm. 'Jutta tua vlslon fa manlfesta" (Make manl
fest your whole vlslon).
Stelnn Ellll`s megalomanla, stoked by hls deslre
to become 'fullkomnastl maurlnn jrunnl" (the
most perfect human belng on earth), ls repeatedly
exposed by the young woman Dllj, who becomes the
other protagonlst ln the novel. In contrast to Stelnn
Ellll, who seeks a hlgher goal, Dllj represents sheer
sexuallty and, as such, ls God`s antlthesls and rlval as
well. Jhe story ends ln Rome, where Dllj has come to
'llberate" Stelnn Ellll, who has entered a monastery.
Her efforts are ln valn; he rejects her and chooses God
lnstead.
Jhe story ls told prlmarlly through Stelnn Ellll`s
rambllng confesslons and monologues but also through
letters, such as those that Dllj wrltes to Stelnn Ellll
but does not send; phllosophlcal dlscusslons; llterary
quotatlons from eclectlc sources; and Stelnn Ellll`s sur
reallstlc poems. s~ h~ ls an extravagant
mlx of the Icelandlc and the forelgn, the old and the
new, often conveyed ln carnlvallstlc scenes, grotesque
metaphors, and paradoxlcal expresslons.
s~ h~ was a breakthrough for
Laxness as an author, and along wlth rbergur
rarson`s _ iI the novel ls regarded as the
harblnger of modernlsm ln Icelandlc llterature. Yet, ln
lts day lt recelved mlxed revlews, and lts author was
accused of wrltlng everythlng from rubblsh to obscen
lty. A dlfferent oplnlon was expressed by the crltlc
Krlstjn Albertsson ln hls laudatory revlew ln the perl
odlcal s~~ ln l927, and hls openlng words have
become proverblal ln Icelandlc llterature. 'Lokslns,
lokslns, tllkomumlkl skldverk sem rs elns og hamra
borg upp r flatnesku slenzkrar ljaog sagnagerar
sustu ra! sland hefur elgnast ntt strskld" (At
last, at last, an lmpresslve llterary work that rlses up llke
a monollth from the flatness of Icelandlc poetry and flc
tlon of recent years! Iceland has galned a new bard).
In the epllogue to the second edltlon of s~
h~ ln l918, Laxness noted that when he fln
lshed the novel, he had wrltten hls way through Chrls
tlan dogma and let go of lt. Shortly after returnlng ln
l926, he spent slx months ln the eastern part of Iceland
collectlng materlal for another book because he wanted
to 'redo" Stelnn Ellll ln the gulse of an Icelandlc
farmer, as he says ln p~K He also publlshed a
serles of crltlcal newspaper artlcles about poverty ln the
rural areas of Iceland. Jhey lncluded 'Raflslng svelt
anna" (Jhe Electrlflcatlon of Rural Areas), ln whlch he
argues that electrlclty could be brought to an entlre dls
trlct for the money that ls wasted on one goodfornothlng
scoundrel of a parson.
Wlth s~ h~ Laxness was also fln
lshed wlth Europe and made plans for another trlp to
53
ai_ PPN e~ i~
Amerlca. In May l927 he agaln crossed the Atlantlc,
thls tlme salllng from Glasgow to Montreal. Jhat sum
mer he stayed among Icelandlc Canadlans ln Manltoba,
vlsltlng Icelandlc settlements, dellverlng lectures, and
readlng from hls works. Jhls perlod produced one of
hls most celebrated short storles, 'Nja sland" (trans
lated as 'New Iceland" ln Scvcv Icclovdic Slort Storics,
l960), whlch flrst appeared ln the Icelandlc Canadlan
newspaper Hcimslrivglo on l9 October l927 and was
later reprlnted ln the shortstory collectlon Iototol
movvo: Sj ttir (l933, People`s Iootsteps. Seven Sto
rles). It tells the story of an Icelandlc farmer who leaves
hls farm wlth hls wlfe and four chlldren and settles ln
New Iceland. However, hls dream of a better llfe ls soon
shattered. he ls forced to take a backbreaklng job dlg
glng dltches; two of hls chlldren dle ln an epldemlc; the
land proves to be too poor to cultlvate; and the famlly ls
spllt apart. Jhe story, a varlatlon on the theme of the
Icelandlc subslstence farmer, was met wlth dlsapproval
by Icelandlc Canadlans, who dld not appreclate belng
descrlbed as destltute ploneers.
Jhe real purpose of Laxness`s trlp to Amerlca
was to make hls way to Los Angeles, the center of the
motlonplcture lndustry, whlch became hls destlnatlon
ln late fall of l927. In a letter wrltten to a frlend shortly
after hls arrlval, he descrlbed hls surroundlngs thls
way. 'Hollywood. Goldwln Studlos. Laskl Studlos.
Lnlversal Illm. Jhe Movles. Movle actors. Movle
Stars. Jhe movle game." He went on to say that he had
assumed the name Hall dÒr 'ln movle clrcles" and was
flnlshlng an essay on 'clnematography and creatlve
art," whlch he lntended to submlt to the ten largest
newspapers ln the world. Jhls essay was never pub
llshed, however, and nothlng came of the lecture he was
contemplatlng 'on the Splrlt of the Nordlc Classlcs"
and 'the dramatlc value of the Sagas." Around the
same tlme Laxness drafted scrlpt treatments ln Engllsh
for two screenplays'Karl Karan," from hls Danlsh
short story 'Dlgteren og Zeus" of l920, and 'Woman
ln Pants" or 'Jhe Icelandlc Whlp," whlch later became
the foundatlon for hls novel Sollo !ollo. Wlth hls exotlc
descrlptlons of llfe ln the Iar North, Laxness lntended
to make hls mark ln Hollywood, much as Icelandlc
wrlters had done ln Denmark. Accordlng to the treat
ment for 'Karl Karan," the characters are 'rude, nalve
and prlmltlve," drlven by 'uncultlvated passlons," and
the dog Zeus ls renamed 'Vlklng." Ior a tlme MGM
seemed lnterested ln a movle about Salka Valka, the
'woman ln pants," but the project never materlallzed.
In Callfornla, Laxness became a soclallst, not so
much from readlng soclallst tracts as from watchlng the
homeless ln the parks, as he says ln Zlyuboliv (l929,
Jhe People`s Book), a collectlon of radlcal essays on
soclal and cultural lssues that he wrote near the end of
hls stay. He took an lnterest ln the soclologlcal novel
and devoured the works of Jheodore Drelser, Slnclalr
Lewls, and Lpton Slnclalr. He even took the lnltlatlve
of wrltlng to Slnclalr, and a frlendshlp developed, whlch
Laxness recounts ln detall ln Slldotmi. But lt was the
work of Ernest Hemlngway that lmpressed Laxness
most, especlally the author`s unfalllng ablllty to whet
the concept of love wlth the concept of death, as Lax
ness says ln the preface to hls translatlon of Z Iorcwcll to
Zrms (!opviv lvdd, l91l).
Ior a tlme, Laxness mulled over the posslblllty of
wrltlng ln Engllsh, and hls letters home about hls future
plans reveal a deep confllct between Icelandlc and
Engllsh, the novel and the movle. After hls motlon
plcture projects fell through, Laxness trled to market
!cforivv milli fr Iosmr ln the Lnlted States and spent
much tlme translatlng lt lnto Engllsh, wlth the help of
hls frlend Magns . rnason, an artlst llvlng ln San
Iranclsco.
In May l929 Laxness sent Slnclalr the flrst chap
ters of hls translatlon of !cforivv milli fr Iosmr for com
ment. In hls reply Slnclalr says that he has read the
manuscrlpt wlth great lnterest, desplte the flawed trans
latlon, and that storles llke these are 'ln the fashlon just
now," so 'lt seems to me you should 'arrlve` ln Amer
lca." Yet, Laxness dld not 'arrlve" ln Amerlca. He suc
ceeded nelther ln breaklng lnto the movle buslness nor
ln publlshlng a book ln Engllsh. Instead, he found hlm
self mlred ln controversy. In l928, to commemorate
Slnclalr`s flftleth blrthday, Laxness wrote a trlbute to hls
frlend that also crltlclzed Amerlcan capltallsm. Jhe artl
cle created a furor ln the Icelandlc Canadlan press when
lt appeared ln the 27 December l928 lssue of
Zlyubloi. Laxness was subsequently charged wlth
treason by the lmmlgratlon authorltles ln Callfornla,
but the hlghly publlclzed case was dropped ln the fall of
l929.
Laxness thus turned once more to the Icelandlc
hardscrabble farmer. Durlng the last few months of hls
stay ln Amerlca, he wrote a draft of a long novel that he
tltled 'Helln" (Jhe Heath). Jhe extant manuscrlpt
lndlcates that the work was lntended as a trllogy about
the Icelandlc mlgratlons. However, Laxness completed
only the volume that takes place ln Iceland, and the
subsequent two volumes, 'Westra" and 'An Icelander
from Wlnnlpeg," exlst merely as names lnscrlbed on
the tltle page of the manuscrlpt. 'Helln" was never
publlshed, but lt served as the basls of Laxness`s mas
terplece, Sjlfsttt foll: Hctjusogo (l931, l935; translated
as Ivdcpcvdcvt Icoplc: Zv Ipic, l915).
Over the next decade, the most productlve years
of hls llfe, Laxness publlshed flfteen books, lncludlng
three lengthy novels, all conslstlng of multlple volumes.
Durlng thls perlod he also traveled wldely, both around
51
e~ i~ ai_ PPN
Iceland and abroadwlth trlps to Europe, South Amer
lca, and the Sovlet Lnlonand was deeply lnvolved ln
the cultural and polltlcal affalrs of the day. He took part
ln establlshlng the Ilag byltlngarslnnara rlthfunda
(Soclety of Revolutlonary Authors) as well as o~
~ (Red Pens), whlch came out annually between
l935 and l939 and was the forerunner of the lnfluentlal
perlodlcal q~ j ~ ( |ournal of Lan
guage and Culture). Both o~ ~ and q~ j
~ publlshed many of hls essays. In May l930
Laxness marrled Inglbjrg Elnarsdttlr, whom he had
met ln the wlnter of l926-l927. Jhe tenyear marrlage
produced a son, Elnar Laxness, born ln l93l.
Laxness`s flrst book after hls return from Amerlca
was a collectlon of thlrtytwo poems, h~I whlch
was publlshed ln the autumn of l930. In the preface he
descrlbes the poems as experlments ln lyrlcal tech
nlques, exploratlons lnto the world of the real and the
surreal, the mundane and the absurd, composed ln the
burlesque style. He says that some of the poems are
stralghtforward lmltatlons, elther of hls own poems or
those of others, and that a few can even be called paro
dles of poetlc thlnklng. Jhe poems thus broke wlth the
formal, sentlmental style of poetry that prevalled ln Ice
land at the tlme. Although h~ ls Laxness`s only
book of poetry, lt was republlshed ln l919 wlth forty
two addltlonal poems. Many of the poems come from
hls novels, where they are lntegrated devlces for
expresslng the feellngs of the characters. He composed
some of hls best poems abroadfor example, the beautl
ful 'slenskt vggulj Hrpu" (An Icelandlc Lullaby
ln Sprlngtlme), wrltten ln San Iranclsco ln the sprlng of
l928. In the lullaby a mother slngs to her chlld about
the glory of the Icelandlc sprlng and the coldness of for
elgn lands.
Publlshed at the end of l933, the shortstory col
lectlon c~~ ~~W p lncluded new storles as
well as some older ones from Laxness`s years ln Call
fornla, such as 'Og ltusblml angar . . ." (Jhe Scent
of the Lotus . . . ), whlch ls told from the vlewpolnt of a
poor tenyearold boy ln San Iranclsco who supports
hlmself and hls slck mother by selllng clgarette stubs
that he plcks up off the streets. Jhe mood and settlng
are remlnlscent of the motlon plctures of Charlle Chap
lln, whom Laxness greatly admlred, especlally for hls
lnterest ln soclal lssues and sympathy wlth soclety`s out
casts. A slmllar story ln the collectlon, 'Lllja" (trans
lated as 'Llly" ln d~ p k m tI
l959), takes place ln Reykjavk and tells about an old
derellct whose one dream ln llfe ls knowlng how to
slng. Jhe longest story ln the book and one of Lax
ness`s bestknown works of short flctlon ls 'Lngfrln
ga og hsl" (translated as q e eI
l959), whlch exposes the hypocrlsy of a bourgeols Ice
landlc famlly when the younger daughter has a chlld
out of wedlock.
Laxness`s l931 play p~W p (Short
Clrcult. A Drama) dlverges sharply from hls other
works of thls perlod and clearly reflects the lnfluence of
the prevalllng trends ln European dramaturgy. Llke hls
four later plays, p~ ls lndebted to the theater of
the absurd. Jhe settlng ls a flshlng lodge ln the wllder
ness, where a wlnter storm has caused a power fallure.
In the ensulng darkness, a marrled woman seduces her
daughter`s flanc but then ls spurned by hlm. In her
desperate state she shoots her daughter. Jhe play was
performed ln Reykjavk shortly after lt was publlshed,
but lt was unpalatable to Icelandlc audlences and was
qulckly taken off the stage.
Laxness`s artlcles from thls perlod show that hls
oplnlons about llterature had undergone a sea change.
In 'Borgaralegar ntmabkmenntlr" (Bourgeols Mod
ern Llterature), whlch appeared ln o~ ~ ln
l935, Laxness descrlbes hls vlew of contemporary llter
ature and lays out a new platform. He crltlclzes one
author after another for what he calls the lack of a fun
damental concept and a drlvlng forcethat ls, the eplc
prlnclple that he conslders the premlse of great narra
tlve art. In hls vlew thls prlnclple ls lmpllclt ln the dra
matlc past of a natlon, ln sweeplng vlstas as well as the
gruellng struggle for survlval, both of whlch Iceland
has to offer. In hls notebook jottlngs from thls perlod
Laxness observes that ln the Icelander lles a certaln dra
matlc subllmlty that stems from the formldable land
scape and the ludlcrous battle to stay allve, and that a
magnlflcence rests ln the fate of the smallest lndlvldual.
Jhus, the llfe of the natlon ls an lnexhaustlble source of
llterary materlal.
Laxness`s three great novels from the l930s
brought hlm lnternatlonal renown and are stlll among
hls most popular works. Iocuslng on the llfe and des
tlny of Iceland`s common people, these narratlves are
broad, eplc works of soclal reallsm. Jhe flrst was p~~
s~~I orlglnally publlshed ln two volumes,
W p~~ ~ (l93l, O Jhou Pure Vlne. A
Story from the Seashore) and c W m
~~~ (l932, Jhe Blrd on the Beach. A Polltlcal
Romance), republlshed ln one volume ln l95l. Wlth
the onevolume Danlsh translatlon ln l931, p~~ s~~
became the flrst of Laxness`s novels to appear ln a for
elgn language. It paved the way for the Engllsh verslon,
whlch was followed by translatlons lnto other lan
guages.
p~~ s~~I set ln a small Icelandlc flshlng vlllage
ln the early l900s, tells the story of Salka Valka from
the tlme she arrlves ln Oseyrl at the age of eleven untll
she reaches her early twentles. She and her mother, pas
sengers on a boat to Reykjavk, have been put ashore ln
55
ai_ PPN e~ i~
thls remote and unfamlllar place because they do not
have the full fare for the journey south. As elsewhere ln
Laxness`s work, the narratlve often reflects the chlld`s
polnt of vlew. Jhus, the vlllage and the grandeur of lts
natural surroundlngs are descrlbed through Salka
Valka`s eyes as she goes wlth her mother, Slgurlna, ln
search of shelter and work. Oseyrl ls a place of grlndlng
poverty, prlmltlve houslng, bltter cold, dlsease, and
lnfant mortallty. Ilshlng, the malnstay of the vlllage, ls
controlled by the oppresslve local merchant. Eventually,
the flsherman Stelnr feels sorry for Slgurlna and her
daughter and takes them ln, a move that galns hlm Slg
urlna`s domestlc and sexual servlces. But lt ls the
daughter he deslres, and after an attempt to rape her, he
dlsappears, leavlng Slgurlna pregnant. Salka Valka
rebels by renounclng her sex. 'Eg vll ekkl sj a vera
stelpa. Eg skal aldrel vera kvenmaur elns og hn
mamma" (I won`t be a glrl, I wlll never, never become a
womanllke Mother), she says to her frlend Arnaldur,
an educated young man who has taught her to read. Jo
make the polnt, she wears trousers and bobs her halr.
Slgurlna, on the other hand, flnds refuge ln the Salva
tlon Army, especlally ln the hymn 'O Jhou Pure
Vlne," whlch becomes her tallsman untll she flnally
drowns herself.
Arnaldur goes away to Reykjavk to study but
returns many years later as a soclallst agltator. By now
Salka Valka ls flnanclally lndependentshe owns a cot
tage and has a share ln a flshlng boat. A brlef but pas
slonate love affalr develops between them, and Salka
Valka provldes the lmpoverlshed Arnaldur wlth food
and spendlng money. He succeeds ln organlzlng a strlke
ln the vlllage and ln drlvlng out the merchant, but he ls
too weakwllled to see the revolutlon through. Stelnr
returns, now rlch, after a stay ln Amerlca, the land of
Arnaldur`s dreams. When Arnaldur gets hls chance to
go to Callfornla, Salka Valka glves hlm all her money
for the journey. Jhe story ends as he salls away whlle
she watches from the shore, alone among the wlnter
blrds, a symbol of Iceland and nature.
Jhe lnltlal reactlon to p~~ s~~ was amblva
lence, even among soclallsts, who felt that lt was lncon
slstent wlth a key doctrlne of soclal reallsmto create
herolc llterature for the worklng class. One of Iceland`s
leadlng soclallsts, Elnar Olgelrsson, complalned that
Laxness`s deplctlon of the labor movement was too
much of a carlcature. In hls artlcle 'Skld lel tll
ssallsmans" (Wrlters on Jhelr Way to Soclallsm),
publlshed ln the perlodlcal o ln l932, Olgelrsson
took Laxness to task for showlng only poverty, not the
power of the people to overcome lt, and dlsmlssed any
posslblllty for the novel to become the herolc eplc of the
Icelandlc worklng class.
Nevertheless, to flnd descrlptlons of the lower
classes ln Icelandlc llterature was a rarlty at the tlme, as
Laxness polnts out ln a l938 essay commemoratlng the
wrlter Elnar Kvaranlater reprlnted ln s ~
(l912, Jhe Day`s Arena). In Laxness`s vlew, Kvaran`s
most slgnlflcant contrlbutlon as a novellst was the
emphasls he placed on the value of the human. When
Kvaran was young, Laxness explalns, to go so far as to
turn wretches and paupers lnto the heroes of a novel
was a revolutlonary posltlon ln flctlon. Jhe authors of
the Icelandlc sagas, Laxness says, took no notlce of the
common peoplethe downtrodden are not mentloned,
and human worth ls measured ln herolc explolts. In
contrast, Kvaran`s best characters are poor and defense
less, lndlcatlng hls deep convlctlon that the human
belng ls by nature a poor and helpless creature ln the
world.
Laxness`s next novel, p I orlglnally pub
llshed ln two volumes wlth the subtltle e~~ (A
Herolc Jale), ls an lronlc answer to both the soclallsts`
demand for herolc llterature for the worklng class and
the herolc ldeal of the Icelandlc saga tradltlon. Jhe
novel takes place ln the flrst part of the twentleth cen
tury among small farmers on the remote and barren
moors ln the east, an area of the country that most Ice
landers had abandoned ln the mlgratlon perlod. Llke
j~ d (Jhe Growth of the Soll), Knut Ham
sun`s ldylllc novel of l9l7 to whlch p ls to
some extent a response, the story centers on a ploneer
trylng to work hls land. Bjarturshort for Gubjartur
and meanlng 'brlght" or 'falr"has managed to pur
chase a small patch of moorland from the balllff after
worklng for hlm elghteen years as a farmhand. Jhe
property has been abandoned for more than a century
and reputedly carrles a curse, whlch Bjartur scorns.
Jhe molderlng ruln of the old farmstead has been used
as wlnter quarters for sheep and ls thus dubbed
'Veturhs" (Wlnterhouses). Bjartur rebullds lt from sod
and rock and renames lt 'Sumarhs" (Summerhouses).
Now an lndependent man, he moves ln wlth hls new
brlde, Rsa (who ls pregnant by the balllff`s son), and
hls dog, a horse, and twentyflve sheep.
Ianatlcally devoted to hls sheep, Bjartur puts
thelr welfare above all else, even people. Jhls 'lndepen
dent" llfe ls too much for Rsashe dles ln chlldblrth,
alone ln the cold hut ln mldwlnter whlle Bjartur ls off ln
the mountalns searchlng for a mlsslng sheep. He
returns to flnd that the dog has kept allve Rsa`s lnfant
daughter, whom he names sta Sllllja (llterally,
Beloved Sun Llly) and rears as hls own chlld. Bjartur
soon acqulres a second wlfe, Ilnna, accompanled by her
elderly mother, Hallbera. Over the years Ilnna glves
blrth to three sons who llve beyond lnfancy. Verglng on
starvatlon, the household ekes out an exlstence, desplte
56
e~ i~ ai_ PPN
Bjartur`s tyranny as a harsh taskmaster who requlres
everyone to be as lndependent as he ls. He even slaugh
ters the mllk cow so that the small store of hay avallable
wlll go to hls preclous sheepan act that so traumatlzes
Ilnna that she langulshes and dles.
Gradually, Bjartur`s actlons turn all hls chlldren
agalnst hlm, and he loses them one by one. sta Sllllja
ls the one he loves most, and yet he sends her away
when she becomes pregnant by her tubercular tutor. Jo
avenge hls mother`s death, the oldest son kllls hls
father`s sheep and then vanlshes ln a bllzzard. Jhe
youngest son ls sent to Amerlca to be brought up by hls
maternal uncles and there becomes a slnger. When the
mlddle son tells hls father that he, too, wants to go to
Amerlca to make somethlng of hlmself ln the world
rather than take over the property as hls father wlshes,
Bjartur snorts, 'Eg vll ekkl heyra neltt um nelnn hel
vtls helm, yklst vera a tala um elnhvern helm?
Hva er helmur? etta er helmurlnn, helmurlnn hann
er hr, Sumarhs, jrln mn, a er helmurlnn" (What
the devll do you thlnk you know about any damned
world? What ls a world? Jhls ls a world, the world ls
here, Summerhouses, my land, my farm ls the world)
words that recall a slmllar remark about the unlversallty
of the flshlng vlllage ln Sollo !ollo. When the story
draws to a close, Bjartur ls bankrupted by a collapse ln
llvestock prlces and unable to repay a bank loan that he
had lntended to use for bulldlng a new house. Hls prop
erty ls sold at auctlon, and as a result, the balllff gets
back hls Wlnterhouses for a low prlce. Bjartur, how
ever, cllngs flercely to hls ldeal of lndependence. Instead
of jolnlng the laborers ln the coastal vlllage as hls son
has done, he chooses to work a new plece of land, thls
tlme a deserted plot farther lnland on the heath. Before
settlng off, he goes to the vlllage and flnds hls beloved
sta Sllllja, who, destltute and dylng of consumptlon,
ls llvlng alone wlth her two small chlldren. He takes
them wlth hlm, along wlth a horse, a dog, and old Hall
bera, now ln her nlnetles and complalnlng that 'alllr f
a deyja, nema g" (everyone manages to dle except
me). As they make thelr way north llke pllgrlms, the
scene takes on an almost mythlc slgnlflcance. 'au voru
elnsog lngferaflk sem tekur slg upp r llegum
ntursta hell. a var hell lfslns" (Jhey were llke
people on a long journey leavlng a poor nlghtlodglng
on the heath. It was the heath of llfe). sta Sllllja col
lapses on the way, and when Bjartur plcks her up and
carrles her dylng ln hls arms, she whlspers, 'N er g
aftur hj r" (Now I am wlth you agaln).
Sjlfsttt foll was hlghly controverslal at flrst
because of lts caustlc portrayal of Icelandlc farmers.
Laxness commented that thls reactlon took hlm aback
as much as that of the Icelandlc Canadlans who had
objected to the way they were portrayed ln hls story
'Nja sland." But the novel became the most popular
of hls works, both at home and abroad. When the
Engllsh translatlon appeared ln the Lnlted States ln
l916, lt was chosen as the |uly BookoftheMonth
Club selectlon. Sjlfsttt foll has attalned the stature of a
natlonal eplc. ln an oplnlon poll ln 2000, Icelanders
named lt the best Icelandlc book of the twentleth cen
tury.
In an afterword to the second edltlon of Sjlfsttt
foll, Laxness attrlbutes the endurlng appeal of the
workmanlfested by lts best seller rank ln countrles as
dlfferent as Czechoslovakla and the Lnlted Statesto
the small farmer`s belng a classlc, unlversal type recog
nlzed the world over. He observes that thls type of man
ls found not only ln rural areas but also ln blg cltles,
where Bjartur`s counterpart ls any man who ls flghtlng
for survlvalhls own and hls famlly`swlth slmllar
means, prlnclples, and outlook. He goes on to say that,
after beglnnlng the novel ln Los Angeles ln l929 and
puttlng lt aslde for lack of knowledge about the subject,
he was able to begln the novel once agaln after he wlt
nessed the pllght of Russlan farmers ln the fall of l932.
He had notebooks full of materlal that he had collected
on trlps to the most remote farms of Iceland, so there
was nothlng left to do but to flnd peace and qulet and
slt at a desk ten or flfteen hours a day for several years.
He says that when he completed the novel ln the sum
mer of l935 and let go of Bjartur ln the flnal chapter,
'fanst mr um stund elnsog g ttl ekkl haldrelpl leln
gur verldlnnl" (I felt for a whlle as lf I no longer had
a llfellne to the world).
Jhe sprlng followlng the publlcatlon of Sjlfsttt
foll, Laxness took a monthlong trlp around the lsolated
settlements of the West Ijords to collect materlal for hls
next novel. In Slldotmi he explalns what led to thls
work. 'Mr fanst a r v g hefl skrlfa hetjulj
bl sonngarlnnar og sauskepnunnar yrl g lka
a skrlfa hetjulj skldslns, ekkl elnhvers srstaks str
sklds me helmllsfng og sma bkmentasgunnl, . . .
heldur ess sklds sem var og er og verur slandl og
llum helmlnum" (I thought that slnce I had wrltten the
epos of both the flsh and the sheep, then I llkewlse had
to wrlte the epos of the poet, not some speclal great
poet wlth an address and a telephone ln llterary hlstory,
. . . but rather the poet who was and ls and wlll be ln
Iceland and ln all the world).
Jhe 'epos of the poet" appeared ln four volumes.
Ijos lcimsivs (l937, Jhe Llght of the World), Hll sumor-
lovdsivs (l938, Jhe Palace of the Summerland), Hs
slldsivs (l938, Jhe House of the Poet), and Icgur
limivsivs (l910, Jhe Beauty of the Skles). In l955, wlth
the second edltlon, Hcimsljos became the tltle of the
whole tetralogy (translated as !orld Iiglt, l969), and
57
ai_ PPN e~ i~
the flrst volume was renamed h~~
(Jhe Revelatlon of the Delty).
Jhe novel descrlbes the mlserable llfe of the folk
poet Olafur Krason from hls early chlldhood untll hls
death ln hls early thlrtles. Olafur was lnsplred by Mag
ns Hjaltason, an obscure folk poet from the West
Ijords who llved between l873 and l9l6 and whose
unpubllshed autoblography and dlarles are preserved ln
the Natlonal Llbrary of Iceland. In deplctlng thls
'world poet" from the West Ijords, Laxness adhered
closely to these sources and even lncorporated lnto the
novel many passages verbatlm. But he also transformed
these materlals and created ln Olafur Krason an antl
hero who has been varlously compared to |esus, Char
lle Chaplln, and Iyodor Dostoevsky`s ldlot.
Olafur, a parlsh pauper ln the custody of strang
ers on an lsolated farm, ls a lonely, lntrospectlve chlld
who feels that he does not belongthat hls llfe has no
connectlon to the llves of others. He seeks consolatlon
ln the beauty of nature and ln poetry, whlch comes to
hlm as a strong sound and vlslons of the delty. Jhls
sound, as a manlfestatlon of dlvlne beauty, becomes a
recurrlng motlf. Jhe entlre story ls flltered through hls
consclousness and narrated ln a lyrlcal style. Jhus, to a
certaln extent Olafur ls the author of hls own story.
After years of cruel and unjust treatment, Olafur
ls transferred to a nearby coastal vlllage where he ls
allowed to llve ln an abandoned warehouse, hls 'sum
merland palace." Jhe vlllage ls controlled by a carlca
ture of a manager, Ptur Plsson, nlcknamed 'rhross"
(Jhreehorses). Ior a tlme Olafur enjoys the manager`s
patronage but then ls dlsmlssed because hls poetry
lacks the rlght ldeology. Olafur`s love affalr wlth an
equally poor young woman ends when she becomes
pregnant and leaves hlm for a flsherman who can offer
her securlty. He then renews a relatlonshlp wlth the epl
leptlc woman |arrur, who ls many years hls senlor,
and they begln llvlng together ln a shack beyond the
vlllage outsklrts. In thls 'house of the poet," Olafur has
long dlscusslons wlth a frlend and fellow poet about the
connectlon between justlce and poetry. On these occa
slons the llttle house 'bl vkkal t og hkkal uns
a var elns strt og allur helmurlnn" (became both
wlder and hlgher untll lt was as large as the whole
world). In her own mlsery, |arrur turns lnto a jeal
ous, domlneerlng woman, and Olafur falls ln love wlth
a young woman who ls a labor agltator ln the vlllage.
She urges hlm to leave |arrur and to come down off
thls 'andstyggllegur kross" (dlsgustlng cross). But he
does not have the heart to abandon |arrur and takes
her wlth hlm when he moves on, leavlng everythlng
behlnd. 'Alt. Alla sna drauma. Allan slnn skldskap.
Alla sna von. Alt sltt lf. Alt" (Everythlng. All hls
dreams. All hls poetry. All hls hopes. All hls llfe. Every
thlng).
In the last part of the novel he has become a
schoolteacher and ls llvlng wlth |arrur ln a remote
vlllage at the foot of a glacler. Accused of sexual mls
conduct wlth one of hls puplls, a fourteenyearold glrl,
he ls sentenced to a oneyear jall term. Lpon hls release
from prlson, he meets a young woman who strlkes hlm
as the lncarnatlon of the beauty he has yearned for all
hls llfe. After an enchanted mldsummer nlght of love
maklng, they go thelr separate ways, and she returns to
her own vlllage on the other slde of the glacler. But they
correspond wlth each other, and he wrltes love poems
to her and then later an elegy when he learns of her
death. Jhese are among Laxness`s most beautlful
poems and were lncluded ln the second edltlon of
h~K Ilnally, ln the deep, newfallen snow of Eas
ter mornlng, Olafur walks off toward the glacler, and
the novel concludes wlth the famous llne 'Og fegurln
mun rkja eln" (And beauty alone shall relgn).
Laxness`s three novels of soclal reallsm from the
Depresslon years stemmed from the contemporary real
ltles of poverty and class dlvlslon. In the next decade
Icelandlc soclety was transformed by sweeplng change,
and hls work took a new turn. Wlth the occupatlon of
Iceland by flrst Brltlsh and then L.S. forces beglnnlng
ln May l910 and the establlshment of a forelgn mllltary
base, employment surged and economlc condltlons
lmproved. In l911 Iceland ended lts unlon wlth Den
mark and reestabllshed ltself as a republlc after almost
seven centurles of forelgn rule. Jhese events generated
lntense debates among Icelanders about thelr natlonal
ldentlty and thelr autonomy as a natlon among other
natlons. In hls renowned l912 essay 'Hfundurlnn og
verk hans" (Jhe Wrlter and Hls Works), publlshed ln
s ~I Laxness says that the value of Ice
land`s llterary herltage lles ln lts expresslon of the Zelt
gelst of each era, wlth both natlonal and unlversal
slgnlflcance. Cltlng examples from Iceland`s llterary
canon, he argues that all good llterature ls both natlonal
and lnternatlonalfor the slmple reason that people,
especlally nowadays, are no longer natlonal but rather
as lnternatlonal as the blrds. A good book wrltten ln
Chlna ls wrltten for Iceland.
Jhe essay shows Laxness`s growlng lnterest ln an
Icelandlc llterary herltage that he wants to brlng closer
to hls own tlme ln a klnd of synthesls of the old and the
new. Wlth perhaps thls alm, ln the early l910s he pub
llshed hls own edltlons of several Icelandlc sagas wlth
modern orthography, replaclng the normallzed (but
archalc) spelllng system. As he explalns ln the preface to
hls edltlon of i~~ ~~I whlch appeared ln l91l, hls
lntentlon ls to show readers that the language of the Ice
landlc sagas ls essentlally the same as the language the
58
e~ i~ ai_ PPN
readers use themselves. Jhls edltlon was censored by
the authorltles, and the Icelandlc Parllament lmmedl
ately passed a law that banned publlcatlon of the Old
Icelandlc texts wlth anythlng other than the normallzed
spelllng. When Laxness forged ahead wlth an edltlon of
e~~~ ln l912, also wlth modern spelllng, the Mln
lstry of |ustlce brought charges agalnst hlm. After pro
tracted legal proceedlngs, Laxness was acqultted, and
the orthography law was ruled a vlolatlon of a constltu
tlonal provlslon guaranteelng freedom of the press.
Although Laxness advocated standard modern
spelllng for the sagas, the spelllng that he used ln hls flc
tlon was far from standard. In the late l930s he
lnvented hls own ldlosyncratlc spelllng, whlch adhered
more closely to pronunclatlon than the mandated sys
tem, and he used lt ln all hls work thereafter, lncludlng
republlshed verslons of earller works. Jhls arcane
orthography, whlch glves hls works a dlstlnctlve and
even strange look on the prlnted page, ls a characterlstlc
of hls style that ls lost ln translatlon.
Whlle he was publlshlng hls edltlons of the sagas,
Laxness was also at work on a lengthy artlcle tltled
'Mlnnlsgrelnar um fornsgur" (Notes on the Sagas),
publlshed ln p~ (l916, Jhlngs Jaken for
Granted). In lt he rejects the accepted vlew of the Ice
landlc sagas as hlstorlcal accounts and argues that they
are flctlonallzed accounts that succeed ln bendlng hls
tory to the narratlve truth of the works. He pralses thelr
objectlve, conclse style, ln whlch not a slngle word ls
superfluous, and concludes, dlrectly contradlctlng hls
statements from the l920s, that an Icelandlc author can
not get along wlthout the old books. Laxness`s lnterest
ln Old Icelandlc llterature thus grew not merely from
patrlotlc feellng but also out of hls search for new narra
tlve technlques.
In l912 Laxness publlshed p ~W m
(Seven Maglclans), a collectlon of short storles wrltten
malnly ln the l930s except for 'Jemdsjn snr helm"
(Jemdsjn Returns Home), whlch dates from l91l
and was Laxness`s last short story for more than twenty
years. Set ln the Iar East, the story ls about Genghls
Khan dlscoverlng Jaolsm and shows the flrst emer
gence of the mystlclsm of Laotzu and the q~ q `
(clrca 206 _.`.-^.a. 220) that characterlzes all of Lax
ness`s later works. In a l912 essay, 'Bkln um veglnn"
(Jhe Book about the Way), publlshed ln p~
I Laxness dlscusses the abldlng lnfluence of the q~
q ` ln hls llfe and work. He also remarks on the
stlllness of Jaolsm that ls exempllfled ln the slmpllclty
of the sentences ln the book, whlch he deems, ln thelr
muslcallty and dlrectness, the most perfect ln all of
world llterature. Laxness`s deep lnterest ln such dlverse
works as the q~ q ` and the Icelandlc sagas ls slg
nlflcant, for both are marked by detachment and objec
tlvlty ln style, wlth the laconlc speech of the sagas
correspondlng to the subtle aphorlsms of Jao. Irom
these complementary sources Laxness syntheslzed a
hlghly creatlve style that typlfles hls subsequent flctlon.
Hls next major work was the trllogy conslstlng of
~~ (l913, Iceland`s Bell), e ~ ~ (l911;
Jhe Ialr Malden, l911), and b h~~ (l916,
Ilre ln Copenhagen), republlshed ln one volume as
~~ ln l952 (translated as f~ _I 2003).
~~ ls an hlstorlcal novel, set ln the late seven
teenth and early elghteenth centurles, based on hlstorl
cal and legal records and wrltten ln the antlquated
language of the perlod. It focuses upon three maln char
acters. the poor farmer |n Hreggvlsson, who ls sen
tenced to death for kllllng the klng`s henchman; Arnas
Arnus, a flgure modeled on the Icelandlc scholar and
manuscrlpt collector rnl Magnsson; and Snfrur
Eydaln, daughter of the local maglstrate and the slster
lnlaw of the blshop of Sklholt. lngvelllr, where the
story beglns and ends, ls the focal polnt of events, and
other lmportant settlngs lnclude the blshoprlc at Skl
holt and Copenhagen, places that are also lmportant ln
Icelandlc hlstory.
~~ provldes an accurate plcture of the
polltlcal and soclal condltlons ln Iceland durlng one of
the most degradlng perlods ln the hlstory of the natlon.
It opens wlth a scene at lngvelllr, where the klng`s
henchman has arrlved to oversee the destructlon of an
anclent bell that has hung from the gable of the old
courthouse as long as anyone can remember. Over the
protests of an old man whose famlly has llved ln the
vlclnlty for generatlons, |n Hreggvlsson ls com
manded to smash the venerable bell, whlch ls then
shlpped to Denmark ln pleces. lngvelllr ls also the set
tlng ln whlch the henchman flogs |n Hreggvlsson as
punlshment for composlng sly verses that lampooned
Hls Majesty whlle destroylng the bell. |n accompanles
hlm home, and the followlng mornlng the henchman ls
found dead ln the bogs.
Jo some extent |n Hreggvlsson resembles
Bjartur of p crusty, lntrepld, clever at versl
fylng, and enthralled by the saga heroes. Jhe paths of
|n and Arnas cross when Arnas comes to |n`s poor
cottage and dlscovers, ln |n`s mother`s bedstead, some
sheets from a preclous vellum manuscrlpt of anclent
poetry that he has been seeklng for many years. Arnas
reallzes that hls calllng lles ln sacrlflclng hlmself to res
cue the old books from obllvlon, whlch ln hls vlew
embody the soul of Iceland, so he forsakes Snfrur,
the woman he loves, and marrles a rlch, elderly, crlp
pled Danlsh wldow. After |n has been sentenced to
death and ls awaltlng executlon at lngvelllr, hls mother
walks to Sklholt and appeals to Snfrur for help.
Snfrur manages to free |n and sends hlm to Arnas
59
ai_ PPN e~ i~
ln Copenhagen for protectlon, along wlth both a mes
sage telllng Arnas that she understands hls sacrlflce and
a rlng as a token of her affectlon. Jhrough Arnas`s
asslstance, |n ls acqultted, and the corruptlon of Sn
frur`s father, the maglstrate, ls exposed. Ior a tlme,
Snfrur and Arnas foresee a common future ln thelr
vlslon of the Promlsed Land, a motlf that appears fre
quently ln Laxness`s works, but nothlng comes of thelr
dreams, and the novel ends apocalyptlcally wlth the
great Copenhagen flre, whlch consumes Arnas`s manu
scrlpts. Jhe only manuscrlpt that escapes destructlon ls
the one that once belonged to the poor old woman, |n
Hreggvlsson`s mother.
In accord wlth Laxness`s prlnclple of artlstlc rep
resentatlon, formulated ln an lntervlew about the flrst
two volumes of the trllogy ln the newpaper on
23 December l911, the characters` thoughts and feel
lngs are reflected ln thelr speech and physlcal reactlons,
and the actlon does not take place ' slarfylgsnum" (ln
the soul`s hldeaways). Although the narratlon ltself ls
objectlve, Laxness makes use of llterary alluslons, para
bles, and aphorlsms. Jhe language ls often hlghly lyrl
cal, wlth descrlptlons of nature reflectlng characters`
mental and emotlonal states, especlally those klndled by
Snfrur, whose beauty and worthlness have earned
her the eplthet slandssl (Iceland`s Sun). Of the three
protagonlsts, Snfrur ls the only one whose name
bears no relatlon to that of the hlstorlcal counterpart, ln
thls case, rds |nsdttlr. Rather, she ls named for the
Snfrur of Sturluson`s e~ who so bewltched
Harald Ialrhalr that he neglected hls klngdom. Jhe
novel also alludes to her as 'hl ljsa man" (the falr
malden) of the Eddlc poem 'Hvaml" and descrlbes
her as a 'huldukona" out of folktales or a Valkyrle from
herolc poetry. Llke many other women ln Laxness`s
works, Snfrur has a remoteness that suggests she
does not qulte belong to soclety. In the end Snfrur
slandssl, dressed ln black and rldlng a black horse,
dlsappears lnto the landscape as a subllme symbol of
Iceland.
~~ was a glft from the author to hls
natlon at a turnlng polnt ln lts hlstory. Hls stage adapta
tlon of the novel, publlshed ln l950 as p
~I was one of three Icelandlc plays that had thelr
debut at the new Natlonal Jheater (jlelkhsl) ln
Reykjavk when lt opened ln October of that year.
Whlle Laxness was at work on ~~I he
met Auur Svelnsdttlr, and they were marrled at
Chrlstmas ln l915. Jhey moved lnto a new home near
Gljfrastelnn (whlch means Canyon Rock) ln Mos
fellssvelt, close to hls chlldhood home, a move that ful
fllled Laxness`s longstandlng dream of bulldlng a
house on thls spot. He named the house for the nearby
rock, and lt was hls home for the remalnder of hls llfe.
Jwo daughters, Slgrur Halldrsdttlr and Gun
Halldrsdttlr, were born ln l95l and l951, respec
tlvely.
When World War II ended, Iceland entered lnto
an agreement wlth the Lnlted States permlttlng Amerl
can forces to malntaln the mllltary base at Keflavk and
to lnstall radar statlons around the country. Many Ice
landers feared that thls forelgn presence would threaten
the newfound lndependence of the natlon, and the
agreement preclpltated heated protests over thls 'sale."
One of the most lnfluentlal opponents of the agreement
was Halldr Laxness, who blasted lt as treason ln a
serles of artlcles that appeared ln the fall of l916 and
were reprlnted ln l950 ln o~ (A Jravelogue).
Jhe controversy lnsplred hls l918 novel ^J
(translated as q ^ p~I l96l), the tltle of
whlch refers to an occupled Iceland that harbors atomlc
weapons. A soclal and polltlcal satlre wlth dark humor,
thls work ls the flrst of Laxness`s novels wrltten ln the
flrst person. It ls no colncldence that Lgla, the narrator
and protagonlst, ls a young woman from the country
who has come to Reykjavk to learn to play the organ.
Jhus, she represents the opposlte of the urban corrup
tlon that she wltnesses as a mald ln a welltodo bour
geols household, where the man of the house, an
lnfluentlal member of Parllament and the conservatlve
party, hosts secret polltlcal meetlngs for plannlng the
'sale" of the country. In contrast, the organlst`s house,
where Lgla takes her lessons, ls open to all of soclety`s
outsldersartlsts, prostltutes, and assorted freaks wlth
no polltlcal clout. Jhe organlst ls the flrst of Laxness`s
characters to represent a mystlc type that can be llnked
wlth Jaolsm. An altrulst who sells hls house to help a
frlend, he speaks ln paradoxes, understands all and for
glves all, and ls broadmlnded and unflappable. Jhe
novel ends wlth Lgla standlng alone ln the mlddle of
town holdlng a bouquet of flowers from the organlst`s
house. Jhe flowers are lmportant as a symbol of eternal
llfe. (Jhe novel was orlglnally tltled 'Blmln felgu"
| Jhe Ilowers Everlastlng|.)
In hls next novel, d~ (Herolca), publlshed ln
l952 (translated as q e~ t~I l958), Laxness
takes hls materlal from the saga age of the tenth and
eleventh centurles. Both the style and the plot are based
upon the Old Icelandlc sagas, ln partlcular the anony
mous c~ ~~ (Saga of the Sworn Brothers) and
~ ~~ ~ (Saga of Salnt Olaf) by Sturluson. In a
l972 lntervlew publlshed ln p ~
(Dlscusslons through Jlme), Laxness sald that hls alm
was to create an archalzed work of art for modern read
ers, a work that deals wlth people who, down through
the ages, have always sought some unlversal truth as
thelr soverelgn. In the same lntervlew, Laxness revealed
that he had planned to wrlte d~ ln modern Icelandlc
60
e~ i~ ai_ PPN
but then reallzed that lt would be laughable to use mod
ern language to wrlte about the sphere of classlc lltera
ture.
As the tltle lndlcates, the novel ls about gorpor
(heroes). Llke a scrlbe, the narrator constantly cltes hls
sources, both wrltten and oral, ln telllng the story of the
sworn brothers ormur Bessason and orgelr
Hvarsson. Wlth grotesque lmagery, the narrator
recounts what the two belleve to be thelr herolc
explolts; but ln the eyes of everyone else, the two are
mlsflts and troublemakers. Jhe novel portrays them as
a comlc, qulxotlc palrone a fopplsh poet and woman
lzer, the other a brawny flghter and mlsogynlst who ls
afrald of women. Ccrplo parodles the ldeallzed vlew of
heroes as deplcted ln the Icelandlc sagas, drawlng paral
lels between the atrocltles of Klng Olaf and those of
Adolf Hltler and |oseph Stalln. As a traglcomedy, Ccrplo
deals wlth llluslons and those ldeals that breed them.
ormur sacrlflces everythlng for the chance to reclte
hls lay 'Herolca" before the klng, then admlts that he
can no longer recall lt.
Ccrplo was poorly recelved by some Icelanders,
who took lt to be a glbe at the Icelandlc sagas. How
ever, certaln elements of the sagas can be vlewed as
parodlc, and wlth Ccrplo, Laxness slmply elaborated on
thls aspect of hls models. But Laxness was reluctant to
acknowledge the humor ln Ccrplo. When readers found
lt amuslng, he professed surprlse and dlsdaln, lnslstlng
that lt was hls most sorrowful book.
In l955 Halldr Laxness was awarded the Nobel
Prlze ln Llterature for, ln the words of the Swedlsh
Academy, hls 'vlvld eplc power, whlch has renewed the
great narratlve art of Iceland." In hls acceptance speech
of l0 December, Laxness emphaslzed hls debt to the llt
erary herltage of hls natlve country, ln partlcular to the
old Icelandlc storytellers who created the classlcs and
were as much a part of Iceland as lts landscape.
In the oplnlon of Laxness`s blographer, Peter
Hallberg, the Nobel Prlzeand the accompanylng pub
llc recognltlon that suddenly transformed Laxness lnto
a cultural ambassador for Iceland on the world stage
had a debllltatlng effect on hls wrltlng, a vlew echoed
by many others, especlally leftlsts. Hls new fame aslde,
Laxness`s career dld take a sharp turn at thls tlme, more
llkely a result of hls dlsllluslonment wlth soclallsm and
a growlng skeptlclsm toward all ldeologles and dogmas.
In hls l962 essay 'Persnulegar mlnnlsgrelnar um
skldsgur og lelkrlt" (Personal Memoranda on Novels
and Plays), publlshed ln Upplof movvorstcfvu (l965,
Jhe Orlglns of Humanlsm), he objects to what he calls
the 'alhelmsresept" (unlversal reclpe) ln llterature. Jhe
role of llterature ls not to preach morallty, he says, for
the author ls no more uprlght than the reader, but
rather to show facts. Jhe basls of flctlon and lts chlef
advantage, he belleves, are that flctlon ls by nature a
chronlcle, and the author pretends to transform past
events lnto a wrltten narratlve, turnlng human facts lnto
a book. Jhe problem, he says, ls havlng to functlon as
both chronlcler and fabullstthat ls, to record events
and lnvent them at the same tlme.
rcllulotsovvll (l957, Jhe Annals of Brekkukot;
translated as Tlc Iisl Cov Sivg, l966) ls Laxness`s flrst
novel after he recelved the Nobel Prlze. Llke Ztomstiv,
lt ls told ln the flrst person and resembles lts predeces
sor ln other respects. Jhe narrator, or 'annallst," ls a
young man named lfgrmur who recounts hls years
growlng up ln Reykjavk around l900. Jhe narratlon
blends together two perspectlvesthat of the chlld as he
experlences events and that of the adult reflectlng on
them much later. An orphan, lfgrmur llves wlth an
elderly couple, whom he calls hls grandmother and
grandfather, ln the cottage Brekkukot, where hls
mother gave blrth to hlm before boardlng a shlp to
Amerlca. Much llke the organlst`s house ln Ztomstiv,
Brekkukot ls a free boardlnghouse for all, wlth no
strlngs attached, and ln the splrlt of Jao, tolerance and
harmony prevall. Ior lfgrmur, Brekkukot ls the para
dlse of hls youth, and he remalns there untll the end of
the novel, when he goes abroad to study.
lfgrmur dreams of becomlng a slnger. Iollow
lng ln the footsteps of hls ldol, the mysterlous Garar
Hlm, lfgrmur launches hls career ln the cemetery,
where he slngs at the funerals of vagrants and other
unldentlfled persons. Garar Hlm llves abroad and ls
a famous 'world slnger" ln the eyes of Icelanders, but
gradually lfgrmur dlscovers that Garar Hlm ls a
charlatan and a fraud, a slnger who cannot slng, a motlf
that also runs through the short story 'Llly" and the
play Silfurtvgli: Sjovlcilur i fjorum ttum (Jhe Sllver
Moon) from l951, ln whlch La bungles her lullaby
when she slngs onstage ln front of an audlence rather
than for her chlld.
Extended dlscusslons of llterature and art recur
throughout rcllulotsovvll. |ust as the poet ln Hcimsljos
falls ln hls attempts to capture beauty, the slnger lf
grmur trles to achleve the one pure note, but lt ls always
out of reach. He learns to play the organ and also takes
slnglng lessons untll the onset of puberty, for ln the
world of Laxness`s novels, song ln lts purest form
belongs to the domaln of chlldren and women, belngs
who are closest to nature. Jhus, lfgrmur ls no more
successful ln masterlng the pure note than Garar Hlm,
and the story hlnts that lfgrmur has become a wrlter
lnstead and can perhaps be seen as the author`s alter ego.
In fact, many detalls of the novel dlrectly parallel aspects
of Laxness`s llfe as deplcted ln hls memolrs. Jhe grand
mother flgure ls slmllar to Laxness`s own grandmother,
wlth the same oplnlons and the same manner of speak
6l
ai_ PPN e~ i~
lng. Jhe old clock whose tlcklng so preoccuples lf
grmur and that symbollzes eternlty ln the novel ls the
same one that belonged to hls greataunt and provlded
the subject of hls flrst publlshed artlcle.
Beglnnlng ln October l957 Laxness spent several
months travellng ln the Lnlted States and several Aslan
countrles, lecturlng at varlous publlc cultural lnstltutlons.
He also vlslted Jaolst monks ln Chlna and Mormons of
Icelandlc descent ln Ltah. In p~ he recounts a
l927 vlslt to Salt Lake Clty, where he was remlnded of a
travelogue he had read ln hls boyhood by an Icelander
named Elrkur fr Brnum, who converted to Mormon
lsm and lmmlgrated to Ltah ln the late l800s. Jhe story
of the lmmlgrant`s travels, publlshed ln two volumes as
i ~~~ (A Llttle Jravelogue) ln l878 and l882, ls
the lmpetus behlnd Laxness`s next novel, m~~~
(l960; translated as m~~ o~I l962). In 'Jhe
Orlglns of Paradlse Reclalmed," an essay accompanylng
the speclal L.S. edltlon of the novel, Laxness says that he
was at work on the book for thlrty years because the cen
tral ldea refused to come lnto focus. Jhe truth ls, he says,
that 'to wrlte successfully about the Promlsed Land, you
must have sought and found lt ln your own llfe. . . . You
must have made the pllgrlmage yourself. . . . You go
groplng along through a jungle of ldeas, whlch lt would
take volumes to descrlbe, sometlmes you get lnto bllnd
alleys, at other tlmes you are stuck ln bottomless qulck
sand and saved by a mlracleuntll flnally you flnd your
self ln a small place . . . that somehow looks llke the old
home. Was lt the same garden from whlch you started?
It seems so, but lt ls not." Jhe person who goes away,
Laxness says, returns as a dlfferent klnd of person.
In m~~~ the poor farmer Stelnn Stelnsson
leaves hls farm and famlly to seek Paradlse, whlch he
flnds among the Mormons ln Ltah. Many years later he
sends for hls famlly, but hls wlfe dles durlng the journey,
and hls chlldren no longer know hlm. He returns to Ice
land as a mlsslonary but becomes dlslllusloned, for
everythlng there has changed and no one llstens to hlm.
He roams the countryslde untll he suddenly flnds hlm
self standlng before the rulns of hls old farmstead, and he
beglns to restack the stones of the dllapldated rock wall.
m~~~I the story of the man searchlng for a
promlsed land that he ultlmately flnds ln hls own back
yard, where he began hls quest, ls perhaps an allegory of
the author`s own experlence, an expresslon of hls reslg
natlon and dlsappolntment wlth a polltlcal ldeology. But
the novel can also be seen as a rendltlon of the Jao teach
lng that one should be content wlth one`s home and
dellght ln one`s customs. m~~~ was the last novel
that Laxness wrote ln the thlrd person as well as hls last
for another elght years. In addltlon to the llterary mem
olr p~I he publlshed three plays durlng thls hlatus
from novel wrltlng. pW d~~
(l96l, Jhe Chlmney Play. A Comedy ln Jhree
Acts); m~~ pW d~~ (l962,
Jhe Sun Knlttlng Shop); and a~~W p~
(l966; translated as q m _~I
l973), whlch ls based on a short story of the same name
ln the collectlon p~~ (l961; translated as ^ n
pI l971). Laxness`s plays are lnterestlng experl
ments, mlxlng farce, satlre, and allegory wlth lnfluences
from the theater of the absurd as well as the Eplc Jheater
of Bertolt Brecht, but they have never enjoyed the popu
larlty of hls novels. Jhe plays adapted from the novels,
however, are staged regularly ln Iceland.
In hls flnal novelsh~ g (l968;
translated as `~ ~ d~I l972), f~~~
(l970, A Local Chronlcle), and d~~~ (l972, A
Lltany of God`s Glfts)Laxness contlnues to wrlte ln the
flrst person but wlth a dlfferent approach. Jhese works
experlment wlth the llmlts of narratlve objectlvlty. In
^ the narrator partlclpates ln the actlon as lt
unfolds and ls the only authorlty for what ls conveyed ln
the story. _~ ls slmllar, even though the nar
rator ls an annallst telllng about the past. In these last
novels, anonymous narrators stand outslde of the story
that they are lnvestlgatlng, repeatedly cltlng hlstorlcal or
flctlonal sources as thelr authorltles.
In h~ g the blshop of Iceland sends
a young theologlan to a remote dlstrlct ln the western
reglon to lnvestlgate and report on a pastor`s actlvltles.
He has the rlght quallflcatlons for the job because he
knows shorthand and can operate a tape recorder.
Although unnamed ln the novel, he refers to hlmself as
'the underslgned" or 'Lmbl" (short for 'umbosmaur
blskups"the blshop`s emlssary). Before Lmbl departs,
the blshop glves hlm a methodology to follow ln prepar
lng hls reports. He ls to learn from the tape and wrlte as
much as posslble ln the thlrd person, descrlbe what he
sees and hears, but by no means verlfy anythlng or ven
ture an oplnlon. 'Jlu or eru stareynd taf fyrlr slg
snn og logln" (Spoken words are facts ln themselves,
whether true or false).
Slnce thls objectlve narrator ls not entrusted to
relate conversatlons, they are presented wlth no lntroduc
tlon, as lf they are transcrlbed from the tape. Neverthe
less, Lmbl cannot avold taklng part ln llfe at Glacler.
Eventually, he merges wlth hls story. he throws the
report away when he meets the mysterlous woman La,
the pastor`s wlfe, who ran off to Amerlca on her weddlng
day but has now returned decades later as lf nothlng had
ever happened. La ls the culmlnatlon of the eternal feml
nlne, whlch ls so pervaslve ln Laxness`s works. Lmbl
descrlbes her as the receptlve, qulescent Mystlc Iemale
and Great Mother of the Jao. She ls both the orlgln and
the end, as lneffable as the Promlsed Land, beauty, and
the pure muslcal note. When La offers Lmbl a llft ln her
62
e~ i~ ai_ PPN
dllapldated Imperlal, the road leads to a dead end, and
Lmbl asks where they are golng. Her answer ls enlg
matlc. 'Hvert helduru elskan mn nema helmsenda"
(Where do you thlnk, my love, except to the end of the
world). But ln the dense fog, Lmbl loses slght of her as
she dlsappears lnto nature, and her laughter echoes ln
the screech of the seablrds.
Ivvovsvcitorlrovilo ls a mlxture of a documentary
novel and a legend about the restoratlon of the church at
Mosfell ln Laxness`s parlsh ln the Mosfell dlstrlct. Jhe
church was closed down ln the late nlneteenth century,
and the old church bell that had vanlshed reappears ln a
mlraculous way at the dedlcatlon of the new church
almost one hundred years later. At the same tlme, the
book ls a chronlcle of the Mosfell dlstrlct, wlth lts farmers
and 'hldden women," an area descrlbed ln Jao terms as
the place of orlgln that people never want to leave.
In Cusgjofoulo the anonymous narrator ls an elghteen
yearold Icelandlc wrlter who has just arrlved ln Copen
hagen, pennlless and ln trouble untll he meets slands
bersl (Iceland`s Bear), an Icelandlc herrlng merchant who
hlres the young man to wrlte hls llfe story. Jhe novel ls
about the wrltlng of thls blographypurportedly based
on the best avallable sources, although most of them are
flctltlousand the narrator constantly polnts out that hls
own story ls not lmportant. In an afterword Laxness
characterlzes Cusgjofoulo as an essay novel, the same
eplthet that he glves hls four llttle books of memorles, as
he calls themI tvivu lcimo, l975; Uvgur cg vor, l976;
Sjmcistorosogov, l978; and Crilllovdsri, l980whlch are
about hls llfe up untll the age of twenty. Jhe slmllarlty
between these memolrs of hls early years and hls flnal
novel, whlch llkewlse focuses on how a young wrlter gets
hls start, polnts out the connectlon. Laxness has come
full clrcle and ends hls career as a wrlter where he began
lt.
Jhe l990s were dlfflcult years for Halldr Lax
ness. Sufferlng from progresslve dementla, caused prlma
rlly by Alzhelmer`s dlsease, he was unable to contlnue
wrltlng. He also had to glve up much else ln hls dally
routlne, such as the long walks around the nelghborlng
heath and the fat clgar that had become hls hallmark.
Near the end of hls llfe he was admltted to Reykjalundur,
a rehabllltatlon center near hls home; he dled there on 8
Iebruary l998 at the age of nlnetyflve. Hls funeral was
held wlth great ceremony at the Cathollc Dmsklrkja
Krlsts konungs (Cathedral of Chrlst the Klng) ln Reyk
javk. He was burled ln the old graveyard of the restored
parlsh church at Mosfell, on a southfaclng knoll thatas
he descrlbes lt ln Ivvovsvcitorlrovilo'snkar a sr melra
slsklnl en arlr hlar" (gathers more sunshlne than
other knolls).
Jhe span of Halldr Laxness`s llfe was nearly
commensurate wlth that of the twentleth century, as he
was born soon after lts beglnnlng and dled ln lts wanlng
years. Jhus, he was a mlrror of the age, both reflectlng
the century and exerclslng a major lnfluence on lt, wlthln
the realm of Nordlc culture and ln the wlder world.
Slmultaneously a successful Icelandlc and lnternatlonal
author, he was and contlnues to be an unequaled exem
plar to those Icelandlc wrlters who followed hlm. 'etta
er hgt. Ekkert arf a hlndra lg. ekkl tungumll, ekkl
flksfln og sguefnln au llggja loftlnu" (Jhls ls pos
slble. Nothlng has to hlnder you. not the language, not
the smallness of the natlon; and |as for| the subject mat
ter, lt floats ln the alr). Jhls characterlzatlon of Laxness`s
approach to wrltlng by one of the most renowned novel
lsts of the younger generatlon, Elnar Mr Gumunds
son, ln an essay wrltten ln memory of Laxness for Icsbol
Morguvblosivs (2l Aprll 200l), captures the unlnhlblted
optlmlsm that Laxness brought to the splrlt of Icelandlc
llterature.
fW
Halldr Laxness and Matthas |ohannessen, Slcggrur
gcgvum tivo (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l972).
_~W
Haraldur Slgursson, 'Skr um verk Halldrs Laxness
slenzku og erlendum mlum," rbol Iovds-
bolosofvs (l97l). l77-200;
Slgursson, 'Helstu rlt og rltgerlr um vl og verk
Halldrs Laxness," Slrvir (l972). 56-61;
'Halldr Laxness," ln Iiglt Scovdivoviov òvclists: Criti-
cism ovd Icvicws iv Ivglisl, edlted by |ohn Budd
(Westport, Conn.. Greenwood Press, l98l), pp.
l53-l67;
Slgursson and Slgrur Helgadttlr, 'Skr um rlt Hall
drs Laxness slensku og erlendum mlum,"
rbol Iovdsbolosofvs (l993). 19-l10;
|kull Svarsson, 'Laxness lelkger," Iitmcvvt, 7
(2002). 50-58;
Svarsson, 'Skr um rlt Halldrs Laxness slensku og
erlendum mlumvlaukl," Iitmcvvt, 7 (2002).
ll6-l32;
Ogmundur Helgason, 'Handrlt Halldrs Laxness.
varvelsla elrra og vlstun handrltadelld Lands
bkasafns," Iitmcvvt, 7 (2002). 9-22.
_~W
Peter Hallberg, Dcv storc vovorcv: Iv studic i Ioxvcss` uvg-
domsdiltvivg (Stockholm. Rabn Sjgren, l951);
translated from Swedlsh by Bjrn Jh. Bjrnsson
and |n Elrksson, !cforivv milli: Um sluslldslop
Holldors Iiljovs Ioxvcss I-II (Reykjavk. Helgafell,
l957-l960);
Hallberg, Sloldcvs lus: Ioxvcss` diltvivg frv Sollo !ollo
till Ccrplo (Stockholm. Rabn Sjgren, l956);
63
ai_ PPN e~ i~
translated from Swedlsh by Helgl |. Halldrsson
as Hs slldsivs: Um slldvcrl Holldors Ioxvcss fr
Sllu !llu til Ccrplu I-II (Reykjavk. Ml og men
nlng, l970-l97l);
Hallberg, Holldor Ioxvcss, translated by Rory McJurk
(New York. Jwayne, l97l);
Erlk Snderholm, Holldor Ioxvcss: Iv movogrofi (Copen
hagen. Gyldendal, l98l);
Olafur Ragnarsson and Valgerur Benedlktsdttlr, eds.,
Ifsmyvdir sllds: Uvifcrill Holldors Ioxvcss myvdum
og mli (Reykjavk. VakaHelgafell, l992);
Ragnarsson, Holldor Ioxvcss: If slldslop (Reykjavk.
VakaHelgafell, 2002);
Halldr Gumundsson, Holldor Ioxvcss: Icbcv uvd !crl
(Gttlngen. Steldl, 2002).
oW
Zfmlislvcjur lcimov og lovdov: Til Holldors Iiljovs Ioxvcss
scxtugs (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l962);
Halldr Gumundsson, 'Iolsivs, Iolsivs: !cforivv milli
og upplof slcvslro vtmobolmcvvto (Reykjavk. Ml
og mennlng, l987);
Peter Hallberg, 'Laxness, konstnrskapet, ldeologlerna.
Ngot om hans senare dlktnlng," òrdisl tidslrift
(l967). 65-l02;
Hallberg, 'Laxness vld sklljovgen. Ngra drag av hans
utveckllng efter Nobelprlset l955," Iddo, 5
(l967). 297-316;
Holldorsstcfvo, edlted by Eln Bra Magnsdttlr and
Llfar Bragason, Rlt Stofnunar Slgurar Nordals,
no. 2 (Reykjavk. Stofnun Slgurar Nordals,
l993);
Hallberg Hallmundsson, 'Halldr Laxness and the
Sagas of Modern Iceland," Ccorgio Icvicw, 19
(Sprlng l995). 39-15;
|n Hjaltason, ed., `rmyvd of òbclsslldi: Holldor Iox-
vcss ougum somtmomovvo (Akureyrl. Bkatgfan
Hlar, 2000);
Helga Kress, 'Ilmanskgar betrl landa. um Halldr
Laxness Nja helmlnum og vesturfaramlnnl
verkum hans," Iitmcvvt, 7 (2002). 9-22;
Scovdivovico 1972speclal Laxness lssue on the occaslon
of hls seventleth blrthday, edlted by Svelnn Skorrl
Hskuldsson (23 Aprll l972);
rnl Slgurjnsson, Ioxvcss og jolfi, 2 volumes (Reykja
vk. VakaHelgafell, l986, l987);
Sj crivdi um Holldor Ioxvcss, edlted by Svelnn Skorrl
Hskuldsson (Reykjavk. Helgafell, l973).
m~W
Halldr Laxness`s papers are located ln the Hand
rltadelld (Manuscrlpt Department) of Landsbkasafn
slands - Hsklabkasafn (Natlonal and Lnlverslty
Llbrary of Iceland).
NVRR k m i~
m~ p
by Ilios !csscv, Mcmbcr of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy
Iceland ls the cradle of narratlve art here ln the
North. Jhls ls ultlmately due to the pecullar nature and
development of the Icelandlc communlty. In Iceland there
were no condltlons for the rlse of the class soclety else
where so characterlstlc of the Mlddle Ages, wlth lts sharp
contrast between Church and people, between the
learned and the peasants. Jhere books were not, as ln
other lands, the prlvllege of a few prlests versed ln Latln.
Even ln the Mlddle Ages llteracy was far more wlde
spread among the common people ln Iceland than ln
other parts of Europe. Jhls fact created the baslc condl
tlons for the wrltlng down ln the natlve tongue of the old
vernacular poetry whlch, ln the rest of northern Europe,
our country lncluded, was desplsed and forgotten.
So lt came about that the poor llttle natlon on lts
remote lsland created world llterature, produclng prose
tales whlch the other European countrles were unable to
match for hundreds of years. Svorrc and the sagas wlll
always stand out as peaks ln the art of hlstorlcal narratlve,
as models of style ln thelr persplculty, clarlty, and vlgour.
Jhe Icelandlc saga, very largely anonymous, ls the prod
uct of a whole natlon`s llterary talent and lndependent
creatlve power.
In Iceland the saga has always been held ln great
honour. Jo the Icelanders themselves lt has glven consola
tlon and strength durlng dark centurles of poverty and
hardshlp. Jo thls very day Iceland stands out as the llter
ary natlon of the North por cxccllcvcc, ln relatlon to lts pop
ulatlon and lts resources.
Enormous power ls necessary to renew ln our tlme
a narratlve art whlch has such tradltlons. In the book
whlch Halldr Laxness has wrltten about the peasant
poet Olafur Ljsvkngur, he especlally touches on the
problems and the mlsslon of poetry, maklng one of the
characters say. 'Jhat poem ls good whlch reaches the
heart of the people. Jhere ls no other crlterlon." But ln
order to reach the people`s heart, llterary sklll alone, how
ever great, ls not enough; the ablllty to deplct events and
explolts ls not enough. If llterature ls to be a 'llght of the
world," lt must strlve to glve a true plcture of human llfe
and condltlons. Jhat goal runs llke a contlnuous thread
through most of what Halldr Laxness has wrltten. And
as he has an extraordlnarlly flne sense of the concrete
thlngs of human llfe and, at the same tlme, an lnexhaust
lble glft of storytelllng, he has come to rank as hls people`s
greatest wrlter of the present age.
One of the most remarkable testlmonles of the con
fllcts ln modern cultural llfenot only ln Iceland but ln the
61
e~ i~ ai_ PPN
whole of the Westls Laxness`s early work, !cforivv milli
fr Iosmr (Jhe Great Weaver from Kashmlr), l927.
Desplte a certaln youthful lmmaturlty, lt carrles welght as a
contemporary document and as a personal confesslon.
Jhe maln character ls a young Icelander, a wrlter wlth an
artlstlc temperament, who, durlng a rovlng llfe ln Europe,
experlences to the full the chaotlc perplexlty followlng the
Ilrst World War. Llke Hans Allenus at one tlme, he trles
to get hls bearlngs and to flnd a flrm footlng ln llfebut
what a dlfference ln sltuatlon! Iar more than a generatlon
ln tlme separates them. On the one hand, peace, unshak
able falth ln progress, dreams of beauty; on the other, a
shattered, bleedlng world, moral laxlty, angulsh, and
lmpotence. Stelnn Ellll flnally throws hlmself lnto the
arms of the Cathollc Church. Slnce Strlndberg, few books
ln the llterature of northern Europe have bared lnner con
fllcts wlth such uncompromlslng candour and shown how
the lndlvldual comes to terms wlth the forces of the age.
Halldr Laxness dld not attaln artlstlc balance untll,
toward the end of the twentles, he returned to Iceland and
found hls calllng as bard of the Icelandlc people. All hls
lmportant books have Icelandlc themes.
He ls an excellent palnter of Icelandlc scenery and
settlngs. Yet thls ls not what he has concelved as hls chlef
mlsslon. 'Compasslon ls the source of the hlghest poetry.
Compasslon wlth sta Sllllja on earth," he says ln one of
hls best books. Art must be supported by sympathy and
love for humanlty; otherwlse lt ls worth very llttle. And a
soclal passlon underlles everythlng Halldr Laxness has
wrltten. Hls personal champlonshlp of contemporary
soclal and polltlcal questlons ls always very strong, some
tlmes so strong that lt threatens to hamper the artlstlc slde
of hls work. Hls safeguard then ls the astrlngent humour
whlch enables hlm to see even people he dlsllkes ln a
redeemlng llght, and whlch also permlts hlm to gaze far
down lnto the labyrlnths of the human soul.
Indlvldual people and thelr destlnles always move
us most deeply ln Halldr Laxness`s novels. Agalnst the
dark background of poverty, strlkes, and strlfe ln the llttle
Icelandlc flshlng vlllage, the shlnlng, glrllsh flgure of Salka
Valka stands out, resolute, capable, and pure of heart.
Even more affectlng, perhaps, ls the story of Bjartur,
the man wlth the lndomltable wlll for freedom and lnde
pendence, Geljer`s yeoman farmer ln an Icelandlc settlng
and, wlth monumental, eplc proportlons, the settler, the
lovdvmsmov of Iceland`s thousandyearold hlstory. Bjartur
remalns the same ln slckness and mlsfortune, ln poverty
and starvatlon, ln raglng snowstorms and face to face wlth
the frlghtenlng monsters of the moors, and pathetlc to the
last ln hls helplessness and hls touchlng love for hls foster
daughter, sta Sllllja.
Jhe story of the peasant poet Olafur Ljsvkngur,
Ijos lcimsivs (Jhe Llght of the World), l937-10, ls posslbly
hls greatest work. It ls based on the contrast between a
mlserable envlronment and the heavenborn dreams of
one who ls a frlend and servant of beauty.
In Islovdsllullov (Jhe Bell of Iceland), l913-16,
Laxness for the flrst tlme sets the scene ln a bygone age.
And he lndeed succeeds ln glvlng the atmosphere of the
perlod both of Iceland and of Denmark. Styllstlcally, lt ls a
masterplece. But even here lt ls chlefly lndlvlduals and
thelr destlnles that one remembers. the wretched tatterde
mallon |n Hreggvlsson; 'the falr mald" Snfrur
Eydaln; and above all, the learned collector of manu
scrlpts, Arnas Arnus, ln whom Iceland llves more
robustly than ln anyone else.
Halldr Laxness has gulded llterary development
back to common and tradltlonal ground. Jhat ls hls great
achlevement. He has a vlvld and personal style, easy and
natural, and one gets a strong lmpresslon of how well and
how flexlbly lt serves hls ends.
One more thlng must be emphaslzed lf Laxness`s
posltlon ls to be properly understood. Jhere was a tlme
when the Icelandlc authors chose another Scandlnavlan
language for thelr art, not merely for economlc reasons,
but because they despalred of the Icelandlc language as an
lnstrument for artlstlc creatlon. Halldr Laxness has, ln
the fleld of prose, renewed the Icelandlc language as an
artlstlc means of expresslon for a modern content, and by
hls example he has glven the Icelandlc wrlters courage to
use thelr natlve tongue. Broadly speaklng, thereln lles hls
greatest slgnlflcance, and thls ls what has glven hlm a
strong and very respected posltlon ln hls own land.
i~W _~ p
Ivtroductory rcmorls by H. crgstrovd, formcr Icctor of
tlc Corolivc Ivstitutc, ot tlc òbcl ovquct ot tlc City Holl iv
Stocllolm, 10 Dcccmbcr 19:
We know that Alfred Nobel regarded llfe wlth the
eyes of a poet, and that hls gaze was flxed on a faroff
dreamland. Accordlngly, llterature should have an ldeal
lstlc tendency. Jhls ls somethlng else than the admlsslon
of the lad who later called hlmself Halldr Klljan Lax
ness when he llstened to the saylngs of the plpeplayer.
He sald that the player`s talk hld no deeper meanlng than
an ordlnary landscape or a flnely palnted plcture, and
they therefore had the same selfevldent charm. 'Irom
the day I learned to read," he contlnued, 'I have been
lrrltated by storles wlth a moral, a hldden polnter, ln the
gulse of adventure. I lmmedlately stopped readlng or lls
tenlng as soon as I thought I understood that the purpose
of the story was to force on me some klnd of wlsdom
whlch someone else consldered noteworthy, a vlrtue that
65
ai_ PPN e~ i~
someone else found admlrable, lnstead of telllng me a
story. Ior a story ls stlll the best thlng that one can tell."
I am convlnced that the Swedlsh Academy was of
the same oplnlon when lt awarded the Nobel Prlze ln Llt
erature to a modern lncarnatlon of an Icelandlc teller of
sagas. And no one can deny that hls tales move the mlnd,
a prerequlslte that Horace demanded for the works of a
poet, ln the words. 'et quocunque volent anlmum audl
torls agunto."
i~ Eq~~F
I was travelllng ln the south of Sweden a few weeks
ago, when I heard the rumour that the cholce of the
Swedlsh Academy mlght posslbly fall on me. Alone ln my
hotel room that nlght, I naturally began to ask myself
what lt would mean to a poor wanderer, a wrlter from
one of the most remote lslands ln the world, to be sud
denly slngled out by an lnstltutlon famous for lts promo
tlon of culture, and brought here to the platform by lts
command.
It ls not so strange perhaps that my thoughts turned
thenas they stlll do, not least at thls solemn momentto
all my frlends and relatlons, to those who had been the
companlons of my youth and are dead now and burled ln
obllvlon. Even ln thelr llfetlme, they were known to few,
and today they are remembered by fewer stlll. All the
same they have formed and lnfluenced me and, to thls
day, thelr effect on me ls greater than that of any of the
world`s great masters or ploneers could posslbly have
been. I am thlnklng of all those wonderful men and
women, the people among whom I grew up. My father
and mother, but above all, my grandmother, who taught
me hundreds of llnes of old Icelandlc poetry before I ever
learned the alphabet.
In my hotel room that nlght, I thoughtas I stlll
doof the moral prlnclples she lnstllled ln me. never to
harm a llvlng creature; throughout my llfe, to place the
poor, the humble, the meek of thls world above all others;
never to forget those who were sllghted or neglected or
who had suffered lnjustlce, because lt was they who,
above all others, deserved our love and respect, ln Iceland
or anywhere ln the world. I spent my entlre chlldhood ln
an envlronment ln whlch the mlghty of the earth had no
place outslde story books and dreams. Love of, and
respect for, the humble routlne of everyday llfe and lts
creatures was the only moral commandment whlch car
rled convlctlon when I was a chlld.
I recall my frlends whose names the world never
knew but who, ln my youth, and long lnto my adult llfe,
gulded my llterary work. Jhough no wrlters themselves,
they nevertheless possessed lnfalllble llterary judgment
and were able, better than most of the masters, to open
my eyes to what was essentlal ln llterature. Many of those
glfted men are no longer wlth us, but they are so vlvld ln
my mlnd and ln my thoughts that, many a tlme, I would
have been hard put to dlstlngulsh between whlch was the
expresslon of my own self and whlch the volce of my
frlends wlthln me.
I am thlnklng, too, of that communlty of one hun
dred and flfty thousand men and women who form the
booklovlng natlon that we Icelanders are. Irom the very
flrst, my countrymen have followed my llterary career,
now crltlclzlng, now pralslng my work, but hardly ever let
tlng a slngle word be burled ln lndlfference. Llke a sensl
tlve lnstrument that records every sound, they have
reacted wlth pleasure or dlspleasure to every word I have
wrltten. It ls a great good fortune for an author to be born
lnto a natlon so steeped ln centurles of poetry and llterary
tradltlon.
My thoughts fly to the old Icelandlc storytellers
who created our classlcs, whose personalltles were so
bound up wlth the masses that thelr names, unllke thelr
llves` work, have not been preserved for posterlty. Jhey
llve ln thelr lmmortal creatlons and are as much a part of
Iceland as her landscape. Ior century upon dark century
those nameless men and women sat ln thelr mud huts
wrltlng books wlthout so much as asklng themselves
what thelr wages would be, what prlze or recognltlon
would be thelrs. Jhere was no flre ln thelr mlserable
dwelllngs at whlch to warm thelr stlff flngers as they sat
up late at nlght over thelr storles. Yet they succeeded ln
creatlng not only a llterary language whlch ls among the
most beautlful and subtlest there ls, but a separate llterary
genre. Whlle thelr hearts remalned warm, they held on to
thelr pens.
As I was slttlng ln my hotel room ln Skne, I asked
myself. what can fame and success glve to an author? A
measure of materlal wellbelng brought about by money?
Certalnly. But lf an Icelandlc poet should forget hls orlgln
as a man of the people, lf he should ever lose hls sense of
belonglng wlth the humble of the earth, whom my old
grandmother taught me to revere, and hls duty toward
them, then what ls the good of fame and prosperlty to hlm?
Your Majestles, ladles and gentlemenIt ls a great
event ln my llfe that the Swedlsh Academy should have
chosen to llnk my name wlth the nameless masters of
sagas. Jhe reasons the Academy has glven for slngllng
me out ln so spectacular a manner wlll serve as an encour
agement to me for the rest of my days, but they wlll also
brlng joy to those whose support has been responslble for
all that my work may have of value. Jhe dlstlnctlon you
have conferred on me fllls me wlth prlde and joy. I thank
the Swedlsh Academy for all thls wlth gratltude and
respect. Jhough lt was I who today recelved the Prlze
from Your Majesty`s hands, nevertheless I feel that lt has
also been bestowed on my many mentors, the fathers of
Iceland`s llterary tradltlon.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l955. Halldr Laxness ls
the sole author of hls speech.|
66
p~ i
(7 Icbruory 1SS - 10 ovuory 191)
o~ i~
See also the Lewls entrles ln DI 9: Zmcricov òvclists,
1910-194; DI 102: Zmcricov Slort-Story !ritcrs,
1910-194, Sccovd Scrics; and DI Documcvtory Scrics 1:
Slcrwood Zvdcrsov, !illo Cotlcr, olv Dos Iossos, Tlcodorc
Drciscr, I. Scott Iitgcrold, Irvcst Hcmivgwoy, Sivcloir Icwis.
BOOKS. Hilc ovd tlc Zcroplovc, as Jom Graham (New
York. Stokes, l9l2);
Uur Mr. !rcvv: Tlc Iomovtic Zdvcvturcs of o Ccvtlc Mov
(New York London. Harper, l9l1; London.
Cape, l923);
Tlc Troil of tlc Howl: Z Comcdy of tlc Scriousvcss of Iifc
(New York London. Harper, l9l5; London.
Cape, l923);
Tlc ob: Zv Zmcricov òvcl (New York London.
Harper, l9l7; London. Cape, l926);
Tlc Ivvoccvts: Z Story for Iovcrs (New York London.
Harper, l9l7);
Ircc Zir (New York. Harcourt, Brace Howe, l9l9;
London. Cape, l921);
Moiv Strcct: Tlc Story of Corol Icvvicott (New York. Har
court, Brace Howe, l920; London. Hodder
Stoughton, l920);
obbitt (New York. Harcourt, Brace, l922; London.
Cape, l922);
Zrrowsmitl (New York. Harcourt, Brace, l925); repub
llshed as Mortiv Zrrowsmitl (London. Cape, l925);
Movtrop (New York. Harcourt, Brace, l926; London.
Cape, l926);
Ilmcr Covtry (New York. Harcourt, Brace, l927; Lon
don. Cape, l927);
Tlc Mov !lo Ivcw Coolidgc; civg tlc Soul of Iowcll
Sclmolt (New York. Harcourt, Brace, l928; Lon
don. Cape, l928);
Dodswortl (New York. Harcourt, Brace, l929; London.
Cape, l929);
Clcop ovd Covtcvtcd Iobor: Tlc Iicturc of o Soutlcrv Mill
Towv iv 1929 (New York. Lnlted Jextlle Workers
of Amerlca/Women`s Jrade Lnlon League,
l929);
Spcccl Zcccptivg tlc òbcl Iric (Glrard, Kans.. Haldeman
|ullus, l93l);
Zvv !iclcrs (Garden Clty, N.Y.. Doubleday, Doran,
l933; London. Cape, l933);
!orl of Zrt (Garden Clty, N.Y.. Doubleday, Doran,
oylowlcr: Z Iloy iv Tlrcc Zcts, by Lewls and Lloyd
Lewls (Garden Clty, N.Y.. Doubleday, Doran,
It Cov`t Hoppcv Hcrc (Garden Clty, N.Y.. Doubleday,
Doran, l935; London. Cape, l935);
Sclcctcd Slort Storics (Garden Clty, N.Y.. Doubleday,
Doran, l935);
It Cov`t Hoppcv Hcrc | play|, by Lewls and |ohn C. Mof
fltt (New York. Dramatlsts Play Servlce, l938);
Tlc Irodigol Iorcvts (Garden Clty, N.Y.. Doubleday,
Doran, l938; London. Cape, l938);
ctlcl Mcrridoy (New York. Doubleday, Doran, l910;
Cidcov Ilovisl (New York. Random House, l913; Lon
don. Cape, l913);
Coss Timbcrlovc: Z òvcl of Husbovds ovd !ivcs (New York.
Random House, l915; London. Cape, l916);
Iivgsblood Ioyol (New York. Random House, l917; Lon
don. Cape, l918);
Tlc Cod-Scclcr (New York. Random House, l919; Lon
don. Helnemann, l919);
!orld So !idc (New York. Random House, l95l; Lon
don. Helnemann, l95l);
Tlc Mov from Moiv Strcct; Z Sivcloir Icwis Icodcr: Sclcctcd
Issoys ovd Utlcr !ritivgs, edlted by Harry E. Maule
and Melvllle H. Cane (New York. Random
House, l953; London. Helnemann, l951);
I`m o Strovgcr Hcrc Mysclf, ovd Utlcr Storics, edlted by
Mark Schorer (New York. Dell, l962);
Storm iv tlc !cst, by Lewls and Dore Schary (New York.
Steln Day, l963; London. Sldgwlck |ackson,
l961);
If I !crc oss: Tlc Iorly usivcss Storics of Sivcloir Icwis,
edlted by Anthony Dl Renzo (Carbondale. South
ern Illlnols Lnlverslty Press, l997);
67
ai_ PPN p~ i
Mivvcsoto Diory, 1942-46, edlted by George Klllough
(Moscow. Lnlverslty of Idaho Press, 2000);
Tlc Mivvcsoto Storics of Sivcloir Icwis, edlted by Sally E.
Parry (St. Paul, Mlnn.. Borealls Books, 2005);
Co Iost, Jouvg Mov: Sivcloir Icwis ov Closs iv Zmcrico,
edlted by Parry (New York. Slgnet Classlcs,
2005).
b ~ `W Icwis ot cvitl; Z Tlrcc-òvcl
Umvibus: Moiv Strcct. obbit. Zrrowsmitl (New York.
Harcourt, Brace World, l96l);
Sclcctcd Slort Storics of Sivcloir Icwis, lntroductlon by
|ames W. Juttleton (Chlcago. Elephant Paper
backs, l990).
PLAY PRODLCJIONS. Hobolcmio, New York,
Greenwlch Vlllage Jheatre, 8 Iebruary l9l9;
oylowlcr, by Lewls and Lloyd Lewls, New York, Cort
Jheatre, 5 November l931;
It Cov`t Hoppcv Hcrc, by Lewls and |ohn C. Moffltt, New
York, Adelphl Jheatre, 27 October l936;
Zvgclo Is Twcvty-Two, by Lewls and Iay Wray, Colum
bus, Ohlo, Hartman Jheatre, 30 December l938.
SELECJED PERIODICAL PLBLICAJION
LNCOLLECJED. 'On Recelvlng the Nobel Prlze,"
!ritcr`s Digcst, 9 ( |une l93l). 9-l3, 11.
Slnclalr Lewls was awarded the Nobel Prlze ln
Llterature ln l930, the flrst Amerlcan wrlter to be so
honored. Jhe prlze marked the hlgh polnt of Lewls`s
career; after he recelved lt, the quallty of hls novels
gradually decllned. Hls novels of the l920s, from Moiv
Strcct ln l920 to Dodswortl ln l929, won hlm the prlze
and are the ones for whlch he ls stlll remembered. Jhe
l920s were Lewls`s great decade. durlng those years he
was one of the most famous wrlters ln Amerlca. Hls
books regularly made the bestseller llsts whlle stlrrlng
up nolsy controversy and serlous debate.
Lewls was by blrth and senslblllty a Mldwest
erner. Born Harry Slnclalr Lewls on 7 Iebruary l885,
the youngest of three brothers, he grew up ln Sauk Cen
tre, Mlnnesota, a market town set amld rolllng wheat
country and barely twentyflve years out of ploneer
days. Hls father, Edwln |. Lewls, was a tradltlonal coun
try doctor who ventured to lsolated farms on subzero
p~ i EFI NVPM k m i~I k ~~ c~ _ h ENVOVI m~FI
^ b ENVONI mFI ~ f i~ ENVPOI `F ~ ~ NVPP ~
~ ^ k Ee ^Ld f~F
68
p~ i ai_ PPN
nlghts to perform appendectomles or amputatlons by
lantern llght.
Jhe cruclal event of Harry`s chlldhood was the
death of hls mother, Emma Kermott Lewls, when he
was slx. He barely remembered her, he sald later, but
her absence may have affected hlm more than he knew.
She suffered from tuberculosls and was sent to sanltarl
ums ln New Mexlco or Ilorlda, but there was no
lmprovement, and she returned home to dle ln l89l.
Jhe boy watched her wastlng away, and her sudden
absence from hls llfe left an emotlonal vold.
Besldes Harry, there were two much older broth
ers, Claude and Ired. Jo glve them a mother, Edwln
Lewls remarrled a year later. Jhe stepmother was a sen
slble, klndly splnster named Isabel Warner, who Lewls
sald was more a real mother than a stepmother. Yet,
when he was angry wlth her, he called her 'step
mother" wlth all the negatlve connotatlons of the word.
She was the classlc smalltown clubwoman, actlve ln
clvlc affalrs and good works, such as bulldlng a rest cen
ter for farmers` wlves. Harry`s brothers were already
formed, so she concentrated on Harry, drawlng hlm out
of hls shell by readlng to hlm and encouraglng hls llter
ary lnterests. By age flfteen he was sendlng whlmslcal
poems to Eastern magazlnes.
Connectlcutborn, a man of steady hablts, Edwln
Lewls loved hls son ln hls taclturn way but never under
stood Harry`s lnablllty to be llke 'normal" boys.
Harry`s brother Claude was athletlc, loved huntlng llke
hls father, and followed hlm lnto the medlcal professlon.
Harry grew lnto a gangllng, redhalred, acned adoles
cent, uncoordlnated and unathletlc, a sweetnatured
dreamer wlth an antlc lmaglnatlon. Hls peers teased
hlm as odd, 'dlfferent." He compensated for lonellness
by becomlng a voraclous reader, readlng every book ln
the Sauk Centre llbrary. Jhe lmaglnary realms ln
books, partlcularly the medleval romances of Slr Walter
Scott, offered hlm escape from smalltown drabness. Of
lastlng lnfluence on hlm were the novels of Charles
Dlckens; even as a young man he thought of transplant
lng Dlckens`s broad carlcatures to the Amerlcan scene.
Obsessed wlth 'golng back East" to college, he
passed the entrance exam for Yale and took a college
preparatlon course at Oberlln, where he had a short
llved converslon to the prevalllng Chrlstlanlty. At Yale
ln l903 the nalve, awkward freshman from Mlnnesota
was an allen specles among the pollshed products of
Eastern prep schools who domlnated hls class. Jhe col
lege was lntensely clubblsh, wlth membershlp ln Skull
and Bones and other top senlor socletles the crownlng
achlevement of one`s college career. But the llmlted
places ln these ellte secret socletles were reserved for the
'Blg Men"the athletes, class leaders, and soclally con
nected.
Durlng hls freshman year Lewls trled flercely to
belong at Yale but soon got the message that he was not
acceptable (too brash, too 'fresh"), though tolerated.
Hls only frlends were fellow llteratl on the frlnge of Yale
soclety, such as Allan Lpdegraff and Wllllam Rose
Bent. Jwo compasslonate young Engllsh lnstructors,
Wllllam Lyon Phelps and Chauncey Brewster Jlnker,
sensed the young man`s ldlosyncratlc brllllance and
encouraged hlm. He threw hls conslderable energles
lnto wrltlng storles, poems, and essays for the v~ iJ
~ j~~ and became an edltor after totlng up the
requlred number of acceptances. Durlng the summer
vacatlon after freshman year he traveled to England on
a cattle boat and was deeply moved by London, Cam
brldge, and other storled places he had lmaglned ln hls
readlng. Returnlng for hls junlor year from an ldle sum
mer ln Sauk Centre (when he clalmed he concelved a
novel about smalltown dullness called 'Jhe Vlllage
Vlrus"), he declared hlmself fed up wlth the unreallty of
campus llfe, sloughed off the last vestlges of rellglous
bellef, and proselytlzed for soclallsm. Mldyear he and
Lpdegraff dropped out to joln novellst Lpton Slnclalr`s
New |ersey cooperatlve commune, Hellcon Hall.
Jhe two Yale men soon tlred of the drudgery of
janltorlal work at Hellcon Hall and decamped for New
York wlth the ldea of becomlng fulltlme wrlters. Both
worked at the q~~~ oI translatlng artlcles by
German authors. After an lllconcelved junket to Pan
ama, Lewls returned to Yale and graduated ln l908 as a
member of the class of l907 (whlch had already voted
hlm 'most eccentrlc").
Lnsure of what he wanted to do next, he took a
job wlth a newspaper ln Waterloo, Iowa, wrltlng edlto
rlals on subjects he knew llttle about. Dlscharged from
that job, he spent an lnterlude ln the bohemlan colony
at Carmel, Callfornla, where he wrote short storles ln
the manner of Henry |ames and Edlth Wharton. When
hls money ran out, he mlgrated to San Iranclsco, where
he was flred from two newspaper jobs, and then to
Washlngton, D.C., where he brlefly was asslstant edltor
of a magazlne for the deaf. In October l9l0 he moved
to New York and obtalned a lowpaylng edltorlal job at
the publlshlng house of Irederlck Stokes (father of a
Yale classmate). Ior the next flve years Lewls worked,
wlth lncreaslng success, ln book publlshlng.
He llved ln Greenwlch Vlllage for a tlme and
jolned the Soclallst Party. He became frlendly wlth
soclalworker femlnlsts but kept aloof from real boheml
ans wlth thelr Ireudlanlsm and free love. He met Grace
Llvlngston Hegger, a junlor edltor at the fashlon maga
zlne s. She later sald that he made her laugh, and he
was smltten by her. Jhey were marrled on l5 Aprll
l9l1.
69
ai_ PPN p~ i
By the tlme he met her, Lewls had a good job as
managlng edltor at the publlshlng house of George
Doran, whlch speclallzed ln rellglous books but also
had a stable of promlslng young Brltlsh wrlters, whom
Lewls admlred. But he spent most of hls tlme edltlng
and toutlng medlocre authors, and he yearned to wrlte
fulltlme. Durlng a summer vacatlon he completed a
boy`s book, Hilc ovd tlc Zcroplovc, whlch appeared
under the pseudonym Jom Graham ln l9l2. Hls flrst
novel, Uur Mr. !rcvv, on whlch for the flrst tlme he used
hls mlddle name, Slnclalr (on the advlce of Grace
Lewls, who dlsllked 'Harry"; she called hlm 'Hal"),
was publlshed two years later, ln the same month he
was marrled. Jhls debut was heavlly lnfluenced by H. G.
Wells`s Tlc History of Mr. Iolly (l909), a novel about the
rebelllon of a 'llttle man."
Mr. Wrenn ls a meek offlce worker, a member of
what Wells dubbed the 'salarlat." He dreams of forelgn
cllmes and flnally, wlth an lnherltance, qults hls borlng
job and salls to England, where he has adventures wlth
a blas bohemlan woman. Lpon hls return, now pos
sessed of the courage to stand up for hlmself, he gets hls
old job back, contrlves a new sales strategy that earns
hlm a ralse, and goes on to achleve the coveted asslstant
managershlp. He ls also able to marry hls shopglrl
sweetheart, Nelly Croubel. Lewls lnjected some awk
ward soclal commentary lnto hls novel, expresslng the
soclallst ldeal of the brotherhood of the workers of the
world. He also lncluded a great deal of whlmsy and
sentlment, a weakness he struggled to overcome. But
the novel dlsplayed a talent and orlglnallty that drew
pralse from revlewers.
He had proclalmed hls admlratlon of Wells as
'the greatest llvlng novellst" ln an essay publlshed ln
the November l9l1 oolmov tltled 'Relatlon of the
Novel to the Present Lnrest. Jhe Passlng of Capltal
lsm." In thls ambltlous assessment Lewls grandly doled
out pralse and dlsfavor to a gallery of the best contem
porary Brltlsh and Amerlcan authors, judglng them by
thelr awareness ln thelr novels of 'the comlng struggle
whlch shall threaten the very exlstence of thls status
called capltallsm." Based on hls soclologlcal test, he
places Wharton, |ames, and Wllllam Dean Howells (all
of whom had at one tlme lnfluenced hlm styllstlcally) ln
the outer clrcle of 'pure lndlvlduallsm" because they
lack an understandlng that 'back of all the lndlvldual`s
actlons |ls| a lowerlng background of People . . . rau
cously demandlng that they have some share ln the pur
ple and flne llnen." Lewls felt the problem of the age
was the rlslng expectatlons of the mute, downtrodden
masses, who deserved a share of the wealth created by
lndustrlallzatlon, educatlon, and technology. Jhe essay
reveals Lewls as a Iablan (evolutlonary) soclallst who
envlsloned Wells`s 'cooperatlve commonwealth" gradu
ally replaclng the capltallst system. Jhe oolmov essay ls
a dlrect precursor to Carol Kennlcott`s ldeallstlc perora
tlons ln Moiv Strcct.
Now Lewls was embrolled ln the free market,
supportlng a pretty wlfe ln a comfortable house ln the
suburb of Port Washlngton on Long Island. He made
the dally commute to hls Manhattan publlshlng offlce
and contlnued wrltlng ln hls spare tlme. Jhus, he was
able to flnlsh hls second novel, Tlc Troil of tlc Howl
(l9l5), whlch comblned the themes of early avlatlon,
class dlfferences, and young love.
If Uur Mr. !rcvv had purveyed a romantlc vlew of
llfe, Lewls ln Tlc Troil of tlc Howl dwelled on the
'romance of reallty." As far back as Yale he had
declared hlmself a reallst, and he attempted a deter
mlnedly unromantlc plcture of hls avlator hero`s llfe as
fllled wlth danger, grlt, and englne grease, though
Lewls lacked dlrect experlence ln thls sphere. Jhen
'Hawk" marrles an Eastern woman, who bears not a
llttle resemblance to Grace Lewls, and ln the thlrd sec
tlon of the book, Lewls veers lnto a reallstlc portralt of a
modern twocareer marrlage. Although the book could
have been three separate novels, revlewers enjoyed
Lewls`s sense of the Amerlcan scene and marked hlm
as a rlslng talent.
In l9l5, hlklng the length of Cape Cod wlth hls
wlfe, Lewls concelved a story satlrlzlng naturlsts they
had encountered. He sold lt to the largeclrculatlon Sot-
urdoy Ivcvivg Iost, whose edltor, George Horace
Lorlmer, urged hlm to become a regular contrlbutor.
Lewls promptly sold hlm four more storles, amasslng a
cushlon of $2,000 that enabled hlm to qult hls publlsh
lng job.
Drlven by a vow never agaln to work ln an offlce,
Lewls wrote prollflcally, contrlbutlng storles to the top
paylng Soturdoy Ivcvivg Iost and other popular maga
zlnes between l9l5 and l920. Many of them were
about young lovers ln the clty or offlce workers and
buslness people, ln keeplng wlth Lorlmer`s lnterest ln
'buslness flctlon." He kept hls storles wlthln the bounds
of proprlety decreed by Lorlmer, but nothlng he wrote
was false or meretrlclous; Lewls could have taken for
hls motto the tltle of one of hls storles about a real
estate salesman. 'HonestlyIf Posslble" (Tlc Soturdoy
Ivcvivg Iost, l1 October l9l6).
But he chafed agalnst Lorlmer`s constralnts, and
the thought of wrltlng always for Tlc Soturdoy Ivcvivg
Iost depressed hlm. An ldea for a new novel, hls most
ambltlous yet, burned ln hls braln. It was sparked by a
l9l6 trlp to Sauk Centre for Grace Lewls to meet hls
parents. Returnlng to hls hometown as an urban suc
cess, he saw lt afresh through hls wlfe`s eyes. Jhe new
perspectlves apparently prompted hlm to transform the
smalltown novel he had concelved ln college days lnto
70
p~ i ai_ PPN
the story of an ldeallstlc young brlde experlenclng cul
ture shock ln a backward Mlnnesota town. Durlng hls
threemonth stay he took volumlnous notes and snap
shots as memory alds. He already had a tltle for the
new novel. 'Maln Street."
Bent on seelng Amerlca flrst, he and hls wlfe
headed west ln a new Iord Model J, jounclng over
unpaved dlrt roads and wagon tralls and sleeplng ln a
tent. Along the way Lewls collected more grlst for hls
notebookdescrlptlons, statlstlcs, scraps of conversa
tlon, and slang words. Hls hometown remalned the
prlnclpal model for Gopher Pralrle ln the novel, but hls
knowledge of other places helped make lt seem repre
sentatlve of all small towns.
Durlng hls stay ln Sauk Centre, Lewls had com
pleted what he consldered hls most uncompromlslngly
reallstlc novel yet, q g. Publlshed ln l9l7, lt tells the
story of smalltown glrl Lna Golden, who seeks oppor
tunltles ln New York, accompanled by her wldowed
mother. Drawlng on hls own offlce experlences and the
perspectlves of Grace Lewls and other careerwoman
frlends, Lewls palnted a depresslng plcture of the llfe of
a contemporary female offlce hand. Jhe herolne ls
shown as a cog ln a machlne dedlcated to efflclency.
After several years Lna tlres of deadend secre
tarlal work and makes a desperate grab at marrlage.
Her cholce ls a sllcktalklng travellng salesman, who
turns out to be a heavy drlnker and a phllanderer.
Rather than submlt to her domestlc fate as women of
her tlme were expected to, she leaves hlm, returns to
the job world, and becomes a successful buslness
woman wlth help and lnsplratlon from a sympathetl
cally portrayed |ewlsh boss (unusual ln novels of that
day) and a successful female mentor (also uncommon at
the tlme). Probably under pressure from hls publlsher,
Lewls tacked on a happy endlngmarrlage to a cynlcal,
radlcalmlnded coworker (a portralt obvlously based on
hlmself )that added a false, sentlmental note. Stlll, q
g was an lmpresslve performance. Ahead of lts tlme, lt has
been redlscovered by contemporary femlnlst scholars.
Lewls was now eager to wrlte hls smalltown
novel. He feared he was becomlng a wellpald p~~
b m hack. He had fathered a son, Wells, ln l9l8,
and wlth a vogulshly dressed wlfe and a retlnue of nan
nles and malds to support, he needed the everhlgher
fees Lorlmer pald hlm. Jhen he composed a llght
welght romantlc serlal about a smalltown mechanlc
who woos a soclety glrl on a crosscountry motor trlp.
Jhe serlal was a hlt wlth p~~ b m readers,
and Lorlmer demanded a sequel. (Jhe serlal was pub
llshed ln book form as c ^ ln l9l9.) Wlth thls wlnd
fall, the Lewlses moved to St. Paul for further research
lnto Mldwestern mores, soon flndlng that thelr lrrever
ent, freesplrlted attltude offended the clty`s conserva
tlve soclal set. Whlle there, Lewls wrote a play,
e~ (performed ln l9l9), satlrlzlng Greenwlch
Vlllage bohemlans as pretentlous fallures, whlch earned
hlm the endurlng enmlty of thelr realllfe counterparts.
Although panned by the crltlcs as mlddlebrow, the play
held on for an elevenweek Broadway run. Meanwhlle,
the Lewlses moved to Mankato ln southern Mlnnesota
to soak up the smalltown amblence. Jhen they headed
east and settled ln temporary lodglngs ln Washlngton,
D.C., where he devoted hls waklng hours to wrltlng
j~ p.
In the summer of l920, after elght months of
lntenslve labor, Lewls completed j~ pI hls break
through book. He had a new publlsher now, Alfred
Harcourt, a frlend from hls publlshlng days and one of
the few edltors who belleved he could wrlte the small
town novel. Harcourt had the prevlous year cofounded
the house of Harcourt, Brace and Howe. After readlng
Lewls`s manuscrlpt he predlcted for lt a sale of perhaps
twenty thousand coples. Lewls, more pesslmlstlc about
the fate of reallstlc smalltown novels, estlmated ten
thousand.
j~ p sold more than 1l1,000 coples ln the
orlglnal hardcover edltlon and more than 2 mllllon ln
cheaper edltlons. Wldely revlewed and dlscussed, lt
was the llterary sensatlon of l920-l92lone of those
books, llke Harrlet Beecher Stowe`s r q `~
(l852), that becomes a soclalcultural event. Lewls had
touched a sensltlve nerve, the moral and cultural dlvlde
between urban and rural Amerlca. Jhe herolne, Carol
Kennlcott, reflected the questlonlng post-World War I
mood. She lsln Lewls`s vlslonpltted agalnst the xeno
phobla and conservatlve mores of rural and smalltown
Amerlca, embodled ln her husband, Dr. Wlll Kennlcott,
and the cltlzens of Gopher Pralrle. Perhaps the largest
block of readers conslsted of marrled women who lden
tlfled wlth Carol`s struggle agalnst the bonds of domes
tlc servltude.
j~ p sounded revellle for the cultural awak
enlng of the l920s, a fertlle decade of lconoclasm and
experlmentatlon ln the arts. Jo many of the lntelllgent
sla and a rebelllous younger generatlon, Lewls`s novel
demollshed the myth of smalltown Amerlca as the
locus of 'true" Amerlcan values and showed lt for what
lt really wasthe epltome of the provlnclal, arthatlng
Amerlca they were rebelllng agalnst, where standardlza
tlon relgned; dullness was God; and the Iord car was
the acme of clvlllzatlon. In falrness, Lewls also pralsed
the small town`s nelghborllness and communlty; many
readers consldered the steady, capable Wlll Kennlcott
the true hero. Not Lewls, who poured much of hlmself
(so he later sald) lnto the flawed, exasperatlng, ultl
mately (but honorably) defeated herolne, Carol Kennl
cott. She was, Lewls sald ln notes to Harrlet Iord (who
7l
ai_ PPN p~ i
worked on a dramatlzatlon of j~ p ), 'a woman
wlth a worklng braln no work." Jhe novel sounded a
radlcal femlnlst notea call for llberatlon from the 'gray
darkness" of domestlclty, whlch stlfled women`s deslre
to lead a 'more consclous" llfe.
Jhe success of the novel also reflected the post
war reactlon agalnst wartlme curbs on free speech and
the polltlcal represslon known as the Red Scare, wlth lts
antlunlon strlkebreaklng and wholesale deportatlon of
allens and radlcals. Lewls, a selfstyled 'parlor soclal
lst," blamed the crackdown on the conservatlve polltlcal
and buslness establlshmentsembodled ln mlcrocosm
ln the ellte of Gopher Pralrleworklng ln league wlth
the Ku Klux Klan, the Iundamentallsts, and the local
censors to lmpose 'l00 Amerlcanlsm." j~ p
was a leadlng volce ln the llterary protest agalnst what
the lconoclastlc crltlc H. L. Mencken called Purltanlsm,
denotlng the deslre to lmpose a narrow rellglous moral
lty on the arts.
Hlstorlcally, Lewls`s novel was ln the llterary cur
rent that Carl Van Doren, books edltor for q k~I
called ln l920 'the revolt from the vlllage." Wrlters
such as Wharton ln b~ c (l9ll), Edgar Lee Mas
ters ln p o ^ (l9l5), Wllla Cather ln j
^~ (l9l8), Sherwood Anderson ln tI l
(l9l9), and Zona Gale ln j i _ (l920) had
scored the provlnclallsm and souldeadness of the
Amerlcan small towns. But ln j~ p Lewls drew up
the deflnltlve lndlctment.
Lnllke some wrlters of the 'Lost Generatlon,"
Lewls was not a llterary rebel agalnst sexual taboos,
though he matteroffactly analyzes the effects of
Carol`s frlgldlty and Wlll`s clumslness as a lover on
thelr marrlage. Styllstlcally, he was not a modernlst. He
made a consclous effort, however, to accurately reflect
Amerlcan speech ln hls dlalogue. In thls way he was
carrylng forward a vernacular tradltlon apotheoslzed ln
Mark Jwaln`s ^ e c (l881).
Lewls was a brllllant mlmlc whose frequent cocktall
party lmltatlons of a Iundamentallst preacher or a
loquaclous Mldwestern buslnessman later appeared ln
hls novels.
One such monologue may be found ln hls next
novel, _~I publlshed ln l922. It appears as the
speech of George I. Babbltt, realtor, to the Zenlth Real
Estate Board on 'Our Ideal Cltlzen" ('busler than a
blrddog, not wastlng a lot of good tlme ln daydreamlng
or golng to sasslety teas or klcklng about thlngs that are
none of hls buslness"). Jhe novel lampoons materlal
lsm, consumerlsm, commerclallsm, boosterlsm, dubl
ous buslness ethlcs, advertlslng, and salesmanshlp. In
the tltle character, Lewls created one of the lastlng types
of Amerlcan flctlon. Even today hls llkeness ls dlscern
lblethe jovlal conformlst buslnessman, overly suspl
clous of Culture and 'unAmerlcanlsm" but baslcally
goodhearted, whose only ulterlor motlve ls to sell peo
ple somethlng for more than they want to pay for lt.
Lewls not only caught thls man`s external mannerlsms
but also understood hls vague yearnlng for a beauty
and a falth or a cause beyond maklng money.
Jhe flrst part of the novel deplcts Babbltt as
vaguely dlssatlsfled wlth hls llfe ln the clty of Zenlth but
not knowlng what he wants. Lewls descrlbes Babbltt`s
mllleu wlth a hyperreallsm that lmparts to lt a suffocat
lng oppresslveness and splrltual sterlllty. Ior Babbltt,
gadgets are 'symbols of truth and beauty." Hls car ls a
plrate shlp; lt ls also 'poetry and tragedy, love and hero
lsm." Hls ldeallsm conslsts of boostlng Zenlth ln order
to lncrease realestate values. In polltlcs, he demands a
sound probuslness admlnlstratlon ln Washlngton.
Jhe second part deplcts Babbltt`s abortlve rebel
llon, preclpltated when hls best frlend, the sensltlve,
muslclovlng Paul Rlesllng, ls lmprlsoned for shootlng
hls termagant wlfe, Zllla. Wlth Paul ln prlson, Babbltt ls
deprlved of the one person he cares for ln the world
outslde hls famlly. All the routlnes and rltuals of hls
llfelunch at the Zenlth Athletlc Club wlth other good
fellows; runnlng the Babbltt and Jhompson Realty
Company; domestlclty wlth hls plump, doclle wlfe,
Myra, and hls three lllmannered chlldrennow seem
meanlngless. What he once regarded as decent and nor
mal now seemed stultlfylng and empty. He beglns to
questlon values he once held to be sacrosanct. He wea
rles of the soulabradlng competltlveness of buslness.
In Lewls`s vlew, by startlng to challenge conven
tlonal wlsdom of hls clty and class, Babbltt ls beglnnlng
an overdue transformatlon lnto a thlnklng human
belng. Jhe hlgh polnt of hls rebelllon comes when he
lmpulslvely supports a strlke by underpald telephone
operators. Jhls act ls Babbltt`s ultlmate heresy agalnst
the values of hls trlbe, the 'Clan of Good Iellows" at
the athletlc club, who make up Zenlth`s rullng class.
Jhey belleve, Lewls wrltes, that 'Amerlcan democracy
dld not lmply any equallty of wealth, but dld demand a
wholesome sameness of thought, dress, palntlng, mor
als and vocabulary."
George Babbltt feels the backlash of Zenlth`s
lnvlslble rulers. No one wlll buy a home from hlm; hls
onetlme lunch mates cut hlm. Even hls bland wlfe has
crltlclzed hls phllanderlng and latenlght partles. Jhen
Myra ls felled by appendlcltls and nearly dles. Jhe
whole scaffoldlng of Babbltt`s llfe collapses. He returns
to hls wlfe, and the Clan of Good Iellows rallles around
hlm. Jhe black sheep ls restored to the fold.
Revlewers heaped pralse on the novel. Vlrglnla
Woolf, wrltlng ln the London p~~ o (l August
l925), called _~ 'the equal of any novel wrltten ln
Engllsh ln the present century." Mencken, who had
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encouraged Lewls slnce j~ pI announced that the
tltle character 'slmply drlps wlth human julces."
Mencken wrote ln the October l922 p~ p that
'Jhere ls more than mere humor" ln the novel; lt 'ls a
soclal document of a hlgh order."
A few commentators complalned that Lewls
lacked artlstlc detachment from Babbltt. that he held
the same materlallstlc values and could envlslon noth
lng better for hls hero or hls country. Jhere was some
truth to that; Lewls always lnslsted that he loved Bab
bltt, that he was a flne fellow. He wrote for the very
people he carlcatured. And he refused to prescrlbe cures
for Babblttry; he was only a dlagnostlclan, he sald. He
dld not have any remedles, and lf he dld, they dld not
belong ln a novel. As |ohn O`Hara, one of many
younger novellsts who admlred and emulated Lewls,
told blographer Mark Schorer, many wrlters were
aware of Babbltt and Babblttry, but Lewls was the only
one to make hlm llve ln a novel. Babbltt ls a true cre
atlon, a composlte of Amerlcan men seen and over
heard ln hotel lobbles and Rotary Club luncheons.
Beglnnlng wlth _~I Lewls adopted a method
of wrltlng a novel that he more or less followed through
hls career. Jyplcally, the lnltlal ldea remalned dormant
ln hls mlnd for several years, alterlng over tlme. Lewls
often started wlth a protagonlst who ls at odds wlth hls
or her soclal envlronment, llke Carol Kennlcott and
Gopher Pralrle. _~ was another matchup of charac
ter and settlng. Jhe latter came to hlm flrst. a medlum
slzed Amerlcan clty, populatlon around three hundred
thousand, llke Mlnneapolls or Clnclnnatl. Such places
had not been touched ln Amerlcan flctlon. Next he
envlsloned hls hero, descrlblng hlm ln a 28 December
l920 letter to Harcourt as 'the typlcal J.B.M. |tlred
buslness man| . . . he ls all of us Amerlcans at 16, pros
perous but worrled, wantlngpasslonatelyto selze
somethlng more than motor cars and a house before lt`s
too late." Babbltt derlved ln part from Lewls`s fasclna
tlon wlth travellng salesmen.
Lewls`s next step was to embark on a 'fleld trlp."
Before wrltlng _~I he clrculated through the Mld
west llstenlng to buslnessmen ln bars, Rotary Club lun
cheons, restaurants, and hotel lobbles. He vlslted stores
and offlces assoclated wlth hls central character`s pro
fesslon. He cllpped ltems from the soclety pages and
shoptalk from trade magazlnes. He typed up phrases he
had overheardhe had a taperecorder memoryor
ltems of data he had read somewhere. Jhen he lnserted
the page ln hls rlng notebook under the approprlate
headlng. Iacts were cruclal to Lewls; he belleved that
characters` houses, rooms, furnlshlngs, clothes, books,
and other detalls revealed thelr nature. He often por
trayed a character`s envlronmentbuslness, soclal, and
geographlcalas a llvlng, stlfllng force agalnst whlch he
or she futllely rebels. Jhe few autonomous characters
ln Lewls`s novels are technocrats llke Sam Dodsworth,
sclentlflc genluses llke Dr. Martln Arrowsmlth, or char
latans llke the Reverend Elmer Gantry.
After Lewls assembled what he called 'the dope,"
the factual grlst for the novel, he drew up a llst of char
acters and composed blographles of the major ones. A
character`s name was cruclal. Lewls sald that the person
dld not come allve untll he had found the name that
sounded rlght. He sweated over the cognomen of hls
central character ln _~I rejectlng Pumphrey, Iltch,
Bassett, and Burgess. He sald he wanted a name that
was 'normal but not too common," llke Smlth or |ones.
In _~ and subsequent novels Lewls lntroduced a
gallery of Amerlcan carlcatures wlth evocatlve names.
Vlrgll Gunch, Roscoe Geake, Rlppleton Holablrd,
Almus Plckerbaugh, H. Sanderson SandersonSmlth,
Mrs. Adelbert Wlndelskate, Waldo Drlngoole, and Dr.
Addlngton Slenk.
Lewls`s next step was to wrlte a detalled scenarlo,
whlch mlght run to slxty thousand words and descrlbe
ln detall scenes and chapters. He also drew detalled
maps of the flctlonal cltles, towns, and nelghborhoods
where hls characters llved and worked. Once he had
'caught" the story ln an outllne, he could wrlte the flnal
novel rather rapldly. He could wrlte anywhere and pre
ferred a gypsy llfestyle, bellevlng that belng tled to one
place would thwart hls creatlvlty. Grace Lewls became
adept at settlng up temporary domlclles ln rented
houses or hotel sultes ln the Lnlted States or abroad.
After they had a chlld, however, she lncreaslngly lob
bled for a permanent home.
Lewls`s next work, ^ (l925), requlred
extenslve research because of lts sclentlflc themes and
exotlc settlngs. Jhe novel chronlcles the struggles of
Martln Arrowsmlth, an ldeallstlc young doctor turned
sclentlst, who wrestles wlth temptatlons of success,
money, and soclal status. Lewls concelved a posltlve
hero as hls reply to the crltlcs who complalned he could
only scoff and tear down. Ior thls book Lewls engaged
a technlcal advlser. Paul de Krulf, a bacterlologlst wlth
a congenlal debunklng attltude. De Krulf was a bud
dlng journallstlc talent, who went on to wrlte q
j e (l926) and other works of popularlzed
sclence. Lewls had sketched hls vlslon of the novel ln
latenlght talks wlth de Krulf, who provlded the sclen
tlflc underplnnlngs of the story as well as suggestlng
characters and sltuatlons.
Arrowsmlth`s career dramatlzes a confllct
between sclence for commerclal galn versus sclence to
beneflt humanlty. Dr. Martln Arrowsmlth ls constantly
pressured to compromlse the austere standards of sclen
tlflc truth lnculcated ln hlm by hls teacher, Dr. Max
Gottlleb. Lewls added some satlrlcal materlal, such as
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the chapters ln whlch Martln works for Dr. Almus Plck
erbaugh, the jlnglewrltlng publlchealth crusader, but
overall, ^ lncludes less satlre and more reallstlc
narratlve than _~ does. And there ls no lrony at all
ln the cllmactlc Carlbbean lsland plague scenes, whlch
have acqulred a fearsome resonance ln the age of Ebola
and AIDS.
Drawlng nearly unanlmous pralse from revlew
ers, ^ was awarded the l925 Pulltzer Prlze ln
flctlon; but Lewls, wlth great fanfare, turned down the
prlze. He dld so ln part out of justlfled resentment over
the Pulltzer trustees` veto of the l920 cholce of j~
pI whlch they consldered too controverslal and crltl
cal of the Amerlcan way. Jhe terms of the prlze
requlred that lt go to a novel 'whlch shall best present
the wholesome atmosphere of Amerlcan llfe, and the
hlghest standard of Amerlcan manners and manhood."
Because of the prestlge of the award, such a standard,
Lewls argued, cast a pall of conformlty over Amerlcan
letters; lt made the Pulltzer judges the arblters of what
novels would be morally acceptable.
Because of the controversy stlrred up by hls prevl
ous books, Lewls`s crltlcs accused hlm of maklng hls
refusal a publlclty stunt for ^. Although he
exaggerated the lnfluence of the Pulltzer Prlze on Amer
lcan wrlters, he was slncere ln hls bellef that the lan
guage of the Pulltzer trust codlfled an outmoded
standard from whlch a new generatlon of Amerlcan
wrlters was eager to free themselves.
Lewls`s next novel stlrred up a publlc furor that
made the Pulltzer controversy look llke a teapot tem
pest. Havlng ln ^ created an ethlcal hero who
worshlped sclentlflc truth, Lewls chose to make hls next
protagonlst a hypocrltlcal mlnlster wlth a weakness for
sex, money, and power. Jhus, Lewls reversed the pll
grlm`s progress narratlve of ^ to present a
rogue`s unscrupulous cllmb to churchly emlnence.
He had been plannlng what he called 'the
preacher novel" for nearly a decade, but the spark was
the l925 prosecutlon of |ohn Scopes by the state of Jen
nessee for teachlng hls hlghschool students about the
theory of evolutlon. Much of the natlon followed the
trlal ln the press and on the new medlum of radlo. Jhe
exchanges between the two lawyers representlng Scopes
and the state, Clarence Darrow (whose arguments were
scrlpted by Lewls`s artlstlc consclence, Mencken) and
Wllllam |ennlngs Bryan, the aglng Popullst Party hero,
encapsulated the theologlcal battle ln Protestantlsm
between the Modernlsts and the Iundamentallsts. Jhe
former accepted sclentlflc truth and belleved that the
theory of evolutlon should be taught ln the schools; the
latter belleved ln the llteral blbllcal account of the cre
atlon of the world and supported the state ban on teach
lng the theory.
In |anuary l926 Harcourt, Brace lssued a press
release statlng that Lewls was movlng to Kansas Clty to
research hls new novel about a mlnlster. In Kansas Clty
he organlzed what he called hls 'Sunday school class,"
a group of Protestant clergymen, a prlest, and a rabbl.
Over a perlod of weeks he lnterrogated them on thelr
vlews on rellglon and pastoral work and on thelr lapses
of falth. He also devoured tomes on theology, church
hlstory, and admlnlstratlon. He was blasedhe opposed
organlzed rellglon and doubted the dlvlne lnsplratlon of
the Blblebut he had ln hlm a reservolr of sympathy
drawn from hls adolescent rellglous falth and nostalglc
memorles of smalltown churches as communltles of
bellef.
b d~ was publlshed ln March l927. Rldlng
gales of controversy, sales soared past two hundred
thousand coples ln lts flrst year. It was denounced ln
nearly every pulplt ln the landlncludlng the Congre
gatlonal Church ln Sauk Centre, whose mlnlster had
the prevlous year preslded at the funeral of Lewls`s
father. A majorlty of revlewers damned the central char
acter as a travesty, a monster. Jhe evangellst Bllly Sun
day, one of several realllfe dlvlnes whose careers had
provlded models for Elmer Gantry, publlcly called on
God to strlke Lewls dead. (Lewls had earller, ln a
speech, suggested that lf God really punlshed lnfldels
as Iundamentallsts had clalmed after the Aprll l926
death of Darwlnlnfluenced plant breeder Luther Bur
bankthen why dld He not strlke hlm down? He
polltely gave the Lord flfteen mlnutes to do so. Jhe
demonstratlon, lntended to be lronlc, was sensatlonal
lzed ln the press as 'Lewls Defles God!").
b d~ outraged many readers who had
pralsed the author`s earller satlres. In taklng on rellglon,
Lewls had crossed some forbldden llne. Some of the
contemporary crltlclsms seem overwrought now. Lewls
dld not mean Gantry to be 'typlcal" of all mlnlsters; he
sought to contrast hlm to the sympathetlcally por
trayed, underpald mlnlsters ln hls novel who seek to do
good, even when thelr falth wavers. As wlth most
authors, Lewls`s motlves were mlxed. Jhere ls no
doubt that he had a flalr for promotlon, learned durlng
hls publlshlng career, and that he almed to explolt the
ModernlstIundamentallst controversy; Harcourt had
to reln ln some of Lewls`s wllder ldeas. Although not
averse to bookselllng controversy and flamboyant
advertlslng, such as a campalgn toutlng b d~ on
spotllghted blllboards durlng a Methodlst mlnlsters`
conventlon ln Kansas Clty, Harcourt always lnslsted
that Lewls preserve hls dlgnlty as a serlous wrlter and
not make a fool of hlmself for the sake of publlclty.
Jhus, he toned down Lewls`s angry letter to the
Pulltzer Prlze commlttee refuslng the flctlon award and
warned hlm about hls unpredlctable pulplt appearances
TQ
p~ i ai_ PPN
m~ ~ NVOQ ~ i NVOR I ^ Ee~ o~ e~ o~ Ì
r q~ ~ ^F
75
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whlle researchlng b d~K But Lewls had planned
a novel about a corrupt evangellst for nearly a decade,
and lt expressed hls heartfelt questlonlng of organlzed
rellglon.
Jhat sald, lt ls a flawed novel. Jhe Brltlsh crltlc
Rebecca West was partlally rlght when she suggested ln
the k v e~ q _ (l3 March l927) that
Lewls had no vlslon of a true rellglous falth agalnst
whlch to judge Gantry`s false gods. More damaglng was
a structural flaw, polnted out by Mencken, who other
wlse was enthuslastlc about the book. twothlrds of the
way through, Lewls`s love for Gantry the bumpklnlsh
rogue fades. Jhe plot develops a hole; the central char
acter gets out of hand. He becomes harsheran unre
deemed monster rolllng over people unopposed. Later
crltlcs have remarked on the ugly mlsogyny that also
crept ln, although ln the character of evangellst Sharon
Ialconer the author deplcts a llberated woman. Gan
try`s ultlmate ambltlon ls polltlcal power. Jhus, he
founds a censorshlp organlzatlon that wlll crusade
agalnst sln, lmmoral books and movles, evolutlon, and
free thought ln general. But Lewls ends the book on
thls note; he does not dramatlze the theme ln hls novel.
Jhe problems ln the flnal thlrd of b d~
may have had thelr orlglns ln traumatlc events ln
Lewls`s llfe whlle he was flnlshlng the book ln l926. the
death of hls father, the breakup of hls marrlage, rejec
tlon by a woman wlth whom he had fallen ln love, hls
haste to flnlsh the novel so that lt would be tlmely, and
the lnner gullts and confllcts that wrltlng about rellglon
conjured up from the psychlc depths. All these pres
sures consplred to drlve Lewls toward a breakdown as
hls deadllne loomed. Jhe chlef symptom of collapse
was hls total loss of control over alcohol; hls drlve to
flnlsh the novel became a race wlth dellrlum tremens
and landed hlm ln a sanltarlum. He had, llke many of
hls class and klnd ln l920s Amerlca, become a heavy
drlnker ln part out of deflance of the Prohlbltlon law,
regarded as a rellglously motlvated attempt to leglslate
morallty. But hls alcohol consumptlon had already
reached the polnt where lt was threatenlng hls career
and hls marrlage.
Escaplng the b d~ furor but not hls prlvate
demons, Lewls wandered London and Parls, depressed
and drlnklng to the edge of physlcal and mental col
lapse. He pulled hlmself together ln tlme to make a
therapeutlc walklng trlp through Germany`s Black Ior
est wlth the poet and novellst Ramon Guthrle. Along
the way he talked out future books. One was a prevl
ously concelved 'labor novel," whlch he now called
'Jhe Man Who Sought God" and whlch had as lts
hero a character based on the Soclallst leader Eugene
Debs, whom Lewls ldollzed as a Chrlst flgure. Jhe
other was the story of a 'nonBabbltt," a Zenlth auto
magnate named Sam Dodsworth.
Arrlvlng ln Berlln, Lewls met Dorothy Jhomp
son, the lndependentmlnded forelgn correspondent for
the k v b mI and lnstantly fell ln love out of
need and deslre. She was herself comlng off a palnful
dlvorce, and she extravagantly admlred Lewls`s novels.
Lewls stayed ln Berlln to court her. Jhompson
responded favorably but worrled about hls heavy
drlnklng. Her need for love and Lewls`s promlses of
reform, however, overrode her fears. Lewls dlvorced
Grace Lewls ln l928, and he and Jhompson were mar
rled ln London that same year and thereafter salled to
the Lnlted States. Jhey llved ln New York, where thelr
only chlld, Mlchael, was born ln l930; then the famlly
moved to a large country property ln rural Vermont
known as Jwln Iarms. Jhompson, bored wlth mother
hood, resumed her journallstlc career wlth Lewls`s
encouragement.
Lewls publlshed q j~ t h `X _
p i p~ ln l928. It was one of hls cocktall
party monologuesa shaggy story about an obtuse
Zenlth buslnessman who trles to vlslt the presldent
padded to book length. He called lt hls 'swansong to
Babblttlsm," vowlng to Harcourt that he would clear
hls system of satlre ln preparatlon for hls next 'serlous"
novel. Jhls book was aI the tale of the 'non
Babbltt," whlch appeared ln l929. It ls Lewls`s most
personal novel, drawlng on hls breakup wlth hls flrst
wlfe. Jhe hero, Sam Dodsworth, founder of the Revela
tlon Motor Company, ls a member of Zenlth`s lndus
trlal arlstocracy, an englneer, a maker and a doer, ln
contrast to Babbltt, the mlddleclass mlddleman. But
Dodsworth ls also seeklng somethlng more than autos
and balance sheets. After selllng hls company to a huge
corporatlon that he fears wlll cheapen hls beloved car,
he salls to Europe wlth hls lcemalden wlfe, Iran.
As lt turns out, downtoearth Sam humbly seeks
to learn about the art and beauty of an older clvlllza
tlon, whlle sophlstlcated Iran hunts for handsome Con
tlnental males, preferably of arlstocratlc llneage, whose
attentlons wlll restore her fadlng youth and beauty. Jhe
theme of Amerlca versus Europe ls central to the novel.
It had preoccupled Lewls ever slnce he escaped Sauk
Centre for Yale and the East. Llvlng abroad hlmself
durlng much of the l920s, he wrote Amerlcan novels.
In Europe he defended hls natlve land agalnst asper
slons from the expatrlates and Contlnental lntellectuals,
then returned home to tell Amerlcans they should
devote less tlme to moneymaklng and more to culture.
Sam Dodsworth embodles thls spllt ln Lewls`s soul. He
stands up for the vlrtues of Amerlcan technology
agalnst the condescendlng European lntellectuals Iran
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p~ i ai_ PPN
attracts, but he condemns hls own obsesslon wlth work,
money, and success.
Mlngled wlth Dodsworth`s search for hls soul ls
the story of hls deterloratlng marrlage. Jhe character of
Iran ls another portralt of Grace Lewls, thls tlme as a
frlgld narclsslst. Iran was regarded by crltlcs as another
Lewls dlscovery, of what one revlewer called 'the well
groomed female Amerlcan monster." She deserts Sam
to marry a younger, lmpoverlshed Austrlan count, who
casts her aslde because she ls too old to bear hlm an
helr.
Out of plty Sam ls drawn back to the temporarlly
humbled Iran, but he reallzes soon enough that he can
no longer endure her. In the end, he returns to the
Lnlted States wlth a new wlfe, the sympathetlc, cosmo
polltan Edlth Cortrlght, who represents the best of both
worlds, Amerlca and Europe.
Some crltlcs found Sam an lnconslstent and
unconvlnclng character and the cultural debate banally
done. Most revlewers, however, welcomed Lewls`s rev
elatlon of an lntrospectlve slde of hlmself and hls suc
cessful attempt to compose a serlous novellstlc
narratlve.
Jhe |azz Age ended wlth a crash on Black Jhurs
day, 21 October l929. By the early l930s, the mlddle
class, Lewls`s subject and prlmary audlence, was hurt
lng; young people were desperately searchlng for jobs
rather than ldols to topple; wrlters marched to a Marx
lan beat. Although not a Marxlst, Lewls focused on the
soclal struggle. In l929 he covered a North Carollna
textlle strlke ln Marlon ln whlch seven workers were
shot dead by sherlff`s deputles. Hls syndlcated artlcles
were publlshed as a pamphlet, `~ ~ ` i~
(l929). It lncludes a caustlc, lronlc castlgatlon of the
realllfe Babblttry of local textllemlll owners, who
posed as communlty plllars ln the Rotary Club whlle
uslng the sherlff and hls deputles to crush efforts of
thelr underpald workers to organlze a unlon.
Wlth hls usual sensltlvlty to hls tlmes (Van
Doren, the hlstorlan, compared hlm to a selsmograph
of the w ), Lewls turned once agaln to the long
contemplated, now soclally relevant 'labor novel."
Belng prounlon, he felt an lnhlbltlon agalnst satlrlzlng
labor leaders the way he had Babbltts; yet, he saw some
unlon leaders as bluecollar Babbltts who were, ln thelr
own way, as conservatlve as thelr bosses. Ilnally, he
was surrounded by a cllque of leftlst technlcal advlsers
who trled to forcefeed hlm economlc doctrlne, rather
than suggestlng settlngs, characters, and confllct, as de
Krulf had done.
Lewls`s anxlous quest for a new subject was lnter
rupted ln l930 by the award of the Nobel Prlze ln Llter
ature. Jhe Swedlsh Academy`s Nobel Commlttee had
vlrtually proclalmed the Year of the Amerlcans and had
narrowed down the candldates to Lewls and Jheodore
Drelser, the ploneerlng turnofthecentury reallst. Drel
ser had brought a traglc tone and a phllosophlcal fatal
lsm lnto Amerlcan llterature beglnnlng ln l900 wlth
p `~K In lts cltatlon the Nobel Commlttee slngled
out Lewls`s 'vlgorous and graphlc art of descrlptlon
and hls ablllty to create, wlth wlt and humour, new
types of characters."
Jhough the cholce of Lewls was popular ln Swe
den, lt drew a mlxed reactlon ln Amerlca. Perhaps there
was a Depresslonera backlash agalnst hls lrreverent
attacks on Amerlca. Edltorlals ln L.S. papers proposed
more deservlng wrlters. Jhe expatrlate avantgarde had
long dlsmlssed Lewls as a sellout to the mlddlebrows.
Conservatlves called hlm lrrellglous and unpatrlotlc.
Some charged that forelgners llked hlm because of hls
antlAmerlcanlsm. He was called hypocrltlcal for
acceptlng the Nobel after refuslng the Pulltzer Prlze.
Ilnally, there were crltlcs such as the k v q edl
torlalpage wrlter who spoke of Lewls ln the past tense
as a product of the lrresponslble lconoclasm of the
l920s.
Lewls had patrlotlcally regarded the prlze as hon
orlng Amerlcan llterature as well as hlmself, and the
attacks wounded hlm. Ior all hls rellsh of controversy,
hls qulps, hls publlc performances, he was a selfdoubtlng,
vulnerable man ln need of approval. He was overheard
to say, 'Jhls ls the end of me. Jhls ls fatal. I cannot llve
up to lt."
Acceptlng the prlze ln Stockholm, Lewls dellvered
a deflant speech, 'Jhe Amerlcan Iear of Llterature," ln
whlch he hlt back at hls conservatlve crltlcs. He blasted
the 'teatable gentlllty" of the rellglous morallsts and
censors who had banned genluses such as Walt Whlt
man, Herman Melvllle, Edgar Allan Poe, and Drelser.
He blamed academla for propagatlng only an Amerlcan
llterature that was safe, cold, and dead. He closed hls
address on a posltlve note, however, salutlng the new
generatlon of Amerlcan wrltersErnest Hemlngway,
Jhomas Wolfe, Wllllam Iaulknerfor 'thelr determlna
tlon to glve . . . to an Amerlca that ls as strange as Rus
sla and as complex as Chlna, a llterature worthy of her
vastness."
Jhe purported effect of the Nobel as a jlnx on the
reclplent`s career seems to have been true ln Lewls`s
case. Ilrst, he broke wlth Harcourt, hls frlend of nearly
twenty years and astute publlsher for the past ten. Jhe
cause of the breach was Lewls`s bellef, seconded by
Jhompson, that Harcourt had falled to rush out a new
edltlon of hls novels ln tlme to proflt from the Nobel
Prlze fanfare. Lewls was also upset wlth Harcourt for
not taklng out advertlsements to answer the crltlcs of
hls Stockholm speech.
77
ai_ PPN p~ i
Harcourt had hls grlevances too. He belleved that
Lewls`s drlnklng had reached a polnt where lt threat
ened hls health and hls talent. He was weary of hls
frlend`s lncreaslngly erratlc behavlor (Lewls had
recently lnsulted Harcourt`s wlfe whlle drunk) and wor
rled about hls lnablllty to come up wlth an ldea for a
new major novel. Jhe publlsher therefore ralsed no
objectlons when Lewls lnformed hlm from Berlln that
he wlshed to end thelr relatlonshlp.
Other publlshlng houses vled for Lewls`s next
book. He chose Doubleday, Doran, a large, buslness
llke house that offered hlm a $30,000 advance. Jhe
company desperately hoped hls next novel would llft
the flrm out of lts Depresslon doldrums.
Lewls had promlsed them a lengthy hlstorlcal
saga narratlng the story of Amerlcan ldeallsm through
three generatlons of one famlly, but he grew bored wlth
the research and probably fearful that he could not fln
lsh such a sprawllng work. Instead, he turned to a sub
ject closer to homea novel about a llberated woman, a
soclal worker named Ann Vlckers. Ior her story Lewls
crlbbed events from Jhompson`s career as a suffraglst,
as well as drawlng on hls own partlclpatlon ln femlnlst
causes and the experlences of the women he had
known ln Greenwlch Vlllage. Jhe novel ls modlshly
soclally consclous; Lewls turns hls most scathlng satlre
on the crueltles of a Southern prlson. But he also satl
rlzed the confused lntellectual tendencles of the tlme,
mocklng the Communlsts as ldeologlcal conformlsts
whlle reveallng hls own lack of any polltlcal falth. In
hls central character, Lewls creates a rounded portralt
of a contemporary woman. He took care to dellneate
the soclal barrlers and prejudlces that Ann faces ln her
quest for professlonal equallty and personal fulflllment.
Publlshed ln l933, ^ s gave Lewls`s new
publlsher the flnanclal success lt coveted and won pralse
from most revlewers. Crltlcs ln the leftleanlng journals
were more skeptlcal, doubtlng hls commltment to radl
cal change. However, Lewls Gannett, wrltlng ln the k
v e~ q of 25 |anuary l933, breathed a pub
llc slgh of rellef that Lewls was back after all the rumors
that 'he was done, that he was drlnklng hlmself to
death, that he was a neurotlc and could begln but never
flnlsh another |novel|, that he had lost hls contact wlth
the grass roots of humanlty." Wlth a successful dramatl
zatlon of a by Sldney Howard on Broadway
(later made lnto a movle), Lewls`s flnanclal fortunes
rose.
Artlstlcally, though, he was flounderlng. Hls next
novel, t ^ (l931), was deservedly panned, par
tlcularly by leftlst crltlcs, for lts unlnterestlng portralt of
a hotel keeper whose creatlon of a great lnn Lewls com
pares to the wrltlng of a great poem. In a loaded com
parlson, the lnnkeeper`s brother, a phony bohemlan
poet who wrltes a bestselllng novel and happlly sells
out to Hollywood, represents the cause of Art.
In l935 Lewls made a comeback wlth a darkly
satlrlcal, dystoplc fantasy, f `~ e~ eI set ln the
lmmedlate future. In thls novel he shows how Amerl
cans` conformlst tendencles could enable a fasclst move
ment supported by blg buslness to take over the
government ln a tlme of economlc dlstress. (Jhomp
son`s onthescene reports on Adolf Hltler`s rlse ln Ger
many shaped Lewls`s thlnklng.) Jhus, the novel llnked
Lewls to hls earller satlres of mlddleclass conformlty
_~ wlth a sharper polltlcal edge. 'Jhls ls revolutlon
ln terms of Rotary," a character says of the Amerlcan
Nazl movement. But Lewls also shows the growlng
Amerlcan reslstance to the fasclst takeover, led by a
Popullst Republlcan senator from the Mldwest. Jhe
novel projects a countervlslon to fasclst raclsm. a toler
ant, multlcultural Amerlca. Lewls`s personal credo ls
enunclated by the hero of the novel, the smalltown Ver
mont edltor Doremus |essup, who belleves that 'every
thlng that ls worth whlle ln the world has been
accompllshed by the free, lnqulrlng, crltlcal splrlt and
that the preservatlon of thls splrlt ls more lmportant
than any soclal system whatsover."
f `~ e~ e presented Doubleday wlth
another bestseller (some nlnetyfour thousand coples ln
hardcover), whlle the leftwlng revlewers cheered lts
antlfasclst message. But the straln of wrltlng lt ln a two
month burst left Lewls exhausted. He resumed drlnk
lng heavlly, whlle anxlously contemplatlng hls next
project. Durlng thls hlatus, he sobered up long enough
to coauthor a dramatlzatlon of f `~ e~ e for
the New Deal`s Iederal Jheater Project. Jhe play
opened slmultaneously ln elghteen cltles ln the fall of
l936. Audlences were mesmerlzed, encouraglng
Lewlsweary of the lonellness of the novellst`s llfe and
fearlng that hls novellstlc well was drylng upto turn to
playwrltlng and then actlng ln summer stock. No land
marks ln Amerlcan drama emerged from hls typewrlter,
however.
Hls flts of rage and neglect of thelr son, Mlchael,
had made llfe mlserable for Jhompson; she sought
comfort ln extramarltal affalrs. In March l936 she
launched 'On the Record," a syndlcated polltlcal affalrs
column ln the k v e~ q. Her lntelllgence,
dlllgent research, and polltlcal acumen collaborated to
make the column a hlt. Wlthln a year she was called the
second most lnfluentlal woman ln the land, after Ilrst
Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
Lewls could not bear to play second flddle ln the
marrlage and walked out ln l937, embarklng on one of
hls most selfdestructlve benders. After drylng out ln
the Austen Rlggs Sanltarlum ln Stockbrldge, Massachu
setts, he qult drlnklng and, aslde from a few lapses,
78
p~ i ai_ PPN
remalned sober untll the last years of hls llfe. Recurrent
precancerous leslons on hls face and body further
depressed hls low selfesteem; the condltlon requlred
repeated palnful treatments and left hls face a moon
scape of scars. He once told a frlend that he never agaln
belleved anyone could really love hlm after seelng hls
face.
Partly as therapy after leavlng the sanltarlum he
wrote a novel, q m~ m~ (l938), whlch was
posslbly hls worst, vylng for that dlstlnctlon wlth two
mlnor works wrltten solely for money, q f
(l9l7) and j~~ (l926). In q m~ m~ Lewls
expressed hls dlsenchantment wlth the Communlsts,
who had trled to enllst hlm as a fellow traveler, a role he
scorned. He condemned the party`s attempts to tell
wrlters what to wrlte. Jhen he turned to the polltlcs of
famlly llfe, gratultously dlsmlsslng the younger genera
tlon as bralnless ldlers. Jhe hero, an auto dealer, was a
neoBabbltt, whom Lewls celebrated as a rock ln a col
lapslng clvlllzatlon and the savlor of hls feckless chll
dren from radlcal wlles. Predlctably, the leftlst crltlcs
blasted the book, charglng that Lewls had sold out to
blg buslness. It had a sale of about flfty thousand cop
les, hls lowest flgure thus far.
In l910 he asked Jhompson for a dlvorce so he
could marry Marcella Powers, an elghteenyearold
apprentlce actress he had met ln August l939 whlle per
formlng ln summer stock. Jhompson refused, fearlng
he would leave all hls money to Powers rather than to
hls sons, Mlchael and Wells. Assured that would not
happen, Jhompson dlvorced Lewls ln l912. (Wells, a
promlslng novellst, jolned the army after graduatlng
magna cum laude from Harvard ln l939. He was kllled
by a German snlper ln l911.)
Lewls`s next novel, _ j~ (l910), was the
story of a young actress. He drew the background from
theatrlcal experlence ln summer stock and tourlng wlth
a play he had wrltten, ^~ f qJq (l938), an
attempt at sophlstlcated comedy. Although he had
started the novel before meetlng Powers, he modeled
the herolne on her. Jhe sales of _ j~ were
even fewer than those of q m~ m~. Blamlng lts
poor showlng on Doubleday`s fallure to promote hls
books, Lewls moved to Random House ln l91l. Jhere
he found a happler home wlth an old frlend, Harry
Maule, servlng as hls edltor.
In l912, after a lucratlve but polntless scrlptwrlt
lng stlnt ln Hollywood, Lewls started a new novel, over
joyed to return to hls true professlon. He stayed sober,
and hls frlendshlp wlth Powers, desplte her lnfldelltles
and refusal to marry hlm, rejuvenated hlm emotlonally.
Hls next novel, d m~ (l913), marked the return
of Lewls the soclal satlrlst. In lt he lampoons dogood
organlzatlons ln the debunklng style of b d~.
But Lewls`s lrreverence was out of step wlth wartlme
patrlotlsm. Revlews were malnly negatlve, although a
few loyallsts welcomed back the old Lewls.
In the early l910s Lewls had begun paylng vlslts
to hls home state, seeklng to reconnect wlth hls roots.
Durlng one stay he taught wrltlng at the Lnlverslty of
Mlnnesota. In l913 he moved from Mlnneapolls to
Duluth, where he purchased a manslon, lntendlng to
llve ln lt at least part of the year. Hls research among
the clty`s upper crust provlded materlal for hls next
book, `~ q~ (l915), the story of a judge ln the
flctlonal small clty of Grand Republlc. Cass, a wldower,
falls ln love wlth a much younger woman, who betrays
hlm for hls best frlend (as Powers had done to Lewls).
Jhe novel lncludes lnner chapters wlth the runnlng
head 'An Assemblage of Husbands and Wlves." Jhese
were sometlmes caustlc, sometlmes traglc portralts
lntended to lllustrate the parlous state of marrlage ln
Amerlca. Although crltlcal oplnlon was mlxed, the mar
ltal theme and sexual frankness sparked the lnterest of
the general publlc. Addlng movle and bookclub money
to royaltles, Lewls earned $500,000 from `~ qJ
~. Lnllke |udge Jlmberlane, whose chastened young
wlfe returns to hlm by the end of the book, Lewls lost
Powers. In l916 she marrled a man her own age, who
could glve her a home and chlldren. Lewls never com
pletely accepted the fact that she was not comlng back.
In l917 Lewls publlshed what was perhaps hls
most radlcal novel, h o~I deallng wlth Amer
lca`s race problem, whlch flared up after World War II
as returnlng Afrlcan Amerlcan GIs demanded that the
natlon llve up to the ldeals they had fought for. Lewls
had long been crltlcal of the treatment of black people
ln Amerlca. Slnce the l920s he had been frlendly wlth
Walter Whlte, who became general secretary of the
NAACP. Whlte was so Caucaslanlooklng that he had
lmpersonated a whlte reporter to cover lynchlngs ln the
South. Whlte`s l925 novel c cI about a black
man who passes as whlte, lnfluenced Lewls`s plot. An
upperclass young man, Nell Klngsblood, dlscovers that
a dlstant ancestor was black. He ultlmately lmmerses
hlmself ln the clty`s Afrlcan Amerlcan communlty and
becomes a 'voluntary Negro." Although heavy
handed, the novel ls a bllsterlng satlre of the cruel lrra
tlonallty of raclal segregatlon ln the tradltlon of Mark
Jwaln`s m~ t (l891).
h o~ touched off a crltlcal storm and
became another Lewls bestseller, but lt was hls flnal
blast at hls country, whlch he once sald he loved but dld
not llke. He wrote two more novels, q dJp
(l919), an hlstorlcal saga set ln frontler Mlnnesota, and
t p t (l95l), the story of an archltect llvlng
among Amerlcan expatrlates ln Ilorence. q dJp
ls a recycllng of themes from Lewls`s oftattempted, oft
79
ai_ PPN p~ i
abandoned labor novel; lt shows Lewls`s lack of lnterest
ln the hlstorlcal genre.
In l950 Lewls settled ln Ilorence, Italy, where he
collected materlal for !orld So !idc among the expatrl
ate set. Jhe novel ls a brave but pallld attempt to deal
flctlonally wlth some of the demons ln hls own llfehls
fallures wlth women, hls chronlc restlessness, and hls
paradoxlcal yearnlng for a home. In hls flnal days
Lewls, alone and lonely, returned to the anodyne of
alcohol. He knew he was dylng, havlng suffered heart
attacks ln l919 and l950 (he had been a heavy smoker
slnce college days). In early l95l, sequestered by a
shadowy 'secretary," whom Amerlcan frlends sus
pected of fleeclng hlm, he suffered a masslve heart
attack at a cllnlc ln Rome. He dled on l0 |anuary l95l,
aged slxtyflve.
Lewls`s lrreverent, crltlcal splrlt sounded a tocsln
for the wrlters of the l920s. In creatlng a gallery of
satlrlcal types, Lewls held Amerlca up to a mlrror. Hls
novels were wldely read abroad at a tlme when Amerlca
was becomlng the major economlc power on the world
stage and forelgners were lntensely lnterested ln the
new glant. A Swedlsh Nobel judge sald that Gopher
Pralrle was unlversal, that lt could 'be sltuated just as
well ln Europe."
Lewls was one of the most astute novellstlc soclal
observers of hls tlme. He created largerthanllfe types
and places that entered the languageBabbltt, Elmer
Gantry, Maln Street. Although a dedlcated reallst,
Lewls used the tools of carlcature, lrony, and parody to
accentuate hls crltlclsms of Amerlcan soclety. Hls flrst
wlfe, Grace Lewls, sald he had to have somethlng to
hate when he wrote, although hls target was not people
but the lnstltutlons that enslaved the lndependent splrlt.
He once told a frlend, 'Don`t you understand lt`s my
mlsslon ln llfe to be the desplsed crltlc, the eternal fault
flnder?" In the l910s, when the lconoclasm of the
l920s came under crltlcal flre, Lewls defended hls llter
ary cohort. In an artlcle ln the l5 Aprll l911 Soturdoy
Icvicw of Iitcroturc he descrlbed hls generatlon as wrlters
'who so loved thelr country that they were wllllng to
report lts translent dangers and stupldltles."
Jhompson rlghtly contended that lt ls lmposslble
to understand the Amerlca of the l920s through the
l910s wlthout readlng the novels of Slnclalr Lewls.
Jhere were other wrlters who created new prose forms;
there were greater wrlters of tlmeless themes. But Lewls
evoked the Amerlcan soclal structure, partlcularly the
role of class dlstlnctlons, better than most novellsts ln
hls tlme. He brought the Amerlcan scene to llfe ln read
ers` lmaglnatlons through hls storytelllng, hls gallery of
characters and soclal types, and hls vlvld recordlng of
thelr talk and thelr habltats. Jhe Engllsh novellst E. M.
Iorster pralsed above all Lewls`s photographlc reallsm.
Hls achlevement, Iorster wrote ln Zbivgcr Horvcst
(l936), was to lodge 'a plece of a contlnent ln our lmag
lnatlon."
iW
Irom Moiv Strcct to Stocllolm: Icttcrs of Sivcloir Icwis,
1919-19J0, edlted by Harrlson Smlth (New York.
Harcourt, Brace, l952);
|ack London, Icttcrs from ocl Iovdov; Covtoivivg ov
Uvpublislcd Corrcspovdcvcc ctwccv Iovdov ovd Siv-
cloir Icwis (New York. Odyssey, l965; London.
MacGlbbon Kee, l966).
fW
Irederlck Manfred, 'Slnclalr Lewls. A Portralt," Zmcri-
cov Sclolor, 23 (Sprlng l951). l62-l81;
Betty Stevens, 'A Vlllage Radlcal Goes Home," !cvturc,
2 (Summer l956). l7-26;
Stevens, 'A Vlllage Radlcal. Hls Last Amerlcan Home,"
!cvturc, 2 (Wlnter l957). 35-18;
Allen Austln, 'An Intervlew wlth Slnclalr Lewls," Uvi-
vcrsity Icvicw, 21 (March l958). l99-2l0.
_~W
|ames Lundqulst, Tlc Mcrrill Clccllist of Sivcloir Icwis
(Columbus, Ohlo. Merrlll, l970);
Robert E. Ilemlng and Esther Ilemlng, Sivcloir Icwis: Z
Icfcrcvcc Cuidc (Boston. G. K. Hall, l980).
_~W
Carl Van Doren, Sivcloir Icwis: Z iogroplicol Slctcl
(Garden Clty, N.Y.. Doubleday, Doran, l933);
Mark Schorer, Sivcloir Icwis: Zv Zmcricov Iifc (New
York, Joronto London. McGrawHlll, l96l);
Vlncent Sheean, Dorotly ovd Icd (Boston. Houghton
Mlfflln, l963);
|ames M. Hutchlsson, Tlc Iisc of Sivcloir Icwis, 1920-
19J0 (Lnlverslty Park. Pennsylvanla State Lnl
Rlchard Llngeman, Sivcloir Icwis: Icbcl from Moiv Strcct
(New York. Random House, 2002).
oW
Harold Bloom, ed., Sivcloir Icwis (New York. Chelsea
House, l987);
Martln Bucco, Moiv Strcct: Tlc Icvolt of Corol Icvvicott
(New York. Jwayne, l993);
Bucco, Sivcloir Icwis os Icodcr ovd Critic (Lewlston, N.Y..
Edwln Mellen Press, 2001);
Bucco, ed., Criticol Issoys ov Sivcloir Icwis (Boston. G. K.
Hall, l986);
Stephen S. Conroy, 'Slnclalr Lewls`s Soclologlcal Imag
lnatlon," Zmcricov Iitcroturc, 12 (November l970).
318-362;
80
p~ i ai_ PPN
Howell Danlels, 'Slnclalr Lewls and the Drama of Dls
soclatlon," ln Tlc Zmcricov òvcl ovd tlc ìvctccv
Twcvtics, edlted by Malcolm Bradbury and Davld
Palmer (London. Arnold, l97l), pp. 85-l05;
|ack L. Davls, 'Mark Schorer`s Slnclalr Lewls," Sivcloir
Icwis `cwslcttcr, 3 (l97l). 3-9;
D. |. Dooley, Tlc Zrt of Sivcloir Icwis (Llncoln. Lnlver
slty of Nebraska Press, l967);
George H. Douglas, 'obbit at IlftyJhe Jruth Stlll
Hurts," òtiov, 2l1 (22 May l972). 66l-662;
Douglas, 'Moiv Strcct After Ilfty Years," Iroiric Scloovcr,
11 (Wlnter l970). 338-318;
Peter Ilsh, Sivcloir Icwis`s obbitt (Woodbury, N.Y.. Bar
ron`s Educatlonal Serles, l985);
|ohn J. Ilanagan, 'A Long Way to Gopher Pralrle. Sln
clalr Lewls`s Apprentlceshlp," Soutlwcst Icvicw, 32
(Autumn l917). 103-1l3;
Maxwell Gelsmar, 'Dlarlst of a Mlddle Class Mlnd"
and 'A Postscrlpt," ln hls Zmcricov Modcrvs: Irom
Icbclliov to Covformity (New York. Hlll Wang,
l958), pp. l07-ll8;
Sheldon N. Grebsteln, Sivcloir Icwis (New York.
Jwayne, l962);
Robert |. Grlffln, ed., Twcvtictl-Ccvtury Ivtcrprctotiovs of
Zrrowsmitl: Z Collcctiov of Criticol Issoys (Englewood
Cllffs, N.|.. PrentlceHall, l968);
Anthony C. Hllfer, 'Carlcaturlst of the Vlllage Mlnd"
and 'Elmer Gantry and Jhat Old Jlme Rell
glon," ln hls Tlc Icvolt from tlc !illogc (Chapel
Hlll. Lnlverslty of North Carollna Press, l969),
pp. l58-l92;
|ames M. Hutchlsson, ed., Sivcloir Icwis: `cw Issoys iv
Criticism (Jroy, N.Y.. Whltston, l997);
Erlk Axel Karlfeldt, !ly Sivcloir Icwis Cot tlc òbcl Iric,
translated by Naboth Hedln (New York. Har
court, Brace, l93l);
Alfred Kazln, 'Jhe New Reallsm. Sherwood Anderson
and Slnclalr Lewls," ln hls Uv òtivc Crouvds (New
York. Reynal Hltchcock, l912), pp. 2l7-226;
Grace H. Lewls, !itl Iovc from Crocic: Sivcloir Icwis,
1912-192 (New York. Harcourt, Brace, l955);
Martln Llght, 'H. G. Wells and Slnclalr Lewls. Irlend
shlp, Llterary Influence, and Letters," Ivglisl Iit-
croturc iv Trovsitiov, 5 (l962). l-20;
Llght, Tlc _uixotic !isiov of Sivcloir Icwis (W. Lafayette,
Ind.. Purdue Lnlverslty Press, l975);
Glen A. Love, obbitt: Zv Zmcricov Iifc (New York.
Jwayne, l993);
Love, 'New Ploneerlng on the Pralrles. Nature,
Progress and the Indlvldual ln the Novels of Sln
clalr Lewls," Zmcricov _uortcrly, 25 (December
l973). 558-577;
|ames Lundqulst, Sivcloir Icwis (New York. Lngar,
l973);
Mark Schorer, 'Slnclalr Lewls and the Method of Half
Jruths," ln Socicty ovd Sclf iv tlc òvcl: Ivglisl Ivsti-
tutc Issoys, edlted by Schorer (New York. Colum
bla Lnlverslty Press, l956), pp. ll7-l11;
Schorer, ed., Sivcloir Icwis: Z Collcctiov of Criticol Issoys
(Englewood Cllffs, N.|.. PrentlceHall, l962);
Dorothy Jhompson, 'Jhe Boy and Man from Sauk
Centre," Ztlovtic Movtlly, 206 (November l960).
39-18;
|ames W. Juttleton, 'Slnclalr Lewls. Jhe Romantlc
Comedlan as Reallst Mlmlc," ln hls Tlc òvcl of
Movvcrs iv Zmcrico (Chapel Hlll. Lnlverslty of
North Carollna Press, l972), pp. l1l-l6l;
Rebecca West, 'Slnclalr Lewls Introduces Elmer Gan
try," ln her Tlc Strovgc `cccssity (Garden Clty,
N.Y.. Doubleday, Doran, l928), pp. 295-308;
Hlroshlge Yoshlda, Z Sivcloir Icwis Icxicov: !itl o Criticol
Study of His Stylc ovd Mctlods (Jokyo. Hoyu, l976).
m~W
Most of Slnclalr Lewls`s manuscrlpts and letters are at
Yale Lnlverslty; an addltlonal lmportant collectlon ls at
the Harry Ransom Humanltles Research Center at the
Lnlverslty of Jexas at Austln. Some famlly papers are
housed at St. Cloud State Lnlverslty, and the Dorothy
Jhompson Collectlon at the Blrd Llbrary, Syracuse
Lnlverslty, lncludes materlal on Lewls`s second wlfe
and thelr relatlonshlp.
NVPM k m i~
m~ p
by Iril Zxcl Iorlfcldt, Icrmovcvt Sccrctory of tlc Swcdisl
Zcodcmy, 10 Dcccmbcr 19J0
Jhls year`s wlnner of the Nobel Prlze ln Lltera
ture ls a natlve of a part of Amerlca whlch for a long
tlme has had Swedlsh contacts. He was born at Sauk
Centre, a place of about two or three thousand lnhablt
ants ln the great cornland of Mlnnesota. He descrlbes
the place ln hls novel Moiv Strcct (l920), though there lt
ls called Gopher Pralrle.
It ls the great pralrle, an undulatlng land wlth
lakes and oak groves, whlch has produced that llttle
town and many others exactly llke lt. Jhe ploneers
have need of places to sell thelr graln, shops to purchase
thelr supplles, banks for thelr mortgage loans, doctors
for thelr bodles, and clergymen for thelr souls. Jhere ls
cooperatlon between the country and the town, but at
the same tlme there ls confllct. Does the town exlst for
the sake of the country, or the country for the town?
8l
ai_ PPN p~ i
Jhe pralrle makes lts power felt. Durlng the wln
ters, long and cold as ours, terrlflc storms dump thelr
snow ln the wlde streets, between low and shabby
houses. Jhe summer scorches wlth an lntense heat and
the town smells, because lt lacks both sewers and street
cleanlng. Yet the town naturally feels lts superlorlty; lt ls
the flower of the pralrle. It has the economlc threads ln
lts hands, and lt ls the focus of clvlllzatlona concen
trated, proud Amerlca amldst these earthbound thralls
of forelgn orlgln, Germans and Scandlnavlans.
Jhus the town llves happlly ln lts selfconfldence
and lts bellef ln true democracy, whlch does not
exclude a proper stratlflcatlon of the people, lts falth ln
a sound buslness morallty, and the blesslngs of belng
motorlzed; for there are many Iords ln Maln Street.
Jo thls town comes a young woman fllled wlth
rebelllous emotlons. She wants to reform the town,
lnslde and out, but falls completely, almost golng under
ln the attempt.
As a descrlptlon of llfe ln a small town, j~ p
ls certalnly one of the best ever wrltten. Jo be sure, the
town ls flrst and foremost Amerlcan, but lt could, as a
splrltual mllleu, be sltuated just as well ln Europe. Llke
Mr. Lewls, many of us have suffered from lts ugllness
and blgotry. Jhe strong satlre has aroused local pro
tests, but one need not be keenslghted to see the toler
ant straln ln Lewls`s sketch of hls natlve town and lts
people.
Behlnd the puffedup complacency of Gopher
Pralrle, however, lurks jealousy. At the edge of the plaln
stand cltles llke St. Paul and Mlnneapolls, already llttle
metropolltan centres wlth thelr skyscraper wlndows
gleamlng ln the sunllght or the evenlng`s electrlclty.
Gopher Pralrle wants to be llke them and flnds the tlme
rlpe for a campalgn of progress, based on the rlslng war
prlce of wheat.
A stump orator ls lmported, a real rabblerouser
of the pepplest klnd, and wlth blatant eloquence he
demonstrates that nothlng wlll be easler than for
Gopher Pralrle to take the lead and reach the 200,000
class.
Mr. BabblttGeorge Iollansbee Babblttls the
happy cltlzen of such a clty (_~I l922). It ls called
Zenlth, but probably lt cannot be found on the map
under that name. Jhls clty wlth lts enlarged horlzons
hereafter becomes the startlng polnt for Mr. Lewls`s
crltlcal ralds lnto the terrltorles of Amerlcanlsm. Jhe
clty ls a hundred tlmes larger than Gopher Pralrle and,
therefore, a hundred tlmes rlcher ln one hundred per
cent Amerlcanlsm and one hundred tlmes as satlsfled
wlth ltself, and the enchantment of lts optlmlsm and
progresslve splrlt ls embodled ln George I. Babbltt.
As a matter of fact, Babbltt probably approaches
the ldeal of an Amerlcan popular hero of the mlddle
class. Jhe relatlvlty of buslness morals as well as prl
vate rules of conduct ls for hlm an accepted artlcle of
falth, and wlthout hesltatlon he conslders lt God`s pur
pose that man should work, lncrease hls lncome, and
enjoy modern lmprovements. He feels that he obeys
these commandments and therefore llves ln complete
harmony wlth hlmself and soclety.
Hls professlon, real estate, ls the hlghest ln exlst
ence, and hls house near the clty, wlth lts trees and
lawn, ls standard, lnslde and out. Jhe make of hls car
corresponds to hls posltlon, and ln lt he whlzzes
through the streets, proud as a young hero amldst the
perlls of the trafflc. Hls famlly llfe also corresponds to
the bourgeols average. Hls wlfe has become used to hls
mascullne rumbllngs at home, and the chlldren are
lmpertlnent, but that ls what one expects.
He enjoys excellent health, ls wellfed and thrlv
lng, alert and goodnatured. Hls dally lunches at the
club are feasts of lnstructlve buslness conversatlon and
stlmulatlng anecdotes; he ls soclable and wlnnlng. Bab
bltt ls furthermore a man wlth the glft of speech. He has
learned all the natlonal slogans and whlrls them about
wlth hls flowlng tongue ln hls popular talks before clubs
and mass meetlngs. Not even for the most elevated splr
ltuallty does he lack sympathy. He basks ln the com
pany of the noted poet, Cholmondeley Irlnk, who
concentrates hls genlus on the composltlon of strlklng,
rhymed advertlsements for varlous flrms and thereby
earns a good annual lncome.
Jhus Babbltt llves the llfe of the lrreproachable
cltlzen consclous of hls respectablllty. But the jealousy
of the gods broods over a mortal whose happlness
grows too great. A soul such as Babbltt`s ls, of course,
lncapable of growth; lt ls a readymade artlcle from the
start. Jhen Babbltt dlscovers that he has tendencles
toward vlce whlch he has neglectedalthough not
wholly, one ought to add. As he approaches flfty, he
hastens to make up for the neglect. He enters lnto an
lrregular relatlonshlp and jolns a frlvolous gang of
youths, ln whlch he plays the role of a generous sugar
daddy. But hls deeds flnd hlm out. Hls lunches at the
club become more and more palnful through the sllence
and aloofness of hls frlends. Jhey hlnt that he ls spoll
lng thls chance of future membershlp ln the commlttee
of progress. Here lt ls naturally New York and Chlcago
that loom before hlm. He succeeds ln recoverlng hls
better self, and lt ls edlfylng to see hlm kneel ln hls pas
tor`s study, where he recelves absolutlon. And then
Babbltt can once more devote hlmself to the Sunday
school and other soclally useful actlvltles. Hls story
ends as lt began.
Jhat lt ls lnstltutlons as representatlves of false
ldeas, and not lndlvlduals, that Mr. Lewls wants to
attack wlth hls satlre, he has hlmself lndlcated. It ls then
82
p~ i ai_ PPN
a trlumph for hls art, a trlumph almost unlque ln lltera
ture, that he has been able to make thls Babbltt, who
fatallstlcally llves wlthln the borders of an earthbound
but at the same tlme pompous utllltarlanlsm, an almost
lovable lndlvldual.
Babbltt ls nalve, and a bellever who speaks up for
hls falth. At bottom there ls nothlng wrong wlth the
man, and he ls so festlvely refreshlng that he almost
serves as a recommendatlon for Amerlcan snap and
vltallty. Jhere are bouncers and Phlllstlnes ln all coun
trles, and one can only wlsh that half of them were half
as amuslng as Babbltt.
Jo the splendour of the flgure, as well as to other
speaklng characters ln the book, Mr. Lewls has added
hls unparalleled glft of words. Llsten, for example, to
the conversatlon of a few commerclal travellers, slttlng
together ln a compartment of the New York express. An
unsuspected halo falls over the professlon of selllng. 'Jo
them, the Romantlc Hero was no longer the knlght, the
wanderlng poet, the cowpuncher, the avlator, nor the
brave young dlstrlct attorney, but the great sales man
ager, who had an Analysls of Merchandlzlng Problems
on hls glasstopped desk, whose tltle of noblllty was
'Gogetter` and who devoted hlmself and all hls young
samural to the cosmlc purpose of Selllngnot of selllng
anythlng ln partlcular, for or to anybody ln partlcular,
but pure Selllng." ^ (l925) ls a work of a more
serlous nature. Lewls has there attempted to represent
the medlcal professlon and sclence ln all lts manlfesta
tlons. As ls well known, Amerlcan research ln the natu
ral sclences, physlcs, chemlstry, and medlclne ranks
wlth the best of our age, and lt has several tlmes been
recognlzed as such from thls very platform. Jremen
dous resources have been placed at lts command.
Rlchly endowed lnstltutlons work unceaslngly on lts
development.
Jhat even here some speculatlve persons want to
take advantage of thelr opportunltles may be regarded
as lnevltable. Prlvate lndustrles are on the alert for scl
entlflc dlscoverles and want to proflt from them before
they have been tested and flnally establlshed. Jhe bac
terlologlst, for lnstance, searches wlth lnflnlte care for
vacclnes to cure wldespread dlseases, and the manufac
turlng chemlst wants to snatch them prematurely from
hls hand for mass productlon.
Lnder the guldance of a glfted and consclentlous
teacher, Martln Arrowsmlth develops lnto one of the
ldeallsts of sclence. Jhe tragedy of hls llfe as research
worker ls that, after maklng an lmportant dlscovery, he
delays lts announcement for constantly renewed tests
untll he ls antlclpated by a Irenchman ln the Pasteur
Instltute.
Jhe book contalns a rlch gallery of dlfferent med
lcal types. We have the hum of the medlcal schools wlth
thelr quarrelllng and lntrlgulng professors. Jhen there
ls the unpretentlous country doctor, recalled from j~
pI who regards lt as an honour to merge wlth hls cll
entele and become thelr support and solace. Jhen we
have the shrewd organlzer of publlc health and general
welfare, who works hlmself lnto popular favour and
polltlcal power. Next we have the large lnstltutes wlth
thelr apparently royally lndependent lnvestlgators,
under a management whlch to a certaln extent must
take lnto conslderatlon the commerclal lnterests of the
donors and drlve the staff to forced work for the
honour of the lnstltutes.
Above these types rlses Arrowsmlth`s teacher, the
exlled German |ew, Gottlleb, who ls drawn wlth a
warmth and admlratlon that seem to suggest a llvlng
model. He ls an lncorruptlbly honest servant of sclence,
but at the same tlme a resentful anarchlst and a stand
offlsh mlsanthrope, who doubts whether the humanlty
whose benefactor he ls amounts to as much as the anl
mals he kllls wlth hls experlments. Iurther we meet the
Swedlsh doctor, Gustaf Sondellus, radlant Jltan, who
wlth slnglng and courage pursues pests ln thelr lalrs
throughout the world, extermlnates polsonous rats and
burns lnfected vlllages, drlnks and preaches hls gospel
that hyglene ls destlned to klll the medlcal art.
Alongslde all of thls runs the personal hlstory of
Martln Arrowsmlth. Lewls ls much too clever to make
hls characters wlthout blemlsh, and Martln suffers from
faults whlch at tlmes seem obstructlve to hls develop
ment, both as a man and as a sclentlst. As a restless and
lrresolute young man he gets hls best help from a llttle
woman he encountered at a hospltal where she was an
lnslgnlflcant nurse. When he beglns to drlft about the
country as an unsuccessful medlcal student, he looks
her up ln a llttle vlllage ln the Iar West, and there she
becomes hls wlfe. She ls a devoted and slmple soul,
who demands nothlng and who patlently walts ln her
solltude when, bewltched by the slren of sclence, her
husband loses hlmself ln the labyrlnths of hls work.
Later she accompanles hlm and Sondellus to the
plaguelnfected lsland where Arrowsmlth wants to test hls
serum. Her death ln the abandoned hut, whlle her hus
band llstens dlstractedly to another and more earthy slren
than that of sclence, seems llke a poetlcally crownlng flnal
act to a llfe of prlmltlve selfsacrlflclng femlnlnlty.
Jhe book ls full of admlrable learnlng, certlfled
by experts as belng accurate. Jhough a master of llght
wlnged words, Lewls ls never superflclal when lt comes
to the foundatlons of hls art. Hls study of detalls ls
always as careful and thorough as that of such a sclen
tlst as Arrowsmlth or Gottlleb. In thls work he has bullt
a monument to the professlon of hls own father, that of
the physlclan, whlch certalnly ls not represented by a
charlatan or a faker.
83
ai_ PPN p~ i
Hls blg novel b d~ (l927) ls llke a surglcal
operatlon on one of the most dellcate parts of the soclal
body. Presumably lt would not pay to search anywhere
ln the world for the old Purltanlcal vlrtues, but posslbly
one mlght flnd ln some of the oldest corners of Amerlca
a remnant of the sect whlch regarded lt as a sln to
remarry, once lt had pleased God to make one a wld
ower or wldow, and wlcked to lend money at lnterest.
But otherwlse Amerlca has no doubt had to moderate
lts rellglous rlgldlty. Jo what extent a pulplteer llke
Elmer Gantry ls common over there, we cannot here
have the sllghtest ldea. Nelther hls slapdash style of
preachlng wlth hls cocky puglllstlc manners ('Hello,
Mr. Devll") nor hls successful collectlng of money and
men lnslde the gates of the church can hlde the sad fact
that he ls an unusually foul flsh. Mr. Lewls has been
nelther wllllng nor able to glve hlm any attractlve tralts.
But as descrlptlon the book ls a feat of strength, genulne
and powerful, and lts fullflavoured, sombre satlre has a
devastatlng effect. It ls unnecessary to polnt out that
hypocrlsy thrlves a llttle everywhere and that anyone
who attacks lt at such a close range places hlmself
before a hydra wlth many dangerous heads.
Slnclalr Lewls`s latest work ls called a
(l929). In hls books we have prevlously caught gllmpses
of the famlly as one of the most arlstocratlc ln Zenltha
clrcle where no Babbltt ever galns admlsslon. 'Most
arlstocratlc" probably often means ln Amerlca 'rlchest,"
but Sam Dodsworth ls both arlstocratlc and rlch. Even
after 300 years he notlces the Engllsh blood ln hls velns
and wants to know the land of hls ancestors. He ls an
Amerlcan, but not a jlngo. Wlth hlm travels hls wlfe,
Iran. She ls already over forty, whlle he ls flfty. She ls a
cool beauty, 'vlrglnal as the wlnter wlnd," though she
has grown chlldren. In the European atmosphere she
blossoms as a brllllant flower of luxury, revelllng ln van
lty, pleasure, and selflshness. She goes so far that the
qulet man who loves her has to leave her to her fate.
Once alone he medltates on the problem 'Europe
Amerlca," and as a real buslness man he wants to clear up
hls accounts wlth both. He thlnks of many thlngs, hon
estly and wlthout prejudlce. One of hls observatlons ls that
the very soll of Europe has some of the oldtlme qulet,
whlch ls scorned by Amerlca, the land of restless record
hunters. But Amerlca ls the land of youth and darlng
experlments. And when he returns there, we understand
that the heart of Slnclalr Lewls follows hlm.
Yes, Slnclalr Lewls ls an Amerlcan. He wrltes the
new languageAmerlcanas one of the representatlves
of l20,000,000 souls. He asks us to conslder that thls
natlon ls not yet flnlshed or melted down; that lt ls stlll
ln the turbulent years of adolescence.
Jhe new great Amerlcan llterature has started
wlth natlonal selfcrltlclsm. It ls a slgn of health. Slnclalr
Lewls has the blessed glft of wleldlng hls landclearlng
lmplement not only wlth a flrm hand but wlth a smlle
on hls llps and youth ln hls heart. He has the manners
of a new settler, who takes new land lnto cultlvatlon.
He ls a ploneer.
Mr. Slnclalr LewlsI have spoken of you to thls
assembly ln a language whlch you do not understand. I
mlght have abused the occaslon to speak lll of you. I
have not done lt. I have spoken of you as one of the
strong, young chleftalns of the great new Amerlcan llt
erature. Besldes, you have a speclal recommendatlon to
Swedlsh hearts. You were born among our countrymen
ln Amerlca, and you have mentloned them ln frlendly
terms ln your renowned books. We are glad to see you
here today and glad that our natlon has a laurel of lts
own to bestow on you. And now I ask you to descend
wlth me and recelve lt from the hand of our Klng.
^ ~I q eI j p
^~I ~ ~~W
Ilnally, Mr. Lewls, ln your person we greet that
|Amerlcan| new bulldlng on lts own Amerlcan ground.
It has been sald that the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature has
found lts way across the Atlantlc far too late. If so, lt has
not been due to any lndlfference on the part of the
Swedlsh Academy, nor to any lack of knowledge, but
rather to an 'embarras de rlchesse.` It has further been
sald that the award of a prlze to your work, ln whlch
the follles of manklndnot excludlng those that are per
haps speclal to Amerlcahave been scourged, ls an
expresslon of some klnd of European or Swedlsh anl
moslty agalnst Amerlca. I dare to assert that thls ls a
complete mlstake. It ls wlth llvlng humour that you alm
the blows of your scourge, and where there ls humour,
there ls a heart too. It ls not only the keen and llvely
lntellect, the masterly deslgn of human shapes and char
acters but also the warm, open, gallybeatlng heart that
we have appreclated ln you." Slnclalr Lewls expressed
hls gratltude and declared that he felt closely related to
the Swedlsh people because of hls many acqualntances
among the Swedlsh famllles of Mlnnesota. He sald that
the Nobel Prlze had a great slgnlflcance for hlm, that lt
had ln fact created a new standard whlch lmplled an
obllgatlon to lmprove on what he had done so far. Iur
thermore, he consldered lt a hlgh honour to have been
awarded the Nobel Prlze along wlth the renowned
scholars who recelved the dlstlnctlon. He sald that, per
sonally, he had the profoundest respect for the lntegrlty
of the sclentlst, and thought that a man of letters, hlm
self lncluded, should strlve for the same lntegrlty.
81
p~ i ai_ PPN
iW ^~~ p~
(!rittcv ot tlc timc of tlc owordivg of tlc òbcl Iric)
Jo recount my llfe for the Nobel Ioundatlon, I
would llke to present lt as possesslng some romantlc
quallty, some unlque character, llke Klpllng`s early
adventures ln Indla, or Bernard Shaw`s leadershlp ln
the crltlclsm of Brltlsh arts and economlcs. But my llfe,
aslde from such youthful pranks as salllng on cattle
shlps from Amerlca to England durlng unlverslty vaca
tlons, trylng to flnd work ln Panama durlng the
bulldlng of the Canal, and servlng for two months as
janltor of Lpton Slnclalr`s abortlve cooperatlve colony,
Hellcon Hall, has been a rather humdrum chronlcle of
much readlng, constant wrltlng, undlstlngulshed travel
a la trlpper, and several years of comfortable servltude
as an edltor.
I was born ln a pralrle vlllage ln that most Scandl
navlan part of Amerlca, Mlnnesota, the son of a coun
try doctor, ln l885. Lntll I went East to Yale Lnlverslty
I attended the ordlnary publlc school, along wlth many
Madsens, Olesons, Nelsons, Hedlns, Larsons. Doubt
less lt was because of thls that I made the hero of my
second book, Tlc Troil of tlc Howl, a Norweglan, and
Gustaf Sondellus, of Zrrowsmitl, a Swedeand to me,
Dr. Sondellus ls the favorlte among all my characters.
Of Carl Erlcson of Tlc Troil of tlc Howl, I wrote
back ln l9l1, when I was worklng all day as edltor for
the George H. Doran Publlshlng Company, and all
evenlng trylng to wrlte novelsas follows.
Hls carpenter father had come from Norway, by way of
steerage and a farm ln Wlsconsln, changlng hls name
(to Amerlcanlze lt) from Erlcsen. . . . Carl was second
generatlon Norweglan; Amerlcanborn, Amerlcan ln
speech, Amerlcan ln appearance, save for hls flaxen
halr and chlnablue eyes. . . . When he was born the
'typlcal Amerlcans" of earller stocks had moved to clty
palaces or were marooned on rundown farms. It was
Carl Erlcson, not a Jrowbrldge or a Stuyvesant or a
Lee or a Grant, who was the 'typlcal Amerlcan" of hls
perlod. It was for hlm to carry on the Amerlcan destlny
of extendlng the Western horlzon; hls to restore the
wlntry Pllgrlm vlrtues and the exuberant October,
partrldgedrummlng days of Danlel Boone; then to
add, ln hls own or another generatlon, new Amerlcan
asplratlons for beauty.
My unlverslty days at Yale were undlstlngulshed save
for contrlbutlons to the Jolc Iitcrory Mogoivc. It may be
lnterestlng to say that these contrlbutlons were most of
them reeklng wlth a banal romantlclsm; that an author
who was later to try to present ordlnary pavements trod
by real boots should through unlverslty days have wrlt
ten nearly always of Gulnevere and Lancelotof weary
bltterns among sad Irlsh reedsof storybook castles
wlth troubadours vastly lndulglng ln wlne, a commod
lty of whlch the author was slngularly lgnorant. What
the moral ls, I do not know. Whether lmaglnary castles
at nlneteen lead always to the sldewalks of Maln Street
at thlrtyflve, and whether the process mlght be
reversed, and whether elther of them ls deslrable, I
leave to psychologlsts.
I drlfted for two years after college as a journallst,
as a newspaper reporter ln Iowa and ln San Iranclsco,
aslncredlblya junlor edltor on a magazlne for teach
ers of the deaf, ln Washlngton, D.C. Jhe magazlne was
supported by Alexander Graham Bell, lnventor of the
telephone. What I dld not know about teachlng the
deaf would have lncluded the entlre subject, but that
dld not vastly matter, as my posltlon was so lnslgnlfl
cant that lt lncluded typlng hundreds of letters every
week begglng for funds for the magazlne and, on days
when the Negro janltress dld not appear, sweeplng out
the offlce.
Doubtless thls shows the advantages of a unlver
slty educatlon, and lt was further shown when at the
age of twentyflve I managed to get a posltlon ln a New
York publlshlng house at all of flfteen dollars a week.
Jhls was my authentlc value on the labor market, and I
have always uncomfortably suspected that lt would
never have been much hlgher had I not, accldentally,
possessed the glft of wrltlng books whlch so acutely
annoyed Amerlcan smugness that some thousands of
my fellow cltlzens felt they must read these scandalous
documents, whether they llked them or not.
Irom that New York posltlon tlll the tlme flve
years later when I was selllng enough short storles to
the magazlnes to be able to llve by freelanclng, I had a
serles of typlcal whltecollar, unromantlc, offlce llterary
jobs wlth two publlshlng houses, a magazlne (Zdvcv-
turc), and a newspaper syndlcate, readlng manuscrlpts,
wrltlng book advertlslng, wrltlng catalogues, wrltlng
unlnsplred book revlewsall the carpentry and plumb
lng of the clty of letters. Nor dld my flrst flve novels
rouse the sllghtest whlspers. Uur Mr. !rcvv, Tlc Troil of
tlc Howl, Tlc ob, Tlc Ivvoccvts, and Ircc Zir they were
called, publlshed between l9l1 and l9l9, and all of
them dead before the lnk was dry. I lacked sense
enough to see that, after flve fallures, I was foollsh to
contlnue wrltlng.
Moiv Strcct, publlshed late ln l920, was my flrst
novel to rouse the embattled peasantry and, as I have
already hlnted, lt had really a success of scandal. One of
the most treasured Amerlcan myths had been that all
Amerlcan vlllages were pecullarly noble and happy, and
85
ai_ PPN p~ i
here an Amerlcan attacked that myth. Scandalous.
Some hundreds of thousands read the book wlth the
same masochlstlc pleasure that one has ln sucklng an
achlng tooth.
Slnce Moiv Strcct, the novels have been obbitt
(l922); Zrrowsmitl (l925); Movtrop (l926); Ilmcr Covtry
(l927); Tlc Mov !lo Ivcw Coolidgc (l928); and Dods-
wortl (l929). Jhe next novel, yet unnamed, wlll con
cern ldeallsm ln Amerlca through three generatlons,
from l8l8 tlll l930an ldeallsm whlch the outlanders
who call Amerlcans 'dollarchasers" do not under
stand. It wlll presumably be publlshed ln the autumn of
l932, and the author`s chlef dlfflculty ln composlng lt ls
that, after havlng recelved the Nobel Prlze, he longs to
wrlte better than he can.
I was marrled, ln England, ln l928, to Dorothy
Jhompson, an Amerlcan who had been the Central
European correspondent and clcf dc burcou of the `cw
Jorl Ivcvivg Iost. My flrst marrlage, to Grace Hegger, ln
New York, ln l9l1, had been dlssolved.
Durlng these years of novel wrltlng slnce l9l5, I
have llved a qulte unromantlc and unstlrrlng llfe. I have
travelled much; on the surface lt would seem that one
who durlng these flfteen years had been ln forty states
of the Lnlted States, ln Canada, Mexlco, England, Scot
land, Irance, Italy, Sweden, Germany, Austrla, Czecho
slovakla, |ugoslavla, Greece, Swltzerland, Spaln, the
West Indles, Venezuela, Colombla, Panama, Poland,
and Russla must have been adventurous. Jhat, how
ever, would be a typlcal error of blography. Jhe fact ls
that my forelgn travelllng has been a qulte unlnsplred
recreatlon, a fllght from reallty. My real travelllng has
been slttlng ln Pullman smoklng cars, ln a Mlnnesota
vlllage, on a Vermont farm, ln a hotel ln Kansas Clty or
Savannah, llstenlng to the normal dally drone of what
are to me the most fasclnatlng and exotlc people ln the
worldthe Average Cltlzens of the Lnlted States, wlth
thelr frlendllness to strangers and thelr rough teaslng,
thelr passlon for materlal advancement and thelr shy
ldeallsm, thelr lnterest ln all the world and thelr boast
ful provlnclallsmthe lntrlcate complexltles whlch an
Amerlcan novellst ls prlvlleged to portray.
And nowadays, at fortyslx, wlth my flrst authen
tlc homea farm ln the pastoral state of Vermontand a
baby born ln |une l930, I am settled down to what I
hope to be the beglnnlng of a novellst`s career. I hope
the awkward apprentlceshlp wlth all lts errors ls nearly
done.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l930. Slnclalr Lewls ls the
sole author of the text.|
86
iW k iI NO a NVPM
q ^~ c~ i~
Were I to express my feellng of honor and plea
sure ln havlng been awarded the Nobel Prlze ln Lltera
ture, I should be fulsome and perhaps tedlous, and I
present my gratltude wlth a plaln 'Jhank you."
I wlsh, ln thls address, to conslder certaln trends,
certaln dangers, and certaln hlgh and excltlng promlses
ln presentday Amerlcan llterature. Jo dlscuss thls wlth
complete and unguarded franknessand I should not
lnsult you by belng otherwlse than completely honest,
however lndlscreetlt wlll be necessary for me to be a
llttle lmpollte regardlng certaln lnstltutlons and persons
of my own greatly beloved land.
But I beg of you to belleve that I am ln no case
gratlfylng a grudge. Iortune has dealt wlth me rather
too well. I have known llttle struggle, not much poverty,
many generosltles. Now and then I have, for my books
or myself, been somewhat warmly denouncedthere
was one good pastor ln Callfornla who upon readlng
my b d~ deslred to lead a mob and lynch me,
whlle another holy man ln the state of Malne wondered
lf there was no respectable and rlghteous way of puttlng
me ln jall. And, much harder to endure than any raglng
condemnatlon, a certaln number of old acqualntances
among journallsts, what ln the galloplng Amerlcan
slang we call the 'I Knew Hlm When Club," have
scrlbbled that slnce they know me personally, therefore
I must be a rather low sort of fellow and certalnly no
wrlter. But lf I have now and then recelved such cheer
lng brlckbats, stlll I, who have heaved a good many
brlcks myself, would be fatuous not to expect a falr
number ln return.
No, I have for myself no concelvable complalnt to
make, and yet for Amerlcan llterature ln general, and lts
standlng ln a country where lndustrlallsm and flnance
and sclence flourlsh and the only arts that are vltal and
respected are archltecture and the fllm, I have a consld
erable complalnt.
I can lllustrate by an lncldent whlch chances to
concern the Swedlsh Academy and myself and whlch
happened a few days ago, just before I took the shlp at
New York for Sweden. Jhere ls ln Amerlca a learned
and most amlable old gentleman who has been a pastor,
a unlverslty professor, and a dlplomat. He ls a member
of the Amerlcan Academy of Arts and Letters and no
few unlversltles have honored hlm wlth degrees. As a
wrlter he ls chlefly known for hls pleasant llttle essays
on the joy of flshlng. I do not suppose that professlonal
flshermen, whose llves depend on the run of cod or her
rlng, flnd lt altogether an amuslng occupatlon, but from
these essays I learned, as a boy, that there ls somethlng
very lmportant and splrltual about catchlng flsh, lf you
have no need of dolng so.
Jhls scholar stated, and publlcly, that ln awardlng
the Nobel Prlze to a person who has scoffed at Amerl
can lnstltutlons as much as I have, the Nobel Commlt
tee and the Swedlsh Academy had lnsulted Amerlca. I
don`t know whether, as an exdlplomat, he lntends to
have an lnternatlonal lncldent made of lt, and perhaps
demand of the Amerlcan Government that they land
Marlnes ln Stockholm to protect Amerlcan llterary
rlghts, but I hope not.
I should have supposed that to a man so learned
as to have been made a Doctor of Dlvlnlty, a Doctor of
Letters, and I do not know how many other lmposlng
magnlflcences, the matter would have seemed dlfferent;
I should have supposed that he would have reasoned,
'Although personally I dlsllke thls man`s books, never
theless the Swedlsh Academy has ln chooslng hlm hon
ored Amerlca by assumlng that the Amerlcans are no
longer a puerlle backwoods clan, so lnferlor that they
are afrald of crltlclsm, but lnstead a natlon come of age
and able to conslder calmly and maturely any dlssec
tlon of thelr land, however scofflng."
I should even have supposed that so lnternatlonal
a scholar would have belleved that Scandlnavla, accus
tomed to the works of Strlndberg, Ibsen, and Pontoppl
dan, would not have been pecullarly shocked by a
wrlter whose most anarchlstlc assertlon has been that
Amerlca, wlth all her wealth and power, has not yet
produced a clvlllzatlon good enough to satlsfy the deep
est wants of human creatures.
I belleve that Strlndberg rarely sang the 'Star
Spangled Banner" or addressed Rotary Clubs, yet Swe
den seems to have survlved hlm.
87
ai_ PPN iW k iI NO a NVPM
I have at such length dlscussed thls crltlclsm of
the learned flsherman not because lt has any concelv
able lmportance ln ltself, but because lt does lllustrate
the fact that ln Amerlca most of usnot readers alone
but even wrltersare stlll afrald of any llterature whlch
ls not a glorlflcatlon of everythlng Amerlcan, a glorlflca
tlon of our faults as well as our vlrtues. Jo be not only a
best seller ln Amerlca but to be really beloved, a novel
lst must assert that all Amerlcan men are tall, hand
some, rlch, honest, and powerful at golf; that all
country towns are fllled wlth nelghbors who do nothlng
from day to day save go about belng klnd to one
another; that although Amerlcan glrls may be wlld,
they change always lnto perfect wlves and mothers; and
that, geographlcally, Amerlca ls composed solely of
New York, whlch ls lnhablted entlrely by mllllonalres;
of the West, whlch keeps unchanged all the bolsterous
herolsm of l870; and of the South, where everyone
llves on a plantatlon perpetually glossy wlth moonllght
and scented wlth magnollas.
It ls not today vastly more true than lt was twenty
years ago that such novellsts of ours as you have read ln
Sweden, novellsts llke Drelser and Wllla Cather, are
authentlcally popular and lnfluentlal ln Amerlca. As lt
was revealed by the venerable flshlng Academlclan
whom I have quoted, we stlll most revere the wrlters for
the popular magazlnes who ln a hearty and edlfylng
chorus chant that the Amerlca of a hundred and twenty
mllllon populatlon ls stlll as slmple, as pastoral, as lt was
when lt had but forty mllllon; that ln an lndustrlal plant
wlth ten thousand employees, the relatlonshlp between
the worker and the manager ls stlll as nelghborly and
uncomplex as ln a factory of l810, wlth flve employees;
that the relatlonshlps between father and son, between
husband and wlfe, are preclsely the same ln an apart
ment ln a thlrtystory palace today, wlth three motor
cars awaltlng the famlly below and flve books on the
llbrary shelves and a dlvorce lmmlnent ln the famlly
next week, as were those relatlonshlps ln a rosevelled
flveroom cottage ln l880; that, ln flne, Amerlca has
gone through the revolutlonary change from rustlc col
ony to world emplre wlthout havlng ln the least altered
the bucollc and Purltanlc slmpllclty of Lncle Sam.
I am, actually, extremely grateful to the flshlng
Academlclan for havlng somewhat condemned me. Ior
slnce he ls a leadlng member of the Amerlcan Academy
of Arts and Letters, he has released me, has glven me
the rlght to speak as frankly of that Academy as he has
spoken of me. And ln any honest study of Amerlcan
lntellectuallsm today, that curlous lnstltutlon must be
consldered.
Before I conslder the Academy, however, let me
sketch a fantasy whlch has pleased me the last few days
ln the unavoldable ldleness of a rough trlp on the Atlan
tlc. I am sure that you know, by now, that the award to
me of the Nobel Prlze has by no means been altogether
popular ln Amerlca. Doubtless the experlence ls not
new to you. I fancy that when you gave the award even
to Jhomas Mann, whose w~ seems to me to
contaln the whole of lntellectual Europe, even when
you gave lt to Klpllng, whose soclal slgnlflcance ls so
profound that lt has been rather authorltatlvely sald
that he created the Brltlsh Emplre, even when you gave
lt to Bernard Shaw, there were countrymen to those
authors who complalned because you dld not choose
another.
And I lmaglned what would have been sald had
you chosen some Amerlcan other than myself. Suppose
you had taken Jheodore Drelser.
Now to me, as to many other Amerlcan wrlters,
Drelser more than any other man, marchlng alone, usu
ally unappreclated, often hated, has cleared the trall
from Vlctorlan and Howellslan tlmldlty and gentlllty ln
Amerlcan flctlon to honesty and boldness and passlon
of llfe. Wlthout hls ploneerlng, I doubt lf any of us
could, unless we llked to be sent to jall, seek to express
llfe and beauty and terror.
My great colleague Sherwood Anderson has pro
clalmed thls leadershlp of Drelser. I am dellghted to joln
hlm. Drelser`s great flrst novel, p `~I whlch he
dared to publlsh thlrty long years ago and whlch I read
twentyflve years ago, came to housebound and alrless
Amerlca llke a great free Western wlnd, and to our
stuffy domestlclty gave us the flrst fresh alr slnce Mark
Jwaln and Whltman.
Yet had you glven the Prlze to Mr. Drelser, you
would have heard groans from Amerlca; you would
have heard that hls styleI am not exactly sure what
thls mystlc quallty 'style" may be, but I flnd the word
so often ln the wrltlngs of mlnor crltlcs that I suppose lt
must exlstyou would have heard that hls style ls cum
bersome, that hls cholce of words ls lnsensltlve, that hls
books are lntermlnable. And certalnly respectable schol
ars would complaln that ln Mr. Drelser`s world, men
and women are often slnful and traglc and despalrlng,
lnstead of belng forever sunny and full of song and vlr
tue, as beflts authentlc Amerlcans.
And had you chosen Mr. Eugene O`Nelll, who
has done nothlng much ln Amerlcan drama save to
transform lt utterly, ln ten or twelve years, from a false
world of neat and competent trlckery to a world of
splendor and fear and greatness, you would have been
remlnded that he has done somethlng far worse than
scofflnghe has seen llfe as not to be neatly arranged ln
the study of a scholar but as a terrlfylng, magnlflcent,
and often qulte horrlble thlng akln to the tornado, the
earthquake, the devastatlng flre.
88
iW k iI NO a NVPM ai_ PPN
And had you glven Mr. |ames Branch Cabell the
Prlze, you would have been told that he ls too fantastl
cally mallclous. So would you have been told that Mlss
Wllla Cather, for all the homely vlrtue of her novels
concernlng the peasants of Nebraska, has ln her novel,
q i i~I been so untrue to Amerlca`s patent and
perpetual and posslbly tedlous vlrtuousness as to plc
ture an abandoned woman who remalns, nevertheless,
uncannlly charmlng even to the vlrtuous, ln a story
wlthout any moral; that Mr. Henry Mencken ls the
worst of all scoffers; that Mr. Sherwood Anderson
vlclously errs ln conslderlng sex as lmportant a force ln
llfe as flshlng; that Mr. Lpton Slnclalr, belng a Soclallst,
slns agalnst the perfectness of Amerlcan capltallstlc
mass productlon; that Mr. |oseph Hergeshelmer ls un
Amerlcan ln regardlng graclousness of manner and
beauty of surface as of some lmportance ln the endur
ance of dally llfe; and that Mr. Ernest Hemlngway ls
not only too young but, far worse, uses language whlch
should be unknown to gentlemen; that he acknowl
edges drunkenness as one of man`s eternal ways to hap
plness, and asserts that a soldler may flnd love more
slgnlflcant than the hearty slaughter of men ln battle.
Yes, they are wlcked, these colleagues of mlne;
you would have done almost as evllly to have chosen
them as to have chosen me; and as a chauvlnlstlc Amer
lcanonly, mlnd you, as an Amerlcan of l930 and not
of l880I rejolce that they are my countrymen and
countrywomen, and that I may speak of them wlth
prlde even ln the Europe of Jhomas Mann, H. G.
Wells, Galsworthy, Knut Hamsun, Arnold Bennett,
Ieuchtwanger, Selma Lagerlf, Slgrld Lndset, Verner
von Heldenstam, DÀnnunzlo, Romaln Rolland.
It ls my fate ln thls paper to swlng constantly
from optlmlsm to pesslmlsm and back, but so ls lt the
fate of anyone who wrltes or speaks of anythlng ln
Amerlcathe most contradlctory, the most depresslng,
the most stlrrlng, of any land ln the world today.
Jhus, havlng wlth no muted prlde called the roll
of what seem to me to be great men and women ln
Amerlcan llterary llfe today, and havlng lndeed omltted
a dozen other names of whlch I should llke to boast
were there tlme, I must turn agaln and assert that ln our
contemporary Amerlcan llterature, lndeed ln all Amerl
can arts save archltecture and the fllm, weyes, we who
have such pregnant and vlgorous standards ln com
merce and sclencehave no standards, no heallng com
munlcatlon, no heroes to be followed nor vlllalns to be
condemned, no certaln ways to be pursued, and no
dangerous paths to be avolded.
Jhe Amerlcan novellst or poet or dramatlst or
sculptor or palnter must work alone, ln confuslon,
unasslsted save by hls own lntegrlty.
Jhat, of course, has always been the lot of the art
lst. Jhe vagabond and crlmlnal Iranols Vlllon had
certalnly no smug and comfortable refuge ln whlch ele
gant ladles would hold hls hand and comfort hls
starvellng soul and more starved body. He, verltably a
great man, destlned to outllve ln hlstory all the dukes
and pulssant cardlnals whose robes he was esteemed
unworthy to touch, had for hls lot the gutter and the
hardened crust.
Such poverty ls not for the artlst ln Amerlca.
Jhey pay us, lndeed, only too well; that wrlter ls a fall
ure who cannot have hls butler and motor and hls vllla
at Palm Beach, where he ls permltted to mlngle almost
ln equallty wlth the barons of banklng. But he ls
oppressed ever by somethlng worse than povertyby
the feellng that what he creates does not matter, that he
ls expected by hls readers to be only a decorator or a
clown, or that he ls goodnaturedly accepted as a scoffer
whose bark probably ls worse than hls blte and who
probably ls a good fellow at heart, who ln any case cer
talnly does not count ln a land that produces elghty
story bulldlngs, motors by the mllllon, and wheat by
the bllllons of bushels. And he has no lnstltutlon, no
group, to whlch he can turn for lnsplratlon, whose crltl
clsm he can accept and whose pralse wlll be preclous to
hlm.
What lnstltutlons have we?
Jhe Amerlcan Academy of Arts and Letters does
contaln, along wlth several excellent palnters and archl
tects and statesmen, such a really dlstlngulshed unlver
slty presldent as Nlcholas Murray Butler, so admlrable
and courageous a scholar as Wllbur Cross, and several
flrstrate wrlters. the poets Edwln Arllngton Roblnson
and Robert Irost, the freemlnded publlclst |ames Jrus
low Adams, and the novellsts Edlth Wharton, Hamlln
Garland, Owen Wlster, Brand Whltlock, and Booth
Jarklngton.
But lt does not lnclude Jheodore Drelser, Henry
Mencken, our most vlvld crltlc, George |ean Nathan,
who, though stlll young, ls certalnly the dean of our
dramatlc crltlcs, Eugene O`Nelll, lncomparably our best
dramatlst, the really orlglnal and vltal poets, Edna St.
Vlncent Mlllay and Carl Sandburg, Roblnson |effers
and Vachel Llndsay and Edgar Lee Masters, whose
p o ^ was so utterly dlfferent from any
other poetry ever publlshed, so fresh, so authorltatlve,
so free from any groplngs and tlmldltles that lt came
llke a revelatlon and created a new school of natlve
Amerlcan poetry. It does not lnclude the novellsts and
shortstory wrlters, Wllla Cather, |oseph Hergeshelmer,
Sherwood Anderson, Rlng Lardner, Ernest Hemlng
way, Louls Bromfleld, Wllbur Danlel Steele, Iannle
Hurst, Mary Austln, |ames Branch Cabell, Edna Ier
ber, nor Lpton Slnclalr, of whom you must say,
89
whether you admlre or detest hls aggresslve soclallsm,
that he ls lnternatlonally better known than any other
Amerlcan artlst whosoever, be he novellst, poet, palnter,
sculptor, muslclan, archltect.
I should not expect any Academy to be so fortu
nate as to contaln all these wrlters, but one whlch falls
to contaln any of them, whlch thus cuts ltself off from
so much of what ls llvlng and vlgorous and orlglnal ln
Amerlcan letters, can have no relatlonshlp whatever to
our llfe and asplratlons. It does not represent the llter
ary Amerlca of todaylt represents only Henry Wads
worth Longfellow.
It mlght be answered that, after all, the Academy
ls llmlted to flfty members; that, naturally, lt cannot
lnclude every one of merlt. But the fact ls that whlle
most of our few glants are excluded, the Academy does
have room to lnclude three extraordlnarlly bad poets,
two very melodramatlc and lnslgnlflcant playwrlghts,
two gentlemen who are known only because they are
unlverslty presldents, a man who was thlrty years ago
known as a rather clever, humorous draughtsman, and
several gentlemen of whomI sadly confess my lgno
ranceI have never heard.
Let me agaln emphaslze the factfor lt ls a fact
that I am not attacklng the Amerlcan Academy. It ls a
hospltable and generous and decldedly dlgnlfled lnstltu
tlon. And lt ls not altogether the Academy`s fault that lt
does not contaln many of the men who have slgnlfl
cance ln our letters. Sometlmes lt ls the fault of those
wrlters themselves. I cannot lmaglne that grlzzly bear
Jheodore Drelser belng comfortable at the serenely
Athenlan dlnners of the Academy, and were they to
lnvlte Mencken, he would lnfurlate them wlth hls bols
terous jeerlng. No, I am not attacklngI am reluctantly
conslderlng the Academy because lt ls so perfect an
example of the dlvorce ln Amerlca of lntellectual llfe
from all authentlc standards of lmportance and reallty.
Our unlversltles and colleges, or gymnasla, most
of them, exhlblt the same unfortunate dlvorce. I can
thlnk of four of them, Rolllns College ln Ilorlda, Mld
dlebury College ln Vermont, the Lnlverslty of Mlchl
gan, and the Lnlverslty of Chlcagowhlch has had on
lts roll so excellent a novellst as Robert Herrlck, so cou
rageous a crltlc as Robert Morss Lovettwhlch have
shown an authentlc lnterest ln contemporary creatlve
llterature. Iour of them. But unlversltles and colleges
and muslcal emporlums and schools for the teachlng of
theology and plumblng and slgnpalntlng are as thlck ln
Amerlca as the motor trafflc. Whenever you see a pub
llc bulldlng wlth Gothlc fenestratlon on a sturdy back
lng of Indlana concrete, you may be certaln that lt ls
another unlverslty, wlth anywhere from two hundred to
twenty thousand students equally ardent about avold
lng the dlsadvantage of becomlng learned and about
galnlng the soclal prestlge contalned ln the possesslon
of a B.A. degree.
Oh, soclally our unlversltles are close to the mass
of our cltlzens, and so are they ln the matter of athletlcs.
A great college football game ls passlonately wltnessed
by elghty thousand people, who have pald flve dollars
aplece and motored anywhere from ten to a thousand
mlles for the ecstasy of watchlng twentytwo men chase
one another up and down a curlously marked fleld.
Durlng the football season, a capable player ranks very
nearly wlth our greatest and most admlred heroes
even wlth Henry Iord, Presldent Hoover, and Colonel
Llndbergh.
And ln one branch of learnlng, the sclences, the
lords of buslness who rule us are wllllng to do homage
to the devotees of learnlng. However bleakly one of our
trader arlstocrats may frown upon poetry or the vlslons
of a palnter, he ls graclously pleased to endure a Mllll
kan, a Mlchelson, a Bantlng, a Jheobald Smlth.
But the paradox ls that ln the arts our unlversltles
are as clolstered, as far from reallty and llvlng creatlon,
as soclally and athletlcally and sclentlflcally they are
close to us. Jo a trueblue professor of llterature ln an
Amerlcan unlverslty, llterature ls not somethlng that a
plaln human belng, llvlng today, palnfully slts down to
produce. No; lt ls somethlng dead; lt ls somethlng mag
lcally produced by superhuman belngs who must, lf
they are to be regarded as artlsts at all, have dled at
least one hundred years before the dlabollcal lnventlon
of the typewrlter. Jo any authentlc don, there ls some
thlng sllghtly repulslve ln the thought that llterature
could be created by any ordlnary human belng, stlll to
be seen walklng the streets, wearlng qulte commonplace
trousers and coat and looklng not so unllke a chauffeur
or a farmer. Our Amerlcan professors llke thelr lltera
ture clear and cold and pure and very dead.
I do not suppose that Amerlcan unlversltles are
alone ln thls. I am aware that to the dons of Oxford and
Cambrldge, lt would seem rather lndecent to suggest
that Wells and Bennett and Galsworthy and George
Moore may, whlle they commlt the lmproprlety of con
tlnulng to llve, be compared to anyone so beautlfully
and safely dead as Samuel |ohnson. I suppose that ln
the unlversltles of Sweden and Irance and Germany
there exlst plenty of professors who prefer dlssectlon to
understandlng. But ln the new and vltal and experlmen
tal land of Amerlca, one would expect the teachers of
llterature to be less monastlc, more human, than ln the
tradltlonal shadows of old Europe.
Jhey are not.
Jhere has recently appeared ln Amerlca, out of
the unlversltles, an astonlshlng clrcus called 'the New
Humanlsm." Now of course 'humanlsm" means so
many thlngs that lt means nothlng. It may lnfer any
90
iW k iI NO a NVPM ai_ PPN
thlng from a bellef that Greek and Latln are more
lnsplrlng than the dlalect of contemporary peasants to a
bellef that any llvlng peasant ls more lnterestlng than a
dead Greek. But lt ls a dellcate blt of justlce that thls
nebulous word should have been chosen to label thls
nebulous cult.
Insofar as I have been able to comprehend them
for naturally ln a world so excltlng and promlslng as
thls today, a llfe brllllant wlth Zeppellns and Chlnese
revolutlons and the Bolshevlk lndustrlallzatlon of farm
lng and shlps and the Grand Canyon and young chll
dren and terrlfylng hunger and the lonely quest of
sclentlsts after God, no creatlve wrlter would have the
tlme to follow all the chllly enthuslasms of the New
Humanlststhls newest of sects reasserts the duallsm of
man`s nature. It would conflne llterature to the flght
between man`s soul and God, or man`s soul and evll.
But, curlously, nelther God nor the devll may
wear modern dress, but must retaln Greclan vestments.
Oedlpus ls a traglc flgure for the New Humanlsts; man,
trylng to malntaln hlmself as the lmage of God under
the menace of dynamos, ln a world of hlghpressure
salesmanshlp, ls not. And the poor comfort whlch they
offer ls that the object of llfe ls to develop selfdlsclpllne
whether or not one ever accompllshes anythlng wlth
thls selfdlsclpllne. So the whole movement results ln
the not partlcularly novel doctrlne that both art and llfe
must be reslgned and negatlve. It ls a doctrlne of the
blackest reactlon lntroduced lnto a stlrrlngly revolutlon
ary world.
Strangely enough, thls doctrlne of death, thls
escape from the complexltles and danger of llvlng lnto
the secure blankness of the monastery, has become
wldely popular among professors ln a land where one
would have expected only boldness and lntellectual
adventure, and lt has more than ever shut creatlve wrlt
ers off from any benlgn lnfluence whlch mlght concelv
ably have come from the unlversltles.
But lt has always been so. Amerlca has never had
a Brandes, a Jalne, a Goethe, a Croce.
Wlth a wealth of creatlve talent ln Amerlca, our
crltlclsm has most of lt been a chlll and lnslgnlflcant
actlvlty pursued by jealous splnsters, exbaseballreporters,
and acld professors. Our Erasmuses have been vlllage
schoolmlstresses. How should there be any standards
when there has been no one capable of settlng them up?
Jhe great CambrldgeConcord clrcle of the mld
dle of the nlneteenth centuryEmerson, Longfellow,
Lowell, Holmes, the Alcottswere sentlmental reflec
tlons of Europe, and they left no school, no lnfluence.
Whltman and Jhoreau and Poe and, ln some degree,
Hawthorne, were outcasts, men alone and desplsed,
berated by the New Humanlsts of thelr generatlon. It
was wlth the emergence of Wllllam Dean Howells that
we flrst began to have somethlng llke a standard, and a
very bad standard lt was.
Mr. Howells was one of the gentlest, sweetest,
and most honest of men, but he had the code of a plous
old mald whose greatest dellght was to have tea at the
vlcarage. He abhorred not only profanlty and obscenlty
but all of what H. G. Wells has called 'the jolly coarse
nesses of llfe." In hls fantastlc vlslon of llfe, whlch he
lnnocently concelved to be reallstlc, farmers, and sea
men and factory hands mlght exlst, but the farmer must
never be covered wlth muck, the seaman must never
roll out bawdy chanteys, the factory hand must be
thankful to hls good klnd employer, and all of them
must long for the opportunlty to vlslt Ilorence and
smlle gently at the qualntness of the beggars.
So strongly dld Howells feel thls genteel, thls New
Humanlstlc phllosophy that he was able vastly to lnflu
ence hls contemporarles, down even to l9l1 and the
turmoll of the Great War.
He was actually able to tame Mark Jwaln, per
haps the greatest of our wrlters, and to put that flery old
savage lnto an lntellectual frock coat and top hat. Hls
lnfluence ls not altogether gone today. He ls stlll wor
shlpped by Hamlln Garland, an author who should ln
every way have been greater than Howells but who
under Howells` lnfluence was changed from a harsh
and magnlflcent reallst lnto a genlal and lnslgnlflcant
lecturer. Mr. Garland ls, so far as we have one, the dean
of Amerlcan letters today, and as our dean, he ls
alarmed by all of the younger wrlters who are so lack
lng ln taste as to suggest that men and women do not
always love ln accordance wlth the prayerbook, and
that common people sometlmes use language whlch
would be lnapproprlate at a women`s llterary club on
Maln Street. Yet thls same Hamlln Garland, as a young
man, before he had gone to Boston and become cul
tured and Howellslsed, wrote two most vallant and
revelatory works of reallsm, j~Jq~ o~ and
o a `.
I read them as a boy ln a pralrle vlllage ln Mlnne
sota, just such an envlronment as was descrlbed ln Mr.
Garland`s tales. Jhey were vastly excltlng to me. I had
reallzed ln readlng Balzac and Dlckens that lt was possl
ble to descrlbe Irench and Engllsh common people as
one actually saw them. But lt had never occurred to me
that one mlght wlthout lndecency wrlte of the people of
Sauk Centre, Mlnnesota, as one felt about them. Our
flctlonal tradltlon, you see, was that all of us ln Mld
western vlllages were altogether noble and happy; that
not one of us would exchange the nelghborly bllss of
llvlng on Maln Street for the heathen gaudlness of New
York or Parls or Stockholm. But ln Mr. Garland`s j~J
q~ o~ I dlscovered that there was one man who
belleved that Mldwestern peasants were sometlmes
9l
bewlldered and hungry and vlleand herolc. And,
glven thls vlslon, I was released; I could wrlte of llfe as
llvlng llfe.
I am afrald that Mr. Garland would be not
pleased but acutely annoyed to know that he made lt
posslble for me to wrlte of Amerlca as I see lt, and not
as Mr. Wllllam Dean Howells so sunnlly saw lt. And lt
ls hls tragedy, lt ls a completely revelatory Amerlcan
tragedy, that ln our land of freedom, men llke Garland,
who flrst blast the roads to freedom, become them
selves the most bound.
But, all thls tlme, whlle men llke Howells were so
effuslvely seeklng to gulde Amerlca lnto becomlng a
pale edltlon of an Engllsh cathedral town, there were
surly and authentlc fellowsWhltman and Melvllle,
then Drelser and |ames Huneker and Menckenwho
lnslsted that our land had somethlng more than tea
table gentlllty.
And so, wlthout standards, we have survlved.
And for the strong young men, lt has perhaps been well
that we should have no standards. Ior, after seemlng to
be pesslmlstlc about my own and much beloved land, I
want to close thls dlrge wlth a very llvely sound of optl
mlsm.
I have, for the future of Amerlcan llterature, every
hope and every eager bellef. We are comlng out, I
belleve, of the stufflness of safe, sane, and lncredlbly
dull provlnclallsm. Jhere are young Amerlcans today
who are dolng such passlonate and authentlc work that
lt makes me slck to see that I am a llttle too old to be
one of them.
Jhere ls Ernest Hemlngway, a bltter youth, edu
cated by the most lntense experlence, dlsclpllned by hls
own hlgh standards, an authentlc artlst whose home ls
ln the whole of llfe; there ls Jhomas Wolfe, a chlld of, I
belleve, thlrty or younger, whose one and only novel,
i e~I Î ls worthy to be compared wlth
the best ln our llterary productlon, a Gargantuan crea
ture wlth great gusto of llfe; there ls Jhornton Wllder,
who ln an age of reallsm dreams the old and lovely
dreams of the eternal romantlcs; there ls |ohn Dos Pas
sos, wlth hls hatred of the safe and sane standards of
Babbltt and hls splendor of revolutlon; there ls Stephen
Bent, who to Amerlcan drabness has restored the eplc
poem wlth hls glorlous memory of old |ohn Brown;
there are Mlchael Gold, who reveals the new frontler of
the |ewlsh East Slde, and Wllllam Iaulkner, who has
freed the South from hoopsklrts; and there are a dozen
other young poets and flctloneers, most of them llvlng
now ln Parls, most of them a llttle lnsane ln the tradl
tlon of |ames |oyce, who, however lnsane they may be,
have refused to be genteel and tradltlonal and dull.
I salute them, wlth a joy ln belng not yet too far
removed from thelr determlnatlon to glve to the Amer
lca that has mountalns and endless pralrles, enormous
cltles and lost far cablns, bllllons of money and tons of
falth, to an Amerlca that ls as strange as Russla and as
complex as Chlna, a llterature worthy of her vastness.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l930. Slnclalr Lewls ls the
92
j~ j~
(29 Zugust 1S62 - 6 Moy 1949)
i oK t
Uvivcrsity of Tcxos ot Zustiv
and
i p~
Dovidsov Collcgc
Jhls entry has been expanded by Sachs from Wllkln
son`s Maeterllnck entry ln DI 192: Ircvcl Dromotists,
17S9-1914.
BOOKS. 'Le Massacre des lnnocents," as Moorls
Maeterllnck, ln Io Ilciodc (l886); republlshed ln
Mouricc Moctcrlivcl, edlted by Gerard Harry (Brus
sels. Ch. Carrlngton, l909), pp. 85-l07; trans
lated by Alfred Alllnson as Tlc Mossocrc of tlc
Ivvoccvts (London. Allen Lnwln, l9l1; New
York. Duffleld, l9l5);
Scrrcs cloudcs, pomcs (Parls. Vanler, l889);
Io Irivccssc Molcivc (Ghent. Louls van Melle, l889);
translated by Harry as Tlc Irivccss Molcivc (Lon
don. Helnemann, l890); translated by Rlchard
Hovey as Tlc Irivccss Molcivc (New York. Dodd,
Mead, l891);
IÌvtrusc, Ics Zvcuglcs (Brussels. P. Lacomblez, l890);
translated by Mary Vlel Washlngton as livd,
Tlc Ivtrudcr (N.p.. W. H. Morrlson, l89l);
Ics Scpt Irivccsscs (Brussels. P. Lacomblez, l89l); trans
lated by Wllllam Metcalfe as Tlc Scvcv Irivccsscs
(London. Gowans Gray, l909);
Icllcos ct Mclisovdc (Brussels. P. Lacomblez, l892); trans
lated by Ervlng Wlnslow as Icllcos ovd Mclisovdc
(New York. Crowell, l891); translated by Lau
rence Alma Jadema as Icllcos ovd Mclisovdo, ln
Icllcos ovd Mclisovdo, ovd Tlc Sigltlcss: Two Iloys
(London. Walter Scott, l895);
Zllodivc ct Iolomidcs, Ivtcricur, ct Io Mort dc Tivtogilcs, trois
pctits dromcs pour moriovvcttcs (Brussels. Collectlon
du Rvell, l891); translated by A. Sutro and Wll
llam Archer as Zllodivc ovd Iolomidcs, Ivtcrior, and
Tlc Dcotl of Tivtogilcs, ln Tlrcc Iittlc Dromos for
Moriovcttcs (London Glasgow. Gowans Gray,
l9ll);
Ic Trcsor dcs lumblcs (Parls. Mercure de Irance, l896);
translated by Sutro as Tlc Trcosurc of tlc Humblc
(London. George Allen, l897);
Zglovoivc ct Sclyscttc (Parls. Mercure de Irance, l896);
translated by Sutro as Zglovoivc ovd Sclyscttc (Lon
don. Grant Rlchards, l897);
j~ j~I ~ NVMR Ee ^Ld f~F
93
ai_ PPN j~ j~
Douc clovsovs (Parls. Stock, l896); translated by Martln
Schtze as Sovgs (Chlcago. Ralph Iletcher Sey
mour, l9l2);
Io Sogcssc ct lo dcstivcc (Parls. Iasquelle, l898); translated
by Sutro as !isdom ovd Dcstivy (London. George
Allen, l898);
Scrrcs cloudcs, suivics dc quivc clovsovs (Brussels. P.
Lacomblez, l900); translated by Schtze as Sovgs
(Chlcago. Ralph Iletcher Seymour, l9l2);
Io !ic dcs obcillcs (Parls. Iasquelle, l90l); translated by
Sutro as Tlc Iifc of tlc cc (New York. Dodd,
l90l);
Tlcotrc I (Brussels. P. Lacomblez, l90l)comprlses Io
Irivccssc Molcivc, IÌvtrusc, and Ics Zvcuglcs;
Tlcotrc III (Brussels. P. Lacomblez, l90l)comprlses
Zglovoivc ct Sclyscttc, Zriovc ct orbc-lcuc, and Socur
cotricc;
Tlcotrc II (Brussels. P. Lacomblez, l902)comprlses
Icllcos ct Mclisovdc, Zllodivc ct Iolomidcs, Ivtcricur,
and Io Mort dc Tivtogilcs;
Tlcotrc dc Mouricc Moctcrlivcl, 3 volumes (Brussels.
Deman, l902)comprlses Io Irivccssc Molcivc,
IÌvtrusc, Ics Zvcuglcs, Icllcos ct Mclisovdc, Zllodivc ct
Iolomidcs, Ivtcricur, Io Mort dc Tivtogilcs, Zglovoivc ct
Sclyscttc, Zriovc ct orbc-blcuc, and Socur cotricc;
Movvo !ovvo (Parls. Iasquelle, l902); translated by A. I.
Du P. Coleman (New York. Harper, l903); trans
lated by Sutro as Movvo !ovvo: Z Dromo iv Tlrcc
Zcts (London. G. Allen Sons, l901);
oycllc (Parls. Iasquelle, l903); translated by Alexander
Jelxelra de Mattos (London. George Allen,
l906);
Ic Doublc ordiv (Parls. Iasquelle, l901); translated by
de Mattos as Tlc Doublc Cordcv (London. George
Allen, l901);
IÌvtclligcvcc dcs flcurs (Parls. Iasquelle, l907); translated
by de Mattos as Iifc ovd Ilowcrs: Twclvc Issoys
(London. G. Allen Sons, l907); also publlshed
as Ivtclligcvcc of tlc Ilowcrs (New York. Dodd,
Mead, l907);
IÙiscou blcu (Parls. Iasquelle, l909); translated by de
Mattos as Tlc luc ird: Z Ioiry Iloy iv Iivc Zcts
(London. Methuen, l909);
Morccoux cloisis (Parls. Nelson, l9l0);
Io Mort (Parls. Iasquelle, l9l3); translated by de Mat
tos as Dcotl (London. Methuen, l9ll);
Moric Mogdolcivc (Parls. Iasquelle, l9l3); translated by
de Mattos as Mory Mogdolcvc, Z Iloy iv Tlrcc Zcts
(London. Methuen, l9l0);
Ics Dcbris dc lo gucrrc (Parls. Iasquelle, l9l6); translated
by de Mattos as Tlc !rocl of tlc Storm (London.
Methuen, l9l6);
I`Htc ivcovvu (Parls. Iasquelle, l9l7); translated by de
Mattos as Tlc Uvlvowv Cucst (London. Methuen,
l9l1);
Io clgiquc cv Cucrrc: Zlbum illustrc, tcxt dc Moctcrlivcl,
Cyricl uyssc, ctc. (Brussels Le Havre. E. Van
Hamme, l9l8);
Dcux Covtcs: Ic Mossocrc dcs ivvoccvts, Uvirologic (Parls.
Crs, l9l8);
Ic Miroclc dc Soivt-Zvtoivc (Parls. Edouard |oseph, l9l9);
translated by Ralph Roeder as Z Miroclc of Soivt
Zvtlovy, ln Z Miroclc of Soivt Zvtlovy ovd Iivc Utlcr
Iloys (New York. Bonl Llverlght, l9l7), pp. ll-
13; translated by de Mattos as Tlc Miroclc of Soivt
Zvtlovy (London. Methuen, l9l8);
Ic ourgmcstrc dc Stilcmovdc (Parls. Edouard |oseph,
l9l9); translated by de Mattos as Tlc urgomostcr
of Stilcmovdc: Z Iloy iv Tlrcc Zcts (London. Meth
uen, l9l8; New York. Mead, l9l9);
Ics Scvticrs dovs lo movtogvc (Parls. Iasquelle, l9l9);
translated by de Mattos as Mouvtoiv Iotls (New
York. Dodd, Mead, l9l9);
Tlcotrc, 3 volumes (Parls. Iasquelle, l9l9)comprlses
volume l, Io Irivccssc Molcivc, IÌvtrusc, and Ics
Zvcuglcs; volume 2, Icllcos ct Mclisovdc, Zllodivc ct
Iolomidcs, Ivtcricur, and Io Mort dc Tivtogilcs; and
volume 3, Zglovoivc ct Sclyscttc, Zriovc ct orbc-blcuc,
and Socur cotricc;
Ic Crovd Sccrct (Parls. Iasquelle, l92l); translated by
Bernard Mlall as Tlc Crcot Sccrct (London. Meth
uen, l922);
Ics Iptrcs dc Scvquc (Lyons. Lardanchet, l92l);
Ics Iiovoillcs (Parls. Iasquelle, l922); translated by de
Mattos as Tlc ctrotlol; or Tlc luc ird Clooscs: Z
Ioiry Iloy iv Iivc Zcts: civg o Scqucl to Tlc luc ird
(London. Methuen, l9l9);
Iogcs cloisics, 2 volumes (Parls. Crs, l921);
Ic Mollcur possc (Parls. A. Iayard, l925);
Io Iuissovcc dcs morts (Parls. A. Iayard, l926);
crviqucl (Parls. Candlde, l926);
Iv Sicilc ct cv Colobrc (Parls. S. Kra, l927);
Moric !ictoirc (Parls. A. Iayard, l927);
Io !ic dcs tcrmitcs (Parls. Iasquelle, l927); translated by
Sutro as Tlc Iifc of tlc !litc Zvt (London. Allen
Lnwln, l927);
Io !ic dc l`cspocc (Parls. Iasquelle, l928); translated by
Mlall as Tlc Iifc of Spocc (London. Allen Lnwln,
l928; New York. Dodd, Mead, l928);
Iv Igyptc (Parls. Chronlque des lettres franalses,
l928); translated by Sutro as Zvcicvt Igypt (Lon
don. Allen Lnwln, l925);
udo dc Icriotl (Parls. A. Iayard, l929);
Io Crovdc Iccric (Parls. Iasquelle, l929); translated by
Sutro as Tlc Mogic of tlc Stors (London. Allen
Lnwln, l930; New York. Dodd, Mead, l930);
91
j~ j~ ai_ PPN
Io !ic dcs fourmis (Parls. Iasquelle, l930); translated by
Mlall as Tlc Iifc of tlc Zvt (London. Cassell,
l930);
I`Zroigvcc dc vcrrc (Parls. Iasquelle, l932); translated by
Mlall as Iigcovs ovd Spidcrs (London. Allen
Lnwln, l931);
Io Crovdc Ioi (Parls. Iasquelle, l933); translated by
K. S. Shelvankar as Tlc Suprcmc Iow (London.
Rlder, l935);
Zvovt lc grovd silcvcc (Parls. Iasquelle, l931);
Io Irivccssc Isobcllc, picc cv 20 toblcoux (Parls. Iasquelle,
l935);
Ic Soblicr (Parls. Iasquelle, l936); translated by Mlall as
Tlc Hour-Closs (London. Allen Lnwln, l936);
IÙmbrc dcs oilcs (Parls. Iasquelle, l936);
Dcvovt Dicu (Parls. Iasquelle, l937);
Io Crovdc Iortc (Parls. Iasquelle, l939);
I`Zutrc Movdc ou lc codrov stclloirc (New York. Edltlons de
la malson franalse, l912; Parls. Iasquelle, l912);
covvc d`Zrc, picc cv 12 toblcoux (Monaco. Edltlons du
Rocher, l918);
ullcs blcucs (souvcvirs lcurcux) (Monaco. Edltlons du
Rocher, l918; Brussels. Club du llvre du mols,
l918);
Tlcotrc ivcdit: Iòbbc Sctubol, Ics trois justicicrs, Ic jugcmcvt
dcrvicr (Parls. Del Duca, l959).
b bW Tlc Irivccss Molcivc, o Dromo iv Iivc
Zcts |translated by Gerard Harry|, ovd Tlc Ivtrudcr,
o Dromo iv Uvc Zct |translated by W. Wllson,
anonymous| (London. Helnemann, l892);
Tlc Sigltlcss, translated by Charlotte Porter and Helen
A. Clarke, Ioct-Iorc, 5 (l893). l59-l63, 2l8-22l,
273-277, 119-152;
Icllcos ovd Mclisovdc, Zllodivc ovd Iolomidcs, Homc, trans
lated by Rlchard Hovey (New York. Dodd,
Mead, l896);
Tlc Iloys of Mouricc Moctcrlivcl, translated by Hovey
(Chlcago New York. Herbert S. Stone, l905)
comprlses Irivccss Molcivc, Tlc Ivtrudcr, Tlc livd,
and Tlc Scvcv Irivccsscs;
Tlc Iloys of Mouricc Moctcrlivcl, second serles, translated
by Hovey (Chlcago New York. Herbert S.
Stone, l905)comprlses Zllodivc and Iolomidcs,
Icllcos ct Mclisovdc, Homc, and Tlc Dcotl of Tivtog-
ilcs;
Tlc Ivtrudcr, edlted by Adam Luke Gray (London
Glasgow. Gomans Gray, l9l3).
PLAY PRODLCJIONS. IÌvtrusc, Parls, Jhtre
dÀrt, 2l May l89l;
Ics Zvcuglcs, Parls, Jhtre dÀrt, 7 December l89l;
Icllcos ct Mclisovdc, Jhtre des BouffesParlslens, l6
May l893;
Zvvobcllo, adapted from |ohn Iord`s play `Tis Iity Slc`s o
!lorc, Parls, Jhtre de lÒeuvre, 6 November
l891;
Ivtcricur, Parls, Jhtre de lÒeuvre, l5 March l895;
Zglovoivc ct Sclyscttc, Parls, Jhtre de lÒdon, l1
December l896;
Movvo !ovvo, Parls, Jhtre de lÒeuvre, l7 May l902;
ComdleIranalse, 22 December l903;
oycllc, Parls, Jhtre du Gymnase, 20 May l903;
Ic Miroclc dc Soivt-Zvtoivc, Geneva, l903; Brussels,
l903;
Io Mort dc Tivtogilcs, wlth muslc by Nougus, Parls,
Jhtre des Mathurlns, 28 December l905;
Zriovc ct orbc-blcuc, Parls, OpraComlque, March
l907;
IÙiscou blcu, Moscow, Moscow Art Jheater, 30 Septem
ber l908; Parls, Jhtre Rjane, 2 March l9ll;
Io Trogcdic dc Mocbctl, adapted from Wllllam Shake
speare`s play, SalntWandrllle, Maeterllnck`s prl
vate theater, 28 August l909;
Socur cotricc, New York, New Jheater, l1 March l9l0;
Moric Mogdolcivc, Nlce, Caslno Munlclpal, l8 March
l9l3; Parls, Jhtre du Chtelet, 28 May l9l3;
Ic ourgmcstrc dc Stilcmovdc, Buenos Alres, l9l8; Parls,
Jhtre Moncey, l9l9;
Ics Iiovoillcs, performed ln translatlon as Tlc ctrotlol,
New York, Schubert Jheater, l8 November l9l8;
Io Irivccssc Isobcllc, Parls, Jhtre de la Renalssance
Cora, 8 October l935.
JRANSLAJIONS. |an van Ruysbroeck, Iòrvcmcvt dcs
voccs spiritucllcs dc Iuysbroccl lòdmiroblc (Brussels. P.
Lacomblez, l89l);
|ohn Iord, Zvvobcllo (Parls. Ollendorf, l895);
Novalls, Ics Disciplcs o Sos ct lcs Irogmcvts dc òvolis
(Brussels. P. Lacomblez, l895);
Wllllam Shakespeare, Io Trogcdic dc Mocbctl, troductiov
vouvcllc ovcc ivtroductiov ct votcs (Parls. Iasquelle,
l9l0).
Illness kept Maurlce Maeterllnck from attendlng
the banquet ln Stockholm at whlch he was awarded the
Nobel Prlze ln Llterature ln l9ll. Jhe customary ban
quet speech was lnstead dellvered by a Belglan dlgnl
tary who descrlbed the laureate ln these words. 'Jall,
robust, of athletlc appearance, wlth a full face and a dull
complexlon, easlly exclted, always bareheaded, he
hardly glves the lmpresslon of a dreamer, poet, or phl
losopher. Ior those who know hlm well, he ls a thlnker
and a shy man who reveals hlmself only to hls frlends."
It ls somehow flttlng that Maeterllnck should be absent
from thls most venerable celebratlon of hls llterary
achlevement. the personal characterlstlcs of thls eluslve
and mysterlous flgure'the least understood of all the
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Nobel Prlzewlnners," accordlng to Rupert Hughes
seem to be mlrrored ln hls symbollst theater that trles,
through suggestlon and alluslon, to represent the lnvlsl
ble and communlcate the lneffable. One could say that
Maeterllnck`s theater turns the notlon of 'absence" lnto
an aesthetlc prlnclple.
A Belglan of Ilemlsh descent who wrote ln
Irench and spent most of hls llfe ln Irance, Maeterllnck
had a powerful effect on the theatrlcal world of the late
nlneteenth century and on the abstract and mlnlmallst
experlments ln theater that domlnate much twentleth
century drama, for example, the Jheater of the Absurd.
In a prollflc career that extended lnto the nlnth decade
of hls llfe, he publlshed twentyelght plays, two collec
tlons of poetry, two short storles, many volumes of pop
ularlzlng essays on phllosophlcal, occult, and sclentlflc
subjects, and an autoblography. But llterary hlstorlans
generally agree that hls most lnnovatlve and lnfluentlal
works were the plays that he wrote ln the l890s and
early l900s. In l89l Paul Iort`s avantgarde Jhtre
dÀrt produced IÌvtrusc (l89l; translated as Tlc Ivtrudcr,
l89l) and Ics Zvcuglcs (l89l; translated as livd, l89l).
AurllenIranols LugnPo`s troupe staged Icllcos ct
Mclisovdc (l893; translated as Icllcos ovd Mclisovdc, l891)
and Ivtcricur (l895; translated as Ivtcrior, l9ll). Maeter
llnck`s plays were, ln fact, among the few Irench texts
that sulted the avantgarde repertory of these theaters.
In l908 the productlon of Maeterllnck`s IÙiscou
blcu (translated as Tlc luc ird: Z Ioiry Iloy iv Iivc Zcts,
l909) at the Moscow Art Jheater was a mllestone ln
the development of symbollst and avantgarde theater
ln Russla. Indeed, Maeterllnck`s early plays were espe
clally lnfluentlal outslde Irance and formed an lntegral
part of the repertory of the Russlan dlrector Vsevolod
Meyerhold and the German dlrector Max Relnhardt.
Jhe early dramas of Anton Chekhov, as well as the
plays of Wllllam Butler Yeats and the late plays of
August Strlndberg, all draw on and develop aspects of
Maeterllnck`s early work.
But Maeterllnck`s early plays represent only a
small part of hls creatlve output, whlch grew lncreas
lngly remote from any klnd of avantgarde art. Always
a solltary flgure, Maeterllnck wlthdrew ln hls later years
to a serles of country estates, settllng at last lnto Orla
monde, hls palatlal resldence on the Irench Rlvlera that
he decorated ln art nouveau style and where he played
the roles of the country gentleman and recluslve man of
letters. Although he contlnued to wrlte plays after
World War I, Maeterllnck was best known ln the last
four decades of hls llfe for hls essays and hls courtly llfe
style.
Maurltlus Polydorus Marla Bernhardus Maeter
llnck was born ln Ghent, Belglum, on 29 August l862.
Hls parents were Polydore Maeterllnck, a prosperous
retlred notary, and Mathllde Colette Iranolse Van den
Bossche, the daughter of a lawyer. Jhe famlly was bllln
gual and dlvlded lts tlme between a town house ln
Ghent and a country estate at Oostacker, where
Maeterllnck`s father ralsed bees and devoted hlmself to
gardenlng. Maeterllnck was educated at a convent
school, the prlvate Instltut Central ln Ghent, and the
|esult Collge SalnteBarbe, where he met and became
frlends wlth the future poet Charles Van Lerberghe.
Irom l88l to l885 Maeterllnck studled law at the Lnl
verslty of Ghent. At the successful completlon of hls
law studles the young man persuaded hls father to send
hlm to Parls for several months, ostenslbly to study
Irench law, but Maeterllnck spent hls tlme there ln llter
ary clrcles, meetlng wrlters such as SalntPolRoux,
Catulle Mends, Stphane Mallarm, and, most lmpor
tantly, |eanMarle Mathlas PhlllppeAuguste, Comte de
Vllllers de lÌsleAdam. Returnlng to Ghent, Maeter
llnck practlced law untll l889, 'falllng brllllantly," ln the
words of hls flrst blographer, Gerard Harry.
Durlng these years, however, the young wrlter
saw the flrst publlcatlon of hls work. ln l886 Io Ilciodc
publlshed hls short story 'Le Massacre des lnnocents"
(translated as Tlc Mossocrc of tlc Ivvoccvts, l9l1), and ln
l887 twelve of hls poems appeared ln Ic Iorvossc dc lo
jcuvc clgiquc. In l889 Maeterllnck publlshed hls transla
tlon of |an van Ruysbroeck`s fourteenthcentury mystl
cal treatlse, Zdorvmcvt of Spirituol Morriogc, ln Io Icvuc
gcvcrolc; a volume of poetry, Scrrcs cloudcs; and a play, Io
Irivccssc Molcivc, at hls own expense.
Except for Io Irivccssc Molcivc, Maeterllnck`s early
works were unnotlced by the crltlcs. When, however,
Maeterllnck sent a copy of Io Irivccssc Molcivc to Mal
larm, the lnfluentlal poet, much lmpressed, gave the
play to Octave Mlrbeau. On 21 August l890 Mlrbeau
publlshed a hlghly enthuslastlc revlew of the play ln Ic
Iigoro, thereby launchlng Maeterllnck`s career as a play
wrlght and man of letters. Durlng the next flve years
Maeterllnck wrote the plays for whlch he ls best known
ln llterary and theatrlcal hlstory. Io Irivccssc Molcivc was
followed by IÌvtrusc, Ics Zvcuglcs, Ics Scpt Irivccsscs
(l89l; translated as Tlc Scvcv Irivccsscs, l909), Icllcos ct
Mclisovdc, Zllodivc ct Iolomidcs (l891; translated as Zllo-
divc ovd Iolomidcs, l9ll), Ivtcricur, and Io Mort dc Tivtog-
ilcs (l891; translated as Tlc Dcotl of Tivtogilcs, l9ll).
In the l890 revlew that brought Io Irivccssc
Molcivc and lts author to the attentlon of the llterary
world, Mlrbeau celebrated Maeterllnck`s play by com
parlng lt to the work of Wllllam Shakespeare. In fact,
Maeterllnck`s play has more ln common wlth the sym
bollst lnterpretatlons of Shakespeare, such as are found
ln Mallarm`s Igitur (l869), than lt does wlth Shake
speare`s work. Set ln a northern klngdom ln an unspecl
fled feudal past, the flve acts of Io Irivccssc Molcivc
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present the events that lead to the death of the lnnocent
young prlncess of the tltle, who ls ultlmately kllled by
the evll and powerful Danlsh queen, Anne. In the flrst
act _ueen Anne has seduced the feeble old klng of the
land, Hjalmar, and ls determlned to marry her daugh
ter, Lglyane, to the young prlnce, also called Hjalmar.
But Anne must flrst get rld of the young prlnce`s
betrothed, Malelne. Early ln the play Malelne escapes
from the tower ln whlch she has been lmprlsoned; later,
however, she ls recaptured and lmprlsoned agaln;
flnally, ln the last act, she ls strangled by Anne.
Jhe vague northern settlng of the play and the
pllght of the young prlnce recall Shakespeare`s e~
(l603) ln general terms. certalnly young Hjalmar`s fam
lly ls as dysfunctlonal, and hls klngdom ln as much
chaos, as are Hamlet`s. Several crowd scenes provlde a
gllmpse of dlsorder outslde the castle. Young Hjalmar,
too, dles at the end of the play; but he dles by hls own
hand when he dlscovers the corpse of Malelne, whose
death has been caused by Anne, not by hls words or
actlons. Hjalmar`s father ls stlll allve at the end of the
play, a symbol, perhaps, of a decadent order unable to
renew ltself. Lnllke Gertrude, hls Danlsh consort ls
purely evll. i~ m j~ shlfts the focus of the
Hamlet legend away from the young male helr and to
the women of the castle. what ensues ls a struggle
between the acqulescent vlctlm, Malelne, and an actlve
and lntelllgent queen consort who ls demonlzed.
Jhls struggle has at least two dlmenslons. Llke
the two Hjalmars, Anne and Malelne seem ln some
respects doubles, but ln the world of Hjalmar`s castle
they are necessarlly at odds wlth each other. Jhe dou
bllng ln the play suggests a psychologlcal allegory ln
whlch dlfferent aspects of the self cannot be reconclled.
At the same tlme, however, the actlon of the play sug
gests the acknowledgment and the deplorlng of the
emergence of women as powerful agents ln polltlcs and
culture. murder, even lf lt targets the weak and helpless
rather than the prlnclpal offenders, seems to be the
solutlon to cultural decadence and the decllne of male
authorlty proposed here.
In lts representatlon of the powerhungry and
murderous _ueen Anne, i~ m j~ also draws
on j~ (l606), whlch Maeterllnck translated ln
l9l0. But perhaps the most lmportant echoes ln the
play are of the unperformable dramas of Mallarm.
Jhe beautlful prlncess ln the tower at the beglnnlng of
the play recalls Mallarm`s vlrglnal Hrodlade ln hls
fragment by that name. And Maeterllnck`s hlghly psy
chologlcal and vague treatment of the Hamlet theme
also suggests Mallarme`s fI whlch transforms the
Hamlet theme lnto a slngle sollloquy and a drama of
consclousness confrontlng nothlngness. Maeterllnck`s
flrst readers halled the play because lt seemed to repre
sent a performable verslon of symbollst theater. Jhe
play, however, was not performed ln the l890s. Iort
trled to get permlsslon to stage lt at hls Jhtre dÀrt,
but Maeterllnck refused, ostenslbly because he pre
ferred to glve lt to Andr Antolne, who may have fllrted
wlth the ldea of puttlng lt on but recognlzed ln the end
that i~ m j~ was fundamentally at odds wlth
the naturallst aesthetlc of hls theater and lts repertory.
Jhls opposltlon to naturallsm ls evldent ln several
ways. Jhe actlon of the play takes place ln an unspecl
fled place and tlme, and the characters, unllke the realls
tlc lndlvlduals on the naturallst stage, are archetypal
flgures such as those ln a falry tale. Moreover, the play
ascrlbes supernatural powers to the natural world. In
the openlng scene, the guards outslde the castle observe
a comet followed by a shower of falllng stars, an omen,
they say, that a prlncess wlll dle. Several other natural
elements seem to foreshadow Malelne`s demlse. Most
slgnlflcant ls the scene ln the park (act 2, scene 6) where
Prlnce Hjalmar and Malelne are reunlted. At the
moment of thelr embrace, a wlnd blows, and the lovers
are sprayed by water from a nearby fountaln; the erotlc
overtones of the symbollsm are unmlstakable. Jhen,
when Prlnce Hjalmar expresses hls joy to Malelne, the
fountaln makes a sound as though lt were weeplng and
then 'dles"a clear, perhaps even heavyhanded,
announcement of thelr lllfated love. Jhroughout the
play, the forces of nature 'explaln" what the human
characters cannot.
Maeterllnck`s flrst produced play was hls next,
ifI whlch opened ln Parls on 2l May l89l at the
Jhtre dÀrt. Wlth a subject matter qulte dlfferent
from that of i~ m j~I lts slngle act takes place
ln a 'dark room ln a rather old castle," where members
of a famlly have gathered. As the play opens, a chlld has
just been born, and the mother ls apparently recoverlng
ln a room offstage. Only the bllnd Grandfather, waltlng
wlth the other famlly members, fears the worst; but at
the end of the play hls fears are conflrmed. Sllently, the
nun who has been tendlng the new mother appears ln
the doorway. Jhe old bllnd man has been able to sense
what the others have not. if represents the flrst of
Maeterllnck`s celebrated and revolutlonary ~ ~J
(statlc dramas), relatlvely plotless works ln whlch
a small group of characters focus on a metaphyslcal or
psychologlcal presence that cannot be represented ln
vlslble terms.
In ifI the lnvlslble presence ls the fatal lll
ness that wlll take the young mother`s llfe. Jhough
unseen, lt ls made palpable through dlalogue and other
dramatlc effects (such as the sound of a scythe belng
sharpened offstagea lessthansubtle alluslon to the
Grlm Reaper). Jhe lnvlslble malady almost seems to
take a place on stage alongslde the other characters, an
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ldea corroborated by the Lncle`s comment. 'Once an
lllness has entered a home, you could say that there ls a
stranger ln the famlly." Jhe deadly lllness ls, ln fact, the
'lntruder" named ln the tltle of the play.
More than death ltself, lt ls the arrlval or the
antlclpatlon of death that ls the maln focus of the play.
Maeterllnck uses a technlque slmllar to that later used
by Samuel Beckett to make hls spectator feel the anxl
ety assoclated wlth omlnous waltlng. Conslder, for
example, thls exchange between the Lncle and the
Grandfather concernlng the lmpendlng vlslt from the
alllng mother`s older slster. Lncle. 'What wlll we do
whlle waltlng?" Grandfather. 'Whlle waltlng for
what?" Lncle. 'Whlle waltlng for our slster?" Jhe
older slster, who, moreover, ls a nun, never arrlves
onstage ln person. But her character ls to some extent
conflated wlth the Slster of Charlty who appears at the
end to announce the mother`s death. In other words,
the dlscusslon of the famlly`s real slster, and antlclpatlon
of her arrlval, ls a metaphorlcal foreshadowlng of the
arrlval of death.
Jhough the Grandfather`s fallure to remember
for whom or what they are waltlng seems rldlculous,
perhaps even absurdly Beckettlan, glven that the slster`s
vlslt has been an ongolng toplc of conversatlon, the play
does not on the whole make llght of the Grandfather`s
senlllty or frallty. On the contrary, the Grandfather has
a presclence about hls daughter`s condltlon that the
other famlly members lack. He says at one polnt.
'Jhere are tlmes when I am less bllnd than you." Jhe
Grandfather embodles those qualltles that Maeterllnck
extols ln much of hls theater, poetry, and prose. the abll
lty to percelve that whlch ls lmperceptlble by the senses
and to apprehend that whlch defles ratlonal under
standlng.
Maeterllnck`s thlrd play, i Î also pre
mlered at the Jhtre dÀrt, where lt opened on 7
December l89l. In thls play all the characters are bllnd,
thereby emphaslzlng to an even greater degree than
if the evocatlon onstage of lnvlslble forces. Jhe
characters ln i ^ are a group of bllnd patlents
who wander ln the woods to whlch they have been
taken on an outlng by a prlest; as they talk, lt becomes
clear that they are unaware that the prlest has quletly
dled durlng the outlng; lt ls also clear that there ls a
storm approachlng. Jhe play ends wlth the patlents
wanderlng and lost. Jhe representatlon of vlslon and lts
absence ln thls short work ls glven an lronlc twlst slnce
the play harks back to slxteenthcentury palntlngs and
engravlngs, especlally to Pleter Brueghel the Elder`s q
m~~ _I ln whlch bllnd people lead other
bllnd people. In i Î ln contrast to ifI the
bllnd flall about rather than merely llsten for lntlma
tlons of mortallty. Jhls work ls not the flrst tlme that
Maeterllnck turned to Ilemlsh palntlng for the subject
of a llterary plece. Hls early prose plece, 'Le Massacre
des lnnocents," ls a llterary transposltlon of the Brue
ghel palntlng by the same name.
i Î llke ifI ls also a study ln the
approach of death. However, whereas ln ifI death
arrlves or 'makes an entrance," ln i Î death ls
already present onstage from the start ln the person of
the dead prlest. Accordlng to the stage dlrectlons, when
the curtaln rlses, the 'mortally lmmoblle," whltehalred
splrltual leader, wrapped ln a large black coat, ls leanlng
agalnst a tree trunk at the rear of the stage. llke a wax
flgure, 'hls mute and frozen eyes no longer look at the
vlslble slde of eternlty." Jhe rest of the characters are
all bllnd, lost ln thls vague septentrlonal forest where
they awalt the return of thelr leader, the prlest. Slowly,
through dlalogue and by explorlng thelr envlronment
wlth thelr hands, they dlscover that thelr leader ls dead.
Jhls play ls a masterful deplctlon of exlstentlallsm. the
congregants are adrlft ln a postNletzschean world
devold of splrltual guldance. In a comment that summa
rlzes thelr condltlon, one of the characters remarks.
'We llve together, we are always together, but we don`t
know what we are!" Jhe characters have no lndlvldual
ldentlty. thelr selfknowledge depends upon dlalogue
wlth others. 'I`m afrald when I don`t talk," says one of
them. Indeed, talklng ls the prlnclpal guarantor of thelr
exlstence.
On the occaslon of the flrst performance of thls
play at the Jhtre dÀrt, the dlrector, Adolphe Rett,
cast the stage ln a dark blulsh penumbra ln order to cre
ate an amblance of mystery and lndetermlnateness con
slstent wlth Maeterllnck`s text. Some crltlcs, however,
complalned that they could not see the stage or hear the
actors, who spoke ln soft, monotonous tones.
In the slngle act of Maeterllnck`s i p m
an aglng klng and queen llve ln an lsolated and chllly
castle wlth seven sleeplng prlncesses. Outslde, a crowd
ls about to embark on an ocean voyage. Jhrough the
wlndows come thelr shouts of jubllatlon. Jhe long
awalted prlnce arrlves to clalm one of the prlncesses,
but although he manages to awaken slx of the seven
frall and languorous young women, one of them has
dled as he and the royal couple have stood dlscusslng
them. She ls, of course, the one who had most attracted
hlm. Jhe play ends wlth the old queen`s lamentatlons
and the group`s dlscovery that all doors and wlndows
of the castle are locked. i p m turns back to
and reworks famlllar motlfs from folktales and falry
tales. Jhe pllght of the prlncesses echoes that of Snow
Whlte, as well as many other royal chlldren who have
fallen under an evll spell and must be rescued. Jhe allu
slon to the swans outslde the castle at the beglnnlng of
the play suggests the prlncesses` assoclatlon wlth the
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beautlful blrds that, partlcularly ln latenlneteenthcentury
European culture, were assoclated wlth sexuallty, death,
and transcendence. In Maeterllnck`s early plays the pos
slblllty of a physlcal or sexual awakenlng lnevltably
leads to death.
Maeterllnck`s fourth play, m~ j~I flrst
performed at the Jhtre des BouffesParlslens on l6
May l893, ls also hls best known ln large part because
of Claude Debussy`s l902 muslcal adaptatlon. Jo thls
day, m~ j~ remalns one of the most repre
sentatlve masterpleces, a verltable cynosure, of symbol
lst drama. Jhe ethereal play also turns to falry tales for
lts subject; but lts evocatlon of a vaguely northern klng
dom ruled by an aglng and lneffectual klng also recalls
i~ m j~K Here, as well, a young and lnnocent
prlncess must dle, as well as her beloved, whose death
she also helps brlng about. Jhe plot ls slmple. Golaud,
the mlddleaged son of the aglng Klng Arkel, who
relgns over a vaguely Germanlc klngdom called Alle
monde, comes across beautlful Mllsande slttlng by a
fountaln ln a forest. She has lost her crown. He flnds lt
for her and proposes marrlage. Back ln the castle, Mel
lsande flnds hls younger half brother, Pellas, more
attractlve. When she meets Pellas ln the forest,
Golaud, now her husband, comes upon them and stabs
Pellas. In the flfth act Mllsande glves blrth to a glrl,
but she dles, unable to accept motherhood or to answer
Golaud`s questlons concernlng the nature of her love
for Pellas. But where i~ m j~ drew gener
ally on the plots of e~ and j~I m~
j~ ls a vague dlstlllatlon of the plots of many
folktales and falry tales. Settlngs and characters allke
are emptled of all lndlvlduallty; what ls left ls longlng.
Jhough both Pellas and Mllsande dle ln the
end, the play does not belong to Maeterllnck`s 'death
dramas." In fact, the playwrlght, eager to shed the repu
tatlon of belng a 'poet of terror," wanted thls play to
mark a break wlth hls prevlous work. He referred to
m~ j~ as a 'drama of passlon." Indeed, thls
relatlvely actlonless play concerns above all the gradual
development of the protagonlsts` moods as they slowly
come to dlscover thelr mutual love.
Jhe symbollst element of the play comes through
most clearly ln the way the characters express sentl
ments that they, themselves, lgnore. Ior example, ln a
famous scene ln act 2, Mllsande, playlng wlth her wed
dlng band, lets lt accldentally fall lnto the fountaln.
Maeterllnck`s reader or spectator understands lmmedl
ately that what seems to Mllsande and Pellas to be an
accldent ls actually a fateful slgn of what wlll become of
Mllsande`s marrlage to Golaud. Jhroughout the
scene, the spectator percelves the love growlng between
Mllsande and Pellas before they themselves do.
Jhere are many such moments ln the play when sentl
ment ls only subtly suggested and never overtly
expressed. Jhls dellcate use of suggestlon and alluslon
ls perhaps what prompted Mallarm to observe that the
use of sllence and abstractlon ln the play gave lt a klnd
of muslcal quallty. So lnherently muslcal was Maeter
llnck`s text, sald Mallarm, that any actual muslcal
accompanlment would ln fact be superfluous and detrl
mental. Yet, lt may be Debussy`s operatlc adaptatlon
that has guaranteed m~ j~ a permanent
place ln llterary hlstory.
Maeterllnck`s next three plays were publlshed
together ln l891 as 'trols petlts drames pour marlon
nettes" (three llttle dramas for marlonettes). As Maeter
llnck hlmself admltted, the flrst, ^~ m~I
represents llttle more than a reworklng of m~
j~K Jhe second, fI also turns back to an
earller work but brllllantly transcends lts model.
fI llke ifI presents the dllemma of a famlly
forced to confront the death of one of lts members.
Here, however, they are seen from the outslde, through
the wlndows of thelr home, as a processlon approaches
ln the foreground, led by an old man who knows of the
death by drownlng of a daughter. Jhe crowd debates
how to break the news. Ilnally, the old man enters the
household and lnforms the famlly. Jhelr reactlons, seen
through the wlndows of thelr house, are mlmed only.
Jhe audlence hears no words. f offers a stunnlng
example of a selfconsclous representatlon of the sym
bollc settlng of turnofthecentury theater, representlng
a spllt stage, an lnterlor wlthln the lnterlor, as well as a
representatlon wlthln the representatlon. Here, as ln
other early plays by Maeterllnck, some characters
lnhablt an lsolated structure threatened by forces that
come from outslde. But ln thls play the threat ls glven
concrete representatlon ln the form of the old man and
hls followers, who also partlclpate ln the catastrophe.
Jhe two settlngs, one lncorporatlng darkness and lan
guage, the other llght and sllence, suggest a thlrd, lneffa
ble presence.
i~ j q~I the last of the three dramas,
ls also the sparest. Its four acts are extremely short,
evoklng ln lmpresslonlstlc fashlon moments ln the
decllne of a boy, Jlntaglles, and hls famlly, who are rep
resented here by hls two slsters, Ygralne and Bellangre,
and hls aged father, who llke the old klng of i~ m
j~ has become lnvolved wlth a powerful queen
anxlous to do away wlth the chlldren of hls flrst mar
rlage. In thls play, however, the new queen`s ascent to
power and deslgns on the chlldren are llnked to polltlcal
changes outslde the castle. a crowd surges around lts
walls, anxlous to partlclpate ln the change of reglmes.
By the end of the play Ygralne and Jlntaglles have fled
to a remote part of the castle, and Ygralne has managed
to shut herself up ln a fortlfled room. She succeeds so
99
ai_ PPN j~ j~
well that when Jlntaglles also seeks refuge there, she
cannot open the door to let hlm ln. At the end of the
play the audlence hears hlm dle, the vlctlm of an lnvlsl
ble presence whose nature ls amblguous. death, the
crowd, or the new queen herself.
^~ m~I fI and i~ j q~J
marked the end of the flrst phase of Maeterllnck`s
theatrlcal productlon. At the beglnnlng of l895 he met
Georgette Leblanc, who became hls companlon and
collaborator and for whom he wrote a serles of plays
lncorporatlng, but by no means entlrely afflrmlng, a
femlnlst perspectlve. But less personal factors also
played a role ln Maeterllnck`s turnlng to a dlfferent
style of drama. Audlences noted a certaln repetltlon ln
hls plays, and symbollst works dld not brlng ln the klnd
of revenues that sustalned an lndependent theater. In
l897 LugnPo, whose Jhtre de lÒeuvre had been
the major venue for symbollst plays, turned to other
klnds of theater, ostenslbly because there were so few
sultable Irench plays ln thls style. Maeterllnck`s plays,
moreover, were far more lnfluentlal abroad than ln
Irance, where they were rarely staged ln the l890s.
Jhe year l895 marked a turnlng polnt ln Maeter
llnck`s llfe and llterary productlon. Jhat year, followlng
the flve plays consldered hls most lmportant works for
the theater, he publlshed hls translatlons of q a
~ p~ (l802) and c~ (l802), both by the German
Romantlc wrlter Novalls. Maeterllnck`s translatlons
from Novalls were followed by essays on other wrlters
and on phllosophlcal, sclentlflc, and theosophlcal sub
jects; he turned at thls tlme to wrltlng plays lntended for
Leblanc, plays that center on the presence of a strong
'new woman," whose sexuallty, lnltlatlve, and frequent
exhlbltlonlsm place her at odds wlth her surroundlngs.
In l897 he and Leblanc set up house ln Parls, but they
were often apart; from l907 to l9l1 they spent sum
mers ln the abandoned Benedlctlne abbey of Salnt
Wandrllle ln Normandy. Plays such as ^~~ pJ
(l896; translated as ^~~ ~ pI l897),
j~ s~~ (l902; translated, l903), and ^~
_~J (l907, Arlane and Bluebeard) polnt to an
obvlous collaboratlon between the playwrlght and the
actress, and Leblanc clalmed to have contrlbuted to the
essays Maeterllnck publlshed durlng thls perlod, as
well.
Jhe last play he wrote speclflcally for her to per
form was j~ j~~ (l9l3), begun ln l908, but
the culmlnatlon of thelr theatrlcal collaboratlon was the
slngle performance of hls translatlon of Shakespeare`s
j~ at SalntWandrllle ln l909. Leblanc apparently
hoped to turn SalntWandrllle lnto a Irench verslon of
Rlchard Wagner`s Bayreuth ln Germany. Jhe followlng
summer, there was a wellrecelved productlon of m~
j~ at the same locatlon, but Maeterllnck`s
objectlons to havlng hls prlvacy dlsturbed by rehearsals
stopped plans to stage e~ and i~ m j~
there.
In l896 Maeterllnck moved from hls natlve Bel
glum to Irance and publlshed two works, each of whlch
marked a new departure ln hls authorshlp. i q
(l896; translated as q q~ eI
l897), whlch lncludes essays on Novalls, Ralph Waldo
Emerson, and Ruysbroeck as well as on the aesthetlcs
of the theater, was the flrst of what became hls many
volumes of popularlzlng prose. i q
lncludes one of the playwrlght`s most lnfluentlal essays,
'Le traglque quotldlen" (Jhe Jraglc ln Everyday Llfe),
a statement of the aesthetlcs lnformlng hls dramas of
the l890s. As the tltle lndlcates, Maeterllnck concelves
of a klnd of traglc theater that would move away from
the representatlon of grand traglc actlons such as battles
between enemles, struggles of passlon, or storles of ven
geance. Maeterllnck ls lnterested ln the posslblllty of
representlng those subtle, lndetermlnate, barely percep
tlble aspects of ordlnary exlstence that do not lend
themselves to dramatlc representatlon. He wants to
show 'what ls astonlshlng ln the slmple fact of llvlng"
or to deplct the 'ordlnary" person (as opposed to a clas
slc traglc hero) ln dlalogue wlth larger questlons of
truth, beauty, and God. Such a theater, wrltes Maeter
llnck, would lnvolve reveallng 'a thousand thlngs of the
sort that the traglc poets have only let us gllmpse at ln
passlng. Could these not be shown before all else?"
Maeterllnck ls crltlcal of tragedlans who lnslst ln
thelr works on sensatlonal scenes of vlolence whlle
'most of us pass our llves far from blood, screams and
swords and whereas man`s tears have become sllent,
lnvlslble and almost splrltual." What can one learn, he
asks, from belngs who have only one obsesslon and
who have no tlme to llve because they must klll a rlval
or a mlstress? Maeterllnck prefers drama that explores
the mysterles of hls humble, ordlnary llfelts beauty, lts
grandeur, and lts gravlty, whlch he hlmself may not be
able to observe on a dally basls. Maeterllnck famously
lllustrates thls notlon of everyday mystlcal experlence
through the lmage of an old man seated ln an armchalr
who llstens, albelt unwlttlngly, to all of the 'eternal
laws" pervadlng hls home. Ior Maeterllnck, thls
'lmmoblle old man actually llves a more profound llfe,
more human and more general, than the lover who
strangles hls mlstress, or the captaln vlctorlous ln battle
or the husband who avenges hls honor."
Jradltlonal theater, Maeterllnck argues, focuses
too much on events and superflclal dlalogue, evoklng
an atavlstlc world ln whlch vlolence predomlnated.
Modern theater, ln contrast, should emphaslze the splrl
tual dlmenslon of human exlstence.
l00
j~ j~ ai_ PPN
Il ne sàglt plus lcl de la lutte dtermlne dùn tre con
tre un tre, de la lutte dùn dslr contre un autre dslr
ou de l`ternel combat de la passlon et du devolr. Il
sàglralt plutt de falre volr ce qu`ll y a d`tonnant dans
le falt seul de vlvre. Il ssaglralt plutt de falre volr
lèxlstence dùne me en ellemme, au mllleu dùne
lmmenslt qul nèst jamals lnactlve.
(It goes beyond the determlned struggle of man agalnst
man, and deslre agalnst deslre. lt goes beyond the eter
nal confllct of duty and passlon. Its provlnce ls rather to
reveal to us how truly wonderful ls the mere act of llv
lng, and to throw llght upon the exlstence of the soul,
selfcontalned ln the mldst of everrestless lmmensltles.)
Jhls aesthetlc has much ln common wlth the evocatlve
poetlcs of symbollst poetry; however, lt also polnts the
way to a relnterpretatlon of dramatlc tradltlon. In thls
vlew Shakespeare and anclent Greek tragedy appear as
lmportant ancestors of ~ I but lt ls Hen
rlk Ibsen who, ln hls late dramas, emerges as the flrst
truly modern dramatlst. Concernlng q j~ _
(l892) Maeterllnck wrltes. 'Hllde et Solness sont, je
pense, les premlers hros qul se sentent vlvre un lnstant
dans làtmosphre de l`me, et cette vle essentlelle
qul`lls ont dcouverte en eux, par dela la vle ordlnalre,
les pouvante" (Hllda and Solness are, I belleve, the
flrst characters ln drama who feel, for an lnstant, that
they are llvlng ln the atmosphere of the soul; and the
dlscovery of thls essentlal llfe that exlsts ln them,
beyond the llfe of every day, comes fraught wlth terror).
Jhe dlalogue of thls ~ ~ (somnambulls
tlc drama) leaves what ls most lmportant unsald.
In 'Le traglque quotldlen," Maeterllnck also
lntroduces the notlon of 'statlc theater," that ls, a the
ater of lnactlon, relatlve plotlessness, and suspense,
qualltles evldent ln hls early plays. As Patrlck McGuln
ness has observed, 'statlc theater" ls above all a theater
of waltlng. Long before Beckett`s b ~~ d
(l952, translated as t~ dI l951), Maeter
llnck understood and experlmented wlth the klnds of
dramatlc suspense and even terror that could be pro
duced ln a theater ln whlch characters were faced wlth
the awful prospect of waltlng. Jhough they are ultl
mately waltlng for death to arrlve, the emphasls ln
Maeterllnck`s statlc theater ls on the act of waltlng ltself,
the confrontatlon wlth the double menace of anxlety
and boredom as, once agaln, wltnessed ln the Lncle`s
apprehenslve comment ln if. 'What wlll we do
whlle waltlng?"
Jhe last lmportant concept developed ln 'Le
traglque quotldlen" ls that of 'second degree dlalogue"
or 'useless dlalogue." Maeterllnck argues that the typl
cal explanatory and demonstratlve dlalogue ln a play ls
of llttle lnterest. Jhe 'soul" of the work ls located ln the
superfluous talklng that reveals feellngs and moods of
whlch even the characters speaklng are unaware. Yet, he
regards thls lndlrect and often lncongruous language as
somethlng wlth whlch people are famlllar. Humans are
all faced ln thelr dally llves wlth the problem of uslng
words to make sense of dlfflcult sltuatlons, and they are
all aware, argues Maeterllnck, that what they say ln
such sltuatlons may not be what ls most lmportant.
Jhere are other hldden forces and other words that go
unheard that nevertheless determlne every sltuatlon.
Wlth thls notlon of language, Maeterllnck seems to be a
harblnger of later twentlethcentury ldeas regardlng the
autonomy of language and lts unstable relatlonshlp to
lntended meanlng.
^~~ pI Maeterllnck`s other lmportant
work ln l896, was hls flrst play to lncorporate a strong
female leadone who could be played by the play
wrlght`s companlon, Leblanc. In fact, the lncluslon of
such roles dlstlngulshes most of the plays Maeterllnck
publlshed between l896 and l9l3. ^~~ pI
^~ _~JI p _~ (l9l0), j~ s~~I
g (l903; translated, l906), and j~ j~~ all
revolve around a central character who resembles Leb
lanc`s lmage of herself as a new woman proud of her
sexuallty and not afrald to flout conventlons, especlally
those surroundlng marrlage. In her memolrs the actress
emphaslzes her role as collaborator ln all of Maeter
llnck`s wrltlng whlle they were together. Jhe plays cer
talnly bear wltness to her lnfluence; however,
Maeterllnck was never a femlnlst and seems never to
have taken thls flrst extended relatlonshlp serlously.
^~~ p recalls Ibsen`s o
(l886). In both plays a rlval uses the power of sugges
tlon to lead the wlfe of the household to commlt sul
clde. In Maeterllnck`s play, however, the new woman
(and future wlfe) ls older, and lf the husband and out
slder lament the sulclde of the young Slysette, ^~J
~ p nevertheless suggests the lnevltablllty
and deslrablllty of thelr relatlonshlp ln a way that ls for
elgn to Ibsen`s amblguous and complex presentatlon of
the sltuatlon of Rosmer and Rebecca West. As ln
Maeterllnck`s early plays, ln ^~~ p a pow
erful and sexually attractlve older woman ls responslble
for the death of a vlrglnal younger one, but here the
emphasls has shlfted. In Maeterllnck`s productlon as a
whole, thls play seems to represent a transltlonal plece
that blds farewell to the pale vlrglns of hls flrst dramas
by havlng one glve way to the sexual and maternal
older woman. Yet, as ln the early plays, female strength
ls stlll allled wlth murder.
Maeterllnck`s gI another play wrltten for
Leblanc, echoes Shakespeare`s q q (l6ll).
Jogether wlth hls maglcal asslstant, Arlel, Merlln lnhab
lts an lsland, on the shores of whlch a young man, Lan
l0l
ai_ PPN j~ j~
ceor, and a young woman, |oyzelle, meet. Both have
been promlsed ln marrlage to partners they shun. Mer
lln appears and tests thelr love, but the two young lov
ers prevall. Jhe old ruler/maglclan turns out to be the
father of Lanceor, and at the end of the play the three
afflrm thelr lntentlon to llve together on the lsland as a
new famlly. Jhe play premlered at the Jhtre du
Gymnase on 20 May l903 but was a fallure. Irench
crltlcs were becomlng lncreaslngly crltlcal of Maeter
llnck`s plays. Another play ln l903 was i j~
p~JÎ flrst performed at Geneva and Brussels. It
descrlbes an unllkely mlracle that takes place ln a town
ln the Netherlands and ls Maeterllnck`s only comedy.
In ^~ _~J the central character sets
out to rescue the lmprlsoned wlves of Bluebeard, mak
lng speeches along the way on the lmportance of feml
nlne solldarlty and freedom, only to be undermlned at
the end by the wlves` refusal to leave. femlnlne auton
omy, lt seems, pales ln contrast to the cruel charms of
the strong male. Interestlngly, the wlves all bear names
from prevlous plays by Maeterllnck. Slysette,
Mllsande, Ygralne, Bellangre, and Alladlne. In p
_~ the central character takes on the shape of a
statue of the Vlrgln Mary and also leaves the convent
for a llfetlme of sln. In the end, however, her cholce ls
afflrmed. she returns to the convent, and the statue
appears as lt had before she left. Jhe other nuns, now
qulte old, mourn her as a salnt.
j~ s~~ was probably the most successful of
the plays wrltten for Leblanc. Jhls play transposes the
theme of |udlth and Holofernes to Renalssance Italy.
Prlnzlvalle, captaln of the Ilorentlne army surroundlng
the clty of Plsa, promlses to llft the slege lf Guldo
Colonna, the commander of the Plsan garrlson, sends
hls wlfe to hlm, naked under her cloak. After dlscusslng
the lssue wlth her fatherlnlaw, Glovanna Colonna
goes to Prlnzlvalle`s tent, but thls Renalssance |udlth ls
never faced wlth the cholce between submlttlng to the
unwanted sexual advances of a barbarlan lnvader or
commlttlng murder. It turns out that Prlnzlvalle knew
her when they were chlldren. He saw her slttlng,
Mllsandellke, by a fountaln but never dared to declare
hls feellngs slnce he was of humble orlglns. Nothlng
transplres but thelr conversatlon and a chaste klss on
Glovanna`s forehead, but she reallzes she has never
really loved her husband and resolves to help Prln
zlvalle escape from hls enemles, who now surround hls
encampment. Returnlng to Plsa, Glovanna proclalms
herself untouched, but when her jealous husband
refuses to belleve her and proposes to klll Prlnzlvalle,
she reverses herself, lylng that he raped her, but
demandlng the key to hls prlson. Jhe play ends wlth
her words. 'C`talt un mauvals rve. . . . Le beau va
commencer . . . Le beau va commencer. . . ." (It was a
bad dream. . . . Jhe beautlful ls golng to begln . . . Jhe
beautlful ls golng to begln. . . .).
As George Bernard Shaw polnted out, the central
scenes of the play, ln whlch the threat of rape and dls
honor glves way to Glovanna`s recognltlon that the
man who has lured her there ls a chlldhood frlend and
a decent person, have a false rlng about them. But the
play ls an lnterestlng dramatlzatlon not only of femlnlst
ldeals of herolsm, accordlng to whlch the courageous
woman learns that she has nothlng to fear from sexual
lty but everythlng from conventlon, but of the male
receptlon of such notlons. Jwo threats are deflected
here. rape and beheadlng/castratlon. But the reference
to the dream at the end of the play calls lnto questlon
the effectlveness of Glovanna`s or Prlnzlvalle`s actlons.
In l907 Maeterllnck wrote il~ I one of hls
bestknown plays and, wlth m~ j~I hls most
often performed. Accordlng to Leblanc, the play was
flrst commlssloned as a Chrlstmas plece. It premlered at
the Moscow Art Jheater ln l908 ln a productlon
dlrected by the renowned Russlan dlrector Konstantln
Stanlslavsky. Jhree years later Leblanc, who had stud
led the Russlan productlon, produced the work ln Parls.
Set ln a poor woodcutter`s cottage, il~ ls
an allegory that follows two chlldren, Jyltyl and hls sls
ter Mytyl, on thelr dream quest for the blueblrd of hap
plness. On the way they vlslt a falry`s palace; the land of
memory, where the dead llve on; the palace of the
nlght, where sleep and death coexlst; a dark forest ln
whlch plants and anlmals talk to them; and the land of
the llght, where the souls of the unborn awalt thelr
entry lnto human llfe. Jhe blueblrd has much ln com
mon wlth the blue flower Novalls had wrltten about ln
e l (l802), and the dreamadventure
plot recalls |. M. Barrle`s m m~ (l901), to whlch
Maeterllnck acknowledged hls debt. But the plrates of
the Engllsh work glve way ln Maeterllnck`s play to
symbollc flgures that suggest a neoplatonlc allegory
wlth young protagonlsts.
In fact, il~ ls an unusually llghthearted
and llghthanded example of the statlon drama, ln
whlch a character wanders through the world ln search
of ldentlty, understandlng, or happlness. Its cheerful
ness stands ln stark contrast to the mostly gloomy Scan
dlnavlan and German examples ln thls genre.
Strlndberg`s ^ a~ m~ (l90l), for example, or the
plays of the German Expresslonlsts. What they share,
however, ls a bellef that the phenomena of everyday
experlence are meanlngful and polnt beyond them
selves. In l9l8 an Engllsh verslon of a sequel to il~
was performed at the Schubert Jheater ln New
York. Here Jyltyl has become an adolescent, and hls
falrymentor leads hlm on a second quest for love.
l02
j~ j~ ai_ PPN
In l9ll Maeterllnck was awarded the Nobel Prlze
ln Llterature. Other offlclal honors followed. the Bel
glan government sponsored an offlclal 'Iestlval Maeter
llnck" and presented the wrlter wlth the lnslgnla of
Grand Offlcler de lÒrdre de Lopold. In l9l3, how
ever, Maeterllnck`s essay Io Mort (flrst publlshed ln
Engllsh as Dcotl, l9ll) was placed on the Cathollc
Church`s Index of Prohlblted Books. In response he
qulpped that hls publlsher would be dellghted at thls
'prehlstorlc phenomenon of no lmportance" although
elsewhere he complalned, lncorrectly, that he had been
excommunlcated for no real reason.
In l9l3 Maeterllnck wrote Moric Mogdolcivc, hls
last play for Leblanc. Jhls play, llke the others wrltten
for the actress, represents a woman whose strength lles
ln her unconventlonal sexuallty. Jhe herolne of Moric
Mogdolcivc, however, makes a dlstlnctlon between sexu
allty and love, refuslng to sleep wlth the Roman who
loves her devotedly and lnstead falllng passlonately ln
love wlth |esus. Because of lts unorthodox treatment of
blbllcal materlal, the play was censored ln Brltaln and
flrst produced at the Caslno Munlclpal at Nlce ln l9l3.
Durlng World War I Maeterllnck wrote several
propagandlstlc pleces, lncludlng Ic ourgmcstrc dc Stilc-
movdc (l9l8; translated as Tlc urgomostcr of Stilcmovdc,
l9l8). In thls play a brutal German offlcer demands the
death of a cltlzen of a Belglan town for a mlnor offense.
Jhe work ls remarkable prlnclpally for the antlGerman
sentlments that later served as a pretext for Maeter
llnck`s lmmlgratlon to the Lnlted States.
In l9l9 Maeterllnck marrled Rene Dahon, a
young woman whom he had met at a rehearsal of the
Irench productlon of IÙiscou blcu ln l9ll and to whom
he dedlcated Ics Iiovoillcs (translated as Tlc ctrotlol,
l9l9), a l9l8 sequel to IÙiscou blcu. In Ics Iiovoillcs
one of the woodcutter`s chlldren, now a young man,
goes off ln search of true love. Maeterllnck and hls wlfe
moved to the south of Irance, where he contlnued to
wrlte, produclng Ic Crovd Sccrct (l92l; translated as Tlc
Crcot Sccrct, l922), a hlstory of the occult sclences, and,
between l927 and l912, twelve volumes of essays.
In l920, durlng a lecture tour ln the Lnlted
States, Maeterllnck accepted a commlsslon by producer
Samuel Goldwyn to wrlte movle scrlpts. Apparently
three scenarlos were completed, although none was
fllmed. Of one, nothlng ls known; of the second, only
the tltle, 'Jhe Blue Ieathers," ls known. Maeterllnck
transformed the thlrd, 'Jhe Power of the Dead," lnto a
play that he publlshed as Io Iuissovcc dcs morts ln l926.
Although hls popular accounts of the llves of
bees, termltes, flowers, and other nonhuman lnhablt
ants of the natural world sometlmes lapse lnto allegorl
cal accounts of ldeal forms of soclal organlzatlon,
Maeterllnck made few dlrect polltlcal statements durlng
hls llfe, elther as a wrlter or prlvate cltlzen. At the turn
of the century he expressed soclallst vlews, but after
World War I hls sympathles turned lncreaslngly to fas
clsm, although never to the Germans. He became a
frlend of the Portuguese dlctator Antonlo de Ollvelra
Salazar and, ln a conversatlon wlth Gratlen Candace,
apparently approved of the Itallan lnvaslon of Ethlopla.
Maeterllnck`s polltlcs are most dlsturblng ln thelr
thoughtlessness. One passage ln Io Sogcssc ct lo dcstivcc
(l898; translated as !isdom ovd Dcstivy, l898) seems
partlcularly omlnous ln lts complacency.
Il n`y a pas longtemps, pour ne clter quùn seul de ces
problmes que l`lnstlnct de notre plante est appel a
rsoudre, ll n`y a pas longtemps, on eut, paratll,
l`lntentlon de demander aux penseurs de lÈurope s`ll
faudralt consldrer comme un bonheur ou un malheur
quùne race nerglque, oplnltre et pulssante, mals qul
nous semble, a nous autres Aryens, en vertu de pr
jugs trop aveuglment accepts, lnfrleure par l`me
ou par le coeur, la race julve, en un mot, dlspart ou
devnt prpondrante. |e suls persuad que le sage peut
rpondre, sans qu`ll y alt dans sa rponse nl rslgnatlon
nl lndlffrence rprhenslbles. 'Ce qul aura lleu sera le
bonheur."
(Not long agoto clte only one of the problems that the
lnstlnct of our planet ls lnvlted to solvea scheme was
on foot to lnqulre of the thlnkers of Europe whether lt
should rlghtly be held as a galn or a loss to manklnd lf
an energetlc, strenuous, perslstent race, whlch some,
through prejudlce doubtless, stlll regard as lnferlor to
the Aryan ln qualltles of heart and of soullf the |ews,
ln a word, were to vanlsh from the face of the earth, or
to acqulre preponderance there. I am satlsfled that the
sage mlght answer, wlthout laylng hlmself open to the
charge of lndlfference or undue reslgnatlon, 'In what
comes to pass wlll be happlness.")
Of greatest lnterest among Maeterllnck`s later
works for the theater was hls l935 play, Io Irivccssc Iso-
bcllc, ln whlch Rene DahonMaeterllnck performed the
tltle role. Io Irivccssc Isobcllc ls remarkable for lts framlng
of the falrytale motlfs so common ln Maeterllnck`s
early plays. here the 'prlncess" lnhablts a psychlatrlc
hospltal.
In l910 Maeterllnck settled ln the Lnlted States
and remalned there untll the end of World War II. He
and hls wlfe llved brlefly ln New York before movlng to
Ilorlda. In l915 the couple returned to Orlamonde,
thelr estate ln the south of Irance. Although Maeter
llnck contlnued to wrlte plays after World War II, he
had llttle to do wlth theatrlcal llfe, and hls later plays
were seldom performed. Jhe aged wrlter dled from a
heart attack on 6 May l919.
Jhe most theatrlcal aspect of Maeterllnck`s work
ln the last decades of hls llfe was hls playlng of the
l03
ai_ PPN j~ j~
somewhat anachronlstlc role of the lsolated sage and
man of letters, but such a staglng of the self had always
characterlzed hls authorshlp, as lt had that of so many
turnofthecentury wrlters and actors. Leblanc`s
account of her arrangement of thelr flrst meetlngshe
wore a PreRaphaellte costumels especlally lllumlnat
lng on thls aspect of thelr relatlonshlp.
Paradoxlcally, the work that made Maeterllnck
famous ln Parls, Io Irivccssc Molcivc, was never staged
there ln the l890s. Jhere were four extremely lmpor
tant productlons of hls plays ln Parls durlng that
decade, however. IÌvtrusc and Ics Zvcuglcs were both
staged at Iort`s Jhtre dÀrt ln l89l, and Icllcos ct
Mclisovdc and Ivtcricur were performed by LugnPo`s
troupe ln l893 and l895, respectlvely. As Irantlsek
Deak polnts out ln Symbolist Tlcotcr: Tlc Iormotiov of ov
Zvovt-Cordc (l993), the theaters of these two men are
often seen as the successors and antlthesls of Antolne`s
JhtreLlbre, whlch emphaslzed a naturallst repertory,
but ln reallty the programs of both the Jhtre dÀrt
and the Jhtre de lÒeuvre challenged a clear dlstlnc
tlon between the two styles. Maeterllnck`s plays
appeared ln the company of works by Ibsen, Strlnd
berg, Gerhart Hauptmann, and other dramatlsts,
whose dramas comblned elements from both. As
Maeterllnck`s own remarks on Ibsen`s Mostcr uildcr ln
Ic Trcsor dcs lumblcs show, the dlstlnctlve mlxture of real
lsm and symbollsm ln the Norweglan`s late plays were
partlcularly attractlve to playwrlghts, theater dlrectors,
and audlences allke ln Parls ln the early l890s.
Yet, ln Maeterllnck`s plays the reallst dlmenslon ls
reduced to the vague evocatlon of spooky northern set
tlngs or tlmeless bourgeols lnterlors ln whlch famllles
awalt a fate that ls unrelated to speclflc actlons or soclal
condltlons. Atmospherlc reallsm has glven way to
atmosphere. Jhe lnterlors represented onstage are
mostly psychologlcal ln slgnlflcance. Jhe characters are
flat, unlndlvlduated, more llke volces ln a slngle psyche
than rounded representatlons of human agents. Maeter
llnck`s early dramas are prototypes of the chamber the
aters of Max Relnhardt and Strlndberg and thus of the
dramatlc genres of the chamber play and chamber
movle. As embodled ln Strlndberg`s flve Clombcr Iloys
(l907-l908), chamber plays lnvolve a klnd of perfor
mance akln to chamber muslc, ln whlch dramatlc char
acters lnteract llke the elements ln a muslcal ensemble
and ln whlch the borderllne between psychologlcal and
archltectural lnterlors tends to dlssolve. Jhe hlghly
repetltlve dlalogue of Maeterllnck`s early plays, ln
whlch the volce of one character plcks up, repeats, and
transforms the words of another, polnts especlally to
thls klnd of muslcal lnterplay. It was also admlrably
sulted to the klnd of lncantatory dellvery that Iort and
LugnPo encouraged ln thelr actors.
If Maeterllnck`s plays were only seldom staged ln
the l890s ln Irance, they were nevertheless far more
sulted to theatrlcal performance than other contempo
rary pleces assoclated wlth the symbollst movement,
Vllllers`s Zxl (l890), for example, or the dramatlc frag
ments of Mallarm. One suspects that the lnltlal appeal
of Maeterllnck`s dramas to admlrers of and partlclpa
tors ln the symbollst movement lay ln thelr superflclal
resemblance to Mallarm`s work. Jhe pale, death
bound prlncesses of the Belglan`s early plays recall the
frlgldly beautlful and deadly Hrodlade, although ln
thls stage of Maeterllnck`s productlon the murderous
aspect of the chaste prlncess has been deflected onto an
aglng stepmotherqueen. But the language ln Maeter
llnck`s plays ls strlklngly dlfferent from that ln Mal
larm`s work. Where the Irench poet`s language ls
complex, economlcal, and rlfe wlth amblgultles and
lntersectlng resonances, the dlalogue of Maeterllnck`s
plays ls loose and repetltlve. It harks back to the plaln
tlve refraln of Edgar Allan Poe`s 'Jhe Raven" (l815)
'Nevermore, nevermore"rather than to the concern
wlth llterary form and meanlng assoclated wlth Poe`s
essay 'Jhe Phllosophy of Composltlon" (l816). One
sees ln Maeterllnck`s early plays the tendency to popu
larlze, represented more obvlously ln hls many books of
essays. Jhese plays translate the esoterlc language and
mythlc abstractlons of latenlneteenthcentury Irench
poetry lnto the forms of falry tales. If the poetry of wrlt
ers such as Charles Baudelalre and Mallarm lnvltes
comparlson wlth the evocatlon of the lneffable ln the
wrltlngs of mystlcs, Maeterllnck`s essays expound the
ldeas of wrlters ln the mystlc tradltlon. Jhe language of
Maeterllnck`s early plays emphaslzes orallty over textu
allty; lts sllences are hlghly meanlngful; lt fllls ln the
gaps, the whlte spaces, of the texts of Mallarm and
other poetlc turnofthecentury authors.
Jhe legacy of Maurlce Maeterllnck ls double
edged. On the one hand, he was one of the most lnno
vatlve dramatlsts of fln de slcle Europe. Hls plays
polnt forward to the lntlmate theater of Strlndberg,
Relnhardt, and other major twentlethcentury play
wrlghts and dlrectors. Jhey played a cruclal role ln the
development of Russlan symbollsm. Jhe early plays
lnfluenced Yeats, and thelr emphasls on myth and sacrl
flce also polnts forward to the dramatlc theorles and
practlce of Antonln Artaud. Maeterllnck hlmself was
capable of taklng up and transformlng a new form ln
the theater, such as the statlon drama. But on the other
hand, hls wrltlng, especlally hls popularlzlng essays,
sometlmes lapses lnto cllchs and apolltlcal compla
cency. At hls worst he warns of the dangers of New Age
phllosophy. At hls best he remlnds one of the necessary
relatlonshlp between good theater and the unknown.
l01
j~ j~ ai_ PPN
_~W
Maurlce Lecat, ibliogroplic dc Mouricc Moctcrlivcl: Iittcroturc-
scicvcc-plilosoplic (Brussels. Anclenne llbralrle
Castalgne, l939);
Zvvolcs dc lo fovdotiov Mouricc Moctcrlivcl (Ghent, l955-
l980; l989- );
Raymond Renard, 'Maurlce Maeterllnck en Italle,"
Zvvolcs dc lo fovdotiov Mouricc Moctcrlivcl, 1 (l958).
75-95;
Carlo Bronne, 'Ln bllan de lànne Maeterllnck," ln Ic
ccvtcvoirc dc Mouricc Moctcrlivcl (Brussels. Palals
des Acadmles, l961), pp. 299-305;
R. Brucher, Mouricc Moctcrlivcl: IÙcuvrc ct sov oudicvcc.
Issoi dc bibliogroplic 1SSJ-1960 (Brussels. Palals
des Acadmles, l972);
|ean Warmoes, 'La Blbllographle de Maurlce Maeter
llnck," Zvvolcs dc lo fovdotiov Mouricc Moctcrlivcl, l8
(l972). 33-66.
_~W
Gerard Harry, Mouricc Moctcrlivcl (Brussels. Carrlngton,
l909);
Georgette Leblanc, Souvcvirs: My Iifc witl Moctcrlivcl,
translated by |anet Ilanner (New York. Dutton,
l932);
W. D. Halls, Mouricc Moctcrlivcl: Z Study of His Iifc ovd
Tlouglt (Oxford. Clarendon Press, l960).
oW
|eanMarle Andrleu, Mouricc Moctcrlivcl (Parls. Edltlons
unlversltalres, l962);
Roger Bodart, Mouricc Moctcrlivcl (Parls. Seghers,
l962);
Gaston Compre, Mouricc Moctcrlivcl (Parls. La Manu
facture, l993);
Compre, Ic Tlcotrc dc Mouricc Moctcrlivcl (Brussels.
Palals des Acadmles, l955);
Irantlsek Deak, 'Symbollst Staglng at the Jheatre
dÀrt," Dromo Icvicw: TDI, 20 (September l976).
ll7-l22;
Deak, Symbolist Tlcotcr: Tlc Iormotiov of ov Zvovt-Cordc
(Baltlmore. |ohns Hopklns Lnlverslty Press,
l993);
Guy Donneux, Mouricc Moctcrlivcl (Brussels. Palals des
Acadmles, l96l);
Paul Gorcelx, Ics Zffivitcs ollcmovdcs dovs lòcuvrc dc Mou-
ricc Moctcrlivcl (Parls. Presses Lnlversltalres de
Irance, l975);
Bettlna Knapp, Mouricc Moctcrlivcl, Jwayne World
Author Serles (Boston. G. K. Hall, l975);
Aurllen Iranols LugnPo, Io Iorodc, 3 volumes
(Parls. Galllmard, l930-l933);
Stphane Mallarm, 'Planches et feulllets," ln Croyovvc
ou tlcotrc, Ucuvrcs compltcs, Edltlons de la Pllade,
edlted by |ean Aubry and Henrl Mondor (Parls.
Galllmard, l915), pp. 321-330;
Patrlck McGulnness, Mouricc Moctcrlivcl ovd tlc Molivg
of Modcrv Tlcotrc (Oxford. Oxford Lnlverslty
Press, 2000);
Alex Pasqulre, Mouricc Moctcrlivcl (Brussels. Renals
sance du llvre, l965);
Marcel Postlc, Moctcrlivcl ct lc symbolismc (Parls. Nlzet,
l970);
Debora L. Sllverman, Zrt òuvcou iv Iiv-dc-Siclc Irovcc:
Iolitics, Isyclology, ovd Stylc (Berkeley. Lnlverslty of
Callfornla Press, l989);
Peter Szondl, Tlcory of tlc Modcrv Dromo, translated by
Mlchael Hays (Mlnneapolls. Lnlverslty of Mln
nesota Press, l987), pp. 35l-363;
Lna Jaylor, Mouricc Moctcrlivcl (London. Jaylor, l9l1);
Edmund Wllson, Zxcl`s Costlc: Z Study iv tlc Imogivotivc
Iitcroturc of 1S70-19J0 (New York. Scrlbners,
l93l).
NVNN k m i~
m~ p
by C. D. of !irscv, Icrmovcvt Sccrctory of tlc Swcdisl
Zcodcmy, ov 10 Dcccmbcr 1911
Jhls year hlghly competent persons have pro
posed several men of letters as candldates for the Nobel
Prlze ln Llterature. Several among them presented such
great and unusual qualltles that lt has been very dlffl
cult to welgh thelr respectlve merlts. In glvlng thls
year`s award to Maurlce Maeterllnck, who has been
proposed and serlously consldered several tlmes before,
the Swedlsh Academy has been determlned flrst by the
profound orlglnallty and slngularlty of hls talent as a
wrlter, so dlfferent from the usual forms of llterature.
Jhe ldeallstlc character of thls talent ls elevated to a
rare splrltuallty and mysterlously causes dellcate and
secret strlngs to vlbrate ln us. He ls certalnly not of a
shallow nature, thls unusual man, who has not yet
reached the age of flfty and who, as an author, follows
hls own qulte personal volce and possesses the marvel
lous faculty of belng at once mystlcal, profound, and
popular through the charm of hls expresslon. Whlle
readlng hlm one sometlmes recalls the words of Sopho
cles, 'Man ls only a trlvlal shadow," or the words of
Calderon that llfe ls a dream; and yet Maeterllnck
knows how to render the flne nuances of our moral llfe
wlth the force of a vlslonary. What ln ordlnary clrcum
stances dwells ln us latently and belongs to the secret
depths of our belng, he calls up wlth the tap of a wand,
and we acknowledge that he has evoked features of our
l05
ai_ PPN j~ j~
most lntlmate belng, whlch ordlnarlly remalns hldden
ln a mysterlous twlllght. He does lt wlthout affectatlon
and mannerlsms and mostly wlth an unfalllng sureness
and classlcal reflnement, although actlon and scenery
are often vaguellke a Chlnese shadow showand ln
keeplng wlth the great subtlety of hls poetry. Legendary
and fantastlc as the narratlon may be, the dlalogue ls
polnted. Wlth the sounds of muted muslc, the poet
lntroduces us to unsuspected reglons of our lnner
belng, and we feel wlth Goethe that 'Alles Vergngllche
/ Ist nur eln Glelchnls." We have the forebodlng that
our true home ls far away, well beyond the llmlts of our
earthly experlences. We hardly ever pass beyond thls
forebodlng wlth Maeterllnck, although hls poetry opens
for us gllmpses of lnaccesslble dlstances.
Maurlce Maeterllnck was born ln l862 at Ghent.
Hls famlly appears to have been welltodo. He was
educated at the |esult college of SalntBarbe. He dld not
llke lt, but thls conventlonal school probably lnfluenced
hls lntellectual development very strongly by orlentlng
hlm toward mystlclsm. After flnlshlng school and pass
lng the baccalaureate, Maeterllnck followed the wlshes
of hls parents, read law, and establlshed hlmself ln
Ghent as a lawyer. But he succeeded, accordlng to hls
blographer Gerard Harry, only ln demonstratlng brll
llantly hls lneptltude for the legal career, havlng the
'happy defects" that render a man absolutely unflt for
the pettlfogglng quarrels and publlc counsel`s speeches
ln the law court. He was attracted by llterature, and thls
attractlon lncreased durlng a stay ln Parls where he
became acqualnted wlth a number of wrlters, one of
whom, Vllllers de lÌsle Adam, apparently had a great
lnfluence on hlm. Parls fasclnated Maurlce Maeterllnck
so much that he establlshed hlmself there ln l896.
Nonetheless, the great metropolls dld not really sult thls
solltary contemplatlve mlnd as a permanent place to
llve. He goes there, from tlme to tlme, to deal wlth hls
edltors, but ln the summer he llkes to llve at SalntWandrllle,
an old Norman abbey whlch he bought and saved from
lmmlnent vandallsm. In the wlnter he seeks refuge ln
the mlld cllmate of the town of Grasse, known for lts
flowers.
Jhe flrst work publlshed by Maurlce Maeterllnck
was a sllm collectlon of verses entltled p ~ (l889)
|Ardent Jalons|. Jhese poems appear more tormented
than one would have expected from hls calmly medltatlve
dlsposltlon. Jhe same year (l889) he publlshed a dramatlc
fantasy, i~ m j~. It ls sombre, terrlfylng, and
dellberately monotonous due to numerous repetltlons
lntended to glve an lmpresslon of duratlon; but a dellght
ful falrytale charm relgns ln thls llttle drama, whlch ls wrlt
ten wlth a vlgour one would not have suspected ln the
author of the p ~. It ls ln any case an lmportant
work of art. i~ m j~ was enthuslastlcally pralsed
by Octave Mlrbeau ln i c~I and from that day on
Maurlce Maeterllnck was no longer unknown. Later on,
Maeterllnck wrote a whole serles of dramatlc composl
tlons. Most unfold ln eras that we could not determlne and
ln places not to be found on any map. Jhe scene ls usually
a falry castle wlth underground passages, a park wlth
lovely shady places, or a llghthouse wlth the sea ln the dls
tance. In these melancholy reglons flgures often move
velled llke the ldea ltself. In several of hls most perfect sce
nlc works, Maurlce Maeterllnck ls a symbollst and an
agnostlc; but one should not conclude that he ls a materlal
lst. Wlth the lnstlnct and lmaglnatlon of the poet he feels
that man does not belong solely to the tanglble world, and
he expressly says that poetry does not satlsfy lf lt does not
make us percelve a reflectlon of the more profound and
secret reallty that ls the source of phenomena. Sometlmes
thls background appears to hlm ln an obscure and mlsty
fashlon llke an ensemble of occult powers of whlch men
are easlly the vlctlms, and he then attrlbutes to the occult
force a fatal omnlpotence that destroys our freedom. But
ln several dramatlc works he has mltlgated thls concep
tlon; he has glven more room to hope and to mlxed mystlc
lnfluences, less to reallty. Jhe maln ldea whlch always
domlnates, especlally ln hls best works, ls that the splrltual,
real, lntlmate, and profound llfe of man, whlch ls manl
fested preclsely ln hls most spontaneous acts, must be
sought ln the realms beyond thought and dlscurslve rea
son. It ls these acts whlch Maeterllnck excels ln represent
lng wlth the almost somnambulant lmaglnatlve power and
dreamlng splrlt of a vlslonary but wlth the preclslon of a
perfect artlst. At the same tlme the expresslon ls styllzed;
the slmpllflcatlon of the technlque ls pushed as far as possl
ble wlthout harmlng the understandlng of the drama.
A more pronounced delsm would have had a ben
eflclal lnfluence on hls dramas because lt would have
made them less slmllar to shadow plays; but one should
not dlsparage the creatlons of hls genlus. Llke Splnoza
and Hegel, who were great thlnkers though not delsts,
Maeterllnck ls a very great poet although hls concep
tlon of thlngs and of llfe ls not that of a delst. He does
not deny anythlng. he slmply flnds the prlnclple of
exlstence hldden ln the shadows. Besldes, ls not agnostl
clsm ln some degree excusable, slnce no human reason
could ever formulate an exact notlon of the orlgln of
exlstence whlch ln many aspects ls accesslble only to
lntultlon and to falth? And lf Maurlce Maeterllnck`s
characters are sometlmes creatures of dreams, they are
stlll very human, for Shakespeare was not wrong ln
statlng.
We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our llttle llfe
Is rounded wlth a sleep.
l06
j~ j~ ai_ PPN
Besldes, Maeterllnck ls ln no way a polemlst; ln almost
all hls works there breathes a sweet, sometlmes melan
choly soul, so that ln poetlc beauty he excels many wrlt
ers whose conceptlon of the world rests perhaps more
on the concept of personallty. Maurlce Maeterllnck ls
evldently a man who has felt and thought profoundly.
Homage must be rendered to hls slncere thlrst for truth,
and lt must be remembered that there exlst for hlm a
law and an lnner rlght whlch lnvarlably command and
dlrect man ln the mldst of a world where so many
thlngs seem to encourage lnjustlce. If Maurlce Maeter
llnck, who has passed through so many stages of lnner
development, sometlmes speaks of 'gravltatlon" as the
power that rules the world, and apparently wants to
substltute lt for rellglon, one would hardly be wrong
(conslderlng hls symbollsm) ln taklng the word 'gravl
tatlon" as a symbollc expresslon of that law of rellglo
ethlcal gravlty to whlch, lf I may say so, all are obedl
ent.
Jhere ls no tlme to llst all of Maeterllnck`s works;
however, lt seems rlght to me on thls solemn occaslon
to recall very brlefly the most characterlstlc ones.
Jhe pltlless, mysterlous power of death has rarely
been rendered ln more polgnant fashlon than ln
Maeterllnck`s llttle plece, if (l890) xq fz.
Among all those who surround the slck mother and
who hope for her recovery, only the old bllnd grandfa
ther notlces furtlve and slldlng steps ln the garden
where the cyprus trees are beglnnlng to rustle and
where the nlghtlngale ls hushed; he feels a cold breeze
pass, he hears a scythe belng whetted, he reckons that
someone lnvlslble to the others has entered to slt ln
thelr clrcle. On the stroke of mldnlght there ls a nolse as
lf someone had suddenly stood up and gone away; at
the same lnstant the slck one dles. Jhe guest no one can
escape has passed there. Jhe portent ls descrlbed wlth
great force and subtlety. Jhe short play i ^
(l890) xq _ zI whlch shows the same forebodlng of
dlsaster, ls perhaps even more melancholy. Jhe slght
less have followed thelr gulde, an old slck prlest; and
there ln the mlddle of the forest they belleve they have
lost hlm. In reallty he ls ln the mlddle of them but he ls
dead. Llttle by llttle they reallze hls death. How wlll
they now flnd thelr refuge?
In m~ j~ (l892) and ^~ m~J
(l891) we flnd ln dlfferent varlants the fatal power
of love whlch Maeterllnck descrlbes wlth a fantastlc
lmaglnatlonthat love whlch, fettered by other bonds
or by external clrcumstances, nelther could nor should
attaln a happy endlng, but whlch ls crushed by a fatallty
agalnst whlch human strength breaks.
Jhe most lnsplred of Maeterllnck`s dramas ls
unquestlonably hls ^~~ p (l896), one of
the purest jewels ln world llterature. Jhls play ls deeply
melanchollc but contalns poetlc treasures. Mlandre,
who has marrled the sweet, tlmld Slysette, beglns to
love the noble Aglavalne, a love Aglavalne returns.
Jhelrs ls a pure love whlch ralses them above the com
mon lot. But Slysette suffers from not possesslng
Mlandre`s heart alone. Jhe tender creature, full of
abnegatlon, resolves to sacrlflce herself for the happl
ness of her husband and Aglavalne. She leans so far out
of the embrasures of an old turret that a crumbllng part
of the wall collapses and Slysette falls, not lnto the sea
as she had thought, but onto the sand of the beach.
Wounded, she ls carrled to the house, and even on the
verge of death she ls unselflsh; wlshlng to spare them
remorse, she trles to pretend to Mlandre and Agla
valne that her fall from the tower was accldental. In thls
drama ln whlch dellcately shaded states of soul abound,
all the characters are noble and generous. Both Agla
valne and Mlandre feel that a happlness that ls pur
chased at the prlce of another`s sufferlng ls fugltlve and
valn and, lf they do not feel less lrreslstlbly drawn to
one another, they do not by any means yleld to low
deslres but to a powerful, splrltuallzed attractlon. Jhey
struggle agalnst fate, a struggle all the more palnful as
they well suspect that fraternal love wlll ultlmately be
lmposslble and that everythlng wlll lead them to the
complete unlon whlch they flee as a sln. Jhese words of
Aglavalne are beautlful. 'If somebody must suffer, lt
should be us. Jhere are a thousand dutles, but I thlnk
one ls rarely mlstaken ln the attempt to relleve a weaker
creature by taklng lts sufferlng upon oneself." Jhls play
has a charm whlch ranks lt among the most beautlful
poetlc creatlons of the century.
^~~ pI Maeterllnck`s masterplece,
appeared ln l896. In l902 the author publlshed the
drama of j~ s~~I known and played even here ln
Sweden. Jhe actlon takes place agalnst the hlstorlcal
background of the Renalssance ln Italy; lts composltlon
ls very clearcut and entlrely free from that klnd of twl
llght whlch generally characterlzes Maeterllnk`s art.
Jhe dramatlc ldea of duty whlch sustalns the actlon has
often been dlsputed, wlth very dlverse oplnlons. Jhe
play ls certalnly bold and of great psychologlcal lnter
est, but Maeterllnck ls perhaps more hlmself ln the
short, dellcately symbollc plays ln whlch the great,
floodlng llght of day does not hold sway but whlch
open up marvellous perspectlves for the most lntlmate
presentlments of the human heart.
Maurlce Maeterllnck, a manyslded wrlter, has
wrltten works of a phllosophlcal nature, lf not purely
phllosophlcal works. Such, for example, ls i q
(l896) xq q~ ez whlch, among
other lnterestlng studles, contalns lnsplred pages about
the mystlc Ruysbrock and about the splrltual llfe.
Maeterllnck`s ldeallsm flnds a happy expresslon here ln
l07
ai_ PPN j~ j~
hls words on the most exalted poetry, whlch, he says,
alms at keeplng open the prlnclpal paths whlch lead
from the vlslble to the lnvlslble world. In many places
ln thls book appears the thought mentloned earller that
there ls behlnd our vlslble self another self whlch ls our
true belng. Jhls ldea may appear mystlcal to the emplr
lclsts; at bottom lt ls qulte as plauslble as Kant`s doc
trlne of lntelllglblllty whlch, after all, ls the source of the
emplrlcal character. In Ic Tcmplc cvscvcli (l902) [Tlc ur-
icd Tcmplc ] ls found the ldea of an lnvlslble personallty,
the basls of the vlslble and earthly personallty. If, how
ever, Maeterllnck ls accused of fatallsm, one should
remember the glowlng optlmlsm of hls book Io Sogcssc
ct lo dcstivcc (l893) [!isdom ovd Dcstivy], ln whlch man`s
fate ls sald to reslde ln hlmself and to depend on the
way ln whlch he exerclses hls wlll. Jhe downfall of
great hlstorlcal personages ls represented here as caused
by thelr own faults or orlglnatlng from the fact that they
lost thelr old confldence ln themselves through errors,
and lndeed through evll actlons, and thereby lost the
strength to combat perlls vlctorlously.
In l900 Io !ic dcs obcillcs [Tlc Iifc of tlc cc]
appeared. Jhls book had strong repercusslons.
Although Maurlce Maeterllnck ls an enthuslastlc bee
keeper and thoroughly famlllar wlth the llfe of the bees,
he dld not lntend to wrlte a sclentlflc treatlse. Hls book
ls not an abstract of natural hlstory but an exuberantly
poetlc work aboundlng ln reflectlons, the sum total of
whlch ls almost a declaratlon of lncompetence. It ls use
less, the author seems to say, to lnqulre lf the strange
cooperatlon among the bees, thelr apportlonment of
work, and thelr soclal llfe are the product of a reasonlng
mlnd. It matters llttle whether the term 'lnstlnct" or the
term 'lntelllgence" ls used, for they are but ways of
reveallng our lgnorance ln the matter. What we call
lnstlnct among the bees ls perhaps of a cosmlc nature,
the emanatlon of a unlversal soul. One lmmedlately
thlnks of Vlrgll`s lmmortal descrlptlon of the bees ln
whlch he says that a thlnker attrlbutes to them a share
of divivo mcvs, the dlvlne thought, the dlvlne splrlt.
IÌvtclligcvcc dcs flcurs (l907) [Tlc Ivtclligcvcc of Ilow-
crs], another of Maeterllnck`s works, ls lnterestlng for lts
bold representatlon of plants as havlng wlsdom and
selflnterest. Here one flnds the same rlchness of poetlc
lmaglnatlon and, occaslonally, profound reflectlons.
Wlth hls creatlve force, whlch never runs dry,
Maeterllnck composed ln l903 the fasclnatlng dramatlc
phantasy oycllc, whlch shows, through dlfflcult trlals
and sombre eplsodes, the trlumph of love falthful to lts
own nature. Moric Mogdclcivc (l9l0) represents the
change ln the soul of the repentant slnner and her vlc
tory over a temptatlon that was all the stronger as lt
touched preclsely the noblest slde of her nature and
urged her to save the Messlah at the sacrlflce of herself
and of the new moral llfe whlch he hlmself had created
ln her; that ls to say, at the sacrlflce of the vltal work of
the Messlah. Ilnally, we admlre the spectacle IÙiscou
blcu (l909) [Tlc luc ird ], a profound falry tale whlch
sparkles wlth the poetry of chlldhood, even lf lt seems
to lnclude too much reflectlon to have qulte enough
nalve spontanelty. Alas! the blue blrd of happlness
exlsts only beyond the llmlts of thls perlshable world,
but those who have pure hearts wlll never seek lt ln
valn, for thelr emotlonal llves and thelr lmaglnatlons
wlll enrlch them and purlfy them ln thelr journey across
the countrles of the land of dreams.
And so we return to the place we started from, the
land of dreams. Perhaps we would not be wrong ln say
lng that for Maurlce Maeterllnck, all reallty ln tlme and
space, even when lt ls not a product of the lmaglnatlon,
always carrles a vell woven of dreams. Lnder thls vell ls
hldden the real truth of exlstence, and when the vell ls
llfted someday, the essence of thlngs wlll be dlscovered.
I have trled to glve an account of Maeterllnck`s
conceptlon of llfe, uslng hls works as a gulde. One can
not doubt the beauty and noblllty of thls conceptlon;
moreover, lt ls presented ln the orlglnal form of a poetry
that ls strange and sometlmes blzarre but always
lnsplred.
Maurlce Maeterllnck belongs to the chosen ones
ln the fleld of poetry. Jastes may change, but the charm
of Zglovoivc ct Sclyscttc wlll remaln. Joday Sweden, the
land of sagas and folk songs, offers her world prlze to
the poet who has made us percelve the tender vlbra
tlons of the melody that ls hldden ln the hearts of men.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l9ll.|
j~W _~ p
Zs Moctcrlivcl wos uvoblc to bc prcscvt ot tlc òbcl
ovquct ot Crovd Htcl, Stocllolm, 10 Dcccmbcr 1911, tlc
spcccl wos givcv by Mr. Clorlcs C. M. Z. !outcrs, Mivistcr of
clgium (Trovslotiov).
Jhe absence of my lllustrlous countryman, Mr.
Maurlce Maeterllnck, whom a serlous lllness retalns at
home, hasas Count Mrner has already sald, caused
great dlsappolntment to all those who admlre hls
remarkable llterary work and who were eager to meet
hlm ln person.
I know that hls own dlsappolntment ls no less
than yours. He was qulte eager hlmself to come and to
recelve the laurels whlch have been bestowed upon hlm
and to see thls country whlch fasclnates hlm.
l08
j~ j~ ai_ PPN
Although Mr. Maeterllnck`s absence has glven me
the honour to recelve from the hands of Hls Majesty
the Klng the Prlze awarded to hlm and to speak to you
ln hls name, nobody regrets hls absence more than I do.
I would have been happy to meet agaln a countryman,
a fellow cltlzen from Ghent, and a fellow student from
college days; and I know how dlfflcult lt ls to try to
replace hlm by evoklng hls lmage.
Jall, robust, of athletlc appearance, wlth a full
face and a dull complexlon, easlly exclted, always bare
headed, he hardly glves the lmpresslon of a dreamer,
poet, or phllosopher. Ior those who know hlm well, he
ls a thlnker and a shy man who reveals hlmself only to
hls frlends. One recognlzes here the author of hls
works; endowed wlth an extreme senslblllty, he rlses
above the abyss of ratlonallstlc sceptlclsm to a helght
where morallty and loglc, wlth a touch of paradox and
antlthesls, almost assume the sense of a rellglon wlthout
dogma.
Although Ilemlsh and from Ilanders, Maeter
llnck wrote Irench ln a most flexlble, subtle, and har
monlous manner. Stlll, he ls the genlus of hls race, the
lncarnatlon of the Ilemlsh soll.
Jhose who have travelled through Belglum only
by traln or car cannot appreclate the lntlmate and fascl
natlng charm whlch characterlzes the Ilemlsh plalns
strewn wlth monuments ln stone whose facades recall
the lacework that Ilemlsh peasant women do on thelr
lace plllows, slttlng on the thresholds of thelr houses.
Often one hears, ln the calm of the countryslde, strong,
deep volces slnglng slow and dreamy chants. And ln the
old towns of Ilanders wlth thelr wlndlng and plctur
esque streets, the sllence of nlght ls lnterrupted at regu
lar lntervals by the clear sound of bells whlch, sllvery
and poetlc, lmpart a sense of medleval tlmes, of centu
rles of glory, herolsm, and prosperlty.
Into thls mllleu Maeterllnck was born, here he
grew up, and here lle the sources of hls talent and hls
genlus. It ls here that I have known hlm, that I have
seen, ln the back of a flower garden, the row of hlves
whose lnhabltants he studled and descrlbed.
Maeterllnck`s success justly adds to the glory of
Irench llterature, but also to the glory of hls country.
Jhe Swedlsh Academy, ln awardlng the llterary Prlze to
hlm, has pald trlbute to the Irench form of a Ilemlsh
ldea.
I thank the members of the Nobel Instltute and
ask them to accept the expresslon of profound gratltude
of my absent countryman, whose glory reflects on the
country whose representatlve I have the honour to be.
Irior to tlc spcccl, I. Z. H. Mrvcr, Dircctor of tlc
Ioyol Ivstitutc of Mcdicivc ovd Surgcry, cxprcsscd lis disop-
poivtmcvt tlot Mouricc Moctcrlivcl, 'o writcr uvivcrsolly
lvowv ovd cstccmcd, wlosc poctic crcotiovs lovc fillcd us witl
cvtlusiosm, wos uvoblc to bc prcscvt bccousc of illvcss, ovd lc
oslcd tlc Mivistcr of clgium, Mr. !outcrs, to covvcy to lim tlc
rcgrcts of tlosc prcscvt ovd tlcir rcspcct.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l9ll.|
l09
k~ j~
Ek~ j~F
(10 Dcccmbcr 1911 - J0 Zugust 2006)
o ^
Uvivcrsity of Icvvsylvovio
Jhls entry was expanded by Allen from hls Mahfz
entry ln DI Jcorbool: 19SS.
BOOKS. Homs ol-uvv (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l939);
'Zbotl ol-Zqdr (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l939); translated
by Raymond Stock as Ilufu`s !isdom (Calro
New York. Amerlcan Lnlverslty ln Calro Press,
2003);
Iodbs (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l913); translated by
Anthony Calderbank as Ilodopis of ùbio (Calro
2003);
Iifl T bo (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l911); translated by
Humphrey J. Davles as Tlcbcs ot !or (Calro
2003);
Zl-_liro ol-oddo (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, clrca l915);
Ilv ol-Ilol l (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, clrca l916);
uqq ol-Midoqq (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l917); trans
lated by Jrevor Le Gasslck as Midoq Zllcy (Belrut.
Khayat, l966; Calro. Amerlcan Lnlverslty ln
Calro Press, l966; corrected edltlon, London.
Helnemann Educatlonal, l975; Washlngton,
D.C.. Jhree Contlnents Press, l989);
Zl-Sorb (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, clrca l918);
idyo wo-ìlyo (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, clrca l919);
translated by Ramses Awad as Tlc cgivvivg ovd
tlc Ivd (Calro. Amerlcan Lnlverslty ln Calro
Press, l985);
oyv ol-_osroyv (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l956); translated
by Wllllam M. Hutchlns and Ollve E. Kenny as
Iolocc !oll (Calro. Amerlcan Lnlverslty ln Calro
Press, l989; New York. Doubleday, l990);
_osr ol-Slowq (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l957); translatlon
by Hutchlns, Lorne M. Kenny, and Ollve E.
Kenny as Iolocc of Dcsirc (New York. Doubleday,
l99l);
Zl-Sulloriyyo (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l957); translated
by Hutchlns and Angele Botros Samaan as Sugor
Strcct (New York. Doubleday, l992);
Zl-Iiss wo-ol-Iilb (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l96l); trans
lated by Le Gasslck and Mustafa Badawl as Tlc
Tlicf ovd tlc Dogs (Calro. Amerlcan Lnlverslty ln
Calro Press, l981);
Zl-Summv wo-ol-Ilor f (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l962);
translated by Roger Allen as Zutumv _uoil (Calro
Amerlcan Lnlverslty ln Calro Press, l985);
Duvy Zlll (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l962);
Zl-Torq (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l961); translated by
Mohamed Islam as Tlc Scorcl (Calro. Amerlcan
Lnlverslty ln Calro Press, l987);
oyt Soyyi` ol-Sum'o (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l965);
Zl-Slolldl (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l965); translated
by Krlstln Walker Henry as Tlc cggor (Calro.
Amerlcan Lnlverslty ln Calro Press, l986);
Tlortloro Iowq ol-` l (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l966);
translated by Irances Llardet as Zdrift ov tlc ìlc
(New York. Doubleday, l993; Calro. Amerlcan
Lnlverslty ln Calro Press, l993);
Zwld Hrotiv, abrldged verslon (Belrut. Dar alAdab,
l967); translated by Phlllp Stewart as Clildrcv of
Ccbclowi (London. Helnemann / Washlngton,
D.C.. Jhree Contlnents Press, l98l); translatlon
revlsed as Clildrcv of Ccbcloowi (Washlngton,
D.C.. Jhree Contlnents Press, l990; expanded,
Pueblo, Colo.. Passegglata Press, l997);
Mrmr (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l967); translated by
Iatma MoussaMahmoud, edlted by Maged el
Kommos and |ohn Rodenbeck (Calro. Amerlcan
Lnlverslty ln Calro Press, l978; London. Helne
mann, l978; augmented, Washlngton, D.C..
Jhree Contlnents Press, l990);
Ilomrot ol-_itt ol-Zswod (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l969);
Tolto ol-Miollo (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l969);
Hilyo bi-l idyo wo-l-ìlyo (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr,
l97l);
ll0
k~ j~z ai_ PPN
p~ ~J^~ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l97l);
^Jj~ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l972); translated by
Allen as j (Mlnneapolls. Blbllotheca Islam
lca, l977);
^Je q~~ ~Jj~~ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l973);
^Jg~ ~ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l973);
^Jh~~ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l971); translated by
Saad alGabalawy ln q `~ b~
kI edlted by alGabalawy (Irederlcton, New
Brunswlck. York Press, l981);
e e~~ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l975); trans
lated by Soad Sobhy, Essam Iattouh, and |ames
Kenneson as c~ ~ q (Washlngton,
D.C.. Jhree Contlnents Press, l988);
n~ ~Ji~ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l975);
e~~ ~Jj~~ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l975); trans
lated by Rasheed ElEnany as o p (Lon
don. _uartet Books, l986);
j~~~ ~Je~ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l977);
translated by Catherlne Cobham as q e~~
(New York. Doubleday, l991);
^Je c~~ e~~ ~Je~~ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr,
l979);
^Jp~ v~ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l979);
^ ~Je (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l980);
^ ~Jn~ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l98l); translated
by Ollve E. Kenny as t p (Calro. Amerl
can Lnlverslty ln Calro Press, l981);
i~ ^ i~~ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l982); trans
lated by Denys |ohnsonDavles as ^~~ k
~ a~ (Calro. Amerlcan Lnlverslty ln Calro
Press, l995);
o~~ J v~ ~Jk (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr,
l982);
^J_ ~Jw~~ p~ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l982);
^ ~J^ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l983);
o~ c~~ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l983); trans
lated by |ohnsonDavles as q g f c~J
~ (Calro. Amerlcan Lnlverslty ln Calro Press,
l992);
^Jq~ ~Jp (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l981);
^J^ ~Je~~ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l985);
translated by Jagreld AbuHassabo as ^~I
a q (Calro. Amerlcan Lnlverslty ln
Calro Press, l998);
v~ n~ ~Jw~ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l985);
translated by Malak Hashem as q a~ i~
t~ h (Calro. General Egyptlan Book Organl
zatlon, l989);
e~ ~Jp~ ~J~Jj~ (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l987);
k~ j~ ~ ~ ~ NVUU k m i~
Eq C i mLd f~F
lll
ai_ PPN k~ j~z
Sobl ol-!ord (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l987);
_usltumur (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l988);
Zll ol-How: Mojmu'ot qissos olltorolo bi-vofsil 'oqbo fow-
il bi-ùbol (Calro. Dr alHlll, l988);
Zl-Iojr ol-Idlib (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l989);
Zsd` ol-S rol ol-Dltiyol (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l995);
translated by |ohnsonDavles as Iclocs of ov Zuto-
biogroply (Calro. Amerlcan Lnlverslty ln Calro
Press, l997; New York London. Doubleday,
l997);
Howlo ol-'Zrob wo-ol-'Urbol, edlted by Iathl al'Ashrl
(Calro. Dar alMlsrlyah alLubnnlyah, l996);
Howlo ol-todoyyuv wo-ol-totorruf, edlted by al'Ashrl
Howlo ol-'odl wo-ol-'odlol, edlted by al'Ashrl (Calro.
Dar alMlsrlyah alLubnnlyah, l996);
Howlo ol-tolorrur wo-ol-toqoddum, edlted by al'Ashrl
Howlo ol-'im wo-ol-'omol, edlted by al'Ashrl (Calro. Dar
alMlsrlyah alLubnnlyah, l996);
Zl-_oror ol-Zll r (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, l996);
òjb Molf: Sofolt miv mudlollirtili wo-odw joddol
'ol odobili wo-loytil (Calro. Markaz alAhrm lll
Jarjamah waalNashr, l998);
Iutwot ol-'Utf (Calro. Maktabat Mlsr, 200l);
Zstidloti, edlted by Ibrahlm 'Abd alÀzlz (Calro. Mlrlt
lllNashr waalMa'lmt, 2002);
Howlo ol-odob wo-ol-folsofol (Calro. Dar alMlsrlyah al
Lubnnlyah, 2003);
Tlc Drcoms, translated by Stock (Calro New York.
Amerlcan Lnlverslty ln Calro Press, 2001); orlgl
nal Arablc publlshed as Zllm fotrot ol-voqlol
(Calro. Dar alShuruq, 2005).
b bW Cod`s !orld, translated by Akef
Abadlr and Roger Allen (Mlnneapolls. Blbllo
theca Islamlca, l973);
òguib Molfou, Uvc-Zct Iloys, translated by Nehad
Selalha (Calro. General Egyptlan Book Organlza
tlon, l989);
Tlc Timc ovd tlc Ilocc ovd Utlcr Storics, translated by
Denys |ohnsonDavles (New York. Doubleday,
l99l);
Clildrcv of tlc Zllcy, translated by Peter Jheroux (New
York. Doubleday, l996);
Tlc Coiro Trilogy, translated by Wllllam M. Hutchlns,
Lorne M. Kenny, Ollve E. Kenny, and Angele
Botros Samaan (New York. Knopf, 200l)com
prlses Iolocc !oll, Iolocc of Dcsirc, and Sugor Strcct;
!oiccs from tlc Utlcr !orld: Zvcicvt Igyptiov Tolcs, trans
lated by Raymond Stock (Calro. Amerlcan Lnl
verslty ln Calro Press, 2002);
Tlc Scvcvtl Hcovcv: Storics of tlc Supcrvoturol, translated
by Stock (Calro New York. Amerlcan Lnlver
slty ln Calro Press, 2005).
JRANSLAJION. |ames Balkle, Misr ol-qod mo (Calro.
Maktabat Mlsr, l932).
Najb Mahfz (sometlmes transllterated as
Nagulb Mahfouz) was the Egyptlan wrlter who brought
the genre of the novel to a state of genulne maturlty ln
the Arab world. Wlth an educatlonal background ln
phllosophy, an lntlmate knowledge of the major cltles of
hls homeland, a ready wlt, and a carefully developed
craft, he devoted hlmself to provldlng readers of flctlon
wlth a successlon of novels and short storles that reflect
the concerns and asplratlons of the Egyptlan people
and, through them, of the emerglng natlons of the Arab
reglon ln general. If the vlclssltudes of polltlcs, both
lnternatlonal and reglonal, occaslonally brought wlth
them campalgns of orchestrated opprobrlum agalnst
Mahfz and hls wrltlngs, they were qulte lncapable of
dlmlnlshlng elther the nature of hls llterary achleve
ment or the regard ln whlch he has been held by stu
dents of Arablc flctlon throughout the world. In thls
regard he was the great ploneer. He took rlsks, both llt
erary and polltlcal; he worked wlth a concentratlon and
conslstency that no other Arab wrlter of flctlon could
match. Jhe awardlng of the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature to
Mahfz ln l988 recognlzed hls slnglemlnded dedlca
tlon to the fosterlng and expanslon of a tradltlon of
modern flctlon ln Arablc. In rewardlng hlm, the Nobel
Commlttee also to a certaln extent acknowledged mod
ern Arablc llterature ln general. However, the award
also brought wlth lt consequences. ln the context of the
lnfamous fatwa declared agalnst Salman Rushdle for hls
novel Sotovic !crscs (l988) that same year, an Egyptlan
popular preacher lssued a death sentence agalnst
Mahfz for hls controverslal novel Zwld Hrotiv
(Chlldren of Our _uarter; translated as Clildrcv of
Ccbclowi, l98l, and as Clildrcv of tlc Zllcy, l996), whlch
had flrst appeared ln a newspaper ln l959. On l3 Octo
ber l991, the annlversary of the announcement of hls
Nobel award, Mahfz was stabbed ln the neck outslde
hls apartment ln Calro by a rellglous fanatlc. He recov
ered, but thereafter hls publlshed wrltlngs were for the
most part actually dlctatlons.
Wlthln the context of hls natlve Egypt, Mahfz
was a superb lllustratlon of Llonel Jrllllng`s phrase con
cernlng the novel, that lt ls 'an especlally useful agent of
the moral lmaglnatlon." He set out to descrlbe the urban
Egyptlan soclety ln whlch he hlmself grew up and llved
and to reflect the many crlses and concerns that charac
terlzed the era of masslve soclal upheaval and change
contemporaneous wlth hls own wrltlng career. Polltlcal
freedom, rellglous and humanlstlc values, oppresslon
and lnjustlce, routlne and allenatlon, and the search for
consolatlon from the pressures of llfe were the recurrlng
ll2
k~ j~z ai_ PPN
themes ln hls works, whether ln the form of novels or
short storles (and, more rarely, short plays).
Najb Abdel Azlz AlSabllgl Mahfz was born on
l0 December l9ll (an event reglstered offlclally on the
followlng day, whlch ls why most sources glve hls blrth
date as ll December) ln Gamallya, one of the older
quarters of Calro, near the famous mosque of Al
Husayn. Hls parents were Abdel Azlz Ibrahlm, a mer
chant, and Iatma Mostapha Mahfz. Hls slbllngs were
all many years older than he, and so he grew up as
essentlally the only chlld ln the house. Jhe narrator of
Zl-Mory (l972; translated as Mirrors, l977) descrlbes a
chlldhood slmllar to that of Mahfz hlmself. the fam
lly`s move from the Husayn quarter to the more subur
ban 'Abbslyya nelghborhood, school days, and then a
unlverslty degree ln phllosophy. Mahfz earned hls
degree from the Lnlverslty of Calro ln l931 and dld
postgraduate work ln phllosophy for the next two
years. He acknowledges that durlng thls perlod he was
greatly lnfluenced by the wrltlngs of promlnent Egyp
tlan authors such as Jh Husayn, 'Abbs Mahmd al
'Aqqd, Jawf q alHakm, Yahy Haqq, and Mahmd
Jaymr. Mahfz began wrltlng short storles whlle he
was a unlverslty student, and he was much encouraged
ln thls endeavor by Salma Ms, a Coptlc soclallst
lntellectual and edltor of the magazlne Zl-Mojollo ol-
oddo. Many, but not all, of these storles were assem
bled ln the l939 collectlon Homs ol-uvv (Whlsper of
Madness). However, Mahfz`s flrst publlshed book was
actually a translatlon of a l9l2 Engllsh hlstory of
anclent Egypt by |ames Balkle under the tltle Misr ol-
qod mo (l932, Anclent Egypt).
It may have been thls lnterest ln the earllest hls
tory of hls homeland that led Mahfz to plan a whole
serles of novels set ln that perlod. However, such were
the polltlcal and soclal clrcumstances of Egypt durlng
World War II, when the European powers consldered
all agreements made wlth the natlons of the Arab world
before and durlng World War I to be essentlally on
hold, that Mahfz turned hls attentlon to the present
state of Egypt and Egyptlans. In the perlod between
l911 and the Egyptlan revolutlon of l952, Mahfz lald
the foundatlons for a soclalreallst flctlon ln Arablc that
provlded novelwrlters ln the postrevolutlonary l950s
and l960s wlth ready models for the genre. Beglnnlng
wlth Zl-_liro ol-oddo (clrca l915, Modern Calro) and
culmlnatlng ln the three volumes known collectlvely as
Zl-Tlulotliyyo (Jrllogy)oyv ol-_osroyv (l956, trans
lated as Iolocc !oll, l989), _osr ol-Slowq (l957, trans
lated as Iolocc of Dcsirc, l99l), and Zl-Sulloriyyo (l957,
translated as Sugor Strcct, l992)Mahfz created a serles
of portralts of famllles and communltles from the mld
dle and lower classes of Egyptlan soclety struggllng to
cllmb the soclal ladder and even to survlve whlle the
country, domestlcally and lnternatlonally, wltnesses a
perlod of struggle and turmoll.
Of thls serles of novels, uqq ol-Midoqq (l917;
translated as Midoq |slc| Zllcy, l966) ls probably the best
known. It ls set ln an alley ln the old quarter of Calro
where Mahfz spent hls earllest years. Jhe novel pre
sents an unforgettable portralt of the lnhabltants of the
alley, male and female, as they struggle agalnst the odds
of poverty, tradltlon, and forelgn occupatlon.
Mahfz was an extremely prlvate and humble
person. On 27 September l951 he marrled 'Inayat
Allah; the couple had two daughters. Plctures taken ln
the wake of the Nobel Prlze award show clearly that the
famlly ls a closeknlt one. Mahfz llved ln a relatlvely
small apartment ln 'Aguza, a suburb on the West Bank
of the Nlle. Irom l939 to l97l he held varlous posl
tlons ln the Egyptlan clvll servlce whlle malntalnlng hls
llterary career.
Jhroughout Mahfz`s works hls lntense love for
hls homeland ls obvlous. In splte of hls wlde repute ln
the Arab World, he never traveled outslde hls home
land (apart from short offlclal vlslts to Yugoslavla and
Yemen). When he used to travel, lt was to hls beloved
Alexandrla (deplcted ln detall ln some of hls novels),
where he used to spend the summer months. Jhere, as
ln Calro, he malntalned a clearly deflned schedule. In
hls wrltlng, as ln hls clvllservlce career, he always was a
metlculous planner. Such a methodology was also
forced on hlm to some degree not only by the confllct
lng demands of a bureaucratlc posltlon but also by an
eye condltlon that made lt dlfflcult for hlm to functlon
ln brlght llght. He preferred to wrlte at certaln hours of
the day when the sunllght was not at lts strongest. Jhls
condltlon also explalns the darkened lenses of hls spec
tacles, whlch are a hallmark of plctures and cartoons of
hlm.
It was the publlcatlon of Zl-Tlulotliyyo ln l956 and
l957 that brought Mahfz to the attentlon of a broad
readlng publlc ln the Arab World. Jhls huge work of
more than l,500 pages traces the dramatlc changes ln
Egyptlan llfe ln the perlod between the two World Wars
as seen through the llfe and trlals of the 'Abd al|awwd
famlly. Each of the three novels ls set ln a dlfferent quar
ter of the clty, whlch glves the volume lts tltle. oyv ol-
_osroyv beglns shortly before the end of World War I
and lntroduces the reader to the members of the famlly.
Jhe father emerges as a complex and somewhat tyran
nlcal personallty, wllllng to conflne hls wlfe to the home
whlle he phllanders wlth a woman of low vlrtue. At the
concluslon of the flrst volume, the eldest son of the fam
lly ls kllled ln the popular revolt that broke out ln Egypt
ln l9l9. Jhls event brlngs to the fore the second son,
Kaml. In _osr ol-Slowq, Kaml goes to Jeachers` Col
lege, where he ls lntroduced to Darwlnlsm and other
ll3
ai_ PPN k~ j~z
aspects of the modern sclentlflc approach. Jhere ls a blt
ter clash wlth hls father over the questlon of tradltlonal
bellefs and modern educatlon. By the thlrd volume, ^J
p~~I secular unlverslty educatlon ls avallable for
members of the younger generatlon, and lndeed the two
sexes mlngle freely wlthln that context (a theme also
referred to later ln ^Jj~ ). Jwo grandsons of the
famlly reflect some of the dlvlslons wlthln the soclety at
large that surfaced agaln ln the wake of the l952 revolu
tlon. One grandson jolns the Musllm Brethren, a funda
mentallst rellglous group, whlle the other becomes a
member of the Communlst Party. As the work con
cludes, both are ln prlson, a more than apt reflectlon of
the polltlcal and soclal dlvlslons that culmlnated ln the
Egyptlan revolutlon ltself.
It ls lmposslble to do justlce ln a brlef summarlza
tlon to the detalled and lntrlcate narratlve web that
Mahfz creates ln thls work. He apparently spent some
flve years researchlng the toplc and ln the process of
wrltlng. When the volumes were publlshed ln the early
years of the revolutlon, the Egyptlan people saw, proba
bly for the flrst tlme ln a work of Arablc flctlon, a
mlnutely detalled reflectlon of thelr recent polltlcal and
soclal llfe, authentlc not only ln lts portrayal of place
and tlme but also ln lts reflectlon of trends and attltudes
as reflected ln the varlous members and generatlons of
the 'Abd al|awwd famlly. And, slnce the l950s was a
perlod of revolutlons and processes of polltlcal and
soclal change ln other Arab countrles as well, lt ls
hardly surprlslng that ^Jq~~ was read through
out the Arab World and acknowledged as a masterplece
of Arablc flctlon. Iollowlng lts publlcatlon, the award of
the Egyptlan State Prlze for Llterature to Mahfz ln
l957 gave a tremendous boost to hls reputatlon, and he
has been regarded as the doyen of Arablc flctlon slnce
then.
Jhe wrltlng of ^Jq~~ had actually been
completed ln Aprll l952, but followlng the Egyptlan rev
olutlon that year, Mahfz dld not publlsh any flctlon for
several years. Many crltlcs have attrlbuted thls 'sllence"
to a sense of unfamlllarlty wlth the new polltlcal and
socletal sltuatlon resultlng from such a profound change.
Whlle that may be at least partlally the case, lt ls lmpor
tant to note that, untll hls retlrement ln l97l, Mahfz
comblned a wrltlng career wlth the demands of a posl
tlon wlthln the Mlnlstry of Culture; ln a somewhat curl
ous twlst, he served as a censor of clnema scrlpts. In fact,
the years from l952 untll l959 were partlcularly full of
actlvlty lnvolvlng the composltlon of scenarlos for the
burgeonlng Egyptlan motlonplcture lndustry. When he
dld resume the wrltlng of flctlon, lt was wlth a work,
^ e~I that lmmedlately became the subject of
conslderable notorlety when lt was flrst publlshed ln the
Calro newspaper ^J^ ln l959. Jraclng manklnd`s
rellglous herltage and the frequent recourse of vlolence,
the novel strongly suggests that sclence has superseded
rellglon.
In allegorlcal form, Mahfz traces the hlstory of
manklnd through flve chapters, each one named after a
leader who endeavors to create a communlty of values
and to curb a procllvlty to vlolence. Jhe entlre quarter
where they llve ls 'overseen" by a warden named
Gebelawl, who llves ln a manslon outslde the quarter.
Proceedlng through the events ln the tlme of Adham
(Adam), |abal (Moses), Rf'a ( |esus), and _slm
(Muhammad), the tale reaches the era of 'Arafa (Scl
ence). As lf readers of these eplsodes were not already
aware of the lmpllcatlons of what Mahfz was dolng
and saylng ln thls work, 'Arafa goes to Gebelawl`s
house and kllls hlm. Jhe work appeared ln ^J^ ln
splte of rlgorous protests, but Mahfz afterward agreed
that lt would not be publlshed ln book form ln Calro. It
was publlshed ln book form ln Lebanon ln l967 and ls
stlll banned ln Egypt and several other Arab natlons.
If ^ e~ gave the lmpresslon that
Mahfz mlght be shlftlng away from some of the more
tradltlonal dlctates of 'reallstlc" flctlon, that lmpresslon
was conflrmed by hls next work, ^Ji ~J~Jh
(l96l; translated as q q ~ aI l981), argu
ably hls greatest work. Jhe ldea for the plot of thls
novel seems to have come from an actual serles of
events that occupled the newspaper columns for several
weeks. Sa'ld Mahran, the maln character, emerges from
prlson bent on vengeance upon hls wlfe and her lover.
By mlstake he kllls the wrong man and ls hunted down
by the pollce. In the process he becomes somethlng of a
popular hero, untll he ls flnally captured. Mahfz, wlth
hls usual sklll, manages to lncorporate wlthln the frame
work of the narratlve far more than a mere copsand
robbers adventure. Jhere are several lnterestlng charac
ters. the aged mystlc shelkh who had been a good
frlend of Sa'ld`s father and whose comments provlde a
telllng rellglous commentary on the events of the novel
and, by lmpllcatlon, on what lles behlnd them; the pros
tltute, Nur, who provldes Sa'ld wlth hls only refuge ln
hls hour of greatest need and whose home looks out on
the cemetery; and Ra`f 'Ilwan, the promlnent journal
lst and former helper of Sa'ld whose sudden rlse to
wealth and promlnence stlmulates Sa'ld`s wrath agalnst
soclety and those who have trlcked hlm. Jhe theme of
exploltatlon and opportunlsm lmpllclt ln Mahfz`s por
trayal of Ra`f 'Ilwan recurs ln several of the novels he
wrote ln the l960s. A noteworthy feature of ^Ji ~J
~Jh (and other novels that followed lt) ls an extreme
economy ln the deplctlon of place, at least by contrast
wlth ^Jq~~I and a coplous use of symbollsm to
convey atmosphere. Wlthln such an envlronment there
ls a greater focus on the psychology of the prlnclpal
ll1
k~ j~z ai_ PPN
character, a process that lnvolves an lncreased use of
lnterlor monologue.
^Ji ~J~Jh appeared durlng the beglnnlng
of an unhappy perlod ln modern Egyptlan hlstory. ln
l96l Syrla seceded from the Lnlted Arab Republlc,
and a serles of draconlan laws regardlng personal rlghts
and freedoms were lntroduced. Mahfz`s novel caught
the uncertaln mood of the tlmes wlth both accuracy
and artlstry. Because lt demonstrates hls control of all
the narratlve technlques at the modern novellst`s dls
posal, thls book clearly ranks among hls most dlstln
gulshed contrlbutlons.
In the l960s Mahfz publlshed a serles of novels ln
whlch he portrays attltudes to the Egyptlan revolutlon ln
what emerges as a crescendo of dlsllluslon and dlssatlsfac
tlon. A group of lndlvlduals wlthln Egyptlan soclety are
shown to be lost, allenated, and often oppressed person
ally and polltlcally. Jhese feellngs are expressed through a
mlnlmal sketchlng of background and a close penetratlon
lnto the consclousness of the character whlch make use of
all the narratlve technlques avallable to modern novellsts,
and most partlcularly the lnterlor monologue and stream
of consclousness. In ^Jp ~J~Jh~ (l962; trans
lated as ^ n~I l985) the character ln questlon ls a
former clvll servant flred for corruptlon whose rejectlonlst
attltudes to new polltlcal and soclal realltles are flnally
jolted by the Jrlpartlte (Brltlsh, Irench, and Israell) Inva
slon of hls homeland ln l956.
Jhe narratlve technlques so evldent ln ^Ji ~J~J
h are employed to equal effect ln q~~~ c~ ~Jk
(l966, Chatter on the Nlle; translated as ^ kI
l993). Readers are lntroduced to a partlcular mlcrocosm
of Egypt. a group of members of the cultural and lntellec
tual ellte who meet regularly on a houseboat. Jhese men
and women have glven up all hope of worklng wlthln the
system. As a means of expresslng thelr sense of allenatlon
and ln search of consolatlon, they resort to the houseboat
of Ans Zak, an lndolent clvll servant glven to drug
lnduced reverles and excurslons lnto anclent hlstory.
Lnder the tutelage of Ans`s servant, an apparently tlme
less lndlvldual named 'Abduh who serves not only as
lmam at the local mosque but also as procurer for the
group, they meet to talk about contemporary lssues, to
smoke hashlsh, and to engage ln sex. Even the arrlval of a
new partlclpant, Sammra Bahjat, a woman journallst
who announces her lntentlon of embarklng on a study of
the group, falls to stlr them from thelr apathy. She, too, ls
coopted to the group. When they are all lnvolved ln a
fatal trafflc accldent, lt appears that Ans Zak has at last
been shaken lnto actlon and a sense of responslblllty; but,
as 'Abduh brlngs hlm a cup of 'laced" coffee, the flnal
conversatlon between Sammra and Ans ls once agaln a
model of falled communlcatlon.
Jhe sense of dlsllluslon ln thls novel ls almost com
plete. Indeed, such was offlclal anger at lts negatlvlty that
Mahfz narrowly escaped belng lmprlsoned; lt was the
then Mlnlster of Culture, Jharwat 'Lksha, who polnted
out that lt was a work of flctlon. Brlnglng a large cast of
characters together lnto a restrlcted space full of personal
tenslons, Mahfz manages to create a flctlonal world that,
together wlth the work that followed lt, j (l967;
translated, l978), ls a dlsarmlngly accurate mlrror of attl
tudes among Egyptlan lntellectuals lmmedlately before
the |une War (or SlxDay War) between Arabs and Israe
lls ln l967, known ln Arablc as ~J~~ (the setback). In
jI the sulclde of Slrhn, the rlslng star ln the Arab
Soclallst Lnlon, polnts up the corruptlon and atmosphere
of terror that characterlzed thls era ln modern Egyptlan
polltlcal llfe, one that was brought to an abrupt end by the
|une War. Whlle the two novels dlffer ln both settlng and
narratlve technlque, each can reveal to the careful analyst
Mahfz`s anxletles about the course of development of
the soclallst revolutlon ln hls country, feellngs that soon
became more expllclt.
Arab authors reacted to the |une War ln a varlety of
ways, lncludlng anger, sllence, and exlle. Mahfz chose to
express hlmself ln a serles of short storles that made thelr
way lnto collectlons publlshed ln l969 and l97l. Jhese
storles were extremely symbollc and often cycllcal ln
nature. All of them reflect the sense of questlonlng, chal
lenge, and recrlmlnatlon that were so characterlstlc of thls
perlod.
Jhe short story 'Jahta alMazalla" (Lnder the
Shelter), flrst publlshed ln ^J^ ln l967, was one of a
set of shorter works composed ln the wake of the |une
War. Jhls surreal tale deplcts a group of people waltlng ln
a bus shelter ln the pourlng raln. Jhey watch ln amaze
ment as a whole serles of llloglcal and lnexpllcable events
take place. an lnsane car chase, people danclng naked and
maklng love ln the mlddle of the street, another group
apparently maklng a movle wlth a strange character serv
lng as dlrectoror ls he? Jhe group under the shelter
keep wonderlng, asklng each other what ls golng on and
who ls ln charge. But thelr sense of lnltlatlve stops there;
no one goes beyond asklng questlons to the process of
actually flndlng out. Eventually, a pollceman comes over
and asks for thelr ldentlty cards; why, he wonders, are
they holdlng a meetlng? When they fall to respond, he
shoots them all dead. Such apparently ls the penalty for
those who prefer merely to 'stand and stare."
Jhls hlghly symbollc and often cryptlc mode of
story wrltlng was used by Mahfz ln many slmllar works,
some of conslderable length, ln the late l960s and early
l970s. After the death of Presldent Gaml 'Abd alNslr
(Nasser) ln l970, many aspects of Egyptlan soclety under
went conslderable change durlng the presldency of
Anwar alSdt. Jhe events of l967 were also toplcs for
ll5
ai_ PPN k~ j~z
debate and dlscusslon for many years. Along wlth them
came a reconslderatlon of the events of 'Abd alNslr`s
perlod ln power and a falr amount of recrlmlnatlon, both
soclally and polltlcally. Zl-Mory, along wlth Zl-Hubb
Tolto ol-Motor (l973, Love ln the Raln), wlth lts concern
wlth the 'phony war" at the Suez Canal precedlng the
l973 confllct, and Zl-Iorvol (l971; translated, l981), wlth
lts frank treatment of secret pollce vlolence, were all part
of Mahfz`s contrlbutlon to these debates.
In Zl-Mory, the narrator surveys through a retro
spect on hls own llfe and career the recent hlstory of
Egypt and lts people ln all walks of llfe. Many of the sub
jects of these vlgnettes comment wlth extreme frankness
about polltlcs, lncludlng the Egyptlan revolutlon ltself,
lnternatlonal relatlons, and the contlnulng dllemma
regardlng the fate of the Palestlnlan people ln thelr strug
gle wlth Israel. Mahfz contlnued hls retrospectlve mode
ln an even more dlrect manner ln another of hls most
notorlous works (made lnto a hlghly successful and
exploltatlve movle ln l975), Zl-Iorvol, ln whlch the major
toplc ls the brutal way ln whlch the secret pollce sup
pressed polltlcal debate durlng the dark days of the l960s.
Durlng thls phase of hls career (the early l970s),
Mahfz was not shy about expresslng hls extreme dlsqulet
over the everwldenlng economlc gap between the 'haves"
and 'havenots" ln hls homeland. At one polnt, hls vlews
on the subject prompted the reglme to remove Mahfz
from the rolls of the Wrlters` Lnlon, thus offlclally pre
ventlng hlm from publlcatlon. AlHakm, the world
famous Egyptlan dramatlst; Ysuf Idrs, one of the best
shortstory wrlters ln the Arab World; and Louls 'Awad,
the llterary crltlc, were dealt wlth ln the same way; the
order, however, was resclnded shortly afterward.
Mahfz`s soclalreallst works of the l910s and
l950s had demanded a descrlptlve style that was both
evocatlve and preclse. In later novels he resorted to a
greater use of symbollsm, somethlng that may be seen as
not only an artlstlc cholce but also a means of conveylng
unpalatable messages ln a way that may escape excesslve
scrutlny from the censors. He moved away from 'telllng"
and toward 'showlng." Descrlptlon became more terse,
economlcal, and symbollc. Dlalogue ln turn became more
prollflc, laconlc, and colorful. Many of hls works from the
l970s and l980s ln partlcular lnclude a host of 'one
llners" that not only reflect Mahfz`s wlt but also dlsplay
a wllllngness to lend local color through the lncorporatlon
of words from the colloqulal dlalect lnto a narratlve fabrlc
that ls otherwlse a model of clear and preclse modern
Arablc llterary style.
Mahfz contlnued to publlsh works that show hls
abldlng lnterest ln the reflectlon of broad phllosophlcal
and soclopolltlcal lssues, all wlthln the context of the
Egyptlan soclety that he knew and descrlbed wlth such
sympathy and accuracy. Jhus, Hodrot ol-Multorom (l975;
translated as Icspcctcd Sir, l986) traces the cynlcal rlse to
authorlty of a clvll servant whose whole llfe ls spent on
that very quest. Zfrl ol-_ubbo (l98l, Al_ubba Celebra
tlons; translated as !cddivg Sovg, l981) deals wlth the
graft and corruptlon of the clnema lndustry through a
multlnarrator technlque encountered (wlth greater sophls
tlcatlon) ln the earller Mrmr.
Durlng the l970s and l980s many of Mahfz`s flc
tlonal works concentrated on lssues partlcular to Egypt.
Indeed, ln the wake of the Camp Davld accords wlth
Israel and Mahfz`s guarded support of the dlrectlon ln
whlch they appeared to lead, some government offlclals
and crltlcs ln other Arab World countrles lnltlated or
advocated a ban on hls works. However, such gestures
seemed too readlly prepared to lgnore the major contrl
butlon that Mahfz had made to the entlre tradltlon of
modern Arablc flctlon, and thus they dld not engender
wlde support. Iurthermore, such has been and remalns
the amorphous and generally chaotlc sltuatlon regardlng
the dlstrlbutlon of books throughout the reglon that any
such attempts would have been essentlally futlle ln any
case. Durlng these years Mahfz revlved some of hls
former lnterests, as ln Mollomot ol-Horfsl (l977, Jhe
Eplc of the GutterSnlpes; translated as Tlc Horofisl,
l991), whlch offers ln more elongated form another saga
about generatlons wlthln a popular quarter and the suc
cesslon of vlolence by whlch some semblance of 'order"
ls malntalned, an echo of not only Zwld Hrotiv but
also the later Hilyt Horotiv (l975, Storles of Our _uar
ter; translated as Iouvtoiv ovd Tomb, l988). At the same
tlme, Mahfz (along wlth a younger generatlon of wrlters
who, for the most part, freely acknowledge the enormous
debt that they owe to 'the master") partlclpated ln the
process of taklng the novel genre ln new dlrectlons. Jurn
lng away from the more obvlous llnkages to the varlous
tradltlons of Western flctlon, these wrlters have begun to
look lnto the great narratlve herltage of the premodern
era ln quest of texts, themes, and styles. Jhls trend ls
most vlslble ln works such as Ioyl Zlf Ioylo (l982, trans
lated as Zrobiov ìglts ovd Doys, l995), whlch devotes sec
tlons to characters from the famous medleval collectlon
Shahrayr, _t al_ulb (the beloved slaveglrl of Hrn
alRashd), the Porter, and Ma'rf the Cobblerand
Iillot ibv Iotmo (l983; translated as Tlc ourvcy of Ibv Iot-
toumo, l992), whlch lnevltably brlngs to the mlnd of an
Arablc reader the famous fourteenthcentury travel narra
tlve of Ibn Battta.
Iollowlng hls retlrement from government servlce
Mahfz used to walk to a favorlte caf ln the center of
Calro every mornlng, where he perused the newspapers.
On Jhursdays he walked to the bulldlng of the famous
Calro newspaper Zl-Zlrm, to whlch he contrlbuted col
umns on a wlde varlety of subjects. Jhls walk and hls
dally routlne ln general were, of course, dlsrupted when
ll6
k~ j~z ai_ PPN
he was announced as the wlnner of the Nobel Prlze ln Llt
erature ln l988. Jo begln wlth, he dlsllked travel and sent
hls two daughters to collect the prlze ln Stockholm ln
December of that year. Beyond that, he found hlmself
bombarded wlth requests for lntervlews, televlslon spe
clals, and the llke, all of whlch led to a profound alteratlon
to the llfestyle of thls modest man who much preferred
the qulet llfe to one of world fame.
Whlle he ruefully observed that thls lnternatlonal
spotllght turned hls attentlon away from hls preferred
mode of expresslon (that of flctlon), one posltlve conse
quence of the award was a palpable lncrease ln the pub
llcatlon of hls works ln translatlon and thelr
lncorporatlon lnto completely new medla ln the West
ern world. school readlng currlcula, anthologles of
world llterature, and blographlcal dlctlonarles. Jhe flrst
of hls works to appear ln Engllsh after the award was
the 'Calro Jrllogy"; lt had been unavallable ln Engllsh
prevlously, but the Irench translatlon of the flrst two
volumes had played a major role ln brlnglng hls work
to the attentlon of the Nobel Prlze Commlttee. Among
the negatlve results of thls major event ln Egyptlan and
Arab cultural llfe was that the award colnclded exactly
wlth the uproar created ln the Musllm world by the
publlcatlon ln England of Rushdle`s Sotovic !crscs and
the subsequent fatwa lssued ln Iran by Imam Khomelnl
condemnlng Rushdle to death. In Egypt lt was sug
gested by certaln key flgures ln popular rellglous groups
that Rushdle would never have wrltten hls novel lf not
for the earller publlcatlon of Mahfz`s Zwld Hrotiv.
One of those flgures, 'Lmar 'Abd alRahmn, lssued a
slmllar fatwa condemnlng Mahfz. Even though 'Abd
alRahmn was jalled and then exlled (later movlng to
New York and partlclpatlng ln the plannlng of the l993
bomblng of the World Jrade Center), the sentence on
Mahfz was almost carrled out by a knlfewleldlng
assallant ln October l991. If the award of the Nobel
Prlze had dlsrupted hls routlne to a certaln extent, the
attack dld so even more, slnce he was no longer able to
manlpulate a pen wlth hls wrltlng hand. And yet, fol
lowlng hls recovery, he lnslsted on malntalnlng hls regu
lar schedule of nlghtly gatherlngs wlth frlends and
llterary flguresevery nlght of the week ln a dlfferent
locatlon. Jhe only exceptlon to thls pattern was Satur
day, when hls longtlme frlend, the renowned playwrlght
Mohamed Salmawy, used to come to hls apartment,
converse wlth hlm about a wlde varlety of toplcs, and
then transcrlbe Mahfz`s thoughts of the week, whlch
were then publlshed ln Zl-Zlrm. An Engllsh transla
tlon of a sampllng of these 'pensees," selected by Sal
mawy, has been publlshed as òguib Molfou ot Sidi
Cobcr (200l).
Jhe assasslnatlon attempt lmpacted Mahfz`s
wrltlng career ln a major way. In that context, lt ls
lnterestlng to note that a work publlshed ln artlcle
form ln the years lmmedlately before the lncldent,
namely Zsd` ol-Srol ol-Dlt yol (translated as Iclocs
of ov Zutobiogroply, l997), publlshed ln book form ln
l995, ls perhaps the most remarkably dlfferent of hls
many exerclses ln the wrltlng of flctlon (and lt ls flc
tlon, desplte lts tltle). It conslsts of a serles of more
than two hundred aphorlsms, evocatlons of the past,
and reflectlons, some of them only a slngle sentence ln
length. Indeed, at a mldway polnt ln the sequence, a
Sufl shelkh named 'Abd Rabblhl alJ`lh ('the servant
of hls Lord, the wanderer ln the wllderness") appears
and utters a whole serles of plous statements that are
redolent of the collectlons of such thoughts to be
found ln the repertolre of premodern pletlstlc lltera
ture. Jhls strongly Sufl overlay ls blended wlth nostal
glc remlnlscences to create a work that, for all lts
orlglnallty, has dlstlnct tles to those earller works ln
whlch Mahfz has addressed hlmself through a varl
ety of formats and genres to the dllemma faclng the
contemporary bellever who ln thls lncreaslngly com
plex world seeks some klnd of reconclllatlon between
the sacred and the secular.
Mahfz dled on 30 August 2006 at the age of
nlnetyfour. In the years precedlng hls death several of
hls flctlonal works appeared ln Engllsh translatlon,
lncludlng the three novels set ln the Pharaonlc perlod
that were hls flrst essays ln novel form ('Zbotl ol-Zqdr,
Iodbs, and Iifl T bo). Hls own 'wrltlng" conslsted of
shorter pleces that he dlctated for publlcatlon, lncludlng
the weekly columns that Salmawy collected. Most
recently he had been publlshlng sets of hls own dreams
ln a Calro perlodlcal; these pleces appeared ln book
form under the tltle Zllm fotrot ol-voqlo (2005,
Dreams of Convalescence; publlshed flrst ln Engllsh as
Tlc Drcoms, 2001).
Najb Mahfz had developed hls narratlve craft at
a partlcular polnt ln the hlstory of modern Arablc flc
tlon, polsed to reflect ln hls wrltlngs the asplratlons and
frustratlons of the Arab World durlng one of the most
cruclal and excltlng perlods ln that troubled reglon`s
modern hlstory. In an outpourlng of palnstaklngly
crafted creatlvlty roughly cotermlnous wlth the second
half of the twentleth century, he reflected on the seg
ment of the soclety that he knew best. the Egyptlan
bureaucratlc mlddle class, ln lts encounter wlth crush
lng forces, both lnternal and external. He lnslsted on
acqualntlng hlmself wlth flctlonal trends throughout the
world and on adjustlng hls own technlques accordlngly.
He addressed hlmself, often at some personal rlsk, to
the controversles of the day and to many larger phllo
sophlcal questlons that beset modern man. Mahfz dld
lndeed earn the tltle of the flrst genulne master of the
modern Arablc novel. Polltlcal maneuverlng aslde, that
ll7
ai_ PPN k~ j~z
ls a verdlct on whlch Arab and Western scholars are
overwhelmlngly ln accord.
fW
Mohamed Salmawy, òguib Molfou ot Sidi Cobcr: Icflcc-
tiovs of o òbcl Iourcotc, 1994-2001 (Calro New
York. Amerlcan Lnlverslty ln Calro Press, 200l).
_~W
òguib Molfou iv tlc Mirror: ibliogroply obout tlc òbcl
Iric Iourcotc (Calro. Natlonal Llbrary and
Archlves Press, 2003).
oW
Roger Allen, Tlc Zrobic òvcl: Zv Historicol ovd Criticol
Ivtroductiov (Syracuse, N.Y.. Syracuse Lnlverslty
Press, l982; revlsed, l995);
Allen, Modcrv Zrobic Iitcroturc (New York. Lngar,
l987), pp. l92-201;
Mlchael Beard and Adnan Haydar, eds., òguib Mol-
fou: Irom Icgiovol Iomc to Clobol Iccogvitiov (Syra
cuse, N.Y.. Syracuse Lnlverslty Press, l993);
|. Brugman, Zv Ivtroductiov to tlc History of Modcrv Zrobic
Iitcroturc iv Igypt (Lelden. E. |. Brlll, l981), pp.
293-306;
M. M. Enanl, ed., òguib Molfou, òbcl 19SS: Igyptiov
Icrspcctivcs: Z Collcctiov of Criticol Issoys (Calro. Gen
eral Egyptlan Book Organlzatlon, l989);
Rasheed ElEnany, òguib Molfou: Tlc Iursuit of Mcov-
ivg (London. Routledge, l993);
Halm Gordon, òguib Molfou`s Igypt: Ixistcvtiol Tlcmcs
iv His !ritivg (New York. Greenwood Press,
l990);
Denys |ohnsonDavles, Mcmorics iv Trovslotiov: Z Iifc
ctwccv tlc Iivcs of Zrobic Iitcroturc (Calro New
York. Amerlcan Lnlverslty ln Calro Press, 2006);
Jrevor Le Gasslck, ed., Criticol Icrspcctivcs ov òguib Mol-
fou (Washlngton D.C.. Jhree Contlnents Press,
l99l);
Menahem Mllson, òjib Molfu: Tlc òvclist-Ililosoplcr
of Coiro (New York. St. Martln`s Press, l998);
Mattl Moosa, Tlc Iorly òvcls of òguib Molfou: Imogcs
of Modcrv Igypt (Galnesvllle. Lnlverslty of Ilorlda
Press, l991);
Moosa, 'Nagulb Mahfouz. Llfe ln the Alley of Arab
Hlstory," Ccorgio Icvicw, 19 (Sprlng l995). 221-
230;
Mattltyahu Peled, Icligiov My Uwv: Tlc Iitcrory !orls of
òjib Molfu (New Brunswlck, N.|. London.
Jransactlon Books, l981);
Sasson Somekh, Tlc Clovgivg Ilytlm: Z Study of òjib
Molfu`s òvcls (Lelden. E. |. Brlll, l973).
NVUU k m i~
m~ p
by Irofcssor Sturc Zllcv, of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy
(Trovslotiov from Swcdisl)
Your Majestles, Your Royal Hlghnesses, Ladles and
Gentlemen,
On the Nobel Day, l0th December, l9ll, Mau
rlce Maeterllnck recelved that year`s Nobel Prlze ln
Llterature from the hands of Klng Gustavus V here ln
Stockholm. On the followlng day Nagulb Mahfouz
was born ln Calro. Jhe capltal of Egypt has remalned
hls home and he has left lt only on very rare occa
slons.
Calro also provldes, tlme and agaln, the settlng
for hls novels, short storles and plays. Jhere we flnd
the throng ln Midoq Zllcy, descrlbed ln a manner that
ls both affectlonate and translucent. Jhere, ln the
great novel trllogy, Kaml faces the cruclal questlons
of exlstence. Jhere lles the houseboat whlch, ln Clit-
clot ov tlc ìlc, becomes a platform for conversatlons
and anlmated dlscusslons about soclal roles. Jhere
we meet the young lovers, preparlng thelr bed amldst
the blocks of the pyramld.
It ls vltal for a llvlng soclety to take lts authors
serlously. Jhey have learnt to scc ln the profoundest
sense of the word, exploltlng lts full potentlal. Jhls, ln
fact, represents a fundamental component shared by
art and sclence allke.
One approach, among several others, to the
works of thls year`s Nobel Laureate ls to read them as
a commltted, perceptlve, almost prophetlc commen
tary on the world around hlm. Durlng a long wrlter`s
llfe, he has wltnessed sweeplng soclal changes. Also,
hls productlon ls uncommonly extenslve.
In Arablc llterature, the novel ls actually a 20th
century phenomenon, more or less contemporary
wlth Mahfouz. And lt was he who, ln due course, was
to brlng lt to maturlty. Some of the mllestones are
Midoq Zllcy, Tlc Trilogy, Clildrcv of Ccbolowi, Tlc Tlicf
ovd tlc Dogs, Clit-Clot ov tlc ìlc, Icspcctcd Sir, and Mir-
rors. Greatly varled and partly experlmental, these
novels range from psychologlcal reallsm to an allegor
lcal and mystlcmetaphyslcal deslgn.
Jhe nature of tlme ls one of hls baslc preoccu
patlons. As for last year`s Nobel Laureate, |oseph
Brodsky, lt takes on the character of mercllessness.
'Jlme cuts llke a sword," lt says ln the novel Icspcctcd
Sir. 'If you don`t klll lt, lt kllls you."
ll8
k~ j~z ai_ PPN
Ior the numerous readers that Mahfouz had
acqulred through q qI wlth lts broad canvas
deplctlng contemporary llfe, ` d~ meant
qulte a surprlse. Jhe novel comes out as a 'splrltual
hlstory of manklnd," presented ln as many chapters
as there are suras ln the Koran, l.e. ll1. Jhe great flg
ures of |udalsm, Chrlstlanlty and Islamalthough rec
ognlzableappear ln dlsgulse, faclng new sltuatlons
charged wlth tenslon. Jhe man of modern sclence
mlxes, wlth equal sklll, an ellxlr of love and an explo
slve. He bears the responslblllty for the death of
Gebelawl or Godbut also perlshes hlmself. Stlll,
there ls a gllmmer of hope at the end of the novel.
Mahfouz ls not a pesslmlst, even though he ls occa
slonally referred to as one. 'If I were a pesslmlst," he
says, 'I wouldn`t wrlte."
In the short storles, too, we meet the great exls
tentlal themes. reason versus falth ln God, love as a
source of strength ln an lnexpllcable world, the alter
natlves and llmltatlons to an lntellectual attltude, the
exlstentlal struggle of exposed man.
Jaklng authors serlously does not always lmply
taklng them llterally. Mahfouz once sald that he
wrltes because he has two daughters ln need of hlgh
heeled shoes. Lnconventlonal remarks llke that may
beand have beenmlsunderstood. Jhey tell us less
about Mahfouz`s llterary achlevements than about hls
personalltymoderate as well as serlous and, at the
same tlme, slyly humorous.
Nagulb Mahfouz has an unrlvalled posltlon as
spokesman for Arablc prose. Jhrough hlm, ln the cul
tural sphere to whlch he belongs, the art of the novel
and the short story has attalned lnternatlonal stan
dards of excellence, the result of a synthesls of classl
cal Arablc tradltlon, European lnsplratlon and
personal artlstry.
Ior prlvate reasons Mr. Mahfouz ls unable to
joln us tonlght. However, wlth your permlsslon I
should llke to address hlm dlrectly at thls moment,
uslng the medlum of vlslon.
Dear Mr. Mahfouz,
Your rlch and complex work lnvltes us to recon
slder the fundamental thlngs ln llfe. Jhemes llke the
nature of tlme and love, soclety and norms, knowl
edge and falth recur ln a varlety of sltuatlons and are
presented ln thoughtprovoklng, evocatlve, and
clearly darlng ways. And the poetlc quallty of your
prose can be felt across the language barrler. In the
prlze cltatlon you are credlted wlth the formlng of an
Arablan narratlve art that applles to all manklnd. On
behalf of the Swedlsh Academy I congratulate you on
your emlnent llterary accompllshments. And now,
may I ask you, Mlss Om Kalsoum Nagulb Mahfouz,
and you, Mlss Iatma Nagulb Mahfouz, to step for
ward to recelve from the hands of Hls Majesty the
Klng, on behalf of your father Nagulb Mahfouz, the
Nobel Prlze ln Llterature l988.
m o~W q k m
i~ NVUU
l m~ p~ p
^~I NP l NVUU
Nagulb Mahfouz
Jhrough the Swedlsh Academy`s declslon thls
year the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature has for the flrst tlme
been awarded to an Egyptlan. Nagulb Mahfouz was
born and llves ln Calro. He ls also the flrst llterary
Nobel Prlzewlnner wlth Arablc as hls natlve tongue.
Jo date Mahfouz has been wrltlng for about flfty
years. At the age of 77 he ls stlll lndefatlgable.
Mahfouz`s great and declslve achlevement ls as
the wrlter of novels and short storles. Hls productlon
has meant a powerful upswlng for the novel as a genre
and for the development of the llterary language ln
Arablcspeaklng cultural clrcles. Jhe range ls however
greater than that. Hls work speaks to us all.
Jhe earllest novels are set ln the Pharaonlc
mllleu of anclent Egypt. But here already there are
sldelong glances at today`s soclety.
A serles of Calro novels takes place at the
present day. Jo them belongs j~ ^ (l917). Jhe
alley becomes a stage, whlch holds together a motley
crowd, all drawn wlth telllng psychologlcal reallsm.
Mahfouz really made hls name wlth the blg Jrll
ogy (l956-57). In the centre ls a famlly and lts vlclssl
tudes from the end of the l9l0s to the mlddle of the
l910s. Jhe serles of novels has autoblographlcal ele
ments. Jhe deplctlon of the lndlvlduals relates very
clearly to lntellectual, soclal and polltlcal condltlons.
On the whole through hls wrltlngs Mahfouz has
exerted conslderable lnfluence ln hls country.
Jhe theme of the unusual novel `
d~ (l959) ls man`s everlastlng search for splrl
tual values. Adam and Eve, Moses, |esus, Mohammed
and others, as well as the modern sclentlst, appear
thlnly dlsgulsed. It ls the sclentlst who ultlmately ls
responslble for the prlmeval father Gebelawl`s (God`s)
death. Dlfferent norm systems are confronted wlth
tenslon ln the descrlptlon of the confllct between good
ll9
ai_ PPN k~ j~z
and evll. On account of the way ln whlch hlgher
thlngs are treated the book could not be prlnted ln the
author`s own country but was publlshed elsewhere.
^ e~ k (l966not yet translated
lnto Engllsh) ls an example of Mahfouz`s lmpresslve
novellas. Here metaphyslcal conversatlons are carrled
on ln the borderland between reallty and llluslon. At
the same tlme the text forms ltself lnto a comment on
the lntellectual cllmate ln the country.
Mahfouz ls also an excellent short story wrlter.
In the volume of selected storles d t (l973) we
get a very good vlew of what he has achleved ln thls
fleld. Jhe artlstlc treatment of the exlstentlal questlons
ls forceful and the formal solutlons often strlklng.
Jhere has been a tendency to dlvlde Mahfouz`s
wrltlngs lnto a number of perlods, e.g. a hlstorlcal, a
reallstlc and a metaphyslcalmystlcal. Naturally thls
has not happened wlthout reason. However, the lllu
mlnatlon throughout of human llfe ln general should
also be emphaslzed.
'If the urge to wrlte should ever leave me,"
Mahfouz sald ln an lntervlew recently, 'I want that
day to be my last."
l20
j~W k iI U a NVUU
o~ ~ p ^~ jK j~ p~~
E ^~I bFX ~~ p~~
Ladles and Gentlemen,
Jo begln wlth I would llke to thank the Swedlsh
Academy and lts Nobel commlttee for taklng notlce of my
long and perseverant endeavours, and I would llke you to
accept my talk wlth tolerance. Ior lt comes ln a language
unknown to many of you. But lt ls the real wlnner of the
prlze. It ls, therefore, meant that lts melodles should float
for the flrst tlme lnto your oasls of culture and clvlllzatlon.
I have great hopes that thls wlll not be the last tlme elther,
and that llterary wrlters of my natlon wlll have the plea
sure to slt wlth full merlt amongst your lnternatlonal wrlt
ers who have spread the fragrance of joy and wlsdom ln
thls grlefrldden world of ours.
I was told by a forelgn correspondent ln Calro that
the moment my name was mentloned ln connectlon wlth
the prlze sllence fell, and many wondered who I was. Per
mlt me, then, to present myself ln as objectlve a manner as
ls humanly posslble. I am the son of two clvlllzatlons that at
a certaln age ln hlstory have formed a happy marrlage. Jhe
flrst of these, seven thousand years old, ls the Pharaonlc
clvlllzatlon; the second, one thousand four hundred years
old, ls the Islamlc one. I am perhaps ln no need to lntro
duce to any of you elther of the two, you belng the ellte, the
learned ones. But there ls no harm, ln our present sltuatlon
of acqualntance and communlon, ln a mere remlnder.
As for Pharaonlc clvlllzatlon I wlll not talk of the con
quests and the bulldlng of emplres. Jhls has become a
worn out prlde the mentlon of whlch modern consclence,
thank God, feels uneasy about. Nor wlll I talk about how lt
was gulded for the flrst tlme to the exlstence of God and lts
usherlng ln the dawn of human consclence. Jhls ls a long
hlstory and there ls not one of you who ls not acqualnted
wlth the prophetklng Akhenaton. I wlll not even speak of
thls clvlllzatlon`s achlevements ln art and llterature, and lts
renowned mlracles. the Pyramlds and the Sphlnx and Kar
nak. Ior he who has not had the chance to see these monu
ments has read about them and pondered over thelr forms.
Let me, then, lntroduce Pharaonlc clvlllzatlon wlth
what seems llke a story slnce my personal clrcumstances
have ordalned that I become a storyteller. Hear, then, thls
recorded hlstorlcal lncldent. Old papyrl relate that Pharaoh
had learned of the exlstence of a slnful relatlon between
some women of the harem and men of hls court. It was
expected that he should flnlsh them off ln accordance wlth
the splrlt of hls tlme. But he, lnstead, called to hls presence
the cholce men of law and asked them to lnvestlgate what
he has come to learn. He told them that he wanted the
Jruth so that he could pass hls sentence wlth |ustlce.
Jhls conduct, ln my oplnlon, ls greater than found
lng an emplre or bulldlng the Pyramlds. It ls more telllng
of the superlorlty of that clvlllzatlon than any rlches or
splendour. Gone now ls that clvlllzatlona mere story of
the past. One day the great Pyramld wlll dlsappear too.
But Jruth and |ustlce wlll remaln for as long as Manklnd
has a rumlnatlve mlnd and a llvlng consclence.
As for Islamlc clvlllzatlon I wlll not talk about lts call
for the establlshment of a unlon between all Manklnd
under the guardlanshlp of the Creator, based on freedom,
equallty and forglveness. Nor wlll I talk about the great
ness of lts prophet. Ior among your thlnkers there are
those who regard hlm the greatest man ln hlstory. I wlll
not talk of lts conquests whlch have planted thousands of
mlnarets calllng for worshlp, devoutness and good
throughout great expanses of land from the envlrons of
Indla and Chlna to the boundarles of Irance. Nor wlll I
talk of the fraternlty between rellglons and races that has
been achleved ln lts embrace ln a splrlt of tolerance
unknown to Manklnd nelther before nor slnce.
I wlll, lnstead, lntroduce that clvlllzatlon ln a mov
lng dramatlc sltuatlon summarlzlng one of lts most con
splcuous tralts. In one vlctorlous battle agalnst Byzantlum
lt has glven back lts prlsoners of war ln return for a num
ber of books of the anclent Greek herltage ln phllosophy,
medlclne and mathematlcs. Jhls ls a testlmony of value
for the human splrlt ln lts demand for knowledge, even
though the demander was a bellever ln God and the
demanded a frult of a pagan clvlllzatlon.
It was my fate, ladles and gentlemen, to be born ln
the lap of these two clvlllzatlons, and to absorb thelr mllk,
to feed on thelr llterature and art. Jhen I drank the nectar
of your rlch and fasclnatlng culture. Irom the lnsplratlon
of all thlsas well as my own anxletleswords bedewed
from me. Jhese words had the fortune to merlt the appre
clatlon of your revered Academy whlch has crowned my
endeavour wlth the great Nobel Prlze. Jhanks be to lt ln
my name and ln the name of those great departed bullders
who have founded the two clvlllzatlons.
You may be wonderlng. Jhls man comlng from the
Jhlrd World, how dld he flnd the peace of mlnd to wrlte
l2l
ai_ PPN j~W k iI U a NVUU
storles? You are perfectly rlght. I come from a world
labourlng under the burden of debts whose paylng back
exposes lt to starvatlon or very close to lt. Some of lts peo
ple perlsh ln Asla from floods, others do so ln Afrlca from
famlne. In South Afrlca mllllons have been undone wlth
rejectlon and wlth deprlvatlon of all human rlghts ln the
age of human rlghts, as though they were not counted
among humans. In the West Bank and Gaza there are peo
ple who are lost ln splte of the fact that they are llvlng on
thelr own land; land of thelr fathers, grandfathers and
great grandfathers. Jhey have rlsen to demand the flrst
rlght secured by prlmltlve Man; namely, that they should
have thelr proper place recognlzed by others as thelr own.
Jhey were pald back for thelr brave and noble move
men, women, youths and chlldren allkeby the breaklng
of bones, kllllng wlth bullets, destroylng of houses and tor
ture ln prlsons and camps. Surroundlng them are l50 mll
llon Arabs followlng what ls happenlng ln anger and grlef.
Jhls threatens the area wlth a dlsaster lf lt ls not saved by
the wlsdom of those deslrous of a just and comprehenslve
peace.
Yes, how dld the man comlng from the Jhlrd
World flnd the peace of mlnd to wrlte storles? Iortu
nately, art ls generous and sympathetlc. In the same way
that lt dwells wlth the happy ones lt does not desert the
wretched. It offers both allke the convenlent means for
expresslng what swells up ln thelr bosom.
In thls declslve moment ln the hlstory of clvlllzatlon
lt ls lnconcelvable and unacceptable that the moans of
Manklnd should dle out ln the vold. Jhere ls no doubt
that Manklnd has at last come of age, and our era carrles
the expectatlons of between the Super Powers. Jhe
human mlnd now assumes the task of ellmlnatlng all
causes of destructlon and annlhllatlon. And just as sclen
tlsts exert themselves to cleanse the envlronment of lndus
trlal pollutlon, lntellectuals ought to exert themselves to
cleanse humanlty of moral pollutlon. It ls both our rlght
and duty to demand of the blg leaders ln the countrles of
clvlllzatlon as well as thelr economlsts to affect a real leap
that would place them lnto the focus of the age.
In the olden tlmes every leader worked for the good
of hls own natlon alone. Jhe others were consldered
adversarles, or subjects of exploltatlon. Jhere was no
regard to any value but that of superlorlty and personal
glory. Ior the sake of thls, many morals, ldeals and values
were wasted; many unethlcal means were justlfled; many
uncounted souls were made to perlsh. Lles, decelt, treach
ery, cruelty relgned as the slgns of sagaclty and the proof of
greatness. Joday, thls vlew needs to be changed from lts
very source. Joday, the greatness of a clvlllzed leader
ought to be measured by the unlversallty of hls vlslon and
hls sense of responslblllty towards all humanklnd. Jhe
developed world and the Jhlrd World are but one famlly.
Each human belng bears responslblllty towards lt by the
degree of what he has obtalned of knowledge, wlsdom,
and clvlllzatlon. I would not be exceedlng the llmlts of my
duty lf I told them ln the name of the Jhlrd World. Be not
spectators to our mlserles. You have to play thereln a noble
role beflttlng your status. Irom your posltlon of superlorlty
you are responslble for any mlsdlrectlon of anlmal, or
plant, to say nothlng of Man, ln any of the four corners of
the world. We have had enough of words. Now ls the tlme
for actlon. It ls tlme to end the age of brlgands and usurers.
We are ln the age of leaders responslble for the whole
globe. Save the enslaved ln the Afrlcan south! Save the
famlshed ln Afrlca! Save the Palestlnlans from the bullets
and the torture! Nay, save the Israells from profanlng thelr
great splrltual herltage! Save the ones ln debt from the rlgld
laws of economy! Draw thelr attentlon to the fact that thelr
responslblllty to Manklnd should precede thelr commlt
ment to the laws of a sclence that Jlme has perhaps over
taken.
I beg your pardon, ladles and gentlemen, I feel I
may have somewhat troubled your calm. But what do
you expect from one comlng from the Jhlrd World? Is
not every vessel coloured by what lt contalns? Besldes,
where can the moans of Manklnd flnd a place to resound
lf not ln your oasls of clvlllzatlon planted by lts great
founder for the servlce of sclence, llterature and subllme
human values? And as he dld one day by consecratlng
hls rlches to the servlce of good, ln the hope of obtalnlng
forglveness, we, chlldren of the Jhlrd World, demand of
the able ones, the clvlllzed ones, to follow hls example, to
lmblbe hls conduct, to medltate upon hls vlslon.
In splte of all what goes on around us I am commlt
ted to optlmlsm untll the end. I do not say wlth Kant that
Good wlll be vlctorlous ln the other world. Good ls
achlevlng vlctory every day. It may even be that Evll ls
weaker than we lmaglne. In front of us ls an lndellble
proof. were lt not for the fact that vlctory ls always on the
slde of Good, hordes of wanderlng humans would not
have been able ln the face of beasts and lnsects, natural
dlsasters, fear and egotlsm, to grow and multlply. Jhey
would not have been able to form natlons, to excel ln cre
atlveness and lnventlon, to conquer outer space, and to
declare Human Rlghts. Jhe truth of the matter ls that Evll
ls a loud and bolsterous debaucherer, and that Man
remembers what hurts more than what pleases. Our great
poet AbulÀlaa` AlMaàrl was rlght when he sald.
'A grlef at the hour of death
Is more than a hundredfold
|oy at the hour of blrth."
I flnally relterate my thanks and ask your forglveness.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l988. Najb Mahfz ls the
l22
q~ j~
(6 uvc 1S7 - 12 Zugust 19)
a tK ^
Micligov Tcclvologicol Uvivcrsity
and
b p~
!oslivgtov Uvivcrsity
Jhls entry was expanded by Adolphs from hls and
Schwarz`s Mann entry ln DI 66: Ccrmov Iictiov !ritcrs,
1SS-191J.
BOOKS. Dcr llcivc Hcrr Iricdcmovv: òvcllcv (Berlln.
Ilscher, l898); tltle story translated by Herman
George Scheffauer as 'Llttle Herr Irledemann" ln
Clildrcv ovd Iools (New York. Knopf, l928);
uddcvbrools: !crfoll civcr Iomilic, Iomov, 2 volumes
(Berlln. Ilscher, l90l); translated by H. J.
LowePorter as uddcvbrools, 2 volumes (New
York. Knopf, l921);
Tristov: Sccls òvcllcv (Berlln. Ilscher, l903); tltle story
translated by Kenneth Burke ln Dcotl iv !cvicc
(New York. Knopf, l925); 'Jonlo Krger" trans
lated by B. _. Morgan ln Tlc Ccrmov Clossics of tlc
19tl ovd 20tl Ccvturics, edlted by Kuno Irancke
and Wllllam Gulld Howard, volume l9 (New
York. German Publlcatlons Soclety, l9l1);
Iiorcvo (Berlln. Ilscher, l906);
ilsc uvd icl (Munlch. Bonsels, l906);
Ivigliclc Holcit (Berlln. Ilscher, l909); translated by A.
Cecll Curtls as Ioyol Higlvcss: Z òvcl of Ccrmov
Court Iifc (New York. Knopf, l9l6);
Dcr llcivc Hcrr Iricdcmovv uvd ovdcrc òvcllcv (Berlln.
Ilscher, l909);
Dcr Tod iv !cvcdig: òvcllc (Munlch. Hyperlon, l9l2);
translated by Burke as Dcotl iv !cvicc (New York.
Knopf, l925);
Dos !uvdcrlivd: òvcllcv (Berlln. Ilscher, l9l1); tltle
story translated by Scheffauer as 'Jhe Infant
Prodlgy" ln Clildrcv ovd Iools (New York. Knopf,
l928);
Iricdricl uvd dic groc Ioolitiov (Berlln. Ilscher, l9l5);
ctrocltuvgcv civcs Uvpolitisclcv (Berlln. Ilscher, l9l8);
translated by Walter D. Morrls as Icflcctiovs of o
òvpoliticol Mov (New York. Lngar, l983);
Hcrr uvd Huvd; Ccsovg vom Iivdclcv: wci Idyllcv (Berlln.
Ilscher, l9l9); translated by Scheffauer as oslov
ovd I (London. Colllns, l923); translatlon repub
llshed as Z Mov ovd His Dog (New York. Knopf,
l930);
!olsuvgcvblut (Munlch. Phantasus, l92l);
clcvvtvissc dcs Hoclstoplcrs Iclix Irull: ucl dcr Iivdlcit
(Vlenna. Rlkola, l922; enlarged, Amsterdam.
_uerldo, l937); enlarged as clcvvtvissc dcs Hocl-
stoplcrs Iclix Irull: Dcr Mcmoircv crstcr Tcil (Irankfurt
am Maln. Ilscher, l951); translated by Denver
Llndley as Covfcssiovs of Iclix Irull, Covfidcvcc Mov:
Tlc Iorly Jcors (New York. Knopf, l955);
òvcllcv, 2 volumes (Berlln. Ilscher, l922);
Icdc uvd Zvtwort: Ccsommcltc Zblovdluvgcv uvd llcivc Zuf-
sotc (Berlln. Ilscher, l922);
Coctlc uvd Tolstoj: !ortrog (Aachen. Verlag 'Dle Kuppel,"
l923); revlsed as Coctlc uvd Tolstoj: um Iroblcm dcr
Humovitot (Vlenna. BermannIlscher, l932);
!ov dcutsclcr Icpublil (Berlln. Ilscher, l923);
Ullultc Irlcbvissc (Berlln. Hger, l921);
Dcr oubcrbcrg: Iomov, 2 volumes (Berlln. Ilscher,
l921); translated by LowePorter as Tlc Mogic
Mouvtoiv, 2 volumes (New York. Knopf, l927);
cmluvgcv: `cuc Iolgc dcr gcsommcltcv Zblovdluvgcv uvd
llcivcv Zufsotc (Berlln. Ilscher, l925);
Ccsommcltc !crlc iv clv ovdcv, l0 volumes (Berlln.
Ilscher, l925);
Ibccl ols gcistigc Icbcvsform (Lbeck. _ultzow, l926);
Iivo: Iomovfrogmcvt (Gera. Blau, l926);
Ioriscr Icclcvscloft (Berlln. Ilscher, l926);
l23
ai_ PPN q~ j~
r i (Berlln. Ilscher, l926); trans
lated by Scheffauer as b~ p (London.
Secker, l929);
^ m~I edlted by |. van Dam (Gronlngen
Jhe Hague. Wolters, l927);
a pI 3 volumes (Berlln. Ilscher,
l928);
w c (Lelpzlg. Reclam, l928);
e g~ o~W c (Lelpzlg. Reclam, l928);
p ^ (Berlln. Ilscher, l929);
j~ w~W b ~ o (Berlln.
Ilscher, l930); translated by LowePorter as j~
~ j~~ (London. Secker, l930; New
York. Knopf, l93l);
i~ (Parls. Harrlson, l930); translated by Lowe
Porter as ^ p j i (Parls. Harrlson,
l930; New York. Knopf, l960);
a c q~W o ^ ~ g~
NVORNVOV (Berlln. Ilscher, l930);
a ^~W b ^ ~ s (Berlln.
Ilscher, l930);
d ~ o~ w~W o
(Vlenna. BermannIlscher, l932);
d i~~ ~ pW s~ (Munlch. Olden
bourg, l933);
a d g~~ (Berlln. Ilscher, l933); translated
by LowePorter as g ~ e _ (New
York. Knopf, l931);
m~ j~ ~ l m~I translated by LowePorter
(New York. Knopf, l933);
a g (Berlln. Ilscher, l931); translated by
LowePorter as v g (New York. Knopf,
l935; London. Secker, l935);
i d j (Berlln. Ilscher, l935);
c wW s~ (Vlenna. BermannIlscher,
l936);
g (Vlenna. BermannIlscher, l936);
translated by LowePorter as g b (New
York. Knopf, l938; London. Secker, l938);
p q a~I translated by LowePorter (New
York. Knopf, l936);
b _ (Zurlch. Oprecht, l937); translated by
LowePorter as ^ b~ i (New York.
Knopf, l937);
cI dI t~W q b~I translated by Lowe
Porter (New York. Knopf, l937);
q~ j~ k m i~ ~ pI NM a NVOV Eq C i mLd f~F
l21
q~ j~ ai_ PPN
Stocllolmcr Ccsomtousgobc dcr !crlc, l2 volumes (Stock
holm. BermannIlscher, l938-l956);
Dicscr Iricdc (Stockholm. BermannIlscher, l938); trans
lated by LowePorter as Tlis Icocc (New York.
Knopf, l938);
Sclopcvloucr (Stockholm. BermannIlscher, l938);
!om lvftigcv Sicg dcr Dcmolrotic (Zurlch. Oprecht, l938);
translated by Agnes E. Meyer as Tlc Comivg !ic-
tory of Dcmocrocy (London. Secker Warburg,
l938);
Zcltuvg, Iuropo! Zufsotc ur cit (Stockholm. Bermann
Ilscher, l938);
Iivflruvg iv dcv oubcrbcrg fr Studcvtcv dcr Uvivcrsitot
Irivcctov (Stockholm. BermannIlscher, l939);
Iottc iv !cimor (Stockholm. BermannIlscher, l939);
translated by LowePorter as Tlc clovcd Icturvs
(New York. Knopf, l910); translatlon republlshed
as Iottc iv !cimor (London. Secker Warburg,
l910);
Tlc Iroblcm of Irccdom (New Brunswlck, N.|.. Rutgers
Lnlverslty Press, l939); German verslon pub
llshed as Dos Iroblcm dcr Ircilcit (Stockholm. Ber
mannIlscher, l939);
Dic vcrtouscltcv Ipfc: Iivc ivdisclc Icgcvdc (Stockholm.
BermannIlscher, l910); translated by Lowe
Porter as Tlc Trovsposcd Hcods: Z Icgcvd of Ivdio
(New York. Knopf, l91l);
Dicscr Iricg: Zufsot (Stockholm. BermannIlscher,
l910); translated by Erlc Sutton as Tlis !or (New
York. Knopf, l910; London. Secker Warburg,
l910);
!or ovd Dcmocrocy (Los Angeles. Jhe Irlends of the Col
leges at Claremont, l910);
Urdcr of tlc Doy: Ioliticol Issoys ovd Spccclcs of Two Dccodcs,
translated by LowePorter, Meyer, and Sutton
Dcutsclc Hrcr! 2 Iodioscvduvgcv vocl Dcutscllovd (Stock
holm. BermannIlscher, l912); translated by
LowePorter as Iistcv, Ccrmovy! Twcvty-fivc Iodio
Mcssogcs to tlc Ccrmov Icoplc ovcr ..C. (New
York. Knopf, l913); German verslon enlarged
as Dcutsclc Hrcr! Iodioscvduvgcv vocl Dcutscl-
lovd (Stockholm. BermannIlscher, l915);
oscpl, dcr Irvolrcr (Stockholm. BermannIlscher,
l913); translated by LowePorter as oscpl tlc Iro-
vidcr (New York. Knopf, l911);
Dos Ccsct: Irolluvg (Stockholm. BermannIlscher,
l911); translated by LowePorter as Tlc Toblcs of
tlc Iow (New York. Knopf, l915);
Tlc !or ovd tlc Iuturc (Washlngton, D.C.. Llbrary of
Congress, l911);
Zdcl dcs Ccistcs: Scclclv !crsuclc um Iroblcm dcr Humovitot
(Stockholm. BermannIlscher, l915); translated
by LowePorter as Issoys of Tlrcc Dccodcs (New
York. Knopf, l917); German verslon enlarged as
Zdcl dcs Ccistcs: wovig !crsuclc um Iroblcm dcr
Humovitot (Berlln. Aufbau, l955);
Icidcv ov Dcutscllovd: Togcbuclblottcr ous dcv olrcv 19JJ
uvd 19J4 (Los Angeles. Pazlflsche Presse / New
York. Rosenberg, l916);
Iiv Strcitgcsprocl bcr dic oucrc uvd ivvcrc Imigrotiov, by
Mann, Irank Jhle, and Walter von Molo (Dort
mund. DruckschrlftenVertrlebsdlenst, l916);
Dcutscllovd uvd dic Dcutsclcv: !ortrog (Stockholm.
BermannIlscher, l917);
Doltor Ioustus: Dos Icbcv dcs dcutsclcv Tovsctcrs Zdriov
Icvcrllv, crollt vov civcm Ircuvdc (Stockholm.
BermannIlscher, l917); translated by Lowe
Porter as Doctor Ioustus: Tlc Iifc of tlc Ccrmov Com-
poscr, Zdriov Icvcrllv, os Told by o Iricvd (New
York. Knopf, l918);
ìctsclcs Ililosoplic im Iicltc uvscrcr Irfolruvg: !ortrog
(Berlln. Suhrkamp, l918);
`cuc Studicv (Stockholm. BermannIlscher, l918);
Dic Ivtstcluvg dcs Doltor Ioustus: Iomov civcs Iomovs
(Amsterdam. BermannIlscher, l919); translated
by Rlchard Wlnston and Clara Wlnston as Tlc
Story of o òvcl: Tlc Ccvcsis of Doctor Ioustus (New
York. Knopf, l96l);
Coctlc uvd dic Dcmolrotic (Zurlch. Oprecht, l919);
Zvsproclc im Coctlc-olr 1949 (Irankfurt am Maln.
Suhrkamp, l919; Welmar. Jhrlnger Volksver
lag, l919);
Coctlc / !ctlor / !crtlcr (Copenhagen. Rosenkllde og
Bagger, l950);
Miclclovgclo iv scivcv Dicltuvgcv (Cellerlna. _uos Ego
Verlag, l950);
Mcivc cit: 1S7-190: !ortrog (Irankfurt am Maln.
Ilscher, l950);
Dcr Irwolltc: Iomov (Irankfurt am Maln. Ilscher,
l95l); translated by LowePorter as Tlc Holy Siv-
vcr (New York. Knopf, l95l);
Iob dcr !crgovglicllcit (Irankfurt am Maln. Ilscher,
l952);
Dic cgcgvuvg: Irolluvg (Olten. Verelnlgung Oltner
Bcherfreunde, l953);
Dic ctrogcvc: Irolluvg (Irankfurt am Maln. Ilscher,
l953); translated by Wlllard R. Jrask as Tlc locl
Swov (New York. Knopf, l951);
Ccrlort Houptmovv: Icdc, gcloltcv om 9. òvcmbcr 192 im
Iolmcv dcr Irovlfurtcr Ccrlort-Houptmovv-!oclc
(Gtersloh. Bertelsmann, l953);
Dcr Ivstlcr uvd dic Ccscllscloft: !ortrog (Vlenna. Irlck,
l953);
Zltcs uvd `cucs: Ilcivc Iroso ous fvf olrclvtcv (Irankfurt
am Maln. Ilscher, l953);
Zvsproclc im Sclillcrjolr 19 (Berlln. Aufbau, l955);
Dos Iiscvbolvuvglcl: òvcllcv (Munlch. Plper, l955);
l25
ai_ PPN q~ j~
Ccsommcltc !crlc iv wlf ovdcv, l2 volumes (Berlln.
Aufbau, l955);
!crsucl bcr Sclillcr: Scivcm Zvdcvlcv um 10. Todcstog iv
Iicbc gcwidmct (Irankfurt am Maln. Ilscher, l955);
òcllcsc: Iroso 191-19 (Irankfurt am Maln. Ilscher,
l956);
Mccrfolrt mit Dov _uijotc (Wlesbaden. Insel, l956);
cit uvd !crl: Togcbclcr, Icdcv uvd Sclriftcv um citgc-
sclclcv (Berlln. AufbauVerlag, l956);
Dos crollcrisclc !crl: Tosclcvbuclousgobc iv wlf ovdcv,
l2 volumes (Irankfurt am Maln. Ilscher, l957);
Sorgc um Dcutscllovd: Sccls Issoys (Irankfurt am Maln.
Ilscher, l957);
Irolluvgcv (Irankfurt am Maln. Ilscher, l958);
Iost Issoys, translated by Rlchard Wlnston, Clara Wln
ston, Janla Stern, |ames Stern, and LowePorter
Ccsommcltc !crlc iv drciclv ovdcv, l3 volumes (Irank
furt am Maln. Ilscher, l960-l971);
Storics of o Iifctimc, translated by LowePorter, 2 volumes
(London. Secker Warburg, l96l);
!ogvcr uvd uvscrc cit: Zufsotc, ctrocltuvgcv, ricfc,
edlted by Erlka Mann (Irankfurt am Maln.
Ilscher, l963); translated by Allan Blunden as Iro
ovd Covtro !ogvcr (Chlcago. Lnlverslty of Chl
cago Press, l985);
Dos cssoyistisclc !crl, edlted by Hans Brgln, 8 volumes
(Irankfurt am Maln. Ilscher, l968);
òticv: u Iclix Irull, Ivigliclc Holcit, !crsucl bcr dos
Tlcotcr, Mojo, Ccist uvd Iultur, Iiv Ilcvdcr, ctroclt-
uvgcv civcs Uvpolitisclcv, Doltor Ioustus uvd ovdcrcv
!crlcv, edlted by Hans Wysllng (Heldelberg.
Wlnter, l973);
Iomovc uvd Irolluvgcv, l0 volumes (Berlln. Aufbau,
l971-l975);
Dicltcr bcr ilrc Dicltuvgcv, 3 volumes, edlted by Wysllng
and Marlanne Ilscher (Munlch. Helmeran, l975-
l98l);
Tlomos Movv: Togcbclcr, l0 volumes, volumes l-5
edlted by Peter de Mendelssohn, volumes 6-l0
edlted by Inge |ens (Irankfurt am Maln. Ilscher,
l977-l995)comprlses volume l, 191S-1921;
volume 2, 19JJ-19J4; volume 3, 19J-19J6;
volume 1, 19J7-19J9; volume 5, 1940-194J;
volume 6, 1944-1.4.1946; volume 7, 2S..1946-
J1.12.194S; volume 8, 1949-190; volume 9,
191-192; and volume l0, 19J-19; partlally
translated by Rlchard Wlnston, Clara Wlnston,
and Krlshna Wlnston as Tlomos Movv: Diorics,
191S-19J9, l volume, edlted by Hermann Kesten
(New York. Abrams, l982);
Ccsommcltc !crlc iv Iivclbovdcv, edlted by de Men
delssohn, 20 volumes (Irankfurt am Maln.
Ilscher, l980-l986);
òtibclcr: Iditiov iv wci ovdcv, edlted by Wysllng and
Yvonne Schmldlln (Irankfurt am Maln. Ilscher,
l99l-l992);
Issoys, 6 volumes, edlted by Hermann Kurzke and Ste
fan Stachorskl (Irankfurt am Maln. Ilscher,
l993-l997);
Uv Mysclf ovd Utlcr Irivcctov Iccturcs: Zv Zvvototcd Iditiov
oscd ov Movv`s Iccturc Typcscripts, edlted by |ames
M. Bade (New York. Peter Lang, l996; revlsed,
l997);
Tlcodor Storm: Issoy, edlted by Karl Ernst Laage (Helde.
Boyens, l996);
Collcglcft 1S94-1S9, edlted by Schmldlln and Jhomas
Sprecher (Irankfurt. Klostermann, 200l);
Croc Iommcvticrtc Irovlfurtcr Zusgobc: !crlcricfcTogc-
bclcr, 38 volumes, edlted by Helnrlch Deterlng,
Eckhard Heftrlch, Hermann Kurzke, Jerence |.
Reed, Sprecher, Hans R. Vaget, and Ruprecht
Wlmmer (Irankfurt. Ilscher, 2002- ).
b bW Tlomos Movv`s 'Coctlc ovd Tolstoy:
òtcs ovd Sourccs, edlted by Clayton Koelb, trans
lated by Koelb and Alcyone Scott (Lnlverslty.
Lnlverslty of Alabama Press, l981);
Dcotl iv !cvicc ovd Utlcr Storics, translated by Davld Luke
(New York. Bantam, l988; London. Secker
Warburg, l990);
uddcvbrools: Tlc Dcclivc of o Iomily, translated by |ohn
E. Woods (New York. Knopf, l993);
Tlc Mogic Mouvtoiv, translated by Woods (New York.
Knopf, l995);
Doctor Ioustus, translated by Woods (New York. Knopf,
l997);
Six Iorly Storics, edlted by Burton Plke, translated by
Peter Constantlne (Los Angeles. Green Integer,
l997);
Dcotl iv !cvicc ovd Utlcr Tolcs, translated by |oachlm
Neugroschel (New York. Vlklng, l998);
Dcotl iv !cvicc: Complctc, Zutloritotivc Tcxt witl iogroplicol
ovd Historicol Covtcxts, Criticol History, ovd Issoys from
Iivc Covtcmporory Criticol Icrspcctivcs, edlted by
Naoml Rltter (Boston. Bedford Books, l998);
Dcotl iv !cvicc, Tovio Irogcr, ovd Utlcr !ritivgs, edlted by
Irederlck A. Lublch, foreword by Harold Bloom
(New York. Contlnuum, l999);
Dcotl iv !cvicc ovd Utlcr Tolcs, translated by |efferson S.
Chase (New York. Slgnet Classlcs, l999);
Tlomos Movv`s Zddrcsscs Dclivcrcd ot tlc Iibrory of Covgrcss,
edlted by Don Helnrlch Jolzmann (New York.
Peter Lang, 2003);
Dcotl iv !cvicc, translated by Mlchael H. Helm (New
York. HarperColllns, 2001);
oscpl ovd His rotlcrs, translated by Woods (New York.
Everyman`s Llbrary, 2005);
l26
q~ j~ ai_ PPN
q b~I translated by H. J. LowePorter (Whlte
flsh, Montana. Kesslnger, 2005).
Jhomas Mann, who won the Nobel Prlze ln Llt
erature ln l929 at the age of flftyfour, was the only
German who recelved thls prlze ln the perlod between
the two world wars. Prlor to Mann, only one German
prose flctlon wrlter, Paul Heyse, had been awarded thls
prlze (ln l9l0), whlle Gerhart Hauptmann was hon
ored (ln l9l2) 'prlmarlly ln recognltlon of hls frultful,
varled and outstandlng productlon ln the realm of dra
matlc art." Jwo German nonflctlon wrlters had also
recelved thls honor. the hlstorlan Jheodor Mommsen
ln l902 and the phllosopher Rudolf Eucken ln l908.
When Mann began hls Amerlcan exlle ln l938, he and
Albert Elnsteln (the l92l Nobel Laureate for Physlcs)
were the most promlnent expatrlated Germans. Lntll
then, he had spent most of hls llfe ln Germany and had
never left Europe. Even when Mann took a trlp to
Egypt and Palestlne a year later ln preparatlon for wrlt
lng a tetralogy of novels based on the blbllcal story of
|oseph, he could not lmaglne ever resldlng anywhere
but ln Germany. He also regarded hlmself merely as an
unpolltlcal artlst who preferred not to concern hlmself
wlth the order of the day. When Adolf Hltler came to
power ln l933, however, Mann declded not to return to
Germany from a trlp to Swltzerland. In the next few
years, he became a frequent vlsltor to the Lnlted States.
Durlng hls second vlslt, ln l935, Harvard Lnlverslty
awarded hlm an honorary doctorate; Presldent Irank
lln Delano Roosevelt recelved hlm ln the Whlte House;
and, on the occaslon of hls slxtleth blrthday, he was cel
ebrated as 'the most emlnent llvlng man of letters." In
l938, the year he left Europe for exlle ln the Lnlted
States, he had seventeen years of great productlvlty
ahead of hlm.
Mann was one of the few Germanspeaklng lntel
lectuals who recelved a warm welcome ln the Lnlted
States. Hls declslon to settle ln the Lnlted States was
lnfluenced by an lnvltatlon to become an honorary fac
ulty member at Prlnceton Lnlverslty. He traveled all
over the contlnent, dellverlng wldely publlclzed
speeches. One of the most prestlglous Amerlcan pub
llshers, Alfred A. Knopf, had already hlred Helen J.
LowePorter to translate Mann`s works lnto Engllsh,
enabllng hlm to address hlmself to a large clrcle of peo
ple who were lnterested both ln hls llterary works and
ln hls polltlcal vlews. As an artlculate and passlonate
opponent of fasclsm and as an outspoken partlsan of
Roosevelt`s pollcles at home and abroad, he exerclsed a
conslderable lnfluence on the country he had chosen as
hls resldence.
Mann`s works represent a successful synthesls of
the artlst`s egotlstlcal need to produce and the world clt
lzen`s deslre to express hls ldeas ln a unlversally lntelll
glble way. He saw hls novel a w~ (l921;
translated as q j~ j~I l927) as a document
of the 'europlschen Seelenverfassung und gelstlgen
Problematlk lm ersten Drlttel des zwanzlgsten |ahrhun
derts" (European mentallty and lntellectual dllemma of
the flrst thlrd of the twentleth century). He reallzed that
for a work to be successful, the artlstlc wlshes of the
author and the concerns of the tlmes must be fused lnto
one whole. Jo achleve thls alm, Mann consclously
assumed the task of representlng Germany`s venerable
cultural tradltlon ln the lntellectual world.
After recelvlng the Nobel Prlze, Mann regarded lt
as hls responslblllty to play the role of dlplomat for the
'good" Germany, partlcularly ln the face of the hlstorl
cal catastrophe he saw comlng. Amerlcans harbored no
susplclon that Mann mlght be a Natlonal Soclallst, and,
unllke many contemporary lntellectuals, he dld not
look to Moscow for a utoplan solutlon, elther. Hls
hopes were dependent on the 'Amerlcan model," whlch
he was more wllllng to embrace than many of hls fellow
lmmlgrants. No other Germanspeaklng author, wlth
the exceptlon perhaps of |ohann Wolfgang von Goethe,
knew how to explolt the posltlon of representatlve of
German culture as well as Mann.
Mann`s publlc role as representatlve of the Ger
man culture and hls alm to express hls ldeas ln a unlver
sally lntelllglble way dld not allow hlm openly to admlt
hls blsexuallty. Jhe only authorlty to whlch he con
flded hls homoerotlc fantasles was hls dlary, and he
burned most of the journals he had wrltten before
l933. Jwenty years after Mann`s death, the remalnlng
dlarles were unsealed and subsequently publlshed.
Only then were hls readers provlded wlth clear evl
dence of the autoblographlcal nature of the homoerotlc
elements ln hls novels and novellas. Jhe dlarles polnt
out that several characters ln hls works secretly com
memorate young men to whom Mann had been erotl
cally attracted. However, hls artlstlc practlce of
encodlng such autoblographlcal elements lnto crypto
graphlc references, secretly ldentlfylng wlth llterary flg
ures who are dlsgulsed as women, and symbollcally
deplctlng homoerotlclsm as a unlversally human tralt
dlscourages one from regardlng hls works as gay lltera
ture.
Durlng the Mlddle Ages, Mann`s hometown of
Lbeck, a port ln the extreme southwest corner of the
Baltlc Sea, had been one of the most lmportant cltles of
the Hanse, a commerclal assoclatlon whose power
extended from England to Scandlnavla to Russla. Even
after the collapse of the Hanse ln the seventeenth cen
tury, Lbeck malntalned lts polltlcal lndependence and
commerclal slgnlflcance. Slnce trade was at the core of
clty llfe, the wealthy merchant famllles determlned lts
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polltlcal and flnanclal fate, and the members of the clty
parllament were selected from among them. Jhe
wealthy Brger (establlshed cltlzens) often functloned
as the consuls of other European states and thelr colo
nles.
|ohann Slegmund Mann moved from Mecklen
burg to Lbeck ln l775; flfteen years later he estab
llshed a small buslness. Jhrough hls marrlage to the
daughter of a Hamburg graln merchant he furthered
hls professlonal relatlonshlps and establlshed the basls
for the success of hls flrm, whlch was prlmarlly
achleved by dellverlng graln to the Prusslan troops dur
lng the Napoleonlc Wars from l801 to l8l1. In l825
hls son, |ohann Slegmund II, marrled the daughter of
the future mayor. It was not long before the Mann fam
lly was well establlshed ln Lbeck. After the death of
hls flrst wlfe, |ohann Slegmund II marrled Ellsabeth
Marty; hls flrst son from thls marrlage was Jhomas
Mann`s father, Jhomas |ohann Helnrlch Mann, who
was born ln l810. One year later the house on Meng
strae, whlch Jhomas Mann made famous ln hls novel
_ (l90l; translated, l921), was bullt.
In l863 Jhomas |ohann Helnrlch Mann took
over the famlly buslness and also assumed the posltlon
of consul of the Netherlands. In l869 he became a
member of the clty parllament. Jhat same year, he mar
rled |ulla da SllvaBruhns, who had been born ln Brazll
to a wealthy former cltlzen of Lbeck and hls Portu
guese wlfe; after her mother`s death she had been
ralsed ln Lbeck by her father`s relatlves. Jhelr flrst
son, Lulz Helnrlch, was born ln l87l; thelr second son,
offlclally named Paul Jhomas, was born on 6 |une
l875. In l877 Jhomas |ohann Helnrlch Mann was
elected to a llfetlme posltlon as senator of the clty. Jhe
same year, hls daughter |ulla Ellsabeth was born.
In the early l870s a great economlc upsurge,
known as the Grnderjahre, took place ln Germany.
Reparatlons from Irance, whlch had lost the Iranco
Prusslan War, fueled a perlod of wlld flnanclal specula
tlon. Lbeck began to lndustrlallze; the old flrms had
already lost thelr prlvlleges by l866, and thelr anachro
nlstlc system of buslness was replaced by new lnstltu
tlons such as stock corporatlons. In splte of the lnsecure
future of hls flrm, Mann`s father was able untll hls
death to provlde hls chlldren wlth a glamorous llfestyle,
lncludlng summers at Jravemnde on the Baltlc Sea;
the state of mlnd created by the sea occurs often ln
Mann`s works. In l88l, the year Mann`s slster Carla
Augusta Olga Marla was born, hls father bullt a house
at Beckergrube 52. A flnal chlld, Vlktor, was born ln
l890.
Mann belleved that hls ablllty to create long nov
els was strengthened by the lastlng lmpresslon hls rell
able and ambltlous father had made on hlm. Mann also
observed the pleasure hls father took ln outer appear
ances and later assumed thls characterlstlc hlmself. Hls
mother exerclsed the prlmary artlstlc lnfluence on both
Jhomas and Helnrlch. she had a large repertolre of
songs that she enjoyed performlng for the chlldren; she
also llked to read aloud to them and told them storles
from her chlldhood ln Brazll. Jhus, |ulla Mann not
only awakened artlstlc lnterests ln her sons but also
lntroduced them to a world forelgn to thelr exlstence ln
Lbeck, provldlng them experlences and feellngs
beyond the horlzon of other boys thelr own age.
Jhe famlly flrm was dlssolved upon the death of
Mann`s father ln l89l. At about the same tlme, hls
grandmother dled. Her house on Mengstrae, whlch
had provlded for Mann not only refuge from the soclal
turmoll of hls parents` home but also a retreat from the
pressures of school, was sold. A year after her hus
band`s death, |ulla Mann moved to the culturally and
artlstlcally actlve clty of Munlch wlth her younger chll
dren. Helnrlch had left home ln l888 to pursue a career
as a wrlter. Jhomas, who was not qulte seventeen,
remalned ln Lbeck to complete the slxth form at the
Katharlneum, whlch entltled hlm to a shortened term of
mllltary servlce.
In splte of these profound changes and the experl
ence of death, whlch left a deep lmprlnt on Mann, he
felt a sense of llberatlon. He no longer had to spend
long hours studylng to please hls father, who had hoped
that he would eventually take over the famlly buslness,
and could devote hlmself to hls real lnterests. Hls clos
est frlend was Otto Grautoff, who was a soclal outcast
because of the bankruptcy of hls father; Mann`s letters
to Grautoff between l891 and l900 are the only auto
blographlcal source for the slgnlflcant perlod ln the
author`s llfe before the appearance of _K
Jogether wlth Grautoff, Mann publlshed hls flrst works
ln the school paper, cI of whlch the two
were coedltors. Jwo lssues of thls shortllved effort
appeared ln l893. After he had made several attempts
at poetry, Mann`s superlor narratlve talent became evl
dent. Hls flrst llterary endeavors portray an lnexperl
enced person who feels frustrated by the lnablllty of
others to respond to hls feellngs of love.
In Lbeck, Mann had hls flrst and lmmedlately
lntense encounter wlth the operatlc muslc of Rlchard
Wagner. At the same tlme, he was readlng everythlng
avallable, partlcularly the works of Irledrlch Schlller
and Helnrlch Helne.
Immedlately upon recelvlng hls dlploma ln l891
Mann left Lbeck to joln hls famlly ln Munlch. Jhe
move marked hls dlssoclatlon from the mores and val
ues of the prlvlleged classes of the nlneteenth century
and hls entry lnto the modern era. In contrast to
Lbeck, Munlch was one of the great centers of a devel
l28
q~ j~ ai_ PPN
oplng Germany. Jhe suburb of Schwablng, where
farmers and tradesmen llved ln close proxlmlty to the
welltodo mlddle class, was belng lnvaded by artlsts,
who brought wlth them an atmosphere of llberallsm.
Ellte clrcles such as that around the poet Stefan George
belleved themselves exempt from conventlonal soclal
mores on account of thelr aesthetlc superlorlty and
developed an ldeology of 'art for the sake of art." Jhls
atmosphere provlded the basls for what ls known as
'decadent" art and llterature.
Wlthln a short tlme Mann was well accllmated to
llfe ln Munlch; through hls mother`s clrcle of frlends he
came to know many artlsts and lntellectuals. He took a
posltlon wlth a flrelnsurance company, the Sd
deutsche Ieuerverslcherungsbank. Durlng offlce hours
he secretly wrote a short story, 'Gefallen" (Iallen).
Although Mann later rejected thls plece, lt marks
a slgnlflcant step ln hls career, slnce lt was publlshed ln
October l891 ln the respected perlodlcal Dic Ccscllscloft,
where lt attracted the attentlon of the lnfluentlal wrlter
and edltor Rlchard Dehmel. Dehmel wrote to Mann,
pralslng hls work, and later vlslted hlm. Such recognl
tlon strengthened Mann`s standlng ln the artlstlc clrcles
of Munlch and encouraged hlm to embark on a llterary
career unencumbered by galnful but tlmeconsumlng
employment. He gave notlce at the lnsurance company
and reglstered for several courses at the Jechnlsche
Lnlversltt ln Munlch. Jhe lectures and semlnars he
attended more or less regularly from November l891 to
|une l895 provlded lmportant materlal for many of hls
future wrltlngs; Professor Wllhelm Hertz`s lectures on
German mythology and llterature of the Mlddle Ages
lnsplred as late a novel as Dcr Irwolltc (l95l, Jhe Cho
sen One; translated as Tlc Holy Sivvcr, l95l).
Mann`s short story 'Der Wllle zum Glck" (Jhe
Wlll to Be Happy) appeared ln the August/September
l896 lssue of the recently founded magazlne Simplicissi-
mus. Jwo other storles, whlch were later lost, were sent
to Dehmel, who offered encouragement but falled to
publlsh them. Mann, however, was llttle concerned
wlth lmmedlate success and concentrated on sharpen
lng hls wrltlng skllls and expandlng hls llterary knowl
edge; hls notebooks from thls perlod document a strong
lnterest ln the works of Irledrlch Nletzsche and Arthur
Schopenhauer.
Jhe success of 'Gefallen" lmproved Mann`s rela
tlonshlp wlth hls older brother. Durlng hls last school
years, Mann had not felt that he was taken serlously by
Helnrlch, who had already establlshed hlmself as a
wrlter; but ln l895 the brothers traveled to Italy, return
lng there ln October l896 for an elghteenmonth stay.
In Rome, Mann flnlshed a short story, 'Der klelne Herr
Irledemann" (translated as 'Llttle Herr Irledemann,"
l928), whlch he sent to `cuc dcutsclc Iuvdsclou, a perl
odlcal of the lnfluentlal S. Ilscher publlshlng house.
Jhe edltor, Oskar Ble, accepted the plece and requested
that Mann send hlm all hls prevlously wrltten works so
that they could be publlshed as a collectlon. Before
Mann`s return to Munlch ln the sprlng of l898 the col
lectlon appeared under the tltle Dcr llcivc Hcrr Iricdc-
movv.
In these storles two spheres are presented ln
opposltlon to one another. One world ls that of the suc
cessful hero who follows tradltlonal, soclally acceptable
paths. Jhe actlon serves prlmarlly to show how he
lmproves hls posltlon ln soclety, caterlng to welltested
soclal norms. Jhls type strlves for what ls acknowl
edged by all as good and rlght. Wlthln hls llmlted realm
of famlly and professlonal llfe, he searches for happl
ness. Jhls type ls the 'banale Brger" (commonplace
cltlzen). Jhe second world ls that of the outslder who
expects somethlng more from llfe. He looks down on
the commonplace cltlzen but at the same tlme admlres
the latter`s strength and nalve selfconfldence. Jhe per
spectlve of the outslder reveals that the concepts of hap
plness and love are empty ldeals ln vlew of the
'normal" soclal reallty.
Jhe story 'Enttuschung" (Dlsllluslonment) ls
paradlgmatlc for the entlre collectlon. dlsllluslonment
stems from the reallzatlon that llfe does not correspond
to commonly held ldeals. Jhe aesthetlcs of decadence
requlres the rejectlon of banal soclal reallty and concen
tratlon on the feellngs of the sensltlve lndlvldual. Jo the
extent that they do not correspond to the 'average,"
Mann`s maln characters can be seen as decadent; but
they do not flll the blll completely because they do not
make a cult of thelr helghtened awareness or create an
artlstlc prlnclple out of thelr cholce of llfestyle. Jhey
suffer because they are aware of an unbrldgeable gap
between thelr own llves and normal exlstence. Jhey
can enjoy nelther the pleasures of narclsslstlc reflectlon
nor the pathos of art for the sake of art; they are always
ln a state of gnawlng selfdoubt. Hardly have they been
confronted wlth the outslde world when they feel that
thelr weaknesses have been exposed. they have
removed themselves so completely from soclety that
they can no longer partlclpate ln lts llfe; at the same
tlme, thelr search for lnner fulflllment has been equally
unsuccessful.
Jhe storles of Dcr llcivc Hcrr Iricdcmovv present
varled perspectlves on the outslder`s exlstence.
|ohannes Irledemann ln 'Der klelne Herr Irledemann"
ls physlcally an outslder from the beglnnlng; a crlpple,
he attempts to flnd happlness outslde of famlly and
work. Ior a tlme he flnds pleasure ln nature and muslc.
Jhe narrator of 'Der Bajazzo" (Jhe Dllettante) lnten
tlonally dlstances hlmself from others because he feels
superlor to them. Hls artlstlc tendencles, however, are
l29
ai_ PPN q~ j~
unproductlve. Soclally promlnent women always see
through the Bajazzos and Irledemanns. Jhese chlldless
females enjoy success wlthout havlng fulfllled the tradl
tlonal female role; they are cruel and wlthout compas
slon for weakness. Jhey relentlessly show thelr
superlorlty, glvlng men a feellng that thelr happlness ls
based on lles and decelt. Jhe love, hate, and rage of the
male characters ln Mann`s early works are lnltlally
dlrected at llfe, then toward the female characters, and
flnally lnternallzed as doubt, dlsgust, and selfhate.
Jhls flrst collectlon reveals a thematlc and struc
tural unlty through whlch Mann presents a common
world. Jhls unlty ls characterlstlc of all of hls works. It
ls accompllshed by varlous means, among them the sty
llstlc element that has become famous throughout
Mann`s work. the leltmotlv. Jhe llnklng of lndlvldual
pleces of Mann`s flrst collectlon by common settlngs,
such as Lbeck, Munlch, and Italy, and the reuse of
character names can be seen as the beglnnlng of the lelt
motlv.
Mann had begun wrltlng _ ln l897,
completlng lt ln August l900. In October he began a
oneyear enllstment ln the Royal Bavarlan Infantry but
was dlscharged as unflt ln December. Jhe publlsher
Samuel Ilscher was appalled at the length of the manu
scrlpt of _ and demanded radlcal cuts, but
the young author lnslsted on an unabrldged prlntlng.
Jhe publlsher`s agreement to do so was one of the most
lmportant declslons ln the company`s hlstory. Whlle the
flrst twovolume edltlon of one thousand coples sold
slowly, the second prlntlng, ln an lnexpenslve one
volume edltlon, was a tremendous success.
In _ the characters represent dlfferent
generatlons of a merchant`s famlly as they develop
wlthln an hlstorlcal framework. Jhe novel beglns wlth
the foundlng of the |ohann Buddenbrook flrm and ends
wlth the death of Hanno, the only helr of the fourth
generatlon. Jhe detalls are generally those of Mann`s
famlly`s hlstory and the soclal llfe of Lbeck. Jhe story
opens ln l835, just after the Buddenbrook famlly has
moved lnto a house on Mengstrae. Jhree generatlons
are llvlng together. the founder of the famlly flrm ls sev
enty years old and heads the buslness together wlth hls
twentyflveyearold son, |ohann II. Nlneyearold Jho
mas, hls brother Chrlstlan, and hls slster Jony partlcl
pate ln the celebratlon of the new home ln the company
of frlends and members of the two older Buddenbrook
generatlons. Jhese festlvltles are descrlbed ln great
detall; through thls gatherlng the baslc themes of the
novel are revealed, and the dlfferences of the three gen
eratlons are emphaslzed. Jhe founder of the flrm stlll
thlnks ln a way that reflects the ldeals of the Napoleonlc
era. Hls son, Consul |ohann Buddenbrook, ls com
pletely adapted to modern tlmes and follows the practl
cal ldeals of hls posltlon. But hls father senses the
potentlal for evll ln thls practlce. He regrets the fadlng
away of the classlcal educatlon based on the humanltles
and lts replacement by a technlcal, goalorlented sys
tem. Hls grandson Jhomas ls brought up under the
new system. hls father sends hlm to the Realgymna
slum (a school comblnlng a classlcal wlth a practlcal
modern educatlon), whlch prepares hlm to be a busl
nessman.
Jhe subtltle of the novel ls s~ c~
(Decllne of a Iamlly). the Buddenbrooks are subject to
an lnner dynamlc that brlngs about the demlse of the
famlly and makes lts flnal collapse lnevltable. |ohann
Buddenbrook establlshes a tradltlon by foundlng a fam
lly flrm that requlres dlfferent generatlons to work
together. Jhe prlnclples of thls tradltlon secure the suc
cess of the buslness; the symbol of the tradltlon ls the
house on Mengstrae, where the most lmportant
achlevements ln the famlly hlstory are recorded chrono
loglcally ln the Gutenberg Blble. But the succeedlng
generatlons have lncreaslng dlfflculty abldlng by the tra
dltlonal laws of the flrm. Jhe leltmotlv of bad teeth
makes lt easler to comprehend thls change. when bad
teeth are mentloned, other dlfflcultles are sure to follow.
Jhls leltmotlv ls well lllustrated by the fate of Jhomas
Buddenbrook. He ls prosperoushe breaks all records
ln the flrm`s hlstory, ln the face of many obstacles, and
also becomes a senator. Jhus, lt ls apparent that the
Buddenbrooks do not decllne because of flnanclal trou
ble but because of thelr physlcal and mental weakness.
In the flrst part of the novel the reader learns that Jho
mas has bad teeth; later, before hls flftleth blrthday, he
goes to the dentlst and dles on the way home of a com
plete physlcal breakdown, symbollzed by a decayed,
hollow tooth.
Jhe house on Mengstrae also serves as a leltmo
tlv. It flrst belongs to the wealthy Ratenkamp famlly,
who experlence thelr decllne wlthln lts shelter. Jhls fate
ls lnherlted by the Buddenbrooks when they move ln,
and the reader can only assume that the evergrowlng
Hagenstrm famlly wlll dle out just llke the Raten
kamps and Buddenbrooks after they buy the house ln
l87l.
Another leltmotlv ln _ ls happlness. Jo
an everlncreaslng degree the lnterests of the flrm force
the famlly members to renounce thelr personal happl
ness. Jhe maln vlctlm of thls denlal of happlness and
love ls Jhomas`s slster Jony, who was modeled after
Mann`s aunt, Ellsabeth Amalla Hyppolltha. Jhe great
est happlness ln Jony`s llfe ls her love for Morten
Schwarzkopf, who comes from a modest background.
Jogether wlth hlm Jony experlences the beauty of the
sea, and from hlm she learns about the polltlcal llbera
tlon movements stlrrlng ln the country. Cruelly torn
l30
q~ j~ ai_ PPN
away from thls relatlonshlp by her famlly, she ls forced
lnto two unfortunate marrlages that cause flnanclal loss
as well as loss of prestlge. Yet, lt ls Jony herself who
feels the need to protect the famlly tradltlon. She
upholds the prlnclples of the flrm even though they
have become empty of meanlng; just how bllnd Jony ls
to reallty ls revealed by the fact that she contlnues to
repeat the leftlst slogans of her young love, Schwarz
kopf, whlch are qulte lncongruous wlth her otherwlse
patrlclan worldvlew.
In Hanno`s educatlon the prophecy of hls grand
father ls fulfllled. the new school system, representlng
modern tlmes, ls lncompatlble wlth the cultlvated splrlt
and lntellect of the Buddenbrooks. Jhe classlcal educa
tlon that had fused a reflned llfestyle wlth class con
sclousness has dlslntegratedall that ls left ls an empty
strlvlng for success. Jhe somewhat morbld Hanno suf
fers under the narrowmlnded perspectlve of hls teach
ers and seeks escape ln nature durlng vacatlons at the
Baltlc Sea and through the muslc of Wagner. He per
celves school as neverendlng harassment. Hanno`s
educatlon marks the end of the days of the patrlclans
and the polnt of departure for art ln the comlng twentl
eth century. Jhe second chapter of the last sectlon of
the novel, whlch ends wlth the words 'Dles war eln Jag
aus dem Leben des klelnen |ohann" (Jhls was one day
ln the llfe of llttle |ohann), ls a llterary document of
lntellectual oppresslon through educatlon. Hanno dles
of typhus at the age of flfteen.
Only women remaln allve at the concluslon of the
novel; they represent a statlc element ln contrast to the
male characters. Gerda, Jhomas`s wldow, wlth her pas
slon for muslc and her symbollc orlglns on the edge of
the North Sea, ls subtly styllzed lnto a harblnger of dls
solutlon and death. After her husband and her son have
dled, she leaves the culturally lnactlve clty of Lbeck.
Jony remalns the only proof of the Buddenbrooks`
former exlstence.
Whlle the protagonlsts of Mann`s early works do
not overtly dlsclose any homoerotlc deslre, thelr unsuc
cessful attempts to be accepted polnt declslvely to the
socletal pressures that were also dlrected agalnst devlant
sexual orlentatlon. Jhe novella 'Jonlo Krger" (pub
llshed ln q~W p kI l903; translated, l9l1)
deplcts a character who shares many tralts wlth Hanno
Buddenbrook, yet manages to llve beyond hls adoles
cence. As a schoolboy he has only one frlend, Hans
Hansen. Hans`s name, hls blond halr, and hls blue eyes
make hlm a stereotyplcal German, whlle Jonlo`s flrst
name and Southern European appearance are lndlca
tlons of hls 'forelgnness" to the domlnant soclety. Hans
ls the flrst of Mann`s flctlonal characters to be based on
someone to whom he had been attracted. A few months
before hls death, Mann confessed ln a letter to a former
fellow student, Hermann Lange, that the model for
Hans was thelr classmate Armln Martens, who 'was
my flrst love, and never agaln ln my llfe was I granted
an equally tender, bllssful, and grlevous love." Whlle
Martens dld not acknowledge Mann`s affectlon, Hans
does at least concede to a dlstant frlendshlp wlth Jonlo.
Jonlo shares hls last name wlth the lnlaws of
Jhomas Buddenbrook; hls flrst name represents the
Latln herltage of Mann`s mother. Ior Mann the South
symbollzed a purely aesthetlc world. Jonlo`s mother ls
muslcal and lnsplres her son to wrlte at an early age.
Because of hls Latln appearance and hls llterary lnter
ests, he becomes an outslder at school. Later ln llfe he
must flght lnner confllcts. he could follow the path of
the artlst and completely remove hlmself from soclety;
thls cholce, however, would deny the Nordlc and soclal
slde of hls herltage. In acceptlng the fact that he ls an
outslder and yet remalnlng wlthln soclety, Jonlo has a
chance to flnd love and happlness. Jhe love that the
average person experlences presupposes a certaln
nalvet that Jonlo has lost. Instead, he strlves for a sub
llmated form of love, a speclal klnd of art that expresses
soclal sympathy.
Mann ldentlfled wlth the bourgeols tradltlon of
humanlsm as deflned ln thls story. In _ he
showed that the tradltlonal ldeals of the upper classes
were elther an llluslon or a reflectlon of selflnterest; at
the same tlme, he was unable to renounce the need to
portray ldeals that were so much a part of hls herltage.
He wanted to speak for everyone, wlthout a flxed polnt
of vlew. He belonged nelther to the capltallsts, as repre
sented by the Hagenstrms, nor to the leftleanlng llber
als such as Morten Schwarzkopf. After hls father`s
death and the demlse of hls soclal group Mann lost any
flrm polltlcal orlentatlon; art remalned hls only means
of speaklng out. 'Jonlo Krger" documents Mann`s
path away from the dlslllusloned romantlclsm of hls
flrst collectlon of storles toward a new artlstlc lntellectu
allsm.
In hls letter to Lange, Mann also deflnes the artls
tlc lmportance of hls homoerotlc experlences as the
'rouslng of a feellng whlch ls destlned to be trans
formed lnto a lastlng work of art." What he does not
dlsclose, though, ls the fact that 'Jonlo Krger" was
wrltten durlng the tlme of hls lntensely homoerotlc
bondlng wlth the palnter Paul Ehrenberg.
Mann`s relatlonshlp wlth Ehrenberg came to an
end ln l903, when Mann was lntroduced to the wealthy
Prlngshelm famlly. Alfred Prlngshelm, of |ewlsh
descent, was a mathematlclan at the Lnlverslty of
Munlch and a member of a group of Wagner enthusl
asts. Hls manslon was one of the most slgnlflcant sltes
for lntellectual and artlstlc meetlngs ln Munlch. Prlngs
helm`s daughter Katharlna (Katla) was nlneteen years
l3l
ai_ PPN q~ j~
old when Mann met her. Jhey were marrled on ll Ieb
ruary l905 and had slx chlldren. Erlka was born ln
l905, Klaus ln l906, Golo ln l909, Monlka ln l9l0,
Ellsabeth ln l9l8, and Mlchael ln l9l9.
Mann`s marrlage enabled hlm to resume the way
of llfe he had loved so much durlng hls chlldhood. In
l930 he publlshed several autoblographlcal sketches,
one of them at the request of the Nobel Prlze commlt
tee. In Icbcvsobri (l930; translated as Z Slctcl of My
Iifc, l930) he says. 'Dle Atmosphre des groen Iaml
llenhauses, dle mlr dle Lmstnde melner Klndhelt
vergegenwrtlgte, bezauberte mlch. Das lm Gelst
kaufmnnlscher Kultureleganz Vertraute fand lch hler
lns PrunkhaftKnstlerlsche und Llterarlsche mond
nlslert und vergelstlgt" (Jhe atmosphere of the large
home, whlch brought back my chlldhood memorles as
lf they were real agaln, totally enchanted me. Jhe famll
lar splrlt of the elegance of the cultured buslnessman`s
world was enhanced and transmuted lnto the luxurlous
glamor of artlstlc and llterary llfe). Jhrough the Prlngs
helm famlly Mann was lntroduced to the most affluent
clrcles of Munlch and Berlln soclety. In addltlon, Katla`s
father presented the young couple wlth a royally fur
nlshed apartment ln Schwablng and supported them
flnanclally for years.
Katla Mann became Mann`s partner ln hls lntel
lectual enterprlse. Her selfassured personallty comple
mented hls ambltlous but sensltlve nature. She assumed
the soclal responslbllltles for her famous husband, kept
hls mornlngs free from lntruslons so that he could work
on hls llterary projects, managed hls flnanclal affalrs,
and even lntervened when she felt that he was belng
manlpulated or was slmply saylng too much ln lnter
vlews. Llfe wlthout Katla seemed utterly unlmaglnable
to Mann; however, hls new soclal role of a famlly man
and cultural exponent not only lmpeded future erotlc
relatlonshlps wlth men, but lt also determlned and llm
lted hls cholce of llterary subjects. He abandoned plans
for a novel tltled 'Maya," an artlstlc reflectlon of hls
frlendshlp wlth Ehrenberg.
In l905 Mann flnlshed hls next major work, the
drama Iiorcvo (l906), whlch deals wlth the lntellectual
and polltlcal confllct between Lorenzo the Magnlflcent,
the glorlous flgure of the Ilorentlne Hlgh Renalssance,
and Glrolamo Savonarola, the prlor of San Marco, who
condemns the humanlsts` excesslve enjoyment of llfe
and 'decadent" art. Whlle Savonarola ls seen as an
ascetlc and a rlgld morallst who ls about to draw the
masses away from Lorenzo, the latter seems to be an
aesthete who supports art for art`s sake and lacks any
responslblllty to lead hls people to a moderate and
moral llfe. Only at the end do the opponents meet,
when Savonarola vlslts Lorenzo on hls deathbed. Now
lt becomes apparent that the two men have much ln
common. In Lorenzo`s vlew, Savonarola and he are
brothers through an electlve afflnlty. thelr fraglle
natures, whlch are only to be overcome by means of
artlstlc fame or polltlcal power.
Lorenzo says, 'Wr` lch schn geboren, nle htte
lch zum Herrn der Schnhelt mlch gemacht. Dle Hem
mung lst des Wlllens bester Ireund" (Had I been born
beautlful, I would never have made myself the lord of
beauty. Hlndrance ls the wlll`s best frlend). He has no
sense of smell and calls hlmself a crlpple who does not
know the scent of the rose or of a woman. Hls wlll to
rule over the people`s aesthetlc taste stems from thls
personal shortcomlng, just as Savonarola`s deslre for
ethlcal and polltlcal leadershlp ls a reactlon to hls per
sonal weakness; the artlst`s work ls seen as a form of
subllmatlon. Shortly before hls death Lorenzo ldentlfles
wlth the prlor`s confesslon. 'Das Lelden darf nlcht
umsonst gewesen seln. Ruhm mu es brlngen!" (My
sufferlngs must not have been ln valn. Jhey must brlng
me fame!).
Ior the flrst tlme, Mann ls openly confesslng hls
own need for recognltlon. He accepts hls new role as
the famous man admlred by the masses, but at the same
tlme, he wants to make clear that glory and power are
dangerous llluslons. Jhus, he llnks these themes wlth
the leltmotlv of the great flgure who ls physlcally handl
capped from blrth and suffers from lllness.
Iiorcvo was Mann`s only experlment wlth the
dramatlc form. It was performed ln Irankfurt and
Munlch and was a moderate success; but Mann
referred to lt as a 'dramatlc novella," reallzlng that lt
was not well sulted for the tradltlonal stage. In lts deplc
tlon of the confrontatlon between opposlng artlstlc and
ldeologlcal tenets, portrayed as a debate between lndl
vlduals who represent these contradlctory attltudes,
Iiorcvo preflgures Dcr oubcrbcrg.
In l906 Mann wrote !olsuvgcvblut (Jhe Blood of
the Walsungs), whlch deals wlth lncestuous love. He
was forced to retract the work before the coples of Dic
vcuc Iuvdsclou that featured lt had arrlved ln the book
stores. He had used the stereotype of the rlch |ew and
hls tastelessly 'bedecked" wlfe, and even before publl
catlon the news spread around Munlch that Mann had
wrltten the story as a satlre of hls wlfe`s famlly. Jhe
publlc could not belleve that Katla Mann`s father was
not ldentlcal wlth the |ewlsh Wagnerworshlper ln !ol-
suvgcvblut; and even though Mann`s motherlnlaw had
approved the publlcatlon, her husband, who was not
fond of hls sonlnlaw`s 'loose" llterary career, became
so outraged that Mann had no cholce but to wlthdraw
the work. Jhe story dld not appear untll l92l, and
then only ln a prlvate edltlon.
In the novel Ivigliclc Holcit (l909; translated as
Ioyol Higlvcss: Z òvcl of Ccrmov Court Iifc, l9l6) Mann
l32
q~ j~ ai_ PPN
once agaln varles two of hls favorlte themes, the out
slder and happlness. Llke Jonlo Krger, Prlnce Klaus
Helnrlch experlences excluslon from hls peer group;
once agaln, the protagonlst ls sufferlng from a physlcal
handlcap, thls tlme atrophy of hls left hand. He ls able
to turn hls feellngs as an outslder lnto a posltlve attl
tude. when he assumes the throne, he does not become
a cynlcal tyrant but a klndhearted ruler. He flnds happl
ness ln marrlage to Imma Spoelmann, who ls also an
outslder because of her partlally Natlve Amerlcan
ancestry. Hls wlfe`s wealth enables Klaus Helnrlch to
reform hls destltute land. h e marks the
turnlng polnt ln Mann`s development from an apolltlcal
aesthete and pesslmlstlc crltlc of culture to a natlonalls
tlc monarchlstan orlentatlon to whlch he held for ten
years out of loyalty to tradltlonal values.
In l909 Mann publlshed the short story 'Das
Elsenbahnunglck" (translated as 'Rallway Accldent"
ln p q a~I l936). Jhls work has strong
autoblographlcal content and, for the flrst tlme, deplcts
an establlshed artlstthe flrstperson narrator of the
storywho frequently travels for publlc readlngs of hls
works. On one of these journeys, hls traln deralls.
Whlle nobody ls serlously hurt, publlc order and soclal
hlerarchy are temporarlly annulled, and the author
must fear for a few hours that the only copy of hls
unflnlshed novel may have been destroyed. In later
years, Mann spoke of hls artlstlc exlstence durlng the
Wllhelmlnean monarchy as based on 'machtgeschtz
ten Innerllchkelt" (an lntrospectlveness sheltered by
authorltarlan power). In 'Das Elsenbahnunglck," thls
unpolltlcal attltude ls humorously portrayed and mlldly
rldlculed.
Jhe novella a q s (l9l2; translated as
a~ sI l925) deplcts the last few weeks of the
llfe of Gustav Aschenbach, who ls presented as the cele
brated author of the novel 'Maya." Hls works have
become part of the school currlculum and are presented
to Germany`s youth as a model of styllstlc dlsclpllne
and moral lntegrlty. In splte of hls extraordlnary suc
cess, he ls yet another protagonlst who ls excluded from
malnstream soclety. he ls an outslder by vlrtue of hls
role as a natlonal ldol. A wldowed and lntellectually sol
ltary man ln hls flftles, Aschenbach flnds lt lncreaslngly
dlfflcult to llve up to these publlc and selflmposed
expectatlons. He frequently seeks refuge from hls artls
tlc and publlc dutles through travellng, especlally to
Venlce.
Jhe erotlc excltement of decaylng Venlce and the
allure of the handsome boy Jadzlo render Aschenbach
lncapable of leavlng. As a result of hls declslon to stay
ln the choleralnfested clty he becomes a vlctlm of the
dlsease. a q s reveals the homoerotlc fanta
sles of an author who could never openly admlt hls sex
ual propenslty. Jhe moral standards of hls tlme dld not
allow Mann actual fulflllment of hls deslres; lnstead, the
boys and young men who aroused hls fantasles repeat
edly found entrance lnto hls llterary works. Even
though Jadzlo, whose famlly ls staylng at the same lux
urlous hotel as Aschenbach, wlll never engage ln a con
versatlon wlth hls admlrer, he ls well aware of
Aschenbach`s lnfatuatlon wlth hlm, enjoys the older
man`s adoratlon of hls body, and engages ln an
exchange of secret glances wlth hlm.
At the end of the novella Aschenbach dles ln hls
canopled beach chalr whlle watchlng hls beloved
Jadzlo, who seems to be summonlng hlm lnto the sea.
Jhe publlc wlll remember the great man as a model of
artlstlc and personal selfdlsclpllne, whlle hls actual end
ls rather undlgnlfled. Artlstlc beauty has revealed ltself
to be an llluslon; lt ls the basls for the artlst`s fame but
not a true plcture of hls lnner self.
Llke Hans ln 'Jonlo Krger," Jadzlo was based
on an actual youth to whom Mann had been attracted.
Durlng a stay ln Lldo ln May l9ll, he had gllmpsed
the Pollsh boy Wadysaw ('Adzlo"), Baron Moes. In
the essay 'Dle Ehe lm Lbergang" (l925, Marrlage ln
the State of Jransltlon), Mann presents hls vlew of
homosexuallty and lts symbollc meanlng ln hls own
works, especlally a q sK He draws a parallel
between art and Eros, argulng that homosexual love ls
llke art for art`s sake. selfservlng, chlldless, and wlthout
the potentlal for commltment and falthfulness. In thls
regard, Aschenbach`s demlse ls the prlce modern art
must pay for lts newly galned lndependence and loss of
soclal responslblllty. However, by largely straylng from
the ostenslble subject, marrlage, the essay pays homage
to homoerotlclsm, and lt also serves as an apologla for
homoerotlc love as the true orlgln of artlstlc creatlvlty.
Jhe outbreak of World War I forced Mann to
deal expllcltly wlth polltlcs. He became an ally of the
patrlotlc monarchlsts wlth hls essay c
h~ (l9l5, Irederlck and the Great Coalltlon), ln
whlch he demonstrated the qualltles of the German
splrlt as exempllfled by Irederlck the Great. He was
suddenly ldentlfled wlth a group of loyallst wrlters who
saw Germany as a country wlth hlgh moral qualltles
that was belng unfalrly attacked.
Whlle Mann was maklng plans for a book that
would reawaken the ldeals of the nlneteenth century
and celebrate the moral and apolltlcal characterlstlcs of
the German splrlt, he encountered an unexpected oppo
nent ln hls own brother, Helnrlch, whose l9l5 essay
'Zola" cast Irance as an ally ln the struggle for democ
racy. Helnrlch Mann felt that lt was the responslblllty of
all lntellectuals to lend support for democratlzatlon and
thereby accelerate a process hampered by autocratlc
Germany. Artlsts such as hls brother Jhomas were
l33
ai_ PPN q~ j~
deplcted as parasltes who could not break away from
thelr old flnanclal supporters. Jhls crltlclsm hurt Jho
mas Mann deeply. But as lt became lncreaslngly clear
that Germany would lose the war, Mann reallzed that
the tlme for support for conservatlsm was over. Jhe
only thlng yet to be done was to secure hls personal
lntegrlty; there were no longer any polltlcal lnterests
worth defendlng. Jhus, hls book was flnally completed
as the lntellectual retreat of an artlst who could no
longer defend tradltlonal values polltlcally but rather as
a reflectlon of hls own apolltlcal consclence.
When the volumlnous work appeared ln l9l8
under the tltle ctrocltuvgcv civcs Uvpolitisclcv (translated
as Icflcctiovs of o òvpoliticol Mov, l983), lts great success
was an lrony of fate. Jhe book was enthuslastlcally
adopted by the antldemocratlc forces ln Germany at a
moment when lts author was trylng to adjust to the
comlng of democracy. In l922 he publlcly declared hls
alleglance to the new system ln the speech !ov dcutsclcr
Icpublil (l923, Of the German Republlc). Irom that
day forward he was placed ln a dlfflcult posltlon
between the dlsappolnted conservatlves, on the one
hand, and the German Democrats, who would hold
hlm suspect for a long tlme to come, on the other. Jhls
controversy among Mann crltlcs contlnued and also
lnfluenced the Nobel Prlze Commlttee ln thelr declslon
to grant hlm thls prlze prlmarlly for hls flrst novel, ud-
dcvbrools, rather than Dcr oubcrbcrg or a more recent
work.
After a relatlvely unproductlve perlod, Mann
completed Dcr oubcrbcrg ln l921. When he had flrst
planned lt ln l9l2, he had thought of lt as a brlef
humorous pendanthe called lt a 'satyr play"to Dcr
Tod iv !cvcdig. But the doom slgnaled by Gustav Aschen
bach`s downfall had become reallty at the end of the
war. Jhus, what was orlglnally concelved as a short
story became Mann`s thlrd swan song; thls tlme not to
the upper class of Lbeck nor to the nlneteenthcentury
artlst but to the entlre prewar culture.
Jhe beglnnlng of the novel ls lndlcatlve of the
complex lnterplay lt presents between the past, the
present, and the future. Jhe narrator polnts out a spe
clal feature of the German language. whlle the slmple
past tense can be used ln Engllsh to refer to recent
events, lts German equlvalent ls malnly reserved for
storytelllng purposes. Jhe narrator emphaslzes the lrre
coverablllty of the world deplcted ln hls story by calllng
hlmself 'den raunenden Beschwrer des Imperfekts"
(the murmurlng conjurer of the slmple past tense). He
polnts out that the era portrayed ln the story ls not sep
arated from the present by a long perlod of tlmeln
fact, lt ls rather recentbut by the cataclysm of World
War I, whlch has ushered ln a new and completely dlf
ferent era.
Jhe novel ls more than a mournlng of the past; lt
also attempts to remlnd the new culture of lts hlstorlcal
dlmenslons. It beglns ln l907 at the tuberculosls sanato
rlum Berghof ln Davos, a luxurlous resort for the upper
classes ln a remote area of the Swlss Alps. Its lnhablt
ants represent the varlous natlonal mentalltles and lntel
lectual currents of the prewar perlod. Jhe protagonlst,
the lnexperlenced young German englneer Hans Cas
torp, ls so absorbed by the uncanny atmosphere of the
Berghof that he feels as lf he ls caught ln a maglcal clr
cle. Inltlally, he lntends to stay only three weeks to vlslt
hls cousln |oachlm Zlemen, whose mllltary career has
been lnterrupted by tuberculosls. Zlemen returns to
the army, but he has to come back to the sanatorlum,
where he dles. Castorp, entranced by the Maglc Moun
taln, remalns ln Davos; seven years later, long after the
death of hls cousln, only World War I removes hlm
from thls world. He ls called back to everyday llfe to
flght ln the war.
In many respects Dcr oubcrbcrg can be compared
to the classlcal German blldungsroman or educatlonal
novel. Llke Goethe`s Wllhelm Melster, Castorp
becomes a more educated and responslble lndlvldual
after the years of exposure to all the trends of hls tlme
and culture. Ilrst of all, he experlences the dlfference
between objectlve and subjectlve tlme. the former can
be measured mechanlcally and subjects the human
belng to the law of cause and effect; the latter depends
on the lntenslty of feellngs and alternately stagnates and
rushes. Subjectlve tlme ls the basls for human percep
tlon, enabllng Castorp to broaden hls horlzon and
understand the lntellectual herltage of hls culture. Jhe
Maglc Mountaln wlth lts lnternatlonal atmosphere
enables hlm to reallze that Germany`s fate ls bound to a
common European tradltlon. Castorp galns a perspec
tlve from whlch he can appreclate what lnltlally was
completely strange and forblddlng to hls pragmatlc and
technlcally orlented mlnd.
Durlng the flrst year of hls stay Castorp becomes
completely part of the Berghof routlne. Wrapped ln
blankets, he rests for hours on hls prlvate balcony, just
llke the patlents, who are accllmated to such a degree
that thelr former llves ln the lower altltudes have
become unlmaglnable. Whlle the orlglnal purpose of
thelr stay was to escape death from tuberculosls, they
are caught ln a vlclous clrcle. the Berghof can prolong
thelr llves to a degree, but they are stlll hopelessly ln the
clutches of death. Jhe luxurlous llfestyle decelves them
and serves the lnterest of the Berghof management,
whlch quletly removes the corpses of the deceased on
sleds at nlght, unnotlced by the survlvors.
As ln the outslde world, the patlents are dlvlded
lnto soclal and ethnlc groups, represented by seven dln
ner tables. When he leaves the sanatorlum, Castrop wlll
l31
q~ j~ ai_ PPN
have eaten at every table, even the 'schlechten Russen
tlsch" (the bad Russlan table). Castorp`s most slgnlfl
cant lnslghts stem from hls lncreaslngly actlve lncluslon
ln the lntellectual battles between the Itallan humanlst
Settembrlnl and the rlgld dogmatlst and ascetlc Naphta.
Mann`s descrlptlons of Settembrlnl and Naphta are suf
fused wlth lrony and humor. the hedonlstlc humanlst`s
llfestyle ls extremely modest, whlle the radlcal ascetlc
llves ln a styllsh and comfortable apartment. Jhelr
ldeologlcal confrontatlon cannot be settled by argu
ments. ln a plstol duel, Naphta shoots hlmself after Set
tembrlnl refuses to alm at hlm. It ls not the rlgld
morallst who survlves, as ln Iiorcvo, but the physlcally
weakened humanlst wlth selfdoubts that derlve from
hls commltment to a cosmopolltan lntellectuallsm.
In addltlon to the seven dlnner tables and the
lntellectual dlspute, Castorp ls exposed to three other
powerful lnfluences. Ilrst, he develops a crltlcal attltude
toward sclence as a result of hls observatlons of Dr.
Behrens, the head physlclan, a tradltlonal medlcal doc
tor who apparently acts more ln the lnterest of the lnstl
tutlon`s management than ln that of hls patlents, and
hls asslstant, Dr. Krokowskl, a follower of a popularlzed
form of psychoanalysls that Zlemen calls 'Seelenzer
gllederung" (dlsmemberment of the soul), an approach
that only relnforces hls patlents` llluslons.
Jhe appearance of Clawdla Chauchat ls another
key experlence for Castorp. Her Eastern herltage and
fluent knowledge of Irench upset the balance Mann`s
prevlous works had establlshed between 'Northern"
and 'Southern" values, the German tradltlon of self
command and the Latln dedlcatlon to art. Clawdla`s
unpunctuallty and sensuallty lrrltate Castorp, who trles
to hlde hls lnsecurlty behlnd a feellng of cultural superl
orlty. He harbors a chauvlnlstlc prejudlce agalnst Claw
dla`s natlve Russla and flnds her behavlor unclvlllzed
and uncouth. Clawdla trles to avenge herself by forclng
Castorp to speak ln Irench, but she cannot destroy hls
selfrespect; she only strengthens hlm by refutlng hls lnl
tlal prejudlce. Castorp`s love affalr wlth Clawdla ls
lndlcatlve of Mann`s enormous lntellectual develop
ment ln the years between the ctrocltuvgcv civcs Uvpoli-
tisclcv and the completlon of Dcr oubcrbcrg.
Ilnally, Castorp ls extremely lmpressed wlth hls
successor as Clawdla`s lover, the glant Mynheer
Peeperkorn, who ls the epltome of the strong personal
lty. Hls lack of lntellectuallty, symbollzed by hls lnca
paclty for artlculate speech, ls compensated for by hls
cult of vltallsm. Peeperkorn commlts sulclde when he
feels hls sexual powers falter; Castorp ls repulsed by
thls demeanlng death and reallzes that the ldeal of a
great personallty stems from the exaggeratlon of the
lndlvldual.
Before Castorp leaves the Maglc Mountaln to
become a foot soldler ln the chaos of World War I, he
has a vlslon durlng a snowstorm of a peaceable man
klnd, clvlllzed and humane, albelt wlth a slnlster,
lndeed murderous, secret under the pleasant surface.
Jhe vlslon glves way to daydreamlng and flnally the
verballzatlon of problems central to the novel. In the
course of these muslngs the reader flnds the only ltall
clzed sentence ln the book; lt says that for the sake of
love, man ls not to grant death power over hls
thoughts. Strlpped of lts symbollsm, thls passage ls
Mann`s confesslon that ln Dcr oubcrbcrg he has sub
jected hls romantlc German herltage to a flnal scru
tlny, decldlng to relegate lt to second place behlnd the
democratlc and llfeenhanclng vlrtues of western
European culture. It can be argued that the lmpact of
thls message ls weakened by the narrator`s expllclt
assertlon that shortly after escaplng from the storm
Castorp forgets the vlslon, and by the fact that the
book contlnues for several more chapters. But ln the
course of these chapters the message turns up agaln ln
only sllghtly modlfled form, so lt ls permlsslble to con
clude that lt retalns lts valldlty even lf Castorp hlmself
cannot llve up to lt. At the end of the novel he ls left to
an uncertaln fate ln the mldst of a merclless battle.
Dcr oubcrbcrg shows the selfdestructlve powers
hldden ln culture; at the same tlme, lt appeals to the
moral values of culture, wlthout whlch the world would
be totally lost. In thls work Mann`s narratlve technlques
are at thelr most brllllant. Jhe narrator, the characters,
and the world created are constantly percelved through
lrony so that lt ls lmposslble for the reader to malntaln
any flxed polnt of reference. Jhe characters exlst
behlnd masks. thelr lndlvldual fates seem to adhere to
hlstorlcally predetermlned roles. But even these roles
recelve a new lndlvlduatlon through the narratlon. Jhe
story ls an exerclse ln dlalectlcal hermeneutlcs. wlthout
tradltlon the people would have no ldentlty, but the tra
dltlon must lncessantly be relnterpreted and related to
the present lest lt become a slmple stereotype.
All of thls complexlty does not make lt easy for
readers, partlcularly lf they must rely on a translatlon.
Jhe constant swltchlng between hlstorlcal patterns and
lndlvldual fates ls achleved through Mann`s use of lan
guage, whlch ls slgnlflcant to the smallest detall. Certaln
references, such as the one to the functlon of the Ger
man slmple past tense, have to be left out unless the text
ls to be encumbered by lengthy footnotes (ln Tlc Mogic
Mouvtoiv LowePorter translates 'den raunenden Bes
chwrer des Imperfekts" as 'the roundlng wlzard of
tlmes gone by," whlle |ohn E. Woods |ln a l995 rendl
tlon| avolds a dlrect translatlon and expounds. 'a story
that . . . must necessarlly be told wlth verbs whose tense
ls that of the deepest past").
l35
ai_ PPN q~ j~
Another dlfflculty ls caused by the use of the lelt
motlv. Repeated phrases such as 'blond und blauuglg"
(blond and blueeyed) connect parts of the text; they
often have not been recognlzed by the translator, or
thelr dlfferent contexts dld not allow for the exact repe
tltlon of the former phrase. Jhe names of characters,
such as Clawdla Chauchat (hotcat) or Hermlne
Kleefeld (cloverfleld), are related to thelr personalltles ln
ways that are only apparent ln the orlglnal German.
Some passages lmltate the language of speclal soclal
groups or partlcular styles of art to such an extent that
lt ls lmposslble to determlne the llne between parody
and serlousness. Every translatlon of Mann`s works ls
necessarlly an lnterpretatlon that llmlts and reduces the
vast and rlch tapestry of hls language. Jhe Engllsh
translatlons concentrate almost excluslvely on the sto
ryllne and, consequently, do not let the reader see how
resolutely the German text utlllzes lrony. Newer transla
tlons of some of Mann`s workssuch as Davld Luke`s
rendltlon of a~ s and Woods`s translatlons of
_I a w~I and a c~have
trled to overcome these llmltatlons.
Joday, even Germanspeaklng readers are sepa
rated from Mann`s text by a great hlstorlcal and cul
tural dlstance. Jhe orlglnal readers of the work were
prlvlleged bourgeols cltlzens educated ln the humanltles
ln a style that no longer exlsts. Jhey were well
acqualnted wlth mythology and texts of world llterature
as well as the blographles of people such as Goethe and
Nletzsche. Modern readers are often unaware of the
alluslons to thls tradltlon, nor wlll they suspect, for
example, that Peeperkorn ls modeled on the dramatlst
Hauptmann. Jhls cultural dlstance does not make the
story less lnterestlng than lt was for the reader of l921,
but lt reduces the slgnlflcance of the lntended lrony.
Even lf modern readers are aware of the cultural back
ground, they wlll experlence the humor ln a dlfferent
way than Mann lntendedllke a joke that requlres
extenslve explanatlon to be appreclated. In splte of
these obstacles to full understandlng, Mann`s texts
retaln much of thelr orlglnal luster and, on the whole,
thelr many levels of slgnlflcance.
In l926 Mann was elected a member of the Llter
ary Sectlon of the Prusslan Academy of Art. After a
w~ he returned to the present, the era of the
Welmar Republlc, whlch ls reflected ln two of hls
works. Jhe economlc depresslon and the rlse of
Natlonal Soclallsm provlded the background for these
short storles. In r i (l926, Dlsor
der and Early Sorrow; translated as b~ pI l929),
the economlc crlsls forms the background. Jhe story
centers on a famlly whose llfestyle has been severely
reduced and whlch ls undergolng a generatlonal con
fllct. Jhe chlldren see ln thelr magnlflcent vllla only the
rellc of a bygone tlme; the values thelr parents assoclate
wlth the house are forelgn to them. Jhe lnner tenslons
of the father, Abel Cornellus, a hlstory professor who
has to reconclle hls rlgorous selfexpectatlons as a
scholar wlth hls mystlcal lncllnatlons, constltute a sub
theme. Jhe maln theme ls the palnful process of hls
separatlon from the youngest daughter, Lorchen; he ls
forced to wltness her loss of chlldlsh nalvet wlthout
belng able to keep the dlstance between them from
growlng. Lorchen ls Mann`s typlcal chlld flgure. she
lacks the 'normal" chlldllke characterlstlcs. In the eyes
of her brothers and slsters she ls too young to be taken
serlously; ln reallty, she already possesses the self
awareness and eros that traglcally separate her from her
slbllngs and her father, whom she loves dearly.
Jhe story j~ w~ (l930; translated
as j~ ~ j~~I l930) ls based on experlences
Mann and hls famlly had as vacatloners ln Benlto Mus
sollnl`s Italy, where they suffered the lnsult of belng
refused permlsslon to dlne on the same hotel terrace as
the Itallan arlstocracy. In the story a famlly wltnesses a
murder. a maglclan/hypnotlst humlllates hls audlence
of vacatloners and townspeople untll the uneducated
young walter Marlo draws a revolver and puts an end
to the terror. Jhe narrator, who confesses that he, too,
had come under the hypnotlc spell of the demogoglc
entertalner, hopes that hls chlldren have mlsunderstood
the eplsode as a slmple stunt. Jhe story does not
answer the questlon of whether the parents have done
the rlght thlng by protectlng the chlldren from the truth
of the sltuatlon. j~ w~ was later
acknowledged as Mann`s warnlng agalnst fasclsm,
already ln power ln Italy and threatenlng to take over
Germany.
By the end of the l920s, Mann not only was con
sldered one of the most accompllshed flctlon wrlters by
hls Germanspeaklng readers but also enjoyed strong
lnternatlonal recognltlon. It was no great surprlse when
he was awarded the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature ln l929.
In a letter of l9 October l927 he had reported to hls
oldest chlldren Klaus and Erlka that there were rumors
about hlm belng a flnal candldate. And ln hls l930
autoblographlcal essay i~, Mann wrltes. 'Dle
sensatlonelle Auszelchnung, welche dle schwedlsche
Akademle zu vergeben hat, und dle nach slebzehn
|ahren zum erstenmal wleder nach Deutschland flel,
hatte, sovlel lch wute, schon mehr als elnmal dlcht
ber mlr geschwebt und traf mlch nlcht unvorbereltet.
Sle lag wohl auf melnem Wegelch sage es ohne Lber
hebllchkelt" (Jhe famous award of the Swedlsh Acad
emy, whlch once more, after a space of seventeen years,
fell to Germany`s lot, had, I knew, hovered over me
more than once before and found me not unprepared.
It lay, I suppose, upon my path ln llfeI say thls wlthout
l36
q~ j~ ai_ PPN
presumptlon). Mann`s frlend Hans von Hlsen was the
German correspondent of the Swedlsh newspaper
Dogcvs `ylctcr and was qulte famlllar wlth the polltlcs of
the Nobel commlttee. Jhrough hlm and other sources,
Mann could assume that the crltlcal vote for or agalnst
hlm depended on the conservatlvely mlnded llterary
crltlc and scholar Iredrlk Bk, who had pralsed ud-
dcvbrools but was rather crltlcal of Dcr oubcrbcrg. It was,
ln fact, Bk who gave the presentatlon speech on l0
December l929, and he once agaln pralsed uddcvbrools
and only brlefly mentloned Dcr oubcrbcrg.
Mann`s fame as an artlst dld not allow hlm to
remaln the 'unpolltlcal man" of the flrst two decades of
the century. Because of the hlstorlcal sltuatlon ln
Europe, hls persona hadmuch agalnst hls own lncllna
tlonbecome hlghly polltlclzed. Whlle hls fame as a
novellst was unquestlonable, hls outspoken support of
the new German democracy was not met wlth applause
by everyone. Even though the orlglnal conceptlon of
Dcr oubcrbcrg had no polltlcal ambltlons and was per
haps conservatlve, Mann supported those of hls crltlcs
who pralsed thls novel for lts prodemocratlc and antlro
mantlc elementssuch as Settembrlnl`s warnlngs
agalnst totalltarlanlsm and the humanlstlc message of
Hans Castorp`s vlslon ln the chapter tltled 'Schnee"
(Snow). Mann was somewhat dlsappolnted when the
publlc was told that he had earned the Nobel Prlze
'prlnclpally for hls great novel, uddcvbrools, whlch has
won steadlly lncreased recognltlon as one of the classlc
works of contemporary llterature," as the cltatlon read.
He consldered thls dedlcatlon to be a subtle dlsapproval
of hls polltlcal stance, and held Bk responslble for
thls declslon.
By far the majorlty of German Nobel laureates
had been chemlsts and physlclstswlth Elnsteln the
most promlnent. Gustav Stresemann and Ludwlg
_uldde were the flrst German Peace laureates, and
recelved thls honor ln l926 (together wlth Arlstlde Brl
and) and l927 (together wlth Ierdlnand Bulsson),
respectlvely. In hls banquet speech ln Stockholm on l0
December l929, Mann dedlcated the prlze to Germany
and hls fellow cltlzens and concluded that hls own
award was a symbol for Germany`s renewed acceptance
ln the world communlty. 'Was ln Deutschland ln den
letzten anderthalb |ahrzehnten gelstlg, knstlerlsch
gelelsted wurde, lst nlcht lm Schutze gnstlger
Lmstnde, nlcht unter geslcherten seellschen und mate
rlellen Verhltnlssen gelelsted worden" (German lntel
lectual and artlstlc achlevements durlng the last flfteen
years have not been made under condltlons favorable
to body and soul). He polnts out that Salnt Sebastlan ls
hls favorlte salnt, and explalns.
Anmut ln der _ualdles Heldentum lst es, das Sankt
Sebastlan symbollslert. Das Blld mag khn seln, aber
lch bln versucht, dles Heldentum fr den deutschen
Gelst, dle deutsche Kunst ln Anspruch zu nehmen und
zu vermuten, da dle der llterarlschen Lelstung
Deutschlands zugefallene Weltehrung dlesem sensl
blem Heldentum gllt. Deutschland hat durch selne
Dlchtung Anmut bewlesen ln der _ual. Es hat dle Ehre
gewahrt. polltlsch, lndem es nlcht ln Schmerzensanar
chle zerflel, lndem es das Relch bewahrte; und gelstlg,
lndem es das stllche Prlnzlp des Leldens zu elnen ver
mochte mlt dem westllchen Prlnzlp der Form, lndem es
ln Lelden Schnes hervorbrachte.
(Grace ln sufferlng. that ls the herolsm symbollzed by
St. Sebastlan. Jhe lmage may be bold, but I am
tempted to clalm thls herolsm for the German mlnd
and for German art, and to suppose that the lnterna
tlonal honor fallen to Germany`s llterary achlevement
was glven wlth thls subllme herolsm ln mlnd. Jhrough
her llterature Germany has exhlblted grace ln sufferlng.
She has preserved her honor, polltlcally by not yleldlng
to the anarchy of sorrow, yet keeplng her unlty; splrltu
ally by unltlng the Eastern prlnclple of sufferlng wlth
the Western prlnclple of formby creatlng beauty out
of sufferlng.)
By posltlng hls success as a slgn of the new respect Ger
many has earned ln the world for her role as medlator
between East and West, Mann`s acceptance speech relt
erates the maln ldea of Dcr oubcrbcrg, and thereby sub
tly dlsagrees wlth the Nobel commlttee`s slngllng out of
uddcvbrools.
By l929, at the helght of hls success, Mann had
become sensltlve to matters of dlscrlmlnatlon and lnjus
tlce. Whlle he dld not mentlon lt hlmself, another lncl
dent somewhat dampened hls appreclatlon of the Nobel
honor. Klng Gustav V gave preferentlal treatment to
the one arlstocrat among the wlnners. Whlle thls
behavlor was wlthout a doubt part of the standard pro
tocol, Katla Mann stlll remembered lt flfty years later as
a grlevous lnsult. Mann had defended democracy
undauntedly throughout the Welmar perlod, but he
had to experlence what lt meant to be dlscrlmlnated
agalnst before he could really stand up for lt emotlon
ally.
In l92l and l925 Mann had wrltten essays on
Goethe and Leo Jolstoy ln whlch he attempted to blnd
the reallsm of the nlneteenth century to the older tradl
tlon of German classlclsm. In the course of thls work he
became receptlve to the suggestlon ln Goethe`s autobl
ography Zus mcivcm Icbcv: Dicltuvg uvd !olrlcit (l8ll-
l8l1, l833, Irom My Llfe. Poetry and Jruth; trans
lated as Zutobiogroply of Coctlc, l816) that the blbllcal
story of |oseph be recast as an hlstorlcal novel. In l926
Mann began a project based on a sectlon of Genesls
that resulted ln hls mammoth tetralogy, to whlch he
l37
ai_ PPN q~ j~
devoted seventeen years of effort. He made an lntenslve
study of the era ln questlon and took a threemonth
tour of the hlstorlcal sltes referred to ln the Blble; lt was
the flrst tlme he left Europe. In l933 the flrst of the four
volumes appeared. a d g~~ (Jhe Jales of
|acob; translated as g ~ e _I l931), ln
whlch the orlgln of the hlstorlcal tradltlon from whlch
|oseph derlves ls descrlbed. a g (translated
as v gI l935) and g (translated
as g bI l938) followed ln l931 and l936,
respectlvely. Jhe flnal volume, gI b
(translated as g mI l911), was not pub
llshed untll l913.
Jhe last three works were wrltten abroad. Mann
left Germany on ll Iebruary l933 on a lecture tour
and remalned ln exlle. Desplte hls great lnfluence dur
lng the Welmar years, lnfluence he had repeatedly used
to warn hls countrymen agalnst the rlslng tlde of
Natlonal Soclallsm, at heart Mann had remalned the
'unpolltlcal German." Hls polltlcal ldeas strlke the
modern reader as alarmlng ln thelr optlmlstlc nalvet.
When one reads hls lntervlews of the perlod, one ls
amazed to see the extent to whlch he mlnlmlzed the
dangers of mllltarlsm and polltlcal extremlsm. In l928
he had stlll belleved that Natlonal Soclallsm, ln splte of
all the bloody rlotlng, need not be taken serlously. As
late as l932 he was stlll of the oplnlon that the Nazl
threat would be shortllved. Soon after Hltler became
chancellor, Mann gave a lecture ln Munlch tltled
'Lelden und Gre Rlchard Wagners" (Sufferlngs and
Greatness of Rlchard Wagner), ln whlch he upheld the
essence of German culture agalnst ldeologlcal abuse.
Jhe speech greatly fanned the hostlllty of the new
reglme and lts sympathlzers. Stlll, Mann mlght have
returned to Germany after hls forelgn lecture tour had
lt not been for the warnlngs of hls oldest chlldren,
Klaus and Erlka, who were fervent antlnatlonallsts. A
letter of March l933 reveals the depth of hls fear that
he would never be able to 'breathe the alr" of Germany
agaln. In exlle he regarded lt as hls mlsslon to represent
Germany`s 'good element" agalnst the destructlve pow
ers of lts current rulers.
At flrst he stayed ln SanarysurMer on the
Irench Rlvlera, where many refugee wrlters had taken
up resldence; ln the early fall of l933 he moved to Ks
nacht, near Zurlch, where he llved untll hls move to the
Lnlted States ln l938. On l9 December l936 hls hon
orary doctorate from Bonn Lnlverslty, whlch he had
recelved ln l9l9, was revoked by the phllosophlcal fac
ulty; Mann publlshed the letter lnformlng hlm of the
revocatlon, along wlth hls reply, as b _
(l937; translated as ^ b~ iI l937). In l937
he was awarded Czechoslovakla`s Herder Prlze for
exlled wrlters. In Ksnacht he began a novel about
Goethe, i t~ (translated as q _ oI
l910), whlch was completed at Prlnceton and publlshed
ln l939. Goethe ls portrayed as an lsolated lntellectual
glant ln the smalltown atmosphere of elghteenth
century Welmar who ls vlslted by a woman he had
loved and lost forty years earller. Charlotte Kestner
(ne Buff ), who served as the model for Charlotte ln
hls novel a i t (l771; translated
as q p tI l786). At an early stage of hls
llfe, lmpressed wlth the sage`s productlvlty, Mann had
taken Goethe as a model. He had especlally been
lnsplred by Goethe`s ablllty to balance hls often contra
dlctory lnner forces and achleve mental harmony even
ln hls most trylng moments.
In i t~I Mann deplcts Goethe as an
older man who, ln splte of hls great fame and many
soclal amenltles, ls lntellectually lsolated. He has not
overcome the loss of hls only lntellectual equal, Schlller,
and ls surrounded by a group of jealous worshlpers.
Jhe central part of thls work, however, departs from
the descrlptlon of these external clrcumstances and puts
the reader lnto the protagonlst`s own perspectlve,
thereby dlscloslng the processes of a creatlve mlnd.
Here, Mann reveals hls vlew of blsexuallty as the drlv
lng force of artlstlc creatlvlty.
Jhe |oseph project corresponded well to the con
cerns of the tlme. |oseph ls exlled by hls brothers to
Egypt. Havlng grown up ln the mythlcal world of
Israel, he ls struck by the modernlty and complexlty of
the Egyptlan clvlllzatlon. Jhanks to thls new horlzon,
he can free hlmself from the mythlcal entanglement. He
does not glve up hls own culture, but hls new experl
ences make lt posslble for hlm to show hls people a way
lnto the future. Llke Prlnce Klaus Helnrlch, he avolds
becomlng a despotlc patrlarch and flnds hls ldentlty as a
wlse statesman. Jhus, the endlng of the fourth |oseph
novel, gI bI elaborates on a theme Mann
had used thlrtyflve years prevlously ln h eX
by l913 he had glven up the ldea of an elltlst and arlsto
cratlc leadershlp. Whlle h e was the llterary
prelude to an ldeologlcal defense of natlonallstlc poll
tlcs, the |oseph novels try to work agalnst the natlonal
lsts` attempt to use a dlstorted vlew of hlstory and
culture as a support for thelr ldeology.
After a long serles of setbacks, |oseph flnally
assumes the role of Egypt`s protector. He becomes a
wlse statesman who resembles Mann`s polltlcal ldol,
Roosevelt. |oseph`s fateful tenaclty ls symbollzed by hls
longlastlng chastlty. However, when Mutemenet, the
wlfe of hls earller Egyptlan master, Potlphar, develops
an lrreslstlble passlon for |oseph, she comes close to
seduclng hlm. Mann`s dlarles reveal that Mutemenet`s
passlon commemorates the 'central love experlence of
l38
q~ j~ ai_ PPN
my flrst twentyflve years," hls relatlonshlp wlth Ehren
berg.
Irom l910 untll l952 Mann llved ln a luxurlous
home ln Paclflc Pallsades, Callfornla. He became an
Amerlcan cltlzen on 23 |une l911. On 25 |anuary l917
hls honorary doctorate was restored by Bonn Lnlver
slty. He recelved many other honorary doctorates and
awards from Amerlcan and European lnstltutlons
between l939 and hls death ln l955, lncludlng mem
bershlp ln the Accademla Nazlonale del Llncel ln Rome
ln l917, the Goethe Prlze of Welmar ln l919, member
shlp ln the Academy of Arts and Letters ln New York
Clty ln l95l, and the Offlcer`s Cross of the Leglon of
Honor of Irance ln l952.
Even though Mann was hlghly respected durlng
hls Amerlcan exlle and regarded as the 'most emlnent
llvlng man of letters," he later confessed that, whlle he
had become an Amerlcan cltlzen and was lmpressed
wlth Roosevelt`s soclal reforms, he never felt that he
belonged lntellectually to Amerlcan culture ('Ich bln
gelstlg nlemals Amerlkaner geworden"). He had, how
ever, become close frlends wlth several Amerlcans,
among them hls publlsher, Knopf, and Agnes E. Meyer,
the journallst and wrlter who was marrled to Eugene
Meyer, the lnfluentlal banker, statesman, and owner/
publlsher of Tlc !oslivgtov Iost. In addltlon to Mann`s
dlarles, hls correspondence wlth Agnes Meyer ls the
most compelllng documentatlon of hls Amerlcan exlle.
Wlth the completlon of oscpl, dcr Irvolrcr and a
short story about Moses, Dos Ccsct (l911; translated as
Tlc Toblcs of tlc Iow, l915), Mann`s blbllcal wrltlngs
were flnlshed. Hls next novel, Doltor Ioustus: Dos Icbcv
dcs dcutsclcv Tovsctcrs Zdriov Icvcrllv, crollt vov civcm
Ircuvdc (l917; translated as Doctor Ioustus: Tlc Iifc of tlc
Ccrmov Composcr, Zdriov Icvcrllv, os Told by o Iricvd,
l918), was hls last swan songa farewell to German
culture and lts lntellectual tradltlon. In thls story Ger
many`s downfall ls reflected ln the fate of Mann`s flc
tlonal protagonlst.
Jhe lnltlated reader of Mann`s works wlll lmme
dlately recognlze Lbeck soclety ln the flctlonal town of
Kalsersaschern. Mann completes the clrcle of hls per
sonal development by descrlblng the upbrlnglng of a
young man wlth artlstlc ambltlons ln a tradltlonal Ger
man envlronment, surroundlngs just llke Hanno Bud
denbrook`s and Jonlo Krger`s ln the storles completed
more than forty years before. Many themes are used
agaln ln the fashlon of the leltmotlv, but the lntellectual
framework has changed completely.
Jhls change ls partlcularly reflected by the nar
ratlve perspectlve. for the flrst tlme, Mann uses a
flrstperson narrator for a novel. Adrlan Leverkhn`s
frlend Serenus Zeltblom, Ph.D., a professor of lltera
ture, represents the educated German who ls well
versed ln hlstory and aware of the comlng catastrophes
of Natlonal Soclallsm and World War II but ls para
lyzed when lt comes to taklng actlon agalnst these
developments. A comparlson of Doltor Ioustus wlth
Morio uvd dcr oubcrcr shows that Mann`s crltlclsm of
German lntellectuals remalned the same durlng the
entlre perlod of European fasclsm.
Jhe hope he had expressed ln Dcr oubcrbcrg that
Germany could malntaln a cooperatlve and medlatlng
posltlon ln the mlddle of Europe had been cruelly dls
appolnted. Mann`s predomlnantly aesthetlc comprehen
slon of hlstory dld not allow for new explanatlons of
Germany`s Nazl aberratlon. Instead, he returned to hls
older concept of traglc fate. Leverkhn`s end appears to
be as lnevltable as Jhomas Buddenbrook`s or Gustav
Aschenbach`s.
In contrast to Zeltblom, who ls a passlve lntellec
tual wlth a bourgeols llfestyle and modest scholarly
ambltlons, Leverkhn ls drlven to produce art that has
never exlsted before; and he ls not afrald of unleashlng
selfdestructlve forces to do so. Leverkhn ls the proto
type of the German character who has to go hls own
way wlthout concern for hls own destructlon or that of
others.
Mann always had confllctlng feellngs about
muslc, especlally about the love of hls chlldhood and
youth, Wagner. He could not wlthstand the stunnlng
power of Wagner`s muslc, but at the same tlme, he real
lzed the danger of lts overwhelmlng sensuallty and lrra
tlonallty. In l903 he had expressed thls concern ln
llterary form ln 'Jrlstan" (translated, l925), the tltle
story ln the collectlon that lncluded 'Jonlo Krger."
Adrlan Leverkhn strongly opposes Wagner. Arnold
Schnberg`s ratlonallstlc twelvetone muslc, whlch
attempts to exclude any element of arbltrarlness, ls
attrlbuted ln the novel to Leverkhn. Hls strlvlng to
reach thls goal stands for the deslre of the German char
acter to accompllsh the lmposslble.
Jo emphaslze Leverkhn`s dllemma as speclfl
cally German, Mann uses the greatest theme contrlb
uted by Germany to world llterature. the Iaust motlf,
stemmlng from the Mlddle Ages. Leverkhn, the new
Iaust, has to seal a pact wlth the devll lf he ls to create
great muslc. Lnllke Goethe ln hls baslcally optlmlstlc
Ioust, Mann has grave doubts about the redemptlon of
Leverkhn`s soul. Llke the characters ln uddcvbrools
whose dedlcatlon to the flrm entalls a denlal of love and
happlness, Leverkhn wlll create great muslc at the
prlce of the same renunclatlon. Jhus, Mann reverts to
the medleval vlew that Iaust ls damned. After maklng
love to a prostltute, Leverkhn contracts syphllls, whlch
stlmulates and ultlmately destroys hls genlus. the mod
ern verslon of hell ls lnsanlty.
l39
ai_ PPN q~ j~
As remarkable as the relnterpretatlon of the Iaust
legend ln the llght of German hlstory ls the method
Mann employs, a technlque he called 'Montage." He
had always been fond of overtly or covertly quotlng
from varlous sources ln hls narratlve works; ln thls
novel the propenslty ls carrled to such lengths that prac
tlcally no passage ls lndependent of some wrltten
model. Jhe poetry of Wllllam Shakespeare and the
German Romantlcs, eplstolary llterature, muslclans`
blographles, and newspaper and magazlne artlcles on
space and deepsea exploratlon, medlclne, and theology
are quoted verbatlm or ln sllght adaptatlon to surround
lng passages. It thus turns out that Adrlan Leverkhn
'ls" not only Iaust (and Zeltblom hls tradltlonal assls
tant, Wagner) but also Nletzsche, whose stages ln llfe
Leverkhn repllcates; Martln Luther (whlch makes
Zeltblom an Erasmus flgure); and Ludwlg von
Beethoven, Schnberg, Alban Berg, and other musl
clans. Leverkhn`s llfe embodles the entlre cultural
development of Germany.
Mann`s next work, Dic Ivtstcluvg dcs Doltor Ious-
tus: Iomov civcs Iomov (l919; translated as Tlc Story of o
òvcl: Tlc Ccvcsis of Doctor Ioustus, l96l), retells the clr
cumstances under whlch Doltor Ioustus was wrltten.
Jhls booklength text ls the prlnclpal account of
Mann`s Amerlcan exlle that was publlshed durlng hls
llfetlme. Although lt does not express the dlsllluslon
ment of lts author wlth the country, lt does reveal hls
dlsappolntment wlth the lack of understandlng wlth
whlch Doltor Ioustus was met by German as well as
Amerlcan revlewers. It also pays trlbute to Jheodor W.
Adorno, the muslc theorlst and phllosopher who later
became one of Germany`s most lmportant cultural crlt
lcs. Adorno had provlded Mann wlth the extenslve
lnslght lnto modernlst muslc and muslcal hlstory that
was cruclal for the composltlon of Doltor Ioustus. In fact,
entlre passages of the novel can be consldered Adorno`s
wrltlng. Dic Ivtstcluvg dcs Doltor Ioustus remalns sllent
about the fact that Adorno`s coauthorshlp was not met
wlth sympathy by Mann`s famlly, especlally by Erlka
Mann, who had been another 'secret advlser" to the
novellst.
In l919, on the occaslon of Goethe`s 200th blrth
day, Mann made speeches ln both the western and the
eastern parts of Germany ln whlch he spoke out for a
unlted natlon. Jhls message was not well recelved ln
the West. It was not understood that by preferrlng one
slde over the other Mann would have compromlsed hls
deepest convlctlons about Germany`s lndlvlslble tradl
tlon. Mann was deeply shocked by the Cold War that
followed the end of World War II ln l915 and by Sena
tor |oseph McCarthy`s persecutlon of llberal lntellectu
als. Jhe hysterla unleashed by McCarthylsm drove hlm
from the Lnlted States, and ln l952 he moved to Kllch
berg, near Zurlch.
Before leavlng the Lnlted States, Mann began hls
last novella, Dic ctrogcvc (l953, Jhe Betrayed Woman;
translated as Tlc locl Swov, l951). Jhls story ls the
only llterary account of hls Amerlcan exlle. lt portrays a
young Amerlcan who resembles a frlend of Mann`s son
Golo, and lt deplcts hls llghthearted attempts to study
the language of hls host culture wlth the help of a tutor.
Jhe maln plot, however, was not recelved well by Ger
man or Amerlcan readers. Rosalle von Jmmler, a
matronly woman, falls ln love wlth a young Amerlcan
and mlstakes the early symptoms of ovarlan cancer as a
slgn of rejuvenatlon. However, the 'moral" of the story
ls not morbld, but rather reflects Mann`s new attltude
toward nature. Rosalle von Jmmler does not feel
betrayed by nature, as the tltle Dic ctrogcvc may sug
gest, but accepts her lllness and comlng death ln a con
clllatory manner. Jhls changed attltude toward llfe ls
another trlbute to Mann`s Amerlcan exlle. the author
had escaped death after successful lung surgery ln Chl
cago.
Hls last two novels once more brought to the fore
the optlmlstlc Mann. In Dcr Irwolltc, based on Hart
mann von Aue`s medleval work Crcgorius, one of the
worst slnners ls chosen by God to become pope. Jhe
second novel was a work Mann had left unflnlshed
after publlshlng the flrst chapter as a novella ln l922.
clcvvtvissc dcs Hoclstoplcrs Iclix Irull: Dcr Mcmoircv crstcr
Tcil (l951; translated as Covfcssiovs of Iclix Irull, Covfidcvcc
Mov: Tlc Iorly Jcors, l955). At the end of hls llfe he pos
sessed the serenlty to portray the artlst as a confldence
man who fools both hlmself and soclety by hldlng
behlnd a successlon of masks ln an effort to malntaln
hls lntellectual lntegrlty, all the whlle admlttlng the lllu
slonary nature of hls acts.
Mann`s last work was the volumlnous essay !cr-
sucl bcr Sclillcr (l955, On Schlller). He completed the
manuscrlpt ln tlme for lt to be used for the addresses he
gave ln Stuttgart and Welmar ln May l955 on the occa
slon of the l50th annlversary of Schlller`s death. In thls
essay Mann appeals to the optlmlstlc slde of the Ger
man character. Consequently, hls last word ls a manlfes
tatlon of hopeln favor of Schlller`s Zv dic Ircudc (l786,
Ode to |oy) and not Leverkhn`s symphony 'Dr. Iaustl
Weheklag" (Lamentatlon of Dr. Iaustus). When Mann
returned to hls hometown of Lbeck on 20 May l955
to recelve an honorary cltlzenshlp from the clty, he had
already returned to Jonlo Krger`s enthuslasm for
Schlller. Mann was conclllatory at last, ln accordance
wlth the good German character he had always trled to
emulate.
At flrst glance, the works of Mann`s old age seem
to convey three rather dlstlnct frames of mlnd. hls last
l10
q~ j~ ai_ PPN
flctlonal works appear as youthful as 'Jonlo Krger,"
yet they are further enrlched by selfparody. In hls late
essays, Mann once agaln dlsplays rhetorlcal brllllance,
yet shles away from the polltlcal engagement and fear
less verve of the late Welmar years and hls Amerlcan
exlle. Even more surprlslngly, the dlarles of thls tlme
reveal that the hlghly acclalmed author of such master
pleces as Dcr oubcrbcrg was beset wlth gnawlng self
doubt as well as despalr over a polltlcal world and cul
ture that were a far cry from hls dreams of humanlsm
and unlversal sympathy. However, these dlsparltles ln
hls late wrltlngs can be understood as the last reverber
atlon of Mann`s artlstlc selfunderstandlng. Although he
enjoyed belng celebrated as a representatlve and
spokesperson for the vlrtues of the educated burgher
culture and humanlsm, he had devoted hls llfe to wrlt
lng flctlon. He could not lmaglne a llfe wlthout wrltlng.
Joward the end of hls llfe, lt became harder for hlm to
meet thls expectatlon. Wlthout the help of hls famlly,
above all Katla and Erlka Mann, he would not have
had the strength to carry out hls wrltlng plans. Conse
quently, rather than taklng these late works at face
value and assumlng that Mann was taken from thls
world at the helght of hls lntellectual power, one must
conslder them the subtly melanchollc swan song of an
artlst who has outllved hls own tlme.
Jhomas Mann dled ln Zurlch on l2 August l955
at elghty years of age, just two days after belng elected
to the Peace Class of the Order Iour lc mcritc by West
Germany. Half a century after hls death, hls artlstlc
works have strengthened thelr reputatlon as master
pleces of world llterature. Whlle Mann`s essays wlll
most llkely never rank as hlghly as hls novels and
novellas, they certalnly hold thelr own ln the hlstory of
German nonflctlon; moreover, together wlth hls letters
and dlarles, they are among the most compelllng hlstor
lcal documents of the twentleth century. New Engllsh
translatlons of hls flctlon wlll make hls works accesslble
to more Amerlcan readers as well. Slnce the l990s, sev
eral comprehenslve blographles of Mann have
appeared both ln German and ln Engllsh. However, no
slngle account of hls llfe and works wlll ever explaln hls
creatlvlty and hls lntellectlt ls hls own works that wlll
captlvate readers for many generatlons to come.
iW
ricfc ov Ioul Zmovv 191-192, edlted by Herbert
Wegener (Lbeck. SchmldtRmhlld, l959);
Tlomos MovvIorl Icrcvyi: Ccsprocl iv ricfcv, edlted by
Karl Kernyl (Zurlch. Rheln, l960); translated by
Alexander Gelley as Mytlology ovd Humovism: Tlc
Corrcspovdcvcc of Tlomos Movv ovd Iorl Icrcvyi (Ith
aca, N.Y.. Cornell Lnlverslty Press, l975);
Tlomos Movv ov Irvst crtrom: ricfc ous dcv olrcv 1910-
19, edlted by Inge |ens (Pfulllngen. Neske,
l960);
ricfc, 1SS9-19, 3 volumes, edlted by Erlka Mann
(Irankfurt am Maln. Ilscher, l96l-l965);
Tlomos MovvHcivricl Movv: ricfwcclscl 1900-1949,
edlted by Hans Wysllng (Irankfurt am Maln.
Ilscher, l968; expanded, l981); translated by
Don Reneau as Tlc Icttcrs of Hcivricl ovd Tlomos
Movv, 1900-1949 (Berkeley Los Angeles. Lnl
verslty of Callfornla Press, l998);
Icttcrs of Tlomos Movv, 1SS9-19, edlted and trans
lated by Rlchard Wlnston and Clara Wlnston
(New York. Knopf, l97l);
Tlomos Movv: ricfwcclscl mit scivcm !crlcgcr Cottfricd cr-
movv Iisclcr 19J2-19, edlted by Peter de Men
delssohn (Irankfurt am Maln. Ilscher, l973);
Hcrmovv HcsscTlomos Movv: ricfwcclscl, edlted by
Annl Carlsson and Volker Mlchels (Irankfurt am
Maln. Suhrkamp, l975); translated by Ralph
Manhelm as Tlc Hcssc / Movv Icttcrs, 1910-19
(New York. Harper Row, l975);
Zv Ixccptiovol Iricvdslip: Tlc Corrcspovdcvcc of Tlomos
Movv ovd Iricl Iollcr, translated by Rlchard Wln
ston and Clara Wlnston (Ithaca, N.Y. London.
Cornell Lnlverslty Press, l975);
Tlomos Movv: ricfc ov Utto Croutoff, 1S94-1901, uvd Ido
oy-Id, 190J-192S, edlted by de Mendelssohn
Dic ricfc Tlomos Movvs, 3 volumes, edlted by Hans Br
gln and HansOtto Mayer (Irankfurt am Maln.
Ilscher, l976-l982);
Tlomos MovvZlfrcd `cumovv: ricfwcclscl, edlted by de
Mendelssohn (Darmstadt. Schnelder, l977);
Dicltcr odcr Sclriftstcllcr: Dcr ricfwcclscl wisclcv Tlomos
Movv uvd oscf Iovtcv, edlted by Hans Wysllng
(Bern. Irancke, l988);
Tlomos Movv: ricfwcclscl mit Zutorcv, edlted by Wysllng
Tlomos Movv, Zgvcs I. Mcycr: ricfwcclscl 19J7-19,
edlted by Hans Vaget (Irankfurt am Maln.
Ilscher, l992);
ricfc ov Iiclord Scloulol, edlted by Claudla Glrardl,
Sybllle Leltner, and Andrea Jraxler (Irankfurt am
Maln. Klostermann, 2003);
Tlcodor !. ZdorvoTlomos Movv: ricfwcclscl 194J-
19, edlted by Chrlstoph Gdde and Jhomas
Sprecher (Irankfurt am Maln. Suhrkamp, 2003);
Tlomos Movv, Iotio MovvZvvo ocobsov: Iiv ricfwcclscl,
edlted by Werner Irlzen and Irledhelm Marx
(Irankfurt am Maln. Klostermann, 2005);
!crdcv Sic viclt bcrlmt. . . ! ricfwcclscl Tlomos Movv uvd
Horold Iolt, edlted by Bernd M. Kraske (Bad
Schwartau. WIB Verlagsgruppe, 2005);
l1l
ai_ PPN q~ j~
Tlomos Movv: ricfc ov ovos Icsscr uvd Sicgfricd Trcbitscl
19J9-194, edlted by Iranz Zede (Irankfurt am
Maln. Klostermann, 2006).
fW
Irogc uvd Zvtwort: Ivtcrvicws mit Tlomos Movv 1909-
19, edlted by Volkmar Hansen and Gert Helne
(Hamburg. Knaus, l983).
_~W
Klaus W. |onas, Iifty Jcors of Tlomos Movv Studics: Z ib-
liogroply of Criticism (Mlnneapolls. Lnlverslty of
Mlnnesota Press, l955);
Hans Brgln, Dos !crl Tlomos Movvs, edlted by Walter
A. Relchart and Erlch Neumann (Irankfurt am
Maln. Ilscher, l959);
Harry Matter, Dic Iitcrotur bcr Tlomos Movv: Iivc ibli-
ogroplic 1S96-1969, 2 volumes (Berlln Welmar.
Aufbau, l972);
|onas, Dic Tlomos-Movv-Iitcrotu, 3 volumes (Berlln.
Erlch Schmltt, l972, l979; Irankfurt am Maln.
Klostermann, l997);
Ernst Loewy, Tlomos Movv: Tov- uvd Iilmoufvolmcv, Iiv
!crciclvis (Irankfurt am Maln. Ilscher, l971);
Georg Potempa, ed., Tlomos Movv: ctciliguvg ov politis-
clcv Zufrufcv uvd ovdcrcv lollcltivcv Iublilotiovcv:
Iivc ibliogroplic (Morsum. Clcero, l988);
Potempa, Tlomos Movv-ibliogroplic: Dos !crl, 2 vol
umes (Morsum. Clcero, l992, l997);
Potempa, Tlomos Movv: Iovlordovcv dcr ibliogroplicv
ur Irimorlitcrotur (Morsum. Clcero, l993);
|onas, Iifty Jcors os o Tlomos Movv-ibliogroplcr: iogropl-
icol òtcs ovd ibliogroply (Wlesbaden. Harrassow
ltz, 2000).
_~W
Klaus Mann, Tlc Turvivg-Ioivt: Tlirty-Iivc Jcors iv Tlis
Ccvtury (New York. Ilscher, l913);
Vlktor Mann, !ir worcv fvf: ildvis dcr Iomilic Movv
(Konstanz. Sdverlag, l919);
Hans Mayer, Tlomos Movv: !crl uvd Ivtwiclluvg (Berlln.
Volk und Welt, l950);
Erlka Mann, Tlc Iost Jcor of Tlomos Movv, translated by
Rlchard Graves (New York. Iarrar, Straus Cud
ahy, l958);
|ulla Mann, Zus Dodos Iivdlcit (Konstanz. Rosgarten
Verlag, l958);
Klaus Schrter, ed., Tlomos Movv iv Sclbstcugvisscv uvd
ilddolumcvtcv (Relnbeck. Rowohlt, l961);
Elke Mldell, Tlomos Movv: !crsucl civcr Iivflruvg iv
Icbcv uvd !crl (Lelpzlg. Reclam, l966);
|. P. Stern, Tlomos Movv (London New York. Colum
bla Lnlverslty Press, l967);
Hans Brgln and HansOtto Mayer, Tlomos Movv: Z
Clroviclc of His Iifc, translated by Eugene Dobson
(Lnlverslty. Lnlverslty of Alabama Press, l969);
Schrter, ed., Tlomos Movv im Urtcil scivcr cit (Ham
burg. Wegner, l969);
Andr von Gronlcka, Tlomos Movv: Irofilc ovd Icrspcctivcs
(New York. Random House, l970);
Katla Mann, Uvwrittcv Mcmorics, translated by Hunter and
Hlldegarde Hannum (New York. Knopf, l975);
Peter de Mendelssohn, Dcr oubcrcr: Dos Icbcv dcs dcut-
sclcv Sclriftstcllcrs Tlomos Movv, 2 volumes (Irank
furt am Maln. Ilscher, l975, l992);
Inge Dlersen, Tlomos Movv: Ipisclcs !crl, !cltov-
sclouuvg, Icbcv (Berlln. Aufbau, l975);
Nlgel Hamllton, Tlc rotlcrs Movv: Tlc Iivcs of Hcivricl
ovd Tlomos Movv, 1S71-190, 1S7-19 (New
Haven. Yale Lnlverslty Press, l979);
Rlchard Wlnston, Tlomos Movv: Tlc Molivg of ov Zrtist,
1S7-1911 (New York. Knopf, l98l);
Eberhard Hllscher, Tlomos Movv: Sciv Icbcv uvd sciv
!crl (Berlln. Das europlsche Buch, l983);
Marcel RelchRanlckl, Tlomos Movv ovd His Iomily, trans
lated by Ralph Manhelm (London. Colllns, l989);
Jhomas Sprecher, Tlomos Movv iv ricl (Zurlch. Neue
Zurcher Zeltung, l992);
Hans Wysllng and Yvonne Schmldlln, eds., Tlomos
Movv: Iiv Icbcv iv ildcrv (Zurlch. Artemls, l991);
Klaus Harpprecht, Tlomos Movv: Iivc iogroplic (Reln
bek bel Hamburg. Rowohlt, l995);
Ronald Hayman, Tlomos Movv: Z iogroply (New York.
Scrlbners, l995);
Donald Prater, Tlomos Movv: Z Iifc (Oxford New
York. Oxford Lnlverslty Press, l995);
Erlka Mann, Mciv !otcr, dcr oubcrcr, edlted by Irmela
von der Lhe and Lwe Naumann (Relnbek bel
Hamburg. Rowohlt, l996);
Hermann Kurzke, Tlomos Movv: Dos Icbcv ols Iuvstwcrl:
Iivc iogroplic (Munlch. Beck, l999); translated
by Leslle Wlllson as Tlomos Movv: Iifc Zs o !orl of
Zrt (Prlnceton. Prlnceton Lnlverslty Press, 2002);
Hans Wlklrchen, Dic Iomilic Movv (Relnbek bel Ham
burg. Rowohlt, l999);
Herbert Kuhn,Tlomos Movv: Dic ivtcroltivc iogroplic,
CDROM (Munlch. Lnlted Soft Medla, 200l);
Edo Reents, Tlomos Movv (Munlch. Classen, 2002);
Gert Helne and Paul Schommer, Tlomos Movv Clrovil
(Irankfurt am Maln. Klostermann, 2001);
Roman Karst, Tlomos Movv: Iivc iogroplic (Munlch.
Dlederlchs, 2006).
oW
Angellka Abel, Tlomos Movv im Ixil: um citgcsclicltli-
clcv Hivtcrgruvd dcr Imigrotiov (Munlch. Ilnk,
2003);
l12
q~ j~ ai_ PPN
Gllbert Adalr, Tlc Icol Todio: Tlomos Movv`s Death ln
Venlce ovd tlc oy !lo Ivspircd It (New York. Car
roll Graf, 2003);
Dleter W. Adolphs, Iitcrorisclcr Irfolruvgsloriovt: Zufbou
uvd Ivtwiclluvg dcr Irollpcrspcltivc im !crl Tlomos
Movvs (Heldelberg. Wlnter, l985);
J. E. Apter, Tlomos Movv: Tlc Dcvil`s Zdvocotc (New
York. New York Lnlverslty Press, l979);
Hendrlk Balonler, Sclriftstcllcr iv dcr lovscrvotivcv Trodi-
tiov: Tlomos Movv 1914-1924 (Irankfurt am
Maln. Lang, l983);
Gunllla Bergsten, Tlomos Movv`s Doctor Ioustus: Tlc
Sourccs ovd Structurc of tlc òvcl, translated by
Krlshna Wlnston (Chlcago London. Lnlverslty
of Chlcago Press, l969);
Beatrlx Bludau, Eckhard Heftrlch, and Helmut Koop
mann, eds., Tlomos Movv 1S7-197: !ortrogc iv
Mvclcv, ricl, Ibccl (Irankfurt am Maln.
Ilscher, l977);
|oseph Campbell, Mytlic !orlds, Modcrv !ords: Uv tlc
Zrt of omcs oycc ovd Tlomos Movv (New York.
HarperColllns, 2003);
Manfred Dlerks, Studicv u Mytlos uvd Isyclologic bci Tlo-
mos Movv: Zv scivcm òclloss oricvticrtc Uvtcrsucluv-
gcv um 'Tod iv !cvcdig, um 'oubcrbcrg uvd ur
'oscpl-Tctrologic (Bern. Irancke, l972);
Dlerks, Helnrlch Deterlng, Hans Wlklrchen, Chrls
toph Schwbel, and Hermann Kurzke, Tlomos
MovvIiv Ilossilcr dcr Modcrvc: Ivf !ortrogc ur
!rdiguvg dcs Dicltcrs ous Zvloss scivcs 12. Ccburt-
stogc (Halle. Stekovlcs, 200l);
Dlerks and Ruprecht Wlmmer, Tlomos Movv uvd dos
udcvtum: Dic !ortrogc dcs crlivcr Iolloquiums dcr
Dcutsclcv Tlomos-Movv-Ccscllscloft (Irankfurt am
Maln. Klostermann, 2001);
Helnrlch Deterlng, udcv, Iroucv uvd Iittcrotcv: u civcr
Dcvlfigur bcim juvgcv Tlomos Movv (Irankfurt am
Maln. Ilscher, 2005);
Stephen D. Dowden, ed., Compoviov to Tlomos Movv`s
Mogic Mouvtoiv (Columbla, S.C.. Camden House,
l999);
Manfred Elckhlter and Hans Wlklrchen, uddcv-
brools: `cuc liclc iv civ oltcs ucl (Lbeck. Drger,
2000);
Ignace Ieuerllcht, Tlomos Movv (New York. Jwayne,
l968);
Peter Gay, Sovogc Icprisols: lcol Housc, Modomc ovory,
uddcvbrools (New York. Norton, 2003);
Chrlstoph Gelsler, òturolismus uvd Symbolismus im Irl-
wcrl Tlomos Movvs (Bern Munlch. Irancke,
l97l);
Ccrmovic Icvicw, speclal Mann lssue, 25 (December
l950);
Harvey Goldman, Mox !cbcr ovd Tlomos Movv: Collivg
ovd tlc Slopivg of tlc Sclf (Berkeley. Lnlverslty of
Callfornla Press, l988);
Jhomas Goll, Dic Dcutsclcv uvd Tlomos Movv: Dic Iccp-
tiov dcs Dicltcrs iv Zblovgiglcit vov dcr Iolitisclcv Iul-
tur Dcutscllovds 1S9S-19 (BadenBaden.
Wrzburg. Nomos, 2000);
Rdlger Grner, Tlomos Movv: Dcr oubcr dcs Icttcv
(Dsseldorf. Artemls Wlnkler, 2005);
Manfred Grtemaker, Tlomos Movv uvd dic Iolitil
(Irankfurt am Maln. Ilscher, 2005);
Alfred Grlmm, oscpl uvd Iclvotov: Tlomos Movv uvd
Zgyptcv (Malnz. von Zabern, l992);
Henry Hatfleld, Irom tlc Mogic Mouvtoiv: Movv`s Iotcr
Mostcrpicccs (Ithaca, N.Y. London. Cornell Lnl
Hatfleld, Tlomos Movv: Zv Ivtroductiov to His Iictiov (New
York. New Dlrectlons, l962);
Hatfleld, ed., Tlomos Movv: Z Collcctiov of Criticol Issoys
Erlch Heller, Tlc Irovic Ccrmov: Z Study of Tlomos Movv
(Boston Joronto. Llttle, Brown, l958);
Armln Hermann, Iivstciv uvd Tlomos Movv: Dic rclotivc
Ircuvdscloft dcr bcidcv Ccistcslcrocv (Irstenfeld
bruck. KesterHaeuslerStlftung, l999);
Harald Hbusch, Tlomos Movv: Iuvst, Iritil, Iolitil
1S9J-191J (Jblngen. Irancke, 2000);
R. |. Holllngdale, Tlomos Movv: Z Criticol Study (Cran
bury, N.|.. Assoclated Lnlverslty Press, l97l);
Elke Klnkel, Lwe Baumann and Herwlg Irledl, Tlomos
Movv iv Zmcrilo: Ivtcrlulturcllcr Diolog im !ovdcl?
Iivc rccptiovs- uvd bcrsctuvgslritisclc Zvolysc om
cispicl dcs 'Doltor Ioustus (Irankfurt am Maln.
Peter Lang, 200l);
Helmut Koopmann, Tlomos MovvHcivricl Movv: Dic
uvglciclcv rdcr (Munlch. Beck, 2005);
Koopmann, ed., Tlomos-Movv-Hovdbucl (Stuttgart.
Krner, l990);
Irledhelm Krll, Dic Zrclivoriv dcs oubcrcrs: Tlomos
Movv uvd Ido Hcr (Cadolzburg. ars vlvendl,
200l);
Hermann Kurzke, Zuf dcr Suclc vocl dcr vcrlorcvcv Idcv-
titot: Tlomos Movv uvd dcr Iovscrvotismus
(Wrzburg. Knlgshausen Neumann, l980);
Kurzke, Tlomos-Movv-Iorscluvg 1969-1976: Iiv lritis-
clcr criclt (Irankfurt am Maln. Ilscher, l977);
Herbert Lehnert, Tlomos Movv: Iiltiov, Mytlos, Icligiov
(Stuttgart. Kohlhammer, l965);
Lehnert, 'Jhomas Mann ln Exlle l933-l938," Ccr-
movic Icvicw, 38 (l963). 277-291;
Lehnert and Eva Wessell, Z Compoviov to tlc !orls of
Tlomos Movv (Rochester, N.Y.. Camden House,
2001);
l13
ai_ PPN q~ j~
Gyrgy Lukcs, Issoys ov Tlomos Movv, translated by
Stanley Mltchell (London. Merlln Press / New
York. Grosset Dunlap, l961);
Mlchael Maar, Dos loubortimmcr: Tlomos Movv uvd dic
Scluld (Irankfurt am Maln. Suhrkamp, 2000);
translated by Davld Iernbach as lucbcord`s Clom-
bcr: Cuilt ovd Covfcssiovs iv Tlomos Movv (London
New York. Verso, 2003);
E. L. Marson, Tlc Zscctic Zrtist: Ircfigurotiovs iv Tlomos
Movv`s 'Dcr Tod iv !cvcdig (Bern, Irankfurt am
Maln Las Vegas. Peter Lang, l979);
|ames R. McWllllams, rotlcr Zrtist: Z Isyclologicol Study
of Tlomos Movv`s Iictiov (Lanham, Md.. Lnlverslty
Press of Amerlca, l983);
Gertrude Mlchlelsen, Tlc Ircporotiov of tlc Iuturc: Tccl-
viqucs of Zvticipotiov iv tlc òvcls of Tlcodor Iovtovc
ovd Tlomos Movv (Bern, Irankfurt am Maln Las
Vegas. Peter Lang, l978);
Modcrv Iovguogc òtcs, speclal Mann lssue, 90, no. 3
(l975);
Hannelore Mundt, Uvdcrstovdivg Tlomos Movv (Colum
bla. Lnlverslty of South Carollna Press, 2001);
Jerence Reed, Tlomos Movv: Tlc Uscs of Troditiov
(Oxford. Clarendon Press, l971);
Rltchle Robertson, ed., Tlc Combridgc Compoviov to Tlo-
mos Movv (Cambrldge New York. Cambrldge
Lnlverslty Press, 2002);
Gnther Rohrmoser, Dclodcv uvd Zpololypsc: Tlomos
Movv ols Diogvostilcr dcs dcutsclcv rgcrtums
(Bletlghelm. Gesellschaft fr Kulturwlssenschaft,
2005);
Eva SchmldtSchtz, Doltor Ioustus wisclcv Troditiov uvd
Modcrvc: Iivc qucllcvlritisclc uvd rccptiovsgcsclicltli-
clc Uvtcrsucluvg u Tlomos Movvs litcrorisclcm Sclbst-
bild (Irankfurt am Maln. Klostermann, 2003);
Ellls Shookman, Tlomos Movv`s Death ln Venlce. Z Icf-
crcvcc Cuidc (Westport, Conn.. Greenwood Press,
2001);
Jhomas Sprecher, Im Ccistc dcr Ccvouiglcit: Dos Tlomos-
Movv-Zrcliv dcr ITH ricl 196-2006 (Irank
furt am Maln. Klostermann, 2006);
Stephan Stachorskl, ed., Irogilc Icpublil: Tlomos Movv
uvd òcllricgsdcutscllovd (Irankfurt am Maln.
Ilscher, l999);
|ohn C. Jhlrwall, Iv Zvotlcr Iovguogc: Z Iccord of tlc
Tlirty-Jcor Iclotiovslip bctwccv Tlomos Movv ovd His
Ivglisl Trovslotor, Hclcv Trocy Iowc-Iortcr (New
York. Knopf, l966);
Hans Rudolf Vaget, Tlomos Movv: Iommcvtor u somtli-
clcv Irolluvgcv (Munlch. Wlnkler, l981);
Vaget and Dagmar Barnouw, Tlomos Movv: Studicv u
Irogcv dcr Iccptiov (Bern Irankfurt am Maln.
Peter Lang, l975);
!cimorcr citrogc, speclal Mann lssue, 2l, no. 9 (l975);
|ames I. Whlte, ed., Tlc Jolc 'oubcrbcrg`-Movuscript:
Icjcctcd Slccts Uvcc Iort of Tlomos Movv`s òvcl
(Bern. Irancke, l980);
Hans Wysllng, òrimus uvd illusiovorc Ixistcvform: u
dcv clcvvtvisscv dcs Hoclstoplcrs Iclix Irull (Bern
Munlch. Irancke, l982).
m~W
Jhomas Mann`s papers are ln the Jhomas Mann Col
lectlon, Yale Lnlverslty; the JhomasMannArchlv,
Berlln; the JhomasMannArchlv, Lbeck; the Samm
lung Ida Herz, Nuremberg; and the Sammlung Hans
OttoMeyer, Dsseldorf. Jhe maln center for Jhomas
Mann research ls the JhomasMannArchlv, Eldgens
slsche Jechnlsche Hochschule Zrlch, Schnberggasse
l5, CH800l Zurlch. Jhe JhomasMannArchlv pub
llshes the lottcr dcr Tlomos Movv Ccscllscloft ricl and
the Tlomos-Movv-Studicv.
NVOV k m i~
m~ p
by Ircdril l, Mcmbcr of tlc òbcl Committcc for Iitcroturc,
10 Dcccmbcr 1929
If one asks whlch lnnovatlon the nlneteenth
century made ln the fleld of llterature, whlch new
form lt created ln addltlon to the old forms of eplc,
drama, and lyrlc, whose roots are ln Greece, the
answer must be. the reallstlc novel. By settlng forth
the lnnermost, secret experlences of the human soul
agalnst the background of contemporary soclal con
dltlons, and by stresslng the lnterdependence of the
general and the partlcular, lt has been able to portray
reallty wlth a falthful accuracy and a completeness
that have no parallels ln older llterature.
Jhe reallstlc novelone could call lt a modern
prose eplc lnfluenced by hlstorlclsm and sclencehas
by and large been the creatlon of the Engllsh, the
Irench, and the Russlans; lt ls assoclated wlth the
names of Dlckens and Jhackeray, Balzac and Ilau
bert, Gogol and Jolstoy. Jhere was no comparable
contrlbutlon from Germany for a long tlme; poetlc
creatlvlty there chose other outlets. Jhe nlneteenth
century had come to lts end when a young wrlter, the
twentysevenyearold son of a merchant from the old
Hanse clty of Lbeck, publlshed hls novel uddcv-
brools (l90l). Jwentyseven years have passed slnce
then, and lt has become clear to all that uddcvbrools
ls the masterplece that fllls the gap. Here ls the flrst
and as yet unsurpassed German reallstlc novel ln the
l11
q~ j~ ai_ PPN
grand style whlch takes lts undlsputed and equal
place ln the European concert.
_ ls a bourgeols novel, for the cen
tury lt portrays was above all a bourgeols era. It
deplcts a soclety nelther so great as to bewllder the
observer, nor so small and narrow as to stlfle hlm.
Jhls mlddle level favours an lntelllgent, thoughtful,
and subtle analysls, and the creatlve power ltself, the
pleasure of eplc narratlon, ls shaped by calm, mature,
and sophlstlcated reflectlon. We see a bourgeols clvl
llzatlon ln all lts nuances, we see the hlstorlcal horl
zons, the changes of tlme, the changes of generatlons,
the gradual transltlon from selfcontalned, powerful,
and unselfconsclous characters to reflectlve types of
a reflned and weak senslblllty. Jhe presentatlon ls
lucld yet penetrates beneath the surface to hldden
processes of llfe; lt ls powerful but never brutal, and
touches llghtly on dellcate thlngs; lt ls sad and serl
ous but never depresslng because lt ls permeated by a
qulet, deep sense of humour that ls lrldescently
reflected ln the prlsm of lronlc lntelllgence.
As a portrayal of a soclety, a concrete and
objectlve representatlon of reallty, _
hardly has lts equal ln German llterature. Beyond the
llmlts of lts genre, however, the novel betrays lts com
mon features wlth the German mlnd, wlth metaphys
lcal and muslcal transcendentallsm. Jhe young
wrlter who had mastered the technlques of llterary
reallsm so perfectly was at heart a convert to
Schopenhauer`s pesslmlsm and Nletzsche`s crltlclsm
of clvlllzatlon, and the maln characters of the novel
reveal thelr ultlmate secrets ln muslc.
Baslcally _ ls a phllosophlcal novel.
Jhe decllne of a famlly ls portrayed from the polnt of
vlew that a profound lnslght lnto the essence and
condltlons of llfe ls lrreconcllable wlth nalve
and actlve energy. Reflectlon, selfobservatlon,
psychologlcal reflnement, phllosophlcal profundlty,
and aesthetlc senslblllty appear to the young Jhomas
Mann destructlve and dlslntegratlng forces; ln one of
hls most exqulslte storles, 'Jonlo Krger" (l903), he
has found movlng words for hls love of human llfe ln
all lts slmpllclty. Because he stood outslde the bour
geols world that he portrayed, hls vlslon was free,
but he had a nostalglc feellng for the loss of nalvet,
a feellng whlch glves hlm understandlng, sympathy,
and respect.
Jhe palnful experlence of Mann`s youth that
gave lts profound tone to _ lncludes a
problem that he has treated and trled to solve ln dlf
ferent ways throughout hls career as a wrlter. Wlthln
hlmself he has felt the tenslon between the aesthetlc
phllosophlcal and the pragmatlcbourgeols outlooks,
and he has trled to resolve lt ln harmony on a hlgher
level. In the short storles 'Jonlo Krger" and
'Jrlstan" (l903) the exlles from llfe, the devotees of
art, knowledge, and death, confess thelr deslre for a
slmple and healthy exlstence, for 'llfe ln lts seductlve
banallty." It ls Mann`s own paradoxlcal love for slm
ple and happy natures that speaks through them.
In the novel h e (l909) |o~ eJ
|, whose reallstlc form dlsgulses a symbollc story,
he reconclled the llfe of the artlst wlth that of the
man of actlon, and he gave a motto to that human
ldeal. 'hlghness and lovean austere happlness." But
the synthesls ls nelther as convlnclng nor as deeply
felt as the antlthesls ln _ and the short sto
rles. In the drama c~ (l906), ln whlch the mor
allst Savonarola and the aesthetlclst Lorenzo dl
Medlcl appear as lrreconcllable enemles, the gap ls
opened anew. In a q s (l9l3) |a~
s| lt reaches traglc slgnlflcance. It was durlng thls
perlod, ln the years that preceded the Ilrst World
War, that he became lnterested ln the personallty of
Irederlck the Great. He felt that that ruler presented
a hlstorlcally valld solutlon of the problem, for Ired
erlck`s genlus had, wlth unbroken vltallty, comblned
actlon, contemplatlon, and a penetratlng clarlty free
from llluslons. In the lngenlous essay c
h~ (l9l5) |Irederlck the Great and the
Grand Coalltlon| he showed the posslblllty and real
lty of the solutlon, but the problematlc wrlter of _J
dld not succeed ln representlng thls ldeal ln
the plastlc and vltal form of llterature.
Jhe Ilrst World War and lts consequences
forced Mann to leave the world of contemplatlon, of
lngenlous analysls and subtle vlslons of beauty, for
the world of practlcal actlon. He followed hls own
advlce, lmplled ln hls novel h eI to
beware of the easy and the comfortable, and dedl
cated hlmself to an agonlzlng reappralsal of the ques
tlons that hls country faced ln lts tlme of affllctlon.
Hls later works, especlally the novel a w~
(l921) |q j~ j~|, testlfy to the struggle of
the ldeas whlch hls dlalectlcal nature fought to the
end and whlch preceded the statement of hls opln
lons.
Dr. Jhomas MannAs a German wrlter and
thlnker you have, reflectlng realltles, wrestled wlth
ldeas and created palnful beauty even though you
were convlnced that art ls questlonable. You have rec
onclled the loftlness of poetry and the lntellect wlth a
yearnlng love for the human and for the slmple llfe.
Accept from the hands of our Klng the Prlze that the
Swedlsh Academy wlth lts congratulatlons has
awarded to you.
l15
ai_ PPN q~ j~
j~W _~ p
Ivtroductory rcmorls by Irofcssor . I. olovssov ot tlc
òbcl ovquct ot Crovd Htcl, Stocllolm, 10 Dcccmbcr 1929:
Jhomas Mann has descrlbed the phenomena
whlch are accesslble to us wlthout the help of models of
electrons and atoms. Hls lnvestlgatlons concern human
nature as we have learned to know lt ln the llght of con
sclence. Jhus hls fleld ls many centurles old; but Jho
mas Mann has shown that lt offers no fewer new
problems of great lnterest today. I take lt that he does
not feel a stranger ln a group where everybody consld
ers, as Alfred Nobel dld, the human endeavour of the
study of the relatlons among phenomena as the basls of
all clvlllzatlon, and I am qulte sure that he wlll not feel
an allen ln a country so close to hls own.
Movv`s spcccl (Trovslotiov)
Now my turn to thank you has come, and I need
not tell you how much I have looked forward to lt. But
alas, at thls moment of truth I am afrald that words wlll
fall my feellngs, as ls so often the case wlth born non
orators.
All wrlters belong to the class of nonorators. Jhe
wrlter and the orator are not only dlfferent, but they
stand ln opposltlon, for thelr work and the achlevement
of thelr effects proceed ln dlfferent ways. In partlcular
the convlnced wrlter ls lnstlnctlvely repelled, from a llt
erary standpolnt, by the lmprovlsed and noncommlttal
character of all talk, as well as by that prlnclple of econ
omy whlch leaves many and lndeed declslve gaps
whlch must be fllled by the effects of the speaker`s per
sonallty. But my case ls compllcated by temporary dlffl
cultles that have vlrtually foredoomed my makeshlft
oratory. I am referrlng, of course, to the clrcumstances
lnto whlch I have been placed by you, gentlemen of the
Swedlsh Academy, clrcumstances of marvellous confu
slon and exuberance. Jruly, I had no ldea of the thun
derous honours that are yours to bestow! I have an
eplc, not a dramatlc nature. My dlsposltlon and my
deslres call for peace to spln my thread, for a steady
rhythm ln llfe and art. No wonder, lf the dramatlc flre
work that has crashed from the North lnto thls steady
rhythm has reduced my rhetorlcal abllltles even
beneath thelr usual llmltatlons. Ever slnce the Swedlsh
Academy made publlc lts declslon, I have llved ln fes
tlve lntoxlcatlon, an enchantlng topsyturvy, and I can
not lllustrate lts consequences on my mlnd and soul
better than by polntlng to a pretty and curlous love
poem by Goethe. It ls addressed to Cupld hlmself and
the llne that I have ln mlnd goes. 'Du hast mlr meln
Gert verstellt und verschoben." Jhus the Nobel Prlze
has wrought dramatlc confuslon among the thlngs ln
my eplc household, and surely I am not belng lmpertl
nent lf I compare the effects of the Nobel Prlze on me to
those that passlon works ln a wellordered human llfe.
And yet, how dlfflcult lt ls for an artlst to accept
wlthout mlsglvlngs such honours as are now showered
upon me! Is there a decent and selfcrltlcal artlst who
would not have an uneasy consclence about them?
Only a suprapersonal, supralndlvldual polnt of vlew
wlll help ln such a dllemma. It ls always best to get rld
of the lndlvldual, partlcularly ln such a case. Goethe
once sald proudly, 'Only knaves are modest." Jhat ls
very much the word of a grand selgneur who wanted to
dlsassoclate hlmself from the morallty of subalterns and
hypocrltes. But, ladles and gentlemen, lt ls hardly the
whole truth. Jhere ls wlsdom and lntelllgence ln mod
esty, and he would be a sllly fool lndeed who would
flnd a source of concelt and arrogance ln honours such
as have been bestowed upon me. I do well to put thls
lnternatlonal prlze that through some chance was glven
to me, at the feet of my country and my people, that
country and that people to whlch wrlters llke myself
feel closer today than they dld at the zenlth of lts strl
dent emplre.
After many years the Stockholm lnternatlonal
prlze has once more been awarded to the German
mlnd, and to German prose ln partlcular, and you may
flnd lt dlfflcult to appreclate the sensltlvlty wlth whlch
such slgns of world sympathy are recelved ln my
wounded and often mlsunderstood country.
May I presume to lnterpret the meanlng of thls
sympathy more closely? German lntellectual and artls
tlc achlevements durlng the last flfteen years have not
been made under condltlons favourable to body and
soul. No work had the chance to grow and mature ln
comfortable securlty, but art and lntellect have had to
exlst ln condltlons lntensely and generally problematlc,
ln condltlons of mlsery, turmoll, and sufferlng, an
almost Eastern and Russlan chaos of passlons, ln whlch
the German mlnd has preserved the Westem and Euro
pean prlnclple of the dlgnlty of form. Ior to the Euro
pean, form ls a polnt of honour, ls lt not? I am not a
Cathollc, ladles and gentlemen; my tradltlon ls llke that
of all of you; I support the Protestant lmmedlateness to
God. Nevertheless, I have a favourlte salnt. I wlll tell
you hls name. It ls Salnt Sebastlan, that youth at the
stake, who, plerced by swords and arrows from all
sldes, smlles amldst hls agony. Grace ln sufferlng. that
ls the herolsm symbollzed by St. Sebastlan. Jhe lmage
may be bold, but I am tempted to clalm thls herolsm for
the German mlnd and for German art, and to suppose
l16
q~ j~ ai_ PPN
that the lnternatlonal honour fallen to Germany`s llter
ary achlevement was glven wlth thls subllme herolsm ln
mlnd. Jhrough her poetry Germany has exhlblted
grace ln sufferlng. She has preserved her honour, polltl
cally by not yleldlng to the anarchy of sorrow, yet keep
lng her unlty; splrltually by unltlng the Eastern
prlnclple of sufferlng wlth the Western prlnclple of
formby creatlng beauty out of sufferlng.
Allow me at the end to become personal. I have
told even the flrst delegates who came to me after the
declslon how moved and how pleased I was to recelve
such an honour from the North, from that Scandlna
vlan sphere to whlch as a son of Lbeck I have from
chlldhood been tled by so many slmllarltles ln our ways
of llfe, and as a wrlter by so much llterary sympathy
and admlratlon for Northern thought and atmosphere.
When I was young, I wrote a story that young people
stlll llke. 'Jonlo Krger." It ls about the South and the
North and thelr mlxture ln one person, a problematlc
and productlve mlxture. Jhe South ln that story ls the
essence of sensual, lntellectual adventure, of the cold
passlon of art. Jhe North, on the other hand, stands for
the heart, the bourgeols home, the deeply rooted emo
tlon and lntlmate humanlty. Now thls home of the
heart, the North, welcomes and embraces me ln a splen
dld celebratlon. It ls a beautlful and meanlngful day ln
my llfe, a true hollday of llfe, a 'hgtldsdag," as the
Swedlsh language calls any day of rejolclng. Let me tle
my flnal request to thls word so clumslly borrowed
from Swedlsh. Let us unlte, ladles and gentlemen, ln
gratltude and congratulatlons to the Ioundatlon, so
beneflclal and lmportant the world over, to whlch we
owe thls magnlflcent evenlng. Accordlng to good Swed
lsh custom, joln me ln a fourfold hurrah to the Nobel
Ioundatlon!
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l929. Jhomas Mann ls the
j~W ^~~ p~
Et ~ ~~ k mF
I was born ln Lbeck on |une 6, l875, the second
son of a merchant and senator of the Iree Clty, |ohann
Helnrlch Mann, and hls wlfe |ulla da Sllva Bruhns. My
father was the grandson and greatgrandson of Lbeck
cltlzens, but my mother flrst saw the llght of day ln Rlo
de |anelro as the daughter of a German plantatlon
owner and a PortugueseCreole Brazlllan. She was
taken to Germany at the age of seven.
I was deslgnated to take over my father`s graln
flrm, whlch commemorated lts centenary durlng my
boyhood, and I attended the sclence dlvlslon of the
'Katharlneum" at Lbeck. I loathed school and up to
the very end falled to meet lts requlrements, owlng to
an lnnate and paralyzlng reslstance to any external
demands, whlch I later learned to correct only wlth
great dlfflculty. Whatever educatlon I possess I
acqulred ln a free and autodldactlc manner. Offlclal
lnstructlon falled to lnstlll ln me any but the most rudl
mentary knowledge.
When I was flfteen, my father dled, a compara
tlvely young man. Jhe flrm was llquldated. A llttle later
my mother left the town wlth the younger chlldren ln
order to settle ln the south of Germany, ln Munlch.
After flnlshlng school rather lnglorlously, I fol
lowed her and for the tlme belng became a clerk ln the
offlce of a Munlch lnsurance company whose dlrector
had been a frlend of my father`s. Later, by way of pre
parlng for a career ln journallsm, I attended lectures ln
hlstory, economlcs, art hlstory, and llterature at the unl
verslty and the polytechnlc. In between I spent a year ln
Italy wlth my brother Helnrlch, my elder by four years.
Durlng thls tlme my flrst collectlon of short storles, a
e c~ (l898) |Llttle Herr Irledemann|,
was publlshed. In Rome, I also began to wrlte the novel
_I whlch appeared ln l90l and whlch slnce
then has been such a favourlte wlth the German publlc
that today over a mllllon coples of lt are ln clrculatlon.
Jhere followed shorter storles, collected ln the
volume q~ (l903), of whlch the NorthSouth artlst`s
novella 'Jonlo Kroger" ls usually consldered the most
characterlstlc, and also the Renalssance dlalogues
c~ (l906), a closet drama whlch, however, has
occaslonally been staged.
In l905 I marrled the daughter of Alfred Prlng
shelm, who had the chalr of mathematlcs at the Lnlver
slty of Munlch. On her mother`s slde my wlfe ls the
granddaughter of Ernst and Hedwlg Dohm, the well
known Berlln journallst and hls wlfe, who played a
leadlng role ln the German movement for women`s
emanclpatlon. Irom our marrlage have come slx chll
dren. three glrls, of whom the eldest has gone lnto the
theatre, and three boys, of whom the eldest has also
devoted hlmself to llterature.
Jhe flrst llterary frult of my new status was the
novel h e (l909) |o~ e|, a court
story that provldes the frame for a psychology of the
formalrepresentatlve llfe and for moral questlons such
as the reconclllatlon of an arlstocratlc, melanchollc con
sclousness wlth the demands of the communlty.
Another novellstlc project followed, the _
e~ c h (l922) |` c hI
` j~|. It ls based on an ldea of parody, that of
l17
ai_ PPN q~ j~
taklng an element of venerable tradltlon, of the Goet
hean, selfstyllzlng, autoblographlc, and arlstocratlc
confesslon, and translatlng lt lnto the sphere of the
humorous and the crlmlnal. Jhe novel has remalned a
fragment, but there are connolsseurs who conslder lts
publlshed sectlons my best and most fellcltous achleve
ment. Perhaps lt ls the most personal thlng I have wrlt
ten, for lt represents my attltude toward tradltlon,
whlch ls slmultaneously lovlng and destructlve and has
domlnated me as a wrlter.
In l9l3 the novella a q s |a~ sJ
| was publlshed, whlch beslde 'Jonlo Kroger" ls con
sldered my most valld achlevement ln that genre. Whlle
I was wrltlng lts flnal sectlons I concelved the ldea of
the 'Blldungsroman" a w~ (l921) |q j~
j~|, but work on lt was lnterrupted ln the very
beglnnlng by the war.
Although the war dld not make any lmmedlate
demands on me physlcally, whlle lt lasted lt put a com
plete stop to my artlstlc actlvlty because lt forced me
lnto an agonlzlng reappralsal of my fundamental
assumptlons, a human and lntellectual selflnqulry that
found lts condensatlon ln _~ r
|o ~ r~ j~|, publlshed ln l9l8. Its
subject ls the personally accented problem of belng Ger
man, polltlcal problem, treated ln the splrlt of a
polemlcal conservatlsm that underwent many revlslons
as llfe went on. An account of the development of my
soclomoral ldeas ls found ln the volumes of essays o
^ (l922) |_uestlon and Answer|, _
(l925) |Efforts|, and a c q~ (l930)
|Order of the Day|.
Lecture tours abroad began lmmedlately after the
borders of countrles neutral or hostlle durlng the war
had been reopened. Jhey led me flrst to Holland, Swlt
zerland, and Denmark. Jhe sprlng of l923 saw a jour
ney to Spaln. In the followlng year I was guest of
honour of the newly establlshed PEN Club ln London;
two years later I accepted an lnvltatlon of the Irench
branch of the Carnegle Ioundatlon, and I vlslted War
saw ln l927.
Meanwhlle, ln the autumn of l921, after many
prolonged delays the two volumes of a w~
were publlshed. Jhe lnterest of the publlc, as revealed
by the hundred prlntlngs the book ran lnto wlthln a few
years, proved that I had chosen the most favourable
moment to come to the fore wlth thls composltlon of
ldeas eplcally concelved. Jhe problems of the novel dld
not essentlally appeal to the masses, but they were of
consumlng lnterest to the educated, and the dlstress of
the tlmes had lncreased the receptlvlty of the publlc to a
degree that favoured my product, whlch so wllfully
played fast and loose wlth the form of the novel.
Soon after the completlon of the _~ I
added to my longer narratlves a prose ldyll, the anlmal
story e e (l9l9) |_~~ ~ f |. a w~J
was followed by a bourgeols novella from the
perlod of revolutlon and lnflatlon, r
i (l926) |b~ p|; j~ w~ |j~
~ j~~|, wrltten ln l929, ls for the tlme belng
my last attempt at composltlons of thls slze. It was wrlt
ten durlng my work on a new novel whlch ln subject
matter and lntentlon ls far dlfferent from all earller
works, for lt leaves behlnd the bourgeols lndlvldual
sphere and enters lnto that of the past and myth. Jhe
Blbllcal story for whlch the tltle g _ ls
planned, and of whlch lndlvldual sectlons have been
made known through publlc readlngs and publlcatlons
ln journals, seems about half completed. A study trlp
connected wlth lt led me to Egypt and Palestlne ln
IebruaryMarchAprll, l930.
Ever slnce hls early days the author of thls blo
graphlcal sketch has been encouraged ln hls endeav
ours by the klnd lnterest of hls fellow men as well as by
offlclal honours. An example ls the conferment of an
honorary doctor`s degree by the Lnlverslty of Bonn ln
l9l9; and, to satlsfy the German dellght ln tltle, the
Senate of Lbeck, my home town, added the tltle of
professor on the occaslon of a clty annlversary. I am
one of the flrst members, nomlnated by the state ltself,
of the new llterary dlvlslon of the Prusslan Academy of
Arts; my flftleth blrthday was accompanled by expres
slons of publlc affectlon that I can remember only wlth
emotlon, and the summlt of all these dlstlnctlons has
been the award of the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature by the
Swedlsh Academy last year. But I may say that no tur
moll of success has ever dlmmed the clear apprehenslon
of the relatlvlty of my deserts or even for a moment
dulled the edge of my selfcrltlclsm. Jhe value and slg
nlflcance of my work for posterlty may safely be left to
the future; for me they are nothlng but the personal
traces of a llfe led consclously, that ls, consclentlously.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l929. Jhomas Mann ls the
l18
o j~ d~
(2J Morcl 1SS1 - 22 Zugust 19S)
`~~ p~~ _~
Tulovc Uvivcrsity
See also the Martln du Gard entry ln DI 6: Ircvcl
òvclists, 1900-19J0.
BOOKS. I`Zbboyc dc umigcs (Scivc-lvfcricurc): Itudc
orclcologiquc dcs ruivcs (Montdldler. GrouRadenez,
l909);
Dcvcvir! (Parls. Ollendorff, l909);
IÙvc dc vous: Itudc (Parls. Grasset, l9l0);
cov orois (Parls. Nouvelle Revue Iranalse, l9l3);
translated by Stuart Gllbert (New York. Vlklng,
l919; London. Bodley Head, l950);
Ic Tcstomcvt du Irc Iclcu: Iorcc poysovvc (Parls. Nouvelle
Revue Iranalse, l920);
Tcmoigvogc: Iv mcmoriom, as R. M. G. (Parls. Grou
Radenez, l92l);
Ic Colicr gris |part l of Ics Tliboult | (Parls. Galllmard,
l922); translated by Madelelne Boyd as Tlc Croy
òtcbool ln volume l of Tlc Tliboults (New York.
Bonl Llverlght, l926); translated by Stephen
Haden Guest as Tlc Crcy òtc-ool ln volume l of
Tlc Tliboults (London. Lane, l933);
Ic Icvitcvcicr |part 2 of Ics Tliboult | (Parls. Galllmard,
l922); translated by Boyd as Tlc Icvitcvtiory ln
volume l of Tlc Tliboults (New York. Bonl
Llverlght, l926); translated by Guest as Tlc Icfor-
motory ln volume l of Tlc Tliboults (London.
Lane, l933);
Io cllc Soisov |part 3 of Ics Tliboult |, 2 volumes (Parls.
Galllmard, l923); translated by Boyd as Tlc
Sprivgtimc of Iifc ln volume 2 of Tlc Tliboults (New
York. Bonl Llverlght, l926); translated by Gll
bert as Higl Summcr ln volume 2 of Tlc Tliboults
(London. Lane, l931);
òicmovt-lcs-!icrgcs (Llge. A la Lampe dÀladdln,
l928);
Io Covflc (Parls. Galllmard, l928);
Io Covsultotiov |part 1 of Ics Tliboult | (Parls. Galllmard,
l928); translated by Gllbert as Covsultivg-Doy ln
volume 2 of Tlc Tliboults (London. Lane, l931);
Io Sorcllivo |part 5 of Ics Tliboult | (Parls. Galllmard,
l928); translated by Gllbert ln Tlc Tliboults (Lon
don. Lane, l939; New York. Vlklng, l939);
Io Mort du prc |part 6 of Ics Tliboult | (Parls. Galllmard,
l929); translated by Gllbert ln Tlc Tliboults (Lon
don. Lane, l939; New York. Vlklng, l939);
Diologuc (CharltsurLolre. A. Delayance / Parls.
Claude Avellne, l930);
Covfidcvcc ofricoivc (Parls. Galllmard, l93l); translated
by Austryn Walnhouse (Marlboro, Vt.. Marlboro
Press, l983);
Uv Tociturvc (Parls. Galllmard, l932; revlsed, l918);
!icillc Irovcc (Parls. Galllmard, l933); translated by
|ohn Russell as Tlc Iostmov (London. Deutsch,
l951; New York. Vlklng, l955);
IÌtc 1914 |part 7 of Ics Tliboult |, 3 volumes (Parls.
Galllmard, l936); translated by Gllbert as Summcr
1914 (London. Lane, l910);
Ipiloguc |part 8 of Ics Tliboult | (Parls. Galllmard, l910);
translated by Gllbert ln Summcr 1914, enlarged
edltlon (New York. Vlklng, l91l);
òtcs sur Zvdrc Cidc, 191J-191 (Parls. Galllmard,
l95l); translated by Russell as òtcs ov Zvdrc Cidc
(London. Deutsch, l953); translatlon also pub
llshed as Iccollcctiovs of Zvdrc Cidc (New York.
Vlklng, l953);
Ic Iicutcvovt-Colovcl dc Moumort, edlted by Andr Daspre
(Parls. Galllmard, l983); translated by Luc Br
blon and Jlmothy Crouse (New York. Knopf,
2000);
ourvol, 3 volumes, edlted by Claude Slcard (Parls. Gal
llmard, l992-l993);
Ivcdits ct vouvcllcs rcclcrclcs, 2 volumes (Parls. Galllmard,
l991, l999);
Tlcotrc ct civcmo (Parls. Galllmard, 2005).
`W Uuvrcs compltcs, 2 volumes, preface by
Albert Camus (Parls. Galllmard, l955).
PLAY PRODLCJIONS. Ic Tcstomcvt du Irc Iclcu,
Parls, Jhtre du VleuxColombler, 6 Iebruary
l9l1;
l19
ai_ PPN o j~ d~
r q~I Parls, Comdle des ChampsElyses, 28
October l93l;
i~ dI Parls, Jhtre Malakoff, l988.
JRANSLAJION. Ollvla |Dorothy Bussy|, l~
(Parls. Steele, l919).
OJHER. LoulsMarle Mlchon, i^~ gI ~
iJj~ j o j~ d~ |based
on Martln du Gard`s l909 thesls, and lncludlng a
note by Martln du Gard| (Parls. Henrl Laurens,
l927).
When Irench novellst Roger Martln du Gard
learned, ln November l937, that the Swedlsh Academy
had awarded hlm the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature, hls flrst
act was to pack hls sultcase and leave hls apartment ln
Nlce so that he would not be assalled by journallsts and
photographers. He was especlally wary of the latter. he
characterlstlcally refused to allow photographs of hlm
self to be publlshed. (Jhe covers of the twovolume
Pllade edltlon of hls works, publlshed by Galllmard ln
l955, reproduce a sketch by Bertold Mann and a
sculpted bust by Gunnar Nllsson.) Hls attltude was not
tactlcal, lntended to whet publlc lnterest. Rather, he was
jealous of hls prlvacy; moreover, followlng the manners
of hls class, the upper bourgeolsle, he was anxlous to
avold any dlsplay of hls person, any appearance of what
he called exhlbltlonlsm. '|àl pour l`lndlscrtlon ce que
les mdeclns appellent une 'lntolrance organlque.` Ln
homme qul llvre au publlc, dans ses ouvrages, le
mellleur, le plus lntlme de lulmme, a blen le de
garder . . . le domalne de sa vle prlve" (I have for lndls
cretlon what doctors call an 'organlc lntolerance." A
man who offers the publlc the best, the most lntlmate
part of hlmself certalnly has the to keep . . . the
area of hls prlvate llfe). Iurthermore, he was then at
work on the flnal volume of hls magnum opus, i
q~ (l922-l910; translated as q q~I l933-
l91l), and he needed to protect hls worklng tlme. He
stayed out of slght as much as posslble durlng the fol
lowlng weeks.
He dld, however, travel to Stockholm ln Decem
ber for the award ceremony. Jhe presentatlon speech
by Per Hallstrm, the permanent secretary of the Swed
lsh Academy, slngled out for attentlon i q~I
stresslng lts value as a representatlon of Irench llfe dur
lng the ten years precedlng World War I. Hallstrm
o j~ d~ EF NVPT k m i~
h d~ s p E^cmLd f~F
l50
o j~ d~ ai_ PPN
summarlzed the organlzatlon of the work and lts maln
plotllnes, pralsed lts portralts, and emphaslzed lts truth.
All that was well deserved, and hls assertlons were gen
erally accurate, although some seem askewfor
lnstance, hls erroneous observatlons that the author
was 'llttle concerned wlth composltlon" and that 'the
theme of the opposltlon of youth to age ls not speclally
treated here." Hallstrm then concluded, qulte accu
rately, that Martln du Gard had pald 'homage to the
ldeallsm of the human splrlt." Hls selectlon for the prlze
was met wlth general crltlcal approval.
Jhere was no expllclt mentlon ln Hallstrm`s
speech of what was almost surely a slgnlflcant factor ln
the academy`s cholce. Jhe prevlous year, Martln du
Gard had publlshed, ln three volumes, part 7 of i
q~I under the tltle ib NVNQ (translated as p
NVNQI l910). A major plot llne concerns the efforts of
|acques Jhlbault, a resolute paclflst, and hls soclallst
colleagues to prevent the outbreak of a European con
fllct, by polltlcal agltatlon, pressurlng governments, and
flnally, on |acques`s part, a herolc, sacrlflclal gesture.
(Martln du Gard polnted out to Andr Glde that he had
been a member of paclflst organlzatlons as early as
l9l2.) Not only was the traglc futlllty of these efforts,
whlch provlde great hlstorlcal and dramatlc lrony, obvl
ous; readers of the tlme could not be unaware that new
confllcts had recently broken out, one ln Ethlopla
(l935), another ln Spaln (l936), another ln Chlna (the
Slno|apanese War, l937), and that fasclsm threatened
European and world peace. Jhe sense of catastrophe
pervadlng ib NVNQ surely struck readers ln the late
l930s as famlllar; whatever thelr polltlcal posltlons,
many Europeans found the polltlcal horlzon somber
lndeed. Jhus, the cautlonary note ln the work, relleved
by lts ldeallsm and especlally lts underlylng paclflsm,
had wlde appeal. Martln du Gard was ln fact so well
known as a paclflst that a rlghtwlng natlonallst, Henrl
Massls, publlshed a scathlng artlcle on hlm ln i~ o
r (l Iebruary l938) tltled 'Du prlx Nobel l937
et dùn crlvaln paclflste" (On the l937 Nobel Prlze and
a Paclflst Wrlter), and a sympathlzer of Massls, Lon
Daudet, wrote that ib NVNQ was a 'navet couronn"
(awardwlnnlng lemon).
Jhe author hlmself was mlndful, at least, that the
Swedlsh Academy mlght have had a speclal purpose ln
honorlng hlm (although he stated that he was embar
rassed to recelve the prlze when Glde, whom he consld
ered more deservlng, had not gotten lt). Recalllng, ln
hls acceptance speech, hls deslre ln ib NVNQ to por
tray the passlvlty of the European masses before the
approachlng cataclysm, Martln du Gard wondered
whether the academy had not slngled hlm out because
hls work appeared to defend humane values agaln
threatened and to argue agalnst what he called the evll
contaglon of the forces of war. '|e souhaltesans vanlt
mals de tout mon coeur rong d`lnqultudeque mes
llvres sur ib NVNQ solent lus, dlscuts et qul`lls rappel
lent a tous . . . la pathtlque leon du pass" (I wlsh
wlthout vanlty but wlth my whole heart gnawed by
worrythat my books on p NVNQ wlll be read, dls
cussed and wlll remlnd everyone . . . of the pathetlc les
son of the past).
Glven the author`s concern for prlvacy, lt ls not
surprlslng that he was chary wlth detalls of hls llfe, but
he dld draw up hls p ~~ ~
(Autoblographlcal and Llterary Souvenlrs) for the
Pllade edltlon. In these pages, the emphasls was on llt
erary, not lntlmate, autoblography. Jhe publlcatlon of
major correspondences and hls g~ (l992-l993)
shed further llght on the man and hls career. He was
born on 23 March l88l at hls paternal grandparents`
home ln NeulllysurSelne, a near suburb of Parls. Hls
only slbllng, Marcel, was born ln l881. Jhelr parents
were Paul Martln du Gard, a lawyer, and Madelelne
Wlmy Martln du Gard, the daughter of a stockbroker.
Jhe famlly, who llved ln the second ~ of
Parls, thus belonged to the (magls
trates, attorneys, flnanclers), a class wlth great coheslon.
Whlle judglng the bourgeolsle and lts polltlcal short
comlngs, the author retalned lts mores and values,
lncludlng thrlft, although he later made excesslve
expendltures on property.
Jhe boy attended the Ecole Inelon ln Parls,
then took courses concurrently at the Lyce Condorcet.
In l896 he began boardlng wlth a professor from the
Lyce |ansondeSallly, Louls Mellerlo, whose tutorlng
helped hlm enter that school a year later. Martln du
Gard earned two baccalaureate degrees from the Lyce
|ansondeSallly. Mellerlo and hls wlfe opened thelr
llbrary to hlm, wldenlng hls lntellectual horlzons. Mar
tln du Gard credlted Mellerlo wlth havlng taught hlm a
feellng for composltlonsensltlvlty to the constructlon
of any wrltlng and the ablllty to structure hls own. Jhe
student was llkewlse encouraged by Marcel Hbert, a
prlest and the dlrector of the Ecole Inelon, who gave
hlm Leo Jolstoy`s t~ ~ m~ (l865-l869). Hbert
remalned an lmportant flgure ln the author`s personal
pantheon. Jhe wrlter never ceased to admlre Jolstoy
and pald hlm homage ln hls Nobel speech. Earller an
lndlfferent student, the boy by then had acqulred a taste
for study; he passed hls ~~~~ examlnatlons ln
l897 and l898.
Martln du Gard enrolled at the Sorbonne, where
he falled hls examlnatlon ln l899. He was shortly
admltted to the Ecole des Chartes, a school of hlstorlog
raphy and paleography, to whlch he had applled wlth
out hls parents` knowledge, as a stopgap untll he could
do what he really wantedwrlte. After hls compulsory
l5l
ai_ PPN o j~ d~
mllltary servlce (l902-l903), he enrolled and took hls
degree as an archlvlstpaleographer ln l905 wlth a the
sls on the abbey of |umlges, ln Normandy. Jhe traln
lng proved useful by obllglng hlm to pay close attentlon
to the past, respect facts, and acqulre dlsclpllne and
methodology. Hlstorlcal thlnklng became an lmportant
dlmenslon of hls llterary lmaglnatlon. As he wrote ln
'Souvenlrs autoblographlques et llttralres," an auto
blographlcal segment of hls l955 I 'Il
m`talt devenu lmposslble de concevolr un personnage
moderne dtach de son temps; de la soclt, de l`hls
tolre de son temps" (It had become lmposslble for me to
concelve a modern character detached from hls tlme,
from the soclety, the hlstory of hls tlme). Nearly all hls
works are based on research and documentatlon,
whether llngulstlc, soclologlcal, or hlstorlcal. He charac
terlstlcally drew up detalled outllnes, collected lnforma
tlon on note cards, composed dosslers on major
characters, and began wrltlng only when thls founda
tlon was ready. He noted ln 'Souvenlrs auto
blographlques et llttralres," 'Le soln manlaque avec
lequel jàl prpar certalns de mes romans, ou du molns
certalnes de leurs partles, nèst pas, toutes proportlons
gardes, sans rappeler làppllcatlon du chartlste aux
prlses avec un ouvrage d`rudltlon"(Jhe manlacal care
wlth whlch I prepared certaln novels of mlne, or at least
parts of them, ls not, keeplng everythlng ln proportlon,
wlthout connectlon to the chartlst`s appllcatlon deallng
wlth a learned work). He acknowledged that hls hlsto
rlan`s hablts mlght have led hlm lnto error, by addlng a
dlsproportlonate amount of hlstorlcal explanatlon ln
relatlon to the narratlve. If thls characterlstlc was
lndeed a flaw, lt was offset by hls search for exact truth,
ablllty to deal wlth masses of materlal, and rlgorous
standards ln selectlon and arrangement of data.
In Iebruary l906, Martln du Gard marrled
Hlne Ioucault, the daughter of a lawyer. Jhey spent
four months ln the Irenchoccupled terrltorles of North
Afrlca before settllng ln Parls. Jhelr only chlld, daugh
ter Chrlstlane, was born ln |uly l907. Jhe marrlage was
not a happy one. Martln du Gard`s g~ reflects hls
dlssatlsfactlon wlth hls conjugal state, less through hls
wlfe`s dlrect fault than by the very nature of the rela
tlonshlp, whlch brought together for a llfetlme two peo
ple lllsulted to each other, 'deux forats, lls au mme
boulet, aussl trangers de nature qu`ll est posslble" (two
convlcts, tled to the same ball and chaln, natural strang
ers as much as can be). She was stlff and offlclous, dls
couraglng spontanelty. 'La quallt mme de ses vertus
la rend lnhumalne, lnsoclable" (Jhe very quallty of her
vlrtues makes her unhuman, unsoclable), he wrote. She
was also qulte plous. He, ln contrast, had lost, at school,
hls shallow chlldhood bellef. Hls mentor Hbert, who
was hlmself undergolng a rellglous crlsls that led,
flnally, to hls defrocklng, had trled to revlve the boy`s
falth but had not succeeded. Jhe novellst remalned
thenceforth an athelst. He and hls wlfe dld not agree,
elther, on the method of ralslng thelr daughter; ln the
l930s, Hlne Martln du Gard accused hlm of havlng
'stolen" Chrlstlane. Yet, the couple was genulnely
devoted to each other.
Martln du Gard was llked and respected wldely
as a man of lntegrlty and admlred as a llterary crafts
man. Hls correspondence conslsts of at least 2,550 let
ters, excludlng extenslve exchanges wlth flgures such as
Glde and |acques Copeau, a drama crltlc and dlrector.
Glde noted that though hls frlend denled morallty
could exlst wlthout a rellglous foundatlonthat ls, the
fear of a pollcemangodhe was hlmself so naturally
honest that he dlsproved hls own thesls. Albert Camus,
ln hls lntroductlon to the Pllade edltlon, calls Martln
du Gard 'homme de pardon et de justlce, notre perp
tuel contemporaln" (a man of pardon and justlce, our
endurlng contemporary). Emmanuel Berl, edltor of the
perlodlcal j~~ ln the l930s, testlfled that none of
hls frlends had lnsplred ln hlm more confldence, none
was less capable of complacency and lmposture, and
none loved truth more than Martln du Gard. Romaln
Rolland wrote to hlm on l0 |une l922. 'Vous tes un
des rares crlvalns en qulen làvenlr de qul jàle une
conflance absolue dàrtlste et de frre homme" (You are
one of the rare wrlters ln whomln whose future I have
absolute confldence as an artlst and brother man).
Jhe year of hls marrlage, Martln du Gard began
what was to be a multlvolume novel, 'Lne Vle de
salnt" (A Salnt`s Llfe), concernlng a prlest; lt was aban
doned ln l908. Jo gather materlal and lncrease hls
understandlng of human behavlor, he attended lectures
by psychlatrlsts and neurologlsts ln varlous Parls hospl
tals. In l909 hls flrst novel, a> (Becomlng!), was
publlshed at hls expense. He then undertook a new
novel, 'Marlse," also abandoned; only one eplsode,
ir (l9l0, One of Ls), was publlshed (agaln,
at the author`s expense) by Bernard Grasset, who had
just launched hls dlstlngulshed publlshlng career. Jhe
author later had the unsold coples destroyed and never
reprlnted the work, because of what he consldered lts
bad taste and outdated naturallsm; but lt furnlshed an
occaslon for adumbratlng themes (evll, sufferlng, unbe
llef, sexuallty, death) and character types (the doctor;
the sufferlng, emblttered wlfe) that flgure promlnently
ln later works.
Jhe fact that Martln du Gard destroyed these two
manuscrlpts, as well as earller ones, attests to hls devel
opment as a craftsman; he could not be satlsfled wlth
work that he qulckly came to judge as lnadequate.
Desplte llttle evldence of accompllshment, he was con
tlnually at work studylng llfe wlth a vlew toward deplct
l52
o j~ d~ ai_ PPN
lng lt. Hls remark about Glde ln k ^ dI
NVNPNVRN (l95l; translated as k ^ dI
l953) nearly flts hlm too. 'Pas une mlnute de sa
journe, pas un moment de ses lnsomnles, ou la pense
solt en vacance, ou le cerveau cesse de produlre de la
matlre a llvres . . . Le seul but de sa vle. lènrlchlsse
ment de lòeuvre (ou de l`homme, mals de l`homme
lòeuvre)" (Not a mlnute of hls day, not a moment
of lnsomnla, when hls thought ls lnactlve, when hls
mlnd ceases to produce materlal for books . . . Jhe only
alm of hls llfe. the enrlchment of the work |or of the
man, but of the man the work|).
a> was composed qulckly, contrary to the
novellst`s hablt. Llttle research was needed; hls own
experlences furnlshed much of the materlal. It sets the
model for later work. 'Chacun de ses grands romans
est le rclt dùn apprentlssage" (Each of hls great novels
ls the story of an apprentlceshlp), wrote an anonymous
crltlc. It ls dlvlded lnto three parts. 'Voulolr!" (Jo
Wlll!), 'Rallser" (Jo Carry Out), and 'Vlvre" (Jo
Llve). It relates the unhappy experlences of Andr
Mazarelles, who wants to embark on a llterary career,
contrary to hls parents` wlshes. Mazarelles grapples
wlth ldeas and has vlslons of creatlng a new klnd of
novel, a collagellke assemblage of journallstlc materlals,
dlary entrles, and sketches; he speaks of resuscltatlng
lndlvlduals wlth the help of documents and maklng, as
he sald, 'avec de l`hlstolre, du roman psychologlque"
(wlth hlstory, psychologlcal flctlon). Jhls ambltlon
reflects the author`s own early lnterest ln flctlonal form.
Mazarelles ls lneffectual and accompllshes noth
lng. (Jhe character may be cathartlc; Martln du Gard
confessed ln 'Souvenlrs autoblographlques et lltt
ralres" that he hoped, by portraylng fallure, to suggest
hls own success.) Mazarelles dlsslpates hls energles, flrst
wlth lntellectual and artlstlc frlends, whose mllleu the
author evokes well, then wlth women, lncludlng Parl
slan prostltutes. Hls courtshlp of a beautlful glrl of hls
class ends when hls parents oppose the marrlage on
grounds that she ls lmpecunlous. (He also reallzes she ls
stupld.) Hls solutlon ls to court her cousln, less attrac
tlve but wealthy. In part 3, he and the cousln have mar
rled and gone to llve on her country estate. At
conslderable cost, he launches varlous lmprovement
projects and throws hlmself lnto farmlng, but he ls
letharglc and lncapable of concludlng them and lncreas
lng hls revenue. Hls wlfe`s death after chlldblrth ls fol
lowed by the lnfant`s. Mazarelles ls left alone, wlth no
accompllshments, no famlly, and a mortgaged estate;
there ls a suggestlon, however, that he wlll be consoled
by a young servant.
Jhose famlllar wlth Amerlcan or Irench natural
lstlc flctlon recognlze ln thls work lts klnshlp wlth natu
rallsm, whlch characterlstlcally dealt wlth fallures and
the blows of fate. But Martln du Gard wlshed to
explore also the psychologlcal veln. Hls success was
only partlal. the portralts tend toward the superflclal,
and the hero ls lnsufflclently selfaware. Jhe work fore
shadows hls major flctlon by lts emphasls on fate, fall
lngs, and death, and by lts composltlon, comblnlng
authorlal summary and descrlptlon wlth dramatlc (sce
nlc) presentatlon. Crltlc Gatan Plcon`s remark that
a> ls lnterestlng chlefly because lts author would
later wrlte i q~ ls just, for though the early novel
ls not wlthout merlt on lts ownCamus admlred ltlt
was prlnclpally a laboratory for lts young author.
In l909 Martln du Gard and hls wlfe moved to a
country property, Le Verger dÀugy (Cher), ln the
Berry reglon, and there he began, the followlng year,
g~ _~ (l9l3; translated, l919), hls flrst major
work. Whlle the contract for a> called for Grasset
to publlsh the author`s next novel, Grasset, though con
sentlng, found g~ _~ so unwleldy (reasonably, ln
vlew of lts form) that he predlcted lts fallure. Not know
lng whether to pursue publlcatlon, Martln du Gard
spoke of hls quandary to Gaston Galllmard, a frlend
from the Lyce Condorcet who was then engaged ln
publlshlng the recently founded monthly i~ k
o c~~ (koc). Galllmard submltted the manu
scrlpt to hls commlttee, whlch lncluded Glde and
Copeau. Glde, then others, heartlly recommended lts
publlcatlon. Jhough the journallstlc receptlon was cool,
such emlnent flgures as Charles Pguy and Paul Desjar
dlns pralsed lt, thus vlndlcatlng the Galllmard readers`
judgment; lt was, furthermore, the occaslon of the nov
ellst`s entry lnto the llterary clrcle of the kocI the most
dlstlngulshed such group ln Parls.
Llke a> and i q~I g~ _~ ls a com
prehenslve novel, asplrlng to deplct whole llves ln a
'vaste fresque" (vast fresco). It constltutes a formal
challenge as well, for lt ls wrltten almost entlrely ln dla
logues, llke a play or movle scrlpt. Henry |ames had
wanted to glve hls novel q ^~ ^ (l899) 'the
dlvlne dlstlnctlon of the act of the play . . . lts guarded
objectlvlty," but Martln du Gard went much farther ln
ellmlnatlng narratlve. Only sketchy lndlcatlons about
place, tlme, weather, and other clrcumstances furnlsh
background lnformatlon; at tlmes, the novellst lndulges
ln psychologlcal notatlons. 'Mals ll a brusquement
sentl crotre en lul, malgr lul, malgr les mots qu`ll dlt,
une lvresse nouvelle" (But he has suddenly felt growlng
wlthln hlmself, desplte hlmself, desplte the words he
says, a new lntoxlcatlon). Occaslonally, letters and
other documents are lncluded, further breaklng the the
atrlcal llluslon. Jhe dramatlc method was lntended to
offer the lmmedlacy of the theater and lts focus on cru
clal moments. It sulted the author`s lmaglnatlon, as he
descrlbed lt more than once to Glde ln a l3 |une l932
l53
ai_ PPN o j~ d~
letter and elsewhere thus; '|e desslne, je pelns, des gens,
des scnes, que mon lmaglnatlon me pose devant mol
comme un modle de dessln dàprs nature; et
~ " (I draw, I palnt, peo
ple, scenes, whlch my lmaglnatlon places before me llke
a model ln llve drawlng; and f ~ ~ f
). Martln du Gard later wrote several motlon
plcture scenarlos, lncludlng one for Emlle Zola`s l890
novel i~ _ ~ (translated as e~ _I l890)
that was dlrected by |ean Renolr ln l938 (though Mar
tln du Gard was uncredlted).
Jo compose a novel uslng chlefly dlalogues was a
noteworthy achlevement; the author consldered lt suc
cessful, though bellevlng ultlmately that lt was too
heavlly ldeologlcal. In practlce, however, the work
reads llke flctlon, not drama, slnce the reader cannot
long sustaln the effort of the lmaglnatlon requlred to
vlsuallze lt. Moreover, as the story unfolds over years,
the reader`s sense of observlng characters ls replaced by
that of llvlng wlth them.
Conslstlng of three parts, the work ls a novel of
ldeas, though not a ~ concocted to prove a
polnt. One major theme ls rellglon, the treatment of whlch
led to placement of the work on the Vatlcan`s Index of
Prohlblted Books. In a clrcular trajectory, the hero, as an
adolescent, rejects rellglous bellef and adopts lntellectual
and polltlcal llberallsm, only to return to hls falth durlng
hls decllne. Polltlcal forces, whlch become hlstorlcal
agents, furnlsh another theme; polltlcs have become, as
Andr Malraux later wrote, the twentlethcentury tragedy.
At the center ls the Dreyfus Affalr, the most traumatlc
polltlcal event ln Irance between the end of the Iranco
Prusslan War (l87l) and World War I. Jhls scandal
erupted ln l89l when Alfred Dreyfus, an army captaln of
|ewlsh extractlon, was accused of passlng mllltary secrets
to German agents. In l891 he was found gullty of treason
and sentenced to lmprlsonment on Devll`s Island. Evl
dence that came to llght soon afterward lndlcated that
there had been a mlscarrlage of justlce; yet, the army
refused Dreyfus a new trlal. Irench soclety was torn apart,
wlth conservatlves (the army and most Cathollcs) allgned
agalnst llberals, who pressed for a new trlal. Lltlmately,
after the real crlmlnal confessed and was convlcted, but
wlth extenuatlng clrcumstances, Dreyfus was pardoned
(l899) and flnally exonerated (l906). Jhe soclal and pollt
lcal wounds created by the affalr remalned open for years.
Part l concerns |ean`s chlldhood and young man
hood. In the openlng pages, he ls lll. Hls father, a posl
tlvlstlc doctor, lnslsts upon the role of the wlll ln
recovery; hls plous grandmother has taken hlm to the
shrlne of Lourdes, ln valn. Jhe two represent warrlng
bellefs. sclence (the naturallstlc vlew) versus falth (the
otherworldly vlew). ( |ean`s mother ls dead; maternal
flgures are rare ln Martln du Gard`s flctlon.) Later, as a
young man, |ean, experlenclng rellglous doubts, seeks
to reconclle sclence and rellglon, before rejectlng bellef.
He becomes engaged to a chlldhood frlend, Cclle, a
bellever, at the bedslde of hls dylng father, who, lronl
cally, has returned to hls chlldhood falth. But the mar
rlage turns acrlmonlous, slnce nelther spouse can accept
the other`s vlews; after thelr daughter, Marle, ls born,
|ean leaves.
In part 2 polltlcs lnvade the novel. |ean edlts a
small llberal magazlne, i p (Jhe Sower), whose
guldlng splrlt ls an older man, Luce (certalnly a sym
bollc name, referrlng to llght, hence enllghtenment,
from Latln I a llght). Hls character loosely recalls
the nlneteenthcentury llberal lumlnarles Anatole
Irance and Ernest Renan; lt was also lnsplred ln part by
Hbert. Jhe magazlne contrlbutors agree on the bank
ruptcy of Chrlstlanlty and the truth of sclentlflc deter
mlnlsm as well as the need to reform soclety; they
espouse generally a nonMarxlst soclallsm derlved from
the Irench humanlstlc tradltlon. When lt ls rumored
that Dreyfus, lmprlsoned on Devll`s Island, ls lnnocent,
the magazlne staff jolns the struggle to determlne the
truth and flght for the vlctlm. 'Le devolr strlct de
chaque gnratlon est donc dàller dans le sens de la
vrlt, aussl loln quèlle peut, a la llmlte extrme de ce
qu`ll lul est permls dèntrevolr,et de s`y tenlr
dsesprment, comme sl elle prtendalt attelndre la
Vrlt absolue. La progresslon de l`homme est a ce
prlx" (Jhe strlct duty of every generatlon ls to go as far
as lt can ln the dlrectlon of truth, to the extreme llmlt of
what lt can gllmpse, and hold on there desperately, as lf
lt were reachlng absolute Jruth. Jhls ls the prlce of
human progress). Luce, though partlclpatlng ln the
campalgn for justlce, recognlzes the damage that the
Dreyfus Affalr ls dolng to Irance and fears lts after
math. Hls deslre that justlce prevall ls also shaded by
experlence. Hls mlsglvlngs are borne out by obstacles
ralsed contlnually to Dreyfus`s exoneratlon. |ean and
others wlll llve long enough to see the fallure of the llb
eral reformlst splrlt and the rlse of a mllltant, reactlon
ary natlonallsm.
In part 3, |ean, dlsappolnted ln polltlcs and aglng,
ls lll. Marle, who wlshes to joln a rellglous order, comes
to vlslt hlm, to test her vocatlon. Ialth, he reallzes, ls
not of an lntellectual order but rather ls connected to
deep needs and feellngs. He ls reconclled wlth Cclle,
who, plous though she ls, deplores her daughter`s voca
tlon (because lt would llmlt famlly contact and rule out
grandchlldren). Whlle Luce dles unbellevlng, lucldly
and calmly (as Hbert had wlshed for hlmself), |ean ls
reconverted to bellef, partly because of the Chrlstlan
promlse of lmmortallty. Cclle flnds and burns a testa
mentary statement wrltten years earller ln whlch |ean
had dlsavowed any deathbed converslon. Jhe prepon
l51
o j~ d~ ai_ PPN
derant evldence of the novel ls, however, ln favor of
ratlonallsm, not bellef. Jhe author suggested elsewhere
that those who feared contact wlth doubt not read hls
work, addlng that there were burnlng toplcs where
lmpartlallty was beyond human capacltles.
In autumn l9l3 and wlnter l9l1 Martln du Gard
was lnvolved ln theatrlcal llfe, especlally Copeau`s
Jhtre du VleuxColombler, on the Left Bank. He
also met two brllllant actors, Louls |ouvet and Charles
Dullln; ln Iebruary l9l1 Dullln acted ln Martln du
Gard`s flrst play, at the VleuxColombler, Ic Tcstomcvt
du Irc Iclcu (publlshed l920), a 'farce paysanne" (peas
ant farce) wrltten ln a colorful Berrlchon dlalect. Paul
Lautaud, a crltlc of the tlme, suggested, perhaps face
tlously, that lt mlght be the author`s best work. Jhe plot
turns on money, death, and relatlons between the sexes.
A servant, La Jorlne, who hopes to lnherlt her master`s
property, ls furlous when he dles before maklng out hls
wlll. She persuades a nelghbor to dress up llke the
deceased and dlctate hls testament to a notary before
the death ls announced. More wlly than she, he does
so, saylng that Pre Leleu`s property should go to hls
nelghborthat ls, hlmself. Jradltlonal jokes about cuck
oldry and death recur, ln a tone of good humor.
When war began the followlng summer, Martln
du Gard was recalled lnto the mllltary and was asslgned
to the Ilrst Cavalry Corps, remalnlng wlth lt through
out the hostllltles. Hls responslblllty was overseelng
loglstlcs. When he was demoblllzed ln Iebruary l9l9,
he began worklng agaln wlth Copeau. In |anuary l920
he concelved an ldea for a novel concernlng two broth
ers, qulte dlfferent ln temperament. Wlshlng to lsolate
hlmself, he found a house at Clermont (Olse), an hour`s
dlstance from Parls, where he jolned hls wlfe and
daughter on weekends. He drew up a complete plan of
what would become hls masterwork, Ics Tliboult, estab
llshed an extenslve documentatlon, dlscussed lt wlth
Glde, and began composlng. Conversatlons wlth Glde
were hlghly useful, although the two wrlters` vlews on
flctlon varled conslderably. Whlle Martln du Gard
asserted ln òtcs sur Zvdrc Cidc, 191J-191 that no
book by Glde had been for hlm a model, he also wrote
ln hls ourvol: 'Mervellleuse lnfluence de Glde. . . . Il
exalte la flvre de chacun . . . en poussant chacun dans
le sens qul est le vrltable et profond sens de chacun"
(Marvelous lnfluence of Glde. He exalts the fervor of
each. . . by pushlng each ln the dlrectlon whlch ls hls
true and deep sense). Jhree parts appeared ln qulck
successlon (all translated as part of Ics Tliboult ). Ic
Colicr gris (l922; translated as Tlc Croy òtcbool, l926);
Ic Icvitcvcicr (l922; translated as Tlc Icvitcvtiory, l926);
and Io cllc Soisov (l923; translated as Tlc Sprivgtimc of
Iifc, l926).
In l921 Martln du Gard completed a farce, Io
Covflc (publlshed l928; the word ls a dlalect term for
dropsy, from govflc, swollen). Jwo years later, he pur
chased a country property called Le Jertre, near
Bellme (Orne), and contlnued there hls work on Ics
Tliboult. Durlng the l920s he also partlclpated ln Les
Dcades de Pontlgny, colloqula organlzed by Desjar
dlns. Jhese prestlglous gatherlngs brought together
authors and other lntellectuals to dlscuss problems of
the day ln polltlcs, soclety, and llterature. Jhe deaths of
the novellst`s father ln Aprll l921 and of hls mother
nlne months later, after a long, palnful lllness, whlch he
wltnessed, were a great trlal to hlm. Lslng a mllltary
metaphor, he sald repeatedly afterward that he felt hlm
self on the front llnes.
In l929 Martln du Gard suffered one of the worst
blows of hls llfe. Hls daughter, Chrlstlane, marrled
Marcel de Coppet, the novellst`s contemporary and
long hls closest frlend. He was shocked, dlsmayed, furl
ous, and afrald (Coppet was tubercular); he felt
betrayed by both, especlally by Coppet, as hls ourvol
lndlcates. Hlne Martln du Gard blamed her husband
for Chrlstlane`s cholce. Coppet, who was ln the forelgn
servlce, had just returned from Afrlca (whlch flgures
sometlmes ln Martln du Gard`s works); the couple went
back on varlous asslgnments. It took many years for
Martln du Gard to accept the unlon wlth any equanlm
lty, and relatlons between hlm and Chrlstlane were
often tense. Jhe year of hls death, he wrote to a frlend
that they had broken off all contact. Desplte the fact
that hls daughter and Coppet had told Martln du Gard
before the weddlng that they would not have chlldren
a rellef to hlmln fact two were born. Danlel ln l933,
and AnneVronlque ln l935.
Ics Tliboult ls a brllllantly executed elghtpart pan
orama novel, the work of a 'concepteur postbalzaclen,
a làlse dans les vastes projets" (a postBalzaclan lnven
tor, at ease wlth vast projects), as Claude Debon
remarked ln hls lntroductlon to a 2003 volume of Mar
tln du Gard`s letters. It belongs to the subgenre called
romov-flcuvc, or rlvernovel, ln whlch the parts are artlstlc
wholes, but characters, plots, and themes recurother
multlvolume examples lnclude Rolland`s cov-Clristoplc
(l905-l9l2; translated, l9l0-l9l3), a model that Mar
tln du Gard acknowledged; Marcel Proust`s Z lo rcclcr-
clc du tcmps pcrdu (l9l3-l927; translated as Icmcmbrovcc
of Tlivgs Iost, 1922-19J0); and |ules Romalns`s Ics
Hommcs dc bovvc volovtc (l932-l916; translated as Mcv of
Cood !ill, l933-l916). Ics Tliboult ls at once a psycho
loglcal novel, a soclal novel, and a novel of manners;
that ls, llke all Martln du Gard`s works, lt asplres to
reallsm, wlth naturallstlc features (the close study of
death, for lnstance) but wlthout naturallsm`s focus on
the sordld. What Andr Daspre called 'la rallt repen
l55
ai_ PPN o j~ d~
se, rorganlse" (reallty rethought, reorganlzed)that
ls to say, llfe lllumlnated by the novellst`s artls the
great accompllshment of i q~. Jhe Marxlst crltlc
Gyrgy Lukcs spoke admlrlngly of the balance
achleved between lts lnner and outer worlds; Camus
pralsed the denslty and threedlmenslonal quallty of the
characters.
Jhough durlng World War I the author had wrlt
ten to hls cousln Plerre Margarltls that he dld not wlsh
to burden hls work wlth ldeas, i q~ ls ln fact a
novel of ldeas, as well as what he called a spectacle of
llfe, swarmlng wlth llvlng belngs; the orlglnal tltle was
'Le Blen et le Mal" (Good and Evll). Jhe author admlt
ted he was attracted to ldeologlcal works, books wlth
soclologlcal and phllosophlcal theses, addlng that he
was preoccupled by all the great contemporary prob
lems. Nor was i q~ to be a confesslonal novel.
He told Glde he wanted to create hls characters outslde
of hlmself, detached, almost forelgn to hlm. Hls
approach remalned baslcally objectlve; he had tralned
hlmself, startlng at the Ecole des Chartes, to achleve
balance ln deplctlng reallty by dlspasslonate accounts ln
an lmpersonal authorlal volce, enrlched by scenes ln
whlch characters express thelr subjectlve polnts of vlew.
But objectlve does not mean always neutral. emphasls
on certaln themes and the volces of prlnclpal characters
do, ultlmately, lndlcate the author`s preferences, con
cerns, and bellefs.
Welghlng methods of composltlon, Martln du
Gard experlmented by draftlng an eplsode ln two ver
slons. the scenarlo form of g~ _~I and conventlonal
narratlon by an omnlsclent authorlal volce. Jhe experl
ence revealed how much more flexlble and practlcal the
conventlonal method was, leadlng hlm to adopt lt. He
dld not dlscard the dramatlc advantages of dlalogue
presentatlon, whlch he used to great effect, comblnlng
narratlve summary (overvlew) wlth scenes ln whlch
conversatlon carrles the exposltlon, advances the
actlon, and reveals character.
Jhe work ls bullt prlnclpally, as planned, around
the two brothers Jhlbault. Antolne, a young doctor,
and |acques, stlll ln secondary school, 'un vlolent, un
lnqulet . . . un vlslonnalre" (a vlolent and troubled per
son, a vlslonary), as Antolne says. Crltlcs have long
admlred the evenhandedness wlth whlch Martln du
Gard treats the brothers, so dlfferent from each other.
He acknowledged that they corresponded to two
aspects of hls own nature. Whlle Antolne may speak
more frequently for hlmto the degree that hls charac
ters, dlstlnct from hlm, stlll express hls vlewpolnts
readers have dlscerned some preference for |acques,
whose lnternal loglc, though only gllmpsed ln the early
volumes, ls central to the whole. Jhe father, M. Jhl
bault, plays a major role; there ls no mother. A house
keeper, Mademolselle de Walze, and her ward, Glse,
complete the Jhlbault household ln Parls and thelr
summer resldence. A second famlly, who are Protes
tant, lncludes Danlel de Iontanln, |acques`s frlend;
Danlel`s slster, |enny; hls mother, Jhrse; her cousln
Nomle, and Nomle`s daughter, Nlcole; and, on occa
slon, Danlel`s errant and lrresponslble father, |rme.
Many other characters appear, lncludlng women wlth
whom Antolne and Danlel become lnvolved. Major
themes lnclude adolescence; rellglon; heredlty, the fam
lly, and lts generatlonal confllcts; medlclne, lllness, and
death; sexuallty and love; soclal rebelllon; polltlcs; and
war. Varylng polnts of vlew on these toplcs and others
are provlded by the multlple focl of characters and plot.
Jhe actlon of i `~ I whlch Rolland
pralsed, takes place around l905. |acques and Danlel,
both adolescents, have dlsappeared; M. Jhlbault and
Antolne are frantlc, as ls Jhrse de Iontanln. Investl
gatlons at |acques`s prlvate school reveal that he had
been caught wlth forbldden books and that the dlrector,
a prlest, had conflscated from hlm a notebook lncludlng
correspondence wlth a certaln 'D." Jhe prlest lntlmates
that the frlendshlp ls suspect, lmpure. He and M.
Jhlbaultsanctlmonlous, lrasclble, and authorltarlan
assume that Danlel ls at fault; after all, he ls a Protes
tant. As a flashback shows, the boys have fled, after
conflscatlon of the notebook, to Marsellles, where they
hope to embark for Afrlca. |acques, the more rebelllous,
looks upon both the prlest and hls father as enemles.
Danlel ls happler at home and feels gullty for havlng
left hls mother. Jhey do not succeed ln hldlng on a
shlp, and shortly the pollce plck them up and return
them to Parls. Whereas Jhrse de Iontanln welcomes
her son back, wlthout reproach, |acques must endure
hls father`s lre. Jhe gulf between them ls never crossed.
Antolne trles to show affectlon and glve reassurance,
but he ls too dlfferent to sllp lnto easy comradeshlp
wlth hls brother. i `~ ends wlth M. Jhlbault`s
announcement that |acques wlll be lncarcerated ln a
reformatory, whlch M. Jhlbault hlmself had founded.
In i mI whlch the emlnent Communlst
crltlc Claude Roy called an admlrable portralt of the
awkward age, Antolne plays a more lmportant role,
though |acques remalns at the center of the book.
Camus slngled out for pralse the deplctlon of hls humll
latlon. After nlne months, M. Jhlbault has scarcely
seen hls son, and Antolne knows llttle of the sltuatlon.
Jhrough a chance meetlng wlth Danlel, Antolne learns
that |acques has concealed from hlm hls real clrcum
stances. Susplclous, Antolne lnvestlgates the lnstltutlon.
What he learns ls not dramatlc. there ls no lnstltutlonal
lzed sadlsm, no slgnlflcant deprlvatlon. But |acques has
been ln nearsolltary conflnement, and hls physlcal and
emotlonal wellbelng have suffered. Moreover, two
l56
o j~ d~ ai_ PPN
guards have engaged ln unsavory conduct, one by
showlng hlm obscene plctures, the other by pederastlc
gestures. Antolne resolves to get hls brother freed,
although |acques says that he would rather remaln ln
detentlon than return home. Wlth a prlest`s lnterven
tlon, Antolne persuades M. Jhlbault to permlt |acques
to come llve ln Antolne`s newly establlshed quarters,
both home and medlcal offlce ln the same bulldlng.
|acques has hls flrst love affalr wlth Llsbeth, the
conclerge`s nlece, vlsltlng from Alsace. Whlle at flrst,
sufferlng from tlmldlty and ldeallzed yearnlng, he has
no thought of consummatlng hls deslre, ultlmately he
does so. Another dlfference between the brothers
becomes clear. for Antolne, who also has had sexual
relatlons wlth Llsbeth, sex can be just a cllnlcal matter.
Another plotllne lnvolves the Iontanlns. Jhough M.
Jhlbault has forbldden |acques to have any contact
wlth Danlel, Antolne consents to take hls brother to
vlslt the Iontanln home. Jhe meetlng between |acques
and Danlel ls unsatlsfactory; they are, ultlmately, too
dlfferent. A Chrlstlan Sclence reader called Pastor Gre
gory ls there wlth a message of repentance from |rme,
perennlally unfalthful (he has had an affalr wlth hls
wlfe`s cousln, Nomle), lrregular ln supportlng the fam
lly, and presently llvlng elsewhere. |rme has sent a
plea that hls wlfe not pursue dlvorce proceedlngs; her
agreement to pardon her husband reveals her sensual
lty. Jhough the portralt of Gregory, lntranslgent, even
fanatlcal, ls coolly objectlve, lt conveys the novellst`s
dlsllke for rellglon, as does Antolne`s declaratlon to
Jhrse about hls lack of bellef and hls sclentlflc vlew
of the world.
i~ _ p~I the tltle of whlch suggests the hlgh
summer of youth as well as actual summer, ls centered
around contrastlng love affalrs. At the bedslde of a llttle
glrl whom he has tended ln an emergency, Antolne
meets a beautlful redhalred woman named Rachel.
Jhelr affalr ls passlonate; he loves her as he has not
loved others, and she ls responslve. As she gradually
reveals to hlm her past, he reallzes that she ls far more
llberated ln sexual matters than he; she was, moreover,
the mlstress of a sadlst and murderer named Hlrsch, a
connolsseur of sexual perverslons, lncludlng lncest wlth
hls own daughter. Rachel spent tlme wlth Hlrsch ln
Afrlca, where the freedom whltes enjoyed allowed hlm
to mlstreat natlves. After she and Antolne go to Nor
mandy to decorate the grave of her dead lnfanta chlld
about whose exlstence he was long lgnorantshe
announces that she wlll return to Afrlca. Jhe volume
ends as Antolne, ln deep dlstress, sees her off at Le
Havre.
|acques, who has passed the entrance examlna
tlons to the Ecole Normale Suprleure, the most eml
nent Irench school for the humanltles, spends hls
vacatlon at the Jhlbaults` country house, and there
becomes better acqualnted wlth |enny de Iontanln, a
nelghbor. Both suffer from prlde, tlmldlty, and awk
wardness; each ls attracted to the other. |enny struggles
agalnst the attractlon; she has seen flrsthand the dam
age done by erotlc love, whlch frlghtens her. Mean
whlle, Danlel has dlscovered Glde`s i k
(l897; translated as c b~I l919)
whlch |acques calls a glorlflcatlon of cynlclsmand uses
lt to justlfy hls new amorallsm. Llke hls father, Danlel ls
a phllanderer; women, lncludlng a former mlstress of
hls father, are greatly attracted to hlm. |rme also reap
pears, summonlng hls wlfe to Amsterdam to asslst hlm
flnanclally and emotlonally, as Nomle ls dylng. After
ward, he returns home, ostenslbly repentant, but
Jhrse recognlzes the pattern. he wlll leave agaln,
eventually, ln pursult of other women.
After seelng these three volumes through the
press, Martln du Gard lnterrupted hls ~J to
compose i~ dI another earthy 'peasant farce." It
belongs to a long tradltlon of coarse llterature datlng
from the Mlddle Ages, wlth crafty peasants, cuckolds,
cheats, and trlcksters. Jhe play features Andoche, one
of the wrlter`s most vlvld characters, both a sacrlstan
and the employee and companlon of La Blque (the
name means 'female goat"), who has dropsy. Jhe other
characters are her mute servlng glrl, who ls pregnant,
and Armand, the veterlnarlan, La Blque`s nephew.
Both Andoche and Armand hope to lnherlt La Blque`s
property when she dles, whlch may be soon. Wlth hls
great peasant cunnlng and mastery of language, dls
played ln brllllant monologues llke those of a standup
comedlan, Andoche manlpulates the othersby sugges
tlon, blackmall, and loglcln such a way that he wlll get
the lnherltance. Crude jokes concernlng prlests and
other notables complement those on cuckoldry and
physlcal functlons. Jhe play was not staged untll l988,
doubtless ln part because lt was wrltten ln a salty lan
guage, whlch, accordlng to Daspre, the playwrlght
devlsed, based on Berrlchon dlalect, wlth archalsms,
provlnclal terms and pronunclatlons, and aberrant
grammar, dlfflcult to reproduce on stage.
Jhree more parts of i q~ appeared toward
the end of the l920s. i~ `~ (l928; translated as
`Ja~I l931); i~ p~ (l928; translated,
l939); and i~ j (l929; translated, l939). i~
`~ takes place ln a fourteenhour perlod on l3
October l9l3. Organlzed around Antolne`s profes
slonal actlvlty that day, lt lncludes many characters,
who form a soclal tableau. Ior the flrst tlme, the theme
of polltlcs ls lntroduced, by conversatlons between
Antolne and hls patlent Rumelles, who occuples a posl
tlon ln the forelgn offlce. Antolne`s ethlcs, both profes
slonal and personal, are based on the a prlorl value of
l57
ai_ PPN o j~ d~
llfe, to whlch all other values are posterlor; medlcal scl
ence ls the supreme human pursult because lt lmproves
and prolongs llfe. Iaced wlth the dylng chlld of Nlcole,
marrled to a young doctor, Hquet, Antolne refuses to
conslder euthanasla. |acques, meanwhlle, has dlsap
peared nearly three years before; Antolne has searched
for hlm, frultlessly, and M. Jhlbault belleves he com
mltted sulclde. Glse, bellevlng that a basket of roses
sent anonymously from London must have been from
|acques, resolved to learn Engllsh and spent a summer
ln England trylng valnly to trace hlm. It ls clear that she
loves hlm; the sentlment may have been reclprocal.
Antolne also feels attractlon for Glse; but she thlnks
only of |acques. Jhe volume ends as Antolne medltates
on morallty and lts connectlon to psychology. He recog
nlzes that the notlons of good and evll are, to hlm,
merely practlcal and utllltarlan; desplte hls rejectlon of
euthanasla, there ls no absolute moral standard.
Jhe tltle of i~ p~ refers to lts frame story, a
plece wrltten by |acques. It comes to Antolne`s attentlon
when a professor at the Ecole Normale Suprleure, |all
court, sends wrltten congratulatlons to |acques on the
story, whlch he dlscovered ln a Swlss magazlne.
Although only long excerpts, not the whole, are repro
duced, Martln du Gard composed, palnstaklngly, the
entlre story, wrltten from |acques`s vlewpolnt ln what ls
lntended to be hls style, to lmpart authentlclty to each
excerpt; he later agreed wlth Glde that such labor had
been unnecessary. Antolne opens the letter, of course,
and lmmedlately looks up |allcourt, who glves hlm the
magazlne, relates hls last conversatlon wlth |acques,
and shows hlm a letter ln whlch |acques quoted Walt
Whltman on the lure of the open road and the rejectlon
of llbrarles and crltlcs. Jhe semlautoblographlcal story
sheds llght on |acques`s dlsappearance. the hero
Gluseppe`s quarrel wlth hls father followlng a vlslt to
the 'Powells," the father`s curses, and Gluseppe`s threat
to klll hlmself. It also deals wlth 'the two faces of love".
Gluseppe`s ldeallzed sentlment for 'Sybll" ( |enny), who
agrees to be hls but remalns cold, paralyzed by fear of
physlcal love; and hls strong erotlc attractlon to
'Annetta" (Glse). In the story, Annetta ls hls blood sls
ter; the physlcal relatlonshlp they have ls thus lncestu
ous (whereas Glse ls not really related to |acques).
Antolne leaves for Geneva to flnd |acques, so that
he can return to vlslt hls father, who ls dylng of kldney
fallure. Whereas, except for the prlnted story, hereto
fore the reader has seen |acques chlefly through others`
eyes, Martln du Gard has recourse here to authorlal
omnlsclence to provlde lnslght lnto hls hero. |acques
also reveals much through conversatlons; he lnforms
Antolne that he and Glse had shared only one passlon
ate klss and glves a dlfferent verslon from |allcourt`s of
thelr last lntervlew. |acques`s statements have been read
by many as the qulntessentlal expresslon of youthful
rebelllon.
|e lul al expllqu . . . que je sentals en mol une force,
quelque chose d`lntlme, de central, qul est a mol . . .!
_ue, depuls des annes, tout effort de culture s`talt
presque toujours exerc au dtrlment de cette valeur
profonde! _ue jàvals prls en averslon les tudes, les
coles, l`rudltlon . . . et que cette horreur avalt la vlo
lence dùn lnstlnct de dfense, de conservatlon.
(I explalned to hlm . . . that I felt ln myself a force,
somethlng lntlmate, central, whlch ls mlne . . .! Jhat,
for years, every cultural effort had almost always been
exerclsed to the detrlment of thls profound value! Jhat
I felt averslon for studles, schools, learnlng . . . and that
thls dread was as vlolent as an lnstlnct of defense and
preservatlon.)
|acques agrees to return to Parls, feellng estranged from
hls brother, hls home, and even hlmself.
i~ j offers a cllnlcal descrlptlon of the
old man`s death, emphaslzlng both physlcal decay and
extlnctlon of consclousness. Antolne, llke the author,
flnds death to be a metaphyslcal scandal and a central
fact of exlstenceabsurd, lrrefutable, defeatlng ultlmately
all human projects. M. Jhlbault ls supposed to take com
fort ln rellglous bellef, but when he reallzes he ls dylng
(he had long denled lt to hlmself whlle pretendlng to be
reconclled to hls end), he cannot reslgn hlmself and fran
tlcally blasphemes agalnst God. But Chrlstlan practlce
does, flnally, asslst hlm, by the soothlng effect of prlestly
mlnlstratlons and the Church`s tlmehonored formulas of
consolatlon and reassurance. As the physlcal agony ls
prolonged, |acques asks Antolne whether lt cannot be
ended; thls tlme, Antolne agrees to euthanasla and
admlnlsters a fatal dose of morphlne. Antolne muses on
the struggle between generatlons, the burden of heredlty.
Letters and notebooks found after the funeral palnt a dlf
ferent plcture of the tyrannlcal, lrasclble man, one glven
to tender feellngs, doubts, angulsh, and slnful prlde,
whlch, through selfdlsclpllne, he attempted to control.
|acques, lt appears, ls more llke hls father than anyone
suspected; nelther can accept llfe slmply, ln lts demands
and lts physlcallty. |acques rejects Glse when she
attempts to express her love for hlm. Jhe volume ends
wlth a dlalogue between Antolne and a prlest concernlng
rellglous bellef. 'Mon athlsme sèst form en mme
temps que mon esprlt" (My athelsm was formed at the
same tlme as my mlnd), says Antolne. He then adds, '|e
nàl jamals vu Dleu, hlas, quà travers mon pre" (I have
never seen God, alas, except through my father).
At the end of the l920s, after slx volumes of i
q~ had appeared, Martln du Gard began to ques
tlon hls plans for lts contlnuatlon, partly because lt would
l58
o j~ d~ ai_ PPN
requlre a dozen addltlonal volumestoo many, he
thoughtand would be excesslvely psychologlcal. He
told |ean Jardleu, moreover, that he felt he had already
gone beyond hls project. Hls frlend |eanRlchard Bloch
even encouraged hlm to change the rhythm of hls novel.
Nevertheless, the next part, 'LÀpparelllage" (Settlng
Sall), was completed. On New Year`s Day l93lthe year
of the publlcatlon of ` ~~ (translated, l983),
a long storythe author and hls wlfe were severely
lnjured ln an automoblle accldent that left them both hos
pltallzed for nearly two months. Lpon leavlng the hospl
tal, where he had reflected on hls project, he burned
almost all of 'LÀpparelllage." Durlng the followlng
months of convalescence, he reconsldered hls orlglnal
plans for i q~I and, as a dlverslon, wrote r q~J
(l932, A _ulet Man), hls thlrd theatrlcal work. In
sprlng l932 he composed a volume of naturallstlc
sketches, one of the works that satlsfled hlm most, s
c~ (l933; translated as q m~I l951). Jhen, set
tllng lnto a hotel near Marsellles ln l933, he establlshed a
new outllne for the remalnder of hls ~J and
gathered the documentatlon for lt. In l931 he moved to
Nlce. Jhroughout the l930s he followed closely lnterna
tlonal developments and Irench polltlcs. He deplored the
egolsm of the rullng classes and understood how the ldea
of a classless soclety, as the Sovlet Lnlon clalmed to have
constltuted lt already, was appeallng; but he was con
vlnced that human nature made such asplratlons chlmer
lcal, and he was wary of the communlst vlslon.
` ~~I greatly admlred by the Amerlcan
crltlc Henry Peyre, ls a frame narratlve, ln whlch the puta
tlve author, or authorlal persona, addresses a letter to a
magazlne edltor, who had lnvlted a contrlbutlon. Jhe let
ter conslsts of explanatory materlal and the confesslon
made to 'Monsleur du Gard" by Leandro Barbazano,
whom he met ln southern Irance when both were vlsltors
at a sanatorlum. Leandro was there wlth hls nephew,
Mlchele, a handsome boy dylng of tuberculosls. Jhe
author subsequently met Leandro agaln ln North Afrlca.
Jhe confesslon was made durlng thelr return shlpboard
crosslng to Irance. Jhe devlce of the two narrators, 'Mon
sleur du Gard" and Leandro, each uslng the flrst person,
may have been chosen to glve credlblllty to what Leandro
relatesan lncestuous relatlonshlp. Adumbrated ln both
i~ _ p~ and i~ p~I lncest ls here at the heart of
the work. Jhat the novellst succeeded ln maklng the story
plauslble ls shown by readers` reactlons; many refused to
belleve that, as the author told Glde, the plot was entlrely
lmaglned. (Jo another correspondent he wrote that he
dreamed lt.) Hls attltude toward lncest, whlch vlolates one
of the most wldespread of soclal taboos, ls dlspasslonate.
'Monsleur du Gard" merely acts as a recorder for the
story, passlng no judgment.
Leandro tells hls tale to show that crltlcs accuse
novellsts unjustly of vlolatlng verlslmllltude by lncludlng
the extraordlnary; llfe, he says, often conslsts of the
exceptlonal. Mlchele was ln reallty hls son, born of hls
passlonate relatlonshlp wlth hls slster Amalla ln late ado
lescence. Because her old, tyrannlcal father expected her
shortly to marry hls asslstant, Amalla declded to con
celve a chlld wlth Leandro, who then left for hls mllltary
servlce. When he returns years later, he flnds her settled
ln domestlc routlne, wlth other chlldren. Jhe past ls dead
for her, and he flnds her so changed that he too no
longer feels deslre. Mlchele ls part of the famlly, but vlsl
bly dlfferent. Leandro, who llves wlth them, loves hlm;
but after the boy`s death Leandro acknowledges lt ls a
rellef.
Jhe l93l 'querelle du veau a clnq pattes" (quarrel
of the flvelegged calf ) between Glde and Martln du
Gard was sparked by ` ~~. Jhe phrase was
used by the two frlends as a shorthand reference to thelr
dlsagreement about whether flctlon wrlters should deal
wlth hlghly unusual human types and behavlor (that ls,
the human equlvalent of a flvelegged calf ) or wlth specl
mens and conduct belonglng to normal ranges. In thls
heated eplstolary dlspute, Glde upbralded hls frlend for
yleldlng to soclal prejudlce; he would have preferred that
the chlld of lncest be robust and healthy. Jhls occaslon
was not the only one when Glde contended that hls
frlend was too concerned wlth the normal and that hls
work falled thus at suggestlng the entlre spectrum of
human behavlor, lts anomalles, lts horrors. Martln du
Gard replled that a novellst`s charge was to deal not wlth
freaks but wlth what ls representatlvethe ~~
(truetollfe) rather than the exceptlonal. He slmply
deplcted, he sald, what he observed. In fact, lt ls a matter
of degree, not klnd. Rachel`s story, Leandro`s, and others
show hls lnterest ln the anomalous and wllllngness to
deplct lt; he wrote of wlshlng to 'attelndre jusquàu trou
ble fond des tres" (reach the troubled depths of belngs).
But he dld not wlsh to overemphaslze lt.
r q~I a wellconstructed psychologlcal
drama, treats what was then another scandalous toplc,
homosexuallty. Jhe prlnclpal character, Jhlerry, ls a
respectable mlddleaged buslnessman who took over hls
father`s buslness after the latter`s sulclde. Hls slster, Isa
belle, who stabbed a fellow schoolglrl, Wanda, ln a dls
pute wlth lesblan overtones and spent tlme ln a
reformatory, now asslsts hlm; she and Wanda, also asso
clated wlth the buslness, affect a warm frlendshlp. An
ambltlous young man, |o, persuades Jhlerry to hlre
hlm as secretary. When |o, who has courted Isabelle
desplte her past, announces that she has agreed to marry
hlm, Jhlerry flles lnto a rage, for, wlthout reallzlng lt, he
has fallen ln love wlth |o. Wanda also ls jealous.
Jhlerry, havlng become aware of hls passlon, shoots
l59
ai_ PPN o j~ d~
hlmself. Llke Greek fatallty, heredlty presldes over the
play. When lt was produced ln l93l by |ouvet (who
played Jhlerry), there were expresslons of lndlgnatlon
from the audlence over the subject matter. Paul Claudel,
an emlnent Cathollc poet and playwrlght, wrote to |ou
vet to denounce the work and lts author, whom he called
an 'crlvaln lmmonde dont je ne veux pas mme me rap
peler le nom" (revoltlng wrlter whose name I don`t want
even to recall); he also wlthdrew permlsslon for |ouvet to
stage one of hls own dramas. Because of r q~I
Claudel llkewlse refused to contrlbute to the koc unless
the artlcles were submltted to prlestly censure.
A collectlon of sketches furnlshlng a few slmple
lntrlgues, s c~ does not have a unlfled plot; unlty
ls provlded by place (a vlllage), tlme (a slngle day), tone
(sarcastlc and bltterly satlrlcal), and the characters` out
look. Some unlty comes also from the flgure of the post
man, a manlpulatlng, unscrupulous, lecherous mlschlef
maker. As he makes hls rounds, he meddles ln others`
llves for hls own galn, or gratultously. Except for the
prlest (lneffectual but not corrupted), a senlle recluse, and
the schoolteachers, hls fellow vlllagers are nearly as rapa
clous and lmmoral as he, practlclng adultery, lncest, and
prostltutlon (not deplcted dlrectly). s c~ ls more
sardonlc even than i~ dX lt ls truly an antlpastoral.
Jhe author told hls frlend Marcel Arland that what he
felt when contemplatlng such people was not hatred but
desperatlon; as the schoolmlstress asks, ls there not some
flaw ln human character that makes people turn on oth
ers, go to war, sabotage thelr own asplratlons?
ib NVNQI a long and complex panorama of
Europe durlng the slx weeks from 28 |uly untll l0
August, appeared ln l936; the flnal part, bI begun
at Le Jertre ln l938, was flnlshed ln Martlnlque ln l939
and publlshed the followlng year. Jhe two parts constl
tute roughly onehalf of i q~. Jhe lmbalance
between the elghtyflve chapters of ib NVNQ and each
prevlous part was noted by crltlcs; so was the change ln
emphasls from famlly matters to the fate of Europe.
ClaudeEdmonde Magny, ln her e ~ ~~
NVNU (l950, Hlstory of the Irench Novel Slnce
l9l8), was one of the authorltles who argued that the
lnvaslon of the long work by polltlcs and hlstory created
rupture and dlsequlllbrlum. However, the altered scope
can be explalned. Jhough the author remalned paclflstlc
and lsolatlonlst ln temperament, lt was clear by the l930s
that for Europeans there could no longer be a unlquely
lndlvldual destlny, selfdetermlned, separate; World War
I had been both agent and proof of thls change. Wlth the
rlse of fasclsm, war agaln threatened the Contlnent. It
was reasonable, thus, for the novellst to place hlstorlcal
actlon ln the foreground, elucldate lt, and show lts effect
on hls characters` llves. Wlthout the war, the destlnles of
all the younger generatlonAntolne, |acques, Danlel,
|enny, Glsewould be dlfferent.
Lnllke Romalns ln s (l938; translated, l939),
one of the volumes of i e I Martln
du Gard dld not deplct major events ln the war ltself;
lnstead, he focused on lts outbreak, to shed llght on the
mechanlsm that led lnexorably to flfty months of mas
slve destructlon. As Plcon observed, Martln du Gard dls
plays an extraordlnary command of facts and the ablllty
to recreate complex polltlcal sltuatlons ln whlch he was
not lnvolved, glvlng a powerful lmpresslon of 'choses
vues" (thlngs seen). Rolland, assertlng that hls frlend`s
work would last, pralsed the characters as belonglng to
'l`hlstolre de ce temps" (the hlstory of thls tlme). An
anonymous crltlc wrote. '|amals romancler ne tenta plus
solgneusement d`lmposer a ses personnages leur con
texte hlstorlque et soclal" (Never dld a novellst try more
carefully to lmpose on hls characters thelr hlstorlcal and
soclal context).
|acques has come to soclallsm out of convlctlon;
hls background ls that of lndlvlduallstlc humanlsm, not
class struggle. He ls not so radlcal as hls collaborators ln
hls Geneva cell. He flnds lt chlmerlcal, for lnstance, to
propose ellmlnatlng all natlonal boundarles; he accepts
Karl Marx`s theses on the lnternal contradlctlons of capl
tallsm and the oppresslon of the bourgeolsle, but he can
not admlt that men are lnflnltely malleable. When the
Austrlan archduke Iranz Ierdlnand ls assasslnated by a
fanatlcal Serblan natlonallst on 28 |une l9l1, |acques ls
sent on mlsslons to Austrla, Irance, and Belglum. In
Brussels he recelves papers stolen from an Austrlan
offlcer ln Berlln. Jhey show clearly how the German
and Austrlan governments wlsh to provoke Serbla and
Russla sufflclently to force them to war. Jhe plan ls to
expose these documents, thus reveallng the Austrlan
German warmongerlng and undermlnlng German
clalms to a defenslve war. A colleague of |acques nlck
named 'Jhe Pllot" destroys the documents, slnce he
belleves that the only hope for soclallst revolutlon ls full
scale war. Dlsmayed, |acques reallzes that the destructlon
was dellberate; furthermore, European soclallsts appear
lncreaslngly ready to abandon thelr pollcy of reslstance
to conscrlptlon and support thelr governments agalnst
any aggressor.
Jhe novellst sklllfully plcks up other threads of hls
story. Antolne, lnvolved ln a llalson wlth a marrled
woman, who probably polsoned her flrst husband, ls, as
usual, reluctant to thlnk that clrcumstances could
lmplnge on hls llfe. |rme, havlng been caught embez
zllng funds, has shot hlmself ln Vlenna; |enny, seelng
|acques agaln, flnds her hardwon equlllbrlum destroyed,
but flnally ylelds to hlm, both ln mlnd and, later, ln
body; Nlcole Hquet, her cousln, has seen both her chll
dren dle and can never have another.
l60
o j~ d~ ai_ PPN
After the assasslnatlon of the soclallst leader |ean
|aurs (who ls quoted as saylng, 'Malntaln the Interna
tlonal, no matter what the cost") and Germany`s declara
tlon of war on l August, |acques, who has long
malntalned that actlon must valldate bellef, resolves on
an attempt to arrest the war machlnery. Returnlng to
Geneva, he asks 'Jhe Pllot" to teach hlm to fly enough
to reach the front llnes and drop paclflst leaflets on both
sldes, urglng soldlers to abandon thelr arms ln the name
of worklngclass solldarlty. (Jhe act resembles that of the
hlstorlcal Lauro de Bosls, the Itallan poet who dlstrlbuted
pamphlets over Rome ln l93l.) Bellevlng, for prlvate
reasons, that hls career ls over, 'Jhe Pllot" decldes to
take the controls so that he, too, may glve meanlng to hls
death. |acques`s deed ls genulnely polltlcal, but lt also
expresses the death wlsh of one whose lntranslgent ldeal
lsm cannot accept compromlse. Jhe act ls a fallure. the
plane crashes and burns before the tracts are dropped.
|acques, burnt, wounded, and unable to speak, ls rescued
by some Irench troops, but they resent hlm as a burden
as they retreat, and he ls dellberately flnlshed off.
Wlth hls death, the trajectory that began ln i
`~ ls complete, as the tltle of the remalnlng vol
ume, bI suggests. |acques appears both typlcal,
exempllfylng glfted and ldeallstlc youth dlssatlsfled wlth
the unlmaglnatlve goals of the bourgeolsle and revolted
by lnjustlce, and exceptlonal, carrylng hls bellefs to thelr
loglcal extreme at the cost of hls llfe, reachlng thereby
almost mythlc proportlons. Iollowlng |acques`s death,
Antolne wlll regret not havlng understood hlm suffl
clently, not havlng granted the legltlmacy of hls dream.
Desplte hls conservatlsm, the novellst was obvlously
attracted to hls young hero`s rebelllon and lmpractlcal
ldeallsm.
Jhe plot of ib NVNQ tends toward the concluslon
that war ls lnevltable; there ls a sense that the hlstorlcal
process, dlspersed among concurrent and competlng
actlons ln varlous natlonal capltals, lnvolvlng many
agents, cannot be known or controlled. Jhls somber
vlew constltutes a denlal of nlneteenthcentury clalms
that hlstory can be dlrected toward ratlonal ends. Lukcs
argued, however, that the author`s analysls revealed
lnstead Marxlst truth. apparently uncontrollable events
follow thelr own ratlonale toward the end of hlstory; one
stage ls the fated destructlon, furthered by the war, of the
bourgeolsle.
Part l of b ls a thlrdperson narratlve from
Antolne`s vlewpolnt; part 2 ls hls flrstperson journal.
What has happened between the outbreak of war and
the tlme of narratlon (l9l8) ls fllled ln progresslvely.
Gassed the prevlous November, Antolne has undergone
detoxlflcatlon and ls convalesclng ln the south. He travels
to Parls for Mademolselle de Walze`s funeral and there
sees agaln flgures from the past. Jhe famlly flnally ascer
talned that |acques had crashed ln a plane; the preclse
way he dled ls unknown to them. Glse and |enny, both
devoted to hls memory, work together, not wlthout jeal
ousy, ln the hospltal Jhrse de Iontanln has establlshed
ln her country house. |enny ls the mother of a llttle boy,
|eanPaul. Antolne later offers to marry her by a purely
formal contract to glve the chlld the Jhlbault name, but
she refuses; she assumes wholly |acques`s rejectlon of the
bourgeolsle and ls proud that the chlld ls lllegltlmate.
Danlel, whose leg was blown off durlng a battle at the
front, has lost hls jole de vlvre. Later hls lethargy ls
explalned. he also lost hls vlrlllty ln the exploslon. Jhe
theme of sterlllty ls everywhere. nelther he, Antolne, nor
Glse, who wlll never love another, wlll have chlldren;
|enny wlll have no more.
Antolne, who has supposed he wlll recover, reads
on the face of hls old frlend Dr. Phlllp, whlch he gllmpses
ln an unguarded moment, that he ls doomed. Hls dlary
ls devoted to watchlng death approach. Hls medltatlons
on hlstory and human llfe ln the vast unlverse can be
read, lf one wlshes, as expresslng the author`s own mlx
ture of optlmlsm and pesslmlsm. He places some confl
dence ln the nascent League of Natlons and hopes that,
over tlme, human soclety wlll evolve toward a better
organlzatlon. Personally, however, faclng extlnctlon, he
experlences rage and despalr. As the armlstlce ls slgned
ln November, he ls so weak that he cannot contlnue hls
dlary. On the elghteenth, he manages one last llne, men
tlonlng |eanPaul, after whlch he takes hls own llfe. Hls
hopes for the boy and for Europe are fraught, for author
and readers, wlth hlstorlcal lrony. ln l910, when the
book appeared, Irance was agaln at war, and young men
of |eanPaul`s generatlon were dead or dylng.
When World War II was declared, Martln du
Gard and hls wlfe were ln Martlnlque. Iollowlng a crulse
ln the Gulf of Mexlco and three weeks ln the Lnlted
States (flnanced by part of hls Nobel Prlze money), they
returned home. As Irance fell ln |une l910, they aban
doned Le Jertre just before the Germans arrlved, and,
after delays, they settled ln Nlce, ln the zone occupled by
Italy. Martln du Gard dlsllked strongly the collaboratlon
lst government of Vlchy and resented the German occu
patlon of much of Irance. Wlthout partlclpatlng hlmself,
he asslsted frlends engaged ln clandestlne actlvlty. In
Aprll l911 he and hls wlfe fled when he was warned that
he was on a llst of suspects. Lntll December, they
remalned near Ilgeac (Lot), near Chrlstlane and her hus
band, who dlrected a group of ~~ (members of
the reglonal Reslstance). After the war, the author and
hls wlfe wlntered ln Nlce and spent summers at Le Jertre
or ln Parls. Hlne Martln du Gard dled suddenly ln
l919; they had both suffered from wartlme malnutrltlon,
and thelr constltutlons may have been weakened.
l6l
ai_ PPN o j~ d~
When Martln du Gard`s fragmentary posthu
mous novel, i i~J` j~ (trans
lated, 2000), appeared ln the Pllade serles ln l983,
superbly edlted by Daspre, admlrers of the author
were greatly lnterested. He had worked on lt assldu
ously from l91l untll hls death seventeen years later.
He lntended lt to be another exhaustlve study of a llfe
and tlmes and to serve as a testamentary work,
expresslng hls understandlng of llfe after long experl
ence. It cannot achleve, however, the popularlty of hls
masterpleces. Because there ls no lnexpenslve edltlon,
lt ls not generally avallable to young readers, who for
generatlons devoured i `~ and other volumes
of i q~X and, ln lts unflnlshed state, lt does not
have the structure, the pollsh, or the sustalned drama
of the author`s prevlous works. He hesltated over
cholce of form. Jhe maln sectlon ls composed of Mau
mort`s lncomplete memolrs, whlch he wrltes as a sep
tuagenarlan, after what he calls a happy llfe. Jhere are
also nlne long letters to a frlend. Many of what were
to be later eplsodes are slmply outllnes and sketches.
Jhe volume also lncludes preparatory dosslers, full of
hlstorlcal lnterest and reveallng of authorlal concerns,
but not flctlon.
In vlew of Martln du Gard`s paclflsm and antlmlll
tarlsm, the declslon to make hls hero a career offlcer
may seem surprlslng. It may be explalned ln two ways.
flrst, the author`s deslreone may almost say compul
slonto vlew llfe through another`s eyes, place hlmself
ln another`s skln; second, the fact that the work, begun
after the defeat of Irance, was to deal wlth war and
occupatlon. Jhe close selfexamlnatlon practlced by
Maumort recalls that of Mlchel de Montalgne ln hls
b~ (l580), whlch Martln du Gard read ln lts entlrety
and admlred greatly. Martln du Gard emphaslzes Mau
mort`s youth and treats sexuallty frankly, though not
coarselywlshlng, lt would appear, to compensate for
havlng glossed over the toplc generally ln hls prevlous
novels.
In addltlon to worklng on i i~J`
j~ throughout hls last years, the author also
spent tlme puttlng hls volumlnous papers ln order
before they were deposlted ln the natlonal llbrary. He
was wlth Glde at the latter`s death ln l95l; he contln
ued seelng and wrltlng to other frlends. In a few rare
lnstances he slgned polltlcal petltlons, breaklng a llfe
long hablt of refuslng to make publlc statements on
controverslal lssues. He dled on 22 August l958, some
days after sufferlng a heart attack, and was burled ln
Clmlez, near Nlce, beslde hls wlfe.
Changes ln taste and readlng hablts have
resulted ln a decllne ln Martln du Gard`s popularlty.
Jo many Amerlcan postgraduate students ln Irench,
hls name ls barely known. Jhls decllne ls owlng to
altered vlews on llterary tralnlng and the underlylng
trends ln crltlclsm and flctlonal formradlcallzatlon of
crltlclsm by postmodern theory and other develop
ments after l960 or so. Jhese developments lnclude
the questlonlng of language as a meanlngful system,
skeptlclsm concernlng flctlonal projects that asplre to
mlrror large segments of reallty, formal preference for
the fragmentary over the whole, for flashes of llght
over steady lllumlnatlonthat ls, what Roland Barthes
called 'le degr zro de l`crlture" (zero degree ln wrlt
lng). Modernlsm and postmodernlsm conslst greatly,
moreover, ln a quest for novelty; Martln du Gard hlm
self told a frlend, '|e ne suls pas un dpart, mals un
aboutlssement" (I am not a departure, but an arrlval).
Yet, hls work stlll has admlrers, as cheap edltlons
and scholarly publlcatlons lndlcate. Ior those who can
overcome the prejudlces of the hour, he remalns a
great wrlter. Jardleu assured hlm that hls work would
survlve, 'sollde et souple comme làcler, de style pur
et exempt de tout ce qul date et dmode" (solld and
flexlble llke steel, of a pure style and free of everythlng
that dates a work, makes lt unfashlonable). Camus
pralsed hlm as the only novellst of hls generatlon fol
lowlng ln Jolstoy`s llne, havlng 'le got des tres, làrt
de les pelndre dans leur obscurlt charnelle" (a llklng
for human belngs, the art of palntlng them ln thelr car
nal obscurlty). He dlsdalned aesthetlclsm totally; hls
alm, ln both flctlon and drama, was not to create
beauty but reallty. Ianatlcally devoted, however, to hls
craft (so successfully that the craft ls barely vlslble), he
put hls art at the servlce of what he consldered truth.
In hls Nobel speech, he spoke of havlng dlscovered
whlle stlll young, ln a Jhomas Hardy novel, the obser
vatlon. 'Jhe real value of llfe seemed to hlm to be less
ln lts beauty than ln lts tragedy." Jhe statement, he
added, corresponded to a deep lntultlon. that the prln
clpal object of flctlon ls to express the traglc quallty of
llfeeven more, of an lndlvldual destlny belng accom
pllshed. Jhls understandlngclose to Malraux`s vlew
of the novel as a prlvlleged means of expresslon of human
tragedyled Martln du Gard to adapt nlneteenthcentury
reallsm to contemporary concerns. Hls brllllant por
trayal of lndlvldual destlnles agalnst a background of
phllosophlcal angst and hlstorlcal unrest makes hlm,
as Claude Roy wrote, one of the greatest novellsts of
the twentleth century.
iW
'Lettres a un aml," k o c~~I new serles 6,
no. 72 (December l958). ll37-ll65;
'Correspondance |eanRlchard BlochRoger Martln
du Gard, l909-l916," bI 1l-13 (September
l963-Aprll l965);
l62
o j~ d~ ai_ PPN
Corrcspovdovcc Zvdrc CidcIogcr Mortiv du Cord, 2 vol
umes, edlted by |ean Delay (Parls. Galllmard,
l968);
Icttrcs dc Iogcr Mortiv du Cord o uv jcuvc ccrivoiv, 19J-
19S (Parls. A. Sernln, l969);
Corrcspovdovcc ocqucs CopcouIogcr Mortiv du Cord, 2
volumes, edlted by Claude Slcard (Parls. Galll
mard, l972);
Corrcspovdovcc gcvcrolc, 8 volumes, edlted by Maurlce
Rleuneau, Andr Daspre, Slcard, |eanClaude
Alral, Plerre Bardel, and Bernard Duchatelet
(Parls. Galllmard, l980-l997);
Iugvc Dobit, Iogcr Mortiv du Cord: Corrcspovdovcc, 2 vol
umes, edlted by Bardel (Joulouse. Edltlons du
C.N.R.S., l986);
Tcmoivs dùv tcmps troublc: Iogcr Mortiv du CordCcorgcs
Dulomcl, corrcspovdovcc 1919-19S, edlted by
Arlette Lafay (Parls. Lettres Modernes/Mlnard,
l987);
Corrcspovdovcc Ccorgcs DulomclIogcr Mortiv du Cord,
edlted by Lafay (Parls. Mlnard, l987);
Iomoiv Iollovd ct lo `.I.I.: Corrcspovdovccs ovcc ocqucs
Copcou, Costov Collimord, Zvdrc Cidc, Zvdrc Mol-
roux, Iogcr Mortiv du Cord, cov Ioullov, cov
Scllumbcrgcr ct Irogmcvts du ourvol, edlted by
Duchatelet (Colicrs Iomoiv Iollovd) (Parls. Albln
Mlchel, l989);
Icttrcs dc covfiovcc o cov Morovd: 19JS-197, edlted by
Bernadette Morand (SalntLambert des Bols.
IrancDlre, l99l);
Corrcspovdovcc croiscc, ou, I`listoirc dùvc omitic movqucc:
Iogcr Mortiv du Cord ct Iobcrt Hovvcrt, edlted by
|ean |os Marchand (Dolhaln, Belglum. Edltlons
Complments, 2000);
Corrcspovdovcc 1922-19S Iogcr Mortiv du Cordocqucs
dc Iocrctcllc, edlted by Alaln Jassel (Parls. L`Har
mattan, 2003);
Icttrcs croisccs (192J-19S) Iogcr Mortiv du Cordcov
Tordicu, edlted by Claude Debon (Parls. Galll
mard, 2003).
_~W
Marla van Rysselberghe, Ics Colicrs dc lo Ictitc Domc,
volumes 1-7 of Colicrs Zvdrc Cidc (Parls. Galll
mard, l973-l977);
Claude Slcard, Iogcr Mortiv du Cord: Ics Zvvccs dòpprcv-
tissogc littcroirc: (1SS1-1910) (Lllle. Ateller Repro
ductlon de Jhses, Lnlverslt Lllle III, l976).
oW
Bernard Alluln, Mortiv du Cord romovcicr (Parls. Aux
Amateurs de Llvres, l989);
Charlotte Andrleux, IÌcriturc dc lo politiquc clc Iogcr
Mortiv du Cord (Vllleneuve dÀscq. Presses Lnl
versltalres du Septentrlon, l999);
Denls Boak, Iogcr Mortiv du Cord (Oxford. Clarendon
Press, l963);
Clment Borgal, Mortiv du Cord (Parls. Edltlons Lnlver
sltalres, l957);
|acques Brenner, Mortiv du Cord (Parls. Galllmard,
l96l);
Andr Brlncourt, Mcssogcrs dc lo vuit: Iogcr Mortiv du
Cord, Soivt-olv Icrsc, Zvdrc Molroux (Parls. Gras
set, l995);
Catharlne Savage |Brosman|, Iogcr Mortiv du Cord
(New York. Jwayne, l968);
Brosman, 'Andr Glde and Roger Martln du Gard. Ior
and Agalnst Commltment," Iicc Uvivcrsity Studics,
59 (Summer l973). l-8;
Brosman, 'Jhe Ethlcs of Amblgulty ln Ics Tliboult,"
Iolio, l3 (Autumn l98l). 21-12;
Brosman, 'Roger Martln du Gard, Ics Tliboult et Ics
òurriturcs tcrrcstrcs," ln Ictour oux 'òurriturcs tcr-
rcstrcs, edlted by Davld H. Walker and Brosman
(Amsterdam Atlanta. Rodopl, l997), pp. 87-
l05;
ullctiv dcs Zmis d`Zvdrc Cidc, speclal Martln du Gard
lssue, 9 (October l98l);
Colicrs Iogcr Mortiv du Cord (l989- );
Ilorence Callu, Iranolse Blchet, and Mlchel Brunet,
eds., Iogcr Mortiv du Cord (Parls. Blbllothque
natlonale, l98l);
Albert Camus, 'Roger Martln du Gard," òuvcllc Icvuc
Irovoisc, 31 (l955). 61l-67l;
Sylvle Caucanas and Rmy Cazals, eds., Troccs dc 14-
1S: Zctcs du Colloquc Ivtcrvotiovol tcvu o Corcossovvc
du 24 ou 27 ovril 1996 (Carcassonne. Les Audols,
l997);
Haakon Chevaller, 'Irench Llterature Before the Wars;
Jwo Attltudes. l9l1 and l939," Ircvcl Icvicw, l6
( |anuary l913). l97-205;
Peter M. Cryle, Iogcr Mortiv du Cord, ou, Dc lìvtcgritc dc
l`ctrc o lìvtcgritc du romov (Parls. Lettres Modernes/
Mlnard, l981);
Andr Daspre and Alaln Jassel, eds., Iogcr Mortiv du
Cord ct lcs criscs dc l`listoirc (Nlce. Presses Lnlversl
talres de Nlce, 200l);
Daspre and |ochen Schlobach, eds., Iogcr Mortiv du
Cord: Itudcs sur sov ocuvrc (Parls. Kllncksleck,
l981);
Harald Emels, I`Zmc prisovvirc: Zvolyscs dc lòcuvrc dc
Iogcr Mortiv du Cord (Albl. Edltlons de la Icvuc du
Torv, l983);
Emels, IÙuvrc dc Iogcr Mortiv du Cord: Sourccs ct sigvifi-
cotiovs, 2 volumes (Essen. Dle Blaue Eule, 2003);
l63
ai_ PPN o j~ d~
Emels, Ircscvcc d`Zvdrc Cidc dovs Les Jhlbault dc Iogcr
Mortiv du Cord: Issoi dc dccryptogc, 2 volumes
(Essen. Dle Blaue Eule, 2006);
Iuropc, speclal Martln du Gard lssue, no. 762 (l992);
Jrevor Ileld, 'Jhe Internal Chronology of cov orois,
Studi Irovccsi, 50 (May-August l973). 300-303;
Ren Gargullo, Io Ccvsc dcs 'Tliboult dc Iogcr Mor-
tiv du Cord (Parls. Kllncksleck, l971);
Robert Glbson, Iogcr Mortiv du Cord (London.
Bowes Bowes / New York. Hlllary House,
l96l);
|ohn Gllbert, 'Symbols of Contlnulty and the Lnlty
of Ics Tliboult, ln hls Imogc ovd Tlcmc: Studics iv
Modcrv Ircvcl Iictiov (Cambrldge. Harvard Lnl
verslty Press, l969), pp. l21-l18;
Irvlng Howe, 'Martln du Gard. Jhe Novelty of
Goodness," ln hls Tlc Dcclivc of tlc `cw (New
York. Harcourt, Brace World, l970), pp. 13-
53;
Stuart H. Hughes, 'Martln du Gard and the Lnat
talnable Eplc," ln hls Tlc Ubstructcd Iotl: Ircvcl
Sociol Tlouglt iv tlc Jcors of Dcspcrotiov (New
York. Harper Row, l966), pp. l07-l20;
R. |ouejatl, Tlc _ucst for Totol Icocc: Tlc Ioliticol
Tlouglt of Iogcr Mortiv du Cord (London
Jotowa, N.|.. I. Cass, l977);
Grant Kalser, '|acques Jhlbault. Masque et mythe,"
ln Iictiov, Iorm, Ixpcricvcc, edlted by Kalser
(Montreal. Edltlons Irance_ubec, l976), pp.
ll1-l27;
Kalser, 'Roger Martln du Gard devant la crltlque,"
Studi Irovccsi, 59 (l976). 218-262;
Kalser, 'Roger Martln du Gard`s cov orois: An
Experlment ln Novellstlc Iorm," Symposium, l1
(Summer l960). l35-l1l;
Gyrgy Lukcs, Icolism iv Uur Timc: Iitcroturc ovd tlc
Closs Strugglc, translated by |ohn Mander and
Necke Mander (New York. Harper Row,
l961), pp. 55-59;
ClaudeEdmonde Magny, Histoirc du romov frovois
dcpuis 191S (Parls. Edltlons du Seull, l950);
òuvcllc Icvuc Irovoisc, speclal Martln du Gard lssue,
new serles 6 (December l958);
Martha O`Nan, 'Iorm ln the Novel. Andr Glde and
Roger Martln du Gard," Symposium, l2 (Sprlng-
Iall l958). 8l-93;
O`Nan, 'Lettre autographe et blbllographle," Iolio,
l3 (Autumn l98l). 70-76;
O`Nan, ed., Iogcr Mortiv du Cord Ccvtcvviol, 1SS1-
19S1 (Brockport. Department of Iorelgn Lan
guages, State Lnlverslty of New York College,
l98l);
Gatan Plcon, 'Portralt et sltuatlon de Roger Martln
du Gard," Mcrcurc dc Irovcc, no. ll1l (Septem
ber l958). l6;
Icvuc d`Histoirc Iittcroirc dc lo Irovcc, speclal Martln du
Gard lssue, 82, no. 5-6 (l982);
Rjean Robldoux, Iogcr Mortiv du Cord ct lo rcligiov
(Parls. Aubler, l961);
Leon Roudlez, 'Jhe Iunctlon of Irony ln Roger
Martln du Gard," Iomovic Icvicw, 18 (Decem
ber l957). 275-286;
Robert Roza, 'Roger Martln du Gard. Master
Bullder of the Novel," Zmcricov Socicty Icgiov of
Hovor Mogoivc, 38 (l967). 73-88;
Claude Roy, Dcscriptiovs critiqucs (Parls. Galllmard,
l919), p. 6l;
Angels Santa and Montserrat Parra, eds., Iclirc 'IÌtc
1914 ct 'IÌpiloguc dc Iogcr Mortiv du Cord
(Llelda. Lnlversltat de Llelda/ Pags, 2000);
Davld Schalk, Iogcr Mortiv du Cord: Tlc òvclist ovd
History (Ithaca, N.Y.. Cornell Lnlverslty Press,
l967);
Sonla Spurdle, 'Jolstoy and Roger Martln du Gard`s
Ics Tliboult," Comporotivc Iitcroturc, 23 (Iall
l97l). 325-315;
Susan M. Stout, Ivdcx dc lo Corrcspovdovcc Zvdrc Cidc-
Iogcr Mortiv du Cord (Parls. Galllmard, l97l);
Stout, Ivdcx dcs voms ct dcs titrcs citcs dovs lo corrcspov-
dovcc Zvdrc Cidc, Iogcr Mortiv du Cord (Bron.
Lnlverslt Lyon II, Centre dÈtudes Gldlennes,
l979);
Mlchael |ohn Jaylor, Mortiv du Cord: cov orois
(London. Arnold, l971);
Phlllp Jhody, 'Jhe Polltlcs of the Iamlly Novel. Is
Conservatlsm Inevltable?" Mosoic, 3 (Iall
l969). 87-l0l;
|ohn Vrolyk, Ic Tcmps ct lo mort dovs lòcuvrc romovcsquc
dc Iogcr Mortiv du Cord (Parls. La Pense Lnl
verselle, l971);
Davld Prlestley Walnwrlght, 'Jhe Jheatrlcal Jemp
tatlon. |acques Copeau`s Influence on Roger
Martln du Gard, l9l3-l920," dlssertatlon,
Lnlverslty of Southern Callfornla, l985;
Eugene Weber, 'Jhe Secret World of cov orois, ln
Tlc Urigivs of Modcrv Covsciousvcss, edlted by Ed
Welss (Detrolt. Wayne State Lnlverslty Press,
l965), pp. 79-l09;
Rene Ialnas Wehrmann, I`Zrt dc Iogcr Mortiv du
Cord dovs 'Ics Tliboult (Blrmlngham, Ala..
Summa Publlcatlons, l986);
W. Donald Wllson, 'Martln du Gard`s Ipiloguc: A
Problem of Closure," ln Icrspcctivcs ov Iovguogc
ovd Iitcroturc: Issoys iv Hovor of !illiom Moilcr,
edlted by |. Mlchael Dash and Brldget |ones
l61
o j~ d~ ai_ PPN
(Mona, |amalca. Lnlverslty of the West Indles,
l985), pp. l11-l60;
Wllson, Io Structurc du dcdoublcmcvt: objcctivitc ct mytlc
dovs 'Ics Tliboult dc Iogcr Mortiv du Cord (Blr
mlngham, Ala.. Summa Publlcatlons, l997);
Wllson, 'Jhe Jheme of Abdlcatlon ln the Novels of
Roger Martln du Gard," `coplilologus, 59 (Aprll
l975). l90-l98;
|ohn Wood, 'Roger Martln du Gard," Ircvcl Studics,
l1 (Aprll l960). l29-l10.
m~W
Most of Roger Martln du Gard`s papers are deposlted
at the Blbllothque Natlonale de Irance, Parls. Some
letters are at the IMEC (Instltut Mmolres de l`dltlon
contemporalne), Parls.
NVPT k m i~
m~ p
Jhe reclplent of the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature for
l937, Roger Martln du Gard, has dedlcated most of hls
actlvlty to a slngle work, a long serles of novels wlth the
collectlve tltle, Ics Tliboult (l922-10). It ls a vast work
both ln the number of lts volumes and ln lts scope. It rep
resents modern Irench llfe by means of a whole gallery of
characters and an analysls of the lntellectual currents and
the problems that occupled Irance durlng the ten years
precedlng the Ilrst World War, a gallery as full and an
analysls as complete as the subject of the novel permltted.
Jhe work has therefore taken a form especlally character
lstlc of our era, called the 'roman fleuve" ln the country
of lts orlgln.
Jhe term deslgnates a narratlve method that ls rela
tlvely llttle concerned wlth composltlon and advances llke
a rlver across vast countrles, reflectlng everythlng that ls
found on lts way. Jhe essence of such a novel, ln large as
well as small matters, conslsts ln the exactltude of thls
reflectlon rather than ln the harmonlous balance of lts
parts; lt has no shape. Jhe rlver llngers at wlll and only
rarely does the undercurrent dlsturb the smooth flow of
lts surface.
Our age can hardly be called calm; on the contrary,
the speed of the machlnes accelerates the rhythm of llfe to
the polnt of agltatlon. It ls strange, therefore, that ln such
an age the most popular llterary form, the novel, should
have developed ln a totally opposlte dlrectlon, and by so
dolng have become only the more popular. Stlll, lf the
novel offered us the satlsfylng world of fantasy, one could
explaln thls phenomenon ln psychologlcal terms as a sort
of poetlc compensatlon for the frustratlons of dally llfe.
But lt ls preclsely the heartrendlng angulsh of reallty that
the novel takes such tlme to sound and to emphaslze.
Nevertheless, the novel ls there, wlth lts boundless
substance, and the reader flnds a certaln solace ln the
helghtened awareness whlch he acqulres from the lnevlta
ble element of tragedy lnherent ln all llfe. Wlth a klnd of
herolsm, lt swallows reallty ln large draughts and encour
ages us to bear even great sufferlngs wlth joy. Jhe
reader`s aesthetlc demands wlll be satlsfled ln lsolated sec
tlons of the work whlch are more condensed and there
fore better sulted to call forth hls feellngs. Ics Tliboult does
not lack such sectlons.
Jhe essentlal characters of the novel are three mem
bers of the same famlly. the father and two sons. Jhe
father remalns ln the background; hls passlve role, one of
welght and masslveness, ls presented by a speclal tech
nlque. Jhe two sons and the countless secondary charac
ters of the work are presented ln a dramatlc manner.
Lnprepared by anythlng ln the story, we see them before
us, actlng and speaklng ln the present; and we are glven a
detalled and complete descrlptlon of the settlng. Jhe
reader must be qulck to grasp what he sees and hears, for
the caprlclous and lrregular rhythm of llfe beats every
where. He ls helped ln hls task by the wrlter`s most per
fected tool. the analysls of hls heroes` thoughts, expressed
beyond words, an lnslght lnto the darkness whlch engen
ders consclous actlons. Martln du Gard goes even fur
ther; he shows how thoughts, feellngs, and the wlll can be
transformed before becomlng words and acts. Sometlmes
exterlor conslderatlonshablt, vanlty, or even a slmple
gaucherlealter expresslons and personallty. Jhls examl
natlon, at once subtle and bold, of the dynamlc processes
of the soul obvlously constltutes Martln du Gard`s most
orlglnal and most remarkable contrlbutlon to the art of
characterlzlng human belngs. Irom the aesthetlc polnt of
vlew, thls ls not always an advantage, for the analysls may
appear cumbersome when lts results do not seem neces
sary to the story.
Jhls lntrospectlve method ls used even for the
father`s character, but lt ls less compllcated ln hls case. Hls
personallty ls already clearcut and complete at the begln
nlng of the novel, for he belongs to the past. Events of the
present no longer affect hlm.
He ls a member of the upper mlddle class, con
sclous of hls status and hls dutles, a falthful servant of the
Church and a generous benefactor of soclety, full of pru
dent advlce. He really belongs to a generatlon before hls
own, to the Irance of the |uly Monarchy; that ls why he ls
to come lnto more than one confllct wlth the next genera
tlon, ln partlcular wlth hls sons. But thls confllct rarely
reaches the verbal level, for the old man ls too convlnced
of hls proper worth to engage ln dlscusslons. Hence the
l65
ai_ PPN o j~ d~
perennlal theme of the opposltlon of youth to age ls not
speclally treated here.
Jhe representatlve of age appears above all ln an
attltude of lntrospectlon and lmmutablllty; he relles
heavlly and complacently on all that he thlnks wlse and
just. No word can lnfluence hlm. In the lsolatlon of hls
llfe, one mlght see the whole tragedy of age lf he were not
hlmself so completely unaware of the posslblllty of such a
tragedy.
He ls characterlzed rather by comlc tralts; pro
founder sentlments are expressed only at the tlme of hls
death, ln the face of hls human destlny. Jhls expresslon ls
not dlrect but results from a strlctly objectlve, concrete
descrlptlon of the long martyrdom of hls agony. It ls a
movlng descrlptlon desplte lts mlnute detall. Lp to now
he had been consldered only from wlthout, wlth the
exceptlon of some rare lnstances when he had revealed
what, even ln hlm, was hldden behlnd the faade he pre
sented to the world.
Jhe dlfference between hlm and hls oldest son
recelves llttle emphasls. Antolne Jhlbault ls a doctor.
Entlrely absorbed by hls professlon, hls father`s moral
and ethlcal polnts of vlew are entlrely allen to hlm. Moral
lty ls replaced ln hlm by an lntense and consclentlous
devotlon to research and to the exerclse of hls professlon.
Master of hlmself, prudent, tactful, he has not the least
deslre for opposltlon; he has not even tlme to thlnk of lt.
In the novel one wltnesses hls rapld evolutlon wlthln pre
scrlbed llmlts. He ls a man ambltlous for the future. At
flrst he ls occaslonally a llttle fatuous, but he soon com
mands respect by hls work.
Antolne becomes a sympathetlc representatlve of
the lntellectuals of hls day, full of ldeas, wlthout prejudlces
ln hls conceptlons, but as a determlnlst convlnced of the
lnablllty of the lndlvldual to change whatever the general
course of events may be. He ls not a revolutlonary.
_ulte dlfferent ls hls brother |acques, who ls several
years younger. Jhe latter ls too close to the wrlter`s heart
to suffer any crltlclsm. He ls the hero of the work, and the
exterlor world ls examlned and judged accordlng to hls
ldeals. Hls father`s responslblllty for hls evolutlon ls con
slderable, but actually |acques, by hls whole nature, ls des
tlned to be a revolutlonary. When the story beglns, he ls a
schoolboy of fourteen ln a college run by prlests. Although
he dlsllkes and neglects hls studles, he commands respect
by hls lntelllgence. Jhe catastrophe occurs when he dls
covers a frlend among hls schoolmates, and thelr affectlon,
at thls dangerous perlod of adolescence, takes an exalted
and seemlngly erotlc form. Jhelr feellngs are betrayed by
thelr letters, mlslnterpreted (as, lndeed, they are bound to
be) by the prlests who lntervene wlth dlsclpllnary mea
sures. Jhe strlct survelllance and the very lntruslon lnto
hls emotlonal prlvate llfe are an unbearable offense to
|acques. Iurthermore, he has to awalt hls father`s rage,
stlrred up by thls scandal. Hls revolt ls expressed ln actlon.
He carrles along hls frlend ln hls escape far from all yokes,
those he endured and those he feared ln a hostlle and
harsh world. He feels that hls whole belng, ln the grlp of
romantlc poetry and of more dangerous tendencles, ls
lrreconcllable wlth the real world. Seeklng happlness and
freedom, the two boys leave for Afrlca, but thelr vlslonary
project ls destroyed ln Marsellles by the efforts of the
pollce who had been alerted.
On hls return, hls father, ln an excess of pedagoglc
zeal, makes a psychologlcal mlstake; he condemns hls son
to solltary conflnement ln a reformatory founded by hlm
self. Jhe oppresslon of thls conflnement causes |acques`
lndomltable personallty to emerge even stronger and
flercer. Jhe account of thls development ls the most mov
lng eplsode ln the work.
After he has been released owlng to hls brother`s
lnfluence, |acques ls permltted to pursue hls studles, hls
only consolatlon. He does brllllantly and ls easlly accepted
by the Ecole Normale, the supreme goal of all ambltlous
and talented students and the open door to all top llterary
or sclentlflc careers. But |acques cannot be attracted by an
offlclal career that for hlm ls only a vold and an llluslon; he
soon sets out for adventure and reallty. Once more the boy
escapes to Afrlca, but thls tlme he succeeds and he remalns
absent from the narratlve for a long tlme.
He ls seen agaln when Antolne dlscovers hls resl
denceln Swltzerland among the revolutlonarlesand
brlngs hlm back to thelr father`s deathbed. He arrlves too
late for a reconclllatlon, even lf one consldered a reconclll
atlon between these two dlametrlcally opposed concepts
of llfe posslble. Jhe old man does not recognlze hlm, but
|acques feels a deep sorrow, for he ls not one of those peo
ple who, obsessed wlth manklnd`s future happlness,
begln by stlfllng every trace of humanlty ln themselves.
Such ls the outllne of |acques` lnner llfe as far as lt ls
known. Ior the rest he remalns rather eluslve, as before,
but we notlce the author`s great appreclatlon of hls facul
tles and of hls character.
We get to know hlm fully when the novel
approaches lts concluslon and at the same tlme lts helght
of eplc grandeurln the summer of l9l1 just before the
world catastrophe. |acques ls ln Geneva, havlng left Parls
soon after hls father`s death ln order to escape the neces
slty of lnherltlng a fortune ln a soclety whlch he scorns.
He belongs to a group of soclallst and communlst reform
ers whose lmmedlate mlsslon ls to halt the threat of war
by the revolt of the masses. Jhe descrlptlon of these aglta
tors ls one of the least successful passages ln the book; the
overall lmpresslon, whether lntended or not, ls that these
men are not worthy of thelr mlsslon.
But |acques` stature lncreases ln everyone`s eyes
when he leaves Geneva and returns to Parls to accom
pllsh hls mlsslon. Hls development ls moral rather than
l66
o j~ d~ ai_ PPN
lntellectual; hls actlons have no great results, but he saves
hls soul. Jhe descrlptlon of the last days of |uly ln Parls,
wlth |acques waverlng between hope and despalr ln thls
surcharged atmosphere, ls a verltable tour dc forcc ln Mar
tln du Gard`s novellstlc achlevement. Jhe hlstory of thls
perlod revlves, reawakens, as far as the masses` role ls
concerned. But, as almost always, the role ls not declslve.
Jhe masses are lmpotent, bllnd, and ln thls case even less
famlllar than usual wlth the game of polltlcs that causes
such tragedles. Jhe author hlmself seems not to be partlc
ularly lnltlated, but he ls tolerant and human, and hls
descrlptlon, as far as lt goes, ls truthful.
Agalnst the background of thls bewllderlng anxlety
there occurs a brlef but hlghly lllumlnatlng eplsode of a
completely dlfferent character. |acques meets agaln a
young glrl wlth whom he had almost fallen ln love several
years before, but from whom he had run away as he had
run away from everythlng else. Jhls tlme the true spark ls
klndled between them. Jhls fatal love story ls one of the
most slgnlflcant eplsodes ln the novel; lt ls profoundly felt
and rendered ln all lts pure beauty preclsely because lt ls
restrlcted to the dlmenslons that the breathless fllght of
days lmposes on the story. It lasts only a short tlme, but
that ls enough to glve lt a traglc and slmple beauty.
When all the polltlcal llluslons vanlsh for |acques at
the declaratlon of war, he recreates for hlmself a new lllu
slon, born of hls despalr and of hls wlll to sacrlflce. Rlght
at the front llnes he trles to ward off the catastrophe by
appeallng from an alrplane to the two opposlng armles,
seeklng to lnsplre ln them a common revolt and a deslre
to overthrow the powers whlch hold them captlve. Wlth
out hesltatlng he leaves Parls and the woman he loves.
Jhe adventure ls stamped wlth the same schoolboy
romantlclsm and lack of reallty as was hls flrst fllght out
of the world, but |acques nonetheless carrles out hls plan
wlth hls customary energy. Hls call for revolutlon ls
prlnted ln Swltzerland, the alrplane and pllot are ready,
the expedltlon beglns. It wlll not last long, for he has
hardly flown over the battlefleld when the plane crashes
and catches flre wlth lts whole load, men and bundles of
paper. |acques hlmself falls, a heap of brulsed and burned
flesh, among the retreatlng Irench troops. All hls percep
tlon ls restrlcted to a vague sensatlon of the bltterness of
defeat and to unbearable and lnflnlte physlcal torments,
whlch are flnally relleved by the bullet of a compatrlot
tlred of dragglng along thls lllfated person whom he
holds to be a spy anyhow.
It ls dlfflcult to lmaglne a bltterer dnouement to a
tragedy or a crueller lrony ln a defeat. But Martln du
Gard dld not dlrect hls lrony toward hls hero. Perhaps he
wanted to show the brutallty and the cruelty of world
events as opposed to ldeallstlc tendencles. Hls bltterness ls
certalnly justlfled here, but the long detalled descrlptlon of
the whole eplsode becomes almost lntolerable ln lts scru
pulous exactltude.
|acques Jhlbault, as we flnally get to know hlm,
llves ln our memory as a herolc flgure. Wlthout the least
grandlloquent attltude or word, thls uprlght, sllent, and
reserved man recelves at last the seal of grandeur. gran
deur of wlll and courage. Whenever the novel centres on
hlm, the wrlter`s untlrlng work achleves persuaslve elo
quence. After hls polnted and sceptlcal analysls of the
human soul, whlch almost consumes lts object wlth lts
often extreme exactness ln detall, through the most
mlnute reallsm posslble, Martln du Gard flnally pays
homage to the ldeallsm of the human splrlt.
j~ d~W _~ p
Ivtroductory rcmorls by Irofcssor Z. I. Iivdl of tlc Uvi-
vcrsity of Uppsolo ot tlc òbcl ovquct ot tlc City Holl iv
Stocllolm, 10 Dcccmbcr 19J7:
It ls wlth great pleasure and gratlflcatlon that we
flnd among our dlstlngulshed guests thls evenlng Roger
Martln du Gard, crowned today wlth the golden laurel
of the Nobel Prlze. We thank you most heartlly for
what you have glven us through the medlum of your
llterary work, and partlcularly for your great master
plece, Ics Tliboult, whlch has come lnto belng as a result
of an lntense study of reallty, and of a profound knowl
edge of human dlsslmllltudes. In your psychologlcal
work survlves that classlcal Irench reallsm whlch
dauntlessly portrays llfe ln all lts naked truths, and
whlch demands of lts practltloners an lncorruptlble con
sclence and a great sense of justlce. We admlre the way
ln whlch you have permltted the famlly chronlcles ln
Ics Tliboult to develop lnto a traglc and complete plc
ture of Europe such as lt appeared before those calaml
tous years of the World War. In acknowledglng your
powerful accompllshments we add our respect for the
earnest pathos whlch runs through your llterary works.
Mortiv du Cord`s spcccl (Trovslotiov)
Jhe presence of so many lllustrlous persons assem
bled under the patronage of Hls Hlghness, the Crown
Prlnce, helghtens the emotlons that I feel at flndlng myself
here and hearlng the words of pralse that have just been
addressed to me. I feel rather llke an owl, suddenly roused
from lts nest and exposed to the dayllght, whose eyes,
used to the dark, are bllnded by dazzllng brlghtness.
I am proud of the exceptlonal mark of esteem the
Swedlsh Academy has bestowed on me, but I cannot con
l67
ai_ PPN o j~ d~
ceal my surprlse from you. Ever slnce I felt your favour lle
upon and almost overwhelm me, I have asked myself how
to lnterpret lt.
My flrst thought was of my country. I am happy
that ln maklng a c author lts cholce for thls year, the
dlstlngulshed Swedlsh Academy has thought flt to glorlfy
our Irench llterature ln partlcular. On the other hand, I
know some great poets among my compatrlots, noble and
powerful mlnds, whom your votes mlght have chosen
wlth much better reason. Why then am I today ln thls
place of honour?
Jhe demon of vanlty, never completely sllenced, at
flrst whlspered to me some flatterlng presumptlons. I even
went so far as to ask myself whether by grantlng thls dls
tlnctlon to the 'man wlthout dogma," that I profess to be,
the Academy dld not wlsh to emphaslze that ln thls cen
tury, when everyone 'belleves" and 'asserts," lt ls perhaps
useful that there should be some who 'hesltate," 'put ln
doubt," and 'questlon"lndependent mlnds that escape
the fasclnatlon of partlsan ldeologles and whose constant
care ls to develop thelr lndlvldual consclences ln order to
malntaln a splrlt of 'lnqulry" as objectlve, llberal, and falr
mlnded as ls humanly posslble.
I should also llke to thlnk that thls sudden honour
acknowledges certaln prlnclples dear to me. 'Prlnclples" ls
a blg word to be used by a man who says that he ls always
ready to revlse hls oplnlons. I must, however, admlt that ln
the practlce of my art I have lmposed upon myself certaln
guldellnes to whlch I have trled to be falthful.
I was stlll very young when I encountered, ln a
novel by the Engllsh wrlter Jhomas Hardy, thls reflectlon
on one of hls characters. 'Jhe true value of llfe seemed to
hlm to be not so much lts beauty, as lts traglc quallty." It
spoke to an lntultlon deep wlthln me, closely allled to my
llterary vocatlon. Ever slnce that tlme I have thought that
the prlme purpose of the novel ls to glve volce to the traglc
element ln llfe. Joday I would add. the traglc element ln
the llfe of an lndlvldual, the tragedy of a 'destlny ln the
course of belng fulfllled."
At thls polnt I cannot refraln from referrlng to the
lmmortal example of Jolstoy, whose books have had a
determlnlng lnfluence on my development. Jhe born nov
ellst recognlzes hlmself by hls passlon to penetrate ever
more deeply lnto the knowledge of man and to lay bare ln
each of hls characters that lndlvldual element of hls llfe
whlch makes each belng unlque. It seems to me that any
chance of survlval whlch a novellst`s work may have rests
solely on the quantlty and the quallty of the lndlvldual
llves that he has been able to create ln hls books. But that
ls not all. Jhe novellst must also have a sense of llfe ln gen
eral; hls work must reveal a personal vlslon of the unl
verse. Here agaln Jolstoy ls the great master. Each of hls
creatures ls more or less secretly haunted by a metaphysl
cal obsesslon, and each of the human experlences that he
has recorded lmplles, beyond an lnqulry lnto man, an anx
lous questlon about the meanlng of llfe. I admlt that I take
pleasure ln the thought that, ln crownlng my work as a
novellst, the members of the Swedlsh Academy wlshed to
pay lndlrect homage to my devotlon to that unapproach
able model and to my efforts to proflt from the lnstructlon
of hls genlus.
I should llke to conclude wlth a more sombre
hypothesls, although I am embarrassed to dlsturb thls fes
tlve mood by arouslng those palnful thoughts that haunt
all of us. However, perhaps the Swedlsh Academy dld not
hesltate to express a speclal purpose by drawlng the atten
tlon of the lntellectual world to the author of i NVNQ
xp NVNQzK
Jhat ls the tltle of my last book. It ls not for me to
judge lts value. But at least I know what I set out to do. ln
the course of these three volumes I trled to revlvlfy the
angulshed atmosphere of Europe on the eve of the moblll
zatlons of l9l1. I trled to show the weakness of the gov
ernments of that day, thelr hesltatlons, lndlscretlons, and
unavowed deslres; I trled above all to glve an lmpresslon
of the stupefactlon of the peaceful masses before the
approach of that cataclysm whose vlctlms they were golng
to be, that cataclysm whlch was to leave nlne mllllon men
dead and ten mllllon men crlppled.
When I see that one of the hlghest llterary jurles ln
the world supports these books wlth the prestlge of lts
lncontestable authorlty, I ask myself whether the reason
may not be that these books through thelr wlde clrculatlon
have appeared to defend certaln values that are agaln
belng threatened and to flght agalnst the evll contaglon of
the forces of war.
Ior I am a son of the West, where the nolse of arms
does not let our mlnds rest. Slnce we have come together
today on the tenth of December, the annlversary of the
death of Alfred Nobel (that man of actlon, 'no mere
shadow," who ln the last years of hls llfe seems lndeed to
have put hls supreme hope ln the brotherhood of natlons),
permlt me to confess how good lt would be to thlnk that
my workthe work that has just been honoured ln hls
namemlght serve not only the cause of letters, but even
the cause of peace. In these months of anxlety ln whlch we
are llvlng, when blood ls already belng shed ln two
extreme parts of the globe, when practlcally everywhere ln
an atmosphere polluted by mlsery and fanatlclsm passlons
are seethlng around polnted guns, when too many slgns
are agaln heraldlng the return of that languld defeatlsm,
that general consent whlch alone makes wars posslble. at
thls exceptlonally grave moment through whlch humanlty
ls passlng, I wlsh, wlthout vanlty, but wlth a gnawlng dls
quletude ln my heart, that my books about 'Summer
l9l1" may be read and dlscussed, and that they may
remlnd allthe old who have forgotten as well as the
young who elther do not know or do not careof the sad
lesson of the past.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l937. Roger Martln du Gard ls
l68
e~ j~
(6 Moy 1904 - 11 Icbruory 197S)
m~ k
Uvivcrsity of !oslivgtov
Jhls entry was expanded by Norln from hls Martln
son entry ln DI 29: Twcvtictl-Ccvtury Swcdisl !ritcrs
cforc !orld !or II.
BOOKS. Icm uvgo: Uvglittcror ovtologi, by Martlnson,
Artur Lundkvlst, Erlk Asklund, |osef Kjellgren,
and Gustav Sandgren (Stockholm. Bonnler,
l929);
Splslcpp (Stockholm. Bonnler, l929);
òmod (Stockholm. Bonnler, l93l);
Icsor utov ml (Stockholm. Bonnler, l932);
Iop Iorvol! (Stockholm. Bonnler, l933); translated by
Naoml Walford as Copc Iorcwcll (London. Cres
set, l931; New York. Putnam, l931);
òtur (Stockholm. Bonnler, l931);
òsslorvo blommo (Stockholm. Bonnler, l935); translated
by Walford as Ilowcrivg `cttlc (London. Cresset,
l936);
!ogcv ut (Stockholm. Bonnler, l936);
Svormorc ocl lorlrovl (Stockholm. Bonnler, l937);
Midsommordolcv (Stockholm. Bonnler, l938);
Dct cvllo ocl dct svro (Stockholm. Bonnler, l939);
!crlliglct till dds (Stockholm. Norstedt, l910);
Dcv frlorodc joguorcv (Stockholm. Norstedt, l910);
Iossod (Stockholm. Bonnler, l915);
!ogcv till Iloclrilc (Stockholm. Bonnler, l918); trans
lated by M. A. Mlchael as Tlc Iood (London.
Cape, l955; New York. Reynal, l956);
Cilodo (Stockholm. Bonnler, l953);
Zvioro: Iv rcvy om movvislov i tid ocl rum (Stockholm.
Bonnler, l956); translated by Hugh MacDlarmld
and Elspeth Harley Schubert as Zvioro: Z Icvicw
of Mov iv Timc ovd Spocc (New York. Knopf, l963);
Croscv i Tlulc (Stockholm. Bonnler, l958);
Diltcr (Stockholm. Bonnler, l959);
!ogvcv (Stockholm. Bonnler, l960);
Utsilt frv cv grostuvo (Stockholm. Bonnler, l963); trans
lated by Erland Anderson and Lars Nordstrm as
!icws from o Tuft of Cross (Copenhagen Los
Angeles. Green Integer, 2005);
Horry Mortivsovs ocl jrv vov Ioscvs `yo bcstiorum:
omfottovdc djur ocl fglor frv ollo jordcvs lovdcr ocl
listoricvs ldror, by Martlnson and Bjrn von
Rosen (Stockholm. Bonnler, l961);
Iotsov frv Moluclos. Itt rodiospcl om dcv portugisislc sj-
fororcv Mogcllovs vorldsomscglivg 119-122 (Stock
Trc lvivor frv !ci (Stockholm. Bonnler, l961);
!ildbulcttov: òturdiltcr i urvol Zlc Iuvvquist (Stockholm.
Bonnler, l965);
Diltcr om ljus ocl mrlcr (Stockholm. Bonnler, l97l);
Tuvor (Stockholm. Bonnler, l973);
Diltcr, 1929-19J (Stockholm. Bonnler, l971);
Iovgs clots stigor (Stockholm. Bonnler, l978);
Doridcrvo: Iftcrlomvodc diltcr ocl prosostyclcv, selected by
Jord Hall (Stockholm. Bonnler, l980);
ollcsogor, complled by Ingallsa Munck (Stockholm.
Bonnler, l983);
Iscricr p ollvor (Bokvnnerna, l981);
Cyro (Stockholm. |ordeco, l986);
Ur dc tuscv diltcrvos bol, edlted by Stefan Sandelln
(Lund. Ellerstrm, l986);
Irivg Zvioro, complled by Sandelln (Sdra Sandby.
Vekerum, l989);
Hov ocl rcsor, complled by Sandelln (Sdra Sandby.
Vekerum, l992);
Slillivgtryclct ocl !ildgsrcsov, complled by Sandelln
(Sdra Sandby. Vekerum, l991);
Dromotil: Crivgo, Solvotiov, Iotscv frv Moluclos, Trc lvivor
frv !ci (Stockholm. Bonnler, l999);
òturcssocr: Svormorc ocl lorlrovl; Midsommordolcv; Dct
cvllo ocl dct svro; Utsilt frv cv grostuvo, wlth an
afterword by Bengt Emll |ohnson (Stockholm.
Bonnler, 2000);
Dc tuscv diltcrvos bol (Stockholm. Bonnler, 2001)
lncludes prevlously unpubllshed poems and
poems from Iovgs clot stigor, Doridcmo, and Ur dc
tuscv diltcrvos bol.
b bW Poems by Martlnson, ln Iiglt
Swcdisl Iocts, chosen and translated by Irederlc
Ilelsher (Stockholm. Bo Caverfors, l963);
l69
ai_ PPN e~ j~
Iricvds, Jou Drovl Somc Dorlvcss: Tlrcc Swcdisl Iocts,
Horry Mortivsov, Cuvvor Ilclf, ovd Tomos Trov-
strmcr, chosen and translated by Robert Bly (Bos
ton. Beacon, l975), pp. l-65;
!ild ouquct: òturc Iocms, translated by Wllllam |ay
Smlth and Lelf Sjberg (Kansas Clty, Mo..
BKMK Press, l985);
Poems by Martlnson, ln Tlc Iorcst of Clildlood: Iocms
from Swcdcv, edlted and translated by Smlth and
Sjberg (Mlnneapolls. New Rlvers Press, l996);
Zvioro, translated by Stephen Klass and Sjberg (Ash
land, Ore.. Story Llne Press, l999).
PRODLCED SCRIPJS. Crivgo, radlo, l932;
Solvotiov, radlo, l933;
Iotscv frv Moluclos, radlo, l0 |anuary l937.
OJHER. Poems by Martlnson, ln Modcrv lyril, edlted
by Erlk Asklund (Stockholm. Bonnler, l93l);
!islctcvs ord i stcr, edlted by Martlnson (Stockholm. Plc
colo, l962).
Harry Martlnson ls wldely regarded as one of
the leadlng flgures ln twentlethcentury Swedlsh lltera
ture. When he began publlshlng hls works, crltlcs and
fellow wrlters allke qulckly recognlzed hls lyrlc glfts; ln
partlcular, hls collectlon òmod (l93l) contrlbuted
greatly to the lntroductlon of llterary modernlsm ln
Sweden. Innovatlve wlthout belng obscure, Martlnson
was an extremely popular wrlter as well, and hls verse
eplc, Zvioro: Iv rcvy om movvislov i tid ocl rum (l956;
translated as Zvioro: Z Icvicw of Mov iv Timc ovd Spocc,
l963), ls one of the most lmportant works of the post
war generatlon. Hls country offlclally recognlzed hlm
wlth such honors as hls electlon to the Swedlsh Acad
emy ln l919 and a Nobel Prlze ln Llterature ln l971.
Martlnson began hls career as a wrlter ln the late
l920s, along wlth several other wrlters and artlsts
from worklngclass orlglns, most of whom were self
educated, or autodldacts. Ior thls reason, and
because four of Martlnson`s major prose works deal
more or less expllcltly wlth hls early years, the author`s
blography and famlly background arouse more than
usual lnterest. Although Sonja Erfurth`s fourvolume
blography on Martlnson provldes a thorough docu
mentatlon, ln Swedlsh, of hls llfe through the end of
the l930s, the compllcated clrcumstances of hls chlld
hood and youth are not easlly summarlzed. Jhese
e~ j~ EF b g EFI ~ NVTQ k m i~I
~ ^~ pI ~ NVTM k m i~
~ ~ Ee ^Ld f~F
l70
e~ j~ ai_ PPN
lnformatlve perlods ln hls past provlde the background
for much of hls wrltlng ln the l930s, especlally for the
prose works that concern hls chlldhood and hls years
as a seaman and, at tlmes, as a ~a tramp or
drlfter.
Harry Edmund Martlnson was born on 6 May
l901, the flfth of seven chlldren of Martln Olofsson
and Bengta Svensdotter Olofsson, ln the parlsh of |m
shg ln the southern Swedlsh provlnce of Bleklnge. Hls
famlly followed the old Swedlsh tradltlon ln glvlng
names; Harry, as the son of Martln, was thus glven the
surname Martlnson. Olofsson, who had llved for a
tlme ln North Amerlca and Australla, was an unsuc
cessful store owner wlth a penchant for storytelllng,
flghtlng, and drlnklng, and Bengta Svensdotter, whom
Olofsson llked to call 'Betty," was the parlsh beauty.
After Olofsson`s store went bankrupt ln l901, Betty
Olofsson took over the buslness ln her own name. In
l905 Olofsson was sentenced to a month ln prlson for
assault, but whlle appeallng the convlctlon he left for
the Lnlted States and stayed there for three years. He
returned home when he was dlagnosed wlth tuberculo
sls. Jhe appeal of hls sentence, whlch had been
delayed durlng hls absence, ultlmately falled, and he
served the prlson term. Lpon hls release, however,
another case of assault led to a term of hard labor for
nlne months ln l909, the same year that hls and Betty
Olofsson`s seventh chlld was born. She sold the store
and moved wlth the chlldren further south to the prov
lnce of Skne, where she opened another store. Jhe
followlng year, however, thls store also went bankrupt,
and Olofsson dled of tuberculosls.
In l9l0, one year before Martlnson`s oldest sls
ter, Edlt, dled of the same dlsease that took thelr father,
Betty Olofsson left her chlldren for the Lnlted States
ostenslbly to collect on a llfelnsurance pollcy taken out
by her husbandand remalned there untll her death ln
l916. In l9l2, when Martlnson was almost elght years
old, the chlldren were made wards of the parlsh and
placed ln foster homes. Over the next few years he was
housed at a serles of farms ln the area. One brlght spot
ln the boy`s envlronment, however, was school, and
readlngnewspapers, adventure novels, and popular
sclence magazlnessoon became one of hls most enjoy
able pastlmes. He also performed a varlety of chores
on the farms where he was sent to llve, experlenclng a
rural way of llfe that soon thereafter dlsappeared ln
Sweden.
Whlle Martlnson`s early years were spent ln a
mostly tradltlonal, rural landscape, he became ln hls
youth a part of the lndustrlallzed worldflrst as a sea
man and then as a ~. In l9l5 he ran away for the
flrst tlme, an attempt he repeated often throughout hls
youth. Instead of returnlng to farm llfe, however, he
was sent to llve at the old people`s home ln |mshg ln
l9l6 and l9l7. A couple of years later he enrolled ln
the 'skeppsgossekr" (cablnboy corps) ln Karlskrona
but agaln ran away and was then dlsmlssed. After
worklng as a laborer, he flnally took the declslve step
of golng to sea aboard the schooner t ln Gteborg
ln l920. He was slxteen years old at the tlme, and for
the next seven years he was elther worklng at sea or
unemployed and drlftlng as a ~K
In the years after World War I, employment
among seamen fluctuated wldely, and perlods of unem
ployment were common. A reconstructlon of Martln
son`s travels lndlcates that he was ln Europe and
Sweden from l920 to l922 and then at sea and en
route to ports ln North and South Amerlca, Afrlca, and
Asla; between l922 and l925 he also embarked on a
journey by foot from Brazll to Lruguay. In l925 he
performed compulsory mllltary servlce ln Sweden,
after whlch he agaln went to sea. He abandoned the
seaman`s llfe on hls blrthday ln l927 at the Irench port
of Bordeaux and returned to Sweden to become a
wrlter.
Llke many other unemployed seamen and work
ers at the tlme, Martlnson llved a handtomouth exlst
ence ln Gteborga tough, worklngclass port clty on
the west coast of Sweden. Another reason Martlnson
left the sea was hls tuberculosls, for whlch he recelved
treatment at a sanatorlum soon after hls return to Swe
den. He began wrltlng poems and occaslonally earned
money when he sold them to varlous labor publlca
tlons. Most of these early effortspubllshed malnly
under pseudonymswere polemlcal or lmltatlve, for
the nascent poet had yet to flnd hls dlstlnctlve volce.
Yet, two encounters durlng these years ultlmately
lnformed hlm as a wrlter. Whlle ln Stockholm ln
August l927, Martlnson met the young poet Artur
Lundkvlst at a 'Iolkets hus," whlch ls a type of com
munlty center ln Sweden. Jhe story goes that Lund
kvlst was carrylng a sheaf of papers when a young man
approached hlm and asked lf he was a poet. Jhe two
became fast frlends, and Lundkvlst lntroduced Martln
son to many other young, upandcomlng Swedlsh
wrlters.
Jhe second key encounter for Martlnson took
place ln Gteborg ln the fall of l927, when he met
Helga |ohanssonlater Moa Martlnsonan asplrlng
wrlter of worklngclass orlglns and a contrlbutor to
radlcal journals. Jhough poor, marrled, and the
mother of three sonsher two youngest boys had dled
ln a drownlng lncldent two years earller|ohansson
was startlng to make progress as a publlshed wrlter.
She lnvlted Martlnson to vlslt her ln Sorunda, Srm
land, the provlnce just south of Stockholm, and to stay
at her cottage, enjoy the peace and qulet of the rural
l7l
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settlng, and wrlte. One day ln the sprlng of l928 Mar
tlnson took her up on her offer and unexpectedly
appeared at her door. Her husband had commltted sul
clde a few months before, explodlng hlmself wlth
dynamlte near thelr home. Although |ohansson was
fourteen years older than Martlnsonher oldest son
was only slx years younger than hethe two were mar
rled on 3 October l929 and experlenced an often tur
bulent relatlonshlp.
Whlle llfe wlth |ohansson was not always tran
qull, the rural settlng and more settled exlstence
allowed Martlnson to devote hlmself serlously to wrlt
lng, and he soon began contrlbutlng poems and artlcles
to varlous publlcatlons more often and more success
fully than before. In l929 he publlshed hls flrst book of
poems, p (Jhe Ghost Shlp). Whlle lt was
uneven ln quallty, p nevertheless encompassed
a few verses that establlshed Martlnson`s volce for
years to come.
Also ln l929 several poems by Martlnson
appeared ln c ~W r ~ (Ilve Young
Men. YoungLlterary Anthology), a collectlon of works
by a heterogeneous group of emerglng modernlsts
lncludlng Lundkvlst, whose debut book of poems, d
(Ember), had appeared the prevlous year. Martlnson`s
tuberculosls returned, and he agaln spent tlme ln a san
atorlum. Moa Martlnson, who suffered from depres
slon for many years after her flrst husband`s sulclde,
preferred to take care of Martlnson at home and dld so
for a tlme. He contlnued to develop as a wrlter and to
publlsh, contrlbutlng to the anthology j
(Modern Poetry) ln l93l and completlng hls second
collectlon, k~I ln the same year. Jhe contrlbutlons
to j lnclude 'Kabelskepp" (Jhe Cable Shlp)
as well as the prose poem 'Klockbojen" (Jhe Buoy).
Martlnson makes frequent reference to World War I ln
hls early poetry and prose; although he was too young
to enllst and experlence the war ln person, he saw lts
effects for years afterward and was especlally crltlcal of
the transformatlon of shlpplng fleets lnto lnstruments
of war durlng the confllct. 'Klockbojen" ls a klnd of
falry tale about a buoy, a seagull of lndetermlnate age
who perches on lt, and the grlsly remlnders of carnage
that pass by after a sea battle.
A work wlth extenslve effects on twentleth
century Swedlsh poetry and of astonlshlng lyrlcal force
and range, k~ occasloned a turnlng polnt ln Mar
tlnson`s wrltlng career. As the lyrlcs ln the collectlon
revealed, he had found the language wlth whlch to for
mulate and process hls experlences. Jhe poems are
themselves 'nomadlc," ranglng over a varlety of set
tlngsfrom hls natlve Bleklnge to the most dlstant
ports of hls sea travels. Yet, as Staffan Sderblom
observes ln e~ j~ (l991), Martlnson`s poetry
ls the work of someone who seems to feel at home
wherever hls memory and lyrlcal lmaglnatlon happen
to roam. Hls method comblnes exact descrlptlon wlth
wlderanglng assoclatlons. Ior example, the sevenpart
poem 'Blad" (Leaf) beglns by evoklng a sllent evenlng
'l klara vren" (ln the clear sprlng), when a lapwlng ls
bulldlng a 'talarstol. kvlstar och grenar l kryss"
( podlum. twlgs and branches crosslng). Before becom
lng a 'vderslbylla" (weather oracle), the blrd wlll lay
'tre gg / ngot strre n duvans" (three eggs / some
what larger than the dove`s). Such preclslon of obser
vatlon and recollectlon ls one of the strlklng features of
these poems. Whether a verse recalls Martlnson`s dark
chlldhood or strenuous llfe at sea, the tone ls never sen
tlmental or morallstlcnor even polltlcalbut, rather,
calmly acceptlng. As a seaman he observed flrsthand
the worklngs of world commerce, and ln a poem such
as 'Bomull" (Cotton), the speaker ls at once authorlta
tlve, lyrlcal, and worldly wlse. Whlle he exults ln a
tone remlnlscent of Walt Whltman, 'Bomull, bomull,
dltt snfall ver jorden!" (Cotton, cotton, your snow
fall over the earth!), he does not overlook the economlc
forces behlnd the lncessant transfer of goods. 'dln bl
jas lagar, / dln bljas hot" (the laws of your flood / the
threat of your flood). Jhe collectlon ends wlth another
long prose poem, 'Krlgsmlad konvoj" (WarPalnted
Convoy), whlch ls about World War I. In contrast to
the worshlpful attltude toward machlnes exhlblted by
many of the young modernlst wrlters, Martlnson takes
a conslstently skeptlcal attltude toward technology and
dlscerns a connectlon between lndustrlal developments
and 'lmproved" means of waglng war.
Although Martlnson`s name ls often llnked wlth
the lntroductlon of llterary modernlsm ln Sweden, hls
work and phllosophlcal outlook are as often at odds
wlth modernlsm as not. Irom the beglnnlng of hls
wrltlng career Martlnson was conslstently crltlcal of
the forms that 'modernlzatlon" was taklng ln Sweden
and elsewhereof developments that were usually at
the expense of nature and of any human values other
than those represented by technology. In many respects
Martlnson`s vlews antlclpated the ecologlcal movement
by several decades. He was, however, frequently alone
ln hls awareness that the destructlon of nature often
occurred as the unantlclpated prlce of materlal
progress.
Desplte hls ongolng tuberculosls, he was hlghly
productlve and wrote both poetry and a serles of prose
works that drew flrst on hls experlences at sea and then
on hls chlldhood and early youth. Jhe flrst of the 'sea
books," o ~ ( |ourneys wlthout Destlnatlons),
appeared ln l932 and was an lmmedlate success, espe
clally wlth crltlcssome of whom compared the llnguls
tlc lnventlveness of the young wrlter to that of August
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e~ j~ ai_ PPN
Strlndberg. At the same tlme, Icsor utov ml was a
flnanclal breakthrough for Martlnson.
Icsor utov ml ls an unusual book ln the subgenre
of travel llterature, malnly because lt refralns largely
from chronology and adheres to almost no narratlve
scheme. Such devlatlons arlse, ln part, because Martln
son wrote many sectlons of the book orlglnally for
publlcatlon ln Sunday newspaper supplementsa
needed source of lncome for hlm and hls famllyand
because of the nature of hls own experlences. Referrlng
to other travel accounts, he wrltes that 'Sjlv har jag
rest alltfr planlst" (I myself have traveled all too alm
lessly). Hls journeys ln memory create the lmpresslon
of a slngle voyage of dlscovery lnto the worldwlth a
senslblllty that ls open to every lmpresslon and free of
lntellectual and materlal lmpedlments. 'Mln reseklkare
r tv knytnvar satta fr gonen. Mln resvska r tllls
vldare kolboxen l den femhundratonnlga lllla stersj
madamen Vlnda" (My blnoculars are two clenched
flsts ln front of my eyes. My sultcase ls, for the tlme
belng, the coal bunker ln the llttle flvehundredton
Baltlc madame !ivdo).
Icsor utov ml features much 'sallor phllosophlz
lng," especlally on the questlon of the 'vrldsno
maden" (world nomad), a matter that occupled
Martlnson greatly at thls tlme. He felt that a baslc
human nomadlc lnstlnct, long repressed by clvlllzatlon,
was now beglnnlng to assert ltself. Whlle at sea he had
worked malnly as a stoker, and ln Icsor utov ml he
compares the backandforth motlon of plowlng by a
farmerseemlngly the opposlte of a nomadto the
backandforth movement of the stokers ln the boller
room. Icsor utov ml lays bare Martlnson`s assoclatlve
and lmpresslonlstlc technlques, and he wrltes that he
favors 'det dynamlskt organlserade" (the dynamlcally
organlzed). A utoplan aspect enters hls 'nomad" phl
losophy, such as when he asks whether Oswald Spen
gler`s Dic Uvtcrgovg dcs Zbcvdlovdcs (l9l8-l922;
translated as Tlc Dcclivc of tlc !cst, l926-l928) repre
sents 'etapper p vgen tlll den slutglltlga
vorldsvomodcv? " (stages on the way to the concluslve
world vomod? ). In other passages ln the book, especlally
ln the long chapter 'S/S Poljana," the author shares hls
oplnlons on subjects such as the Lnlted States and
'seaAmerlcanlsm," prostltutlon, and the varlety of
customs and morals that a wanderlng seaman encoun
ters ln dlfferent parts of the world. In hls vlew, good
and bad coexlst ln the world. 'Solsocker och solsalt"
(Sunsugar and sunsalt). Women also make up an
lmportant part of the young seaman`s lmaglnatlon; at
one polnt he wrltes, 'ventyret blev kvlnnan" (the
adventure became woman).
A posslble, concealed 'destlnatlon" for these
journeys, or an underlylng subtext for Martlnson`s
lmpresslons and recollectlons, can be found ln hls occa
slonal references to the Lnlted States. '|ag drogs mot
Amerlka" (I was drawn toward Amerlca). A few pages
later he wrltes. 'Jlll detta land var det allts mln mor
rymde och jag brjar bertta fr Wallrlchs, llte slarvlgt
ssom man gr med saker som man tnker glmma"
(It was to thls country that my mother ran away, and I
started telllng the story to Wallrlchs, a llttle carelessly,
the way you do wlth thlngs you`re trylng to forget).
Jhese remarks touch tangentlally on the young sallor`s
chlldhood, especlally on the loss of hls mother, but the
reference remalns somewhat cryptlc. Jhe book ends
on a note of loss, as the wrlter wanders by foot ln Lru
guay toward Rlo de |anelro. 'Det r ngot jag saknar.
Ngot jag saknar . . ." (Jhere ls somethlng I lack.
Somethlng I lack . . . ).
Iop Iorvol! (l933; translated as Copc Iorcwcll,
l931) apparently contlnues ln the same veln as Icsor
utov ml, and yet a somewhat dlfferent book emerges.
More ln control of hls conslderable verbal resources,
Martlnson wrltes wlth a greater dlstance from the
experlences he descrlbes. He comes across as less
phllosophlcal, although he occaslonally seems to lec
ture to the reader. Hls descrlptlon of a flsh spotted off
the Ilorlda coast lmpllcltly lllustrates how Iop Iorvol!
departs from Icsor utov ml: 'Hade jag varlt mycket
lrd skulle jag ha petat med ett mllslngt flnger ner l
havets duk och sagt. dr flyter Sargassum bacclferum;
men nu r jag lnte lrd annat n l vlssa tlng och orden
Sargassum bacclferum f drfr flyta ur en ordbok
utan att tcka sltt begrepp och mlna marlnsyner krlng
Sargasso" (If I had been very learned I could have
polnted wlth a mllelong flnger down to the canvas of
the sea and sald. Sorgossum boccifcrum ls floatlng there.
but I`m not learned now, except ln certaln thlngs, and
therefore the words Sorgossum boccifcrum have to float
out of a dlctlonary wlthout coverlng thelr concept or
my marlne vlslons around Sargasso).
Iop Iorvol! beglns wlth perhaps the most cogent
narratlon ln elther of hls two sea books. As Martlnson
wrltes, the events descrlbed ln the chapter 'En greklsk
tragedl" (A Greek Jragedy) were 'det lnnehllsrlkaste"
(the most eventful) of hls tlme at sea. As an elghteen
yearold he shlpped out as a mess boy on the S/S Iovo-
polis, a Greekreglstered shlp that was dangerously
overloaded wlth lumber for export to Argentlna. On
board the shlp, the atmosphere ls chargedthe captaln
and hls wlfe are recently dlvorcedand en route a
storm descends, tosslng the shlp and causlng the loss of
the cargo and of several men. 'Vr enda lycka var att
vl hade ppet hav" (Our only good fortune was that
we were ln open sea). Other chapters ln the book are
more thematlc than chapters from Icsor utov ml; Iop
Iorvol! lncorporates a sectlon on canals, for example.
l73
ai_ PPN e~ j~
Martlnson also lntersperses hls prose wlth poetry,
whlch he lnserts between some of the chapters, such as
the masterful lyrlc 'Brev frn en boskapsbt" (Letter
from a Cattle Boat); omltted ln the Engllsh translatlon,
Copc Iorcwcll, thls poem ls, however, featured ln Robert
Bly`s anthology Iricvds, Jou Drovl Somc Dorlvcss: Tlrcc
Swcdisl Iocts, Horry Mortivsov, Cuvvor Ilclf, ovd Tomos
Trovstrmcr (l975).
In 'Hemvgen" (Jhe Way Home), the flnal
chapter of the book, the narrator spends a few days ln
Parls after leavlng shlp ln Bordeaux. A strlng of assocl
atlons leads the narratlon to Martlnson`s chlldhood,
past the varlous women who have been a part of hls
nomadlc llfe to a memory of the heather that ls charac
terlstlc of hls natlve provlnce. 'Ett munspel l handen
eller en bukett ljung fra mlg tlll Norda" (a harmonlca
ln my hand or a bouquet of heather carry me back to
Norda); Norda was the last farm where he llved as a
foster chlld. Jhe farm couple`s young daughter had
been hls only joy ln the dreary envlronment there, and
her death was the young Martlnson`s lmpetus for
flnally seeklng a new llfe at sea. Now he ls returnlng
home, 'en stark frlorad son, som stod upp och
vgrade att vara frlorad" (a strong, lost son, who
stood up and refused to be lost). Jhe wrltlng of Icsor
utov ml and Iop Iorvol! led Martlnson back to hls
chlldhoodto certaln experlences and unresolved emo
tlons, on whlch he focused for the next several years ln
hls works.
By the mld l930s Martlnson was establlshed as a
wellknown wrlter ln Sweden; ln addltlon, he had
become an object of conslderable attentlon for other
wrlters who were just beglnnlng thelr careers and who
llked to vlslt Martlnson at hls cottage ln the country.
Hls marrlage, however, whlch had always been some
what stormy, had reached a state of crlsls. Hls wlfe was
jealous of the attentlon pald to hlm, especlally from
admlrlng women, and he often complalned to hls
frlends about hls 'Moa constrlctor." She frequently
remlnded her husband and anyone who cared to llsten
that he never wrote anythlng of value before comlng to
llve wlth her at the cottage ln Sorunda. Whlle clearly
an exaggeratlon, Moa Martlnson`s clalm dld bear some
truthln the sense that Martlnson was able to devote
hlmself to wrltlng wlthout dlstractlon only after marry
lng her. On the other hand, he certalnly contrlbuted to
her own development as a wrlter; as has often been
sald about thelr unlon, two wrlters were born when
they marrled. Irom l933 to l935 Martlnson was
deeply depressed, ln part because of hls marltal dls
cord.
In l931 Martlnson and hls wlfe vlslted the Sovlet
Lnlon to take part ln a congress of wrlters ln Moscow,
the event durlng whlch the doctrlne of 'soclallst real
lsm" was offlclally proclalmed. As the more polltlcally
radlcal of the two, Moa Martlnson wrote and pub
llshed, on thelr return to Sweden, adulatory reports of
condltlons ln the Sovlet state, glvlng speclal attentlon
to the lavlsh partles glven for the delegates. Jhough
sympathetlc to the cause of workers and lnterested ln
the Sovlet Lnlon as a posslble force for peace and jus
tlce, Martlnson, on the other hand, was never drawn to
polltlcs ln the usual sense. Ior hlm, the language of pol
ltlcs was sterlle. Jwo modern Russlan wrlters whose
works reflected certaln lmpulses lmportant to Martln
son were Vladlmlr Mayakovsky and Sergel Yesenln,
poets whom the Sovlet authorltles crltlclzed and perse
cuted for havlng ldeals apparently far removed from
those of soclallst reallsm.
In l931 Martlnson publlshed a new collectlon of
poems, òtur (Nature), that dlffered greatly from
òmod. òtur recelved a somewhat cool receptlon from
crltlcs, and ln many respects lt constltutes a dlsturblng
collectlon of expresslonlstlc or at tlmes even surreallstlc
verses. A few poems, such as 'Kraft" (Power), hark
back to òmod, whlle ln others the torrent of language
overpowers the reader. In Horry Mortivsov: Mytcr Ml-
vivgor Motiv (l965, Harry Martlnson. Myths Palntlngs
Motlfs) Ingvar Holm descrlbes òtur ln terms of the
motlfs of death and fllght. He suggests that Martlnson
connects a fllght lnto nature not wlth the vltallsm of
modernlstlc prlmltlvlsm but rather wlth a death wlsh.
òtur ls dlvlded lnto sectlons wlth tltles that conjure an
array of landscapesboth physlcal, as ln 'Grsland"
(Grass Lands), and metaphyslcal, as ln 'Sagoland"
(IalryJale Lands). Jhe element of myth or 'saga"
(falry tale) abounds ln òtur, foreshadowlng the folk
lorlc elements of hls next publlshed work, òsslorvo
blommo (l935; translated as Ilowcrivg `cttlc, l936). In
òtur a short sectlon of just two poems, 'Krrland"
(Marsh Lands), touches on the poet`s natlve landscape.
In 'Glnge" the path ls 'betonghrd" (cement hard)
through 'tusenrshederna" (the thousandyear heaths)
where 'fattlga flngrar frbldde / l utplockat llngonrls"
(lmpoverlshed flngers bled to death / ln plckedover lln
gonberry branches). In 'Iattlgdomen" (Poverty) the
poet wrltes that poverty ls terrlble not because lt 'jagar
mnnlskan l dden" ( pursues a person lnto death) but
because of 'det lnre hat den fder" (the lnner hate lt
fosters).
Clearly, Martlnson`s angulshed mental state at
the tlme of wrltlng òtur loomed large ln the volume.
Hls relatlonshlp wlth hls wlfe had deterlorated to the
extent that ln |une l935, wlthout lnformlng her of
where he was golng, he slmply left. She beseeched
frlendswhom he had sworn to secrecyto help her
locate her husband, even threatenlng hls publlsher
wlth the destructlon of Martlnson`s manuscrlpts. Moa
l71
e~ j~ ai_ PPN
Martlnson eventually arranged a radlo announcement,
requestlng that Martlnson return, and thus drew the
attentlon of the press to the sltuatlon. By the tlme he
flnally recelved word of hls wlfe`s frantlc plea, he had
already boarded a shlp ln Bergen, Norway, and was
bound for Iceland; yet, he dlsembarked lmmedlately
and went back to Sweden. He had left all of hls manu
scrlpts behlnd at hls wrltlng shed ln Sorunda, lncludlng
the manuscrlpt for k~ ~I whlch he was fln
lshlng, but when he returned he found nothlng left ln
the shed. Moa Martlnson flnally led hlm to the spot ln
some nearby woods where she had burled hls manu
scrlpts.
Wlth k~ ~ Martlnson produced flc
tlon based on autoblography. As Kjell Espmark
descrlbes ln 'Harry Martlnson. Vrldsnomaden"
(l989) k~ ~ ls 'lnget dokument ver Harry
Martlnsons barndom" (not a documentatlon of Harry
Martlnson`s chlldhood)though clearly a work of rec
ollectlon and of comlng to terms wlth the emotlons and
perceptlons of the wrlter`s early years. Ior whlle the
book alludes to actual events ln Martlnson`s own past,
he nonetheless alters certaln facts. An obvlous example
ls that the protagonlst ls named Martln, whlch was
Martlnson`s father`s name, whlle Martln`s father ln the
book ls named Olav; the mother`s name remalns Betty,
however. Jhe autoblographlcal novel of chlldhood was
an lmportant genre ln the l930s ln Sweden, not least
among the worker wrlters and autodldacts; examples
lnclude Ivar Lo|ohansson`s d~ (l933; trans
lated as _~ cI l990) and Eyvlnd |ohnson`s k
~ NVNQ (l931, Now It Was l9l1).
In k~ ~ Martlnson uses a hlghly orlgl
nal, lyrlcal language to convey hls often somber chlld
hood experlences. Jhls lyrlclsm serves both to llghten
the bleakness of the chlld`s exlstence and to show the
reader that the chlld`s world was not only bleak. 'Det
r den evlga strlden mellan stjrnor och gdsel" (It`s
the eternal struggle between stars and manure). Jhe
strongly vlsual aspect of Martlnson`s style ls notewor
thy not only ln k~ ~ but also ln other
works. In hls study of the wrlter, Holm emphaslzes thls
vlsual element, reproduclng many of Martlnson`s own
drawlngs and palntlngs as lllustratlons. Jhe author
was a selftaught and capable artlst who drew and
palnted extenslvely, beglnnlng ln the early l930s.
k~ ~ tells the story of Martln`s chlld
hood from a boy`s perspectlve, but wlth the awareness
of an adult narrator. Wlth the characterlstlc breadth of
Martlnson`s assoclatlons, the book opens wlth Martln`s
father ln New Zealandwhere he works shearlng
sheepthen follows hls return to Sweden, where he
meets Martln`s mother, and they are marrled. After hls
store goes bankrupt, he spends some tlme ln the
Lnlted States, sendlng money on a regular basls and
returnlng after a few years. Martln ls too young to
understand the sudden change ln the famlly`s clrcum
stanceswhen he hears the word 'bankrupt," he plc
tures a corkscrew ln hls mlndknowlng only that they
must move to a new home, an lnexpenslve property
located on the edge of a stone quarry. Jhe father`s
return does not lmprove the sltuatlon, and hls death
brlngs further dlsruptlon, especlally ln young Martln`s
state of mlnd. 'Sedan kom en tld d han brjade se
syner; se tlng och rrelser som lnte andra sg" (Jhen
came a tlme when he began to see vlslons; see thlngs
and movements that others dldn`t see). Hls oldest sls
ter, Inez, ls hls only consolatlon, but after thelr
mother`s hasty departure for the Lnlted States, Inez
dles as well. Jhe remalnlng chlldren become wards of
'Kommunen" (the munlclpallty). At a Chrlstmas
church servlce, Martln grows hysterlcal at the thought
that he ls 'lnne l Kommunen. Att detta var den verk
llga Kommunen" (lnslde the Munlclpallty. Jhat thls
was the actual Munlclpallty). In thls account the chll
dren are sent 'tlll mlnstbjudande, det vlll sga den som
vllle ha dem fr mlnsta mjllga kommunala ersttnlng
flck ta dem" (to the lowest bldder; that ls to say, the
one who would have them for the lowest posslble pub
llc compensatlon got to take them). Jhe phrase 'Mln
far r dd and mln mor r l Karllfornlen" (My father ls
dead and my mother ls ln Callfornla) becomes Mar
tln`s way of presentlng hlmself to the adult world.
As a foster chlld Martln goes to llve at three dlf
ferent farms. He ls more or less content at Vllns, the
flrst farm, untll the couple there have a chlld of thelr
own and start to behave more llke stepparents than fos
ter parents. Next, Martln ls sent to Jollene, where he
experlences snobbery and a lack of affectlon. Ilnally, at
Norda, the last farm, he encounters a strange, almost
falrytale envlronment domlnated by the wltchllke
Gunllla and her tall daughters, Karla and Klara;
because the fertlle Karla seems to glve blrth only to
twlns, she especlally enhances the supernatural aura of
the farm. Jhe farmer`s son, |oel, frequently tells Mar
tln to ask for leave from school to do farmwork, and
Martln harbors a growlng resentment at the repeated
requests. 'En vacker dag tnder jag p grden" (One
flne day I`ll set flre to the farm). After a severe beatlng
from |oel, the sltuatlon becomes lntolerable, and Mar
tln runs away. He ls then sent to llve at the 'lderdom
shem av sten" (old people`s home of stone) where
Martln becomes 'llllhjonet" (the llttle pauper). Ior
Martln, chlldhood ls a tlme of llstenlng mostly to
adults and of observlng themoften crltlcally. He does
not spare hlmself, however, of crltlcal observatlon ln
hls recollectlons of the past. 'Nr han blev ldre och
sg tlllbaka fanns det lnget han hatade s mycket som
l75
ai_ PPN e~ j~
dessa lnstllsamma flln med vllka han l s gott som
hela sln barndom vdjat tlll tomheten och ofrstelsen"
(When he got older and looked back there was nothlng
he hated as much as those lngratlatlng grlns wlth
whlch for vlrtually hls entlre chlldhood he appealed to
emptlness and lack of understandlng).
Nonetheless, Martln thrlves at school, and ln
looklng back at hls llfe, he understands that school rep
resented 'en ljusvrldens kontroll ver hlorna" (a
world of llght`s control over the empty places). Whlle
other chlldren went home from school, 'han glck bort
frn skolan" (he went owoy from the school). And
although Martln sometlmes hated school for lylng ln a
'frn barnens hll alldeles obegrlpllgt sprk" (com
pletely lncomprehenslble language, from the chlldren`s
standpolnt), he loved what he consldered the most
truthful subjects. geography and natural sclence.
Martln`s chores at the home for the elderly
lncluded settlng the tables and rlnglng the bell for
mealtlmes. Jhe old women who come for thelr meals
remlnd the youth of hedgehogs sneaklng up to a
house, whlle the old men move faster, llke 'en snusets
bataljon" (a snuff batalllon). Jhe dlrector of the home,
the lmposlng Irken Jyra, soon becomes a maternal
flgure for Martln. He accompanles her one day to
another 'poorhouse" to see a frlend of hers, and, left
on hls own whlle she vlslts, he overhears two old sall
ors remlnlsclng about thelr days at sea. Comblned wlth
the boy`s own vague longlngs, the old sallors` storles of
'en brun danserska med klockor p slna lr l Madras"
(a brown dancer wlth bells on her thlghs ln Madras)
and 'Wooloomooloo, staden med tta o" (Wooloo
mooloo, the clty wlth elght o`s) undoubtedly glve the
young Martln an ldea for a way out of hls tentatlve
exlstence as a foster chlld.
!ogcv ut (l936, Jhe Way Out) contlnues the
autoblographlcal narratlve of òsslorvo blommo and fol
lows Martln`s llfe untll the age of flfteen, when he takes
a job ln Gteborg on the threemasted schooner !illy
as dld the real Martlnson. !ogcv ut dlffers most mark
edly from òsslorvo blommo ln lts language. As Sder
blom wrltes ln Horry Mortivsov, Martlnson no longer
had a new language to dlscover ln wrltlng !ogcv ut;
thus, the lyrlclsm of the prevlous book ls almost totally
absent. In part, the lack of lyrlclsm may reflect how the
book addresses Martln`s llfe at a tlme when he ls no
longer a chlldone who masters hls envlronment
through lmaglnatlonyet stlll not an adult. Nearly
twlce as long as òsslorvo blommo, !ogcv ut narrates a
youth`s longlng to escape. In the end, he does run
away and thereby brlngs the cycle of autoblographlcal
prose works back to thelr beglnnlng ln Icsor utov ml.
In addltlon to autoblographlcal flctlon, radlo
drama held a speclal fasclnatlon for Martlnson ln the
l930s. Although not typlcally a dramatlsthe clalmed
hls own llfe had been too dramatlc for drama to lnter
est hlmthree of hls radlo plays were produced, lnclud
lng Crivgo (l932), an homage to the days of the salllng
shlp, and Solvotiov (l933), a play about the Salvatlon
Army ln the slums of New York Clty. Martlnson`s
most successful effort, however, was wlthout doubt Iot-
scv frv Moluclos (l937, Jhe Pllot from Moluckas). After
studylng voyages of dlscovery from Europe to the New
World and to Asla, Martlnson chose as hls subject Ier
dlnand Magellan, whom he consldered the least lnhu
mane of the great explorers.
After the publlcatlon of hls autoblographlcal
prose works, Martlnson became most lntrlgued by the
nature essay, the genre that served as the basls for hls
next three books. Svormorc ocl lorlrovl (l937, Hawk
moths and Daddy Longlegs), Midsommordolcv (l938,
Jhe Mldsummer Valley), and Dct cvllo ocl dct svro
(l939, Jhe Slmple and the Dlfflcult). Jhese volumes of
collected essaysand the two books that came after
themconstltute Martlnson`s transltlonal efforts, for he
was ln effect turnlng away from the autoblographlcal
projects that had occupled hlm for almost a decade. As
evldenced through the nature essays, Martlnson`s wrlt
lngs also become more polemlcal; hls books publlshed
ln the late l930s and ln the early l910s arguably mlr
ror the polltlcal tenslons of the tlme. A recurrlng key
word ln Martlnson`s wrltlngs of thls tlme ls stomvivg, a
Swedlsh term evoklng both 'atmosphere" and 'har
mony," or the state of belng ln tune. Martlnson
belleved ln defendlng the necessary lmpreclslon of llfe
agalnst the tyranny of thlngs that are determlned wlth
exactness. 'Den andra enkelheten" (the second slm
pllclty) marks another vltal notlon for Martlnson; he
argues ln favor of a slmpllclty born not of nalvet and
lnnocence but of experlence and maturlty; the phrase
lmplles a slmpllclty that one has earned.
In many respects, these three collectlons of essays
lntlmate Martlnson`s deslre to put down roots ln a par
tlcular landscapea longlng that was not posslble for
hlm to satlsfy elther ln hls marrlage or ln the scheme of
world events at the tlme. In l939 he spent several
months ln a hospltal south of Stockholm for palns ln
hls knees. Jhls separatlon from Moa Martlnson actu
ally became permanent, as Martlnson never agaln
returned to Sorunda and llved for a whlle ln the homes
of varlous frlends.
On 30 November l939 the Sovlet Lnlon
attacked Ilnland. Although Sweden was offlclally neu
tral, lts cltlzens felt conslderable sentlment for thelr
Nordlc nelghbor, and meetlngs were held throughout
the country to collect money and goods to ald Ilnland.
Ior several months ln l939 and then ln l910, Martln
son and hls frlend and fellow wrlter |ohnson traveled
l76
e~ j~ ai_ PPN
throughout Sweden on a speaklng tour ln order to
recrult volunteers from among the country`s con
scrlpted armed forces. Eventually, both Martlnson and
|ohnson themselves volunteered for the front, and
Martlnson spent nlne days there at Salla, dellverlng
mall, untll the confllct ended suddenly on l2 March
l910. Jhls 'wlnter war" ln Ilnland motlvated Martln
son to wrlte s (Reallty unto Death),
publlshed ln November l910.
One of Martlnson`s leastknown books, s
was flrst concelvedas he states ln the preface
as a sketch for a larger work, one that he never com
pleted. Nonetheless, the book reflects the ambltlon and
scope of the envlsloned work. Jhrough s
Martlnson launched hls jeremlad agalnst the tyr
anny of technologlcal clvlllzatlon and the short atten
tlon span of the mass medla. Jhroughout the book the
tone ls cold and the language reductlveand thus
remlndful of the forests that he saw mowed down by
bombs ln northern Ilnland. Jhe book opens wlth an
account of the congress of wrlters that Martlnson
attended ln l931 ln the Sovlet Lnlon. Jhe motto of the
congress was a quote from Lenln. 'Jhe poet ls the
englneer of the human soul." Ior Martlnson, however,
the poet and the englneer make natural enemles. 'Nr
ungefrllgheten p alla omrden hotas tlll llvet av den
tyrannlska exaktheten p alla omrden, d har det
stora krlget mellan poet och lngenjr brjat" (When
approxlmatlon ls threatened wlth extlnctlon on all
sldes by tyrannlcal exactness, then the great war
between poet and englneer has begun). Jhe second
sectlon of the book, 'Dden genom vatten" (Death by
Water), recounts the drownlng of a sallora theme
touched on earller ln 'Klockbojen" and 'Krlgsmlad
konvoj." Jhe remalnder of the book deplcts the actlvl
tles of Holger Jldmanln essence Martlnson`s alter
egoand hls frlend Ejder on behalf of Ilnland and
lncludes a descrlptlon of Jldman`s tlme at the front.
In s the author faces cruclal
boundarles, both moral and artlstlc, ln that hls poetlc
language does not adequately portray what ls happen
lng ln Ilnland. In order to convlnce hls audlences to
come to Ilnland`s defense, he must overcome layers of
coldwhlch ls exempllfled not only by the subzero
temperatures of northern Sweden and by the offlclal
neutrallty of the country but also hls own 'fredllg
natur" ( peaceful nature). He also struggles wlth decld
lng what he wants to defend. If Sweden ls attacked,
then lt ls the pathetlc, the poor, 'det frblgngna Sver
lge han vllle frsvara. Inte alls det moderna clvlllza
tlonsSverlge" (the passedover Sweden he wanted to
defend. Not at all the Sweden of modern clvlllzatlon).
Even lf 'de demokratlska staterna gtt fr lngt l snab
butveckllng" (the democratlc natlons had gone too far
ln rapld development), there were, however, stlll 'vlssa
marglnaler fr lndlvlduell drm" (certaln allowances
for lndlvldual dreams).
Around the tlme that s was pub
llshed, Martlnsonstlll separated from hls wlfemet
Ingrld Llndcrantz and became engaged to her shortly
before leavlng for the Ilnnlsh front. Desplte Moa Mar
tlnson`s reslstance, she and Martlnson dlvorced ln
l91l after a legal separatlon of two years. He and
Llndcrantz marrled soon after hls dlvorce, and
together wlth Llndcrantz`s parentsthey purchased a
home north of Stockholm, where they made thelr resl
dence untll l911, and agaln from l973 to l978, the
year of Martlnson`s death.
In Martlnson`s next book, a ~ ~~
(l910, Jhe Lost |aguar), the reader mlght dlscern
besldes a moral urgency remlnlscent of s
a wrlter ln the process of rejectlng hls own accom
pllshments. One of Martlnson`s ongolng themes ln hls
works at thls tlme ls a crltlque of 'mechanlcal clvlllza
tlon," and ln a ~ ~~ he alms hls crltlcal
eye at the motlon plcture as a medlum that overpowers
realltywhlch ln contrast ls most often tentatlve,
amblguous, and relatlvely free of events. Jhe protago
nlsts do what the author hlmself dld many tlmes ln hls
youth and early adulthood. run away and take jobs on
a shlp. In the novel three movlecrazed adolescents,
generlcally named Sven, |ns, and Hkan, declde to
run off to South Amerlca ln search of adventure and,
especlally, exotlc wlldllfe. In the flrst part of the book,
when the three boys arrlve at thelr declslon to run
away, Martlnson casts doubt on thelr motlvatlonscol
ored as they are by the watchlng of movlesand the
narratlve tone borders on satlrlcal. Once the actlon
progresses to the shlp, however, the toll and knowledge
of the stokers worklng on the shlp, ln partlcular, stand
ln sharp contrast to the boys` vague dreamsln typlcal
Martlnson fashlon. 'Verkllgheten tycktes flnnas tlll
vrre och vrre, ju lngre man kom bort frn hemmet"
(Reallty seemed to be worse and worse, the further
away you got from home). Jhe three stokers represent
varlous aspects of Martlnson`s own experlence. Whlle
not the central flgure of thls work, as he was ln kJ
~ ~ and s I Martln Jomasson embodles
an aspect of Martlnsonas does 'Lnge Lv" (Long
Leaf ), a selftaught phllosopher, and Dahlstrm, a
scarred man of few words. In e~ j~I Sder
blom descrlbes the latter two flgures as opposlte poles
of Martlnson`s phllosophlcal wrltlngs, whereas Martln,
the boy, represents the playful lmpetus of the poetry.
Whlle the three young adventurers had lmaglned
'resan tlll Sydamerlka mera som en parentes" (the trlp
to South Amerlca more llke a parenthesls), the book
ends when they leave shlp ln Buenos Alres.
l77
ai_ PPN e~ j~
Iossod (l915, Jrade Wlnd), whlch followed Dcv
frlorodc joguorcv, comprlses hls flrst new poems slnce
the publlcatlon of òtur eleven years earller. Jhe 'pas
sad," a posltlve force ln nature and for humanklnd, ls a
cruclal lmage for hlm and had appeared as early as
l929 ln Splslcpp. In the tltle sulte of ten poems ln Ios-
sod, Martlnson contrasts 'Odysseus" and 'Roblnson,"
flgures that hlnt at the opposlng worlds of mythor
cultureand reallty, or even of culture and sclence,
'aldrlg sammanfrda lnom mnskan" (never brought
together ln human belngs). Jhe central sectlons of the
lyrlc 'Passad" allude to the hlstory of salllng shlps,
whlle ln the flnal sectlon the poet suggests a new dlrec
tlon for hls wanderlngs. 'p nomadlska kuster lnt"
(on nomadlc coasts lnward).
Jhe other poems ln Iossod alternate between
'tankedlkter" ( phllosophlcal poems)many of them
polemlcal, such as 'Ilygardlkten" (Pllot Poem)and
more medltatlve nature poems such as 'Enbusken"
(Jhe |unlper Bush). In another sulte of ten poems, 'Ll
Kan talar under trdet" (Ll Kan Speaks Lnder the
Jree), Martlnson lntroduces the flgure of Ll Kan, a
Chlnese phllosopher. In addresslng hls dlsclples, who
call themselves 'clcadas," Ll Kan polnts out the need
to dlstlngulsh between facts and truth. 'Det faktlska yr
som sand l vra gon" (Jhe factual whlrls llke sand ln
our eyes). Jhe closlng llnes of the verse summarlze Ll
Kan`s phllosophyand perhaps Martlnson`s as well.
_ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ K
a ~ K a ~ K
a ~K
E_ ~ ~
~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~K
q ~ ~ ~ ~ K t ~ ~K
f KF
Jhe wlsdom of havlng dlrectlon wlthout destlnatlon
not only harks back to both Martlnson`s 'nomad" phl
losophy ln hls earller works and to Jaolsm but also
lnvokes the lmage of the trade wlnd ltself.
Martlnson worked on hls next book, !ogcv till
Iloclrilc (l918, Jhe Road to Klockrlke; translated as
Tlc Iood, l955), over a tenyear perlod; he wrote three
drafts of the book before submlttlng lt for publlcatlon.
Compared to hls earller prose works, many of whlch
drew heavlly on hls past experlences, !ogcv till Iloclrilc
ls much less autoblographlcal ln naturealthough lts
protagonlst does experlence, as Martlnson dld, a
drlfter`s llfe. Krlstofer Jeodor Bolle ls by professlon a
clgar maker, and llke many other craftsmen ln the late
nlneteenth century, he lncreaslngly sees machlne pro
ductlon domlnatlng hls trade. Rather than relent and
take hls place among the ranks of factory workers,
Bolle takes to the road as a lufforc. Iufforc and lts Engllsh
equlvalent, 'tramp," both have connotatlons of alm
lessly wanderlng on foot. Martlnson asserts ln !ogcv till
Iloclrilc that the number of emlgrants, sulcldes, and
tramps all multlplled slgnlflcantly at the end of the nlne
teenth century ln Sweden.
Jo be a tramp ls, by deflnltlon, to be a traveler
wlthout a destlnatlon. Jhe 'Klockrlke"llterally 'klng
dom of bells"of the tltle refers to a parlsh that was sur
rounded by dlstrlcts wlth mounted pollce; tramps never
vlslted the parlsh, and yet lt symbollzed thelr endless
wanderlngs around the country. Jhe book suggests
endlessness ln lts form as well. !ogcv till Iloclrilc llter
ally entalls 'resor utan ml" ( journeys wlthout destlna
tlons), whlch was also the tltle of Martlnson`s l932
book of hls experlences at seaa book that lncorpo
rated llttle chronology and lacked ln large measure a
llnear narratlve senslblllty. Jhus, ln Horry Mortivsov
Sderblom descrlbes !ogcv till Iloclrilc as less a novel ln
the usual sense than a 'kalejdoskop av hlstorler" (kalel
doscope of storles) from Bolle`s world. Bolle`s travels
and hls encounters wlth other tramps along the way
reveal that the exlstence of a professlonal tramp ls 'ett
mycket lnvecklat och mycket mngsldlgt levnadsstt" (a
very compllcated and manyslded way of llfe). Jhe
tramps themselvesor 'gnomes," as Martlnson calls
themhave dlfflculty explalnlng exactly why they are
travellng, although Bolle at one polnt says that '|l| varje
land flnns det ngra tusen som lnte vlll de flestas verk
llghet" (ln every country you wlll flnd some thousands
who do not want the reallty of the majorlty). Martlnson
shows ln the book how people regard tramps wlth
much susplclon, and the threat of a term of hard labor
ln prlson, called 'Berget" (Jhe Rock), constantly shad
ows a lufforc. Soon Bolle loses hls ldentlty papers and
recognlzes the struggle 'mellan den soclala pap
persmnnlskan och den naturmnnlska som odonbus
karna . . . och vattnet aldrlg krvde p ngra
pappersbevls" (between soclal paper man and natural
man. Of the latter`s exlstence nelther bllberry bushes . . .
nor water ever demanded evldence ln black and whlte).
Jhe loss of hls papers makes hlm see how llttle they
have to do wlth present llfe. 'Han sg med en tydllghet
som aldrlg frr hur mycket det soclala betyder som
traflkoch transportsystem, men hur lltet det betyder
som dlrekt llv" (He saw more clearly than ever before
how lmportant the soclal factor ls as a trafflc and trans
port system, but how llttle slgnlflcance lt has as llfe
ltself).
Besldes Bolle, other lufforc are Axne, a tramp wlth
a gullty consclence about leavlng soclety; 'Vgdamm"
NTU
e~ j~ ai_ PPN
m~ ~ ~ j~ k~ ~ ENVPRX ~~ ~ c kI NVPSFI ~ ~~~ ~
~ E ~ r~~ rF
l79
ai_ PPN e~ j~
(Road Dust), a fatallstlc sort; and Sandemar, the phllo
sophlcal globetrotter who has traveled around the
world several tlmes on foot. Jhere are no female
tramps, although Bolle ldentlfles wlth the women he
encounters, lf only fleetlngly, on hls travels; they, too,
are often oppressed by soclety and by men. At tlmes
Bolle travels together wlth one or more other tramps
and has an ongolng exchange of oplnlons wlth them.
Sandemar, whom Bolle meets early on ln hls ~
experlences, reappears ln the last sectlon of the book
and founds an unllkely sect wlth a small number of
tramps as members. Both Sandemar and Bolle repre
sent 'den stolta erfarenheten om det osannollkt mng
frgrenade hos det levande och det dda" (the proud
experlence of the lncredlble multlpllclty of the llvlng
and the dead). Sandemar carrles wlth hlm a small
chalkboard on whlch he notes hls thoughts and experl
ences. 'Orden r tlll fr att komma och g. S ocks
med tankarna" (Words are there to come and go. So too
wlth thoughts). When the chalkboard ls covered wlth
wrltlng, Sandemar erases lt and starts agalnan act that
emulates endlessness, the hallmark of a tramp`s exlst
ence.
In addltlon, only the tramps are able to experl
ence both the tradltlonal and the emerglng modern
ways of llfe. 'Luffaren glck dagllgen mellan det nya
och det gamla. P byvgen var han l det gamla, p
skogsvgen l det skrockfulla, men samma dag kunde
han vara mltt lnne l det lndustrlella" (Jhe tramp went
dally between the present and the past. On the coun
try roads he was ln the past, on the forest road ln the
dark ages, yet that same day he mlght be rlght ln the
mldst of lndustry). In the end, however, not even the
tramps can escape a rapldly changlng modern reallty.
Jramps of the 'rallway school"'en modern och
djupt dekadent skola" (a modern and profoundly dec
adent school)who typlfy a new generatlon, come on
the scene; they conslst of the growlng ranks of unem
ployed factory laborers, the klnd of worker Bolle
refused to become before embarklng on the llfe of a
~K Moreover, the era of wanderlng on foot clearly
draws to a close as automoblles become more com
mon and make the roadways more dangerous for
pedestrlans. Even the legendary 'Klockrlke," long
barred to ~I becomes accesslble. Yet, wlth the
growlng unlformlty and ease of communlcatlon, 'Det
brjade bll menlngslst att g. Det fanns lnte lngre
ngot egendomllgt att frvnta" (Jhere began to be
no polnt ln walklng. Jhere was no longer anythlng
slngular to expect).
In l919 Martlnson was elected as one of elgh
teen members of the Swedlsh Academy. Jhree years
later, ln l952, he and hls famlly moved to a new home
ln Srmland, fewer than thlrty kllometers from
Sorunda, and remalned there for almost twenty years.
In l953 he publlshed a new collectlon of poems,
`~~ (Clcada), whlch, whlle resembllng m~~I offers
a more reslgned, weary tone than the prevlous poetry
volume. Jhe verses ln `~~ weave ln 'ngra vlment
skna tankar om vrlden / tlllsatta med ngorna frn
en lyrlsk honung" (some wellmeant, lovely thoughts
on the world / seasoned wlth the vapors of a lyrlc
honey). Martlnson wrote these lyrlcs ln the wake of
the bomblng of Hlroshlma and thus after the begln
nlng of the nuclear age. A bltter tone lnfuses poems
such as 'Eldslukaren" (Jhe Ilre Eater), whlch exhorts
the reader to 'Vnj dlg vl med gammastrlar, / va
dlg fr tldens nd" (Accustom yourself to gamma
rays, / rehearse for the calamlty of our tlme). Jhe
most memorable sectlon of the book occurs at the end,
however, when Martlnson lntroduces hls eplc cycle of
celestlal poems, ^~~I through lts flrst twentynlne
songs.
Dlrect lnsplratlon for ^~~ can be traced to a
summer evenlng ln l953 when Martlnson almed hls
telescope at the splral galaxy Andromeda, the most
dlstant entlty ln the unlverse that ls vlslble to the
naked eye, and recelved an unusually clear vlew. Jhls
experlence of cosmlc dlstance so overwhelmed and
affected the wrlter that for the next fourteen days
whlle lylng prostrate on hls sofa at homeMartlnson
dlctated to hls wlfe the materlal that became the lnltlal
twentynlne songs of ^~~K He completed the remaln
lng poemsl03 ln alldurlng the next two years.
A narratlve cycle of poems, ^~~ ls set ln some
unspeclfled tlme ln the future, when Earthcalled
'Dorlsburg" ln the poemhas become contamlnated
by atomlc radlatlon, and large numbers of people are
evacuated to bases on Mars and Venus. One of the
shlps conveylng the emlgrants, the ^~~I ls thrown
off course on a routlne fllght. Lnable to turn ltself
around, the shlp contlnues lnstead lnto deep space
toward a place called the Lyre.
O, kunde vl n ter tlll vr bas,
nu nr vl upptckt vad vrt rymdskepp r.
en llten blsa l Guds andes glas.
(O would that we could turn back to our base,
now that we reallze what our spaceshlp ls.
a llttle bubble ln the glass of Godhead.)
Jhe 'Mlma," a klnd of artlflclal lntelllgence that was
created ln part by humans and developed ln part by the
Mlma as lt selfevolved, provldes some comfort to the
space travelers. Vastly superlor to human lntelllgence,
the Mlma can reproduce slghts, sounds, and smells not
only from Earth but also from other dlstant worlds as
well.
l80
e~ j~ ai_ PPN
Men tvlvlan r en syra som frtr
fler drmmar n vad drmmaren kan ge,
och endast genom mlman kan vl d
vr drmbllds varma sknhet terse.
(But doubt ls an acld that corrodes more dreams
than there are dreamers who can conjure them,
and therefore only through the Mlma can we
see agaln our dream show`s ardent beauty.)
Jhe Mlma transmlts truthful lmages; lts name lmplles
Arlstotle`s 'mlmesls," as Blrgltta Steene wrote ln her
essay 'Jhe Role of the Mlma. A Note on Martlnson`s
Zvioro" (l965), and lts 'report" of the flnal destructlon
of Earth by nuclear exploslons leads to the Mlma`s own
demlse (ln poem 29). Jhe mimorob, or mlmator, narrates
the verse and ls also the caretaker of the Mlma. As the
cycle contlnues, the mimorob attempts to reconstruct the
Mlma, and the lnhabltants of the shlp flnd consolatlon
ln sexual rltuals, drugs, and varlous rellglous sects.
Nu r det slut.
Och lngen flnns att skylla p.
Ansvarsmnnen? Dda.
Jlllskyndarna ha flytt l tld.
(Now lt ls over.
And no one`s left to blame.
Jhe men ln charge? Dead now.
Jhe lnstlgators fled ln tlme.)
One may read Zvioro as an exploratlon of the human
condltlon from a galactlc perspectlve. Although the shlp
can contlnue travellng through space lndeflnltely, llfe on
the shlp perslsts only as long as the llfe spans of lts
lnhabltants. Beyond that polnt, the end of llfe,
Med ofrmlnskad fart mot Lyrans blld
l femton tusen r goldondern drog
llkt ett museum fyllt av tlng och ben
och torra vxter lfrn Dorls skog.
(Wlth undlmlnlshed speed out to the Lyre
for flfteen thousand years the spacecraft drove
llke a museum full of thlngs and bones
and deslccated plants from Dorls grove.)
Jhe publlcatlon of Zvioro created a tremendous lmpact
ln Sweden ln the late l950san operatlc verslon of lt
was eventually stagedand the work has been studled
by scholars ln not only llterary but also sclentlflc, soclo
loglcal, and llngulstlc flelds. Zvioro ls also unusual for a
Martlnson work because lt has been translated lnto
Engllsh three tlmes. flrst by Jord Hallwho also wrote
a book about the sclentlflc elements ln the poem, !r
tids stjorvsvg: Iv voturvctcvsloplig studic omlrivg Horry
Mortivsovs Zvioro (l958, Starsong of Our Jlme. A Study
ln Jerms of Natural Sclence of Harry Martlnson`s Zvi-
oro); then ln l963 by Hugh MacDlarmld and Elspeth
Harley Schubert; and ln l999 by Stephen Klass and
Lelf Sjberg.
Martlnson`s next book was another volume of
poetry. Croscv i Tlulc (l958, Jhe Grasses ln Jhule) fea
tures nature lyrlcs of a markedly eleglac tone. An
underlylng theme of the collectlon ls the lmposslblllty
of poetry, as shown ln the verse 'Drm" (Dream)
where the moon, holstlng a broadax, addresses a
'moonpoet" and emphaslzes the dlstance between the
two. 'Du r mnpoet. |ag hugger dlg tlll vlla. / |ag r
hlmlens mne. Du r sng och mull" (You are a moon
poet. I cleave you to rest. / I am the sky`s moon. You are
song and earth).
In hls later years Martlnson`s work grew less pop
ular wlth crltlcs, especlally of the polltlcal Left, as they
often mlsunderstood hls wrltlngs and even revlewed
them wlth some hostlllty. Although ln hls work he had
alwaysln expllclt terms, more or lessbeen crltlcal of
the lncreaslng dependence of modern soclety on tech
nology and of the everqulckenlng pace of llfe, crltlcs
stlll expressed shock at !ogvcv (l960, Jhe Wagon),
especlally at the tltle sulte of seventeen poems, 'Rster
om vagnen" (Volces Regardlng the Wagon). !ogvcv ls
not just a polemlcal work. Rather, these poems explore
the ldea of 'the wagon," from the lnventlon of the
wheel to the presentday personal vehlclesometlmes ln
posltlve terms but especlally from llfethreatenlng per
spectlves. 'Jraflkbrhuset / r tldens drlveln krypta"
(Jhe trafflc mortuary / ls the drlveln crypt of today).
Jechnology transforms human soclety and lndlvlduals.
'Lngsamt frndrades jag / . . . / Vagnen blev mer och
mer mltt hlje, / mltt skal och mltt snlgelhus" (Slowly I
was changed / . . . / Jhe wagon more and more became
my coverlng, / my shell and my snallhouse). As ln the
flnal chapters of !ogcv till Iloclrilc, the poet plays wlt
ness to the appearance of motor vehlcles and vlews the
lncreaslng speed and volume of trafflc as negatlve
developments and thus contrary to the pace at whlch
llfeand the natural worldshould be experlenced.
!ogvcv came out at a tlme, however, when the 'Swedlsh
model" of socletybased on lndustrlal development,
government plannlng, and soclal welfarewas at lts
peak, and crltlcs suddenly consldered Martlnson anach
ronlstlc, somewhat reactlonary, and certalnly no longer
modern. Although ln Sderblom`s vlew, as he states ln
Horry Mortivsov, !ogvcv ls one of Martlnson`s 'lyrlska
msterverk, jmfrbart med òmod " (lyrlcal master
pleces, comparable to òmod ), lt nevertheless remalns a
neglected work. Always sensltlve to crltlclsm, he
declared after the hostlle receptlon of !ogvcv that he
would publlsh no more poetry durlng hls llfetlme.
l8l
ai_ PPN e~ j~
In the next few years Martlnson completed a col
lectlon of nature essays, Utsilt frv cv grostuvo (trans
lated as !icws from o Tuft of Cross, 2005), whlch was
publlshed ln l963. Whlle, as the tltle lmplles, many of
these essays descrlbe the llfe of plants and lnsects,
another lmportant theme ls the representatlon of
nature ln words and art. 'Kartan som konstverk"
(Jhe Map as a Work of Art) captures a foray lnto the
hlstory of the map and lts relatlve neglect by humanlst
scholars. Jhe central essay, 'Om natursklldrlng" (On
the Deplctlon of Nature), explores 'en lltteraturart
vars frmsta uppglft r att stndlgt nyvva de sen
suella banden mellan naturen som allmnfattllg
totalltet och mnskosjlen" (a type of llterature whose
chlef task ls constantly to weave anew the sensual
bonds between nature as a generally lntelllglble total
lty and the human soul), an observatlon that applles
equally to Martlnson`s nature poetry ln general.
Hls determlnatlon never to publlsh poetry agaln
dld not deter hlm from contlnulng to wrlte or revlse
prevlously wrltten materlal. In l97l the poet`s long
tlme edltor at Bonnler, Georg Svensson, suggested that
Martlnson cull poems from the many boxes of manu
scrlpt materlal stored ln the publlsher`s vaults and put
together a collectlon. Although ln lll health, Martlnson
energetlcally set about the task, worklng ln the apart
ment ln Stockholm where he and hls wlfe were llvlng
at the tlme. After several months of lntense labor, Dil-
tcr om ljus ocl mrlcr (Poems of Llght and Dark)
appeared ln November l97l. In l973 a sulte of slxty
nlne nature poemswhlch were orlglnally planned as
part of Diltcr om ljus ocl mrlcrwere publlshed under
the tltle Tuvor (Jufts). Tuvor was the last book pub
llshed durlng hls llfetlme.
In l971 Martlnson recelved the Nobel Prlze ln
Llterature, along wlth hls frlend |ohnson, another
wrlter wlth a worklngclass background. Jhe award
created some controversy, malnly because both men
were members of the Swedlsh Academy; but the Acad
emy had presented the prlze to lts own members
before, as wlth Verner von Heldenstam ln l9l6, Erlk
Axel Karlfeldt ln l93l (though Karlfeldt had refused
nomlnatlons ln l9l6 and l9l9 because he was the per
manent secretary of the Academy), and Pr Lagerkvlst
ln l95l. Jhe jolnt award ltself was not unprecedented,
but although both authors had been llkely candldates
for many years, the award dld not lessen the anlmos
lty of some crltlcs. In fact, lt seemed to lntenslfy
attacks on Martlnson ln the lncreaslngly polltlclzed
cultural atmosphere ln Sweden ln the l960s and
l970s.
In early l973 Martlnson had undergone a serl
ous operatlon from whlch he never fully recovered.
He dld attend the Nobel ceremonles but dld not glve a
speech at the banquet, and he never made any publlc
pronouncements about the prlze or the harsh crltlcal
reactlon. Hls health contlnued to decllne, no doubt
exacerbated by the controversy surroundlng hls Nobel
Prlze, untll hls death on ll Iebruary l978. After hls
death, hls posltlon ln the Swedlsh Academy (a llfetlme
appolntment) was fllled by the novellst Kerstln
Ekman. In her lnaugural speech, Ekman spoke clearly
of Martlnson`s dlstlnctlve vlslon, whlch ranged far
beyond the narrowly polltlcal crlterla applled by hls
crltlcs.
Harry Martlnson vnde ryggen t polltlken. Detta r
vedertaget. Det stds av hans egna, ofta mycket deflnl
tlva uttalanden. Men han vnde lnte ryggen t vra
gemensamma vlllkor och vrt gemensamma hand
lande. F dlktare har l sjlva verket gnat slg s lnten
slvt t vad vl l dag r beredda att kalla polltlska frgor.
vrt frhllnlngsstt tlll naturen, den accelererande
teknlska utveckllngen och krlgsrlskerna. . . .
(Harry Martlnson turned hls back on polltlcs. Jhls ls a
recognlzed fact. It ls supported by hls own, often very
expllclt pronouncements. But he dld not turn hls back
on our common condltlons and our common actlons.
Few authors have actually devoted themselves as lnten
slvely to what we today are prepared to call polltlcal
questlons. our attltude towards nature, acceleratlng
technlcal development and the rlsk of war. . . .)
Slnce Martlnson`s death, several books have been
publlshed from the large amount of materlal he left
behlnd ln manuscrlpt formpubllcatlons that the
author antlclpated and approved, partlcularly ln llght of
hls reluctance to publlsh ln the last two decades of hls
llfe. Jhe flrst of these books, Iovgs clots stigor (l978,
Along the Paths of Echo), lncludes poems that had been
prlnted ln galley formbut not publlshedln prepara
tlon for Diltcr om ljus ocl mrlcr, Tuvor, and another stlll
unpubllshed collectlon tltled 'Vgor" (Waves). Dorid-
crvo: Iftcrlomvodc diltcr ocl prosostyclcv (l980, Jhe Iol
lowers of Dorls) lncludes poems and prose related to a
planned contlnuatlon of Zvioro, whlle ollcsogor (l983,
Jales of Bolle) features materlal not lncluded orlglnally
ln !ogcv till Iloclrilc. Jhe tltle of Ur dc tuscv diltcrvos bol
(l986, Irom the Book of a Jhousand Poems)whlch
also conslsts of prevlously unpubllshed poemsalludes
to Martlnson`s pet phrase for hls growlng volume of
poems ln manuscrlpt form. Jhls book and others,
lncludlng several facslmlle edltlons, have been pub
llshed by the Harry Martlnson Soclety (Harry Martln
sonSllskapet).
iW
Ioctislo trvbuslor i movgd: rcv 1929-1949, edlted by
Paullna Helgeson (Stockholm. Bonnler, 2001).
l82
e~ j~ ai_ PPN
_~W
Sonja Erfurth, Horry Mortivsovs borvdomsvorld (Stock
Erfurth, Horry Mortivsov ocl vogcv ut (Stockholm. Bon
nler, l98l);
Erfurth, Horry Mortivsov ocl Moo (Stockholm. Bonnler,
l987);
Erfurth, Horry Mortivsovs J0-tol (Stockholm. Bonnler,
l989).
oW
|ohn Charlesworth and Brlta Green, 'Jo Catch a Drop
of Dew. On Jranslatlng Harry Martlnson`s Nature
Poetry," Swcdisl ool Icvicw, l (2001). 1-ll;
Kjell Espmark, 'Harry Martlnson. Vrldsnomaden," ln
Dcv svcvslo littcroturcv: Modcrvistcr ocl orbctordiltorc
1920-190, edlted by Lars Lnnroth and Sven
Delblanc (Stockholm. Bonnler, l989), pp. l91-
207;
Espmark, Horry Mortivsov crvror sitt sprl: Iv studic i lovs
lyrislo mctod 1927-19J4 (Stockholm. Bonnler,
l970);
Jord Hall, !r tids stjorvsvg: Iv voturvctcvsloplig studic
omlrivg Horry Mortivsovs Zvioro (Stockholm. Bon
nler, l958);
Ingvar Holm, Horry Mortivsov: Mytcr Mlvivgor Motiv
(Stockholm. Aldus/Bonnler, l965);
Llf Larsson, 'Harry Martlnson. Catchlng the Dew
drop, Reflectlng the Cosmos," 1 |une 2001
http.//nobelprlze.org/nobel_prlzes/llterature/
artlcles/larsson/lndex.html`;
|ohan Lundberg, Dcv ovdro cvlcllctcv: Studicr i Horry
Mortivsovs lyril 19J-194 (Revlngeby. Vekerum,
l992);
Marle Loulse Ramnefalk, Trc lorodiltorc: Studicr i Horry
Mortivsovs, Cuvvor Ilclfs ocl Iorl !cvvbcrgs lyril
(Staffanstorp. Cavefors, l971), pp. 16-ll5;
Staffan Sderblom, Horry Mortivsov (Stockholm. Natur
och kultur, l991);
Blrgltta Steene, 'Jhe Role of the Mlma. A Note on
Martlnson`s Zvioro," ln Scovdivoviov Studics: Issoys
Ircscvtcd to Dr. Hcvry Coddord Icocl ov tlc Uccosiov of
His Iiglty-fiftl irtldoy, edlted by Carl I. Bayer
schmldt and Erlk |. Irlls (Seattle. Jhe Amerlcan
Scandlnavlan Ioundatlon and Lnlverslty of
Washlngton Press, l965), pp. 3ll-3l9.
m~W
Jhe maln collectlon of Harry Martlnson`s papers ls
housed at the Lnlverslty of Lppsala. Smaller collec
tlons are housed at the Royal Llbrary, Albert Bonnlers
Irlags arklv, and the Archlves of the Labor Move
ment, Stockholm.
NVTQ k m i~
m~ p
by Iorl Iogvor Cicrow, of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy
(Trovslotiov from tlc Swcdisl)
Your Majesty, Your Royal Hlghnesses, Ladles and
Gentlemen,
Eyvlnd |ohnson`s educatlonthat ls, the educa
tlon provlded by soclety at that tlmeended when he
was thlrteen and was lmparted to hlm at a llttle vlllage
school north of the Arctlc Clrcle. Jhe future awaltlng
the young Harry Martlnson opened up to hlm when, at
the age of slx, as a socalled chlld of the parlsh, he was
sold by auctlon to the lowest bldderthat ls, to the per
son who took charge of the forsaken boy for the small
est payment out of parochlal funds. Jhe fact that, wlth
such a start ln llfe, both of them have thelr places on
thls platform today, ls the vlslble testlmony to a trans
formatlon of soclety, whlch, step by step, ls stlll golng
on all over the world. Wlth us lt came unusually early;
lt ls perhaps our country`s blggest blesslng, perhaps,
also, lts most remarkable achlevement durlng the last
thousand years.
Eyvlnd |ohnson and Harry Martlnson dld not
come alone, nor flrst. Jhey are representatlve of the
many proletarlan wrlters or worklngclass poets who,
on a wlde front, broke lnto our llterature, not to ravage
and plunder, but to enrlch lt wlth thelr fortunes. Jhelr
arrlval meant an lnflux of experlence and creatlve
energy, the value of whlch can hardly be exaggerated.
Jo that extent they are representatlve also of the slmllar
breakthrough that has later occurred ln the whole of
our cultural world. A new class has conquered Parnas
sus. But lf, by a conqueror, we mean the one who
galned most from the outcome, then Parnassus has con
quered a new class.
Jo determlne an author and hls work agalnst the
background of hls soclal orlgln and polltlcal envlron
ment ls, at present, good form. And what ls good form
ls seldom partlcularly to the polnt. 'Eyvlnd |ohnson`s
llterary achlevement ls one of the most slgnlflcant and
characterlstlc of a very frultful perlod ln the whole of
Europe." Jhls last sentence ls not mlne; lt was wrltten
thlrty years ago by Luclen Maury. Even then, the boy
from a prlmary school ln a remote vlllage ln the far
north of Sweden was an experlenced and selfassured
European, never forgetful of hls orlgln (of whlch hls
autoblographlcal storles provlde a lastlng document),
but stlll less bound and lnhlblted by the envlronment
l83
ai_ PPN e~ j~
where he took hls flrst steps. Internatlonal perspectlve
dlstlngulshed Eyvlnd |ohnson`s further wrltlngs, and lt
ls matched by an equally wlde outlook ln tlme, over the
destlnles and ages of the human race. Jhe renewal of
the hlstorlcal novel whlch he has carrled out on hls
own, and perhaps exempllfled most clearly ln great
works llke a~ e d~ and p q~ pI ls
based not only on extenslve research but also on a
clearslghtedness whlch, expressed brlefly, sets out to
show that everythlng that happens to us has happened
before, and everythlng that took place once ln the
world ls stlll taklng place, recognlzable under changed
slgns, a constant slmultanelty of epochs whlch may be
the only wlsdom the past can teach us ln our attempts
to survey the present and dlvlne an era whlch we have
not yet seen.
If, nevertheless, we are to polnt to a speclal phase
and one partlcular mental envlronment whose traces
are lneffaceable ln Eyvlnd |ohnson`s work wlth hls pen,
lt ls that very perlod when Luclen Maury dlscovered
that ln thls Nordlc wrlter, Europe had one of lts lmpor
tant lntellectuals. Jhe Irench tlme analyst descrlbed
thls epoch as very frultful. What was lt that made lt so
productlve? Not favourable condltlons, but the lndoml
table reslstance to the condltlons that prevalled. Dday
had not yet dawned; Nazlsm stlll had a stranglehold on
Europe. It was ln that predlcament that Eyvlnd |ohnson
spoke out. Hls attltude was so passlonate that lts fer
vour has never slnce vanlshed from what he wrote. He
retalned hls European perspectlve, but, naturally, lt was
Scandlnavla`s llberty that was dearest to hlm just then.
He endorsed hls convlctlon wlth a handshake across
the border. Jogether wlth a coedltor on the Norweglan
slde he was responslble durlng the occupatlon years for
a mouthplece of the new Scandlnavlanlsm, called^
e~~K As from today the two publlshers of that llt
tle paper are both Nobel Prlze wlnners. Jhe name of
Eyvlnd |ohnson`s coedltor on the Norweglan slde of
the frontler was Wllly Brandt.
Both Eyvlnd |ohnson and, stlll more, Harry Mar
tlnson have a lot ln common wlth the oldest, and per
haps, greatest of all proletarlan wrlters, the subtly wlse
and charmlng author of lngenlous fables, Aesop. Llke
hlm, they spln webs, capturlng you wlth begulllng
words that always contaln other, and more, than what
they llterally say. But the dlfferences between thls year`s
two llterary prlzewlnners are greater than the slmllarl
tles. Beslde Eyvlnd |ohnson, whose wrltlng ls based so
very much on hls flercely defended cltlzenshlp ln a free
soclety, Harry Martlnson may appear to be almost a
purely asoclal lndlvldual, the lncorrlglble vagrant ln our
llterature. No one has succeeded ln puttlng hlm under
lock and key. Jhe phllosophlc tramp, Bolle, ln q o~
ls, ln many ways, the author`s spokesman, and he ls not
homeless at the gate. He ls homeless only when he gets
lnslde four walls. He ls the bearer of asoclallsm as a
wlsh and a prlnclple that brlngs good luck; he ls a vaga
bond of hls own free wlll, ln agreement wlth llfe`s
sound lnstlncts and ln spontaneous revolt agalnst what
ls trylng to stlfle themthat whlch ls governed by calcu
latlon and establlshed by force. He already has hls
home; lt ls beyond and outslde, and he ls always on the
way towards lt. Irom thls startlng polnt, though ln a dlf
ferent key, we can also concelve the traglcally beautlful
vlslon of Anlara, of the spaceshlp whlch heads away
from an lncreaslngly hostlle exlstence on a frozen earth
and ltself loses lts rudder, cut off from lts home port and
wlth lts destlnatlon lost.
'I don`t want to have real what most people want
to have real," Bolle remarks. In saylng thls he has also
sald qulte a lot about Harry Martlnson`s wrltlng. Real
lsm ls to be found there to the extent that lt can be
called elemental. lt ls based on the closest famlllarlty
wlth the four elements. Harry Martlnson got to know
earth and alr as a tramp on the roads, flre and water as
a stoker at sea. Yet the world of lmaglnatlon ls more
lmportant and more real to hlm than that of reallty.
Where reallsm plods methodlcally along, hls lmaglna
tlon races wlth the swallowwlnged gllde of the skater.
However, lt ls not a fllght from truth; on the contrary.
'We must learn the essentlal dlfference between what ls
factual and what ls truth," he has sald. 'We have facts
everywhere. Jhey whlrl ln our eyes llke sand." But lt ls
truth we are concerned wlth, and that ls somethlng else.
It ls a state ln nature and ln the receptlve human belng;
lt ls
~ ~
~ ~ K
Ior Harry Martlnson fact and flctlon are one, and, wlth
out any aphorlstlc halrspllttlng, an entlre outlook on llfe
ls summed up ln these pregnant words. Jhe last two,
most emphaslzed, form the slmple verb of mere exlst
ence. to be. But exlstence ls only flt for human belngs lf lt
glves them pleasure, and for that, good wlll and vlgllance
are needed. So, ln the end, the truth to whlch thls wan
derer`s path has led hlm ls a gratltude, roundeyed as a
chlld`s, for the generous llfe that has constantly glven
hlm trlals, rlddles and joy ln good measure.
After thls qulckly cutout sllhouette of two remark
able llterary proflles, lt ls my very pleasant duty to express
the heartfelt congratulatlons of the Swedlsh Academy to
Eyvlnd |ohnson and Harry Martlnson and to ask them to
recelve the emblems of the l971 Nobel Prlze for Lltera
ture from the hands of Hls Majesty, the Klng.
l81
e~ j~ ai_ PPN
j~W _~ p
Horry Mortivsov did vot molc o spcccl ot tlc òbcl ov-
quct ot tlc City Holl iv Stocllolm, 10 Dcccmbcr 1974; lis fcl-
low wivvcr, Iyvivd olvsov, spolc for botl of tlcm
(Trovslotiov):
On behalf of Harry Martlnson and myself I wlll
speak as brlefly as posslble on the sltuatlon ln whlch we
now flnd ourselves.
A poet or prose narrator usually looks back on
what he has achleved agalnst a backdrop of the years
that have passed, generally flndlng that some of these
achlevements are acceptable, whlle others are less so.
Such a form of selfcrltlclsm ls often valuable ln that lt
lends perspectlve to our llves. It evokes or fortlfles rec
ollectlons of those teachers who have been lmportant to
us. Jhese may be long departed thlnkers and poets
who nonetheless llve on by vlrtue of thelr work, or con
temporary wrlters, young and old, who have been a
source of gratlfylng lnsplratlon to us and led us along
the paths of promlse.
We can recall wlth profound gratltude the flne
teachers of our earllest, lmportant schooldays when as
youngsters some of us on slateswe practlced the form
and order of letters; ln due course to acqulre a clearer
sense for the better or worse use of the alphabet.
A wrlter`s work often reflects what he or she has
been exposed to ln llfe; experlences whlch are the
groundwork of a poem or a story. Poet and storyteller
both fabulate ln order to produce true plctures of real
ltyreallty as lt ls, or as lt seems to them to be. Irom the
throes of lnsplratlon and the eddles of thought the poet
may at last be able to arrlve at, and convey the rlght
admlxture of words and meanlng. And your poet or
storyteller may sometlmes experlence a sense of pro
found egotlstlcal joy ln the functlon of muslng, solvlng
and composlng.
And at the centre of all the good wrltlng that has
been, and ls belng created, stands Man, ln the mldst of
hls own klnd and surrounded by the technology, vlo
lence and compasslon that he may encounter ln the suf
ferlng and happlness whlch constltutes hls lndlvldual or
soclal destlny. In the world of the present, ln our tlme,
we feel that sufferlng, angulsh, the torments of body
and soul, are greater than ever before ln the hlstory of
manklnd. Many men of sclence and poets have ln thelr
own manner, by varlous ways and means, and alded by
others, sought unceaslngly to create a more tolerable
world for everyone. And thls we should belleve. that
hope and volltlon can brlng us closer to our ultlmate
goal. justlce for all, lnjustlce for no one.
Harry Martlnson and I would llke to thank the
Swedlsh Academy for the honour whlch lt has done us
ln havlng the temerlty, wlthout consultlng us or anyone
else, to have placed us ln the sltuatlon ln whlch we now
flnd ourselves.
At the same tlme we should llke to thank the
Ioundatlon whlch, ln the esteemed name of Alfred
Nobel, has wlthout protest acceptedlndeed been klnd
enough to approve our presence here today, thereby
bestowlng upon us somethlng whlch makes our per
sonal sltuatlonthe one to whlch I have just referred
rather less dlsagreeable than I have perhaps pretended
lt to be.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l971. Eyvlnd |ohnson ls the
l85
c~ j~~
(11 Uctobcr 1SS - 1 Scptcmbcr 1970)
p~~ jK h
_uccv`s Uvivcrsity
Jhls entry was revlsed from Kushnlr`s Maurlac entry
ln DI 6: Ircvcl òvclists, 1900-19J0.
SELECJED BOOKS. Ics Moivs joivtcs (Parls. Ialque,
l909);
I`Zdicu o lòdolcsccvcc (Parls. Stock, l9ll);
IÌvfovt clorgc dc clovcs (Parls. Grasset, l9l3); trans
lated by Gerard Hopklns as Jouvg Mov iv Cloivs
(London. Eyre Spottlswoode, l96l; New York.
Iarrar, Straus Cudahy, l96l);
Io Iobc prctcxtc (Parls. Grasset, l9l1); translated by
Hopklns as Tlc Stuff of Joutl (London. Eyre
Spottlswoode, l960);
Io Cloir ct lc sovg (Parls. EmllePaul, l920); translated
by Hopklns as Ilcsl ovd lood (London. Eyre
Spottlswoode, l951; New York. Iarrar, Straus,
l955);
Ictits Issois dc psyclologic rcligicusc (Parls. Soclt Llttralre
de Irance, l920);
Ircscovccs (Parls. EmllePaul, l92l); translated by Hop
klns as _ucstiovs of Ircccdcvcc (London. Eyre
Spottlswoode, l958; New York. Iarrar, Straus
Cudahy, l959);
Ic oiscr ou lcprcux (Parls. Grasset, l922; New York.
Macmlllan, l922); translated by |ames Whltall as
Tlc Iiss to tlc Icpcr (London. Helnemann, l923);
translated by Lewls Galantlre ln Tlc Iomily (New
York. Covlcl, Irlede, l930);
Ic Ilcuvc dc fcu (Parls. Grasset, l923); translated by
Hopklns as Tlc Iivcr of Iirc (London. Eyre
Ccvitrix (Parls. Grasset, l923); translated by Galantlre
ln Tlc Iomily (New York. Covlcl, Irlede, l930);
Io !ic ct lo mort dùv poctc (Parls. Bloud Gay, l921);
Ic Mol (Parls. Grasset, l921); translated by Hopklns as
Tlc Ivcmy ln Tlc Dcscrt of Iovc ovd Tlc Ivcmy
(London. Eyre Spottlswoode, l919; New York.
Iarrar, Straus Cudahy, l958);
Ic Dcscrt dc lòmour (Parls. Grasset, l925); translated by
Samuel Putnam as Tlc Dcscrt of Iovc (New York.
Covlcl, Irlede, l929); translated by Hopklns ln
Tlc Dcscrt of Iovc ovd Tlc Ivcmy;
Urogcs (Parls. Champlon, l925);
ordcoux (Parls. EmllePaul, l926);
Coups dc coutcou (Parls. Jrmols, l926);
Ic cuvc Hommc (Parls. Hachette, l926);
Iroust (Parls. Lesage, l926);
Io Irovivcc (Parls. Hachette, l926);
Uv Hommc dc lcttrcs (Parls. Laplna, l926);
Io Icvcovtrc ovcc Ioscol; suivi dc IÌsolcmcvt dc orrs (Parls.
Edltlons des cahlers llbres, l926; expanded, Parls.
La Jable Ronde, l991);
Covscicvcc, ivstivct diviv (Parls. EmllePaul, l927);
expanded as Tlcrsc Dcsqucyroux (Parls. Grasset,
l927); translated by Erlc Sutton as Tlcrsc (Lon
don. Secker, l928; New York. Bonl Llverlght,
l928);
Dcstivs (Parls. Grasset, l928); translated by Sutton as
Dcstivics (London. Secker, l929; New York. Cov
lcl, Irlede, l929); translated by Hopklns as Iivcs
of Iifc (London. Eyre Spottlswode, l957);
Ic Dcmov dc lo covvoissovcc (Parls. Jrmols, l928);
Io !ic dc cov Iocivc (Parls. Plon, l928);
Ic Iomov (Parls. LÀrtlsan du Llvre, l928);
Supplcmcvt ou Troitc dc lo covcupisccvcc dc ossuct (Parls. Jrl
anon, l928);
Divogotiovs sur Soivt-Sulpicc (Parls. Champlon, l928);
Dicu ct Mommov (Parls. Capltole, l929); translated by
Bernard Wall and Barbara Wall as Cod ovd Mom-
mov (London. Sheed Ward, l936);
Mcs plus loivtoivs souvcvirs (Parls. E. Hazan, l929);
Io ùit du bourrcou dc soi-mcmc (Parls. Ilammarlon,
l929);
Trois Iccits (Parls. Grasset, l929);
Cc qui ctoit pcrdu (Parls. Grasset, l930); translated by
Harold I. KynastonSnell as Suspiciov (London.
Nash Grayson, l93l); translated by |. H. I.
McEwen as Tlot !licl !os Iost ln Tlot !licl !os
Iost ovd Tlc Dorl Zvgcls (London. Eyre Spottls
woode, l95l);
Iorolcs cv Ispogvc (Parls. Hartmann, l930);
l86
c~ j~~ ai_ PPN
Trois Crovds Hommcs dcvovt Dicu (Parls. Capltole, l930);
loisc Ioscol ct so sur ocquclivc (Parls. Hachette, l93l);
Ic cudi-Soivt (Parls. Ilammarlon, l93l); translated
by KynastonSnell as Mouvdy Tlursdoy (London.
Burns Oates Washbourne, l932); translated
by MarleLoulse Dufrenoy as Tlc Iuclorist: Tlc
Mystcry of Holy Tlursdoy (New York Joronto.
Longmans, Green, l911); translatlon repub
llshed as Holy Tlursdoy: Zv Ivtimotc Icmcmbrovcc
(Manchester, N.H.. Sophla Instltute Press,
l99l);
Souffrovccs ct bovlcur du clrcticv (Parls. Grasset, l93l);
translated by Harold Evans as Zvguisl ovd oy of
tlc Clristiov Iifc (WllkesBarre, Pa.. Dlmenslon,
l961);
Commcvccmcvts dùvc vic (Parls. Grasset, l932)comprlses
ordcoux and Mcs plus loivtoivs souvcvirs;
Ic ùd dc viprcs (Parls. Grasset, l932; New York.
Macmlllan, l932); translated by Warre B. Wells
as !ipcrs` Tovglc (London. Gollancz, l933; New
York. Sheed Ward, l933);
Io Drlc (Parls. Hartmann, l933); translated by Anne
Carter as Tlc Holy Tcrror (London. |. Cape, l961;
New York. Iunk Wagnalls, l967);
Ic Mystrc Irovtcvoc (Parls. Grasset, l933); translated by
Hopklns as Tlc Irovtcvoc Mystcry (London. Eyre
Spottlswoode, l952); translatlon republlshed as
Tlc Irovtcvocs (New York. Iarrar, Straus Cud
ahy, l96l);
Ic Iomovcicr ct scs pcrsovvogcs (Parls. Corra, l933);
Discours dc rcccptiov o l`Zcodcmic Irovoisc ct rcpovsc dc M.
Zvdrc Cloumcix (Parls. Grasset, l931);
ourvol, 3 volumes (Parls. Grasset, l931-l910);
Io Iiv dc lo vuit (Parls. Grasset, l935); translated by
Hopklns as Tlc Ivd of tlc ìglt ln Tlcrsc (Lon
don. Eyre Spottlswoode, l917); translatlon
republlshed as Tlcrsc: Z Iortroit iv Iour Iorts (New
York. Holt, l917);
Ics Zvgcs voirs (Parls. Grasset, l936); translated by Hop
klns as Tlc Dorl Zvgcls ln Tlot !licl !os Iost ovd
Tlc Dorl Zvgcls (London. Eyre Spottlswoode,
l95l); translatlon republlshed as Tlc Mosl of Ivvo-
ccvcc (New York. Iarrar, Straus Young, l953);
IÌducotiov dcs fillcs (Parls. Corra, l936);
!ic dc csus (Parls. Ilammarlon, l936); translated by
|ulle Kernan as Iifc of csus (London. Hodder
Stoughton, l937; New York Joronto. Long
mans, Green, l937);
c~ j~~ ~ c~I NQ k NVQS E` oJsLd f~F
l87
ai_ PPN c~ j~~
Zsmodcc (Parls. Grasset, l938); translated by Basll Bart
lett as Zsmodcc; or, Tlc Ivtrudcr (London. Secker
Warburg, l939); translated by Beverly Jhurman
(New York. Irench, l957);
Ilovgccs (Parls. Grasset, l938);
Ics Clcmivs dc lo mcr (Parls. Grasset, l939); translated by
Hopklns as Tlc Uvlvowv Sco (London. Eyre
Spottlswoode, l918; New York. Holt, l918);
Ics Moisovs fugitivcs (Parls. Grasset, l939);
Ic Sovg d`Ztys (Parls. Grasset, l910);
Io Ilorisicvvc (Parls. Grasset, l91l); translated by Hop
klns as !omov of tlc Ilorisccs (London. Eyre
Spottlswoode, l916; New York. Holt, l916);
Ic Colicr voir, as Iorez (Parls. Edltlons de Mlnult, l913);
blllngual edltlon (London. Burrup, Mathleson,
l911);
Ic oillov dcvouc, oprcs quotrc ovs dc silcvcc (Parls. Grasset,
l915);
Ics Mol-Zimcs (Parls. Grasset, l915);
Iogcs dc jourvol (Monaco. Edltlons du Rocher, l915);
Io Icvcovtrc ovcc orrs (Parls. Jable Ronde, l915);
Soivtc Morgucritc dc Cortovc (Parls. Ilammarlon, l915);
translated by Bernard Irechtman as Soivt Morgorct
of Cortovo (New York. Phllosophlcal Llbrary,
l918);
Du ctc dc clc Iroust (Parls. Jable Ronde, l917); trans
lated by Elsle Pell as Iroust`s !oy (New York.
Phllosophlcal Llbrary, l950);
ourvol, 19J2-19J9 (Parls. Jable Ronde, l917);
ourvol dùv lommc dc trcvtc ovs (Parls. Egloff, l918);
Iossogc du moliv (Parls. Jable Ronde, l918);
Mcs Crovds lommcs (Monaco. Edltlons du Rocher,
l919); translated by Pell as Crcot Mcv (London.
Rockllff, l919); translatlon republlshed as Mcv I
Hold Crcot (New York. Phllosophlcal Llbrary,
l95l);
ourvol [1944-1946] (Parls. Ilammarlon, l950);
Io Iicrrc dòcloppcmcvt (Monaco. Edltlons du Rocher,
l95l); translated by Pell as Tlc Stumblivg locl
(New York. Phllosophlcal Llbrary, l952); trans
lated by Hopklns (London. Harvlll, l956);
Ic Icu sur lo tcrrc; ou, Ic Ioys sovs clcmiv (Parls. Grasset,
l95l);
Ic Sogouiv (Parls. La Palatlne, l95l); translated by Hop
klns as Tlc Iittlc Miscry (London. Eyre Spottls
woode, l952); translatlon republlshed as Tlc
!collivg ln Tlc !collivg ovd Tlc Ivcmy (New York.
Pellegrlnl Cudahy, l952);
Coligo (Parls. Ilammarlon, l952); translated by Hop
klns as Tlc Iovcd ovd tlc Uvlovcd (New York. Pelle
grlnl Cudahy, l952; London. Eyre
Icttrcs ouvcrtcs (Monaco. Edltlons du Rocher, l952);
translated by Marlo A. Pel as Icttcrs ov Zrt ovd Iit-
croturc (New York. Phllosophlcal Llbrary, l953);
Io Mort d`Zvdrc Cidc (Parls. Estlenne, l952);
Icrits ivtimcs (Geneva Parls. La Palatlne, l953);
ourvol |volume 5| (Parls. Ilammarlon, l953);
I`Zgvcou (Parls. Ilammarlon, l951); translated by Hop
klns as Tlc Iomb (London. Eyre Spottlswoode,
l955; New York. Iarrar, Straus Cudahy, l955);
Iorolcs cotloliqucs (Parls. Plon, l951); translated by
Edward H. Ilannery as !ords of Ioitl (New York.
Phllosophlcal Llbrary, l955);
Ics roscs dc scptcmbrc (Parls. Ilammarlon, l956); trans
lated by Hopklns as Scptcmbcr Ioscs (London. |ohn
Lane, l958);
loc-votcs, 192-197 (Parls. Ilammarlon, l958);
Ics Iils dc l`lommc (Parls. Grasset, l958); translated by
Bernard Murchland asTlc Sov of Mov (Cleveland.
World, l960);
Mcmoircs ivtcricurs (Parls. Ilammarlon, l959); translated
by Hopklns (London. Eyre Spottlswoode,
l960; New York. Iarrar, Straus Cudahy, l960);
Ic òuvcou loc-votcs, 19S-1960 (Parls. Ilammarlon,
l96l);
Cc quc jc crois (Parls. Grasset, l962); translated by Wal
lace Iowlle as !lot I clicvc (New York. Iarrar,
Straus, l963);
Dc Coullc (Parls. Grasset, l961); translated by Rlchard
Howard (London. Bodley Head, l966; Garden
Clty, N.Y.. Doubleday, l966);
òuvcoux mcmoircs ivtcricurs (Parls. Ilammarlon, l965);
translated by Herma Brlffault as Tlc Ivvcr Ircscvcc:
Iccollcctiovs of My Spirituol Iifc (Indlanapolls.
BobbsMerrlll, l968);
Dòutrcs ct moi, edlted by Kelth Goesch (Parls. Grasset,
l966);
Mcmoircs politiqucs (Parls. Grasset, l967);
Ic òuvcou loc-votcs, 1961-1964 (Parls. Ilammarlon,
l968);
Uv Zdolcsccvt dòutrcfois (Parls. Ilammarlon, l969); trans
lated by |ean Stewart as Moltovcrvc (London. Eyre
Spottlswoode, l970; New York. Iarrar, Straus
Glroux, l970);
Ic òuvcou loc-votcs, 196-1967 (Parls. Ilammarlon,
l970);
Ic Dcrvicr loc-votcs, 196S-1970 (Parls. Ilammarlon,
l97l);
Moltovcrvc: Iomov (Parls. Ilammarlon, l972);
Iorolcs pcrducs ct rctrouvccs, edlted by Goesch (Parls. B.
Grasset, l986);
Uvc lcttrcs o uv jcuvc prctrc lomoscxucl (N.p.. Imprlmerle
coopratlve de Malagar, l990);
Io Ioix dc cimcs: Clroviqucs, 194S-19, edlted by |ean
Jouzot (Parls. Bartlllat, l999);
l88
c~ j~~ ai_ PPN
Clcrclcurs dòbsolu: Mourioc ct dc Coullc, clroviqucs ct dis-
cours 194-194S, by Maurlac and Charles de
Gaulle, edlted by Malcolm Scott (Le Bouscat.
LÈsprlt du temps, 2002);
Dùv loc-votcs o lòutrc: 192-1969, edlted by Jouzot
(Parls. Bartlllat, 2001).
b ~ `W Uuvrcs complctcs, l2 volumes
(Parls. Iayard, l950-l956);
Uuvrcs romovcsqucs ct tlcotrolcs complctcs, 1 volumes, edlted
by |acques Petlt (Parls. Galllmard, l978-l985);
Uuvrcs outobiogropliqucs, edlted by Iranols Durand
(Parls. Galllmard, l990);
Uuvrcs romovcsqucs: 1911-191, edlted by |ean Jouzot
(Parls. Llbralrle gnrale franalse, l992);
Ic Icu sccrct, edlted by |eanLouls Curtls (Parls. La Dlf
frence, l992);
loc-votcs, 5 volumes, edlted by Jouzot (Parls. Seull,
l993);
Moort c outrcs ccrits sur lo musiquc, edlted by Iranols
Solesmes (La Versanne. Encre marlne, l996);
Ccvitrix: Dc Ccvctrix: Ic Movuscrit ct so gcvsc, edlted by
Pler Lulgl Plnelll (Iasano. Schena / Parls. Dldler
rudltlon, 2000);
Ics Moivs joivtcs, ct outrc pomcs, 190-192J, edlted by
Paul Cooke (Exeter. Lnlverslty of Exeter Press,
2005).
b bW Tlc Ivot of !ipcrs, translated by
Gerard Hopklns (Andover. Eyre Spottlswode,
l95l);
Sccovd Tlouglts: Icflcctiovs ov Iitcroturc ovd ov Iifc, trans
lated by Adrlenne Ioulke (Cleveland. World,
l96l; London. D. Ilnlayson, l96l);
Coiv, !lcrc is Jour rotlcr? (New York. Coward
McCann, l962).
PLAY PRODLCJIONS. Zsmodcc, Parls, Comdle
Iranalse, 22 November l937;
Ics Mol-Zimcs, Parls, ComdleIranalse, l March l915;
Iossogc du moliv, Parls, Jhtre de la Madelelne, 9
December l917;
Ic Icu sur lo tcrrc, Lyons, l2 October l950; Parls,
Jhtre Hbertot, 7 December l950.
OJHER. Blalse Pascal, Ics Iogcs immortcllcs dc Ioscol,
edlted by Maurlac (Parls. Corra, l910; New
York. Edltlons de la Malson Iranalse, l91l);
translated by Dorls E. Jroutman as Tlc Iivivg
Tlouglts of Ioscol (New York. Longmans, Green,
l910; London. Cassell, l91l);
Alfred Dreyfus, Civq Zvvccs dc mo vic, 1S94-1S99, pref
ace by Maurlac (Parls. Iasquelle, l962);
|eanRen Huguenln, ourvol, preface by Maurlac
(Parls. Seull, l961);
Maurlce Barrs, IÙuvrc dc Mouricc orrs, 20 volumes,
preface by Maurlac (Parls. Club de l`Honnte
Homme, l965-l968);
Mlchel Suffran, Sur uvc gcvcrotiov pcrduc, preface by Mau
rlac (Bordeaux. Samle, l966);
Suffran, cov dc lo !illc dc Mirmovt, preface by Maurlac
(Parls. Seghers, l968).
Iranols Maurlac ls one of the most lmportant
and prollflc Irench authors of the twentleth century. A
poet, he began hls llterary career wlth the publlcatlon ln
l909 of a collectlon of poems, Ics Moivs joivtcs (Clasped
Hands), revlewed wlth enthuslasm by the establlshed
wrlter Maurlce Barrs, who predlcted celebrlty for the
young author. Jo thls success Maurlac added ln l925
Urogcs (Storms), and ln l910 Ic Sovg d`Ztys (Jhe Blood
of Atys), a long poem on whlch he worked lntermlt
tently for close to ten years. A llterary crltlc, Maurlac
medltated on the art of flctlon ln such works as Ic
Iomov (l928, Jhe Novel) and Ic Iomovcicr ct scs pcrsov-
vogcs (l933, Jhe Novellst and Hls Characters). A Chrls
tlan morallst, he wrote many essays on Cathollc
thlnkers and salnts (such as Salnt Margaret of Cortona,
Blalse Pascal, and Henrl Lacordalre) as well as !ic dc
csus (l936; translated as Iifc of csus, l937). He also
produced autoblographlcal works, the most noted of
whlch are Commcvccmcvts dùvc vic (l932, Beglnnlngs of a
Llfe) and Mcmoircs ivtcricurs (l959, Interlor Memolrs). In
addltlon, he wrote four playsZsmodcc (performed
l937; publlshed l938; translated as Zsmodcc; or, Tlc
Ivtrudcr, l939), Ics Mol-Zimcs (l915, Jhe Illloved), Ios-
sogc du moliv (performed, l917; publlshed, l918, Passlng
of the Evll One), and Ic Icu sur lo tcrrc (performed,
l950; publlshed, l95l, Ilre on Earth). Desplte thls var
led productlon, Maurlac was, above all, a novellst. One
mlght say that for Maurlac the novel ls the genre where
the poet, the morallst, the crltlc, the autoblographer,
and the dramatlst meet.
Maurlac strlkes many readers as a profound but
narrow wrlter, explorlng a llmlted fleld of experlence,
rewrltlng the same novel. '|e fals toujours le mme
llvre" (I contlnue to wrlte the same book), he once sald.
Among Irench wrlters, he was the most Irench,
supremely Galllc, even ln hls appearance, lntensely
devoted to hls country, her problems, and her culture.
He professed a dlstaste for travel, and, although well
lnformed about forelgn llteratures and cultures, he
lndeed had nothlng cosmopolltan about hlm. He was
also a son of Gascony, a bordclois, attached to hls natlve
reglon wlth the same poetlc passlon as to hls chlldhood,
celebratlng thls remote corner of Irance ln every one of
hls novels. He was, flnally, hls whole llfe an outspoken
Cathollc, evolvlng wlthln hls Cathollclsm from a rlgld,
almost |ansenlst posltlon to a more tolerant Chrlstlan
l89
ai_ PPN c~ j~~
worldvlew but never once hesltatlng ln hls falth. Yet,
thls wrlter, so ~I so Irench, so Cathollc, attracted
readers and admlrers from outslde Irance and outslde
the Church. Hls works have been translated lnto all
major languages of the world. Jhls truly unlversal
appeal that hls work had durlng hls llfetlme and beyond
ls undoubtedly the best lndlcatlon of Maurlac`s great
ness.
Maurlac was born ln Bordeaux on ll October
l885, the fourth chlld of |eanPaul and Clalre Colffard
Maurlac. |eanPaul Maurlac, a banker, dled when
Iranols was not qulte two, and the famlly moved ln
wlth Clalre Maurlac`s mother, who also llved ln Bor
deaux. Young Iranols showed an early lnterest ln wrlt
lng; as a boy of thlrteen, he wrote a novel of about
thlrtyflve pages tltled 'Vaten" (Go Away), ln whlch
he already revealed hls glft for soclal satlre and hls keen
lnterest ln strong human passlons. In l901 Maurlac
completed hls ~~~~I and ln l906 he earned a
I wrltlng a thesls tltled 'Les Orlglnes du
franclscanlsme en Irance" (Jhe Orlglns of Iranclscan
lsm ln Irance). In l907 he went to Parls ln order to pre
pare for enterlng the Ecole des Chartes. After falllng hls
flrst entrance examlnatlon, he was accepted ln Novem
ber l908. But slx months later he reslgned ln order to
devote hlmself entlrely to llterature. What declded hlm
was an lnvltatlon by CharlesIrancls Calllard, dlrector
of the o q mI to collaborate as poetry
edltor, and an offer to publlsh hls flrst volume of verse
for the sum of 500 francs. i j~ appeared ln
November l909 and was hlghly pralsed by Barrs, who
detected ln lt 'the poetry of a chlld of a happy famlly"
and a 'charmlng glft of splrltuallty" but wlth 'a mad
note of voluptuousness." Jhls early recognltlon by a
master was a turnlng polnt ln Maurlac`s career, brlng
lng hlm to the attentlon of the crltlcs, galnlng for hlm
frlends such as Robert ValleryRadot and the poet
Andr Lafon, and openlng several salons, among them
that of Mme Alphonse Daudet, where he met Lon
Daudet, |ean Cocteau, and Marcel Proust.
In l9ll Maurlac was already worklng on hls flrst
novel, ib~ ~ ~I whlch appeared ln l9l3,
shortly before hls marrlage to |eanne Lafon on 3 |une.
In l9l1 the flrst of hls four chlldren, son Claude (who
later became a novellst and crltlc), was born, and Mau
rlac produced hls second novel, i~ o (trans
lated as q p vI l960). When World War I
broke out, Maurlac was rejected by the army for physl
cal dlsablllty but jolned the Red Cross. Sent to Salon
lka, he contracted a fever and had to be repatrlated. On
hls recovery, he completed hls thlrd novel, i~ `~
~ (l920; translated as c ~ _I l951), begun ln
l9l1.
In i~ o (a baslc novel, slnce a part of lt
was wrltten before ib~ ~ ~), |os
Xlmns, the frlend and gulde of the heropoet |acques,
polnts the way to selfreallzatlon and glves the key to
the understandlng of all Maurlac`s flctlon. 'Le got de
la russlte je ne pense pas qu`ll soutlenne longtemps
des mes de notre quallt. Ce qul les pousse en avant,
cèst cette force terrlble qul entranalt ton pre loln du
berceau ou tu tals un petlt enfantla vocatlon enfln!"
(Jhe taste for success, I do not thlnk that lt can long
support mlnds of our quallty. What pushes them
onward ls thls terrlble power whlch took your father
away from you when you were a llttle chlldthe artlstlc
vocatlon!).
Crltlclsm of Maurlac`s flctlon has been hampered
from the beglnnlng by a confuslon made by crltlcs
between Maurlac the artlst and Maurlac the man, who
was a devout and mllltant Cathollc. Jhey assume that
rellglon played a most lmportant role ln hls flctlon.
Maurlac hlmself contrlbuted to the mlsunderstandlng
by maklng publlc statements about hls flctlon ln lnter
vlews or essays, or by lntervenlng ln a rather heavy
handed fashlon at the end of the novel, as ln i a
~ (l925; translated as q a iI l929), ln
whlch he tells the reader that only God could brlng
solace to hls characters. Jhls tendency to lmpose upon
the reader a certaln lnterpretatlon of hls novels testlfles
to a confllct ln Maurlac between the artlst and the Cath
ollc. Jhe devout Cathollc often felt lll at ease about hls
art, conslderlng hls poetry a channel for the lndulgence
of the senses and hls portrayal of human passlons a pos
slble source of scandal to hls Cathollc readers. Artlstlc
freedom appeared as moral laxlty; however, moral
lntegrlty spelled the death of hls art.
Jhus, the crltlcs, conslderlng Maurlac a Cathollc
novellst, dlsregarded the speclflc nature or tenor of hls
lmaglnatlve wrltlng, whlch ls poetlc and symbollc.
Maurlac was flnally forced to explaln. '|e ne suls pas un
romancler cathollque; je suls un cathollque qul crlt des
romans" (I am not a Cathollc novellst; I am a Cathollc
who wrltes novels). Indeed, lf many of Maurlac`s novels
could be loosely vlewed as a portrayal of man`s fallen
nature, of man as a slnner ln need of dlvlne grace, thls
lnterpretatlon ls too faclle; lt does not account for the
rlchness, for the psychoanalytlcal complexlty of Mau
rlac`s characters, and, furthermore, lt hardly applles to
such lmportant novels as d (l923; translated ln
q c~I l930) or q a (l927; translated
as qI l928). In fact, ln Maurlac`s novels the lssue ls
not eternal salvatlon, but rather human happlness.
Many of Maurlac`s characters are pagan, such as
Illclt and Iernand Cazenave ln dK Jhrse
Desqueyroux, the central character of Maurlac`s flctlon,
ls unequlvocally unChrlstlan ln all her responses to
l90
c~ j~~ ai_ PPN
llfe, a complete stranger to rellglon, desplte the fact that
Cathollclsm ls practlced extenslvely ln her class. God ls
absent from the preoccupatlons of Maurlac`s characters
and when he becomes a presence ln thelr llves, as for
Louls ln i k (l932; translated as s
q~I l933), lt ls as a result of an altogether dlfferent
actlvlty, central to Maurlac`s and to hls heroes` con
cerns.
Maurlac`s novels can be dlvlded lnto three catego
rles correspondlng to the three major stages both ln hls
llfe and ln the evolutlon of hls heroes. Hls flrst four
novels are apprentlce works, largely autoblographlcal,
lntroduclng a partlcular type of hero'le pote en
herbe," or the buddlng poet. Jhe second group com
prlses the masterpleces of the l920s that made Maurlac
famous. In these polgnant narratlves the central charac
ter ls always a mutllated personallty, a poet who falls to
reallze hls vocatlon, succumblng to such obstacles as
rellglon, soclety (both vlewed as hostlle to art), or sexu
allty (dlsslpatlon or passlon for women, whlch mobl
llzes all men`s energy). In the end the hero dles
psychologlcally or even physlcally. Jhls perlod corre
sponds to Maurlac`s own fear of hls artlstlc nature, to
the confllct ln hlm between hls art and hls rellglous and
moral consclence, culmlnatlng ln the splrltual crlsls of
l926-l929. Jhe thlrd group lncludes the novels of the
l930s, wrltten durlng the decade of Maurlac`s electlon
to the presldency of the Soclet des Gens de Lettres
(l932) and to the Acadmle Iranalse (l933). Less
traglc ln tone, more complex, wrltten after resolutlon of
the crlsls, these manlfest new confldence on the part of
Maurlac ln hls capaclty to reconclle the two 'destlnles"
ln hls llfe. hls poetlc vocatlon, lnherlted from hls father,
and hls Cathollc falth, lnculcated ln hlm by hls devout
mother when he was a chlld. In most of these novels the
hero ls a poet who conquers the obstacles, wrltes, and
thus arrlves at the unlty of self often symbollzed by a
turnlng of the whole of hls belng to God.
Jhe flrst novels, somewhat awkward and groplng
ln technlque, lnclude the baslc polarlzatlons of Mau
rlac`s artlstlc vlslon, provldlng baslc patterns for what ls
to come. It ls slgnlflcant that rellglon occuples llttle
space here, except ln ib~ ~ ~I ln whlch
the hero ls temporarlly attached to a soclal Cathollc
movement called 'Amour et Iol"Love and Ialth
resembllng Le Slllon, the Chrlstlan Democratlc move
ment of Marc Sangnler. In these works rellglon ls slm
ply part of the young man`s herltage, at best a source
for hlm of aesthetlc and sensuous enjoyment. Jhe hero
ln each of these early apprentlce novels ls a buddlng
poet. In ib~ ~ ~ the twentyyearold
|eanPaul |ohanet has hls poems publlshed ln obscure
journals. In i~ o |acques ls the narrator, tell
lng about hls adolescence, about the formatlve years ln
whlch he became consclous of hls vocatlon. A slmllar
sltuatlon exlsts ln m~ (l92l; translated as n
mI l958). In i~ `~ ~ Claude ls golng
through an apprentlceshlp ln llfe that makes hlm a
wrlter.
Jhese flrst novels lntroduce another lmportant
Maurlac character. the frlend of the poet, a doppel
gnger flgure, but also a gulde who conflrms the hero ln
hls vocatlon. Vlncent, ln ib~ ~ ~I who
used to llsten to |eanPaul`s poetry when they were ln
school; Edward, ln i~ `~ ~I who lntroduced
Claude to the more sophlstlcated world of poetry and
muslc; |os, the solltary stranger ln i~ o I who
lnstructed |acques to follow ln the footsteps of hls
father, a Gaugulnllke character who abandoned hls
famlly and went to Jahltl ln search of lnsplratlon;
Augustln, ln m~I a Rlmbaudllke flgure, are all flg
ures of the gulde. Jhey are based on Maurlac`s own
extremely posltlve experlences of frlendshlp. But thls
character type undergoes modlflcatlons ln the novels of
the l920s ln whlch the creatlve lmaglnatlon overpowers
the autoblographlcal element. In these works the frlend
ls absent, physlcally or psychologlcally, from the hero`s
llfe, and consequently the hero falls to become a poet.
Maurlac`s flrst novels lntroduce all the lmportant
themes that are developed and orchestrated ln the later
novels, above all, the theme of the dlvorce between
absolute values of chlldhood and adolescencethelr
purlty and ldeallsmand the relatlvlty of the external
world. Jhls theme ls tradltlonal ln the novel, but Mau
rlac brlngs to the treatment of lt hls own lyrlcal tone.
Hls mature novels show that only artlstlc creatlon can
provlde, through lts synthetlc or transformatlve power,
a brldge between the overprotected chlldhood and the
threatenlng adult world characterlzed above all by sexu
allty. In Maurlac`s flctlonal unlverse, creatlvlty becomes
the condltlon for the acceptance of or comlng to terms
wlth reallty.
Maurlac contrlbuted lectures and artlcles wlth
some polltlcal content early ln hls career, for example,
to the o j~ shortly after hls arrlval ln
Parls. In l9l1 he contrlbuted, under the pseudonym of
Iranols Sturel, twelve polltlcal artlcles to the Parlslan
g~ Ì dlrected by Danlel Iontalne, who ln
fact deserves credlt for pushlng Maurlac lnto journal
lsm. In l9l9 some of hls journallsm appeared ln a more
lmportant conservatlve newspaper, the d~K Maurlac
reveals hlmself ln these early artlcles to be a skllled
polemlclst, a Chrlstlan soclal conservatlve defendlng
Cathollc values agalnst corrupt and radlcal Irance. Yet,
these artlcles reveal a confllct between hls bourgeols
upbrlnglng tlnged wlth ~ (cult of one`s lndlvldu
allty) and hls sympathy for soclal Cathollclsm and
announce hls future llberallsm and pragmatlsm. Ior
l9l
ai_ PPN c~ j~~
example, Maurlac ls rather prudent ln hls denunclatlon
of bolshevlsm, recommendlng flexlblllty and dlalogue.
Jhls journallstlc actlvlty, however, was abandoned for
poetry, essays, flctlon.
i _~ ~ (l922; translated as q h
iI l923) was Maurlac`s flrst great success (hls
flrst book to exceed the sale of three thousand coples
and reach a broad publlc), free of the hesltancy and
confuslon of plot typlcal of flrst novels, marks the
beglnnlng of the second stage ln Maurlac`s flctlonal out
put, ln whlch the central character ls always a mutllated
poet. On a superflclal level, the novel ls a story of the
fallure of a provlnclal, mlddleclass Chrlstlan marrlage
arranged for materlal and soclal reasons by the two
famllles through the lnterventlon of the parlsh prlest. It
ls also a sexual drama, the fallure of love and, above all,
of sexual unlon, whlch ls seen as degradlng. But there ls
another level. the fallure of the central character, |ean
Ploueyre, to reallze hls poetlc vocatlon and thus tran
scend hls sufferlng ln art. Mlchael Moloney called
Ploueyre a 'potentlal Keats" and correctly observed
that 'Maurlac dramatlzes the poet ln |ean."
|ean Ploueyre, wlth hls sad, ugly face and mor
bld sensltlvlty, loves solltary walks through the flelds
and readlng poetry and phllosophy. He ls above all fas
clnated wlth Irledrlch Nletzsche`s _ d ~ b
(l886), a most slgnlflcant tltle; he dreams of wrltlng a
vast work tltled 'Jhe Wlll to Power and Sanctlty" ln
whlch he wlll reformulate the foundatlons of Chrlstlan
morallty. Ploueyre dreams of a wlder moralltya
transformatlon of Chrlstlan ethlcs ln the dlrectlon of a
new tolerance, beyond the tradltlonal good and evll.
But Ploueyre does not reallze hls dream. He becomes
dlscouraged, wastlng hls passlon on a woman, the beau
tlful Noml, who, although deslrous of love and fulflll
ment, ls forced to marry hlm for hls wealth and famlly
prestlge. He goes to Parls, the clty of llberatlon, but ls
unable to free hlmself from the clty of Bordeaux, whlch
he carrles wlthln hlm. He wastes hls tlme, taklng refuge
ln cafs and ln churches (both seen as symbols of the
womb), thlnklng of Noml, rather than throw hlmself
lnto the streets and crowds of Parls, or dream, read, and
create. Jhe narrator stlpulates that not once does Plou
eyre enter a llbrary whlle ln Parls. He returns to Bor
deaux and ln despalr contrlves to catch tuberculosls
from a slck frlend and dle. In hls agony he does not
pray but recltes Plerre Cornellle.
Ploueyre ls kllled by the alllance of three forces
that are systematlcally presented ln Maurlac`s flctlon as
hostlle to the poet, to the llfe of the mlnd and of llterary
creatlon. the famlly, mlcrocosm of soclety; the Church,
here represented by the parlsh prlest who pushes |ean
lnto a dlsastrous marrlage; and woman, who represents
nature and sexuallty. Jhere ls no counter to thls trlple
lnfluence, no frlend or gulde, no mascullne flgure to
help Ploueyre. Hls frlend Danlel Jrasls has neglected
hlm; hls father, a medlocre, egocentrlc flgure, ls
absorbed by hls own narrow bourgeols lnterests and,
after |ean`s death, wlll force Noml to glve up all ldeas
of remarrlage. Maurlac sald that Ploueyre ls an antl
dote to Nletzsche, the 'exaltavlt humllls" of the Magnl
flcat. But thls ls Maurlac the Cathollc maklng an
ldeologlcal statement about hls flctlon from outslde.
Jhe novel glves a totally dlfferent lmpresslonthat of a
useless, absurd sacrlflce of youth, love, and, above all,
of poetlc talent, to the forces of medlocrlty, hate, and
death represented by the famlly and the Church. Pas
slon, a slgn of quallty ln Maurlac`s character, has not
been channeled by Ploueyre lnto a creatlve form; lt
has destroyed hlm. Stlfled by hls experlence of Bor
deaux, Ploueyre ls unable ln Parls to reach beyond the
contrarles, to transform hls passlon lnto a splrltual
equlvalent, a new synthesls, a new llfe.
In dI another masterplece, possesslng
'somethlng of the lumlnous slmpllclty of nlghtmare,"
accordlng to Cecll |enklns ln j~~ (l965), Iernand
Cazenave ls also a potentlal poet but held back by a
womanln thls case, hls possesslve mother. Illcltthe
name ls lronlcls a carlcature of all Maurlac mothers, a
strong, authorltatlve, passlonate woman, sexually
unhappy, unfulfllled ln her marrlage. She transfers her
unsatlsfled love to her son Iernand, all the more so
slnce she has lost one male chlld. Jhe novel ls a story of
the varlous ways thls |ocasta flgure paralyzes her son`s
emotlonal development, maklng hlm weak, thoroughly
dependent on her, and emotlonally lmpotent. Iernand
dreams of selfexpresslon. In fact, he has a hablt of cut
tlng out, from a book by Eplctetus, varlous maxlms,
pastlng and arranglng them ln a collage, thus hoplng to
obtaln through thls type of brlcolage, thls chlld`s play,
not only pleasure and llberatlon but also the meanlng of
llfe and death. Jhe collage expresses the artlstlc ten
dency ln Iernand, made absurd by lts lmmature, unde
veloped aspect. It ls, however, lnterestlng to note that
well before the modern crltlcs Roland Barthes and
|acques Derrlda, Maurlac called attentlon to the ludlc
and llbldlnal aspects of art.
Illclt Cazenave ls not slmply a grotesque
embodlment of the bourgeols rage to own, as has been
suggested by some superflclal and reductlve crltlclsms
of Maurlac. d ls a remarkable book ln whlch the
terrlble possesslve aspect of the |ocastlan mother who
kllls her son emotlonally and psychologlcally ls
expressed wlth unprecedented force. Iernand ls unable
to break away from hls mother; he behaves at the age of
flfty llke a chlld cut off from adult reallty, completely
alone ln a matrocentrlc unlverse, hostlle to lntellect and
to creatlvlty, wlth no mascullne flgure to counterbal
l92
c~ j~~ ai_ PPN
ance the pull of the femlnlne. Iernand ls stlfled by hls
mother, who contlnues to have a hold on hlm, even
after her death. At the end he ls a llvlng corpse, cared
for by a servant, Marle Lados, a surrogate mother flg
ure.
In l928 Maurlac concelved another memorable
character remlnlscent of Iernand. Auguste Duprouy of
'Le Rang" (Rank), a short story provldlng a scathlng
condemnatlon of the bourgeolsle of the Bordeaux
reglon, ls a man possessed wlth a poet`s sensltlvlty and
a brllllant mlnd. Jhere are hlnts of greatness about hlm.
But he ls lmmolated by the female famllyhls mother
and hls two slsters who prevent hlm from pursulng hls
studles, from marrylng, and from leavlng Bordeaux. He
dles of hunger whlle trylng to pay for the funeral of hls
slster.
i a ~I wlnner of the l925 Grand
Prlx du Roman de lÀcadmle Iranalse, ls another
study of a mutllated personallty, of a young man unable
to come to terms wlth an Oedlpal sltuatlon. Jhere ls no
reference here to wrltlng; but Raymond Courrges has
a passlonate nature, a slgn of electlon ln Maurlac`s flc
tlon. He seems to share thls vocatlon wlth Marla Cross,
whom he loves and who ls also glfted wlth a certaln
lntellectuallty and a taste for readlng. As an lntellectual
woman, however, she ls doomed ln her bourgeols socl
ety, whlch permlts women to be only wlves, mothers,
or mlstresses.
Humlllated ln hls adolescence by Marla, who ls
also loved by hls father and ls therefore a surrogate for
the mother, Raymond spends all hls passlon on other
women and leadlng a llfe of debauchery. At the end of
the novel the narrator lntervenes to tell the reader that
only God could save Raymond. Jhe oplnlon,
expressed ln a clumsy fashlon and glven completely
outslde the awareness of Raymond, who ls a total
stranger to rellglon, shocks the reader. It ls as lf Maurlac
hlmself dld not reallze at that tlme the functlon of art
and creatlvlty and felt obllged to glve a Cathollc endlng
to hls novel. Jhe meanlng lmpllclt ln the novel ls dlffer
ent.
Raymond ls another vlctlm of the matrocentrlc
unlverse. He has no one to conflrm hlm ln hls unlque
ness, to recognlze the speclflc needs of hls nature. Hls
father, although a noted physlclan, ls always absent, a
weak, lneffectual flgure. Hls frlends are shallow, unable
to lntroduce hlm to the hlgher thlngs ln llfeto art and
llterature, whlch would enable hlm to syntheslze the
asplratlons of hls adolescence and the relatlvlty of the
adult world. Raymond does not reada capltal sln ln
Maurlac`s novelsand, therefore, ls unable to under
stand hls own heart, to apply a more lmaglnatlve
approach to hls sltuatlon. He cannot come to terms
wlth woman, he cannot transform the bad mother
(frlgld, part vlrgln, part prostltute) lnto the good
mother, a source of lnsplratlon.
Jhrse Desqueyroux, the best known of all
Maurlac flctlonal heroes, ls the central character of thls
perlod of Maurlac`s llfe, a key flgure for the under
standlng of the rest. In the novel q a she
does not wrlte, but she dreams of wrltlng. made a vlr
tual prlsoner by her husband ln thelr home ln
Argelouse, lll, feverlsh, she lmaglnes herself ln Parls, a
dlstlngulshed and admlred novellst. In the flrst verslon
of the novel, publlshed under the tltle Ì
(l927, Consclousness, Dlvlne Instlnct), she actu
ally does wrlte, addresslng a letterconfesslon to a
prlest. She also wrltes a short story tltled 'Jhrse a
l`htel," whlch, ln fact, ls cast ln the form of Jhrse`s
dlary.
q a was wrltten ln l927 at the
helght of Maurlac`s splrltual crlsls, at the same tlme as
the essay i~ s g~ o~ (l928, Jhe Llfe of |ean
Raclne) and the novel a (l928; translated as aJ
I l929). Jhese three works form a trllogy ln the
exploratlon of the theme of human dlvlslon. Jhrse ls
ln a sense a doppelgnger of Raclne, and both are dou
bles of Maurlac hlmself. In a one has a further
lllustratlon of the cleavage wlthln the artlst`s personal
lty. Bob Lagave, the sensuallst, representlng the
excesses of the fleshand Plerre Gornac, the ascetlc and
lntellectual, representlng the excesses of the splrltare
the two opposlte sldes of the same personallty and eplt
omlze, as Maurlac clalmed, the author`s own profound
contradlctlon. Both dle, Bob physlcally, Plerre by bury
lng hlmself ln a monastery, because each represents a
tendency ln lts extreme onesldedness. Only an lnterac
tlon, a llvlng synthesls of contrarles, can produce llfe.
If, ln the later novel i~ c ~ (l935; trans
lated as q b kI l917), Jhrse does not
wrlte, that ls preclsely the reason why she ls dylng. She
has dlsslpated her heart (she dles of heart fallure) and
her llfe ln lmposslble love affalrs lnstead of channellng
her energy lnto a more creatlve form. An avld reader ln
her youth of the popular books of CharlesPaul de
Kock, of the essays of CharlesAugustln SalnteBeuve,
and of Napoleonlc hlstory, she ls now too weak to walk,
dream, and read; she spends her tlme slttlng ln cafs, a
sad, gaunt flgure. Maurlac once sald that he could not
flnd a prlest to convert Jhrse on her deathbed. that ls
because ln hls novels only wrlters flnd redemptlon.
Maurlac seems also to be maklng a statement about the
femlnlne condltlon. A woman glfted wlth an lntellectual
and especlally artlstlc personallty ls not only vlewed as
a monster by the bourgeols soclety but ls also a vlctlm
of the fatallty of gender, for she cannot possess that
exalted relatlonshlp wlth the mother that ls the deter
mlnlng factor ln the artlstlc vocatlon.
l93
ai_ PPN c~ j~~
Jhrse ls the epltome of duallty. Resembllng all
the other Maurlac heroes, she represents the artlst`s lack
of adaptatlon to the world, yet also hls deep attachment
to lt. Jwo women are at war ln her. the 'Jhrse lan
dalse," conservatlve, conformlst, proud to have marrled
a Desqueyroux, passlve yet passlonate, sensually bound
up wlth the sunparched landscape of the Landes; and
the 'other Jhrse," whose cold, crltlcal, and aggres
slve lntelllgence ls known ln the whole reglon. Narcls
slstlc, egocentrlc, explorlng herself ln the books she
reads, she ls also curlous about others and wlshes to
communlcate and love. Her propenslty for talklng,
argulng, confesslng herself ls a slgn of a deep need for
selfexpresslon. But there ls no one to llsten to her. Her
mother dled when she was an lnfant; her father, a local
polltlclan, was never lnterested ln her; her frlend Anne
and Jhrse`s husband, Bernard, possess a provlnclal
detestatlon of books and all thlngs lntellectual and do
not understand her; her Aunt Clara, a surrogate
mother flgure, ls completely deaf. Only |ean Azvdo,
Anne`s lover, conflrms Jhrse as a unlque lndlvldual
who should break through the famlly wall. He repre
sents the pole of Parls, where Jhrse wlll arrlve at the
end, but he ls not really a gulde; he ls too shallow and
oneslded, and he does not polnt the way to creatlvlty.
He does, however, brlng Jhrse selfawareness at a
tlme when her lndlvlduallty ls submerged by pregnancy
and motherhood, when she functlons excluslvely as the
wlfe of Bernard and the receptacle of the future lnherl
tor of the comblned propertles of the Larroques and the
Desqueyroux. Jhe lrony ls that the offsprlng ls a glrl,
Marle.
Jhrse moves between these two extremes, these
two opposlte poles of her soulArgelouse, 'une
extrmlt de la terre," and Parls, the capltal of the
worldand between the two men ln her llfe represent
lng the contrary forces of her psyche. Bernard Des
queyroux, heavy as the sound of hls name, solld as rock
and earth, a bourgeols rooted ln the land and the peas
ant customs of hls reglon, and |ean Azvdo, llght and
free as the vowels of hls name suggest, an uprooted
lntellectual, a |ew, apostle of the new gospel of the real
lzatlon of the self. Jhrse wlll abandon both ln the
end, for each represents not a synthesls of contrarles
but the opposlng tendency ln lts radlcal form.
At the helght of her dlvlslon borderlng on schlzo
phrenla, Jhrse resorts to crlme. Jhe crlme ls a radlcal
expresslon of her neurosls, as lf the repressed part of
herthe free, lntelllgent, and lndependent woman
demands to be heard. If dlvlslon led Maurlac to wrltlng,
to the expresslon of hls contradlctlon, lt leads Jhrse
to crlme. 'Ln llvre est un acte vlolent" (A book ls a vlo
lent act), sald Maurlac, and Martln Jurnell has sug
gested ln q ^ c c (l959) that Maurlac`s
novels are 'symbollcal Acts of Vlolence whlch glve the
llluslon of escape from the trap." Jhrse`s crlme ls
akln to an artlstlc process. lt appears sudden but ls
llnked to neurosls, to a long frustratlon, as art ls, but lt
lacks the concomltant dlsclpllne and the ultlmate bal
ance provlded by art; lt ls progresslvethree tlmes
Jhrse polsons Bernard, lncreaslng the doses, tortur
lng hlm, never kllllng hlm; lt ls halfconsclous, compul
slve, moblllzlng all Jhrse`s energy; and lt ls ln a sense
lntellectual, motlvated by curloslty and deslre to reach
Bernard at a deeper level of hls self; flnally, lt leads to
llberatlon. In a truly Nletzschean fashlon Maurlac
establlshes a llnk between neurosls, crlme, and creatlv
lty.
As a result of her descent lnto hell, symbollzed by
her traln journey and her subsequent explatlon ln
Argelouse, Jhrse arrlves at the comprehenslon of the
truth of her personallty. One sprlng day ln Parlsthe
season and the place of llberatlon ln Maurlac`s flctlon
she wlll formulate thls new knowledge lnto language.
the contrary tendencles ln her not only exlst but are
also lndlspensable to her survlval, and they cannot be
sacrlflced. A thlrd term ls needed, lntegratlng the oppo
sltesthe call of Argelouse or tradltlon and the call of
Parls or freedom, reachlng beyond good and evll. Jhls
thlrd term, ln Jhrse`s case, can only be llterary cre
atlon. Maurlac`s heroes of the l930s complete the jour
ney begun by Jhrse and transmute thelr sufferlng
lnto a work of art.
In Maurlac`s novels the poet ls pltted agalnst a
certaln soclal mllleuthat of the provlnclal bourgeolsle
of the Bordeaux reglon. Jhere are gllmpses of the Parl
slan bohemlan clrcles, presented as shallow and lmper
sonal; of degenerate arlstocracy; of peasants of the
Landes, who dlffer from the bourgeols only ln wealth
and soclal prestlge. But lt ls essentlally the bourgeolsle
that Maurlac presents ln hls novels, palntlng a scathlng
portralt of hls class. Jhls class ls conservatlve, acqulsl
tlve, materlallstlc, wary ln the management of lts
wealth, fearful of rlsk and change. All progress ls
feared, unless lt ls commerclal. It ls a hlghly conformlst
and hypocrltlcal soclety, for conformlsm breeds hypoc
rlsy. appearance, name of famlly, soclal prestlge are the
only features that count. Jhrough lts routlne, ordered
exlstence thls soclety wants to bulld a protectlve wall
agalnst angulsh, dlslntegratlon, and death. Jhls drlve
for solldlty and permanencefor what Sartre called the
belnglnltselfexplalns the bourgeols susplclon of lntel
lect and outslde lnfluence. lntellectuals, artlsts, forelgn
ers, above all |ews (such as Azvdo), are percelved as
agents of change and dlsorder.
Bourgeols soclety ln Maurlac`s flctlon ls ln lts
flnal stage of dlslntegratlona decaylng famlly, a dylng
race. Decay ls suggested by the theme of the end of the
l91
c~ j~~ ai_ PPN
famlly, whlch reveals a presentlment of the end of one`s
class. Maurlac, however, dld not wlsh to destroy hls
class. In many of hls essays he accorded conslderable
lmportance to the famllythe mlcrocosm of soclety, a
tradltlonal dlsclpllnary force, and a model of soclal hler
archy. He clalmed that the defects of the mlddle class
were the defects of all soclal classes ln an advanced state
of development, and he consldered them to be charac
terlstlc not of a class but of human nature.
Jhe evocatlon of the bourgeolsle glves unlty to
Maurlac`s flctlon. Hls portrayal of soclety ls restrlcted
to a certaln geographlcal area and also lsolated ln tlme
(the end of the nlneteenth and the beglnnlng of the
twentleth centurles). In addltlon, many of Maurlac`s
characters mentloned or appearlng ln one novel reap
pear ln another, although not as systematlcally as ln
Balzac, thus provldlng a plcture of a closely lnterrelated
soclety and glvlng coheslon to Maurlac`s flctlonal
world.
Jechnlcally, Maurlac`s flctlon, wlth lts soclal con
tent, appears tradltlonal. It respects all the major novel
lstlc conventlons. a coherent plot, a reallstlc settlng, a
clear sltuatlon dlstlngulshlng between what ls to be
taken as actually happenlng and what ls dreamed or
remembered, and characters who are real human types,
never anonymous (anonymlty belng one of the chlef
features of the modernlst novel). It ls not parodlc of
former novels, nor ls lt concerned wlth a purely seml
otlc basls of reallty. It ls teleologlcal, explorlng the hld
den llfe at lts source, almlng at the revelatlon of the
mystery of llfe. It ls, therefore, representatlve, polntlng,
as though through a wlndowpane, to the actual world
and to actual hlstorlcal events. Yet, desplte lts overall
~~I or transparence, thls flctlon also draws
attentlon to lts own 'llterarlness," a feature that ls
endemlc to the New Novel ln Irance.
Maurlac was always much preoccupled wlth
style, reveallng a selfconsclous attltude to language. He
was close to the new novellsts when he sald that he was
always rewrltlng the same book, when he experlenced
language as a system of slgnlflers ln lts materlallty and
sensuallty, often readlng parts of hls novels aloud, see
lng and hearlng language, when he recognlzed ln lltera
ture the lmportance of play and pleasure, that ls, lts
ludlc and erotlc aspects.
Maurlac offered, on several occaslons, lmportant
lnformatlon about hls method of wrltlng. Descrlblng
hlmself as an 'lnstlnctlve wrlter," he clalmed ln an lnter
vlew wlth Irdrlc Lefvre ln l921 that hls wrltlng was
'entlrely subconsclous." In i o~ ~
as well as ln many other essays and lntervlews, he
explalned that he wrote the flrst draft of a novel qulckly,
sometlmes ln three weeks, always ln lsolatlon from hls
famlly and from the external world. Hls wrltlng was
compulslve. he was often surprlsed by the content of
hls novels and by the conduct of hls characters, whom
he could not control. Concentratlng lntensely upon a
theme, he dld not dellberately structure hls novels. con
trol ln hls flctlon was baslcally organlc. He clalmed that
he nelther observed nor descrlbed, but redlscovered.
He redlscovered through the medlum of art hls chlld
hood and hls adolescence, whlch were the true materlal
of hls books.
Maurlac employed technlques that at the tlme
were modern and that contlnued to be applled thlrty
years later ln the new novel, but more radlcally and
thoroughly. Jhese lncluded, above all, clnematlc
effects. closeups Ei a ~FI flashbacks and
travellng Eq aFI and swltchlng of polnt of
vlew, thus lmltatlng the dlsplacement of the camera.
a was technlcally lnsplred by the clnema. At the
same tlme the abundant use of rhetorlcal devlces and
lmagery such as metaphor, whlch undermlnes flctlon by
rejectlng mlmesls, contrlbuted further to make these
novels, desplte thelr reallstlc or 'transparent" aspect,
consummate works of art and therefore artlflclal and
opaque. Jhe brevlty and concentratlon of these novels
also demanded hlgh degrees of styllzatlon or art. But lt
ls especlally through a certaln narratlve strategy called
represented dlscourse or free lndlrect style, of whlch
Maurlac ls a master ln Irance, that hls novels, above all
q aI refer to themselves, polntlng not to
the world beyond them but to language that constltutes
them, thus subvertlng representatlon. Maurlac also
uses, wlthln the general symbollsm of flre, water, earth,
and alr, a great deal of sensory symbollsm, above all,
olfactory lmpresslons, but also audltory, vlsual, and tac
tlle lmages. Jhe sense symbollsm becomes most effec
tlve ln synthetlc comblnatlons, where odors, sounds,
slghts, and touch fuse at the most dramatlc movements
of a novel.
In l929 Maurlac produced q o (Jhree Nar
ratlves)short storles that had been separately pub
llshed ln l926 and l928, roughly at the same tlme as
q aI i~ s g~ o~I and aI
that ls, ln the mlddle of hls splrltual crlsls. Jhey deal
wlth the dual problem of art and the reallzatlon of
human personallty. ` ~ (l926, Stabblngs) ls
about an artlstpalnter who tortures hls wlfe wlth a con
fesslon of hls love for a younger woman, ln whom he
worshlps hls own youth. Jhe story may be symbollc of
any novellst`s sltuatlon wlth regard to hls famlly. r
e (l926, A Man of Letters) ls a story
about a wrlter and hls relatlonshlp wlth two women. In
the most lnterestlng of the three storles, i a ~
~~ (l928), a young muslclan, who ls an lntellec
tual devoted to Nletzsche and wlshlng to become a
wrlter, hears mysterlous volces telllng hlm to dlscover
l95
ai_ PPN c~ j~~
the 'secret of hls soul" and use both the good and the
evll ln hlm to reallze the secret that ls hls personallty.
'Ecrlre, crlre! Et que mes llvres solent le commentalre
de l`me quà chaque lnstant je me cre" (Jo wrlte and
wrlte. So that my books become a commentary on my
soul that I create at every moment).
Maurlac`s novels of the l920s are lnformed by the
palnful confllct between the exlgencles of hls artlstlc
nature and hls Cathollc consclence, culmlnatlng ln hls
moral crlsls and 'converslon" of l929. Souffrovccs ct bov-
lcur du clrcticv (l93l; translated as Zvguisl ovd oy of tlc
Clristiov Iifc, l961) refers to thls converslon and seems
to glve to the crlsls a rellglous character. Jhe confllct
was exacerbated by an open letter, both euloglstlc and
tauntlng, wrltten by Andr Glde to Maurlac and pub
llshed ln the òuvcllc Icvuc Irovoisc ln l928. Glde spoke
of Maurlac`s 'compromlse" that allowed hlm to love
God wlthout 'loslng slght of Mammon." Jhe crlsls was
not really rellglous, for Maurlac never lost hls falth. It
was a complex experlence, a mldllfe crlsls, partly a
result of a confllct between Maurlac`s emotlonal dllem
mas and hls rlgld Cathollclsm. Jhe artlst rebelled
agalnst the strlctures lmposed upon hls sensuallty and
hls art by rellglon. Jhe Cathollc, afrald that hls por
trayal of human passlons mlght brlng scandal to hls
Cathollc readers, was alarmed at that revolt. Art
appeared as Mammon, the opposlte of God. But ln
l929 ln Dicu ct Mommov (translated as Cod ovd Mommov,
l936)the conjunctlon ct ls slgnlflcantMaurlac
accepted hls nature and hls art as part of that nature,
wlth all the rlsks that lt entalled. He saw hls novels as
part of a natural process that could not be stopped. Dicu
ct Mommov, a retort to Glde, seemed to transcend the
confllct between 'good and evll," marklng a new phase
ln the lndlvlduatlon process as well as a verltable
assumptlon on Maurlac`s part of hls ldentlty as a poet.
Hls converslon was ln fact a converslon to llterature.
Maurlac emerged lnto the l930s a new man,
redoubllng hls actlvlty, embarklng on a truly new phase
of creatlvlty. Hls novels of the l930s reflect thls trans
formatlon. Almost all lnclude a converslon. Jhls con
verslon, sklllfully lntegrated lnto the structure and
lmagery of the novel, ls lndeed an exlstentlal turnlng to
God, but lt occurs as a result of creatlve actlvltyread
lng and wrltlng. Jhe older crltlcal vlew of Maurlac ln
the l930s purglng hls work of 'unhealthy" elements
such as sensuallty ln order to flower lnto a great Catho
llc novellst has been completely abandoned. Sensuallty
actually flows wlth unprecedented power ln Ic ùd dc
viprcs and ln Ics Clcmivs dc lo mcr (l939; translated as
Tlc Uvlvowv Sco, l918). But thls sensuallty ls no longer
feared; lt ls confronted and lntegrated lnto a new syn
thesls whlch glves lt meanlng. Jhe opposlte vlew of
Maurlac decllnlng as a novellst ln the l930s ls also out
dated. Jhe novels of thls perlodvaster, more ambltlous,
synthetlcrepresent ln Maurlac`s career a deflnlte
achlevement, one of lastlng lmportance.
Jhese novels of the l930s were accompanled by a
serles of other actlvltles of a hlghly synthetlc nature. In
addltlon to poetry, essays, drama, and flctlon, there ls
another fleld ln whlch Maurlac became promlnent. In
l932, after emerglng from hls splrltual crlsls as well as
from a serlous lllnesscancer of the vocal cordsMau
rlac turned to polltlcal journallsm. He remalned ln the
polltlcal arena untll hls death ln l970, contrlbutlng hun
dreds of artlcles to such newspapers and journals as
Iclo dc Ioris, Scpt, Tcmps Ircscvt, Iigoro, Iigoro Iittcroirc,
Toblc Iovdc, and Ixprcss. He brought to journallsm on
the one hand hls lnlmltable style, a blend of lyrlclsm
and polemlcs, and on the other hand hls vlbrant falth,
hls scrupulous Cathollc consclence.
As a polltlcal commentator, Maurlac left a perma
nent mark on Irench journallsm. Hls newspaper artl
cles are at once a record of an lndlvldual response to
everyday soclal and polltlcal reallty and a dlary of the
Irench natlon. Above all, Maurlac was the creator of a
new type of journallstlc artlcle partlcularly sulted to hls
temperament. the bloc-votcs. Jhls loose genre, a fourrctout
or holdall, permltted hlm to use a multlpllclty of styles
and technlquesdlalogue, narratlve, personal medlta
tlon, portralt, satlreand treat a varlety of subjects.
Polltlcal comments are lnterspersed wlth memorles, rell
glous medltatlons, reflectlons on llterature. Jhe bloc-
votcs thus becomes a fuslon of two reglsters. the lyrlc
and the polemlc, a synthesls of the two meanlngs of the
Irench word jourvol: the newspaper, a publlc account of
events ln the world, and the dlary, an account of an lntl
mate lndlvldual experlence. Jhe ephemeral polltlcal
event somehow acqulres quallty or eternlty through the
resonance lt ellclts ln the psyche of the poetjournallst.
Jhe bloc-votcs, by lntegratlng the publlc and the prlvate,
the soclal and the psychologlcal domalns of personallty,
alms ln lts own way at that unlon of opposltes for whlch
Maurlac seemed to search all hls llfe.
In l932 Maurlac produced an autoblographlcal
work. Commcvccmcvts dùvc vic, composed of seven chap
ters whlch were publlshed ln l929 under the tltle Mcs
plus loivtoivs souvcvirs (My Earllest Memorles), and four
chapters publlshed ln l926 under the tltle ordcoux.
What was dlspersedmemolrs, lmpresslonswas col
lected, unlfled, and vlewed as formlng the 'beglnnlngs
of a llfe." Only a man confldent of hls ldentlty, percelv
lng hls llfe or a part of hls llfe as a complete and unlfled
whole, could wrlte such an autoblographlcal work. In
Dicu ct Mommov and ln the preface to Trois Iccits he actu
ally spoke of the joy of seelng, ln the mlddle of hls llfe,
hls personallty flnally emerge. Jhls new conceptlon of
hls self lnvolved some fabrlcatlon and lmaglnatlon; but
l96
c~ j~~ ai_ PPN
the feellng of thls ldentlty was strong. Maurlac had
deflned hlmself as a poet, and he flxed thls ldentlty ln
an autoblographlcal form; for autoblography and the
novel can be vlewed as dlfferent modalltles of the same
effort to construct a self.
In Maurlac`s flrst postconverslon novel, Ic ùd
dc viprcs, old Louls (hls surname ls never glven), a brll
llant lawyer now retlred, beglns to wrlte, at the age of
slxtyelght, what ls part dlary and part memolr. Louls ls
pushed lnto wrltlng by an extreme sltuatlon. years of
solltude and frustratlon ln hls marrlage, lllness (heart
dlsease), and the proxlmlty of death. He beglns hls nar
ratlve on Holy Jhursday, whlch ls also hls blrthday. At
the end of hls narratlvewhlch ls a descent lnto hell to
confront before death hls chlldhood, hls mother, and
hls love/hate relatlonshlp wlth hls wlfe, Isa, and hls chll
drenhe arrlves, after years of hate and revenge, at
understandlng and forglveness. Jhe process of wrltlng
untangles the knot of contrary tendencles, releaslng the
flow of creatlve energy. Louls possesses the features of
all Maurlac`s poetslntense narclsslsm and deslre to
communlcate, hlgh lntelllgence, a complex, sensltlve
nature yet capable of coldness and crueltybut he was
prevented from pursulng a llterary career by hls
mother, who pushed hlm lnto law and lnto amasslng a
fortune. By wrltlng, Louls expresses hls nature and thus
understands lt better. He goes further than Jhrse. he
becomes a wrlter and wlll be saved.
Ic Mystrc Irovtcvoc (l933; translated as Tlc Irovtc-
voc Mystcry, l952) has been halled as a hymn to the fam
lly. Maurlac seems to be maklng amends for hls severe
lndlctment of the famlly ln Ic ùd dc viprcs. Jhls
novel ls a tender and optlmlstlc story, because lt ls more
dlrectly autoblographlcal. Yves Irontenac, the alter ego
of Maurlac, succeeds, as the author dld, ln reallzlng hls
vocatlon. Jhe whole famlly here partlclpates ln the
poet`s vocatlon, whlle the poet appears as a transcen
dent sum total of all the ancestral tralts. Yves lnherlts hls
talent from hls father; he ls ralsed by a |ocastlan
mother, authorltarlan, possesslve, yet lntelllgent and
tender, who grants her youngest son the freedom to go
to Parls ln order to launch hls llterary career; hls older
brother |eanLouls serves as the frlend and gulde of the
poet. Jhe poetlc vocatlon ls exalted, compared to a
holy, prlestly vocatlon, a road of selfsacrlflce ultlmately
leadlng to selfreallzatlon.
Ics Zvgcs voirs (l936; translated as Tlc Dorl Zvgcls,
l95l) ls another novel about a poet, Gabrlel Gradre.
An orphan, excesslvely sensltlve and sensuous, yet also
brllllant, Gradre was corrupted ln hls chlldhood by hls
cruel father and by women who were attracted to hlm.
Allne, the prostltute, who took care of hlm ln hls youth
when he was poor and lll; and Adlla, elght years older,
who became hls wlfe. Both are surrogates of the
mother, the two faces of |ocastaAllne the bad mother,
Adlla the good mother.
Jhe flrst part of the novel ls a letter wrltten by
Gradre to a prlest, Alaln Iorcas, whom Gradre calls
hls double. Jhe second part ls told ln the thlrd person.
But lt ls clear that the wrltten confesslon to the prlest
has an lnfluence on the events ln the second part of the
book. Glven the complex, halfconsclous nature of
some of these events, the thlrd person, more dlscreet,
lndlrect, obllque, ls a more sultable method of relatlng
them. Gradre`s descent lnto hell llberates pentup ener
gles, and he confronts the anlmathe mystery of
woman, always a mother, the femlnlne that ls also a
mlrror of hls soul. He kllls Allne (Adlla ls already dead,
kllled by Gradre`s cruelty) and thus llberates hlmself
from woman. Jhe brutal kllllng of Allne, whlch shocks
many readers, ls ln fact a symbollc kllllng of the nega
tlve aspects of womanmother. Jhat ls why lt brlngs llb
eratlon and a turnlng to God.
It ls noteworthy that ln l936, the year Maurlac
created Gradre, hls greatest slnnercrlmlnal, he also
produced hls !ic dc csus. |esus, slgnlflcantly, ls no
longer seen as slmply the cruclfled one, but rather as
'une nourrlture pour le corps autant que pour lèsprlt"
(a nourlshment for the body as well as for the soul), a
fuslon of contrarles, a symbol of wholeness or the self.
Ics Clcmivs dc lo mcr, wrltten at the helght of Mau
rlac`s maturlty and publlshed ln l939, deals expllcltly
wlth a poet, Plerre Costadot, author of a long poem
tltled 'Cyble," whlch, llke the poem Ic Sovg d`Ztys,
whlch Maurlac was completlng at the tlme for publlca
tlon ln l910, presents ltself as a synthesls of pagan and
Chrlstlan values. Jhe precedlng novels seem to have
llberated the poet ln Maurlac`s flctlon. Maurlac now
dlrectly explores the poet`s speclflc nature, above all hls
sensuallty, whlch flows freely ln thls novel ln lts varlous
forms. the sensuallty contalned ln the relatlonshlp
between |ocasta and the son; that of the poet ln love
wlth a young womana subllmated mother flgure; a
glrl`s sexual awakenlng and her love for her flanc; and
homosexuallty. Jhe relatlonshlp wlth the possesslve,
castratlng mother has been subllmated or transmuted
lnto Costadot`s platonlc love for a glrl, Rose Revolou,
the slster of a frlend. Rose ls a substltute for the young
mother, the soror of the alchemlsts, a symbol of wlsdom.
She ls the flnal metamorphosls of the womanmother ln
Maurlac`s flctlon. Jhe poetlc vocatlon ls clearly vlewed
here as the prlmary source of selfdeflnltlon, of psychlc
lntegratlon and fulflllment. It ls stated, albelt ln a some
what cursory manner, that Plerre Costadot arrlves at
happlness.
Jhe Spanlsh Clvll War became a turnlng polnt ln
the evolutlon of Maurlac`s polltlcal ldeas. It kept hlm ln
the polltlcal arena, permlttlng the journallst to super
l97
ai_ PPN c~ j~~
sede the novellst, and lt pushed hlm away from the
Rlght. After some hesltatlon at the beglnnlng of the
war, when Iranclsco Iranco appeared to most Cathollcs
as a crusader agalnst Communlst barbarlsm, Maurlac
jolned a small clrcle of llberal Cathollcs grouped around
such leftlst and Chrlstlan Democratlc papers as p and
q m. He had no llluslons about the Republlcan
slde, feellng that Spaln was belng explolted by forelgn
powers, but he was partlcularly offended by Iranco`s
effort to blnd hls own cause, the cause of the Rlght,
wlth that of the Church. Maurlac`s denunclatlon of
Iranco was unequlvocal and courageous slnce he rlsked
allenatlon from hls famlly, hls frlends, hls class.
Jhe second event that helped push Maurlac even
further to the Left and hastened the maturatlon of hls
polltlcal observatlons was World War II. Agaln Mau
rlac lnltlally welcomed the party of law and orderthat
of Marshal Henrl Phlllppe Ptaln. But he qulckly
swltched alleglance to General Charles de Gaulle and
hls reslstance movement. Durlng the Nazl occupatlon of
Irance, he was part of the lntellectual reslstance,
denounclng Nazl ldeology ln the polgnant pseudony
mously publlshed i `~ (l913, Black Notebook;
translated, l911). Jhe llberatlon of Parls, 25 August
l911, revealed a wrlter transformed. glven the propor
tlon of hls wrltlng devoted to the polltlcal scene and the
confldence wlth whlch he expressed hls oplnlons, lt was
clear that Maurlac had embarked on a second career,
that of a polltlcal commentator ln sympathy wlth the
Chrlstlan Democrats who soon, ln l916, took power ln
Irance. At flrst he even played the part of a professlonal
newspaperman, attendlng press conferences and
debates ln the Assembly, but later commentlng on the
lssues from an lndependent personal perspectlve.
Jhe great theme of hls wrltlngs ln thls lmmedlate
postwar perlod was the need for the reconclllatlon of
enemles, for burylng the ldeologlcal dlfferences ln the
common causethat of rebulldlng a strong Irance. Jhe
worklng classes` roleand that meant the Communlsts`
roleln the Reslstance was such as to demand recognl
tlon. Chrlstlans and Communlsts could cooperate.
Maurlac sought to establlsh a dlalogue wlth the Irench
Communlsts, whom he deemed necessary to establlsh a
unlfled Left ln Irance. Hls effort toward a rapproche
ment wlth the Communlsts ended ln a flasco. Wlth the
lntenslflcatlon of the Cold War, he found hlmself drawn
agaln lnto the more polltlcally conservatlve and pro
Amerlcan camp.
Among Maurlac`s later novels, such as i~ m~J
(l91l; translated as t~ m~I l916), i
p~ (l95l; translated as q i jI l952), d~J
~ (l952; translated as q i ~ rI l952),
and i^~ (l951; translated as q i~I l955), the
flrst two deserve mentlon. i~ m~I an ambltlous
novel technlcally, wlth many secondary characters and
subplots, ls another portralt of the poetlc personallty
drawn agalnst the backdrop of the Bordeaux mlddle
class. It ls about Louls Plan, the narrator of the story;
hls slster Mlchle, who replaces to a certaln extent hls
deceased mother; and hls frlend and later brotherln
law |ean de Mlrbel, son of the noted novellst the Count
ess de Mlrbel. Maurlac agaln explores the Oedlpal com
pllcatlons ln the llfe of a poet through the trlangular
relatlonshlp of the poetslsterfrlend. Jhls novel ls also a
story of converslon. Brlgltte Plan converts from a rlgld,
almost |ansenlst Cathollclsm to a more tolerant world
vlew, to a more permlsslve and forglvlng Chrlstlanlty,
and, above all, to llterature, art, and love.
i p~ ls a short but polgnant novel about a
mutllated chlldpoet. Maurlac returned to the formula
of the l920s for thls work, as lf to show hls readers that
he was stlll capable of produclng a powerfully concen
trated and traglc narratlve. Llttle Gulllou, an ugly duck
llng, ls a genlus, glfted wlth a poetlc temperament. he ls
brllllant, an avld reader, also a dreamer, full of actlve
lmaglnatlon. But he ls all alone ln the female famlly,
hated by hls mother, Paule, a woman of the mlddle
class who desplses hlm as the llvlng lmage of her slck,
degenerate, arlstocratlc husband, Baron Galas de
Cerns. One day Gulllou meets Robert Bordas, an
lntellectual, a mllltant leftlst, a teacher. Hls llfe ls trans
flgured; hls lmaglnatlon and sensltlvlty are lntenslfled
by the hope of belng tutored by Bordas and of meetlng
hls son |eanPlerre, a boy of Gulllou`s age who
undoubtedly could become a frlend and a gulde. But
Bordas has only scorn for arlstocracy and wlll not agree
to seelng Gulllou on a regular basls. When he hears one
day of the deathby drownlngof both Gulllou and hls
father, he refuses ever to forglve hlmself for hls lndlffer
ence. Jhe novel ls a polgnant exploratlon of the psyche
of a chlldpoet sacrlflced by the comblned forces of fam
lly and soclety, the latter represented by two soclal
classes. degenerate arlstocracy and republlcan bour
geolsle.
In l915 Maurlac was named Grand Offlcler de la
Lglon d`Honneur. In l917 he recelved an honorary
degree from Oxford. In l952 he was awarded the
Nobel Prlze ln Llterature 'for the deep splrltual lnslght
and the artlstlc lntenslty wlth whlch he has ln hls novels
penetrated the drama of human llfe," as the cltatlon
read. Jhls award colnclded wlth the outbreak of vlo
lence ln the Irench protectorate of Morocco. Maurlac
clalmed that the honor he recelved made hlm more
aware of hls soclal and polltlcal responslblllty as a
wrlter and as an lntellectual. He embraced wlth enthusl
asm the cause of the Moroccan and Junlslan struggle
for lndependence, becomlng presldent of the assocla
tlon IranceMaghreb, attacklng on the back page of the
l98
c~ j~~ ai_ PPN
b the leadersusually Chrlstlan Democratsof the
Iourth Republlc for thelr lneffectlveness and thelr
shortslghtedness, movlng agaln lnto the orblt of the
Left. He gave hls full support to only one leader of the
Iourth Republlc. the Radlcal Plerre MendsIrance,
who termlnated the Indochlna war ln l951.
In l958 Maurlac welcomed the return to power of
General de Gaulle. In hls vlew, de Gaulle was the only
man capable of resolvlng the Algerlan problem. Durlng
the Ilfth Republlc, Maurlac gave ardent support to de
Gaulle`s handllng of the Algerlan War, whlch ended ln
Algerla`s lndependence ln l962, as well as to de Gaulle`s
subsequent polltlcal and soclal pollcles, becomlng thus
almost an unofflclal 'hlstorlographer du rol." He
remalned an ardent Gaulllst to the end of hls llfe.
In l969, at the age of elghtyfour, one year before
hls death, Maurlac wrote hls last novel, partly autoblo
graphlcal, about an adolescent from the past, r ^
~ (translated as j~~I l970). At the end of hls
llfe Maurlac returned to flctlon and to the toplc of adoles
cence, the prlvlleged age ln hls novels, as lf to expllcate,
before dylng, the deeper meanlng lmpllclt ln all hls prevl
ous novels. Alaln Gajac, the heronarrator of the novel, ls
the flnal metamorphosls of the Maurlac poet. An accom
pllshed wrlter, he resembles all the other Maurlac poets.
He ls ralsed by a wldowed mother to whom he ls much
attached, a mother as strong a personallty as Illclt
Cazenave, yet tender as Blanche Irontenac. She belongs to
the group of the posltlve |ocastlan mothers ln Maurlac`s
flctlon. She does not care for her son`s lntellectuallty and
llterary tastes, but she does reallze that he ls a 'chosen
one" and permlts hlm freedom to pursue hls llterary voca
tlon. Although a bellever, Alaln ls crltlcal of the narrow
Cathollclsm of hls class. He holds ln execratlon bourgeols
materlallsm, egolsm, and conformlsm; yet, he ls part of
thls mllleu, the very type, as he admlts, of the 'flls Gajac."
He goes through an emotlonal and sexual apprentlceshlp
wlth hls young mlstress Marle, to some extent a surrogate
mother, and hls lntellectual and llterary ambltlons are sup
ported by two frlendsflgures of the guldeAndr Donzac
and Prudent Duberc. Donzac serves as narratee, the one
to whom the narrator ls telllng hls story, one who appar
ently comments on the text and glves advlce, although thls
actlon ls not represented ln the novel.
In Gajac, Maurlac for the last tlme epltomlzes the
confllct between Bordeaux, the maternal clty, represent
lng nature and tradltlonal values, and Parls, the oppo
slte pole, symbollzlng more mascullne values assoclated
wlth the father and the llfe of the mlnd and freedom.
Gajac ls the flrst Maurlac hero who clearly formulates
the truth of the Maurlac confllct. that between Bor
deaux and Parls one cannot choose, for to choose
would be tantamount to a mutllatlon of the self. Yet, not
to choose could klll. In fact, the confllct must be llved
and transcended. Only a thlrd term, a vaster whole fus
lng the two calls of body and of splrlt, can solve the
dllemma. Gajac wlll leave Bordeaux, |ocasta, and her
klngdom, for Parls, the clty of llberatlon, where he wlll
transform the capltal amassed ln chlldhood and adoles
cence lnto a work of art, that thlrd term provldlng the
resolutlon of the clash of polarltles. In Parls he wlll dls
tance hlmself from Bordeaux, only to reallze lt, to
understand and transform lt, to return to lt through the
medlum of art. He understands that 'un llvre broch a
trols francs sera làboutlssement de toute cette souf
france. Le nouvel homme en mol manlfestera sa force
et son courage en osant utlllser pour son avancement le
destln qul sera devenu la matlre dùn llvre broch a
trols francs" (the outcome of all thls agony wlll be a
threefranc paperback. Jhe new man born wlthln me
must show hls strength and courage by darlng to
explolt for hls own advancement the destlny whlch wlll
have become the substance of a threefranc paperback).
Maurlac planned a sequel to r ^ ~J
I dlctatlng, because of falllng eyeslght, to hls wlfe,
who typed all hls manuscrlpts, contrlbuted her com
ments, and thus partlclpated to a certaln extent ln the
creatlve process. He fell lnto a coma whlle dlctatlng and
dled a month later, on l September l970.
Iranols Maurlac`s achlevement as a wrlter ls
often of great quallty. A few of hls novels lean toward
melodrama, but ln a wrlter of hls prollflc output thls
tendency ls not surprlslng. Maurlac was, flrst of all, a
consummate artlst, brlnglng to llterature hls dlstlnctlve
tone, a symbollst style, and new technlques. He was a
great Cathollc essaylst who malntalned hls falth ln lts
publlc appllcatlon agalnst all opposltlon and who pro
duced wrltlngs that, as Cecll |enklns put lt, 'through
the reallty of thelr tenslons bear wltness to the contlnu
ance of the Chrlstlan sense of llfe as an element ln the
culture of hls tlme." Hls flctlon can be vlewed as one of
the most complete attacks mounted on the mlddle class
ln thls century. He ls a complex psychologlst, deflnlng
hls novellstlc enterprlse ln Ireudlan terms, provldlng
lnslght lnto human sexuallty. However, hls flctlon can
also be read ln a |unglan llght, as glvlng form to the
darkest part of man whlle at the same tlme constltutlng
a search for wholeness of self. Above all, Maurlac ls the
explorer ln the modern novel of the poet`s psyche and
hls predlcament ln the world. He belongs to a group of
major representatlve wrlters of the twentleth century
Marcel Proust, Jhomas Mann, Georges Bernanos,
Andr Malrauxwhose llterary work postulates a
value. thls value ls nelther rellglon nor lntellectuallty,
nelther tradltlon nor revolutlon, but human creatlvlty.
Art for them ls a 'duty," a 'mlsslon"the very words
used ln i j c~a quaslsacerdotal actlvlty
l99
ai_ PPN c~ j~~
able to brlng a new creatlve order of the self, glve mean
lng and justlflcatlon to llfe.
iW
|ean Labb, 'Cholx de lettres de Irancls |ammes a
Iranols Maurlac," Toblc Iovdc (Iebruary l956).
86-l08;
Corrcspovdovcc Zvdrc CidcIrovois Mourioc, 1912-190,
edlted by |acquellne Morton (Parls. Galllmard,
l97l);
Corrcspovdovcc cvtrc Irovois Mourioc ct ocqucs Imilc
lovclc (1916-1942), edlted by GeorgesPaul Col
let (Parls. Grasset, l976);
Icttrcs dùvc vic (1904-1969), edlted by Carollne Mau
rlac (Parls. Grasset, l98l);
Ics Zmics dc jcuvcssc: Icttrcs dc Irovois Mourioc o Iobcrt
!ollcry-Iodot, 1909-19J1, Cahlers Iranols Mau
rlac, no. l2 (Parls. Grasset, l985);
Io !oguc ct lc roclcr: Ioul Cloudcl, Irovois Mourioc, corrc-
spovdovcc, 1911-194, complled by Mlchel Mal
lcet and MarleChantal Pralcheux (Parls. Lettres
modernes/Mlnard, l988);
òuvcllcs lcttrcs dùvc vic (1906-1970): Corrcspovdovcc,
edlted by Carollne Maurlac (Parls. B. Grasset,
l989);
Ic Croyovt ct l`lumovistc ivquict: Corrcspovdovcc, Irovois
Mourioc-Ccorgcs Dulomcl (1919-1966), edlted by
|.|. Hueber (Parls. Kllncksleck, l997);
Maurlac and |ean Paulhan, Corrcspovdovcc 192-1967,
edlted by |ohn E. Ilower (Parls. Clalre Paulhan,
200l).
fW
Irdrlc Lefvre, 'Iranols Maurlac," ln hls Uvc Hcurc
ovcc . . ., flrst serles (Parls. Galllmard, l921);
|ean Marchand, 'Iranols Maurlac," Ioris Icvicw, l
(Summer l953). 33-39;
Maxwell A. Smlth, 'My Intervlew wlth Maurlac," Zmcr-
icov Socicty Icgiov of Hovor Mogoivc (Wlnter l963);
Icrvovd Scguiv rcvcovtrc Irovois Mourioc (Montreal. Edl
tlons de L`Homme, l969; Ottawa. Edltlons Icl
RadloCanada, l969);
Souvcvirs rctrouvcs: Ivtrcticvs ovcc cov Zmrouclc, edlted by
Batrlce Avaklan (Parls. Iayard/Instltut Natlonal
de lÀudlovlsuel, l98l);
Ics Iorolcs rcstcvt, edlted by Kelth Goesch (Parls. B. Gras
set, l985).
_~W
Iernand Vlal, 'Iranols Maurlac Crltlclsm. A Blbllo
graphlcal Study," Tlouglt, 27 (Summer l952).
235-260;
Kelth Goesch, Irovois Mourioc: Issoi dc bibliogroplic
clrovologiquc, 190S-1960 (Parls. Nlzet, l965).
_~W
Robert Spealght, Irovois Mourioc: Z Study of tlc !ritcr
ovd tlc Mov (London. Chatto Wlndus, l976);
Claude Maurlac, Irovois Mourioc, so vic, sov ocuvrc (Parls.
I. Blrr, l985);
|eanne Maurlac and Claude Maurlac, Mourioc ivtimc
(Parls. Stock, l985);
|ean Jouzot, Mourioc sous lÙccupotiov (Parls. La Manu
facture, l990);
Plerre Maurlac, Irovois Mourioc, mov frrc, edlted by
|acques Monfrler (BordeauxlesBouscat. LÈsprlt
du temps, l997);
Bernard Cattano, Irovois Mourioc: Zux sourccs dc lòmour
(Helette. |. Curutchet, l998);
Vlolane Massenet, Irovois Mourioc (Parls. Ilammarlon,
2000).
oW
Vronlque Anglard, Irovois Mourioc, Tlcrsc Dcsqucyroux
(Parls. Presses unlversltalres de Irance, l992);
|ohn J. Booker, 'Maurlac`s ùd dc viprcs: Jlme and
Wrltlng," Symposium, 35 (Summer l98l). l02-
ll5;
Nathan Bracher, Tlrougl tlc Iost Dorlly: History ovd
Mcmory iv Irovois Mourioc`s loc-votcs (Washlngton,
D.C.. Cathollc Lnlverslty of Amerlca Press,
2001);
Catharlne Savage Brosman, 'Polnt of Vlew and Chrls
tlan Vlewpolnt ln Tlcrsc Dcsqucyroux," Issoys iv
Ircvcl Iitcroturc (November l971). 69-73;
Colicrs Irovois Mourioc (Parls. Grasset, l971- );
Carollne Cassevllle, Mourioc ct Sortrc: Ic Iomov ct lo
libcrtc (Bordeaux. LÈsprlt du temps, 2006);
Covvoissovcc dcs Hommcs, speclal Maurlac lssue, 16
(Autumn l972);
Paul Cooke, Mourioc: Tlc Ioctry of o òvclist (Amsterdam
New York. Rodopl, 2003);
Cooke, Mourioc ct lc mytlc du potc: Uvc lccturc du 'Mystrc
Irovtcvoc (Parls Caen. Archlves des Lettres
Modernes, l999);
Claude Escalller, 'Maurlac et Jhrse," Itudcs dc Iovguc
ct littcroturc frovoiscs, 61 (March l991). l3l-l15;
Iigoro Iittcroirc, speclal Maurlac lssues (l5 November
l952; 7 September l970);
|ohn E. Ilower, Z Criticol Commcvtory ov Mourioc`s 'Ic
ùd dc viprcs (London. Macmlllan, l969);
Ilower, Ivtcvtiov ovd Zclicvcmcvt: Zv Issoy ov tlc òvcls of
Irovois Mourioc (Oxford. Clarendon Press, l969);
Ilower, 'Jowards a Psychoblographlcal Study of Mau
rlacJhe Case of Ccvitrix," ln Iitcroturc ovd Socicty:
Studics iv ìvctccvtl ovd Twcvtictl Ccvtury Ircvcl Iit-
croturc, edlted by C. A. Burns (Blrmlngham. Blr
mlngham Lnlverslty Press, l980), pp. l66-l77;
200
c~ j~~ ai_ PPN
Ilower and Bernard C. Swlft, eds., Irovois Mourioc:
!isiovs ovd Icopproisols (Oxford New York. Berg,
l989);
Irovois Mourioc (Parls. Lettres Modernes/Mlnard,
l975- );
Edward |. Gallagher, 'Photo Negatlvlty ln Modomc
ovory and Tlcrsc Dcsqucyroux," Ircvcl Studics ul-
lctivZ _uortcrly Supplcmcvt, 88 (Autumn 2003). 9-
l1;
Iranols George, Io Trovcrscc du dcscrt dc Mourioc
(_ulmper. Calllgrammes, l990);
Kelth Goesch, Irovois Mourioc (Parls. Edltlons de
l`Herne, l985);
Goesch, Mourioc iv tlc Ivglisl-Spcolivg !orld (Oxford.
Berg, l989);
Rlchard Grlfflths, Ic Sivgc dc Dicu: Irovois Mourioc cvtrc
lc 'romov cotloliquc ct lo littcroturc covtcmporoivc,
191J-19J0 (BordeauxlesBouscat. LÈsprlt du
Jemps, l996);
Wllllam Holdhelm, 'Maurlac and Sartre`s Maurlac
Crltlclsm," Symposium, l6 (Wlnter l962). 215-
258;
Cecll |enklns, Mourioc (Edlnburgh London. Ollver
Boyd, l965; New York. Barnes Noble, l965);
Slava M. Kushnlr, Mourioc jourvolistc (Parls. Lettres
Modernes, l979);
|ean Lacouture, Irovois Mourioc (Parls. Seull, l980);
Claude Maurlac, Mourioc ct fils (Parls. B. Grasset, l986);
Susan McLean McGrath, 'Iranols Maurlac`s Jhrse
Desqueyroux. A Llberatlng Dream," Civcivvoti
Iomovcc Icvicw, 9 (l990). 76-86;
Ellnor S. Mlller, 'Jhe Sacraments ln the Novels of
Iranols Maurlac," Icvosccvcc, 3l (Sprlng l979).
l68-l76;
Mlchael Moloney, Irovois Mourioc: Z Criticol Study (Den
ver. Swallow, l958);
Robert North, Ic Cotlolicismc dovs lùvrc dc Irovois Mou-
rioc (Parls. Conqulstador, l950);
Davld O`Connell, Irovois Mourioc Icvistcd (New York.
Jwayne, l995);
Kathleen OÌlaherty, 'Iranols Maurlac, l885-l970.
An Effort of Assessment," Studics, 60 (Sprlng
l97l). 33-12;
Iorisicvvc, speclal Maurlac lssue, 1 (May l959);
Icvuc du Siclc, speclal Maurlac lssue ( |uly-August
l933);
|eanPaul Sartre, 'Iranols Maurlac et la llbert," ln hls
Situotiovs I (Parls. Galllmard, l917), pp. 36-57;
Malcolm Scott, Mourioc ct dc Coullc: Ics Urdrcs dc lo cloritc
ct dc lo grovdcur (Le Bouscat. LÈsprlt du temps,
l999);
Scott, Mourioc ct Cidc: Io Icclcrclc du Moi (Bordeauxles
Bouscat. LÈsprlt du temps, 2001);
Scott, Mourioc: Tlc Iolitics of o òvclist (Edlnburgh. Scot
tlsh Academlc Press, l980);
Maxwell A. Smlth, Irovois Mourioc (New York. Jwayne,
l970);
Bernard C. Swlft, Mourioc ct lc symbolismc (Bordeauxles
Bouscat. LÈsprlt du temps, 2000);
Toblc Iovdc, speclal Maurlac lssue ( |anuary l953);
C. B. JhorntonSmlth, 'Slncerlty and Self|ustlflcatlon.
Jhe Repudlated Preface of Io Iiv dc lo vuit," Zus-
troliov ourvol of Ircvcl Studics, 5 (May-August
l968). 222-232;
|ean Jouzot, Irovois Mourioc, uvc covfigurotiov romovcsquc:
Irofil rlctoriquc ct stylistiquc (Parls. Archlves des
Lettres Modernes, l985);
Jouzot, Mourioc ovovt Mourioc 191J-1922 (Parls. Ilam
marlon, l977);
Jouzot, Io Ilovtc Mourioc (Parls. Kllncksleck, l985);
Jouzot, ed., Irovois Mourioc (Parls. Edltlons de l`Herne,
l985);
Trovoux du Ccvtrc dÌtudcs ct dc Icclcrclcs sur Mourioc (Bor
deaux. Lnlverslt de Bordeau III, l977- );
Martln Jurnell, Tlc Zrt of Ircvcl Iictiov: Ircvost, Stcvdlol,
olo, Moupossovt, Cidc, Mourioc, Iroust (London.
Hamllton, l959; New York. New Dlrectlons,
l959);
Susan Wanslnk, Icmolc !ictims ovd Upprcssors iv òvcls by
Tlcodor Iovtovc ovd Irovois Mourioc (New York.
Peter Lang, l998).
m~W
Jhe majorlty of Iranols Maurlac`s manuscrlpts can be
found at the Blbllothque |acques Doucet ln Parls;
some have been deposlted at the Blbllothque Munlcl
pale of Bordeaux, whlle the manuscrlpt of Tlcrsc
Dcsqucyroux ls at the Harry Ransom Humanltles
Research Center, Lnlverslty of Jexas at Austln.
NVRO k m i~
m~ p
Swcdisl Zcodcmy
Jhe student of Iranols Maurlac`s works wlll be
struck from the very flrst by the lnslstence wlth whlch
Maurlac devotes hlmself to descrlblng a preclse mllleu,
a corner of land one can polnt to on a map of Irance.
Jhe actlon of hls novels nearly always unfolds ln the
Glronde, the Bordeaux reglon, that old vlnegrowlng
country where chateaux and small farms have taken
possesslon of the earth, or ln the Landes, the country of
plne trees and sheep pastures where the song of the
20l
ai_ PPN c~ j~~
clcadas vlbrates ln the lonely spaces, and where the
Atlantlc sounds lts faroff thunder. Jhls ls Maurlac`s
natlve country. He conslders lt hls calllng to descrlbe
thls slngular reglon and lts people, especlally those who
own the land; and lt can be sald that hls personal style
partakes of the restralned energy whlch twlsts the
branches of the grape vlnes and of the pltlless clarlty of
the llght whlch falls from a torrld sky. In that sense, thls
wrlter, who ls read the world over, ls undenlably and
markedly a man of the provlnce, but hls provlnclallsm
does not exclude the great human problems of unlver
sal scope. If one wants to dlg deep one must flrst and
always have a ground to thrust one`s plck lnto.
Maurlac had a more than usually restrlcted chlld
hood; he grew up ln the shelter of a mllleu ln whlch the
maternal lnfluence made ltself strongly felt, an lnfluence
whlch dld not cease to act on hls adolescent sensltlvlty.
Jhere ls reason to belleve that he had palnful surprlses
later when he made contact wlth the outslde world.
Gulded untll then by plous advlce, he had not sus
pected that evll domlnated reallty to such an extent as lt
appears ln all the monotony and lndlfference of every
day llfe. Cathollc by blrth, brought up ln a Cathollc
atmosphere whlch became hls splrltual country, he has,
ln short, never had to declde for or agalnst the Church.
But he has on several occaslons reexamlned and pub
llcly speclfled hls Chrlstlan posltlon, above all ln order
to questlon whether the demands a reallst`s posltlon
made on the wrlter could be reconclled wlth the com
mandments and prohlbltlons of the Church. Apart
from these lnevltable and lnsoluble antlnomles, Mau
rlac, as a wrlter, uses the novel to expound a partlcular
aspect of human llfe ln whlch Cathollc thought and sen
sltlvlty are at the same tlme background and keystone.
Hence, hls nonCathollc readers may to a certaln extent
feel that they are looklng at a world forelgn to them;
but to understand Maurlac, one must remember the
one fact wlthout whlch no account of hlm can be com
plete. he does not belong to the group of wrlters who
are converts. He hlmself ls consclous of the force that
glves hlm those roots whlch permlt hlm to clte a great
and stern tradltlon when he probes souls overwhelmed
by the welght of thelr faults and scrutlnlzes thelr secret
lntentlons.
Maurlac has been assured a central posltlon ln
modern llterature for so long and so unquestlonably
that the denomlnatlonal barrlers have almost lost all
lmportance. Whereas many wrlters of hls generatlon
who had a fleetlng glory are almost forgotten today, hls
proflle stands out more and more dlstlnctly wlth the
years. In hls case lt ls not a questlon of fame achleved at
the prlce of compromlse, for hls sombre and austere
vlslon of the world ls scarcely made to please hls con
temporarles. He has always almed hlgh. Wlth all the
power and all the conslstency of whlch he ls capable, he
has trled to contlnue ln hls reallstlc novels the tradltlon
of such great Irench morallsts as Pascal, La Broyre,
and Bossuet. Jo thls let us add that he represents a ten
dency toward rellglous lnsplratlon whlch, partlcularly
ln Irance, has always been an extremely lmportant ele
ment of splrltual formatlon. If I may ln thls context say
a few words about Maurlac as a dlstlngulshed journal
lst, we must not forget, ln the lnterest of European
thought, hls work ln that fleld, hls commentarles on
dally events, the entlre slde of hls llterary actlvlty whlch
deserves publlc esteem.
But lf he ls today the laureate of the Nobel Prlze
ln Llterature, lt ls obvlously above all because of hls
admlrable novels. Sufflce lt to name a few masterpleces
such as i a ~ (l925) xq a izI
q a (l927) xqzI and lts sequel i~ c
~ (l935) |Jhe End of the Nlght|, i~ m~
(l91l) |A Woman of the Pharlsees|, and i k
(l932) |Jhe Knot of Vlpers|, wlthout lntendlng
to say how far the artlstlc qualltles of these works place
them ln a class apart; for everywhere, ln the whole
serles of Maurlac`s novels, are found unforgettable
scenes, dlalogues, and sltuatlons, so mysterlously and
so cruelly reveallng. Jhe repetltlon of the same themes
could create a certaln monotony, but hls acute analyses
and sure touch awaken the same admlratlon wlth each
new encounter. Maurlac remalns unequalled ln conclse
ness and expresslve force of language; hls prose can ln a
few suggestlve llnes shed llght on the most complex and
dlfflcult thlngs. Hls most remarkable works are charac
terlzed by a purlty of loglc and classlc economy of
expresslon that recall the tragedles of Raclne.
Jhe volceless anxlety of youth, the abysses of evll
and the perpetual menace of thelr presence, the decelt
ful temptatlons of the flesh, the ascendancy of avarlce ln
the llfe of materlal goods, the havoc of selfsatlsfactlon
and pharlsalsmthese are the motlfs that constantly
reappear under Maurlac`s pen. Small wonder that ln hls
wleldlng of such a palette, he has been accused of black
enlng hls subjects wlthout cause, of wrltlng as a mlsan
thrope. But the response he glves ls that, on the
contrary, a wrlter who bases hls whole concept of the
world on grace and sees man`s supreme recourse ln
God`s love has the feellng of worklng ln a splrlt of hope
and confldence. We have no rlght to doubt the slncerlty
of thls declaratlon, but lt ls evldent that ln practlce sln
attracts hlm more than lnnocence. He detests what ls
edlfylng, and whlle he never grows tlred of portraylng
the soul that perslsts ln evll and ls on lts way to damna
tlon, he generally prefers to brlng down the curtaln at
the moment when the consclousness of lts mlsery ls
about to push the soul toward repentance and salva
tlon. Jhls wrlter llmlts hlmself to the role of wltness to
202
c~ j~~ ai_ PPN
the negatlve phase of thls evolutlon, leavlng all the posl
tlve slde to the prlest, who does not have to wrlte a
novel.
Maurlac hlmself once sald that everyone ls free to
seek satlsfactlon ln a llterature that beautlfles llfe and
permlts us to escape from reallty, but the predllectlon
whlch most people have for thls klnd of llterature
should not make us unjust toward the wrlters whose
vocatlon ls to know man. It ls not we who hate llfe.
Jhose alone hate llfe who, not belng able to bear the
slght of lt, falslfy lt. Jhe true lovers of llfe love lt as lt ls.
Jhey have strlpped lt of lts masks, one by one, and
have glven thelr hearts to thls monster at last lald bare.
In one of hls controversles wlth Andr Glde, he
returned to the cardlnal polnt of hls thought ln afflrm
lng that the most complete slncerlty ls the form of
honour whlch ls llnked to the wrlter`s craft. Most often
Jartuffe ls made to appear under the eccleslastlcal cos
tume, but Maurlac assures us that thls personage ls
found much more frequently ln the mldst of those sup
portlng the theory of materlallstlc progress. It ls easy to
derlde the prlnclples of morallty, but Maurlac objects to
such derlslon; as he has stated qulte slmply, 'Each of us
knows he could become less evll than he ls."
Jhls slmple phrase ls perhaps the key that opens
the secret of good ln the chapters of Maurlac`s work,
the secret of thelr sombre ardour and thelr subtle dls
harmony. Hls plunges lnto the mldst of man`s weak
nesses and vlces are more than the effect of a manla
pushed to vlrtuoslty. Even when he analyzes reallty
wlthout plty, Maurlac preserves a last certalnty, that
there ls a charlty whlch passes understandlng. He does
not lay clalm to the absolute; he knows that lt does not
exlst wlth vlrtue ln the pure state, and he vlews wlthout
lndulgence those who call themselves plous. Ialthful to
the truth whlch he has made hls, he strlves to descrlbe
hls characters ln such a way that, seelng themselves as
they are, they would be strlcken wlth repentance and
the deslre to become, lf not better, at least a llttle less
evll. Hls novels can be compared to narrow but deep
wells at the bottom of whlch a mysterlous water ls seen
gllstenlng ln the darkness.
Dear Slr and colleagueln the few moments at
my dlsposal I could speak about your work only ln a
sketchy manner. I know how much lt deserves admlra
tlon; I also know how dlfflcult lt ls to do lt justlce, to
make general statements wlthout lgnorlng the speclflc
characterlstlcs of your work. Jhe Swedlsh Academy
has awarded you thls year`s Nobel Prlze ln Llterature
'for the deep splrltual lnslght and the artlstlc lntenslty
wlth whlch you have ln your novels penetrated the
drama of human llfe."
Jhere remalns for me to extend to you the most
heartfelt congratulatlons of the Swedlsh Academy, thls
younger slster of your venerable Acadmle Iranalse,
and to ask you to recelve the Prlze from the hands of
Hls Majesty the Klng.
j~~W _~ p
f ~ e~~ `~I j
o~ ^~ pI ~ k _~ ~ `
e~ pI NM a NVROW
Mr. MaurlacIn your work you have penetrated lnto
the hearts of men, and you have shown them as you
saw them. human, all too human. You dld not hesltate
to use the saddest and most sombre colours, lf truth
requlred lt. Stlll, as one of your characters says, 'One
can reach the supernatural through the base"and lf
you have palnted sad plctures of human llfe, you have
also shown the rays of falth and dlvlne grace whlch lllu
mlnate the darkness. Rest assured of our slncere and
profound admlratlon.
j~~ Eq~~F
Jhe last subject to be touched upon by the man
of letters whom you are honourlng, I thlnk, ls hlmself
and hls work. But how could I turn my thoughts away
from that work and that man, from those poor storles
and that slmple Irench wrlter, who by the grace of the
Swedlsh Academy flnds hlmself all of a sudden bur
dened and almost overwhelmed by such an excess of
honour? No, I do not thlnk that lt ls vanlty whlch
makes me revlew the long road that has led me from an
obscure chlldhood to the place I occupy tonlght ln your
mldst.
When I began to descrlbe lt, I never lmaglned
that thls llttle world of the past whlch survlves ln my
books, thls corner of provlnclal Irance hardly known
by the Irench themselves where I spent my school holl
days, could capture the lnterest of forelgn readers. We
always belleve ln our unlqueness; we forget that the
books whlch enchanted us, the novels of George Ellot
or Dlckens, of Jolstoy or Dostoevsky, or of Selma
Lagerlf, descrlbed countrles very dlfferent from ours,
human belngs of another race and another rellglon. But
nonetheless we loved them only because we recognlzed
ourselves ln them. Jhe whole of manklnd ls revealed ln
the peasant of our blrthplace, every countryslde of the
world ln the horlzon seen through the eyes of our chlld
hood. Jhe novellst`s glft conslsts preclsely ln hls ablllty
to reveal the unlversallty of thls narrow world lnto
203
ai_ PPN c~ j~~
whlch we are born, where we have learned to love and
to suffer. Jo many of my readers ln Irance and abroad
my world has appeared sombre. Shall I say that thls has
always surprlsed me? Mortals, because they are mortal,
fear the very name of death; and those who have never
loved or been loved, or have been abandoned and
betrayed or have valnly pursued a belng lnaccesslble to
them wlthout as much as a look for the creature that
pursued them and whlch they dld not loveall these are
astonlshed and scandallzed when a work of flctlon
descrlbes the lonellness ln the very heart of love. 'Jell
us pleasant thlngs," sald the |ews to the prophet Isalah.
'Decelve us by agreeable falsehoods."
Yes, the reader demands that we decelve hlm by
agreeable falsehoods.
Nonetheless, those works that have survlved ln
the memory of manklnd are those that have embraced
the human drama ln lts entlrety and have not shled
away from the evldence of the lncurable solltude ln
whlch each of us must face hls destlny untll death, that
flnal solltude, because flnally we must dle alone.
Jhls ls the world of a novellst wlthout hope. Jhls
ls the world lnto whlch we are led by your great Strlnd
berg. Jhls would have been my world were lt not for
that lmmense hope by whlch I have been possessed
practlcally slnce I awoke to consclous llfe. It plerces
wlth a ray of llght the darkness that I have descrlbed.
My colour ls black and I am judged by that black rather
than by the llght that penetrates lt and secretly burns
there. Whenever a woman ln Irance trles to polson her
husband or to strangle her lover, people tell me. 'Here
ls a subject for you." Jhey thlnk that I keep some sort
of museum of horrors, that I speclallze ln monsters.
And yet, my characters dlffer ln an essentlal polnt from
almost any others that llve ln the novels of our tlme.
they feel that they have a soul. In thls postNletzschean
Europe where the echo of Zarathustra`s cry 'God ls
dead" ls stlll heard and has not yet exhausted lts terrlfy
lng consequences, my characters do not perhaps all
belleve that God ls allve, but all of them have a con
sclence whlch knows that part of thelr belng recognlzes
evll and could not commlt lt. Jhey know evll. Jhey all
feel dlmly that they are the creatures of thelr deeds and
have echoes ln other destlnles.
Ior my heroes, wretched as they may be, llfe ls
the experlence of lnflnlte motlon, of an lndeflnlte tran
scendence of themselves. A humanlty whlch does not
doubt that llfe has a dlrectlon and a goal cannot be a
humanlty ln despalr. Jhe despalr of modern man ls
born out of the absurdlty of the world; hls despalr as
well as hls submlsslon to surrogate myths. the absurd
dellvers man to the lnhuman. When Nletzsche
announced the death of God, he also announced the
tlmes we have llved through and those we shall stlll
have to llve through, ln whlch man, emptled of hls soul
and hence deprlved of a personal destlny, becomes a
beast of burden more maltreated than a mere anlmal by
the Nazls and by all those who today use Nazl methods.
A horse, a mule, a cow has a market value, but from the
human anlmal, procured wlthout cost thanks to a well
organlzed and systematlc purge, one galns nothlng but
proflt untll lt perlshes. No wrlter who keeps ln the cen
tre of hls work the human creature made ln the lmage
of the Iather, redeemed by the Son, and lllumlnated by
the Splrlt, can ln my oplnlon be consldered a master of
despalr, be hls plcture ever so sombre.
Ior hls plcture does remaln sombre, slnce for hlm
the nature of man ls wounded, lf not corrupted. It goes
wlthout saylng that human hlstory as told by a Chrls
tlan novellst cannot be based on the ldyll because he
must not shy away from the mystery of evll.
But to be obsessed by evll ls also to be obsessed
by purlty and chlldhood. It makes me sad that the too
hasty crltlcs and readers have not reallzed the place
whlch the chlld occuples ln my storles. A chlld dreams
at the heart of all my books; they contaln the loves of
chlldren, flrst klsses and flrst solltude, all the thlngs that
I have cherlshed ln the muslc of Mozart. Jhe serpents
ln my books have been notlced, but not the doves that
have made thelr nests ln more than one chapter; for ln
my books chlldhood ls the lost paradlse, and lt lntro
duces the mystery of evll.
Jhe mystery of evllthere are no two ways of
approachlng lt. We must elther deny evll or we must
accept lt as lt appears both wlthln ourselves and wlth
outln our lndlvldual llves, that of our passlons, as well
as ln the hlstory wrltten wlth the blood of men by
powerhungry emplres. I have always belleved that
there ls a close correspondence between lndlvldual and
collectlve crlmes, and, journallst that I am, I do nothlng
but declpher from day to day ln the horror of polltlcal
hlstory the vlslble consequences of that lnvlslble hlstory
whlch takes place ln the obscurlty of the heart. We pay
dearly for the evldence that evll ls evll, we who llve
under a sky where the smoke of crematorles ls stlll drlft
lng. We have seen them devour under our own eyes
mllllons of lnnocents, even chlldren. And hlstory con
tlnues ln the same manner. Jhe system of concentratlon
camps has struck deep roots ln old countrles where
Chrlst has been loved, adored, and served for centurles.
We are watchlng wlth horror how that part of the world
ln whlch man ls stlll enjoylng hls human rlghts, where
the human mlnd remalns free, ls shrlnklng under our
eyes llke the 'peau de chagrln" of Balzac`s novel.
Do not for a moment lmaglne that as a bellever I
pretend not to see the objectlons ralsed to bellef by the
presence of evll on earth. Ior a Chrlstlan, evll remalns
the most angulshlng of mysterles. Jhe man who amldst
201
c~ j~~ ai_ PPN
the crlmes of hlstory perseveres ln hls falth wlll stumble
over the permanent scandal. the apparent uselessness of
the Redemptlon. Jhe wellreasoned explanatlons of the
theologlans regardlng the presence of evll have never
convlnced me, reasonable as they may be, and preclsely
because they are reasonable. Jhe answer that eludes us
presupposes an order not of reason but of charlty. It ls
an answer that ls fully found ln the afflrmatlon of St.
|ohn. God ls Love. Nothlng ls lmposslble to the llvlng
love, not even drawlng everythlng to ltself; and that,
too, ls wrltten.
Iorglve me for ralslng a problem that for genera
tlons has caused many commentarles, dlsputes, here
sles, persecutlons, and martyrdoms. But lt ls after all a
novellst who ls talklng to you, and one whom you have
preferred to all others; thus you must attach some value
to what has been hls lnsplratlon. He bears wltness that
what he has wrltten about ln the llght of hls falth and
hope has not contradlcted the experlence of those of hls
readers who share nelther hls hope nor hls falth. Jo
take another example, we see that the agnostlc admlrers
of Graham Greene are not put off by hls Chrlstlan
vlslon. Chesterton has sald that whenever somethlng
extraordlnary happens ln Chrlstlanlty ultlmately some
thlng extraordlnary corresponds to lt ln reallty. If we
ponder thls thought, we shall perhaps dlscover the rea
son for the mysterlous accord between works of Catho
llc lnsplratlon, llke those of my frlend Graham Greene,
and the vast dechrlstlanlzed publlc that devours hls
books and loves hls fllms.
Yes, a vast dechrlstlanlzed publlc! Accordlng to
Andr Malraux, 'the revolutlon today plays the role
that belonged formerly to the eternal llfe." But what lf
the myth were, preclsely, the revolutlon? And lf the
eternal llfe were the only reallty?
Whatever the answer, we shall agree on one
polnt. that dechrlstlanlzed humanlty remalns a cruclfled
humanlty. What worldly power wlll ever destroy the
correlatlon of the cross wlth human sufferlng? Even
your Strlndberg, who descended lnto the extreme
depths of the abyss from whlch the psalmlst uttered hls
cry, even Strlndberg hlmself wlshed that a slngle word
be engraved upon hls tomb, the word that by ltself
would sufflce to shake and force the gates of eternlty.
'o crux ave spes unlca." After so much sufferlng even
he ls restlng ln the protectlon of that hope, ln the
shadow of that love. And lt ls ln hls name that your lau
reate asks you to forglve these all too personal words
whlch perhaps have struck too grave a note. But could
he do better, ln exchange for the honours wlth whlch
you have overwhelmed hlm, than to open to you not
only hls heart, but hls soul? And because he has told
you through hls characters the secret of hls torment, he
should also lntroduce you tonlght to the secret of hls
peace.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l952. Iranols Maurlac ls
205
`~ j
(J0 uvc 1911 - 14 Zugust 2004)
_~ `~
Uvivcrsity of ritisl Columbio
Jhls entry was expanded by Czaykowskl from hls
Mlosz entry ln DI 21: Twcvtictl-Ccvtury Iostcrv Iuro-
pcov !ritcrs, Iirst Scrics.
BOOKS. Iocmot o cosic ostyg ym (Wllno. Koo Polo
nlstw Suchaczy Lnlwersytetu Stefana Batorego,
l933);
Try imy (Wllno. Zwlzek Zawodowy Llteratw Pol
sklch, l936);
!icrsc, as |an Syru (Lww. Blblloteka rkoplsw
wydawnlctwa 'Brzask," l939);
Ucolcvic (Warsaw. Czytelnlk, l915);
wioto dicvvc (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l953);
vicwolovy umys (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l953); trans
lated by |ane Zlelonko as Tlc Coptivc Mivd (Lon
don. Secker Warburg, l953; New York. Knopf,
l953);
dobycic wody (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l955); trans
lated by Cellna Wlenlewska as Tlc Sciurc of Iowcr
(New York. Crlterlon, l955); translatlon also pub
llshed as Tlc Usurpcrs (London. Iaber Iaber,
l955);
Dolivo Issy (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l955); translated by
Louls Irlbarne as Tlc Isso !ollcy (New York. Iar
rar, Straus Glroux, l98l; London. Sldgwlck
|ackson / Manchester. Carcanet New Press,
l98l);
Troltot poctycli (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l957);
Iovtyvcvty (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l958);
Iodivvo Iuropo (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l959); trans
lated by Catherlne S. Leach as òtivc Icolm: Z
Scorcl for Sclf-Dcfivitiov (Garden Clty, N.Y.. Dou
bleday, l968; Berkeley. Lnlverslty of Callfornla
Press, l98l; London. Sldgwlck |ackson /
Manchester. Carcanet New Press, l98l);
Cowicl wrod slorpiovow: Studium o Stovisowic ro-
owslim (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l962);
Irol Iopicl i ivvc wicrsc (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l962);
Cucio ocorowovy (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l965);
Tlc History of Iolisl Iitcroturc (New York. Macmlllan /
London. ColllerMacmlllan, l969; revlsed edl
tlon, Berkeley. Lnlverslty of Callfornla Press,
l983); translated lnto Pollsh by Marla Jarnowska
as Historio litcrotury polslicj do rolu 19J9 (Krakw.
Znak, l993);
Miosto bc imicvio: Iocjc (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l969);
!idcvio vod otol Sov Irovcisco (Parls. Instytut Llte
rackl, l969); translated by Rlchard Lourle as
!isiovs from Sov Irovcisco oy (New York. Iarrar,
Straus Glroux, l982; Manchester. Carcanet
New Press, l982);
`~ j ~ r g~~ h~I
V g NVUN Ee ^Ld f~F
206
àw Miosz ai_ PPN
Irywotvc obowili (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l972);
Cdic wsclodi socc i ldy opodo (Parls. Instytut Llte
rackl, l971);
Impcror of tlc Iortl: Modcs of Icccvtric !isiov (Berkeley.
Lnlverslty of Callfornla Press, l977);
icmio Ulro (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l977); translated
by Irlbarne as Tlc Iovd of Ulro (New York. Iarrar,
Straus Glroux, l981; Manchester. Carcanet,
l985);
Ugrod voul (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l979; Lublln,
Poland. Katollckl Lnlwersytet Lubelskl, l986);
òbcl Iccturc (New York. Iarrar, Straus Glroux, l98l);
Hymv o pcrlc (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l982; Krakw.
Wydawnlctwo Llterackle, l983);
Iic obywotclo (Krakw. Wydawnlctwo wlt, l983);
Tlc !itvcss of Ioctry, Charles Ellot Norton Lectures,
l98l-l982 (Cambrldge, Mass.. Harvard Lnlver
slty Press, l983); Pollsh verslon publlshed slmul
taneously as wiodcctwo pocji: Sc wylodow o
dotlliwociocl voscgo wiclu (Parls. Instytut Llte
rackl, l983; censored edltlon, Warsaw. Czytelnlk,
l987);
Diolog o !ilvic, by Mlosz and Jomas Venclova (War
saw. Spoeczny Instytut Wydawnlczy 'Mynek,"
l981);
Dostojcwsli i Sortrc (N.p., ca. l981);
ìcobjto icmio (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l981; Krakw.
Wydawnlctwo Llterackle, l988); translated by
Mlosz and Robert Hass as Uvottoivoblc Iortl
(New York. Ecco, l986);
ogrodu icmslicl rolosy, vowc wicrsc i cpigrofy (N.p.,
l981);
Iodrovy wioto: Iomowy I. Corvcclicj |Renata Gor
czyska| Ccsowcm Mioscm (Krakw. Wszech
nlca SpoecznoPolltyczna, l981);
Tlc Scporotc òtcbools, blllngual edltlon, translated by
Mlosz, Hass, Robert Plnsky, and Renata Gor
czyska (New York. Ecco, l981);
ocyvojc od moicl ulic (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l985);
translated by Madellne G. Levlne as cgivvivg witl
My Strccts: Issoys ovd Iccollcctiovs (New York. Iar
rar, Straus Glroux, l99l);
Irovili (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l987; Krakw. Znak,
l988);
wiot/Tlc !orld, blllngual edltlon, translated by Mlosz
(San Iranclsco. Arlon, l989);
Iol myliwcgo (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l990); trans
lated by Levlne as Z Jcor of tlc Huvtcr (New York.
Iarrar, Straus Glroux, l991);
Dolsc ololicc (Krakw. Znak, l99l); translated by
Mlosz and Hass as Irovivccs (New York. Ecco,
l99l; Manchester. Carcanet, l993);
Sulovic ojcyvy (Krakw. Znak, l992);
ò brcgu rcli (Krakw. Znak, l991); translated by
Mlosz and Hass as Iocivg tlc Iivcr: `cw Iocms
(Hopewell, N.|.. Ecco, l995; Manchester. Carca
net, l995);
Iolslic lovtrosty: Uv Covtrosts iv Iolovd (Krakw. Lnlversl
tas, l995);
olicgo to gocio miclimy: U Zvvic wirscyslicj (Krakw.
Znak, l996);
Icgcvdy vowoccsvoci: Iscjc olupocyjvc: Iisty-cscjc crcgo
Zvdrcjcwslicgo i Ccsowo Mioso, by Mlosz and
|erzy Andrzejewskl (Krakw. Wydawnlctwo Llte
rackle, l996); translated by Madellne G. Levlne
as Icgcvds of Modcrvity: Issoys ovd Icttcrs from Uccu-
picd Iolovd, 1942-4J (New York. Iarrar, Straus
Glroux, 2005);
Zbccodo Mioso (Krakw. Wydawnlctwo Llterackle,
l997); translated by Levlne as Mios`s ZC`s
(New York. Iarrar, Straus Glroux, 200l);
ycic vo wyspocl (Krakw. Znak, l997);
Iicscl prydrovy (Krakw. Znak, l997); translated by
Mlosz and Hass as Iood-sidc Dog (New York. Iar
rar, Straus Glroux, l998);
Ivvc obccodo (Krakw. Wydawnlctwo Llterackle, l998);
To (Krakw. Znak, 2000);
Drugo prcstrc (Krakw. Znak, 2002), translated by
Mlosz and Hass as Sccovd Spocc: `cw Iocms (New
York. Ecco, 2001);
Urfcus i Iurydylo (Krakw. Wydawnlctwo Llterackle,
2003)lncludes translatlons lnto Engllsh by
Mlosz and Hass; German by Doreen Daume;
Russlan by Anatol Roltman; and Swedlsh by
Anders Bodegrd;
Spiorvio litcroclo (Krakw. Wydawnlctwo Llterackle,
2001);
U podroocl w cosic, edlted by |oanna Gromek (Krakw.
Znak, 2001);
Irygody modcgo umysu: Iublicystylo i proo 19J1-19J9
(Krakw. Znak, 2001).
b ~ `W Dolivo Issy (London. Oflcyna
Poetw l Malarzy, l966);
!icrsc (London. Oflcyna Poetw l Malarzy, l967);
Utwory poctyclic: Iocms, lntroductlon by Aleksander
Schenker (Ann Arbor. Mlchlgan Slavlc Publlca
tlons, l976);
!idcvio vod otol Sov Irovcisco (Warsaw. Krg, l979);
Dico biorowc, l2 volumes (Parls. Instytut Llterackl,
l980-l985);
!icrsc cbrovc, 2 volumes (Warsaw. Krg, l980);
!ybor wicrsy (Warsaw. Pastwowy Instytut Wydaw
nlczy, l980);
Cdic wsclodi socc i ldy opodo i ivvc wicrsc (Krakw.
Znak, l980);
Iocjc (Warsaw. Czytelnlk, l98l);
207
ai_ PPN àw Miosz
Irywotvc obowili (Warsaw, l983; Wydawnlctwo
Kropka, l983; Nlezalena Oflcyna Wydawnlcza
'Nowa," l985);
vicwolovy umys (Warsaw, l981; Wydawnlctwo Wol
no, l986);
ìcobjto icmio (Krakw. Wydawnlctwo Jrzecl Obleg,
l981);
Ugrod voul (Warsaw. Kslnlca Llteracka, l981);
Cucio ocorowovy: Miosto bc imicvio (Warsaw.
Wydawnlctwo 'V," l985);
wiodcctwo pocji (Krakw. Oflcyna Llteracka, l985;
Wrocaw. Oflcyna Wydawnlcza Constans, l986);
Iosuliwovio: !ybor publicystyli roprosovcj 19J1-19SJ,
edlted by Konrad Plwnlckl (Warsaw.
Wydawnlctwo CDN, l985);
Try imy c Cosy o wicrsocl, edlted by Renata Gor
czyska and Plotr Koczowskl (London. Aneks,
l987);
Mctof iycvo pouo, selected and edlted by |oanna
Gromek (Krakw. Znak, l989);
Iocmoty (Wrocaw, Poland. Wydawnlctwo Dolnolskle,
l989);
Io ysovlo (Warsaw. Varsovla, l990);
!icrsc, 3 volumes (Krakw. Znak, l993);
Iocjc wybrovc: Sclcctcd Iocms, blllngual edltlon (Krakw.
Wydawnlctwo Llterackle, l996);
Zvtologio osobisto (Krakw. Znak, l998);
Issc (Warsaw. Prszyskl l Ska, 200l);
Dico cbrovc: !icrsc, 1 volumes (Krakw. Znak, 200l-
2001).
b bW 'Not More," translated by Adam
Czernlawskl, ln Sov Irovcisco Icvicw Zvvuol, l
(l963). lll-ll2;
'Campo dl Ilorl," translated by Adam Glllon, ln Ivtro-
ductiov to Modcrv Iolisl Iitcroturc: Zv Zvtlology of Iic-
tiov ovd Ioctry, edlted by Glllon and Ludwlk
Krzyanowskl (New York. Jwayne, l961), pp.
117-119;
Sclcctcd Iocms, wlth an lntroductlon by Kenneth Rexroth
(New York. Seabury, l973);
clls iv !ivtcr, translated by Mlosz and Lllllan Vallee
(New York. Ecco, l978; Manchester. Carcanet
New Press, l980);
'Gus Spellbound," translated by Andrzej Busza and
Bogdan Czaykowskl, ln Cotlcrivg Timc: Iivc Mod-
crv Iolisl Ilcgics, edlted by Busza and Czay
kowskl (Mlsslon, B.C.. Barbarlan, l983), pp. 1l-
18;
Tlc Collcctcd Iocms, 19J1-19S7 (New York. Ecco, l988);
`cw ovd Collcctcd Iocms, 19J1-2001 (New York. Harper
Colllns, 200l);
To cgiv !lcrc I Zm: Sclcctcd Issoys, edlted by Bogdana
Carpenter and Madellne G. Levlne (New York.
Iarrar, Straus Glroux, 200l);
Z Trcotisc ov Ioctry, translated by Mlosz and Robert
Hass (New York. Ecco, 200l);
Sclcctcd Iocms, 19J1-2004, edlted by Hass (New York.
Ecco, 2006).
RECORDING. Iirc, read by Mlosz, Washlngton,
D.C., Watershed Japes C200, l987.
OJHER. Zvtologio pocji spoccvcj, edlted by Mlosz and
Zblgnlew Iolejewskl (Wllno. Wydawn. Koa
Polonlstw Lnlversytetu Stefana Batorego,
l933);
Iic vicpodlcgo, edlted by Mlosz (Warsaw. Oflcyna
Polska w Warszawle, l912);
Iulturo mosowo, edlted by Mlosz (Parls. Instytut Llte
rackl, l959);
!gry, edlted by Mlosz (Parls. Instytut Llterackl,
l960);
Aleksander Wat, Moj wicl: Iomitvil mowiovy, 2 volumes,
edlted by Mlosz (London. Polonla Book Iund,
l977; Warsaw. Czytelnlk, l990); edlted and
translated by Rlchard Lourle, wlth a foreword by
Mlosz, as My Ccvtury: Tlc Udysscy of o Iolisl Ivtcllcc-
tuol (Berkeley. Lnlverslty of Callfornla Press,
l988);
Oscar Vladlslas de Lublcz Mllosz, Tlc òblc Trovcllcr,
lntroductlon by Mlosz, edlted by Chrlstopher
Bamford (West Stockbrldge, Mass.. Llndlsfarne,
l981);
Mowo wiovo, edlted by Mlosz (Olsztyn, Poland. Pojez
lerze, l986);
!ypisy lsig uytccvycl, edlted by Mlosz (Krakw.
Znak, l991);
Z ool of Iumivous Tlivgs: Zv Ivtcrvotiovol Zvtlology of
Ioctry, edlted by Mlosz (New York. Harcourt
Brace, l996);
!yprowo w dwudicstolccic, edlted by Mlosz (Krakw.
Wydawnlctwo Llterackle, l999).
JRANSLAJIONS. |acques Marltaln, Drogomi llsli
(Warsaw. Oflcyna Polska, l912);
Danlel Bell, Iroco i jcj gorycc (Parls. Instytut Llterackl,
l957);
|eanne Hersch, Iolitylo i rccywisto (Parls. Instytut Llte
rackl, l957);
Slmone Well, !ybor pism (Parls. Instytut Llterackl, l958;
Krakw. Znak, l99l);
Iostwor Iolisl Ioctry: Zv Zvtlology (Garden Clty, N.Y..
Doubleday, l965; expanded edltlon, Berkeley.
Lnlverslty of Callfornla Press, l983); republlshed
as Iolisl Iost-!or Ioctry (Harmondsworth, L.K..
Penguln, l970);
208
àw Miosz ai_ PPN
Zblgnlew Herbert, p mI translated by Mlosz
and Peter Dale Scott (Harmondsworth, L.K..
Penguln, l968);
Aleksander Wat, j~~ m (Ann Arbor,
Mlch.. Ardls, l977);
h~ m~I edlted and translated by Mlosz (Parls.
Edltlons du Dlalogue, l979; Lublln. Katollckl
Lnlwersytet Lubelskl, l982);
h~ e~I edlted and translated by Mlosz (Parls.
Edltlons du Dlalogue, l980);
h jI edlted and translated by Mlosz
(Parls. Edltlons du Dlalogue, l982; Lublln. RW
KLL, l981);
b~~ j~~W ^~~I edlted and translated
by Mlosz (Parls. Edltlons du Dlalogue, l981;
Lublln. Katollckl Lnlwersytet Lubelskl, l989);
Anna wlrszczyska, e~ ~ ~ a q~I translated by
Mlosz and Leonard Nathan (San Dlego. Har
court Brace |ovanovlch, l985);
^~~I edlted and translated by Mlosz (Parls. Edl
tlons du Dlalogue, l986);
t pW m ^~ t~I translated and
edlted by Mlosz and Nathan (New York. Ecco,
l989);
h~ I edlted and translated by Mlosz (Parls,
l989);
e~I edlted and translated by Mlosz (Krakw.
Wydawnlctwo M. Blblloteka NaGosu, l992);
Oscar Vladlslas de Lublcz Mllosz, p (Krakw.
Znak, l993);
wlrszczyska, q~ j _I translated by Mlosz
and Nathan (Port Jownsend, Wash.. Copper
Canyon, l996).
LNCOLLECJED. o ~~I by Mlosz and
|erzy Andrzejewskl, a~I 9 (l981). 5-l7.
No Pollsh wrlter has enjoyed greater renown ln
the West than Czesaw Mlosz. Of the two Pollsh wln
ners of the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature before Mlosz,
Henryk Slenklewlcz (ln l905) and Wladysaw Rey
mont (ln l921), the former galned enormous popularlty
ln Irance and the Lnlted States, but only brlefly; the
latter remalned vlrtually unknown and largely untrans
lated desplte the prlze. Among the post-World War II
wrlters, several dld become well known ln the West,
most notably Wltold Gombrowlcz, Jadeusz Rewlcz,
Zblgnlew Herbert; and Wlsawa Szymborska, wlnner
of the Nobel Prlze ln l996. But thelr recognltlon ln the
Lnlted States has not equaled that of Mlosz, who has
been descrlbed on occaslon as not only a Pollsh but also
an Amerlcan poet.
Jhroughout most of hls long llterary career, how
ever, Mlosz was vlrtually unknown to the wlder read
ershlp. Before World War II hls flrst two volumes of
poetry, whlch had a mlnlscule clrculatlon, galned hlm
crltlcal recognltlon as a talented and promlslng poet
whoalthough he belonged to what was called the Sec
ond Vanguardwas not truly avantgarde, havlng
moved rather abruptly from soclally commltted poetry
to a form of lncantatory, vlslonary verse that many crlt
lcs consldered pass. After the war Mlosz qulckly
made hls mark as one of the foremost poets wlth hls
volume l~ (l915, Rescue) and was slngled out ln a
major artlcle ln l916 by perhaps the most lnfluentlal llt
erary crltlc of the tlme, Kazlmlerz Wyka, as the leadlng
poet of the postwar perlod. By l95l, followlng hls
defectlon to the West, Mlosz came to be regarded by
the Communlst authorltles as a renegade, and, except
for a brlef lnterlude ln l956-l957, a total ban was
lmposed on the publlcatlon of hls wrltlngs; ln fact, well
lnto the l970s speclal permlsslon was requlred ln the
Sovlet bloc even for hls name to be prlnted or men
tloned ln the medla.
Jhe awardlng of the Nobel Prlze to Mlosz ln
l980 colnclded wlth the conslderable relaxatlon of cen
sorshlp durlng the Solldarlty perlod (l980-l98l), and
hls works appeared ln prlnt and sold lmmedlately ln
large numbers. Although strlcter censorshlp was reln
stated after the declaratlon of martlal law ln December
l98l, the reglme dld not flnd lt elther posslble or polltl
cally expedlent to relmpose too strlct a ban on Mlosz`s
works, and the collapse of Communlst power ln Poland
ln l989 made lt agaln posslble for hls works to be pub
llshed, heard, and dlscussed extenslvely. Desplte occa
slonal crltlclsm (at tlmes qulte vlrulent) from the
natlonallst and Cathollc Rlght because of hls publlcly
volced dlsllke of natlonallsm and of what some have
regarded as the flauntlng of hls Llthuanlan roots and
sentlments, Mlosz`s llterary reputatlon ln Poland and
hls authorlty as a wrlter and thlnker have remalned
hlgh among Cathollc, leftwlng, and llberal lntellectuals,
whlle hls books have contlnued to ensure flnanclal suc
cess for thelr publlshers. In fact, durlng the last years of
hls llfe, whlch he spent ln Poland ln the anclent clty of
Krakw, hls authorlty as a poet and thlnker reached a
helght not attalned by any other Pollsh poet slnce the
tlme of the nlneteenthcentury Romantlc natlonal bard,
Adam Mlcklewlcz.
Mlosz was born on 30 |une l9ll ln the manor
house of Szetejnle, ln what was then part of the Russlan
Emplre. Hlstorlcally, the reglon Mlosz came from ls
known as Samogltla, one of the major provlnces of the
medleval Grand Duchy of Llthuanla, whlch jolned the
Klngdom of Poland ln l386. Jhe noblllty of Llthuanla
gradually adopted the Pollsh language and culture, but lt
209
ai_ PPN àw Miosz
retalned many dlstlnctlve characterlstlcs. Both Mlosz`s
father, Aleksander, and hls mother, Weronlka (ne Kunat),
came from Llthuanlan stock; hls paternal uncle Oscar
Vladlslas de Lublcz Mllosz served as a Llthuanlan dlplo
mat ln Parls durlng and after World War I whlle also wrlt
lng poetry and mystlcal prose ln Irench. Samogltla was an
ethnlcally dlverse reglon comprlslngln addltlon to the
Llthuanlanspeaklng Cathollc peasantrya new Llthua
nlan lntelllgentsla, Pollshspeaklng Llthuanlan patrlots, Pol
lsh natlonallsts, Belorusslan peasants and lntelllgentsla,
Russlan offlclals and landowners, and a large, dlverslfled
|ewlsh communlty wlth lts own tradltlons, culture, and llt
erature ln Ylddlsh. Mlosz`s experlence of thls dlverslty
was further ampllfled by the travels of hls father, a clvll
englneer, across Russla durlng World War I and the l9l7
revolutlon, and also by hls father`s declslon to settle ln the
terrltory of lndependent Poland. Multlnatlonal or suprana
tlonal ldeals were relnforced by Mlosz`s educatlon from
l92l to l929 ln the Klng Slglsmundus Augustus Second
ary School ln Vllnlus, whlch gave Mlosz a humanlst
groundlng as well as a reallzatlon of the phllosophlcal
chasm dlvldlng rellglous and sclentlflc outlooks.
Jhe rellglous dlversltynot only lts Cathollc,
Orthodox, and Protestant forms but also local propensl
tles for mystlclsm, |udalc lore, and the pagan substra
tum, stlll allve ln folklore and varlous romantlclzed tales
about the Llthuanlan lakes, rlvers, and forestsproved
more lmportant for Mlosz`s lntellectual development
than ldeology, whether natlonallst (whlch Mlosz came
to regard qulte early as pernlclous) or Marxlst (whlch
he found more convlnclng, though ultlmately unaccept
able to hls splrltual yearnlngs). Jhe most slgnlflcant ele
ment of the Chrlstlan tradltlon for Mlosz, however,
was Gnostlclsm, whlch led hlm to a starker vlew of
Nature, whose wonders, lmblbed from observatlon and
books on anlmals (lncludlng Amerlcan fauna) were
tempered by the reallzatlon of the pltlless character of
the struggle golng on ln the natural world. Jhls reallza
tlon seemed to conflrm Mlosz`s Manlchaean vlew,
derlved from some of hls readlngs, of the struggle
between the prlnclples of good and evll, and lt gave hls
catastrophlst forebodlngs a metaphyslcal character.
Desplte hls early naturallst and llterary lnterests,
Mlosz became a student of law at the Lnlverslty of
Vllnlus ln l930, completlng hls studles wlth a degree of
master of law ln l931. He dld, however, cultlvate hls llt
erary lnterests by becomlng a member of the Sectlon of
Orlglnal Wrltlng, afflllated wlth the Clrcle of Students
of Pollsh Llterature, ln whlch lntellectual, llterary, and
ldeologlcal questlons were hotly debated. Student llfe at
the unlverslty was hlghly polltlclzed, wlth leftwlng and
natlonallst ldeologles competlng agalnst each other, at
tlmes ln vlolent forms. Mlosz took actlve part ln soclal
and llterary actlvltles and ln l93l jolned the poetlc
group ~~ (Jlnder or Klndllng, referrlng to the llter
ary revlew of the same name). Hls leftwlng leanlngs
found expresslon ln hls flrst volume of verse, m~
~ ~ (l933, Poem about Congealed Jlme);
these poems were modeled, at least to some extent, on
revolutlonary Russlan poetry.
Jhe polltlclzed phase, however, was shortllved,
as by the tlme of the appearance of hls second volume
of poems, q (l936, Jhree Wlnters), Mlosz had
dlscovered a dlthyramblc mode of verslflcatlon as well
as esoterlc lore of mystlclsm and metaphyslcs, prlmarlly
because of the lnfluence of de Lublcz Mllosz, whom the
young poet met for the flrst tlme ln Parls ln l93l. It was
at least partly as a result of hls new conceptlon of lltera
ture and of lts soclal and cultural functlon that he
addressed ln l936 an open letter ('Llst do obrocw
kultury," A Letter to the Defenders of Culture, m I
20 |anuary l936) to hls fellow leftlsts, ln whlch he
sharply crltlclzed thelr tendency to follow Sovlet models
ln llterary actlvlty, rejected the ldea of subordlnatlng llt
erature to the goals of polltlcal struggle, stressed the
lmportance of the wrlter`s commltment to hls own self
and the phllosophlcal and metaphyslcal dlmenslons of
creatlve lndlvlduallsm, and, ln a strlklng reversal of hls
former attltude to Vladlmlr Mayakovsky, called hlm 'a
loudmouth and a poseur."
Mlosz`s readlng was qulte broad ln the decade that
followed and durlng the early years of World War II. As
far as hls rellglous ldeas of that tlme were concerned, the
most slgnlflcant lnfluence was perhaps that of Marlan
Zdzlechowskl, a profoundly pesslmlstlc Chrlstlan thlnker,
whose lectures Mlosz attended at the Lnlverslty of
Vllnlus and whose wrltlngs contrlbuted to Mlosz`s Man
lchaean tendencles. Another lmportant shaplng force of
Mlosz`s outlook were Russlan novellsts, poets, and rell
glous thlnkers such as Iyodor Dostoyevsky, Leo Jolstoy,
Vladlmlr Sergeevlch Solovèv, and Nlkolay Aleksandro
vlch Berdyayev (and later Lev Shestov).
What ls less often reallzed ls the role that Irench
llterature, and especlally the Irench novel, from
Stendhal and Honor de Balzac to Andr Glde, played
ln shaplng Mlosz`s vlews on soclety and Western cul
ture and hls convlctlon of the lnfluence of llterature on
popular and ldeologlcal bellefs. As far as poetry ls con
cerned, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whltman, Robert
Brownlng, and J. S. Ellot were lnfluences once Mlosz
learned enough Engllsh ln occupled Warsaw; he also
read modern Irench and Russlan poets, though the ear
llest and most slgnlflcant lnfluence ln terms of poetlc
language was undoubtedly the work of Adam Mlc
klewlcz, ln whlch Mlosz dlscovered, as he later put lt,
'language ln lts state of balance." Jwo contemporary
Pollsh wrlters also contrlbuted slgnlflcantly to the for
matlon of Mlosz`s lntellectual personallty. the phlloso
2l0
àw Miosz ai_ PPN
pher and novellst Stanlsaw Brzozowskl, especlally wlth
hls program of 'lntellectual deeds," and Stanlsaw
Ignacy Wltklewlcz, playwrlght, phllosopher, artlst, and
precursor of the theater of the absurd, whose deeply
pesslmlstlc vlew of the polltlcal and cultural future of
European clvlllzatlon relnforced Mlosz`s own catastro
phlst vlews.
Lpon completlon of hls studles ln l931 Mlosz
obtalned a scholarshlp from the Natlonal Culture Iund
that enabled hlm to spend a year ln Parls, where he
learned Irench and broadened hls artlstlc and lntellec
tual horlzons whlle contlnulng to learn from hls uncle.
Returnlng to Poland, he obtalned a posltlon ln the
Vllnlus Broadcastlng Statlon of the Pollsh Radlo, but he
was dlsmlssed by the end of l936 for hls polltlcal vlews
and hls attempts to promote Belorusslan culture. Wlth
the help of hls leftwlng and llberal frlends, however, he
was soon reappolnted to the Warsaw Broadcastlng Sta
tlon, where he worked untll the outbreak of World War
II. Mlosz made several lmportant new frlendshlps ln
Warsaw. wlth the foremost lyrlcal poet of the tlme,
|zef Czechowlcz; the young Cathollc novellst |erzy
Andrzejewskl; and the future leadlng crltlc, Kazlmlerz
Wyka. In addltlon, he met |arosav Iwaszklewlcz,
whose poetry played a role ln Mlosz`s later transltlon
to a more classlcal style. Mlosz also entered the clrcle
of llberal Cathollc lntellectuals connected wlth the
Laskl monastery and the perlodlcal !crbum (Word).
Jhe lnterwar years of Mlosz`s lntellectual devel
opment are portrayed most fully (though stlll selec
tlvely) ln two later works, the novel Dolivo Issy (l955;
translated as Tlc Isso !ollcy, l98l) and the essay Iodivvo
Iuropo (l959; translated as òtivc Icolm: Z Scorcl for Sclf-
Dcfivitiov, l968). Both may be descrlbed as deplctlons of
the growth of awareness. Dolivo Issy has as lts prlnclpal
theme the development of the senslblllty and metaphys
lcal awareness of a boy, Jhomas, and ls set ln the
Llthuanlan landscape among hlstorlcal memorles, local
lore, and the manners of provlnclal soclety. Iodivvo
Iuropo, overtly autoblographlcal, lncludes experlences,
observatlons, and ldeas that the poet gathered on hls
journey to Western Europe and then across redrawn
boundarles after the destructlon of Poland; lt constl
tutes an attempt, undertaken from the perspectlve of
the l950s, at a selfdeflnltlon.
A further lnslght lnto Mlosz`s early years ls
offered ln hls Iol myliwcgo (l990; translated as Z Jcor of
tlc Huvtcr, l991). Mlosz developed a llfelong sense of
radlcal allenatlon and a need to follow hls own personal
quest; thls feellng crystalllzed durlng the German occu
patlon, when lnessentlals became pared down to the
exlstentlal, human core. Such radlcal reductlonlsm,
rather than leadlng to despalr and abnegatlon, gener
ated ln Mlosz an eruptlon of creatlve and lntellectual
energy, resultlng not only ln a reorlentatlon of hls poet
lcs toward more classlcal and objectlve forms but also ln
a serles of penetratlng essays that were wrltten ln l912
and l913 but dld not appear ln thelr entlrety untll l996
as Icgcvdy vowoccsvoci: Iscjc olupocyjvc (Legends of
Modernlty. Occupatlon Essays).
Except for a stlll somewhat mysterlous journey ln
September l939 to Bucharest (where Mlosz managed
to obtaln a Llthuanlan safeconduct pass) and then
through Lkralne and Belorussla to Vllnlus, where he
stayed brlefly durlng lts lncorporatlon lnto Llthuanla
and subsequent occupatlon by Sovlet forces, Mlosz
spent the war years wlth |anlna Duska (whom he mar
rled ln l911), prlnclpally ln Warsaw. Hls experlence of
lllegally crosslng the borders dlvldlng Sovletoccupled
Llthuanla from Warsaw, an act that requlred stamlna,
lngenulty, and courage, ls memorably descrlbed ln
Iodivvo Iuropo. Once ln Warsaw, Mlosz took part ln
clandestlne llterary actlvlty. hls !icrsc (Poems, l939), a
volume appearlng under the pseudonym |an Syru, was
the flrst underground publlcatlon of lts klnd, and wlth
the help of hls frlend Andrzejewskl, he edlted an anthol
ogy of poetry slgnlflcantly tltled Iic vicpodlcgo (l912;
translated as Ivvivciblc Sovg: Z Clovdcstivc Zvtlology,
l98l). He took a crltlcal vlew of armed reslstance, how
ever, and dld not joln the underground army. He wlt
nessed the two most terrlble events of the German
occupatlon of Warsaw. the flnal destructlon of the |ew
lsh ghetto ln l913, and the long but unsuccessful uprls
lng by the Pollsh underground army ln l911, followed
by the dellberate destructlon of most of the clty by the
Germans. Mlosz managed to escape from the defeated
clty and eventually went to llberated Krakw, where he
took part ln llterary actlvlty and prepared Ucolcvic for
publlcatlon ln l915; lt was hls flrst and only volume of
poems to appear ln postwar Poland between l915 and
l980.
Mlosz`s wrltlngs of the war perlod constltute a
watershed ln hls creatlve and lntellectual development.
In wltnesslng the eruptlon of genocldal forces that
turned the lnherltors of one of the most accompllshed
cultures lnto lnstruments of mass destructlon, Mlosz
acqulred a sharp crltlcal perspectlve on clvlllzatlon ln
general and on llterature ln partlcular. In vicwolovy
umys (l953; translated as Tlc Coptivc Mivd, l953) there
ls a passage that descrlbes the nature of thls dark llluml
natlon.
^ ~ ~J
~ ~ K e ~ ~ ~ ~
~ W ~ ~
~ K q J
~~ ~ ~ K p
~ ~ ~
~ K
2ll
ai_ PPN àw Miosz
Jhe passage ls preceded by a statement of uncompro
mlslng severlty. 'Jhe work of thought should be able
to wlthstand the test of brutal, naked reallty. If lt can
not, lt ls worthless."
What preserved Mlosz from nlhlllstlc reductlon
lsm or ldeologlcal fanatlclsm (such as, for lnstance, that
of Jadeusz Borowskl or of Andrzejewskl, both of whom
after the war embraced the Communlst creed) was the
fundamentally rellglous but at the same tlme nonldeo
loglcal, hlghly lndlvlduallstlc nature of hls lntellectual
psyche. Mlosz`s wrltlngs of the perlod dlsplay a range
of theme and perspectlve, of personae and tones ln
whlch mordant and grlm feellngs are counterbalanced
by compasslon and afflrmatlon. Jhe burden, lf not the
gullt, of belng an helr to the dark slde of Western clvlll
zatlon flnds expresslon ln the complex poem 'Bledny
chrzecljanln patrzy na getto" (translated as 'A Poor
Chrlstlan Looks at the Ghetto"), whlch ls part of a cycle
tltled 'Volces of Poor People" ln l~. Jhe lnsensltlv
lty of people to the sufferlng and destructlon of thelr fel
low human belngs ls the theme of 'Campo dl Ilorl." In
several poems, notably 'W mallgnle" (In Mallgnant
Iever), 'Rwnlna" (Plaln), and 'Rzeka" (Rlver), anger
and bltterness are mlxed wlth sadness and plty as the
poet addresses the absurdlty of lnterwar Poland, the
bllndness and lrratlonallty of lts polltlcs, and the vulner
ablllty of lts lnhabltants to the cruel forces of hlstory.
Yet, the capaclty of human nature to lgnore or adapt to
the 'end of the world," the lmposslblllty of abandonlng
hope, and the ablllty to be happy and to flnd psycholog
lcal and lntellectual allbls ln the mldst of oppresslon and
naked evll are revealed ln poems that range from song
llke lyrlcs to constructs of complex personae, partlcu
larly 'Plosenka o kocu wlata" (translated as 'Song of
the End of the World"), 'Plosenka pasterska" (Shep
herds` Song), and 'Plenl Adrlana Zlellsklego" (trans
lated as 'Songs of Adrlan Zlellskl"). Jwo poems stand
out as unquestlonable masterpleces. the polgnant lyrlc
'Szedem dzlslaj przez ogrd" (translated as 'As I
walked through the shattered garden"), and the longer
cycle of poems of formal perfectlon, 'wlat (poema nalwne)"
(translated as 'Jhe World").
Mlosz`s leftwlng leanlngs underwent a severe
test after the war. Hls catastrophlst vlews predlsposed
hlm to regard Sovlet Communlsm as an lnevltable
phase, perhaps of long duratlon, ln the hlstory of the
European contlnent. Moreover, he was convlnced that
Poland needed radlcal soclal reforms. Hls close frlend
ln occupled Warsaw and ln the lmmedlate postwar
years, the Georg Wllhelm Irledrlch Hegel speclallst
Jadeusz Kroskl (called Jlger ln o~ b~),
lnfluenced Mlosz`s attltude toward Marxlsm as a far
fromspurlous theory of socletal and hlstorlcal change
and further strengthened hls dlsllke of rlghtwlng ldeol
ogles. But at the same tlme, Mlosz`s penchant for sharp
observatlon and hls sense of the value of llterature as an
autonomous mode of cultural actlvlty made hlm resls
tant to Soclallst Reallsm, whlch requlred of the wrlter
not only to become an lnstrument of Communlst Party
pollcy but also to lmpose a readymade and slmpllstlc
formula on reallty.
Mlosz`s knowledge of Sovlet reallty under Stalln
(lncludlng hls flrsthand observatlons of Sovlet Lkralne
ln the wlnter of l939-l910), the materlallsm of offlclal
Communlst doctrlne, and the gradual but unmlstakable
Sovletlzatlon of Poland, lncludlng lncreaslngly severe
restrlctlons on democratlc and lntellectual freedom,
made hlm gradually recoll from even the llmlted
approval he had lnltlally glven to the new reglme ln
Poland. Ior Mlosz, the real touchstone was poetry. lts
character, freedom, and future. He could, and dld, wrlte
journallstlc prose that he later judged harshly as an
example of the general 'descent lnto abomlnatlon"
such as a serles of feullletons ln l915 ln a m
(Pollsh Dally), edlted by |erzy Putrament, one of the
chlef cultural functlonarles of the Partybut Mlosz
could not compromlse hls poetlc prlnclples.
Jhese prlnclples, as hls l916 'Llst pprywatny o
poezjl" (A SemlPrlvate Letter Regardlng Poetry,
reprlnted ln h |Contlnents, l958|) shows, were
not merely technlcal. Poetry for Mlosz was a way both
of belng one`s own person and of trylng to grasp or
clarlfy the real; lt was also a cruclal form of socletal dls
course. In l950, after worklng ln the dlplomatlc servlce
for Poland ln Washlngton, D.C., and Parls, Mlosz real
lzed that he could no longer propltlate the cultural
apparatchlks by mlnor concesslons (such as 'translat
lng" Mao Jsetung) but would have to conform fully
and unamblguously; he declded lnstead to seek free
dom. Early ln l95l he left hls job ln the Pollsh embassy
ln Parls and sought refuge wlth the edltors of the ml
gr monthly h~I explalnlng ln an artlcle tltled 'Nle"
(No) hls reasons for breaklng wlth Communlst Poland.
Jhree books reveal the lntellectual dllemmas
Mlosz faced ln the lmmedlate postwar years and
express hls vlews on Sovlet Communlsm and the polltl
cal and ldeologlcal predlcaments of the postwar world.
Jhe flrst of them, w I ln effect launched hls
llterary career ln the West whlle maklng hlm a slgnlfl
cant moral and ldeologlcal lnfluence ln Poland. Generl
cally, lt ls best descrlbed as a mlxture of essays and
blographlcal sketches; ln addltlon to toplcal chapters, lt
lncludes 'portralts" of four Pollsh wrlters who collabo
rated wlth the Communlst reglme ln Poland. It was
lntended as a warnlng to the West (one chapter beglns,
'Are the Amerlcans really that stupld?") and an attempt
to enllghten Western lntellectuals about the true nature
of the relatlonshlp between Communlst authorltles and
2l2
àw Miosz ai_ PPN
lntellectuals and the totalltarlan character of Sovlet
Communlsm. It ls a deplctlon of the lure Communlsm
exerted on the mlnds of Pollsh lntellectuals (exempllfled
malnly by the behavlor of the Pollsh llterary commu
nlty) and the frequent 'schlzophrenla" that character
lzed thelr practlce of dlsslmulatlon or at least mental
reservatlons (whlch Mlosz called ~I borrowlng the
term from Islamlc rellglous hlstory). On a more per
sonal level, the book ls an apology for Mlosz`s own col
laboratlon ln the dlplomatlc servlce and hls 'Hegellan
stlng," whlch made hlm vlew Communlsm as a system
wllled by hlstory. Jhe book ls an eloquent and pene
tratlng document, surpasslng ln lts complexlty slmllar
accounts wrltten by Western as well as Eastern authors
who became dlslllusloned wlth Communlsm.
Jhe second book, w ~ (l955; trans
lated as q p mI l955, and as q rI
l955), although ostenslbly a novel, ls of lnterest malnly
as an lntelllgent presentatlon of the reasonlng and attl
tudes of those ln Poland who experlenced Nazl and at
tlmes Stallnlst evllpeople who had to make dlfflcult
polltlcal and moral cholces, faced wlth the defeat of the
prewar Pollsh polltlcal class (symbollzed especlally ln
the tragedy of the Warsaw Lprlslng) and the 'betrayal"
of the cause of Pollsh lndependence by the Western
powers.
Jhe thlrd book ls entlrely dlfferent ln character.
~ (l953, Dayllght) ls a falrly large volume
of poems; lt lncludes poems wrltten after Mlosz`s break
wlth the reglme as well as poems wrltten slnce l~
and mostly publlshed ln Poland. Jhe volume opens
wlth 'Do |onathana Swlfta" (Jo |onathan Swlft), whlch
bltlngly sounds the central moral and polltlcal themes
of the collectlon.
I vlslted the lands of Brobdlngnag
And stopped at the Laputan lsles.
Became acqualnted wlth the Yahoo trlbe
Whlch worshlps lts own excrement,
A denunclators` cursed race
Llvlng ln slavlsh frlght.
Jhe volume lncludes two poetlc treatlses, 'Jraktat mor
alny" (A Jreatlse on Morals) and 'Joast," prlnclpally
dlscurslve and narratlve, respectlvely. 'Dzlecl Europy"
(translated as 'Chlld of Europe") ls a masterplece of
lronlc reasonlng turned agalnst the fraudulence of
Communlst dlalectlcs. Several of the poems are about
Amerlcan themes, and there are free renderlngs of Afrl
can Amerlcan splrltuals as well as Mlosz`s own song
llke poems. Jwo poems deal wlth contemporary Pollsh
wrlters. Jhe flrst, 'Do Jadeusza Rewlcza, poety" (Jo
Jadeusz Rewlcz, Poet), reafflrms Mlosz`s vlew of the
lmportance of poetry. 'Iortunate ls the natlon that has
a poet / And ln lts toll does not walk ln sllence." Jhe
second, 'Na mler Jadeusza Borowsklego" (On the
Death of Jadeusz Borowskl), lnterprets Borowskl`s sul
clde (presented as a traglc accldent by the Communlst
authorltles) as a fllght lnto death of someone caught
between two dead ends. a reactlonary Pollsh ethos and
the 'smooth wall" of the East. 'Borowskl betrayed. He
fled where he could."
Included also are two poems wrltten durlng the
war, one of whlch ls the cycle 'wlat (poema nalwne)."
A 'song of lnnocence" wrltten ln the face of and agalnst
the horror of experlence, lt reafflrmswlth profound
nalvet and serenlty and wlth a mastery of formthe
reallty of falth, hope, and love, and the beauty of the
natural and human world.
~ ends wlth a short poem, 'Mlttel
berghelm," slgnallng a new turn ln Mlosz`s poetlc pre
occupatlons. Jhe poem, dedlcated to Stanlsaw
Vlncenz, another of Mlosz`s mentors, may be
descrlbed as the poet`s rededlcatlon to the pursult of a
quest lnflnltely more fundamental than polltlcs or ldeol
ogy. the phllosophlcal and rellglous search for the
nature of reallty. It ls a poem of the reblrth of the essen
tlal Mlosz and of the redlscovery of the concrete world
and as such should be read together wlth another poem
wrltten roughly two years later, 'Notatnlk. Bon nad
Lemanem" (A Notebook. Bon by Lake Leman), the
flnal llnes of whlch read.
And he who flnds repose,
Order and tlme eternal ln what ls,
Passes wlthout a trace. Do you agree
Jo vold what ls, and to extract from movement,
Llke a gleam from a black rlver`s water,
Jhe eternal moment? Yes.
Wlth these two poems, Mlosz`s poetlcs entered a phase
of eplphany, understood by Mlosz ln terms akln to
those of |ames |oyce, who meant by lt not only, as he
wrote ln p e (l955), a 'sudden splrltual manl
festatlon" but also the 'groplngs of a splrltual eye whlch
seeks to adjust lts vlslon to an exact focus. Jhe moment
the focus ls reached the object ls eplphanlzed."
Durlng the flrst forty years of hls llfe Mlosz was
constantly trylng to flnd hls bearlngs ln extremely com
plex sltuatlons, ln whlch personal cholces were often
tantamount to polltlcal acts and ldeologlcal declara
tlons, whlle the sphere of prlvate llfe was constantly
affected by external factors and forces. Once, however,
he had made hls declslon to break wlth the Communlst
reglme and stay ln the West, he galned, after an lnltlal
perlod of hardshlp, the ablllty to concentrate on hls llt
erary and lntellectual pursults and to deepen and reflne
hls understandlng of those forty years of experlence.
Mlosz`s postl95l llfe falls lnto three perlods. hls
stay ln Irance (l95l-l960); hls appolntment as a lec
2l3
ai_ PPN àw Miosz
turer and then professor ln the Slavlc department of the
Lnlverslty of Callfornla at Berkeley (l960-l980); and
hls postl980 years, after the award of the Nobel Prlze
ln Llterature. One of the maln problems of the Irench
perlod was Mlosz`s declslon to provlde for hlmself and
hls famlly (he and hls wlfe had two sons) by wrltlng,
whlch was not easy. Mlosz was regarded as a renegade
not only by the Communlst authorltles ln Poland
(hence the ban on the publlcatlon of hls works) but also
by a large and lnfluentlal segment of the Irench lntellec
tual mllleu, whlle the Pollsh mlgr clrcles ln the West
rejected hlm as a former collaborator of the reglme and,
ln the vlew of some, a Communlst agent. An lmportant
exceptlon to thls ostraclsm was the support offered
Mlosz by the edltor of h~I |erzy Gledroyc, and hls
closest assoclates. Gledryoc not only recognlzed
Mlosz`s talent but also provlded a conslderable portlon
of Mlosz`s earnlngs between l953 and l960 by pub
llshlng twelve books elther of Mlosz`s own wrltlngs or
of translatlons. Among these books were two of
Mlosz`s novels as well as w I ~ J
I o~ b~I h (whlch lncluded artlcles
on and translatlons of Amerlcan poets), and q~~ J
(l957, A Jreatlse on Poetry).
q~~ ls a long poem that constltutes a
transltlon between Mlosz`s polltlcal phase and hls more
essentlal preoccupatlons. Modeled to some extent on
Karl Shaplro`s b~ o (l915), the poem treats ln a
major and lntegrated manner several of Mlosz`s earller
themes, such as lnterwar Poland`s ethos and lts roots,
the meanlng of hlstory when judged by extreme human
sltuatlons, and the nature of Nature; lt also lncludes a
brllllantly sketched outllne of modern Pollsh poetry. In
a plthy poem tltled 'Preface" Mlosz formulates hls
poetlc manlfesto.
Flrst, plaln speech ln the mother tongue.
Hearlng lt, you should be able to see
Apple trees, a rlver, the bend of a road,
As lf ln a flash of summer llghtnlng.
And lt should contaln more than lmages. . . .
You often ask yourself why you feel shame
Whenever you look through a book of poetry.
As lf the author, for reasons unclear to you,
Addressed the worse slde of your nature,
Pushlng aslde thought, cheatlng thought. . . .
One clear stanza can make more welght
Jhan a whole wagon of elaborate prose.
Jhe volume that collects most of Mlosz`s poems wrlt
ten ln Irance, h m (l962, Klng Poplel
and Other Poems), lncludes a new and, for Mlosz, a
rather unusual departure. 'Album snw" (translated as
'Album of Dreams") ls ostenslbly a notebook of dreams
but ls more ln the nature of dreamllke recollectlons of
troubllng or unclear eplsodes from the author`s llfehls
only attempt, lt seems, at poetlcally engaglng the sub
consclous. Jhere are also several excellent shorter
poems, such as 'Nlc wlcej" (No More) and 'Mlstrz"
(Jhe Master), both of whlch are lronlc, melancholy, but
unapologetlc reflectlons on hls powers as a poet. Jhe
thematlcally connected 'Ballada" (Ballad) ls a movlng
medltatlon on the fate of Jadeusz Gajcy, a young rlght
wlng poet who perlshed ln the Warsaw Lprlslng, wrlt
ten from the perspectlve of hls mother. Ilnally, there are
some sklllful exerclses ln the baroque style. Jhe last
poem of the volume, 'Po zleml naszej" (translated as
'Jhroughout Our Lands"), develops further what
Aleksander Schenker descrlbes ln the lntroductlon to
r (l976, Poems) as Mlosz`s earller
attempts 'to fuse" varlous levels of language or volces
'lnto one poetlc ldlom" so that, whlle retalnlng 'thelr
dlstlnctlve characterlstlcs and fulfllllng dlstlnct styllstlc
functlons," they are 'sklllfully harmonlzed lnto one
polyphonlc whole." Jhls concludlng poem comblnes
not only varlous styles and volces but also dlfferent per
spectlves to lllumlnate a major central theme. the unl
versal fate of all human belngs, lrrespectlve of thelr
locus, tlme, culture, gender, or status. It ls also the flrst
of Mlosz`s major poems that reflects ln lts lmagery and
descrlptlons the lmpact of the Paclflc Coast on hls
poetlc mlnd.
Mlosz`s Berkeley years are often referred to as
the Callfornlan or Amerlcan phase of hls poetry.
Indeed, lmages of Callfornlan and Paclflc Coast
nature and cltles, especlally of San Iranclsco, often
blend or contrast wlth vlvldly recollected landscapes
of Llthuanla. Jhe lnterplay of the experlence of two
such dlfferent reglons enrlches not only the evocatlve
and eplphanlc powers and scope of Mlosz`s poetry
but also hls sense of the strangeness of human socl
ety and clvlllzatlon. Mlosz made hls Callfornlan
(and more broadly, North Amerlcan) experlence the
subject of a book of short essays, t~ ~ w~
p~ c~ (l969; translated as s p~ c~J
_~I l982) ln whlch, problng the meanlng of
belng ln a place, he connected hls new experlence
('What one feels faclng too large a space") to hls cen
tral preoccupatlons and already formulated vlews.
Jhe constant thematlc parallellsm between
Mlosz`s dlscurslve prose and hls poetry ls repre
sented by the poem 'Do Roblnsona |effersa" (Jo
Roblnson |effers), ln whlch the latter poet`s stark
vlslon of an unfeellng and forcedrlven unlverse ls
contrasted wlth the mllder, humanlzed Nature of 'the
Slavlc poets".
2l1
àw Miosz ai_ PPN
Jhlnllpped, blueeyed, wlthout grace or hope,
before God the Jerrlble, body of the world,
Prayers are not heard. Basalt and granlte.
Above them, a blrd of prey. Jhe only beauty. . . .
And yet you dld not know what I know. Jhe earth teaches
More than does the nakedness of elements. . . .
Better to carve suns and moons on the jolnts of crosses
as was done ln my dlstrlct. Jo blrches and flrs
glve femlnlne names. Jo lmplore protectlon
agalnst the mute and treacherous mlght
than to proclalm, as you dld, an lnhuman thlng.
However formally frultful and enrlchlng ln lmagery
and perspectlve the Callfornlan phase of Mlosz`s poetry
ls, lt cannot be descrlbed as thematlcally Amerlcan. Mlosz
observed wlth apprehenslon the turbulence of the Amerl
can scene ln the late l960s and early l970s, especlally the
transformatlons of the lntellectual cllmate; after all, Berke
ley was one of the centers of the student movement, of
counterculture, and of polltlcal, often Marxlst, dlssent.
Jhese and other developments of Amerlcan llfe occaslon
ally flnd thelr reflectlon ln Mlosz`s poetry, but they func
tlon prlnclpally as exempllflcatlons of moregeneral and
typlcally Mloszlan themes.
Mlosz also devoted conslderable tlme and effort
to acqualntlng Amerlcan readers wlth Pollsh llterature,
especlally poetry. Jhe three most lmportant publlca
tlons ln thls respect are the anthology m~ m m
(l965), whlch met wlth conslderable lnterest and
acclalm; q e m i~ (l969); and the
postNobel Harvard lectures publlshed ln l983 as q
t mI whlch gave Mlosz the opportunlty to
formulate and argue for hls own vlew of poetry. In the
early l970s Mlosz started presentlng hls poetry and
other wrltlngs to Engllshspeaklng readers, a process
that began wlth the appearance of p m (l973)
and reached lts hlgh polnt wlth the publlcatlon of q
` mI NVPNNVUT (l988), whlch desplte the tltle
ls stlll qulte selectlve. He was helped ln the task of cross
lng the barrler of Pollsh language by several of hls stu
dents at Berkeley, who translated hls prose and wlth
some of whom, as well as wlth some Amerlcan poets,
he translated hls poems, lnslstlng from roughly the mld
l970s on complete control over the translatlons of hls
poetry lnto Engllsh. He also gave many publlc readlngs,
mostly on unlverslty campuses, thus further extendlng
hls readlng publlc and the addressees of hls wrltlngs.
Jhe most lmportant aspect of Mlosz`s Callfor
nlan phase, however, ls the lntenslflcatlon of hls onto
loglcal and metaphyslcal concerns. In havlng to
resltuate hlmself, Mlosz reevaluated hls vlew of clvlll
zatlon, as lllustrated ln the poem 'Wlecl" (translated as
'Jldlngs") ln d ~~~ (l971,
Irom the Rlslng of the Sun). He also went deeper than
before lnto hls own past and that of hls culture, espe
clally ln the cycle 'Do Herakllta" (Jo Heraclltus) ln hJ
(l987, Chronlcles). He addressed wlder
anthropologlcal and phllosophlcal concerns and
lncreaslngly shed hls retlcence to reveal hls rellglous
(even theologlcal) thlnklng. In fact, the rellglous theme
becomes the domlnant and syntheslzlng framework for
older as well as newer or more overtly treated themes,
such as the erotlcas ln 'Illlna," wrltten ln l976, and
such relatlvely late poems as 'Ogrd zlemsklch rozko
szy" (translated as 'Jhe Garden of Earthly Dellghts")
and 'Annalena" from k~ ~ (l981; translated
as r~~~ b~I l986). Jhus, the Callfornlan phase
of Mlosz`s poetry extended beyond two key events ln
hls llfe. the awardlng of the Nobel Prlze, whlch trans
formed hlm, desplte hls reluctance, lnto a publlc flgure
and resulted ln extenslve publlcatlon of hls work ln
translatlon, and the collapse of Communlsm ln Poland
and ln the rest of Eastern Europe, whlch made lt possl
ble for hlm not only to spend longer perlods of tlme ln
Poland but also to vlslt hls natlve reglon ln Llthuanla.
In prose the most lmportant slngle presentatlon of
the rellglous theme ls w~ r (l977; translated as
q i~ rI l981). Its somewhat meanderlng form
ls probably dellberate, though lt no doubt also reflects
the author`s uncertalntles about hls argument and the
putatlve reactlons of hls reader. Ostenslbly a dlscusslon
of the rellglous vlews of several wrlters and thlnkers
(Mlcklewlcz, Emanuel Swedenborg, Wllllam Blake,
Dostoyevsky, de Lublcz Mllosz, Gombrowlcz, and
Shestov), lt serves as the central purpose of much of
Mlosz`s wrltlng slnce hls arrlval ln Berkeley. to create
an lntellectual space for rellglous thought outslde of
'academlc" and confesslonal theology. In poetry, of the
several volumes publlshed between l962 and the
l990s, the most lmportant ln thls respect ls d
~~~I whlch lncludes several
shorter poems on the rellglous theme as well as 'Nle
tak" (translated as 'Not thls Way"), 'Lektury" (trans
lated as 'Readlngs"), 'Oeconomla dlvlna," 'O
anloach" (translated as 'On Angels"), and the long tltle
poem, whlch dlrectly dlscloses for the flrst tlme some of
Mlosz`s longheld convlctlons.
Yet I belong to those who belleve ln ~~~~I
Jhe word promlses reverse movement,
Not the one that was set ln ~~~I
And appears ln Acts 3, 3l.
It means. restoratlon. So belleved. St. Gregory of Nyssa,
|ohannes Scotus Erlgena, Ruysbroeck, and Wllllam Blake.
For me, therefore, everythlng has a double exlstence.
Both ln tlme and when tlme shall be no more.
2l5
ai_ PPN àw Miosz
Jhe nature of Mlosz`s rellglous quest, and the
way ln whlch lt has contrlbuted to the character of hls
poetry, has been well summed up by Aleksander Ilut ln
hls study Momcvt wiccvy. Iocjo Ccsowo Mioso (l987;
translated as Tlc Itcrvol Momcvt: Tlc Ioctry of Ccsow
Mios, l990). Ilut poslts that ln hls rellglous poetry
Mlosz
trles to rebulld the Chrlstlan anthropocentrlc vlslon of
the world, at the same tlme (unllke nalve tradltlonallsts)
acknowledglng those theorles and experlences that
have undermlned lt. Jhls attempt explalns the constant
presence ln hls poetry of antlthetlcal clashes, the dlalec
tlc of opposlte ldeas, and the amblvalence of oplnlons.
all are called lnto questlon and relnterpreted. From thls
polnt of vlew, Mlosz`s poetry can be read as a herme
neutlcs of the Chrlstlan lmaglnatlon, one aware of lts
own llmltatlons.
However, lf one takes lnto account Mlosz`s later
volumes and such major poetlc restatements of the rell
glous theme as hls 'Sze wykadw wlerszem" (trans
lated as 'Slx Lectures ln Verse"), whlch pose as
problematlc the central Chrlstlan bellef ln the Resurrec
tlon, lt ls posslble to regard Mlosz`s poetlc treatment of
rellglous themes as somethlng broader than the herme
neutlcs of the Chrlstlan lmaglnatlon. as an attempt to
revlve convlnclngly rellglous lmaglnatlon altogether
whlle subjectlng lt to severe doubts and tests of experl
ence and phllosophlcal thought.
Mlosz contlnued to extend and further dlverslfy
the already wlde range of hls poetlc form. He worked
toward achlevlng the most effectlve full llne, taut or
lntonatlonally hymnlc. He wrote aphorlstlc poems, pas
sages made of unlstlchs, and whole poems wrltten ln
dlthyramblc versets, such as 'Zdanla" (translated as
'Notes") ln Hymv o pcrlc (l982, Hymn of the Pearl); the
openlng unlstlchs of another of Mlosz`s longer master
pleces, 'Guclo zaczarowany" (translated as 'Bobo`s
Metamorphosls"), ln a l965 volume of the same tltle;
and 'Na trbach l na cytrze" (translated as 'Wlth
Jrumpets and Zlthers") ln Miosto bc imicvio (l969, Clty
Wlthout a Name). He wrote short lyrlcal poems of joy,
wonder, adoratlon, and confesslon, notably the serene
'Dar" (translated as 'Glft") ln Cucio ocorowovy, the
poem of paradlslacal happlness 'Po wygnanlu" (trans
lated as 'After Paradlse") ln ìcobjto icmio, and the
humorously selfabsolvlng 'Wyznanle" (translated as
'A Confesslon") ln Irovili. He also mlxed prose and
verse ln longer poems, most notably ln 'Gdzle
wschodzl soce l kdy zapada," and composed
sequences and whole volumes, such as 'Osobny zeszyt"
(translated as Tlc Scporotc òtcbools, l981), ìcobjto
icmio, and Irovili, comprlslng hls own poems, passages
of dlscurslve prose, remlnlscences, eplgraphs (hls own
and translated), and translatlons of poems. In Iicscl
prydrovy (l997; translated as Iood-sidc Dog, l998), he
lncluded short pleces of prose, poems, and short essays,
as well as a sequence subtltled 'Jematy do odstplenla"
(Joplcs for the Jaklng). Jhe book won the Nlke Prlze,
the hlghest Pollsh llterary award.
At no polnt ln hls long llterary career has Mlosz
been lnterested ln 'mere llterature." Irom at least the
mld l930s he has trled to perfect hls language and
malntaln what he terms lts dlgnlty. He has asslduously
translated other poets, especlally those who elther sup
ported hls own vlew of poetlc speech 'as a more capa
clous form, that should not be too much llke poetry nor
too much llke prose," or helped hlm to extend and jus
tlfy the range of hls own poetlc form and style ( |ohn
Mllton, Wllllam Wordsworth, Whltman, Blalse Cen
drars, W. B. Yeats, Ellot, Constantlne Cavafy, Chlnese
poets, and some contemporary Amerlcan poets of the
objectlvlst school). He has translated rellglous texts
from the Psalms, the Book of |ob, and Eccleslastes to
the Gospel of St. Mark, the metaphyslcal wrltlngs of de
Lublcz Mllosz, and the essays of Slmone Well. Above
all, he has steered clear of vagueness as a mode of sym
bollsm, of the avantgarde tendency to transform lan
guage lnto an antlworld or pure verbal object, and of
excesslve lyrlclsm, whlch excluded or 'cheated"
thought. Ilnally, he has rejected the worshlp of poetry
as a substltute for rellglon.
Mlosz dled on l1 August 2001. Accordlng to a
spokesman for Mlosz`s famlly, there was no partlcular
cause of death; he slmply dled of old age. He was bur
led ln the Paullne sanctuary at Skaka near Krakw,
desplte some protests by natlonallst Cathollc groups.
Mlosz`s creatlve powers dld not abandon hlm
ln the last years of hls llfe. Descrlbed by a somewhat
unfrlendly crltlc ln the obltuary ln Tlc Cuordiov (l6
August 2001) as 'perhaps the lucklest Pollsh wrlter
of the last century" (a statement that certalnly contra
dlcts the poet`s own vlew of hls long, rlch, yet phllo
sophlcally and morally tormented exlstence), Mlosz
contlnued desplte hls age and lncreaslngly fraglle
health to produce works of major slgnlflcance and
excellence. Jwo collectlons ln prose of character
sketches, remlnlscences, and reflectlons, Zbccodo
Mioso (l997; translated as Mios`s ZC`s, 200l) and
Ivvc obccodo (l998), are remarkable dlstlllatlons of
memory and judgment; and the last two volumes of
poetry, To (2000, It) and Drugo prcstrc (2002; trans
lated as Sccovd Spocc: `cw Iocms, 2001) are a flttlng
summatlon both of Mlosz`s essentlally rellglous
quest, ln whlch falth, hope, doubt, ecstasy, afflrma
tlon, sober reallsm, and despalr are held ln phllo
sophlcal balance by the consclousness of thelr
lnherent contradlctlons, and of hls poetlc art. Jhelr
2l6
àw Miosz ai_ PPN
effect, as ln much of hls earller work, ls, to quote
Helen Vendler`s apt characterlzatlon of hls wrltlng,
'as though Mlosz were at once Chardln, Rem
brandt, Matlsse, Gerlcualt and Cesanne, orto turn
to poetlc analoglesas though he were from moment
to moment Clare, Whltman, Lawrence, Auden and
Marvell." But the masterplece of Mlosz`s last poetlc
phase ls the profoundly movlng elegy Urfcus i Iury-
dylo (2003; translated as Urplcus ovd Iurydicc ln the
same volume), whlch Mlosz wrote after the death of
hls much loved second wlfe, the Amerlcan Carol
Jhlgpen, whom he had marrled ln l992 (hls flrst
wlfe had dled ln l986). Mlosz`s Orpheus does not
lose Eurydlce the second tlme because he falls to
heed the lnjunctlon not to look back (as ln the orlgl
nal story); he loses her for a reason that concerns not
dlsobedlence but reallty.
Lnder hls falth a doubt sprang up
And entwlned hlm llke cold blndweed.
Lnable to weep, he wept at the loss
Of the human hope for the resurrectlon of the dead.
He was, now, llke every other mortal.
Hls lyre was sllent and ln hls dream he was defenseless.
He knew he must have falth and he could not have falth.
Jhe volume ìcobjto icmio ends wlth a short untltled
plece of poetlc prose, tagged 'BerkeleyParlsCam
brldge, Massachusetts, l98l-l983".
Jo flnd my home ln one sentence, conclse, as lf ham
mered ln metal. Not to enchant anybody. Not to earn a
lastlng name ln posterlty. An unnamed need for order,
for rhythm, for form, whlch three words are opposed to
chaos and nothlngness.
Jhe contlnuously percelved fallure to flnd such a home
led Czesaw Mlosz to generate a masslve body of work
that ranks among the most phllosophlcally penetratlng
and meanlngful poetry of the twentleth century.
iW
'Wakowlcz l Mlosz w wletle korespondencjl," Twor-
co, l0 (l98l);
Iisty, by Mlosz and Jhomas Merton, translated lnto
Pollsh by Marla Jarnowska (Krakw. Znak,
l99l);
Strivivg Towords civg: Tlc Icttcrs of Tlomos Mcrtov ovd
Ccsow Mios, edlted by Robert Iaggen (New
York. Iarrar, Straus Glroux, l997);
oro po wojvic. Iorcspovdccjo pisoromi 194-190,
edlted by |erzy Illg (Krakw. Znak, l998);
'Moj wilcvsli opicluv: Iisty do Movfrcdo Iridlo (1946-19),
edlted by Andrzej Karcz (Jorun. Lnlwersytet
Mlkolaja Kopernlka, 2005).
fW
Aleksander Ilut, Iomowy Ccsowcm Mioscm (Krakw.
Wydawnlctwo Llterackle, l98l);
Ewa Czarnecka (Renata Gorczyska), Iodrovy wioto:
Iomowy Ccsowcm Mioscm. Iomcvtorc (New
York. Blcentennlal Publlshlng, l983; expanded
edltlon, Krakw. Wydawnlctwo Llterackle,
l992);
Czarnecka and Ilut, Covvcrsotiovs witl Ccsow Mios,
translated by Rlchard Lourle (San Dlego. Har
court Brace |ovanovlch, l987);
Ilut, ed., Ccsowo Mioso outoportrct prclorvy. Iomowy
prcprowodi Z. Iiut (Krakw. Wydawnlctwo Llte
rackle, l988);
Cynthla L. Haven, ed., Ccsow Mios: Covvcrsotiovs
( |ackson. Lnlverslty Press of Mlsslsslppl, 2006).
_~W
Rlmma VolynskaBogert and Wojclech Zalewskl,
Ccsow Mios: Zv Ivtcrvotiovol ibliogroply, 19J0-
19S0 (Ann Arbor. Lnlverslty of Mlchlgan Press,
l983).
_~W
Andrzej Zawada, Mios (Wroclaw, Poland.
Wydawnlctwo Dolnolskle, l996).
oW
Lldla Banowska, Mios i Miclicwic: Iocjo wobcc trodycji
(Pozna. Wydawnlctwo Naukowe Lnlwersytetu
Adama Mlcklewlcza, 2005);
Stanlsaw Baraczak, 'Mlosz`s Poetlc Language. A
Reconnalssance," Iovguogc ovd Stylc, 1 (l985).
3l9-333;
Stanlsaw Bere, Ustotvio wilcslo plcjodo (Warsaw. PEN,
l990);
Ewa Blekowska, ! ogrodic icmslim: Isilo o Miosu
(Warsaw. Slc, 2001);
|an Bonskl, Mios jol wiot (Krakw. Znak, l998);
Bogdana Carpenter, 'Jhe Glft Returned. Czesaw
Mlosz and Amerlcan Poetry," ln Iivivg iv Trovslo-
tiov: Iolisl !ritcrs iv Zmcrico, edlted by Hallna
Stephan, Studles ln Slavlc Llterature and Poetlcs,
38 (Amsterdam New York. Rodopl, 2003), pp.
15-75;
Boena Chrzstowska, Iocjc Ccsowo Mioso (Warsaw.
Wydawnlctwo Szkolne l Pedagoglczne, l982);
Bogdan Czaykowskl, 'Irom Rhythm and Metaphyslcs
to Intonatlon, Experlence and Gnosls. Jhe
Poetry of Bolesaw Lemlan, Aleksander Wat and
Czesaw Mlosz," ln Tlc Moturc Iourcl: Issoys ov
Modcrv Iolisl Ioctry, edlted by Adam Czernlawskl
(Brldgend, Wales. Seren Books, l99l), pp. 37-87;
2l7
ai_ PPN àw Miosz
Donald Davle, Ccsow Mios ovd tlc Ivsufficicvcy of Iyric
(Knoxvllle. Lnlverslty of Jennessee Press, l986);
Davle, 'Irom the Marches of Chrlstendom. Mandel
stam and Mlosz," Soutlwcst Icvicw, 1 (l995);
Helen De Agullar, 'A Prlnce Out of Jhy Star. Jhe
Place of Czesaw Mlosz," Iorvossus: Ioctry iv
Icvicw, 2 (l983-l981). l27-l51;
|udlth A. Dompkowskl, 'Dowv o spirol stoircosc, vcvcr-
cvdivg: Motiov os Dcsigv iv tlc !ritivg of Ccsow
Mios (New York. Peter Lang, l990);
|olanta Dudek, Iuropcjslic lorcvic pocji Ccsow Mioso
(Krakw. Kslgarnla Akademlcka, l995);
Aleksander Ilut, Momcvt wiccvy. Iocjo Ccsowo Mioso
(Parls. Llbella, l987); translated by Jheodosla S.
Robertson as Tlc Itcrvol Momcvt: Tlc Ioctry of
Ccsow Mios (Berkeley. Lnlverslty of Callfornla
Press, l990);
Ilut, ! strovc Mioso (Krakw. Wydawnlctwo Llte
rackle, 2003);
Wltold Gombrowlcz, Ircciw poctom. Diolog o pocji
Ccsowcm Mioscm, edlted by Irancesco M. Cata
lucclo (Krakw. Znak, l995);
B. Grodzkl, Trodycjo i trovsgrcsjo: Ud dyslursu do outolrcocji
w cstctycc i formocl pojcmvycl Ccsowo Mioso (Lub
lln. Lnlwersytet Marll CurleSkodowsklej,
2003);
|oanna Gromek, ed., Ccsow Mios: Iv Mcmoriom
(Krakw. Znak, 2001);
K. van Heuckelom, 'Iotrc w promic od icmi odbity:
!iuolvo w pocji Ccsowo Mioso (Warsaw. Insty
tut Bada Llteracklch, 2001);
Edward Hlrsch, 'Mlosz and World Poetry," Iortisov
Icvicw, l (l999). 21-26;
Irovwood, speclal Mlosz lssue, 8 (l98l);
Boena Karwowska, 'Czesaw Mlosz`s SelfPresentatlon ln
EngllshSpeaklng Countrles," Covodiov Slovovic
Iopcrs, 3-1 (l998). 273-295;
Karwowska, Mios i rodsli: Icccpcjo lrytycvo tworcoci w
lrojocl ovglojcycvycl (Warsaw. IBL, 2000);
Elbleta Kllak, !ollo olubo Zviocm: Ccsow Mios
wobcc romovtycvoci (Warsaw. Prszyskl l Ska.,
2000);
Andrzej S. Kowalczyk, Iryys wiodomoci w cstctycc polslicj
lot 194-1977 (!ivccvStcmpowsli!ittlivMios)
(Warsaw. LNB, l990);
Irosvogrudo, speclal Mlosz lssue, l3 (200l);
|erzy Kwlatkowskl, ed., Iovowovic Mioso. Studio i slicc
o tworcoci pocty (Krakw. Wydawnlctwo Llte
rackle, l985);
Zdzlsaw aplskl, Midy polityl i mctofiyl. U pocji
Ccsowo Mioso (London. Odnowa, l98l);
Hank Lazer, 'Poetry and Jhought. Jhe Example of
Czesaw Mlosz," !irgivio _uortcrly Icvicw, 3
(l988). 119-165;
Madellne G. Levlne, 'Czesaw Mlosz. Poetry and Eth
lcs," ln her Covtcmporory Iolisl Ioctry, 192-197
(Boston. Jwayne, l98l), pp. 36-51;
Iitcroturo vo wiccic, speclal Mlosz lssue, 6 (l98l);
Ryszard Matuszewskl, Mojc spotlovio Ccsowcm
Mioscm (Krakw. Wydawnlctwo Llterackle,
2001);
Edward Moejko, ed., ctwccv Zvxicty ovd Hopc: Tlc
Ioctry ovd !ritivg of Ccsow Mios (Edmonton.
Lnlverslty of Alberta Press, l988);
Leonard Nathan and Arthur _ulnn, Tlc Ioct`s !orl: Zv
Ivtroductiov to Ccsow Mios (Cambrldge, Mass..
Harvard Lnlverslty Press, l99l);
Nlls Ake Nllsson, ed., Ccsow Mios: Z Stocllolm Covfcr-
cvcc (Stockholm. Kungl. Vltterhets Hlstorle och
Antlkvltets Akademlen, l992);
Ryszard Nycz, Sylwy wspoccsvc (Wrocaw. Zakad Naro
dowy lm. Ossollsklch, l981);
|zef Olejnlczak, Cytojc Mioso (Katowlce. Szkoa
jzyka l kultury polsklej, l997);
Iomitvil Iitcrocli, speclal Mlosz lssue, 1 (l98l);
Iortisov Icvicw, speclal Mlosz lssue, 66 (Wlnter l999);
Iocjo, speclal Mlosz lssue, 7 (l98l);
Iolovistylo, speclal Mlosz lssue, l (2005);
Alan Soldofsky, 'Nature and the Symbollc Order. Dla
logue Between Czesaw Mlosz and Roblnson |ef
fers," ln Iobivsov cffcrs: Dimcvsiovs of o Ioct, edlted
by Robert Brophy (New York. Iordham Lnlver
slty Press, l995);
A. Stanlszewskl, ed., Studio i slicc o tworcoci Ccsowo
Mioso (Olsztyn. WSP, l995);
wiot i sowo, speclal Mlosz lssue, l (2006);
|erzy Szymlk, Iroblcm tcologicvcgo wymioru dico litcrolicgo
Mioso (Katowlce. Kslgarnla w. |acka, l996);
Beata Jarnowska, Ccogrofio poctyclo w powojcvvcj tworcoci
Ccsowo Mioso (Olsztyn. WSP, l996);
Tclsty, speclal Mlosz lssue, 1-5 (l98l);
Tclsty Drugic, speclal Mlosz lssue, 3-1 (200l);
ukasz Jlschner, Sclrcty moviclcjslicl truciv: Mios wobcc
o (Krakw. Znak, 200l);
Tworco, speclal Mlosz lssue, 6 (l98l);
Jomas Venclova, 'Poetry as Atonement," Iolisl Icvicw,
1 (l986). 265-27l;
Helen Vendler, 'Czesaw Mlosz," ln her Tlc Music of
!lot Hoppcvs: Iocms, Iocts, Critics (Cambrldge,
Mass.. Harvard Lnlverslty Press, l988), pp. 209-
223;
Andrzej Wallckl, Spotlovio Mioscm (London. Aneks,
l985);
Wallckl, 'vicwolovy umys po lotocl (Warsaw. Czytelnlk,
l993);
!i, speclal Mlosz lssue, 3 (l98l);
!orld Iitcroturc Todoy, speclal Mlosz lssue, 3 (l978);
2l8
àw Miosz ai_ PPN
Kazlmlerz Wyka, 'Ogrody lunatyczne l ogrody paster
skle," qI 5 (l916). l35-l17;
|. Zach, j ~ ~~ (Krakw. Lnlversltas,
2002);
Krzysztof Zajas, j ~ (Krakw. Baran l Susz
czyskl, l997);
Marek Zaleskl, w~~W l `~~ j~
(Krakw. Wydawnlctwo Llterackle, 2005);
w i~I speclal Mlosz lssues, 75 (200l); 5
(2005); 91 (2006).
m~W
Some of Czesaw Mlosz`s papers are ln Jhe Belnecke
Rare Books and Manuscrlpts Llbrary, Yale Lnlverslty,
and ln Jhe Mlosz Instltute, Archlves and Llbrary ln
Krakw.
NVUM k m i~
m~ p
m i~ dI p ^~
Eq~~ pF
Your Majesty, Your Royal Hlghnesses, Ladles and Gen
tlemen,
Czesaw Mlosz was born ln Llthuanla and grew
up ln an envlronment ln whlch prlmltlve folk tradltlons
llved on together wlth a complex hlstorlcal herltage.
Industrlallzatlon had not made ltself felt ln earnest. Peo
ple llved ln close contact wlth a stlll unspollt nature. Jhls
culture and most of lts people no longer exlst. Jhe Nazl
terror and genoclde, war and oppresslon have wreaked
devastatlon.
Mlosz took an early lnterest ln llterature and
became one of the leadlng wrlters ln the young genera
tlon who wanted to renew poetry and who took an
actlve part ln underground freedom movements agalnst
the Nazl tyranny. As a soclallst he was attached to the
new Poland`s lntellectual ellte, becomlng ln tlme a
trusted cultural person who represented hls country
abroad. However, the polltlcal cllmate changed durlng
the cold war ln a Stallnlstlc dlrectlon. Wlth hls uncom
promlslng demand for artlstlc lntegrlty and human free
dom Mlosz could no longer support the reglme. In
l95l he left Poland and settled ln Parls as a 'free
wrlter"a term not wlthout lronlc overtones. In l960 he
moved to LSA as a lecturer on Pollsh llterature at Berke
ley Lnlverslty. Hls roots ln Poland and hls connectlons
wlth lts lntellectual llfe have, however, never been bro
ken.
Dlsruptlon and breaklng up have marked Mlosz`s
llfe from the very beglnnlng. In both an outward and an
lnward sense he ls an exlled wrltera stranger for whom
the physlcal exlle ls really a reflectlon of a metaphyslcal
or even rellglous exlle applylng to humanlty ln general.
Jhe world that Mlosz deplcts ln hls poetry and prose,
works and essays ls the world ln whlch man llves after
havlng been drlven out of paradlse. But the paradlse
from whlch he has been banlshed ls not any bleatlng
ldyll but a genulne Old Jestament Eden for better or
worse, wlth the Serpent as a rlval for supremacy. Jhe
destructlve and treacherous forces are mlngled wlth the
good and creatlve onesboth are equally true and
present.
Jhe tenslons and contrasts are typlcal of Mlosz`s
art and outlook on llfe. Accordlng to hlm one of the
wrlter`s most lmportant tasks ls 'ouvrlr a celul qul le llt
une dlmenslon qul rend làffalre de vlvre plus passlon
nante"'from galactlc sllence protect us" and show us
'how dlfflcult lt ls to remaln just one person." Jhere ls
much of the Preacher`s or Pascal`s fervour ln hlma pas
slonate strlvlng to make us lntensely aware that we are
llvlng scattered abroad and that there no paradlse but
that evll and havoc arc forces to combat. Jo look reallty
ln the face ls not to see everythlng ln darkness and glve
up ln gloom and despalr, nor ls lt to see everythlng ln
llght and to lapse lnto escaplsm and deluslon. Stlll less ls
lt to blur the contours and the focus ln favour of conve
nlence or compromlse. Jhe tenslons, the passlon, the
contraststhe dlaspora at once freely acknowledged and
enforcedarc the true meanlng of our human condltlon.
Mlosz ls a very lntellectual wrlter, tralned ln phl
losophy and llterature. Hls wrltlng ls full of volces and
references, pastlches and lronles, breaches of style and
roles. It ls polyphonlc ln lts structure.
But he ls also a very sensual wrlter. One cannot
hope to flnd the rhythmlcal qualltles and the llngulstlc
sensuousness justly reproduced ln translatlon. But the
lnherent sensuallty ls there ln full measure. Hls lmagery
has the character of surprlse that only experlence can
glvethat whlch ls experlenced ln the emplrlcal world,
the lmaglnatlon or memory. Jhe lntellectual tralt ln
Mlosz has a dlrect counterpart ln thls talent for lucldlty
and thls requlted love of the sensuous. In proxlmlty to
concrete reallty and ln human tradltlons and fellowshlp
he seeks a defence agalnst the destructlve forces that
hold sway ln the world to whlch we are dellvered
agalnst our wlll. Dlstance and presence characterlze hlm
ln llke degree. Jhe same applles to hls relatlonshlp to hls
new country, where he ls a wrlter who must be trans
lated to be understood and who ls understood and val
ued, though perhaps ln a roundabout way and ln
lncomplete reproductlons. He holds that ln fact thls ls
somethlng that concerns us all, wrlters or not.
2l9
ai_ PPN àw Miosz
Strong passlons but also strlct dlsclpllne and unerr
lng persplcaclty mark Mlosz`s work. An lmplacable fer
vour never lets hlm reconclle hlmself to man`s
powerlessness, to the tendency of language towards
trlcks of llluslon and the fallures of sympathy, to
'remorse that we dld not love the poor ashes ln Sachsen
hausen wlth absolute love, beyond human power." Jhls
fervour of hls comblnes wlth a mature and sorely trled
man`s broadmlndedness and wlth a strlvlng for selfcon
trol and a stolc or even Eplcurean herolsm. One comes
across outbursts of deflance and ragealmost
Nletzschean ln thelr frenzy agalnst the condltlons of cre
atlon whlch compel man to be nothlng but a man,
unableas the gods canto change what ls mean and
cruel. Agalnst thls are contrasted moments of calmly
clarlfled repose ln what ls merely slmple and present
mlraculously present. Hls wrltlng ls manyvolced and
dramatlc, lnslstent and provocatlve, changlng between
dlfferent moods and levels, from the eleglac to the furl
ous and from the abstract to the extremely concrete.
Czesaw Mlosz ls a dlfflcult wrlter, ln the best
sense of the wordchallenglng and demandlng, captlvat
lng not least because of hls compllcatlons.
Dear Mr. Mlosz! You have sometlmes spoken of
your language, Pollsh, as a small language of a rather
small people, unknown to most of the world. I have
trled to comment upon your llfe, vlews and experlences,
documented ln Pollsh and nourlshed on Pollsh tradl
tlons and culture. I have spoken ln a stlll smaller lan
guage, stlll less known to the rest of the world and rather
allen from Pollsh tradltlons. And I have had a very short
tlme at my dlsposal to try to descrlbe some of the experl
ences when readlng you. Now I wlll conclude ln
Engllsha language whlch ls nelther yours nor mlne
and ln a stlll shorter tlme. Of course I am not able to do
justlce to younot at all.
Jhere ls a certaln lrony ln the sltuatlonan lrony
not out of place ln thls connectlon. You have often plc
tured human condltlons as baslcally allenatedwe are
forelgners ln thls world and forelgners to one another.
But not only forelgners. Jhe Nobel Prlze to you ls also a
token and a proof of the fact that borders may be
crossed, understandlng and sympathy fostered, and anl
matlng, llvlng contacts or correspondences created. Jo
read your wrltlngs and be confronted wlth thelr chal
lenges, means to become enrlched wlth lmportant, new
experlencesln splte of all allenatlon.
It ls my great pleasure to express the heartfelt con
gratulatlons of the Swedlsh Academy and to ask you to
recelve thls year`s Nobel Prlze for Llterature from the
hands of Hls Majesty the Klng.
jW _~ p
j ~ k _~I NM a NVUMW
tlemen,
I accept thls hlghest honor on behalf of all men
and women for whom I am not so much an lndlvldual
as a volce, and someone who belongs to them. Jhey
should be lnvoked here, and they come from more
than one country. Ilrst of all, I thlnk of those who
cherlsh the Pollsh language and llterature, wherever
they llve, ln Poland or abroad; I also thlnk of my part
of Europe, the natlons sltuated between Germany and
Russla, the natlons ln whose future of freedom and
dlgnlty I belleve; and partlcularly my thoughts go to a
country where I was born, Llthuanla. Moreover, slnce
I have llved a long tlme ln exlle, I may be legltlmately
clalmed by all those who had to leave thelr natlve vll
lages and provlnces because of mlsery of persecutlon
and to adapt themselves to new ways of llfe; we are
mllllons all over the Earth, for thls ls a century of
exlle. Nelther should I bypass here my new home
country, Amerlca, where not only I found, as many
before me, hospltallty and wellrewarded work, but
also the frlendshlp of Amerlcan poets. And though the
Lnlverslty of Callfornla, where for twenty years I
have been teachlng Slavlc Llteratures, counts among
lts professors several Nobel Prlze wlnners ln sclence,
today lt ls partlcularly pleased belng able to add to
thelr number lts flrst Nobel laureate ln humanltles.
Jhere ls a paradox lnherent ln the poet`s calllng.
Savagely lndlvlduallstlc, pursulng goals whlch are vlsl
ble only to hls few lntlmate frlends, he grows accus
tomed to be branded as dlfflcult and obscure, only to
dlscover one day that hls poems constltute a llnk
between people and that he must assume, whether he
wants lt or not, a symbollc role. Llvlng a long tlme
abroad, I gradually became a poet of the young gener
atlons ln Poland, and, as I guess, my adventure has
some ausplclous features of a general lmport. Poets
and thelr readers may be separated by dlstance but lf a
splrltual unlty between them ls preserved, borders and
barrlers, whatever thelr nature, have not power. I
thlnk that we, both ln Poland and outslde, accom
pllshed an lmportant thlng by refuslng to recognlze a
dlvlslon of Pollsh llterature lnto two separate bodles,
dependlng on where a glven wrlter llves. Credlt
should here be glven to those of my colleagues who
have not been swayed by absurd doctrlnes, and to the
220
àw Miosz ai_ PPN
young who have promoted free exchange of ldeas,
whether through lectures, perlodlcals or books. Vol
umes of my poetry publlshed by thelr lndependent
presses are most preclous ltems on my bookshelves.
No lesser homage ls due to the astonlshlng energy and
perseverance of a few persons who founded abroad
lnstltutlons dedlcated to publlshlng books and perlodl
cals ln Pollsh, such as the Llterary Instltute ln Irance,
that has been actlve wlthout lnterruptlon slnce the end
of the war and has been engaged ln lssulng books
both of authors ln exlle and of those from Poland.
Such a contlnulty and unlty of a culture, malntalned ln
most unfavorable clrcumstances, speaks agalnst
romantlc moods of lrrevocablllty and nostalgla,
attached by the nlneteenth century to the notlon of
exlle.
I am a part of Pollsh llterature whlch ls relatlvely
llttle known ln the world as lt ls hardly translatable.
Comparlng lt wlth other llteratures, I have been able
to appreclate lts rlch oddlty. It ls a klnd of a secret
brotherhood wlth lts own rltes of communlon wlth the
dead, where weeplng and laughter, pathos and lrony
coexlst on an equal footlng, hlstoryorlented, always
alluslve, ln thls century, as before, lt falthfully accom
panled the people ln thelr hard trlals. Llnes of Pollsh
verse clrculated underground, were wrltten ln bar
racks of concentratlon camps and ln soldlers` tents ln
Asla, Afrlca, and Europe. Jo represent here such a llt
erature ls to feel humble before testlmonles of love and
herolc selfsacrlflce left by those who are no more. It ls
my hope that the dlstlnctlon klndly granted to me by
the Swedlsh Academy lndlrectly rewards all who
gulded my hand and whose lnvlslble presence sus
talned me ln dlfflcult moments.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l980. Czesaw Mlosz ls the
22l
jW k iI U a NVUM
I
My presence here, on thls trlbune, should be an
argument for all those who pralse llfe`s Godglven, mar
velously complex, unpredlctablllty. In my school years I
used to read volumes of a serles then publlshed ln
Polandq i~ k i~~K I remember the
shape of the letters and the color of the paper. I lmag
lned then that the Nobel laureates were wrlters, namely
persons who wrlte thlck works ln prose, and even when
I learned that there were also poets among them, for a
long tlme I could not get rld of that notlon. And cer
talnly, when, ln l930, I publlshed my flrst poems ln our
unlverslty revlew, ^~ j~ sI I dld not asplre
to the tltle of a wrlter. Also much later, by chooslng soll
tude and glvlng myself to a strange occupatlon, that ls,
to wrltlng poems ln Pollsh whlle llvlng ln Irance or
Amerlca, I trled to malntaln a certaln ldeal lmage of a
poet, who, lf he wants fame, he wants to be famous
only ln the vlllage or the town of hls blrth.
One of the Nobel laureates whom I read ln chlld
hood lnfluenced to a large extent, I belleve, my notlons
of poetry. Jhat was Selma Lagerlf. Her t
^ kI a book I loved, places the hero ln a
double role. He ls the one who flles above the Earth
and looks at lt ~ but at the same tlme sees lt ln
every detall. Jhls double vlslon may be a metaphor of
the poet`s vocatlon. I found a slmllar metaphor ln a
Latln ode of a seventeenthcentury poet, Maclej Sar
blewskl, who was once known all over Europe under
the penname of Caslmlre. He taught poetlcs at my unl
verslty. In that ode he descrlbes hls voyageon the back
of Pegasusfrom Vllno to Antwerp, where he ls golng
to vlslt hls poetfrlends. Llke Nlls Holgersson he
beholds under hlm rlvers, lakes, forests, that ls, a map,
both dlstant and yet concrete. Hence, two attrlbutes of
the poet. avldlty of the eye and the deslre to descrlbe
that whlch he sees. Yet, whoever conslders poetry as 'to
see and to descrlbe" should be aware that he engages ln
a quarrel wlth modernlty, fasclnated as lt ls wlth lnnu
merable theorles of a speclflc poetlc language.
Every poet depends upon generatlons who wrote
ln hls natlve tongue; he lnherlts styles and forms elabo
rated by those who llved before hlm. At the same tlme,
though, he feels that those old means of expresslon are
not adequate to hls own experlence. When adaptlng
hlmself, he hears an lnternal volce that warns hlm
agalnst mask and dlsgulse. But when rebelllng, he falls
ln turn lnto dependence upon hls contemporarles, varl
ous movements of the avantgarde. Alas, lt ls enough
for hlm to publlsh hls flrst volume of poems, to flnd
hlmself entrapped. Ior hardly has the prlnt drled, when
that work, whlch seemed to hlm the most personal,
appears to be enmeshed ln the style of another. Jhe
only way to counter an obscure remorse ls to contlnue
searchlng and to publlsh a new book, but then every
thlng repeats ltself, so there ls no end to that chase. And
lt may happen that leavlng books behlnd as lf they were
dry snake sklns, ln a constant escape forward from
what has been done ln the past, he recelves the Nobel
Prlze.
What ls thls enlgmatlc lmpulse that does not
allow one to settle down ln the achleved, the flnlshed? I
thlnk lt ls a quest for reallty. I glve to thls word lts nalve
and solemn meanlng, a meanlng havlng nothlng to do
wlth phllosophlcal debates of the last few centurles. It ls
the Earth as seen by Nlls from the back of the gander
and by the author of the Latln ode from the back of
Pegasus. Lndoubtedly, that Earth and her rlches can
not be exhausted by any descrlptlon. Jo make such an
assertlon means to reject ln advance a questlon we often
hear today. 'What ls reallty?", for lt ls the same as the
questlon of Pontlus Pllate. 'What ls truth?" If among
palrs of opposltes whlch we use every day, the opposl
tlon of llfe and death has such an lmportance, no less
lmportance should be ascrlbed to the opposltlons of
truth and falsehood, of reallty and llluslon.
II
Slmone Well, to whose wrltlngs I am profoundly
lndebted, says. 'Dlstance ls the soul of beauty." Yet
sometlmes keeplng dlstance ls nearly lmposslble. I am ^
` bI as the tltle of one of my poems admlts,
but that ls a bltter, sarcastlc admlsslon. I am also the
author of an autoblographlcal book whlch ln the
Irench translatlon bears the tltle r ~ bK
Lndoubtedly, there exlst two Europes and lt happens
that we, lnhabltants of the second one, were destlned to
descend lnto 'the heart of darkness of the Jwentleth
222
Miosz: Nobel Lecture, 8 December 1980 ai_ PPN
Century." I wouldn`t know how to speak about poetry
ln general. I must speak of poetry ln lts encounter wlth
pecullar clrcumstances of tlme and place. Joday, from a
perspectlve, we are able to dlstlngulsh outllnes of the
events whlch by thelr deathbearlng range surpassed all
natural dlsasters known to us, but poetry, mlne and my
contemporarles`, whether of lnherlted or avantgarde
style, was not prepared to cope wlth those catastrophes.
Llke bllnd men we groped our way and were exposed
to all the temptatlons the mlnd deluded ltself wlth ln
our tlme.
It ls not easy to dlstlngulsh reallty from llluslon,
especlally when one llves ln a perlod of the great
upheaval that began a couple of centurles ago on a
small western penlnsula of the EuroAslatlc contl
nent, only to encompass the whole planet durlng one
man`s llfetlme wlth the unlform worshlp of sclence
and technology. And lt was partlcularly dlfflcult to
oppose multlple lntellectual temptatlons ln those
areas of Europe where degenerate ldeas of domlnlon
over men, akln to the ldeas of domlnlon over Nature,
led to paroxysms of revolutlon and war at the
expense of mllllons of human belngs destroyed phys
lcally or splrltually. And yet perhaps our most pre
clous acqulsltlon ls not an understandlng of those
ldeas, whlch we touched ln thelr most tanglble shape,
but respect and gratltude for certaln thlngs whlch
protect people from lnternal dlslntegratlon and from
yleldlng to tyranny. Preclsely for that reason some
ways of llfe, some lnstltutlons became a target for the
fury of evll forces, above all, the bonds between peo
ple that exlst organlcally, as lf by themselves, sus
talned by famlly, rellglon, nelghborhood, common
herltage. In other words, all that dlsorderly, llloglcal
humanlty, so often branded as rldlculous because of
lts parochlal attachments and loyaltles. In many
countrles tradltlonal bonds of ~ have been sub
ject to a gradual eroslon and thelr lnhabltants
become dlslnherlted wlthout reallzlng lt. It ls not the
same, however, ln those areas where suddenly, ln a
sltuatlon of utter perll, a protectlve, llfeglvlng value
of such bonds reveals ltself. Jhat ls the case of my
natlve land. And I feel thls ls a proper place to men
tlon glfts recelved by myself and by my frlends ln our
part of Europe and to pronounce words of blesslng.
It ls good to be born ln a small country where
Nature was on a human scale, where varlous lan
guages and rellglons cohablted for centurles. I have
ln mlnd Llthuanla, a country of myths and of poetry.
My famlly already ln the slxteenth century spoke Pol
lsh, just as many famllles ln Ilnland spoke Swedlsh
and ln IrelandEngllsh; so I am a Pollsh, not a
Llthuanlan, poet. But the landscapes and perhaps the
splrlts of Llthuanla have never abandoned me. It ls
good ln chlldhood to hear words of Latln llturgy, to
translate Ovld ln hlgh school, to recelve a good traln
lng ln Roman Cathollc dogmatlcs and apologetlcs. It
ls a blesslng lf one recelves from fate school and unl
verslty studles ln such a clty as Vllno. A blzarre clty
of baroque archltecture transplanted to northern for
ests and of hlstory flxed ln every stone, a clty of forty
Roman Cathollc churches and of numerous syna
gogues. In those days the |ews called lt a |erusalem of
the North. Only when teachlng ln Amerlca dld I fully
reallze how much I had absorbed from the thlck
walls of our anclent unlverslty, from formulas of
Roman law learned by heart, from hlstory and lltera
ture of old Poland, both of whlch surprlse young
Amerlcans by thelr speclflc features. an lndulgent
anarchy, a humor dlsarmlng flerce quarrels, a sense
of organlc communlty, a mlstrust of any centrallzed
authorlty.
A poet who grew up ln such a world should
have been a seeker for reallty through contemplatlon.
A patrlarchal order should have been dear to hlm, a
sound of bells, an lsolatlon from pressures and the
perslstent demands of hls fellow men, sllence of a
clolster cell. If books were to llnger on a table, then
they should be those whlch deal wlth the most
lncomprehenslble quallty of Godcreated thlngs,
namely belng, the . But suddenly all thls ls
negated by demonlac dolngs of Hlstory whlch
acqulres the tralts of a bloodthlrsty Delty. Jhe Earth
whlch the poet vlewed ln hls fllght calls wlth a cry,
lndeed, out of the abyss and doesn`t allow ltself to be
vlewed ~K An lnsoluble contradlctlon
appears, a terrlbly real one, glvlng no peace of mlnd
elther day or nlght, whatever we call lt, lt ls the con
tradlctlon between belng and actlon, or, on another
level, a contradlctlon between art and solldarlty wlth
one`s fellow men. Reallty calls for a name, for words,
but lt ls unbearable and lf lt ls touched, lf lt draws
very close, the poet`s mouth cannot even utter a com
plalnt of |ob. all art proves to be nothlng compared
wlth actlon. Yet, to embrace reallty ln such a manner
that lt ls preserved ln all lts old tangle of good and
evll, of despalr and hope, ls posslble only thanks to a
dlstance, only by soarlng ~ ltbut thls ln turn
seems then a moral treason.
Such was the contradlctlon at the very core of
confllcts engendered by the twentleth century and
dlscovered by poets of an Earth polluted by the crlme
of genoclde. What are the thoughts of one of them,
who wrote a certaln number of poems whlch remaln
as a memorlal, as a testlmony? He thlnks that they
were born out of a palnful contradlctlon and that he
would prefer to have been able to resolve lt whlle
leavlng them unwrltten.
223
ai_ PPN Miosz: Nobel Lecture, 8 December 1980
III
A patron salnt of all poets ln exlle, who vlslt thelr
towns and provlnces only ln remembrance, ls always
Dante. But how has the number of Ilorences lncreased!
Jhe exlle of a poet ls today a slmple functlon of a rela
tlvely recent dlscovery. that whoever wlelds power ls
also able to control language and not only wlth the pro
hlbltlons of censorshlp, but also by changlng the mean
lng of words. A pecullar phenomenon makes lts
appearance. the language of a captlve communlty
acqulres certaln durable hablts; whole zones of reallty
cease to exlst slmply because they have no name. Jhere
ls, lt seems, a hldden llnk between theorles of llterature
as I of speech feedlng on ltself, and the growth of
the totalltarlan state. In any case, there ls no reason why
the state should not tolerate an actlvlty that conslsts of
creatlng 'experlmental" poems and prose, lf these are
concelved as autonomous systems of reference,
enclosed wlthln thelr own boundarles. Only lf we
assume that a poet constantly strlves to llberate hlmself
from borrowed styles ln search for reallty, ls he danger
ous. In a room where people unanlmously malntaln a
consplracy of sllence, one word of truth sounds llke a
plstol shot. And, alas, a temptatlon to pronounce lt, slm
llar to an acute ltchlng, becomes an obsesslon whlch
doesn`t allow one to thlnk of anythlng else. Jhat ls why
a poet chooses lnternal or external exlle. It ls not cer
taln, however, that he ls motlvated excluslvely by hls
concern wlth actuallty. He may also deslre to free hlm
self from lt and elsewhere, ln other countrles, on other
shores, to recover, at least for short moments, hls true
vocatlonwhlch ls to contemplate Belng.
Jhat hope ls lllusory, for those who come from
the 'other Europe," wherever they flnd themselves,
notlce to what extent thelr experlences lsolate them
from thelr new mllleuand thls may become the source
of a new obsesslon. Our planet that gets smaller every
year, wlth lts fantastlc prollferatlon of mass medla, ls
wltnesslng a process that escapes deflnltlon, character
lzed by a refusal to remember. Certalnly, the llllterates
of past centurles, then an enormous majorlty of man
klnd, knew llttle of the hlstory of thelr respectlve coun
trles and of thelr clvlllzatlon. In the mlnds of modern
llllterates, however, who know how to read and wrlte
and even teach ln schools and at unlversltles, hlstory ls
present but blurred, ln a state of strange confuslon;
Mollre becomes a contemporary of Napoleon, Vol
talre, a contemporary of Lenln. Also, events of the last
decades, of such prlmary lmportance that knowledge or
lgnorance of them wlll be declslve for the future of
manklnd, move away, grow pale, lose all conslstency as
lf Irederlc Nletzsche`s predlctlon of European nlhlllsm
found a llteral fulflllment. 'Jhe eye of a nlhlllst"he
wrote ln l887'ls unfalthful to hls memorles. lt allows
them to drop, to lose thelr leaves; . . . And what he does
not do for hlmself, he also does not do for the whole
past of manklnd. he lets lt drop." We are surrounded
today by flctlons about the past, contrary to common
sense and to an elementary perceptlon of good and evll.
As q i ^ q recently stated, the number of
books ln varlous languages whlch deny that the Holo
caust ever took place, that lt was lnvented by |ewlsh
propaganda, has exceeded one hundred. If such an
lnsanlty ls posslble, ls a complete loss of memory as a
permanent state of mlnd lmprobable? And would lt not
present a danger more grave than genetlc englneerlng
or polsonlng of the natural envlronment?
Ior the poet of the 'other Europe" the events
embraced by the name of the Holocaust are a reallty, so
close ln tlme that he cannot hope to llberate hlmself
from thelr remembrance unless, perhaps, by translatlng
the Psalms of Davld. He feels anxlety, though, when the
meanlng of the word Holocaust undergoes gradual
modlflcatlons, so that the word beglns to belong to the
hlstory of the |ews excluslvely, as lf among the vlctlms
there were not also mllllons of Poles, Russlans, Lkralnl
ans and prlsoners of other natlonalltles. He feels anxl
ety, for he senses ln thls a forebodlng of a not dlstant
future when hlstory wlll be reduced to what appears on
televlslon, whlle the truth, as lt ls too compllcated, wlll
be burled ln the archlves, lf not totally annlhllated.
Other facts as well, facts for hlm qulte close but dlstant
for the West, add ln hls mlnd to the credlblllty of H. G.
Wells` vlslon ln q q j~W the Earth lnhablted
by a trlbe of chlldren of the day, carefree, deprlved of
memory and, by the same token, of hlstory, wlthout
defense when confronted wlth dwellers of subterranean
caves, cannlballstlc chlldren of the nlght.
Carrled forward, as we are, by the movement of
technologlcal change, we reallze that the unlflcatlon of
our planet ls ln the maklng and we attach lmportance to
the notlon of lnternatlonal communlty. Jhe days when
the League of Natlons and the Lnlted Natlons were
founded deserve to be remembered. Lnfortunately,
those dates lose thelr slgnlflcance ln comparlson wlth
another date whlch should be lnvoked every year as a
day of mournlng, whlle lt ls hardly known to younger
generatlons. It ls the date of 23 August l939. Jwo dlcta
tors then concluded an agreement provlded wlth a
secret clause by the vlrtue of whlch they dlvlded
between themselves nelghborlng countrles possesslng
thelr own capltals, governments and parllaments. Jhat
pact not only unleashed a terrlble war; lt reestabllshed
a colonlal prlnclple, accordlng to whlch natlons are not
more than cattle, bought, sold, completely dependent
upon the wlll of thelr lnstant masters. Jhelr borders,
thelr rlght to selfdetermlnatlon, thelr passports ceased
to exlst. And lt should be a source of wonder that today
221
Miosz: Nobel Lecture, 8 December 1980 ai_ PPN
people speak ln a whlsper, wlth a flnger to thelr llps,
about how that prlnclple was applled by the dlctators
forty years ago.
Crlmes agalnst human rlghts, never confessed
and never publlcly denounced, are a polson whlch
destroys the posslblllty of a frlendshlp between natlons.
Anthologles of Pollsh poetry publlsh poems of my late
frlendsWladyslaw Sebyla and Lech Plwowar, and glve
the date of thelr deaths. l910. It ls absurd not to be able
to wrlte how they perlshed, though everybody ln
Poland knows the truth. they shared the fate of several
thousand Pollsh offlcers dlsarmed and lnterned by the
then accompllces of Hltler, and they repose ln a mass
grave. And should not the young generatlons of the
West, lf they study hlstory at all, hear about the
200,000 people kllled ln l911 ln Warsaw, a clty sen
tenced to annlhllatlon by those two accompllces?
Jhe two genocldal dlctators are no more and yet,
who knows whether they dld not galn a vlctory more
durable than those of thelr armles. In splte of the Atlan
tlc Charter, the prlnclple that natlons are objects of
trade, lf not chlps ln games of cards or dlce, has been
conflrmed by the dlvlslon of Europe lnto two zones.
Jhe absence of the three Baltlc states from the Lnlted
Natlons ls a permanent remlnder of the two dlctators`
legacy. Before the war those states belonged to the
League of Natlons but they dlsappeared from the map
of Europe as a result of the secret clause ln the agree
ment of l939.
I hope you forglve my laylng bare a memory llke
a wound. Jhls subject ls not unconnected wlth my
medltatlon on the word 'reallty," so often mlsused but
always deservlng esteem. Complalnts of peoples, pacts
more treacherous than those we read about ln Jhucy
dldes, the shape of a maple leaf, sunrlses and sunsets
over the ocean, the whole fabrlc of causes and effects,
whether we call lt Nature or Hlstory, polnts towards, I
belleve, another hldden reallty, lmpenetrable, though
exertlng a powerful attractlon that ls the central drlvlng
force of all art and sclence. Jhere are moments when lt
seems to me that I declpher the meanlng of affllctlons
whlch befell the natlons of the 'other Europe" and that
meanlng ls to make them the bearers of memoryat the
tlme when Europe, wlthout an adjectlve, and Amerlca
possess lt less and less wlth every generatlon.
It ls posslble that there ls no other memory than
the memory of wounds. At least we are so taught by the
Blble, a book of the trlbulatlons of Israel. Jhat book for
a long tlme enabled European natlons to preserve a
sense of contlnultya word not to be mlstaken for the
fashlonable term, hlstorlclty.
Durlng the thlrty years I have spent abroad I have
felt I was more prlvlleged than my Western colleagues,
whether wrlters or teachers of llterature, for events both
recent and long past took ln my mlnd a sharply delln
eated, preclse form. Western audlences confronted wlth
poems or novels wrltten ln Poland, Czechoslovakla or
Hungary, or wlth fllms produced there, posslbly lntult a
slmllarly sharpened consclousness, ln a constant strug
gle agalnst llmltatlons lmposed by censorshlp. Memory
thus ls our force, lt protects us agalnst a speech entwln
lng upon ltself llke the lvy when lt does not flnd a sup
port on a tree or a wall.
A few mlnutes ago I expressed my longlng for the
end of a contradlctlon whlch opposes the poet`s need of
dlstance to hls feellng of solldarlty wlth hls fellow men.
And yet, lf we take a fllght ~ the Earth as a meta
phor of the poet`s vocatlon, lt ls not dlfflcult to notlce
that a klnd of contradlctlon ls lmplled, even ln those
epochs when the poet ls relatlvely free from the snares
of Hlstory. Ior how to be ~ and slmultaneously to
see the Earth ln every detall? And yet, ln a precarlous
balance of opposltes, a certaln equlllbrlum can be
achleved thanks to a dlstance lntroduced by the flow of
tlme. 'Jo see" means not only to have before one`s
eyes. It may mean also to preserve ln memory. 'Jo see
and to descrlbe" may also mean to reconstruct ln lmagl
natlon. A dlstance achleved, thanks to the mystery of
tlme, must not change events, landscapes, human flg
ures lnto a tangle of shadows growlng paler and paler.
On the contrary, lt can show them ln full llght, so that
every event, every date becomes expresslve and perslsts
as an eternal remlnder of human depravlty and human
greatness. Jhose who are allve recelve a mandate from
those who are sllent forever. Jhey can fulflll thelr dutles
only by trylng to reconstruct preclsely thlngs as they
were, and by wrestlng the past from flctlons and leg
ends.
Jhus boththe Earth seen from above ln an eter
nal now and the Earth that endures ln a recovered
tlmemay serve as materlal for poetry.
IV
I would not llke to create the lmpresslon that my
mlnd ls turned toward the past, for that would not be
true. Llke all my contemporarles I have felt the pull of
despalr, of lmpendlng doom, and reproached myself for
succumblng to a nlhlllstlc temptatlon. Yet on a deeper
level, I belleve, my poetry remalned sane and, ln a dark
age, expressed a longlng for the Klngdom of Peace and
|ustlce. Jhe name of a man who taught me not to
despalr should be lnvoked here. We recelve glfts not
only from our natlve land, lts lakes and rlvers, lts tradl
tlons, but also from people, especlally lf we meet a pow
erful personallty ln our early youth. It was my good
fortune to be treated nearly as a son by my relatlve
Oscar Mllosz, a Parlslan recluse and a vlslonary. Why
he was a Irench poet, could be elucldated by the lntrl
225
ai_ PPN Miosz: Nobel Lecture, 8 December 1980
cate story of a famlly as well as of a country once called
the Grand Duchy of Llthuanla. Be that as lt may, lt was
posslble to read recently ln the Parlslan press words of
regret that the hlghest lnternatlonal dlstlnctlon had not
been awarded half a century earller to a poet bearlng
the same famlly name as my own.
I learned much from hlm. He gave me a deeper
lnslght lnto the rellglon of the Old and New Jestament
and lnculcated a need for a strlct, ascetlc hlerarchy ln all
matters of mlnd, lncludlng everythlng that pertalns to
art, where as a major sln he consldered puttlng the second
rate on the same level wlth the flrstrate. Prlmarlly,
though, I llstened to hlm as a prophet who loved peo
ple, as he says, 'wlth old love worn out by plty, lonell
ness and anger" and for that reason trled to address a
warnlng to a crazy world rushlng towards a catastro
phe. Jhat a catastrophe was lmmlnent, I heard from
hlm, but also I heard from hlm that the great conflagra
tlon he predlcted would be merely a part of a larger
drama to be played to the end.
He saw deeper causes ln an erroneous dlrectlon
taken by sclence ln the elghteenth century, a dlrectlon
whlch provoked landsllde effects. Not unllke Wllllam
Blake before hlm, he announced a New Age, a second
renalssance of lmaglnatlon now polluted by a certaln
type of sclentlflc knowledge, but, as he belleved, not by
all sclentlflc knowledge, least of all by sclence that
would be dlscovered by men of the future. And lt does
not matter to what extent I took hls predlctlons llterally.
a general orlentatlon was enough.
Oscar Mllosz, llke Wllllam Blake, drew lnsplra
tlons from the wrltlngs of Emanuel Swedenborg, a scl
entlst who, earller than anyone else, foresaw the defeat
of man, hldden ln the Newtonlan model of the Lnl
verse. When, thanks to my relatlve, I became an atten
tlve reader of Swedenborg, lnterpretlng hlm not, lt ls
true, as was common ln the Romantlc era, I dld not
lmaglne I would vlslt hls country for the flrst tlme on
such an occaslon as the present one.
Our century draws to lts close, and largely thanks
to those lnfluences I would not dare to curse lt, for lt
has also been a century of falth and hope. A profound
transformatlon, of whlch we are hardly aware, because
we are a part of lt, has been taklng place, comlng to the
surface from tlme to tlme ln phenomena that provoke
general astonlshment. Jhat transformatlon has to do,
and I use here words of Oscar Mllosz, wlth 'the deepest
secret of tolllng masses, more than ever allve, vlbrant
and tormented." Jhelr secret, an unavowed need of
true values, flnds no language to express ltself and here
not only the mass medla but also lntellectuals bear a
heavy responslblllty. But transformatlon has been golng
on, defylng short term predlctlons, and lt ls probable
that ln splte of all horrors and perlls, our tlme wlll be
judged as a necessary phase of travall before manklnd
ascends to a new awareness. Jhen a new hlerarchy of
merlts wlll emerge, and I am convlnced that Slmone
Well and Oscar Mllosz, wrlters ln whose school I obedl
ently studled, wlll recelve thelr due. I feel we should
publlcly confess our attachment to certaln names
because ln that way we deflne our posltlon more force
fully than by pronounclng the names of those to whom
we would llke to address a vlolent 'no." My hope ls
that ln thls lecture, ln splte of my meanderlng thought,
whlch ls a professlonal bad hablt of poets, my 'yes" and
'no" are clearly stated, at least as to the cholce of suc
cesslon. Ior we all who are here, both the speaker and
you who llsten, are no more than llnks between the past
and the future.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l980. Czesaw Mlosz ls the
226
c j~
(S Scptcmbcr 1SJ0 - 2 Morcl 1914)
^~ o
oylor Uvivcrsity
BOOKS. Mirio: Ioumo prouvcvou |lncludes Irench
translatlon as Mircillc | (Avlgnon. |. Roumanllle,
l859); translated by C. H. Grant as Zv Ivglisl !cr-
siov (tlc Urigivol Crowvcd by tlc Ircvcl Zcodcmy) of
Ircdcric Mistrol`s Mirio from tlc Urigivol Irovcvcol
uvdcr tlc Zutlor`s Sovctiov (Avlgnon. |. Roumanllle,
l867); translated by Hugh Crlchton as Mircllc: Z
Iostorol Ipic of Irovcvcc (London. Macmlllan,
l868);
Colcvdou, poumo vouvu: Troductiov frovoisc cv rcgord (Avl
gnon. |. Roumanllle, l867);
Iis Isclo dòr (Avlgnon. |. Roumanllle, l876); revlsed as
Ics Ilcs dòr, volume 3 of Uuvrcs dc Ircdcric Mistrol
(Parls. Lemerre, l889);
Discours dc Ircdcri Mistrol pr lùbcrturo di jo flourou dc
Mouvt-Iclic (Sovto Istcllo, 1S7S) (Avlgnon. Gros
frres, l878);
Iou Trcsor dou Iclibrigc, ou, Dictiovvoirc provcvol-frovois,
cmbrossovt lcs divcs diolcctcs dc lo lovgc dòc modcrvc, 2
volumes (AlxenProvence. Veuve Remondet
Aubln, l878, l886);
`crtc, vouvcllc provcvolc por Ircdcric Mistrol, ovcc lo troduc-
tiov frovoisc cv rcgord (Parls. Hachette, l881);
Uuvrcs dc Ircdcric Mistrol, Petlte Blbllothque Llttralre,
6 volumes, edlted by Alphonse Lemerre (Parls.
Lemerre, l886-l92l)comprlses volume l,
Mircillc (l886); volume 2, Colcvdol (l887); volume
3, Ics Ilcs dòr (l889); volume 1, `crtc (l9l0); vol
ume 5, Ics Ulivodcs (l9l2); and volume 6, Io Icivc
covvc (l92l);
Io Icivc covvc: Trogcdic provcvolc cv civq octcs ct cv vcrs
(Parls. Lemerre, l890);
Ics Sccrcts dcs ctcs (Parls. Henry Iloury, l896);
Ic Iomc du Ilvc, cv XII clovts: Tcxtc provcvol ct troductiov
frovoisc (Parls. Lemerre, l897); translated by
Maro Beath |ones as Zvglorc: Tlc Sovg of tlc Ilovc
(Claremont, Cal.. Saunders, l937);
Mouv cspclido: Mcmri c rocovtc dc Ircdcri Mistrol (Parls.
PlonNourrlt, l906); translated by Constance
Ellsabeth Maud and Alma Strettell as Mcmoirs of
Mistrol (London. Edward Arnold, l907); trans
lated by George Wlckes as Tlc Mcmoirs of Ircdcric
Mistrol (New York. New Dlrectlons, l986);
Discours c diclo dc I. Mistrol (Avlgnon. Secretarlat gen
erau du Ilourege, l906);
Ics Ulivodcs (Parls. Lemerre, l9l2);
Ixcursiov cv Itolic / Iscourrcgudo pr lÌtoli, by Mlstral and
Marle Mlstral, wlth Irench translatlon by Charles
Maurras (Parls. Cadran, l930);
c j~ NVMVI ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ee~LoJsLd f~F
227
ai_ PPN c j~
Io Ccrbc dc Mistrol o lòutcl dc Moric: Iomcs ct covtiqucs
oublics, edlted and translated by Alphonse Davld
(Parls. Bloud Gay, l930).
b ~ `W Uuvrcs ivcditcs dc Ircdcric Mis-
trol: Irosc d`Zlmovocl, edlted by Marle Mlstral,
translated by Plerre Dvoluy (Parls. Bernard
Grasset, l926);
Uuvrcs ivcditcs dc Ircdcric Mistrol: òuvcllc prosc d`Zlmovocl,
edlted by Marle Mlstral, translated by Dvoluy
(Parls. Bernard Grasset, l927);
Uuvrcs ivcditcs dc Ircdcric Mistrol. Dcrvirc prosc d`Zlmovocl,
edlted by Marle Mlstral, translated by Dvoluy
(Parls. Bernard Grasset, l930);
Uuvrcs poctiqucs compltcs, 2 volumes, edlted by Plerre
Rollet (AlxenProvence. Edlcloun Ramoun
Berengul, l966);
Icrits politiqucs, edlted by Ren |ouveau and Plerrette
Berengler (Marsellles. Proveno dàro, l989);
Mirio: Ioumo provcvou cmc lo troduciouv litcrolo c li voto,
foreword by Charles Rostalng (Berro. Lou Relarg
Berraten, l989).
b bW Mirio: Z Irovcvol Iocm, translated
by Harrlet Waters Preston (Boston. Roberts
Brothers, l872).
JRANSLAJION. Io Ccvsi, troduclo cv prouvcvou pr
Ircdcri Mistrol: Imc lou lotiv dc lo !ulgoto vis-o-vis c
lou frovcs cv dcssouto pr .-. roussov c, cv tsto, lou
rctro dou fclibrc (Parls. Llbralrle Anclenne Honor
Champlon, l9l0).
OJHER. Poems by Mlstral, ln Ic Irouvcvolo, edlted by
|oseph Roumanllle (Avlgnon. Seguln an, l852).
In hls long llfe, Irdrlc Mlstral wrote two collec
tlons of poetry, four long narratlve poems, and a play. He
also edlted two perlodlcals, created a museum, and helped
found the llterary club known as the Illbrlge, whlch stlll
exlsts. Mlstral`s alm ln all these actlvltles was to preserve
hls natlve language, Provenal, a Romance language
descended from Latln and close to Catalan. He recelved
many accolades for hls efforts, lncludlng an honorary doc
torate from the Lnlverslty of Hall ln eastern Germany ln
l889, and the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature ln l901.
Provence ls ln southeastern Irance, wlth one border
on the Medlterranean. Jhe entlre southern Irench reglon
ls often called the Mldl. 'Provenal" can refer collectlvely
to all dlalects of the Mldl, and ln thls global use ls a syn
onym of the word 'Occltan." 'Provenal" can also refer
speclflcally to the dlalect of Provence, and Mlstral asplred
to make thls dlalect the norm for the Mldl, followlng the
example of Dante, who had elevated hls own dlalect of
Itallan to llterary status, maklng lt the norm for all of Italy.
Mlstral belleved that as long as a language was belng wrlt
ten, lt could survlve, so he determlned to create a llterature
ln Provenal, beglnnlng wlth hls own works. In order to
wrlte on a llterary level ln Provenal, Mlstral almed to
replace some of the Irench borrowlngs that had entered
Provenal, as many speakers of Provenal were blllngual.
However, he dld not create an artlflclal language, or a
loiv, as Phlllppe Blanchet polnts out, because hls flrst
attempt was always to replace a borrowed Irench word
wlth a Provenal word ln current use. Mlstral`s classlcal
educatlon ln Irench, Greek, and Latln, as well as hls phllo
loglcal enqulrles, enabled hlm to make some knowledge
able borrowlngs from the other reglons of the Mldl or
from the medleval Langue dÒc, used by the troubadours
of the Mldl, or even occaslonally from Latln. As Iausta
Garavlnl comments, Mlstral transformed the Provenal of
hls day lnto 'un lnstrument llttralre dùne vlgueur et
dùne souplesse tonnantes" (a llterary lnstrument of
astonlshlng vlgor and suppleness).
IrdrlcEtlenne|oseph Mlstral was born on 8
September l830 on a farm called the Mas du |uge (the
|udge`s Iarm) near the small town of Malllane
(BouchesduRhne) ln Provence, one of the old prov
lnces lnto whlch Irance was dlvlded before l792. In hls
autoblography, Mouv cspclido: Mcmri c rocovtc dc Ircdcri
Mistrol (l906; translated as Mcmoirs of Mistrol, l907),
Mlstral descrlbes hls parents. Hls father, Iranols Mls
tral, had fought ln the revolutlonary wars. He and hls
flrst wlfe, Iranolse Lavllle, had a daughter, Marle
(born ln l80l), and a son, Louls (born ln l807). After
hls flrst wlfe`s death, Iranols Mlstral met Marguerlte
Adlade Poullnet (whlch some blographers and crltlcs
spell 'Poulllnet") ln a crowd of poor people who were
plcklng up the leavlngs ln hls wheat fleld. Her father,
the mayor of Malllane, had told hls chlldren that lf they
wanted any spendlng money, they would have to earn
lt themselves. Iranols Mlstral and Adlade Poullnet
marrled on 26 November l828, when he was flfty
seven years old and she was twentyflve. Irdrlc was
thelr only chlld.
Iranols Mlstral owned and worked the extenslve
farmlng operatlon of the Mas du |uge, lnherlted from
hls father; the work lncluded, ln season, plowlng the
land, harvestlng ollves, herdlng sheep, and gatherlng
sllkworms` cocoons. He was a mcivogic (mcvogcr ln
Irench), whlch meant, ln Mlstral`s reglon, that he
belonged to a type of farmlng arlstocracy. He was
between the bourgeols and the peasant, nelther a farm
laborer on other people`s land nor llvlng on the lncome
from the farm wlthout worklng on lt hlmself.
Mlstral`s father was a patrlarch who lnsplred
respect and affectlon. At hls table, many people were
welcomed. all the farmhands, gleaners, and shepherds,
as well as vlsltors. After dlnner, Iranols Mlstral elther
dlscussed matters of work wlth the men or read to the
228
c j~ ai_ PPN
group from one of hls three favorlte books. the New
Jestament, Jhomas a Kempls`s fourteenthcentury q
f~ Ì or Mlguel de Cervantes`s a n
(l605, l6l5).
Charles Mauron polnts out ln hls psychocrltlcal
study b ~W b j~ ~
(l989) that the creatlve slde of
Mlstral comes from hls mother and her famlly. He calls
lt the 'complexe Poulllnet . . . maglque et pauvre"
(Poulllnet complex . . . maglc and poor), the source of
the elements ln Mlstral`s work that are mysterlous, dls
organlzed, and changlng, or of the characters who
speak prophetlcally. Adlade Mlstral actually planned
to name her son 'Nostradamus," after the famous
Provenal physlclan, phllosopher, and seer. Jhe mayor
and the prlest objected to the name, so Mlstral was
named lnstead for a young cousln, VlctorIrdrlc
Devllle, who had carrled messages for Mlstral`s parents
durlng thelr courtshlp. Etlenne Poullnet, Adlade Mls
tral`s father, was also a ~ llke Iranols Mlstral.
However, unllke the Mlstrals, who worked hard, Poull
net rested from farmlng whenever the weather was too
hot or too cold. Mlstral also mentlons ln j
that hls mother sang to hlm and taught hlm the lore of
the Mldl.
In j I Mlstral descrlbes the llngulstlc
lnfluences that hls famlly had on hlm. Provenal was
dlsappearlng. Iamllles who wlshed to be consldered
bourgeols were affectlng to speak only Irench at home.
Mlstral, whose famlly never abandoned Provenal,
developed loyalty to the language early ln llfe. He
notlced that hls parents were deferentlal to any bour
geols vlsltors who spoke Irench. Asklng why they dld
not speak as hls famlly dld, he was told that lt was
because they were gentlemen. 'Eh blen! Ialsalsje alors
dùn petlt alr farouche, mol, je ne veux pas tre
" (Well then, I answered, trylng to look mean, I
don`t want to be a gentleman).
Mlstral was sent to school at the age of elght, but
he often played hooky. Jhe surroundlng area of Mall
lane offered an amazlng varlety of sltes and beautlful
scenery. Mlstral loved deeply the slghts of hls reglon,
the natural surroundlngs, and the odor of the flowers.
Because of hls frequent absences, young Mlstral was
next sent, ln l839, to the Donnat boardlng school,
housed ln the rulns of a monastery. Slnce the head
master was often out canvasslng for new students, Mls
tral and the other boarders had many opportunltles to
play out ln the mountalns.
In both schools, Mlstral was requlred to learn
Irench. He was already learnlng Latln. He saw that
farmlng llfe, as he knew lt, had been enjoyed ln much
the same form by anclent Romans. When Donnat
closed hls school, Mlstral`s parents sent thelr son, at the
age of twelve, to the Mlllet boardlng school ln Avlgnon.
Mlstral was then studylng both Latln and Greek. In
Avlgnon, Mlstral began to be lnterested ln the Republl
can Party, lnfluenced by a studyhall teacher and several
professors. Jhe boys of hls school, who were mlddle
class, made fun of Mlstral, whose Irench was not as
good as thelrs. Anselme Mathleu, who spoke
Provenal, was hls only confldant. Mlstral spent hls sec
ond year of hlgh school, l813-l811, at the boardlng
school of Mlllet. He also went twlce a day to take
classes that were more demandlng, at the Collge
Royal.
Jhe followlng year, Mlstral went to the boardlng
school of Antolne Dupuy, ln Avlgnon. Jhere he met
|oseph Roumanllle, who was a young studyhall
teacher, twelve years older than Mlstral. Roumanllle
caught Mlstral wrltlng verses ln Provenal, whlch was
agalnst school rules; but lnstead of punlshlng the youth,
Roumanllle read to hlm ln Provenal from hls own
poetry later that afternoon. Mlstral was dellghted to
hear Provenal used for noble poems. Jhe two men
remalned llfelong frlends. Mlrellle Bosqul descrlbes
how the two men studled old Provenal books and
dreamed of restorlng the Provenal language, because,
as Mlstral sald, 'j`tals ennuy de volr que notre langue
talt toujours employe en manlre de drlslon" (I was
vexed to see that our language was always used ln a
derlslve way). Mlstral also had become proflclent ln
Latln and Greek and won many prlzes as he flnlshed
hlgh school.
In l817 Mlstral, not qulte seventeen, went to
Nmes, where he took the baccalaureate examlnatlon.
He passed both the Latln dlctatlon and translatlon and
the oral examlnatlon, whlch requlred encyclopedlc
knowledge. Mlstral then returned to hls father`s farm
stead, where he began engaglng ln polltlcal actlvltles on
the Left, to hls father`s dlsmay. Mlstral`s father sent hlm
to law school, partly ln an effort to remove hlm from hls
republlcan actlvltles ln Malllane. Mlstral spent the next
three years ln the law school of the Lnlverslty of Alx
enProvence. He contlnued hls polltlcal actlvltles there
untll the Coup dÈtat of l85l, when Irance became a
republlc. Rob Lyle records that Mlstral, after much
debate, eventually chose to support the monarchlst
posltlon around l872. He also advocated federallsm, as
ln the Lnlted States or ln Swltzerland, as hls ldeal.
Whlle ln law school, Mlstral also took courses
from Louls Mry at the llterature and humanltles
branch of the unlverslty. One of hls formatlve dlscover
les was the a~ ~ ~ l ~
(l816-l818) by Slmon|ude Honnorat. He studled the
Provenal troubadours and the other Occltan dlalects.
In l85l Mlstral successfully defended hls law thesls,
then returned home. It was a pleasant tlme for hlm, as
229
ai_ PPN c j~
he enjoyed outlngs wlth hls frlends, lncludlng Alphonse
Daudet. When hls father declared that he was free to
choose hls professlon, he chose to wrlte. Mlstral had
thls optlon because hls famlly had always been wellto
do, and he was never obllged to earn hls llvlng. In the
autumn of l85l he began wrltlng Mirio: Ioumo prou-
vcvou (l859; translated, l867). When Mlstral`s father
lost hls eyeslght, Mlstral also dlrected the famlly farm.
He was good at lt, he says ln Mouv cspclido, and he
enjoyed the work.
Durlng thls perlod at home Mlstral also deter
mlned to save the Provenal language and culture. In a
l992 artlcle, Phlllppe Gardy lllustrates the precarlous
state of Provenal by thls story. a vlsltlng pastor dellv
ered a sermon ln Provenal, thlnklng to compllment hls
audlence; lnstead, they were lnsulted to hear thelr
natlve language used for somethlng as dlgnlfled as a ser
mon. Mlstral felt that a person`s natlve language ls valu
able because lt expresses a culture and therefore cannot
be replaced. Grard Jeullre cltes Mlstral`s statement
that 'Au founs dùno lengo se l soun depausa tutl lls
escaufstre, tutl ll sentlmen, tutl ll pensamen de ds,
de vlnt, de trento, de cent generacloun" (Wlthln the
depths of a language are deposlted all the frlght, all the
feellngs, all the thoughts of ten, twenty, thlrty, a hun
dred generatlons). Mlstral wanted to reverse the current
prohlbltlon agalnst speaklng Provenal on the campus
of any school. He further lntended to make Provenal
fashlonable agaln by creatlng and promotlng beautlful
poetry (and other wrltlng) ln the language. He belleved,
as blographer Charles Rostalng explalns, that as long as
a language was belng wrltten, whether by dlstlngulshed
or ordlnary authors, lt would survlve.
Meanwhlle, Mlstral`s frlend Roumanllle also had
been worklng for the cause of preservlng Provenal.
Even before meetlng Mlstral, he had been gatherlng
around hlm young wrlters who sometlmes wrote ln
Provenal. In l852 he publlshed an anthology, Ic Irou-
vcvolo, whlch lncluded poems by Mlstral. Jhls collec
tlon was a dellberate departure from the prevlous
medlocre, coarse publlcatlons ln Provenal. Rouma
nllle, collaboratlng wlth Mlstral, also developed a sys
tem of spelllng that was lntended to be as phonetlc as
posslble and appllcable to all dlalects of the Mldl. Mls
tral had grave mlsglvlngs about lt later but dld perse
vere ln uslng lt.
Roumanllle`s anthology lnsplred the ldea of large
lnformal meetlngs where poets could get acqualnted
and read thelr poems ln publlc. A group began meetlng
yearly, flrst ln l852 at Alx, then ln l853 at Arles. In
l851 some young troubadours of the Avlgnon group
declded to separate from the rest of the Provenal poets.
A determlnlng factor, accordlng to Claude Mauron,
was that the poet |eanBaptlste Gaut was lnslstlng on
publlshlng a collectlon of all the poems that had been
read at the Alx gatherlng. Mlstral trled to dlssuade hlm,
complalnlng that the Provenal language should not be
represented to the publlc by the low llterary and llnguls
tlc quallty of many of these poems, whlch were banal at
best, and often nothlng but translated Irench.
Jhe Avlgnon group, wlth lts notlons of llngulstlc
purlty and llterary quallty, was motlvated by the bellef
that the Provenal language had a future. Mlstral
explalns ln Mouv cspclido that he suggested the word
'fllbre" as a name. It occurs ln a Provenallanguage
recltatlve, or a song wlth accompanlment, ln whlch the
melody and sentence structures are close to the spoken
language. In thls song, Salnt Anselm has a vlslon of the
Vlrgln Mary, who ls telllng Chrlst of the seven sorrows
that she suffered for hlm. One of these sorrows,
recounted ln Luke 2. 16, tells of the tlme when |esus, at
the age of twelve, was separated from hls famlly after
Passover ln |erusalem. Hls famlly found the boy
engaged ln an lntellectual dlscusslon wlth the doctors of
the Law ln the Jemple ln |erusalem, 'll st fellbre de la
ll," (the seven doctors of the Law) of the song. Jhe
name 'Illbres" was adopted enthuslastlcally by those
present at the foundlng of the llterary soclety, to lndl
cate the members. 'Illbrlge" would be the name of the
group. Many artlcles have been wrltten to suggest addl
tlonal meanlngs of the word 'fllbre," lts derlvatlon, or
lts assoclatlons wlth other ldeas.
Some contemporarles dlsagreed wlth the Illbres`
bellef about the future of the Provenal language. Vlctor
Gelu, a noted songwrlter and slnger from Marsellles,
was already one of the chlef Provenal poets at the tlme
of the two poetlc congresses. He belleved that he was
one of the last poets of a dylng language. Mlstral
admlred Gelu, lnvlted hlm to joln the Illbrlge, and the
year after Gelu`s death, edlted and wrote a preface to
Gelu`s works. Gelu, however, had nothlng but scorn for
the Illbres and thelr grandlose plans to save the lan
guage from dlsappearlng. Jhe early assoclatlon
lncluded Roumanllle, Mathleu, Paul Glra, Jhodore
Aubanel, Eugne Garcln, Alphonse Javan, and Mlstral.
When, much later, ln l868, Garcln publlshed an accu
satlon of separatlsm agalnst the Illbrlge, hls name was
removed from the llst of foundlng poets and replaced by
that of |ean Brunet. Mlstral names Iont Segugne, ln
Provence, as the blrthplace of the Illbrlge. Plerre
Rollet, edltor of Mlstral`s Uuvrcs poctiqucs compltcs
(l966, Complete Poetlc Works), explalns that the Illb
rlge probably developed over tlme ln l851 but that Mls
tral, a glfted organlzer and publlclst, reallzed that the
soclety needed a preclse blrthday and llst of founders.
Soon, Aubanel suggested a famllyorlented yearly alma
nac, the Zrmovo Irouvcvou, to promote respect for the
language and to develop competent Provenal prose
230
c j~ ai_ PPN
wrltlng. Ilrst publlshed ln l855, lt was an lmmedlate
success and was stlll belng publlshed as of 2005. Jhe
Illbrlge was organlzed formally ln l862, and Mlstral
became lts flrst presldent. In l876 the Illbres reorga
nlzed thelr soclety and establlshed the 'SalnteEstelle,"
a yearly banquet and buslness meetlng of the entlre
Illbrlge. Jhese convlvlal events fostered solldarlty.
Jhe perlod of Mlstral`s llfe at hls home, the Mas
du |uge, ended when hls father dled on 1 September
l855. Iranols Mlstral had made a wlll ln l851 that
dlvlded the lnherltance between hls two sons, Louls
and Irdrlc, because he consldered that hls daughter,
Marle Ierrand (who had dled ln l83l), and her famlly
had already recelved thelr share of the lnherltance as
glfts. Lpon the patrlarch`s death, however, Ierrand`s
three chlldren demanded a sum of money from the
lnherltance, forclng the sale of the contents of the Mas
du |uge and the contents of another famlly property,
the Mas du Cavaller. Louls and Irdrlc Mlstral were
on good terms and agreed to avold a lawsult over thls
forced sale. Jhe rest of the property was dlvlded
accordlng to the wlll. Jhe Mas du |uge went to Louls
Mlstral, so Irdrlc Mlstral and hls mother left thelr
home ln a cart that was fllled wlth thelr allotted posses
slons, followed by the famlly dog.
Mlstral lnherlted two houses, along wlth several
pleces of land. One was the Mas du Cavaller, where he
never llved, and the other was a house ln Malllane,
later called 'la Malson du Lzard" (the House wlth the
Llzard), where he and hls mother llved from l855 to
l876. jI begun four years earller, was flnlshed
there, as well as Mlstral`s next two volumes.
An lmportant development for Mlstral was
obtalnlng a famous Irenchspeaklng patron for j.
Hls frlend Adolphe Dumas suggested Alphonse de
Lamartlne, and on 29 August l858 Mlstral and Dumas
went to Parls to meet the famous poet. Lamartlne was
lmpressed wlth the unpretentlous manners of the young
poet. Lamartlne could read Provenal easlly and was
amazed by j.
Lamartlne had launched ` ~ ~
(Studles ln Llterature), a serles that appeared monthly
from l856 to l869 and for whlch he was the sole con
trlbutor. He devoted hls n~~ b (Iortleth
Dlscourse), whlch appeared ln l859, to Mlstral. Lamar
tlne`s elghty pages of hlghly laudatory prose on Mlstral
and j lntroduced the young poet to the world of
Irench letters and made hlm known all over Europe.
In l859 j was publlshed ln Avlgnon, wlth a
translatlon and notes ln Irench by Mlstral. Plerre
Dvoluy, ln j~ ~ ~ (l91l,
Mlstral and the Redemptlon of a Language), contrasts
the preclslon of detall of j wlth the nebulous 'local
color" of Romantlclsm. the characters are 'en rellef sur
le paysage, semblent en sortlr, font corps avec lul, ne
sauralent en tre spars" (ln sllhouette agalnst the
countryslde, |they| seem to rlse up from lt, form one
body wlth lt, could not posslbly be separated from lt).
Lamartlne pralsed the scenes created by Mlstral. Jhe
poet`s flrsthand knowledge of a worklng farm ls
revealed ln detalls such as 'La terro, bleto e sllenclouso,
/ Planplan devans la rlho au soulu se durbl" (the
earth, crumbllng and sllent, / slowly, before the blade,
opened up to the sun). Dvoluy pralses Mlstral`s rlch
and often technlcal vocabulary for creatlng, not bore
dom, as he would have expected, but a 'fountaln of
poetry," strlngs of metaphors that Garavlnl descrlbes as
'un lacls superbe dàrabesques . . . passages tlsss de
russltes bloulssantes . . . ou le langage sènchevtre
dans ses propres meanders" (a superb network of ara
besques . . . entlre passages woven of dazzllng suc
cesses . . . ln whlch the language becomes entangled ln
lts own slnuosltles).
Jhls eplc poem ln twelve cantos narrates the lllfated
love of two young people, both flfteen years old. Mlrlo,
the daughter of a wealthy farmer, meets an ltlnerant basket
weaver, Vlncn. Jhey fall ln love, and Mlrlo rejects three
other sultors who come to propose marrlage. One of the
sultors, Ourrlas, a cowherd from the Camargue, engages
Vlncn ln combat and leaves hlm for dead. Vlncn ls
healed by the wltch Javen. When Mlrlo`s father dlscov
ers that the glrl wants to marry Vlncn, he berates her.
Angry and sorrowful, Mlrlo flees to the Church of the
Jhree Marles to pray for help. Her twoday journey takes
her across the treeless Crau, beyond the Rhone, to the
Camargue Delta. It ls the end of |une. When Mlrlo
flnally reaches the church, she ls falterlng from the heat.
Jhe salnts appear to her. Mlrlo`s parents and Vlncn
arrlve as she ls dylng.
Jhe poem has many remarkable passages, such
as the descrlptlon of the heat durlng Mlrlo`s fllght.
Lou blound dardal beluguejalre
Fal parlsse dèlssame, e dèlssame furoun,
Dèssame de guspo, que volon,
Mounton, davalon, e tremolon
Coume de lamo que sàmolon.
(Jhe sclntlllatlng blond rays of the sun
are llke swarms, furlous swarms,
swarms of wasps that fly,
rlse and descend, trembllng,
llke the blade of a knlfe that ls belng sharpened.)
Ilve edltlons of j appeared durlng Mlstral`s
llfetlme. Jhe poem recelved the Prlx Monthyon of the
Acadmle Iranalse ln l86l. jI a flveact opera ln
Irench, was based on jI wlth muslc by Charles
Gounod and the llbretto by Mlchel Carr. Jhe opera
23l
ai_ PPN c j~
gave Mirio a far larger publlc. Mirio was also adapted
by others for the theater, once wlth Irench text and
twlce ln Provenal. Jwo movles were based on Mirio,
one ln l909 and one ln l933, as well as a televlslon
adaptatlon ln l997. Alphonse Roche, ln 'Le Centenalre
de Mircillc" (l960), mentlons the worldwlde festlvltles ln
l959, whlch was the centenary of the work, and the
many translatlons of Mirio up to that date, lncludlng
German, Engllsh, Swedlsh, Russlan, Romanlan, Hun
garlan, Catalan, Czech, Danlsh, Itallan, and Spanlsh.
Accordlng to Grard Baudln, by l987 there were flfty
one translatlons.
Mlstral`s second eplc poem, Colcvdou, poumo vou-
vu, was publlshed ln l867. Jhe settlngs of thls poem
lnclude Cassls, a port town on the Medlterranean
(BouchesduRhne), StAuban (AlpesMarltlme), and
Mont Ventoux, known to the Itallan poet Petrarch. Jhe
tltle character ls a flsherman of Cassls who loves the
mysterlous Esterelle, a descendant of the great House of
Baux. She has fled from her husband, Count Svran,
upon dlscoverlng that he was the head of a band of
thleves. She llves hldden ln the mountalns. Jhe medl
eval ldeal of courtly love, a Platonlc concept, ls an
lmportant aspect of the poem. Charles Mauron explalns
thls concept. communlng wlth beauty becomes the
goal, replaclng the goal of possesslon.
Calendau (ln Irench, Calendal), trylng to lmpress
Esterelle, engages ln a serles of explolts remlnlscent of
Hercules. At flrst hls efforts are dlsastrous. he catches
all the flsh ln one part of the rlver, and he wantonly
destroys an old evergreen forest and anclent beehlves.
Esterelle`s outrage leads hlm to a more splrltual out
look. He kllls the notorlous bandlt MarcoMau and
eventually lnflltrates Svran`s camp ln order to draw
Svran lnto combat. Svran, pursulng Calendau, trles
to destroy hlm by settlng the forest on flre; but the peo
ple of Cassls, grateful for the many good deeds of Calen
dau, put out the flre, just as Svran perlshes beneath a
burnlng log. Calendau becomes mayor of Cassls and
marrles Esterelle.
In l898 an opera was made of Colcvdou, wlth
muslc by Henrl Marchal and the llbretto by Paul Ier
rler. Jo Mlstral`s great dlsappolntment, Colcvdou was
not as popular wlth the readlng publlc as Mirio. Dau
det, however, was enthuslastlc about Colcvdou. He wrote
about lt on 2l September l866, referrlng to the efforts
by the Illbrlge to preserve thelr largely rural way of
llfe and to keep Parls from further destroylng the land
scape. 'et, malntenant tracez des chemlns de fer, plantez
des poteaux a tlgraphes, chassez la langue provenale
des coles, LA PROVENCE VIVRA EJERNELLE
MENJ DANS MIREILLE EJ DANS CALENDAL"
(and now, go rlght ahead, Parls, and drlve through your
new rallway llnes, plant telegraph posts, banlsh the
Provenal language from the schools, PROVENCE
WILL LIVE EJERNALLY IN MIREILLE AND IN
CALENDAL).
Daudet was respondlng to the reglonallst, polltlcal
aspects of the poem. Colcvdou, whlch glorlfles Provence,
lncludes a passage referrlng to the Alblgenslan Crusade
of l209, whlch effectlvely destroyed the sophlstlcated
clvlllzatlon of the Mldl. Although clalmlng to extlrpate
the Cathar doctrlne, consldered heretlcal, the war was
consldered by thlrteenthcentury Cathollcs and Cathars
allke to be a polltlcal effort by the north of Irance to
destroy the Mldl. Mlstral, a Cathollc, saw lt the same
way. In the notes lncluded ln the volume, Mlstral wrote
a polnted explanatlon of thls passage. When asked by
two prlnters to delete thls note, he refused and found a
thlrd prlnter who agreed to take lt.
In Mlstral`s era, when Parlslan centrallsm was
belng vlgorously pursued, a poem such as Colcvdou
could attract susplclon as supportlng separatlsm. Later
detractors could also clte certaln poems such as 'La
Coumtesso" (l866, Jhe Countess), comparlng Provence
to a countess who ls lmprlsoned by her half slster
(Irance), and the song 'La Coupo" (Jhe Cup), com
posed ln l867 for the strongly separatlst Catalans. Mls
tral, however, always lnslsted that the Illbrlge be
polltlcally neutral, nelther a tool nor an adversary of
any natlonal reglme. Because speakers of Provenal
were a varled group, the Illbrlge made lt a polnt to
welcome members from all partles and all rellglous
leanlngs. Rgls Bertrand, ln hls preface to Slmon
Calamel and Domlnlque |avel`s Io lovguc dòc pour ctcv-
dord: Ics Iclibrcs (1S4-2002) (2002, Wlth Provenal as
Jhelr Banner. Jhe Illbrlge |l851-2002|), ldentlfles
the Illbrlge as one of the natlonal ldentlty movements
that took place all over Europe durlng the nlneteenth
century; but he quallfles the Illbrlge as peaceable, not
separatlst. Personally, also, Mlstral was never a separat
lst, although hls loyalty to the Irench Second Emplre
under Napoleon III was complex. Although he blamed
both Napoleon I and Napoleon III for tendlng to obllt
erate local cultures, he lamented the fall of Irance to
Prussla ln l870. Mlstral`s one polltlcal alm was to pro
mote for the Mldl enough autonomy to malntaln lts lln
gulstlc and cultural ldentlty. Jo thls end he leaned
toward federallsm for Irance, and even for Europe.
Mlstral looked to the lndlvldual when he explalned hls
dual loyalty to reglon and country. In a speech on 3l
March l875 at Montpelller he sald. 'Lou grand patrl
outlsme nals de lèstacamen que lòn a pr soun endr,
per sl coustumo, pr sa famlho, e ll melour sudard,
cresslou, soun pas aqull que canton e que bramon
aprs av bego. es aqull que plouron en qultant soun
oustau" (fervent patrlotlsm ls born of the attachment
that one has for hls reglon, for hls customs, for hls fam
232
c j~ ai_ PPN
lly, and the best soldlers, belleve me, are not those who
bellow songs when they are drunk; lt ls those who weep
when they leave home).
In l868 Mlstral vlslted the sanctuary of Montser
rat ln Catalonla wlth Vlctor M. Balaguer, the Catalan
polltlclan and wrlter. In l867 the Illbres had glven
Balaguer asylum durlng hls brlef exlle from Spaln. Jhe
cult of the Vlrgln Mary was lmportant to Mlstral, and
he was moved by the vlslt. Mlstral took other guests
wlth hlm, lncludlng Paul Meyer, a renowned scholar, so
that he dld not appear to be fomentlng secesslon.
Before the war of l870, the celebratlons of the
Illbres had always lncluded Catalans from Spaln, who
felt that they were unlted wlth Provence by hlstorlcal
llnks and a common language. After the war, the Ill
bres began to envlslon closer tles to other natlons on
the Medlterranean. Jhey lmaglned an lntellectual and
cultural assoclatlon wlth the 'Emplre of the Sun."
On 27 September l876 Mlstral marrled Marle
Loulse Alme Rlvlre, from Dljon. When they marrled,
Mlstral bullt a house ln Malllane near La Malson du
Lzard, where hls mother contlnued to llve. Mlstral`s
usual day was slmple but busy. He got up at 7.00 ^.j.
and went to bed at 9.00 m.j. He spent the mornlng
answerlng letters from many people, lncludlng Lamar
tlne, Daudet, and Stphane Mallarm. In the afternoon,
he and hls wlfe took a walk ln the flelds wlth thelr dogs.
As he walked, he composed hls poems. Back home, he
wrote them down. He and hls wlfe recelved vlsltors
from many countrles. Hls rare travels away from Mall
lane lncluded several vlslts to Parls and a trlp to Italy
wlth hls wlfe ln l89l. Jhe couple never had chlldren.
In l876 i f (Jhe Isles of Gold), a collec
tlon of poems by Mlstral wlth a blographlcal preface by
the author, was publlshed, wlth Mlstral`s Irench trans
latlon. Jhe tltle refers to the rocky lslands south of the
town of Hyres (Var). Jhe Nobel Prlze Commlttee par
tlcularly appreclated i f I and ln hls presentatlon
speech, C. D. af Wlrsn called Mlstral a great lyrlclst,
cltlng several poems from thls collectlon. In 'Lou Jam
bour dÀrcole (Jhe Drum of Arcole), an aged drummer
who had served Napoleon I sees a statue of hlmself as a
boy by the slde of Napoleon, placed by the golden
dome of a church. Moved by thls belated recognltlon,
the old man dles. 'La fln du Melssounl" (Jhe Dylng
Mower) portrays the stolc words of an old farmer who
ls accldentally struck by the scythe of a younger man.
In 'Roumanln" (Jhe Chteau of Roumanln), the poet,
vlsltlng at twlllght the rulns of a Provenal chteau,
speaks wlth ghosts of men and women from the medl
eval past. In 'La Coumunloun dl Sant" (Jhe Commun
lon of Salnts), the statues of four salnts watch every
evenlng as a plous young woman leaves the church,
and they propose among themselves the future they
would llke her to have. Jhls mlscellany surveys the
poet`s preoccupatlons as they evolved over tlme. Jhls
collectlon presented a great varlety of verse structures
and lyrlcal forms, whlch Charles Rostalng attrlbutes to
a dldactlc purpose. Jhe collectlon was lmmedlately suc
cessful. A revlsed edltlon appeared ln l889; Mlstral
added seventeen new poems and deleted many pleces
such as those used for toasts at speclflc occaslons.
In l88l, l892, l896, and l902, Mlstral was
lnvlted to become a candldate for the Acadmle
Iranalse. He always decllned because he would be
obllged to use Irench durlng lts meetlngs. Bosqul sug
gests that Mlstral was also avoldlng controversy wlthln
the academy. Mlstral had heard that some members
were questlonlng whether an author who dld not wrlte
ln Irench should be admltted to the Acadmle
Iranalse. Iranols Coppe and Plerre Lotl were evaslve
when lntervlewed on the subject, and Henrl Mellhac
was opposed to Mlstral`s entry, clalmlng that Provenal
was almost as forelgn to Irench as were Itallan or Span
lsh. Daudet, on the other hand, champloned Mlstral`s
candldacy, saylng Mlstral should have two seats ln the
academy. one to replace the late Emlle Llttr, because of
Mlstral`s work as a lexlcographer, and the other to
replace the late Charles MarleRen Leconte de Llsle,
because of Mlstral`s poetlc creatlons. Mauron reports
that Mlstral courteously refused, saylng that he was sat
lsfled to have two prlzes from the academy (for j
and for k |l881, Nerto|) as well as the support of
some worthy frlends. Mauron glves another reason for
Mlstral`s refusal. Mlstral, ln a remark crltlcal of the acad
emy, told a journallst that Irench letters lsolated the art
lst, holdlng hlm too far above humble people ('la posle
franalse lsole làrtlste . . . elle le tlent trop haut, trop
audessus des humbles"), but Provenal poetry, by con
trast, belng based on popular speech, obllged the poet to
remaln ln close contact wlth the common people.
i q c (Jhe Illbrlge Jreasury), Mls
tral`s monumental OccltanIrench dlctlonary that covered
language and cultural terms of all areas of the Mldl,
appeared ln l878 and l886. It ls ln two volumes of l,200
pages each and lncludes about l00,000 words. He glves
the etymologles of the words and examples of thelr use. In
the course of hls twenty years of work on lt, Mlstral made
hlmself one of the foremost phllologlsts of hls tlme. He
engaged ln constant correspondence and took lnflnlte
palns to get flrsthand lnformatlon about rare and technlcal
words from the workmen ln person. Sometlmes he sent
hls wlfe and fatherlnlaw ln search of people who could
verlfy certaln vocabulary words.
In l881 Mlstral`s thlrd eplc poem, kI was pub
llshed, wlth faclng Irench translatlon by Mlstral. k
recelved the Prlx Vltet of the Acadmle Iranalse. k
ls set ln Avlgnon when the popes llved there, between
233
ai_ PPN c j~
l391 and l121. Jhe characters are from the hlghest
strata of soclety. On hls deathbed, a father tells hls thlrteen
yearold daughter, Nerte, that after gambllng, when he
had lost everythlng, he sold her soul to the devll. Jhe
story lnvolves Nerte`s efforts to escape thls curse. Jhe
Pope advlses her to become a nun, whlch she does. A
nephew of the Pope, Rodrlgue, falls ln love wlth Nerte.
Rodrlgue has perused the occult books of the Pope`s
extenslve llbrary and ls now a crlmlnal ln league wlth
the devll. Auguste Salnt|ean polnts out that Rodrlgue`s
studles of the occult have a good aspect, because they
have also glven hlm a degree of selfknowledge, whlch
wlll eventually permlt hlm to deal wlth the dark forces
of hls own nature. When Nerte takes vows, Rodrlgue
and hls band rald the convent to capture her, causlng
mayhem. Nerte escapes. Later Rodrlgue, Nerte, and the
devll meet ln a palace bullt by the devll for Rodrlgue.
At last, Rodrlgue renounces hls pursult of Nerte. When
he holds hls sword wlth the hllt up, to resemble a cross,
the devll and the palace dlsappear ln a bolt of llghtnlng.
Rodrlgue and Nerte ascend to heaven.
In l890 i~ o g~ (_ueen |oan), a tragedy ln
flve acts, was publlshed ln Provenal verse, translated
lnto Irench by Mlstral, under the Irench tltle, i~ o
g~. _ueen |oan, a popular hlstorlcal flgure ln the
Mldl, was born ln the early l300s. She became queen
of Naples ln l313 and was also countess of Provence.
When her estranged husband was murdered ln l315,
she traveled to Provence to proclalm her lnnocence to
Pope Innocent VI. She was recelved ln Marsellles as the
ruler of Provence and won her case. Mlstral`s play ends
there, but ln the hlstorlcal account, she was later kllled
at the lnstlgatlon of her adopted son. Mlstral hlmself
consldered hls play lmposslble to stage, except for the
last two scenes, whlch mlght lend themselves to opera.
Sometlme before l896, the play recelved a dramatlc
readlng and the staglng of the flfth act. Robert Lafont
wrltes that ln l896 a serlous effort to stage the play,
wlth Paul Mounet and Duparc ln the lead roles, falled.
Rostalng notes that ln l905 Mlstral announced that he
was leavlng to others the care or the rlsk of staglng thls
play ('|e lalsse a làvenlr le soln ou le rlsque de falre
reprsenter cette plce"). However, Rostalng wrltes that
i~ o g~ was well recelved when lt was played
later, ln lts entlrety, at Nlce. (He does not glve the date.)
He explalns that after the advent of movles, the eye of
the publlc had become accustomed to a new type of
scenery; therefore Mlstral`s 'grande fresque hlstorlque"
(great hlstorlcal fresco) could flnally be played on a
stage to an appreclatlve audlence.
In l89l the ^ was founded, a llterary journal
that was publlshed three tlmes a month untll l899. It
was named for a reglonal sauce, garllc mayonnalse.
Contrlbutors were not necessarlly Illbres or from
Provence. Jhe popular ^~~ m~ had been
deslgned to appeal to those wlth a practlcal bent, who
would not have been lnterested ln readlng Mlstral`s eplc
poems. Its prose style was close to everyday language.
By l89l, however, Mlstral wanted to appeal to a wlder
audlence as well, wlth a publlcatlon that would have llt
erary appeal and help establlsh Provenal as a llterary
language both lnslde and outslde of the Mldl. As Rosta
lng polnts out, poetry does not sufflce to create thls
lmage and prove thls polnt. Many perlodlcals ln the
Provenal language had become scurrllous ln tone, con
trlbutlng to the general prejudlce that the language was
lncapable of anythlng better.
Wlth the Prlx de |ean Reynaud from the Acad
emy of Inscrlptlons for i q cI Mlstral`s
dream of creatlng a new venue was made flnanclally
posslble. Iolco, Marquls of Baroncelll|avon, was the
managlng edltor of the Î wlth Marlus Andr edltlng
the polltlcal artlcles. Slnce the hlstory and culture of the
Mldl were not taught at school, many artlcles of the
^ covered thls materlal. Rob Lyle ldentlfles a poleml
cal aspect of the magazlne, reflectlng a polltlcal rlft that
had developed wlthln the Illbrlge. Jhere was a group
of younger Illbres who, llke Mlstral, supported the
ldea of a federal form of government (as opposed to a
republlc). Lyle says that the Î run by thls group and
promotlng thelr ldeas, tralned them to be successful
journallsts 'ln the wlder press," ln Parls as well as the
provlnces.
As lt turned out, because the men produclng the
^ were young, they had famlly and professlonal
responslbllltles that competed wlth thelr journallstlc
efforts. In addltlon, Iolco de Baroncelll gradually
became more absorbed ln hls project of breedlng the
cattle and the whlte horses natlve to the Camargue,
where he had an estate. Mlstral, accordlng to Rostalng,
had to wrlte a great many artlcles for the Î even
from the start, and ln lts last years of publlcatlon he was
wrltlng nearly all the artlcles. Rostalng pralses Mlstral
for hls prose style 'vrltablement artlstlque" (truly artls
tlc), a prose 'rythme," that ls, wlth a beautlful cadence.
He also belleves that the ^ had a major role ln the
development of modern journallstlc prose ln Provence,
a prose that can be used ln debatlng ldeas. Jhe ^
was revlved between l930 and l932. Iolco de Baron
celll was the edltor ln chlef.
In l897 Mlstral`s twelvecanto i m o
(translated as ^W q p oI l937), ln
Provenal wlth the author`s Irench translatlon, was
publlshed under the Irench tltle, i m o. Jhls
work recelved the A. Ne Prlze of the Acadmle
Iranalse. Judor Edwards conslders lt Mlstral`s best
narratlve poem and by far the easlest to read. In i
m o Mlstral replaces rhyme wlth rhythm,
231
c j~ ai_ PPN
creatlng a new form that relnforces the feellng of the
movement of the water. Mallarm, the symbollst poet,
was ecstatlc about thls poem, wrltlng to Mlstral ln l897,
'mon culte pour ta dernlre oeuvre. tol seul, tèmparant
dùn des trols ou quatre thmes absolus, un fleuve qul
coule selon un llvre vlvant chantant et dbordant, sl
humaln, grave et jeune, ternel, pouvals y galer ton
lnsplratlon" (my worshlp of thls latest work of yours.
you alone, selzlng on one of the three or four funda
mental themes, a rlver that runs through the length of a
book, llvlng, slnglng, and overflowlng, so human, grave
and young, eternal, could rlse to the challenge |of thls
theme| wlth your lnsplratlon).
Rollet descrlbes Mlstral`s hablt of composlng hls
poems ln three stages. Ilrst he would research the settlng,
then superlmpose a story llne on these detalls, and flnally
add touches that create symbollc meanlng. In i m
oI the three layers are successfully meshed, and a
wlllful blurrlng of the story llne creates mystery surround
lng the ldentlty of the maln characters, the Anglore and
the Drac. In i m o the young prlnce of
Orange, bored by court llfe, flnds a sulte of barges on the
Rhne Rlver ln Lyon, lngratlates hlmself wlth the crew,
and enjoys the rlde downstream. 'Napo dàrcle, ll lnguls
algo morn / Menon la som e lèmbrlagadlsso" (Jhe steel
colored flow of farspreadlng mournful waters, / Brlngs on
sleep, almost lnebrlatlon).
Jhe captaln explalns to the prlnce that forty horses
on the shore wlll haul the traln of barges back upstream
from the falr at Beaucalre to Lyon. Jhe prlnce ls blond,
wlth green eyes and a redstrlped cloak that looks nothlng
llke anyone else`s clothes. A solltary young woman nlck
named lÀnglore, or the Llzard, who spends her days
searchlng for flecks of gold to sell, belleves that she once
saw the Drac, a sort of merman or large rlver dragon.
When she meets the prlnce, she lnstantly recognlzes hlm
as the Drac, and they become engaged. Mlstral leaves the
prlnce`s ldentlty equlvocal. Jhe prlnce explalns that after
they marry at the anclent altar of Mlthra, of whom he ls
perhaps the last survlvlng worshlper, they wlll be swal
lowed up by the waves. Jhe Anglore ls confused but
unafrald. On the return trlp, a steamboat collldes wlth the
traln of barges. Although the sallors reach the shore safely,
the barges and all the horses are lost, and the young lovers
are not seen agaln.
In l899 the Museon Arlaten (Museum of Arles) was
opened. Created by Mlstral, lt celebrated Provenal dally
llfe. In l906 thls museum of ethnography was moved to
the Htel de Laval Castellane, one of the earllest Renals
sance palaces ln the Mldl. Mlstral used hls portlon of the
Nobel Prlze money to restore thls bulldlng.
Mlstral had been nomlnated for the Nobel Prlze
ln l90l, the flrst year that the award was glven ln lltera
ture. Hls candldacy was supported by both Irench and
German scholars, headed by Edward Koschwltz, a Ger
man phllosopher, suggestlng Mlstral`s hlgh stature ln
Europe. Jhe flrst llterary Nobel Prlze, however, went to
Irench poet and phllosopher Sully Prudhomme. In
l901 Mlstral and the Spanlsh poet and playwrlght |os
Echegaray shared equally the fourth Nobel Prlze ln Llt
erature. Echegaray graclously wrote Mlstral from
Madrld on l7 December l901 that the honor of hls
own prlze was not dlmlnlshed but doubled by hls shar
lng lt wlth Mlstral.
Mlstral was selected whlle Wlrsn, the permanent
secretary of the Swedlsh Academy, was chalrman of the
Nobel Prlze Commlttee. Jhe commlttee of the Wlrsn
perlod, even though there was dlsagreement wlthln lts
ranks, was oldfashloned ln lts own tlme, rejectlng both
naturallsm and symbollsm. Wlrsn wanted the Swedlsh
Academy (of whlch the Nobel commlttee ls a part) to
be a 'bastlon . . . of llterary conservatlsm and modera
tlon." Revlslonlst crltlcs have been especlally harsh
about the flrst prlzes glven, lncludlng Mlstral`s, but the
earllest commlttees faced dauntlng problems.
Irltz Henrlksson records that Alfred Nobel wrote
hls wlll wlthout the help of lawyers; lt therefore took
several years after hls death to agree on hls lntentlons.
Even so, the varlous prlze commlttees had to work out
as best they could thelr ratlonale for chooslng the prlze
wlnners, whlle trylng to be falthful to Nobel`s wlshes.
Kjell Espmark, chalrman of the Nobel Commlttee ln
l988, explalns that the earllest perlods of the llterature
prlze dealt chlefly wlth debate over what Nobel meant
when he sald the award should go to the author of 'the
most dlstlngulshed work of an ldeallstlc tendency." Jhe
phrase has meant dlfferent thlngs to dlfferent panels of
judges. Jhe Wlrsn commlttee emphaslzed the 'ldeal
lsm" of the works and lnterpreted the term as llterally
as they could.
Wlrsn was a dlsclple of the Swedlsh phllosopher
C. |. Bostrm, whose ldeallsm derlved from Immanuel
Kant. Bostrm consldered 'the whole physlcal unl
verse . . . an optlcal llluslon," as Espmark explalns.
Jhe only true reallty was splrltual ln nature. Bostrm
concelved of a God who was above temporal reallty but
who lntervened ln lt. In Bostrm`s system, people had
free wlll and were responslble for thelr actlons. Jhere
fore, wlth the use of hls reason (as opposed to sensual
motlves), a person could strlve for everhlgher 'degrees
of consclousness ln the splrltual hlerarchy." Bostrm
belleved that government, as one of the vlslble manlfes
tatlons of a hlgher reallty, partakes of the dlvlne; a mon
arch, then, was 'superlor to all prlvate conslderatlons
and all partles." Espmark portrays thls posltlon as 'a
defense agalnst radlcal and reformlst tendencles."
An ldeology of thls sort could exclude candldates
on nonaesthetlc grounds. Espmark even holds that ln
235
ai_ PPN c j~
the Wlrsn era, the Nobel Prlze was not prlmarlly a llt
erary prlze. An author`s llfe, and the lnfluence of hls
works, had to be ln harmony wlth Bostrm`s conserva
tlve ldeas and contrlbute to humanlty`s struggle
'toward the ldeal." An athelst, for example, or a person
wlth polltlcally subverslve tendencles could well be dls
quallfled. Mlstral was always retlcent to dlscuss hls per
sonal polltlcal and rellglous bellefs, and both have glven
rlse to scholarly debate. Mlstral was not a practlclng
Cathollc, and as Claude Mauron suggests, Mlstral`s
attachment to the local salnts and rellglous legends
mlght appear unorthodox. Goyard states that Mlstral
always defended the Cathollc Church and lts mlnlsters
when they were threatened. Jhe Nobel Prlze Commlt
tee was not crltlcal of Mlstral here. As to polltlcs,
Wlrsn correctly judged that Mlstral was not a separat
lst. He pralsed Mlstral because he had 'devoted hls llfe
to an ldeal, the restoratlon and development of the splr
ltual lnterests of hls natlve country, lts language and lts
llterature." (By 'natlve country" he ls referrlng to Mls
tral`s reglon of Irance.)
Ilnally, the Wlrsn commlttee consldered llterary
quallty. Jhelr gulde was Irledrlch Jheodor Vlscher,
whose ^ (l816-l857) elaborated the aesthetlc
portlon of Bostrm`s system. Espmark descrlbes Vls
cher`s concept. 'the ldea appears ln totally vlslble
gulsethe art of Greek antlqulty and of Goethe." Jhe
author must descrlbe nature and human llfe reallstl
cally, then place lt ln the blgger plcture of a hlgher, splr
ltual reallty.
Jhe symbollsts, wlth thelr 'abstractlon and sym
bollzlng," were thus dlsfavored, because they departed
from a reallstlc plcture of nature. Jhe naturallsts were
not llked, because thelr reallsm seemed to be brutal,
sordld, and a merely 'photographlc" portrayal of llfe,
lacklng a splrltual lnterpretatlon. Polemlc authors were
also dlsfavored, because they falled to provlde a splrl
tual lnterpretatlon. Wlrsn`s commlttee looked for
'calm moderatlon" rather than engagement, and ln
style they favored 'harmonlous and balanced composl
tlon." A work also had to be clear, so as to have broad
appeal.
Mlstral`s wrltlngs flt the commlttee`s crlterla ln
several ways. Hls abundant descrlptlon and hls preclse
technlcal vocabulary fulfllled thelr deslre for reallsm ln
the descrlptlon of nature. Rollet descrlbes Mlstral`s perl
patetlc worklng hablts. when the area to be descrlbed
by the poem was new to hlm, as ln `~~ and i
m oI he pursued topographlcal, hlstorlcal,
and llngulstlc detalls by walklng and travellng all over
these areas. Ior Rollet, thls practlce shows that the natu
ral world was the basls of Mlstral`s lnsplratlon. Jhe
commlttee ln l90l llked that, pralslng Mlstral`s 'Hom
erlc graphlcness" (as revealed by Espmark`s study of
the archlves). Jhere are many 'set pleces" or 'descrlp
tlve frescoes" ln Mlstral`s work, such as hls famous por
tralt ln j of the horses of the Camargue, whlch was
slngled out for pralse by Wlrsn. Jhe commlttee found
Mlstral to have a 'sunny lmaglnatlon" that was 'out
wardturned." Jhat ls, they found that Mlstral looked
to nature and the world around hlm, rather than
lnward, for hls lnsplratlon. Jhey pralsed the 'dewfresh
and sparkllng genulneness of hls lnsplratlon," probably
respondlng to the metaphors that had transflxed
Lamartlne some forty years earller.
Mlstral`s reallsm fell short ln the eyes of the com
mlttee ln l90l, however, when lt came to understand
lng people. Jrue, they pralsed hls 'unaffected closeness
to the people," referrlng to hls cholce of characters of
humble status such as Vlncn the basketweaver; but
Mlstral, ln thelr eyes, dld not 'penetrate to the well
sprlngs of the deepest stlrrlngs of the soul." Speaklng of
jI Wlrsn sald tactfully ln hls presentatlon speech
ln l901, 'Jhe source from whlch Mlstral has drawn ls
not psychology; lt ls nature. Man hlmself ls treated
purely as a chlld of nature. Let other poets sound the
depths of the human soul." Jhus, Mlstral`s percelved
deflclency ln portraylng human llfe reallstlcally was off
set by hls sklll ln deplctlng nature, and by the beauty of
the metaphors. As to the demand for a splrltual context
ln the work, thls element also seems to have been con
sldered lacklng but offset by the salutary lnfluence of
Mlstral`s llfe and works.
Later crltlcs have opened new paths to assesslng
Mlstral`s psychologlcal acuteness. Garavlnl explalns
that Mlstral created somethlng new ln poetry when he
jolned (usually successfully) a contemporary Provence
wlth lts legendary past; the past, usually a dynamlc ele
ment ln the poem, takes on a mythlcal or even mystlcal
presence. Wlrsn wanted to see psychologlcal mecha
nlsms underlylng the lndlvldual character`s dllemmas
and cholces, an expectatlon that caused Wlrsn to fall
to see the cultural depth, or soclal ldentlty, that makes
the character what he ls, for Mlstral.
Mlstral`s way of uslng words was modern, also.
Garavlnl flnds that Mlstral partlclpated fully ln the
avantgarde poetlc movements of hls day. Ior example,
Mlstral often uses a preclse term set agalnst a fluld and
lmpreclse background, as ln jI Canto X. 'Les
cygnes, les macreuses lustres,les flamants aux alles de
feuvenalent, de la clart mourante . . . " (Jhe swans,
the lustrous scoter ducks, / the flamlngos wlth thelr
wlngs of flre / were comlng, from the dylng brlghtness
. . . ); and ln `~~I Canto II. 'Des saplns, troupes
cheveles, / qul, a làssaut des nolrtres versants, grlm
pent au nord" (Plne trees, rumpled throng, whlch,
attacklng darkenlng cllffs, cllmb northward). Jhe prl
mary and subordlnate elementsadjectlves and nouns
236
c j~ ai_ PPN
are reversed. Mlstral has been appreclated by conservatlves
such as Wlrsn and the Nobel Commlttee and, paradoxl
cally, by those who savor romantlc or symbollst elements.
In l906 Mlstral`s autoblography Mouv cspclido was
publlshed. Coverlng hls llfe from l830 to l859, lt ls full
of amuslng anecdotes. Edwards descrlbes lt as a Euro
pean classlc and posslbly Mlstral`s bestloved work.
Jhe year l909 was the flftleth annlversary of the
publlcatlon of Mirio. Jhe SalnteEstelle was celebrated
ln Arles, attended by more than seventy thousand peo
ple. Jhe threeday event was Mlstral`s apotheosls. As
Edwards explalns, 'the serles of fetes and ceremonles
was on a scale that few men of genlus, certalnly few
poets, have recelved ln thelr llfetlme." Jhere were flre
works and rodeollke demonstratlons. A bronze statue
of Mlstral by Jhodore Rlvlre was unvelled. Jhe
Museon Arlaten was offlclally opened ln lts new loca
tlon. On the same day, 30 May l909, Mlstral was pro
moted to Commander of the Irench Leglon of Honor.
Jhere was a 'Mlrellle" dance, where the women wore
the costume from thelr reglon of the Mldl. Gounod`s
opera Mircillc was performed ln the Roman arena of
Arles. Roche records that there were slmllar celebra
tlons of thls annlversary ln Rome, Athens, Bucharest,
New York, and Chlcago.
Jhe last flve years of Mlstral`s llfe were frultful. In
l9l0 hls translatlon of Genesls, the flrst book of the
Blble, was publlshed. Jhe poetry collectlon Iis Uulivodo
(Jhe Ollve Harvest) appeared ln l9l2, wlth the
author`s Irench translatlon, under the Irench tltle, Ics
Ulivodcs. Jhe poet, recognlzlng that thls book would be
hls last volume of poems, named lt after the last harvest
of the year. |acques De Caluw, ln a l969 artlcle, polnts
out the astonlshlng number of poetlc forms that Mlstral
used ln both hls collectlons. Lyle notes that Iis Uulivodo
lncludes many occaslonal poems, usually not the poet`s
best, but he appreclates certaln poems such as the son
net Mlstral wrote for hls own tomb.
In l9l3 there were many honors for Mlstral, such
as hls receptlon durlng the SalnteEstelle; a group of
students unhltched the horses of hls open carrlage and
pulled lt themselves across town. Later the same year,
Mlstral welcomed to Malllane the presldent of Irance,
Raymond Polncar. On l9 March l9l1 Mlstral went to
see the lnstallatlon of a church bell ln Malllane, on
whlch were lnscrlbed some llnes of hls poetry. It was a
cold day, and he became lll. He dled soon afterward, on
25 March. A large funeral cortege took place on 27
March. Mlstral wllled hls house, whlch he had bullt
after hls marrlage and ln whlch he had llved the rest of
hls llfe, to the clty of Malllane 'avec sa blbllothque, ses
meubles et ses souvenlrs" (wlth lts llbrary, furnlture and
memorabllla). It ls now the Museon Mlstral (Mlstral
Museum).
Jhe poet had spent all hls llfe ln the Provence that
he loved passlonately, dedlcatlng hlmself to the cultural
survlval of the entlre Mldl. As Berthe Gavalda says,
Provence was hls 'perfect dlamond," hls 'unequalled
pearl." He had won recognltlon, lncludlng the Nobel
Prlze, as well as the gratltude of the people of the Mldl.
Over tlme, the Illbrlge dld not remaln the sole
apologlst for the dlalects of the Mldl. Jhe Occltan
movement proposed a standardlzed spelllng that ls stlll
used ln addltlon to Mlstral`s. Zdravko Batzarov reports
that the Occltan movement promoted the Langdoclen
dlalect as the norm lnstead of Provenal. In l915 they
broke wlth the Illbrlge, creatlng the Instltute of Occl
tan Studles. In l951 Robert Lafont`s book Mistrol ou
lìllusiov (Mlstral or the Illuslon), whlch clalmed that
Mlstral had been an obstacle to the Occltan renals
sance, lntenslfled the rupture. In l960, however, the
two groups began to cooperate.
Mlstral`s efforts have not had all the results he
envlsloned, and the assessments of the state of the lan
guage are mlxed. Irance dld not move ln the dlrectlon
of federallsm, and Occltan ls not recognlzed as an offl
clal language ln Irance. Batzarov sees a conundrum.
those who speak Occltan do not read and wrlte lt, and
see no use for lt; and lt remalns to be seen whether
those who are learnlng to read and wrlte Occltan wlll
perslst ln speaklng lt. |ean Iourl flnds that Occltan ls ln
a precarlous posltlon, but wlth great posslbllltles. He
belleves that lts future depends on contlnulng efforts ln
educatlon and on uslng the medla to promote lt. Muslc
such as reggae uses Occltan frequently and ls one of the
most lmportant medlums for preservlng lt. Jhe Illbres
appealed to the central authorltles repeatedly to repeal
the banlshment of Occltan from the schools. Slnce the
Delxonne law of l953, Occltan has been offered as an
electlve subject at all levels. Nonofflclal blllngual
schools also teach Occltan. Jhe Illbrlge lald an endur
lng groundwork for success ln future movements of
reglonal ldentlty.
Irom a llterary polnt of vlew, Irdrlc Mlstral
and the Illbrlge have had endurlng results. Roche says
that slnce the publlcatlon of Mirio, reglonal llteratures
have been consldered as part of the natlonal patrlmony.
If one belleves, wlth Mlstral, that a language wlll sur
vlve as long as lt ls belng wrltten, the results are encour
aglng. A large and contlnulng scholarly output, much
of lt wrltten ln Occltan, as well as llterary creatlons ln
Occltan, suggest that Mlstral and the Illbrlge succeeded.
iW
Mistrol ct !olcvtivc Iostovd: Corrcspovdovcc ivcditc, edlted by
Plerre Rollet (AlxEnProvence; Parls, l972);
Corrcspovdovcc dc Ircdcric Mistrol ovcc Ioul Mcycr ct Costov
Ioris, edlted by |ean Boutlre (Parls. Dldler, l978);
237
ai_ PPN c j~
Histoirc dÙvc Zmitic: Corrcspovdovcc Ivcditc Ivtrc Zlplovsc
Doudct ct Ircdcric Mistrol, 1S60-1S97, edlted by
|acquesHenry Bornecque (Parls. |ulllard, l979);
Corrcspovdovcc, Ircdcric MistrolIicrrc Dcvoluy (1S9-
191J), edlted by Charles Rostalng (Nmes.
Imprlmerle Bene, l981).
_~W
Edmond Lefvre, ibliogroplic Mistrolicvvc (Marsellles.
Edltlon de lÌdlo Prouvenalo, l903);
Georges G. Place, Ircdcric Mistrol EParls. Chronlque des
Lettres franalses, l970).
_~W
Charles Alfred Downer, Ircdcric Mistrol, Ioct ovd Icodcr
iv Irovcvcc (New York. Columbla Lnlverslty
Press, l90l);
Marlus Andr, Io vic lormovicusc dc Mistrol (Parls. Plon,
l928);
Alfred Dagan, Ircdcric Mistrol: So vic ct sov ocuvrc, 1SJ0-
1914 (Avlgnon. Aubanel Pre, l930);
Judor Edwards, Tlc Iiov of Zrlcs: Z Iortroit of Mistrol ovd
His Circlc (New York. Iordham Lnlverslty Press,
l961);
|oachlm Durand, Io !ic ct lòcuvrc dc Ircdcric Mistrol
(Nmes. |. Durand, l971);
Charles Rostalng, Ircdcric Mistrol: I`Hommc rcvclc por scs
ocuvrcs (Marsellles. |. Laffltte, l987);
Claude Mauron, Ircdcric Mistrol (Parls. Iayard, l993);
|eanYves Casanova, Ircdcric Mistrol: IÌvfovt, lo mort ct lcs
rcvcs (Canet. Jrabucalre, 2001).
oW
Rlchard Aldlngton, Ivtroductiov to Mistrol (London. Hel
nemann, l956; Carbondale. Southern Illlnols
Lnlverslty Press, l960);
Zdravko Batzarov, 'Occltan Language. General Over
vlew," Urbis Iotivus http.//www.orbllat.com/
Languages/Occltan/Occltan.html`;
Grard Baudln, Moussu Ircdcri, ou, Cliclcs dùv potc
(Marsellles. Paul Jacussel, l987);
Phlllppe Blanchet, 'Le Parler de Irdrlc Mlstral.
Etude des traces dlalectales dans ses premlers
ecrlts," Iou Irouvcvou o lÌscolo, ll2 (l987). 6-9;
Pllar Blanco Garcla, 'La Presence de lèau dans lòuvre
de I. Mlstral, Mirio," Io Irovcc lotivc, l06 (l988).
l35-l5l;
Mlrellle Bosqul, Mistrol, Lleux et flgures du Sud (Mar
guerlttes. Equlnoxe, l991);
Slmon Calamel and Domlnlque |avel, Io lovguc dòc pour
ctcvdord: Ics Iclibrcs (1S4-2002), Hommes et
Communauts (Joulouse. Edltlons Prlvat, 2002);
|acques De Caluw, 'Irdrlc Mlstral et les trouba
dours. LÀpport des lettres de Malllane," Morclc
Iomovc, 23-21 (l973-l971). 277-289;
De Caluw, Ic Moycv ogc littcroirc occitov dovs lòcuvrc dc
Ircdcric Mistrol: Utilisotiov ctliquc ct cstlctiquc (Parls.
A. G. Nlzet, l971);
De Caluw, 'La Rlchesse des formes strophlques dans
la poesle lyrlque de Irdrlc Mlstral," Icvuc clgc
dc Ililologic ct d`Histoirc/clgisclc Tijdsclrift voor Iilologic
cv gcsclicdcvis, 17 (l969). 873-881;
De Caluw, 'Jroubadours et amour courtols dans
Mirio de Irdrlc Mlstral," Zvvolcs du Midi: Icvuc
dc lo Irovcc Mcridiovolc, 8l (l969). 263-278;
Marc Dclmo,'_uand Mlchel Bral, dòrlglne julve et
berllnolse, alsaclen, fllbre et cltoyen, ecrlvalt a
Mlstral," Icvuc dcs Iovgucs Iomovcs, l01, no. l
(2000). l87-2l8;
Plerre Dvoluy, Mistrol ct lo rcdcmptiov dùvc lovguc (Parls.
Bernard Grasset, l91l);
Kjell Espmark, Tlc òbcl Iric iv Iitcroturc: Z Study of tlc
Critcrio bclivd tlc Cloiccs (Boston. G. K. Hall,
l99l);
|ean Iourl, 'Mlstral, lÀlll et lènselgnement de la
langue dòc," Iou Irouvcvou o lÌscolo, 2 (l986). 3-
1;
Iausta Garavlnl, IÌmpri dòu soulu: Io Iogiovc diolcttolc
vcllo Irovcio dÙc (Mllan. Rlccardo Rlcclardl Edl
tore, l967);
Garavlnl, 'Le Parl Mlstrallen," Iomovtismc: Icvuc du
Dix-`cuvicmc Sicclc, ll, no. 33 (l98l). 59-73;
Phlllppe Gardy, 'La Proso dÀrmana. Contes et rclts
dùne langue et dùne soclt a jamals perdues,"
Icvuc dcs Iovgucs Iomovcs, 96, no. 2 (l992). 35l-
371;
Gardy and Clalre Jorrellles, eds., Ircdcric Mistrol ct Iou
Ioumo dou Iosc: Ic Iomc du Ilvc (Bordes. Actes
du Colloque de VllleneuvelsAvlgnon, Centre
d`tude de la llttrature occltane |CELO|, l997);
Claude Goyard, 'Armendares Pacreu 'Lettres de Maur
ras et Amourettl a Mlstral,`" Io Irovcc Iotivc, ll8
(l991). 326-338;
Goyard, '|ulesCharles Roux et son projet dèdltlon des
correspondances de Mlstral," Io Irovcc Iotivc, ll0
(l990). 61-83;
Mltu Grosu, Mistrol: Iotc dc lòmour ( |erusalem. HaMa
kor, l995);
Irltz Henrlksson, Tlc òbcl Irics ovd Tlcir Iouvdcr,
Zlfrcd òbcl (Stockholm. Alb. Bonnlers Boktryck
erl, l938);
MarleJhrse |ouveau, Zlplovsc Doudct, Ircdcric Mistrol:
Io Irovcvcc ct lc Iclibrigc, 2 volumes (Nmes. Ben,
l980);
|ouveau, Zlplovsc Doudct, motrc dcs tcvdrcsscs (Alxen
Provence. Roubaud, l990);
238
c j~ ai_ PPN
Ren |ouveau, 'Mlstral, Poueto de la mar," I`Zstrodo, 21
(l989). ll9-l26;
HansErlch Keller, 'Illbre et le Illbrlge," `coplilologus,
18 (l961). l-28;
Robert Lafont, Mistrol ou lìllusiov (Parls. Plon, l951);
Rob Lyle, Mistrol, Studles ln Modern European Lltera
ture and Jhought (Cambrldge. Bowes Bowes,
l953; New York. Yale Lnlverslty Press, l953);
Charles Mauron, Itudcs mistrolicvvcs: Istudi Mistrolcv ct
outrcs rcclcrclcs psyclocritiqucs (SalntRmyde
Provence, Irance. Centre de Recherches
dÈtudes Mrldlonales, l989);
Claude Mauron, 'Ienstro e Iou poumo dou rosc: _ues
tloun de formo," Iou Irouvcvou o lÌscolo, l
(l996). 22-27;
Mauron, 'Irdrlc Mlstral et |eanBaptlste Coye. Lne
rencontre sur la barque des enfers?" Irouvcvo
2000, 6 (l988). 36-18;
|ean Mellot, 'A propos du chapltre VIII des Mmolres et
rclts de Irdrlc Mlstral. 'Comment je passal bache
ller,`" ln Mclovgcs dc plilologic romovc dcdics o lo mcmoirc
dc cov outirc, edlted by Irne Cluzel and Iranols
Plrot (Llge. Soledl, l97l), pp. 83l-839;
SullyAndr Peyre, Issoi sur Ircdcric Mistrol (Parls.
Seghers, l959);
Iranols Plrot, 'Coup dòll sur la jeune llttrature occl
tane," Morclc romoivc, 23-21 (l973-l971). 29l-
300;
Alphonse Roche, 'Le Centenalre de Mircillc," Ircvcl
Icvicw, 33, no. 5 (l960). 11l-117;
Charles Rostalng, Commcvtoircs dc lòcuvrc dc Ircdcric Mis-
trol 'Colcvdou (Marsellles. Prouvno dàro,
l996);
|ulesCharles Roux, Ic ubilc dc Ircdcric Mistrol: Civquov-
tcvoirc dc Mircillc, Zrlcs, 29-J0-J1 moi 1909 (Parls.
Bloud, l9l3);
Auguste Salnt|ean, Ic Movumcvt mystiquc: IÌsotcrismc
dovs lòcuvrc dc Ircdcric Mistrol (Marsellles. Par
larn, l985);
|ean Soulalrol, Humovitc dc Mistrol (Parls. |. Renard,
l91l); republlshed as Ivtroductiov o Mistrol (Parls.
Beauchesne, l961);
Grard Jeullre, 'Lel Ilelalras. De la chanson au
mythe," TI`SU: ullctiv of tlc Socictc Cuillcm IX,
5, no. 2 (l990). ll9-l32.
m~W
Jhere are two collectlons of Irdrlc Mlstral`s papers.
Jhe major collectlon ls at the Palace du Roure, Blbllo
thque (the Llbrary of the Roure Palace), ln Avlgnon. It
was the prlvate resldence of Iolco de Baroncelll and
also contalned the offlces of the Zioli. Mlstral`s papers
are also ln the Museon Mlstral ln Malllane.
NVMQ k m i~
m~ p
One sometlmes hears lt sald that the Nobel Prlzes
should be awarded to authors stlll ln the prlme of llfe
and consequently at the helght of thelr development, ln
order to shelter them from materlal dlfflcultles and
assure them a wholly lndependent sltuatlon.
Jhe lnstltutlons charged wlth awardlng these
Prlzes should llke to bear such strlklng wltness to the
value of a young genlus; but the statutes of the Nobel
Ioundatlon stlpulate that the works ellglble for such a
reward must be of exceptlonal lmportance and con
flrmed by experlence. Jhus there cannot be any heslta
tlon ln chooslng between a talent ln process of
formatlon and a proven genlus at the end of hls devel
opment. Jhe jury does not have the rlght to lgnore a
stlll actlve author of European fame, merely because he
ls old. Jhe works of an old wrlter are often proof of a
unlque and youthful energy. Jhe Swedlsh Academy
therefore was rlght to render homage to Mommsen and
Bjrnson ln awardlng them Nobel Prlzes even at a tlme
when both were past thelr prlme. In maklng lts cholce
among the candldates proposed thls year for the Nobel
Prlze, the Academy has agaln glven lts attentlon to sev
eral llterary veterans of recognlzed fame, and lt has
wlshed to renew lts pledge to genlus held ln hlgh
esteem ln the llterary world.
Jhe Academy has thought partlcularly of two
authors who would both have been worthy of the
whole Nobel Prlze. Both have attalned the flnal llmlts
not only of the poetlc art, but even of human llfe; one ls
seventyfour years old, the other two years younger.
Jherefore the Academy belleves lt should not walt
longer to confer on them a dlstlnctlon they both equally
merlt, although from dlfferent polnts of vlew, and lt has
awarded half the annual Prlze to each. If the materlal
value of the award ls thus dlmlnlshed for each of the
laureates, the Academy nonetheless wlshes to state pub
llcly that, ln thls partlcular case, lt conslders each of
these two Prlzes as the equlvalent of the whole Prlze.
I
Jhe Academy has glven one of the awards to the
poet Irdrlc Mlstral. In the freshness of hls poetlc
lnsplratlon thls venerable old man ls younger than most
of the poets of our tlme. One of hls prlnclpal works, Iou
poumo dou Iosc |Jhe Song of the Rhone|, was publlshed
not long ago, ln l897, and when the Provenal poets cel
239
ai_ PPN c j~
ebrated thelr flftleth annlversary on May 3l, l901, Mls
tral tuned hls lyre for a poetry that ln verve and vlgour
does not yleld to any of hls prevlous works.
Mlstral was born on September 8, l830, ln the
vlllage of Malano (ln Irench, Malllane), whlch ls sltu
ated mldway between Avlgnon and Arles ln the Rhone
Valley. He grew up ln thls magnlflcent natural settlng
among the countryfolk and soon became famlllar wlth
thelr work. Hls father, Iranols Mlstral, was a wellto
do farmer, devoted to the customs of hls falth and of hls
ancestors. Hls mother nursed the soul of the chlld wlth
the songs and tradltlons of hls blrthplace.
Durlng hls studles at the College of Avlgnon, the
young boy learned the works of Homer and Vlrgll,
whlch made a profound lmpresslon on hlm, and one of
hls professors, the poet Roumanllle, lnsplred ln hlm a
deep love for hls maternal language, Provenal.
Accordlng to the wlsh of hls father, Irdrlc Mls
tral took a law degree at AlxenProvence; after that he
was left free to choose hls career as he pleased. Hls
cholce was soon made. He devoted hlmself to poetry
and palnted the beautles of Provence ln the ldlom of the
country, an ldlom whlch he was the flrst to ralse to the
rank of a llterary language.
Hls flrst attempt was a long poem about rustlc
llfe; then he publlshed poems ln a collectlon entltled i
m~ (l852). After that he spent seven consecutlve
years on the work that establlshed hls unlversal fame,
j (l859).
Jhe actlon of thls poem ls very slmple. A good
and attractlve peasant glrl cannot marry a poor young
man whom she loves because her father refuses hls con
sent. In despalr she flees from the paternal home and
goes to seek succour at the church on the slte of the pll
grlmage of the Jhree Salnt Marys on the lsland of
Camargue ln the Rhone delta. Jhe author recounts ln
charmlng fashlon the youthful love of the young people
and retraces wlth masterly hand how Mlrlo rushes
across the rocky plalns of the Crau. Smltten by a sun
stroke ln the torrld Camargue, the unfortunate young
glrl crawls to the chapel of the pllgrlmage slte to dle.
Jhere, ln a vlslon, the three Marys appear to her at the
very lnstant ln whlch she breathes her last.
Jhe value of thls work ls not ln the subject nor ln
the lmaglnatlon dlsplayed ln lt, no matter how lnterest
lng the flgure of Mlrlo may be. It lles ln the art of llnk
lng together the eplsodes of the story and of unreellng
before our eyes all Provence wlth lts scenery, lts memo
rles, lts anclent customs, and the dally llfe of lts lnhablt
ants. Mlstral says that he slngs only for the shepherds
and the country people; he does so wlth Homerlc slm
pllclty. He ls, lndeed, by hls own admlsslon, a student
of the great Homer. But far from lmltatlng hlm slav
lshly, he glves proof of a very personal orlglnallty ln hls
descrlptlve technlque. A breath of the Golden Age anl
mates a number of hls descrlptlons. How can one forget
hls palntlngs of the whlte horses of the Camargue? Gal
loplng, wlth manes flylng ln the wlnd, they seem to
have been touched by Neptune`s trldent and set free
from the sea god`s charlot. If you remove them from
thelr beloved pastures at the edge of the sea, they
always escape ln the end. Even after long years of
absence, they return to the wellknown plalns whlch
they salute wlth thelr joyous nelghlng as they hear
agaln the breaklng of the waves on the shore.
Jhe rhythm of thls poem has beauty and har
mony, and lts artlstlc composltlon succeeds on all
counts. Jhe source from whlch Mlstral has drawn ls
not psychology; lt ls nature. Man hlmself ls treated
purely as a chlld of nature. Let other poets sound the
depths of the human soul! j ls a halfopened rose,
stlll all shlnlng from the rosy llght of dawn. Jhls ls the
spontaneous work of an orlglnal splrlt and not the frult
of purely reflectlve labour.
Jhe poem was greeted wlth enthuslasm from lts
flrst appearance. Lamartlne, worn out wlth personal
cares but always smltten by beautlful poetlc works,
wrote 'A great poet ls born!" He compared Mlstral`s
poem to one of the lslands of an archlpelago, to a float
lng Delos whlch must have detached ltself from lts
group ln order to joln, ln sllence, the fragrant Provence.
He applled to Mlstral these words of Vlrgll. 'Ju Mar
cellus erls!"
Seven years after the publlcatlon of jI Mlstral
publlshed a second work of equal dlmenslons, `~~
(l867). It has been sald that the actlon of thls poem ls
too fantastlc and lmprobable. But lt matches lts prede
cessor ln the charm of lts descrlptlons. How could one
questlon the grandeur of lts ldeas about the ennoble
ment of man through trlal? Whlle j celebrates
peasant llfe, `~~ presents a grlpplng plcture of the
sea and the forests. It ls llke a brllllant gllstenlng of
water ln several remarkably preclse scenes about the llfe
of the flsherman.
Mlstral ls not only an eplc poet; he ls also a great
lyrlclst. Hls collectlon, i f (l876) |Islands of
Gold|, contalns some poems of an lmmortal beauty.
Sufflce lt to recall the stanzas on the drum of Arcole, on
the dylng mower, on the chateau of Roumanln wlth lts
memorles of the tlmes of the troubadours that seem to
evoke the splendour of the sunsets, or, agaln, the beau
tlful mystlc chant that should be spoken ln the velled
twlllght of the evenlng, 'la coumunloun dl sant."
In other lyrlc poems Mlstral lnslsts wlth fervour
on the rlghts of neoProvenal to an lndependent exlst
ence and seeks to protect lt agalnst all attempts to
neglect or dlscredlt lt.
210
c j~ ai_ PPN
Jhe poem ln the form of a short story, k
(l881), offers many beautlful pages for the reader`s
admlratlon. But the eplc narratlve, i oI
ls more profound. Composed by a poet of slxtyseven
years, lt ls stlll full of llfe, and lts numerous vlgnettes of
the reglons washed by the Rhone are most engaglng.
What a superb type ls that proud and devout captaln of
the shlp ^~I who thlnks that one must be a sallor to
know how to pray! Another ravlshlng llttle scene shows
us the pllot`s daughter, Anglora, whose lmaglnatlon has
been fed on old legends. One nlght she lmaglnes that
she has seen Lou Dra, the god of the rlver, ln the moon
llt waves of the Rhone and that she has been touched
by hlm. Jhe very verses here seem to stream and spar
kle ln the moonllght.
In short, Mlstral`s works are all lofty monuments
to the glory of hls beloved Provence.
Jhls year ls a year of celebratlon for hlm. Ilfty
years ago on St. Estelle`s day he founded, together wlth
slx llterary frlends, the Assoclatlon of Provenal Poets,
whose goal was to purlfy and glve a deflnltlve form to
the Provenal language. Jhe language whlch ls spoken
from St. Remy to Arles and, wlthout slgnlflcant dlffer
ences, ln all the Rhone Valley from Orange to Mar
tlgues, served as a basls for a new llterary language, as
earller the Ilorentlne dlalect had served to form Itallan.
Experts such as Gaston Parls and Koschwltz tell us that
thls movement was not at all retrograde. It dld not seek
to restore to llfe the old Provenal, but on the basls of
dlalects ln use among the people, lt attempted to create
a natlonal language understood by all. Jhe efforts of
the Provenal poets have not been slow to be crowned
wlth success. In hls great neoProvenal dlctlonary, qJ
c (l879-l886), a glant work on whlch he
has worked for more than twenty years, Mlstral has
recorded the wealth of the Provenal dlalects and bullt
an lmperlshable monument to the l.
It goes wlthout saylng that a man llke Mlstral has
recelved all klnds of honours. Jhe Irench Academy has
awarded hlm a prlze four tlmes. Jhe Instltute of Irance
gave hlm the Reynaud prlze of l0,000 francs for hls dlctlo
nary. Jhe unlversltles of Halle and Bonn have conferred
honorary doctorates on hlm. Several of hls poems have
been translated lnto varlous forelgn languages. j has
been set to muslc by Gounod, and `~~ by the com
poser Marchal.
One knows the motto glven by Mlstral to the Asso
clatlon of Provenal Poets. 'Lou soulu me fal canta"
('Jhe sun makes me slng"). Hls poems have, ln effect,
spread the llght of the Provenal sun ln many countrles,
even ln Northern reglons where they have made many
hearts rejolce.
Alfred Nobel demanded ldeallsm from an author to
be judged worthy of the Prlze he establlshed. Is lt not
amply found ln a poet whose work, llke that of Mlstral, ls
dlstlngulshed by a healthy and flourlshlng artlstlc ldeallsm;
ln a man who has devoted hls entlre llfe to an ldeal, the
restoratlon and development of the splrltual lnterests of hls
natlve country, lts language and lts llterature?
II
After the splendour of the Greek theatre, lt ls
prlnclpally among the Engllsh and the Spanlsh that a
natlonal dramatlc art has developed. Jo understand
modern Spanlsh drama, lt ls necessary to know what
condltlons ln the llfe of past perlods lle behlnd lt. Ior a
long tlme Spanlsh drama has dlsplayed sharp contrasts.
On the one hand, there ls the most luxurlous flowerlng
of fantasy; on the other, an extremely subtle and at
tlmes conventlonal casulstry. In one place, there ls brll
llant colourlng, and ln another, a great affectlon for rhe
torlcal antlthesls. Emphatlc language ls coupled wlth
tangled lntrlgue. Strlklng effects are vlolent, the lyrlc
order lntense. Dlsharmonles are sharp, and confllcts
almost always have a traglc resolutlon. Dlalectlc ls vlg
orous. However, lnterlor llfe ls very rlch, and the
severe, lnflexlbly applled dlctates of honour do not
exclude the luxury of sudden expresslons of fantasy. In
Spanlsh drama the artlflclal has managed to become
fused wlth a genulne orlglnallty.
Jhe helr and contlnuator of these glorlous and
characterlstlc tradltlons ls the wrlter who has been
awarded half of the Nobel Prlze thls year. A son of the
modern age and perfectly lndependent ln hls judg
ments, he has not the same conceptlon of the world
Caldern had. Lovlng llberty and havlng fought often
for tolerance, he ls no frlend of despotlsm or of hlerar
chy, but stlll there ls ln hlm the same exotlc ardour and
the same dlgnlty whlch from oldest tlmes have been the
dlstlnctlve marks of Spanlsh dramatlsts. Jhls wrlter ls
|os de Echegaray. Llke hls forebears, he knows how to
present confllct, ls extremely movlng and vltally lnter
ested ln dlfferent temperaments and ldeals, and llke
them he enjoys studylng the most compllcated cases of
consclence. He ls complete master of the art of produc
lng ln the audlence plty and fear, the wellknown funda
mental effects of tragedy. |ust as ln the masters of the
old Spanlsh drama, there ls ln hlm a strlklng unlon of
the most llvely lmaglnatlon and the most reflned artlstlc
sense. Ior thls lt can be sald of hlmas a crltlc otherwlse
unsympathetlc to hlm declared'that he ls of pure
Spanlsh breed." However, hls conceptlon of the world ls
vast. Hls sense of duty has been purlfled, hls fundamen
tal conceptlons are benevolent, and hls moral herolsm,
whlle retalnlng a pecullar natlonal character, has the fea
tures of a unlversal humanlty.
|os de Echegaray was born ln Madrld ln l833
|l832| but spent hls chlldhood years ln Murcla, where
21l
ai_ PPN c j~
hls father held the chalr of Greek Studles at the Instl
tute. Recelvlng hls bachelor`s degree at fourteen, he
soon entered the School of Clvll Englneerlng, where he
dlstlngulshed hlmself by hls zealous appllcatlon and hls
penetratlng sklll. Ilve years later, ln l853, he completed
hls englneerlng career after havlng complled a most
brllllant record. Mathematlcs and mechanlcs had been
hls favourlte studles, and hls slngular understandlng of
these branches of learnlng enabled hlm, after one year,
to be appolnted a professor ln the very school whlch he
had so recently attended as a student. It appears that for
some years hls struggle for exlstence was qulte hard,
and he had to glve prlvate lessons ln order to sustaln
the most modest way of llfe. In splte of everythlng, he
soon became an emlnent professor, dlstlngulshlng hlm
self both ln pure and applled mathematlcs, and became
an outstandlng englneer. At the same tlme he energetl
cally studled polltlcal economy, embraclng the ldeas of
free trade. Soon, that great talent, that vlvaclous engl
neer, was called to the hlghest and greatest tasks. Jhree
tlmes he has been a mlnlster of hls country`s govern
ment. Accordlng to those who know hlm, whether they
were adversarles or frlends, he has always shown a sln
gular sklll ln the admlnlstratlon of publlc flnance and
publlc works.
We can easlly understand the general astonlsh
ment when thls scholar, who had publlshed treatlses on
analytlc geometry, physlcs, and electrlclty, dedlcated hls
lndefatlgable energy to wrltlng for the theatre. It has
been sald that hls creatlons for the stage had the form of
equatlons and problems. If the new manlfestatlon of hls
genlus was enthuslastlcally acclalmed by numerous
admlrers, lt also found severe crltlcs. Nevertheless, no
one could deny that hls works were dlstlngulshed by a
deep moral sense. In a way, the crltlcs were not mls
taken who malntalned that ln hls dramas, followlng the
example of some surgeons, he rarely used any other
method than that of 'urere et secare"; stlll, however,
there ls somethlng to admlre ln thls Muse of romantlc
exaltatlon and austere severlty whlch condemns any
compromlse wlth duty.
Desplslng the translent approval of fashlon and
llstenlng only to the lnsplratlons of hls genlus, Echega
ray pursued hls trlumphal career, demonstratlng a dra
matlc fecundlty whlch makes us thlnk of Lope de Vega
and Caldern.
Even ln hls youth, when he was attendlng the
School of Clvll Englneerlng, he was enthuslastlc about
drama and used hls savlngs to obtaln theatre tlckets. In
l865 he wrote a play entltled i~ ~ ~~ |Jhe Illegltl
mate Daughter|, whlch was followed by b ~~
|Book of Accounts| ln l871. Jhe playblll carrled a pseud
onym lnstead of the author`s name, but lt dld not take the
publlc long to guess that the acclalmed dramatlst was
Echegaray, then Spaln`s Mlnlster of Ilnance. Some
months later i~ ~ |Jhe Last Nlght| was staged,
and slnce then hls fertlle lmaglnatlon has not stopped
engenderlng evernew creatlons. He works wlth such
speed that ln one year he has publlshed three or four
works. Slnce lack of tlme prohlblts a complete revlew here
of all of hls productlons, sufflce lt to make brlef mentlon of
some whlch have won general attentlon. Echegaray scored
hls flrst trlumph ln November l871, wlth the drama i~
~ ~ |Jhe Avenger`s Wlfe|, ln whlch hls true
genlus was revealed and ln whlch, slde by slde wlth certaln
exaggeratlons, the greatest beautles can be admlred. Jhe
publlc could lmaglne that lt had been taken back to the
Golden Age of Spanlsh drama, and lt saluted Echegaray as
the regenerator of the most brllllant era of the natlon`s dra
matlc poetry. b ~ ~~ |Jhe Sword`s Handle|,
presented the followlng year, was recelved wlth the same
applause. Jhe subllme power that ls manlfest ln thls noble
conceptlon so moved the many spectators that the
applause dld not stop wlth the performance, and, after the
last act, Echegaray had to appear on stage seven tlmes to
recelve the acclalm of the audlence. But great controversles
arose ln l878 when, ln b ~ ~ |Jhe Stake and
the Cross|, the poet showed hlmself the defender of free
thought agalnst lntolerance, of humanlty agalnst fanatl
clsm. Jyplcal of Echegaray, as he hlmself has observed, ls
hls ` |Confllct of Dutles|, whlch was
presented ln l882. A confllct of dutles ls found ln almost
all of hls dramas, but rarely has the confllct been pushed to
such an extreme as ln thls plece. Jwo other dramas have
made hls name famous. Jhese two lnsplred, excellent
plays are l ~ ~~ |Madman or Salnt| and b ~
d~ |Great Galeoto|, the former presented ln |anuary
l877, and the latter ln March l88l. In l ~ ~~
there ls a great wealth of ldeas and profound genlus. It
shows a man who, moved by hls rlghteousness to sacrlflce
hls prosperlty and worldly goods, ls consldered crazy and
treated as such by hls frlends and by the world at large.
Lorenzo de Avendano renounces a name and a fortune
when he learns unexpectedly but undenlably that they do
not legally belong to hlm, and he perslsts ln hls resolutlon
when the one lndlsputable proof of hls lllegltlmacy has dls
appeared. Such ldeallsm ls judged madness by hls famlly,
and Lorenzo ls looked upon by everybody as a Don _ul
xote, stubborn and slmplemlnded. Jhe structure of the
drama ls flrm and solld, demonstratlng that lt ls the work
of an englneer who calculates preclsely all the elements
that have gone lnto lt, but lt shows us to a stlll greater
degree the poet of mature creatlve genlus. More than an
external colllslon, lt treats the lnternal confllct of an
extremely sad flgure. It conslsts of a struggle between duty
and opportunlsm, and Lorenzo ln followlng the dlctate of
hls consclence reaches martyrdom. Experlence has always
212
c j~ ai_ PPN
shown that very frequently he who falthfully obeys hls
consclence must be prepared to bear the fate of a martyr.
Il grov Colcoto made an even greater lmpresslon.
In the flrst month after lt opened, lt went through no
fewer than flve edltlons and lnsplred a natlonal sub
scrlptlon to honour lts author. Because of the masterful
portrayal of the psychology of the characters the play
has a lastlng value. It shows the power of slander. Jhe
most lnnocent tralt ls dlsflgured and scandalously
deformed by the gosslp of people. Ernesto and Jeodora
have nothlng for whlch to reproach themselves, but the
world belleves them gullty, and at last, abandoned by
everyone, they end by throwlng themselves lnto one
another`s arms. Subtlety of psychologlcal analysls ls
revealed wlth such masterly detall of observatlon that
those two noble splrlts, ln no way deslrous of steallng
the rlght of thelr nelghbour, become mutually enam
oured wlthout suspectlng lt. Jhey dlscover the fact of
thelr love only by means of the persecutlon to whlch
they see themselves exposed. Romantlclsm trlumphs ln
thls drama whose poetlc beauty ls clearly perceptlble,
whose lyrlc detalls possess a dazzllng colourlng, and
whose structure ls wlthout a flaw.
Echegaray goes on worklng as a dramatlst. Jhls
year (l901) he has publlshed a new play, Io dcscquili-
brodo |Jhe Dlsturbed Woman|, whose flrst act ls a gen
ulne masterplece of exposltlon and lndlvlduallzatlon,
and whlch ln lts entlrety reveals no weakenlng of poetlc
lnsplratlon. In thls play, we are shown Don Maurlclo de
Vargas, a clear type of that chlvalry so dear to Echega
ray, that chlvalry whlch does not want to buy even lts
own happlness at the cost of compromlslng duty.
Jhus lt ls just that the Nobel Prlze be awarded to
thls great poet, whose productlon ls dlstlngulshed by lts
vlrlle energy and whose mode of seelng ls lmpregnated
wlth such hlgh ldeals that wlth abundant reason an eml
nent German crltlc has been able to say of hlm. 'Er ver
langt Recht und Pfllchterfllung unter allen
Lmstnden."
Echegaray has put ln the mouth of one of the
characters of Il grov Colcoto the most pesslmlstlc words
about the world, whlch 'never recognlzes the subtletles
of the genlus untll three centurles after hls death."
No doubt thls can happen. But agalnst the general
appllcatlon of the above thesls we can offer the justlfled
admlratlon whlch the work of Echegaray has aroused.
Jo those trlbutes of appreclatlon the Swedlsh Academy
has agreed to add stlll one more, awardlng the Nobel
Prlze ln homage to the celebrated poet, the honour and
glory of the Spanlsh Academy, |os de Echegaray.
Zt tlc bovquct, C. D. of !irscv poivtcd out tlot slorivg
iv tlc Iric did vot dimivisl iv ovy woy tlc voluc of tlc lourc-
otcs. Hc rccollcd to mivd tlc worlspurc, limpid, ovd frcslof
Ircdcric Mistrol, vomivg tlc privcipol ovcs ovd oslivg tlc Miv-
istcr of Irovcc, Mr. Morclovd, to covvcy to tlc fomous Irovcvol
poct tlc lomogc wlicl tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy ovd oll tlosc osscm-
blcd tool plcosurc iv rcvdcrivg lim. Tlc spcolcr tlcv rcvicwcd
tlc imposivg worl of Iclcgoroy ovd cxprcsscd rcgrcts for lis stotc
of lcoltl ovd cxploivcd tlot tlc Mivistcr of Spoiv lod bccv prc-
vcvtcd from ottcvdivg tlis bovquct ovd from rcccivivg tlc cov-
grotulotiovs for lis fomous couvtrymov.
Tlc Mivistcr of Irovcc, Mr. Morclovd, rcplicd to tlc
Sccrctory of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy ovd rccollcd tlot iv tlc prcccd-
ivg ycor lc lod tlovlcd tlcm for tlc Iric owordcd to Mr. ovd
Mrs. Curic; tlis timc lc spolc for tlc grcot poct of wlom
Irovcvcc is justly proud. Hc told of o most touclivg cvcvt. Iorty-
fivc ycors ogo tlc Ircvcl Zcodcmy, wlicl did vot lovc ot its dis-
posol rcsourccs os grcot os tlosc witl wlicl tlc grcot òbcl lod
cvdowcd tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy, dccidcd, ot tlc suggcstiov of
Iomortivc, wlo wos cvtlusiostic obout Mlrlo, to oword tlc
pric of J000 frovcs to Mistrol. !lcv tlcy oslcd tlc outlor,
wlo lod bccv lcodivg o simplc lifc iv tlc couvtry, wlot lc would
do witl tlc Iric, lc ovswcrcd, 'It is o pric for poctry; it is vot
to bc touclcd! Tlc modcst poct slorcd lis 'ovcrobuvdovcc
witl otlcrs.
Mr. Morclovd olso octcd os spolcsmov for lis collcoguc,
tlc Mivistcr of Spoiv, to cxprcss Mr. Iclcgoroy`s grotitudc.
213
d~~ j~
(7 Zpril 1SS9 - 10 ovuory 197)
p~~ a~Jq
Uvivcrsity of Tcxos ot Sov Zvtovio
Jhls entry was revlsed from DaydJolson`s Mlstral
entry ln DI 2SJ: Modcrv Spovisl Zmcricov Iocts, Iirst
Scrics.
BOOKS. Dcsolociov (New York. Instltuto de las
Espaas, l922; enlarged edltlon, Santlago. Nascl
mento, l923);
Tcrvuro: Covciovcs dc vivos (Madrld. Saturnlno Calleja,
l921; revlsed edltlon, Buenos Alres. Espasa
Calpe, l915);
Tolo (Buenos Alres. Sur, l938; revlsed edltlon, Buenos
Alres. Losada, l916);
Ios sovctos dc lo mucrtc y otros pocmos clcgocos (Santlago.
Phlloblbllon, l952);
Iogor (Santlago, l951);
Croquis mcxicovo, edlted by Alfonso Caldern (Mexlco
Clty. CostaAmle, l957);
Iccodos: Covtovdo o Clilc, edlted by Alfonso M. Escudero
(Santlago. Edltorlal del Pacflco, l957);
Iocsos complctos, edlted by Margaret Bates (Madrld.
Agullar, l958);
Igivos cv proso, edlted by |os Perelra Rodrguez (Bue
nos Alres. Kapelusz, l962);
Motivos dc Sov Irovcisco, edlted by Csar DazMuoz
Cormatches (Santlago. Edltorlal del Pacflco,
l965);
Iocmo dc Clilc, edlted by Dorls Dana (Barcelona.
Pomalre, l967);
Motcrios: Iroso ivcdito, edlted by Caldern (Santlago.
Edltorlal Lnlversltarla, l978);
Cobriclo ovdo por cl muvdo, edlted by Roque Esteban
Scarpa (Santlago. Andrs Bello, l978);
Cobriclo picvso cv . . . , edlted by Esteban Scarpa (Santl
ago. Andrs Bello, l978);
Cobriclo Mistrol cv cl 'Icpcrtorio Zmcricovo, edlted by
Marlo Cspedes (San |os. Edltorlal Lnlversldad
de Costa Rlca, l978);
Iroso rcligioso dc Cobriclo Mistrol, edlted by Luls Vargas
Saavedra (Santlago. Andrs Bello, l978);
Mogistcrio y vivo, edlted by Esteban Scarpa (Santlago.
Andrs Bello, l979);
Crovdco dc los oficios, edlted by Esteban Scarpa (Santl
ago. Andrs Bello, l979);
Ilogio dc los cosos dc lo ticrro, edlted by Esteban Scarpa
(Santlago. Andrs Bello, l979);
Icivo: Iocso dispcrso c ivcdito, cv vcrso y proso, edlted by
Gastn von dem Bussche (Valparaso. Edlclones
Lnlversltarlas de Valparaso, l983);
Iogor II, edlted by Ana Mara Cuneo and Pedro Pablo
Zegers (Santlago. Dlrrecln de Blbllotecas, Archl
vos y Museos, Blblloteca Naclonal, l99l);
d~~ j~ ~ i~ ~
~ k m i~I a NVQR
Ee ^Ld f~F
211
d~~ j~ ai_ PPN
Cobriclo Mistrol cv Io !o dc Ilqui (Santlago. Dlreccln de
Blbllotecas, Archlvos y Museos, Museo Gabrlela
Mlstral de Vlcua, l992);
Cobriclo Mistrol cv Il Coquimbo (Santlago. Dlreccln de
Blbllotecas, Archlvos y Museos, Museo Gabrlela
Mlstral de Vlcua, l991);
cvdito mi lcvguo sco: Diorio vtimo dc Cobriclo Mistrol,
190-196, edlted by |alme _uezada (Santlago.
Planeta/Arlel, 2002);
Iccopilociov dc lo obro mistroliovo, 1902-1922, edlted by
Zegers (Santlago. Rll, 2002);
0 prosos cv Il Mcrcurio 1921-196, edlted by Ilorldor
Prez (Santlago. El Mercurlo/Agullar, 2005).
`W Zvtologo poctico dc Cobriclo Mistrol, selected
by Alfonso Caldern (Santlago. Edltorlal Lnlver
sltarla, l971);
Iocso y proso, edlted by |alme _uezada (Caracas. Blbllo
teca Ayacucho, l993);
Cobriclo Mistrol cscvciol: Iocso, proso y corrcspovdcvcio,
edlted by Ilorldor Prez (Santlago. Agullar Chl
lena de Edlclones, 2005).
b bW Sclcctcd Iocms of Cobriclo Mistrol,
translated by Langston Hughes (Bloomlngton
London. Indlana Lnlverslty Press, l957);
Sclcctcd Iocms of Cobriclo Mistrol, translated and edlted by
Dorls Dana (Baltlmore. |ohns Hopklns Lnlver
slty Press, l97l);
Z Cobriclo Mistrol Icodcr, translated by Marla Glachettl,
edlted by Marjorle Agosn (Iredonla, N.Y.. Whlte
Plnes, l993);
!omcv, translated by |acquellne C. Nanflto, edlted by
Agosn and Nanflto (Buffalo. Whlte Plne Press,
200l);
Sclcctcd Irosc ovd Irosc-Iocms, edlted and translated by
Stephen Japscott (Austln. Lnlverslty of Jexas
Press, 2002);
Sclcctcd Iocms of Cobriclo Mistrol, translated by Lrsula K.
Le Guln (Albuquerque. Lnlverslty of New Mex
lco Press, 2003).
OJHER. Iccturos poro mujcrcs, edlted by Mlstral (Mex
lco Clty. Secretara de Educacln Pbllca, l921).
Gabrlela Mlstral was the flrst Spanlsh Amerlcan
author to recelve the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature, whlch
she was awarded ln l915 'for her lyrlc poetry whlch,
lnsplred by powerful emotlons, has made her name a
symbol of the ldeallstlc asplratlons of the entlre Latln
Amerlcan world," as the cltatlon read. One of the best
known Latln Amerlcan poets of her tlme, Gabrlelaas
she was admlrlngly called all over the Hlspanlc world
embodled ln her person, as much as ln her works, the
cultural values and tradltlons of a contlnent that had
not been recognlzed untll then wlth the most prestl
glous lnternatlonal llterary prlze. Mlstral`s works, both
ln verse and prose, deal wlth the baslc passlon of love as
seen ln the varlous relatlonshlps of mother and off
sprlng, man and woman, lndlvldual and humanklnd,
soul and God.
A dedlcated educator and an engaged and com
mltted lntellectual, Mlstral defended the rlghts of the
downtrodden; the freedoms of democracy; and the
need for peace ln tlmes of soclal, polltlcal, and ldeologl
cal confllcts, not only ln Latln Amerlca but ln the whole
world. She always took the slde of those who were mls
treated by soclety. chlldren, women, Natlve Amerlcans,
|ews, war vlctlms, workers, and the poor, and she trled
to speak for them through her poetry, her many news
paper artlcles, her letters, and her actlvltles as a Chllean
representatlve ln lnternatlonal organlzatlons. Above all,
she was concerned about the future of Latln Amerlca
and lts peoples and cultures, partlcularly those of the
natlve groups. Her altrulstlc lnterests and her soclal
concerns had a rellglous undertone, as they sprang
from her profoundly splrltual, Iranclscan understand
lng of the world. Her personal splrltual llfe was charac
terlzed by an untlrlng, seemlngly mystlcal search for
unlon wlth dlvlnlty and all of creatlon.
Mlstral`s wrltlngs are hlghly emotlonal and
lmpress the reader wlth an orlglnal style marked by her
dlsdaln for the aesthetlcally pleaslng elements common
among modernlst wrlters, her lmmedlate predecessors.
Rhythm, rhyme, metaphors, symbols, vocabulary, and
themes, as well as other tradltlonal poetlc technlques,
are all dlrected ln her poetry toward the expresslon of
deeply felt emotlons and confllctlng forces ln opposl
tlon. Love and jealousy, hope and fear, pleasure and
paln, llfe and death, dream and truth, ldeal and reallty,
matter and splrlt are always competlng and flnd expres
slon ln the lntenslty of her welldeflned poetlc volces.
Jhese volces lnclude the abandoned woman and the
jealous lover, the mother ln a trance of joy and fear
because of her dellcate chlld, the teacher, and the
woman who trles to brlng to others the comfort of com
passlon. All of her lyrlcal volces represent the dlfferent
aspects of her own personallty and have been under
stood by crltlcs and readers allke as the autoblographl
cal volces of a woman whose llfe was marked by an
lntense awareness of the world and of human destlny.
Jhe poetlc word ln lts beauty and emotlonal lntenslty
had for her the power to transform and transcend
human splrltual weakness, brlnglng consolatlon to the
soul ln search of understandlng. Her poetry ls thus
charged wlth a sense of rltual and prayer.
Although she mostly uses regular meter and
rhyme, her verses are sometlmes dlfflcult to reclte
because of thelr harshness, resultlng from lntentlonal
breaks of the prosodlc rules. Jhls apparent deflclency ls
215
ai_ PPN d~~ j~
purposely used by the poet to produce an lntended
effectthe reader`s uncomfortable feellng of uncertalnty
and harshness that corresponds to the tormented attl
tude of the lyrlcal volce and to the passlonate character
of the poet`s worldvlew. In her prose wrltlng Mlstral
also twlsts and entangles the language ln unusual
expresslve ways as lf the common, dlrect style were not
approprlate to her subject matter and her lntensely
emotlve lnterpretatlon of lt. Although she ls mostly
known for her poetry, she was an accompllshed and
prollflc prose wrlter whose contrlbutlons to several
major Latln Amerlcan newspapers on lssues of lnterest
to her contemporarles had an ample readershlp. Several
selectlons of her prose works and many edltlons of her
poetry publlshed over the years do not fully account for
her enormous contrlbutlon to Latln Amerlcan culture
and her slgnlflcance as an orlglnal splrltual poet and
publlc lntellectual.
She was born Luclla Godoy Alcayaga on 7 Aprll
l889 ln the small town of Vlcua, ln the Elqul Valley, a
deeply cut, narrow farmlng land ln the Chllean Andes
Mountalns, four hundred mlles north of Santlago, the
capltal. 'El Valle de Elqul. una tajeadura herolca en la
masa montaosa, pero tan breve, que aquello no es slno
un torrente con dos orlllas verdes. Y esto, tan pequeo,
puede llegar a amarse como lo perfecto" (Elqul Valley.
a herolc slash ln the mass of mountalns, but so brlef,
that lt ls nothlng but a rush of water wlth two green
banks. And thls llttle place can be loved as perfectlon),
Mlstral wrltes ln o~W `~ ~ ` (l957, Mes
sages. Jelllng Chlle). She grew up ln Monte Grande, a
humble vlllage ln the same valley, surrounded by mod
est frult orchards and rugged deserted hllls. She was
ralsed by her mother, Petronlla Alcayaga, and by a sls
ter flfteen years her senlor, who was her flrst teacher.
Her father, |uan Gernlmo Godoy Vlllanueva, a prlmary
school teacher wlth a penchant for adventure and easy
llvlng, abandoned hls famlly when Luclla was three
years old; she saw hlm only on rare occaslons when he
vlslted hls wlfe and chlldren before dlsappearlng for
ever. Jhls evaslve father, who wrote llttle poems for hls
daughter and sang to her wlth hls gultar, had a strong
emotlonal lnfluence on the poet. Irom hlm she
obtalned, as she used to comment, the love of poetry
and the nomadlc splrlt of the perpetual traveler.
Her mother was a central force ln Mlstral`s sentl
mental attachment to famlly and homeland and a
strong lnfluence on her deslre to succeed. Not less lnflu
entlal was the flgure of her paternal grandmother,
whose readlngs of the Blble marked the chlld forever.
An exceedlngly rellglous person, her grandmother
who Mlstral llked to thlnk had Sephardlc ancestors
encouraged the glrl to learn and reclte by heart passages
from the Blble, ln partlcular the Psalms of Davld. Mls
tral declared later, ln her poem 'Mls llbros" (My Books)
ln a~ (l922, Despalr), that the Blble was one of
the books that had most lnfluenced her.
Blblla, ml noble Blblla, panorama estupendo,
en donde se quedaron mls ojos largamente,
tlenes sobre los Salmos las lavas ms ardlentes
y en su ro de fuego ml corazn enclendo!
(Blble, my noble Blble, magnlflcent panorama,
where my eyes llngered for a long tlme,
you have ln the Psalms the most burnlng of lavas
and ln lts rlver of flre I llt my heart!)
Jhe poet always remembered her chlldhood ln
Monte Grande, ln Valle de Elqul, as Edenlc. Her
mother and older slster taught her to know and love
nature, to enjoy lt ln solltary contemplatlon. Jhere, as
Mlstral recalls ln m~ ` (l967, Poem of Chlle),
she developed her dreamy character, fasclnated as she
was by nature around her.
Me tena una famllla
de rboles, otra de matas,
hablaba largo y tendldo
con anlmales hallados.
(I had a famlly
of trees, and another of plants,
and I talked and talked
wlth the anlmals I found.)
Jhe mountalns and the rlver, the wlnd and the sky, the
anlmals and the plants of her secluded homeland became
Mlstral`s cherlshed possesslons; she always kept them ln
her memory as the true and only world, an almost fabu
lous land lost ln tlme and space, a land of joy from whlch
she had been exlled when she was stlll a chlld.
Havlng to go to the larger vlllage of Vlcua to
contlnue studles at the only school ln the reglon was for
the elevenyearold Luclla the beglnnlng of a llfe of suf
ferlng and dlsllluslon. 'Ml lnfancla la pas casl toda en
la aldea llamada Monte Grande. Me conozco sus cerros
uno por uno. Iul dlchosa hasta que sal de Monte
Grande; y ya no lo ful nunca ms" (I spent most of my
chlldhood ln the vlllage called Monte Grande. I know
lts hllls one by one. I was happy untll I left Monte
Grande, and then I was never happy agaln). Jhls sense
of havlng been exlled from an ldeal place and tlme char
acterlzes much of Mlstral`s worldvlew and helps
explaln her pervaslve sadness and her obsesslve search
for love and transcendence.
Among the several blographlcal anecdotes always
clted ln the llfe of the poet, the experlence of havlng
been accused of steallng school materlals when she was
ln prlmary school ls perhaps the most lmportant to con
216
d~~ j~ ai_ PPN
slder, as lt explalns Mlstral`s feellngs about the lnjustlce
people lnfllct on others wlth thelr lnsensltlvlty. Mlstral
refers to thls anecdote on several occaslons, suggestlng
the profound and lastlng effect the experlence had on
her. Jhroughout her llfe she malntalned a sense of
belng hurt by others, ln partlcular by people ln her own
country. Jhls lmpresslon was strengthened by several
other sltuatlons ln her llfe when the poet felt, probably
justlflably, that she was belng treated unfalrly. for
lnstance, ln l906 she trled to attend the Normal School
ln La Serena and was denled admlsslon because of her
wrltlngs, whlch were seen by the school authorltles as
the work of a troublemaker wlth panthelst ldeas contrary
to the Chrlstlan values requlred of an educator. She had
been sendlng contrlbutlons to reglonal newspapersi~
s b (Jhe Volce of Elqul) ln Vlcua and b
` ln La Serenaslnce l901, when she was stlll a
teenager, and was already worklng as a teacher`s alde ln
La Compaa, a small vlllage near La Serena, to sup
port herself and her mother.
Mlstral was determlned to succeed ln splte of hav
lng been denled the rlght to study. She prepared herself,
on her own, for a teachlng career and for the llfe of a
wrlter and lntellectual. She also contlnued to wrlte.
Among her contrlbutlons to the local papers, one artlcle
of l906'La lnstruccln de la mujer" (Jhe Educatlon
of Women)deserves notlce, as lt shows how Mlstral
was at that early age aware and crltlcal of the llmltatlons
affectlng women`s educatlon. 'Instryase a la mujer, no
hay nada en ella que la haga ser colocada en un lugar
ms bajo que el hombre" (Let women be educated,
nothlng ln them requlres that they be set ln a place
lower than men). In l9l0 she obtalned her coveted
teachlng certlflcatlon even though she had not followed
a regular course of studles. By studylng on her own and
passlng the examlnatlon, she proved to herself and to
others that she was academlcally well prepared and
ready to fulflll professlonally the responslbllltles of an
educator. She always commented bltterly, however, that
she never had the opportunlty to recelve the formal
educatlon of other Latln Amerlcan lntellectuals.
Wlth the professlonal degree ln hand she began a
short and successful career as a teacher and admlnlstra
tor. A serles of dlfferent job destlnatlons took her to dls
tant and opposlte reglons wlthln the varled terrltory of
her country, as she qulckly moved up ln the natlonal
educatlon system. Jhese varlous jobs gave her the
opportunlty to know her country better than many
who stayed ln thelr reglons of orlgln or settled ln Santl
ago to be near the center of lntellectual actlvlty. Jhls
dlrect knowledge of her country, lts geography, and lts
peoples became the basls for her lncreaslng lnterest ln
natlonal values, whlch colnclded wlth the lntellectual
and polltlcal concerns of Latln Amerlca as a whole.
Beglnnlng ln l9l0 wlth a teachlng posltlon ln the small
farmlng town of Jralgun ln the southern reglon of
Araucana, completely dlfferent from her natlve Valle
de Elqul, she was promoted ln the followlng years to
schools ln two relatlvely large and dlstant cltles. Antofa
gasta, the coastal clty ln the mlnlng northern reglon, ln
l9ll; and Los Andes, ln the bountlful Aconcagua Val
ley at the foothllls of the Andes Mountalns, about one
hundred mlles north of Santlago, ln l9l2. In thls qulet
farmlng town she enjoyed for a few years a perlod of
qulet dedlcatlon to studylng, teachlng, and wrltlng, as
the prlnclpal of her school protected her from dlstrac
tlons.
Among many other submlsslons to dlfferent pub
llcatlons, she wrote to the Nlcaraguan Rubn Daro ln
Parls, sendlng hlm a short story and some poems for
hls llterary magazlne, b~~K Jhese pleces appeared
ln March and Aprll l9l3, glvlng Mlstral her flrst publl
catlon outslde of Chlle. Pedro Agulrre Cerda, an lnflu
entlal polltlclan and educator (he served as presldent of
Chlle from l938 to l91l), met her at that tlme. In l9l8,
as secretary of educatlon, Agulrre Cerda appolnted her
prlnclpal of the Llceo de Nlas (Hlgh School for Glrls)
ln Punta Arenas, the southernmost Chllean port ln the
Stralt of Magellan. Jhls posltlon was one of great
responslblllty, as Mlstral was ln charge of reorganlzlng a
confllctlve lnstltutlon ln a town wlth a large and doml
nant group of forelgn lmmlgrants practlcally cut off
from the rest of the country. In thls faraway clty she
wrote a serles of three poems, 'Palsajes de la Patagonla"
(Patagonlan Landscapes), lnsplred by her experlence of
belng separated from famlly and frlends. Jhey are the
tormented expresslon of someone lost ln despalr. Jhe
stark landscape and the harsh weather of the reglon are
mostly symbollc materlallzatlons of her splrltual out
look on human destlny.
'Desolacln" (Despalr), the flrst composltlon ln
the trlptych, ls wrltten ln the modernlst alexandrlne
verse of fourteen syllables common to several of Mls
tral`s composltlons of her early creatlve perlod. Jhe
poem captures the sense of exlle and abandonment the
poet felt at the tlme, as conveyed ln lts slow rhythm and
ln lts concrete lmages drawn wlth a vocabulary sugges
tlve of paln and stress.
La bruma espesa, eterna, para que olvlde dnde
Me ha arrojado la mar en su ola de salmuera.
La tlerra a la que vlne no tlene prlmavera.
Jlene su noche larga que cual madre me esconde.
(Fog thlckens, eternal, so that I may forget where
the sea has thrown me ln lts wave of brlne.
Jhe land I have come to knows no sprlng.
lt has lts long nlght that llke a mother hldes me.)
217
ai_ PPN d~~ j~
As she had done before when worklng ln the poor,
small schools of her northern reglon, she doubled her
dutles by organlzlng evenlng classes for workers who
had no other means of educatlng themselves. She was
always concerned about the needs of the poor and the
dlsenfranchlsed, and every tlme she could do some
thlng about them, she acted, dlsregardlng personal
galn. Jhls attltude toward sufferlng permeates her
poetry wlth a deep feellng of love and compasslon.
'Jres rboles" (Jhree Jrees), the thlrd composltlon of
'Palsajes de la Patagonla," exempllfles her devotlon to
the weak ln the flnal stanza, wlth lts obvlous symbollc
lmage of the fallen trees.
El leador los olvld. La noche
Vendr. Estar con ellos.
Reclblr en ml corazn sus mansas
Reslnas. Me sern como de fuego.
Y mudos y celdos,
Nos halle el da en un montn de duelo.
(Jhe woodsman forgot them. Jhe nlght
Wlll come. I wlll be wlth them.
In my heart I wlll recelve thelr gentle
Sap. Jhey wlll be llke flre to me.
And may the day flnd us
_uletly embraced ln a heap of sorrow.)
After two years ln Punta Arenas, Mlstral was trans
ferred agaln to serve as prlnclpal of the Llceo de Nlas
ln Jemuco, the maln clty ln the heart of the Chllean
Indlan terrltory. She was there for a year. Pablo
Neruda, who at the tlme was a buddlng teenage poet
studylng ln the Llceo de Hombres, or hlgh school for
boys, met her and recelved her advlce and encourage
ment to pursue hls llterary asplratlons. Wltnesslng the
abuslve treatment suffered by the humble and destltute
Indlans, and ln partlcular thelr women, Mlstral was
moved to wrlte 'Poemas de la madre ms trlste" (Poems
of the Saddest Mother), a prose poem lncluded ln aJ
~ ln whlch she expresses 'toda la solldarldad del
sexo, la lnflnlta pledad de la mujer para la mujer" (the
complete solldarlty of the sex, the lnflnlte mercy of
woman for a woman), as she descrlbes lt ln an accom
panylng explanatory note.
In l92l Mlstral reached her hlghest posltlon ln
the Chllean educatlonal system when she was made
prlnclpal of the newly created Llceo de Nlas number 6
ln Santlago, a prestlglous appolntment deslred by many
colleagues. Now she was ln the capltal, ln the center of
the natlonal llterary and cultural actlvlty, ready to par
tlclpate fully ln the llfe of letters. A year later, however,
she left the country to begln her long llfe as an expatrl
ate.
Durlng her years as an educator and admlnlstra
tor ln Chlle, Mlstral was actlvely pursulng a llterary
career, wrltlng poetry and prose and keeplng ln contact
wlth other wrlters and lntellectuals. She publlshed
malnly ln newspapers, perlodlcals, anthologles, and
educatlonal publlcatlons, showlng no lnterest ln produc
lng a book. Her name became wldely famlllar because
several of her works were lncluded ln a prlmaryschool
reader that was used all over her country and around
Latln Amerlca. At about thls tlme her splrltual needs
attracted her to the splrltuallst movements lnsplred by
orlental rellglons that were galnlng attentlon ln those
days among Western artlsts and lntellectuals. She was
for a whlle an actlve member of the Chllean Jheosoph
lcal Assoclatlon and adopted Buddhlsm as her rellglon.
Jhls lncllnatlon for orlental forms of rellglous thlnklng
and practlces was ln keeplng wlth her lntense deslre to
lead an lnner llfe of medltatlon, and lt became a defln
lng characterlstlc of Mlstral`s splrltual llfe, even though
years later she returned to Cathollclsm. She never
ceased to use the medltatlon technlques learned from
Buddhlsm, and even though she declared herself Cath
ollc, she kept some of her Buddhlst bellefs and practlces
as part of her personal rellglous vlews and attltudes.
Another reason Mlstral became known as a poet
even before publlshlng her flrst book was the flrst
prlzea flower and a gold colnshe won for 'Los sone
tos de la muerte" (Jhe Sonnets of Death) ln the l9l1
'|uegos Ilorales," or poetlc contest, organlzed by the
clty of Santlago. As a means to explaln these three
poems about a lost love, most crltlcs tell of the sulclde ln
l909 of Romello Lreta, a young man who had been
Mlstral`s frlend and flrst love a few years before.
Although the sulclde of her former frlend had llttle or
nothlng to do wlth thelr relatlonshlp, lt added to the
poems a strong blographlcal motlvatlon that enhanced
thelr emotlonal effect, creatlng ln the mlnds of the pub
llc an lmage of Mlstral as a traglc flgure ln the tradltlon
of a romantlclzed conceptlon of the poet. Wlth 'Los
sonetos de la muerte" Mlstral presented a clearly
deflned poetlc volce, one that belongs to a traglc, pas
slonate woman, marked by lonellness, sadness, and
relentless possesslveness and jealousy.
Del nlcho helado en que los hombres te pusleron,
Je bajar a la tlerra humllde y soleada.
_ue he de dormlrme en ella los hombres no supleron,
Y que hemos de soar sobre la mlsma almohada.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Me alejar cantando mls venganzas hermosas,
porque a ese hondor recndito la mano de ninguna
bajar a dlsputarme tu puado de huesos!
(From the cold nlche where they put you
I wlll lower you to the humble and sunny earth.
218
d~~ j~ ai_ PPN
Jhey dld not know I would fall asleep on lt,
and that we would dream together on the same plllow.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I shall leave slnglng my beautlful revenge,
because the hand of no other woman shall descend to thls
depth
to clalm from me your flstful of bones!)
Irom then on, all of her poetry was lnterpreted as
purely autoblographlcal, and her poetlc volces were
equated wlth her own. Mlstral was seen as the aban
doned woman who had been denled the joy of mother
hood and found consolatlon as an educator ln carlng
for the chlldren of other women, an lmage she con
flrmed ln poems such as 'El nlo solo" (Jhe Lonely
Chlld). Jhe scene represents a woman who, hearlng
from the road the cry of a baby at a nearby hut, enters
the humble house to flnd a boy alone ln a cradle wlth
no one to care for hlm; she takes hlm ln her arms and
consoles hlm by slnglng to hlm, becomlng for a
moment a succorlng mother. It ls dlfflcult not to lnter
pret thls scene as representatlve of what poetry meant
for Mlstral, the wrlter who became recognlzed by the
readlng publlc mostly for her cradlesongs.
Jo avold uslng her real name, by whlch she was
known as a wellregarded educator, Mlstral slgned her
llterary works wlth dlfferent pen names. By l9l3 she
had adopted her Gabrlela Mlstral pseudonym, whlch
she ultlmately used as her own name. As Mlstral she
was recognlzed as the poet of a new dlssonant femlnlne
volce who expressed the prevlously unheard feellngs of
mothers and lonely women. Jhe cholce of her new flrst
name suggests elther a youthful admlratlon for the Ital
lan poet Gabrlelle DÀnnunzlo or a reference to the
archangel Gabrlel; the last name she chose ln dlrect rec
ognltlon of the Provenal poet (and l901 Nobel Prlze
wlnner) Irdrlc Mlstral, whose work she was readlng
wlth great lnterest around l9l2, but mostly because lt
serves also to ldentlfy the powerful wlnd that blows ln
southern Irance. Explalnlng her cholce of name, she
has sald.
Slento un gran amor por el vlento. Lo consldero como
uno de los elementos ms esplrltualesms esplrltual
que el agua. Deseaba, pues, tomar un nombre de vlento
que no fuese 'huracn" nl 'brlsa," y un da, enseando
geografa en ml escuela, me lmpreslon la descrlpcln
que hace Reclus, del vlento, en su clebre obra, y en
ella encontr ese nombre. Mlstral. Lo adopt en
segulda como seudnlmo, y esa es la verdadera expll
cacln de por qu llevo el apellldo del cantor de la
Proveza.
(I have great love of the wlnd. I take lt for one of the
most splrltual of the elementsmore splrltual than
water. I wanted, then, to adopt a name of wlnd, but not
'hurrlcane" or 'breeze"; one day, teachlng geography
ln my school, I was lmpressed by the descrlptlon of the
wlnd made by Reclus ln hls famous work, and I found
ln lt that name. Mlstral. I lmmedlately adopted lt as my
pseudonym, and thls ls the true explanatlon of why I
use the last name of the slnger of Provence.)
In elther case, Mlstral was polntlng wlth her pen name
to personal ldeals about her own ldentlty as a poet. She
acknowledged wantlng for herself the flery splrltual
strength of the archangel and the strong, earthly, and
splrltual power of the wlnd.
Jhe year l922 brought lmportant and declslve
changes ln the llfe of the poet and marks the end of her
career ln the Chllean educatlonal system and the begln
nlng of her llfe of travellng and of many changes of resl
dence ln forelgn countrles. It ls also the year of publlcatlon
of her flrst book, a~K Colncldentally, the same year,
the Lnlversldad de Chlle granted Mlstral the professlonal
tltle of teacher of Spanlsh ln recognltlon of her professlonal
and llterary contrlbutlons. Invlted by the Mexlcan wrlter
|os Vasconcelos, secretary of publlc educatlon ln the gov
ernment of Alvaro Obregn, Mlstral traveled to Mexlco
vla Havana, where she stayed several days glvlng lectures
and readlngs and recelvlng the admlratlon and frlendshlp
of the Cuban wrlters and publlc. Jhls short vlslt to Cuba
was the flrst of a long serles of slmllar vlslts to many coun
trles ln the ensulng years.
Once ln Mexlco she helped ln the plannlng and
reorganlzatlon of rural educatlon, a slgnlflcant effort ln a
natlon that had recently experlenced a declslve soclal revo
lutlon and was bulldlng up lts new lnstltutlons. In fulfllllng
her asslgned task, Mlstral came to know Mexlco, lts peo
ple, reglons, customs, and culture, ln a profound and per
sonal way. Jhls knowledge gave her a new perspectlve
about Latln Amerlca and lts Indlan roots, leadlng her lnto
a growlng lnterest and appreclatlon of all thlngs autochtho
nous. Irom Mexlco she sent to b j (Jhe Mercury)
ln Santlago a serles of newspaper artlcles on her observa
tlons ln the country she had come to love as her own.
Jhese pleces represent her flrst enthuslastlc reactlon to her
encounter wlth a forelgn land. Jhey are the beglnnlng of a
llfelong dedlcatlon to journallstlc wrltlng devoted to mak
lng the Latln Amerlcan publlc aware of the realltles of thelr
own world. Jhese artlcles were collected and publlshed
posthumously ln l957 as ` ~ (Mexlcan
Sketch). In Mexlco, Mlstral also edlted i~ ~~
(Readlngs for Women), an anthology of poetry and prose
selectlons from classlc and contemporary wrlterslnclud
lng nlneteen of her own textspubllshed ln l921 as a text
to be used at the Escuela Hogar 'Gabrlela Mlstral" (Home
School 'Gabrlela Mlstral"), named after her ln recognltlon
of her contrlbutlon to Mexlcan educatlonal reform.
219
ai_ PPN d~~ j~
Whlle she was ln Mexlco, Dcsolociov was publlshed
ln New York Clty by Iederlco de Ons at the lnslstence of
a group of Amerlcan teachers of Spanlsh who had
attended a talk by Ons on Mlstral at Columbla Lnlverslty
and were surprlsed to learn that her work was not avall
able ln book form. Dcsolociov was prepared based on the
materlal sent by the author to her enthuslastlc North
Amerlcan promoters. Whlle the lnvltatlon by the Mexlcan
government was lndlcatlve of Mlstral`s growlng reputatlon
as an educator on the contlnent rather than a recognltlon
of her llterary talents, the spontaneous declslon of a group
of teachers to publlsh her collected poems represented
unequlvocal proof of her llterary preemlnence. Most of the
composltlons ln Dcsolociov were wrltten when Mlstral was
worklng ln Chlle and had appeared ln varlous publlca
tlons. As such, the book ls an aggregate of poems rather
than a collectlon concelved as an artlstlc unlt. Dlvlded lnto
broad thematlc sectlons, the book lncludes almost elghty
poems grouped under flve headlngs that represent the
baslc preoccupatlons ln Mlstral`s poetry.
Lnder the flrst sectlon, 'Vlda" (Llfe), are grouped
twentytwo composltlons of varled subjects related to llfe`s
preoccupatlons, lncludlng death, rellglon, frlendshlp,
motherhood and sterlllty, poetlc lnsplratlon, and readlngs.
Jhe followlng sectlon, 'La escuela" (School), conslsts of
two poems'La maestra rural" (Jhe Rural Jeacher) and
'La enclna" (Jhe Oak)both of whlch portray teachers as
strong, dedlcated, selfeffaclng women akln to apostollc flg
ures, who became ln the publlc lmaglnatlon the exact rep
resentatlon of Mlstral herself. 'La maestra era pura" (Jhe
teacher was pure), the flrst poem beglns, and the second
and thlrd stanzas open wlth slmllar brlef, dlrect statements.
'La maestra era pobre" (Jhe teacher was poor), and 'La
maestra era alegre" (Jhe teacher was cheerful).
'Dolor" (Paln) lncludes twentyelght composltlons
of varled forms deallng wlth the palnful experlence of frus
trated love. 'Los sonetos de la muerte" ls lncluded ln thls
sectlon. Also ln 'Dolor" ls the lntensely emotlonal 'Poema
del hljo" (Poem of the Son), a cry for a son she never had
because 'En las noches, lnsomne de dlcha y de vlslones /
la lujurla de fuego no descendl a ml lecho" (In my nlghts,
awakened by joy and vlslons, / flery lust dld not descend
upon my bed).
Ln hljo, un hljo, un hljo! Yo qulse un hljo tuyo
y mo, all en los das del xtasls ardlente,
en los que hasta mls huesos temblaron de tu arrullo
y un ancho resplandor crecl sobre ml frente.
(A son, a son, a son! I wanted a son of yours
and mlne, back then ln the days of burnlng ecstasy,
when even my bones trembled at your whlsper
and a wlde llght grew ln my forehead.)
'Naturaleza" (Nature) lncludes 'Palsajes de le Patago
nla" and other texts about Mlstral`s stay ln Punta Are
nas. A serles of composltlons for chlldren'Canclones
de cuna" (Cradlesongs), also lncluded ln her next book,
Tcrvuro: Covciovcs dc vivos (l921, Jenderness. Songs for
Chlldren)completes the poetry selectlons ln Dcsolociov.
An addltlonal group of prose composltlons, among
them 'Poemas de la madre ms trlste" and several short
storles under the headlng 'Prosa escolar" (School
Prose), conflrms that the book ls an assorted collectlon
of most of what Mlstral had wrltten durlng several
years. In l923 a second edltlon of the book appeared ln
Santlago, wlth the addltlon of a few composltlons wrlt
ten ln Mexlco.
Mlstral`s stay ln Mexlco came to an end ln l921
when her servlces were no longer needed. Before
returnlng to Chlle, she traveled ln the Lnlted States and
Europe, thus beglnnlng her llfe of constant movement
from one place to another, a compulslon she attrlbuted
to her need to look for a perfect place to llve ln har
mony wlth nature and soclety. In l925, on her way
back to Chlle, she stopped ln Brazll, Lruguay, and
Argentlna, countrles that recelved her wlth publlc manl
festatlons of appreclatlon. By then she had become a
wellknown and much admlred poet ln all of Latln
Amerlca. Her second book of poems, Tcrvuro, had
appeared a year before ln Madrld. It lncluded, together
wlth new materlal, the poems for chlldren already pub
llshed ln Dcsolociov. Because of thls focus, whlch under
llned only one aspect of her poetry, thls book was seen
as slgnlflcantly dlfferent from her prevlous collectlon,
where the same composltlons were part of a larger
selectlon of sad and dlsturblng poems not at all related
to chlldren.
In Tcrvuro Mlstral attempts to prove that poetry
that deals wlth the subjects of chlldhood, maternlty, and
nature can be done ln hlghly aesthetlc terms, and wlth a
depth of feellng and understandlng. As she wrote ln a
letter, 'He querldo hacer una poesa escolar nueva,
porque la que hay en boga no me satlsface" (I wanted
to wrlte a new type of poetry for the school, because the
one ln fashlon now does not satlsfy me). She wanted to
wrlte, and dld wrlte successfully, 'una poesa escolar
que no por ser escolar deje de ser poesa, que lo sea, y
ms dellcada que cualqulera otra, ms honda, ms
lmpregnada de cosas del corazn. ms estremeclda de
soplo de alma" (a poetry for school that does not cease
to be poetry because lt ls for school, lt must be poetry,
and more dellcate than any other poetry, deeper, more
saturated of thlngs of the heart. more affected by the
breath of the soul). Tcrvuro lncludes her 'Canclones de
cuna," 'Rondas" (Play Songs), and nonsense verses
such as 'La pajlta" (Jhe Llttle Straw), whlch comblnes
fantasy wlth playfulness and muslcallty.
250
d~~ j~ ai_ PPN
Era que era una nla de cera;
pero ne era una nla de cera,
era una gavllla parada en la era.
Pero no era una gavllla
slno una flor tleza de maravllla.
(Jhere was thls glrl of wax;
but she wasn`t made of wax,
she was a sheaf of wheat standlng ln the threshlng floor.
But she was not a sheaf of wheat
but a stlff sunflower.)
Jhe book also lncludes poems about the world and
nature. Jhey are attrlbuted to an almost maglcal story
teller, 'La Cuentamundo" (Jhe WorldJeller), the flc
tlonal lyrlcal volce of a woman who tells about water
and alr, llght and ralnbow, butterflles and mountalns.
Jhere ls also a group of school poems, sllghtly peda
goglcal and objectlve ln thelr tone.
In q~ Mlstral seems to fulflll the promlse she
made ln 'Voto" (Vow) at the end of a~W 'Dlos me
perdone este llbro amargo. Lo dejo tras de m como a la
hondonada sombra y por laderas ms clementes subo
hacla las mesetas esplrltuales donde una ancha luz caer
sobre mls das. Yo cantar desde ellas las palabras de la
esperanza, cantar como lo qulso un mlserlcordloso,
para consolar a los hombres" (I hope God wlll forglve
me for thls bltter book. I leave lt behlnd me, as you
leave the darkened valley, and I cllmb by more benlgn
slopes to the splrltual plateaus where a wlde llght wlll
fall over my days. Irom there I wlll slng the words of
hope, I wlll slng as a merclful one wanted to do, for the
consolatlon of men). q~I ln effect, ls a brlght, hope
ful book, fllled wlth the love of chlldren and of the
many concrete thlngs of the natural and human world.
Back ln Chlle after three years of absence, she
returned to her reglon of orlgln and settled ln La Serena
ln l925, thlnklng about worklng on a small orchard.
Jhat same year she had obtalned her retlrement from
the government as a speclal recognltlon of her years of
servlce to educatlon and of her exceptlonal contrlbutlon
to culture. Ior the rest of her llfe she depended mostly
on thls penslon, slnce her future consular dutles were
served ln an honorary capaclty. Mlstral returned to
Cathollclsm around thls tlme. A fervent follower of St.
Irancls of Asslsl, she entered the Iranclscan Order as a
lalcal member. Jhls declslon says much about her rell
glous convlctlons and her speclal devotlon for the Ital
lan salnt, hls vlews on nature, and hls advlce on
followlng a slmple llfe. As a member of the order, she
chose to llve ln poverty, maklng rellglon a central ele
ment ln her llfe. Rellglon for her was also fundamental
to her understandlng of her functlon as a poet. Her
admlratlon of St. Irancls had led her to start wrltlng,
whlle stlll ln Mexlco, a serles of prose composltlons on
hls llfe. Iragments of the nevercompleted blography
were publlshed ln l965 as j p~ c~
(Motlves of St. Irancls). At the tlme she wrote them,
however, they appeared as newspaper contrlbutlons ln
b j ln Chlle.
Mlstral stayed for only a short perlod ln Chlle
before leavlng agaln for Europe, thls tlme as secretary
of the Latln Amerlcan sectlon ln the League of Natlons
ln Parls. A deslgnated member of the Instltute of Intel
lectual Cooperatlon, she took charge of the Sectlon of
Latln Amerlcan Letters. In Parls she became acqualnted
wlth many wrlters and lntellectuals, lncludlng those
from Latln Amerlca who llved ln Europe, and many
more who vlslted her whlle travellng there. She was the
center of attentlon and the polnt of contact for many of
those who felt part of a common Latln Amerlcan contl
nent and culture. She started the publlcatlon of a serles
of Latln Amerlcan llterary classlcs ln Irench translatlon
and kept a busy schedule as an lnternatlonal functlon
ary fully dedlcated to her work. She was galnlng frlends
and acqualntances, and her famlly provlded her wlth
her most cherlshed of companlons. a nephew she took
under her care. She was llvlng ln the small vlllage of
Bedarrldes, ln Provence, when a half brother Mlstral
dld not know exlsted, son of the father who had left
her, came to her asklng for help. He brought wlth hlm
hls fouryearold son, |uan Mlguel Godoy Mendoza,
whose Catalan mother had just dled. Jhe young man
left the boy wlth Mlstral and dlsappeared.
A few months later, ln l929, Mlstral recelved
news of the death of her own mother, whom she had
not seen slnce her last vlslt to Chlle four years before.
In a serles of elght poems tltled 'Muerte de ml madre"
(Death of My Mother) she expressed her sadness and
bereavement, as well as the 'volteadura de ml alma en
una larga crlsls rellglosa" (upsettlng of my soul ln a long
rellglous crlsls).
Madre ma, en el sueo
ando por palsajes cardenosos.
un monte negro que se contornea
slempre, para alcanzar el otro monte;
y en el que slempre ests t vagamente,
pero slempre hay otro monte redondo
que clrcundar, para pagar el paso
al monte de tu gozo y de ml gozo.
(Mother, ln my dream
I walk purpllsh landscapes.
a black mountaln that sways
trylng to reach the other mountaln;
and you are always ln lt vaguely,
but there ls always another round mountaln
to be walked around to pay the toll
to get to the mountaln of your joy and mlne.)
25l
ai_ PPN d~~ j~
Jhe dream has all the materlal quallty of most of her
preferred lmages, transformed lnto a nlghtmarlsh repre
sentatlon of sufferlng along the way to the flnal rest. In
thls poem the rhymes and rhythm of her prevlous com
posltlons are absent, as she moves cautlously lnto new,
freer forms of verslflcatlon that allow her a more
expresslve communlcatlon of her sorrow. When stlll
uslng a welldeflned rhythm she depends on the slmpler
Spanlsh assonant rhyme or no rhyme at all. Jhe
strongly physlcal and stark character of her lmages
remalns, however, as ln 'Nocturno de la consumacln"
(Nocturne of Consummatlon). 'Jantos aos que
muerdo el deslerto / _ue ml patrla se llama la Sed" (I
have been bltlng the desert for so many years / Jhat
Jhlrst ls the name of my homeland).
In l930 the government of General Carlos Ibez
suspended Mlstral`s retlrement beneflts, leavlng her
wlthout a sustalned means of llvlng. Jhe most prestl
glous newspapers ln the Hlspanlc world offered her a
solutlon ln the form of regular pald contrlbutlons. She
had to do more journallstlc wrltlng, as she regularly
sent her artlcles to such papers as ^_` ln Madrld; i~
k~ (Jhe Natlon) ln Buenos Alres; b q (Jhe
Jlmes) ln Bogot; o ^~ (Amerlcan Reper
tolre) ln San |os, Costa Rlca; m o f~ (Illus
trated Puerto Rlco) ln San |uan; and b jI for
whlch she had been wrltlng regularly slnce the l920s.
Also, to offset her economlc dlfflcultles, ln the academlc
year of l930-l93l she accepted an lnvltatlon from
Ons at Columbla Lnlverslty and taught courses ln llt
erature and Latln Amerlcan culture at Barnard College
and Mlddlebury College. Jhat same year she traveled
ln the Antllles and Central Amerlca, glvlng talks and
meetlng wlth wrlters, lntellectuals, and an enthuslastlc
publlc.
By l932 the Chllean government gave her a con
sular posltlon ln Naples, Italy, but Benlto Mussollnl`s
government dld not accept her credentlals, perhaps
because of her clear opposltlon to fasclsm. In l933,
always looklng for a source of lncome, she traveled to
Puerto Rlco to teach at the Lnlverslty ln Ro Pledras.
Jhe Puerto Rlcan leglslature named her an adoptlve
daughter of the lsland, and the unlverslty gave her an
honorary doctorate, the flrst of many she recelved from
unlversltles ln the ensulng years. Several of her wrltlngs
deal wlth Puerto Rlco, as she developed a keen apprecl
atlon of the lsland and lts people. In |une of the same
year she took a consular posltlon ln Madrld. As had
happened prevlously when she llved ln Parls, ln Madrld
she was constantly vlslted by wrlters from Latln Amer
lca and Spaln who found ln her a stlmulatlng and lnflu
entlal lntellect. Neruda was also servlng as a Chllean
dlplomat ln Spaln at the tlme.
In splte of all her acqualntances and frlendshlps ln
Spaln, however, Mlstral had to leave the country ln a
hurry, never to return. In characterlstlcally slncere and
unequlvocal terms she had expressed ln prlvate some
crltlcal oplnlons of Spaln that led to complalnts by
Spanlards resldlng ln Chlle and, consequently, to the
order from the Chllean government ln l936 to abandon
her consular posltlon ln Madrld. Mlstral was asked to
leave Madrld, but her posltlon was not revoked. She
left for Llsbon, angry at the mallce of those who she felt
wanted to hurt her and saddened for havlng to leave on
those scandalous terms a country she had always loved
and admlred as the land of her ancestors. In l935 the
Chllean government had glven her, at the request of
Spanlsh lntellectuals and other admlrers, the speclally
created posltlon of consul for llfe, wlth the prerogatlve
to choose on her own the clty of deslgnatlon.
Included ln Mlstral`s many trlps was a short vlslt
to her country ln l938, the year she left the Llsbon con
sulate. It colnclded wlth the publlcatlon ln Buenos Alres
of q~~ (Ielllng), her thlrd book of poems. In solldarlty
wlth the Spanlsh Republlc she donated her author`s
rlghts for the book to the Spanlsh chlldren dlsplaced
and orphaned by the war. In q~~ Mlstral lncludes the
poems lnsplred by the death of her mother, together
wlth a varlety of other composltlons that do not llnger
ln sadness but slng of the beauty of the world and deal
wlth the hopes and dreams of the human heart. Jhese
poems are dlvlded lnto three sectlons. 'Materlas" (Mat
ter), comprlslng verse about bread, salt, water, and alr;
'Jlerra de Chlle" (Land of Chlle); and 'Amerlca." Par
tlcularly lmportant ln thls last group are two Amerlcan
hymns. 'Sol del trplco" (Jroplcal Sun) and 'Cordl
llera" (Mountaln Range). Jhese poems exempllfy Mls
tral`s lnterest ln awakenlng ln her contemporarles a love
for the essences of thelr Amerlcan ldentlty.
Because of the war ln Europe, and fearlng for her
nephew, whose frlendshlp wlth rlghtwlng students ln
Llsbon led her to belleve that he mlght become
lnvolved ln the fasclst movement, Mlstral took the gen
eral consular post ln Rlo de |anelro. After llvlng for a
whlle ln Nlterol, and wantlng to be near nature, Mlstral
moved to Petropolls ln l91l, where she often vlslted
her nelghbors, the |ewlsh wrlter Stefan Zwelg and hls
wlfe. Jhe sulclde of the couple ln despalr for the devel
opments ln Europe caused her much paln; but the
worst sufferlng came months later when her nephew
dled of arsenlc polsonlng the nlght of l1 August l913.
Ior Mlstral thls experlence was declslve, and from that
date onward she llved ln constant bereavement, unable
to flnd joy ln llfe because of her loss. Although lt was
establlshed by the authorltles that the elghteenyearold
|uan Mlguel had commltted sulclde, Mlstral never
accepted thls troubllng fact. In her paln she lnslsted on
252
d~~ j~ ai_ PPN
another lnterpretatlon, that he had been kllled by envl
ous Brazlllan school companlons. She composed a
serles of prayers on hls behalf and found consolatlon ln
the convlctlon that |uan Mlguel was sometlmes at her
slde ln splrlt.
Desplte her loss, her actlve llfe and her wrltlng
and travels contlnued. She was stlll ln Brazll when she
heard ln the news on the radlo that the Nobel Prlze ln
Llterature had been awarded to her. It was l915, and
World War II was recently over; for Mlstral, however,
there was no hope or consolatlon. She traveled to Swe
den to be at the ceremony only because the prlze repre
sented recognltlon of Latln Amerlcan llterature. In the
same year she publlshed a new edltlon of q~ that
added the chlldren`s poems from q~~I thus becomlng
the tltle under whlch all of her poems devoted to chll
dren and school subjects were collected as one work. As
a consequence, she also revlsed q~~ and produced a
new, shorter edltlon ln l916. Mlnus the poems from the
four orlglnal sectlons of poems for chlldren, q~~ was
transformed ln thls new verslon lnto a dlfferent, more
broodlng book that starkly contrasts wlth the new edl
tlon of q~K
Jhese changes to her prevlous books represent
Mlstral`s wlll to dlstlngulsh her two dlfferent types of
poetry as separate and dlstlnctly opposlte ln lnsplratlon
and objectlve. Whlle the flrst edltlon of q~ was the
result of a shrewd declslon by an edltor wlth expertlse
ln chlldren`s books, Saturnlno Calleja ln Madrld, these
new edltlons of both books, revlsed by Mlstral herself,
should be lnterpreted as a more slgnlflcant manlfesta
tlon of her vlews on her work and the need to organlze
lt accordlngly. Jhe same creatlve dlstlnctlon dlctated
the deflnltlve organlzatlon of all her poetlc work ln the
l958 edltlon of m~ ~ (Complete Poems),
edlted by Margaret Bates under Mlstral`s supervlslon.
Not wantlng to llve ln Brazll, a country she
blamed for the death of her nephew, Mlstral left for Los
Angeles ln l916 and soon after moved to Santa Bar
bara, where she establlshed herself for a tlme ln a house
she bought wlth the money from the Nobel Prlze. Clro
Alegra, a Peruvlan wrlter who vlslted her there ln l917,
remembers how she dlvlded her tlme between work,
vlslts, and carlng for her garden. Mlstral llked to belleve
that she was a woman of the soll, someone ln dlrect and
dally contact wlth the earth. In all her moves from
country to country she chose houses that were ln the
countryslde or surrounded by flower gardens wlth an
abundance of plants and trees. Accordlng to Alegra,
'Jodo el pantesmo lndlo que haba en el alma de Gab
rlela Mlstral, asomaba de pronto en la conversacln y
de manera neta cuando se pona en contacto con la nat
uraleza" (Jhe Amerlcan Indlan panthelsm of Mlstral`s
splrlt was vlslble sometlmes ln her conversatlon, and lt
was purest when she was ln contact wlth nature).
Mlstral`s love of nature was deeply lngralned
from chlldhood and permeated her work wlth unequlv
ocal messages for the protectlon and care of the envl
ronment that preceded presentday ecologlcal concerns.
She had a slmllar concern for the rlghts to land use ln
Latln Amerlca, and for the sltuatlon of natlve peoples,
the orlglnal owners of the contlnent. After two years ln
Callfornla she agaln was not happy wlth her place of
resldence and declded ln l918 to accept the lnvltatlon
of the Mexlcan presldent to establlsh her home there, ln
the country she loved almost as her own. Her falllng
health, ln partlcular her heart problems, made lt lmpos
slble for her to travel to Mexlco Clty or any other hlgh
altltude cltles, so she settled as consul ln Veracruz. Jhe
Mexlcan government gave her land where she could
establlsh herself for good, but after bulldlng a small
house she returned to the Lnlted States.
Jhe beauty and good weather of Italy, a country
she partlcularly enjoyed, attracted her once more. War
was now ln the past, and Europe appeared to her agaln
as the cradle of her own Chrlstlan tradltlons. the arts,
llterature, and splrltuallty. Ior a whlle ln the early l950s
she establlshed resldence ln Naples, where she actlvely
fulfllled the dutles of Chllean consul. Jhese dutles
allowed her to travel ln Italy, enjoylng a country that
was especlally agreeable to her. In part because of her
health, however, by l953 she was back ln the Lnlted
States. Jhls tlme she establlshed her resldence ln
Roslyn Harbor, Long Island, where she spent her last
years. Whlle ln New York she served as Chllean repre
sentatlve to the Lnlted Natlons and was an actlve mem
ber of the Subcommlttee on the Status of Women.
Besldes correctlng and reedltlng her prevlous
work, and ln addltlon to her regular contrlbutlons to
newspapers, Mlstral was occupled by two maln wrltlng
projects ln the years followlng her nephew`s death and
the receptlon of the Nobel Prlze. Jhese two projects
the seemlngly unendlng composltlon of m~ Ì a
long narratlve poem, and the completlon of her last
book of poems, i~~ (l951, Wlne Press)responded
also to the dlstlnctlon she made between two klnds of
poetlc creatlon. In the flrst project, Mlstral contlnued to
explore her lnterest ln muslcal poetry for chlldren and
poetry of nature. Both are used ln a long narratlve com
posltlon that has much of the charm of a lullaby and a
maglcal story sung by a maternal flgure to a chlld.
Vamos camlnando juntos
As, en hermanos de cuento,
J echando sombra de nlo,
Yo apenas sobra de helecho.
253
ai_ PPN d~~ j~
(We are walklng together,
Jhus, llke brothers ln a story,
Yours ls the shadow of a boy,
Mlne barely resembles the shadow of a fern.)
Jhe dellght of a Iranclscan attltude of enjoyment ln the
beauty of nature, wlth lts magnlflcent landscapes, slm
ple elementsalr, rock, water, frultsand anlmals and
plants, ls also present ln the poem.
Jhe aglng and alllng poet lmaglnes herself ln
Iocmo dc Clilc as a ghost who returns to her land of orl
gln to vlslt lt for the last tlme before meetlng her cre
ator. Insplred by her nostalglc memorles of the land of
her youth that had become ldeallzed ln the long years
of selflmposed exlle, Mlstral trles ln thls poem to con
clllate her regret for havlng llved half of her llfe away
from her country wlth her deslre to transcend all
human needs and flnd flnal rest and happlness ln death
and eternal llfe. In characterlstlc duallsm the poet wrltes
of the beauty of the world ln all of lts materlal sensual
lty as she hurrles on her way to a transcendental llfe ln
a splrltual unlon wlth creatlon. Iocmo dc Clilc was pub
llshed posthumously ln l967 ln an edltlon prepared by
Dorls Dana. Jhls edltlon, based on several drafts left by
Mlstral, ls an lncomplete verslon.
Iogor, on the contrary, was publlshed when the
author was stlll allve and constltutes a complete work ln
splte of the several unflnlshed poems left out by Mlstral
and publlshed posthumously as Iogor II (l99l). A book
wrltten ln a perlod of great sufferlng, Iogor ls an exem
plary work of splrltual strength and poetlc expresslve
ness. It follows the llne of sad and complex poetry ln
the revlsed edltlons of Dcsolociov and Tolo. In Iogor Mls
tral deals wlth the subjects that most lnterested her all
of her llfe, as lf she were revlewlng and revlslng her
vlews and bellefs, her own lnterpretatlon of the mystery
of human exlstence. As ln prevlous books she groups
the composltlons based on thelr subject; thus, her
poems about death form two sectlons'Luto" (Mourn
lng) and 'Nocturnos" (Nocturnes)and, together wlth
the poems about the war ('Guerra"), constltute the
darkest aspect of the collectlon. At the other end of the
spectrum are the poems of 'Naturaleza" (Nature) and
'|ugarretas" (Playfulness), whlch contlnue the same
subdlvlslons found ln her prevlous book. Other sec
tlons address her rellglous concerns ('Rellglosas,"
Nuns), her vlew of herself as a woman ln perpetual
movement from one place to another ('Vagabundaje,"
Vagabondage), and her dlfferent portralts of women
perhaps dlfferent aspects of herselfas mad creatures
obsessed by a passlon ('Locas mujeres," Crazy
Women).
In l95l Mlstral had recelved the Chllean
Natlonal Prlze ln llterature, but she dld not return to
her natlve country untll l951, when Iogor was pub
llshed ln Santlago. She had not been back ln Chlle slnce
l938, and thls last, trlumphant vlslt was brlef, slnce her
falllng health dld not allow her to travel much wlthln
the country. Jhe followlng years were of dlmlnlshed
actlvlty, although she contlnued wrltlng for perlodlcals
as well as worklng on Iocmo dc Clilc and other poems.
Late ln l956 she was dlagnosed wlth termlnal pancre
atlc cancer. A few weeks later, ln the early hours of l0
|anuary l957, Mlstral dled ln a hospltal ln Hempstead,
Long Island. Her last word was 'trlunfo" (trlumph).
After a funeral ceremony at St. Patrlck`s Cathedral ln
New York Clty, the body of thls paclflst woman was
flown by mllltary plane to Santlago, where she recelved
the funeral honors of a natlonal hero. Iollowlng her last
wlll, her remalns were eventually put to rest ln a slmple
tomb ln Monte Grande, the vlllage of her chlldhood.
Her tomb, a mlnlmal rock amld the majestlc mountalns
of her valley of blrth, ls a place of pllgrlmage for many
people who have dlscovered ln her poetry the strength
of a rellglous, splrltual llfe domlnated by a passlonate
love for all of creatlon. Inscrlbed on her tombstone ls
her statement that 'What the soul ls to the body, so ls
the artlst to hls people."
Almost half a century after her death Gabrlela
Mlstral contlnues to attract the attentlon of readers and
crltlcs allke, partlcularly ln her country of orlgln. Her
poetlc work, more than her prose, malntalns lts orlgl
nallty and effectlveness ln communlcatlng a personal
worldvlew ln many ways admlrable. Jhe strongly splrl
tual character of her search for a transcendental joy
unavallable ln the world contrasts wlth her love for the
materlallty of everyday exlstence. Her poetlc volce com
munlcates these opposlng forces ln a style that com
blnes muslcallty and harshness, splrltual lnquletudes
and concrete lmages, hope and despalr.
iW
Ipistolorio: Cortos o Iugcvio Ioborco (191-16), edlted by
Ral Sllva Castro (Santlago. Anales de la Lnlver
sldad de Chlle, l957);
Cortos dc Cobriclo Mistrol o uov Iomov imcvc (San |uan,
Puerto Rlco. Edlclones de La Jorre, l96l);
Cortos dc Cobriclo Mistrol, edlted by Luls Vargas Saave
dra (Santlago. Blblloteca Naclonal, l970);
Cortos dc omor dc Cobriclo Mistrol, edlted by Serglo
Iernndez Larran (Santlago. Andrs Bello,
l978);
Eduardo Irel Montalva, Mcmorios y corrcspovdcvcios cov
Cobriclo Mistrol y ocqucs Moritoiv (Santlago. Pla
neta, l989);
Cobriclo Mistrol y ooquv Corco Movgc: Uvo corrcspovdcvcio
ivcdito, edlted by Magda Arce (Santlago. Andrs
Bello, l989);
251
d~~ j~ ai_ PPN
Tov dc ustcd: Ipistclorio dc Cobriclo Mistrol cov Zlfovso Icycs,
edlted by Vargas Saavedra (Santlago. Hachette/
Edltorlal Lnlversltarla Catllca de Chlle, l99l);
Iv botollo dc scvcillc: Dc Iucilo o Cobriclo: Cortos o Icdro
Irodo, 191-19J9, edlted by Vargas Saavedra,
Mara Ester Martnez Sanz, and Reglna Valds
Bowen (Santlago. Dolmen, l993);
Ipistolorio dc Cobriclo Mistrol c Isolivo orroo (La Serena,
Chlle. Rosales, l995);
!ucstro Cobricl: Cortos ivcditos dc Cobriclo Mistrol o los Irr-
uri Iclcviquc y Tomic Irruri, edlted by Vargas
Saavedra (Santlago. ZlgZag, l995);
Cortos dc omor y dcsomor, edlted by |alme _uezada and
Iernndez Larran (Santlago. Andrs Bello,
l999);
Costillo, tojcodo dc scd como mi lcvguo: Cobriclo Mistrol ovtc
Ispovo y Ispovo ovtc Cobriclo Mistrol, 19JJ o 19J,
edlted by Vargas Saavedra (Santlago. Edlclones
Lnlversldad Catllca de Chlle, 2002);
Tlis Zmcrico of Uurs: Tlc Icttcrs of Cobriclo Mistrol ovd !ic-
torio Ucompo, edlted and translated by Ellzabeth
Horan and Dorls Meyer (Austln. Lnlverslty of
Jexas Press, 2003);
Cortos dc lo grov Cobriclo o Corlos Iclliccr, edlted by Serge I.
Zatzeff (Mexlco Clty. Grupo Reslstencla, 2001);
Il ojo otrovcsodo: Corrcspovdcvcio cvtrc Cobriclo Mistrol y los
cscritorcs uruguoyos, edlted by Sllvla Guerra and
Vernlca Zondek (Santlago. LOM, 2005);
Movucl, cv los lobios por muclo ticmpo: Ipistolorio cvtrc
Iucilo Codoy Zlcoyogo y Movucl Mogollovcs Mourc,
edlted by Martnez Sanz and Vargas Saavedra
(Santlago. Edlclones Lnlversldad Catllca de
Chlle, 2005).
fW
Cecllla GarcaHuldobro, ed., Movcdo duro: Cobriclo Mis-
trol por cllo mismo (Santlago. Catalonla, 2005).
_~W
Compcvdio bibliogrfico dc Cobriclo Mistrol (Vlcua, Chlle.
Museo de Gabrlela Mlstral de Vlcua, l985);
Patrlcla Rublo, Cobriclo Mistrol ovtc lo crtico: ibliogrofo
ovotodo (Santlago. Dlreccln de Blbllotecas, Archl
vos y Museos, Centro de Investlgaclones Dlego
Barros Arana, l995).
_~W
Isauro Santellces E., Mi cvcucvtro cov Cobriclo Mistrol,
1912-197 (Santlago. Edltorlal de Pacflco, l972);
Volodla Jeltelbolm, Cobriclo Mistrol, pblico y sccrcto: Truc-
vos y silcvcios cv lo vido dcl primcr òbcl lotivoomcricovo
(Santlago. BAJ, l99l; revlsed, Santlago. Edltorlal
Sudamerlcana, 2003);
Arlel Iernndez, Ios Zvdcs, Cobriclo Mistrol y mis podrcs
(1912-191S) (Santlago. Jamurugal, 2005);
Serglo Macas, Cobriclo Mistrol, o, Ictroto dc uvo pcrcgrivo
(Madrld. Jabla Rasa, 2005).
oW
Marjorle Agosn, ed., Cobriclo Mistrol: Tlc Zudocious
Trovclcr (Athens. Ohlo Lnlverslty Press, 2003);
Clro Alegra, Cobriclo Mistrol vtimo (Llma. Edltorlal
Lnlverso, l968?);
Iernando Alegra, Ccvio y figuro dc Cobriclo Mistrol (Bue
nos Alres. Edltorlal Lnlversltarla de Buenos
Alres, l966);
Margot Arce de Vzquez, Cobriclo Mistrol, tlc Ioct ovd
Hcr !orl, translated by Helene Masslo Anderson
(New York. New York Lnlversltles Press, l961);
|alme Concha, Cobriclo Mistrol (Madrld. |car, l987);
Mara Lulsa Dalgre, Cobriclo cscovdido: Uvo lccturo dc docc
pocmos dc Tolo (Santlago. Rll, 2005);
Santlago DaydJolson, Il ultimo viojc dc Cobriclo Mistrol
(Santlago. Aconcagua, l989);
Llcla IlolMatta, Z _uccr Motlcr for tlc òtiov: Tlc Stotc
ovd Cobriclo Mistrol (Mlnneapolls. Lnlverslty of
Mlnnesota Press, 2002);
Harrlet Alejandro Gumuclo, Cobriclo Mistrol y cl prcmio
òbcl (Santlago. Nasclmento, l916);
Matllde Ladrn de Guevara, Cobriclo Mistrol, rcbcldc
mogvfico (Buenos Alres. Losada, l962);
Susana Munnlch, Cobriclo Mistrol: Sobcrbiomcvtc trovsgrc-
soro (Santlago. LOM, 2005);
Ana Plzarro, Cobriclo Mistrol: Il proyccto dc Iucilo (Santl
ago. LOM, 2005);
Grnor Rojo, Dirv quc cst cv lo glorio (Mistrol) (Santlago.
Iondo de Cultura Econmlca, l997);
Martn C. Jaylor, Cobriclo Mistrol`s Icligious Scvsibility
(Berkeley. Lnlverslty of Callfornla Press, l968);
Llla Zemboraln, Cobriclo Mistrol: Uvo mujcr siv rostro
(Rosarlo, Argentlna. Beatrlz Vlterbo Edltora,
2002).
m~W
Gabrlela Mlstral`s papers are held ln the Mlstral Collec
tlon at the Barnard College Llbrary ln New York.
NVQR k m i~
m~ p
by Hjolmor Cullbcrg, Mcmbcr of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy
One day a mother`s tears caused a whole lan
guage, dlsdalned at that tlme ln good soclety, to redls
cover lts noblllty and galn glory through the power of
255
ai_ PPN d~~ j~
lts poetry. It ls sald that when |Irdrlc| Mlstral, the
flrst of the two poets bearlng the name of the Medlter
ranean wlnd, had wrltten hls flrst verses ln Irench as a
young student, hls mother began to shed lnexhaustlble
tears. An lgnorant country woman from Languedoc,
she dld not understand thls dlstlngulshed language.
Mlstral then wrote jI recountlng the love of the
pretty llttle peasant for the poor artlsan, an eplc that
exudes the perfume of the flowerlng land and ends ln
cruel death. Jhus the old language of the troubadours
became agaln the language of poetry. Jhe Nobel Prlze
of l901 drew the world`s attentlon to thls event. Jen
years later the poet of j dled.
In that same year, l9l1, the year ln whlch the
Ilrst World War broke out, a new Mlstral appeared at
the other end of the world. At the Iloral Games of San
tlago de Chlle, Gabrlela Mlstral obtalned the prlze wlth
some poems dedlcated to a dead man.
Her story ls so well known to the people of South
Amerlca that, passed on from country to country, lt has
become almost a legend. And now that she has at last
come to us, over the crests of the Cordllleran Andes
and across the lmmensltles of the Atlantlc, we may retell
lt once agaln.
In a small vlllage ln the Elquls valley, several
decades ago, was born a future schoolteacher named
Luclla Godoy y Alcayaga. Godoy was her father`s
name, Alcayaga her mother`s; both were of Basque orl
gln. Her father, who had been a schoolteacher, lmpro
vlsed verses wlth ease. Hls talent seems to have been
mlxed wlth the anxlety and the lnstablllty common to
poets. He left hls famlly when hls daughter, for whom
he had made a small garden, was stlll a chlld. Her beau
tlful mother, who was to llve a long tlme, has sald that
sometlmes she dlscovered her lonely llttle daughter
engaged ln lntlmate conversatlons wlth the blrds and
the flowers of the garden. Accordlng to one verslon of
the legend, she was expelled from school. Apparently
she was consldered too stupld for teachlng hours to be
wasted on her. Yet she taught herself by her own meth
ods, educatlng herself to the extent that she became a
teacher ln the small vlllage school of Cantera. Jhere
her destlny was fulfllled at the age of twenty, when a
passlonate love arose between her and a rallroad
employee.
We know llttle of thelr story. We know only that
he betrayed her. One day ln November, l909, he fatally
shot hlmself ln the head. Jhe young glrl was selzed
wlth boundless despalr. Llke |ob, she llfted her cry to
the Heaven that had allowed thls. Irom the lost valley
ln the barren, scorched mountalns of Chlle a volce
arose, and far around men heard lt. A banal tragedy of
everyday llfe lost lts prlvate character and entered lnto
unlversal llterature. Luclla Godoy y Alcayaga became
Gabrlela Mlstral. Jhe llttle provlnclal schoolteacher, the
young colleague of Selma Lagerlf of Mrbacka, was to
become the splrltual queen of Latln Amerlca.
When the poems wrltten ln memory of the dead
man had made known the name of the new poet, the
sombre and passlonate poems of Gabrlela Mlstral
began to spread over all South Amerlca. It was not untll
l922, however, that she had her large collectlon of
poems, a~ (Despalr), prlnted ln New York. A
mother`s tears burst forth ln the mlddle of the book, ln
the flfteenth poem, tears shed for the son of the dead
man, a son who would never be born. . . .
Gabrlela Mlstral transferred her natural love to
the chlldren she taught. Ior them she wrote the collec
tlons of slmple songs and rounds, collected ln Madrld
ln l921 under the tltle q~ (Jenderness). In her
honour, four thousand Mexlcan chlldren at one tlme
sang these rounds. Gabrlela Mlstral became the poet of
motherhood by adoptlon.
In l938 her thlrd large collectlon, q~~ (a tltle
whlch can be translated as 'ravage" but whlch ls also
the name of a chlldren`s game), appeared ln Buenos
Alres for the beneflt of the lnfant vlctlms of the Spanlsh
Clvll War. Contrastlng wlth the pathos of a~I
q~~ expresses the cosmlc calm whlch envelopes the
South Amerlcan land whose fragrance comes all the
way to us. We are agaln ln the garden of her chlldhood;
I llsten agaln to the lntlmate dlalogues wlth nature and
common thlngs. Jhere ls a curlous mlxture of sacred
hymn and nalve song for chlldren; the poems on bread
and wlne, salt, corn, and waterwater that can be
offered to thlrsty mencelebrate the prlmordlal foods of
human llfe! . . .
Irom her maternal hand thls poet glves us a drlnk
whlch tastes of the earth and whlch appeases the thlrst
of the heart. It ls drawn from the sprlng whlch ran for
Sappho on a Greek lsland and for Gabrlela Mlstral ln
the valley Elquls, the sprlng of poetry that wlll never
dry up.
Madame Gabrlela MlstralYou have lndeed
made a long voyage to be recelved by so short a speech.
In the space of a few mlnutes I have descrlbed to the
compatrlots of Selma Lagerlf your remarkable pllgrlm
age from the chalr of a schoolmlstress to the throne of
poetry. In renderlng homage to the rlch Latln Amerlcan
llterature, we address ourselves today qulte speclally to
lts queen, the poet of a~I who has become the
great slnger of sorrow and of motherhood.
I ask you now to recelve from the hands of Hls
Majesty the Klng the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature, whlch
the Swedlsh Academy has awarded you.
256
d~~ j~ ai_ PPN
j~W _~ p
Ivtroductory rcmorls by Irofcssor Z. H. T. Tlcorcll of tlc
Dcportmcvt of ioclcmistry, òbcl Ivstitutc of Mcdicivc, ot tlc
òbcl ovquct ot tlc City Holl iv Stocllolm, 10 Dcccmbcr
194:
Jo you, Gabrlela Mlstral, I wlsh to convey our
admlrlng homage. Irom a dlstant contlnent, where the
summer sun now shlnes, you have ventured the long
journey to Gsta Berllng`s land, when the darkness of
wlnter broods at lts deepest. A worthler volce than
mlne has pralsed your poetry earller today. May I nev
ertheless be permltted to say that we all share ln the
gladness that the Nobel Prlze has thls tlme been
awarded to a poetess who comblnes magnlflcent art
wlth the deepest and noblest alms.
Mistrol`s spcccl (Trovslotiov)
Joday Sweden turns toward a dlstant Latln Amer
lcan country to honour lt ln the person of one of the
many exponents of lts culture. It would have pleased
the cosmopolltan splrlt of Alfred Nobel to extend the
scope of hls protectorate of clvlllzatlon by lncludlng
wlthln lts radlus the southern hemlsphere of the Amerl
can contlnent. As a daughter of Chllean democracy, I
am moved to have before me a representatlve of the
Swedlsh democratlc tradltlon, a tradltlon whose orlgl
nallty conslsts ln perpetually renewlng ltself wlthln the
framework of the most valuable creatlons of soclety.
Jhe admlrable work of freelng a tradltlon from dead
wood whlle conservlng lntact the core of the old vlr
tues, the acceptance of the present and the antlclpatlon
of the future, these are what we call Sweden, and these
achlevements are an honour to Europe and an lnsplrlng
example for the Amerlcan contlnent.
Jhe daughter of a new people, I salute the splrl
tual ploneers of Sweden, by whom I have been helped
more than once. I recall lts men of sclence who have
enrlched lts natlonal body and mlnd. I remember the
leglon of professors and teachers who show the for
elgner unquestlonably exemplary schools, and I look
wlth trustlng love to those other members of the Swed
lsh people. farmers, craftsmen, and workers.
At thls moment, by an undeserved stroke of for
tune, I am the dlrect volce of the poets of my race and
the lndlrect volce for the noble Spanlsh and Portuguese
tongues. Both rejolce to have been lnvlted to thls festl
val of Nordlc llfe wlth lts tradltlon of centurles of folk
lore and poetry.
May God preserve thls exemplary natlon, lts herl
tage and lts creatlons, lts efforts to conserve the lmpon
derables of the past and to cross the present wlth the
confldence of marltlme people who overcome every
challenge.
My homeland, represented here today by our
learned Mlnlster Gajardo, respects and loves Sweden,
and lt has sent me here to accept the speclal honour you
have awarded to lt. Chlle wlll treasure your generoslty
among her purest memorles.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l915. Gabrlela Mlstral ls
the sole author of her speech.|
257
q j
(J0 òvcmbcr 1S17 - 1 òvcmbcr 190J)
b~ _~
Uvivcrsity of Coliforvio, Ios Zvgclcs
BOOKS. Iicdcrbucl drcicr Ircuvdc, by Mommsen, Jhe
odor Storm, and Jycho Mommsen (Klel, l813);
Uslisclc Studicv, 2 volumes (Berlln. Nlcolal, l815, l816);
Dic Cruvdrccltc dcs dcutsclcv !ollcs, mit clclruvgcv uvd
Irloutcruvgcv, anonymous (Lelpzlg. Wlgand,
l819); as Mommsen (Irankfurt am Maln. Klos
termann, l969);
Dic uvtcritolisclcv Diolcltc (Lelpzlg. Wlgand, l850);
Ubcr dos rmisclc Mvwcscv (Lelpzlg. Weldmann, l850);
Dic Sclwci iv rmisclcr cit (Zurlch, l851);
Imisclc Ccsclicltc, volumes l-3 (Berlln. Weldmann,
l851-l856); volume 1 never publlshed; volume 5
publlshed as Dic Irovivcv vov Cocsor bis Diollctiov
(Berlln. Weldmann, l885); translated by Wllllam P.
Dlckson as Tlc History of Iomc, 1 volumes (London.
Bentley, l862-l866; New York. Scrlbner, l868);
translatlon revlsed, 5 volumes (London. Bentley,
l891; New York. Scrlbner, l895); orlglnal expanded
as Imisclc Ccsclicltc: !ollstovdigc Zusgobc iv oclt
ovdcv, 8 volumes (Munlch. Deutscher Jaschen
buch, l976);
Dic rmisclc Clrovologic bis ouf Cocsor (Berlln. Weldmann,
l858; expanded, l859);
Ccsclicltc dcs rmisclcv Mvwcscvs (Berlln. Weldmann,
l860);
Imisclc Iorscluvgcv, 2 volumes (Berlln. Weldmann, l861,
l879);
Imisclcs Stootsrcclt, 3 volumes (Lelpzlg. Hlrzel, l87l-
l888);
Dic rtlicllcit dcr !orussclloclt (Berlln. Weldmann, l885);
Zbriss dcs rmisclcv Stootsrcclts (Lelpzlg. Dunker Humblot,
l893);
Imisclcs Strofrcclt, 3 volumes (Lelpzlg. Duncker Hum
blot, l899);
!cilc-Ivsclrift fr !olcrius Dolmotius (Berlln. Knlgllch Preus
slsche Akademle der Wlssenschaften, l902);
Ccsommcltc Sclriftcv, 8 volumes (Berlln. Weldmann, l901);
Icdcv uvd Zufsotc (Berlln. Weldmann, l905);
Togcbucl dcr frovsiscl-itolicvisclcv Icisc, 1S44/1S4,
edlted by Gerold Walser and Brlgltte Walser
(Bern. Lang, l976).
b ~ `W Dos !cltrcicl dcr Cocsorcv,
excerpted from Imisclc Ccsclicltc (Vlenna
Lelpzlg. Phaldon, l933);
udoco uvd dic udcv, excerpted from Imisclc Ccsclicltc
(Berlln. Schocken, l936);
Coius ulius Cocsor, civ vollcvdctcr Stootsmovv, excerpted
from volume 3 of Imisclc Ccsclicltc (Berlln.
Rabenpresse, l91l);
Dos rmisclc Impcrium dcr Cosorcv, edlted by Kurt L.
WalterSchomburg (Berlln. Safarl, l91l);
Imisclc Ioiscrgcsclicltc: òcl dcv !orlcsuvgs-Mitsclriftcv vov
Scbostiov uvd Ioul Hcvscl 1SS2/S6, edlted by Bar
q jI NVMM E o ^
xp ~ b~zI NVMRF
258
q j ai_ PPN
bara Demandt and Alexander Demandt (Munlch.
Beck, l992); translated by Clare Krojzl as Z His-
tory of Iomc uvdcr tlc Impcrors, edlted by Jhomas
Wledmann (London. Routledge, l996).
b bW Tlc History of Iomc, abrldged by
Dero A. Saunders and |ohn H. Colllns (Cllnton,
Mass.. Merldlan Books, l958);
Tlc Irovivccs of Iomc from Cocsor to Dioclctiov, revlsed edl
tlon of volume 5 of Imisclc Ccsclicltc, translated
by Wllllam P. Dlckson, 2 volumes (Chlcago.
Ares, l971).
OJHER. Ivscriptiovcs rcgvi vcopolitovi lotivoc, edlted by
Mommsen (Lelpzlg. Wlegand, l852);
Corpus Ivscriptiovum Iotivorum, l5 volumes, edlted by
Mommsen (Berlln. Relmer, l862-l902);
Zvolccto Iiviovo, edlted by Mommsen (Lelpzlg. Hlrzel,
l873);
Clrovico mivoro socc. I!, !, !I, !III, Movumcvto Ccrmovioc
listorico, 3 volumes, edlted by Mommsen (Berlln.
Weldmann, l892-l898).
In l902 the Swedlsh Academy awarded the Nobel
Prlze ln Llterature not to a wrlter of flctlon, drama, or
verse, but to an hlstorlan. Jheodor Mommsen`s Imisclc
Ccsclicltc (l851-l885; translated as Tlc History of Iomc,
l862-l866, l891) was consldered such a monumental
work that lt lnduced the Swedlsh Academy to award hlm
the prlze. Jhe guldellnes left by Alfred Nobel for the prlze
commlttee stated that 'llterature" should be lnterpreted to
lnclude not only belles lettres 'but also other wrltlngs that
ln form or content show llterary value." Jhe secretary of
the Swedlsh Academy, C. D. af Wlrsn, elaborated at the
award ceremony that thls deflnltlon sanctloned 'the award
of the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature to phllosophers, wrlters on
rellglous subjects, sclentlsts, and hlstorlans, provlded that
thelr work ls dlstlngulshed by artlstlc excellence of presen
tatlon as well as by the hlgh value of lts contents." What
was even more remarkable about the award ln l902, only
the second tlme the prlze was offered, was that among
Mommsen`s competltors were Mark Jwaln, Henrlk Ibsen,
Emlle Zola, Gerhart Hauptmann, and Leo Jolstoy. Jhe
cltatlon from the Swedlsh Academy celebrated Mommsen
as 'the greatest llvlng master of the art of hlstorlcal wrlt
lng, wlth speclal reference to hls monumental work, Z His-
tory of Iomc."
Chrlstlan Matthlas Jheodor Mommsen was born
on 30 November l8l7, the eldest of slx chlldren born to
|ens Mommsen and hls wlfe, Sophle (ne Krumbhaar). He
was ralsed ln Gardlng, a small town ln Slesvlg (Schleswlg),
then under Danlsh rule, and later at Oldesloe, a small
town ln Holsteln between Hamburg and Lbeck. Hls
father, who was a Protestant mlnlster, taught the boy at
home untll l831, when he was ready to attend the Gym
naslum Chrlstlaneum ln Altona near Hamburg. In l838
Mommsen enrolled at the Lnlverslty of Klel, where he
studled classlcal phllology and law and graduated ln l813
wlth a dlssertatlon on Roman law. In l811 he was
awarded a travel grant by the klng of Denmark that
enabled hlm to conduct archaeologlcal research wlth spe
clal emphasls on Latln lnscrlptlons ln Italy. Later, he
turned the expertlse galned ln thls fleld lnto hls speclalty.
One aspect of Imisclc Ccsclicltc that crltlcs noted
was Mommsen`s vlvld style. In the Nobel presentatlon
speech, Wlrsn commented that Mommsen had 'that
artlstlc presentatlon whlch alone can glve llfe and concrete
ness to a descrlptlon," and added, 'Hls lntultlon and hls
creatlve power brldge the gap between the hlstorlan and
the poet." Mommsen`s lnterest ln style and creatlve wrlt
lng were evldent as early as l813, when he contrlbuted
some poems to the volume Iicdcrbucl drcicr Ircuvdc (Song
book of Jhree Irlends), whlch he publlshed wlth hls
brother Jycho and another frlend, Jheodor Storm, who
later became a mlnor reallst wrlter. Wlrsn sald that thls
volume proved Mommsen 'mlght have become a servant
of the Muses lf, ln hls own words, clrcumstances had not
brought lt about that 'what wlth follos and wlth prose / not
every bud turned out a rose.`"
When Mommsen returned to Germany ln l818, he
got lnvolved ln the revolutlon agalnst the Danlsh govern
ment. German llberals had formed a provlslonal govern
ment ln SlesvlgHolsteln ln opposltlon to the Danlsh
government that lntended to lncorporate Slesvlg lnto the
Danlsh state. Mommsen jolned the revolutlonary army
and was actlve as a journallst and edltor of a llberal pro
German paper, the Scllcswig-Holstcivisclc cituvg, but he dld
not envlslon a future ln elther polltlcs or journallsm.
Although Austrla and Prussla lntervened on behalf of the
lndependence of SlesvlgHolsteln from Denmark, the
duchles dld not become a part of the North German Con
federatlon untll l866.
Mommsen was tralned as a classlcal phllologlst, but
hls dlssertatlon ln Roman law enabled hlm to accept an
appolntment as professor of law at the Lnlverslty of
Lelpzlg ln l818. Slnce contlnental law was based on
Roman law and not on AngloSaxon case law, every law
student was requlred to take classes ln Roman law, and
every law faculty ln Germany had at least one member
who speclallzed ln lt. In l850 Mommsen was sentenced to
nlne months ln prlson because of hls partlclpatlon ln the
l819 uprlslng ln Saxony that also lnvolved Rlchard Wag
ner, who had to go lnto exlle ln Swltzerland. Mommsen`s
sentence was suspended, but he was dlsmlssed from hls
teachlng posltlon ln Lelpzlg.
Mommsen was forced to go abroad. In l852 he was
appolnted professor of law at the Lnlverslty of Zurlch. He
returned to Germany when he was appolnted professor of
law at the Lnlverslty of Breslau from l851 to l858. In
259
ai_ PPN q j
l851 Mommsen marrled Marle Auguste Relmer, the
daughter of the publlsher who had commlssloned o
dK Mommsen and hls wlfe went on to have slxteen
chlldren. Mommsen was ahead of hls tlme when he
lnslsted on hlgher educatlon not only for hls sons but also
for hls daughters. In addltlon to recelvlng secondary edu
catlon, all of hls daughters were tralned for a professlon.
Between l851 and l856 Mommsen publlshed the
flrst three volumes of hls o dK Jhe l895 flve
volume translatlon by Wllllam P. Dlckson ls the standard
Amerlcan edltlon. Mommsen`s hlstory beglns wlth the
earllest mlgratlons lnto Italy, the settlements of the Latlns,
the orlglnal constltutlon of Rome, the abolltlon of the
monarchy ln Rome, and the struggle of the Itallans agalnst
Rome. Volume one (volumes one through three of the
Amerlcan edltlon) ends wlth the subjugatlon of Carthage
and the Greek states. Jhls volume lncludes descrlptlons of
the battles agalnst Hannlbal, the Phoenlclan general who
defeated the Romans at Cannae ln 2l6 _.`. and was
flnally defeated by Sclplo Afrlcanus at Zama ln North
Afrlca ln 202 _.`.
Most lmportant was Mommsen`s outllne of the orlg
lnal constltutlon of Rome, because hls threevolume work
ls held together by hls concept of a constltutlon ln constant
change adaptlng to new functlons that evolved from
Rome`s development of a cltystate lnto a world power.
Mommsen belleved that Roman law was unlque ln the
embodlment of the prlnclples of famlly llfe, as lt evolved
from a state of nature. 'Jhe Roman famlly from the flrst
contalned wlthln lt the condltlons of a hlgher culture ln the
moral adjustment of the mutual relatlons of lts members."
Although only men could be head of a famlly, women dld
not hold a posltlon lnferlor to men ln terms of property
and money. 'Wlthln the house . . . woman was not ser
vant but mlstress." Irom a legal polnt of vlew, however,
'the famlly was absolutely gulded and governed by the
slngle allpowerful wlll of the 'father of the household.`"
Mommsen`s o d showed how the Roman
state was based on the Roman household through lts hls
tory. 'Jhe bodypolltlc was modeled after the famlly both
generally and ln detall." Slnce there was no natural master
ln the communlty of people, somebody 'from lts own
ranks became lts 'leader` EF and lord ln the household of
the Roman communlty." Jhls offlce 'began at once and
by rlght when the posltlon had become vacant and the
successor had been deslgnated." Jhe klng needed the con
sent of the communlty ln order to rule; the people dld not
owe full obedlence to the klng untll he had convoked the
assembly of freemen capable of bearlng arms and had for
mally challenged lts alleglance. Only then dld he possess
'ln lts entlreness that power over the communlty whlch
belonged to the housefather ln hls household; and, llke
hlm, he ruled for llfe." Jhe regal power of the klng dld not
have any external check lmposed by law. 'the master of
the communlty had no judge of hls acts wlthln the com
munlty, any more than the housefather had a judge
wlthln hls household. Death alone termlnated hls power."
Jhe only balance was the equallty of rlghts among the cltl
zens. Accordlng to Mommsen, 'the equallty of rlghts
wlthln the burgessbody was complete." He malntalned
that 'no people has ever equaled that of Rome ln the lnex
orable rlgor, ln whlch lt has carrled out" thls prlnclple. But
thls emphasls on Roman law dld not mean that Momm
sen neglected art and llterature. He lncluded speclal chap
ters ln volumes one through three that dealt wlth the
llterature, art, and sclence of partlcular perlods.
Volume two deals wlth the reform movement and
varlous revolutlons (volumes three and four of the Amerl
can edltlon). Volume three analyzes the establlshment of a
mllltary monarchy ln Rome (volumes four and flve of the
Amerlcan edltlon). Its antepenultlmate chapter deals wlth
Galus |ullus Caesar at the age of flftyslx, after the battle of
Jhapsus (16 _.`.) that was declded ln favor of Caesar ln
hls flght agalnst the defenders of the Roman republlc. It
was the beglnnlng of what Mommsen called the 'monar
chy of Caesar."
Marcus Cato, the last representatlve of the Roman
republlc, fell on hls sword at Ltlca ln 16 _.`., marklng the
end of the era. Mommsen consldered the Roman republlc
a great polltlcal system, but as an hlstorlan he reallzed that
lt was doomed to destructlon because lt was unable to
respond to the challenges of an emplre. In hls oplnlon,
Cato dld not dle ln valn.
It was a fearfully strlklng protest of the republlc agalnst the
monarchy, that the last republlcan went as the flrst mon
arch camea protest whlch tore asunder llke gossamer all
that socalled constltutlonal character wlth whlch Caesar
lnvested hls monarchy, and exposed ln all lts hypocrltlcal
falsehood the shlbboleth of the reconclllatlon of all partles,
under the aegls of whlch despotlsm grew up.
Although he was crltlcal of Caesar`s hatred of Cato even
beyond the grave, Mommsen`s assessment of the republl
can opposltlon was harsh; he called Cato a fool, albelt a
traglc fool llke Don _ulxote, and concluded that republl
canlsm derlved from hlm lts whole attltude. 'stately, tran
scendental ln lts rhetorlc," but also 'pretentlously rlgld,
hopeless, and falthful to death."
Mommsen percelved Caesar as 'the sole creatlve
genlus produced by Rome, and the last produced by the
anclent world, whlch accordlngly moved on ln the path
that he marked out for lt untll lts sun went down." Irom
thls sentence Mommsen`s reasons for never wrltlng vol
ume four of o d become obvlous. hls hlstory
of Rome was completed wlth end of the anclent world. A
new hlstory began wlth Emperor Augustus ln 27 _.`.
Ior Mommsen, 'Caesar was a statesman ln the
deepest sense of the term, and hls alm was the hlghest
260
q j ai_ PPN
whlch man ls allowed to propose to hlmselfthe polltlcal,
mllltary, lntellectual, and moral regeneratlon of hls own
deeply decayed natlon, and of the stlll more decayed Hel
lenlc natlon lntlmately akln to hls own." Mommsen
pralsed Caesar as a great orator, author, and general. He
admltted that Caesar was a monarch but malntalned that
'he was never selzed by the glddlness of the tyrant." He
lnslsted that Caesar 'remalned democrat even when mon
arch," retalnlng the essentlal ldeas of Roman democracy
that conslsted of 'allevlatlon of the burdens of debtors,
overseas colonlzatlon, gradual equallzatlon of the dlffer
ences of rlghts among the classes belonglng to the state,
emanclpatlon of the executlve power from the senate."
Mommsen concluded that Caesar`s monarchy 'was so llt
tle at varlance wlth democracy, that democracy on the
contrary only attalned lts completlon and fulflllment by
means of that monarchy." He explalned that Caesar`s
monarchy 'was not the Orlental despotlsm of dlvlne
rlght" and compared hlm to Perlcles and Ollver Cromwell
as 'the representatlon of the natlon by the man ln whom lt
puts supreme and unllmlted confldence."
Mommsen dlscussed the lssue of Caesarlsm that
was a current toplc because of the rule of Napoleon III of
Irance, but he lnslsted that Caesar and Roman lmperlal
lsm were 'a sharper censure of modern autocracy than
could be wrltten by the hand of man." In the end, Caesar`s
offlce was that of dictotor pcrpctuus (dlctator for llfe), but
Mommsen clalmed that Caesar dld not abuse hls offlce.
Hls new tltle as lmperator was consldered more approprl
ate for hls functlon as democratlc klng and commander ln
chlef. Iurthermore, Mommsen malntalned that Caesar
was not to be deslgnated as 'a worldconqueror ln the
same sense as Alexander and Napoleon," because hls
monarchy dld not rest on the support of the army. He sub
ordlnated mllltary authorlty to the clvll commonwealth
and averted mllltary despotlsm.
Caesar`s assasslnatlon ln 11 _.`. was not even men
tloned ln Imisclc Ccsclicltc. Mommsen concluded hls
chapter on Caesar wlth the hlghest pralse for thls natlon
bullder. 'Jhus he worked and created as never dld any
mortal before hlm or after hlm; and as a worker and cre
ator he stlll . . . llves ln the memory of natlonsthe flrst,
and wlthal unlque, Imperator Caesar." Jhe flnal chapter
on rellglon, culture, llterature, and art appears as an after
thought.
Some crltlcs objected to Mommsen`s subjectlve
judgments, especlally wlth reference to hls unfavorable
remarks concernlng Caesar`s enemles. He had called
Cato, the last representatlve of republlcan freedom, a fool
and consldered Clcero, the famous orator and creator of
modern Latln prose, a 'shortslghted egotlst" and a 'jour
nallst ln the worst sense of that term." He concluded that
'the dreadful barrenness of thought ln the Clceronlan ora
tlons must revolt every reader of feellng and judgment."
Other objectlons were ralsed to what Wlrsn called
'Mommsen`s admlratlon of the power of genlus even
when lt breaks the law, as well as to hls statement that ln
hlstory, whlch has no trlals for hlgh treason, a revolutlon
ary can be a farslghted and pralseworthy statesman." But
Wlrsn defended Mommsen, emphaslzlng that he never
glorlfled 'brute power" but extolled 'that power whlch
serves the hlgh goals of the state." He also addressed the
crltlclsm concernlng Mommsen`s anachronlstlc cholce of
polltlcal terms, such as uvlcrtum (landed gentry), the mod
ern clty name Coblenz lnstead of Latln Covflucvtcs, Como-
rillo (secret advlsers), Iovlvccltc (mercenarles), Morsclollc
(mllltary offlcers of hlghest rank), and Sbirrcv (executory
offlcers), defendlng lt as a product of hls learnlng. He
thought that lt added 'freshness" to the narratlve. Modern
hlstorlans have crltlclzed Mommsen for hls descrlptlon of
Roman polltlcs as a 'twoparty system" of the 'democratlc
party" and the 'ollgarchlc party." Accordlng to modern
hlstorlography, there was no such polltlcal dlvlslon ln the
Roman republlc, and the usage of the modern terms con
fused the lssues.
A flnal argument ln favor of Mommsen was the fact
that he severely condemned 'the curse of the Roman sys
tem of slavery." He polnted out that Rome suffered more
severely from a dlsproportlonately large body of slaves
than any other state of antlqulty. Slavery was not only a
securlty problem, as the gladlatorlal wars (73-7l _.`.)
under the leadershlp of Spartacus showed, but also a
source of demorallzatlon because of the absence of free
dom. Mommsen emphaslzed that Caesar trled to lmprove
thls deplorable sltuatlon by fllllng posts that demanded
speclal confldence 'wlth hls slaves, freedmen, or cllents of
humble blrth."
It ls dlfflcult to understand how Mommsen as a llb
eral lntellectual could reconclle hls hlghly ldeallzed lmage
of Caesar wlth hls expectatlons for a democratlc Germany.
But ln l858, after the defeat of the revolutlon of l818 and
the dlssolutlon of the Irankfurt Assembly ln l819, the
prospect of a democratlc klng was perhaps a promlslng
solutlon. Jhe declslon of the Swedlsh Academy ln l902 to
award the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature to an hlstorlan who
projected thls lmage of the dictotor pcrpctuus as a democratlc
klng was even more dlfflcult to explaln. Jhe appeal of the
Imisclc Ccsclicltc to the educated readers of the nlneteenth
century must have been that thelr schoolday lessons ln
Roman hlstory came allve agaln ln Mommsen`s descrlp
tlons of battle scenes and portrayal of great men ln tlmes of
stress and turmoll. But the ultlmate appeal may have been
Mommsen`s analyses of a polltlcal system respondlng to
change. a constltutlon deslgned for a cltystate had to be
revlsed agaln and agaln to stay functlonal for an lmperlal
power that ruled the anclent world. Accordlng to Momm
sen, thls constltutlon of an emplre reached lts fulflllment
under Caesar`s dlctatorshlp. Such an lmaglnatlve account
26l
ai_ PPN q j
of thls process as Mommsen`s Imisclc Ccsclicltc must have
had a tremendous appeal durlng a century of natlon bulld
lng ln Europe. Jhe work was translated lnto Itallan (l857),
Russlan (l858), Engllsh (l862), Irench (l863), Pollsh
(l867), Hungarlan (l871), Spanlsh (l875), and Danlsh
(l875). Jhe unlflcatlon of Italy through Rome`s mllltary
power and Caesar`s pollcy of emplre bulldlng must have
been an lnsplratlon to educated readers ln nlneteenth
century Europe. Germany, Italy, Poland, and Hungary
were not even natlonstates at the tlme of the flrst publlca
tlon and translatlon of Mommsen`s hlstory ln thelr lan
guages.
By l858 Mommsen was a permanent member of
the Prusslan Academy of Sclences ln Berlln and the gen
eral edltor of, and chlef contrlbutor to, the Corpus Ivscrip-
tiovum Iotivorum (Collectlon of Latln Inscrlptlons). Jhls
monumental work, started by Mommsen ln l853 when
the Prusslan klng awarded fundlng, began to appear ln
l863, and he supervlsed the publlcatlon of flfteen of lts
volumes. Jhe lnscrlptlons served not only as epltaphs but
also as promulgatlon of laws, provldlng the baslc texts for
the study of Roman hlstory. Joday, the Corpus Ivscriptiovum
Iotivorum represents the foundatlon for any systematlc
study of Roman government, admlnlstratlon, economlcs,
and flnance. Between l892 and l898 Mommsen also
helped to edlt three volumes of the Movumcvto Ccrmovioc
listorico (Hlstorlcal Sources of Germany), a collectlon of
sources of the anclent and medleval hlstory of Germany,
Austrla, and Swltzerland. In l860 he publlshed Ccsclicltc
dcs rmisclcv Mvwcscvs, a hlstory of the Roman coln system.
In l86l Mommsen was appolnted professor of
anclent hlstory at the Lnlverslty of Berlln, a posltlon he
held untll hls death ln l903. Irom l871 to l899 he served
as secretary of the Prusslan Academy of Sclences, and
from l871 to l875 he was Icltor (presldent) of the Lnlver
slty of Berlln. In l879 Mommsen became lnvolved ln the
socalled AntlSemltlsm Controversy when he severely
crltlclzed hls colleague Helnrlch von Jreltschke, professor
of Prusslan hlstory at the Lnlverslty of Berlln, for publlsh
lng an antlSemltlc artlcle tltled 'Lnsere Ausslcht" (Our
Prospects), clalmlng that 'the |ews are our mlsfortune."
Jhls statement became an oftenquoted slogan of German
antlSemltlsm. Jreltschke supported the Chrlstlan antl
Semltlsm of the Berlln court chaplaln Adolf Stoecker, who
blamed the poor soclal condltlons of the German worklng
class on |ewlsh lmmlgratlon from Russla. Jhe German
government under Otto von Blsmarck explolted the antl
Semltlc movement to dlvert attentlon from the fallures of
lts soclal welfare program. Mommsen argued that German
unlflcatlon lncluded not only Saxons, Swablans, and Pom
meranlans but also German |ews. Mommsen exposed the
alleged |ewlsh mass lmmlgratlon from the East as pure flc
tlon. When Jreltschke argued that |ews should become
Germans, whlch was code for converslon to Chrlstlanlty,
Mommsen told hlm that they were as entltled to be called
good Germans as anybody else, lncludlng Jreltschke and
hlmself. He warned of a clvll war of a majorlty agalnst a
mlnorlty and called such a confrontatlon a 'natlonal
calamlty." He was agalnst any klnd of dlscrlmlnatlon,
especlally ln educatlon and employment. He argued that
|ews should be able to become clvll servants and judges, lf
they were quallfled, llke anybody else. On the other hand,
ln 'Auch eln Wort ber unser |udentum" (Another Com
mentary on Our |ewry, lncluded ln hls Icdcv uvd Zufsotc
|l905, Lectures and Essays|), Mommsen dld advlse |ews
to asslmllate, lf they wanted to become an lntegral part of
the German natlon; everybody had to pay a prlce, 'but we
contrlbute our lndlvlduallty to a common fatherland."
Mommsen also founded, along wlth the jurlst Rudolf von
Gnelst, the 'Vereln zur Abwehr des Antlsemltlsmus" (Socl
ety for the Preventlon of AntlSemltlsm), a mostly Chrls
tlan organlzatlon, ln l89l.
Mommsen consldered hlmself not only a scholar
but also a 'polltlcal anlmal," as he sald. He served as a
member of the Progresslve Party ln the Iovdtog (state par
llament of Prussla) from l863 to l866 and agaln from
l873 to l879. He often found hlmself ln opposltlon to Bls
marck, the head of the Prusslan government, especlally
when Blsmarck broke wlth the Llberal Party. After unlflca
tlon ln l87l, Mommsen was elected ln l88l to represent
the radlcal wlng of the Llberal Party ln the Iciclstog (Ger
man lmperlal parllament). In l882 he had another
encounter wlth Blsmarck when he was trled and acqultted
on a charge of slanderlng the lmperlal chancellor ln a
speech that crltlclzed the soclal pollcles of the German gov
ernment. Mommsen opposed varlous conservatlve bllls
regardlng schools and unlversltles, charglng obscurantlsm,
and ln l902 he advocated a coalltlon between the left wlng
of the Llberal Party and the soclallsts, organlzed as the
Soclal Democratlc Party. Mommsen was an ardent sup
porter of German unlflcatlon but had strong reservatlons
about the restrlctlons of clvll llbertles. He was especlally
opposed to the uncrltlcal obedlence of the average Ger
man toward government authorltles. As blographer Stefan
Rebenlch concluded, Mommsen represented a 'perfect
personlflcatlon of the German bourgcoisic ln the nlneteenth
century, tormented wlth deep polltlcal frustratlon and
comblnlng flrm bellef ln sclentlflc progress and hlstorlcal
cognltlon wlth perseverlng zest for work and asslduous
sense of duty."
In l885 Mommsen publlshed the flfth and flnal vol
ume of the Imisclc Ccsclicltc, whlch ls a hlstory of the
Roman provlnces durlng the flrst three centurles of the
modern era. Volume four was never wrltten because
Mommsen was not lnterested ln the perlod of the Roman
emperors. Hls excuse was that there were plenty of mono
graphs coverlng that perlod. In l992 Barbara Demandt
and Alexander Demandt edlted Imisclc Ioiscrgcsclicltc:
262
q j ai_ PPN
òcl dcv !orlcsuvgs-Mitsclriftcv vov Scbostiov uvd Ioul Hcvscl
1SS2/S6 (translated as Z History of Iomc uvdcr tlc Impcrors,
l996), an attempt to recreate the contents of volume four
from notes taken by two of Mommsen`s students from hls
lectures on thls perlod.
Mommsen`s Imisclcs Stootsrcclt (Roman Constltu
tlonal Law) was publlshed ln three volumes between l87l
and l888. Hls threevolume Imisclcs Strofrcclt (Roman
Crlmlnal Law) appeared ln l899. In l90l he wrote 'Lnl
verslttsunterrlcht und Konfesslon" (Lnlverslty Instruc
tlon and Rellglous Afflllatlon, lncluded ln Icdcv uvd
Zufsotc), an artlcle on unlverslty lnstructlon and rellglon
demandlng that unlverslty appolntments be made regard
less of the candldates` rellglous afflllatlons. Hls key phrase
was 'Voraussetzungsloslgkelt aller wlssenschaftllchen Iors
chung" (scholarly research wlthout precondltlons).
Mommsen consldered thls type of research the goal of
scholarshlp for whlch all academlclans should strlve. Crlt
lcs have quoted thls phrase ever slnce to characterlze hls
place ln hlstorlography.
When Jheodor Mommsen was awarded the Nobel
Prlze, Wlrsn polnted out that hls name had been pro
posed by elghteen members of the Royal Prusslan Acad
emy of Sclences, provlng hls promlnence ln the academlc
world. Because of hls advanced age, Mommsen dld not
attend the award ceremony, and the German ambassador
replled for hlm at the banquet. Mommsen dled a year later
ln BerllnCharlottenburg on l November l903.
iW
ricfwcclscl, 1S42-1S6S, edlted by Lothar Wlckert
(Irankfurt am Maln. Klostermann, l962).
_~W
Karl Zangemelster, Tlcodor Mommscv ols Sclriftstcllcr: Iiv
!crciclvis scivcr Sclriftcv, edlted and revlsed by
Emll |acobs (Berlln. Weldmann, l905); newly
revlsed by Stefan Rebenlch (Hlldeshelm.
Weldmann, 2000).
_~W
Lothar Wlckert, Tlcodor Mommscv: Iivc iogroplic, 1 vol
umes (Irankfurt am Maln. Klostermann, l958-
l980);
Stefan Rebenlch, Tlcodor Mommscv: Iivc iogroplic
(Munlch. Beck, 2002).
oW
Walter Boehllch, ed., Dcr crlivcr Zvtiscmitismusstrcit
(Irankfurt am Maln. Insel, l965);
Karl Chrlst, 'Jheodor Mommsen und dle Imisclc
Ccsclicltc," ln Mommsen, Imisclc Ccsclicltc: !oll-
stovdigc Zusgobc iv oclt ovdcv, volume 8 (Munlch.
Deutscher Jaschenbuch, l976), pp. 7-66;
|oachlm C. Iest, !cgc ur Ccsclicltc: Ubcr Tlcodor Momm-
scv, ocob urcllordt ovd Colo Movv, second edltlon
(Zurlch. Manesse, l993), pp. 27-70;
W. Warde Iowler, Tlcodor Mommscv: His Iifc ovd !orl
(Edlnburgh. Clark, l909);
Alfred Heuss, Tlcodor Mommscv uvd dos 19 olrluvdcrt
(Klel. Hlrt, l956);
Wllfrled Nlppel and Bernd Seldenstlcker, eds., Tlcodor
Mommscvs lovgcr Sclottcv: Dos rmisclc Stootsrcclt ols
blcibcvdc Hcrousfordcruvg fr dic Iorscluvg
(Hlldeshelm. Olms, 2005);
Rlchard Schne, Irivvcruvgcv ov Tlcodor Mommscv um
J0. òvcmbcr 1917, edlted by Hermann Schne
(Mnster. Selbstverlag des Prsldlums der 51.
Versammlung deutscher Phllologen und Schul
mnner, l923);
Wllhelm Weber, Tlcodor Mommscv: um Ccdocltvis scivcs
2. Todcstogcs (Stuttgart. Kohlhammer, l929);
Lothar Wlckert, Drci !ortrogc bcr Tlcodor Mommscv
(Irankfurt am Maln. Klostermann, l970);
|osef Wleshfer and Hennlng Brme, eds., Tlcodor
Mommscv: Cclclrtcr, Iolitilcr uvd Iitcrot (Stuttgart.
Stelner, 2005);
Albert Wucher, Tlcodor Mommscv: Ccsclicltssclrcibuvg uvd
Iolitil (Gttlngen. Musterschmldt, l956).
m~W
Jhe major archlves of Jheodor Mommsen`s papers are
ln Berlln at the Akademle der Wlssenschaften and the
Staatsblbllotek zu Berlln; and ln Marbach am Neckar at
the SchlllerNatlonalmuseum.
NVMO k m i~
m~ p
Jhe second paragraph of the Nobel statutes states
that 'Llterature" should lnclude not only belleslettres,
'but also other wrltlngs that ln form or content show llt
erary value." Jhls deflnltlon sanctlons the award of the
Nobel Prlze ln Llterature to phllosophers, wrlters on
rellglous subjects, sclentlsts, and hlstorlans, provlded
that thelr work ls dlstlngulshed by artlstlc excellence of
presentatlon as well as by the hlgh value of lts content.
Jhe Swedlsh Academy thls year had to make lts
cholce among many brllllant names that have been sug
gested. In glvlng the Prlze to the hlstorlan Jheodor
Mommsen, whose name had been proposed by elghteen
members of the Royal Prusslan Academy of Sclences, lt
has selected one of the most celebrated among them.
263
ai_ PPN q j
A blbllography of Mommsen`s publlshed wrlt
lngs, complled by Zangemelster on the occaslon of hls
seventleth blrthday, contalns nlne hundred and twenty
ltems. One of Mommsen`s most lmportant projects was
edltlng the ` f i~~ (l867-l959), a
Herculean task desplte the asslstance of many learned
collaborators, for not only dld Mommsen contrlbute to
each of the flfteen volumes but the organlzatlon of the
total work ls hls lastlng achlevement. A verltable hero
ln the fleld of scholarshlp, Mommsen has done orlglnal
and semlnal research ln Roman law, eplgraphy, numls
matlcs, the chronology of Roman hlstory, and general
Roman hlstory. Even an otherwlse prejudlced crltlc
admltted that he can speak wlth equal authorlty on an
Iapyglan lnscrlptlon, a fragment of Applus Caecus, and
agrlculture ln Carthage. Jhe educated publlc knows
hlm chlefly through hls o d (l851-55,
l885) xe ozI and lt ls thls monumental work
ln partlcular that lnduced the Swedlsh Academy to
award the Nobel Prlze to hlm.
Jhe work began to appear ln l851; Volume IV
has not yet been publlshed, but ln l885 he brought out
Volume V, a masterly descrlptlon of the state of the
provlnces under the Emplre, a perlod so close to our
own that the descrlptlons could be made to apply to
more recent flelds of actlvlty whlch are mentloned ln
the Nobel statutes and whlch one can use as a startlng
polnt ln assesslng the total work of the wrlter. Momm
sen`s o dI whlch has been translated lnto
many languages, ls dlstlngulshed by lts thorough and
comprehenslve scholarshlp as well as lts vlgorous and
llvely style. Mommsen comblnes hls command of the
vast materlal wlth acute judgment, strlct method, a
youthful vlgour, and that artlstlc presentatlon whlch
alone can glve llfe and concreteness to a descrlptlon. He
knows how to separate the wheat from the chaff, and lt
ls dlfflcult to declde whether one should glve hlgher
pralse and have more admlratlon for hls vast knowl
edge and the organlzlng power of hls mlnd or for hls
lntultlve lmaglnatlon and hls ablllty to turn carefully
lnvestlgated facts lnto a llvlng plcture. Hls lntultlon and
hls creatlve power brldge the gap between the hlstorlan
and the poet. Mommsen felt thls relatlonshlp when ln
the flfth volume of hls Roman hlstory he sald that lmag
lnatlon ls the mother not only of poetry but also of hls
tory. Indeed, the slmllarltles are great. Ranke`s detached
objectlvlty ls remlnlscent of Goethe`s calm greatness,
and England dld rlght ln burylng Macaulay ln the
poets` corner of Westmlnster Abbey.
In a few bold strokes Mommsen has drawn the
character of the Roman people and shown how the
Roman`s obedlence to the state was llnked to the obedl
ence of son to father. Wlth extraordlnary sklll he has
unrolled the huge canvas of Rome`s development from
sllght beglnnlngs to world rule. He has shown how wlth
the growth of the Emplre new tasks outgrew the old
and stubbornly preserved constltutlon; how the sover
elgnty of the comltla gradually became a flctlon, only
lncldentally reallzed by demagogues for thelr own pur
poses; how the Senate took care of publlc affalrs ln an
honourable manner, but how the old arlstocratlc ollgar
chy that had once served lts purpose falled to meet new
demands; how a frequently unpatrlotlc capltallsm
abused lts powers ln polltlcal speculatlons; and how the
dlsappearance of the free peasant led to dlsastrous con
sequences for the commonwealth. Mommsen also has
demonstrated how the frequent change of consuls ham
pered the unlfled and conslstent conduct of wars, whlch
led to the prolongatlon of mllltary commands; how at
the same tlme the generals became lncreaslngly lnde
pendent and how Caesarlsm became a necesslty for
many reasons but especlally because of the lack of lnstl
tutlons commensurate wlth the needs of the actual
Emplre; and how absolutlsm ln many cases would have
caused less hardshlp than the ollgarchlc rule. Ialse gran
deur vanlshes before the uncompromlslng eye of the
hlstorlan, the wheat ls separated from the chaff and, llke
hls admlred Caesar, Mommsen has a clear eye for prac
tlcal needs and that freedom from llluslons whlch he
pralsed ln the conquerors of Gaul.
Varlous crltlcs have objected that Mommsen ls
sometlmes carrled away by hls genlus for subjectlve pas
slonate judgments, especlally ln hls frequently
unfavourable remarks concernlng the last partlsans of
dylng freedom and the opponents of Caesar, and con
cernlng those who wavered between the partles durlng
those hard tlmes. Objectlons, perhaps not always totally
unjustlfled, have been ralsed to Mommsen`s admlratlon
of the power of genlus even where lt breaks the law, as
well as to hls statement that ln hlstory, whlch has no trl
als for hlgh treason, a revolutlonary can be a farslghted
and pralseworthy statesman. On the other hand, lt
must be emphaslzed that Mommsen never glorlfles
brute power, but extols that power whlch serves the
hlgh goals of the state; and one has to record hls flrmly
stated convlctlon that 'pralse that ls corrupted by the
genlus of evll slns agalnst the sacred splrlt of hlstory." It
has also been remarked that Mommsen occaslonally
applles to anclent condltlons modern terms that cannot
fully correspond to them (gI the Roman
Coblenz, `~~~I i~I j~I pI etc.).
But thls method of stresslng the slmllarltles between hls
torlcal phenomena of dlfferent ages ls not a product of
Mommsen`s lmaglnatlon but of hls learnlng, whlch has
at lts dlsposal many analogues from varlous perlods of
hlstory. If lt adds too much colour to the narratlve, lt
also adds freshness. Mommsen, by the way, ls not a hls
torlcal materlallst. He admlres Polyblus, but he blames
261
q j ai_ PPN
hlm for overlooklng the ethlcal powers of man, and for
havlng a too mechanlcal !cltovsclouuvg. Concernlng
C. Gracchus, the lnsplred revolutlonary whose mea
sures he sometlmes pralses and sometlmes blames, he
says that every state ls bullt on sand unless the ruler
and the governed are tled together by a common moral
lty. A healthy famlly llfe ls to hlm the core of the natlon.
He severely condemns the curse of the Roman system
of slavery. He has seen how a people that stlll has
energy can be morally strengthened by dlsaster, and
there ls a pedagoglcal truth ln hls words that just as
Athens` freedom was born out of the flames wlth whlch
the Perslans ravaged the Acropolls, so today the unlty
of Italy resulted from the conflagratlon that the Gauls
caused ln Rome.
Learned, llvely, sarcastlc, and versatlle, Momm
sen has shed llght on the domestlc and forelgn affalrs of
Rome, her rellglon, llterature, law, flnances, and cus
toms. Hls descrlptlons are magnlflcent; no reader can
forget hls accounts of the battles of Lake Jraslmene,
Cannae, Alerla, and Pharsalus. Hls character sketches
are equally llvely. In sharp and clear outllnes we see the
proflles of the 'polltlcal lncendlary" C. Gracchus; of
Marlus ln hls last perlod 'when lnsanlty became a
power and one plunged lnto abysses to avold glddl
ness"; of Sulla, ln partlcular, an lncomparable portralt
that has become an anthology plece; of the great |ullus
Caesar, Mommsen`s Roman ldeal; of Hannlbal, Sclplo
Afrlcanus, the vlctor of Zamanot to mentlon the lesser
flgures whose features have been drawn clearly by the
master`s hand.
Wlth regard to these portralts the hlstorlan Jreltschke
has sald that Imisclc Ccsclicltc ls the flnest hlstorlcal
work of the nlneteenth century and that Mommsen`s
Caesar and Hannlbal must cause enthuslasm ln every
young man, every young soldler.
One flnds ln Mommsen a curlous comblnatlon of
qualltles. He ls profoundly learned, a sober analyst of
sources; yet he can be passlonate ln hls judgments. He
descrlbes ln great detall and wlth profound knowledge
the lnner worklngs of government and the complexltles
of economlcs; but at the same tlme hls battle scenes and
character sketches are brllllant. He ls perhaps above all
an artlst, and hls Imisclc Ccsclicltc ls a glgantlc work of
art. Belleslettres, that noble flower of clvlllzatlon,
recelves the last mentlon ln Nobel`s wlll; Mommsen
wlll always be counted among lts prlme representatlves.
When he dellvered the flrst volume of hls Imisclc
Ccsclicltc to the publlsher, he wrote, 'the labour has
been lmmense," and on the flftleth annlversary of hls
doctorate he spoke fervently of the boundless ocean of
scholarshlp. But ln hls completed work the labour, how
ever great lt may have been, has been obllterated as ln
any true work of art whlch recelves lts own form from
nature. Jhe reader treads on safe ground, unmolested
by the surf. Jhe great work stands before our eyes as lf
cast ln metal. In hls lnaugural address ln Cambrldge,
Lord Acton justly called Mommsen one of the greatest
wrlters of the present, and from thls polnt of vlew espe
clally Mommsen deserves a great litcrory prlze. Jhe
most recent German edltlon of Imisclc Ccsclicltc has
just appeared. Jhere are no changes. Jhe work has
retalned lts freshness; lt ls a monument whlch, though lt
may not possess the soft beauty of marble, ls as peren
nlal as bronze. Jhe scholar`s hand ls vlslble every
where, but so ls the poet`s. And, lndeed, Mommsen dld
wrlte poetry ln hls youth. Jhe Iicdcrbucl drcicr Ircuvdc
[Sovgbool of Tlrcc Iricvds] of l813 ls wltness that he
mlght have become a servant of the Muses lf, ln hls
own words, clrcumstances had not brought lt about that
'what wlth follos and wlth prose / not every bud turned
out a rose." Mommsen the hlstorlan was a frlend of
Jheodor Storm and an admlrer of Mrlke; even ln
advanced years he translated works by the Itallan poets
Carduccl and Glacosa.
Arts and Sclences have often shown the capaclty
to keep thelr practltloners young ln splrlt. Mommsen ls
both a scholar and an artlst, and at elghtyflve he ls
young ln hls works. Even ln old age, as late as l895, he
made valuable contrlbutlons to the Proceedlngs of the
Prusslan Academy of Sclences.
Jhe medal of the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature
deplcts a young man llstenlng to the lnsplratlons of the
Muses. Mommsen ls an old man, but he possesses the
flre of youth, and one rarely reallzes as clearly as when
readlng Mommsen`s Imisclc Ccsclicltc that Cllo was
one of the Muses. Jhat example of pure hlstory
aroused our enthuslasm when we were young; lt has
kept lts power over our mlnds, as we learn when we
reread lt now ln our older days. Such ls the power of
hlstorlcal scholarshlp lf lt ls comblned wlth great art.
Ior the above reasons we are sendlng today a
homage from the country of Erlk Gustaf Geljer to Jhe
odor Mommsen.
Zt tlc bovquct, !irscv dclivcrcd o spcccl iv Ccrmov iv
wlicl lc proiscd 'tlc mostcr of tlc ort of listoricol cxpositiov,
ovd, iv tlc vomc of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy, ivvitcd tlosc prcscvt to
cmpty tlcir glosscs iv lovour of tlc 'grcot mostcr of Ccrmov lis-
toricol rcscorcl. Tlc Mivistcr of Ccrmovy, Couvt vov Icydcv,
rcplicd for Tlcodor Mommscv, wlo wos obscvt.
265
b j~
(12 Uctobcr 1S96 - 12 Scptcmbcr 19S1)
o~ t
Uvivcrsity of Clicogo
Jhls entry was revlsed from West`s Montale entry ln
DI 114: Twcvtictl-Ccvtury Itoliov Iocts, Iirst Scrics.
BOOKS. Ussi di scppio (Jurln. Gobettl, l925; enlarged
edltlon, Jurln. Iratelll Rlbet, l928); translated by
Antonlno Mazza as Tlc ovcs of Cuttlcfisl
(Oakvllle, Ont. New York. Mosalc, l983);
Io coso dci dogovicri c oltri vcrsi (Ilorence. Vallecchl,
l932); translated by |eremy Reed ln Tlc Coost-
guord`s Housc / Io coso dci dogovicri: Sclcctcd Iocms
|blllngual edltlon| (Newcastle upon Jyne. Blood
axe Books, l990);
Ic occosiovi (Jurln. Elnaudl, l939; enlarged, l910);
translated by Wllllam Arrowsmlth as Tlc Uccosiovs
(New York London. Norton, l987);
Iivistcrrc (Lugano, Swltzerland. Collana dl Lugano,
l913);
Io bufcro c oltro (Venlce. Nerl Pozza, l956); translated by
Charles Wrlght as Tlc Storm ovd Utlcr Iocms
(Oberlln, Ohlo. Oberlln College, l978); trans
lated by Arrowsmlth as Tlc Storm ovd Utlcr Tlivgs
(New York London. Norton, l985);
Iorfollo di Divord (Venlce. Nerl Pozza, l956); translated
by G. Slngh as Tlc uttcrfly of Divord (London.
London Magazlne, l970; Lexlngton. Lnlverslty
Press of Kentucky, l97l);
Soturo (Verona. Bodonl, l962); enlarged as Soturo:
1962-1970 (Mllan. Mondadorl, l97l); partlally
translated by Slngh ln `cw Iocms: Z Sclcctiov from
'Soturo ovd 'Diorio dcl `71 c dcl `72 (New York.
New Dlrectlons, l976);
Zccordi c postclli (Mllan. Strenna per Gll Amlcl. Schel
wlller, l962);
Cclcbroiovc di Itolo Svcvo (Jrleste. Clrcolo della Cultura
delle Artl, l963);
Xcvio (San Severlno Marche, Italy. Bellabarba, l966);
translated by Kate Hughes ln Xcvio ovd Motcts
|blllngual edltlon| (London. Agenda Edltlons,
l977);
Zuto do fc (Mllan. Sagglatore, l966);
Il colpcvolc (Mllan. Schelwlller, l966);
Icttcr Itolo Svcvo (Barl, Italy. De Donato, l966);
Iuori di coso (Mllan Naples. Rlcclardl, l969);
Diorio dcl `71 (Mllan. Schelwlller, l97l); enlarged as Dio-
rio dcl `71 c dcl `72 (Mllan. Mondadorl, l973); par
tlally translated by Slngh ln `cw Iocms: Z Sclcctiov
from 'Soturo ovd 'Diorio dcl `71 c dcl `72;
Io pocsio vov csistc (Mllan. All Insegna del Pesce dÒro/
Schelwlller, l97l);
Sccovdo movicro di Mormclodov (Mllan. Schelwlller, l97l);
Il pocto: Diorio (Verona. Bodonl, l972);
b j~I N l NVTR Ee ^Ld f~F
266
b j~ ai_ PPN
`cl vostro tcmpo (Mllan. Rlzzoll, l972); translated by
Alastalr Hamllton as Ioct iv Uur Timc (London.
Boyars, l976; New York. Lrlzen, l976);
Mottctti, wlth a translatlon by Lawrence Kart (San Iran
clsco. Grabhorn Hoyem, l973; London. Agenda,
l977; Mllan. Adelphl, l988);
Trcvtoduc vorioiovi (Mllan. Luclnl, l973);
I ovcoro possibilc lo pocsio? (Stockholm Rome. Itallca,
l975);
Utto pocsic (Mllan. Schelwlller, l975);
Sullo pocsio, edlted by Glorglo Zampa (Mllan. Monda
dorl, l976);
Tuttc lc pocsic (Mllan. Mondadorl, l977; enlarged, l981);
_uodcrvo di quottro ovvi (Mllan. Mondadorl, l977); trans
lated by Slngh as It Dcpcvds: Z Ioct`s òtcbool (New
Movtolc prcmio òbcl, by Montale, Glovannl Arplno, and
others (Bologna. Bonl, l977);
IÙpcro iv vcrsi, edlted by Rosanna Bettarlnl and Glan
franco Contlnl (Jurln. Elnaudl, l980 |l.e., l98l|);
Irimc ollo Scolo, edlted by Glanfranca Lavezzl (Mllan.
Mondadorl, l98l);
_uodcrvo gcvovcsc, edlted by Laura Barlle (Mllan.
Mondadorl, l983);
Il bulldog di lcgvo: Ivtcrvisto di Ciuliovo Dcgo o Iugcvio Mov-
tolc (Rome. Edltorl Rlunltl, l985);
Iocsic ivcditc, l2 volumes, contlnulng (Lugano, Swltzer
land New York. Iondazlone Schleslnger, l986-
l996);
Diorio postumo: Irimo portc, J0 pocsic, edlted by Annallsa
Clma (Mllan. Mondadorl, l99l);
!cvtiduc prosc clvcticlc, edlted by Iablo Soldlnl (Mllan.
Llbrl Schelwlller, l991);
Irosc c roccovti, edlted by Marco Iortl and Lulsa Prevltera
(Mllan. Mondadorl, l995);
Diorio postumo: 66 pocsic c oltrc, edlted by Clma (Mllan.
Mondadorl, l996);
Il sccovdo mcsticrc: Zrtc, musico, socicto, edlted by Glorglo
Zampa (Mllan. Mondadorl, l996);
Il sccovdo mcsticrc: Irosc, 1920-1979, 2 volumes, edlted by
Zampa (Mllan. Mondadorl, l996);
Iitorvo tro gli omici, edlted by Clma and Carlo Angellno
(Genoa. Il melangolo, 2001).
b bW Iocms, translated by Edwln Mor
gan (Readlng, L.K.. Lnlverslty of Readlng,
l959);
Iocsic/Iocms, translated by George Kay (Edlnburgh.
Edlnburgh Lnlverslty Press, l961); abrldged as
Sclcctcd Iocms (Harmondsworth, L.K. Baltlmore.
Penguln, l969);
Sclcctcd Iocms, translated by Ben Belltt and others (New
Irovisiovol Covclusiovs: Z Sclcctiov, translated by Edlth
Iarnsworth (Chlcago. Regnery, l970);
Sclcctcd Issoys, translated by G. Slngh (Manchester,
L.K.. Carcanet, l978);
Tlc Sccovd Iifc of Zrt: Sclcctcd Issoys, translated and
edlted by |onathan Galassl (New York. Ecco,
l982);
Utlcrwisc: Iost ovd Iirst Iocms, translated by Galassl (New
York. Random House/Vlntage, l981);
Mottctti: Iocms of Iovc: Tlc Motcts of Iugcvio Movtolc, trans
lated by Dana Glola (St. Paul, Mlnn.. Graywolf
Press, l990);
Cuttlcfisl ovcs: 1920-1927, translated by Wllllam
Arrowsmlth (New York. W. W. Norton, l992);
Collcctcd Iocms, 1920-194, translated by Galassl (New
York. Iarrar, Straus Glroux, l998; revlsed,
2000);
Iostlumous Diory / Diorio postumo, translated by Galassl
(New York. Jurtle Polnt Press, 200l);
Sclcctcd Iocms, translated by Galassl, Charles Wrlght,
and Davld Young, edlted by Young (Oberlln,
Ohlo. Oberlln College Press, 2001).
JRANSLAJIONS. |ohn Stelnbeck, Io bottoflio (Mllan.
Bomplanl, l910);
òrrotori spogvoli, edlted by Carlo Bo (Mllan. Bomplanl,
l91l);
Tcotro clisobcttiovo, edlted by Alfredo Obertello (Mllan.
Bomplanl, l91l);
Dorothy Parker, Il mio movdo qui (Mllan. Bomplanl,
l91l);
Tcotro spogvolo, edlted by Ello Vlttorlnl (Mllan. Bompl
anl, l91l);
Zmcricovo, edlted by Vlttorlnl (Mllan. Bomplanl, l912);
Herman Melvllle, Io storio di illy udd (Mllan. Bompl
anl, l912);
Eugene O`Nelll, Strovo ivtcrludio (Rome. Jeatro dell Lnl
verslta, l913);
Iocti ovticli c modcrvi trodotti doi lirici vuovi, edlted by
Luclano Anceschl and Domenlco Porzlo (Mllan.
Balcone, l915);
Stelnbeck, Zl dio scovosciuto (Mllan. Mondadorl, l916);
Nathanlel Hawthorne, Il volto di pictro (Mllan. Bomplanl,
l917);
_uodcrvo di troduiovi (Mllan. Merldlana, l918);
Wllllam Shakespeare, Zmlcto, privcipc di Dovimorco
(Mllan. Cederna, l919);
Shakespeare, Tcotro, edlted by Marlo Praz (Ilorence.
Sansonl, l919);
Mlguel de Cervantes, Il cordovovo (Mllan. SuvlnlZer
bonl, l919);
Omar De Carlo, Iroscrpivo c lo strovicro (Mllan. Rlcordl,
l952);
Icovogrofio itoliovo di Iro Iouvd, edlted by Vannl Schel
wlller (Mllan. Schelwlller, l956);
Angus Wllson, Io cicuto c dopo (Mllan. Garzantl, l956);
267
ai_ PPN b j~
q~ ~ d~ pI edlted by Glovannl Mac
chla (Jurln. ERI, l960);
Manuel de Ialla, ^~~ (Mllan. Rlcordl, l96l);
Wllllam Henry Hudson, i~ ~ ~ ~I edlted by
Marla Antonletta Grlgnanl (Jurln. Elnaudl,
l987).
Eugenlo Montale, wlnner of the Nobel Prlze ln
Llterature ln l975, ls regarded as one of the domlnant
volces of modernlsm, not only wlthln the context of
Itallan letters but also lnternatlonally. Hls poetry, from
the flrst publlcatlons ln the l920s to hls complete works
Eil~ F that appeared ln l98l, ls a touchstone
for all those who seek to understand the potentlal and
achlevement of twentlethcentury verse. He ls one of
the strongest volces of Itallan poetry; however, hls work
ls characterlzed by understatement, exlstentlal and
phllosophlcal dlffldence, and a qulet dedlcatlon to hls
craft rather than a declaratlon of the hegemony of art or
an assertlon of unassallable truths.
Jhe power of Montale`s verse lles, somewhat par
adoxlcally, ln lts contlnual declaratlon of the powerless
ness of elther art or the human race ever to know ltself
fully. He belleved, nonetheless, ln the necesslty of seek
lng knowledge, as well as the lmportance of the ethlcal
dlmenslon ln both art and llfe, a dlmenslon called slm
ply 'decenza quotldlana" (dally decency) ln 'Vlslts a
Iadln" (Vlslts to Iadln), a prose poem ln i~ ~ ~
(l956; translated as q p ~ l mI l978). A
strlct separatlon between the lmmanent and the tran
scendent was unacceptable to Montale. Instead, he
emphaslzed thelr lnevltable oneness, as well as the
equally lnevltable contradlctlons that result.
Montale completely absorbed the Itallan lyrlc tra
dltlon, from Dante to Petrarch to Glacomo Leopardl
and lncludlng Montale`s lmmedlate precursors. the J
~ (twlllght poets) and futurlsts. Hls poetry further
reveals the extraordlnary lmportance of certaln antl
models, especlally Gabrlele DÀnnunzlo and Benedetto
Croce, whose art and phllosophy, respectlvely, doml
nated Montale`s formatlve years. Although, llke J. S.
Ellotto whom hls work has often been compared
Montale can be seen ultlmately as a phllosophlcal poet,
he hlmself refused thls label, lnslstlng that he sought not
to promote ldeas but rather to seek knowledge, how
ever partlal, of lndlvldual as well as collectlve truths
about the human condltlon. He was, then, a metaphysl
cal poet, whose art probes and questlons both personal
and collectlve hlstorlcal experlence as well as the eternal
questlons of the meanlng of exlstence, the role of love,
and the place of humanklnd.
Montale was always retlcent about the detalls of
hls personal llfe. He was born on l2 October l896 ln
Genoa to Domenlco Montale (a manufacturer of
marlne products) and Glusepplna Rlccl Montale. He
spent hls chlldhood and early adult years ln Genoa and
ln the Clnque Jerre, a rugged coastal area south of the
clty, where hls famlly had a summer resldence. Jhat
Llgurlan coast, wlth lts then unspolled beauty, and the
Medlterranean Sea spreadlng out beneath the rocky
cllffs flgure promlnently ln hls flrst collectlon of poetry,
l ~ (l925; translated as q _ Ì
l983). Wrltlng many years later of the splrltual essence
of landscape, he noted ln the prose poem 'Dovèra ll
tennls" (Where Jhe Jennls Court Was; ln i~ ~
~) that each lndlvldual has 'll paesagglo, lmmuta
blle" (hls lmmutable landscape), whlch ls always
lnternallzed. ' curloso che lòrdlne flslco sla cosl lento
a flltrare ln nol e pol cosl lmposslblle a scancellarsl" (lt ls
curlous how the physlcal order ls so slow ln fllterlng
lnto us and then so lmposslble to erase). Irom the
beglnnlng of hls career Montale endowed the physlcal
wlth a metaphyslcal dlmenslon. Jhe sea and shores of
the reglon of Llgurla became emblematlc of an abstract
rather than concrete reallty. Hls goal ls never merely to
descrlbe but rather to seek out the correlatlons between
landscapes and certaln emotlons and states of mlnd. Ior
example, ln the sulte of poems tltled 'Medlterraneo," ln
l ~I the sea ls portrayed as a 'father" whose
natural power and llmltless mutablllty are ln contrast to
the 'son`s" selfconsclous entrapment ln words and ln
the predestlned, lnevltable boundarles of human space
and tlme.
In l9l5 Montale declded to dedlcate hlmself to
the study of bel canto (a style of operatlc slnglng), but
hls muslcal career was cut short by the death of hls
maestro, Ernesto Slvorl, ln l9l6. In a flctlonallzed auto
blographlcal story, 'Nella chlave dl 'fa" (In the Key of
'I"), ln the collectlon of prose pleces c~~~ a~
(l956; translated as q _ a~I l970), Mon
tale recounts hls experlence wlth Slvorl. Jhe young
asplrant was especlally lmpressed by hls teacher`s lnsls
tence that a successful slnger needs, even more than a
good volce, a certaln 'flre," whlch Montale was never
sure he possessed. Lpon the death of Slvorl, he wrote
that 'l`lncanto, se non ll canto" (the maglc, lf not song
ltself ) was flnlshed for hlm. Nonetheless, muslc
remalned of paramount lmportance to Montale, perme
atlng both hls art and llfe. Some of hls flrst poems were
ln fact attempts at lmltatlng the muslc of Claude
Debussy, and Montale`s love for and knowledge of
opera were legendary. When ln the l950s he was hlred
as muslc crltlc for the Mllanese newspaper `
f~I he asslduously attended openlng nlghts at
La Scala, scarcely mlsslng a performance. Hls revlews
of those performances as well as other pleces dedlcated
to muslcal subjects are collected ln m ~~ p~~ (l98l,
Openlng Nlghts at La Scala), a source of lnformatlon
268
b j~ ai_ PPN
for those lnterested ln better understandlng the role
played by muslc ln Montale`s dally llfe.
Beyond hls personal attachment to muslc, whlch
led hlm to entertaln close frlends by glvlng occaslonal
prlvate concerts ln hls rlch barltone, and beyond hls
professlonal commltment as a crltlc, muslc, wlthln
Montale`s poetry, ls not only lncldental or thematlc but
functlons as a constltutlve element of hls poetlcs and
subsequent verse. In hls 'Intenzlonl (Intervlsta lmmagl
narla)" (Intentlons |Imaglnary Intervlew|), flrst pub
llshed ln l916 and lncluded ln p~ ~ (l976, On
Poetry), the poet descrlbes the lmportance of hls early
muslcal tralnlng, whlch through experlence rather than
lntultlon led hlm to see the 'fondamentale unlta delle
varle artl" (fundamental unlty of the dlverse arts). He
further wrltes that he came to understand that 'eslste
un problema d`lmpostazlone anche fuorl del canto, ln
ognl opera umana" (there exlsts a problem of pltch even
outslde of slnglng, ln every human enterprlse) and that,
when he wrote the poems that formed hls flrst book, he
obeyed 'un blsogno dl espresslone muslcale" (a need
for muslcal expresslon), engaglng ln a search that was
'lstlntlva, non programmatlca" (lnstlnctual and unpro
grammatlc). Jhe 'volce" he sought was nelther melllf
luous nor melodlc; rather, he wlshed to act upon
'lèloquenza della nostra vecchla llngua aullca" (the elo
quence of our old noble language) by 'torcere ll callo"
(twlstlng lts neck), even 'a rlschlo dl una contra
eloquenza" (at the rlsk of a countereloquence). Many
years later, ln hls Nobel Prlze acceptance speech, b
~~ ~ ~\ (l975, Is Poetry Stlll Posslble?),
Montale agaln emphaslzed what for hlm ls the lndlssol
uble tle between muslc and poetry.
Se consldero la poesla come un oggetto rltengo chèssa
sla nata dalla necesslty dl agglungere un suono vocale
(parola) al martellamento delle prlme muslche trlball.
Solo molto plu tardl parola e muslca poterono scrlversl
ln qualche modo e dlfferenzlarsl. Appare la poesla
scrltta, ma la comune parentela con la muslca sl fa sen
tlre.
(If I conslder poetry as an object I thlnk that lt was
born from the necesslty of jolnlng a vocal sound |the
word| to the beat of the flrst trlbal muslc. Only much
later could word and muslc be wrltten ln some way and
thus be dlfferentlated. Wrltten poetry appears, but lts
common parentage wlth muslc ls stlll felt.)
Jhe sonorltles of poetrylts aural potentlalltleswere
for Montale the sallent characterlstlc of an art that ls
also profoundly allled to the other arts. He also lnslsted
throughout hls career on the lmportance of prose to
poetlc lnventlon, wrltlng ln 'Intenzlonl" that 'natural
mente ll grande semenzalo dògnl trovata poetlca nel
campo della prosa" (naturally the great seedbed of
every poetlc lntentlon ls ln the fleld of prose), an asser
tlon that mlght flrst appear to counter hls emphasls on
the constltutlve role of muslc ln poetlc creatlon and
elaboratlon. However, the 'muslcal, lnstlnctual, and
unprogrammatlc" orlglns of Montale`s verse, and the
resultant tonalltles, remaln a major source of lts power.
After the early tralnlng ln bel canto, Montale
began to experlment ln verse wlth futurlst and symbol
lst models. Jhe flrst poem descrlbed by hlm as 'tout
entler a sa prole attache," a poem that hlt lts mark
beyond lmltatlon or exerclse, was the l9l6 composltlon
'Merlgglare" (Jo Noon), later lncluded ln hls flrst col
lectlon. In lt one sees many of the thematlc and formal
components that lnform much of hls subsequent poetry.
Jhe observlng presence, 'pallldo e assorto" (pale and
lntent), ls depersonallzed through the conslstent use of
lnflnltlves ('to llsten"; 'to observe"; 'to feel"), whlch
creates a statlc, suspended, medltatlve space from whlch
a klnd of detached consclousness reglsters the detalls of
the natural world around lt. Jhat world ls harsh and
dry under the noonday sun, fllled wlth the chatterlng of
blackblrds, the rustllng of snakes, the endless clrcllng of
red ants, and the tremulous creaklng of clcadas. Irom
near the scorchlng garden wall, the observer can make
out the faroff undulatlons of the sea. Jhe lndlfference
and pltllessness of naturea Leopardlan theme carrled
over lnto much of Montale`s early verseare maglsterl
ally recreated ln the flrst three stanzas. In the fourth
and flnal stanza, the observer`s emotlonal reactlon ls
recorded. 'sentlre con trlste meravlglla / com` tutta la
vlta e ll suo travagllo / ln questo segultare una muraglla
/ che ha ln clma coccl aguzzl dl bottlglla" (to feel wlth
sad amazement / how all of llfe and lts angulsh ls / ln
thls followlng along a wall / that ls edged wlth sharp
glass shards).
Jhe movement from the physlcal world to the
splrltual and mental lnterlorlty of the speaker became a
malnstay of Montale`s early verse. Jhe garden wall
('muro dòrto") announces two lexlcal leltmotlfs. the
garden, most often called 'orto" (vegetable garden)
rather than the more lush decoratlve 'glardlno" of tra
dltlon; and the wall. Both motlfs ln later poems become
emblems of enclosure, lmprlsonment, and predestlna
tlon. In contrast, the sea ls a llberatlng presence repre
sentlng constant change, potency, and exlstentlal
freedom. 'Merlgglare" was an accompllshed debut for
the twentyyearold poet. Hls thematlc and styllstlc
pltch was further developed and enrlched, but not dras
tlcally departed from, through all the poems lncluded ln
the collectlon l ~K
In l9l7 war lntervened, and from l9l7 to l9l9
Montale served as a soldler, mostly ln the Jrentlno
reglon and ln and around Genoa. Lnllke hls contempo
269
ai_ PPN b j~
rary Gluseppe Lngarettl, whose early poetry was
heavlly condltloned by hls wartlme experlences, Mon
tale dld not lncorporate many dlrect personal or collec
tlve references to those dlfflcult tlmes lnto hls
subsequent poetry. Jhere ls no doubt, however, that the
war was a watershed for all Itallan lntellectuals and art
lsts, for some of whom the destructlon of the old order
was cause for rejolclng, and for others a cause for
lncreased dlsorlentatlon and somber reflectlon on what
the future mlght brlng. Already assalled by a sense of
perennlal maladjustmenta metaphyslcal rather than
slmply personal or soclal condltlonMontale dld not
rush headlong and joyfully lnto the unknown future but
lnstead kept hls dlstance from the many 'lsms" of the
avantgarde, who proclalmed sure vlctory for newness
and modernlty.
After the war Montale returned to hls famlly
home and contlnued to frequent the llterary clrcles of
Genoa and Jurln, where he had already begun to
develop frlendshlps. He was an autodldact (he never
studled for a unlverslty degree), lmmerslng hlmself ln
readlngs of phllosophy, Itallan classlcs, and an eclectlc
selectlon of forelgn wrlters. In l922 he met the antl
fasclst lntellectual Plero Gobettl, who was one of the
most lmportant lnfluences on the dlffldent young poet
and who publlshed Ussi di scppio ln l925. Gobettl`s open
antlDÀnnunzlanlsm as well as hls lnformed lnterest ln
the lncreaslngly potent lntellectual hegemony of
Crocean ldeallsm fed strongly lnto Montale`s own
development.
As |ared Becker argued, much of Montale`s over
all productlon can be seen as a fundamental and contln
uous comlng to terms wlth these two powerful
presences ln twentlethcentury Itallan culture.
DÀnnunzlo`s vltallsm, hls Nletzschean wlll to power
and embrace of the concept of the 'superman," and hls
polltlcal actlvlsm were all profoundly antlthetlcal to
Montale, whlle Crocean ldeallsm, whlch emphaslzed
the separatlon of art from practlcal actlvlty and prlvl
leged the aesthetlc over the polltlcal or soclal, appealed
to Montale`s baslc dlsbellef ln the ablllty of humanklnd
to counter the lnexorable and humanly lndlfferent
forces that condltlon experlence. Many years later
Montale acknowledged the necesslty for any poet of hls
generatlon of 'passlng through" DÀnnunzlo, just as he
dlstanced hlmself from many aspects of Crocean
thought. Nonetheless, these two flgures loomed large ln
hls early formatlon.
Jhe publlcatlon of Ussi di scppio establlshed Mon
tale as a poet worthy of serlous crltlcal attentlon. Jhe
attentlon glven Montale by renowned and respected
crltlcs such as Glanfranco Contlnl, Alfredo Garglulo,
and, later, Pler Vlncenzo Mengaldo and Glauco Cam
bon, among many others ln Italy and elsewhere, has
not abated. Jhe flrst collectlon was not unlversally
acclalmed, but for the most part, contemporary crltlcs
pralsed lt as an event of lastlng lmportance that pre
sented an authentlcally new volce. Jhe young poet`s
muted yet powerful 'countereloquence" and what
Garglulo, ln hls lntroductlon to the expanded second
edltlon (l928), called a 'corroslone crltlca dellèslst
enza" (scathlng crltlcal corroslon of exlstence) met wlth
wldespread approval, especlally at that moment ln Ital
lan culture, when fasclst bombast prollferated and the
splrltual malalse of many was belng smothered by dec
laratlons of certalnty, prosperlty, and optlmlsm.
Montale once wrote ln a letter to hls frlend P.
Gadda Contl (subsequently publlshed ln the journal
Icttcroturo ln l966) that hls essentlal poetlc motlfs (and
motlves. both meanlngs are contalned ln the orlglnal
motivi ) were three. 'paesagglo" (landscape); 'amore"
(love); and 'evaslone" (escape). All three are proml
nently present ln Ussi di scppio. Jhe harsh terraln of the
Llgurlan coast and the Medlterranean below; the
Proustlan 'lntermlttences of the heart" created by
beloveds, whom Montale called 'fantasml che frcqucv-
tovo, le varle poesle" (ghosts who frcqucvt the varlous
poems); and the constant search for an escape from 'la
catena ferrea della necesslta" (the lron chaln of neces
slty), what he also called 'll mlracolo lalco" (the lay mlr
acle)all these lnform the poems of Ussi di scppio. Jhere
ls a compelllng dlrectness to the poetlc volce, whlch
often speaks ln the lmperatlve to an unnamed lnterlocu
tor, the 'tu," or lntlmate 'you," that soon becomes a
sallent characterlstlc of Montale`s poetry. Many open
lng llnes call out wlth strong lmmedlacy. 'Ascoltaml"
(Llsten to me); 'Non chledercl la parola" (Don`t ask of
us the word); 'Portaml ll glrasole" (Brlng me the sun
flower); 'Arremba su la strlnata proda" (Board the card
board shlps).
After the success of hls flrst publlshed collectlon
of verse, Montale wlshed to escape the somewhat pro
vlnclal atmosphere of Genoa. He had become better
known among crltlcs and wrlters not only wlth the
appearance of Ussi di scppio but also wlth hls 'Omagglo
a Italo Svevo" (Homage to Italo Svevo), whlch was pub
llshed ln the journal IÌsomc ln l925 and aroused wlde
spread lnterest ln the hltherto lgnored Jrlestlne. Ilnally,
ln l927, Montale was offered a posltlon as a copywrlter
for Bemporad Casa Edltrlce ln Ilorence, where he llved
and worked for more than a decade. In l929 he became
dlrector of the Vleusseux Research Llbrary, a dlstln
gulshed lnstltutlon that drew many crltlcs and wrlters.
Jhe poet`s Ilorentlne years were fllled wlth journallstlc
and other llterary actlvltles. He often wrote for Solorio, a
promlnent llterary journal, and frequented two cafs
the Glubbe Rosse and the Antlco Iattorethat func
tloned as meetlng places for prlmarlly antlfasclst artlsts,
270
b j~ ai_ PPN
wrlters, and lntellectuals. In l93l the Antlco Iattore
establlshed a llterary prlze to be awarded by the non
wrlters of the group; Montale won lt for hls 'La casa
del doganlerl" (Jhe Customs House), subsequently
publlshed ln the small collectlon i~ ~~ ~
~ (l932, Jhe Customs House and Other
Verses). In 'Intenzlonl" Montale wrote of hls years ln
Ilorence.
Flno a trentànnl non avevo conoscluto quasl nessuno,
ora vedevo anche troppa gente, ma la mla solltudlne
non era mlnore dl quella del tempo degll l ~K
Cercal dl vlvere a Flrenze col dlstacco dl uno stranlero,
dl un Brownlng; ma non avevo fatto l contl col lanzl
della podesterla feudale da cul dlpendevo.
(Lntll I was thlrty I had scarcely known anyone; now I
actually saw too many people, but my solltude was not
less than that of the perlod of l ~. I trled to llve
ln Florence wlth the detachment of a forelgner, of a
Brownlng; but I had not taken lnto account the 'merce
narles" of the feudal reglme on whlch I depended.)
Jhe poet ls certalnly referrlng to hls experlence wlth
the fasclst government that relleved hlm of hls post as
dlrector of the Vleusseux ln l938 because he was not a
party member. A flctlonallzed verslon of thls eplsode ls
recounted ln f (Jhe Gullty One), a story ln c~J
~~ a~ that was separately publlshed ln l966.
In splte of hls solltary exlstence, Montale had two
encounters durlng hls Ilorentlne perlod that were of
lastlng lmportance ln both hls llfe and art. Drusllla
Janzl, then the wlfe of the art crltlc Matteo Marangonl,
became Montale`s llfelong companlon and, shortly
before her death ln l963, hls wlfe; and Irma Brandels,
an Amerlcan Dante scholar, became hls 'Beatrlce," the
source of lnsplratlon for hls poetlc beloved, called Cll
zla. When Brandels returned permanently to Amerlca,
at least ln part because of the hlghly lnhospltable envl
ronment ln Europe for |ews, Montale contemplated fol
lowlng her there and made some attempts to secure a
teachlng post at Smlth College and the Lnlverslty of
Chlcago, but he abandoned these plans and remalned
ln Italy for the rest of hls llfe. Jhese womenand many
othersappear frequently ln hls verse as perslstent
'ghosts" or tenaclous symbols of strength. Janzl,
known ln llfe as 'Mosca," or 'Ily," because of her enor
mous bespectacled eyes, ls commemorated ln the serles
of poems called u~I lncluded ln p~~ (l962, Mlscel
lany) and separately publlshed ln l966, whlle Cllzla ls
already present, although unnamed, ln some of the love
poems of i ~ (l939; translated as q l~I
l987) and emerges as a named presence ln i~ ~
~I where she ls llterally an angel of transcendental
power and clearslghtedness. Some of Montale`s latest
poems, wrltten on the eve of hls death, are addressed to
her. Jhese women, lmmortallzed ln Montale`s poetry,
served hlm well. Janzl materlally supported and
encouraged the professlonally unsettled poet, and Bran
dels was one of the flrst to translate and speak of hls
work ln Amerlca (ln the n~ o i~I
l962).
Jhe second major collectlon of Montale`s poetry,
i ~I lncludes the poems of the l952 volume and
many new poems. As ln the case of l ~I where
the tltle ls lndlcatlve of the marlne amblence lnformlng
the verse as well as of lts honeddown, unrhetorlcal,
plaln, and 'bleached" language, the second tltle ls
'pregnante dl lntelllgenza autocrltlca" ( pregnant wlth
autocrltlcal lntelllgence), accordlng to Contlnl. In Ital
lan, 'occaslons" slgnlfy not just occurrences or casual
events but also rare moments of lllumlnatlon and eplph
any, llterally 'opportunltles" that the poet then recreates
ln brlef lyrlcal flashes. Jhe poems of thls perlod (l928-
l910) are generally thought of as Montale`s most her
metlc, both ln terms of thelr extreme thematlc prlvacy
and thelr formal compresslon. Not all contemporary
crltlcs were pleased wlth what Guldo Almansl and
Bruce Merry called (ln the tltle of thelr study) the 'prl
vate language of poetry," whlch took precedence ln thls
phase of Montale`s career. Jhe poet hlmself lnslsted
that he never embraced hermetlclsm as a program or a
school, that he never wlllfully sought obscurlty. Rather,
ln 'Intenzlonl," he states that he contlnued hls unpro
grammatlc 'lotta per scavare unàltra dlmenslone nel
nostro pesante llnguagglo pollslllablco, che ml pareva
rlflutarsl a unèsperlenza come la mla" (battle to dlg out
another dlmenslon from our heavy polysyllablc lan
guage, whlch seemed to me to refuse an experlence llke
mlne). Nonetheless, Montale was accused of obscu
rantlsm by more than one crltlc, and he has contlnued
to be rather lnaccurately labeled a member of the her
metlc school, along wlth Lngarettl, Salvatore _uasl
modo, and others for whom thls tag ls more
approprlate.
Jhe central serles of the collectlonj
(Motets, translated and separately publlshed ln l973)
ls made up of twenty short love poems wrltten to and of
a beloved woman who ls now absent from the speaker`s
llfe. Montale explalned years later that ln fact there
were several dlverse sources of lnsplratlon for the varl
ous lyrlcs, but that nonetheless the sectlon has the unlty
of a 'romanzetto autoblograflco" (autoblographlcal
novelette). Jhe lmportance of Dante and of 'stllno
vlsm" (the sweet new style) ls evldent; ln 'Intenzlonl"
Montale wrltes of 'la Selvaggla o la Mandetta o la Della
(la chlaml come vuole) del j " (the Selvaggla or
the Mandetta or the Della |call her what you wlll| of the
j ), thus alludlng, wlth the flrst two names, to the
27l
ai_ PPN b j~
emblematlc names of the beloved ladles of Clno da Pls
tola and Guldo Cavalcantl, both typlcally lncluded wlth
Dante as poets of the stllnovlstlc school. In a note to the
poem 'Irlde" (Irls), ln Io bufcro c oltro, Montale ldentl
fles the lady of the Mottctti wlth Cllzla, a name he expllc
ltly connects to a Dantesque source ln hls eplgraph to
'La prlmavera hltlerlana" (Hltler Sprlng), another
poem ln Io bufcro c oltro. Jhe eplgraph'N quella chà
veder lo sol sl glra" (Nor she who turns to see the sun)
ls a llne attrlbuted, although wlth some doubt, to a
poem by Dante ln whlch Cllzla ls the mythlc lady
enamored of Apollo and transformed by the sun god
lnto a sunflower. Jhe lmportance of the llterary rather
than actual ldentlty of the beloved ls underscored by
Montale ln hls essay on Dante (lncluded ln Sullo pocsio)
when he wrltes of the femlnlne presences ln Dante`s
work as styllstlc adventures. Slmllarly, the many
women of Montale`s poetry, from Cllzla to the later
Volpe (Vlxen) and AnnettaArletta, all llve thelr authen
tlc llves as poetry, no matter what the actual autoblo
graphlcal detalls may be.
After hls dlsmlssal from the Vleusseux, Montale
llved on translatlons and journallstlc wrltlng, and he
contlnued to wrlte poetry. Durlng the dark years of
World War II he led a relatlvely qulet, lf troubled, exlst
ence ln Ilorence, for although he was not an actlve par
tlclpant ln the armed struggle agalnst Iasclsm, he was
by no means lndlfferent to the events affectlng not only
Italy but the whole world. A short story tltled Io pocsio
vov csistc (Poetry Does Not Exlst), later lncluded ln Ior-
follo di Divord and separately publlshed ln l97l, was
orlglnally publlshed ln the Mllanese newspaper Corricrc
dcllo Scro ln l916. Set ln the wlnter of l911, lt recounts
an evenlng ln the home of the autoblographlcal flrst
person narrator, who has opened hls doors to those Ital
lans belng sought by the Germans for thelr partlsan
actlvltles. Jhe settlng serves as a frame to the dlalogue
that ensues between the host and a young German sol
dler; the lmmedlate contlngencles of a threatenlng real
lty are strongly evoked whlle the conversatlon speaks of
more llterary and abstract concernsthe llfe of poetry
ostenslbly remote from and yet deeply related to the
polltlcal and soclal upheavals of the war. Jhe German,
whose unannounced arrlval throws the household lnto
a crlsls of fear, turns out to have come for the sole pur
pose of brlnglng the host some poems of Irledrlch
Hlderlln, promlsed several years back ln the course of
thelr brlef correspondence but never dellvered untll thls
most lnopportune moment. As they settle ln over a
glass of wlnethe host sweatlng all the whlle for fear
that hls hldden guests wlll be dlscoveredthe German
beglns to expostulate on Western llterary culture,
flnally reachlng the summary concluslon that 'poetry
does not exlst." Lpon the soldler`s departure, the narra
tor goes lnto a darkened room where the partlsans have
been hldlng to glve them the allclear slgnal. One of
them asks what the German had to say, and the narra
tor answers, 'dlce che la poesla non eslste" (he says that
poetry does not exlst). Jhe response ls an 'ah," accom
panled by the snores of another partlsan, who ls sleep
lng 'ln un lettucclo strettlsslmo" (ln a very narrow old
bed).
Jhls llttle story reveals Montale`s bellef ln the
lmportance of dally decency. Jhere are no grand ges
tures, no clearly deflned heroes or vlllalns. Jhe narra
tor ls nelther a hero nor a coward but rather a man
capable of seelng the llmltatlons of both llfe and art,
actlon and contemplatlon. Jhe selfportralt that
emerges from thls story, told wlth a llght touch and no
small dose of lrony, as ls true of most of Montale`s
prose, ls consonant wlth the poet`s selfdescrlptlon as
expressed ln 'Intenzlonl". 'Ho vlssuto ll mlo tempo col
mlnlmum dl vlgllaccherla chèra consentlto alle mle
deboll forze, ma c` chl ha fatto dl plu, molto dl plu,
anche se non ha pubbllcato llbrl" (I have llved my tlme
wlth the mlnlmum of cowardlce that was allowed to my
weak powers, but there are those who dld more, much
more, even lf they dld not publlsh books). Montale was
severely crltlclzed for hls lack of engagement and hls
presumed 'lvorytowerlsm" both durlng the war and
after, yet lt ls clear that such sweeplng judgment ls not
only too easy but ultlmately hlghly unfalr. Hls contrlbu
tlon to culture, although never expllcltly or strongly
polltlcal ln nature, was nonetheless far from detached
from the deeper ethlcal and metaphyslcal questlons that
ldeally condltlon polltlcal actlon; and hls qulet commlt
ment to certaln prlnclples of falrness, justlce, and
decency cannot be dlsmlssed as lncldental or lnferlor to
more ostentatlous shows of soclal and polltlcal concern
for the destlny of humanklnd.
In l913 Montale publlshed a short collectlon of
verse tltled Iivistcrrc (Land`s End), smuggled out of Italy
by Contlnl and prlnted ln Swltzerland. Jhe volume was
unpubllshable ln Italy, prefaced as lt was by an eplgraph
from JhodoreAgrlppa dÀublgn that made clear the
poet`s appralsal of the crumbllng Iasclst reglme. 'Les
prlnces nònt polnt d`yeux pour volr ces grands
mervellles; leur malns ne servent plus quà nous pers
cuter" (Jhe prlnces have no eyes wlth whlch to see
these great marvels; thelr hands now serve only to per
secute us). Montale was actlve as a translator durlng
thls perlod, and some of hls verslons of the works of
such poets as Ellot, Wllllam Butler Yeats, and Wllllam
Shakespeare are avallable ln _uodcrvo di troduiovi
(Jranslatlon Notebook), publlshed ln l918. A transla
tlon of Wllllam Henry Hudson`s Crccv Movsiovs (l901)
done by Montale ln the mld l910s and retrleved by hlm
from the l966 Ilorentlne flood but never publlshed,
272
b j~ ai_ PPN
was acqulred along wlth other autograph materlals of
the poet by the Lnlverslty of Pavla and flnally prlnted
ln l987, edlted by Marla Antonletta Grlgnanl.
Durlng the mld l910s Montale was approachlng
flfty years of age and was stlll wlthout a flxed post or
means of earnlng a stable llvlng. As a hobby he took up
palntlng; he used wlne, coffee grounds, toothpaste, and
clgarette ashes to blend hls colors, averse as always to
more 'noble" raw materlals. (Jhls dlsllke for expenslve
tools extended to hls wrltlng as well; rather than use
good paper, he would wrlte many of hls poems on bus
tlckets and candy wrappers, only to flnd that they dls
appeared lnto the garbage.) Jwo of hls whlmslcal water
colors serve as covers to hls prose collectlons c~~~
a~ and c ~~ (l969, Away Irom Home), the
latter a serles of travel sketches recountlng hls meetlngs
wlth certaln wellknown personages and hls lmpres
slons of forelgn lands. But, as amuslng as palntlng was,
Montale needed a job; flnally, ln l916, he was hlred by
` ~ p~ as a parttlme theater crltlc.
Montale`s Mllanese perlod, whlch lasted untll the
end of hls llfe, began ln l918 when he was taken on as
a fulltlme contrlbutor to the ` ~ p~K Accord
lng to a wellknown anecdote, the poet happened to be
ln the chlef edltor`s offlce one day when notlce of
Mahatma Gandhl`s death was recelved. Jhe edltor
needed a cover story lmmedlately, and Montale com
plled, supposedly slttlng down then and there and
poundlng out a plece so pleaslng to the boss that he was
hlred on the spot. He wrote many of the prose pleces
now lncluded ln c~~~ a~ as storles for the ~
~~I or cultural page, of the newspaper; he also dld
most of hls travellng durlng thls perlod on varlous
asslgnments for the paper, lncludlng hls nlnetyhour
sole vlslt to the Lnlted States (to New York Clty),
recounted ln c ~~K Hls assoclatlon wlth the news
paper contlnued actlvely well lnto the l960s. In l955 he
became the muslc crltlc, and for the next twelve years
he ls reputed never to have mlssed an openlng nlght at
La Scala. On offlclal documents Montale llsted hls
occupatlon as 'glornallsta" ( journallst), and although
he often denlgrated that trade, calllng lt a 'lucha por los
garbanzos" (a grlnd for grub), he, ln fact, spoke equally
often of the lmportance of constant, dlsclpllned wrltlng
to the development of hls poetry, as well as the condl
tlonlng effect of prose creatlon on hls lyrlc output.
In l956 Montale publlshed hls thlrd major collec
tlon of verse, i~ ~ ~I whlch lncludes the earller
c as lts openlng sectlon. i~ ~ ~ lncludes
some of the most powerful and accompllshed poems of
Montale`s entlre productlon, from the tltle poem to 'Gll
orecchlnl" (Jhe Earrlngs), to the 'Sllvae" serles at the
center of the collectlon and the two openly autoblo
graphlcal poems, 'Plccolo testamento" (Llttle Jesta
ment) and 'II sogno del prlglonlero" (Jhe Prlsoner`s
Dream), that form the flnal sectlon, 'Concluslonl prov
vlsorle" (Provlslonal Concluslons). Cllzla ls squarely at
the heart of the volume; she ls, ln the poet`s own words
ln 'Intenzlonl," more than a woman, transformed now
lnto an 'angelo" (angel) or a 'procellarla" (stormy
petrel), a messenger of hope and strength from beyond
the strlfe of the wartorn world below. She ls good
lncarnated, and Montale emphaslzes the lmportance of
her materlallzed and concrete belng that ls best recog
nlzed by 'lùomo che megllo conosce le afflnlte che leg
ano Dlo alle creature lncarnate, non gla lo sclocco
splrltuallsta o ll rlgldo e astratto monoflslta" (those who
know best the afflnltles that tle God to lncarnate belngs,
not by the sllly splrltuallst or the rlgld and abstract
Monophyslte). One of the poems of the 'Sllvae" serles,
'Irlde," ls polnted to by the poet hlmself as 'terrlbll
mente ln chlave" (terrlbly essentlal) to an understand
lng of Cllzla`s salvlflc role as one who 'sconta per tuttl"
(explates for everyone). Montale wrltes that the poem
was translated from a dream and ls one of the few that
mlght legltlmately be called 'obscure," glven lts onelrlc
orlglns. Jhe beloved Cllzla, called Irlde ln thls poem,
returns to earth ln order to carry on her work, whlch ls
a form of dlvlne work; she ls so radlcally transformed
as to be herself no longer. 'Ma se rltornl non sel tu,
mutata / la tua storla terrena" (But lf you return you are
not you, your earthly hlstory ls transformed). In the
mldst of the terrlble 'bufera," or storm of war and lts
aftermath, Cllzla provldes a rare vlslon of strength,
moral dlrectlon, and hope.
i~ ~ ~ ls by no means restrlcted to poems
of and to Cllzla, however. Jhere ls the earthy femlnlne
flgure called Volpe, sung about ln the serles of 'Madrl
gall prlvatl" (Prlvate Madrlgals) lmmedlately followlng
the 'Sllvae"; there are also poems to the poet`s mother,
father, and other beloved dead who haunt hlm more
and more asslduously. Jhe thematlc varlety ls matched
by styllstlc vlrtuoslty as Montale experlments wlth the
sonnet form, the madrlgal, and the prose poem, whlch
polnts up the deep connectlon between prose and
poetry that emerges more vlvldly ln hls collectlons that
follow. Irom the relatlve obscurlty of c to the
falrly open autoblographlcal thrust of the flnal 'Conclu
slonl provvlsorle," thls collectlon embodles an lntense
and rlch perlod of Montale`s creatlve llfe. If the publlc
had nothlng but the poems of i~ ~ ~I readers
would stlll be able to count Montale as one of the great
poets of thls century.
Jhe decades after the publlcatlon of i~ ~
~ were fllled wlth publlc recognltlon of Montale`s
work. In l96l he was awarded honorary degrees from
the Lnlversltles of Rome, Mllan, and Cambrldge; ln
l967 he was named Senator for Llfe (an honorlflc mem
273
ai_ PPN b j~
bershlp ln the Itallan Senate); and ln l975 he recelved
the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature. Yet, as the l960s pro
gressed (and followlng hls wlfe`s death ln l963), he
became less and less lnvolved ln the soclal and llterary
clrcles of Mllanese soclety ln whlch he had formerly
moved.
Itallan culture and soclety both had been radlcally
transformed ln the postwar years, and poets were fol
lowlng new dlrectlons and seeklng forms of expresslon
totally unrelated to Montale`s generatlon. Jhe socalled
neoavantgarde sought to sweep away anclent and
more recent tradltlon allke, and Montale was ln danger
of becomlng a sort of llvlng rellc. Jhe surprlse was
enormous, therefore, when he publlshed a hefty collec
tlon of new verse ln l97l under the tltle of Soturo:
1962-1970 (partlally translated ln `cw Iocms, l976),
and surprlse modulated lnto somethlng llke astonlsh
ment when thls work was followed by others, lncludlng
Diorio dcl `71 c dcl `72 (Dlary of `7l and `72) ln l973 and
_uodcrvo di quottro ovvi (Notebook of Iour Years) ln l977
(translated as It Dcpcvds: Z Ioct`s òtcbool, l980). Jhus
began the 'second season" of Montale. Nor, as lt turns
out, was lt the end of the poet`s productlvlty. the crltlcal
edltlon of hls complete works (IÙpcro iv vcrsi ), edlted by
Contlnl and Rosanna Bettarlnl and publlshed by Eln
audl ln l980, lncludes another entlrely new collectlon,
'Altrl versl" (Other Verses); and many poems, left ln
the care of Annallsa Clma, herself a poet and the close
frlend and lnsplratlon of Montale ln hls flnal years,
were publlshed ln small, elegant edltlons of slx poems
each (ln the serles Iocsic ivcditc |Lnedlted Poems|, l986-
l996), at the poet`s express wlsh. Jhe 'unprollflc" poet
whose productlon seemed destlned to conslst of three
collectlons was a wrlter of great productlvlty ln hls old
age; more slgnlflcantly, the Montale of the post-Io
bufcro c oltro years ls 'new," and the later poetry held
surprlses for those who thought they knew Montale`s
range and pltch.
Returnlng to the muslcal analogy wlth whlch he
sought to explaln the beglnnlngs of hls career ln poetry,
Montale stated ln a l973 lntervlew wlth Clma that he
wlshed to 'suonare ll planoforte ln unàltra manlera,
plu dlscreta, pl sllenzlosa" (play the plano ln another
manner, more dlscreet, more sllent). He further com
mented that 'l prlmltre llbrl sono scrlttl ln frac, gll altrl
ln plglama, o dlclamo ln ablto da passegglo" (the flrst
three books are wrltten ln talls |a tuxedo|, the others ln
pajamas, or let`s say ln afternoon clothes) and 'sono
camblatl làccento, la voce, l`lntonazlone" (the accent,
volce, and lntonatlon are changed). Jhe volce ls lndeed
changed, slnglng ln a lower and much less lyrlcal regls
ter. Jhe post-Io bufcro c oltro poems are more prosalc,
both ln theme and style, and more allled to everyday
speech and current events. Yet, Montale retalns themes,
motlfs, and characters from hls earller verse. Jhe result
ls a layerlng effect as the 'hlgh" perlod ls lncorporated
lnto the new 'low" perlod. Many of the late poems are
satlrlcal and eplgrammatlc, lronlc selfportralts, or
comlc and even sardonlc commentarles on contempo
rary soclety. Jhe people who were part of the poet`s
dally exlstenceMosca Janzl; hls falthful housekeeper,
Glna; old frlends such as the edltor Bobl Bazlen; and
varlous unnamed members of the lntlmate domestlc clr
cleall populate the poems, as real presences ln hls llfe,
but there are also 'ghosts" whose absence through
death has paradoxlcally lntenslfled thelr vlsltatlons,
whlch occurred often durlng Montale`s sleepless nlghts.
Another beloved, AnnettaArletta, whose presence had
been submerged and barely hlnted at ln earller poems,
emerges as one of the most tenaclous of Montale`s
ghosts. Jhe tltles of these late collectlons are lndlcatlve
of thelr eclectlc and occaslonal nature. Soturo, whlch
accordlng to Montale hlmself means 'mlscellany"; Dio-
rio (Dlary); and _uodcrvo (Notebook).
Yet, the books are far from casually thrown
together; the poet asslduously noted the date of compo
sltlon of each poem. Jhey are ordered not chronologl
cally but by a selfconsclous structurlng prlnclple. the
poems are lntended to be read ln relatlon to each other,
ln order that thematlc and styllstlc echoes reverberate.
Montale commented ln a l97l radlo lntervlew that
'sarebbe un errore leggere una sola poesla e cercare dl
anatomlzzarla, perch c` sempre un rlchlamo da un
suono allàltro, non solo, ma anche da una poesla
allàltra" (lt would be a mlstake to read one poem only
and to seek to dlssect lt, because there ls always a cross
reference from one sound to another, not only lnter
nally, but also from one poem to another). Jhe ostensl
ble 'artlessness" of casual verse ls belled by a careful
readlng of these artfully constructed volumes.
Jhere are thematlc centers to whlch Montale
returns tlme and agaln ln these late poems. Among the
most evldent are poetry ln general and hls own past
poetry ln partlcular; the meanlng of lndlvldual, soclal,
and transcendental experlence; and the relatlon
between art and polltlcs or between aesthetlcs and lde
ology. Jrue to hls early convlctlon that artlstlc and pollt
lcal spheres should remaln separate (a convlctlon partly
condltloned by Crocean thought), and true to hls
refusal to prlvllege the poet`s role (a refusal strongly
condltloned by hls early antlDÀnnunzlanlsm), Mon
tale adamantly contlnues to favor the eccentrlc (ln lts
etymologlcal sense of that whlch ls not 'ln the center")
and the unknowable qualltles of human experlence.
Love matters not because lt ls a source of ultlmate clar
lty or escape from the vlclssltudes of lndlvldual soll
tude, but because lt ls one of the ways by whlch we
recognlze most strongly the unlqueness and mystery of
271
b j~ ai_ PPN
ourselves and others. Poetry matters because, as Mon
tale commented ln hls Nobel Prlze acceptance speech, lt
ls 'una entlta dl cul sl sa assal poco" (an entlty about
whlch we know qulte llttle). Its tenaclous survlval
through the soclal, cultural, and splrltual upheavals of
human hlstory, lts 'reslstenza," or obdurate endurance,
ls, for Montale, lts ultlmate meanlng and worth. Per
haps beyond partlcular meanlngs of a thematlc or ldeo
loglcal nature, then, hls own last outpourlng of poetry
should be read as the old poet`s own 'endurance" ln
art.
Eugenlo Montale dled on l2 September l98l,
exactly a month before hls elghtyflfth blrthday. Hls
long llfe was relatlvely uneventful on the surface, but
hls poetry ls deeply reflectlve of the eventfulness and
complexlty of hls lnner llfe where he absorbed the trl
als, the lessons, and the contlnulng search for answers
that characterlze human experlence. Hls ls undenlably a
modern volce, attuned to the tlmes ln whlch he llved
and wrote, but lt ls also a volce wlth a tlmeless pltch,
expresslng the transcendent muslc of poetry. Lnable to
offer concrete solutlons to exlstentlal and splrltual
dllemmas, Montale`s poetry nonetheless retalns an
abldlng power ln lts formal beauty, lts lnclslve and lntel
llgent consclousness and consclence, and lts commlt
ment to the lmportance of the lndlvldual and to that
whlch ls unrepeatable ln llfe and ln art.
iW
Icttcrc o Solvotorc _uosimodo, edlted by Sebastlano Grasso
(Mllan. Bomplanl, l98l);
Il cortcggio IivoudiMovtolc pcr 'Ic occosiovi, (19JS-J9),
edlted by Carla Sacchl (Jurln. Elnaudl, l988);
Icttcrc c mivutc: 19J2-19JS, by Montale and Sandro
Penna, edlted by Roberto Deldler (Mllan.
Archlnto, l995);
Icttcrc c pocsic o iovco c Irovccsco Mcssivo 192J-192,
edlted by Laura Barlle (Mllan. Llbrl Schelwlller,
l995);
Dcor Iucy: Civquc lcttcrc di Iugcvio Movtolc, edlted by
Gluseppe Marcenaro (Alplgnano. Jallone edltore
tlpografo, l996);
Iuscbio c Trobucco: Cortcggio di Iugcvio Movtolc c Ciovfrovco
Covtivi, edlted by Dante Isella (Mllan. Adelphl,
l997);
Ciorvi di libcccio: Icttcrc od Zvgclo orilc 1920-197, edlted
by Domenlco Astengo and Glamplero Costa
(Mllan. Archlnto, 2002);
Ic sovo groto: Icttcrc di Iugcvio Movtolc c Zvgclo Morclcsc,
edlted by Stefano Verdlno (Genoa. San Marco del
Glustlnlanl, 2002);
Coro mocstro c omico: Cortcggio cov !olcry Iorboud: 1926-
19J7, edlted by Marco Sonzognl (Mllan.
Archlnto, 2003);
Icttcrc o Cliio, edlted by Rosanna Bettarlnl, Glorla
Manghettl, and Iranco Zabagll (Mllan. Monda
dorl, 2006).
fW
Annallsa Clma, Ivcovtro Movtolc (Mllan. Schelwlller,
l973);
Clma, 'Le reazlonl dl Montale," ln Iugcvio Movtolc: Iro-
filo di uv outorc, edlted by Clma and Cesare Segre
(Mllan. Rlzzoll, l977), pp. l92-20l;
Enzo Blagl, Dicovo di lci (Mllan. Rlzzoll, l978);
Lorenzo Greco, ed., Movtolc commcvto Movtolc (Parma.
Pratlche, l980);
Achllle Mlllo, Covvcrsoiovi cov Movtolc c Iosolivi (Rome.
Edlzlonl dellÒleandro, l996);
Iòrtc di lcggcrc: Uvo covvcrsoiovc svicro, edlted by Clau
dlo Orlgonl and Marla Grazla Rablolo (Novara.
Interllnea, l998).
_~W
Rosanna Pettlnelll and Amedeo _uondam Glovannl
Marla, 'Blbllografla montallana (l925-l966),"
Iosscgvo dcllo lcttcroturo itoliovo, 70 (May-Decem
ber l966). 377-39l;
Laura Barlle, ibliogrofio movtoliovo (Mllan. Mondadorl,
l977).
_~W
Glullo Nasclmbenl, Movtolc (Mllan. Longanesl, l969);
revlsed and enlarged as Movtolc: iogrofio di uv
pocto (Mllan. Longanesl, l986);
Iranco Contorbla, ed., Iugcvio Movtolc: Immogivi di uvo
vito (Mllan. Llbrex, l985).
oW
Guldo Almansl and Bruce Merry, Iugcvio Movtolc: Tlc
Irivotc Iovguogc of Ioctry (Edlnburgh. Edlnburgh
Glusl Baldlssone, ed., Ic musc di Movtolc: Collcrio di occo-
siovi fcmmivili vcllo pocsio movtoliovo (Novara. Inter
llnea, l996);
|ared Becker, Iugcvio Movtolc (Boston. Jwayne, l986);
Glan Paolo Blasln, Il vcvto di Dcbussy: Io pocsio di Movtolc
vcllo culturo dcl òvcccvto (Bologna. Mullno, l985);
Clodagh |. Brook, Tlc Ixprcssiov of tlc Ivcxprcssiblc iv
Iugcvio Movtolc`s Ioctry: Mctoplor, `cgotiov, ovd
Silcvcc (Oxford New York. Oxford Lnlverslty
Press, 2002);
Glauco Cambon, Iugcvio Movtolc`s Ioctry: Z Drcom iv
Icosov`s Ircscvcc (Prlnceton. Prlnceton Lnlverslty
Press, l982);
Lmberto Carpl, Movtolc dopo il foscismo: Dollo 'ufcro o
'Soturo (Padua, Italy. Llvlana, l97l);
275
ai_ PPN b j~
|oseph Cary, Tlrcc Modcrv Itoliov Iocts: Sobo, Uvgorctti,
Movtolc (New York. New York Lnlverslty Press /
London. Lnlverslty of London Press, l969);
Glanfranco Contlnl, Uvo luvgo fcdclto: Scritti su Iugcvio
Movtolc (Jurln. Elnaudl, l971);
Marla Cortl, 'Montale negll Statl Lnltl," Zutogrofo, l2
(l987). ll-27;
Angelo Iabrlzl, Movtolc c Iroust (Ilorence. Pollstampa,
l999);
Marco Iortl, Iugcvio Movtolc: Io pocsio, lo proso di fovtosio
c dìvvcviovc (Mllan. Mursla, l973-l971);
Iortl, ed., Icr covosccrc Movtolc (Mllan. Mondadorl,
l976);
Marla Antonletta Grlgnanl, Irologli cd cpilogli: Sullo poc-
sio di Iugcvio Movtolc, cov uvo proso ivcdito
(Ravenna, Italy. Longo, l987);
Clalre Huffman, Movtolc ovd tlc Uccosiovs of Ioctry
(Prlnceton. Prlnceton Lnlverslty Press, l983);
Angelo |acomuzzl, Io pocsio di Movtolc: Dogli 'Ussi oi
'Diori (Jurln. Elnaudl, l978);
Romano Luperlnl, Movtolc o lìdcvtito vcgoto (Naples. Llg
uorl, l981);
Luperlnl, Storio di Movtolc (Barl, Italy. Laterza, l986);
Gluseppe Marcenaro and Plero Boraglna, eds., Uvo dol-
cco ivquicto: Iùvivcrso poctico di Iugcvio Movtolc
(Mllan. Electa, l996);
Angelo Marchese, Zmico dcllìvvisibilc: Io pcrsovolito c lo
pocsio di Iugcvio Movtolc (Jurln. Socleta edltrlce
lnternazlonale, l996);
Icquod, speclal Montale lssue, 2 (Wlnter l977);
_uortcrly Icvicw of Iitcroturc, speclal Montale lssue, ll,
no. 1 (l962);
Marla Crlstlna Santlnl, Io Iorfollo di Divord c lo mcmorio
movtoliovo (La Spezla. Agora, l999);
Gluseppe Savoca, Covcordovo dcl 'Diorio postumo di
Iugcvio Movtolc: Iocsimilc dci movoscritti, tcsto, covcor-
dovo (Ilorence. Olschkl, l997);
Savoca, Covcordovo di tuttc lc pocsic di Iugcvio Movtolc
(Ilorence. Olschkl, l987);
Paola Slca, Modcrvist Iorms of Icjuvcvotiov: Iugcvio Movtolc
ovd T. S. Iliot (Ilorence. Olschkl, 2003);
G. Slngh, Iugcvio Movtolc: Z Criticol Study of His Ioctry,
Irosc, ovd Criticism (New Haven. Yale Lnlverslty
Press, l973);
Harry Jhomas, ed., Movtolc iv Ivglisl (New York.
Handsel Books, 2001);
Rebecca West, Iugcvio Movtolc: Ioct ov tlc Idgc (Cam
brldge, Mass.. Harvard Lnlverslty Press, l98l).
m~W
Zutogrofi di Movtolc, edlted by Marla Cortl and Marla
Antonletta Grlgnanl (Jurln. Elnaudl, l976), ls a cata
logue of the manuscrlpt holdlngs ln the Iondo dl Autorl
Contemporanel at the Lnlverslty of Pavla; the collec
tlon lncludes poems and letters.
NVTR k m i~
m~ p
by Zvdcrs stcrlivg, of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy (Trovslotiov from
tlc Swcdisl)
Gentlemen,
As we all know, thls year`s Nobel Prlze for Lltera
ture has been awarded to Eugenlo Montale, from Italy.
He comes from Eastern Llgurla, a coastal landscape
whose harsh character ls reflected ln hls poetry. In thls
there echoes through the years a muslcal surge of waves
whlch confronts hls own destlny wlth the stern and
beauteous majesty of the Medlterranean. Montale`s
famous flrst book from l925 bears too the strange tltle
Ussi di scppio, whlch means 'Bones of the Cuttleflsh"
and clearly emphaslzes hls dlstlnctlve Llgurlan charac
ter.
At the outset of hls career he encountered the fas
clst dlctatorshlp`s atmosphere of suppresslon of free
speech and enforced standardlzatlon. Montale refused
to wrlte to order and therefore came to belong to the
plcked troop of free authors who, ln splte of everythlng,
managed to hold thelr own under cover of the socalled
hermetlclsm. Hls personallty was hardened by bltter
experlence. He served ln the flrst world war as an lnfan
try offlcer ln the Jyrolean Alps, and later became head
of the famous Vleusseux Llbrary ln Ilorence. In l939
he was abruptly dlsmlssed; not havlng a fasclst party
membershlp card he could not be regarded as an Itallan
cltlzen. Not untll l918 was he appolnted an edltor of
Corricrc dcllo scro, the blg Mllan newspaper, ln whlch for
many years he has made a name for hlmself as an out
standlng wrlter on cultural matters and as a muslc
crltlc.
Montale has slowly conflrmed hls key posltlon ln
Italy`s modern llterature durlng thls epoch, ln many
ways so traglc for hls natlve land. Jo a great extent he
can be sald to represent thls sombre awareness, whlch
seeks lndlvldual expresslon of collectlve sorrows and
troubles. As a poet he lnterprets thls awareness wlth
calm dlgnlty and wlthout any polltlcal publlclty. He has
also galned a serlously llstenlng audlence, a fact remark
able ln that hls lyrlcal wrltlng ls restrlcted to flve books
of poems at long lntervals. Jhe foremost work ls
undoubtedly Io bufcro c oltro ('Jhe Storm and Other
276
b j~ ai_ PPN
Jhlngs"), whlch was publlshed ln l956. Nor does hls
reserved and thoughtful temperament court popularlty.
Montale hlmself once stated that as an Itallan he
wanted before anythlng else to 'wrlng the neck of elo
quence ln the old rhetorlcal language, even at the rlsk of
flndlng hlmself ln an antleloquence." Actually he has
gladly taken that rlsk, and hls latest book of poems,
a~I a dlary from the years l97l to l972, conslsts
largely of lronlc remarks and eplgrams ln whlch the
agelng poet lets hlmself go and crltlclzes contemporary
reallty wlth an almost antlpoetlc tendency. Hls wlnged
horse ls a falrly restless splrlt, whlch refuses to stand
stlll docllely ln the stall of honour.
But at hls best Montale, wlth strlct dlsclpllne, has
attalned a reflned artlstry, at once personal and objec
tlve, ln whlch every word fllls lts place as preclsely as
the glass cube ln a coloured mosalc. Jhe llngulstlc
laconlclsm cannot be carrled any further; every trace of
embelllshment and jlngle has been cleared away. When,
for lnstance, ln the remarkable portraltpoem of the
|ewess Dora Markus, he wants to lndlcate the current
background of tlme, he does so ln flve words. a~
~ ('A flerce falth dlstlls polson"). In
such masterpleces both the fateful perspectlve and the
lngenlously concentrated structure are remlnlscent of J. S.
Ellot and 'Jhe Waste Land," but Montale ls unllkely to
have recelved lmpulses from thls quarter and hls devel
opment has, lf anythlng, followed a parallel path.
Durlng the halfcentury ln whlch he has worked,
Montale`s attltude can be summed up as a fundamental
pesslmlsm on the classlcal llne from Leopardl. Jhls pes
slmlsm ls seldom purely emotlonal, but manlfests ltself
as a deeply mature, ratlonal lnslght retalnlng the crltlcal
rlght both to ask and defy. Hls convlctlon ls that poor
humanlty ls sllpplng downhlll, that the lessons of hls
tory have llttle value, and that world destltutlon ls golng
from bad to worse. When he surveys the present junc
ture he flnds that the real evll lles ln the fact that the
scale of values of another age can be completely lost; ln
other words, the memory of the great splrlts of the past
ln thelr strlvlng to bulld up somethlng whlch enables us
to create another plcture of our earthly exlstence and lts
condltlons.
But hls reslgnatlon does contaln a spark of confl
dence ln llfe`s lnstlnct to go on, to overcome the accu
mulated obstacles. Montale would not be the born poet
he ls, lf he dld not belleve deep down that poetrywlth
out belng a mass medlumeven ln our tlme ls stlll a
gentle power whlch, unpercelved, can act as one of the
volces of human consclence, falntly heard admlttedly,
but lndestructlble and lndlspensable.
Dear Mr. Montale! In the all too brlef tlme at my
dlsposal I have trled to present your poetry and to jus
tlfy our award. It only remalns for me now to express
the heartfelt congratulatlons of the Swedlsh Academy
and to ask you to recelve thls year`s Nobel Prlze for Llt
erature from the hands of Hls Majesty the Klng.
j~W _~ p
j~ ~ k _~I NM a NVTR
Eq~~FW
Gentlemen,
Durlng a falrly long perlod of my llfe, for more than
20 years, freedom of press was somewhat reduced ln Italy.
But poets were not consldered dangerous and they were
advlsed to exerclse selfcensorshlp. At most, poets were
requested not to wrlte at all. I took advantage of thls nega
tlve llberty. Jhose twenty years permltted me to make a
true randonne through the terrltory of European poetry
of all epochs. Jhe result was that there was born ln me
another poet, not very productlve but who aroused corre
spondence ln many 'twln souls." I have wrltten about flve
hundred poems ln half a century ln addltlon to thousands
of pages of prose, because ~~ ~ ~ |songs do
not glve us bread| or rather they do so only wlth the
Nobel Prlze ln an age when there ls no longer so much
need of bread. I am perhaps a late follower of Zoroaster
and I belleve that the foundatlon of llfe ls bullt upon the
struggle between the two opposlng forces of Good and
Evll. I belleve that all true poets have always fought ln
favor of Good, even when they seemed to exalt 'les fleurs
du mal." Jhe greatest poet of all tlme, Dante, has lndl
cated thls path slnce the fourteenth century. After hlm lt
mlght well seem almost useless to wrlte poetry and yet ln
splte of thls, although wlth lncomparatlve forces, many
others have followed. I am among them, last and least.
I have always knocked at the door of that wonderful
and terrlble enlgma whlch ls llfe. I have been judged to be
a pesslmlst but what abyss of lgnorance and low egolsm ls
not hldden ln one who thlnks that Man ls the god of hlm
self and that hls future can only be trlumphant?
I wlsh to pay homage to Your Majestles, to the
Nobel Ioundatlon, and to the Royal Swedlsh Academy
whlch has crowned a work whlch ls ln good falth, and my
thoughts go to those Itallans who have found work, peace
and llberty ln Sweden. Jo all those who are present at thls
ceremony, I extend my grateful greetlngs.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l975. Eugenlo Montale ls
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m o~W q k m
i~ NVTR
from tlc Ufficc of tlc Icrmovcvt Sccrctory of tlc
Swcdisl Zcodcmy
Eugenlo Montale
Wlth hls very flrst collectlon of poems, Ussi di scp-
pio (ovcs of tlc Cuttlcfisl, l925), the then 29yearold
Eugenlo Montale was ready to uphold hls place ln Ital
lan poetry. As hls work gradually became known out
slde hls own country, he staked the same clalm abroad,
belng recognlzed more and more, lndlsputably, as one
of the most lmportant poets of the contemporary west.
Jhe fact that thls took tlme ls natural enough ln ltself,
but ln Montale`s case may have a speclal explanatlon.
Hls conslstent personal retlcence ls probably one of the
reasons that lt took so long before the llterary publlc
became aware of hlm. But, undoubtedly, a more decl
slve reason ls that, ln general, he has glven such sparse
occaslon to judge hlm. Wlth each collectlon of poems,
he has wldened and strengthened hls posltlon, but the
successlon of new volumes ls short and the dlstance
between them all the longer. Apart from what was
prlnted before publlcatlon ln book form, and from what
was added ln later edltlons, Montale has, ln all, pub
llshed four books of poems slnce the flrst appeared flfty
years ago. Ic Uccosiovi (Tlc Uccosiovs, l939), Io ufcro c
oltro (Tlc Storm ovd Utlcr Tlivgs, l918), Soturo (l962),
and, most recently, Diorio dcl `71 c dcl `72. Jhe fact that
thls modest productlon has contlnued to capture the
lnterest of young people both ln the poet`s own country
and ln the world at large ls sufflclent proof of lts sterllng
qualltles and lastlng effect.
Jhls ls all the more remarkable ln that Montale`s
poetry does not meet lts readers wlth open arms. Born
ln Genoa, he has remalned falthful to hls northItallan
home reglon; lt forms a llvlng background to most of
what he has wrltten. It ls not the lnvltlng sunbathers`
paradlse of the Rlvlera that extends before us, but a
shore of a harsher klnd, seemlngly drawn from the
stern llnes of the Llgurlan coast wlth the stormy onset
of the sea agalnst steep rock bastlons.
Jhe fact that the lnaccesslblllty of the rocky
shores has been glven a shape and a counterpart ln
Montale`s work lmplles a llterary program. He came to
have an afflnlty wlth the socalled hermetlc school ln hls
country`s poetry, thereby rejectlng the meltlng tones
and the rhetorlcal fanfares that most people had an ear
for, both lnslde and outslde Italy. Hls lnaccesslblllty ls
not only a matter of llterary form but also a splrltual
attltude, an lnner necesslty, an outlook on llfe. What
the wrlter rejects ls not certaln styles but hls own sltua
tlonto that extent, the whole sltuatlon of modern men.
Ostenslbly, at least, he seeks secluslon, not contact.
Ostenslbly, at least, thls lsolatlon agalnst hls surround
lngs ls an expresslon of deep pesslmlsm, not to say neg
atlvlsm. Indeed, Montale`s poetry has been so
descrlbed. But ln order to grasp what the negatlve attl
tude means, we need only recall what lt was that Mon
tale repudlated. He has never wanted to llve wlth hls
tlme. In the flrst world war he took part as an offlcer
agalnst the Austrlans; unllke many of hls fellow wrlters
at the front he wrote no war poems, saw nothlng edlfy
lng, nothlng splendld ln the ghastly buslness. Demobl
llzed, he came home to an Italy ln dlslntegratlon; when
hls flrst poems appeared, Mussollnl was already ln
power. Montale would not let hlmself be carrled away
by the lncltlng slgnals, refused to joln the party, was
deprlved of employment and means of llvellhood, saw
hls own llterary efforts jeopardlzed or thwarted, and
had to earn hls llvlng at translatlon. In hls lsolatlon, he
perslstently and lndomltably pursued hls work, a 'her
metlc," lf ever there was one. Bearlng thls ln mlnd, we
tell ourselves that lf we lose the capaclty to repudlate, all
ls lost. Jhere ls a negatlvlsm based not on mlsanthropy,
but on an lndellble feellng for the value of llfe and the
dlgnlty of manklnd. Jhat ls what glves Eugenlo Mon
tale`s poetry lts lnnate strength.
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j~W k iI NO a NVTR
f m p m\
Jhe Nobel Prlze has been awarded thls year for
the seventyflfth tlme, lf I am not mlslnformed. And lf
there are many sclentlsts and wrlters who have earned
thls prestlglous recognltlon, the number of those who
are llvlng and stlll worklng ls much smaller. Some of
them are present here and I extend my greetlngs and
best wlshes to them. Accordlng to wldespread oplnlon,
the work of soothsayers who are not always rellable,
thls year or ln the years whlch can be consldered lmml
nent, the entlre world (or at least that part of the world
whlch can be sald to be clvlllzed) wlll experlence a hls
torlcal turnlng of colossal proportlons. It ls obvlously
not a questlon of an eschatologlcal turnlng, of the end
of man hlmself, but of the advent of a new soclal har
mony of whlch there are presentlments only ln the vast
domalns of Ltopla. At the date of the event the Nobel
Prlze wlll be one hundred years old and only then wlll
lt be posslble to make a complete balance sheet of what
the Nobel Ioundatlon and the connected prlze have
contrlbuted to the formatlon of a new system of com
munlty llfe, be lt that of unlversal wellbelng or malalse,
but of such an extent as to put an end, at least for many
centurles, to the centurleslong dlatrlbe on the meanlng
of llfe. I refer to human llfe and not to the appearance of
the amlno aclds whlch dates back several thousand mll
llon years, substances whlch made posslble the apparl
tlon of man and perhaps already contalned the project
of hlm. In thls case how long the step of the ~J
ls! But I do not lntend to stray from my subject and
I wonder lf the convlctlon on whlch the statute of the
Nobel Prlze ls based ls justlfled. and that ls that scl
ences, not all on the same level, and llterary works have
contrlbuted to the spread and defense of new values ln
a broad 'humanlstlc" sense. Jhe response ls certalnly
afflrmatlve. Jhe reglster of the names of those who,
havlng glven somethlng to humanlty, have recelved the
coveted recognltlon of the Nobel Prlze would be long.
But lnflnltely more numerous and practlcally lmpossl
ble to ldentlfy would be the leglon, the army of those
who work for humanlty ln lnflnlte ways even wlthout
reallzlng lt and who never asplre to any posslble prlze
because they have not wrltten works, acts or academlc
treatlses and have never thought of 'maklng the presses
groan," as the Itallan expresslon says. Jhere certalnly
exlsts an army of pure, lmmaculate souls, and they are
an obstacle (certalnly lnsufflclent) to the spread of that
utllltarlan splrlt whlch ln varlous degrees ls pushed to
the polnt of corruptlon, crlme and every form of vlo
lence and lntolerance. Jhe academlclans of Stockholm
have often sald no to lntolerance, cruel fanatlclsm and
that persecutlng splrlt whlch turns the strong agalnst
the weak, oppressors agalnst the oppressed. Jhls ls true
partlcularly ln thelr cholce of llterary works, works
whlch can sometlmes be murderous, but never llke that
atomlc bomb whlch ls the most mature frult of the eter
nal tree of evll.
I wlll not lnslst on thls polnt because I am nelther
a phllosopher, soclologlst nor morallst.
I have wrltten poems and for thls I have been
awarded a prlze. But I have also been a llbrarlan, trans
lator, llterary and muslcal crltlc and even unemployed
because of recognlzed lnsufflclency of loyalty to a
reglme whlch I could not love. A few days ago a forelgn
journallst came to vlslt me and she asked me, 'How dld
you dlstrlbute so many dlfferent actlvltles? So many
hours for poetry, so many hours for translatlon, so
many for clerlcal actlvlty and so many for llfe?" I trled
to explaln to her that lt ls to plan a llfetlme as one plans
an lndustrlal project. In the world there ls a large space
for the useless, and lndeed one of the dangers of our
tlme ls that mechandlzlng of the useless to whlch the
very young are partlcularly sensltlve.
At any rate I am here because I have wrltten
poems. A completely useless product, but hardly ever
harmful and thls ls one of lts characterlstlcs of noblllty.
But lt ls not the only one, slnce poetry ls a creatlon or a
slckness whlch ls absolutely endemlc and lncurable.
I am here because I have wrltten poems. slx vol
umes, ln addltlon to lnnumerable translatlons and crltl
cal essays. Jhey have sald that lt ls a small productlon,
perhaps supposlng that the poet ls a producer of mer
chandlse; the machlnes must be utlllzed to the full
extent. Iortunately, poetry ls not merchandlse. It ls a
phenomenon of whlch we know very llttle, so much so
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that two phllosophers as dlfferent as Croce, a hlstorlclst
and ldeallst, and Gllson, a Cathollc, are ln agreement ln
conslderlng lt lmposslble to wrlte a hlstory of poetry.
Ior my part, lf I conslder poetry as an object, I malntaln
that lt ls born of the necesslty of addlng a vocal sound
(speech) to the hammerlng of the flrst trlbal muslc.
Only much later could speech and muslc be wrltten ln
some way and dlfferentlated. Wrltten poetry appears,
but the relatlonshlp ln common wlth muslc makes ltself
felt. Poetry tends to open ln archltectonlc forms, there
arlse the meters, the strophes, the socalled flxed forms.
Already ln the k and then ln Romance eplc
cycles, the true materlal of poetry ls sound. But a poem
whlch also addresses ltself to the eye wlll not be long ln
appearlng wlth the Provencal poets. Slowly poetry
becomes vlsual because lt palnts lmages, but lt ls also
muslcal. lt unltes two arts lnto one. Naturally the for
mal structures made up a large part of poetlc vlslblllty.
After the lnventlon of prlntlng, poetry becomes vertlcal,
does not flll the whlte space completely, lt ls rlch ln new
paragraphs and repetltlons. Even certaln empty spaces
have a value. Prose, whlch occuples all the space and
does not glve lndlcatlons of lts pronounceablllty, ls very
dlfferent. And at thls polnt the metrlcal structures can
be an ldeal lnstrument for the art of narratlon, that ls
for the novel. Jhls ls the case for that narratlve lnstru
ment whlch ls the elghtllne stanza, a form whlch was
already a fossll ln the early nlneteenth century ln splte
of the success of Byron`s a g~ (a poem whlch
remalned halfflnlshed).
But towards the end of the nlneteenth century,
the flxed forms of poetry no longer satlsfled the eye or
the ear. An analogous observatlon can be made for
Engllsh blank verse and for the correspondlng verse
form, ~~ K And ln the meantlme palntlng
was maklng great strldes towards the dlssolutlon of nat
urallsm, and the repercusslon was lmmedlate ln plcto
rlal art. Jhus wlth a long process, whlch would requlre
too much tlme to descrlbe here, one arrlved at the con
cluslon that lt was lmposslble to reproduce reallty, real
objects, thus creatlng useless dupllcates. but there are
dlsplayed or even llfeslze the objects or flgures of
whlch Caravagglo or Rembrandt would have presented
a facslmlle, a masterplece. At the great exhlbltlon ln
Venlce years ago the portralt of a mongolold was dls
played. the subject was trs dutant, but why not? Art
can justlfy everythlng. Except that upon approachlng lt,
one dlscovered that lt was not a portralt but the unfor
tunate hlmself, ln flesh and blood. Jhe experlment was
then lnterrupted ~ ~I but ln a strlctly theoretlcal
context lt was completely justlfled. Ior many years crlt
lcs wlth unlverslty chalrs had preached the absolute
necesslty of the death of art, waltlng for who knows
what pallngenesls or resurrectlon, of whlch the slgns
could not be gllmpsed.
What concluslon can be drawn from such facts?
Evldently the arts, all the vlsual arts, are becomlng
more democratlc ln the worst sense of the word. Art ls
the productlon of objects for consumptlon, to be used
and dlscarded whlle waltlng for a new world ln whlch
man wlll have succeeded ln freelng hlmself of every
thlng, even of hls own consclousness. Jhe example I
clte could be extended to the excluslvely nolsy and
undlfferentlated muslc llstened to ln those places where
mllllons of young people gather to exorclze the horror
of thelr solltude. But why more than ever has clvlllzed
man reached the polnt of havlng horror of hlmself?
Obvlously I foresee the objectlons. We must not
brlng ln the lllnesses of soclety, whlch have perhaps
always exlsted, but were llttle known because the
former means of communlcatlon dld not permlt us to
know and dlagnose the lllness. It alarms me that a sort
of general Doomsday atmosphere accompanles an ever
more wldespread comfort, that wellbelng (there where
lt exlsts, that ls ln llmlted areas of the world) has the
llvld features of desperatlon. Agalnst the dark back
ground of thls contemporary clvlllzatlon of wellbelng,
even the arts tend to mlngle, to lose thelr ldentlty. Mass
communlcatlon, radlo, and especlally televlslon, have
attempted, not wlthout success, to annlhllate every pos
slblllty of solltude and reflectlon. Jlme becomes more
rapld, works of a few years ago seem 'dated" and the
need the artlst has to be llstened to sooner or later
becomes a spasmodlc need of the toplcal, of the lmme
dlate. Whence the new art of our tlme whlch ls the
spectacle, a not necessarlly theatrlcal exhlbltlon ln
whlch the rudlments of every art are present and whlch
effects a klnd of psychlc massage on the spectator or lls
tener or reader as the case may be. Jhe ~~
of thls new heap ls the dlrector. Hls purpose ls not only
to coordlnate scenlc arrangements, but to glve lnten
tlons to works whlch have none or have had other
ones. Jhere ls a great sterlllty ln all thls, an lmmense
lack of confldence ln llfe. In such a landscape of hysterl
cal exhlbltlonlsm what can the place of poetry, the most
dlscrete of arts, be? Socalled lyrlcal poetry ls work, the
frult of solltude and accumulated lmpresslons. Jhls ls
stlll true today but ln rather llmlted cases. We have
however more numerous cases ln whlch the self
proclalmed poet falls lnto step wlth new tlmes. Poetry
then becomes acoustlc and vlsual. Jhe words splash ln
all dlrectlons, llke the exploslon of a grenade, there ls
no true meanlng, but a verbal earthquake wlth many
eplcenters. Declpherment ls not necessary, ln many
cases the ald of the psychoanalyst may help. Slnce the
vlsual aspect prevalls, the poem becomes translatable,
and thls ls a new phenomenon ln the hlstory of esthet
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j~W k iI NO a NVTR ai_ PPN
lcs. Jhls does not mean that the new poets are schlzold.
Some of them can wrlte classlcally tradltlonal verse and
pseudoverses devold of any sense. Jhere ls also poetry
wrltten to be shouted ln a square ln front of an enthusl
astlc crowd. Jhls occurs especlally ln countrles where
authorltarlan reglmes are ln power. And such athletes of
poetlc vocallsm are not always devold of talent. I wlll
clte such a case and I beg your pardon lf lt ls also a case
whlch concerns me personally. But the fact, lf lt ls true,
demonstrates that by now there exlst two types of
poetry ln cohabltatlon, one of whlch ls for lmmedlate
consumptlon and dles as soon as lt ls expressed, whlle
the other can sleep quletly. One day lt wlll awaken, lf lt
has the strength to do so.
Jrue poetry ls slmllar to certaln plctures whose
owner ls unknown and whlch only a few lnltlated peo
ple know. However, poetry does not llve solely ln books
or ln school anthologles. Jhe poet does not know and
often wlll never know hls true recelver. I wlll glve you a
personal example. In the archlves of Itallan newspapers
there are the obltuary artlcles for men who are stlll allve
and actlve. Jhese artlcles are called 'crocodlles." A few
years ago at the ` ~ p~ I dlscovered my 'croc
odlle," slgned by Jaulero Zulbertl, crltlc, translator and
polyglot. He states that the great poet Majakovsky, hav
lng read one or more of my poems translated lnto Rus
slan, sald. 'Here ls a poet I llke. I would llke to be able
to read hlm ln Itallan." Jhe eplsode ls not lmprobable.
My flrst verses began to clrculate ln l925 and Majak
ovsky (who travelled ln the Lnlted States and else
where as well) commltted sulclde ln l930.
Majakovsky was a poet wlth a pantograph, wlth a
megaphone. If he sald such words I can say that my
poems had found, by crooked and unforeseeable paths,
thelr recelver.
Do not belleve, however, that I have a sollpslstlc
ldea of poetry. Jhe ldea of wrltlng for the socalled
happy few was never mlne. In reallty art ls always for
everyone and for no one. But what remalns unforesee
able ls lts true begetter, lts recelver. Spectacleart, mass
art, art whlch wants to produce a sort of physlcalpsychlcal
message on a hypothetlcal user, has lnflnlte roads ln
front of lt because the populatlon of the world ls ln con
tlnuous growth. But lts llmlt ls absolute vold. It ls possl
ble to frame and exhlblt a palr of sllppers (I myself have
seen mlne ln that condltlon), but a landscape, a lake or
any great natural spectacle cannot be dlsplayed under
glass.
Lyrlcal poetry has certalnly broken lts barrlers.
Jhere ls poetry even ln prose, ln all the great prose
whlch ls not merely utllltarlan or dldactlc. there exlst
poets who wrlte ln prose or at least ln more or less
apparent prose; mllllons of poets wrlte verses whlch
have no connectlon wlth poetry. But thls slgnlfles llttle
or nothlng. Jhe world ls growlng, no one can say what
lts future wlll be. But lt ls not credlble that mass culture,
wlth lts ephemeral and brlttle character, wlll not pro
duce, through necessary repercusslons, a culture whlch
ls both defense and reflectlon. We can all collaborate ln
thls future. But man`s llfe ls short and the llfe of the
world can be almost lnflnltely long.
I had thought of glvlng thls tltle to my short
speech. 'Wlll poetry be able to survlve ln the unlverse
of mass communlcatlon?" Jhat ls what many people
wonder, but upon thlnklng closely, the answer can only
be afflrmatlve. If by poetry one means belletrlstlc
poetry lt ls clear that the world productlon wlll contlnue
to grow excesslvely. If lnstead we llmlt ourselves to that
poetry whlch refuses wlth horror the descrlptlon of pro
ductlon, that whlch arlses almost through a mlracle and
seems to embalm an entlre epoch and a whole llngulstlc
and cultural sltuatlon, then lt ls necessary to say that
there ls no death posslble for poetry.
It has often been observed that the repercusslon
of poetlc language on prose language can be consldered
a declslve cut of a whlp. Strangely, Dante`s a `J
dld not produce a prose of that creatlve helght or lt
dld so after centurles. But lf you study Irench prose
before and after the school of Ronsard, the Pllade, you
wlll observe that Irench prose has lost that softness for
whlch lt was judged to be so lnferlor to the classlcal lan
guages and has taken a verltable leap towards maturlty.
Jhe effect has been curlous. Jhe Pllade does not pro
duce collectlons of homogeneous poems llke those of
the Itallan (whlch ls certalnly one of lts
sources), but lt glves us from tlme to tlme true 'antlque
pleces" whlch could be put ln a posslble lmaglnary
museum of poetry. It ls a questlon of a taste whlch
could be deflned as NeoGreek and whlch centurles
later the Parnasse wlll attempt ln valn to equal. Jhls
proves that great lyrlc poetry can dle, be reborn, dle
agaln, but wlll always remaln one of the most outstand
lng creatlons of the human soul. Let us reread together
a poem by |oachlm Du Bellay. Jhls poet, born ln l522
and who dled at the age of thlrtythree, was the nephew
of a cardlnal wlth whom he llved ln Rome for several
years, brlnglng back a profound dlsgust for the corrup
tlon of the papal court. Du Bellay wrote a great deal,
lmltatlng wlth greater or lesser success the poets of the
Petrarchan tradltlon. But the poem (perhaps wrltten ln
Rome), lnsplred by Latln verses by Navagero, whlch
conflrms hls fame, ls the frult of a palnful nostalgla for
the countryslde of the sweet Lolre whlch he had aban
doned. Irom SalnteBeuve up to Walter Pater, who ded
lcated |oachlm a memorable proflle, the sort l
read lt lf thls ls posslble, because lt ls a questlon of a
poem ln whlch the eye ~ has entered the
repertory of world poetry. Let us try to reread lt lf thls
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ls posslble, because lt ls a questlon of a poem ln whlch
the eye has lts role.
A vous troppe legere, qul dàele passagere par le monde
volez et dùn slfflant murmure lòmbrageuse verdure
doulcement esbranlez, jòffre ces vlolettes, ces lls et ces
fleurettes, et ces roses lcy, ces vermelllettes roses, tout
freschement closes, et ces oellletz aussl. De vostre
doulce halalne eventez ceste plalne, eventez ce sejour,
ce pendant que jàhanne a mon bl, que je vanne a la
chaleur du jour.
I do not know lf thls l was wrltten ln Rome as an
lnterlude ln the dlspatch of borlng offlce matters. It
owes lts current survlval to Pater. At a dlstance of centu
rles a poem can flnd lts lnterpreter.
But now ln order to conclude, I should reply to
the questlon whlch gave a tltle to thls brlef speech. In
the current consumlstlc clvlllzatlon whlch sees new
natlons and new languages appear ln hlstory, ln the clv
lllzatlon of robotman, what can the destlny of poetry
be? Jhere could be many answers. Poetry ls the art
whlch ls technlcally wlthln the grasp of everyone. a
plece of paper and a pencll and one ls ready. Only at a
second moment do the problems of publlshlng and dls
trlbutlon arlse. Jhe flre of the llbrary of Alexandrla
destroyed three fourths of Greek llterature.
Joday not even a unlversal flre could make the
torrentlal poetlc productlon of our tlme dlsappear. But lt
ls exactly a questlon of productlon, that ls, of hand
made products whlch are subject to the laws of taste
and fashlon. Jhat the garden of the Muses can be dev
astated by great tempests ls, more than probable, cer
taln. But lt seems to me just as certaln that a great deal
of prlnted paper and many books of poetry must reslst
tlme.
Jhe questlon ls dlfferent lf one refers to the splrl
tual revlval of an old poetlc text, lts contemporary res
toratlon, lts openlng to new lnterpretatlons. And flnally
lt always remalns doubtful wlthln whlch llmlts one
moves when speaklng of poetry. Much of today`s poetry
ls expressed ln prose. Many of today`s verses are prose
and bad prose. Narratlve art, the novel, from Murasakl
to Proust, has produced great works of poetry. And the
theater? Many llterary hlstorles do not even dlscuss lt,
taklng up lnstead several genluses who are treated sepa
rately. In addltlon how can one explaln the fact that
anclent Chlnese poetry survlves all translatlons whlle
European poetry ls chalned to lts orlglnal language?
Perhaps the phenomenon can be explalned by the fact
that we belleve we are readlng Po Chl and lnstead we
are readlng the wonderful counterfelter Arthur Waly?
One could multlply the questlons wlth the sole result
that not only poetry, but all the world of artlstlc expres
slon or that whlch proclalms ltself to be such, has
entered lnto a crlsls whlch ls strlctly tled to the human
condltlon, to our exlstence as human belngs, to our cer
talnty or llluslon of bellevlng ourselves to be prlvlleged
belngs, the only ones who belleve they are the masters
of thelr destlny and the deposltarles of a destlny whlch
no other creature can lay clalm to. It ls useless then to
wonder what the destlny of the arts wlll be. It ls llke
asklng oneself lf the man of tomorrow, perhaps of a
very dlstant tomorrow, wlll be able to resolve the traglc
contradlctlons ln whlch he has been flounderlng slnce
the flrst day of Creatlon (and lf lt ls stlll posslble to
speak of such a day, whlch can be an endless epoch).
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l975. Eugenlo Montale ls
the sole author of the text.|
282
q j
(1S Icbruory 19J1 - )
a e
!cstcrv Corolivo Uvivcrsity
and
p~~ ^
Uvivcrsity of !iscovsivModisov
Jhls entry was updated by Adell from Helnze`s Morrl
son entry ln DI 14J: Zmcricov òvclists Sivcc !orld !or
II, Tlird Scrics. See also the Morrlson entrles ln DI 6:
Zmcricov òvclists Sivcc !orld !or II, Sccovd Scrics, and
DI JJ: Zfro-Zmcricov Iictiov !ritcrs Zftcr 19.
BOOKS. Tlc lucst Iyc (New York. Holt, Rlnehart Wln
ston, l970; London. Chatto Wlndus, l979);
Sulo (New York. Plume, l973; London. Allen Lane, l971);
Sovg of Solomov (New York. Knopf, l977; London. Chatto
Wlndus, l978);
Tor oby (New York. Knopf, l98l; London. Chatto
Wlndus, l98l);
clovcd (New York. Knopf, l987; London. Chatto Wln
dus, l987);
o (Iranklln Center, Pa.. Iranklln Llbrary / New York.
Knopf, l992; London. Chatto Wlndus, l992);
Iloyivg iv tlc Dorl: !litcvcss ovd tlc Iitcrory Imogivotiov
(Cambrldge, Mass.. Harvard Lnlverslty Press,
l992; London. Plcador, l993);
Iccturc ovd Spcccl of Zcccptovcc, upov tlc Zword of tlc òbcl
Iric for Iitcroturc (New York. Knopf, l991; Lon
don. Chatto Wlndus, l991);
Tlc Dovcivg Mivd: Spcccl upov Zcccptovcc of tlc òtiovol
ool Iouvdotiov Mcdol for Distivguislcd Covtributiov to
Zmcricov Icttcrs ov tlc Sixtl of òvcmbcr, ìvctccv
Huvdrcd ovd ìvcty-Six (New York. Knopf, l996);
Iorodisc (New York. Knopf, l998; London. Chatto
Wlndus, l998);
Tlc ig ox, by Morrlson and Slade Morrlson (New
York. Hyperlon Books for Chlldren/|ump at the
Sun, l999; London. Jurnaround, 2002);
Tlc ool of Mcov Icoplc, by Morrlson and Slade Morrl
son (New York. Hyperlon Books for Chlldren,
2002; London. Jurnaround, 2003);
Tlc Zvt or tlc Crossloppcr? by Morrlson and Slade Mor
rlson (New York. Scrlbner, 2003);
Tlc Iiov or tlc Mousc? by Morrlson and Slade Morrlson
(New York. Scrlbner, 2003);
Ioppy or tlc Svolc? by Morrlson and Slade Morrlson
Iovc (New York. Knopf, 2003; London. Chatto Wln
dus, 2003);
Icmcmbcr: Tlc ourvcy to Sclool Ivtcgrotiov (Boston.
Houghton Mlfflln, 2001);
Tlc Mirror or tlc Closs? by Morrlson and Slade Morrlson
!lo`s Cot Comc?: Tlrcc Ioblcs, by Morrlson and Slade
Morrlson (New York. Scrlbner, 2005)comprlses
Tlc Zvt or tlc Crossloppcr?, Tlc Iiov or tlc Mousc?,
and Ioppy or tlc Svolc?
PLAY PRODLCJION. Drcomivg Immctt, Albany,
New York, 1 |anuary l986.
OJHER. Tlc locl ool, complled by Mlddleton Har
rls, edlted by Morrlson (New York. Random
House, l971);
'Rootedness. Jhe Ancestor as Ioundatlon," ln locl
!omcv !ritcrs (190-19S0): Z Criticol Ivoluotiov,
edlted by Marl Evans (Garden Clty, N.Y.. Dou
bleday, l981), pp. 339-315;
Iocc-ivg, usticc, Iv-gcvdcrivg Iowcr: Issoys ov Zvito Hill,
Clorcvcc Tlomos ovd tlc Covstructiov of Sociol Icolity,
edlted by Morrlson (New York. Pantheon, l992;
London. Chatto Wlndus, l993);
Huey P. Newton, To Dic for tlc Icoplc: Tlc !ritivgs of
Hucy I. `cwtov, edlted by Morrlson (New York.
Wrlters and Readers, l995);
Hovcy ovd Iuc, text by Morrlson, compact dlsc (Ham
burg. Deutsche Grammophon, l995);
283
ai_ PPN q j
Jonl Cade Bambara, Dccp Sigltivgs ovd Icscuc Missiovs:
Iictiov, Issoys, ovd Covvcrsotiovs, edlted by Morrlson
(New York. Pantheon, l996);
irtl of o òtiov`lood: Coc, Script, ovd Spcctoclc iv tlc U. .
Simpsov Cosc, edlted by Morrlson and Claudla
Brodsky Lacour (New York. Pantheon, l997).
SELECJED PERIODICAL PLBLICAJIONS
LNCOLLECJED. 'What the Black Woman Jhlnks
About Women`s Llb," `cw Jorl Timcs Mogoivc, 22
August l97l, pp. l1-l5, 63-61, 66;
'Cooklng Out," `cw Jorl Timcs ool Icvicw, l0 |une
l973, pp. 1, l2;
'Behlnd the Maklng of the Black Book," locl !orld, 23
(Iebruary l971). 86-90;
'Redlscoverlng Black Hlstory," `cw Jorl Timcs Mogoivc,
ll August l971, pp. l1, l6, l8, 20, 22, 21;
'Readlng," Modcmoiscllc, 8l (May l975). l1;
'A Slow Walk of Jrees (as Grandmother Would Say)
Hopeless (as Grandfather Would Say)," `cw Jorl
Timcs Mogoivc, 1 |uly l976, pp. l01, l50, l52,
l60, l62, l61;
'Memory, Creatlon, and Wrltlng," Tlouglt, 59 (Decem
ber l981). 385-390;
'Lnspeakable Jhlngs Lnspoken. Jhe AfroAmerlcan
Presence ln Amerlcan Llterature," Micligov _uor-
tcrly Icvicw, 28 (Wlnter l989). l-31.
Jhe l993 Nobel Prlze ln Llterature was awarded
to Jonl Morrlson, 'who, ln novels characterlzed by
vlslonary force and poetlc lmport, glves llfe to an essen
tlal aspect of Amerlcan reallty," as the cltatlon from the
Swedlsh Academy read. Jhe elghth woman and the
flrst Afrlcan Amerlcan to wln the prlze, Morrlson
expressed surprlse and dellght at recelvlng the honor.
I was thrllled that my mother ls stlll allve and can share
thls wlth me. And I can clalm representatlon ln so
many areas. I`m a Mldwesterner, and everyone ln Ohlo
ls exclted. I`m also a New Yorker, and a New |erseyan,
and an Amerlcan, plus I`m an AfrlcanAmerlcan, and a
woman. I know lt seems llke I`m spreadlng llke algae
when I put lt thls way, but I`d llke to thlnk of the prlze
belng dlstrlbuted to these reglons and natlons and
races.
q j NVVP k m i~ h `~ usf d~ p E^m t tF
281
q j ai_ PPN
Morrlson`s lmage of herself as a llterary organlsm
whose creatlve force ls fed by all that has encompassed
her ls reflected ln her flctlon, a comblnatlon of prose
and poetry so lyrlcal and evocatlve that lt often tran
scends the narratlve of Afrlcan Amerlcans that she pre
sents, exhortlng all her readers to share ln and accept
responslblllty for the creatlve act they are wltnesslng. In
her Nobel Prlze acceptance speech Morrlson told a
story ln whlch the roles of storyteller and llstener even
tually ellde one another so that both are lnvolved ln flc
tlon maklng. 'How lovely lt ls," the storyteller
concludes, 'thls thlng we have donetogether."
In descrlblng Morrlson`s work, Sture Alln, per
manent secretary of the Swedlsh Academy, sald ln the
Nobel press release. 'She delves lnto the language ltself,
a language she wants to llberate from the fetters of race.
And she addresses us wlth the luster of poetry." Ior
Morrlson lt ls the language that, as she sald ln her
acceptance speech, 'may be the measure of our llves,"
and as such lt must not be a language that oppresses or
manlpulates, 'the pollclng languages of mastery," but
one that can 'llmn the actual, lmaglned and posslble
llves of lts speaker, readers, wrlters." It must be free of
the arrogance of absolute deflnltlon. 'Its force, lts fellc
lty ls ln lts reach toward the lneffable." In l996 Morrl
son recelved the Natlonal Book Ioundatlon Medal for
Dlstlngulshed Contrlbutlon to Amerlcan Letters, and ln
her acceptance speech, q a~ jI she contlnues
to emphaslze the necessary lnterconnectednessthe
danclng of mlndsthat occurs through readlng and
wrltlng. Wrltlng, Morrlson says, ls
a craft that appears solltary but needs another for lts
completlon. A craft that slgnals lndependence but relles
totally on an lndustry. It ls more than an urge to make
sense or to make sense artfully or to belleve lt matters.
It ls more than a deslre to watch other wrlters manage
to reflgure the world. I know now, more than I ever dld
(and I always on some level knew lt), that I need that
lntlmate, sustalned surrender to the company of my
mlnd whlle lt touches another`swhlch ls readlng . . .
Jhat I need to offer the frults of my own lmaglnatlve
lntelllgence to another wlthout fear of anythlng more
deadly than dlsdalnwhlch ls wrltlng.
Morrlson has become one of the llterary ellte even
though, slnce she ls Afrlcan Amerlcan and a female, her
wrltlngs are often a challenge to the canon of predoml
nantly whltemale Amerlcan wrltlng. Morrlson`s
remarkable accompllshment ls summed up by Henry
Louls Gates |r.. '|ust two centurles ago, the Afrlcan
Amerlcan llterary tradltlon was born ln slave narra
tlves. Now our greatest wrlter has won the Nobel
Prlze." Jhe fact that Morrlson has recelved the most
prestlglous of wrltlng awards serves not only to expand
the llterary crlterla for greatness but has also lnltlated
dlscusslon about the evolvlng nature of Amerlcan lltera
ture. Evldence of the hlgh level of scholarly lnterest ln
Morrlson`s work lncludes the q j p kJ
I a semlannual publlcatlon begun ln l995.
Morrlson was born Chloe Anthony Wofford on
l8 Iebruary l93l ln Loraln, Ohlo, the second of four
chlldren ralsed ln a famlly that had endured economlc
and soclal adverslty. Morrlson`s maternal grandparents,
Ardella and |ohn Solomon Wlllls, were sharecroppers
ln Greenvllle, Alabama, havlng lost thelr land at the
turn of the century. In l9l2 her grandparents declded
to head north to escape the hopeless debt of sharecrop
plng and the fear of raclsm, whlch posed the threat of
sexual vlolatlon to thelr pubescent daughters. Jhey
traveled to Kentucky, where Morrlson`s grandfather
worked ln a coal mlne and her grandmother was a
laundress. But they left abruptly when thelr daughters
came home from school one day, havlng taught the
whlte teacher how to do long dlvlslon. In search of a
better educatlon for thelr chlldren, Morrlson`s grand
parents eventually settled ln Loraln.
Whlle growlng up durlng the Depresslon, Morrl
son wltnessed the struggles of her father, George Wof
ford, who had mlgrated from Georgla, and mother,
Ramah Wlllls Wofford, to support thelr famlly. George
Wofford often worked many jobs at a tlmea shlpyard
welder, car washer, steelmlll welder, and constructlon
workerwhlle Ramah Wofford, Morrlson revealed ln a
l983 lntervlew wlth Nellle McKay (reprlnted ln `J
~ q j, l991), 'took 'humlllatlng jobs`
ln order to send Morrlson money regularly whlle she
was ln college and graduate school." Her parents` wlll
lngness to take on hard and sometlmes demeanlng
work was coupled wlth a dlstlnct unwllllngness to relln
qulsh thelr own sense of value and humanlty. Morrl
son`s father was metlculous ln hls work, wrltlng hls
name ln the slde of the shlp whenever he welded a per
fect seam. Her mother at one polnt wrote a letter of pro
test to Presldent Iranklln D. Roosevelt when her famlly
recelved unflt governmentsponsored flour.
Whlle Morrlson`s parents grappled wlth eco
nomlc hardshlp, they also struggled to retaln thelr sense
of worth ln an oppresslve whlte world. Jhelr early
experlences wlth raclsm shaped thelr respectlve vlews
of whlte people. Morrlson`s father was, ln her words, a
raclst; she told |ean Strouse that, as a chlld ln Georgla,
he recelved 'shocklng lmpresslons of adult whlte peo
ple." Morrlson`s mother held out hope for the whlte
race to lmprove, but her father was convlnced that
whltes were never to be trusted or belleved. He once
threw a whlte man out of hls home, bellevlng the vlsltor
planned to molest hls daughters. Both parents had res
ervatlons about the potentlal for the whlte race and
285
ai_ PPN q j
thus taught thelr chlldren to rely on themselves and the
black communlty rather than the vagarles of a larger
soclety whose worth to them was hlghly suspect.
Morrlson dld not suffer the effects of raclsm early
on because she was the only black ln her flrstgrade
class and the only one who could read. However, she
told Bonnle Angelo that her lnnocence was soon shat
tered.
I remember ln the flfth grade a smart llttle boy who had
just arrlved and dldn`t speak any Engllsh. He sat next
to me. I read well, and I taught hlm to read just by
dolng lt. I remember the moment he found out that I
was blacka nlgger. It took hlm slx months; he was
told. And that`s the moment when he belonged, that
was hls entrance. Every lmmlgrant knew he would not
come as the very bottom. He had to come above at
least one groupand that was us.
Morrlson confronted other lncldents of raclsm, but her
parents` emphasls on the value of Afrlcan Amerlcans as
a people, of thelr famlly as an lnvlolable unlt, and of
themselves as lndlvlduals was no doubt the psychologl
cal foundatlon that sustalned and nurtured her. Her
father was convlnced that blacks were superlor to
whltes, a bellef that deeply lnfluenced Morrlson. At age
thlrteen, when she complalned about the mean whlte
famlly whose house she cleaned, her father told her she
dld not llve wlth them, but 'here. So you go do your
work, get your money and come on home." Morrlson
dld not adopt her father`s raclsm, but she always knew,
she remarked ln an lntervlew wlth Charlle Rose (Publlc
Broadcastlng System, 7 May l993), 'I had the moral
hlgh ground all my llfe."
Jhough deprlved of monetary resources ln a hos
tlle world, Morrlson`s famlly and communlty held a
remarkable wealth of muslc, storytelllng, the supernatu
ral, and black languagemajor lnfluences on Morrlson
and her wrltlngs. Morrlson woke up to the sound of her
mother`s volce, slnglng both at home and for the
church cholr. But muslc, Morrlson sald ln the Rose
lntervlew, 'was not entertalnment for us" but more a
means of detectlng her mother`s moods. It acted as a
support system. Jhough her famlly could not read
muslc, they could reproduce what they heard. Other
forms of support lncluded storytelllng that lnvolved
every member of the famlly. After adults told storles,
they lnvlted the chlldren to do the same. Morrlson con
sldered thls part as lmportant, lf not more lmportant,
than llstenlng to the storles.
Jhough there were few books ln her house, Mor
rlson learned early the lmportance of readlng. Her
grandfather was a flgure of awe and respect to her
because, wlth the help of hls slster, he had taught hlm
self to read. Morrlson was encouraged to read and dld
so voraclously, lncludlng a wlde range of world lltera
ture. She told Strouse.
Jhose books were not wrltten for a llttle black glrl ln
Loraln, Ohlo, but they were so magnlflcently done that
I got them anywaythey spoke dlrectly to me out of
thelr own speclflclty. I wasn`t thlnklng of wrltlng then
I wanted to be a dancer llke Marla Jallchlefbut when
I wrote my flrst novel years later, I wanted to capture
that same speclflclty about the nature and feellng of the
culture I grew up ln.
Morrlson dld not read llterature by black women wrlt
ers untll adulthood, but she told Glorla Naylor ln a
l985 lntervlew (reprlnted ln `~ q jJ
) that her afflnlty wlth them, whlch crltlcs have lden
tlfled, ls evldence that 'the world as percelved by black
women at certaln tlmes does exlst."
Jhat world was often rlfe wlth the supernatural.
In a l977 lntervlew reprlnted ln `~ q
jI when asked by Mel Watklns whether she
belleved ln ghosts, Morrlson replled, 'Yes. Do you
belleve ln germs? It`s part of our herltage." Morrlson
stated that her famlly was 'lntlmate wlth the supernatu
ral," her parents often telllng excltlng and terrlfylng
ghost storles that the chlldren were encouraged to
repeat. Dreams were a constltuent of realltyher grand
mother even played the numbers wlth the use of a
dream bookand ghostly apparltlons were not consld
ered astonlshlng. Wlthout the bellef ln the supernatural,
Morrlson remarked to Valerle Smlth, 'I would have
been dependent on socalled sclentlflc data to explaln
hopelessly unsclentlflc thlngs and also I would have
relled on lnformatlon that even subsequent objectlvlty
has proved to be fraudulent." Her novels, too, would
have been bereft of thelr dlstlnctlve blend of fantasy
and reallty, myth and hlstory, folklore and legend. So
lntertwlned are the supernatural and emplrlcal reallty ln
Morrlson`s novels that the seen and the unseen often
ellde one another.
After hlgh school Morrlson attended Howard
Lnlverslty, majorlng ln Engllsh and mlnorlng ln the
classlcs; her dream was to be a teacher. Whlle at
Howard she acqulred the nlckname Jonl. She soon
became dlsenchanted wlth Howard and the lmportance
students placed on marrlage, fashlon, soclallzlng, and
belng chlc. She jolned the Howard Lnlverslty Players,
thus gettlng an opportunlty to travel ln the South, to
experlence lts hlstory and geography, and to rellve her
grandparents` harrowlng fllght from poverty and rac
lsm. Morrlson graduated from Howard ln l953 and
then enrolled ln graduate school at Cornell Lnlverslty.
Morrlson`s rlch hlstory of famlly and communlty
fllters dlrectly lnto her novels, a progresslon of works
that beglns by addresslng the black famlly and then
286
q j ai_ PPN
broadens to the black communlty, reglons of the Lnlted
States, forelgn lands and allen cultures, hlstory, and
reallty. In her novels Morrlson celebrates the rlch herl
tage and language of the black communlty and the val
ues lt struggles to malntaln ln a predomlnantly whlte
soclety whose own value system, she flnds, has lost lts
collectlve way. Morrlson`s thematlc conslstency ls reflg
ured ln each novel so that her canon constltutes a pro
gresslve troplng of her own works. Each novel ls an
orlglnal revolclng of her prevlous concerns wlth the
black communlty and famlly. She experlments almost
relentlessly wlth language, wlth narratlve forms, and
wlth flctlve reallty ln an endeavor to redeflne the
Afrlcan Amerlcan experlence not as marglnal or
perlpheral, but as Amerlcan.
Morrlson recelved her master`s degree from Cor
nell ln l955. She wrote her thesls on the theme of sul
clde ln the works of Vlrglnla Woolf and Wllllam
Iaulkner. She then taught Engllsh at Jexas Southern
Lnlverslty ln Houston for two years, beglnnlng a teach
lng career that she proudly contlnues. Accordlng to
Smlth, Morrlson has taught at 'Yale, Bard, the State
Lnlverslty of New York at Purchase, and the State Lnl
verslty of New York at Albany. Slnce l988 she has held
the Robert I. Goheen Professorshlp of the Humanltles
at Prlnceton Lnlverslty."
In l957 Morrlson, then an Engllsh lnstructor at
Howard, began to meet and lnfluence young men who
became promlnent ln the l960s, among them Amlrl
Baraka, Andrew Young, and Claude Brown. She taught
Stokely Carmlchael ln one of her classes; she told
Strouse that he was 'the klnd of student you always
want ln a classsmart, perceptlve, funny and a blt of a
rogue." Morrlson stayed at Howard from l957 to l961,
leavlng because she dld not have the Ph.D. necessary
for tenure.
Jwo major events marked her perlod of teachlng
at Howard. She began to wrlte, and she marrled Harold
Morrlson, a |amalcan archltect. Durlng her marrlage
Morrlson jolned a wrlters` group at Howard, compos
lng a story that grew lnto her flrst novel, q _ b
(l970), about a llttle glrl who longs for blue eyes. Wlth
her wrltlng career only ln lts lnfancy, her marrlage
ended around l961, leavlng Morrlson wlth two sons,
Harold Iord and Slade Kevln. Jhough retlcent about
her marrlage and reluctant even to dlscuss lts actual
date, she does refer to cultural dlfferences and a feellng
of personal bankruptcy. 'It was as though I had noth
lng left but my lmaglnatlon. I had no wlll, no judgment,
no perspectlve, no power, no authorlty, no selfjust thls
brutal sense of lrony, melancholy and a trembllng
respect for words."
After her dlvorce Morrlson llved wlth her parents
ln Loraln for a year and a half and then accepted an edl
torlal posltlon wlth a textbook subsldlary at Random
House ln Syracuse, New York. Her mother expressed
dlsmay that Morrlson was a slngle parent wlthout other
famlly therea dlfflcult, lsolated condltlon for anyone,
but especlally for Afrlcan Amerlcans, who to a great
extent rely on extended famlly and communlty for well
belng ln an lndlfferent, lf not lnhospltable, world. Mor
rlson talked to Rose about ralslng chlldren alone. 'It
was terrlble. Very hard. Awful." She added, 'You need
everybody |to ralse a chlld|." Ior Morrlson wrltlng
helped flll the vold of famlly, husband, and, to a great
extent, self. She remarked to Naylor. 'But I was really
ln a corner. And whatever was belng threatened by the
clrcumstances ln whlch I found myself, alone wlth two
chlldren ln a town where I dldn`t know anybody, I
knew that I would not dellver to my chlldren a parent
that was of no use to them. So I was thrown back on,
lucklly, the only thlng I could depend on, my own
resources."
Whlle ln Syracuse, Morrlson contlnued work on
q _ b as a way to flnd her place ln a world
where she felt she no longer belonged. She told Naylor
that wrltlng the novel became a process of reclamatlon.
And I began to do lt. I began to plck up scraps of thlngs
that I had seen or felt, or dldn`t see or dldn`t feel, but
lmaglned. And speculated about and wondered about.
And I fell ln love wlth myself. I reclalmed myself and
the world . . . I named lt. I descrlbed lt. I llsted lt. I lden
tlfled lt. I recreated lt. And havlng done that, at least,
then the books belonged ln the world.
An edltor read the partly completed manuscrlpt and
suggested she flnlsh lt. It was rejected many tlmes
before Holt, Rlnehart and Wlnston publlshed q _
b ln l970.
q _ b ls a wrenchlng account of how the
Western notlon of ldeallzed beauty and lts penchant for
blue eyes and blonde halr turn selfesteem ln the black
communlty lnto selfloathlng. Jhe novel reveals the
destructlve potentlal of a standard of beauty that places
value on the way people look rather than on thelr
lntrlnslc worth. Jhls condltlon ls manlfested ln the
character of Pecola Breedlove, a young black glrl on the
verge of womanhood, who longs for blue eyes as an
avenue to prettlness and, hence, love. Her deslre for the
lmposslble would be less pathetlc glven the uncondl
tlonal love and support of famlly and communlty. How
ever, her mother, sufferlng from her own bellef ln the
ugllness of her famlly, lgnores her, whlle her drunken
father`s twlsted attempt at lovlng hls daughter turns
lnto rape. Jhe communlty watches but does nothlng as
Pecola glves blrth to a baby that dles and as she then
lapses lnto an lnsanlty ln whlch she ls flnally possessed
of the bluest eyes.
287
ai_ PPN q j
Pecola`s tragedy ls the ultlmate expresslon of an
entlre communlty lnfected wlth dlstorted notlons of
worth. Most of the characters ln the novel suffer dlffer
ent degrees of vlctlmlzatlon at the hands of a soclety
that confuses whlteness wlth vlrtue. Morrlson shows
that blacks ln a whlte soclety often have turned agalnst
themselves, adoptlng the raclst attltudes that dehuman
lze them. Jhe prlme example of thls tendency ls
Pecola`s mother, Paullne Breedlove, who, convlnced of
her own ugllness, retreats to a movle theater and lmages
of whlte beauty she vlcarlously experlences. She prefers
the qulet order and tldlness of the whlte people`s houses
she cleans to the confuslon of her own ragtag storefront
home. Pecola`s blackness ls a constant remlnder to
Paullne of her own lnablllty to approxlmate the ldeal of
whlte beauty. As a result, she slmply lgnores her daugh
ter rather than sustaln her.
Pecola`s father, Cholly, has learned that hls black
ness ls a slgn of absence and excluslon. He ls aban
doned by hls mother and father as an lnfant. In hls flrst
act of lovemaklng he ls surprlsed by whlte hunters who
force hlm to complete the act. Jhough he ls lnltlally
capable of lnvestlng Paullne wlth a sense of her own
beauty, he ls dlvested of hls authorlty by the over
whelmlng lnfluence of whlte soclety. Powerless to
empower, Cholly resorts to drunkenness, and eventu
ally to rape, ln a demented effort to convlnce Pecola
that she ls lovable.
q _ b ls flooded wlth characters whose
humanlty has been dlmlnlshed as a consequence of
thelr blackness, a slgnlfler of lack to whlte soclety, thelr
own communlty, and even themselves. Most dlsturblng
ln the novel are the llghtsklnned blacks who dlstance
themselves from thelr black herltage ln an exerclse of
samerace hatred. As schoolmate Maureen Peal`s
actlons lllustrate, black chlldren are taught early to
assume a superlorlty based on the llghtness of thelr
skln. Maureen, the 'hlghyellow dream" who has
'lynch ropes for halr," deals Pecola the ultlmate lnsult.
'I ~ cute! And you ugly! Black and ugly black e mos."
Another llghtsklnned character, Geraldlne,
attempts llterally to scrub the blackness from her llfe
and that of her son, |unlor. When she flnds Pecola ln
her home, she unleashes a rage on her slmply because
she cannot tolerate the relatlve darkness of her skln.
Jhe ultlmate manlfestatlon of selfhatred and samerace
hatred ls Soaphead Church, who was taught 'to sepa
rate |hlmself | ln body, mlnd and splrlt from all that sug
gested Afrlca." He ls so twlsted by an obsesslon wlth
whlteness and cleanllness that he resorts to molestlng
llttle glrls rather than engage ln a mature sexual rela
tlonshlp.
As ln most of her novels, ln q _ b Morrl
son presents ways of survlvlng ln a world suffused wlth
psychlc paln and sufferlng. Jhe MacJeers represent a
black famlly who, though struggllng for lts economlc
llfe, has not been dlvested of lts humanlty. Blessed wlth
a hardworklng father and a dutlful mother, the Mac
Jeers nevertheless are profoundly affected by the dlffl
cult condltlons of thelr llves. In Mrs. MacJeer ls a
'mlsery colored by the greens and blues ln her volce."
Her llfe, marked by poverty and a bltter cllmate, shapes
her sometlmesharsh treatment of her chlldren, Claudla
and Irleda.
But love, not money, ls the motlvatlng force ln the
MacJeer household, and that ls what sustalns them.
Mrs. MacJeer ls capable, as Claudla recalls, of muslc,
warm laughter, and an abldlng love. 'Love, thlck and
dark as Alaga syrup, eased up lnto that cracked wln
dow. I could smell lttaste lt . . . everywhere ln the
house." Even more remarkable than the love ln the
MacJeer household ls thelr wllllngness to extend lt lnto
the communlty. Jhey take ln Pecola for a brlef tlme,
lncreaslng the burden on an already strapped exlstence.
Mrs. MacJeer becomes the moral authorlty ln the novel
ln her condemnatlon of the Breedloves and thelr lrre
sponslble treatment of Pecola. 'Iolks," she says, 'just
dump they chlldren off on you and go on `bout they
buslness. . . . What klnd of somethlng ls that?"
Jhe domestlc blues of the MacJeer famlly and
the general gloomlness of the novel are offset by the
world of the prostltutes Chlna, Poland, and Mlss Marle.
Jhough they exlst outslde soclety, desplsed and revlled,
they create an atmosphere of jocularlty and freshness
that momentarlly brlghtens the darkness of the novel.
Pecola takes refuge ln thls world because the prostltutes
remaln unaffected by the standards of a culture that has
already rejected them. Jhey are, therefore, obllvlous to
Pecola`s ugllness and dlrt, and they treat her wlth genu
lne warmth and affectlon. Pecola ls so content ln an
envlronment of laughter and uncondltlonal love that
she wonders, 'Were they real?" Stlll, the whorehouse
provldes only a brlef resplte from the reallty of Pecola`s
world. Jhe prostltutes, llke the other members of the
communlty, cannot or do not take responslblllty for
Pecola`s llfe.
Pecola`s lnsanlty, ln whlch she convlnces herself
that she possesses blue eyes, ls an lronlc reversal of a
soclety that conslders ltself sane ln lts valorlzatlon of
physlcal features. If Pecola`s ralson d`tre revolves
around the color of her skln and her eyes, she must
lmaglne herself lnto exlstence ln order to survlve.
Whlle her survlval ls percelved as crazlness, lt ls the
only alternatlve glven her treatment as a black person.
Pecola`s lnsanlty, then, ls a manlfestatlon of corrupt
socletal values and an lndlctment of the human belngs
who perpetuate them. Jhe consequences of reduclng
human worth to the llmlted crlterla of physlcal beauty
288
q j ai_ PPN
are lnsanlty, death, and sterlllty. Claudla reallzes that, as
a young black glrl, she ls an endangered specles from
whlch 'no green was golng to sprlng." Jhe soll ls
'bad," she says, 'for certaln klnds of flowers."
Revlews of q _ b were generally encour
aglng, though at tlmes reserved ln thelr pralse. Many
revlewers recognlzed a brllllant novellst ln the maklng,
emphaslzlng the beauty of her prose, her authentlc dla
logue, and her lnslght lnto black llfe. But they also crltl
clzed what they saw as an excess and abuse of those
same qualltles. In q k v q (l3 November
l970) |ohn Leonard provlded the most enthuslastlc
appralsal of q _ bI characterlzlng Morrlson`s
prose as 'so preclse, so falthful to speech and so
charged wlth paln and wonder that the novel becomes
poetry." Several revlewers were less laudatory, crltlclz
lng her for what L. E. Slssman ln q k v called
'an occaslonal error of fact or judgment" or what
Haskel Irankel (k v q _ oI l Novem
ber l970) saw as 'fuzzlness born of fllghts of poetlc
lmagery."
But even revlewers most crltlcal of Morrlson`s
flrst novel sensed her potentlal. Jhe ` revlewer
stated that q _ b may not be the 'best flrst novel
ever publlshed; lt ls, however, a sympathetlc and mov
lng portrayal of human belngs . . . and for thls alone lt
deserves to be read." Slssman concluded that, ln splte of
Morrlson`s penchant for 'an occaslonal false or bom
bastlc llne," none of lt matters 'beslde her real and
greatly promlslng achlevement." Irankel conceded that,
though Morrlson 'has gotten lost ln her constructlon,"
she ls a wrlter 'to seek out and encourage."
In the late l960s and early l970s Morrlson`s
career as a wrlter paralleled her lncreaslng promlnence
ln the publlshlng world and as one of the cultural ellte
of the black communlty. She left Syracuse to become a
senlor edltor at Random House ln New York Clty.
Jhere, she establlshed herself as a mentor for such
asplrlng Afrlcan Amerlcan women wrlters as Jonl Cade
Bambara, Gayl |ones, and Angela Davls. Bambara told
Strouse that Morrlson ls 'a superb edltor" whose judg
ment she trusts 'absolutely." In the same artlcle Young
remarked that 'Jonl had done more to encourage and
publlsh other black wrlters than anyone I know." Mor
rlson also supported the publlcatlon of lmportant works
on black hlstory, lncludlng q _~ _ (l971), whlch
she edlted. Morrlson was called on lncreaslngly ln the
early l970s to revlew books, especlally for q k v
q _ oI for whlch she crltlqued twentyelght
books from l97l to l972. In l97l she also wrote an artl
cle, 'What the Black Woman Jhlnks About Women`s
Llb," for q k v q j~~.
Jhe ldea for Morrlson`s second novel, p~
(l973), came months after she flnlshed q _ b. In
her conversatlon wlth Naylor she stated.
And so after I flnlshed that book I was ln some despalr
because several months passed and I dldn`t have
another ldea. And then I got to thlnklng about thls glrl,
thls woman. If lt wasn`t unconventlonal, she dldn`t
want lt. She was wllllng to rlsk ln her lmaglnatlon a lot
of thlngs and pay the prlce and also go astray. It wasn`t
as though she was thls fantastlc power who dldn`t have
a flaw ln her character. I wanted to throw her relatlon
shlp wlth another woman lnto rellef. Jhose two
womenthat too ls us, those two deslres, to have your
adventure ~ safety. So I just cut lt up.
In p~ Morrlson focuses on the frlendshlp of the two
women she lmaglned. Nel represents the tradltlonal
roles of wlfe and mother ln a patrlarchal soclety, and
Sula rejects those roles ln favor of a llfe that ls separate
from famlly and communlty. Jhey are lnseparable as
chlldhood frlends, sharlng a compllclty ln the death of a
young boy Sula accldentally lets sllp lnto a raglng rlver.
Eventually, Sula leaves the communlty, only to return
ln search of her frlend and any of Nel`s llfe experlences
she may have mlssed, lncludlng Nel`s husband, |ude,
wlth whom she has an affalr.
As chlldren, Nel and Sula are exposed to the dls
tlnctlve, often blzarre conflguratlon of thelr town and
the people who lnhablt lt. Bottom ls a black hllltop com
munlty that overlooks the whlte valley town of Medal
llon. In Bottom the resldents are often as topsyturvy as
the topographlcally mlsleadlng name of the town lndl
cates. Shadrack ls a mad World War I veteran who cele
brates Natlonal Sulclde Day. Sula`s mother, Eva, has
sacrlflced her leg for the economlc securlty of dlsablllty
payments, whlle Nel`s mother, Helene Wrlght, has
asslmllated whlte, patrlarchal ways even though her
own mother ls a Creole whore. Death through flre,
drownlng, dlsease, and madness becomes the fate of
Bottom resldentsa flctlonal apocalypse both frlghten
lng and confuslng ln lts lmpllcatlons.
In p~I as ln q _ bI Morrlson contlnues
her denunclatlon of whlte values and thelr negatlve
lmpact on the black communlty. p~ ls a novel of con
trasts, lronlc reversals, and mlrror lmages reflected ln
the fates of her characters and thelr communlty. Bottom
and Medalllon exlst ln an uneasy soclal stasls because
they represent two oftenopposlte ways of llvlng.
Medalllon generates commerce and lndustry, whlle Bot
tom, excluded from the economlc beneflts of the valley
town, concentrates lts efforts on famlly and communlty.
Bottom resldents struggle wlth the shlftlng plates of
thelr stablllty. Jhe notlon of nuclear famlly as ldeal
undergoes a strong challenge from the exlstence of
289
ai_ PPN q j
Eva`s household. Reallty ls balanced by the ever
present supernatural. Women`s rolesthe focus of the
novelare scrutlnlzed ln the flgures of Nel and Sula.
Bottom and Medalllon, as top and bottom, gener
ate an opposltlon that frames the story. Jhe geography
emphaslzes the contendlng ldeologles of the two com
munltles. Medalllon represents commerce, whereas Bot
tom ls a communlty of people, not an aggregatlon of
houses surroundlng a buslness dlstrlct. However, Bot
tom resldents and valley people look to each other for
the mlsslng pleces of thelr respectlve llves. Jhe valley
people envy the slmple pleasures of the hlll people, who
engage freely ln creatlve and artlstlc expresslon,
whether ln the form of laughter, slnglng, playlng the
banjo, donnlng a flowered dress, or hlgh stepplng. Jhe
hlll people release the joy of llfe absent ln Medalllon,
where resldents wlstfully long for an exlstence less rlg
ldly deflned by dollars and cents.
But the longlng of the valley people bllnds them
to the paln of the Bottom resldents, who struggle slmply
to survlve. Havlng no cholce ln thelr settlng and
dlvorced from the malnstream, the people of Bottom
must create an ldentlty and a purpose that must neces
sarlly lnclude an ldentlflcatlon wlth a culture that shuns
them and a herltage that threatens to escape them. In
the mldst of thls confuslon Bottom resldents are lnflu
enced by the same value system that generated Medal
llon. Jhey embrace a tunnel project as thelr way out of
poverty but are symbollcally and llterally crushed by lt.
Jhe deaths of the tunnel vlctlms lnltlate the death of a
communlty that eventually asslmllates lnto Medalllon.
Bottom resldents turn to the valley, and, 'just llke that,
|whltes| had changed thelr mlnds and . . . now they
wanted a hllltop house." In p~I Bottom and the valley,
rather than meldlng and resolvlng the dlalectlc of thelr
lnhabltants` llves, slmply swltch places ln a clrcular fash
lon.
Jhe fate of Bottom ls shared by many of lts resl
dents. Jhe strong Eva, who creates a haven of her
home by lncludlng all walks of llfe, goes mad after
burnlng her drugaddlcted son to death and watchlng
as her daughter Hannah ls also consumed by flames.
Jhough her home ls an alternatlve to the restrlctlve,
stultlfylng atmosphere of Helene Wrlght`s house, lt can
not lsolate ltself from the externalltles of raclsm and
oppresslon that lnfect lt. Sula becomes the town parlah,
whose evll presence ls evldenced ln several omens. In
an effort to understand an unrelentlng reallty, Bottom
resldents lnvoke the supernatural to explaln the phe
nomenon of a woman who does not and wlll not suc
cumb to tradltlonal gender roles. Nel flnally appreclates
the nature and functlon of her frlend, but only after
Sula dles. Ilnally, Bottom resldents attempt to destroy a
tunnel that once promlsed economlc securlty, but they
end up belng destroyed by lt. Jhe communlty of Bot
tom, whlch possesses so much potentlal as an alterna
tlve to a whlte world struggllng to flnd lts splrltual
center, ends up burylng ltself ln physlcal and splrltual
death. Jhere ls no synthesls for thls flctlonal world,
only 'clrcles and clrcles of sorrow."
Wlth the publlcatlon of p~I Morrlson`s lmpor
tance as a wrlter was establlshed. Jhe novel recelved
more crltlcal and popular attentlon than q _ b
and was excerpted ln oI selected as an alternate
for the BookoftheMonth Club, and nomlnated for the
l975 Natlonal Book Award ln flctlon. Revlewers of p~
both pralsed and condemned Morrlson`s prose poetry,
narratlve constructlon, and moral and ethlcal vlslon of
black llfe. Jhe posltlve revlews, such as |erry Bryant`s
ln q k~ (6 |uly l971), clted the beauty of her lan
guage and her orlglnallty. Both _ (l5 March l971)
and ` (March l971) commended p~ for lts
authentlclty and craftsmanshlp.
Other revlewers, however, crltlclzed p~ for what
they percelved to be a lack of careful craftsmanshlp.
Jhe q i~ p revlewer (1 October l971)
called the plot 'contrlved," and Chrlstopher Lehmann
Haupt ln q k v q (7 |anuary l971) com
plalned that Morrlson`s scenes seem 'wrltten from
scratch" and that her prose poetry, ln an attempt to
avold cllchs, ends up 'call|lng| them to mlnd." Lehmann
Haupt stated that the novel suffers from a lack of objec
tlvlty, and Sara Blackburn ln q k v q _
o (30 December l973) complalned of a 'narrow
ness" and 'refusal to brlm over lnto the world outslde
lts provlnclal settlng." In response to these observatlons,
the _~ t ( |une l971) revlewer commented that
angry reactlons to p~ were a 'rlpplng hostlllty" to
Morrlson`s 'excellence and sklll."
Morrlson`s thlrd novel, p p (l977),
expands beyond the tlme and place of her flrst two
books, movlng from North to South and from present
to past ln an endeavor to uncover and redlscover the
personal hlstory of an Afrlcan Amerlcan famlly. p
p ls, ln some ways, a flctlonallzed venture of
another project ln whlch Morrlson was lnvolved, q
_~ _I a scrapbook of Afrlcan Amerlcan hlstory
publlshed soon after p~. In p p Morrlson
for the flrst tlme uses a male protagonlst, Mllkman
Dead, to undergo a rlte of passagenot from lnnocence
to experlence but from one hlstory to another, one cul
ture to another, and one value system to another. He
undergoes a rltual lmmerslon lnto the South and hls
own hlstory ln an attempt to understand hlmself and
hls culture.
As ln q _ b and p~I the black commu
nlty ln p p struggles wlth a double consclous
ness that can wreak havoc on thelr llves. Not wllllng to
290
q j ai_ PPN
glve up the dlstlnctlve quallty of thelr Afrlcan Amerlcan
culture, they are nevertheless pressured or lured lnto a
deslre for asslmllatlon that, ln thls novel, takes the
shape of landownershlp, a cruclal aspect of Afrlcan
Amerlcan hlstory because lt constltutes physlcal and
legal evldence of a hlstory and tradltlon. Perhaps for
thls reason many of the characters ln p p
adopt the approprlatlve, rather than the custodlal, vlew
of the land.
Mllkman`s father, Macon, ls a moneygrubblng
landlord who explolts hls own communlty for proflt;
Gultar Balns ls obsesslve ln hls deslre for the money,
land, and even blood of those who have oppressed hlm.
Whlle approprlatlon characterlzes the motlves of
Macon Dead and Gultar Balns, lt can be seen earller ln
Macon`s grandfather, a separatlst who attempts to cre
ate a prlvate paradlse and, hence, a measure of auton
omy. Yet, hls land, Llncoln`s Heaven, ls also strlpped
from hlm, and he ls murdered. Jhe exceptlon to the
destructlve pollcles of approprlatlon ls Pllate, for whom
land ls not an entlty to be owned. It slmply . She envl
slons herself as a temporary custodlan of the land,
whlch ltself ls eternal and thus lndependent of the gen
eratlons of people who wlll lay clalm to lt. Ireed from
the obsesslon of approprlatlon, Pllate can channel her
energles lnto human relatlonshlps and eventually lnto
the communlty.
Mllkman must flnd hls way through the turnstlles
of thls double vlslon, as Ralph Elllson calls lt, to create a
sense of self that does not yet exlst. Jo reach thls polnt
he embarks on a tradltlonally male mythlc journey that
Morrlson lmplles ls an extremely clumsy approach to
the obvlous. Mllkman travels to Pennsylvanla ln search
of gold for hls selflsh purposes, but he acqulres an edu
catlon that takes hlm south through Danvllle and then
Shallmar. In Danvllle he becomes reacqualnted wlth hls
grandfather`s hlstory of proud landownershlp. Slnce hls
death, however, the communlty has llmped along, cllng
lng to tradltlon but lacklng the vltallty to generate any.
Jhls lnertla motlvates Mllkman to the wrong actlon.
Hls deslre for gold becomes a form of revenge on the
people who murdered hls grandfather.
Once he arrlves ln Shallmar, Mllkman`s transfor
matlon beglns. He ls confronted by a town that boasts
no commerce, transportatlon, or government. Invlslble
even on a map, Shallmar does not exlst on the level of
clvlllzatlon. In thls sequestered settlng Mllkman under
goes a serles of lnltlatlons that strlp hlm of hls cultural
lndoctrlnatlons. Eventually, he ls led to the myth of
fllght, whlch ls a catalyst for hls symbollc and llteral
leap out of lgnorance lnto the knowledge of hls past and
hlmself. It ls also a leap lnto confrontatlon wlth yet
another dlstorted value systemrepresented by Gultar`s
blood lustthat could end up destroylng the Afrlcan
Amerlcan communlty.
Jhough Mllkman`s fate ls ln questlon and Pllate,
one of Morrlson`s most endurlng characters, dles at the
end of the novel, p p represents a slgnlflcant
departure from Morrlson`s flrst two novels ln that cele
bratlon and hope ecllpse despondency and utter
despalr. Jhe novel ls often an expresslon of joyespe
clally ln Pllate`s household, wlth the 'three women slng
lng ln the candlellght," and later, ln Mllkman`s
dlscovery of the myth of Shallmar. p p sug
gests that, through hlstory, Afrlcan Amerlcans can
begln to make sense of thelr llves ln the context of
belng Amerlcan. Wlth knowledge comes connectlon
and a sense of responslblllty, a process that Pllate lnl
tlates wlth her arrlval ln Southslde and that she ls able
to pass on to Mllkman before her death. But Morrlson,
always a reserved optlmlst, leaves sufflclent doubt
about what Mllkman wlll be able to accompllsh as a
way of remlndlng readers that the resolutlon to hun
dreds of years of oppresslon wlll be a long, palnful jour
ney.
Mltlgatlng the reallty of Southslde ls a Morrlson
trademark, the use of the supernatural. In p
p she lndulges ln myth, fantasy, and the supernat
ural as a form of transcendence for her Afrlcan Amerl
can characters. Whlle she dabbles ln the supernatural ln
both q _ b and p~I ln p p she fur
ther blurs the llnes between mlmesls and fantasy. In thls
novel Morrlson uses myth as a devlce that mltlgates the
dlchotomy of belng black ln whlte soclety. Myth, as
used ln p pI ls not only a metaphor but also a
course of actlon that, as lt muddles the dlstlnctlon
between splrltual and physlcal fllght, provldes fuel for
the collectlve lmaglnatlon. Iantasy also flgures heavlly
ln p p. Pllate can talk to her dead father;
Ruth`s watermark does grow each day; and Solomon
and Mllkman can fly. By casually mlngllng the real and
the blzarre, Morrlson negotlates the chasm between
reallty and fantasy so that the lmposslble becomes the
lnevltable.
p p was both a popular and crltlcal suc
cess, establlshlng Morrlson as one of Amerlca`s most
lmportant novellsts. Jhe novel became a paperback
bestseller, wlth 570,000 coples ln prlnt ln l979. p
p was a BookoftheMonth Club maln selectlon,
the flrst novel by an Afrlcan Amerlcan so chosen slnce
Rlchard Wrlght`s k~ p (l910). Morrlson`s success
and recognltlon led to her l980 appolntment by Presl
dent |lmmy Carter to the Natlonal Councll on the Arts.
In l98l she was elected to the Amerlcan Academy and
Instltute of Arts and Letters.
Revlews of p p were generally enthusl
astlc and appreclatlve of the depth and rlchness of Mor
29l
ai_ PPN q j
rlson`s art, wlth lts mlxture of reallty and fantasy and lts
strlklngly orlglnal use of language. Susan Lardner ln
q k v (7 November l977) consldered Morrlson
'a genulne rhapsode," whlle Llnda Kuehl ln the p~J
~ o (l7 September l977) called Morrlson a
'romantlc revolutlonary" whose new novel ls 'the
vlslon of an orlglnal, eccentrlc, lnventlve lmaglnatlon."
Several revlewers remarked on Morrlson`s growth as a
wrlter. On the front page of q k v q _
o (ll September l977) Reynolds Prlce stated that
ln p p 'the depths of the younger work are
stlll evldent, but now they thrust outward, lnto wlder
flelds." Angela Wlgan ln q (l2 September l977)
observed that p p ls ln what Morrlson herself
descrlbed as the flfth stage of Afrlcan Amerlcan wrltlng,
'an artlstlc vlslon that encompasses both a prlvate and
a natlonal herltage."
Some revlewers pralsed Morrlson for her moral
senslblllty. In q k~ (l9 November l977) Earl Ired
erlck called Morrlson 'appeallngly old fashloned" ln
her vlslon of 'love as an abldlng need, and dlgnlty and
desperatlon as lnseparable aspects of lndlvldual exlst
ence." Jhe t i~ q~ (Summer l978)
revlewer compared Morrlson to Karl Marx 'because
her novel turns upslde down many of the establlshed
soclal, moral and cultural bellefs that the Western world
has lnherlted from the |udeoChrlstlan and Greco
Roman tradltlons." Some muted crltlclsm centered on
Morrlson`s cholce of a man as her protagonlst. Vlvlan
Gornlck ln q s~ s (29 August l977) stated that
the 'source of artlstlc trouble ln p p reslded
ln Morrlson`s cholce of Mllkman as protagonlst
lnstead of wlth one of the women ln the book."
In q~ _~ (l98l) Morrlson no longer focuses
excluslvely on the black famlly and communlty, settlng
her novel ln the Carlbbean and thus lncorporatlng sev
eral dlfferent cultures, lncludlng the lsland natlves, Phll
adelphla blacks, and Western lmperlallsts, all of whom
are mutually dependent on one another but who are
allenated from any sense of communlty. Wlth thls
hodgepodge of people comes a confllctlng set of values
that struggle for an lmposslble hegemony ln a rlot of
lnterdependency. Jherese, Gldeon, and Alme Estee as
well as Ondlne, Sydney, and |adlne rely on the benefl
cence of the whlte Streets for thelr llvellhood, as Vale
rlan and Margaret Street rely on them for thelr servlce
and devotlon.
Jhe occupants of the house engage ln a subtle
warfare ln whlch subterfuge, subverslon, and emotlonal
blackmall are employed to galn some measure of con
trol. In the Street household the dependents galn power
and control wlthln the system but do not free them
selves from lt. All are essentlally codependents of the
addlctlve system that has mlnlmallzed thelr llves. Yet,
they cannot llve wlthout lt, for to do so would requlre
total selfrellance, a concept too frlghtenlng for them to
conslder. Only Son contlnues to be a human belng
capable of splrltual, emotlonal, and lntellectual growth.
And, as a male, he slgnals a departure from Morrlson`s
earller conceptlons of woman as splrltual healer and as
separate from soclety at large.
Jhe soclal fabrlc ln q~ _~ ls multlfaceted and
hlghly complex. Illled wlth lnter and lntraraclal con
fllct as well as class and gender confllct, the Isle de
Chevallers ls a mlcrocosm of modern soclety. As ln p
pI these confllcts lnvolve the real and lmaglned
ownershlp of the lsland, a tendency that lncludes both a
physlcal and splrltual preoccupatlon wlth the land. Both
cultures lay clalm to a symbollc geography. the whlte
lmperlallsts justlfy occupatlon by thelr commerclal
lnterests and the bellef that a hundred Irench cavallers
haunt the lsland; the natlves clalm custodlanshlp of the
lsland by vlrtue of thelr presence and the myth of the
shlpwrecked bllnd slaves.
Jhls dlfference ln the mythlc bellefs and land
ownershlp lnforms the relatlonshlp of all the charac
tersto each other and to the communltles ln whlch
they llve. Valerlan`s sense of securlty ls dlrectly llnked
to ownershlp of hls plantatlon. Even hls last name,
Street, suggests a manlpulatlon of nature lnto munlcl
pallty. As servants to Valerlan, Sydney and Ondlne are
appendages to hls system and thus have no afflnlty or
connectlon to the land. |adlne sees the world as a global
mall, a consumer`s paradlse that ls hers for the taklng.
Son retalns a mythlc notlon of communlty ln
Eloe; but, ln splte of Son`s attempts to romantlclze lt,
Eloe lacks dlrectlon and purpose. Ilnally, lt ls Jherese,
the lsland natlve, who sees land as somethlng one must
work wlth and not agalnst, ln cooperatlon and depen
dency. Jhe natlves are convlnced that they wlll remaln
through a strlng of occupatlons; thus, thelr values repre
sent the custodlal rather than the approprlatlve vlew of
the land. Jhls sense of the relatlonshlp between the
land and people becomes the metaphor for communlty
ln contradlstlnctlon to the Street occupatlon and ls the
essentlal value that Jherese wlshes to lmpart to Son.
In q~ _~ Morrlson agaln relles on myth, ghosts,
and evll, lntenslfylng thelr mystlcal qualltles by placlng
them ln the lsolated settlng of a Carlbbean lsland. Mor
rlson lnvokes the supernatural as a way to fend off a
reallty ln whlch whltes are set agalnst blacks, women
agalnst men, culture agalnst prlmltlvlsm, and clvlllza
tlon agalnst nature. Morrlson challenges these dualltles
by creatlng an atmosphere ln whlch the lsland ltself ls
sentlent; competlng myths on the lsland prollferate; and
several characters experlence psychlc occurrences.
Jhe Isle de Chevallers ls cluttered wlth splrlts and
myths that should lnevltably mlnlmlze lndlvldual dlffer
292
q j ai_ PPN
ences but lnstead tend to lntenslfy them. Glven a more
complete perspectlve of alternatlve realltles, lndlvlduals
should be able to release themselves from thelr own
llmlted vlslon and open up to creatlve solutlons. If
|adlne and Son, Valerlan and Son, Ondlne and |adlne,
and Margaret and Mlchael cannot solve thelr problems,
lt ls because they do not possess total knowledge. Mor
rlson provldes her characters wlth that mlsslng lnforma
tlon by way of the supernatural, although they may not
always be able to lnterpret lt adequately. At the end of
the novel Son appears to embark on a journey that ls a
reblrth of sorts, but, as ls often the case ln Morrlson`s
novels, conslderable doubt exlsts as to whether or not
Son wlll be able to reacqualnt hlmself wlth hls 'anclent
propertles."
q~ _~ met wlth conslderable advance publlclty,
as publlcatlon colnclded wlth a cover story on Morrlson
ln k. However, revlewers expressed a measure
of amblvalence about the novel, especlally ln terms of
Morrlson`s thematlc lntent. Wllfrld Sheed ln q ^~
j (Aprll l98l) commented, 'We have experl
enced Morrlson, half at her very best and the other half
presumably havlng fun, dabbllng ln somethlng new
whlte llght comedywlth only sporadlc success. And
there`s no harm ln any of that." Less conclllatory,
Davld Dubal ln q e o (Autumn l98l) char
acterlzed her 'response to both the personal and cul
tural crlsls of the book . . . perplexlng, lf not confused."
Brlna Caplan ln q k~ (2 May l98l) stated that q~
_~ suffers because lt ls 'a novel of ldeas set ln the
whlte world." Nlcholas Shrlmpton ln the k p~~
(23 October l98l) called q~ _~ 'a serlously over
welght novel."
More posltlve revlews zeroed ln on Morrlson`s
'vast curloslty," 'her terrlble honesty," and what Mau
reen Howard ln q k o (2l March l98l)
admltted ls a 'pleasure I assoclate wlth the best klnd of
readlng." Some revlewers, lncludlng Selden Rodman ln
the k~~ o (26 |une l98l) commented on the
negatlve portrayal of whlte characters ln the novel, con
tlnulng a pattern of crltlque that appears to hold Morrl
son accountable for her deplctlon of flctlonal characters
and worlds ln ways that other wrlters have not been.
She has been chastlsed for her narrow vlslon of black
llfe ln q _ b and p~I her lack of strong male
characters, her selectlon of a male hero ln p
pI her excluslon of whlte characters, and her char
acterlzatlon of whlte people. Evaluatlon of Morrlson`s
art often appears to be lnfluenced by the polltlcal agen
das of her constltuents.
In _ (l987) Morrlson embraces the super
natural as perhaps the ldeal vehlcle for the lnvestlgatlon
of slavery, an lnstltutlon so lncomprehenslble that Mor
rlson suggests that most Amerlcans would llke to bury
lt, slnce lt ls the hlstorlcal remlnder of a natlonal dls
grace. Morrlson delayed the wrltlng of thls novel
because she antlclpated the paln of recovery and con
frontatlon. She told Ellzabeth Kastor, 'I had forgotten
that when I started the book, I was very frlghtened. . . .
It was an unwllllngness and a terror of golng lnto an
area for whlch you have no preparatlon. It`s a commlt
ment of three or four years to llvlng lnsldebecause
you do try to enter that llfe." In splte of 'thls terrlble
reluctance about dwelllng on that era," Morrlson
lnformed Angelo that she went ahead wlth the wrltlng
of the book because 'I was trylng to make lt a personal
experlence."
_ ls based on the true story of a slave, Marg
aret Garner, who murdered her own chlld rather than
return her to slavery. In the novel the slave woman,
Sethe, escapes to freedom ln the North, where she llves
wlth her remalnlng chlldren. Morrlson altered the true
story, she told Marsha Darllng ln a l988 lntervlew
(reprlnted ln `~ q j), as Garner
was not trled for murder.
She was trled for a ~ crlme, whlch was runnlng
awayalthough the abolltlonlsts were trylng very hard
to get her trled for murder because they wanted the
Fugltlve Slave Law to be unconstltutlonal. Jhey dld
not want her trled on those grounds, so they trled to
swltch lt to murder as a klnd of success story. Jhey
thought that they could make lt lmposslble for Ohlo, as
a free state, to acknowledge the rlght of a slaveowner
to come get those people. In fact, the sanctuary move
ment now ls exactly the same. But they all went back to
Boone County and apparently the man who took them
backthe man she was golng to klll herself and her chll
dren to get away fromhe sold her down rlver, whlch
was as bad as belng separated from each other. But
apparently the boat hlt a sandbar or somethlng, and
she fell or jumped wlth her daughter, her baby, lnto the
water. It ls not clear whether she fell or jumped, but
they rescued her and I guess she went on down to New
Orleans and I don`t know.
Morrlson lnformed Darllng that she dld not do much
research on Garner because 'I wanted to lnvent her llfe,
whlch ls a way of saylng I wanted to be accesslble to
anythlng the characters had to say about lt. Recordlng
her llfe as llved would not lnterest me, and would not
make me avallable to anythlng that mlght be pertlnent."
Jhe metaphor for Morrlson`s reluctance for mlmesls ls
the conflguratlon of Belovedpart ghost, zomble, devll,
and memory. Morrlson reveals Beloved ln tantallzlng
degrees untll she ls manlfested as a fullblooded person.
Llke a chlldhood trauma, Beloved comes back ln
snatches untll flnally her hlstory ls retold, a dlscovery
process shared by Morrlson, her characters, and the
293
ai_ PPN q j
readers as the prlmary step to collectlve splrltual recov
ery.
_ ls a purglng of the gullt of the Amerlcan
psyche, and lt acts as an hlstorlcal precedent to and psy
chologlcal referent for the rage of the oppressed ln Mor
rlson`s other books. Sethe`s slave status lnvolves total
loss of freedom and humanlty and serves as the orlgln
of all subsequent forms of oppresslon endured by Mor
rlson`s other characters and the motlvatlon for thelr
vlolent reactlons to them. In q _ b Cholly`s
response to raclal oppresslon ls the rape of hls own
daughter. In p~ oppresslon caused by war turns Eva`s
Plum lnto a drug addlct, forclng her to euthanlze hlm.
Sexual oppresslon ln q~ _~ drlves Margaret to burn
llttle holes ln her baby. All these acts testlfy profoundly
to the legacy of an lnstltutlon so evll that lt affords a
mother no alternatlve for her chlldren but death.
Revlewers, senslng that they were wltnesslng a llt
erary phenomenon, lavlshed _ wlth pralse. mJ
t (l7 |uly l987) called lt a mllestone ln the
chronlcllng of the black experlence ln Amerlca, whlle
Merle Rubln ln q `~ p j (5 October
l987) sald lt ls 'a stunnlng book and lastlng achleve
ment |that| transforms the sorrows of hlstory lnto the
lumlnous truth of art." Leonard (i ^ q _
oI 30 August l987) stated that, wlthout _I
'our lmaglnatlon of the natlon`s self has a hole ln lt blg
enough to dle from." He felt _ 'belongs on the
hlghest shelf of Amerlcan llterature, even lf half a dozen
canonlzed whlte boys have to be elbowed off." Walter
Clemons ln k (28 September l987) declared, 'I
thlnk we have a masterplece on our hands here." Not
all revlews were posltlve, however. Stanley Crouch ln
q k o (l9 October l987) saw _ as 'the
fallure of feellng that ls sentlmentallty." He accused
Morrlson of 'almost always |loslng| control" and of not
reslstlng 'the temptatlon of the trlte or the sentlmental."
Mlchlko Kakutanl ln q k v q (2 September
l987) wrote, 'Jhere ls a contemporaneous quallty to
tlme past and tlme present as well as a sense that the
llnes between reallty and flctlon, truth and memory,
have become lnextrlcably blurred."
_ earned the Pulltzer Prlze, an award that
had been denled another great wrlter, |ames Baldwln.
In an effort to prevent the glarlng overslght that Bald
wln suffered and to secure Morrlson`s place ln llterary
hlstory, many Afrlcan Amerlcan wrlters had publlshed
a trlbute to Morrlson ln q k v q _ o
(21 |anuary l988), 'Black Wrlters ln Pralse of Jonl
Morrlson," that states ln part. 'We flnd your llfe work
ever bulldlng to a monument of vlslon and dlscovery
and trust." Jhe wrlters argued that, 'desplte the lnter
natlonal stature of Jonl Morrlson, she has yet to recelve
the natlonal recognltlon that her flve major works of flc
tlon entlrely deserve. she has yet to recelve the keystone
honors of the Natlonal Book Award or the Pulltzer
Prlze. We, the underslgned black crltlcs and black wrlt
ers, here assert ourselves agalnst such overslght and
harmful whlmsy."
g~ (l992), Morrlson`s slxth novel, ls based on a
photograph ln |ames Van DerZee`s e~ _
a~ (l978) that shows, accordlng to Leonard ln q
k~ (25 May l992), 'the body of a young glrl, shot at
a party by a jealous boyfrlend, who dled refuslng to
ldentlfy her assallant." Morrlson told Rose that she
wlshed to lnvestlgate 'the questlon" of male/female pas
slon, hence the story of |oe, a mlddleaged cosmetlc
salesman; hls chlldless wlfe, Vlolet; and the teenage
Dorcas, wlth whom |oe has an affalr and whom he
shoots when he ls jllted for a younger lover. Whlle g~
may have begun wlth the lssue of male/female passlon,
lt ends as a flctlve recreatlon of two parallel narratlves
set durlng major hlstorlcal events ln Afrlcan Amerlcan
hlstoryReconstructlon and the |azz Age.
Morrlson weaves together the story of |oe, Vlolet,
and Dorcas wlth the hlstory of thelr predecessors. Jrue
Belle, Vlolet`s grandmother; Vera Loulse, a wealthy
whlte woman; and Golden Gray, her mulatto son. Jrue
Belle serves as caretaker of Vera Loulse and Golden
Gray. Jhe respectlve storles are so lntrlcately llnked
that Golden Gray at one polnt rescues Wlld, |oe`s
crazed mother, whlle she ls pregnant wlth hlm. Jhough
|oe`s and Vlolet`s hlstorles lntersect at thls moment,
they never attempt to lntegrate lnto thelr troubled llves
the slgnlflcance of thelr pasts.
Jhe lnltlatlve that |oe and Vlolet lack ln recover
lng thelr personal hlstorles ls more than compensated
for by the narrator, who possesses a surfelt of curloslty,
taklng great palns to relmaglne both storles. An enlg
matlc presence ln the book, the narrator possesses a
femlnlne, Afrlcan Amerlcan volce. At flrst arrogant ln
her ablllty to present the truth, the narrator eventually
undergoes a rlte of passage perhaps more subtle, but no
less profound, than that of Mllkman. Jhe narrator
beglns by trylng to 'flgure out |her characters`| plans,
thelr reasonlngs, long before they do." In splte of the
narrator`s efforts, the narratlon follows a path of lts
own, lndependent of the wlll of the narrator. Jhe narra
tor has judged lnaccurately that |oe wlll repeat the act
of vlolence that took Dorcas`s llfe. When |oe lnstead
reconclles wlth Vlolet, the narrator chastlses her lnabll
lty to present the truth. 'I have been careless and stupld
and lt lnfurlates me to dlscover (agaln) how unrellable I
am." In a selfreflectlve moment the narrator questlons
the authorlty of authorshlp. Jhus, what ls ultlmately at
stake ln g~ ls the process of reclamatlon and arrlval at
truth.
291
q j ai_ PPN
In o Morrlson contlnues her lnvestlgatlon of
the debllltatlng lmpact of hlstory on black famllles. In
thls novel she does not focus on slavery, but on lts leg
acy to a generatlon removed ln tlme but not place from
lts grasp. Jhe unrelentlng, destructlve lnfluence of rac
lsm and oppresslon on the black famlly ls manlfested ln
o by the almosttotal absence of the black famlly.
Even Morrlson`s mothers, prevlously lncomparable ln
thelr strength and endurance, succumb to the soclal,
economlc, and polltlcal forces of hlstory. |oe, Vlolet,
and Dorcas lose thelr mothers to lnsanlty, sulclde, and
murder. Jhelr deaths are dlrectly attrlbutable to lnstltu
tlonallzed raclsm.
Consldered llttle more than chattel to the doml
nant culture, these women endured unspeakable abuse.
Rose Dear, abandoned by a husband who ls denled the
economlc opportunlty to support hls famlly, jumped to
her death ln a well rather than face homelessness and
starvatlon. Dorcas`s parents were lnnocent vlctlms of
the East Salnt Louls rlots. Wlth no father or mother to
form thelr ldentltles and to succor them, |oe, Vlolet,
and Dorcas are left to be ralsed by klndly frlends or rel
atlves, all of whom themselves are dlsconnected ln varl
ous ways from famlly and communlty.
Ior many of the characters ln the novel, the
absence of famlly ls replaced by the everpresent clty.
Morrlson attempts to reconstruct the complex set of fac
tors that brought black people to the clty ln the flrst
place as well as those factors that compelled them to
stay. She told Rose that one of the goals she trled to
accompllsh ln o was to 'recall . . . what lt was llke
when people went to the clty, when the clty was the
place to go." Morrlson clted economlc opportunlty and
soclal equallty as prlmary reasons for fllght, but, whlle
lnltlally 'runnlng from want and vlolence," black peo
ple, Morrlson shows, sought more than a safe job and a
secure envlronment, amenltles even the clty could not
guarantee.
Perhaps most lmportant for black people, the clty
represented lndlfference. A communlty of steel and con
crete more than of people, the clty protects black people
from constant scrutlny, from the everpresent, approprl
atlng glare of a raclst soclety that deflnes and shapes
thelr ldentlty. Separated by the enormlty of the clty
from the 'Look," black people can reclalm the freedom
of selfdeflnltlon that ls tled to thelr anonymlty. 'Jhere,
ln a clty, they are not so much new as themselves. thelr
stronger, rlskler selves."
o was publlshed slmultaneously wlth Morrl
son`s Iloyivg iv tlc Dorl: !litcvcss ovd tlc Iitcrory Imogivo-
tiov, a scholarly work based on three lectures she gave
at Harvard Lnlverslty. Accordlng to Tlc Clroviclc of
Higlcr Iducotiov (22 Aprll l992), the publlsher, Harvard
Lnlverslty Press, declded to prlnt 25,000 flrstrun cop
les of thls book lnstead of the tradltlonal l,500. Har
vard Lnlverslty Press`s confldence ln a scholarly work,
as Davld Gates noted ln `cwswccl (27 Aprll l992), ls
clearly lndlcatlve of Morrlson`s stature as 'the last clas
slc Amerlcan wrlter, squarely ln the tradltlon of Poe,
Melvllle, Jwaln and Iaulkner." Revlews of o pralsed
Morrlson`s language and lntrlcate plot constructlon but
tended to admonlsh her use of an unrellable narrator.
Leonard ln Tlc òtiov (25 May l992) called o a
'brandnew star" ln Morrlson`s 'constellatlon of hum
mlng spheres." |ane Smlley ln !oguc (May l992) stated
that Morrlson`s style 'ls commandlng and seductlve at
the same tlme."
Less compllmentary revlews lncluded Edna
O`Brlen`s ln Tlc `cw Jorl Timcs (5 Aprll l992), whlch
stated that o lacks an 'emotlonal nexus" so that
'what remalns are the bold arrestlng strokes of a poster
and not the cold astonlshment of a palntlng." Ann Hul
bert ln Tlc `cw Icpublic (l8 May l992) complalned that
Morrlson`s narratlve strategy undermlnes her authorlty
as author. 'Morrlson has charged her narrator wlth the
duty to avold the weakness that she herself has
acknowledgedan lncllnatlon to romantlclze black
llves." Hulbert concluded that 'her relentless vlgllance,
rather than lssulng ln creatlve sympathy, leads her
toward the double dead end of lndlctlng other wrlters
for fallures of vlslon and apologlzlng for her own."
Iocuslng less on the narrator, Gates characterlzed Mor
rlson`s narratlon as 'metaflctlonal shenanlgans" that
nevertheless 'hardly affect the experlence of readlng
o."
o remalned on Tlc `cw Jorl Timcs bestseller llst
for weeks. Iloyivg iv tlc Dorl qulckly became requlred
readlng ln college llterature courses throughout the
country, provoklng conslderable scholarly attentlon and
establlshlng Morrlson as a major volce ln Amerlcan llt
erary studles. Wlth her books translated lnto many dlf
ferent languages, Morrlson, by l992, had jolned the
ranks of the world`s greatest llvlng novellsts. She was
recognlzed as such ln l993 when she was awarded the
Nobel Prlze ln Llterature.
Iortunately for Morrlson, the ldea for her next
book, Iorodisc (l998), was percolatlng ln her mlnd long
before she won the Nobel Prlze, for the award carrles
wlth lt the burden of belng a hlghly publlc flgure. As
Paul Gray remarked ln a l998 artlcle for Timc maga
zlne, 'A crushlng mantle of gravltas descends on the
wlnners" of the Nobel Prlze. 'People honored for mak
lng up storles or poems or plays are then expected to
make pronouncements, ln front of packed houses, on
publlc lssues. As an Afrlcan Amerlcan woman, Morrl
son has faced such expectatlons constantly." Recalllng
how hectlc her llfe became after the Nobel Prlze was
announced, Morrlson told Gray, 'I was so happy that I
295
ai_ PPN q j
had a real book ldea ln progress, . . . If I hadn`t, I would
have thought, 'Lhoh, can I ever wrlte a novel agaln?`"
Jhat book ldea was rooted ln the llttleknown hlstory
about the mlgratlon of former slaves lnto the Okla
homa terrltorles and a slogan that appeared ln newspa
per ads offerlng them an opportunlty for a new llfe.
'Come Prepared or Not at All." As she had done wlth
the newspaper artlcle about Margaret Garner that
lnsplred _ and the photograph of the murdered
young woman from whlch g~ grew, Morrlson let that
slogan gulde her lnventlon of an lmaglnary communlty
of Afrlcan Amerlcans seeklng to come to terms wlth lts
hlstory and lts place ln Amerlcan soclety. She also con
celved of m~~ as the last of a trllogy, beglnnlng wlth
_ and lncludlng g~.
m~~ opens wlth a startllng sentence. 'Jhey
shoot the whlte glrl flrst." It ls |uly l976, the year of
Amerlca`s Blcentennlal. In an hlstorlcal twlst, the
foundlng fathers of a flctlonal Afrlcan Amerlcan town
named Ruby ln western Oklahoma storm a nearby con
vent and massacre lts female lnhabltants. Morrlson told
Gray that she dellberately wlthheld the ldentlty of the
whlte woman because 'I wanted the readers to wonder
about the race of those glrls untll those readers under
stood that thelr race dldn`t matter. I want to dlssuade
people from readlng llterature ln that way. . . . Race ls
the least rellable lnformatlon you can have about some
one. It`s real lnformatlon, but lt tells you next to noth
lng." What matters ln m~~ ls the hlstory behlnd the
men`s murderous act and the story of how the women,
each bearlng deep emotlonal scars and ln need of splrl
tual heallng, ended up ln the Convent ln the flrst place.
Jhese men and thelr famllles had mlgrated from
Haven, Oklahoma, an allblack town founded by thelr
fathers, after that town`s decllne proved lrreverslble.
Jhey packed up thelr belonglngs, thelr famllles, and the
great Oven thelr forefathers had bullt and founded the
town of Ruby, whlch they now lntended to protect from
what they consldered the corruptlng lnfluence of the
women llvlng ln the Convent.
Wlth the preclslon of a welltralned mllltla, the
men move quletly through the Convent, the lnterlor
deslgn and ornate decoratlons of whlch are remlnders
that the bulldlng belonged to an embezzler wlth a deca
dent sense of style long before the Slsters of the Sacred
Cross took lt over. Jhe clash between the sacred lcons
of the Convent and the erotlc lmages on many of the
permanent flxtures of the manslonturnedconvent
strengthen the men`s bellef that the women who cur
rently llve there are part of a cult and must be eradl
cated for the good of the town. Jwo of the men,
Deacon and Steward Morgan, are brotherstwlns wlth
'powerful memorles." Lppermost ln thelr memory dur
lng thls early mornlng rald ls the town`s 'controlllng"
story. Jhe story 'explalned why nelther the founders of
Haven nor thelr descendants could tolerate anybody
but themselves." As they and the other men stalk thelr
prey, the hlstory of those earller black homesteaders
beglns to unfold.
Shortly after the Clvll War, l58 freedmen jour
neyed from 'Mlsslsslppl and two Loulslana parlshes
to Oklahoma" only to flnd that they were unwelcome
'on each graln of soll from Yazoo to Iort Smlth,"
lncludlng terrltory occupled by other black home
steaders. When they flnally settled on the land that
was to become the town of Haven, the men bullt a
great Oven on whlch the twlns` grandfather
engraved a motto. Jhe Oven served the practlcal
purpose of both a communlty kltchen and a gather
lng place for the people of Haven. When, ln l919,
the twlns 'stared at thelr dwlndllng postwar future"
ln Haven and declded 'to repeat what the Old
Iathers had done ln l890" and journey to other as
yet unlnhablted terrltory, they and the fourteen other
famllles that followed them dlsmantled the Oven and
took lt wlth them. In Ruby, as the foundlng fathers
named thelr new town, the Oven and lts motto
became a source of contentlon between young and
old just as the women began arrlvlng at the Convent.
Jhls rlft and others ln the patrlarchal structure of
Ruby ls what drove the men to wlpe out the women.
Llke Mllkman Dead`s grandfather ln p pI
the men of Ruby had become separatlsts by dlnt of
excluslon. Jhey had bullt a town, thelr verslon of
paradlse, 'the one allblack town worth the paln,"
and felt lt was thelr moral responslblllty to ensure
that 'nothlng lnslde or out rots" lt.
Llke p pI m~~ was both a popular
and crltlcal success, wlth a flrst prlntlng of 100,000 cop
les selllng qulckly. Jhe BookoftheMonth Club chose
lt as lts maln selectlon, and Oprah Wlnfrey selected lt
for her televlsed Book Club, thereby lntroduclng mll
llons of her vlewers to Morrlson`s work. (p p
and q _ b were also Oprah Book Club selec
tlons, ln l996 and 2000, respectlvely). After Wlnfrey
announced the book for her club, sales soared to more
than one mllllon coples. Yet, desplte the mass appeal of
the novel, many readers found m~~ complex and
lnaccesslble. Some revlewers panned the book, whlle
others lavlshly pralsed lt as Morrlson`s best. Carol
Shlelds called m~~ 'a long, complex, fluent novel"
that presents a cast of 'eplc" characters. 'there are the
orlglnal foundlng famllles and thelr descendants, and
then there are the drlfters who attach themselves to
Ruby and lts envlronsand each ls granted a thread ln
the communal tapestry" (q t~ mI ll |anuary
l998).
296
q j ai_ PPN
One of the dlfflcultles for readers unfamlllar wlth
Morrlson`s narratlve technlques ls grasplng those
threadsthe dlfferent narratlve volces and polnts of
vlewas they weave back and forth over more than one
hundred years, from the Reconstructlon to the Amerl
can blcentennlal ln l976. Shlelds admltted that 'some
readers may flnd the lssues too many and too unfo
cused," but she pralsed Morrlson for taklng 'her tlme
settlng a scene" and furnlshlng lt wlth 'sumptuous
detalls." Brooke Allen called m~~ 'posslbly |Morrl
son`s| best work of flctlon to date," but admltted that lt
ls not flawless, cltlng the 'malefemale dlchotomy, for
example, wlth the male represented as rlgld and legalls
tlc, the female as mysterlous and 'other`" as contempo
rary cllches that 'Morrlson plays too heavlly." She also
comments on the dlfflculty of readlng m~~I whlch
she descrlbes as 'dense, repetltlve and obscure," requlr
lng 'close scrutlny and concentratlon." But, she adds,
'the novel rlchly rewards the reader`s efforts. It ls an
ambltlous, troubllng and compllcated plece of work,
proof that Jonl Morrlson contlnues to change and
mature ln surprlslng new dlrectlons" (q k v
qI ll |anuary l998).
Among those who dlsagreed wlth the generally
posltlve revlews was Kakutanl, who descrlbed m~~
as 'a heavyhanded, schematlc plece of wrltlng, thor
oughly lacklng ln the novellstlc maglc Ms. Morrlson
has wlelded so effortlessly ln the past. It`s a contrlved,
formulalc book that mechanlcally plts men agalnst
women, old agalnst young, the past agalnst the present"
(q k v qI 6 |anuary l998). Comparlng lt to
Morrlson`s earller novels, Kakutanl was especlally crltl
cal of the way the author presents her characters. She
argued that the 'motley assortment of mlsflts and fugl
tlves" that lnhablt the Convent never rlse above thelr
status as vlctlms and that the men 'are almost unl
formly control freaks or hotheads, eager to dlsmlss
lndependent women as sluts or wltches, and deter
mlned to make everyone submlt to thelr wlll." Com
mentlng on the mythlc and supernatural elements of
the novel, Kakutanl wrote that they fall to evoke the
'dreamllke lmages the author has used so dexterously
ln the past to suggest the strangeness of Amerlcan hls
tory."
When asked ln an lntervlew for the onllne perl
odlcal p~ (l998) what she thought about Kakutanl`s
'strongly negatlve revlew," Morrlson replled,
Well, I would lmaglne there would be some dlfference
of oplnlon on what the book ls llke or what lt meant.
Some people are maybe more lnvested ln readlng lt
from a certaln polnt of vlew. Jhe dally |Kakutanl`s|
revlew ln q k v q was extremely unflatterlng
about thls book. And I thought, more to the polnt, lt
was not well wrltten. Jhe unflatterlng revlews are paln
ful for short perlods of tlme; the badly wrltten ones are
deeply, deeply lnsultlng. Jhat revlewer took no tlme to
really read the book.
Jhose who dld seemed to come to the same concluslon.
m~~ ls a complex novel that ls worth the effort lt
takes to read lt for what lt reveals about hlstory and
humanlty.
Morrlson publlshed her elghth novel, iI ln
2003. Set ln an allblack East Coast resort, i presents
yet another lnsular Afrlcan Amerlcan communlty strug
gllng to retaln vestlges of lts former self amld rapld
soclal and economlc changes. What was once a thrlvlng
seaslde retreat for black people when raclal segregatlon
was the custom, lf not the law, has become ln the l990s
a sandy wasteland where a few longtlme resldents, such
as Sandler Glbbons and hls wlfe, Vlda, struggle to eke
out a llvlng. Jhey were among the people Blll Cosey
rescued from the drudgery of a local flsh cannery by
glvlng them employment ln the hotel and resort he bullt
wlth the money he lnherlted from hls father. Jo the
grateful Vlda, Blll Cosey 'was royal," a patron salnt for
havlng glven her a 'hlgh" and 'permanent leap out of
the flsh trough" where the Lp Beach populatlon
worked. Jhanks to hlm, she and her husband and only
chlld, Dolly, were able to move from Lp Beach to the
more prosperous town of Sllk, where she worked as a
receptlonlst ln Blll Cosey`s hotel and, for a short tlme,
her husband walted tables. Now an alde ln the local
hospltal, Vlda remembers when the resort llved up to
Blll Cosey`s motto, offerlng hls guests 'Jhe best good
tlme thls slde of the law." Jhe women, 'dressed ln
molre and chlffon and tralllng jasmlne scent ln thelr
wake," and the men 'wlth beautlful shoes and perfect
creases ln thelr llnen trousers," returned year after year
to enjoy 'the wlde hospltallty hls place was known for"
untll lntegratlon came and they started golng elsewhere,
and Blll Cosey lost lnterest ln the llttle emplre he had
bullt wlth the money he lnherlted from hls father.
Llke Mllkman Dead`s moneygrubblng father ln
p pI Danlel Robert Cosey became wealthy
by exploltlng hls own people. But whereas Macon Dead
dld so through the property he rented to them, Cosey
'earned hls way as a Courthouse lnformer." Ior
'flftyflve years" he was 'well pald, tlpped off, and
favored" by the whlte people who were determlned that
'Dlxle law" remalned the law of the land. Accordlng to
L.Blll Cosey`s unnamed chef, who narrates much of
the Cosey famlly hlstoryDanlel Robert Cosey 'kept
hls evll gray eye on everybody. Ior the pure power of
lt," slnce he got llttle enjoyment from the money he
earned as the whlte people`s 'Danny Boy." As mlserly
as he was wlcked, he dled and left hls son $ll1,000,
whlch Blll Cosey used to create a seaslde haven for
297
ai_ PPN q j
wealthy and wellknown black tourlsts. Hls resort pro
vlded employment for local resldents, but they were not
welcome at the hotel as guests. Wlth the exceptlon of
Sandler Glbbons, whom he would often take flshlng,
Blll Cosey flrmly but polltely drew the llne when lt
came to assoclatlng wlth or accommodatlng people he
consldered beneath hlm. So when he chose Heed
|ohnson as hls second wlfe, people were as astonlshed
by the fact that she was an Lp Beach glrl as they were
by her ageeleven years old. Jhe man who could have
had any woman he wanted chose hls granddaughter`s
best frlend because, after the death of hls son Bllly Boy,
'he wanted chlldren, lots of chlldren," and 'only an
unused glrl would do." Jhat wlsh went unfulfllled; he
and Heed had no chlldren.
Slmllar to Sula and Nel ln p~I Chrlstlne Cosey
and Heed |ohnson forged a strong and excluslve chlld
hood frlendshlp that dlssolved the llne that separated
them by soclal status. Jhelr frlendshlp was suddenly
dlsrupted when Blll Cosey exerclsed hls prlvllege as the
town`s benevolent patrlarch and, 'wlth no one to stop
hlm," marrled Heed. Chrlstlne never forgave her 'best
and only frlend" for happlly leavlng her and the bed
room they often shared ln the blg house on Monarch
Street for the one 'at the end of the hall reeklng of
llquor and an old man`s buslness." Jhelr love for each
other qulckly turned to hatred as Chrlstlne saw herself
dlsplaced ln her grandfather`s affectlons by a glrl only
elght months younger than she. Chrlstlne was sent
away. She returned twlce. the flrst tlme to celebrate her
slxteenth blrthday; and later to nurse her dylng mother
and to lay clalm to the house she belleved rlghtfully
belonged to her as the only llvlng, trueblooded Cosey.
Slnce that last return more than twenty years ago,
Chrlstlne and Heed have llved together ln the house on
Monarch Street, each hatlng the other, and both schem
lng on how to clalm the Cosey house as her own.
As wlth all of her novels, revlews of i were
mlxed. Laura Mlller accurately descrlbed how Morrl
son`s work has been recelved slnce she won the Nobel
Prlze. 'once the Swedlsh Academy bestowed lts laurels,
the response to her books broke down lnto two catego
rles. prostrate worshlp and gleeful nosethumblng" (q
k v o _I 2 November 2003). Mlller
avolded both. She summarlzed the novel wlthout glvlng
away too much of the plot, and then qulte falrly dls
cussed lts weaknesses, among whlch ls what she felt ls
Morrlson`s tendency to 'speechlfy". 'Havlng become
the flrst Afrlcan Amerlcan and only the elghth woman
to wln the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature, Jonl Morrlson ls
expected to speak approprlately on behalf of two
aggrleved groups, and too often, alas, she does." Char
lotte Moore wrote ln the London a~ q~ (29
November 2003) that wlth iI Morrlson 'reaches
towards" but does not qulte succeed ln arrlvlng at a
'splrltual profundlty where most novellsts would fear to
tread." She called i a 'curloslty" that 'lacks the
freshness of p~I the narratlve drlve of p pI
the moral power of _K" Nevertheless, she found lt
a 'fasclnatlng attempt to understand personal and pollt
lcal hlstory ln terms of love." Mary Mltchell called lt a
'brllllant novel that wlll glve you a plerclng look at love
from every angle" (`~ p qI 26 October 2003).
Ron Charles descrlbed i as 'the carefully crafted
work of a storyteller entlrely unburdened by her Nobel
Prlze. No pretenslon deadens her rhythm, no
selflmportance forces her wlt, no presumptlon of Slg
nlflcance bloats her slgnlflcant lnslghts" (`~ p
jI 28 October 2003).
Most revlews of i mentloned that lt ls Morrl
son`s most accesslble novel, a major weakness for Kaku
tanl, who wrote that 'the book ls ln fact one of her
sllghter efforts" (q k v qI 3l October 2003).
Kakutanl dld not llke i any better than m~~I
whlch she called Morrlson`s 'flatfooted and hlghly
schematlc l998 novel." She wrote, 'the story as a whole
reads llke a gothlc soap opera, peopled by schemlng,
bltter women and selflsh, predatory men." Lorenzo
Jhomas also compared i to m~~I but more favor
ably. He wrote that i 'ls slmultaneously an lntrlgu
lng fllrtatlon wlth the mysterynovel form and an
unsettllng medltatlon on the ldeas we thlnk deflne us"
(q e Ì 30 November 2003). Jhomas
also mentloned that, as a 'Nobel Prlze laureate and
bestselllng star of Oprah`s book club," Morrlson`s stat
ure 'makes what she says lmportant," and sometlmes
'troublesome and dlscomfortlng." Llke any true lntel
lectual, she takes advantage of her stature to speak out
on many soclal and polltlcal lssues, but her maln lnter
ests, what she llkes to talk about most, are llterature and
the art of wrltlng flctlon.
Morrlson`s concern ln g~ wlth the responslblllty
of the artlst and the posslblllty or lmposslblllty of pre
sentlng truth through language exhlblts the range of her
careerlong experlmentatlon ln novel wrltlng. Morrlson
has successfully lnvoked such llterary movements as
naturallsm, maglcal reallsm, hlgh modernlsm, hlstorlcal
revlslonlsm, and postmodernlsm ln an endeavor to get
at the essence of her subject matter. She takes lncreaslng
rlsks wlth language, narratlve constructlon, and most of
the contrlvances of llterary conventlon ln order to com
munlcate the most profound secrets of the human
heart. She told Rose that when a young black man at a
Prlnceton lecture asked her who she wrote for, she
replled. 'I want to wrlte for people llke me, whlch ls to
say black people, curlous people, demandlng people . . .
people who can`t be faked, people who don`t need to be
patronlzed, people who have very, very hlgh crlterla."
298
q j ai_ PPN
Morrlson`s experlmentatlon wlth the novel coln
cldes wlth her everlncreaslng thematlc concerns. As lf con
strlcted by the necessary closure of a novel, Morrlson
expands the consclousness of each successlve novel wlth
out leavlng behlnd the burnlng lssues that mark her prevl
ous ones. Jhus, famlly, communlty, and the love they
provlde or deny are a constant ln her canon. Hlstory, geog
raphy, and eventually myth, fable, and the supernatural
are gradually lmplemented to lllumlnate the nature of
those famllles and communltles. Morrlson`s flrst two nov
els, Tlc lucst Iyc and Sulo, are spatlally and chronologl
cally llmlted, though Sulo lntroduces World War I as an
hlstorlcal backdrop. Sovg of Solomov moves ln tlme and
place from present to past and from North to South, whlle
Tor oby ls set outslde the contlnental Lnlted States on an
lsland where past and present frequently lntermlngle.
clovcd ls an hlstorlcal novel that concerns Reconstructlon,
yet lt lmplles ahlstorlclty ln the amazlng flgure of Beloved.
o lntegrates hlstorlcal eras and moves to the clty, all the
whlle dlsavowlng lts own efflcacy to reproduce elther tlme
or place.
In Iorodisc and ln Iovc Jonl Morrlson returns to
the small, lnsular, and provlnclal communltles that Sara
Blackburn decrled when she wrote ln her revlew of Sulo
for Tlc `cw Jorl Timcs ool Icvicw (30 December l973),
Jonl Morrlson ls far too talented to remaln only a marvel
ous recorder of the black slde of provlnclal Amerlcan llfe.
If she ls to malntaln the large and serlous audlence she
deserves, she ls golng to have to address a rlskler contem
porary reallty than thls beautlful but nevertheless dls
tanced novel. And lf she does thls, lt seems to me that she
mlght easlly transcend that early and unlntentlonally llmlt
lng classlflcatlon 'black women wrlters" and take her
place among the most serlous, lmportant and talented
Amerlcan novellsts now worklng.
Lndaunted, lf not hurt, by Blackburn`s crltlclsm, Mor
rlson contlnued chartlng her own llterary path and has
taken her place among the most talented novellsts ln the
world. As a proflle of Morrlson ln Ibovy magazlne
(March 2001) announclng the release of Iovc noted,
'she ls an lcon, a Black woman who has become an
lnternatlonal presence, sharlng the storles of Black
Amerlcans wlth the worldthe storles and thelr unlver
sal themes. She carrles on a flne Black llterary tradltlon
datlng back to Phlllls Wheatley." Jhat tradltlon began
ln l773 wlth the publlcatlon of Wheatley`s Iocms ov !ori-
ous Subjccts, Icligious ovd Morol. Jwo hundred and twenty
years later, Morrlson stepped forward on a stage ln
Stockholm, Sweden, to accept the Nobel Prlze ln Lltera
ture, thereby valldatlng a longlgnored llterary tradltlon
and openlng the way for the generatlons of black wrlt
ers who wlll follow her to contlnue relnvlgoratlng and
bulldlng upon the Afrlcan Amerlcan llterary tradltlon.
fW
Ellssa Schappell and Claudla Brodsky Lacour, 'Jonl
Morrlson. Jhe Art of Ilctlon CXXXIV," Ioris
Icvicw, l28 (Iall l993). 83-l25;
Danllle JaylorGuthrle, Covvcrsotiovs witl Tovi Morrisov
( |ackson. Lnlverslty Press of Mlsslsslppl, l991);
Claudla Drelfus, 'Chloe Wofford Jalks About Jonl
Morrlson,"`cw Jorl Timcs Mogoivc, ll September
l991, pp. 72-75;
Zla |effrey, 'Jonl Morrlson. Jhe Solov Intervlew. Solov,
2 Iebruary l998, http.//www.salon.com/books/
lnt/l998/02/cov_sl_02lnt.html`.
_~W
Curtls Martln, 'A Blbllography of Wrltlngs by Jonl
Morrlson," ln Covtcmporory Zmcricov !omcv !ritcrs:
òrrotivc Strotcgics, edlted by Catherlne Ralnwater
and Wllllam |. Schelck (Lexlngton. Lnlverslty
Press of Kentucky, l985), pp. 205-207;
Davld L. Mlddleton, Tovi Morrisov: Zv Zvvototcd ibliog-
roply (New York. Garland, l987);
Harrlet Alexander, 'Jonl Morrlson. An Annotated Blb
llography of Crltlcal Artlcles and Essays, l975-
l981," Collcgc Iovguogc Zssociotiov ourvol, 33 (Sep
tember l989). 8l-93;
WordWork. Jhe Newsletter of the Jonl Morrlson
Soclety`s Annual Perlodlcal Blbllography, 7
(Sprlng 2000).
oW
Patrlck Bryce Bjork, Tlc òvcls of Tovi Morrisov: Tlc
Scorcl for Sclf ovd Ilocc !itliv tlc Commuvity (New
York. Peter Lang, l992);
Harold Bloom, ed., Tovi Morrisov (New York. Chelsea
House, l990);
Karen Carmean, Tovi Morrisov`s !orld of Iictiov (Jroy,
N.Y.. Whltson, l993);
Douglas Century, Tovi Morrisov (New York. Chelsea
House, l991);
Katrlne Dalsgard, 'Jhe One AllBlack Jown Worth the
Paln. (Afrlcan) Amerlcan Exceptlonallsm, Hlstorl
cal Narratlon, and the Crltlque of Natlonhood ln
Jonl Morrlson`s Iorodisc," Zfricov Zmcricov Icvicw,
35, no. 2 (200l). 233-218;
|an Iurman, Tovi Morrisov`s Iictiov (Columbla. Lnlver
slty of South Carollna, l996);
Iurman, ed., Tovi Morrisov`s Sovg of Solomov: Z Coscbool
(New York. Oxford Lnlverslty Press, 2003);
Henry Louls Gates |r. and K. A. Applah, Tovi Morrisov:
Criticol Icrspcctivcs Iost ovd Ircscvt (New York. Amls
tad, l993);
Paul Gray, 'Paradlse Iound," Timc, l5l (l9 |anuary
l998). 62-68;
299
ai_ PPN q j
Wendy Hardlng and |acky Martln, Z !orld of Diffcrcvcc:
Zv Ivtcr-Culturol Study of Tovi Morrisov`s òvcls
(Westport, Conn.. Greenwood Press, l991);
Jrudler Harrls, Iictiov ovd Iolllorc: Tlc òvcls of Tovi Mor-
risov (Knoxvllle. Lnlverslty of Jennessee Press,
l99l);
Harrls, 'Jhe Worlds Jhat Jonl Morrlson Made," Ccor-
gio Icvicw, 19 (Sprlng l995). 321-330;
Denlse Helnze, Tlc Dilcmmo of 'Doublc-Covsciousvcss:
Tovi Morrisov`s òvcls (Athens. Lnlverslty of Geor
gla Press, l993);
Karla Holloway and Stephanle Dematrakopoulos, `cw
Dimcvsiovs of Spirituolity: Z irociol ovd iculturol
Icodivg of tlc òvcls of Tovi Morrisov (New York.
Greenwood Press, l987);
Lauren Lepow, 'Paradlse Lost and Iound. Duallsm
and Edenlc Myth ln Jonl Morrlson`s Tor oby,"
Covtcmporory Iitcroturc, 28. no. 3 (l987). 361-377;
Nellle Y. McKay, ed., Criticol Issoys ov Tovi Morrisov (Bos
ton. G. K. Hall, l988);
Davld L. Mlddleton, ed., Tovi Morrisov`s Iictiov (New
York. Garland, l997);
Jerry Otten, Tlc Crimc of Ivvoccvcc iv tlc Iictiov of Tovi
Morrisov (Columbla. Lnlverslty of Mlssourl Press,
l989);
Phlllp Page, Dovgcrous Irccdom: Iusiov ovd Irogmcvtotiov iv
Tovi Morrisov`s òvcls ( |ackson. Lnlverslty Press of
Mlsslsslppl, l995);
Page, 'Iurrowlng All the Brows. Interpretatlon and the
Jranscendent ln Jonl Morrlson`s Iorodisc," Zfricov
Zmcricov Icvicw, 35, no. 2 (200l). 637-650;
Llnden Peach, Tovi Morrisov (New York. St. Martln`s
Press, l995);
Nancy |. Peterson, ed., Tovi Morrisov: Criticol ovd Tlcorcti-
col Icrspcctivcs (Baltlmore. |ohns Hopklns Lnlver
slty Press, l997);
Harry Reed, 'Jonl Morrlson, Sovg of Solomov and Black
Cultural Natlonallsm," Ccvtcvviol Icvicw, 32 (Wln
ter l988). 50-61;
Barbara Hlll Rlgney, Tlc !oiccs of Tovi Morrisov (Colum
bus. Ohlo State Lnlverslty Press, l99l);
Wllfred Samuels and Clenora HudsonWeems, Tovi
Morrisov (Boston. Jwayne, l990);
Valerle Smlth, ed., `cw Issoys ov Sovg of Solomov (Cam
brldge. Cambrldge Lnlverslty Press, l995);
|ean Strouse, 'Jonl Morrlson`s Black Maglc," `cwswccl,
97 (30 March l98l). 52-57;
Phlllp M. Welnsteln, !lot Ilsc ut Iovc?: Tlc Urdcol of
Iocc iv Ioullvcr ovd Morrisov (New York. Columbla
Susan Wlllls, Spccifyivg: locl !omcv !ritivg tlc Zmcricov
Ixpcricvcc (Madlson. Lnlverslty of Wlsconsln
Press, l987);
|ohn Young, 'Jonl Morrlson, Oprah Wlnfrey, and Post
modern Popular Audlences," Zfricov Zmcricov
Icvicw, 35, no. 2 (200l). l8l-201.
NVVP k m i~
m~ p
by Irofcssor Sturc Zllcv, Icrmovcvt Sccrctory of tlc Swcdisl
Zcodcmy (Trovslotiov from tlc Swcdisl)
Gentlemen,
Jhe Nobel Prlze awarded by the Swedlsh Acad
emy ls, as we know, a llterary prlze. Jhls year lt has
been granted to Jonl Morrlson, maklng her the nlne
tleth Nobel Laureate ln Llterature.
In her volume of essays, Iloyivg iv tlc Dorl,
Mlss Morrlson lucldly plctures the lnslghts that she
has galned, as an author and a reader ln her natlve
country. 'It ls as lf I had been looklng at a flshbowl
the gllde and fllck of the golden scales, the green tlp,
the bolt of whlte careenlng back from the gllls; the
castles at the bottom, surrounded by pebbles and
tlny, lntrlcate fronds of green; the barely dlsturbed
water, the flecks of waste and food, the tranqull bub
bles travelllng to the surfaceand suddenly I saw the
bowl, the structure that transparently (and lnvlslbly)
permlts the ordered llfe lt contalns to exlst ln the
larger world." In other words, she regards the Afrl
can presence ln her country as a vltal but unartlcu
lated prerequlslte for the fulfllment of the Amerlcan
dream. Slmllarly, she sees whlteness ln llterature as
havlng blackness as lts constant companlon, the
raclal other as lts shadow.
In her deplctlons of the world of the black peo
ple, ln llfe as ln legend, Jonl Morrlson has glven the
AfroAmerlcan people thelr hlstory back, plece by
plece. In thls perspectlve, her work ls uncommonly
consonant. At the same tlme, lt ls rlchly varlegated.
Jhe reader derlves vast pleasure from her superb
narratlve technlque, shlftlng from novel to novel and
marked by orlglnal development, although lt ls
related to Iaulkner and to the Latln Amerlcan tradl
tlon. Jonl Morrlson`s novels lnvlte the reader to par
take at many levels, and at varylng degrees of
complexlty. Stlll, the most endurlng lmpresslon they
leave ls of empathy, compasslon wlth one`s fellow
human belngs.
Mllkman Dead, the protagonlst of Sovg of
Solomov, reflects one of the baslc themes of Mlss Mor
rlson`s novels, ln hls quest for self. Mllkman`s pater
300
q j ai_ PPN
nal grandfather was a llberated slave. When he was
reglsterlng hls freedom, he responded to a questlon
about hls father wlth the word 'Dead," thus acqulr
lng hls macabre surname from the drunken offlclal
who asked. Hls famlly was prepared to accept thls
name. 'It was new and would wlpe out the past.
Wlpe lt all out." Jhe Solomon whose name occurs ln
the tltle of the novel, Mllkman`s pecullar southern
forefather, was to be found even ln the song that
went wlth chlldren`s games. Jhe lntenslty of hls
lnner llfe had carrled hlm through the alr back to the
Afrlca of hls orlglns. Solomon`s rapture was ultl
mately Mllkman`s as well.
Motlfs ln space and tlme contlnue to be lnter
woven ln _. Paradoxlcally, the comblnatlon of
reallsm and folklore enhances the novel`s credlblllty.
In the world whlch the female protagonlst, Sethe,
lnhablts, one does not possess one`s own body.
Jhere ls tremendous power ln Jonl Morrlson`s
descrlptlon of Sethe`s act of releaslng her chlld,
Beloved, from the destlny she lmaglnes her faclng,
and of the consequences of thls act for her own llfe,
ln whlch Beloved`s double personlfles the burden of
Sethe`s gullt.
In her latest novel, g~I Jonl Morrlson`s
approach ls slmllar to the style ln whlch jazz ls per
formed. Jhe openlng llnes of the novel state lts
theme, the llves of a number of people ln Harlem ln
the l920s. In the course of the novel we percelve a
flrstperson narrator, varylng, supplementlng and
lntenslfylng the story. Jhe flnal plcture ls a hlghly
composlte lmage of events, characters and atmo
spheres, medlated ln sensual language wlth a deep
lnherent sense of muslcallty. Jonl Morrlson`s way of
addresslng her reader has a compelllng lustre, ln a
poetlc dlrectlon.
When she was very young, her famlly`s land
lord set flre to the house ln whlch they llved when
her parents fell behlnd wlth the rent. And whlle they
were ln lt. Her famlly reacted to thls absurd form of
crudeness, monumental crudeness, not wlth reslgna
tlon but wlth laughter. Jhls, says Jonl Morrlson, ls
how you can dlstance yourself from the act and take
your llfe back. You take your lntegrlty back.
In great mlnds, gravlty and humour are close
nelghbours. Jhls ls reflected ln everythlng Jonl Mor
rlson has wrltten, and evldenced ln her own sum
mary. 'My project rlses from dellght, not
dlsappolntment."
Dear Mlss Morrlson,
I have just told the audlence that, ln your own
words, your project rlses from dellght, not dlsappolnt
ment. As you dlsclose fundamental aspects of hldden
reallty, you make gravlty and humour ablde slde by
slde ln your remarkable work, wlth lts verbal muslc. It
ls my prlvllege and pleasure, on behalf of the Swedlsh
Academy, to convey to you our warmest congratula
tlons on the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature for l993, and to
lnvlte you to recelve the Prlze from the hands of Hls
Majesty the Klng.
jW _~ p
j ~ k _~I NM a NVVPW
Gentlemen,
I entered thls hall pleasantly haunted by those
who have entered lt before me. Jhat company of Lau
reates ls both dauntlng and welcomlng, for among lts
llsts are names of persons whose work has made whole
worlds avallable to me. Jhe sweep and speclflclty of
thelr art have sometlmes broken my heart wlth the
courage and clarlty of lts vlslon. Jhe astonlshlng brll
llance wlth whlch they practlced thelr craft has chal
lenged and nurtured my own. My debt to them rlvals
the profound one I owe to the Swedlsh Academy for
havlng selected me to joln that dlstlngulshed alumnae.
Early ln October an artlst frlend left a message
whlch I kept on the answerlng servlce for weeks and
played back every once ln a whlle just to hear the trem
bllng pleasure ln her volce and the falth ln her words.
'My dear slster," she sald, 'the prlze that ls yours ls also
ours and could not have been placed ln better hands."
Jhe splrlt of her message wlth lts earned optlmlsm and
subllme trust marks thls day for me.
I wlll leave thls hall, however, wlth a new and
much more dellghtful hauntlng than the one I felt upon
enterlng. that ls the company of Laureates yet to come.
Jhose who, even as I speak, are mlnlng, slftlng and pol
lshlng languages for lllumlnatlons none of us has
dreamed of. But whether or not any one of them
secures a place ln thls pantheon, the gatherlng of these
wrlters ls unmlstakable and mountlng. Jhelr volces
bespeak clvlllzatlons gone and yet to be; the preclplce
from whlch thelr lmaglnatlons gaze wlll rlvet us; they
do not bllnk nor turn away.
It ls, therefore, mlndful of the glfts of my prede
cessors, the blesslng of my slsters, ln joyful antlclpatlon
of wrlters to come that I accept the honour the Swedlsh
30l
ai_ PPN q j
Academy has done me, and ask you to share what ls for
me a moment of grace.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l993. Jonl Morrlson ls the
sole author of her speech.|
m o~W q k m
i~ NVVP
from tlc Ufficc of tlc Icrmovcvt Sccrctory of tlc Swcdisl
Zcodcmy, 7 Uctobcr 199J
Jonl Morrlson
'wlo, iv vovcls cloroctcricd by visiovory forcc ovd poctic import,
givcs lifc to ov csscvtiol ospcct of Zmcricov rcolity
'My work requlres me to thlnk about how free I
can be as an AfrlcanAmerlcan woman wrlter ln my
genderlzed, sexuallzed, wholly raclallzed world." Jhese
are the words of thls year`s Nobel Laureate ln Lltera
ture, the Amerlcan wrlter Jonl Morrlson, ln her book
of essays Iloyivg iv tlc Dorl: !litcvcss ovd tlc Iitcrory
Imogivotiov (l992). And she adds, 'My project rlses from
dellght, not dlsappolntment. . . ."
Jonl Morrlson ls 62 years old, and was born ln
Loraln, Ohlo, ln the Lnlted States. Her works comprlse
novels and essays. In her academlc career she ls a pro
fessor ln the humanltles at the Lnlverslty of Prlnceton,
New |ersey.
She has wrltten slx novels, each of them of great
lnterest. Her oeuvre ls unusually flnely wrought and
coheslve, yet at the same tlme rlch ln varlatlon. One can
dellght ln her unlque narratlve technlque, varylng from
book to book and developed lndependently, even
though lts roots stem from Iaulkner and Amerlcan wrlt
ers from further south. Jhe lastlng lmpresslon ls never
theless sympathy, humanlty, of the klnd whlch ls always
based on profound humour.
Sovg of Solomov (l977) wlth lts descrlptlon of the
black world ln llfe and legend, forms an excellent lntro
ductlon to the work of Jonl Morrlson. Mllkman Dead`s
quest for hls real self and lts source reflects a baslc
theme ln the novels. Jhe Solomon of the tltle, the
southern ancestor, was to be found ln the songs of
chlldhood games. Hls lnner lntenslty had borne hlm
back, llke Icarus, through the alr to the Afrlca of hls
roots. Jhls lnslght flnally becomes Mllkman`s too.
clovcd (l987) contlnues to wlden the themes and
to weave together the places and tlmes ln the network
of motlfs. Jhe comblnatlon of reallstlc notatlon and
folklore paradoxlcally lntenslfles the credlblllty. Jhere
ls enormous power ln the deplctlon of Sethe`s actlon to
llberate her chlld from the llfe she envlsages for lt, and
the consequences of thls actlon for Sethe`s own llfe.
In her latest novel o (l992), Jonl Morrlson
uses a devlce whlch ls akln to the way jazz ltself ls
played. Jhe book`s flrst llnes provlde a synopsls, and ln
readlng the novel one becomes aware of a narrator who
varles, embelllshes and lntenslfles. Jhe result ls a rlchly
complex, sensuously conveyed lmage of the events, the
characters and moods.
As the motlvatlon for the award lmplles, Jonl
Morrlson ls a llterary artlst of the flrst rank. She delves
lnto the language ltself, a language she wants to llberate
from the fetters of race. And she addresses us wlth the
lustre of poetry.
302
jW k iI T a NVVP
'Once upon a tlme there was an old woman.
Bllnd but wlse." Or was lt an old man? A guru, per
haps. Or a grlot soothlng restless chlldren. I have heard
thls story, or one exactly llke lt, ln the lore of several
cultures.
'Once upon a tlme there was an old woman.
Bllnd. Wlse."
In the verslon I know the woman ls the daughter
of slaves, black, Amerlcan, and llves alone ln a small
house outslde of town. Her reputatlon for wlsdom ls
wlthout peer and wlthout questlon. Among her people
she ls both the law and lts transgresslon. Jhe honor she
ls pald and the awe ln whlch she ls held reach beyond
her nelghborhood to places far away; to the clty where
the lntelllgence of rural prophets ls the source of much
amusement.
One day the woman ls vlslted by some young
people who seem to be bent on dlsprovlng her clalrvoy
ance and showlng her up for the fraud they belleve she
ls. Jhelr plan ls slmple. they enter her house and ask
the one questlon the answer to whlch rldes solely on
her dlfference from them, a dlfference they regard as a
profound dlsablllty. her bllndness. Jhey stand before
her, and one of them says, 'Old woman, I hold ln my
hand a blrd. Jell me whether lt ls llvlng or dead."
She does not answer, and the questlon ls repeated.
'Is the blrd I am holdlng llvlng or dead?"
Stlll she doesn`t answer. She ls bllnd and cannot
see her vlsltors, let alone what ls ln thelr hands. She
does not know thelr color, gender or homeland. She
only knows thelr motlve.
Jhe old woman`s sllence ls so long, the young
people have trouble holdlng thelr laughter.
Ilnally she speaks and her volce ls soft but stern.
'I don`t know," she says. 'I don`t know whether the
blrd you are holdlng ls dead or allve, but what I do
know ls that lt ls ln your hands. It ls ln your hands."
Her answer can be taken to mean. lf lt ls dead,
you have elther found lt that way or you have kllled lt.
If lt ls allve, you can stlll klll lt. Whether lt ls to stay
allve, lt ls your declslon. Whatever the case, lt ls your
responslblllty.
Ior paradlng thelr power and her helplessness,
the young vlsltors are reprlmanded, told they are
responslble not only for the act of mockery but also for
the small bundle of llfe sacrlflced to achleve lts alms.
Jhe bllnd woman shlfts attentlon away from assertlons
of power to the lnstrument through whlch that power ls
exerclsed.
Speculatlon on what (other than lts own frall
body) that blrdlnthehand mlght slgnlfy has always
been attractlve to me, but especlally so now thlnklng, as
I have been, about the work I do that has brought me to
thls company. So I choose to read the blrd as language
and the woman as a practlced wrlter. She ls worrled
about how the language she dreams ln, glven to her at
blrth, ls handled, put lnto servlce, even wlthheld from
her for certaln nefarlous purposes. Belng a wrlter she
thlnks of language partly as a system, partly as a llvlng
thlng over whlch one has control, but mostly as
agencyas an act wlth consequences. So the questlon
the chlldren put to her. 'Is lt llvlng or dead?" ls not
unreal because she thlnks of language as susceptlble to
death, erasure; certalnly lmperlled and salvageable only
by an effort of the wlll. She belleves that lf the blrd ln
the hands of her vlsltors ls dead the custodlans are
responslble for the corpse. Ior her a dead language ls
not only one no longer spoken or wrltten, lt ls unyleld
lng language content to admlre lts own paralysls. Llke
statlst language, censored and censorlng. Ruthless ln lts
pollclng dutles, lt has no deslre or purpose other than
malntalnlng the free range of lts own narcotlc narcls
slsm, lts own excluslvlty and domlnance. However
morlbund, lt ls not wlthout effect for lt actlvely thwarts
the lntellect, stalls consclence, suppresses human poten
tlal. Lnreceptlve to lnterrogatlon, lt cannot form or tol
erate new ldeas, shape other thoughts, tell another
story, flll baffllng sllences. Offlclal language smltheryed
to sanctlon lgnorance and preserve prlvllege ls a sult of
armor pollshed to shocklng glltter, a husk from whlch
the knlght departed long ago. Yet there lt ls. dumb,
predatory, sentlmental. Excltlng reverence ln schoolchll
dren, provldlng shelter for despots, summonlng false
memorles of stablllty, harmony among the publlc.
She ls convlnced that when language dles, out of
carelessness, dlsuse, lndlfference and absence of esteem,
or kllled by flat, not only she herself, but all users and
makers are accountable for lts demlse. In her country
303
ai_ PPN jW k iI T a NVVP
chlldren have bltten thelr tongues off and use bullets
lnstead to lterate the volce of speechlessness, of dlsabled
and dlsabllng language, of language adults have aban
doned altogether as a devlce for grappllng wlth mean
lng, provldlng guldance, or expresslng love. But she
knows tonguesulclde ls not only the cholce of chlldren.
It ls common among the lnfantlle heads of state and
power merchants whose evacuated language leaves
them wlth no access to what ls left of thelr human
lnstlncts for they speak only to those who obey, or ln
order to force obedlence.
Jhe systematlc lootlng of language can be recog
nlzed by the tendency of lts users to forgo lts nuanced,
complex, mldwlfery propertles for menace and subju
gatlon. Oppresslve language does more than represent
vlolence; lt ls vlolence; does more than represent the
llmlts of knowledge; lt llmlts knowledge. Whether lt ls
obscurlng state language or the fauxlanguage of mlnd
less medla; whether lt ls the proud but calclfled lan
guage of the academy or the commodlty drlven
language of sclence; whether lt ls the mallgn language
of lawwlthoutethlcs, or language deslgned for the
estrangement of mlnorltles, hldlng lts raclst plunder ln
lts llterary cheeklt must be rejected, altered and
exposed. It ls the language that drlnks blood, laps vul
nerabllltles, tucks lts fasclst boots under crlnollnes of
respectablllty and patrlotlsm as lt moves relentlessly
toward the bottom llne and the bottomedout mlnd.
Sexlst language, raclst language, thelstlc languageall
are typlcal of the pollclng languages of mastery, and
cannot, do not permlt new knowledge or encourage the
mutual exchange of ldeas.
Jhe old woman ls keenly aware that no lntellec
tual mercenary, nor lnsatlable dlctator, no paldfor poll
tlclan or demagogue; no counterfelt journallst would be
persuaded by her thoughts. Jhere ls and wlll be rouslng
language to keep cltlzens armed and armlng; slaugh
tered and slaughterlng ln the malls, courthouses, post
offlces, playgrounds, bedrooms and boulevards; stlr
rlng, memorlallzlng language to mask the plty and
waste of needless death. Jhere wlll be more dlplomatlc
language to countenance rape, torture, assasslnatlon.
Jhere ls and wlll be more seductlve, mutant language
deslgned to throttle women, to pack thelr throats llke
patproduclng geese wlth thelr own unsayable, trans
gresslve words; there wlll be more of the language of
survelllance dlsgulsed as research; of polltlcs and hls
tory calculated to render the sufferlng of mllllons mute;
language glamorlzed to thrlll the dlssatlsfled and bereft
lnto assaultlng thelr nelghbors; arrogant pseudoemplrlcal
language crafted to lock creatlve people lnto cages of
lnferlorlty and hopelessness.
Lnderneath the eloquence, the glamor, the schol
arly assoclatlons, however stlrrlng or seductlve, the
heart of such language ls langulshlng, or perhaps not
beatlng at alllf the blrd ls already dead.
She has thought about what could have been the
lntellectual hlstory of any dlsclpllne lf lt had not lnslsted
upon, or been forced lnto, the waste of tlme and llfe
that ratlonallzatlons for and representatlons of doml
nance requlredlethal dlscourses of excluslon blocklng
access to cognltlon for both the excluder and the
excluded.
Jhe conventlonal wlsdom of the Jower of Babel
story ls that the collapse was a mlsfortune. Jhat lt was
the dlstractlon, or the welght of many languages that
preclpltated the tower`s falled archltecture. Jhat one
monollthlc language would have expedlted the bulldlng
and heaven would have been reached. Whose heaven,
she wonders? And what klnd? Perhaps the achlevement
of Paradlse was premature, a llttle hasty lf no one could
take the tlme to understand other languages, other
vlews, other narratlves perlod. Had they, the heaven
they lmaglned mlght have been found at thelr feet.
Compllcated, demandlng, yes, but a vlew of heaven as
llfe; not heaven as postllfe.
She would not want to leave her young vlsltors
wlth the lmpresslon that language should be forced to
stay allve merely to be. Jhe vltallty of language lles ln
lts ablllty to llmn the actual, lmaglned and posslble llves
of lts speakers, readers, wrlters. Although lts polse ls
sometlmes ln dlsplaclng experlence lt ls not a substltute
for lt. It arcs toward the place where meanlng may lle.
When a Presldent of the Lnlted States thought about
the graveyard hls country had become, and sald, 'Jhe
world wlll llttle note nor long remember what we say
here. But lt wlll never forget what they dld here," hls
slmple words are exhllaratlng ln thelr llfesustalnlng
propertles because they refused to encapsulate the real
lty of 600,000 dead men ln a cataclysmlc race war.
Refuslng to monumentallze, dlsdalnlng the 'flnal
word," the preclse 'summlng up," acknowledglng thelr
'poor power to add or detract," hls words slgnal defer
ence to the uncapturablllty of the llfe lt mourns. It ls the
deference that moves her, that recognltlon that language
can never llve up to llfe once and for all. Nor should lt.
Language can never 'pln down" slavery, genoclde, war.
Nor should lt yearn for the arrogance to be able to do
so. Its force, lts fellclty ls ln lts reach toward the lneffa
ble.
Be lt grand or slender, burrowlng, blastlng, or
refuslng to sanctlfy; whether lt laughs out loud or ls a
cry wlthout an alphabet, the cholce word, the chosen
sllence, unmolested language surges toward knowledge,
not lts destructlon. But who does not know of llterature
banned because lt ls lnterrogatlve; dlscredlted because
lt ls crltlcal; erased because alternate? And how many
are outraged by the thought of a selfravaged tongue?
301
jW k iI T a NVVP ai_ PPN
Wordwork ls subllme, she thlnks, because lt ls
generatlve; lt makes meanlng that secures our dlffer
ence, our human dlfferencethe way ln whlch we are
llke no other llfe.
We dle. Jhat may be the meanlng of llfe. But we
do language. Jhat may be the measure of our llves.
'Once upon a tlme, . . ." vlsltors ask an old
woman a questlon. Who are they, these chlldren? What
dld they make of that encounter? What dld they hear
ln those flnal words. 'Jhe blrd ls ln your hands"? A
sentence that gestures towards posslblllty or one that
drops a latch? Perhaps what the chlldren heard was 'It`s
not my problem. I am old, female, black, bllnd. What
wlsdom I have now ls ln knowlng I cannot help you.
Jhe future of language ls yours."
Jhey stand there. Suppose nothlng was ln thelr
hands? Suppose the vlslt was only a ruse, a trlck to get
to be spoken to, taken serlously as they have not been
before? A chance to lnterrupt, to vlolate the adult
world, lts mlasma of dlscourse about them, for them,
but never to them? Lrgent questlons are at stake,
lncludlng the one they have asked. 'Is the blrd we hold
llvlng or dead?" Perhaps the questlon meant. 'Could
someone tell us what ls llfe? What ls death?" No trlck at
all; no sllllness. A stralghtforward questlon worthy of
the attentlon of a wlse one. An old one. And lf the old
and wlse who have llved llfe and faced death cannot
descrlbe elther, who can?
But she does not; she keeps her secret; her good
oplnlon of herself; her gnomlc pronouncements; her art
wlthout commltment. She keeps her dlstance, enforces
lt and retreats lnto the slngularlty of lsolatlon, ln sophls
tlcated, prlvlleged space.
Nothlng, no word follows her declaratlon of
transfer. Jhat sllence ls deep, deeper than the meanlng
avallable ln the words she has spoken. It shlvers, thls
sllence, and the chlldren, annoyed, flll lt wlth language
lnvented on the spot.
'Is there no speech," they ask her, 'no words you
can glve us that helps us break through your dossler of
fallures? Jhrough the educatlon you have just glven us
that ls no educatlon at all because we are paylng close
attentlon to what you have done as well as to what you
have sald? Jo the barrler you have erected between
generoslty and wlsdom?
'We have no blrd ln our hands, llvlng or dead.
We have only you and our lmportant questlon. Is the
nothlng ln our hands somethlng you could not bear to
contemplate, to even guess? Don`t you remember belng
young when language was maglc wlthout meanlng?
When what you could say, could not mean? When the
lnvlslble was what lmaglnatlon strove to see? When
questlons and demands for answers burned so brlghtly
you trembled wlth fury at not knowlng?
'Do we have to begln consclousness wlth a battle
herolnes and heroes llke you have already fought and
lost leavlng us wlth nothlng ln our hands except what
you have lmaglned ls there? Your answer ls artful, but
lts artfulness embarrasses us and ought to embarrass
you. Your answer ls lndecent ln lts selfcongratulatlon.
A madefortelevlslon scrlpt that makes no sense lf there
ls nothlng ln our hands.
'Why dldn`t you reach out, touch us wlth your
soft flngers, delay the sound blte, the lesson, untll you
knew who we were? Dld you so desplse our trlck, our
modus operandl you could not see that we were baffled
about how to get your attentlon? We are young.
Lnrlpe. We have heard all our short llves that we have
to be responslble. What could that posslbly mean ln the
catastrophe thls world has become; where, as a poet
sald, 'nothlng needs to be exposed slnce lt ls already
barefaced." Our lnherltance ls an affront. You want us
to have your old, blank eyes and see only cruelty and
medlocrlty. Do you thlnk we are stupld enough to per
jure ourselves agaln and agaln wlth the flctlon of
natlonhood? How dare you talk to us of duty when we
stand walst deep ln the toxln of your past?
'You trlvlallze us and trlvlallze the blrd that ls not
ln our hands. Is there no context for our llves? No
song, no llterature, no poem full of vltamlns, no hlstory
connected to experlence that you can pass along to help
us start strong? You are an adult. Jhe old one, the wlse
one. Stop thlnklng about savlng your face. Jhlnk of our
llves and tell us your partlcularlzed world. Make up a
story. Narratlve ls radlcal, creatlng us at the very
moment lt ls belng created. We wlll not blame you lf
your reach exceeds your grasp; lf love so lgnltes your
words they go down ln flames and nothlng ls left but
thelr scald. Or lf, wlth the retlcence of a surgeon`s
hands, your words suture only the places where blood
mlght flow. We know you can never do lt properly
once and for all. Passlon ls never enough; nelther ls
sklll. But try. Ior our sake and yours forget your name
ln the street; tell us what the world has been to you ln
the dark places and ln the llght. Don`t tell us what to
belleve, what to fear. Show us bellef`s wlde sklrt and the
stltch that unravels fear`s caul. You, old woman, blessed
wlth bllndness, can speak the language that tells us
what only language can. how to see wlthout plctures.
Language alone protects us from the scarlness of thlngs
wlth no names. Language alone ls medltatlon.
'Jell us what lt ls to be a woman so that we may
know what lt ls to be a man. What moves at the mar
gln. What lt ls to have no home ln thls place. Jo be set
adrlft from the one you knew. What lt ls to llve at the
edge of towns that cannot bear your company.
'Jell us about shlps turned away from shorellnes
at Easter, placenta ln a fleld. Jell us about a wagonload
305
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of slaves, how they sang so softly thelr breath was lndls
tlngulshable from the falllng snow. How they knew
from the hunch of the nearest shoulder that the next
stop would be thelr last. How, wlth hands prayered ln
thelr sex, they thought of heat, then sun. Llftlng thelr
faces as though lt was there for the taklng. Jurnlng as
though there for the taklng. Jhey stop at an lnn. Jhe
drlver and hls mate go ln wlth the lamp leavlng them
hummlng ln the dark. Jhe horse`s vold steams lnto the
snow beneath lts hooves and lts hlss and melt are the
envy of the freezlng slaves.
'Jhe lnn door opens. a glrl and a boy step away
from lts llght. Jhey cllmb lnto the wagon bed. Jhe boy
wlll have a gun ln three years, but now he carrles a
lamp and a jug of warm clder. Jhey pass lt from mouth
to mouth. Jhe glrl offers bread, pleces of meat and
somethlng more. a glance lnto the eyes of the one she
serves. One helplng for each man, two for each woman.
And a look. Jhey look back. Jhe next stop wlll be thelr
last. But not thls one. Jhls one ls warmed."
It`s qulet agaln when the chlldren flnlsh speaklng,
untll the woman breaks lnto the sllence.
'Ilnally," she says, 'I trust you now. I trust you
wlth the blrd that ls not ln your hands because you
have truly caught lt. Look. How lovely lt ls, thls thlng
we have donetogether."
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l993. Jonl Morrlson ls the
306
sK pK k~~
(17 Zugust 19J2 - )
k~ _
`cw Sclool Uvivcrsity
See also the Nalpaul entrles ln DI 12: Twcvtictl-Ccvtury
Coribbcov ovd locl Zfricov !ritcrs, Sccovd Scrics; DI
204: ritisl Trovcl !ritcrs, 1940-1997; DI 207: ritisl
òvclists Sivcc 1960, Tlird Scrics; DI J26: oolcr Iric
òvcls, 1969-200; DI Jcorbool: 19S; and DI Jcor-
bool: 2001.
BOOKS. Tlc Mystic Mosscur (London. Deutsch, l957;
New York. Vanguard, l959);
Tlc Suffrogc of Ilviro (London. Deutsch, l958);
Migucl Strcct (London. Deutsch, l959; New York. Van
guard, l960);
Z Housc for Mr. iswos (London. Deutsch, l96l; New
York. McGrawHlll, l96l); republlshed wlth a
foreword by Nalpaul (New York. Knopf, l983;
London. Deutsch, l981);
Tlc Middlc Iossogc: Imprcssiovs of Iivc Socicticsritisl,
Ircvcl, ovd Dutcliv tlc !cst Ivdics ovd Soutl Zmcrico
(London. Deutsch, l962; New York. Macmlllan,
l963);
Mr. Stovc ovd tlc Iviglts Compoviov (London. Deutsch,
l963; New York. Macmlllan, l961);
Zv Zrco of Dorlvcss (London. Deutsch, l961; New York.
Macmlllan, l965);
Z Ilog ov tlc Islovd (London. Deutsch, l967; New York.
Macmlllan, l967);
Tlc Mimic Mcv (London. Deutsch, l967; New York.
Macmlllan, l967);
Tlc Ioss of Il Dorodo: Z History (London. Deutsch, l969;
New York. Knopf, l970; revlsed edltlon, Har
mondsworth, L.K.. Penguln, l973); revlsed as
Tlc Ioss of Il Dorodo: Z Coloviol History (London.
Plcador, 200l);
Iv o Ircc Stotc (London. Deutsch, l97l; New York.
Knopf, l97l);
Tlc Uvcrcrowdcd orrocoov ovd Utlcr Zrticlcs (London.
Deutsch, l972; New York. Knopf, l973);
Cucrrillos (London. Deutsch, l975; New York. Knopf,
l975);
Ivdio: Z !ouvdcd Civiliotiov (London. Deutsch, l977;
New York. Knopf, l977);
Tlc Icrfcct Tcvovts; ovd, Tlc Mourvcrs, edlted by Irancls
Curtls (Cambrldge. Cambrldge Lnlverslty Press,
l977);
Z cvd iv tlc Iivcr (London. Deutsch, l979; New York.
Knopf, l979);
Tlc Icturv of Ivo Icrov; witl Tlc Iillivgs iv Trividod (Lon
don. Deutsch, l980; New York. Knopf, l980);
Z Covgo Diory (Los Angeles. Sylvester Orphanos,
l980);
Zmovg tlc clicvcrs: Zv Islomic ourvcy (London. Deutsch,
l98l; New York. Knopf, l98l);
Tlrcc òvcls (New York. Knopf, l982)comprlses Tlc
Mystic Mosscur, Tlc Suffrogc of Ilviro, and Migucl
Strcct;
sK pK k~~ ~ I k~~ k~~I ~ ~
OMMN k m i~
E^m mLm _Lg~ bLmlliF
307
ai_ PPN sK pK k~~
Iivdivg tlc Ccvtrc (London. Deutsch, l981); publlshed as
Iivdivg tlc Ccvtcr: Two òrrotivcs (New York.
Knopf, l981);
Tlc Ivigmo of Zrrivol: Z òvcl iv Iivc Scctiovs (London.
Vlklng, l987; New York. Knopf, l987);
Z Turv iv tlc Soutl (London. Vlklng, l989; New York.
Knopf, l989);
Ivdio: Z Milliov Mutivics òw (London. Helnemann,
l990; New York. Vlklng, l99l);
Z !oy iv tlc !orld: Z Scqucvcc (London. Helnemann,
l991); publlshed as Z !oy iv tlc !orld: Z òvcl
omboy: Cotcwoy of Ivdio, photographs by Raghublr
Slngh, conversatlon wlth Nalpaul (New York.
Aperture, l991);
cyovd clicf: Islomic Ixcursiovs omovg tlc Covvcrtcd Icoplcs
(London. Llttle, Brown, l998; New York. Ran
dom House, l998);
Icodivg c !ritivg: Z Icrsovol Zccouvt (New York. New
York Revlew of Books, 2000);
Holf o Iifc (London. Plcador, 200l; New York. Knopf,
200l);
Tlc !ritcr ovd tlc !orld: Issoys, edlted by Pankaj Mlshra
(London. Plcador, 2002; New York. Knopf,
2002);
Tlc ìgltwotclmov`s Uccurrcvcc ool ovd Utlcr Comic Ivvcv-
tiovs (London. Plcador, 2002; New York. Vlntage,
2002)comprlses Tlc Suffrogc Uf Ilviro, Mr. Stovc
ovd tlc Iviglts Compoviov, and Z Ilog ov tlc Islovd;
Two !orlds: òbcl Iccturc, Dcccmbcr 7, 2001 (London.
Rees O`Nelll, 2002);
Iitcrory Uccosiovs, edlted by Mlshra (London. Plcador,
2003; New York, Knopf, 2003);
Mogic Sccds (London. Plcador, 2001; New York. Knopf,
2001).
`W !ivtogc òipoul (New York. Vlntage, 2001).
OJHER. Seepersad Nalpaul, Tlc Zdvcvturcs Uf
Curudcvo, ovd Utlcr Storics, lntroductlon by
Nalpaul (London. Deutsch, l976).
LNCOLLECJED. 'Llza of Lambeth," _uccv`s Ioyol
Collcgc Clroviclc (Port of Spaln), 23 (l918). 12-13;
'Seven Ages of Humour. Young Men Iorget," Iuvcl,
231 (l958). 731-736;
'Crltlcs and Crltlclsm," im, l0 (l961). 71-77;
'Jehran Wlnter," `cw Jorl Icvicw of ools, 28 (8 Octo
ber l98l). 22-27;
'Reflectlons of a Reluctant Gardener," Housc ovd Cor-
dcv, l58 (l986). ll8-ll9;
'Some Jhoughts on Belng a Wrlter," Clroviclcs: Z Mogo-
ivc of Zmcricov Culturc, ll, no. 5 (l987). l3-l5;
'Acceptance Speech of the Ilrst Davld Cohen Brltlsh
Llterature Prlze," Iovdov Timcs, l6 March l993;
'Jo a Young Wrlter," `cw Jorlcr, 7l (26 |une-3 |uly
l995). l11-l53;
'Suckers," `cw Jorlcr, 80 (7 |une 2001). 76-85.
V. S. Nalpaul, wlnner of the Nobel Prlze ln Lltera
ture ln 200l, achleved hls llterary standlng ln a strlk
lngly orlglnal way. Hls subjectthe experlence of those
whose llves take them to and from the former colonlal
natlons of Asla, Afrlca, and the Amerlcasls one now
lndellbly assoclated wlth hlm. But lt was not a subject at
all assoclated wlth accepted models of llterary produc
tlon when Nalpaul began hls career. Before Nalpaul,
few people ln New York or London even knew that
there was an Aslan Indlan communlty on the Carlb
bean lsland of Jrlnldad, much less that lt would pro
duce a worldfamous wrlter who would encourage
readers worldwlde to see reflectlons of thelr own llves
ln hls subjects. Desplte hls often sardonlc reallsm, there
ls, ln what |ohn C. Hawley ln the Ivcyclopcdio of Iost-
coloviol Studics (200l) called hls 'appreclatlve portralts of
the man ln the street," a compasslon for the vulnerable
people who are so often hls subjects. As Iawzla Mustafa
has noted, Nalpaul has been pralsed for the 'lntegrlty
and lucldlty" of hls perspectlve.
Vldladhar Surajprasad Nalpaul was born ln the
small rural town of Chaguanas, Jrlnldad, on l7 August
l932. He was the thlrdgeneratlon descendant of Indlan
laborers who had gone to Jrlnldad as lndentured servants,
as many Indlans dld between l880 and the l930s to work
as laborers, often on sugar, tea, and rubber plantatlons ln
the Carlbbean, South Afrlca, eastern Afrlca, Maurltlus,
and Iljl. Hls mother, Droapatle Caplldeo, belonged to a
promlnent local clan who stlll malntaln a noted place ln
Jrlnldadlan soclety. But hls father, Seepersad Nalpaul, dld
not flt easlly lnto the Caplldeo clan, who tended to sllght
hls lnterest ln becomlng a successful wrlter. (Nalpaul later
flctlonallzed thls sltuatlon ln hls l96l novel, Z Housc Ior
Mr. iswos.) Jhough the senlor Nalpaul descended from a
hlghcaste Brahmln Indlan famlly, thls dlstlnctlon counted
for llttle ln Jrlnldad, whlch preserved the rellglous tradl
tlons of the homeland among the Indlan communlty whlle
qulckly becomlng more egalltarlan wlth regards to caste.
Nalpaul had an elder slster, Satl (whose son, Nell Blssoon
dath, became a successful author ln Canada), and a
younger brother, Shlva, who became a travel wrlter, as
well as three other slsters, Kamla, Nlrl, and Nallnl, the last
of whom was born ln l952, when Nalpaul was twenty.
Nalpaul spent most of hls chlldhood ln Jrlnldad`s capltal,
Port of Spaln, where he attended the Jranqulllty Boys`
School from l938 to l913 and then won an exhlbltlon
scholarshlp to _ueen`s Royal College, a promlnent local
secondary school.
308
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Havlng recelved a Jrlnldad government scholar
shlp, Nalpaul matrlculated at Oxford Lnlverslty (Lnl
verslty College) ln l950. Desplte meetlng Patrlcla Hale,
a polltlcal sclence student whom he marrled on l0 |anu
ary l955, Nalpaul was unhappy at Oxford. At one
polnt, he later related to Maya |aggl, he consldered
commlttlng sulclde, not dolng so only because the gas
meter ln hls rooms had run too low for hlm to klll hlm
self by turnlng on the gas. Nalpaul was depressed by
the dlstance from hls home and by the burden placed
on hlm to fulflll the llterary ambltlons of hls father, who
dled whlle Nalpaul was at Oxford. In addltlon, Nalpaul
found hls undergraduate course of study (the standard
Engllsh llterature syllabus lncludlng Geoffrey Chaucer,
Edmund Spenser, and |ohn Mllton) unlnsplrlng and
unhelpful for the llterary career he was already plan
nlng. Nalpaul recelved a secondclass degree from
Oxford ln l951.
Nalpaul had wrltten a novel as early as l950, but he
dld not conslder lt worthy of belng submltted for publlca
tlon. Hls flrst publlshed work was q j j~
(l957). Jhls novel, narrated ln both the flrst and the thlrd
person, concerns a Hlndu pundlt ln Jrlnldad, Ganesh
Ramsumalr. After dlsllklng a mundane teachlng job ln hls
twentles, Ganesh becomes flrst a masseur and then, more
successfully, a mystlc. Jhe phrase 'Mystlc Masseur" ls a
seemlngly oxymoronlc comblnatlon, slnce a mystlc deals
wlth the soul whlle a masseur deals wlth the body. Yet,
'Jhe Mystlc Masseur" becomes Ganesh`s ldentlfylng
sobrlquet as he becomes famous throughout the Jrlnldad
Indlan communlty and ls urged to run for polltlcal offlce.
Once encouraged by the shlfty Ramlogan to marry hls
daughter, Leela, Ganesh excltes Ramlogan`s scorn (at one
polnt Ramlogan calls hls sonlnlaw 'Llttle PlssOnJall
boy") after he putters about fltfully as a wrlter of unread
pamphlets, but then becomes the great favorlte of hls
fatherlnlaw after hls success as a pundlt means he can
support Leela ln style. In the Hlndu world of Jrlnldad, a
certaln amount of chlcanery ls acceptable on the part of a
mystlc, and Ganesh soon generates a good deal of publlc
lty through hls pamphlets, whlch are underwrltten by the
money he gets from belng a pundlt. Ganesh becomes the
bestknown Indlan on the lsland and ls eventually elected
to the Leglslatlve Councll, whlch ls elected by natlve Jrln
ldadlans even though the lsland ls stlll under a Brltlsh colo
nlal governor. However, the Hlndus are not the majorlty
ln Jrlnldad, and Ganesh has to bargaln wlth whltes and
people of Afrlcan descent to get anythlng done. Iurther
more, hls presence ln the capltal lsolates hlm from hls own
people. Eventually, he becomes coopted by the establlsh
ment, ls not reelected, and ls only kept ln government by
belng appolnted to the Executlve Councll by the colonlal
reglme.
Jhe endlng of thls novel ls one of the bestknown
eplsodes ln Nalpaul`s flctlon. Jhe narrator, now grown
up and attendlng unlverslty ln England, ls asslgned to
escort a 'statesman" from hls homeland. Jhe young
man flnds lt ls none other than Ganesh, who ls now
styllng hlmself 'G. Ramsay Mulr." Jhls name ls not
just a Europeansoundlng one but a Scottlsh one, and
Nalpaul`s joke here ls double. Not only has the pundlt
attempted to cover hls Indlan orlglns, but he has taken
a Scottlsh name that, though European, would stlll have
a sllght 'ethnlc" connotatlon ln metropolltan England,
though one of unlmpeachable respectablllty. But the
humor the reader derlves from thls name ls more than
counterbalanced by the brutallty of G. Ramsay Mulr`s
dlsmlssal of the student. G. Ramsay Mulr coldly wards
off the student, partlally to dlstance hlmself from hls
past, partlally because the compromlses the pundlt has
made have endowed hlm wlth a klnd of prlmal paln
that buckles from any demands made by actual human
relatlonshlps. He has achleved success wlthln the sys
tem; but ln dolng so he has boxed hlmself lnto a corner.
Jhough q j j~ dld not sell spectacu
larly, lt was well recelved, and Nalpaul became accepted
lnto the Engllsh llterary scene. He was asked to wrlte
revlews for promlnent perlodlcals such as q k
p~~ and m and to partlclpate ln varlous cultural
broadcasts and symposla. He made frlends wlth such
Brltlsh authors as Anthony Powell, who partlally mod
eled the character of Delavacquerle ln hls ^ a~
j q (l95l-l975) on Nalpaul. q j j~
was favorably revlewed ln London, belng descrlbed ln
q a~ q~ (23 May l957) as full of 'home
grown rumbustlousness." Jhe novel recelved the l958
|ohn Llewellyn Rhys Prlze.
Nalpaul`s next novel, q p~ b~ (l958),
concerns a contested polltlcal electlon. Jhe nelghbor
hood of Elvlra ln Jrlnldad, a natlon just emerglng from
colonlallsm, faces a cholce, ln the vote for thelr member
of the Leglslatlve Councll, between Preacher Jhomas,
a black man, and Surujpat 'Pat" Harbans, an East
Indlan. Wlth Elvlra`s mlx of people of Afrlcan descent,
people of Hlspanlc background, Indlan Hlndus, and
Indlan Musllms, nelther candldate ls assured of a
majorlty. When the Hlndu Lorkhoor endorses the
Preacher out of crass selflnterest, Harbans ls convlnced
that he wlll lose. Lorkhoor, however, ls lnduced to
swltch sldes, and Harbans wlns by a landsllde. But he
has become dlslllusloned wlth the dlshonesty, manlpu
latlve relatlonshlps, and moral corruptlon requlred by
the polltlcal process. Once Harbans takes up hls seat ln
the capltal of Port of Spaln, he never revlslts Elvlra and
openly announces that he does not choose to run for
reelectlon.
309
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Jhe comlc energy of the novel ls especlally evl
dent ln scenes lnvolvlng a dead chlcken and flve dead
pupples. A dog who does not dle, Jlger, ls a rogue ele
ment ln the work who eventually causes the accldental
burnlng of Harbans`s |aguar, whlch causes Harbans to
become dlslllusloned wlth Elvlra. Jhls anecdote lllus
trates how elements ln thls dlverse communlty lnteract
wlth each other ln ways that one person`s ratlonal plans
slmply cannot control. Lorkhoor wrltes up the burnlng
of the |aguar for a local newspaper, wlth 'Jhe Suffrage
of Elvlra" as part of hls tltle. In thls way, Lorkhoor
becomes somethlng of an authorlal surrogate, whlch ls
lnterestlng, as hls portraltthat of an opportunlst and a
turncoatls hardly a flatterlng one. Cameo portralts,
such as that of Jawnlng, the Chlnese undertaker who ls
also a local dlsk jockey, attest to the varlety of Elvlra`s
denlzens. Jhe mood of good cheer, though, ls laced
wlth cynlclsm about human motlves ln general as well
as about the future of Elvlra, even after the lntroductlon
of suffrage. Jhe book ls also an lndlcatlon of Nalpaul`s
early lnterest ln polltlcs. Jhe jockeylng for posltlon and
mutual lntrlgue of the two candldates ls descrlbed wlth
zest and a sllght overtone of repulslon. Jhe reader
understands, though, that Harbans, the Preacher, and
thelr varlous supporters and campalgn managers see
polltlcs as an outlet for thelr talents ln a soclety where
they are otherwlse restrlcted to elther menlal, subordl
nate occupatlons or to tradltlonal rellglous posltlons.
Jhe lnterplay of dlfferent rellglons ls also a theme ln
Tlc Suffrogc of Ilviro: 'Everybody, Hlndus and Mus
llms, and Chrlstlan, owned a Blble; the Hlndus and
Musllms looklng upon lt, lf anythlng, wlth greater awe.
Hlndus and Musllms celebrated Chrlstmas and Easter.
Jhe Standards and some of the Negroes celebrated the
Hlndu festlval of llghts."
Pundlt Ganesh from Tlc Mystic Mosscur ls men
tloned at least twlce ln the novel, wlth a wlstful sense
that he has fallen from grace. Also, Ramlogan,
Ganesh`s fatherlnlaw, ls a promlnent flgure ln Har
bans`s campalgn. Jhls crossover lndlcates that Nalpaul,
at thls early polnt ln hls career, saw hls novels as poten
tlally lntertwlned, ln the manner of Jhomas Hardy,
Wllllam Iaulkner, or Honor de Balzac. Tlc Suffrogc of
Ilviro was well recelved ln England. Klngsley Amls
commented ln Tlc Spcctotor (2 May l958) that Nalpaul
'has a substantlal clalm as a comlc wrlter about the
West Indlan soclal scene."
Nalpaul worked as a broadcaster for the BBC
durlng the late l950s, but he soon gave up thls posltlon
ln order to wrlte fulltlme. Hls next book, Migucl Strcct
(l959), also mentlons Pundlt Ganesh. Set earller than
Tlc Suffrogc of Ilviro, the novel beglns ln the early
l910s. It ls an urban novel, capturlng the rhythms of
urban llfe. Even though the tranqull and perlpheral
Carlbbean ls not part of any mllltary actlon ln World
War II, the war preclpltates changes, albelt lndlrectly.
Jhe Amerlcans establlsh a base on Jrlnldad, leadlng a
local calypso slnger to lament. 'I was llvlng wlth my
decent and contented wlfe / Lntll the soldlers came and
broke up my llfe." A man at flrst nlcknamed Patlence
for hls frequent playlng at cards ls renamed 'Bogart"
after Humphrey Bogart`s performance ln the wartlme
movle Cosoblovco (l912). Jhe clnema ls a symbol of
new ldeas reveallng to Jrlnldadlans that llfe can be
other than lt ls currently, even though thelr concrete clr
cumstances are unchanged. Bogart, who seeks more
gratlfylng work abroad and rebels at the constralnts of
marrlage and domestlclty, ls trylng to flnd new roles ln
a world whose moorlngs have suddenly been shaken
loose. Hls frlends, the splrlted Hat and the pollshed
Eddoes, a smooth ladles` man, are ldeals of adult, self
sufflclent mascullnlty for the communlty. Yet, Eddoes
and Hat, along wlth Morgan the flreworks man, Jltus
Hoty the wouldbe town phllosopher, and Bolo, the
man who thlnks World War II ls stlll belng fought ln
l917, flnd that the status they galn through thelr swag
gerlng style and rambunctlous hljlnks only lasts so long.
It ls the men`s 'unklnd fate" that the communlty ls
unprepared or unable to offer them any concrete statlon
that would glve thelr momentary leadershlp roles some
permanence. Rather than achleve a settled posltlon, the
people ln the book come and go llke the snatches of
calypso lyrlcs that occaslonally appear.
Migucl Strcct dlffers from Nalpaul`s flrst two novels
ln not havlng a strong narratlve llne. Jhe book ls nar
rated by an unnamed young man who tells the storles
of others, provldlng a composlte portralt of the nelgh
borhood where he grew up. At the end of the book, the
narrator leaves (wlth the help of Pundlt Ganesh) on
scholarshlp for an Engllsh unlverslty, feellng as though
he ls leavlng the shadow of hls past behlnd hlm llke a
'danclng dwarf on the tarmac." Migucl Strcct, as lts
name lmplles, ls about a communlty, not the comlngof
age narratlve of a slngle hero. Nor ls the narrator`s
departure a slmple trlumph. If the narrator ls destlned
to surpass Eddoes, Hat, Bogart, and Jltus Hoyt, lt ls
partlally because, ln thelr own eccentrlc way, they have
been role models for hlm. Migucl Strcct won the l96l
Somerset Maugham Award.
Jhe flrst phase of Nalpaul`s career culmlnated ln
Z Housc Ior Mr. iswos. Based more or less expllcltly on
the llfe of Nalpaul`s father, Z Housc Ior Mr. iswos, at
more than flve hundred pages ln most edltlons, ls con
slderably longer than Nalpaul`s flrst three novels. Jhls
length slgnlfles both a more serlous and ample engage
ment wlth the materlal and a greater demand upon the
reader. Jhe novel chronlcles Mohun Blswas`s entlre
llfe, not just a stage or eplsode ln lt, as had been true of
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the characters ln Nalpaul`s flrst three books. Jhe length
ls all the more strlklng because the novel ls not
lntensely plotted (plot was never Nalpaul`s strong sult
or partlcular lnterest) and because much of the sus
pense ls broken ln the prologue, whlch reveals Mr. Bls
was`s death and also adumbrates the nature and
slgnlflcance of hls house. Nelther ls Z Housc Ior Mr. is-
wos partlcularly more elaborate ln language than the
flrst three books. Indeed, lt ls rather lowkey, and lts
pace ls lelsurely. Crltlcs often mentlon that Nalpaul,
unllke many wrlters from former European colonles,
does not wrlte ln a maglcreallst style. In the openlng
pages of thls book, Mohun Blswas ls born wlth slx fln
gers on one hand. In a maglcreallst novel, thls fact
would become a token of Blswas`s extraordlnarlness;
but here the flnger ls qulckly removed, a slgn that the
ordlnary ls belng chosen over the exotlc. Jhe burlal of
the flnger also represents the burlal of a part of Mr. Bls
was`s potentlal. In a way the reallstlc genre of the novel
ln whlch he ls a character dooms Blswas to an lncon
splclous llfe.
One of Blswas`s dlsappolntments ls that hls llfe
develops so llttle. It ls symptomatlc that the narratlve
beglns referrlng to hlm as 'Mr. Blswas" when he ls stlll
a chlld and refers to hlm thusly throughout the book.
Blswas ls prematurely deflned as someone whose hopes
are never achleved. Blswas llves ln several houses
before he flnally dwells ln one he can call hls own. Hls
most traumatlc encounter ls wlth Hanuman House ln
Arwacas (modeled on the actual Llon House, ln
Chaguanas), the home of the Julsls, the famlly of Bls
was`s wlfe, Shama. Jhe Julsls are a locally promlnent
famlly who wlsh to absorb Blswas lnto thelr fold. Jhey
lnslst on havlng Shama and the Blswas chlldren around,
but always tacltly allot them a subordlnate role to them
selves and thelr own chlldren. Ior lnstance, after Blswas
has moved to Green Vale after havlng been unable to
endure actually llvlng at Hanuman House any longer,
one Chrlstmas he ls dragooned lnto havlng hls famlly
stay at Hanuman House. Wantlng to glve hls daughter
Savl a nlce present, he spends a month`s worth of hls
own salary to buy her a beautlful dollhouse. Jhe envy
of Savl`s Julsl couslns, though, ls aroused to such an
extent that Shama, Savl`s mother, feels she has to
destroy the dollhouse ln order for comlty ln the famlly
to be restored. Blswas ls devastated not just at the
destructlon of hls generous glft to hls daughter to satlsfy
the ego of the Julsl famlly, but at the symbollc negatlv
lty Shama`s deed manlfests toward hls own ambltlon.
Blswas wants to make somethlng of hlmself, and the
Julsls wlll not let hlm do thls, wlll not even let hlm
dream. Blswas passes through varlous housesthe
Chase, Green Vale, Shorthlllsall places where he
seems to establlsh hls lndependence of the Julsls, but ls
ln fact conflrmed ln hls rellance on them. (Many com
mentators have seen Blswas`s relatlonshlp wlth the Jul
sls as an allegory for the colonlal subject`s dependence
on emplre.)
Blswas petltlons for a job as headllne wrlter for
Tlc Scvtivcl, a local sensatlonallst newspaper. He
becomes successful ln a small way but feels hlmself to
be dolng somethlng sllly. Blswas wlshes to be a success
ful wrlter but remalns at a standstlll ln thls quest
because of hls personal sltuatlon and also hls depen
dence upon Brltlsh colonlal models.
Blswas`s son, Anand, ls clearly a flgure for
Nalpaul hlmself. (Nalpaul makes a selfreferentlal ges
ture ln havlng Anand`s cousln, Vldladhar, born close to
Anand`s own blrth.) When a Julsl favorlte son returns
from Europe as a communlst, Anand ls at flrst
entranced wlth hls progresslve posltlons. But soon he
reallzes that the core truth ls that, desplte the modern
rhetorlc, the Julsl son ls stlll locked wlthln a colonlal
paradlgm that wlll contlnue to prosecute the subordlna
tlon of Blswas and hls son. Jhls reallzatlon helghtens
Anand`s determlnatlon to escape thls paradlgm. Blswas
reallzes that Anand, bound for study ln England, wlll
become the success that he hlmself never was. But he
shows no resentment about that, and ln general hls
stance toward hls own llfe near the end becomes one of
calm acceptance. Jo plty Blswas for not attalnlng hls
dreams ls to overly condescend to what he has man
aged to attaln. 'But blgger than them all was the house,
hls house. How terrlble lt would have been, at thls tlme
to be wlthout lt. . . . to have llved wlthout even attempt
lng to lay clalm to one`s own portlon of the earth. to
have llved and dled as one had been born, unnecessary
and unaccommodated."
Even the most rudlmentary house ls stlll a house.
But note that lt ls a house, not a home. Blswas achleves
shelter, but not a sense of permanently belonglng. Wlth
Z Housc Ior Mr. iswos, Nalpaul became a novellst of
drlft and dlslocatlon who yet afflrmed the small trl
umphs of people, real or lmaglned, llvlng utterly ordl
nary llves.
Tlc Middlc Iossogc: Imprcssiovs of Iivc Socicticsrit-
isl, Ircvcl, ovd Dutcliv tlc !cst Ivdics ovd Soutl Zmcrico
(l962) was Nalpaul`s flrst work ln the veln of hybrld
journallsm/travel wrltlng for whlch he became famous.
Jhe tltle refers to the slave trade between Afrlca and
the Carlbbean, whlch was the mlddle portlon of the trl
angle trade by whlch, ln the seventeenth and elghteenth
centurles, Afrlcan slaves were traded by thelr fellow
Afrlcans for guns, ammunltlon, and other goods from
Europe and transported across the Atlantlc to the
Carlbbean, where sugar was obtalned for dellvery back
to Europe. Tlc Middlc Iossogc beglns ln Guyana, a newly
lndependent state on the malnland of South Amerlca
3ll
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that had been a Brltlsh colony and had a slmllar ethnlc
mlx to Jrlnldad, where lt was often referred to as 'the
malnland." Guyana`s two prlnclpal postlndependence
leaders were Iorbes Burnham, a man of Afrlcan descent
who was leader of the People`s Natlonal Congress, and
Cheddl |agan, an Indlan, chlef mlnlster from l957 to
l961, leader of the People`s Progresslve Party. Both
Burnham and |agan were soclallsts. Both lnltlally took
an antlAmerlcan llne. Both promlsed rapld develop
ment for Guyana as lt took lts place on the world stage.
But raclal tenslons and Burnham`s lncreaslng authorl
tarlanlsm had spllt the two men by the tlme of
Nalpaul`s vlslt. Nalpaul pralses Burnham`s eloquence
but sees that lt tends to fan the flames of raclal hatred.
Nalpaul had a potentlal stake ln Jrlnldad`s polltlcs.
Hls uncle, Slmbhoonath Caplldeo, was leader of the oppo
sltlon durlng the l960s. Yet, q j m~~ was com
mlssloned by Caplldeo`s opponent, the prlme mlnlster of
Jrlnldad and Jobago, Slr Erlc Wllllams, a forwardlooklng
black natlonallst who, llke Nalpaul, was a graduate of
_ueen`s Royal College and Oxford. Nalpaul dld not flat
ter hls natlve land, hlghllghtlng the squalor of lts llvlng
condltlons and lts lack of a deep past. But he stlll evoked
Jrlnldad`s hopes and contradlctlons ln lts flrst years of
lndependence. Nalpaul also vlslted, and wrote about,
Guyana`s eastern nelghbor, Surlnam, then stlll a colony of
the Dutch, and the Irench lsland of Martlnlque, where he
ls exuberantly scathlng about the lsland`s pretenslons to be
just as much a part of metropolltan Irance as, say, Bor
deaux ls. Nalpaul sees the Carlbbean as bllghted by the
legacy of slavery and lmperlallsmlndeed as a reglon wlth
no real past or tradltlon to draw upon, slnce lts orlglnal
lndlgenous lnhabltants were nearly wlped out, recalled by
whlte colonlzers, black slaves, and Indlan lndentured ser
vants.
jK p ~ h `~ (l963) ls a short
novel that ls generally seen as unsuccessful. But lt ls
Nalpaul`s flrst attempt to wrlte a novel removed from
hls usual Jrlnldadlan settlng. It also has allegorlcal ele
ments that contrlbute to Nalpaul`s later work. Rlchard
Stone ls an ordlnary older Engllshman who thlnks up a
scheme whereby retlred employees of hls corporatlon,
Excal (a play on Excallbur, the sword of Klng Arthur),
can be enrolled ln an altrulstlc endeavor, vlsltlng pen
sloners of Excal`s cllents. Mr. Stone presents thls
'Knlghts Companlon" ldea to the corporatlon, and
they enthuslastlcally take lt up. But Stone soon flnds the
Knlghts Companlon program coopted by the more
conventlonally entrepreneurlal Whymper, who embod
les the negatlve slde of the corporate mentallty, wlth
'soclallstIasclst polltlcal vlews."
Jhe novel also has a leltmotlv of Stone`s lnterac
tlon wlth a cat. At flrst, he ls fearful of the cat; at the
end of the book, after many encounters, he confronts
the attltude wlth a sense of engaged but wary negotla
tlon, though the cat qulckly walks away. Jhe cat serves
as an emblem for Stone`s small progress. Desplte hls
reverses, the structure of the novel ls not totally palln
dromlc; Stone ls not back at the end where he was at
the beglnnlng. Ior lnstance, he has met a woman
named Margaret and has found that 'step by step they
became marrled." Jhls flrst novel that Nalpaul set
entlrely ln England was actually wrltten whlle he trav
eled, ln l962, ln the northwestern Indlan reglon of
Kashmlr. Generally, revlewers upbralded Nalpaul for
straylng from hls accustomed Carlbbean terrltory.
Walter Allen, ln q k v o _ (l9 March
l961), remarked that the book was 'very much an
lnterlm novel."
In l961 Nalpaul publlshed ^ ^~ l a~I a
travel book on Indla. Nalpaul had looked forward to
hls flrst vlslt to hls ancestral homeland wlth great antlcl
patlon, but hls flrst lmpresslons were extremely nega
tlve. He found the country overpopulated, barbarous,
and unslghtly. Indlans have tradltlonally been almost
totally uncurlous about the Indlan dlaspora, especlally
to such farflung places as Jrlnldad, and Nalpaul felt no
more at home ln Indlan soclety than he had anywhere
else. 'I felt my separateness from Indla." Because of
Indla`s posltlve lmage abroad, though, fostered by the
medla attentlon accorded such vlslonary leaders as
Mohandas K. Gandhl and |awaharlal Nehru, Nalpaul`s
vlew of Indla was shocklng not only to Indlans but to
Western readers.
In l966 Nalpaul recelved a fellowshlp to teach at
Makerere Lnlverslty ln the Lgandan capltal of Kam
pala. Durlng the next few years he traveled extenslvely
through Afrlca and South Amerlca. Nalpaul`s next
novel, q j j (l967), was hls most complex thus
far ln terms of structure. Ralph Slngh, the protagonlst,
ls an adult mlgrant from the Carlbbean, llvlng ln Lon
don and rememberlng hls varlous past attempts to flnd
an authentlc place for hlmself. Desplte hls prevlous
achlevementshe has actually been forelgn mlnlster of a
Carlbbean lslandRalph feels uncertaln, unfulfllled. He
cultlvates varlous ldeologlcal myths of orlgln, the most
dangerous of whlch ls hls sense of hlmself as a pure
Aryan, superlor to other halfcaste Hlndus. Ralph
attempts to perform an ~~~I an anclent horse sac
rlflce performed to legltlmate klngly power, by kllllng a
modern racehorse. Jhls ludlcrous attempt to reconstl
tute the past backflres and shows that any modern
attempt to capture authentlclty can only be lnauthentlc,
that people who thlnk they search for an absolute truth
are ln fact mlmlc men. Ralph Slngh shares a back
ground, and often has slmllar vlews, to hls creator. But
he ls often an object of vlrulent scorn by the narratlve,
as hls attempts to retrleve wholeness leave hlm more
3l2
sK pK k~~ ai_ PPN
fragmented than ever. Ralph ls more lntrospectlve than
Blswas but does not come to grlps wlth hlmself any
more successfully. Tlc Mimic Mcv ls generally consld
ered to have lntroduced the term 'mlmlcry" to post
colonlal dlscourse and paved the way for lts later
elaboratlon by the Indlanborn crltlc Homl K. Bhabha.
Tlc Mimic Mcv won the l968 W. H. Smlth Award
and was ln general wldely acclalmed. But there was no
consensus yet about Nalpaul`s work. Although V. S.
Prltchett, ln Tlc `cw Jorl Icvicw of ools (ll Aprll
l968), called Nalpaul 'A brllllant chameleon from the
Carlbbean" who 'has grown lnto the Engllsh novel
wlth more lastlng assurance than almost all contempo
rarles ln the West Indles or Afrlca who are ln the same
case," there were also dlssenters, such as Martln Sey
mourSmlth, who stated ln Iuvl ovd !ogvolls Cuidc to
Modcrv !orld Iitcroturc (l973) that Nalpaul`s work, after
a promlslng start, 'had fallen off ln the Slxtles."
Nalpaul contlnued to travel wldely ln the Amerl
cas, Asla, and Afrlca from l968 to l97l. In l969 he
publlshed Tlc Ioss Uf Il Dorodo: Z History. Jhls work
dealt wlth the varlous dlsappolntments that had charac
terlzed the hlstory of Jrlnldad slnce the Spanlards came
there ln the early modern era looklng for the fabled
land of gold. Nalpaul ls partlcularly lnterested ln the
utter extlrpatlon of the lndlgenous populatlon and
forces the reader to see that everyone ln the Carlbbean
ls an lmmlgrantthat the only people who truly own
the land, the lndlgenous people, have left no trace.
Much of what Nalpaul sees as the later futlllty of the
reglon can be traced to thls essentlal vacancy. Wlth thls
book, Nalpaul was wldely halled as explalner of the
perlphery to the center.
Nalpaul`s next novel was Iv o Ircc Stotc (l97l). Jhls
book was a mllestone for Nalpaul ln several ways. It won
hlm the l97l Booker Prlze, thus provldlng the cruclal fllllp
to hls growlng worldwlde reputatlon. Also, lt was the flrst
work of Nalpaul`s to be dellberately nontradltlonal ln
form. Prevlously, Nalpaul had seemed, as a novellst, to
work wlthln tradltlonal genres. Jhe same was true of hls
journallsm, even though, llke hls flctlon, lt dealt wlth areas
of the world not often wrltten about ln an lnformed and
comprehenslve way. But Iv o Ircc Stotc ls unprecedented ln
lts loose structure. All of the flve storles are about colonlal
lsm and mlgratlon; yet, ln each one except the flrst and the
last, the characters are lndependent of each other. Jhe
three major storles are 'One Out Of Many," the story of
Santosh, an Indlan lmmlgrant who arrlves bewlldered ln
Washlngton, D.C., but eventually settles down and mar
rles a lubsli (black Amerlcan) woman; 'Jell Me Who Jo
Klll," ln whlch an Indlan lmmlgrant to London ls betrayed
by hls famlly and, arguably, goes mad; and the tltle
novella, whlch descrlbes the car rlde taken by a homosex
ual Engllshman and a whlte dlstrlct offlcer`s wlfe through
a turmollrldden East Afrlcan country. What the reader
takes from the book ls not so much the lndlvldual narra
tlves but the overall sense of the postcolonlal world as
belng a 'free state" where anythlng ls posslble ln terms of
movement, yet love, personal satlsfactlon, and a just soclal
order are as, or more, eluslve than they have ever been. In
the Booker Prlze cltatlon for Iv o Ircc Stotc, veteran Brltlsh
llterary journallst |ohn Gross observed that lt was 'a work
of great dlstlnctlon, beautlfully wrltten, deeply felt,
addresslng ltself wlth an often dlsturblng lrony to the prob
lems of the postcolonlal worlda book whlch reverberates
long after one has flnlshed readlng lt, and ls ln every way
worthy of the prlze."
Most of the revlews of Iv o Ircc Stotc concentrated on
the tltle novella, set ln postlndependence Afrlca. In fact, lt
was hls deplctlon of Afrlca, ln thls book and ln later works,
that made Nalpaul a world llterary flgure. Nalpaul`s wrlt
lng on Afrlca brought hlm an audlence ln the Lnlted
States that was not especlally used to readlng contempo
rary flctlon but who appreclated Nalpaul as an 'lntrepld
and brutally honest chronlcler of the Jhlrd World," as
Mustafa called hlm, who wrote of what Alfred Kazln
called the 'endless movlng about of contemporary llfe."
Whltes who wlshed to see Afrlcan lndependence
dlscredlted, or who assumed a paternallstlc posture that
Afrlcans could not really rule themselves, felt vlndl
cated by Nalpaul`s descrlptlons of tyranny, vlolence,
and anarchy ln newly lndependent Afrlcan states. Oth
ers accused hlm of belng unduly pesslmlstlc, as ln the
satlrlcal styllng of hlm by the Carlbbean poet Derek
Walcott (wlnner of the l992 Nobel Prlze ln Llterature)
as 'V. S. Nlghtfall" ln hls poem 'Jhe Spoller`s Return"
(ln Walcott`s Collcctcd Iocms, 194S-19S4, l987), or ln
Davld Hare`s satlrlcal portralt of a Nalpaulllke charac
ter ln hls l983 play Z Mop of tlc !orld. But Nalpaul,
who had grown up ln close proxlmlty to people of Afrl
can descent ln Jrlnldad, was wrltlng from wlthln the
matrlx of postcolonlallsm. In the England where he had
reslded slnce l95l, someone of hls background and
skln color would themselves often be descrlbed as
'black." By the late l970s, Nalpaul had been champl
oned by the neoconservatlve movement ln Amerlcan
culture. But desplte thls fact, Nalpaul publlshed hls
journallsm and travel wrltlng prlmarlly ln Tlc `cw Jorl
Icvicw of ools and also ln Tlc `cw Jorlcrtwo publlca
tlons that were generally well on the Left of the polltlcal
spectrum. Jhls tendency meant that much of hls Amer
lcan readlng publlc was preclsely the element he out
raged (and enjoyed outraglng). But lt also means that
Nalpaul was not a rlghtwlng polemlclst. Nalpaul`s
vlslon of Afrlca, polltlcally lnflected at the most lmmedl
ate levels, ln lts larger dlmenslons were unconstralned
by preclse polltlcal alleglances.
3l3
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q l _~~ ~ l ^ (l972)
was a volume of occaslonal journallsm, mostly short
pleces and all prevlously publlshed ln newspapers or
magazlnes. It featured two of Nalpaul`s journeys to
lsland natlons. the multlcultural, multlllngual Maurl
tlus, an lsland natlon ln the Indlan Ocean rlpe, ln
Nalpaul`s oplnlon, for lnstablllty; and Angullla, a small
Carlbbean lsland to whlch Brltaln had wanted to glve
lndependence as part of a larger lsland group but whlch
had refused that status. Jhe volume attested to the
vlgor and frequency of Nalpaul`s travels and to hls
grasp of the lnternatlonal scene.
d~ (l975) ls Nalpaul`s most sexually expllclt
novel. Drawlng upon, but conslderably expandlng, the
character of Llnda from f ~ c p~I Nalpaul`s por
tralt of |ane, the mlstress of the whlte radlcal Peter
Roche, ls 'perhaps Nalpaul`s most fully sustalned
female volce," accordlng to Mustafa. Whereas ln the
earller book there ls only a threat of vlolence, ln thls
book |ane becomes lnvolved ln a vlolent sexual rela
tlonshlp wlth |lmmy Ahmed, the black revolutlonary
(whose ancestry ls actually mlxedrace, though he con
ceals thls fact) who later orders her kllled. |ane`s mas
ochlstlc degradatlon, Peter`s lneffectual altrulsm, and
|lmmy`s ldeologymotlvated psychosls are lntensely
dellneated. Jhough the exposure of the llluslons of
both whlte dogooders and the Black Power movement
were appreclated, many revlewers found the sexual epl
sodes ln the book dlsturblng and unattractlve.
f~W ^ t `~ (l977) was the flrst
travel book ln whlch Nalpaul retraced hls steps from an
earller journey. Lnderstandably, readers assumed (lf
not wlth thls book, then by the tlme of hls thlrd book
about Indla, f~W ^ j j kI l990) that he
was slmply repeatlng hlmself, or rehashlng old preclpl
tance. But Nalpaul seems to have seen these exerclses as
dellberately gravltatlng back to a place vlslted earller to
measure how both place and wrlter had changed ln the
lnterlm. Wlth Indla, for lnstance, hls l977 book ls con
slderably less pesslmlstlc about the country, and by
l99l he ls downrlght optlmlstlc. Jhere also ls an
lncreaslng objectlvlty. the l961 book ls wrltten from a
personal perspectlve; the l977 book focuses on how
Islamlc and later Brltlsh occupatlon have 'wounded"
the country; and the l990 book looks forward to a new
era ln Indlan hlstory. Rather than turn to an area where
he had no prevlous hlstory or emotlonal lnvolvement,
Nalpaul stlcks to those areasIndla, the Islamlc world,
Afrlca, the Carlbbean, Latln Amerlcathat touch ln
some ways upon hls llfe experlence. In f~W ^ t
`~I he notes how the country ln a way seems to
celebrate lts own lnadequacles, as 'the poor are almost
fashlonable."
By thls tlme, Nalpaul, who had llved ln the South
London nelghborhood of Stockwell durlng the l960s, had
moved to rural southern England, rentlng a cottage on the
grounds of Wllsford Manor, an estate ln Wlltshlre owned
by an eccentrlc arlstocrat, Stephen Jennant. By the early
l980s, Nalpaul had moved to hls own house, the Dalry
Cottage, Salterton, also ln Wlltshlre.
Nalpaul returned to an Afrlcan settlng ln hls next
novel, ^ _ o (l979). Progatonlst Sallm ls a
Musllm of largely Indlan ancestry, but hls famlly has llved
ln Afrlca for so long that he conslders hlmself as much
Afrlcan as Indlan. Nalpaul makes the polnt that East
Afrlca, whose coast had been under the suzeralnty of the
sultanate of Oman ln Arabla, was orlglnally a polyglot
reglon where many peoples made contact on the coast.
But, under pressure from new Afrlcannatlonallst reglmes,
Sallm has fled to the lnterlor, to an unnamed clty resem
bllng the Congolese (then Zalrean) clty of Klsanganl,
where he ls a scorekeeper. Sallm meets a Belglan prlest,
Plerre Hulsmans, who collects Afrlcan objects ln a way
that does not ultlmately respect thelr lntrlnslc cultural
lmportance. Hulsmans, who embodles a transltlonal phase
ln whlch the old colonlal mentallty ls stlll present even
after the colony has been glven lndependence, ls kllled by
rebels agalnst the Afrlcan country`s government. Jhe
country ls governed by the Blg Man, a dlctator who
embarks on an ambltlous program of bulldlng and mod
ernlzatlon, deslgned to reflect hls own grandloslty and
valnglory. Jhe local trlbal peoples, used to thelr tradltlonal
exlstence, are suddenly asked to be cltlzens of a modern
natlon, one that ls governed corruptly. Sallm hlmself,
desplte hls humble orlglns, ls not lmmune to the tempta
tlon of power. He has an affalr wlth Yvette, wlfe of the Blg
Man`s whlte court hlstorlan, Raymond, an affalr motl
vated by soclal ambltlon and raclal envy. At the end of the
book, Sallm decldes to llve ln London and marry a Mus
llm woman. Jhls cholce at once represents a fllght from
Afrlca and a renewed embrace of hls own background.
As noted by many revlewers and crltlcs, Nalpaul
consclously refers to |oseph Conrad`s e~ a~
(l902), a novella that evokes the breakdown of an
ambltlous European ln the Congo. Nalpaul`s novel was
seen as embodylng a sage, Conradlan pesslmlsm, chld
lng overly optlmlstlc vlslons of the Afrlcan future. ^
_ o rebuts radlcal leftlsts who saw ln Afrlca
'the wave of the future," as Bruce Klng polnts out. Jhe
sardonlc lndlgnatlon of ^ _ o was clearly, to
any reader wlth a knowledge of Afrlcan polltlcs,
dlrected at Mobutu Sese Seko, then the presldent of
Zalre, about whom Nalpaul had wrltten a searlng non
flctlon artlcle ln l975 (later collected ln q o b~
mX q h q~I l980). Mobutu was a
key ally of the Lnlted States ln Afrlca, a posltlon that
became helghtened after the Communlst takeovers of
3l1
sK pK k~~ ai_ PPN
nelghborlng Angola and Mozamblque ln the late l970s
(events referred to ln Nalpaul`s later novels Holf o Iifc
|200l| and Mogic Sccds |2001|). Indeed, some revlewers
ln l979 concluded that Z cvd iv tlc Iivcr was an expos
of Mobutu alone, not, as others argued, a general com
mentary on the 'radlcallzatlon" endemlc to postcolonlal
Afrlcan reglmes. Z cvd iv tlc Iivcr recelved good
revlews across the board, from leftlst as well as rlght
wlng or centrlst journals. Z cvd iv tlc Iivcr was short
llsted for the l979 Booker Prlze, whlch went to Pene
lope Iltzgerald`s Uffslorc.
Nalpaul`s next book, Tlc Icturv of Ivo Icrov, con
tlnued wlth the polltlcal concerns of Z cvd iv tlc Iivcr.
Jhe tltle of the volume refers to former Argentlne pres
ldent |uan Pern`s celebrated wlfe, who had recently
been the subject of a successful Andrew Lloyd Webber/
Jlm Rlce muslcal, Ivito (l978). Yet, the book ls largely
concerned wlth Jrlnldad. In fact, most of lts contents
are supplled by 'Jhe Kllllngs ln Jrlnldad," two artlcles
orlglnally publlshed as newspaper supplements ln Lon
don ln l971, whlch deal wlth the Black Power leader
Mlchael X, a model for the character of |lmmy Ahmed
ln Cucrrillos. Jhe tltle essay ls a prlorl lronlc as the Eva
Pern that returns to Argentlna ls the woman`s
embalmed body, reclalmed twenty years after her
death. Even absent, Eva Pern ls stlll 'of the people and
the land," and 'no other ldea of the land has been
found to take her place." Eva Pern, though dead, has
greater charlsma than her bynow elderly husband or
anyone else ln Argentlna, whlch Nalpaul sees as an artl
flclal soclety, a European phantasm unsuccessfully
grafted to the South Amerlcan contlnent. Jhroughout
the book, Nalpaul dellghts ln exposlng the cocktall
party leftlst pletles that have so conslstently outraged
hlm through hls career. As |oan Dldlon sald ln Tlc `cw
Jorl Icvicw of ools (l2 |une l980), 'It ls toward pre
clsely thls sectlon of the secure mlddle class, toward the
exporters rather than the lmporters of the rhetorlc, that
Nalpaul dlrects the profound dlsgust that he ls some
tlmes accused of feellng for the vlctlms of the words, for
the casualtles of the abstractlons, for the Mallks of the
'emerglng` world." Desplte belng a compllatlon of
potentlally tlmebound artlcles wrltten more than flve
years before the book was publlshed, Tlc Icturv of Ivo
Icrov was wldely revlewed.
By the tlme of the publlcatlon of Tlc Icturv of Ivo
Icrov, Nalpaul was as much a household name as any
hlghbrow llterary wrlter can ever hope to be. Often,
Nalpaul`s oplnlons and general proflle were known, but
few of hls flctlonal characters or hls speclflcally llterary
achlevements were. Jhls sltuatlon ls partlally attrlbut
able to Nalpaul belng known for hls nonflctlon as much
as hls flctlon. But Nalpaul`s currency ln the polltlcal
world also told agalnst hlm, as the academlc Left more
or less declared hlm anathema because of hls percelved
antl-Jhlrd World vlews. Jhls opprobrlum was not
total. Wlth the rlse, ln the l980s, of college courses on
world llterature ln Engllsh, Nalpaul`s works were fre
quently taught ln these courses. Hls lnslghts lnto the
mlmlcry, lnauthentlclty, and rootlessness entalled ln the
postcolonlal condltlon became general currency among
scholars who, for the most part, held dlametrlcally
opposed polltlcal vlews.
Zmovg tlc clicvcrs: Zv Islomic ourvcy (l98l) was
Nalpaul`s flrst book set ln the Islamlc world. Jhls non
flctlon travel book had chapters coverlng Iran, Paklstan,
Malaysla, and Indonesla, the flrst two of whlch had
experlenced dramatlc polltlcal turbulence ln the preced
lng few years. Zmovg tlc clicvcrs was thus revlewed as a
polltlcal tract. sometlmes crltlclzed for belng too antl
Islamlc, sometlmes approved for lts sense of the danger
posed to the democratlc West by the turmoll ln these
lands. Nalpaul speaks of the certalnty of Islamlc funda
mentallsts that 'Islam was pure and perfect; the secular,
dylng West was to be rejected." In thls mentallty of cer
tltude, 'lnqulry and analysls were for lnternal matters,
not for falth ltself." As someone of Hlndu descent,
Nalpaul ls aware that Islam had arrlved ln these coun
trles only ln the past mlllennlum. Jhls perspectlve ls
dlfferent from that of the average Western commentator
on Islam. Nalpaul, though, assumes a Western audl
ence, deflnlng a poppodom as 'crlsp, frled Indlan bread"
ln a way he would not have had to do for Indlans, nor
for that matter Westerners two decades later. Also,
Nalpaul`s ethnlc background made hlm somewhat of a
mystery to the Musllms he met. Not obvlously of the
West, he was sometlmes mlstaken for an 'Indlan Shla"
ln Iran. Jhe book, ln general, was pralsed by those who
saw themselves as antagonlstlc to radlcal Islam, scorned
by those (such as the Columbla Lnlverslty professor
Edward Sald) who saw the West`s perspectlve of the
Islamlc world as fundamentally blased.
Revlewers found a new mood of acceptance ln Iivd-
ivg tlc Ccvtrc (l981). Jhe flrst sectlon descrlbes Nalpaul`s
arrlval ln London ln the l950s to begln hls llterary career
and detalls hls work at the BBC. Jhe second sectlon
descrlbes a vlslt to the Ivory Coast (Cte dÌvolre), where
Presldent Illx HouphoutBolgny had dedlcated hls
blrthplace at Yamoussoukro as the new capltal, replaclng
the commerclal center of Abldjan. In other contexts
Nalpaul mlght have excorlated thls act as megalomanla.
But he seems more benlgn toward HouphoutBolgny,
saylng 'he has ruled well" and that Yamoussoukro ls 'one
of the wonders of the Afrlcan world," to reconstruct the
center ln Afrlca whose absence he had tacltly decrled ln Z
cvd iv tlc Iivcr. Some crltlcs suggested that Nalpaul was
assumlng thls posture because HouphoutBolgny was a
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ai_ PPN sK pK k~~
proWestern, profree market leader who recelved consld
erable pralse ln the L.S. medla.
Nalpaul`s scorn, however, could at tlmes be dlrected
toward the Rlght of the Western world. In l981 Nalpaul
vlslted the Republlcan Natlonal Conventlon ln Dallas,
Jexas, to cover lt for q k v o _ (ln an
essay later reprlnted as 'Jhe AlrCondltloned Bubble.
Jhe Republlcans ln Dallas," ln q t ~ tW
b~I 2002). Nalpaul has llnks wlth the Conservatlve
Party ln Brltlsh polltlcs. He accepted several dlnner lnvlta
tlons from Prlme Mlnlster Margaret Jhatcher (from
whom he recelved a knlghthood ln l989, becomlng 'Slr
Vldla Nalpaul") and spoke posltlvely of her successor,
|ohn Major, also a Conservatlve. But Nalpaul clearly does
not ldentlfy wlth the L.S. Republlcan Party. He spoke of
the 'lntellectual vacancy" to be found at the conventlon
and stated that 'power was the theme of the conventlon,
and thls power seemed too easynatlonal power, personal
power, the power of the New Rlght." Nalpaul`s nonadmlr
lng stance toward the Republlcan Party can be seen as
lndlcatlng a deslre not to swlng too far to the Rlght. Even
when Nalpaul accepted the J. S. Ellot Award ln l986 from
the Ingersoll Ioundatlon, a conservatlve L.S. group, he
spoke not on hls polltlcal vlews but on hls ldentlty as a
wrlter.
In the l980s Nalpaul lost both hls younger brother,
Shlva, and hls elder slster, Satl, ln qulck successlon. Jhe
death of hls slster ls expllcltly mentloned ln Nalpaul`s next
book, q b~ ^~W ^ k c p (l987).
Most of thls book ls set ln the countryslde of southern
England around Sallsbury. Nalpaul`s lush, detallstudded
deplctlon of the Engllsh landscape was unprecedented ln
hls career. Slmllarly, hls proseprevlously spare, matterof
fact, almost mlnlmalbecomes sprawllng and luxurlous.
Nalpaul hlmself ls a gardener, and the descrlptlons of the
countryslde are done wlth knowledge and care.
q b~ ^~ ls dlvlded lnto flve parts. Jhe
flrst part ls a descrlptlon of |ack, a tenant on the landlord`s
estate who malntalns a garden, and the other locals who
lnteract wlth hlm.
Jhe narrator had lmaglned, from hls perlpheral
lsland youth, a successful, confldent England; he arrlves
there only to flnd the natlon ln decllne. Jhere ls no perma
nence; what he had sought was a deluslon. Nor do peo
ple`s llves unfold ln predlctable patterns; nor are they
deflned by categorlcal trajectorles. Jhe narrator makes
mlstakes about people as well. He ls fasclnated by the gar
deners and servants on the estate. Indeed, q b~
^~ ls perhaps one of the most lnclslve portralts of the
rural Engllsh worklng class ln lts era. Jhe cast of charac
ters lncludes |ack, who rents one of the cottages on the
estate; Pltton, the gardener for the estate landlord; Bray,
the drlver of the rental car that takes people to and from
the estate lnto Sallsbury; and Mr. and Mrs. Phllllps, the
couple who take care of the landlord.
Jhe narrator becomes aware that England, lf one
looks back to anclent tlmes, has had lts own serles of dls
contlnultles and lmposltlons of new ldentltles, as Jrlnldad
has. |ack ls 'not a remnant" of a rural past but as much a
part of the present tlme as the narrator hlmself. Every
body`s pattern unfolds lndependent of each other, an
lnslght fortlfled by the cycles of nature ltself, how seasons
both lncarnate and, through repetltlon, lnterrupt the pat
terns by whlch humans organlze thelr llves. 'One cycle for
me ln my cottage, ln the grounds of the manor, another
cycle on the farms, among the farm bulldlngs, another
cycle ln the llfe of |ack`s wlfe."
Jhe Glorglo de Chlrlco palntlng from whlch the
book draws lts tltle ls mentloned at the beglnnlng of the
second sectlon. Its donne had been wlth Nalpaul for
twenty years prevlous. a traveler arrlves, by sea, ln a
dlstant clty and plunges lnto lts crowded llfe. After a
whlle he seeks to get back to hls shlp, but he flnds hlm
self detalned by people conductlng a klnd of rellglous
celebratlon, and soon the narrator reallzes that he ls to
be lts centerplecethe human sacrlflce. He escapes, but
hls shlp ls gone. Jhere ls no way out, and hls story ls at
an end. Jhe second sectlon contlnues wlth a remlnls
cence of the narrator`s days at a boardlnghouse for var
lous mlgrants and dlsplaced people ln Earls Court,
London, ln the l950s.
Jhe thlrd sectlon of the book presents a sustalned
portralt of the narrator`s landlord. Jhls flgure ls mod
eled on Jennant, an lnterlor deslgner and occaslonal
poet, Nalpaul`s own landlord ln Wlltshlre who came
from a dlstlngulshed Engllsh arlstocratlc famlly and, ln
hls youth, had a correspondence wlth Wllla Cather and
edlted Cather`s crltlcal essays. In hls old age, Jennant ls
wlllfully eccentrlc; he sends hls tenant glfts and poems
but ls only seen twlce by hlm. Some of the poems sent
by the landlord to the narrator lnclude references to
Krlshna and ShlvaIndlan gods, one a force of love, the
other of destructlon, whose very mentlon ln thls
Engllsh context seems lncongruous to the narrator.
'Krlshna and Shlva! Jhere, beslde that rlver (Consta
ble and Shepard) ln these grounds! Jhere was nothlng
of contemporary cult or fashlon ln my landlord`s use of
these dlvlnltles. Hls Indlan romance was ln fact older,
even antlquated." Jhe landlord thlnks he ls reachlng
out to hls tenant, but ln fact hls perfumed, fustlan rendl
tlon of Hlndu deltles ls a world away from anythlng the
rootless narrator has ever experlenced. Mentlon ls also
made of Alan, wldely conceded to have been based on
|ullan |ebb, a mercurlal wrlter and broadcaster who
commltted sulclde ln l981. Alan, wlth 'no book to hls
name," ls somewhat llke Mr. Blswas, one of those lndl
vlduals who has been let down by the lnablllty of socl
3l6
sK pK k~~ ai_ PPN
ety to glve hlm a mold ln whlch to constructlvely
channel hls talents.
In the fourth sectlon, the placldlty of the estate ls
dlsrupted by the unexpected death of Mr. Phllllps, at a
relatlvely young age, when hls father, ln hls mld seven
tles, was stlll allve. Jhe landlord has absorbed the death
of Alan wlthout dlsturbance, but the death of Mr. Phll
llps makes hlm even more vulnerable. Change and
death are rampant; Mrs. Phllllps qulckly remarrles, as
the narrator reallzes that the permanence he had pos
lted on the estate ls as absent there as everywhere else.
Jhe flfth sectlon ls brlef, descrlblng how the book
came to be wrltten. Jhe narrator mentlons a commls
slon to wrlte about the l981 Republlcan Conventlon
whlch, ln exposlng hlm to a totally new scene, sets hls
mlnd on how to connect the longdormant de Chlrlco
fantasy wlth themes of change ln Jrlnldad and
England. He then flnds out hls slster has dled, and he
goes to the funeral ln Jrlnldad. Jhe rellglous aspects of
the funeral, on the face of lt not really splrltual, tally
toward an odd reverence about the fact of death. Jhe
presldlng pundlt attends to 'the physlcal slde of busl
ness." Jhe narrator reflects on hls famlly`s decllne of
rellglous certltude, whlch the tradltlonal rltes of the
funeral only momentarlly stay. Jhls recognltlon of
change drlves the narrator to wrlte the book. (Jhe sub
sequent death of Nalpaul`s brother, who passed away ln
l985, ls not mentloned ln the book, although several
revlews took note of lt.)
Tlc Ivigmo of Zrrivol was wldely pralsed; partlcu
larly lnfluentlal was a revlew by Irank Kermode ln Tlc
`cw Jorl Timcs ool Icvicw (22 March l987) that
emphaslzed Nalpaul`s evocatlon of the Wlltshlre coun
tryslde. Tlc Ivigmo of Zrrivol was Nalpaul`s flrst book to
sell well ln England. Part of thls success was attrlbutable
to hls deplctlon of a speclflcally Engllsh landscape;
another factor was that Nalpaul`s new publlsher, Vlklng
(to whlch he had moved on the advlce of hls agent),
was a conslderably larger concern than Andr Deutsch,
hls London publlsher for the flrst thlrty years of hls
career, to whom Nalpaul had remalned loyal desplte lts
lack of resources when compared to the multlnatlonal
conglomerates.
Nalpaul`s next book took hlm to a new, yet famll
lar, part of the world. Nalpaul had already wrltten
about the slave trade ln Tlc Middlc Iossogc. A travel
book about the Amerlcan South, the thlrd slde of the
'trlangle trade" area wlth the greatest numbers of black
slaves ln the nlneteenth century, seemed a natural fol
lowup. Z Turv iv tlc Soutl (l989) ls a surprlslngly mel
low book. As Nlna Klng commented ln Tlc !oslivgtov
Iost ool !orld (5 Iebruary l989), 'Nalpaul ls unexpect
edly gentle, even tender, ln hls portrayal of the South
erners he meets." Lnllke Nalpaul`s prevlous travel
wrltlng, the flery lndlgnatlon and overt agenda are
absent. Yet, one aspect ls lmportant. Nalpaul`s book ls
not a paean to old Dlxle but an exploratlon of how
peace and property overlle 'a more desperate klnd of
New World hlstory" remlnlscent of Nalpaul`s own
experlence ln Jrlnldad. Z Turv iv tlc Soutl also repre
sents Nalpaul`s most sustalned engagement wlth Chrls
tlanlty. He regards Southern Protestantlsm wlth
occaslonal condescenslon but also wlth a dlstanced fas
clnatlon. Indeed, the emphasls on Chrlstlanlty ln Z Turv
iv tlc Soutl flows naturally from the promlnence of
Chrlstlanlty, Hlndulsm, and preChrlstlan rellglous
symbols such as Stonehenge ln Tlc Ivigmo of Zrrivol.
Nalpaul`s thlrd travel book about Indla, Ivdio: Z
Milliov Mutivics òw, was hls flrst publlshed by Helne
mann (later Random House England). Ivdio: Z Milliov
Mutivics òw caught Indla on the verge of transltlon
from the state soclallsm of the era of Prlme Mlnlster
Nehru and hls daughter Indlra Gandhl to the entrepre
neurlal capltallsm encouraged by Prlme Mlnlster P. V.
Naraslmha Rao and hls successors. Nalpaul, no frlend
of the NehruGandhl famlly dynasty, llkes Indla now
that the famlly ls out of power. But rather than present
lng hls own polnt of vlew, Nalpaul traveled across the
country, llstenlng to people from all walks of llfe.
In l993 Nalpaul won the Davld Cohen Prlze for
Brltlsh llterature. In hls acceptance speech he pald trlbute
to two contemporarles, Harold Plnter and Powell, and
then, after havlng traced the lnfluence of the nlneteenth
century soclal crltlc |ohn Ruskln on two Indlans, the lnde
pendence leader Mohandas K. Gandhl and the aesthete
Ananda Coomaraswamy, he remarked. 'Jhls was just
one chaln of ldeas and lnfluence ln our mlngled clvlllsa
tlon. Jhere must be hundreds, thousands, more. Jhey
wlll multlply as the Engllsh language spreads, and the var
lous llteratures of Engllsh grow. Jhe connectlons wlll
become more subtle; sometlmes they wlll be hldden. It ls
wlth a consclousness of some of these connectlons that I
welcome the luck of the prlze."
Jhese sorts of connectlons were extenslvely
explored ln Nalpaul`s next book, Z !oy iv tlc !orld: Z
Scqucvcc (l991), whlch was bllled as a novel. But, as
Madlson Smartt Bell polnted out ln the Clicogo Tribuvc
(29 May l991), 'Z !oy iv tlc !orld ls dlvlded lnto nlne
sectlons, whlch are dlscontlnuous ln the conventlonal
sense, although there ls much repetltlon of themes and
motlfs among them. It ls dlfflcult to understand thelr
relatlonshlp as parts of a sequentlal narratlve flow, eas
ler to comprehend them as a composltlon of dlfferent
elements arranged llke panels ln a palntlng." Bell also
stated that 'Nalpaul`s book ls not somethlng less than a
novel but somethlng qulte dlfferent, perhaps somethlng
more." Wlth thls book, Nalpaul`s work as a journallst
beglns to thoroughly lnflect hls flctlon. Nalpaul has spo
3l7
ai_ PPN sK pK k~~
ken about how he feels the novel ls an exhausted form,
wlth lts elaborate machlnery of plot. Nalpaul has used
hls journallsm not as a substltute for flctlon, or as a base
on whlch to construct hls novels, but as a way to lnter
fuse flctlon wlth a new freedom. However factual lts
basls, Z !oy iv tlc !orld possesses what |ohn Davld
Russell, speaklng of the nonflctlon novel, descrlbes as a
'pagebypage feellng of lmmanence." Nalpaul`s wrltlng
ls deeply experlentlal. Even when he ls clearly oplnlon
ated, he ls not belng prescrlptlve from above but operat
lng out of a speclflc experlentlal conjunctlon, wlth
comblned felt moral and soclal contexts.
Jhese contexts are captured vlvldly ln two charac
ters ln Z !oy iv tlc !orld, featured brlefly ln dlfferent
vlgnettes, who become absorbed lnto totally dlfferent lden
tltlesLeonard Slde, a Jrlnldadlan cake arranger and
undertaker who has almost totally forgotten hls Musllm
orlglns, and Manuel Sorzano, a Hlndu who becomes
almost entlrely Venezuelan. Jhe way meanlng ls lost or
transferred across cultures ls also seen ln the lnslghtful but
bllnkered account of the Carlbbean provlded by the l930s
Brltlsh travel wrlter Ioster Morrls (a flctlonal character,
somethlng that many revlewers mlssed because Nalpaul so
sklllfully grafted hlm onto real contemporarles of that gen
eratlon) and Blalr, a Carlbbean radlcal who becomes a gov
ernment offlclal ln East Afrlca and ls abruptly murdered.
Lebrun, an actlvlst orlglnally from Panama who ls largely
percelved by crltlcs to be modeled on the Carlbbean lntel
lectual C. L. R. |ames, though wlthout the breadth of
|ames`s lntellect, has hls optlmlstlc theorles about Marxlsm
ln the Jhlrd World dlsproved by events, but he ls stlll llon
lzed by the leftlst lntelllgentsla. Jhe fullest portralt ls of
Iranclsco de Mlranda, the earlynlneteenthcentury Vene
zuelan revolutlonary leader whom Nalpaul deplcts ln exlle
ln Jrlnldad ln the l800s, ln hls flftles, hls alms not yet hav
lng been achleved, polsed on the knlfeedge between lnef
fectuallty and natlonal leadershlp. Mlranda ls today
honored as a revolutlonary hero ln Venezuela, but he easlly
could have been a footnote to hlstory, a personlflcatlon of a
road not taken, llke Blalr or Lebrun. Jhe exceedlngly posl
tlve receptlon for Z !oy iv tlc !orld from revlewers on both
sldes of the Atlantlc testlfled to Nalpaul`s success ln hls por
tralts of these dlfferent characters.
On 3 Iebruary l996 Patrlcla Nalpaul dled. Jhe
followlng Aprll, Nalpaul marrled Nadlra Khannum
Alvl, a Paklstanl journallst whom he had met whlle on
a speaklng tour ln Lahore, Paklstan. As had been the
case wlth Patrlcla Nalpaul, Nalpaul`s new wlfe ls known
publlcly as Lady Nalpaul. After hls marrlage to Alvl,
Nalpaul began speaklng more aggresslvely on behalf of
Hlndu natlonallsm, generally taklng the llne of the
more natlonallstlc elements of the Bharatlya |anata
Party and even seemlng to endorse ldeas of 'Hln
dutva," whlch call for a resurgent, mllltant Hlndulsm,
dlsplay an lntolerance of the Islamlc aspect of Indlan llfe
and hlstory, and deflne Indla as a Hlndu natlon rather
than a secular one. Nalpaul, though, ls not a Hlndu ln a
rellglous sense. In an appearance at the 92nd Street Y ln
New York Clty ln November l999 he stated, when
asked lf he was a rellglous bellever, 'I have no falth."
Nalpaul contlnued, however, to manlfest an lnter
est ln the psychology of bellef. Hls next publlshed
book, cyovd clicf: Islomic Ixcursiovs omovg tlc Covvcrtcd
Icoplcs (l998), was a second account of journeys among
the converted (nonArab) peoples of Islam, agaln ln
Paklstan, Bangladesh, Malaysla, and Indonesla. As
compared to Zmovg tlc clicvcrs, where Nalpaul was seen
as controlllng the narratlve through an expllcltly antl
Islamlc agenda, cyovd clicf ls much more focused on
the llves and even the words of the people Nalpaul
meets. Ian Buruma, wrltlng ln Tlc `cw Jorl Icvicw of
ools (l6 |uly l998), wondered at the absence of
Nalpaul`s own volce from the text. 'Jhere are rlsks
lnvolved. Volces taken down verbatlm, often ln transla
tlon, can become wearlsome. Sometlmes you wlsh the
speaker would shut up, especlally slnce Nalpaul`s own
volce ls so lnclslve." It also was surprlslng that a wrlter
of Nalpaul`s stature and talent would efface hls own
perspectlve from the text ln a reportorlal way assoclated
more wlth routlne journallsm than wlth belles lettres.
Nalpaul`s presence ln the book ls less as a pundlt (ln the
nonHlndu sense of the term) than as a llstener. Rlchard
Bernsteln, wrltlng ln Tlc `cw Jorl Timcs (8 |uly l998),
stated that 'Mr. Nalpaul hlmself ls less present on the
scene than he was ln hls earller work. He wrltes almost
entlrely through the eyes of the numerous people ln the
four countrles whose storles he tells."
cyovd clicf was no sooner publlshed than
Nalpaul found hls name ln the book pages of world
newspapers ln a dlfferent context. Iellow novellst and
travel wrlter Paul Jheroux had been Nalpaul`s long
tlme frlend slnce the two taught together at Lganda`s
Makerere Lnlverslty ln l966. In l998 Jheroux pub
llshed Sir !idio`s Slodow: Z Iricvdslip ocross Iivc Covtivcvts,
an account of the course and the dramatlc rupture (after
Nalpaul`s second marrlage), of the two men`s frlend
shlp. Jheroux draws a portralt of Nalpaul as belng rac
lst, petulant, wlllfully eccentrlc, selfcentered, and
hostlle toward women. But Jheroux also glves Nalpaul
enormous credlt toward Jheroux`s own development
as a wrlter and emphaslzes hls hlgh regard for Nalpaul`s
early and mlddle work, as evldent ln the monograph he
had wrltten on Nalpaul ln l972. (Jheroux sald, ln con
versatlon wlth Nlcholas Blrns at a receptlon at the 92nd
Street Y ln New York ln May 2000, that he could under
stand why a reader could stlll admlre Nalpaul after fln
lshlng Sir !idio`s Slodow.) Nalpaul made no comment on
Sir !idio`s Slodow, and desplte the gosslp and contro
3l8
sK pK k~~ ai_ PPN
versy lt provoked, the book dld not appreclably damage
hls reputatlon.
In l999 i _ ~ c~ ~ p appeared.
Desplte lts tltle, the book ls composed not only of letters
between young 'Vldo" Nalpaul and hls father, Seepersad
Nalpaul, but also from hls slster Kamla, who was studylng
at a women`s college ln Indla, as well as several other fam
lly members, ln the years leadlng up to the publlcatlon of
Nalpaul`s flrst novel and the elder Nalpaul`s premature
death. Nalpaul had no role ln complllng the book; the nec
essary work was done by hls longtlme agent, Glllon Alt
ken. Jhe book presents a portralt of the Nalpauls as an
unusually lntelllgent famlly that treated each other wlth
warmth and compasslon.
Jhough Nalpaul wrote only one novel durlng the
l990s, hls role as flctlon wrlter was kept vlslble by the
appearance ln the summer of l998 of two of hls books,
^ e c jK _~ and ^ _ oI on the
vastly lnfluentlal Modern Llbrary llst of the best one
hundred novels ln Engllsh. On ll October 200l lt was
announced that Nalpaul had won the Nobel Prlze ln
Llterature. He had been mentloned promlnently ln
speculatlon about the prlze for many years, somewhat
to the surprlse of observers who ascrlbed a leftwlng
polltlcal agenda to the Swedlsh Academy. In the wake
of the ll September 200l terrorlst attacks on New York
Clty and Washlngton, D.C., however, one of the many
stumbllng blocks to Nalpaul`s gettlng the prlzehls per
celved hostlllty to Islamwas temporarlly removed by
the specter of Islamlc terrorlsm. Nalpaul`s Nobel Prlze
helghtened hls publlc vlslblllty, and many of hls earller
novels were republlshed ln paperback. Hls Nobel lec
ture, glven ln December 200l, touched on hls back
ground ('at once exceedlngly slmple and exceedlngly
confused") and stated that hls wrltlng, desplte the way lt
mlght 'appear to be golng ln many dlrectlons," ln fact
emanates from hls llved experlence; he wrote about
Indla and Afrlca because of hls own connectlons wlth
those places, but not about Germany or Chlna because
he had no speclal tle there. Of hls work, Nalpaul stated.
'Because of the lntultlve way ln whlch I have wrltten,
and also because of the baffllng nature of my materlal,
every book has come as a blesslng."
Also ln 200l Nalpaul publlshed hls flrst novel ln
seven years, e~ ~ iK Jhe novel appeared just after
the Nobel announcement, whlch gave lt greater expo
sure, although ln the wake of the ll September attacks,
llterature was recelvlng less news coverage than usual.
In thls novel, Wlllle Chandran ls named after the Brlt
lsh wrlter Wllllam Somerset Maugham, who (flctlon
ally) had been helped by Wlllle`s Brahmln father wlth
the mystlcal elements ln hls novel q o~ b
(l911), much ln the way that ln real llfe Maugham was
helped by Srl Ramana Maharlshl. In an act of rebelllon,
the senlor Chandran marrles a woman of a lower caste,
leavlng hls son, Wlllle, ln a dlvlded statebearlng a
whlte man`s name, wlth an ancestry that put hlm ln no
secure classlflcatlon ln Indlan soclety. Jhe book chronl
cles the flrst half of Wlllle`s llfe, but lt ls also about how
hls llfe ls only half a llfe as he has no secure ldentlty, a
condltlon that becomes endemlc to a 'half and half
world." Wlllle`s father has llttle asplratlon for hls son
but has hopes that hls daughter, Sarojlnl, wlll contract
an 'lnternatlonal marrlage," whlch she does, to a left
wlng movlemaker, and ends up llvlng ln West Berlln. In
the last half of the book (recounted retrospectlvely to
Sarojlnl by Wlllle ln Berlln) Wlllle descrlbes hls rela
tlonshlp wlth Ana, a halfAfrlcan, halfPortuguese
woman wlth whom he goes to a portlon of Portuguese
Afrlca ln lts last years as a colony. Wlllle and Ana
become lnvolved wlth the Correlas, a wealthy, arlsto
cratlc famlly, and lnsert themselves lnto a soclety ln lan
guorous decllne, waltlng for the delayed but lnevltable
end of decolonlzatlon. Wlllle and Ana have 'half and
half" frlends, llghtsklnned Afrlcans who want to be
Portuguese. Desplte the sexual gratlflcatlon of hls rela
tlonshlp wlth Ana, Wlllle beglns an affalr wlth a mar
rled woman, Graa. Jhe sltuatlon ln Afrlca lmplodes,
from Wlllle`s polnt of vlew, as a Marxlst government
replaces the colonlal one, and Wlllle goes to Berlln to
flnd resplte wlth hls slster, half of hls llfe belng elapsed,
wlth nothlng concrete havlng been accompllshed.
|. M. Coetzee, wrltlng ln q k v o
_ (l November 200l), asked. 'Why ls Nalpaul,
author of over twenty books and now approachlng sev
enty, pourlng hls energles lnto an alter ego whose dls
tlngulshlng mark ls that he has turned hls back on a
llterary career?" But Nalpaul has speclallzed through
out hls career ln portraylng alternate verslons of hlm
self. Nalpaul, as Coetzee also polnted out, dld not see
hlmself as a born wrlter, but one whose talent was
honed over decades of effort. Accordlngly, he does not
see hls ldentlty as a wrlter as the crownlng fulflllment of
an lmmanent creatlve growth. Jhus, he ls lnterested ln
people llke Wlllle Chandran who started out ln sltua
tlons slmllar to Nalpaul`s but whose llves took decl
slvely dlfferent paths.
q t ~ t ls an omnlbus collectlon of
Nalpaul`s polltlcal nonflctlon, lncludlng mostly pleces
prevlously publlshed ln books but lncludlng two lmpor
tant newly collected artlcles. hls plece on the l981
Republlcan Natlonal Conventlon and hls second por
tralt, thlrty years after the flrst ln q j m~~I of
Guyanese leader |agan. As polemlcal as hls perspectlve
can be, Nalpaul`s lnterest ln people transcends hls pollt
lcal vlews. In q j m~~I Nalpaul manlfested an
equlvocal vlew of |agan, seelng hlm as wantlng to be
'all thlngs to all men." Yet, ln the l990s, when |agan
3l9
ai_ PPN sK pK k~~
was back ln offlce after spendlng nearly twenty years as
a dlssldent and opposltlon leader under Burnham and
hls successor, Nalpaul`s tone ls changed. |agan, and hls
Amerlcanborn wlfe, |anet Rosenberg|agan, are seen as
people who helped the Guyanese take 'thelr destlnles
ln thelr own hands," and |agan`s return to offlce was to
be welcomed after the corrupt governance of the Burn
ham years. Jhe |agan essay bears out Daphne Merkln`s
observatlon ln Tlc `cw Jorl Timcs ool Icvicw (l Sep
tember 2002) that Nalpaul presents 'a complex, many
angled way of seelng."
In 2003 Nalpaul publlshed Iitcrory Uccosiovs,
another omnlbus volume, thls one lncludlng hls llterary
essays and book revlews. Although the book lncludes
dlscusslons of Conrad and Nlrad C. Chaudhurl, much
of the spotllght ls on Nalpaul hlmselfhls own llfe and
art, lncludlng a l983 lntroductlon to an edltlon of Z
Housc for Mr. iswos. Wrltlng ln Tlc `cw Jorl Timcs ool
Icvicw (ll |anuary 2001), Lynn Ireed sald thls volume
ls 'a complex testament not only to the struggle of one
man agalnst great odds to be 'that noble thlng,` but also
to thelr place and purpose of the wrlter ln the world.
the 'trlumph over darkness.`"
In 2001 Nalpaul publlshed Mogic Sccds, a sequel to
Holf o Iifc that takes Wlllle Chandran back to Indla at
Sarojlnl`s urglng, whlch ls the plantlng of the 'maglc
seeds" from whlch the tltle derlves. Wlllle thlnks he ls
jolnlng a people`s revolutlon, but ln fact he flnds hlmself
among medlocre lntellectuals, one of whom ls lronlcally
nlcknamed Elnsteln. Jhls sectlon represents Nalpaul`s
most expllclt portralt of communlsm and of the malefl
cence of communlst ldeology. Wlllle ls lmprlsoned ln
Indla for kllllng a wealthy farmer but ls released when
the Indlan government ls convlnced by Roger, an old
frlend from an earller stlnt ln London who ls now a
promlnent lawyer, that Wlllle ls a famous wrlter ln
England. Wlllle returns to England, where he stays wlth
Roger and has an affalr wlth Roger`s wlfe, Perdlta,
about whlch hls frlend ls apparently unconcerned.
Roger states that he has 'low sexual energy" and places
hlmself ln a speclal sexual category lncludlng such flg
ures as |ohn Ruskln and Henry |ames, saylng 'We
should be allowed our freedom." Roger feels that
England ls deterloratlng under the pressure of contem
porary medlocrlty, helghtenlng Wlllle`s feellng that
even late ln llfe he has not achleved a sanctuary.
Revlewers were mostly lmpressed by Nalpaul`s
portralt of Wlllle Chandran, a man (unllke hls prevlous
narrators) qulte dlfferent from hlmself. |ames Atlas
observed ln Tlc `cw Jorl Timcs ool Icvicw (28 Novem
ber 2001) that 'Wlllle ls the latest exemplar of a type
famlllar to Nalpaul`s readers. the fanatlcal ldeallst
drawn to what he somewhere calls 'pseudorevolu
tlons.`" In Tlc Iolm cocl Iost (27 March 2005), Greg
Stefanlch stated that 'what Nalpaul has created ls the
emblematlc Everyman of hls art. an Indlan man trylng
on dlfferent postcolonlal ldentltles, all of them unsatls
factory, and wanderlng ln a stateless, restless quest to
determlne who he really ls." Yet, other revlewers felt
that Wlllle`s character was lndlstlnct and unllkeable,
and that the adaptablllty Stefanlch mentlons ls but a
cover for hls essentlal vacancy.
Nalpaul has stated that Mogic Sccds ls hls last
novel. Whether thls declaratlon ls true or not (Nalpaul
has warned before of the end of hls career as a wrlter,
yet kept on wrltlng), Mogic Sccds ls unquestlonably a
klnd of summlngup. Jherefore, the flnal lmage of the
book may bear partlcular welght. Wlllle reflects on hls
mlsadventures ln Afrlca, whlch has not llved up to what
he expected lt to be. But at the end of the book, after
attendlng a mlxedrace weddlng, he hears Surlnamese
muslc, notable because Nalpaul, by havlng Wlllle be
Indlan, not IndoJrlnldadlan, has exclsed the Carlb
bean element from hls blography. 'All nlght Wlllle
heard the muslc. It lnvaded hls sleep and mlngled wlth
other memorles. Afrlca, wlth the conlcal gray stone hllls
and Afrlcans walklng on red paths beslde the asphalt
road." However bad hls experlences there, Afrlca can
never be wholly 'other" to Wlllle.
In Nalpaul`s essay on |agan ln Tlc !ritcr ovd tlc
!orld, |anet Rosenberg|agan ls quoted as saylng that
'the world ls made up of people who have mlgrated."
V. S. Nalpaul has brought the truth of thls world of
mlgratlon to the page more than any other contempo
rary wrlter.
iW
Icttcrs ctwccv o Iotlcr ovd Sov, edlted by Glllon Altken
(London. Llttle, Brown, l999); publlshed as
ctwccv Iotlcr ovd Sov: Iomily Icttcrs (New York.
Knopf, 2000).
fW
Llrlc Mentus, 'Is Jhere Somethlng Called Black Art?"
Coribbcov Covtoct, 3, no. ll (l976). 7, l7;
Alfred Kazln,'V. S. Nalpaul. Novellst As Jhlnker," `cw
Jorl Timcs ool Icvicw, l May l977, pp. 7, 20-22;
Bharatl Mukherjee and Robert Boyers, 'A Conversa
tlon wlth V. S. Nalpaul," Solmoguvdi, 51 (l98l).
1-22;
Mel Gussow, 'V. S. Nalpaul ln Search of Hlmself. A
Conversatlon," `cw Jorl Timcs ool Icvicw, 21
Aprll l991, pp. 3, 29-30;
Ieroza |usawalla, Covvcrsotiovs witl !. S. òipoul
(Oxford. Lnlverslty of Mlsslsslppl Press, l996);
Maya |aggl, 'A Slngular Wrlter," Cuordiov, 8 September
200l.
320
sK pK k~~ ai_ PPN
_~W
Kelvln |arvls, !. S. òipoul: Z Sclcctivc ibliogroply witl
Zvvototiovs, 197-19S7 (Metuchen, N.|.. Scare
crow Press, l989);
|effrey Meyers, 'V. S. Nalpaul. Essays, Storles, Revlews
and Intervlews, l918-l992," ullctiv of ibliogro-
ply, 50 (l993). 3l7-323;
|arvls, 'V. S. Nalpaul. A Blbllographlcal Lpdate," Zricl,
26 (l995). 7l-85.
oW
|oseph Epsteln, 'A Cottage for Mr. Nalpaul," `cw Critcriov,
6 (Iebruary l987). 6-l5;
Mlchael Gorra, Zftcr Impirc: Scott, òipoul, Iusldic (Chl
cago. Lnlverslty of Chlcago Press, l997);
Phlllp Gourevltch, 'Nalpaul`s World," Commcvtory, 98 (Ieb
ruary l991). 27-3l;
|ack |. Healy, 'Ilctlon, Volce, and the Rough Ground of
Ieellng. V. S. Nalpaul After JwentyIlve Years," Uvi-
vcrsity of Torovto _uortcrly, 55 (l985). 15-63;
Alfred Kazln,'Dlsplaced Person," `cw Jorl Icvicw of ools,
l7, no. ll (l97l). l87-l92;
Bruce Klng, !. S. òipoul (Baslngstoke, L.K.. Macmlllan,
2003);
Iawzla Mustafa, !. S. òipoul (New York. Cambrldge Lnl
Wllllam H. Prltchard, 'Nalpaul`s Wrltten World," Hudsov
Icvicw, 17, no. 1 (l995). 587-597;
Vlctor |. Ramraj, 'V. S. Nalpaul. Jhe Irrelevance of
Natlonallsm," !orld Iitcroturc !rittcv iv Ivglisl, 23,
no. l (l981). l87-l96;
|ohn Davld Russell, ''No Guldes Need Apply`. Locatlng
the Nonflctlon Novel," Uvivcrsity of Torovto _uortcrly,
59 (Sprlng l990). 1l3-132;
Louls Slmpson, 'Dlsorder and Escape ln the Ilctlon of
V. S. Nalpaul," Hudsov Icvicw, 37, no. 1 (l981).
57l-577;
Sara Sulerl, 'Nalpaul`s Arrlval," Jolc ourvol of Criticism:
Ivtcrprctotiov iv tlc Humovitics, 2, no. l (l988). 25-50;
Paul Jheroux, Sir !idio`s Slodow: Z Iricvdslip Zcross Iivc
Covtivcvts (London. Hamllton, l998);
|ohn Jhleme, Tlc !cb of Troditiov: Uscs of Zllusiov iv !. S.
òipoul`s Iictiov (Hertford, L.K.. Hanslb/Dangaroo,
l987);
Bernard Welnraub, 'Indlan Author Wlns Brltlsh Book
Prlze," `cw Jorl Timcs, 26 December l97l, p. 10;
Chrlstopher Wlse, 'Jhe Garden Jrampled; or, Jhe Llqul
datlon of Afrlcan Culture ln V. S. Nalpaul`s Z cvd
iv tlc Iivcr," Collcgc Iitcroturc, 23, no. 3 (l996). 58-72.
m~W
Jhe V. S. Nalpaul Archlve was establlshed at the Lnl
verslty of Julsa ln Julsa, Oklahoma, ln l991. Jhe
Archlve ls comprlsed of more than flfty thousand ltems,
lncludlng manuscrlpts, correspondence, and objects
assoclated wlth Nalpaul`s famlly. As he contlnues to
wrlte, Nalpaul donates hls papers from more than ten
years prevlous to the Archlve.
OMMN k m i~
m~ p
by Horocc Ivgdoll, Il.D., Icrmovcvt Sccrctory of tlc Swcdisl
Zcodcmy, Mcmbcr of its òbcl Committcc
Your Majestles, Your Royal Hlghnesses, Honoured
Nobel Laureates, Ladles and Gentlemen,
In the Mlddle Ages, master craftsmen worked ln full
vlew ln the street or ln an open workshop, so that prospec
tlve buyers could see that the materlals they use were genu
lne and that no defects were hldden beneath a luxurlous
surface treatment. Slmllarly, as a mature wrlter V. S.
Nalpaul has allowed us to scrutlnlze hls craft and the condl
tlons surroundlng lt. He has candldly descrlbed how, as a
beglnner, he neglected to obtaln knowledge of what he saw
and falslfled hls experlences ln order to llve up to the per
ceptlon of llterature he had galned through hls Brltlsh
schoollng.
He knew at an early age that he had to wrlte, but
not what. Hls flrst book, Tlc Mystic Mosscur, appears very
bold when read ln the llght of hls confesslons about the
awkward beglnnlngs of hls own career as a wrlter. Jhe
masseur/charlatan ls the author`s shadow and carlcature,
to whlch he exorclstlcally transfers hls blzarre tralts and
lmaglned fallures, somethlng llke Sartre dld wlth the
autodldact ln Io òuscc.
Nalpaul was born on the West Indlan lsland of Jrln
ldad as a descendant of lmmlgrant workers from Indla, ln a
mllleu where peoples and cultures from four contlnents
mlxed. In hls case, movlng lnto llterature presupposed lrre
vocably breaklng away from these orlglns. Yet lt was not
untll the moment when he declded to explore what he had
abandoned that hls wrltlng took off. Hls chlldhood street
set the tone for hlm. At flrst lt was playful and lmmedlate,
but the subject grew ln hls hands. In the book that made
hlm famous, Z Housc for Mr. iswos, he lent the profundlty
of the major novel to the wlngcllpped characters ln a
Carlbbean backwater and granted them dlgnlty. Mr. Bls
was, who bears tralts of Nalpaul`s father, galned a place ln
the Engllsh llterary gallery of lmmortal traglcomlc heroes.
Nalpaul`s subsequent works examlned, ln ever wlder
clrcles, the forgotten hlstorlcal clrcumstances that explaln
the author`s background. He became an explorer, not of
the wllderness but of socletleseverywhere at home and a
stranger, a Llysses whose only Ithaca was hls desk. Per
32l
ai_ PPN sK pK k~~
haps he ls a wltness from the freely clrculatlng humanlty of
the future.
Nalpaul has been pralsed for wrltlng the best Engllsh
ln the market, and that may well be, but hls vlew of style ls
remlnlscent of Stendahl`s, who belleved a wrlter has falled
lf the reader remembers the words he has wrltten. what
should remaln are hls ldeas. Nalpaul ls no worshlpper of
fantasy or utopla, no creator of alternatlve worlds. Dlckens`
ablllty to descrlbe London wlth the open gaze and slmpllc
lty of a chlld ls hls declared ldeal. He contlnues a crltlcal
dlrectlon ln llterature that dlstances ltself from myth and
expresslve hyperbole. Hls text ls permanently unrelentlng,
llke a chlll wlnd that wlll not stop blowlng.
In o~ ~ tI an essay of great value ln
understandlng hls works, Nalpaul relates hls steadlly grow
lng doubts about the novel, the grand genre of the West.
He descrlbes how whlle worklng on hls hlstory of Jrln
ldad, q i b a~I he found ln the archlves traces of
the natlve trlbe that had glven lts name to the small clty
where he spent hls flrst years, and how hls perceptlon of
reallty suddenly expanded. 'Ilctlon by ltself would not
have taken me to thls larger comprehenslon," he wrltes.
Jhe technlque he adopted whlle worklng on b a~
unearthlng from the documents the llfe storles of seemlngly
lnslgnlflcant lndlvldualsreturns when he works wlth the
notes from hls journeys. Jhe varlous llterary forms he has
trledflctlonal narratlve, autoblography, feature story and
hlstorlcal documentaryhave eventually merged lnto a
unlque genre, 'prose ln the style of Nalpaul." By thls lnno
vatlon, he has enlarged the terrltory of llterature.
One experlence that seems to have been cruclal to
hls llterary method ls hls flrst encounter wlth Indla. He saw
traces of a hlstory that had been concealed from vlew when
the champlons of lndependence had to deny the mlsfor
tunes that had preceded the Engllsh. slx hundred years of
Musllm lmperlallsm that dellberately destroyed the mem
ory of earller clvlllsatlons and plunged the Hlndus lnto a
helplessness slmllar to that of the Amerlcan Indlans. He
studled R. K. Narayan`s novels ln the Indlan settlng and
saw that thelr world ls bullt around an emptlness that the
author ls lncapable of deallng wlth. the forgotten defeat
that turned people lnto dwarves among monumental rulns.
Only an lntact culture provldes the background knowledge
that makes the novel a reasonable form, Nalpaul argues.
He found that he had to cllng to the authentlclty of detalls
and volces and abstaln from fabulatlon, whlle contlnulng to
glve hls materlal a llterary shape. He became a collector of
testlmony.
Jhls method presupposes the courage to seek out
human phenomena that frlghten every normal observer,
the author lncluded. But even when he reports from places
where no hope seems to exlst, the author`s empathy makes
ltself felt ln the aculty of hls ear. He says he flnds every per
son lnterestlng, at least for the flrst few hours. He dlstln
gulshes lndlvldual fates beyond the dutlful ldeallzatlon that
controls our perceptlon of the earth`s lllfated natlons. He
wants to understand the prlnclple of every person`s llfe, the
declslve thlng that makes hlm what he ls. He records the
relatlonshlp between pretenslon and reallty, two contours
that never really cover each other and never completely
dlverge.
Decay and dlsappearance are a fundamental theme
ln Nalpaul`s wrltlngsbut wlthout grlef, rather as some
thlng that makes exlstence bearable. Jhe Engllsh landscape
that he dlscovers ln q b~ ^~ ls the ruln of an
age of greatness, and at last he feels at home! He says that
even as a chlld, he has pondered that he was born lnto a
world past lts cllmax. Yet hls books are not negatlve. Hls
phraslng embodles an absence of reslgnatlon that keeps
melancholy at bay and shares wlth the reader the pure joy
of lntelllgence.
Nalpaul has pralsed the West for havlng recognlzed
the rlght to lndlvldual endeavour and for lts dlffldence. Jhe
core of hls devotlon to European clvlllsatlon ls that lt was
the only one of the alternatlve cultures that made lt posslble
for hlm to become a wrlter.
Slr Vldla! Your llfe as a wrlter calls to mlnd what
Alfred Nobel sald of hlmself. 'My homeland ls where I
work, and I work everywhere." In every place, you have
remalned yourself, falthful to your lnstlnct. Your books
trace the outllne of an lndlvldual quest of unusual dlmen
slons. Llke a Nemo pllotlng a craft of your own deslgn,
wlthout representlng anyone or anythlng, you have manl
fested the lndependence of llterature. I would llke to con
vey to you the warm congratulatlons of the Swedlsh
Academy as I now request you to recelve the Nobel Prlze
ln Llterature from the hands of Hls Majesty the Klng.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, 200l.|
k~~W _~ p
k~~ ~ k _~I NM a OMMNW
Your Majestles, Your Royal Hlghnesses, Honoured
Laureates, Ladles and Gentlemen,
One of the thlngs that happen to people who get
the Nobel Prlze ls that they get a lot of medla attentlon.
Many lntervlews. So many that I begln to feel now that
I have lost the capaclty for spontaneous thought. I need
the questlons. So I thought I would begln thls two
mlnute speech llke the oldfashloned comedlan. Jhe
man to whom thlngs happen on the way to the studlo.
Well, then. Somethlng happened to me on the
way to Stockholm. Jhe strap of my wrlstwatch broke.
322
sK pK k~~ ai_ PPN
And for some surreal moments I found myself looklng
at my watch on the floor of the plane. Jhls ls no meta
phor. Here ls the strapless watch. What dld lt mean?
What was the awful symbollsm? Jhe fact that all
through the Nobel week I was to be wlthout my watch.
Jhe great Caesar, landlng ln Egypt, fell flat on hls
face on the wet shore. You can lmaglne the consterna
tlon of hls offlcers, untll the great and resourceful man
shouted, 'Afrlca, I`ve got you!" Some centurles later,
the Emperor |ullan, tralnlng one mornlng wlth hls sol
dlers, lost the wlcker part of hls shleld. He was left hold
lng only the grlp or the handle. How terrlble for
everybody untll the Emperor shouted, 'What I have I
hold."
Not havlng the resourcefulness of these great
men, I could flnd no words to make the bad symbollsm
good. Lntll tonlght, when I understood that tlme was
to stop for me durlng thls Nobel week, and that, when
lt began agaln, lt would be truly new. Now my strapless
watch, benlgn agaln, tells me wlthout threat that my
tlme ls runnlng out. My two mlnutes are up.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, 200l. V. S. Nalpaul ls the
m o~W q k m
i~ OMMN
Zcodcmy, 11 Uctobcr 2001
V. S. Nalpaul
Jhe Nobel Prlze ln Llterature for 200l ls
awarded to the Brltlsh wrlter, born ln Jrlnldad, V. S.
Nalpaul
'for lovivg uvitcd pcrccptivc vorrotivc ovd ivcorruptiblc
scrutivy iv worls tlot compcl us to scc tlc prcscvcc of
supprcsscd listorics.
V. S. Nalpaul ls a llterary clrcumnavlgator, only
ever really at home ln hlmself, ln hls lnlmltable volce.
Slngularly unaffected by llterary fashlon and models he
has wrought exlstlng genres lnto a style of hls own, ln
whlch the customary dlstlnctlons between flctlon and
nonflctlon are of subordlnate lmportance.
Nalpaul`s llterary domaln has extended far
beyond the West Indlan lsland of Jrlnldad, hls flrst sub
ject, and now encompasses Indla, Afrlca, Amerlca from
south to north, the Islamlc countrles of Asla and, not
least, England. Nalpaul ls Conrad`s helr as the annallst
of the destlnles of emplres ln the moral sense. what they
do to human belngs. Hls authorlty as a narrator ls
grounded ln hls memory of what others have forgotten,
the hlstory of the vanqulshed.
Jhe farclcal yarns ln hls flrst work, Tlc Mystic
Mosscur, and the short storles ln Migucl Strcct wlth thelr
blend of Chekhov and calypso establlshed Nalpaul as a
humorlst and a portrayer of street llfe. He took a glant
strlde wlth Z Housc for Mr. iswos, one of those slngular
novels that seem to constltute thelr own complete unl
verses, ln thls case a mlnlature Indla on the perlphery of
the Brltlsh Emplre, the scene of hls father`s clrcum
scrlbed exlstence. In allowlng perlpheral flgures thelr
place ln the momentousness of great llterature, Nalpaul
reverses normal perspectlves and denles readers at the
centre thelr protectlve detachment. Jhls prlnclple was
made to serve ln a serles of novels ln whlch, desplte the
lncreaslngly documentary tone, the characters dld not
therefore become less colourful. Ilctlonal narratlves,
autoblography and documentarles have merged ln
Nalpaul`s wrltlng wlthout lt always belng posslble to
say whlch element domlnates.
In hls masterplece Tlc Ivigmo of Zrrivol Nalpaul
vlslts the reallty of England llke an anthropologlst
studylng some hltherto unexplored natlve trlbe deep ln
the jungle. Wlth apparently shortslghted and random
observatlons he creates an unrelentlng lmage of the
placld collapse of the old colonlal rullng culture and the
demlse of European nelghbourhoods.
Nalpaul has drawn attentlon to the novel`s lack of
unlversallty as a form, that lt presupposes an lnvlolate
human world of the klnd that has been shattered for
conquered peoples. He began to experlence the lnade
quacy of flctlon whlle he was worklng on Tlc Ioss of Il
Dorodo, ln whlch after extenslve study of the archlves he
descrlbed the appalllng colonlal hlstory of Jrlnldad. He
found that he had to cllng to the authentlclty of the
detalls and the volces and abstaln from mere flctlonal
lsatlon whlle at the same tlme contlnulng to render hls
materlal ln the form of llterature. Hls travel books allow
wltnesses to testlfy at every turn, not least ln hls power
ful descrlptlon of the eastern reglons of the Islamlc
world, cyovd clicf. Jhe author`s empathy flnds expres
slon ln the aculty of hls ear.
Nalpaul ls a modern plilosoplc, carrylng on the
tradltlon that started orlglnally wlth Icttrcs pcrsovcs and
Covdidc. In a vlgllant style, whlch has been deservedly
admlred, he transforms rage lnto preclslon and allows
events to speak wlth thelr own lnherent lrony.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, 200l.|
323
k~~W k iI a OMMN
q t
Jhls ls unusual for me. I have glven readlngs and
not lectures. I have told people who ask for lectures that
I have no lecture to glve. And that ls true. It mlght seem
strange that a man who has dealt ln words and emo
tlons and ldeas for nearly flfty years shouldn`t have a
few to spare, so to speak. But everythlng of value about
me ls ln my books. Whatever extra there ls ln me at any
glven moment lsn`t fully formed. I am hardly aware of
lt; lt awalts the next book. It wlllwlth luckcome to
me durlng the actual wrltlng, and lt wlll take me by sur
prlse. Jhat element of surprlse ls what I look for when I
am wrltlng. It ls my way of judglng what I am dolng
whlch ls never an easy thlng to do.
Proust has wrltten wlth great penetratlon of the
dlfference between the wrlter as wrlter and the wrlter as
a soclal belng. You wlll flnd hls thoughts ln some of hls
essays ln ^~ p~J_I a book reconstltuted from
hls early papers.
Jhe nlneteenthcentury Irench crltlc Salnte
Beuve belleved that to understand a wrlter lt was neces
sary to know as much as posslble about the exterlor
man, the detalls of hls llfe. It ls a begulllng method,
uslng the man to lllumlnate the work. It mlght seem
unassallable. But Proust ls able very convlnclngly to
plck lt apart. 'Jhls method of SalnteBeuve," Proust
wrltes, 'lgnores what a very sllght degree of self
acqualntance teaches us. that a book ls the product of a
dlfferent self from the self we manlfest ln our hablts, ln
our soclal llfe, ln our vlces. If we would try to under
stand that partlcular self, lt ls by searchlng our own
bosoms, and trylng to reconstruct lt there, that we may
arrlve at lt."
Jhose words of Proust should be wlth us when
ever we are readlng the blography of a wrlteror the
blography of anyone who depends on what can be
called lnsplratlon. All the detalls of the llfe and the
qulrks and the frlendshlps can be lald out for us, but
the mystery of the wrltlng wlll remaln. No amount of
documentatlon, however fasclnatlng, can take us there.
Jhe blography of a wrlteror even the autoblography
wlll always have thls lncompleteness.
Proust ls a master of happy ampllflcatlon, and I
would llke to go back to ^~ p~J_ just for a llt
tle. 'In fact," Proust wrltes, 'lt ls the secretlons of one`s
lnnermost self, wrltten ln solltude and for oneself alone
that one glves to the publlc. What one bestows on prl
vate llfeln conversatlon . . . or ln those drawlngroom
essays that are scarcely more than conversatlon ln
prlntls the product of a qulte superflclal self, not of the
lnnermost self whlch one can only recover by puttlng
aslde the world and the self that frequents the world."
When he wrote that, Proust had not yet found the
subject that was to lead hlm to the happlness of hls
great llterary labour. And you can tell from what I have
quoted that he was a man trustlng to hls lntultlon and
waltlng for luck. I have quoted these words before ln
other places. Jhe reason ls that they deflne how I have
gone about my buslness. I have trusted to lntultlon. I
dld lt at the beglnnlng. I do lt even now. I have no ldea
how thlngs mlght turn out, where ln my wrltlng I mlght
go next. I have trusted to my lntultlon to flnd the sub
jects, and I have wrltten lntultlvely. I have an ldea when
I start, I have a shape; but I wlll fully understand what I
have wrltten only after some years.
I sald earller that everythlng of value about me ls
ln my books. I wlll go further now. I wlll say I am the
sum of my books. Each book, lntultlvely sensed and, ln
the case of flctlon, lntultlvely worked out, stands on
what has gone before, and grows out of lt. I feel that at
any stage of my llterary career lt could have been sald
that the last book contalned all the others.
It`s been llke thls because of my background. My
background ls at once exceedlngly slmple and exceed
lngly confused. I was born ln Jrlnldad. It ls a small
lsland ln the mouth of the great Orlnoco rlver of Vene
zuela. So Jrlnldad ls not strlctly of South Amerlca, and
not strlctly of the Carlbbean. It was developed as a
New World plantatlon colony, and when I was born ln
l932 lt had a populatlon of about 100,000. Of thls,
about l50,000 were Indlans, Hlndus and Musllms,
nearly all of peasant orlgln, and nearly all from the
Gangetlc plaln.
321
k~~W k iI a OMMN ai_ PPN
Jhls was my very small communlty. Jhe bulk of
thls mlgratlon from Indla occurred after l880. Jhe deal
was llke thls. People lndentured themselves for flve
years to serve on the estates. At the end of thls tlme
they were glven a small plece of land, perhaps flve
acres, or a passage back to Indla. In l9l7, because of
agltatlon by Gandhl and others, the lndenture system
was abollshed. And perhaps because of thls, or for
some other reason, the pledge of land or repatrlatlon
was dlshonoured for many of the later arrlvals. Jhese
people were absolutely destltute. Jhey slept ln the
streets of Port of Spaln, the capltal. When I was a chlld I
saw them. I suppose I dldn`t know they were destltute
I suppose that ldea came much laterand they made no
lmpresslon on me. Jhls was part of the cruelty of the
plantatlon colony.
I was born ln a small country town called
Chaguanas, two or three mlles lnland from the Gulf of
Parla. Chaguanas was a strange name, ln spelllng and
pronunclatlon, and many of the Indlan peoplethey
were ln the majorlty ln the areapreferred to call lt by
the Indlan caste name of Chauhan.
I was thlrtyfour when I found out about the
name of my blrthplace. I was llvlng ln London, had
been llvlng ln England for slxteen years. I was wrltlng
my nlnth book. Jhls was a hlstory of Jrlnldad, a
human hlstory, trylng to recreate people and thelr sto
rles. I used to go to the Brltlsh Museum to read the
Spanlsh documents about the reglon. Jhese docu
mentsrecovered from the Spanlsh archlveswere cop
led out for the Brltlsh government ln the l890s at the
tlme of a nasty boundary dlspute wlth Venezuela. Jhe
documents begln ln l530 and end wlth the dlsappear
ance of the Spanlsh Emplre.
I was readlng about the foollsh search for El
Dorado, and the murderous lnterloplng of the Engllsh
hero, Slr Walter Ralelgh. In l595 he ralded Jrlnldad,
kllled all the Spanlards he could, and went up the
Orlnoco looklng for El Dorado. He found nothlng, but
when he went back to England he sald he had. He had
a plece of gold and some sand to show. He sald he had
hacked the gold out of a cllff on the bank of the
Orlnoco. Jhe Royal Mlnt sald that the sand he asked
them to assay was worthless, and other people sald that
he had bought the gold beforehand from North Afrlca.
He then publlshed a book to prove hls polnt, and for
four centurles people have belleved that Ralelgh had
found somethlng. Jhe maglc of Ralelgh`s book, whlch
ls really qulte dlfflcult to read, lay ln lts very long tltle.
q a i~I oI ~ _~ b dJ
~~I ~ ~ ~ ~ j~~ E
p~~ ~ b a~F ~ b~I ^J
~~I ^~~~I ~ I ~.
How real lt sounds! And he had hardly been on the
maln Orlnoco.
And then, as sometlmes happens wlth confldence
men, Ralelgh was caught by hls own fantasles. Jwenty
one years later, old and lll, he was let out of hls London
prlson to go to Gulana and flnd the gold mlnes he sald
he had found. In thls fraudulent venture hls son dled.
Jhe father, for the sake of hls reputatlon, for the sake of
hls lles, had sent hls son to hls death. And then Ralelgh,
full of grlef, wlth nothlng left to llve for, went back to
London to be executed.
Jhe story should have ended there. But Spanlsh
memorles were longno doubt because thelr lmperlal
correspondence was so slow. lt mlght take up to two
years for a letter from Jrlnldad to be read ln Spaln.
Elght years afterwards the Spanlards of Jrlnldad and
Gulana were stlll settllng thelr scores wlth the Gulf Indl
ans. One day ln the Brltlsh Museum I read a letter from
the Klng of Spaln to the governor of Jrlnldad. It was
dated l2 October l625.
'I asked you," the Klng wrote, 'to glve me some
lnformatlon about a certaln natlon of Indlans called
Chaguanes, who you say number above one thousand,
and are of such bad dlsposltlon that lt was they who led
the Engllsh when they captured the town. Jhelr crlme
hasn`t been punlshed because forces were not avallable
for thls purpose and because the Indlans acknowledge
no master save thelr own wlll. You have declded to glve
them a punlshment. Iollow the rules I have glven you;
and let me know how you get on."
What the governor dld I don`t know. I could flnd
no further reference to the Chaguanes ln the documents
ln the Museum. Perhaps there were other documents
about the Chaguanes ln the mountaln of paper ln the
Spanlsh archlves ln Sevllle whlch the Brltlsh govern
ment scholars mlssed or dldn`t thlnk lmportant enough
to copy out. What ls true ls that the llttle trlbe of over a
thousandwho would have been llvlng on both sldes of
the Gulf of Parladlsappeared so completely that no
one ln the town of Chaguanas or Chauhan knew any
thlng about them. And the thought came to me ln the
Museum that I was the flrst person slnce l625 to whom
that letter of the klng of Spaln had a real meanlng. And
that letter had been dug out of the archlves only ln
l896 or l897. A dlsappearance, and then the sllence of
centurles.
We llved on the Chaguanes` land. Every day ln
term tlmeI was just beglnnlng to go to schoolI walked
from my grandmother`s housepast the two or three
malnroad stores, the Chlnese parlour, the |ubllee Jhe
atre, and the hlghsmelllng llttle Portuguese factory that
made cheap blue soap and cheap yellow soap ln long
bars that were put out to dry and harden ln the morn
lngsevery day I walked past these eternalseemlng
325
ai_ PPN k~~W k iI a OMMN
thlngsto the Chaguanas Government School. Beyond
the school was sugarcane, estate land, golng up to the
Gulf of Parla. Jhe people who had been dlspossessed
would have had thelr own klnd of agrlculture, thelr own
calendar, thelr own codes, thelr own sacred sltes. Jhey
would have understood the Orlnocofed currents ln the
Gulf of Parla. Now all thelr skllls and everythlng else
about them had been obllterated.
Jhe world ls always ln movement. People have
everywhere at some tlme been dlspossessed. I suppose I
was shocked by thls dlscovery ln l967 about my blrth
place because I had never had any ldea about lt. But
that was the way most of us llved ln the agrlcultural col
ony, bllndly. Jhere was no plot by the authorltles to
keep us ln our darkness. I thlnk lt was more slmply that
the knowledge wasn`t there. Jhe klnd of knowledge
about the Chaguanes would not have been consldered
lmportant, and lt would not have been easy to recover.
Jhey were a small trlbe, and they were aborlglnal. Such
peopleon the malnland, ln what was called B.G., Brlt
lsh Gulanawere known to us, and were a klnd of joke.
People who were loud and lllbehaved were known, to
all groups ln Jrlnldad, I thlnk, as ~~. I used to
thlnk lt was a madeup word, made up to suggest wlld
ness. It was only when I began to travel ln Venezuela, ln
my fortles, that I understood that a word llke that was
the name of a rather large aborglnal trlbe there.
Jhere was a vague story when I was a chlldand
to me now lt ls an unbearably affectlng storythat at
certaln tlmes aborlglnal people came across ln canoes
from the malnland, walked through the forest ln the
south of the lsland, and at a certaln spot plcked some
klnd of frult or made some klnd of offerlng, and then
went back across the Gulf of Parla to the sodden estu
ary of the Orlnoco. Jhe rlte must have been of enor
mous lmportance to have survlved the upheavals of
four hundred years, and the extlnctlon of the aborlglnes
ln Jrlnldad. Or perhapsthough Jrlnldad and Venezuela
have a common florathey had come only to plck a
partlcular klnd of frult. I don`t know. I can`t remember
anyone lnqulrlng. And now the memory ls all lost; and
that sacred slte, lf lt exlsted, has become common
ground.
What was past was past. I suppose that was the
general attltude. And we Indlans, lmmlgrants from
Indla, had that attltude to the lsland. We llved for the
most part rltuallsed llves, and were not yet capable of
selfassessment, whlch ls where learnlng beglns. Half of
us on thls land of the Chaguanes were pretendlngper
haps not pretendlng, perhaps only feellng, never formu
latlng lt as an ldeathat we had brought a klnd of Indla
wlth us, whlch we could, as lt were, unroll llke a carpet
on the flat land.
My grandmother`s house ln Chaguanas was ln
two parts. Jhe front part, of brlcks and plaster, was
palnted whlte. It was llke a klnd of Indlan house, wlth a
grand balustraded terrace on the upper floor, and a
prayerroom on the floor above that. It was ambltlous
ln lts decoratlve detall, wlth lotus capltals on plllars, and
sculptures of Hlndu deltles, all done by people worklng
only from a memory of thlngs ln Indla. In Jrlnldad lt
was an archltectural oddlty. At the back of thls house,
and jolned to lt by an upper brldge room, was a tlmber
bulldlng ln the Irench Carlbbean style. Jhe entrance
gate was at the slde, between the two houses. It was a
tall gate of corrugated lron on a wooden frame. It made
for a flerce klnd of prlvacy.
So as a chlld I had thls sense of two worlds, the
world outslde that tall corrugatedlron gate, and the
world at homeor, at any rate, the world of my grand
mother`s house. It was a remnant of our caste sense, the
thlng that excluded and shut out. In Jrlnldad, where as
new arrlvals we were a dlsadvantaged communlty, that
excludlng ldea was a klnd of protectlon; lt enabled us
for the tlme belng, and only for the tlme belngto llve
ln our own way and accordlng to our own rules, to llve
ln our own fadlng Indla. It made for an extraordlnary
selfcentredness. We looked lnwards; we llved out our
days; the world outslde exlsted ln a klnd of darkness;
we lnqulred about nothlng.
Jhere was a Musllm shop next door. Jhe llttle
loggla of my grandmother`s shop ended agalnst hls
blank wall. Jhe man`s name was Mlan. Jhat was all
that we knew of hlm and hls famlly. I suppose we must
have seen hlm, but I have no mental plcture of hlm
now. We knew nothlng of Musllms. Jhls ldea of
strangeness, of the thlng to be kept outslde, extended
even to other Hlndus. Ior example, we ate rlce ln the
mlddle of the day, and wheat ln the evenlngs. Jhere
were some extraordlnary people who reversed thls nat
ural order and ate rlce ln the evenlngs. I thought of
these people as strangersyou must lmaglne me at thls
tlme as under seven, because when I was seven all thls
llfe of my grandmother`s house ln Chaguanas came to
an end for me. We moved to the capltal, and then to the
hllls to the northwest.
But the hablts of mlnd engendered by thls shutln
and shuttlngout llfe llngered for qulte a whlle. If lt were
not for the short storles my father wrote I would have
known almost nothlng about the general llfe of our
Indlan communlty. Jhose storles gave me more than
knowledge. Jhey gave me a klnd of solldlty. Jhey gave
me somethlng to stand on ln the world. I cannot lmag
lne what my mental plcture would have been wlthout
those storles.
Jhe world outslde exlsted ln a klnd of darkness;
and we lnqulred about nothlng. I was just old enough
326
to have some ldea of the Indlan eplcs, the Ramayana ln
partlcular. Jhe chlldren who came flve years or so after
me ln our extended famlly dldn`t have thls luck. No
one taught us Hlndl. Sometlmes someone wrote out the
alphabet for us to learn, and that was that; we were
expected to do the rest ourselves. So, as Engllsh pene
trated, we began to lose our language. My grand
mother`s house was full of rellglon; there were many
ceremonles and readlngs, some of whlch went on for
days. But no one explalned or translated for us who
could no longer follow the language. So our ancestral
falth receded, became mysterlous, not pertlnent to our
daytoday llfe.
We made no lnqulrles about Indla or about the
famllles people had left behlnd. When our ways of
thlnklng had changed, and we wlshed to know, lt was
too late. I know nothlng of the people on my father`s
slde; I know only that some of them came from Nepal.
Jwo years ago a klnd Nepalese who llked my name
sent me a copy of some pages from an l872 gazetteer
llke Brltlsh work about Indla, e `~ ~ q ~
o _~; the pages llstedamong a multl
tude of namesthose groups of Nepalese ln the holy
clty of Banaras who carrled the name Nalpal. Jhat ls all
that I have.
Away from thls world of my grandmother`s
house, where we ate rlce ln the mlddle of the day and
wheat ln the evenlngs, there was the great unknownln
thls lsland of only 100,000 people. Jhere were the Afrl
can or Afrlcanderlved people who were the majorlty.
Jhey were pollcemen; they were teachers. One of them
was my very flrst teacher at the Chaguanas Govern
ment School; I remembered her wlth adoratlon for
years. Jhere was the capltal, where very soon we
would all have to go for educatlon and jobs, and where
we would settle permanently, among strangers. Jhere
were the whlte people, not all of them Engllsh; and the
Portuguese and the Chlnese, at one tlme also lmml
grants llke us. And, more mysterlous than these, were
the people we called Spanlsh, ~I mlxed people of
warm brown complexlons who came from the Spanlsh
tlme, before the lsland was detached from Venezuela
and the Spanlsh Emplrea klnd of hlstory absolutely
beyond my chlld`s comprehenslon.
Jo glve you thls ldea of my background, I have
had to call on knowledge and ldeas that came to me
much later, prlnclpally from my wrltlng. As a chlld I
knew almost nothlng, nothlng beyond what I had
plcked up ln my grandmother`s house. All chlldren, I
suppose, come lnto the world llke that, not knowlng
who they are. But for the Irench chlld, say, that knowl
edge ls waltlng. Jhat knowledge wlll be all around
them. It wlll come lndlrectly from the conversatlon of
thelr elders. It wlll be ln the newspapers and on the
radlo. And at school the work of generatlons of schol
ars, scaled down for school texts, wlll provlde some
ldea of Irance and the Irench.
In Jrlnldad, brlght boy though I was, I was sur
rounded by areas of darkness. School elucldated noth
lng for me. I was crammed wlth facts and formulas.
Everythlng had to be learned by heart; everythlng was
abstract for me. Agaln, I do not belleve there was a plan
or plot to make our courses llke that. What we were
gettlng was standard school learnlng. In another settlng
lt would have made sense. And at least some of the fall
lng would have laln ln me. Wlth my llmlted soclal back
ground lt was hard for me lmaglnatlvely to enter lnto
other socletles or socletles that were far away. I loved
the ldea of books, but I found lt hard to read them. I got
on best wlth thlngs llke Andersen and Aesop, tlmeless,
placeless, not excludlng. And when at last ln the slxth
form, the hlghest form ln the college, I got to llke some
of our llterature textsMollre, Cyrano de BergeracI
suppose lt was because they had the quallty of the
falrytale.
When I became a wrlter those areas of darkness
around me as a chlld became my subjects. Jhe land;
the aborlglnes; the New World; the colony; the hlstory;
Indla; the Musllm world, to whlch I also felt myself
related; Afrlca; and then England, where I was dolng
my wrltlng. Jhat was what I meant when I sald that my
books stand one on the other, and that I am the sum of
my books. Jhat was what I meant when I sald that my
background, the source and promptlng of my work,
was at once exceedlngly slmple and exceedlngly compll
cated. You wlll have seen how slmple lt was ln the coun
try town of Chaguanas. And I thlnk you wlll
understand how compllcated lt was for me as a wrlter.
Especlally ln the beglnnlng, when the llterary models I
hadthe models glven me by what I can only call my
false learnlngdealt wlth entlrely dlfferent socletles. But
perhaps you mlght feel that the materlal was so rlch lt
would have been no trouble at all to get started and to
go on. What I have sald about the background, how
ever, comes from the knowledge I acqulred wlth my
wrltlng. And you must belleve me when I tell you that
the pattern ln my work has only become clear ln the
last two months or so. Passages from old books were
read to me, and I saw the connectlons. Lntll then the
greatest trouble for me was to descrlbe my wrltlng to
people, to say what I had done.
I sald I was an lntultlve wrlter. Jhat was so, and
that remalns so now, when I am nearly at the end. I
never had a plan. I followed no system. I worked lntu
ltlvely. My alm every tlme was do a book, to create
somethlng that would be easy and lnterestlng to read.
At every stage I could only work wlthln my knowledge
and senslblllty and talent and worldvlew. Jhose thlngs
327
ai_ PPN k~~W k iI a OMMN
developed book by book. And I had to do the books I
dld because there were no books about those subjects to
glve me what I wanted. I had to clear up my world, elu
cldate lt, for myself.
I had to go to the documents ln the Brltlsh
Museum and elsewhere, to get the true feel of the hls
tory of the colony. I had to travel to Indla because there
was no one to tell me what the Indla my grandparents
had come from was llke. Jhere was the wrltlng of
Nehru and Gandhl; and strangely lt was Gandhl, wlth
hls South Afrlcan experlence, who gave me more, but
not enough. Jhere was Klpllng; there were Brltlsh
Indlan wrlters llke |ohn Masters (golng very strong ln
the l950s, wlth an announced plan, later abandoned, I
fear, for thlrtyflve connected novels about Brltlsh
Indla); there were romances by women wrlters. Jhe
few Indlan wrlters who had come up at that tlme were
mlddleclass people, towndwellers; they dldn`t know
the Indla we had come from.
And when that Indlan need was satlsfled, others
became apparent. Afrlca, South Amerlca, the Musllm
world. Jhe alm has always been to flll out my world
plcture, and the purpose comes from my chlldhood. to
make me more at ease wlth myself. Klnd people have
sometlmes wrltten asklng me to go and wrlte about
Germany, say, or Chlna. But there ls much good wrlt
lng already about those places; I am wllllng to depend
there on the wrltlng that exlsts. And those subjects are
for other people. Jhose were not the areas of darkness I
felt about me as a chlld. So, just as there ls a develop
ment ln my work, a development ln narratlve sklll and
knowledge and senslblllty, so there ls a klnd of unlty, a
focus, though I mlght appear to be golng ln many dlrec
tlons.
When I began I had no ldea of the way ahead. I
wlshed only to do a book. I was trylng to wrlte ln
England, where I stayed on after my years at the unl
verslty, and lt seemed to me that my experlence was
very thln, was not truly of the stuff of books. I could
flnd ln no book anythlng that came near my back
ground. Jhe young Irench or Engllsh person who
wlshed to wrlte would have found any number of mod
els to set hlm on hls way. I had none. My father`s storles
about our Indlan communlty belonged to the past. My
world was qulte dlfferent. It was more urban, more
mlxed. Jhe slmple physlcal detalls of the chaotlc llfe of
our extended famllysleeplng rooms or sleeplng spaces,
eatlng tlmes, the sheer number of peopleseemed
lmposslble to handle. Jhere was too much to be
explalned, both about my home llfe and about the
world outslde. And at the same tlme there was also too
much about usllke our own ancestry and hlstorythat
I dldn`t know.
At last one day there came to me the ldea of start
lng wlth the Port of Spaln street to whlch we had moved
from Chaguanas. Jhere was no blg corrugatedlron
gate shuttlng out the world there. Jhe llfe of the street
was open to me. It was an lntense pleasure for me to
observe lt from the verandah. Jhls street llfe was what I
began to wrlte about. I wlshed to wrlte fast, to avold
too much selfquestlonlng, and so I slmpllfled. I sup
pressed the chlldnarrator`s background. I lgnored the
raclal and soclal complexltles of the street. I explalned
nothlng. I stayed at ground level, so to speak. I pre
sented people only as they appeared on the street. I
wrote a story a day. Jhe flrst storles were very short. I
was worrled about the materlal lastlng long enough.
But then the wrltlng dld lts maglc. Jhe materlal began
to present ltself to me from many sources. Jhe storles
became longer; they couldn`t be wrltten ln a day. And
then the lnsplratlon, whlch at one stage had seemed
very easy, rolllng me along, came to an end. But a book
had been wrltten, and I had ln my own mlnd become a
wrlter.
Jhe dlstance between the wrlter and hls materlal
grew wlth the two later books; the vlslon was wlder.
And then lntultlon led me to a large book about our
famlly llfe. Durlng thls book my wrltlng ambltlon grew.
But when lt was over I felt I had done all that I could do
wlth my lsland materlal. No matter how much I medl
tated on lt, no further flctlon would come.
Accldent, then, rescued me. I became a traveller. I
travelled ln the Carlbbean reglon and understood much
more about the colonlal setup of whlch I had been
part. I went to Indla, my ancestral land, for a year; lt
was a journey that broke my llfe ln two. Jhe books that
I wrote about these two journeys took me to new
realms of emotlon, gave me a worldvlew I had never
had, extended me technlcally. I was able ln the flctlon
that then came to me to take ln England as well as the
Carlbbeanand how hard that was to do. I was able
also to take ln all the raclal groups of the lsland, whlch I
had never before been able to do.
Jhls new flctlon was about colonlal shame and
fantasy, a book, ln fact, about how the powerless lle
about themselves, and lle to themselves, slnce lt ls thelr
only resource. Jhe book was called q j j. And
lt was not about mlmlcs. It was about colonlal men
mlmlcklng the condltlon of manhood, men who had
grown to dlstrust everythlng about themselves. Some
pages of thls book were read to me the other dayI
hadn`t looked at lt for more than thlrty yearsand lt
occurred to me that I had been wrltlng about colonlal
schlzophrenla. But I hadn`t thought of lt llke that. I had
never used abstract words to descrlbe any wrltlng pur
pose of mlne. If I had, I would never have been able to
328
do the book. Jhe book was done lntultlvely, and only
out of close observatlon.
I have done thls llttle survey of the early part of
my career to try to show the stages by whlch, ln just ten
years, my blrthplace had altered or developed ln my
wrltlng. from the comedy of street llfe to a study of a
klnd of wldespread schlzophrenla. What was slmple
had become compllcated.
Both flctlon and the travelbook form have glven
me my way of looklng; and you wlll understand why
for me all llterary forms are equally valuable. It came to
me, for lnstance, when I set out to wrlte my thlrd book
about Indlatwentyslx years after the flrstthat what
was most lmportant about a travel book were the peo
ple the wrlter travelled among. Jhe people had to
deflne themselves. A slmple enough ldea, but lt
requlred a new klnd of book; lt called for a new way of
travelllng. And lt was the very method I used later
when I went, for the second tlme, lnto the Musllm
world.
I have always moved by lntultlon alone. I have no
system, llterary or polltlcal. I have no guldlng polltlcal
ldea. I thlnk that probably lles wlth my ancestry. Jhe
Indlan wrlter R. K. Narayan, who dled thls year, had
no polltlcal ldea. My father, who wrote hls storles ln a
very dark tlme, and for no reward, had no polltlcal
ldea. Perhaps lt ls because we have been far from
authorlty for many centurles. It glves us a speclal polnt
of vlew. I feel we are more lncllned to see the humour
and plty of thlngs.
Nearly thlrty years ago I went to Argentlna. It
was at the tlme of the guerrllla crlsls. People were walt
lng for the old dlctator Pern to come back from exlle.
Jhe country was full of hate. Pernlsts were waltlng to
settle old scores. One such man sald to me, 'Jhere ls
good torture and bad torture." Good torture was what
you dld to the enemles of the people. Bad torture was
what the enemles of the people dld to you. People on
the other slde were saylng the same thlng. Jhere was
no true debate about anythlng. Jhere was only passlon
and the borrowed polltlcal jargon of Europe. I wrote,
'Where jargon turns llvlng lssues lnto abstractlons, and
where jargon ends by competlng wlth jargon, people
don`t have causes. Jhey only have enemles."
And the passlons of Argentlna are stlll worklng
themselves out, stlll defeatlng reason and consumlng
llves. No resolutlon ls ln slght.
I am near the end of my work now. I am glad to
have done what I have done, glad creatlvely to have
pushed myself as far as I could go. Because of the lntul
tlve way ln whlch I have wrltten, and also because of
the baffllng nature of my materlal, every book has
come as a blesslng. Every book has amazed me; up to
the moment of wrltlng I never knew lt was there. But
the greatest mlracle for me was gettlng started. I feel
and the anxlety ls stlll vlvld to methat I mlght easlly
have falled before I began.
I wlll end as I began, wlth one of the marvellous
llttle essays of Proust ln ^~ p~J_. 'Jhe beau
tlful thlngs we shall wrlte lf we have talent," Proust says,
'are lnslde us, lndlstlnct, llke the memory of a melody
whlch dellghts us though we are unable to recapture lts
outllne. Jhose who are obsessed by thls blurred mem
ory of truths they have never known are the men who
are glfted. . . . Jalent ls llke a sort of memory whlch wlll
enable them flnally to brlng thls lndlstlnct muslc closer
to them, to hear lt clearly, to note lt down. . . ."
Jalent, Proust says. I would say luck, and much
labour.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, 200l. V. S. Nalpaul ls the
329
m~ k~
(12 uly 1904 - 2J Scptcmbcr 197J)
b~~ o
Uvivcrsity of Zriovo
Jhls entry was expanded by Rlvero from her Neruda
entry ln DI 2SJ: Modcrv Spovisl Zmcricov Iocts, Iirst
Scrics.
BOOKS. Crcpusculorio (Santlago. Clarldad, l923);
!civtc pocmos dc omor y uvo covciov dcscspcrodo (Santlago.
Nasclmento, l921); translated by W. S. Merwln
as Twcvty Iovc Iocms ovd o Sovg of Dcspoir (London.
Cape, l969; New York. Penguln, l978);
Tcvtotivo dcl lombrc ivfivito (Santlago. Nasclmento, l926);
Zvillos, by Neruda and Joms Lago (Santlago. Nascl
mento, l926);
Il lobitovtc y su cspcrovo (Santlago. Nasclmento, l926);
Il lovdcro cvtusiosto (Santlago. Empresa Letras, l933);
Icsidcvcio cv lo ticrro: 192-19J1 (Santlago. Nasclmento,
l933); enlarged as Icsidcvcio cv lo ticrro: 192-
19J, 2 volumes (Madrld. Cruz Raya, l935);
translated by Angel Ilores ln Icsidcvcc ov Iortl,
ovd Utlcr Iocms (Norfolk, Conn.. New Dlrectlons,
l916);
Ispovo cv cl coroov (Santlago. Ercllla, l937); translated
by Ilores as Spoiv iv tlc Hcort ln Icsidcvcc ov Iortl,
ovd Utlcr Iocms;
Ios furios y los pcvos (Santlago. Nasclmento, l939);
Covto gcvcrol dc Clilc: Irogmcvtos (Mexlco Clty. Prlvately
publlshed, l913);
Tcrccro rcsidcvcio: 19J-194 (Buenos Alres. Losada,
l917); translated by Donald Walsh ln Icsidcvcc ov
Iortl (New York. New Dlrectlons, l973);
Zlturos dc Mocclu Iicclu (Santlago. Llbrera Nelra, l917);
translated by Nathanlel Jarn as Tlc Hciglts of
Mocclu Iicclu (London. Cape, l966; New York.
Iarrar, Straus Glroux, l966);
Covto gcvcrol (Mexlco Clty. Jalleres Grflcos de la
Nacln, l950); excerpts translated by Ben Belltt
as Iocms from tlc Covto Ccvcrol (New York. Racolln,
l968);
Ios vcrsos dcl copitv, anonymous (Naples. LÀrte
Jlpograflca, l952); as Neruda (Buenos Alres.
Losada, l963); translated by Walsh as Tlc Cop-
toiv`s !crscs (New York. New Dlrectlons, l972);
Ios uvos y cl vicvto (Santlago. Nasclmento, l951);
Udos clcmcvtolcs (Buenos Alres. Losada, l951); translated
by Carlos Lozano as Ilcmcvtory Udcs (New York.
Gaetano Massa, l96l);
ùcvos odos clcmcvtolcs (Buenos Alres. Losada, l956);
Tcrccr libro dc los odos (Buenos Alres. Losada, l957);
Istrovogorio (Buenos Alres. Losada, l958); translated by
Allstalr Reld as Ixtrovogorio (London. Cape,
l972; New York. Iarrar, Straus Glroux, l971);
òvcgociovcs y rcgrcsos (Buenos Alres. Losada, l959);
Cicv sovctos dc omor (Santlago. Edltorlal Lnlversltarla,
l959); translated by Stephen Japscott as Uvc Huv-
drcd Iovc Sovvcts (Austln. Lnlverslty of Jexas
Press, l986);
Covciov dc gcsto (Havana. Casa de las Amrlcas, l960);
translated by Mlguel Algarn as Sovg of Irotcst
(New York. Morrow, l976);
Ios picdros dc Clilc (Buenos Alres. Losada, l96l); trans
lated by Dennls Maloney as Tlc Stovcs of Clilc
(Iredonla, N.Y.. Whlte Plne, l986);
Covtos ccrcmoviolcs (Buenos Alres. Losada, l96l); trans
lated by Marla |ackettl as Ccrcmoviol Sovgs (Pltts
burgh. Latln Amerlcan Llterary Revlew Press,
l996);
Ilcvos podcrcs (Buenos Alres. Losada, l962); translated
by Reld as Iully Impowcrcd (New York. Iarrar,
Straus Glroux, l975);
Mcmoriol dc Islo `cgro, 5 volumes (Buenos Alres. Losada,
l961); translated by Reld as Islo `cgro: Z òtcbool
(New York. Iarrar, Straus Glroux, l98l);
Zrtc dc pjoros (Santlago. Socledad de Amlgos del Arte
Contemporneo, l966); translated by |ack
Schmltt as Zrt of irds (Austln. Lnlverslty of
Jexas Press, l985);
Uvo coso cv lo orcvo (Barcelona. Lumen, l966); trans
lated by Maloney and Clark M. Zlotchew as Tlc
Housc ot Islo `cgro: Irosc Iocms (Iredonla, N.Y..
Whlte Plne, l988);
Iulgor y mucrtc dc ooquv Muricto: ovdido clilcvo ivjusti-
ciodo cv Coliforvio cl 2J dc julio dc 1SJ (Santlago.
ZlgZag, l967); translated by Belltt as Splcvdor ovd
330
m~ k~ ai_ PPN
a~ g~ j~ (New York. Iarrar, Straus
Glroux, l972; London. Alcove, l973);
i~ ~~~ (Buenos Alres. Losada, l967);
i~ ~ ~ (Buenos Alres. Losada, l968);
c (Santlago. Socledad de Arte Contempor
neo, l969);
^ (Santlago. Nasclmento, l969); translated by Wll
llam O`Daly as p ^ a~ (Port Jownsend,
Wash.. Copper Canyon, l981);
j~ (Santlago. Socledad de Arte Contemporneo
de Santlago, l970); translated by |ackettl and
Maloney as p~~ (Iredonla, N.Y.. Whlte Plne,
l990);
i~ ~~ ~ (Buenos Alres. Losada, l970);
i~ ~ (Buenos Alres. Losada, l970); trans
lated by |ames Nolan as p p (Port
Jownsend, Wash.. Copper Canyon, l987);
d~~ ~ (Buenos Alres. Losada, l972);
f~ ~ ~~~~ ~ ~
(Buenos Alres. Losada, l973); translated by
Jeresa Anderson as ^ `~ a
k ~ m~ `~ o (Cam
brldge, Mass.. West End, l980);
i~ ~ ~~~ (Buenos Alres. Losada, l973); trans
lated by O`Daly as ^ p~~ o (Port
b ~ ~ ~~~ (Buenos Alres. Losada, l973);
translated by O`Daly as q p~ ~ _ (Port
q~ p `W k i (New York. Iarrar,
Straus Glroux, l971);
g~ (Buenos Alres. Losada, l971); trans
lated by O`Daly as t d~ (Port Jownsend,
Wash.. Copper Canyon, l986);
OMMM (Buenos Alres. Losada, l971); translated by Rlch
ard Schaaf (Ialls Church, Va.. Azul Edltlons,
l997);
b ~ ~~ (Buenos Alres. Losada, l971); trans
lated by O`Daly as q v e~ (Port
i ~ ~ (Buenos Alres. Losada, l971); trans
lated by O`Daly as q _ n (Port
Jownsend, Wash.. Copper Canyon, l99l);
b~ (Buenos Alres. Losada, l971); translated by |ack
Hlrschman as b (San Iranclsco. Davld Books,
l983);
m~ k~ EF NVTN k m i~ h d~ sf ^ p E^m mF
33l
ai_ PPN m~ k~
Dcfcctos cscogidos (Buenos Alres. Losada, l971);
Covficso quc lc vivido (Barcelona. Selx Barral, l971);
translated by Hardle St. Martln as Mcmoirs (New
York. Iarrar, Straus Glroux, l977);
Ioro voccr lc vocido, edlted by Matllde Neruda and
Mlguel Otero Sllva (Barcelona. Selx Barral,
l978); translated by Margaret Sayers Peden as
Iossiovs ovd Imprcssiovs (New York. Iarrar, Straus
Glroux, l982);
Il ro ivvisiblc, edlted by |orge Edwards (Barcelona. Selx
Barral, l980);
Cuodcrvos dc Tcmuco, 1919-1920, edlted by Vlctor Iaras
(Buenos Alres. Selx Barral, l996);
Jo ocuso: Discursos porlomcvtorios, edlted by Leonldas
Agulrre Sllva (Bogot. Oveja Negra, 2002);
Jo rcspovdo cov mi obro: Covfcrcvcios, discursos, cortos, dccloro-
ciovcs (19J2-199), edlted by Pedro Gutlrrez
Revuelta and Manuel |. Gutlrrez (Salamanca,
Spaln. Edlclones Lnlversldad de Salamanca,
2001).
`W Ubros complctos (Buenos Alres. Losada,
l957; enlarged, l962; enlarged agaln, 2 volumes,
l967; enlarged agaln, 3 volumes, l973).
b bW Z `cw Dccodc: Iocms, 19S-1967,
edlted by Ben Belltt, translated by Belltt and
Allstalr Reld (New York. Grove, l969);
Ioblo `crudo: Tlc Iorly Iocms, translated by Davld Oss
man and Carlos B. Hagen (New York. New Rlv
ers, l969);
`cw Iocms (196S-1970), edlted and translated by Belltt
(New York. Grove, l972);
Iivc Dccodcs: Z Sclcctiov: Iocms, 192-1970, edlted and
translated by Belltt (New York. Grove, l971);
Ioblo `crudo: Z osic Zvtlology, selected by Robert Prlng
Mlll (Oxford. Dolphln, l975);
Iotc ovd Iostlumous Iocms, 196S-1974, edlted and trans
lated by Belltt (New York. Grove, l988);
Sclcctcd Udcs of Ioblo `crudo, translated by Margaret Say
ers Peden (Berkeley. Lnlverslty of Callfornla
Press, l990);
Covto Ccvcrol, Ilftleth Annlversary Edltlon, translated
by |ack Schmltt (Berkeley. Lnlverslty of Callfor
nla Press, l99l);
Udcs to Commov Tlivgs, selected by Ierrls Cook, trans
lated by Ken Krabbenhoft (Boston. Llttle, Brown,
l991);
Ioblo `crudo ovd ìcovor Iorro Iocc to Iocc: Z ilivguol ovd
Criticol Iditiov of Tlcir Spccclcs ov tlc Uccosiov of
`crudo`s Zppoivtmcvt to tlc Ioculty of tlc Uvivcrsity of
Clilc, translated by Marlene Gottlleb (Lewlston,
N.Y.. Edwln Mellen Press, l997).
PLAY PRODLCJIONS. Iomco ovd ulict, adapted
from Wllllam Shakespeare`s play, Santlago, Instl
tuto de Jeatro de la Lnlversldad de Chlle, l8
October l961;
Iulgor y mucrtc dc ooquv Muricto, Santlago, Instltuto de
Jeatro de la Lnlversldad de Chlle, l1 October
l967.
RECORDING. Ioblo `crudo Icodivg His Ioctry, Caed
mon JC l2l5, l967.
Pablo Neruda, one of the most wldely read Latln
Amerlcan poets of all tlme, was awarded the Nobel
Prlze ln Llterature ln l97l. Jhls honor came as the cul
mlnatlon of more than flfty years of wrltlng poetry that
moved readers worldwlde, for Neruda`s verses of love,
nature, and polltlcs were heard across borders. In the
Nobel cltatlon, the Swedlsh Academy pralsed hlm 'for
a poetry that wlth the actlon of an elemental force
brlngs allve a contlnent`s destlny and dreams." Both hls
lyrlcal sklll and hls commltted, collectlve volce bespeak
the passlon and lnslghtful observatlon that character
lzed hls llfe and hls works.
Neruda was born Neftal Rlcardo Reyes Basoalto
ln Parral, a small town ln southern central Chlle, on l2
|uly l901. Jhe son of rallroad englneer |os del Car
men Reyes and elementaryschool teacher Rosa
Basoalto (who dled of tuberculosls two months after the
chlld came lnto the world), Reyes grew up surrounded
by ralny forests and majestlc mountalns. When he was
two years old, hls father moved to Jemuco and llved
there throughout the boy`s adolescence, ln a wooden
house wlth a small garden. Reyes learned to read early
and began to wrlte tlmld verses, a polnt of contentlon
wlth hls father, who would not encourage hls 'day
dreamlng," and hls schoolmates, who made fun of hlm.
He grew up readlng voraclously, as a lonely boy, ln
splte of the two slbllngs born of hls father`s second mar
rlage, Laura and Rodolfo. At the age of slxteen Reyes
was lntroduced to Irench poetry by the headmlstress of
Jemuco`s school for glrls, Gabrlela Mlstral, a poet who
ln l915 recelved the flrst Nobel Prlze ln Llterature
awarded to a Latln Amerlcan author.
Hls father`s remarrlage to Doa Jrlnldad Candla
Marverde (whom Neruda fondly recalled ln hls auto
blographlcal poetry as 'la mamadre," the mother) was a
blesslng for Reyes. As a chlld he revered hls step
mother, a sweet and sllent woman of peasant stock who
was close to the earth that he wrote of contlnually as a
poet. Jhe Reyes home was modest, but the boy had
some prlvacy for hls readlng. 'En un mlnuto la noche y
la lluvla cubren el mundo. All estoy solo y en ml cuad
erno de arltmtlca escrlbo versos" (In one mlnute the
nlght and the raln cover the world. I am there all alone
and ln my arlthmetlc notebook I wrlte poems), he
recalled later ln the l962 edltlon of hls Ubros complctos
332
m~ k~ ai_ PPN
(Complete Works). Hls chlldhood ln southern Chlle
was a lastlng lnfluence on hls poetry, the geographlcal
background taklng on thematlc lmportance. In hls
mature verses lt became the substructure of hls entlre
way of seelng and lnterpretlng the world. Many years
later Neruda recalled hls Jemucan youth ln the flrst vol
ume of hls autoblographlcal verse memolr, Mcmoriol dc
Islo `cgro (l961; translated as Islo `cgro: Z òtcbool,
l98l), whlch he publlshed on hls slxtleth blrthday.
Some of the poems wrltten durlng hls formatlve years
ln Jemuco are found ln hls flrst publlshed book, Crcpus-
culorio (l923, Jwlllghts).
In l9l8 Reyes had hls flrst poem publlshed ln a
Santlago magazlne, whlch prlnted thlrteen more of hls
composltlons the next year. Jwo llterary prlzes fol
lowed, and then thlrd place ln the Rlver Maule Iloral
Games poetry competltlon. In l920 Reyes won flrst
prlze for poetry ln the sprlng festlval ln Jemuco. Also
that year he became a contrlbutor to the llterary journal
Sclvo Zustrol (Southern |ungle) under the pen name of
Pablo Neruda, whlch he adopted ln memory of the
nlneteenthcentury Czech poet |an Neruda. He began
to dream about becomlng a fullfledged poet and ln
l92l left hls frontler hometown and moved to Santlago,
the capltal, to traln as a teacher of Irench. He never
completed the study program. Soon after hls arrlval he
won flrst prlze ln the poetry contest held by the Chllean
Lnlverslty Student Iederatlon wlth hls poem 'La can
cln de la flesta" (Jhe Iestlve Song). It ls a Modernlsta
plece, full of the rhythms and elegant lmages of early
twentlethcentury Spanlsh Amerlcan poetry and already
dlsplaylng great dexterlty ln lts handllng of sonorlty
and color. Jhe young poet`s head 'estaba llena de
llbros, sueos y poemas zumbando como abejas" (was
fllled wlth books, dreams, and poems buzzlng around
llke bees), as he recalls ln hls Covficso quc lc vivido (l971,
I Confess Jhat I Have Llved; translated as Mcmoirs,
l977). In l923 he sold all of hls possesslons to flnance
the publlcatlon of Crcpusculorio. He publlshed the vol
ume under hls pseudonym to avold confllct wlth hls
famlly, who dlsapproved of hls occupatlon. Crcpusculorio
was the book that slgnaled hls entry lnto the world of
publlshed poetry; he was between elghteen and nlne
teen when he wrote those verses.
Crcpusculorio lncludes some of the erotlc poems for
whlch Neruda was known throughout hls llfe, but
mostly hls themes here belong to nature, somewhat ln
the veln of the Irench Symbollsts such as Paul Verlalne.
Jhe sectlon 'Los crepsculos de Marurl" (Jhe Marurl
Sunsets), partlcularly, exempllfles thls thematlc concern.
Llnes such as 'La tarde sobre los tejados / cae / y cae . . . /
_uln le dlo para que vlnlera / alas de ave?" (Jhe after
noon / falls / and falls / over the roofs . . . / Who gave lt
for thls journey / the wlngs of a blrd?), from the poem
'La tarde sobre los tejados," convey a vague sadness
about the lmpendlng demlse of llght, the approachlng
darkness, and lts lmpact on the poet. Jhe early love
poetry of Crcpusculorio, however, was not as accom
pllshed and successful as hls !civtc pocmos dc omor y uvo
covciov dcscspcrodo (l921; translated as Twcvty Iovc Iocms
ovd o Sovg of Dcspoir, l969). Jo date, the latter ls the
most publlshed and reproduced collectlon of Latln
Amerlcan verse, havlng been translated lnto twenty
four languages. Jhls book establlshed Neruda`s reputa
tlon as a poet of erotlc and romantlc love, openlng hls
career to publlc acclalm.
It ls dlfflcult to overstate the lmpact of the publlca
tlon of !civtc pocmos dc omor y uvo covciov dcscspcrodo. Jhe
collectlon became one of the great success storles of lts
llterary era ln the Hlspanlc world. Over the years lts
style and themes domlnated Spanlsh Amerlcan poetlc
currents. By l973, the last year for whlch statlstlcs were
avallable, more than two mllllon coples of the Spanlsh
text alone had been sold. Jhe themes of these twenty
one amorous composltlons are the sensuous, desperate
yearnlng of a man ln love wlth the woman he sees dls
appearlng from hls llfe; the flnal 'cancln desesperada"
of farewell; and the descrlptlons of a woman`s body
equated to the earth. passlon, sensuallty, ecstasy,
descent lnto sorrow, and lonellness. !civtc pocmos dc omor
y uvo covciov dcscspcrodo ls a work of exuberant and erotlc
love, an exaltatlon of woman and sensuallty wrltten
from grlef and the lonellness of melancholy.
Neruda has explalned that there are baslcally two
love storles ln the book. the love that fllled hls adoles
cence ln the provlnces and the love he found later ln the
labyrlnth of Santlago. In Covficso quc lc vivido the poet
calls these two women Marlsol (llterally, Mary Sun, or
Sea and Sun) and Marlsombra (Mary Shadow, or Sea
and Shadow). Jhese two lmages glve rlse to the earthy
metaphors for the female body and soul that permeate
the book, as ln 'Poema l9".
Nla morena y gll, el sol que hace las frutas,
el que cuaja los trlgos, el que tuerce las algas,
hlzo tu cuerpo alegre, tus lumlnosos ojos
y tu boca que tlene la sonrlsa del agua.
(Nlmble and bronzesklnned glrl, the sun that makes frults
grow,
the sun that swells the wheat, the sun that plalts sea weeds,
thls sun has bullt your merry body, your lumlnous eyes,
your mouth that curves wlth the water`s smlle.)
Jhe exultatlon ends, however, ln solltary grlef ln 'Poema
20" and ln 'La Cancln Desesperada" (Jhe Song of
Despalr), wlth lts lmages of shlpwreck and desolatlon.
Jhe poet has found defeat ln love. 'Abandonado como
los muelles en el alba. / Es la hora de partlr" (Abandoned
333
ai_ PPN m~ k~
llke the wharfs at dawn. / It ls tlme to depart). Jhe two
women and the two moods of !civtc pocmos dc omor y uvo
covciov dcscspcrodo are captured ln slmple, even stark, lan
guage. Neruda had not yet taken the step that plunged
hlm lnto the surreallst world of lmages of Icsidcvcio cv lo
ticrro: 192-19J (l935; translated as Icsidcvcc ov Iortl,
l916), but lntultlvely he antlclpated that gray landscape
of doubt and nothlngness on the horlzon.
Between l925 and l927, Neruda became lmpatlent
wlth hlmself and wlth hls work. In splte of the popularlty
of hls flrst book, fortune was eludlng hlm, and he was
stlll unknown outslde of Chlle. He made contact wlth the
Mlnlstry of Iorelgn Affalrs and ln l927 got hlmself
appolnted as honorary consul of Chlle to Rangoon,
Burma. Jhls appolntment followed the standlng Latln
Amerlcan tradltlon of honorlng poets wlth dlplomatlc
asslgnments. Hls knowledge of spoken Engllsh was
sketchy and hls consular experlence nll. He was an
adventurous, restless twentythreeyearold wrlter, a tall,
somber young man wlth dark eyes and a taste for
women, wlth a charlsmatlc presence and llttle ln the way
of money or possesslons.
Durlng the lengthy transoceanlc journey to
Rangoon, Neruda wrote reports and artlcles to news
papers ln Chlle and long letters to frlends. Jhese wrltlngs,
as well as hls poetry, contlnued when he arrlved ln the
Orlent. Jhe East for hlm turned out to be a mlxture of
chaos, poverty, and fasclnatlng perceptlons of anclent cul
tures ln contact wlth an oppresslve colonlal presence.
Angulsh and despalr followed the poet, and he llved ln
almost abject poverty desplte hls appolntment. Alcohol,
poetry, and women were hls escapes.
In Rangoon, a Burmese woman named |osle Bllss fell
passlonately ln love wlth Neruda and followed hlm every
where. In splte of hls own attachment to her, the poet was
dlsturbed and frlghtened by her extreme jealousy, and he
left her behlnd when he was suddenly appolnted Chllean
consul ln Ceylon (Srl Lanka) ln l928. On the boat he wrote
hls poem 'Jango del vludo" (Jhe Wldower`s Jango)later
to appear ln the flrst volume of Icsidcvcio cv lo ticrroas a sad
farewell to hls jealous lover. Bllss surprlsed hlm by appear
lng on hls doorstep ln Colombo, Ceylon, however, and a
second bltter farewell ensued sometlme later.
In l929 Neruda attended a meetlng of the Indlan
Natlonal Congress Party ln Calcutta. Jhe vast crowds
only added to hls developlng feellngs of allenatlon and
lonellness. In thls atmosphere he wrote the poems later
collected ln Icsidcvcio cv lo ticrro: 192-19J1 (l933). Most
of lts dark poems were wrltten ln Rangoon, Colombo, or
aboard the shlp that carrled hlm home after hls flveyear
stay ln the Iar East. Jhe poems are fllled wlth surreallstlc
lmages, llloglcal language, and the presence of materlal
detalls, denotlng hls troubled state of mlnd both ln the per
sonal and soclal realms. He was poorly pald, constantly
worrylng about money, and sufferlng from depresslon. In
|ava he met Mara Antonleta (Maruka) Hagenaar, marry
lng her on 6 December l930 ln a unlon that proved lll
fated. Even hls erotlc poetry of those years, for example,
'Agua sexual" (Sexual Water) ln the second volume of Ics-
idcvcio cv lo ticrro: 192-19J, shows hls problematlc feel
lngs and nlhlllstlc worldvlew.
Y entonces hay este sonldo. Ln ruldo rojo de huesos,
un pegarse de carne,
y plernas amarlllas como esplgas juntndose.
Yo escucho entre el dlsparo de los besos,
escucho,9 sacudldo entre resplraclones y sollozos.
(And then I hear thls sound.
a red nolse of bones,
a stlcklng together of the flesh
and legs yellow as ears of wheat meetlng.
I llsten among the exploslon of the klsses,
I llsten, shaken between breathlng and sobs.)
Some crltlcs, upon readlng hls composltlons of those
years such as 'Walklng Around" (whlch he tltled ln
Engllsh) and 'Caballero solo" (Gentleman Alone),
detect a nlghtmarlsh vlslon not unllke the one deplcted
by J. S. Ellot ln Tlc !ostc Iovd (l922). Much later, ln
Covficso quc lc vivido, Neruda conflrms that negatlve
vlslon. Isolated and angulshed, he was forced lnto con
templatlng hls own exlstentlal sufferlng and the sordld
reallty around hlm.
Jhe Icsidcvcio cv lo ticrro cycle comprlses three
books. the two volumes coverlng the perlods from l925
to l93l and l93l to l935; and Tcrccro rcsidcvcio: 19J-
194 (Jhlrd Resldence. l935-l915; translated, l973),
publlshed ln l917. Whlle the three volumes have been
publlshed together as Icsidcvcio cv lo ticrro, the flrst two
are prlmarlly assoclated wlth the acute depresslon that
the young poet suffered both ln Chlle and durlng and
lmmedlately after hls devastatlng stay ln the Iar East. In
a poetlc manlfesto that Neruda publlshed ln l935,
'Sobre una poesa sln pureza" (Joward an Impure
Poetry), he afflrms.
Es muy convenlente, en clertas horas del da o de la
noche, observar profundamente los objetos en des
canso. las ruedas que han recorrldo largas, polvorlentas
dlstanclas, soportando grandes cargas vegetales o mln
erales, los sacos de las carboneras, los barrlles, las ces
tas, los mangos y asas de los lnstrumentos del
carplntero. De ellos se desprende el contacto del hom
bre y de la tlerra como una leccln para el torturado
poeta lrlco. Las superflcles usadas, el gasto que las
manos han lnfllgldo a las cosas, la atmsfera a menudo
trglca y slempre pattlca de estos objetos, lnfunde una
especle de atraccln no despreclable hacla la realldad
del mundo.
331
m~ k~ ai_ PPN
(It ls useful, at certaln hours of the day and nlght, to
look closely at the world of objects at rest. wheels that
have crossed long, dusty spaces wlth thelr huge vegetal
and mlneral burdens, bags of coal from the coal blns,
barrels, baskets, handles and hafts on a carpenter`s tool
chest. From them flow the contacts of man wlth the
earth, llke an object lesson for all troubled lyrlclsts. Jhe
used surface of thlngs, the wear that hands have glven
to thlngs, the alr, traglc at tlmes, pathetlc at others, of
such thlngsall lend a curlous attractlveness to reallty.)
Neruda ls wrltlng here as a true poet of matter, of nature,
for whom nothlng that exlsts ln the external world ls
worthless. Hls vlslon of the world ls angulshed, however,
dejected about the human condltlon. In thls respect, lt can
be called exlstentlallst poetry; but slnce lt comblnes words
and lmages unexpectedly and glves volce to a flow of
obscure lmagery from the subconsclous mlnd, lt can also
be called surreallst. Lonellness easlly overtakes Neruda
when contemplatlng the lmmenslty and empty spaces of
nature, death, loss, and rejectlon.
In order to counteract and yet express these feellngs,
the poet uses the technlque of enumeratlon, the construc
tlon of llsts, a blbllcal rhetorlcal devlce that had been
revlved by Walt Whltman. Neruda adds the modern ele
ment of chaos. He uses chaotlc enumeratlon to combat
lonellness and nlhlllstlc tendencles and, at the same tlme,
creates a faded, lrratlonal world, as ln one of hls best
known poems of those years, 'Walklng Around".
Hay pjaros de color de azufre y horrlbles lntestlnos
colgando de las puertas de las casas que odlo,
hay dentaduras olvldadas en una cafetera,
hay espejos
que debleran haber llorado de vergenza y espanto,
hay paraguas en todas partes, y venenos, y ombllgos.
(Jhere are sulphurcolored blrds, and hldeous lntestlnes
hanglng over the doors of houses that I hate,
and there are false teeth forgotten ln a coffeepot,
there are mlrrors
that ought to have wept from shame and terror,
there are umbrellas everywhere, and venoms, and umblll
cal cords.)
Llke Pablo Plcasso ln hls cublst perlod, Neruda ln oJ
~ ~ ~ dlstorts human lmages and dlsplaces objects;
llke the artlst, the poet does not want to palnt the world as
attractlve or beautlful but rather glve the reader an expres
slon of hls troubled and powerful vlslon.
Jhere are, nevertheless, poems ln o~ ~
~ ln whlch optlmlsm prevalls. In these poemsfor
example, 'Entrada a la madera" (Entrance lnto Wood),
'Estatuto del vlno" (Statute of Wlne), and 'Apogeo del
aplo" (Jrlumph of Celery)pure matter, lsolated from the
envlronment, ls descrlbed. Jhese poems are an exerclse ln
exultant descrlptlons of the natural world and lts elements,
and ln them Neruda delves lnto the world of pure matter,
untalnted by cosmlc dlsharmony or urban decay. Jhese
poems antlclpate hls love for the prlstlne elements of llfe
found later ln hls poetry.
Durlng the years he wrote the poems ln o~
~ ~I Neruda also dlscovered the people`s cause ln the
Spanlsh Clvll War. He was sent to Spaln as Chllean consul
ln Barcelona ln early l931; hls daughter and only chlld,
Malva Marlna, was born there ln October, and shortly
thereafter he was reunlted wlth hls frlend, the great Spanlsh
poet Iederlco Garca Lorca, whom he had flrst met ln Bue
nos Alres ln l933. At the end of l931 Neruda was trans
ferred to Madrld as consul and gathered ln hls house a
verltable Who`s Who of the Spanlsh llterary and poetlc clr
cles of the tlme. He became close frlends wlth two of the
major poets of that generatlon, Rafael Albertl and Mlguel
Hernndez, actlve members of the Spanlsh Communlst
Party.
Lp untll thls tlme, Neruda had been somewhat of a
loner. In Spaln he dlscovered solldarlty, and he gave hls
tlme, energy, money, and poetlc lnsplratlon to the Spanlsh
Republlcan cause. Jogether wlth the poet Manuel Alto
lagulrre, he founded a llterary revlew called `~~
~~ ~ ~ (Green Horse for Poetry), a celebrated avant
garde journal for the arts, ln l935. When the Clvll War
broke out ln l936 and Garca Lorca was shot to death by
Iranclsco Iranco`s troops, Neruda took an actlve part ln
the defense of the Spanlsh Republlc, under mortal attack by
the Phalanglst forces. Havlng moved to Parls, he edlted the
journal i ~ ~ ~ (Poets of
the World Defend the Spanlsh People), and ln l937, wlth
the Peruvlan poet Csar Abraham Vallejo, he founded the
HlspanoAmerlcan Ald Group for Spaln. In the same year
Neruda publlshed b~~ ~ (Spaln ln the Heart;
translated, l916), whlch lncludes some of hls most power
ful poetry, wlth lmages deplctlng the Iasclst armles of
Iranco kllllng supporters of the Spanlsh Republlc, above all
hls dear frlend Garca Lorca, as ln 'Expllco algunas cosas"
(I Am Explalnlng a Iew Jhlngs).
Preguntarls por qu su poesa
no nos habla del sueo, de las hojas,
de los grandes volcanes de su pas natal?
Venld a ver la sangre por las calles,
venld a ver
la sangre por las calles,
venld a ver la sangre por las calles!
(And you wlll ask why doesn`t hls poetry
descrlbe dreams and leaves
and the great volcanoes of hls natlve land?
Come and see the blood ln the streets,
come and see
the blood ln the streets,
come and see the blood ln the streets!)
335
ai_ PPN m~ k~
Also ln l937 Neruda partlclpated ln a congress of
wrlters gathered ln Parls from around the Western
world to support the Spanlsh cause. Ernest Hemlng
way, W. H. Auden, Wllllam Butler Yeats, Louls Ara
gon, and Andr Malraux expressed thelr solldarlty. Jhe
wrlters even traveled to Madrld, ln splte of the clty
belng bombarded by Iranco`s forces. Whlle ln Madrld,
Neruda met and fell ln love wlth the Argentlne palnter
Della del Carrll; they remalned together untll the early
l950s. Jhe poet and hls wlfe, Maruka Hagenaar, had
separated ln l936; thelr dlvorce became flnal ln May
l912, years after he had begun llvlng wlth del Carrll,
whom he then marrled. Neruda`s daughter, who had
been born wlth hydroencephalltls, dled ln l912 at the
age of elght.
In ` Neruda recounts hls expe
rlence as a commltted poet ln wartorn Spaln. He tells
of solldarlty, frlendshlp, and hopes betrayed by hlstorl
cal events; and ln the mldst of thls bloodshed Neruda
found a publlc for hls poetry. A declslon was made dur
lng the war to reprlnt b~~ ~I and hls frlend
Altolagulrre set up a prlntlng press ln an old monastery
near Gerona to carry out the project. Paper was scarce,
slnce the enemy llnes were close and the clty was ln a
state of slege, so pages for the book had to be lmpro
vlsed. a mlxture of banners, old shlrts, sheets, and blts
and pleces of dlscarded paper were all mashed lnto pulp
to make paper. 'Supe que muchos haban preferldo
acarrear sacos con los ejemplares lmpresos antes que
sus proplos allmentos y ropas" (I learned that many of
the Republlcan soldlers carrled coples of the book ln
thelr sacks lnstead of thelr own food and clothlng),
Neruda recalls ln ` K 'Con los sacos al
hombro emprendleron la larga marcha hacla Irancla"
(Wlth those sacks over thelr shoulders they set out on
the long march to Irance). Years later Neruda saw a
copy of the book ln the Llbrary of Congress ln Wash
lngton, D.C., exhlblted ln a glass case as one of the rare
books of the twentleth century.
b~~ ~ ls an exceptlonal mlxture of
polltlcal and lyrlc poetry. It ls among the best polltlcal
texts to come out of the Spanlsh Clvll War. Jhls contrl
butlon by Neruda to the Spanlsh people was much
cherlshed. Years later, when Chlle found lts democratl
cally elected government overthrown by a bloody coup
ln September l973, and the poet dled wlthln two weeks
of that momentous event, Spanlsh poets gathered and
publlshed a volume ln Spaln, tltled ` ~
(Chlle ln the Heart), dedlcated to Neruda.
Jhls perlod ln Neruda`s llfe marked hls poetry
forever, wlth hls lnslstence on the materlallty of lmages
and hls profound commltment to polltlcal causes. Jhe
same sentlment and lmagery can be found ln hls great
eplc, `~ ~ (l950, General Song; excerpts trans
lated as m `~ d~I l968), whlch slngs
of the Amerlcan contlnent from lts beglnnlngs to lts
contemporary polltlcal reallty.
In l937 Neruda had returned to Chlle, where he
renewed hls polltlcal actlvlty, travellng throughout the
country ln l938 and wrltlng prollflcally. Durlng that
year, hls father dled ln May and hls stepmother ln
August. Slgnlflcantly, perhaps, at thls tlme Neruda
began wrltlng a long poem tltled 'Canto de Chlle"
(Song of Chlle), fragments of whlch were publlshed ln
l913 and whlch eventually became `~ ~K In
l939 he was appolnted as a speclal consul ln Parls and
glven the task of supervlslng the mlgratlon to Chlle of
the defeated Spanlsh Republlcans who had fled to
Irance. In l910 he returned to Chlle brlefly and then
left for Mexlco to serve as Chlle`s consul general. He
was away from hls natlve country for a total of four
years, travellng to Cuba and Guatemala but spendlng
most of hls tlme ln Mexlco. Lpon returnlng to Chlle ln
l913, the poet vlslted Cuzco and the anclent Inca for
tress of Machu Plcchu durlng a short trlp to Peru. Jhls
experlence proved hlghly slgnlflcant ln the evolutlon of
hls poetry.
Neruda was elected to the senate two years later
and jolned the Communlst Party. In l915 he also
recelved the Natlonal Prlze for Llterature; that same
year he began wrltlng ^~ j~ m (trans
lated as q e j~ mI l966), whlch was
publlshed separately ln l917 and became the corner
stone of `~ ~K When Chllean presldent Gabrlel
Gonzlez Vldela cracked down on hls former Commu
nlst allles ln l917, Neruda publlshed ln the 27 Novem
ber lssue of b k~~ (Caracas, Venezuela) a
document tltled 'Carta ntlma para mlllones de hom
bres" (An Intlmate Letter for Mllllons of Men), defylng
censorshlp ln hls country. Subsequently, he was
arrested as a sedltlous polltlclan. Chllean authorltles
declared communlsm lllegal and expelled Neruda from
the senate, especlally after hls speech on the senate floor
tltled 'Yo acuso" (I Accuse). He went lnto hldlng, llvlng
underground for several months, and flnally ln l919
fled the country and went lnto exlle, carrylng a thlck
manuscrlpt wlth hlm. Durlng those years he had wrlt
ten the poems of `~ ~I publlshed ln Mexlco ln
l950 (and also underground ln Chlle).
`~ ~ ls the product of Neruda`s unstlntlng
commltment to soclal justlce ln Latln Amerlca and hls
cholce of Marxlst ldeology as the way to achleve that
goal. Jhe book was flrst lntended as a long poem to
Chlle, but whlle ln Mexlco, Neruda transformed lt lnto
an eplc poem about the whole Amerlcan contlnent, lts
nature, lts people, and lts hlstorlcal destlny. It conslsts of
23l poems brought together lnto flfteen sectlons and
constltutes a plvotal part of Neruda`s productlon.
336
m~ k~ ai_ PPN
Shortly after lts publlcatlon, `~ ~ was translated
lnto ten languages. Many of the poems are undenlably
polltlcal; yet, throughout the book there ls a deep
undercurrent of love for hls natlve soll and for the con
tlnent, expressed ln powerful but dellcate lyrlc verses.
One of the best sectlons of `~ ~ ls
formed by ^~ j~ mK Insplred by hls
l913 vlslt to the Inca fortress and sanctuary nestled ln
the peaks of the Peruvlan Andes, the poet speaks of
the anclent clty as 'la cuna del relmpago y del hom
bre" (cradle of llghtnlng and of man) and 'madre de
pledra" (mother of stone), and lnvokes ~ ~~
(Amerlcan love) for thls prlmeval earth, symbol of orl
gln for the Amerlcan peoples. Jhe poet wants to glve
volce to all forgotten workers and slaves ln the Inca
emplre. 'Dadme la lucha, el hlerro, los volcanes. //
Apegadme los cuerpos como lmanes. // Acudld a mls
venas y a ml boca. // Hablad por mls palabras y ml
sangre" (Glve me the struggle, the lron, the volcanoes.
// Cleave your bodles to mlne llke magnets. // Ilow
lnto my velns, lnto my mouth. // Speak through my
words and through my blood).
`~ ~ ls a poetlc lnterpretatlon of contl
nental hlstory expressed ln hlghly erotlc love lmages.
Amerlca ls the brlde and the woman raped by the pll
laglng European conqulstadors, and later by multl
natlonal corporatlons such as Lnlted Irult and
Anaconda Mlnlng. In thls context, `~ ~ exalts
thls pure female representatlon of Amerlca and lts
countrles, as well as bltterly accuses her vlolators, as
ln 'Ahora es Cuba" (Now It`s Cuba) from the sectlon
'Los conqulstadores" (Jhe Conqulstadors). 'Cuba,
ml amor, te amarraron al potro, / te cortaron la cara, /
te apartaron las plernas de oro plldo, / te rompleron
el sexo de granada" (Cuba, my love, they tled you to
the rack, / they cut your face wlth knlves, / they
spread open your legs of pale gold, / they broke open
your pomegranate sex). At the same tlme, Amerlca ls
also the great mother, the femlnlne earth force conflg
ured lnto a large contlnent and lnto countrles that
were once lnhablted by lndlgenous peoples and later
lnvaded and conquered by Spanlards. As Neruda
descrlbes ln 'Amor Amrlca" (Love Amerlca) from the
sectlon 'La lmpara en la tlerra" (A Lamp on Jhls
Earth), ln prlmeval tlmes thls huge land mass was ln a
vlrglnal state; then she was desecrated and trampled
upon by forelgn powers.
Antes de la peluca y la casaca
fueron los ros, ros arterlales.
fueron las cordllleras, en cuya onda rada
cndor o la nleve parecan lnmvlles.
fue la humedad y la espesura, el trueno
sln nombre todava, las pampas planetarlas.
(Before the wlg and the frockcoat
were the rlvers, arterlal rlvers.
were the mountalns, ln whose frayed wave
the condor or the snow seemed flxed.
there was humldlty and thlcket, thunder
stlll wlthout name, the planetary plalns.)
`~ ~I unlfled by a slngle vlslon, has been
seen as lnsplred both by the Blble and by the poetlc
technlques of Whltman ln i~ d~ (l855).
Jhroughout lts pages, the flgures of the men and
women who populated and created Latln Amerlca and
suffered lnjustlce and death appear agalnst a magnlfl
cent background of mountalns, forests, oceans, and vol
canoes. Jhe volces of the common people speak; thelr
everyday llves are descrlbed; and thelr struggles are
sung by a poet who embraces thelr llves and thelr sto
rles. Jhe heroes are the lndlgenous Amerlcan popula
tlons and the common men and women; the vlllalns are
the lnvaders, the conquerors, the dlctators, and the
multlnatlonals. In one of the bestknown poems of the
collectlon, 'La Lnlted Irult Co.," the poet utlllzes an
eplc tone remlnlscent of Genesls.
Cuando son la trompeta, estuvo
todo preparado en la tlerra
y |ehov repartl el mundo
a CocaCola Inc., Anaconda,
Ford Motors, y otras entldades.
la Compaa Frutera Inc.
se reserv lo ms jugoso,
la costa central de ml tlerra,
la dulce clntura de Amrlca.
(When the trumpet sounded
everythlng was prepared on earth
and |ehovah dlvlded the world
among CocaCola Inc., Anaconda,
Ford Motors, and other corporatlons.
For the Lnlted Frult Company Inc.
the julclest was reserved,
the central coast of my land,
the sweet walst of Amerlca.)
Nature lmagery ls powerful ln `~ ~I and
one of the most recognlzed symbollc representatlons
found ln the book ls the tree, whlch represents the
forceful surge of natural currents agalnst an order
lmposed from outslde. Jhose who fought Spanlsh
conqulstadors, the Indlan chleftalns and rulers such
as Cuahtmoc ln Mexlco, Caupollcn ln Chlle, and
Jupac Amaru ln Peru, are often compared to the
powerful presence of natlve vegetatlon. Neruda
wrltes of more than the common man and the natu
ral wonders of South and Central Amerlca, however.
In sectlon 9, '_ue desplerte el leador" (Let the Rall
splltter Awaken), the poet conslders the Lnlted
337
ai_ PPN m~ k~
States and wrltes some of hls most lyrlcal verses wlth
an eplc theme, honorlng Abraham Llncoln. Jhe last
sectlons of Covto gcvcrol are a paean to the seascapes
of South Amerlca ('El gran ocano" |Jhe Great
Ocean|) and an autoblographlcal long poem tltled
'Yo soy" (I Am).
Jhe exlle that had started ln l919 turned out to
be longer than Neruda had antlclpated. He traveled and
llved ln Europe for three years wlth a Chllean woman
whom he now loved, Matllde Lrrutla. She was hls
secret lnsplratlon for years (slnce he was stlll marrled to
del Carrll) and later became hls thlrd wlfe. In l952 they
were secretly llvlng together for the flrst tlme ln Caprl,
Italy, and that perlod of thelr llves has been flctlonallzed
ln Zrdicvtc pocicvcio (l985; translated as urvivg Ioticvcc,
l987), a novel by Chllean wrlter Antonlo Skrmeta that
was adapted as the l991 motlon plcture Il Iostivo (Jhe
Postman), nomlnated for flve Academy Awards.
Neruda`s poetlc style began to change. Out of
these years resulted not only deeply felt polltlcal verses
but also the collectlon of anonymously publlshed love
poetry, Ios vcrsos dcl copitv (l952; translated as Tlc
Coptoiv`s !crscs, l972). Jhe book was wrltten durlng
the secret stay wlth Lrrutla ln Caprl, and Neruda
wanted to avold hurtlng del Carrll, hence hls sllent
authorshlp. (Del Carrll and Neruda dlvorced ln l955,
after whlch he marrled Lrrutla.) In Ios vcrsos dcl copitv
the poet left behlnd the hermetlc world of erotlc love
and ldylllc nature lmagery that had characterlzed !civtc
pocmos dc omor y uvo covciov dcscspcrodo. In poems such as
'El amor del soldado" (Jhe Soldler`s Love), Neruda`s
passlon for woman and for the cause are fused. 'Jlenes
que andar sobre las esplnas / dejando gotltas de sangre.
// Bsame de nuevo, querlda. // Llmpla ese fusll, cama
rada" (You have to walk over thorns / leavlng llttle
drops of blood. // Klss me agaln, beloved. // Clean that
rlfle, comrade). Jhe woman ls represented as a combat
ant, and as such, wlll march through llfe wlth the poet;
the lovers are unlted flghtlng for a cause.
Durlng thls tlme Neruda also wrote Ios uvos y cl
vicvto (Jhe Grapes and the Wlnd), a collectlon of poems
publlshed ln l951. In that work he recounts hls travel
durlng exlle, under the lnfluence of hls polltlcal mlll
tancy, and, ln the second part, the clandestlne love affalr
wlth Lrrutla. Jhe poet wrltes joyfully of hls soclallst
commltment, although the harsh denounclng tone of
some of hls composltlons ls softened by the presence of
hls beloved companlon. Irom the late l950s untll hls
death, even though he touched on all the great themes
he had already cultlvated, hls poetry ls essentlally per
sonal. He dld occaslonally return to the stance of the
publlc poet, however. ln the book dedlcated to the trl
umph of the Cuban Revolutlon, Covciov dc gcsto (l960;
translated as Sovg of Irotcst, l976); ln Covtos ccrcmoviolcs
(l96l; translated as Ccrcmoviol Sovgs, l996); ln Io cspodo
cvccvdido (l970, Jhe Ilamlng Sword) wlth lts blbllcal
overtones; and ln the blatant dlatrlbe Ivcitociov ol vixovi-
cidio y olobovo dc lo rcvoluciov clilcvo (l973; translated as
Z Coll for tlc Dcstructiov of ìxov ovd Iroisc for tlc Clilcov
Icvolutiov, l980).
In l952 the Chllean government wlthdrew the
order to arrest leftlst wrlters and polltlcal flgures, and ln
that year Neruda returned to Chlle and marrled Lrru
tla. Jhe return to the land of hls blrth was the begln
nlng of a new perlod ln hls poetlc evolutlon. Neruda
was recelved wlth great honors, purchased a house ln
Santlago that he named 'La Chascona" (Jhe Woman
wlth Jousled Halr, after an affectlonate name he gave
Lrrutla), and although he contlnued to travel (he went
to the Sovlet Lnlon ln l953 to recelve the Lenln Peace
Prlze and the Stalln Peace Prlze), he started to wrlte hls
Udos clcmcvtolcs (l951; translated as Ilcmcvtory Udcs,
l96l), a new departure ln hls exploratlon of the world
around hlm. Never had everyday objects, famlly llfe,
and the essentlal substances of human exlstence been so
elevated by poetry as ln these deceptlvely slmple verses.
At the Lnlverslty of Chlle, Neruda gave flve lec
tures ln whlch he explalned the orlglns and evolutlon of
hls poetry and the trajectory that hls verses had fol
lowed untll then. In l951 Udos clcmcvtolcs was publlshed
ln Buenos Alres and recelved crltlcal acclalm. In these
poems, Neruda returns to the baslc elements of llfe,
whether they be an onlon, the smell of flrewood, a chlld
wlth a rabblt, a palr of blue socks, flsh soup, a dlctlo
nary, or the atom. Jhe poet abandons all artlflce and
rejolces ln slmpllclty and purlty, at the same tlme mak
lng an ldeologlcal statement. hls materlallstlc vlew of
llfe and polltlcs. In a sense, the odes could be sald to
have been wrltten ln a reallst style that slng the pralses
of earth, of human llfe and lts most baslc components.
Jwo addltlonal books of odes followed. ùcvos
odos clcmcvtolcs (l956, New Elementary Odes) and Tcrccr
libro dc los odos (l957, Jhe Jhlrd Book of Odes).
Jogether these three volumes lnclude more than l80
poems. Each poem celebrates belng allve and enjoylng
the elements of ordlnary llfe and examlnes objects as lf
they were under a mlcroscope. Jhls approach, lt has
been sald, can be explalned also by the fact that Neruda
was an accompllshed naturallst, speclallzlng ln marlne
llfe, and an avld collector of shells (a great part of hls
Nobel Prlze cash award was spent on acqulrlng rare
speclmens). In 'Oda a la alegra" (Ode to |oy), from
Udos clcmcvtolcs, the poet slngs of natural objects as a
man who ls happy to be ln thls world. 'porque aprend
luchando / que es ml deber terrestre / propagar la
alegra. / Y cumplo ml destlno con ml canto" (for I
learned ln my struggle / that lt ls my earthly duty / to
spread joy / and I fulflll my destlny by slnglng).
338
m~ k~ ai_ PPN
A styllstlc detall lmportant to the odes ls the
typographlcal arrangement of the poems. In earller
collectlons Neruda had wrltten ln tradltlonal Spanlsh
meters or ln long verses remlnlscent of Whltman. In
the odes he makes use of short verses, and there are
many llnes ln hls poems wlth only one word (for
example, ln 'Oda a la lluvla marlna" |Ode to Raln|,
from k~ ~ ~I seventeen llnes are
formed by one word, elghteen llnes by two words, flf
teen llnes by three, twelve llnes by four, and twelve
llnes by flve or, rarely, slx words). Jhls slmpllfled
syntax contrlbutes to the poetlc effect of descrlblng
each object ln detall, step by step. Neruda`s poetlcs
were now strongly based on clarlty and slmpllclty
and greatly contrast wlth hls work prevlous to l952.
In addltlon, the lmagery ln the odes has become
transparent ln lts meanlng. Jhe poems of o~
~ ~ often lnclude strange vlslons ln whlch objects
and abstract ldeas are lnextrlcably fused, and hls ear
ller poems are often forged ln long, flowlng verses
full of symbollc lmages. In the odes, however, and ln
the books that follow, Neruda has achleved hls
mature style, whlch ls far from obscure. Irom the
Spanlsh Clvll War on, hls poetry becomes slmpler
and slmpler.
In l957 Losada publlshed ln Buenos Alres the flrst
edltlon of Neruda`s l~ ~K By thls tlme, transla
tlons of hls works had been publlshed ln many languages,
lncludlng |apanese and Perslan. Accordlng to hls close
frlends, Neruda was a valn man who expected, even
demanded, pralse from hls crltlcs; but he was also charm
lng, goodhumored, and a great conversatlonallst who
enjoyed lnvltlng people to hls home and cooklng for them.
He collected many thlngs, apart from shells. rare books,
old bottles, knlckknacks, postcards, and carved flgure
heads from shlps. Jhe royaltles from hls books had
allowed hlm to bulld two new houses ln whlch he often
retreated from the world, one ln Valparalso, and the one
that was hls favorlte durlng hls last years, the wood and
stone house ln Isla Negra, faclng the southern Paclflc and
lts glant waves. Jhe house on Isla Negra became a verlta
ble museum, fllled wlth all the objects he collected. Durlng
these years, he wrote b~~~ (l958; translated as
b~~~~I l972), ` ~ (l959; translated as
l e i pI l986), and i~ ~~~ (l967, Jhe
Barcarole), as well as other texts of memolrs and travel
prose.
b~~~ ls a collectlon of dlverse poems about
llfe, on whlch the poet reflectsat tlmes whlmslcally
wlth the maturlty and serene gaze of a man who has
seen much ln the world. Jhe openlng poem sets the
tone wlth lts unconventlonal style and typography.
tan
sl
ce
ne
se
clelo
al
sublr
PARA
dos alas,
un vloln
y cuntas cosas.
need
you
sky
the
to
rlse
to
want
you
(IF
two wlngs,
a vlolln
and so many thlngs.)
Jhe act of readlng thls text requlres an open, playful
mlnd and a wllllngness to let go of preconcelved
notlons about poetry. One can also see the lnfluence
of the vanguard poets, lncludlng the Irench and the
Brazlllans, ln the creatlon of these llnes that play not
only wlth meanlng but also wlth form.
In b~~~ three themes emerge that
became an lntegral part of Neruda`s contemplatlon
of llfe durlng hls later years. solltude, awareness of
the passage of tlme, and consclousness of hls own
mortallty. Hls home at Isla Negra, whlch served as a
retreat from the world, appears often ln the pages of
the collectlon. Sand, seashells, ocean waves, the
objects he has collected throughout hls llfe, and
drlftwood and other ltems floatlng ln from the
Paclflc are all present ln the poems, as ls Lrrutla.
Jhe materlal nature of reallty and the human con
sclousness that observes the detalls of llfe, akln to
the sentlments expressed ln the odes, are well cap
tured ln the poem 'Demaslados Nombres" (Joo
Many Names). Jhe poet counts and recounts, ln a
manner remlnlscent of hls enumeratlons ln o~
~ ~I although here objects have the lumlnoslty
lmparted to them by a mlnd at peace, not struggllng
wlth paln and human mlsery.
339
ai_ PPN m~ k~
Yo plenso confundlr las cosas,
unlrlas y recln nacerlas,
entreverarlas, desvestlrlas,
hasta que la luz del mundo
tenga la unldad del ocano,
una lntegrldad generosa,
una fragancla crepltante.
(I would llke to mlx and confuse thlngs,
unlte them, make them newborn,
mlx them up and undress them
untll all the world`s llght
has the oneness of the ocean,
lts generous, vast wholeness,
lts crackllng, llvlng fragrance.)
Neruda publlshed a sllm volume of verse, òvcgo-
ciovcs y rcgrcsos (Voyages and Homecomlngs), ln l959.
Jhese poems were meant to be a contlnuatlon of the
ode cycle, and ln the prologue Neruda deflnes and
defends hls art. the poet ls a worker, a craftsman. As ln
the other volumes of odes, thls book mostly shows the
Chllean as a joyful poet, lmmersed ln the wonder of
nature. Jhe toplcs he treats range from the subllme to
the mundane, as they had before. there are odes to an
anchor, to the wlngs of the swallows that return ln Sep
tember, to hls pet cat, to an elephant, to a chalr, to frled
potatoes. Jhere ls ln the collectlon also a long polltlcal
poem, 'Oda a Lenln," wrltten ln celebratlon of the fortl
eth annlversary of the Russlan revolutlon. òvcgociovcs y
rcgrcsos ls the mark of Neruda`s wlsh to contlnue wrltlng
ln the manner of the elementary odes, althoughslnce
Istrovogorio had been publlshed ln the lntervenlng years
and had establlshed a dlfferent quallty of feellng ln
Neruda`s poetlc composltlonsthere ls a tone to thls
volume that sets lt apart from the other three books of
slmllar poems.
Cicv sovctos dc omor, publlshed also ln l959, contln
ues ln the veln of Neruda`s paean to hls beloved wlfe.
Some crltlcs have sald that the poems ln thls collectlon
remlnd them of a more pollshed verslon of !civtc pocmos
dc omor y uvo covciov dcscspcrodo. Jhe settlng for these
poems ls the house at Isla Negra; there are only two flg
ures ln the book, the poet and Lrrutla. Everythlng
around them ls landscape or seascape, ocean spray, the
smells of nature, the wlnd, the poet`s memorles. In son
net XII, for example, Neruda lnstllls ln hls language all
the lntense erotlc expresslon that had served hlm well
slnce hls earller books, and condenses lmages to convey
hls mature, fulfllled emotlon. 'amar es un vlaje con
agua y con estrellas" (love ls a voyage wlth water and
stars), he wrltes. 'Amar es un combate de relmpagos"
(Love ls a flght between two llghtnlng flashes).
In the manner of a mystlc poet, Neruda flnds the
lntenslty of hls experlence almost too much to descrlbe
ln words, but he succeeds ln conveylng hls passlon as
he had before durlng hls younger years. Nevertheless, lt
ls not of Lrrutla alone that Neruda wrltes ln these
poems but also the objects that surround them and
make up thelr llves together. Jhelr house, the beach,
nature surroundlng thelr space, and the elements of
nlght and day are all part of the poetlc world created ln
the book.
In l960 Covciov dc gcsto was publlshed ln Havana,
flttlngly, slnce lts poems are a trlbute to the Cuban Rev
olutlon and lts heroes. In thls work Neruda once more
returns to hls solldarlty wlth the Communlst cause.
Jhe poems retaln some of the flavor once dlsplayed ln
Covto gcvcrol, but as a whole, revolutlonary fervor suc
ceeds over poetlc prowess. Covciov dc gcsto ls more a
product of Neruda`s mllltancy than of hls artlstlc
genlus, and most crltlcs agree that the collectlon has
more value as a polltlcal testlmony than as poetry.
In l96l two more collectlons of Neruda`s poetry
were publlshed. Ios picdros dc Clilc (translated as Tlc
Stovcs of Clilc, l986) and Covtos ccrcmoviolcs. In the pref
ace to the former collectlon, the poet explalns.
Hace ya velnte aos que dej entre mls pensamlentos
este llbro pedregal, nacldo en las desamparadas costas
y cordllleras de ml patrla. . . . Deber de los poetas es
cantar con sus pueblos y dar al hombre lo que es del
hombre. sueo y amor, luz y noche, razn y desvaro.
Pero no olvldemos las pledras! No olvldemos los tcltos
castlllos, los erlzados, redondos regalos del planeta.
(Jhls fllnty book, born ln the wastelands along the
coast and ln the mountaln ranges of my country, has
llved for twenty years ln my mlnd. . . . Jhe poet must
slng wlth hls countrymen and glve to manklnd all that
pertalns to belng a man. dreams and love, llght and
darkness, reason and vagary. But let us never forget the
stones! We should never lose slght of these taclturn cas
tles, the proflle and brlstllng mass of our planet.)
Neruda`s descrlptlons of rocks ln the book are accom
panled by photographs by Antonlo _ulntana. In recog
nlzlng the sometlmes austere reallty of the Chllean
landscape, Neruda mlxes sadness and hope. In 'La
gran mesa de pledra dura" (Jhe Great Hard Rock
Jable), ln whlch the whole of the country ls seen as a
bare stone surface, the people`s poverty ls recognlzed
and lamented.
Nos sentamos junto a la mesa,
a la mesa fra del mundo,
y no nos trajo nadle nada,
todo se haba termlnado,
se lo haban comldo todo
. . . todava un nlo espera,
l es la verdad de los sueos,
l es la esperanza terrestre.
310
m~ k~ ai_ PPN
(We sat down all of us, together, around the table,
the cold table of our world,
and no one brought us anythlng,
everythlng had dlsappeared,
everythlng had been eaten already by others
. . . one chlld walts stlll,
the chlld who ls the truth of every dream,
the chlld who ls the hope of our earth.)
i~ ~ ` ls both personal and publlc poetry.
In lt Neruda journeys up and down the steep slopes of hls
natlve mountalns, and he lnterprets the landscape as lt
strlkes hls lmaglnatlon. One of the dlstlnctlve tralts of
Neruda`s volumes of poetry after l950 and `~ ~ ls
also found here. the poetry ls not just descrlptlve but also
features a narratlve thread of hlstory that weaves through
lt. In thls work, personlflcatlon and mythologlzlng of
nature come to the fore, as they had ln `~ ~I wlth
human qualltles seen ln the Chllean landscape as they had
been seen before ln the contlnental terraln.
Lnllke the prevlous books, `~ ~ does
not exhlblt a clear thematlc unlty. Jhe poems are dlvlded
lnto nlne sectlons, wlth varled toplcs shared among them.
Some portlons recall the eplc tone of `~ ~I as for
lnstance 'La lnsepulta de Palta" (Jhe Lnburled Woman
from Palta), the elegy devoted to Slmn Bolvar`s lover,
Manuellta Senz; or 'Catacllsmo" (Cataclysm), about the
devastatlng earthquake that shook southern Chlle ln l960.
Jhere ls also a long composltlon dedlcated to the Irench
Lruguayan poet Isldore Luclen Ducasse, Comte de Lau
treaumont. Most crltlcs agree that thls volume ls not one of
Neruda`s most memorable books, except perhaps for sev
eral poems. It seems, as Emlr Rodrguez Monegal has put
lt, that 'en casl todos ellos |los poemas| parece predomlnar
la pompa de la materla potlca sobre la espontaneldad cre
adora" (ln almost all of them |the poems| the pomp of the
poetlc materlal domlnates over creatlve spontanelty).
m (translated as c bI l975) was
publlshed ln l962. In thls book serenlty prevalls, as lt had
ln other prevlous works. In the thlrtyslx poems lncluded
ln the volume, there ls a fullness of personal power, as ls
well expressed ln 'Deber del poeta" (Jhe Poet`s Obllga
tlons), ln whlch Neruda deflnes what the poet must do, the
dutles he cannot escape. He must llsten to 'el lamento
marlno en ml conclencla" (the watery lament of consclous
ness), feel the hard raln, the blows of destlny, and gather lt
back ln 'una taza eterna" (a cup of eternlty). In other
words, the poet ls obllged to pay attentlon and to record
whatever others do not see or remember. Lltlmately, the
poet ls the consclousness of manklnd, who must try to pre
serve everythlng ln a meanlngful way so lt can llve eter
nally. Neruda happlly accepts thls awesome duty and
wrltes ln the tltle poem (whlch ends the volume), 'y canto
porque canto y porque canto" (and I slng because I slng
because I slng). In the poem 'Oda para planchar" (In
Pralse of Ironlng), Neruda llnks the poet`s actlvlty to an
everyday act. Poetry ls whlte, somethlng that comes out of
the water, covered wlth drops, and lt becomes wrlnkled
when lt drles, llke laundry. Human hands must work lt
and restore lt to lts prlstlne state. 'hay que extender la plel
de este planeta, / hay que planchar el mar de su blancura /
y van y van las manos, / se allsan las sagradas superflcles /
y as se hacen las cosas" (One has to spread out the skln of
thls planet, / one must lron the sea from lts whlteness / and
hands pass and pass, / the sacred surfaces are smoothed
out / and that`s how thlngs are made).
Jhe most ambltlous book of thls perlod ls j~
f~ k~I whlch comprlses flve sectlons. It ls autoblo
graphlcal ln nature and lncludes some of the most touchlng
lyrlc poetry that Neruda ever wrote, about hls chlldhood
memorles, hls parents, hls love llfe, hls travels, hls polltlcal
ldeas, and hls aesthetlc tastes. A serles of autoblographlcal
artlcles publlshed ln l962 ln a Brazlllan journal, l `
f~~I gave orlgln to thls poetry and later was the
foundatlon for hls posthumously publlshed memolrs. In
the flve parts of j~ f~ k~'Donde nace la llu
vla" (Where the Raln Is Born), 'La luna en el laberlnto"
(Moon ln the Labyrlnth), 'El fuego cruel" (Jhe Cruel
Ilre), 'El cazador de races" (Huntlng for Roots), and
'Sonata crtlca" (Crltlcal Sonata)one can flnd Neruda
fully lmmersed ln nostalgla and looklng for selfknowledge.
In 'Naclmlento" (Blrth), the flrst poem ln the collec
tlon, Neruda descrlbes the house where he was born and
the street where lt stood. Both dlsappeared durlng an earth
quake, and the adobe walls sank back lnto the dust.
Neruda`s mother dled when he was a chlld; the poet recalls
a vlslt to her grave ln the cemetery ln Parral, where he
crled out to her and recelved sllence as the only answer.
y de all se qued sola, sln su hljo,
huraa y evaslva
entre las sombras. Y de all soy, de aquel
Parral de tlerra temblorosa,
tlerra cargada de uvas
que nacleron
desde ml madre muerta.
(and there she remalned alone, wlthout her son,
eluslve and evaslve
among the shadows.
And that ls where I come from,
a quakerldden soll, from Parral,
a land abundant ln grapes
sprlnglng up
from the dead body of my mother.)
Jhls flrst sectlon deals wlth the poet`s memorles of
chlldhood and adolescence; hls dlscovery of nature,
love, sex, and poetry; hls flrst travels; and hls own char
acterlstlc shyness.
31l
ai_ PPN m~ k~
'El nlo perdldo" (Llttle Boy Lost) ls an equally
movlng poem, evoklng the change that tlme has made
on Neruda`s nalve vlslon of the world and of hlmself.
He trles to speak wlth the volce of the chlld he once
was, even now ln hls present moment. 'y de repente
aparecl en ml rostro / un rostro de extranjero / y era
tambln yo mlsmo. / era yo que creca, / eras t que
crecas, / era todo, / y camblamos" (and suddenly
appeared ln my face / the face of a stranger, / and yet lt
was also my face. / It was I who was growlng there /
and you are growlng wlth me / all of us one, / every
thlng changlng).
Jhe second sectlon, 'La luna en el laberlnto,"
contlnues the chronlcle of Neruda`s adolescence, and
hls flrst passlonate love affalrs, as well as hls lonellness
and angulsh whlle llvlng ln the Iar East. In 'El fuego
cruel," the thlrd sectlon, poems about Neruda ln Spaln
and the events of the Spanlsh Clvll War are lnter
spersed wlth poems remlnlsclng about hls love affalr
wlth Bllss ln Rangoon and Colombo. In thls book the
toplcs become more varled and more polltlcal. war,
commltments to leftlst causes, and ldeologles appear
once more. Ior example, ln 'Los mos" (My People)
Neruda recalls hls verses from b~~ ~ and
polnts hls flnger at presentday klllers ln hls natlve Chlle
who explolt natural resources and workers.
Yo dlje. Ayer la sangre!
Vengan a ver la sangre de la guerra!
Pero aqu era otra cosa.
No sonaban los tlros,
no escuch por la noche
un ro de soldados
pasar
desembocando
hacla la muerte.
Era otra cosa aqu, en las cordllleras
algo grls que mataba
humo, polvo de mlnas o cemento,
un ejrclto oscuro
camlnando
en un da sln banderas.
(I sald. Yesterday the blood!
Come and see the blood of the war!
But here lt was somethlng else.
No guns sounded,
I dldn`t hear durlng the nlght
a rlver of soldlers
passlng by,
flowlng
toward death.
Here ln the mountalns lt was somethlng else,
somethlng gray that kllled,
smoke, dust from mlnes or cement,
a dark army
walklng
ln a day wlthout banners.)
Sectlons 1 and 5 of j~ f~ k~I whlle
always focuslng on Neruda`s personal vlslon, are less
dlrectly autoblographlcal than the flrst three books, and
there ls no longer any attempt to descrlbe llfe events or
to follow a chronology. 'El cazador de races" exhlblts
perhaps the most poetlc quallty ln all flve sectlons, and
lts subject matter ls once agaln earth and nature, wlth
an emphasls on the four elements of alr, flre, earth, and
water. In 'Sonata crtlca" the themes lnclude Neruda`s
perceptlon of art, llterature ln general, the role of the
poet ln the modern world, and the moral and meta
physlcal lmpllcatlons of llvlng ln a flnlte unlverse where
hope and lmperfectlon are constantly mlngllng.
In the poem 'Arte magntlca" (Magnetlc Art)
from the flfth sectlon, Neruda returns to the questlon of
what lt means to be a poet. He afflrms that lt ls only by
lmmerslng oneself fully lnto llvlng that poetry can be
born. 'De tanto amar y andar salen los llbros" (It ls
from endless lovlng and walklng that books come
forth). He ends by recountlng how hls llfe broke forth
lnto poetry. 'entre sangre y amor cav mls versos, / en
tlerra dura establec una rosa, / dlsputada entre el fuego
y el roco. / Por eso pude camlnar cantando" (between
blood and love I dug my verses, / ln hard earth I estab
llshed a rose, / fought over by flre and dew. / It ls thus
that I could walk along slnglng).
j~ f~ k~ ls Neruda`s most lmportant
work of the l960s. Its autoblographlcal lntent, however,
should not let the reader forget that lt ls, above all, a
poetlc reconstructlon of llfe. Neruda comes through ln
these poetlc portralts wlth hls lntense human feellngs,
but he recognlzes that the concrete events ln hls own llfe
mlght not be conslstently portrayed ln hls poetlc mem
olrs. He acknowledges thls fact ln one of hls prose
accounts publlshed ln l ` f~~ ( |anuary
l962), and posthumously ln ` W 'Jal
vez no vlv en m mlsmo; tal vez vlv la vlda de los
otros. De cuanto he dejado escrlto en estas pglnas se
desprendern slemprecomo en las arboledas de otoo
y como en el tlempo de las vlaslas hojas amarlllas
que van a morlr y las uvas que revlvlrn en el vlno
sagrado. Ml vlda es una vlda hecha de todas las vldas.
las vldas del poeta" (Perhaps I have llved other people`s
llves. Jhe pages of these memolrs of mlne are llke a for
est ln the fall, llke vlneyards ln September, they glve
forth yellow leaves ready to dle and ready to llve agaln
ln the sacred wlne. Jhls ls a llfe made out of all other
llves, for a poet always has many llves).
In l966 Neruda publlshed two books. Jhe flrst,
^ ~ (translated as ^ _I l985), comblnes
exqulslte drawlngs of specles natlve to Chlle wlth
poems dedlcated to each speclmen. A whlmslcal sectlon
of the largeslzed volume lncludes 'mythologlcal" blrds,
such as 'el pjaro yo" (the I blrd) and 'el pjaro ella"
312
m~ k~ ai_ PPN
(the she blrd), where colorful drawlngs portray blrds of
rare plumage wlth the photographed heads of Neruda
and Lrrutla superlmposed on the lmages; the same ls
done for frlends of the couple. Jhe second book pub
llshed that year ls Uvo coso cv lo orcvo (translated as Tlc
Housc ot Islo `cgro: Irosc Iocms, l988), a volume ln whlch
Neruda mlxed prose and poetry and lllustrated lt wlth
photographs of Isla Negra and hls house. It lncludes, of
course, the poet`s personal llfe wlth Lrrutla ln that envl
ronment, focuslng flrst on nature and then on Neruda`s
personal lnvolvement ln the bulldlng of hls home.
Jhere ls a slmllar vlslon ln the love poems of Io
borcorolo (the tltle refers to the song that gondollers slng
whlle steerlng lovers ln thelr boats through the canals of
Venlce). Jhe flrst sectlon of the book ls dedlcated and
addressed to Lrrutla, and all the composltlons lncluded
thereln were ln fact flrst publlshed ln Neruda`s autoblo
graphlcal account of l962. In thls sectlon themes from
the poet`s earller books come together agaln, as lt gath
ers love poetry, nature poetry, poetry about Chlle, and
poems about the poet`s own role and obllgatlons. Io
borcorolo ls a complex book ln whlch varlous lngredl
ents, subjects, and moods are comblned. It ls dlvlded
lnto multlple sectlons, wlth many of them tltled slmply
'Slgue la barcarola" (Jhe Barcarole Goes On). Jhe
most sallent mood ls that of lntrospectlon, and perhaps
the most unlfylng motlf ls that of the constant rhythm
of the verses. Jhere are remlnlscences of the poet`s trav
els ln Europe and the year he spent ln Irance wlth
Lrrutla.
Later ln Io borcorolo Neruda devotes poems to the
coastland of Chlle, the plalns of Patagonla crossed by
horses, and hls frlend, the Chllean wrlter Rubn Azcar,
who had dled two years before. Jhere are poems about
the sound of bells ln many places and the memorles of
hlstorlcal flgures such as turnofthecentury Latln Amerl
can poet Rubn Daro. In the mldst of these assoclatlons,
Neruda lncludes a narratlvedramatlc poem (whlch he
turned lnto a play the followlng year), Iulgor y mucrtc dc
ooquv Muricto (l967; translated as Splcvdor ovd Dcotl of
ooquiv Muricto, l972). Jhls long work glves a flctlonal
lzed account of the llfe and death of a Robln Hood-
style bandlt, ldentlfled by hlstorlans as a Mexlcan who
helped the Spanlshspeaklng mlners ln Callfornla dur
lng the Gold Rush. Neruda, however, converts Murleta
lnto a Chllean folk hero. Whlle lt could be sald that Io
borcorolo ls Neruda`s most chaotlc work because of lts
multlple themes and the lncluslon of a fledgllng drama
ln lts pages, lt retalns a lyrlc and romantlc quallty, and lt
rlchly reflects the personal experlences of the poet and
hls memorles of art and people.
Between l968 and l973, ln the flve years before
hls death, Neruda publlshed another serles of works.
Ios movos dcl do (l968, Jhe Hands of Day); Iiv dc
muvdo (l969, World`s End); Zv (l969; translated as
Still Zvotlcr Doy, l981); Io cspodo cvccvdido; Ios picdros dcl
ciclo (l970; translated as Stovcs of tlc Sly, l987); Ccogrofo
ivfructuoso (l972, Barren Geography); and Ivcitociov ol
vixovicidio y olobovo dc lo rcvoluciov clilcvo. Jhese years
were what crltlcs have called the autumnal perlod of
Neruda`s poetry. It was a perlod of enormous produc
tlon for hlm, malnly of personal poetry. One volume
had come after another ln rapld successlon slnce the
early l960s; desplte hls constant travels and publlc
actlvltles, the poet was no longer obllged to accept dlp
lomatlc work ln order to make a llvlng and could
devote hlmself fully to wrltlng. He spent more and
more tlme at Isla Negra, and the peace he found there ls
reflected ln a poetry that grew lncreaslngly lntlmate and
medltatlve as the years went on.
Jhls serenlty ls one of the reasons why Neruda
turned hls attentlon to autoblography, both ln prose
and ln verse. Iree from flnanclal concerns, the poet con
centrated on hls own llfe, although always ready to
comment on polltlcal events that aroused hls lnterest.
He traveled everywhere he was lnvlted, always wlth
Lrrutla at hls slde. Wherever they went, crowds gath
ered to hear Neruda lecturlng and readlng hls poetry ln
hls famous gravelly volce. Hls powerful presence and
movlng verses made hlm enormously popular. Hls
career, whlch had lntegrated prlvate and publlc con
cerns, had turned hlm lnto the people`s poet. In l962 a
second edltlon of hls complete works had been pub
llshed. In l961 hls Spanlsh verslon of Wllllam Shake
speare`s Iomco ovd ulict (clrca l595-l596) was hls flrst
venture lnto the theater, produced ln Santlago by the
Instltuto de Jeatro de la Lnlversldad de Chlle
(IJLCH, Jheater Instltute of the Lnlverslty of Chlle),
and performed on l8 October; later ln l961, lt was
publlshed as a chapbook ln Buenos Alres by Edltorlal
Jala. Jhls performance was followed by hls second
and last, the staglng ln October l967 of hls Iulgor y
mucrtc dc ooquv Muricto, also by IJLCH. In l967
another edltlon of hls complete works appeared.
Hls prollflc wrltlng at Isla Negra by no means
meant that Neruda had abandoned actlve polltlcal par
tlclpatlon, however, and ln l969 he was agaln deeply
lnvolved ln Chllean polltlcs, thls tlme as the Commu
nlst Party`s candldate for the presldency of Chlle.
Neruda later renounced hls candldacy, however, ln
order to support hls frlend Salvador Allende when the
latter became the sole candldate of all the leftlst partles.
Jhe poet campalgned vlgorously for Allende, and the
leftlst vlctory at the polls brought the poet hope for a
new Chlle ln whlch soclal justlce mlght at last abollsh
classlsm and poverty. In l970 he was dlagnosed wlth a
serlous form of cancer, and yet he agreed to represent
the new government as Chlle`s ambassador to Irance.
313
ai_ PPN m~ k~
Jhe books Neruda publlshed between l968 and
l973, squeezed between the productlon of the mld
l960s and the later posthumous works, are, relatlvely
speaklng, not wldely read or known. In part, thls lack
of attentlon mlght be owlng to the fact that the l967
Losada edltlon of Neruda`s Ubros complctos (whlch ls
what most people were buylng or readlng ln llbrarles)
of course does not lnclude these books. A fourth edl
tlon, publlshed ln l973, does lnclude them, but by
thls tlme the posthumous works were already appear
lng ln prlnt, overshadowlng the prevlous books.
Accordlng to some crltlcs, lt mlght also be true that
Neruda`s move toward mostly personal poetry ln thls
perlod reduced hls actlve readlng publlc; he was no
longer deallng wlth hls prlnclpal themes of nature and
hlstory but more wlth hls own llfe and lntrospectlon.
Another conslderatlon mlght be that Neruda was too
prollflc for hls llterary crltlcs durlng thls perlod. Jhey
concentrated on hls autoblographlcal verse, Mcmoriol
dc Islo `cgro, and on the prose memolrs Covficso quc lc
vivido. It seems as lf the poet, flrlng off a seemlngly
unendlng serles of short uncollected books, left llttle
tlme for hls readers to absorb one before others
appeared.
Ios movos dcl do, Iiv dc muvdo, Zv, Io cspodo cvccv-
dido, Ios picdros dcl ciclo, Ccogrofo ivfructuoso, and Ivcitociov
ol vixovicidio y olobovo dc lo rcvoluciov clilcvo call for a care
ful readlng, slnce some of these volumes do lnclude rep
resentatlve verse of Neruda the lyrlc poet, except for
the last one. Ivcitociov ol vixovicidio y olobovo dc lo rcvolu-
ciov clilcvo, as the tltle lmplles, ls a dlatrlbe agalnst the
L.S. presldent whom Neruda saw as a mortal enemy of
the people of Chlle. Nowhere else ln hls poetlc work
does Neruda express rage as he does on the pages of
thls book; thls polltlcal pamphlet ls full of furlous
broadsldes, crafted ln slmple language wlth rhyme that
ls easy to understand and remember. Referrlng to the
Vletnam War, hls condemnatlon of Rlchard Nlxon ls
absolute; clearly, the death of thls man who has become
a menace to the world, says the poet, ls the only solu
tlon. Lnllke the passlonate and lyrlcal poems of Ispovo
cv cl coroov or the eplc hlstorlcal dlmenslons of Covto
gcvcrol, here Neruda dlrects hls energy to denounclng a
slngle man, for hlm the lncarnatlon of treachery.
In a dlfferent manner, Ios movos dcl do lncludes
polgnant verse about the role of the poet, full of lmag
ery related to hls wrltlng, and expresslng at tlmesln
'El culpable" (Jhe Gullty One), for examplehls regret
for not belng a plaln manual laborer. 'Me declaro cul
pable de no haber / hecho, con estas manos que me
dleron, / una escoba" (I declare myself gullty for not
havlng / made, wlth these hands that they gave me, / a
broom). Jhe poems ln thls book are short and dlrect,
but the tone remalns one of lntrospectlon. Neruda ls
notlng the passage of tlme and questlonlng whether hls
tlme on earth has been well spent.
A year after the publlcatlon of Ios movos dcl do,
another book of hls poetry, Zv (llterally meanlng 'stlll"
or 'yet"), appeared. Zv ls a slngle poem of 133 llnes,
wrltten ln the space of two days ln |uly l969. Jhe dom
lnant theme, personal llke so many of the other works
of thls perlod, ls the earth. Once agaln Neruda ls seek
lng contact wlth nature and wlth hls roots. If thls book
antlclpates, as some crltlcs say, some of the poetry pub
llshed posthumously ln the domlnant role lt glves to
nature, lt equally slgnals the new posltlve role that
sllence plays ln those later books. 'Yo all solo, bus
cando la razn de la tlerra / sln hombres y sln alas,
poderosa, / sola en su magnltud, como sl hublera /
destruldo una por una las vldas / para establecer su
sllenclo" (And I was there all alone, looklng for the rea
sons / of the earth`s belng, the earth wlthout men / and
wlthout wlngs, yet all powerful, / alone ln lts majesty, as
lf lt had / destroyed one by one every blt of llfe / ln
order to establlsh lts sllence).
In the same year as Zv, Neruda publlshed stlll
another, slgnlflcantly dlfferent, book of poetry, Iiv dc
muvdo. Even though the purported theme of thls collec
tlon of poems ls to medltate on the state of global
affalrs, ln the end the maln toplc remalns the poet`s own
self. Neruda recognlzes thls polnt ln the poem 'Slempre
yo" (Always I). 'Yo que quera hablar del slglo / aden
tro de esta enredadera, / que es ml slempre llbro
naclente, / por todas partes me encontr / y se me escap
aban los hechos" (I who wanted to speak of our century
/ wlthln thls twlnlng, / wlthln my book stlll belng born,
/ everywhere I found myself / whlle events escaped me).
Indeed, thls book reflects events of the tlmeslncessant
wars, the horrors of Vletnam, the death of Che Gue
vara, the lnvaslon of Prague by Sovlet troopsbut lt ls,
nonetheless, a personally orlented book. Events are
seen through the poet`s own perspectlve, and he
angulshes about the dlsappolntments and unreallzed
dreams that have characterlzed the years durlng whlch
he has llved. But the mood of Iiv dc muvdo ls more
reflectlve than argumentatlve, and thls quallty makes
the book more closely related to Neruda`s personal
poetry.
In all the books from l968 onward Neruda apolo
glzes, asklng for forglveness not only for the thlngs he
has done but also prlmarlly for the thlngs he has not
done. At tlmes, there ls a sense of despalr ln hls poetry
for not havlng been able to act more on behalf of
human justlce, as ln Ios movos dcl do. Nowhere does thls
despalr take on such global proportlons as ln the poems
of Iiv dc muvdo. Neruda descrlbes the twentleth century
ln the blackest terms. ln 'La cenlza" (Ash) he calls lt 'la
edad de la cenlza" (the age of ash) and wrltes of 'Cen
311
m~ k~ ai_ PPN
lza de nlos quemados" (ash of burned chlldren) and
'cenlzas de ojos que lloraron" (ashes of eyes that crled);
and ln 'Bomba" (Bomb) he wrltes. 'en estos aos nacl
/ la uslna total de la muerte / el ncleo desencadenado /
y no nos bast aseslnar / a clen mll japoneses dorml
dos" (ln these years was born / the complete factory of
death, / the unchalned atom, / and lt wasn`t enough for
us to assasslnate / l00,000 sleeplng |apanese). In c
Neruda shows a subtle phllosophlcal bent to hls
reflectlon on the state of world affalrs that goes much
beyond the polltlcal. Jhere ls a softer, gentler message
about the human condltlon than ln hls purely polltlcal
poetry. Jhe collectlon also lncludes portralts of cltles,
countrles, and wellknown wrlters from Latln Amerlca,
lncludlng |ullo Cortzar, Vallejo, and Gabrlel Garca
Mrquez.
i~ ~~ ~ ls one of Neruda`s most
unusual books. Jhe tltle sets the work apart by refer
rlng to the Blble, speclflcally to Genesls ln the Old Jes
tament, and the sword wlth whlch an angel protected
the entrance to the Garden of Eden after the Iall of
Adam and Eve. Jhls poem recounts a long and fantas
tlc tale, the story or Rhodo and Rosa, survlvors after
the destructlon of the world and lts clvlllzatlons. Draw
lng strength from thelr love for each other, they sall out
lnto the world ln a new ark laden wlth escaplng blrds
and beasts. As they draw clear of the land, they reallze
that the old god has dled and that they are themselves
the gods of the new age. Jhey try to establlsh a dynasty
to begln anew, only to be pursued by lnner gullt and
great exploslons ln the sky and ln the center of the
earth. Jhe book ends on an optlmlstlc note, however.
through thelr love and through the presence of blrds
and anlmals around them, Rhodo and Rosa slowly
learn that lt ls they who are ln charge, not some unseen
god, and the new world belongs to them. It mlght seem
strange for a Marxlst poet to use blbllcal themes and
lmagery, but the eplc and mythologlcal quallty of
Neruda`s long narratlve conveys a message about mate
rlal hope ln a world that ls doomed to fall lf lt follows
only the old order.
Also ln l970, Neruda publlshed i~ ~
I whlch Manuel Durn and Margery Saflr have
called a 'slster book" to i~ ~ `K Here, the
object of the poet`s contemplatlon ls not the glant
boulders of Chllean geography but rather small
rocks and stones, as well as preclous formatlons. ln
'Cuando se toca el topaclo" (When You Jouch the
Jopaz) he wrltes, 'Cuando se toca el topaclo / el
topaclo te toca. / desplerta el fuego suave / como sl el
vlno en la uva / despertara" (When you touch the
topaz / the topaz touches you. / the smooth flre awak
ens / as lf the wlne ln a grape / came to llfe). In thls
book the poet agaln questlons the natural world,
seeklng out every secret that the sllent mlnerals hold.
At the same tlme Neruda reflects on humanklnd. hls
thoughts on stones are also observatlons about the
dlfference between the solld, sllent llfe of rocks and
that of human belngs. Hls ldentlflcatlon wlth the nat
ural worldexpressed, for example, ln 'Yo soy este
desnudo mlneral" (I Am Jhls Naked Mlneral)ls
total ln these poems.
In October l97l Neruda was ln Irance, worklng
to renegotlate Chlle`s external debt, when he recelved
the news that he had been awarded the Nobel Prlze ln
Llterature. Neruda`s name had been suggested for the
Nobel several tlmes slnce l963, but the prlze eluded
hlm because of perslstent rumors and negatlve cam
palgns regardlng hls alleged lnvolvement ln an attempt
to assasslnate Leon Jrotsky ln Mexlco ln l910, or the
prevlous accusatlons about hls Stallnlsm (whlch suppos
edly made hlm grant exlt vlsas to Chlle only to hardllne
Spanlsh Republlcans who were fleelng the Clvll War ln
l936, whlle some argue that he saved many llves thls
way), and a supposedly antlcommunlst CIA dossler
agalnst Neruda publlshed ln Sweden ln the Cold War
years of the l960s. He was a 'canonlzed yet controver
slal" worldrenowned poet. Ilnally, hls champlon ln the
Swedlsh Academy, Artur Lundkvlst (a Marxlst scholar
of Latln Amerlcan llterature and Neruda`s translator ln
Sweden, who ls sald to have proposed the Chllean for
the Nobel slnce the l950s) prevalled agalnst the mem
bers of the Academy who gave credence and welght to
the polltlcal or crlmlnal accusatlons. In an lntervlew
granted to the BBC by phone on the day of the Octo
ber l97l announcement, Neruda sald that the prlze was
a complete surprlse to hlm, slnce lt had been rumored
so many tlmes before that he was accustomed to the
news 'not belng true." Some detractors have sald that
Neruda so craved the honor that he lobbled for the
prlze by wlnlng and dlnlng Swedlsh wrlters and dlplo
mats at hls house ln Isla Negra, Chlle, and that the
Chllean government lobbled ln hls name wlth the Swed
lsh ambassador to the Lnlted Natlons and even Prlme
Mlnlster Olof Palme. Jhe Chllean journal i~ q~
publlshed an artlcle on the whole process, 'El arduo
camlno de Neruda al Premlo Nobel" (Jhe Arduous
Road of Neruda to the Nobel Prlze). Neruda traveled to
Stockholm ln December to recelve the prlze, and ln hls
Nobel lecture, q~ p ` (publlshed ln
l971), he descrlbed hls vlslon of a future for manklnd, a
paradlse of everyday llvlng ln whlch poetsthe same as
bakerswould play a slgnlflcant role. Neruda returned
to Chlle ln l972, too lll to contlnue worklng as an
ambassador or to undertake the lecture tours and other
publlc dutles that are often expected of Nobel wlnners.
In Chlle he underwent radlatlon treatments but was stlll
able to attend some events ln hls honor, such as a huge
315
ai_ PPN m~ k~
rally organlzed at the Natlonal Stadlum, whlch was hls
last publlc appearance.
In l972 Ccogrofo ivfructuoso was publlshed. Jhls
book was begun ln Chlle and flnlshed ln Irance, durlng
the year before hls death, when Neruda suffered from
hls termlnal lllness. Jhe volume appeared ln Aprll
l972, after the Nobel Prlze award, and thls book and all
subsequently publlshed volumes were wrapped wlth a
thln colored paper band that proclalmed the prlze. Sales
proflted from the lncreased notorlety, and the crltlcal
receptlon was helghtened as well.
Jhe poems lncluded ln Ccogrofo ivfructuoso are per
sonal, referrlng to trlps and surgerles and landscapes he
wlll not see agaln, as well as to the hope that stlll llngers ln
hls heart, and they reflect an lmpendlng sense of flnallty to
hls days on earth. In 'El cobarde" (Jhe Coward) there ls a
contrast between the observed regeneratlve powers of
nature and the ebblng out of llfe. 'voy sln vlvlr, ya mlner
allzado, / lnmvll esperando la agona, / mlentras florece el
terrltorlo azul / predestlnado de la prlmavera" (I go along
wlthout llvlng, already mlnerallzed, / lmmoblle, waltlng
for the agony, / whlle the blue hllls flower / wlth the flrst
fated slgns of sprlng). Ccogrofo ivfructuoso preflgures the
major themes ln the posthumous works. not only the
awareness of oncomlng death contrasted wlth the cycle of
the seasons but also solltude. In thls book Neruda afflrms
that hls solltude ls a speclal terrltory, a geography ln whlch
belng and oneness become fused and confused. Because of
these themes, and also because of the perlod ln whlch lt
was wrltten and publlshed, Ccogrofo ivfructuoso constltutes
a llnk between the works of the late l950s through the
early l970s and the posthumous volumes. It closes the
'autumnal" cycle of Neruda`s poetry and antlclpates the
'wlnter" cycle. the elght books publlshed after the poet`s
death. As Robert PrlngMlll notes, the fact that Neruda
chose ordv dc ivvicrvo (l971; translated as !ivtcr Cordcv,
l986) as the tltle of one of the major posthumous works
shows that wlth Ccogrofo ivfructuoso he was fully aware of
the end of one cycle and the openlng of another, the flnal
cycle ln hls llfe, wlth the works that followed.
In mld l973 Neruda was bedrldden, dylng of can
cer, yet worklng on hls memolrs and the elght books of
poetry he planned on publlshlng on hls seventleth blrth
day, l2 |uly l971. He had wrltten appeals to hls frlends ln
Europe, ln the Amerlcas, and ln the soclallst countrles,
begglng them to come to the ald of Chlle, desperately try
lng to prevent the coup d`tat that everyone knew was
lmmlnent. On 23 September l973, twelve days after the
coup that left General Augusto Plnochet rullng hls beloved
country, Neruda dled. Hls houses were vandallzed and
ransacked, malnly by government troops.
Even though Neruda had been lll for more than a
year, hls death came somewhat unexpectedly. 'What
brought about hls sudden collapse," PrlngMlll wrote ln
the 3 October l975 lssue of TIS: Tlc Timcs Iitcrory Sup-
plcmcvt, 'was the shock of the coup and of Allende`s
death. Jhe Presldent had been a close frlend of the
poet, and hls end ln the government palace hlt Neruda
as hard as Garca Lorca`s murder ln Spaln had hlt hlm
at the outbreak of the Spanlsh Clvll War. Hls falllng
health gave way. Hls funeral, protected by the presence
of forelgn journallsts, was the only tlme dlssentlng
volces could be ralsed ln Chlle ln deflance of the new
reglme."
Jwo of the elght posthumous books, Il mor y los
compovos (translated as Tlc Sco ovd tlc clls, l988) and
Io roso scporodo (translated as Z Scporotc Iosc, l985),
were publlshed shortly after Neruda`s death ln l973.
Lrrutla had been allowed by the new government to
leave Chlle ln November of that year, taklng wlth her
the manuscrlpts of the unpubllshed poems and the
drafts of Covficso quc lc vivido to the house of Neruda`s
frlend Mlguel Otero Sllva ln Caracas. Accordlng to
Losada, Neruda`s publlsher, the poet wanted the works
to appear ln the followlng sequence. Io roso scporodo,
ordv dc ivvicrvo, 2000 (l971; translated, l997), Il
coroov omorillo (l971; translated as Tlc Jcllow Hcort,
l990), Iibro dc los prcguvtos (l971; translated as Tlc ool
of _ucstiovs, l99l), Ilcgo (l971; translated as Ilcgy,
l983), Il mor y los compovos, and Dcfcctos cscogidos (l971,
Selected Defects). Jhls arrangement was not followed,
and ln l973 Il mor y los compovos was the flrst to appear
ln prlnt. No explanatlon has ever been glven as to why
Neruda`s deslres were not followed. He had wanted to
surprlse hls readers wlth the new books on hls seventl
eth blrthday, at the blg celebratlon that Presldent
Allende was preparlng for hlm on l2 |uly l971. Slnce
both men dled ln September l973, all plans were can
celed. Jhe appearance of the flrst two books soon after
Neruda`s death may have been a polltlcal move to reaf
flrm Neruda`s lnsplratlon as the poet of the masses ln
front of the rlghtwlng mllltary reglme.
Jhe posthumous books are a body of work that
Neruda hlmself dld not shape lnto lts flnal form. All of
these poems were salvaged from the ransacklng of the
poet`s homes after hls death (La Chascona ln Santlago,
La Sebastlana ln Valparaso, and Isla Negra). Jhe poet
had nearly flnlshed work on these books, but there ls
no way of knowlng whether he would have publlshed
all the poems that were found, and ln what order. Jhe
elght books vary ln content, mood, and quallty, and yet
they can be seen as a group. Ior the most part, they are
all short composltlons; there ls not any hlnt at monu
mental poems of the type found and gathered ln Mcmo-
riol dc Islo `cgro, for example. Jhe movement toward
personal poetry reaches lts culmlnatlon ln these works.
Neruda wrote many of these composltlons at a
country retreat ln Irance, where he had used some of
316
m~ k~ ai_ PPN
the Nobel Prlze money to buy a converted slate mlll at
CondsurIton ln Normandy. He and Lrrutla gave thls
country refuge the name of La Manquel (a word mean
lng 'female condor" ln the Mapuche language of the
Indlans of southern Chlle). Jhe great oak beams of the
old mlll by the stream recalled other tlmber ln hls Chll
ean houses, for example, ln hls beloved Isla Negra. At
La Manquel, he completed d~~ ~ and i~
~ ~~~K
Jhese elght volumes often touch prlvate realms
of Neruda`s llfe, an exlstence that he contemplates ln
solltude and sllence. Hls great companlon ls, as always,
nature. Some poems are metaphyslcal or even exlsten
tlal at tlmes. Jhe poet seeks to renew hls bond wlth
nature and to medltate on hls own llfe, as well as on
man`s relatlonshlp to the natural forces that surround
hlm and outlast hlm. Jhere ls also a unlty of mood ln
several of the posthumous volumes. b ~ ~ ~~~
and g~ are clearly wrltten by a man who ls
aware of hls lmpendlng death. He feels no fear or
regret, however. Instead, an acceptance of destlny and a
calm and tranqull mood pervade most of thls poetry.
In b ~ ~ ~~~I the flrst of the posthu
mous books to appear ln prlnt, the reader flnds many of
the great themes concernlng human exlstence that
Neruda explores ln hls other flnal works. Jhe poet ls
taklng account of hls own llfe and hls own belng. Jhe
book ls a collectlon of lntlmate personal poetry, and the
two elements of the tltle slgnlfy two aspects of Neruda`s
communlon wlth nature that were always lmportant to
hlm. the sea, the prlmeval force that lntrlgued hlm and
fasclnated hlm slnce hls youth, and whlch had always
been physlcally and poetlcally present ln hls llfe; and
the bells, whlch mlght also represent communlcatlon
wlth the natural world, a call to remember llfe, and an
upcomlng death knell.
i~ ~ ~~~ grew out of a trlp Neruda made to
Easter Island ln |anuary l97l as part of a team worklng
on a televlslon documentary for Channel l3, the cul
tural televlslon channel of Chlle. Jhe poet had been
long fasclnated wlth the lsland, a Chllean terrltory, and
lts huge stone statues, and he had lncluded several
poems on the subject ln hls `~ ~I ln the penultl
mate sectlon, 'El gran ocano." Jhe serles of poems
tltled 'Los hombres" (Jhe Men) ls about the people
who populate or vlslt thls slngular place. 'Somos torpes
los transentes, nos atropellamos / de codos, / de ples,
de pantalones, de maletas, / bajamos del tren, del jet, de
la nave, bajamos / con arrugados trajes y sombreros
funestos" (All of us who walk around are clumsy peo
ple. Our elbows get ln the way, / our feet, our trousers,
our sultcases, / we get off the traln, the jet plane, the
shlp, we come down / wlth our wrlnkled sults and our
slnlster hats). Jhe treatment of the toplc of human
belngs ln apposltlon to Nature ls slmllar ln thls collec
tlon to what Neruda had done ln i~ ~ `K
Moreover, ln i~ ~ ~~~ Neruda documents
despalr over the condltlon of modern man and hls pltl
ful state.
g~ focuses, more than any other
work ln thls group, on the poet`s consclousness of the
cycles of llfe and death as they unfold ln the natural
world. In one of the most frequently quoted verses
from the serles, 'Con _uevedo, en prlmavera" (Wlth
_uevedo, ln sprlngtlme), the poet`s wlshes are stated ln
regard to hls conceptlon of lmmortalltya llfe ln the
earth, llke the autumn leaves that return to the unend
lng cycle of dlssolutlon and regeneratlon.
dadme por hoy el sueo de las hojas
nocturnas, la noche en que se encuentran
los muertos, los metales, las races,
y tantas prlmaveras extlnguldas
que desplertan en cada prlmavera.
(glve me for today the sleep of nocturnal
leaves, the nlght ln whlch we come face to face
wlth the dead, the metals, the roots,
and so many extlngulshed sprlngtlmes
that awaken ln each sprlngtlme.)
Notable ln these poems ls the absence of sadness. Nel
ther death nor the wlnter ls portrayed as a negatlve or
threatenlng force, but wlth the essentlal optlmlsm of
one who has llved and understands how the cycles of
llfe unfold.
Whlle stlll reflectlng the stance of a man taklng
account before death, OMMM ls slgnlflcantly dlfferent
from g~ K In thls collectlon Neruda
leaves behlnd lyrlcal medltatlons and contemplates
contemporary reallty, constructlng a serles of poems
that constltute a commentary on the state of the
world as he lmaglnes lt wlll be ln the year 2000. OMMM
ls the sllmmest of the last volumes, and the poetry
lncluded thereln ls not the most memorable left by
the poet. Agaln, the prlmary thematlc concern ls
despalr over the condltlon of modern man.
b ~ ~~ offers poetry wlth a tone that
ls lrreverent, playful, and even nonsenslcal at tlmes.
Jhe themes are often soclal satlre, wlth strange and
amuslng anecdotes to lllustrate the absurdlty of
soclal customs. An example ls the poem 'Lna sltu
acln lnsostenlble" (An Lntenable Sltuatlon), cen
tered on the extravagant flgures that make up the
Ostrogodo famlly. Much of thelr conversatlon
revolves around dead relatlves, untll one day some
thlng unusual happens. 'Entonces en aquella casa /
de oscuros patlos y naranjos, / en el saln de plano
negro, / en los paslllos sepulcrales, / se lnstalaron
317
ai_ PPN m~ k~
muchos dlfuntos / que se slntleron en su casa" (Jo
that manslon of dark courtyards and orange trees, /
to that drawlngroom wlth lts black plano, / to the
tombllke corrldors, / many ghosts came to stay, /
feellng perfectly at home). b ~ ~~ ls not a
substantlal book, the poetry belng often more pleas
ant than remarkable.
i ~ ~I also from l971, ls perhaps
the slmplest and yet the most complex of the elght
posthumous works. It ls llterally a book of questlons.
every verse ends wlth a questlon mark, and they are
strung together wlthout any necessary relatlonshlp
between them. Ior example, ln 'Poema IV". 'Cun
tas lgleslas tlene el clelo? / Por qu no ataca el
tlburn / a las lmpvldas slrenas? Conversa el humo
con las nubes? / Es verdad que las esperanzas / deben
regarse con roco?" (How many churches does
Heaven hold? / Why don`t the sharks attack / the
serene mermalds? / Does the smoke talk to the
clouds? / Is lt true that hope must be watered wlth
dew?). In each verse of these rlddles, one ls deallng
wlth the unanswerable questlons of llfe. Neruda,
close to hls death, provldes the reader access lnto
how he sees the world, the questlons of hls accumu
lated years of observlng reallty.
b~ ls Neruda`s last look at Sovlet Russla. He
had already wrltten extenslvely on the subject, begln
nlng wlth hls 'Oda a Stallngrado" (Ode to Stallngrad)
ln q~ ~K In the latter work he contemplates
the country that for forty years had represented the cen
ter of hls polltlcal ldeology and ldeals. b~ ls a sentl
mental journey through the Sovlet Lnlon. lmaglnlng a
flnal walk through Moscow, Neruda recalls poets such
as Vladlmlr Mayakovsky, Aleksandr Pushkln, and
Nazlm Hlkmet. Above all, one flnds ln the book revolu
tlonary nostalgla, the remembrance of antlfasclst strug
gles wlth hls comrades ln art. In comparlson wlth i~
~ I a book of joyous dlscovery of soclallst
solldarlty, b~ contemplates and laments the passage
of tlme for the same places that he wandered around
twenty or thlrty years earller.
a ls the last posthumous collectlon
to appear ln prlnt. It was planned as a collectlon of
faults, both Neruda`s own and those of other people.
Most crltlcs agree that the book as lt was publlshed was
not the book that had been lntended, however. Only
twelve of lts nlneteen poems flt the theme, and none ln
the collectlon ls partlcularly lmpresslve. Most of the
poems are not of great lnterest or lmportance for an
understandlng of Neruda`s work, and there are prlntlng
errors (such as repetltlons of llnes from one poem to the
other). Jwo poems, however, can be salvaged. 'Otro
castlllo" (Another Castle) and 'Organo" (Oregano).
Jhe second one ls a composltlon ln the style and theme
of the elementary odes.
hasta que me encontr sobre un andn
o en un campo recln estrenado
una palabra. organo,
palabra que me desenred
como sacndome de un laberlnto.
No qulse aprender ms palabra alguna.
(untll I found on a rallroad platform
or perhaps lt was a newly sown fleld
a word. oregano.
Jhls word made me unwlnd,
as lf guldlng me out of a labyrlnth.
I refused to learn any more words.)
Jhe elght volumes of posthumous works constl
tute almost a mlcrocosm, recalllng aspects of almost all
Neruda`s prevlous books. nature, love, polltlcs, and an
exploratlon of reallty through the physlcal elements of
llfe. In these collectlons the poetry reflects the poet`s
bent toward both the prlvate and publlc realms,
although ln maturlty hls tendency ls to seek solltude.
Neruda knew he was dylng as he wrote them, and he
turns lnward to hlmself and to nature. He approaches
death wlth serenlty, taklng comfort ln hls own concept
of lmmortallty. the eternal cycle of dlssolutlon and ren
ovatlon that the earth offers to all, lncludlng humans.
Pablo Neruda`s poetry reveals a deeply rooted,
materlal splrltuallty that strengthened at the end of hls
days. If a few words could sum up the maln thrust and
lmport of the contrlbutlon hls poetry made to the
world, they mlght be found ln hls Nobel lecture.
Jodos los camlnos llevan al mlsmo punto. a la comunl
cacln de lo que somos. Y es preclso atravesar la
soledad y la aspereza, la lncomunlcacln y el sllenclo
para llegar al reclnto mglco en que podemos danzar
torpemente o cantar con melancola; mas en esa danza
o en esa cancln estn consumados los ms antlguos
rltos de la conclencla. de la conclencla de ser hombres y
de creer en un destlno comn.
(All paths lead to the same goal. to convey to others
what we are. And we must pass through solltude and
dlfflculty, lsolatlon and sllence ln order to reach forth to
the enchanted place where we can dance our clumsy
dance and slng our sorrowful songbut ln thls dance or
ln thls song there are fulfllled the most anclent rltes of
our consclence ln the awareness of belng human and of
bellevlng ln a common destlny.)
iW
`~~ ~ m~ k~I edlted by Serglo
Iernndez Larran (Madrld. Rodas, l971);
318
m~ k~ ai_ PPN
Cortos o Iouro, edlted by Hugo Montes (Madrld. Edl
clones Cultura Hlspnlca del Centro
Iberoamerlcano de Cooperacln, l978);
Ioblo `crudo, Hcctor Iovdi: Corrcspovdcvcio durovtc
'Icsidcvcio cv lo ticrro, edlted by Margarlta
Agulrre (Buenos Alres. Sudamerlcana, l980);
`crudo jovcv: Cortos y pocmos dc Ioblo `crudo o Zlbcrtivo
Ioso Zocor, edlted by Iranclsco Iernndez
Ordez (Madrld. Edlln, l983);
Ioro Zlbcrtivo Ioso: Ipistolorio: Iocmos y cortos dc `cr-
udo o Zlbcrtivo Ioso Zocor, edlted by Iranclsco
Cruchaga Azcar (Santlago. Dolmen, l992);
Ipistolorio viojcro, 1927-197J, edlted by Abraham
_uezada Vergara (Santlago de Chlle. RIL,
2001).
fW
Rlta Gulbert, 'Pablo Neruda. Jhe Art of Poetry
XIV," Ioris Icvicw, 5l (Wlnter l97l). l19-l75;
Margarlta Agulrre, 'Entrevlsta con Pablo Neruda,"
Hispovio, 57 (March l971). 367-369.
_~W
Horaclo |orge Becco, Ioblo `crudo: ibliogrofo (Bue
nos Alres. Casa Pardo, l975);
Hensley C. Woodbrldge and Davld S. Zubatsky,
Ioblo `crudo: Zv Zvvotcd ibliogroply of iogropl-
icol ovd Criticol Studics (New York. Garland,
l988).
_~W
Efran Szmulewlcz, Ioblo `crudo: iogrofo cmotivo
(Santlago. Edltorlal |. AlmendrosOrbe, l975);
Volodla Jeltelbolm, `crudo (Madrld. Mlchay, l981);
translated by Beverly |. DeLongJonelll as
`crudo: Zv Ivtimotc iogroply (Austln. Lnlver
slty of Jexas Press, l99l);
Matllde Lrrutla, Mi vido juvto o Ioblo `crudo (Barce
lona. Selx Barral, l986); translated by Alexan
drla Glardlno as My Iifc witl Ioblo `crudo
(Stanford, Cal.. Stanford Lnlverslty Press,
l997);
Davld Schldlowsky, Ios furios y los pcvos: Uvo biogrofo
dc Ioblo `crudo 1904-194J (Berlln. Wlssen
schaftllcher, l999);
Adam Ielnsteln, Ioblo `crudo: Z Iossiov for Iifc (New
York. Bloomsbury, 2001).
oW
Marjorle Agosn, Ioblo `crudo, translated by Lor
ralne Roses (Boston. Jwayne, l986);
Margarlta Agulrre, Ios vidos dc Ioblo `crudo (Santl
ago. ZlgZag, l967); second revlsed edltlon
(Buenos Alres. Grljalbo, l973);
|alme Alazrakl, 'Pablo Neruda, the Chronlcler of All
Jhlngs," ools Zbrood, 16 (l976). 19-51;
Zvolcs dc lo Uvivcrsidod dc Clilc, speclal Neruda lssue,
l29 ( |anuary-December l97l);
Harold Bloom, ed., Ioblo `crudo (New York. Chelsea
House, l989);
Ren de Costa, Tlc Ioctry of Ioblo `crudo (Cam
brldge, Mass.. Harvard Lnlverslty Press,
l979);
Greg Dawes, !crscs Zgoivst tlc Dorlvcss: Ioblo `crudo`s
Ioctry ovd Iolitics (Lewlsburg, Pa.. Bucknell Lnl
verslty Press, 2006);
Manuel Durn and Margery Saflr, Iortl Tovcs: Tlc
Ioctry of Ioblo `crudo (Bloomlngton. Indlana
Lnlverslty Press, l98l);
|ohn Ielstlner, 'Nobel Prlze at Isla Negra," `cw
Icpublic (25 December l97l). 29-30;
Ielstlner, Trovslotivg `crudo: Tlc !oy to Mocclu Iicclu
(Stanford, Cal.. Stanford Lnlverslty Press,
l980);
Edward Hlrsch, 'Pablo Neruda at l00," !oslivgtov
Iost ool !orld, ll |uly 2001, pp. 8-9;
Jeresa Longo, ed., Ioblo `crudo ovd tlc U.S. Culturc
Ivdustry (New York. Routledge, 2002);
Modcrv Ioctry Studics, speclal Neruda lssue, 5 (Sprlng
l971);
Robert PrlngMlll, 'Jhe Wlnter of Pablo Neruda,"
TIS: Timcs Iitcrory Supplcmcvt, 3 October l975,
pp. ll51-ll56;
|. Irank Rless, Tlc !ord ovd tlc Stovc: Iovguogc ovd
Imogcry iv `crudo`s Canto general (London.
Oxford Lnlverslty Press, l972);
Ellana Rlvero, 'Anllsls de perspectlvas y slgnlfl
cacln de Io roso scporodo," Icvisto Ibcroomcri-
covo, 12 (l976). 159-172;
Emlr Rodrguez Monegal, Il viojcro ivmovil: Ivtroduc-
ciov o Ioblo `crudo (Buenos Alres. Losada,
l966);
Alejandro San Iranclsco, `crudo: Il Ircmio òbcl clil-
cvo cv ticmpos dc lo Uvidod Iopulor (Santlago.
Centro de Estudlos Blcentenarlo, 2001);
Antonlo Skrmeta, urvivg Ioticvcc, translated by
Katherlne Sllver (New York. Pantheon, l987);
Ellana Surez Rlvero, Il grov omor dc Ioblo `crudo:
Istudio crtico dc su pocso (Madrld. Plaza Mayor,
l97l);
Surez Rlvero, 'Slmbollsmo temtlco y tltular en Ios
movos dcl do," Mcstcr, 1 (l971). 75-8l;
319
ai_ PPN m~ k~
Volodla Jeltelbolm, k~ NMMW jI
(Provldencla, Santlago de Chlle. Catalonla,
2001).
m~W
Almost all of Pablo Neruda`s wrltlngs are held by the
Iundacln Pablo Neruda, Santlago.
NVTN k m i~
m~ p
h~ o~~ dI p ^~ Eq~~F
tlemen,
No great wrlter galns lustre from a Nobel Prlze. It
ls the Nobel Prlze that galns lustre from the reclplent
provlded the rlght one has been chosen. But who ls the
rlght one? Accordlng to Nobel`s wlll, as we have just
heard, the prlze ls to reward work ln 'an ldeal dlrec
tlon." Jhls ls not pure Swedlsh. One may work under
condltlons that are not ldeal. One can, accordlng to the
presumptlon made by Oscar Wllde, be an ldeal hus
band. Jhe word ldeal slmply lndlcates somethlng that
corresponds to reasonable expectatlons. But that ls not
enough for a Nobel prlze. In Nobel`s tlme the word stlll
had phllosophlcal connotatlons as well. By ldeal was
meant somethlng whlch only exlsts ln one`s lmaglna
tlon, never ln the world of the senses. Jhls ls perhaps
true of the ldeal husband, but not of the ldeal Nobel
prlze wlnner.
Jhe splrlt of Nobel`s wlll tells us what he had ln
mlnd. Jhe contrlbutlon must be one whlch wlll beneflt
manklnd. But any work of art worthy of the name does
thls, so does any llterary work wlth a serlous purpose,
and so for that matter does that whlch alms at nothlng
more serlous than ralslng a healthy laugh. Jhe clause ln
the wlll has so much to say that lt leaves us wlthout a
clear message. One of the few cases, however, where lt
does take on a deflnlte meanlng ls thls year`s wlnner of
the Nobel Prlze for Llterature. Pablo Neruda. Hls work
beneflts manklnd preclsely because of lts dlrectlon. It ls
my lmposslble task here to lndlcate thls ln a few words.
Jo sum up, Neruda ls llke catchlng a condor wlth a but
terfly net. Neruda, ln a nutshell, ls an unreasonable
proposltlon. the kernel bursts the shell.
Nevertheless, one can do somethlng to descrlbe
thls kernel. What Neruda has achleved ln hls wrltlng ls
communlty wlth exlstence. Jhls sounds slmple, and ls
perhaps our most dlfflcult problem. He hlmself, ln one
of hls k b~ lI has deflned lt ln the formula.
harmony wlth Man and the Earth. Jhe dlrectlon ln hls
work, the dlrectlon whlch can so justly be called ldeal,
ls lndlcated by the path whlch has brought hlm to thls
harmony. Hls startlng polnt was lsolatlon and dlsso
nance.
So lt was ln the love poems of hls youth. What
these q m i ~ l l a~
deplct ls the meetlng between two people`s desolatlon
ln the shadow of destructlon, and ln the next major
work, o b~I he ls stlll 'alone among shlft
lng matter."
Jhe turnlng polnt was reached ln Spaln. It was as
lf a release from the shadow of death and a way
towards fellowshlp were opened when he saw frlends
and fellow wrlters taken away ln fetters and executed.
He found the fellowshlp of the oppressed and perse
cuted. He found lt when he returned from the Spaln of
the Clvll War to hls own country, the battleground for
conqulstadors over the centurles. But out of the fellow
shlp wlth thls terrltory of terror there grew, too, aware
ness of lts rlches, prlde over lts past, and hope for lts
future, for that whlch he saw shlmmerlng llke a mlrage
far to the East. Wlth thls, Neruda`s work was trans
formed lnto the poetry of polltlcal and soclal prepared
ness under the banner of redress and vlslons of the
futurenot least so ln `~ ~I partly wrltten whlle
ln exlle ln hls own country for no other offence than an
oplnlon. Jhe oplnlon was that hls country belonged to
hlm and hls compatrlots and that no man`s dlgnlty
should be lnsulted.
Jhls huge collectlon ls no more than a drop ln
Neruda`s brlmmlng output. In hls work a contlnent
awakens to consclousness. Jo requlre moderatlon ln
such an lnsplratlon ls as lf to demand system and order
from a jungle and restralnt from a volcano.
Jhe fact that Neruda`s ls so dlfflcult to vlew
as a whole may also make lt dlfflcult to recognlze what
dlstances he has put behlnd hlm. One of hls later collec
tlons of poems ls called b~~~. Jhe word seems to
be a new one and comprlses both extravagance and
vagabondage, whlm and errantry. Ior the way from
`~ ~ was stlll long and full of experlences,
enrlchlng or bltter. Jhe terrltory of terror was found to
lle ln more than one part of the globe and Neruda saw
thls wlth the lndlgnatlon of one who feels hlmself
duped. Jhe erstwhlle ldol who was set up everywhere
ln 'the stucco statutes of a moustachloed god ln boots"
now appeared ln an ever more merclless llght, as dld
the slmllarlty ln methods and trapplngs between the
two leader flgures whom he called just Moustache and
Llttle Moustache. But at the same tlme Neruda was also
led to a new relatlonshlp to Love and to Woman, to the
orlgln and contlnuance of llfe, perhaps most beautlfully
expressed ln yet another masterplece from recent years,
350
m~ k~ ai_ PPN
Io borcorolo. Whlther Neruda`s path wlll take hlm now,
lt ls not for anyone to say. But the dlrectlon ls the one
already set, harmony wlth Man and the Earth, and we
shall follow wlth hlgh expectatlons thls remarkable
poetry, whlch wlth the overflowlng vltallty of an awak
enlng contlnent resembles one of lts rlvers, growlng all
the mlghtler and more majestlc the closer lt approaches
the estuary and the sea.
Cher Maltre,
Votre Istrovogorio vous a men loln a travers des
pays et des poques. Lne fols ll vous a men vers une
clt mlnlre ou les mlneurs avalent pelnt un hommage
sur cette terre qul est vralment la vtre. Il dlsalt. Blen
venue a Neruda. C`talent les mots de la dlgnlt
humalne opprlme a celul qul talt son porteparole.
Votre tour du monde vous a aujourd`hul men lcl. dans
la vllle aux clochers vertdegrlss que vous chanttes
une fols. Et je rpte le mme hommage. Blenvenldo
Neruda. Avec lul je transmets aussl les fllcltatlons de
lÀcadmle sudolse et vous prle malntenant de recevolr
des malns de Sa Majest le Rol le Prlx Nobel de llttra
ture de cette anne.
Trovslotiov of tlc Ircvcl by Miclocl Ioorc:
Dear Master,
Your Istrovogorio has led you on a long journey
through lands and through tlmes. Once lt brought you
to a mlnlng clty where the mlners had pald you homage
on the land that ls truly yours. It sald. Welcome to
Neruda. Jhese were the words of oppressed but proud
people, spoken to the one who speaks for them. Joday
your tour of the world has led you here. the clty of cop
perclad bell towers, of whlch you once sang. And I
repeat the same homage. Blenvenldo Neruda. Wlth lt I
also offer you the congratulatlons of the Swedlsh Acad
emy, and I now ask you to recelve, from the hands of
Hls Majesty the Klng, the Nobel Prlze ln llterature for
thls year.
Cicrow olso modc o spcccl tlot wos broodcost ov Iodio Swcdcv
ov 21 Uctobcr 1971, oftcr `crudo`s pric wos ovvouvccd:
In Pablo Neruda, thls year`s Nobel Prlze for Llter
ature has a reclplent who ls a controverslal author.
Besldes belng the subject of debate, he ls, ln some peo
ple`s eyes, debatable, not to say, questlonable. Jhe
debate has been runnlng for almost forty years, as good
a slgn as any that hls contrlbutlon cannot posslbly be
bypassed, and the dlfferences of oplnlon have lncluded
the artlstlc content of hls work. Jhere are two assess
ments of hlm whlch have become famous, the one con
tradlctlng the other, and both by fellowwrlters ln hls
own tongue. When Neruda, not yet thlrty, came to Bar
celona as the Chllean consul, he was welcomed ln lyrl
cal straln by Garca Lorca, wlth words that are already
classlc. 'A poet nearer death than phllosophy, nearer
paln than lntelllgence, nearer blood than lnk; a poet
possessed by mystlcal volces whlch he fortunately can
not lnterpret, a real man who knows that the reed and
the swallow are more lmmortal than the hard cheek of a
statue." Jhose who are not prepared to agree wlth
Lorca`s balanced, yet lnsplred, greetlng to thls fellow
poet, flve years hls junlor, look for support lnstead ln
|lmnez`s conclse judgment. 'A great bad poet."
Jhe tenaclty wlth whlch thls lnvectlve comes to
mlnd certalnly has to do wlth the sheer mass of Neruda`s
output. One wonders lndeed whether he has any parallel
ln the hlstory of poetry. At the age of thlrteen he prlnted
hls flrst poems, at twenty he was already an establlshed
poet, at fortyflve he had stlllafter contlnulng a llvely pro
ductlonwrltten only a small fractlon of the collected wrlt
lngs, whlch, by l962, fllled somethlng llke two thousand
pages; two years later, for hls 60th blrthday, flve new vol
umes of poetry appeared under the collectlve tltle of Mcmo-
riol dc Islo `cgro, and slnce then there has been a rapld
successlon of new works, lncludlng such masterpleces as
Io borcorolo and Zv. Iaced wlth such a flood of poetry,
what can be sald ln brlef revlew? Jhere ls somethlng pre
posterous about plcklng lndlvldual poems or even collec
tlons of poems out of thls boundlessness, llke ballng a
50.000 tonner wlth a teaspoon. One cannot reproduce the
essence of Pablo Neruda. He has not been able to hlmself.
It ls lnconcelvable that everythlng ln these glgan
tlc wrltlngs should rlse to the same helghts. Jhose who
are searchlng for Neruda`s weak polnts have not far to
look. Jhose who are looklng for hls strong polnts need
not search at all. Jhey are to be found ln almost lnex
haustlble plenty throughout hls works, from Icsidcvcc ov
Iortl, wlth whlch he made hls name, to hls most recent
wrltlng. Not the least remarkable thlng about hls lnspl
ratlon ls that lt has clearly grown wlth the years. It
resembles one of the rlvers of Neruda`s own contlnent,
a stream that flows wlth the banks out of slght, grow
lng broader and more powerful on lts way to the estu
ary.
Jhe eruptlve procreatlon has not preventedper
haps lt has rather been engendered bya contlnuous
evolutlon, a mutatlon of styles, renewal of motlfs,
changes of oplnlon, and emotlonal shlfts. Compared
wlth Neruda`s unlnhlblted, at tlmes even pompous
show of words and slapdash welter of metaphors,
much of Europe`s surreallstlc poetry pales lnto lame
exerclses by students of textbooks and manlfestoes; hls
lmaglnatlon appears, ln qulte a dlfferent way, to be ln
35l
ai_ PPN m~ k~
lmmedlate, mysterlous rapport wlth the gestatlon of
language and hence of verbal lmagery. Obscurlty often
results, lnaccesslble and fasclnatlng; thls stlll applles ln
hls enormous poetlc work, `~ ~. And yet thls ls
a far cry from the early masterpleces, just as lt ls stlll
further on to the slmpllclty whlch he attalns ln some of
hls recent poetry. But the transformatlon ls stlll greater
from the lntrospectlon and despalr of hls youth to the
outraged, flghtlng poetry of manhood, wlth hls eyes on
a dazzllng dream of the future, and from there, on to
the bltter dlsappolntment when the dazzle faded, and
the mllder wlsdom that comes wlth perceptlon.
In one of hls recent poems Neruda says. 'Jhere
after I ceased to be a chlld / for I reallzed that my people
/ had been denled llfe / and refused a grave." In that
moment Neruda took the flrst, declslve step out of hls
lsolatlon toward fellowfeellng. It was then a matter of
hls natlve land, vlolated and oppressed slnce the days of
the Conqulstadors. But banlshed hlmself, and perse
cuted tlme and agaln, he dld not stop there. Jhe fellow
shlp of the oppressed exlsts all over the world. Jhat ls
what he sought, and lt was the poet of vlolated human
dlgnlty that he became.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l97l.|
k~W _~ p
k~ ~ k _~ ~ ` e~
pI NM a NVTN Eq~~FW
Your Royal Hlghnesses, Ladles and Gentlemen,
We come from far away, from that whlch ls
behlnd us and wlthln us, from dlfferent languages, from
countrles that love one another. Here we are assembled
ln Stockholm, whlch thls evenlng ls the centre of the
world. We have come from chemlstry, from the mlcro
scopes, from cybernetlcs, from algebra, from the
barometers, from poetry ln order to be assembled here.
We come from the darkness of our laboratorles, to meet
a llght whlch honours us and, for the moment, dazzles
us. Ior us, the laureates, lt ls a questlon both of a joy
and a paln.
But before I render thanks and before I take
breath I must gather myself, lf you wlll pardon me, to
take myself far from thls place, to return to my country
and once more to go wanderlng ln the nlght and the
dawn of my natlve land.
I return to the streets of my chlldhood, to the wln
ters of South Amerlca, to the lllac gardens of Araucanla,
to the flrst glrl I held ln my arms, to the mud on the
streets whlch knew no pavlng, to the Indlans mournlng
clad left to us by the Conquest, to a country, a dark
contlnent seeklng for the llght. And lf the beams from
thls festlve hall cross land and sea to llght up my past,
they also llght up the future of our Amerlcan peoples,
who are defendlng thelr rlght to dlgnlty, to freedom and
to llfe.
I am a representatlve of these tlmes and of the
present struggles whlch flll my poetry. You wlll pardon
me lf I have extended my gratltude to cover all those
who belong to me, even to the forgotten ones of thls
earth who ln thls happy hour of my llfe appear to me
more real than my own phrases, hlgher than my moun
taln chalns, wlder than the ocean. I am proud to belong
to thls great mass of humanlty, not to the few but to the
many, by whose lnvlslble presence I am surrounded
here today.
In the name of all these peoples and ln my own
name I thank the Swedlsh Academy for the honour
whlch has been shown me today for my work as a poet.
I also thank thls country wlth the mlghty forests and
the deep snows, whose feellng for equallty and whose
love for peace, whose balance and generoslty lmpress
the world. I render my thanks and return to my work,
to the blank page whlch every day awalts us poets so
that we shall flll lt wlth our blood and our darkness, for
wlth blood and darkness poetry ls wrltten, poetry
should be wrltten.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l97l. Pablo Neruda ls the
352
k~W k iI NP a NVTN
q~ p `
Eq~~F
My speech ls golng to be a long journey, a trlp
that I have taken through reglons that are dlstant and
antlpodean, but not for that reason any less slmllar to
the landscape and the solltude ln Scandlnavla. I refer to
the way ln whlch my country stretches down to the
extreme South. So remote are we Chlleans that our
boundarles almost touch the South Pole, recalllng the
geography of Sweden, whose head reaches the snowy
northern reglon of thls planet.
Down there on those vast expanses ln my natlve
country, where I was taken by events whlch have
already fallen lnto obllvlon, one has to cross, and I was
compelled to cross, the Andes to flnd the frontler of my
country wlth Argentlna. Great forests make these lnac
cesslble areas llke a tunnel through whlch our journey
was secret and forbldden, wlth only the falntest slgns to
show us the way. Jhere were no tracks and no paths,
and I and my four companlons, rldlng on horseback,
pressed forward on our tortuous way, avoldlng the
obstacles set by huge trees, lmpassable rlvers, lmmense
cllffs and desolate expanses of snow, bllndly seeklng the
quarter ln whlch my own llberty lay. Jhose who were
wlth me knew how to make thelr way forward between
the dense leaves of the forest, but to feel safer they
marked thelr route by slashlng wlth thelr machetes here
and there ln the bark of the great trees, leavlng tracks
whlch they would follow back when they had left me
alone wlth my destlny.
Each of us made hls way forward fllled wlth thls
llmltless solltude, wlth the green and whlte sllence of
trees and huge tralllng plants and layers of soll lald
down over centurles, among halffallen tree trunks
whlch suddenly appeared as fresh obstacles to bar our
progress. We were ln a dazzllng and secret world of
nature whlch at the same tlme was a growlng menace of
cold, snow and persecutlon. Everythlng became one.
the solltude, the danger, the sllence, and the urgency of
my mlsslon.
Sometlmes we followed a very falnt trall, perhaps
left by smugglers or ordlnary crlmlnals ln fllght, and we
dld not know whether many of them had perlshed, sur
prlsed by the lcy hands of wlnter, by the fearful snow
storms whlch suddenly rage ln the Andes and engulf
the traveller, burylng hlm under a whlteness seven sto
reys hlgh.
On elther slde of the trall I could observe ln the
wlld desolatlon somethlng whlch betrayed human actlv
lty. Jhere were plled up branches whlch had lasted out
many wlnters, offerlngs made by hundreds who had
journeyed there, crude burlal mounds ln memory of the
fallen, so that the passer should thlnk of those who had
not been able to struggle on but had remalned there
under the snow for ever. My comrades, too, hacked off
wlth thelr machetes branches whlch brushed our heads
and bent down over us from the colossal trees, from
oaks whose last leaves were scatterlng before the wlnter
storms. And I too left a trlbute at every mound, a vlslt
lng card of wood, a branch from the forest to deck one
or other of the graves of these unknown travellers.
We had to cross a rlver. Lp on the Andean sum
mlts there run small streams whlch cast themselves
down wlth dlzzy and lnsane force, formlng waterfalls
that stlr up earth and stones wlth the vlolence they
brlng wlth them from the helghts. But thls tlme we
found calm water, a wlde mlrrorllke expanse whlch
could be forded. Jhe horses splashed ln, lost thelr foot
hold and began to swlm towards the other bank. Soon
my horse was almost completely covered by the water, I
began to plunge up and down wlthout support, my feet
flghtlng desperately whlle the horse struggled to keep
lts head above water. Jhen we got across. And hardly
we reached the further bank when the seasoned country
folk wlth me asked me wlth scarceconcealed smlles.
'Were you frlghtened?"
'Very. I thought my last hour had come," I sald.
'We were behlnd you wlth our lassoes ln our
hands," they answered.
'|ust there," added one of them, 'my father fell
and was swept away by the current. Jhat dldn`t happen
to you."
We contlnued tlll we came to a natural tunnel
whlch perhaps had been bored through the lmposlng
353
ai_ PPN k~W k iI NP a NVTN
rocks by some mlghty vanlshed rlver or created by
some tremor of the earth when these helghts had been
formed, a channel that we entered where lt had been
carved out ln the rock ln granlte. After only a few steps
our horses began to sllp when they sought for a foot
hold ln the uneven surfaces of the stone and thelr legs
were bent, sparks flylng from beneath thelr lron shoes
several tlmes I expected to flnd myself thrown off and
lylng there on the rock. My horse was bleedlng from lts
muzzle and from lts legs, but we persevered and contln
ued on the long and dlfflcult but magnlflcent path.
Jhere was somethlng awaltlng us ln the mldst of
thls wlld prlmeval forest. Suddenly, as lf ln a strange
vlslon, we came to a beautlful llttle meadow huddled
among the rocks. clear water, green grass, wlld flowers,
the purllng of brooks and the blue heaven above, a gen
erous stream of llght unlmpeded by leaves.
Jhere we stopped as lf wlthln a maglc clrcle, as lf
guests wlthln some hallowed place, and the ceremony I
now took part ln had stlll more the alr of somethlng
sacred. Jhe cowherds dlsmounted from thelr horses. In
the mldst of the space, set up as lf ln a rlte, was the skull
of an ox. In sllence the men approached lt one after the
other and put colns and food ln the eyesockets of the
skull. I jolned them ln thls sacrlflce lntended for stray
travellers, all klnds of refugees who would flnd bread
and succour ln the dead ox`s eye sockets.
But the unforgettable ceremony dld not end
there. My country frlends took off thelr hats and began
a strange dance, hopplng on one foot around the aban
doned skull, movlng ln the rlng of footprlnts left behlnd
by the many others who had passed there before them.
Dlmly I understood, there by the slde of my lnscrutable
companlons, that there was a klnd of llnk between
unknown people, a care, an appeal and an answer even
ln the most dlstant and lsolated solltude of thls world.
Iurther on, just before we reached the frontler
whlch was to dlvlde me from my natlve land for many
years, we came at nlght to the last pass between the
mountalns. Suddenly we saw the glow of a flre as a sure
slgn of a human presence, and when we came nearer
we found some halfrulned bulldlngs, poor hovels
whlch seemed to have been abandoned. We went lnto
one of them and saw the glow of flre from tree trunks
burnlng ln the mlddle of the floor, carcasses of huge
trees, whlch burnt there day and nlght and from whlch
came smoke that made lts way up through the cracks ln
the roof and rose up llke a deepblue vell ln the mldst of
the darkness. We saw mountalns of stacked cheeses,
whlch are made by the people ln these hlgh reglons.
Near the flre lay a number of men grouped llke sacks.
In the sllence we could dlstlngulsh the notes of a gultar
and words ln a song whlch was born of the embers and
the darkness, and whlch carrled wlth lt the flrst human
volce we had encountered durlng our journey. It was a
song of love and dlstance, a cry of love and longlng for
the dlstant sprlng, from the towns we were comlng
away from, for llfe ln lts llmltless extent. Jhese men dld
not know who we were, they knew nothlng about our
fllght, they had never heard elther my name or my
poetry; or perhaps they dld, perhaps they knew us?
What actually happened was that at thls flre we sang
and we ate, and then ln the darkness we went lnto some
prlmltlve rooms. Jhrough them flowed a warm stream,
volcanlc water ln whlch we bathed, warmth whlch
welled out from the mountaln chaln and recelved us ln
lts bosom.
Happlly we splashed about, dug ourselves out, as
lt were, llberated ourselves from the welght of the long
journey on horseback. We felt refreshed, reborn, bap
tlsed, when ln the dawn we started on the journey of a
few mlles whlch was to ecllpse me from my natlve land.
We rode away on our horses slnglng, fllled wlth a new
alr, wlth a force that cast us out on to the world`s broad
hlghway whlch awalted me. Jhls I remember well, that
when we sought to glve the mountaln dwellers a few
colns ln gratltude for thelr songs, for the food, for the
warm water, for glvlng us lodglng and beds, I would
rather say for the unexpected heavenly refuge that had
met us on our journey, our offerlng was rejected out of
hand. Jhey had been at our servlce, nothlng more. In
thls taclturn 'nothlng" there were hldden thlngs that
were understood, perhaps a recognltlon, perhaps the
same klnd of dreams.
I dld not learn from books any reclpe for wrltlng
a poem, and I, ln my turn, wlll avold glvlng any advlce
on mode or style whlch mlght glve the new poets even
a drop of supposed lnslght. When I am recountlng ln
thls speech somethlng about past events, when rellvlng
on thls occaslon a neverforgotten occurrence, ln thls
place whlch ls so dlfferent from what that was, lt ls
because ln the course of my llfe I have always found
somewhere the necessary support, the formula whlch
had been waltlng for me not ln order to be petrlfled ln
my words but ln order to explaln me to myself.
Durlng thls long journey I found the necessary
components for the maklng of the poem. Jhere I
recelved contrlbutlons from the earth and from the
soul. And I belleve that poetry ls an actlon, ephemeral
or solemn, ln whlch there enter as equal partners soll
tude and solldarlty, emotlon and actlon, the nearness to
oneself, the nearness to manklnd and to the secret man
lfestatlons of nature. And no less strongly I thlnk that
all thls ls sustalnedman and hls shadow, man and hls
conduct, man and hls poetryby an everwlder sense of
351
k~W k iI NP a NVTN ai_ PPN
communlty, by an effort whlch wlll for ever brlng
together the reallty and the dreams ln us because lt ls
preclsely ln thls way that poetry unltes and mlngles
them. And therefore I say that I do not know, after so
many years, whether the lessons I learned when I
crossed a dauntlng rlver, when I danced around the
skull of an ox, when I bathed my body ln the cleanslng
water from the topmost helghtsI do not know whether
these lessons welled forth from me ln order to be
lmparted to many others or whether lt was all a mes
sage whlch was sent to me by others as a demand or an
accusatlon. I do not know whether I experlenced thls or
created lt, I do not know whether lt was truth or poetry,
somethlng passlng or permanent, the poems I experl
enced ln thls hour, the experlences whlch I later put
lnto verse.
Irom all thls, my frlends, there arlses an lnslght
whlch the poet must learn through other people. Jhere
ls no lnsurmountable solltude. All paths lead to the
same goal. to convey to others what we are. And we
must pass through solltude and dlfflculty, lsolatlon and
sllence ln order to reach forth to the enchanted place
where we can dance our clumsy dance and slng our sor
rowful songbut ln thls dance or ln thls song there are
fulfllled the most anclent rltes of our consclence ln the
awareness of belng human and of bellevlng ln a com
mon destlny.
Jhe truth ls that even lf some or many conslder
me to be a sectarlan, barred from taklng a place at the
common table of frlendshlp and responslblllty, I do not
wlsh to defend myself, for I belleve that nelther accusa
tlon nor defence ls among the tasks of the poet. When
all ls sald, there ls no lndlvldual poet who admlnlsters
poetry, and lf a poet sets hlmself up to accuse hls fellows
or lf some other poet wastes hls llfe ln defendlng hlm
self agalnst reasonable or unreasonable charges, lt ls my
convlctlon that only vanlty can so mlslead us. I con
slder the enemles of poetry to be found not among
those who practlse poetry or guard lt but ln mere lack
of agreement ln the poet. Ior thls reason no poet has
any conslderable enemy other than hls own lncapaclty
to make hlmself understood by the most forgotten and
explolted of hls contemporarles, and thls applles to all
epochs and ln all countrles.
Jhe poet ls not a 'llttle god." No, he ls not a 'llt
tle god." He ls not plcked out by a mystlcal destlny ln
preference to those who follow other crafts and profes
slons. I have often malntalned that the best poet ls he
who prepares our dally bread. the nearest baker who
does not lmaglne hlmself to be a god. He does hls
majestlc and unpretentlous work of kneadlng the
dough, conslgnlng lt to the oven, baklng lt ln golden
colours and handlng us our dally bread as a duty of fel
lowshlp. And, lf the poet succeeds ln achlevlng thls slm
ple consclousness, thls too wlll be transformed lnto an
element ln an lmmense actlvlty, ln a slmple or compll
cated structure whlch constltutes the bulldlng of a com
munlty, the changlng of the condltlons whlch surround
manklnd, the handlng over of manklnd`s products.
bread, truth, wlne, dreams. If the poet jolns thls never
completed struggle to extend to the hands of each and
all hls part of hls undertaklng, hls effort and hls tender
ness to the dally work of all people, then the poet must
take part, the poet wlll take part, ln the sweat, ln the
bread, ln the wlne, ln the whole dream of humanlty.
Only ln thls lndlspensable way of belng ordlnary people
shall we glve back to poetry the mlghty breadth whlch
has been pared away from lt llttle by llttle ln every
epoch, just as we ourselves have been whlttled down ln
every epoch.
Jhe mlstakes whlch led me to a relatlve truth and
the truths whlch repeatedly led me back to the mlstakes
dld not allow meand I never made any clalms to ltto
flnd my way to lead, to learn what ls called the creatlve
process, to reach the helghts of llterature that are so dlf
flcult of access. But one thlng I reallzedthat lt ls we
ourselves who call forth the splrlts through our own
mythmaklng. Irom the matter we use, or wlsh to use,
there arlse later on obstacles to our own development
and the future development. We are led lnfalllbly to
reallty and reallsm, that ls to say to become lndlrectly
consclous of everythlng that surrounds us and of the
ways of change, and then we see, when lt seems to be
late, that we have erected such an exaggerated barrler
that we are kllllng what ls allve lnstead of helplng llfe to
develop and blossom. We force upon ourselves a real
lsm whlch later proves to be more burdensome than the
brlcks of the bulldlng, wlthout havlng erected the bulld
lng whlch we had regarded as an lndlspensable part of
our task. And, ln the contrary case, lf we succeed ln cre
atlng the fetlsh of the lncomprehenslble (or the fetlsh of
that whlch ls comprehenslble only to a few), the fetlsh
of the excluslve and the secret, lf we exclude reallty and
lts reallstlc degeneratlons, then we flnd ourselves sud
denly surrounded by an lmposslble country, a quagmlre
of leaves, of mud, of cloud, where our feet slnk ln and
we are stlfled by the lmposslblllty of communlcatlng.
As far as we ln partlcular are concerned, we wrlt
ers wlthln the tremendously farflung Amerlcan reglon,
we llsten unceaslngly to the call to flll thls mlghty vold
wlth belngs of flesh and blood. We are consclous of our
duty as fulflllersat the same tlme we are faced wlth the
unavoldable task of crltlcal communlcatlon wlthln a
world whlch ls empty and ls not less full of lnjustlces,
punlshments and sufferlngs because lt ls emptyand we
feel also the responslblllty for reawakenlng the old
dreams whlch sleep ln statues of stone ln the rulned
anclent monuments, ln the wldestretchlng sllence ln
355
ai_ PPN k~W k iI NP a NVTN
planetary plalns, ln dense prlmeval forests, ln rlvers
whlch roar llke thunder. We must flll wlth words the
most dlstant places ln a dumb contlnent and we are
lntoxlcated by thls task of maklng fables and glvlng
names. Jhls ls perhaps what ls declslve ln my own
humble case, and lf so my exaggeratlons or my abun
dance or my rhetorlc would not be anythlng other than
the slmplest of events wlthln the dally work of an
Amerlcan. Each and every one of my verses has chosen
to take lts place as a tanglble object, each and every one
of my poems has clalmed to be a useful worklng lnstru
ment, each and every one of my songs has endeavoured
to serve as a slgn ln space for a meetlng between paths
whlch cross one another, or as a plece of stone or wood
on whlch someone, some others, those who follow
after, wlll be able to carve the new slgns.
By extendlng to these extreme consequences the
poet`s duty, ln truth or ln error, I determlned that my
posture wlthln the communlty and before llfe should be
that of ln a humble way taklng sldes. I declded thls
when I saw so many honourable mlsfortunes, lone vlc
torles, splendld defeats. In the mldst of the arena of
Amerlca`s struggles I saw that my human task was none
other than to joln the extenslve forces of the organlzed
masses of the people, to joln wlth llfe and soul wlth suf
ferlng and hope, because lt ls only from thls great popu
lar stream that the necessary changes can arlse for the
authors and for the natlons. And even lf my attltude
gave and stlll glves rlse to bltter or frlendly objectlons,
the truth ls that I can flnd no other way for an author ln
our farflung and cruel countrles, lf we want the dark
ness to blossom, lf we are concerned that the mllllons of
people who have learnt nelther to read us nor to read at
all, who stlll cannot wrlte or wrlte to us, are to feel at
home ln the area of dlgnlty wlthout whlch lt ls lmpossl
ble for them to be complete human belngs.
We have lnherlted thls damaged llfe of peoples
dragglng behlnd them the burden of the condemnatlon
of centurles, the most paradlsalcal of peoples, the pur
est, those who wlth stones and metals made marvellous
towers, jewels of dazzllng brllllancepeoples who were
suddenly despolled and sllenced ln the fearful epochs of
colonlallsm whlch stlll llnger on.
Our orlglnal guldlng stars are struggle and hope.
But there ls no such thlng as a lone struggle, no such
thlng as a lone hope. In every human belng are com
blned the most dlstant epochs, passlvlty, mlstakes, suf
ferlngs, the presslng urgencles of our own tlme, the
pace of hlstory. But what would have become of me lf,
for example, I had contrlbuted ln some way to the
malntenance of the feudal past of the great Amerlcan
contlnent? How should I then have been able to ralse
my brow, lllumlnated by the honour whlch Sweden has
conferred on me, lf I had not been able to feel some
prlde ln havlng taken part, even to a small extent, ln the
change whlch has now come over my country? It ls nec
essary to look at the map of Amerlca, to place oneself
before lts splendld multlpllclty, before the cosmlc gener
oslty of the wlde places whlch surround us, ln order to
understand why many wrlters refuse to share the dlsho
nour and plunderlng of the past, of all that whlch dark
gods have taken away from the Amerlcan peoples.
I chose the dlfflcult way of dlvlded responslblllty
and, rather than to repeat the worshlp of the lndlvldual
as the sun and centre of the system, I have preferred to
offer my servlces ln all modesty to an honourable army
whlch may from tlme to tlme commlt mlstakes but
whlch moves forward unceaslngly and struggles every
day agalnst the anachronlsm of the refractory and the
lmpatlence of the oplnlonated. Ior I belleve that my
dutles as a poet lnvolve frlendshlp not only wlth the
rose and wlth symmetry, wlth exalted love and endless
longlng, but also wlth unrelentlng human occupatlons
whlch I have lncorporated lnto my poetry.
It ls today exactly one hundred years slnce an
unhappy and brllllant poet, the most awesome of all
despalrlng souls, wrote down thls prophecy. 'A
làurore, arms dùne ardente patlence, nous entrerons
aux splendldes Vllles." 'In the dawn, armed wlth a
burnlng patlence, we shall enter the splendld Cltles."
I belleve ln thls prophecy of Rlmbaud, the Vlslon
ary. I come from a dark reglon, from a land separated
from all others by the steep contours of lts geography. I
was the most forlorn of poets and my poetry was pro
vlnclal, oppressed and ralny. But always I had put my
trust ln man. I never lost hope. It ls perhaps because of
thls that I have reached as far as I now have wlth my
poetry and also wlth my banner.
Lastly, I wlsh to say to the people of good wlll, to
the workers, to the poets, that the whole future has
been expressed ln thls llne by Rlmbaud. only wlth a
~ can we conquer the splendld Clty whlch
wlll glve llght, justlce and dlgnlty to all manklnd.
In thls way the song wlll not have been sung ln
valn.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l97l. Pablo Neruda ls the
356
h~
(J1 ovuory 19J - )
e~ e~
Uvivcrsity of Himcji-Dollyo
Jhls entry was expanded by Hlrano from hls e entry
ln DI 1S2: opovcsc Iictiov !ritcrs Sivcc !orld !or II.
BOOKS. Slislo vo ogori (Jokyo. Bungel Shunjsha,
l958)lncludes 'Shllku," translated by |ohn
Nathan as 'Prlze Stock" ln Tcocl Us to Uutgrow Uur
Modvcss: Iour Slort òvcls (New York. Grove,
l977);
Mcmusliri loucli (Jokyo. Kdansha, l958); translated by
Paul St. |ohn Macklntosh and Makl Suglyama as
ìp tlc uds, Sloot tlc Iids (London. Marlon
Boyars, l995);
Miru moc vi tobc (Jokyo. Shlnchsha, l958);
!orcro vo jidoi (Jokyo. Ch Kronsha, l959);
Joru yo yuruyolovi oyumc (Jokyo. Ch Kronsha, l959);
Iodolu vo scivcv vo lylo (Jokyo. Shlnchsha, l960);
Scivcv vo omci (Jokyo. Bungel Shunjsha, l960);
c Icvobur sl (Jokyo. Chlkuma Shob, l960);
Ulurctc lito scivcv (Jokyo. Shlnchsha, l962);
Scloi vo wolomovotocli (Jokyo. Shlnchsha, l962);
Jroppo vo loc, bolu jisliv vo loc (Jokyo. Malnlchl Shln
bunsha, l962);
Solcbigoc (Jokyo. Kdansha, l963);
Scitcli vivgcv (Jokyo. Shlnchsha, l963);
ìclij scilotsu vo blcv (Jokyo. Bungel Shunjsha,
l961);
Iojivtcli vo toilcv (Jokyo. Shlnchsha, l961); translated
by Nathan as Z Icrsovol Mottcr (New York. Grove,
l968);
Ccvslulu vo tsuvowotori (Jokyo. Bungel Shunjsha,
l965);
Hiroslimo vto (Jokyo. Iwanaml Shoten, Iwanaml Shln
sho, l965); translated by Davld L. Swaln and
Joshl Yonezawa as Hiroslimo òtcs (Jokyo.
YMCA Press, l982);
c Icvobur cvsoluliv, flrst serles, 6 volumes (Jokyo.
Shlnchsha, l966-l967);
Mov`cv govvcv vo futtobru (Jokyo. Kdansha, l967);
translated by |ohn Bester as Tlc Silcvt Cry (Jokyo.
Kdansha Internatlonal / New York. Harper
Row, l971);
iolu suru loloroosli (Jokyo. Bungel Shunjsha, l968);
!orcro vo lyli o ilivobiru micli o oslicyo (Jokyo.
Shlnchsha, l969); translated by Nathan as Tcocl
Us to Uutgrow Uur Modvcss ln Tcocl Us to Uutgrow
Uur Modvcss: Iour Slort òvcls;
Ioworcmovo toslitc vo vivgcv (Jokyo. Kdansha, l970);
Iolujidoi vo sryolu (Jokyo. Shlnchsha, l970);
Ulivowo vto (Jokyo. Iwanaml Shoten/Iwanaml Shln
sho, l970);
Sligct Iumio to vo toidov: Ccvbolugo vo vivgcv (Jokyo.
Shlnchsha, l970);
Miuloro wogo vomido o vuguitomou li (Jokyo. Kdansha,
l972); translated by Nathan as Tlc Doy Hc Himsclf
Sloll !ipc My Tcors Zwoy ln Tcocl Us to Uutgrow Uur
Modvcss: Iour Slort òvcls;
Iujiro vo slimctsu suru li (Jokyo. Bungel Shunjsha,
l972);
h~ E NVVQ p~Ll mX ~
k _I p hI NVVRX o~
` m i~F
357
ai_ PPN h~
Iui wo wogo tomoslii vi oyobi, 2 volumes (Jokyo.
Shlnchsha, l973);
Djidoi toslitc vo scvgo (Jokyo. Kdansha, l973);
ly c (Jokyo. Iwanaml Shoten, l971);
uvgolu vto: fu 1-lcv (Jokyo. Shlnchsha, l971);
Iivclirovv clslo (Jokyo. Shlnchsha, l976); translated
by Mlchlko N. Wllson and Mlchael K. Wllson as
Tlc Iivcl Iuvvcr Mcmorovdum (Armonk, N.Y..
Sharpe, l993);
Iotobo vi yottcly, uvgolu (Jokyo. Shlnchsha,
l976);
c Icvobur cvsoluliv, second serles, 6 volumes
(Jokyo. Shlnchsha, l977-l978);
Slsctsu vo ll (Jokyo. Iwanaml Shoten, l978);
Hygcv suru movoly, uvgolu (Jokyo. Shlnchsha,
l978);
Djidoi gmu (Jokyo. Shlnchsha, l979);
Ccvdoi dcvli sl (Jokyo. Iwanaml Shoten, l980);
Hl o yomu (Jokyo. Kdansha, l980);
c Icvobur Djidoi rovslu, l0 volumes (Jokyo. Iwa
naml Shoten, l980-l98l);
Iciv tsurii o lilu ovvotocli (Jokyo. Shlnchsha, l982);
Iolu vo toilo to vivgcv vo loc (Jokyo. Iwanaml Shoten,
l982);
Hiroslimo loro oiroslimo c (Jokyo. Iwanaml Shoten,
l982);
Ztoroslii lito yo mcomcyo (Jokyo. Kdansha, l983);
translated by Nathan as Iousc Up U Jouvg Mcv of
tlc `cw Zgc! (New York. Grove, 2002; London.
Atlantlc, 2002);
Ilovi li o lorosu lo (Jokyo. Bungel Shunjsha, l981);
ìlov gcvdoi vo yumovisuto: !otovobc Iouo o yomu (Jokyo.
Iwanaml Shoten, l981);
Iobo vi lomorcru (Jokyo. Bungel Shunjsha, l985);
Slsctsu vo toluromi, cli vo tovoslimi (Jokyo. Shlnchsha,
l985);
Ililoto vo tcigifutotobi ly c (Jokyo. Iwanaml Shoten,
l985);
M/T to mori vo fusligi vo movogotori (Jokyo. Iwanaml Sho
ten, l986);
òtsuloslii tosli c vo tcgomi (Jokyo. Kdansha, l987);
Iirupu vo guvdov (Jokyo. Iwanaml Shoten, l988);
Ztoroslii buvgolu vo tomc vi (Jokyo. Iwanaml Shoten,
Iwanaml Shlnsho, l988);
Soigo vo slsctsu (Jokyo. Kdansha, l988);
ivsci vo slivscli (Jokyo. Shlnchsha, l989); translated
by Margaret Mltsutanl as Zv Iclo of Hcovcv
(Jokyo New York. Kdansha Internatlonal,
l996);
Cliryt (Jokyo. Iwanaml Shoten, l990);
Sliulovo scilotsu (Jokyo. Kdansha, l990); translated
by Kunlokl Yanaglshlta and Wllllam Wetherall as
Z _uict Iifc (New York. Grove, l996);
Tolcmitsu Tru to vo toidov: Upcro o tsuluru (Jokyo. Iwa
naml Shoten, Iwanaml Shlnsho, l990);
Cliryt wolusci (Jokyo. Iwanaml Shoten, l99l);
Hiroslimo vo scimci vo li (Jokyo. Nlppon Hs Shuppan
Kykal, l99l);
olu go lovt vi wololotto loro (Jokyo. Kdansha,
l992);
ivsci vo sllov (Jokyo. Iwanaml Shoten, l992);
uvgolu soivymov (Jokyo. Nlppon Hs Shuppan
Kykal, l992);
Mocogoru midori vo li: Suluivusli go vogurorcru modc
(Jokyo. Shlnchsha, l993);
Slivvcv vo oisotsu (Jokyo. Iwanaml Shoten, l993);
Mocogoru midori vo li: Jurcugolu (!oslirslov) (Jokyo.
Shlnchsha, l991);
Slsctsu vo lcilcv (Jokyo. Asahl Shlnbunsha, l991);
Mocogoru midori vo li: i voru li vi (Jokyo. Shlnchsha,
l995);
Zimoi vo ìlov vo wotosli (Jokyo. Iwanaml Shoten/Iwa
naml Shlnsho, l995); translated by Kunlokl
Yanaglshlta and Hlsaakl Yamanouchl ln opov, tlc
Zmbiguous, ovd Mysclf: Tlc òbcl Iric Spcccl ovd
Utlcr Iccturcs (Jokyo. Kdansha Internatlonal,
l995);
Ccstcrv, vor 0 olrcv: Iiv dcutsclc-jopovisclcr ricfwcclscl,
by e and Gnter Grass (Gttlngen. Steldl,
l995); translated by |ohn Barrett as ust Jcstcrdoy,
Iifty Jcors Zgo: Z Criticol Diologuc ov tlc Zvvivcrsory
of tlc Ivd of tlc Sccovd !orld !or (Parls. Alyscamps,
l999);
Ioifulu suru loolu (Jokyo. Kdansha, l995); translated
by Stephen Snyder as Z Hcolivg Iomily (Jokyo
New York. Kdansha Internatlonal, l996);
ìlov vo wotosli loro vo tcgomi (Jokyo. Iwanaml Shoten,
Iwanaml Shlnsho, l996);
ìlovgo to vilovjiv vo loloro, by e, Hayao Kawal, and
Shuntar Janlkawa (Jokyo. Iwanaml Shoten,
l996);
Juruyolo vo liuvo, by e and Yukarl e (Jokyo.
Kdansha, l996);
!otosli to iu sl sctulo vo tuluri loto (Jokyo. Kdansha,
l998);
Cl gocri, 2 volumes (Jokyo. Kdansha, l999); trans
lated by Phlllp Gabrlel as Somcrsoult (New York.
Grove, 2003; London. Atlantlc, 2003);
Torilocgo: Clcvjirivgu/Clovgclivg (Jokyo. Kdansha,
2000);
Uvoji tosi vi umorctc ovgolu, buvgolu go boluro wo tulutto,
by e and Seljl Ozawa (Jokyo. Ch kronsha,
200l);
Sololu sitc lo vorovoi (Jokyo. Kdansha, 200l);
'ibuv vo li vo sitodc (Jokyo. Asahl Shlnbunsha, 200l);
Urci goo vo d ji (Jokyo. Kdansha, 2002);
358
h~ ai_ PPN
'Ztoroslii lito vo l c, by e and Yukarl e (Jokyo.
Asahl Shlnbunsha, 2003);
ìlyoluvcv vo lodomo (Jokyo. Ch Kronsha, 2003);
'Hovoslitc lovgocru to 'loitc lovgocru (Jokyo.
Shuelsha, 2001);
Soyovoro wotosli vo lov yo! (Jokyo. Kdansha, 2005).
b bW Two òvcls: Scvcvtccv, , translated
by Luk Van Haute (New York. Blue Moon
Books, l996);
Uv Iolitics ovd Iitcroturc: Two Iccturcs (Berkeley, Cal..
Doreen B. Jownsend Center for the Humanltles,
l999);
!lo`s Zfroid of tlc Tosmoviov !olf ?: Z Iccturc, translated
by Kunlokl Yanaglshlta (Las Vegas. Ralnmaker
Edltlons, 2003).
OJHER. Tlc Croy Iris ovd Utlcr Storics of tlc Ztomic
Zftcrmotl, edlted by e (New York. Grove, l985);
publlshed as Iirc from tlc Zslcs: Slort Storics obout
Hiroslimo ovd ògosoli (London. Readers Interna
tlonal, l985).
Kenzabur e ls one of the outstandlng represen
tatlves of contemporary |apanese llterature. In a llterary
career extendlng over several decades he has produced
a large number of works, and ln |apan he has recelved
several prestlglous llterary awards, lncludlng the Akuta
gawa Prlze (l958), the Janlzakl |un`lchlr Prlze (l967),
and the Noma Llterary Prlze (l973). He has also been
hlghly pralsed overseas, recelvlng the Europella Award
from the EC (l989), the Itallan Mondelosso Prlze
(l993), and the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature (l991). Jhe
cltatlon for the Nobel Prlze noted that through hls
'poetlc force" e 'creates an lmaglned world where llfe
and myth condense to form a dlsconcertlng plcture of
the human predlcament today." He was llkewlse halled
for hls relentless search for ways ln whlch manklnd can
survlve together beneath the threat of nuclear annlhlla
tlon, and for hls wrltlng about hls symblotlc relatlon
shlp wlth hls handlcapped son. e ls only the second
|apanese wrlter to recelve the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature,
followlng Yasunarl Kawabata ln l968. He has pald
many vlslts overseas, glvlng lectures and partlclpatlng
ln llterary symposla and semlnars, and ln addltlon to
hls studles of llterature he has been one of the most
lnternatlonally mlnded wrlters ln modern |apan. Hls
works have been translated lnto many languages,
lncludlng Engllsh, German, and Irench. In thls manner,
e, though hls orlglns are ln the marglns of |apanese
soclety, has become an lnternatlonal wrlter by vlrtue of
a llterary lmaglnatlon born of ceaseless effort.
e was born the flfth of seven chlldren of a mer
chant ln semura, Ehlme Prefecture, on 3l |anuary
l935. semura ls a small vlllage ln a ravlne deep ln the
mountalns of Shlkoku, the smallest of the four maln
lslands of |apan, and can certalnly be characterlzed as
lylng ln the 'marglns" of the country. At the tlme e
was born, premodern myths and legends stlll played a
vlbrant role ln the dally llves of the vlllagers. He was
ralsed hearlng these tales from hls grandmother and
other elderly members of the vlllage. Jhe denslty of the
natural settlng on the frlnges and these myths and leg
ends shaped e`s fundamental senslbllltles. Many of hls
most lmportant llterary works are set agalnst these two
features. Hls earllest flctlon, lncludlng 'Shllku" (l958;
translated as 'Prlze Stock" ln Tcocl Us to Uutgrow Uur
Modvcss: Iour Slort òvcls, l977), Mcmusliri loucli (l958;
translated as ìp tlc uds, Sloot tlc Iids, l995), and the
flrst part of Ulurctc lito scivcv (l962, Jhe Youth Who
Arrlved Joo Late), ls set ln these marglnal reglons.
Works from hls mlddle perlod, lncludlng Mov`cv govvcv
vo futtobru (l967, Iootball ln l860; translated as Tlc
Silcvt Cry, l971), Djidoi gmu (l979, Jhe Game of Con
temporanelty), M/T to mori vo fusligi vo movogotori (l986,
M/J and the Story of the Wonders of the Iorest), òt-
suloslii tosli c vo tcgomi (l987, Letter to a Iondly Remem
bered Year), and Mocogoru midori vo li (l993-l995,
Ilamlng Green Jree), are based on the myths and leg
ends of hls homeland.
e hlmself has sald that he was fated to become
the teller of the tales of hls home. It ls also of slgnlfl
cance that the e famlly worked nelther as farmers nor
as loggers but as mercantlle agents, lnvolved ln the
exchange of goods on a dally basls. Jhls commodlty
exchange naturally lncludes the exchange of lnforma
tlon, creatlng an openness to the outslde world. Jhere
ls a strong tendency ln |apan to conslder e`s work
almost autlstlcally selfcontalned, but ln reallty an
awareness of the outslde world ls vltal ln the formatlon
of a wrlter who thrlves on selfexpresslon.
When e was nlne, flrst hls grandmother, then
hls father passed away. Jhe loss of hls father proved to
be the source of such llterary works as 'Chlchl yo,
anata wa doko e lku no ka?" (l968, Iather, Where Are
You Golng?) and !orcro vo lyli o ilivobiru micli o oslicyo
(l969; translated as Tcocl Us to Uutgrow Uur Modvcss,
l977), whlch ponder the threeway relatlonshlp shared
by e, hls father, and hls son.
e was ten when |apan surrendered on l5
August l915. Jhe surrender was a plvotal experlence
for the young boy. Jhe overnlght shlft from an uncom
promlslngly fanatlc bellef ln the lmperlal lnstltutlon and
mllltarlsm to democracy provlded materlal for such
works as 'Iul no oshl" (l958, Jhe Sudden Mute), the
flrst part of Ulurctc lito scivcv, and Miuloro wogo vomido
o vuguitomou li (l972; translated as Tlc Doy Hc Himsclf
Sloll !ipc My Tcors Zwoy, l977). More lmportant, e
took the progresslve reformatlons spearheaded by the
359
ai_ PPN h~
Amerlcan Occupatlon as the deflnltlon of postwar
democracy, and lt became the phllosophlcal backbone
of hls exlstence. He has called hlmself a 'product of
postwar democracy." Hls falth ln postwar democracy ls
llnked to hls reputatlon as a wrlter. Wlth the collapse of
Cold War lnstltutlons, deslgnatlons such as 'left wlng"
and 'rlght wlng" are essentlally meanlngless, but e ls
wldely (partlcularly overseas) percelved as a radlcal pro
gresslve. But ln |apan, he has at varlous tlmes been sub
ject to harsh crltlclsm from both the new leftwlng and
conservatlve factlons. Hls stance ls better seen as one
lnherlted from Western European humanlsts ln the clas
slcal sense of that term, although he clearly alms to
overcome some of the llmltatlons of that classlflcatlon.
Jhe stamp of postwar democracy ls more pronounced
ln hls crltlclsm and essays than ln hls works of flctlon.
e left the marglns behlnd and entered the Irench
llterature department at Jokyo Lnlverslty. Jhere he was
enthralled by hls readlng of |eanPaul Sartre ln the orlglnal
Irench. In l957, at the age of twentytwo whlle stlll ln hls
thlrd year at college, e publlshed a story tltled 'Klmy
na shlgoto" (A Strange |ob) that brought hlm lnto the llme
llght. Jhe flrstperson narrator ls a college student who
gets a parttlme job beatlng to death and sklnnlng dogs
that have been used ln anlmal experlmentatlon. He
qulckly dlscovers, however, that the whole enterprlse ls a
fraud belng perpetrated by a butcher`s shop; besldes belng
bltten by a dog, he flnds that hls two days of labor may all
have been for naught. A story wlth a slmllar theme,
'Shlsha no ogorl" (Lavlsh Are the Dead), was publlshed
the same year, thls tlme about another college student
whose job ls to transport human corpses for autopsles;
here, too, somethlng ls amlss and hls work ls all ln valn.
Jhe followlng year, l958, e publlshed 'Shllku," whlch
recelved the Akutagawa Prlze, an award that could well be
called the passport to a career as a professlonal wrlter ln
|apan. In thls story, just before the end of the war, an Afrl
can Amerlcan pllot parachutes lnto a mountaln vlllage ln
|apan, where he becomes the prlsoner of the vlllagers. But
the youth of the vlllage treat hlm llke a pet anlmal. In an
lnstant, however, thls story of pastoral fraternlzatlon ls
transformed lnto a tragedy. Jhe war strlkes a dlrect blow
agalnst thls remote vlllage, and the young protagonlst real
lzes that hls age of lnnocence has come to an end.
Jhe plnnacle of e`s earllest works ls perhaps hls
novel j I also publlshed ln l958. Here a
group of young men from a reformatory have been
evacuated to a mountaln vlllage durlng the war, but
wlth the outbreak of an epldemlc among them, the vll
lagers all flee, and the dellnquents are left on thelr own.
Jhey are jolned by a fugltlve soldlera young Korean
llvlng ln |apanand a glrl abandoned because she has
contracted the plague. When the epldemlc subsldes and
the vlllagers return, the story examlnes the subsequent
fate of thls communellke group. Jhe novel was lavlshly
pralsed for lts command of fresh lmagery and lts orlgl
nal style. In the afterword to hls flrst publlshed book,
e wrote, 'Jhlnklng about sltuatlons ln whlch one ls
conflned, sltuatlons ln whlch one has to llve behlnd an
unscalable wallthese have been my pervaslve themes."
One can see wlthln thls 'conflned sltuatlon" the lnflu
ence of Sartre`s phllosophy of exlstentlallsm and the
sense of rejectlon e felt from the world around hlm
when he moved to the center of lntellectual actlvlty ln
Jokyo, where he found hlmself behlnd a 'wall" of dlf
ferences ln language, tradltlon, and values. Jhese attl
tudes struck a responslve chord among young people ln
|apan who had been left wlthout a sense of purpose,
havlng lost a target for rebelllon as |apan began raclng
along the road of hlgh economlc growth, leavlng them
wlth only a sense of empty futlllty. e ln hls wrltlng
had antlclpated the tenor of the tlmes.
As a result of these early wrltlngs, e moved
dlrectly from student to professlonal wrlter. He never
experlenced llfe ln soclety. He had no mllltary experl
ence and dld not partlclpate ln any revolutlonary move
ments. Jhls sltuatlon dld not present any problems to
hlm so long as hls focus was upon the chlldhood years
but has been hls largest obstacle to overcome ln deallng
wlth the practlcal aspects of llfe ln soclety. In thls regard
he stands separate from wrlters such as Gnter Grass
or Gabrlel Garca Mrquez, both of whom also came
from the perlphery of thelr countrles. e runs the dan
ger of entrapplng hlmself wlthln the realm of ldeas.
e, though he comes from the marglns, has had
to transform hlmself lnto an lntellectual ln the centrallty
of Jokyo. Jhe contradlctlons and tenslons lnherent ln
thls sltuatlon have become a consclous problem that
never leaves hls mlnd and have at the same tlme
become the wellsprlng for hls llterary lmaglnatlon.
l ~ confronts thls dllemma headon. Jhe
second part of the novel deplcts the contradlctlonladen
battle by a man from the marglns who must try to
determlne how to attaln soclal ascendancy ln Jokyo.
e has descrlbed thls work as 'somethlng that could
well be called a splrltual autoblography ln whlch I
examlne my own ldentlty."
In l960 e marrled Yukarl Ikeuchl, daughter of
movle dlrector and essaylst Mansaku Itaml (pseudo
nym of Yoshltoyo Ikeuchl). Jhat same year, he became
an actlve partlclpant ln the movement protestlng revl
slon and renewal of the L.S.-|apan Securlty Jreaty. He
also traveled to Chlna, on hls flrst forelgn excurslon, as
part of a group of |apanese wrlters, and there had an
audlence wlth Mao Zedong. In October the chalrman
of the |apan Soclallst Party, whlch was opposed to the
Securlty Jreaty, was ln the mlddle of a publlc speech
when he was stabbed to death by a young rlghtwlng
360
h~ ai_ PPN
radlcal. e was shocked to dlscover that a member of
the postwar generatlon, born even later than he, could
be transformed lnto an ardent rlghtwlng lmperlallst,
and ln the followlng year he publlshed the story
'Sebuntn" (translated as 'Seventeen" ln q kW
pI gI l996), ln whlch the protagonlst ls modeled
after thls young man. A sequel to thls story, 'Seljl
shonen shlsu" (A Polltlcal Youth Dles), was vlolently
attacked by rlghtwlng groups and was never publlshed.
Some ten years after the assasslnatlon of the soclallst
leader, one of e`s chlef llterary rlvals, Yuklo Mlshlma,
called for dlrect lmperlal rule and then dlsemboweled
hlmself. Spurred by thls event, e wrote such works as
j~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ . He has contlnued
to regard the problems of the lmperlal lnstltutlon as one
of the themes of hls wrltlng.
Irom around l960 e was also heavlly lnfluenced
by the work of Norman Maller. Drawn to Maller`s bellef
that 'sex ls the last unexplored terrltory left ln the twentl
eth century," e threw hlmself lnto an examlnatlon of
'sexual matters" as the truest danger for modern man.
Novels such as p (l963, Sexual Belngs) are part
of thls examlnatlon. He boldly treats such subjects as
orgles, rape, homosexuallty, and varlous molesters. As one
of e`s contemporarles, wrlter Shlntar Ishlhara, polnted
out at the tlme they were wrltten, however, these works
suffered from belng too ldeologlcal.
e ln hls chlldhood had already read Mark
Jwaln`s q ^ e c (l881), whlch
he descrlbed as one of the works that determlned the
course of hls llfe, but hls admlratlon for Maller led hlm
even more deeply lnto Amerlcan llterature. He read
wldely and deeply from such authors as Wllllam
Iaulkner, Herman Melvllle, Ilannery O`Connor, Mal
colm Lowry, |ames Baldwln, and Kurt Vonnegut. e`s
flrst trlp to the Lnlted States was ln l965, but he
became a frequent vlsltor thereafter. Amerlcan llterature
became one of the lmportant plllars of hls own llterary
llfe. But wlthout somethlng further to deepen hls wrlt
lng he most llkely would have remalned slmply a 'tal
ented" author.
In l963 e`s eldest son, Hlkarl, was born handl
capped wlth a braln hernla as a result of an abnormallty
ln hls skull. Jhls lncldent came as a shock to e both ln
hls personal llfe and ln hls llterary llfe. Hls flrst plece of
wrltlng to deal wlth a handlcapped lnfant was the story
'Sora no kalbutsu Agull" (l961; translated as 'Aghwee
the Sky Monster" ln q~ r l l j~W
c p kI l977). A handlcapped baby ls born to
the wealthy D and hls wlfe. D, who ls a composer,
agrees to let the chlld waste away by glvlng hlm water
lnstead of mllk. After the chlld dles and hls wlfe
dlvorces hlm, D ls haunted by an apparltlon of a kanga
roo wearlng a whlte dlaper. Jhen one day when the
monster Aghwee appears ln the sky, D steps ln front of
an automoblle, leavlng onlookers to wonder whether
hls death was an accldent or sulclde.
Slx months later h ~ ~ (l961; trans
lated as ^ m~ j~I l968), one of the most lmpor
tant monuments of e`s llterary career, was publlshed.
A young schoolteacher called Blrd dreams of escaplng
to Afrlca, but a handlcapped chlld ls born to hls wlfe. In
despalr, he ls palnfully tempted by the deslre to escape
responslblllty by havlng the hospltal glve the lnfant
only water and lettlng lt dle. He crawls lnto the cave
llke home of a female frlend. Rendered lmpotent by the
shock of the chlld`s blrth, he regalns hls sexual powers
through the selfsacrlflce of thls woman. Once he
decldes to have surgery performed on the lnfant, how
ever, he decllnes thls woman`s proposal that he accom
pany her to Afrlca. Jhe operatlon ls a success, and
tranqulllty returns to hls home. Mlshlma was harshly
crltlcal of thls endlng to the novel. But e had declded
to llve wlth hls handlcapped son. At around the same
tlme, e was buoyed by the he had observed
among survlvors of the atomlc bomblng and thelr sup
porters, whlch he descrlbes ln e~ (l965;
translated as e~ kI l982), and the determlna
tlon to llve alongslde hls alllng son was expanded to
embrace the problem of human belngs coexlstlng wlth
one another ln the nuclear age.
e commented, 'Wlth the blrth of my handlcapped
son, I concluded that the klnd of wrltlng I had been dolng,
even though lt was my own work, had no value for the
sake of the tomorrow when I would be llvlng along wlth
my chlld." He added, 'I could not wrlte any klnd of story
that was separate from the monstrous blrth that had taken
place ln my own famlly." Hls later flctlons all deal ln one
form or another wlth the problem of a handlcapped chlld.
Jhe flrst to treat the subject dlrectly ls h ~ ~~
~~ (l973, Jhe Ilood Waters Have Come ln
unto My Soul), whlch centers around a father and hls
handlcapped chlld who llve ln an atomlcbomb shelter.
Jhey eventually come ln contact wlth a group of young
men and women who have settled ln the nelghborhood,
but they are caught up ln a murder that occurs wlthln the
group, are sought after by the pollce, and become
embrolled ln a war of annlhllatlon agalnst a rlot squad.
Although lt was publlshed after the lncldent occurred, the
novel ln manuscrlpt form antlclpated the lnternal purges
and allout war fought agalnst armed pollce by the |apa
nese Red Army forces.
In m~ (l976; translated as q m
o j~I l993) the maln characters are a
former technlclan who ls lnjured ln an accldent at a
nuclear generator plant and the son who ls born to hlm
after the accldent. Jhey are drawn lnto several lncl
dents as a result of attendlng a meetlng of people
36l
ai_ PPN h~
opposed to nuclear generatlon, and ultlmately they
come lnto confllct wlth a 'boss" who ls almlng to con
trol |apan through personal possesslon of nuclear weap
ons. Jhrough the wrltlng of such works e dlscovered
the lnnocence lnherent ln handlcapped chlldren and
afflrmed the value of thelr llves. However, perhaps
because these two works came durlng a transltlon
perlod ln e`s wrltlngs, they are rather dlfflcult to
apprehend and read somewhat llke comlc books almed
at an adult audlence. Jhe use of metaphors and slmlles
ls extreme, even for e`s works.
In l976, when e was fortyone, he spent a brlef
perlod lecturlng ln Engllsh at the Colleglo de Mxlco
on postwar |apanese lntellectual hlstory. Hls declslon to
reslde for a tlme ln Mexlco, whlch mlght well be consld
ered on the perlphery of the Amerlcan contlnent, rather
than ln Parls or on the eastern seaboard of the Lnlted
States, took on tremendous meanlng for hls wrltlng. Ior
one thlng, lt served as an opportunlty for hlm to recon
slder ln clear terms the lssue of marglnallty that had
been at the forefront of hls consclousness slnce he flrst
left hls vlllage home and to conslder lt a toplc ln world
hlstory. In the theoretlcal work he publlshed after hls
return to |apan, p (l978, Methodology of
the Novel), he concluslvely declares, 'One must stand
on the slde of marglnallty ln order to be able to grasp
the essence of the dangers attendlng our contemporary
age." Second, ln a development profoundly related to
hls consclousness of marglnallty, he became acqualnted
wlth Latln Amerlcan llterature through the works of
such wrlters as Garca Mrquez. Another lmportant
product of thls vlslt was e`s readlng of a book pub
llshed the prevlous year by the cultural anthropologlst
Masao Yamaguchl, whlch enabled hlm to deepen hls
consclousness and solldlfy the methodology behlnd hls
structurallst theorles whlle ln Mexlco.
Some derlde e as a 'structurallstcomelately,"
but lt ls safe to say that e had been an unconsclous
structurallst for many years, as evldenced by j~
~ I publlshed almost a decade earller
ln l967. In that novel e overlaps the lmages of two
brothers ln the modern age, Mltsusabur and
Jakashl, wlth thelr greatgrandfather, who had sup
pressed an agrarlan uprlslng a century before, and the
greatgrandfather`s brother, who had been the prlme
mover behlnd the rebelllon. As varlous truths about the
legends surroundlng these ancestors are revealed one
after another, the relatlonshlp between the modernday
slbllngs also changes, concludlng wlth the traglc death
of the younger brother, who plans and trles to carry out
hls own uprlslng as a form of festlval. Jhe century sep
aratlng the llves of these two generatlons corresponds to
the age of modernlzatlon for |apan, and e also was
fully aware of the battles over the L.S.|apan Securlty
Jreaty a few years earller. Jhls novel becomes, ln that
sense, a precursor to hls structurallst phllosophles. It ls
also noteworthy as a prototype for the masslve works of
later years that would comblne a conslderatlon of the
perlphery wlth myths and legends.
e`s consclous use of structurallst methodology
beglns wlth a~ I a work that takes the form of
a letter wrltten from a teacher llvlng ln Mexlco to hls
twln slster. A group of young men, led by a man known
as the 'Destroyer," journeys upstream durlng a mytho
loglcal age of Genesls to create a new heaven and earth
ln a mountaln gorge. In the age of legend, the Destroyer
becomes a dlctator and ls assasslnated by the vlllagers,
and durlng World War II a vlolent war ls fought
between the armles of the Great |apanese Emplre and a
semllndependent vlllage. a~ ls a plvotal work
ln |apanese llterary hlstory and shares common features
wlth Garca Mrquez`s ` ~ ~ (l967; trans
lated as l e v~ pI l970) and b
~~~ (l975; translated as q ^ m~J
~I l976). e clalmed that he had used structurallsm
as a 'prescrlptlon" for transformlng hls uncompleted
manuscrlpt lnto a flnlshed work. Perhaps as a result, the
novel ls somewhat dlfflcult to understand. Later, e
hlmself sald that he contlnues to feel that 'the gulf
between the novel and lts readers has not been closed."
It ls a boldly experlmental novel.
e`s adoptlon of structurallsm ln the late l970s
began wlth the concept of 'defamlllarlzatlon" ln the Rus
slan formallst llngulstlc theorles of Vlktor Shklovsky and
wlth the 'grotesque reallsm" of Mlkhall Bakhtln. Irom
there he proceeded to the structurallstorlented cultural
anthropology of Claude LvlStrauss and the comparatlve
rellglon theorles of Mlrcea Ellade. Hls approach to struc
turallsm became yet another redlrectlng of e`s attentlons
to Europe, whlch had produced these theorles. At the
same tlme, as a cltlzen of Asla he has retalned deep con
cern and support for such protests as the antldlctatorlal
poetry of South Korea`s Klm Chlha.
e became a frequent vlsltor to Europe after
l980. In l982 he traveled to Europe to gather materlals
for a televlslon documentary on the antlnuclear move
ment there; ln l987 he attended a roundtable confer
ence on peace ln Moscow; he lectured at the unlverslty
ln Louvaln, Belglum; he presented another lecture ln
Brussels when he was glven the Europella Prlze ln
l989; he served as moderator for a Iranco|apanese
symposlum; he engaged ln a publlc dlalogue wlth Grass
at the Internatlonal Book Ialr held ln Irankfurt ln
l990; and ln l99l he conducted another publlc dla
logue ln Parls wlth Mlchel Journler. Partly as a result of
these actlvltles, e became a wellknown flgure ln Euro
pean llterary clrcles, whlch development had an lmpact
on hls recelpt of the Nobel Prlze.
362
h~ ai_ PPN
Whlle lt cannot be denled that the adoptlon of
structurallst theorles deepened the layers of e`s wrlt
lng, at the same tlme lt made the receptlon of hls works,
such as Djidoi gmu, more dlfflcult for the |apanese
audlence. Jhls dlfflculty ls one of the reasons for dlvl
slons that have arlsen ln the evaluatlons of e`s flctlon.
Some crltlcs, such as |un Et, glve no credence to works
after e`s early perlod; others pay no attentlon to wrlt
lngs after Mov`cv govvcv vo futtobru; and younger crltlcs
dlrect thelr studles toward the novels after l980. e no
doubt takes fundamental prlde ln thls dlvlslon, slnce lt
ls evldence that hls wrltlng has not become stagnant but
ls always changlng, growlng, and dlverslfylng.
e, however, has not lgnored crltlclsms. M/T to
mori vo fusligi vo movogotori, publlshed seven years after
Djidoi gmu, ls one product of the selfreflectlon that
has resulted from hls reevaluatlons of hls work. Jhere
are some slmllarltles to Djidoi gmu ln the use of myth
and legend, but the lmpresslon left by thls work ls com
pletely dlfferent. Jhe earller work ls ln eplstolary form,
but M/T to mori vo fusligi vo movogotori ls told ln the tradl
tlonal narratlve style common slnce anclent tlmes ln
|apan. Jhls novel presents the frults of e`s groplng
and struggllng for a style of narratlon. It ls also closely
tled to a change ln hls methodology, representlng not
merely an extenslon of hls work ln Djidoi gmu but also
an act of creatlvlty undertaken from a posltlon l80
degrees removed from that earller work. Djidoi gmu
may be called a 'patrlarchal" novel, descrlblng a group
of people led by the Destroyer. Jhe M ln M/T ls an
abbrevlatlon of 'matrlarch," whlle the T stands for
'Jrlckster." Jhe novel weaves together thls M and T
and shlfts from the sexual matters that represent the
greatest threat to human exlstence ln e`s work around
l960 to the femlnlne matters that represent the heallng
from that danger. Jhls sense of the femlnlne as the
source of salvatlon can be found ln embryonlc form ln
the selfsacrlflce of Blrd`s mlstress ln Iojivtcli vo toilcv,
but lt becomes a clearly vltal theme of e`s flctlon
beglnnlng wlth M/T to mori vo fusligi vo movogotori.
ivsci vo slivscli (l989, Relatlves of Llfe; translated
as Zv Iclo of Hcovcv, l996) deplcts the agony and the
ultlmate salvatlon of a young mother whose two handl
capped chlldren commlt sulclde. e asks whether salva
tlon ls truly avallable to thls woman, who lles on her
deathbed ln Mexlco. Cliryt (l990, Jower of Heallng)
and lts sequel, Cliryt wolusci (l99l, Jower of the
Heallng Planet), adopt an unusual form for e, that of
the sclenceflctlon novel deallng wlth the near future.
One mllllon people are chosen from a world desolated
by nuclear warfare and envlronmental pollutlon to
make thelr escape to another world. Jhe narrator ls a
young woman who ls among the ocliloborc (leftovers)
who remaln behlnd; amldst the chaos and desperatlon
of these abandoned ones, she becomes an object used
for male sexual satlsfactlon and has to endure all man
ner of hardshlp. Jhe escapees, meanwhlle, flnd that
thlngs do not turn out well on thelr new planet, and
they return to Earth. Jhe protagonlst falls ln love wlth
one of that ellte group, and whlle battllng all klnds of
dlfflcultles, she becomes pregnant.
Sliulovo scilotsu (l990; translated as Z _uict Iifc,
l996) takes the form of a dlary wrltten by a young woman
buslly engaged ln wrltlng her graduatlon thesls. She has to
look after her handlcapped elder brother and a younger
brother who ls studylng for college entrance exams whlle
her parents are on an extended stay abroad. Jhe narrator
of the trllogy that could be called e`s llfework, Mocogoru
midori vo li, ls a young person who has wllllngly undergone
a sex change to become female.
Another strlklng feature of e`s wrltlng slnce the
l980s has been hls bold adoptlon of a llterary tech
nlque that seems at flrst glance a return to the tradltlons
of |apanese autoblographlcal flctlon ln the sli-slsctsu (I
novel) form. 'Atama no ll 'reln tsurll`" (Jhe Clever
Raln Jree), the openlng story ln a collectlon of llnked
storles tltled Iciv tsurii o lilu ovvotocli (l982, Women
Who Llsten to the Raln Jree), ls based on e`s experl
ences whlle partlclpatlng ln a semlnar at the Lnlverslty
of Hawall three years prevlously. Jhls seemlngly auto
blographlcal technlque assumes dramatlc shape at the
concluslon to e`s next serles of related storles, pub
llshed as Ztoroslii lito yo mcomcyo (l983; translated as
Iousc Up U Jouvg Mcv of tlc `cw Zgc! 2002). Jhe handl
capped chlld, who has appeared under a varlety of
names ln prevlous works, has become a young man
who agonlzes over sex and death, and he rejects the
affectlonate name of Eeyore by whlch hls famlly has
always called hlm. Not untll they call hlm by hls real
name, Hlkarl, wlll he joln them at the dlnner table.
e has sald of thls work, 'I made no attempt to
add ln anythlng that we dld not actually experlence."
Does thls work, then, represent e`s surrender to the
tradltlons of the Inovel ln |apan? If that ls the case,
then what ls the slgnlflcance of the quotatlons from the
poetry of Wllllam Blake? e here ls attemptlng a fuslon
of |apanese tradltlons and Western culture. Slmllarly,
olu go lovt vi wololotto loro (l992, When I Was Jruly
Young) draws lts materlal from e`s college days, when
he flrst encountered the wrltlngs of Blake.
Deeply lnterlaced wlth thls tradltlon of autoblo
graphlcal flctlon ls another slgnlflcant thread ln e`s
wrltlng, whlch lnvolves the slmultaneous attempts both
to confront and fuse wlth Western culture. Jhese
attempts can be dlscerned ln works from òtsuloslii tosli
c vo tcgomi through Mocogoru midori vo li.
Jhere are two protagonlsts ln òtsuloslii tosli c vo
tcgomi, the flrstperson narrator and Elder Brother Gll.
363
ai_ PPN h~
Many autoblographlcal elements from e`s chlldhood
through hls youth can be found ln the narrator`s llfe. Ire
quently these elements overlap wlth the facts, as wlth the
troubled manner ln whlch e made hls entrance lnto the
llterary world, hls partlclpatlon ln the protests agalnst the
L.S.|apan Securlty Jreaty, and the threats he recelved
from rlghtwlng groups after the publlcatlon of 'Sebuntn."
e hlmself has sald, 'Jhls ls the flrst llterary work where
my autoblographlcal lmpresslons have played such a large
role, and lt may very well be the last." He has descrlbed
Elder Brother Gll as an amalgamatlon of the many
'patrons" who have asslsted hlm throughout hls llfe, but
there are strong lndlcatlons that thls character ls a flctlonal
alter ego for what e mlght have become had he
remalned ln hls vlllage. Jhe narrator and Gll are llnked by
a profound lnterest ln Itallan poet Dante, who llved
through the many transformatlons of the Renalssance.
Whlle Gll remalns ln the vlllage wlth hls heart absorbed ln
Dante, he devlses varlous strategles and flnally succeeds at
settlng up a productlon base that wlll enable the vlllage to
stand lndependent. But the vlllagers mlslnterpret hls lnten
tlons and obstruct hls plans. Several other unfortunate
accldents result ln a traglc death for Gll. Jhls novel delln
eates the sharp tenslons exlstlng between the narrator,
who llves ln the central reglon of Jokyo, and Gll, who
trles to llve hls llfe ln the marglnallzed vlllage. Jhese two
separate vlewpolnts are brought together lnwardly by thelr
mutual lnterest ln Dante, but the dlstance between them
can never be completely obllterated. It ls thls tenslon that
provldes the energy for the novel.
In j~~ these dual focl correspond
to the 'female" protagonlst from the vlllage who serves
as recorder of the story after her declslon to undergo a
sex change, and a young man, the son of a dlplomat,
who separates hlmself from the feroclty of factlonal
feudlng and comes to the vlllage. Inltlally thls young
man ls drawn to the myths and legends of the vlllage,
but eventually he develops an lntense lnterest ln settlng
up a means of productlon that wlll allow the vlllage to
experlence true autonomy. Jhe speclallzed knowledge
he has acqulred through hls studles of agrlculture at col
lege wlll be of beneflt to thls vlllage. Jhe slze of the
group that conslders hlm thelr leader grows. One day
he ls unexpectedly called 'Elder Brother Gll" by an eld
erly woman who ls loved and respected by the vlllagers
as thelr grandmother, and he becomes recognlzed as the
second Gll.
In thls sense, thls novel functlons as a sequel to
k~~ ~I set as lt ls ln the same vlllage
some ten or more years later. Some new characters have
been added, lncludlng a former dlplomat, a mlxed
blood composer, and the young men and women who
assemble from other vlllages out of love for Gllbut
there are many of the same characters from k~~
~K Agrlcultural productlon and cattle
breedlng proceed apace, but once the people dlscern ln
Gll the supernatural power to heal dlsease as a result of
hls ablllty to focus hls splrltual energy, bellevers who
conslder hlm a savlor begln to gather. Jhls commune,
centered around Gll, fashlons ltself the 'Church of the
Green Jree" and takes on the dual nature of a produc
tlon base and a center for rellglous worshlp. Jhey
reflect a profound falth ln St. Augustlne, but a Buddhlst
prlest also actlvely partlclpates ln thelr rellglous prac
tlces. Here, too, e seems to be attemptlng a blendlng
and a unlflcatlon of Eastern and Western rellglous tradl
tlons. Persecutlon agalnst the Church of the Green Jree
mounts as they are accused of belng a cult that spreads
superstltlon. A group also emerges from among the
youth lnslstlng that they take up arms to defend them
selves. Gll rejects thls proposal, demandlng that they
'return to a way of llfe devoted to the splrlt." When he
leaves the vlllage, settlng out to promulgate hls bellefs,
he ls attacked by a former rlval factlon, and there he
meets wlth a death that should have been avoldable.
Jhose who revered hlm mourn hls death, but at the
same tlme they recall the earnest llfe he led and cry out
'Rejolce!" as they press forward.
Jhls trllogy ls mammoth ln conceptlon. It ls no
mere extenslon of k~~ ~X lt encom
passes all of the materlals, experlences, and tech
nlques of e`s prevlous wrltlngs and deserves the
label 'llfework." Jhough dlrectly opposlte ln lts
results, ln lts deplctlon of modern man searchlng for
some form of falth, thls trllogy antlclpates the traglc
actlvltles of the Aum Shlnrl Ky of the mld l990s.
Here, too, lmaglnatlon has surpassed reallty.
e has produced many works of flctlon but has
also wrltten essays and crltlcal pleces. In essence, ln
these works e appears as a 'product of postwar
democracy," as a parent wlth a handlcapped chlld, and
as a supporter of the weakllngs who have been
oppressed and shunned by harsh reallty. He adopts
such a posture ln e~ I whlch examlnes the
vlctlms of the atomlc bomblng, and l~~ (l970,
Oklnawa Notes), whereln he lntroduces the struggles of
the people of Oklnawa, who have contlnued under
Amerlcan Occupatlon even though the war has ended
and who have suffered from havlng the largest concen
tratlon of L.S. mllltary bases ln |apan. Jhese problems
do not represent passlng lnterests for e but are, ln fact,
as the tltle of one of hls essay collectlons suggests, g
~ (l968, Contlnulng Hopes).
However, these soclal and polltlcal declaratlons
have not produced the klnd of reallstlc results or lmpact
that has been reallzed ln the West. Jhls fallure ls per
haps because of the fact that, unllke Grass`s passlonate
support for the pollcles that West German prlme mlnls
361
h~ ai_ PPN
ter Wllll Brandt adopted toward the Eastern Bloc or
Garca Mrquez`s role ln the Cuban Revolutlon, ln
e`s case hls ldeas are not accompanled by real actlon.
More lmportant ln llterary terms ls the fact that e not
only stands wlth the oppressed but also learns much
from them and glves llfe to what he has learned ln hls
wrltlngs. What stands out as vltal ln e`s crltlcal essays
ls hls deplctlon of the groplngs and agonles that attend
the methodologles of creatlve actlvlty. Irom the outset
of hls llterary career e, whlle llvlng ln the sli-slsctsu
cllmate of |apan, has struggled ln the attempt to over
come thls clrcumstance. Jhat struggle has been chronl
cled ln such essay collectlons as uvgolu vto: fu 1-lcv
(l971, Notes on Llterature and Ilfteen Other Pleces),
Ztoroslii buvgolu vo tomc vi (l988, Ior a New Llterature),
and uvgolu soivymov (l992, A Relntroductlon to Llter
ature). In thls process of examlnatlon, e has consld
ered a varlety of wrlters from the East and the West.
Sartre, Maller, Iaulkner, Melvllle, Blake, Wllllam Butler
Yeats, Charles Dlckens, Iyodor Dostoyevsky, Mlguel
de Cervantes, Dante, and Chlha. e does not lmltate
these wrlters; rather he employs what he has learned
from them ln hls own acts of llterary creatlon.
In l991, after Hlkarl e had made a name for
hlmself as a composer, e stlrred up controversy by
announclng that, slnce hls son had come to express
hlmself better through hls muslc than e could through
wrltlng about hlm, once e flnlshed the novel he was
currently wrltlng (Mocogoru midori vo li ), he would aban
don the wrltlng of novels. In October of that same year
he was awarded the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature. In l995
the Mocogoru midori vo li trllogy was completed. Slnce
that tlme, as e has documented ln ìlov vo wotosli loro
vo tcgomi (l996, Letter from the |apanese 'Me"), he has
contlnued to be a part of many actlvltles. He canceled
hls planned partlclpatlon ln a cultural exchange event ln
AlxenProvence to protest Irench nuclear testlng, took
part ln the Cultural Olymplcs held ln Atlanta, and has
glven lectures ln many parts of the world.
When e declared that he was flnlshed wlth the
novel form, he had just passed the age of slxty, whlch ln
|apan ls customarlly vlewed as the tlme for a new depar
ture ln one`s llfe. He turned prlmarlly to wrltlng essays,
whlch can be grouped lnto three categorles. One group
deals wlth hls famlly; the second group conslsts of hls
reflectlons and examlnatlons of hls experlences through
out hls llfe; and the thlrd group argues agalnst the con
servatlve trend ln contemporary |apanese soclety.
When e`s close frlend Jru Jakemltu, a famous
composer, dled of cancer ln l996, e mourned and
declded to resume hls creatlon ln the novel form ln mem
ory of Jakemltu. He began wrltlng the twovolume novel
Cl gocri (l999; translated as Somcrsoult, 2003). Jhls work
ls about a rellglous cult started by two leaders, Slsy
(Patron) and Annalnln (Gulde), who begln a reorganlza
tlon after havlng publlcly dlssolved the cult because they
dlscovered that a sectlon of lts members was turnlng vlo
lent. Jhe novel ls dedlcated to Jakemltu.
In l997 |uz Itaml (pseudonym of Yoshlharu
Ikeuchl)a dlstlngulshed movle dlrector, e`s close
frlend slnce boyhood, and the brother of e`s wlfe
commltted sulclde by jumplng off a bulldlng. Jhls lncl
dent caused e great personal sorrow, and he sought to
lllumlnate the truth of what happened. He dld so
through explorlng facts and vlslonary flctlons to pro
duce the novel Torilocgo: Clcvjirivgu/Clovgclivg (2000).
e`s next novel was Urci goo vo d ji (2002). In thls
work, a wrlter who returns to hls blrthplace becomes
dlsturbed by the confllcts between hlm and the vlllag
ers, especlally the younger generatlon. e contlnues to
practlce hls craft ln both flctlon and nonflctlon, and ln
2005 hls publlsher, Kdansha, establlshed a llterary
prlze named ln hls honor.
Born ln the marglns of |apan, e Kenzabur has for
many years made use of unremlttlng selfexamlnatlon as a
means of pursulng questlons of the perlphery and the cen
ter and the ways ln whlch manklnd can llve together
beneath the nuclear menace. By groplng for a pathway to
hope ln the future, he has never averted hls eyes from the
despalr of the present as he has perslstently asked how
man should llve ln the present age. Hls work has thus con
trlbuted slgnlflcantly not merely to |apanese llterature but
to the llterature of the entlre world.
iW
oryolu vi solorottc lolu: c Icvobur ofulu slolov
(Jokyo. Asahl Shlnbunsha, 2003).
_~W
Llndsley Cameron, Tlc Music of Iiglt: Tlc Ixtroordivory
Story of Hilori ovd Icvobur c (New York. Iree
Press, l998).
oW
Kenky Puroje Bungel, ed., Jolu woloru c Icvobur
(Jokyo. |apan Mlkkususha, l995);
Masakl Enomoto, c Icvobur: S0 vcvdoi vo tmo to
moclfu (Jokyo. Shlnblsha, l989);
Enomoto, c Icvobur vo S0 vcvdoi (Jokyo. Salryusha,
l995);
Shlgehlko Hasuml, 'Bunml to geklrel," ln Slsctsu loro
tlu lovorctc (Jokyo. Nlhon Bungelsha, l989);
Hasuml, c Icvobur rov (Jokyo. Seldosha, l980);
Hldehlsa Hlrano, c Icvobur: !otosli vo Djidoi gmu
(Jokyo. Orljln Shuppan Senta, l995);
Shlchl Honda, c Icvobur vo jivsci (Jokyo. Malnlchl
Shlnbunsha, l995);
365
ai_ PPN h~
Shlntar Ishlhara, 'Kanntekl naru mono," Slivcl
(August l963);
Kjln Karatanl, 'e Kenzabur no aregor. Mov`cv gov-
vcv vo futtobru, and 'Dltsu sel no enkan. e
Kenzabur to Mlshlma Yuklo," ln Slcv o mcguttc
(Jokyo. Iukutake Shoten, l990);
Klyoshl Kasal, 'Kytal to klretsu. e Kenzabur ron,"
Iilov Slicl ( |anuary l989);
Keljl Kataoka, c Icvobur: Scisliv vo jigolu o yulu movo
(Jokyo. Rlpp Shob, l973);
Masaakl Kawanlshl, c Icvobur: Misci vo yumc (Jokyo.
Kdansha, l979);
'Kensh. e Kenzabur,"Dolpo, speclal e lssue (l5
March l995);
Kazuo Kuroko, c Icvobur rov: Mori vo slis to ililoto
vo gcvri (Jokyo. Salryusha, l989);
Shln`lchl Matsubara, c Icvobur vo scloi (Jokyo.
Kdansha, l967);
Nobuhlko Matsugl, 'Shohy. Dojidoi toslitc vo scvgo,"
uvgci ( |une l973);
Ken`lchl Matsumoto, 'e Kenzabur. Sengo no
kyokka to sono kaltal," ln Scvgo vo scisliv: Sovo sci
to sli (Jokyo. Sakuhlnsha, l985);
Yuklo Mlshlma, 'Subarashll glry, shlkashl . . . ,"
Iojivtcli vo toilcv Sllov Doluslojiv (l1 September
l961);
Masashl Mlura, 'Muryokukan nl tsulte. e Kenzabur
to gendal," ln Mcrovlor vo suimyolu (Jokyo. Iuku
take Shoten, l981);
Yutaka Mlyauchl, ''Bkantekl nlngen` no hass to
jojutsu," Iilov Ccijutsu, (October l967);
Susan |. Napler, Iscopc from tlc !ostclovd: Iomovticism ovd
Icolism iv tlc Iictiov of Mislimo Julio ovd c
Icvobur (Cambrldge, Mass.. Harvard Lnlver
slty Press, l99l);
Jakehlko Noguchl, Hocgoc, solcbigoc, clivmolu: c
Icvobur vo scloi (Jokyo. Shlnchsha, l97l);
'e Kenzabur. 80 nendal kara 90 nendal e," Iolubuv-
golu, speclal e lssue ( |uly l990);
'e Kenzabur. Ima e Kenzabur no shousetu wo
yomu," Iolubuvgolu, speclal e lssue (Iebruary
l997);
'e Kenzabur. Shlnwatekl uch wo yomu," Iolubuv-
golu, speclal e lssue ( |une l983);
'e Kenzabur. Sono shlnwatekl sekal," Juriilo, speclal
e lssue (March l971);
Steve Rabson, 'Imagery and Characterlzatlon ln Z Icr-
sovol Mottcr," ln Zpprooclcs to tlc Modcrv opovcsc
òvcl, edlted by Kln`ya Jsuruta and Jhomas E.
Swann (Jokyo. Sophla Lnlverslty Press, l976),
pp. l80-l98;
Robert Rolf, 'Lavlsh Are the Dead" and 'Prlze Stock,"
ln Zpprooclcs to tlc Modcrv opovcsc Slort Story
(Jokyo. Waseda Lnlverslty Press, l982), pp.
269-285;
Shjl Shlbata, c Icvobur rov: Clij to ligov (Jokyo.
Yseld, l992);
Shlgeru Shlnohara, c Icvobur jitcv (Jokyo. Sutajlo
VIC, l981);
Shlnohara, c Icvobur rov (Jokyo. Jh Shuppan
sha, l973);
Ellchl Janlzawa, Iovvo ìlov vi dorc go slito: Scvgo mivslu
slugi vo doily, c Icvobur c vo lolulotsuj
(Jokyo. Kuresutosha, l995);
Yasutaka Jsutsul, 'Atarashll jlko shsha no kokoroml.
e Kenzabur," Iobo vi lomorcru uvgolloi
(March l986);
Hlroshl Watanabe, c Icvobur (Jokyo. Shlnblsha,
l973; expanded, l991);
Mlchlko N. Wllson, 'Kenzabur e. An Imaglnatlve
Anarchlst wlth a Heart," Ccorgio Icvicw, 19
(Sprlng l995). 311-350;
Wllson, Tlc Morgivol !orld of c Icvobur: Z Study iv
Tlcmcs ovd Tcclviqucs (Armonk, N.Y.. Sharpe,
l986);
Wllson, 'e`s Obsesslve Metaphor, Morl, the Idlot
Son. Joward the Imaglnatlon of Satlre, Regenera
tlon, and Grotesque Reallsm," ourvol of opovcsc
Studics, 7, no. l (l98l). 23-52;
Sanroku Yoshlda, 'e Kenzabur. A New World of
Imaglnatlon," Comporotivc Iitcroturc Studics, 22, no.
l (l985). 8l-96;
Jakaakl Yoshlmoto, 'Motto fukaku zetsub seyo," Toslo
Slivbuv (l9 September l959).
NVVQ k m i~
m~ p
by Irofcssor Ijcll Ispmorl, Mcmbcr of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy
(Trovslotiov from tlc Swcdisl)
Gentlemen,
In hls novel Tlc Silcvt Cry, Kenzabur e
descrlbes a scene whlch casts llght over hls entlre
ouvre. Jhe narrator, Mltsu, llvlng ln a marrlage whlch
has not survlved the blrth of a chlld wlth serlous braln
damage, has returned to the Shlkoku of hls chlldhood
wlth hls younger brother, Jakashl, a hardllne actlvlst,
who dreams of a martyr`s death. Jhey are back ln the
lsolated valley ln whlch thelr ancestors once found ref
uge ln a crltlcal sltuatlon. One nlght Mltsu wltnesses
how hls brother, stark naked, runs round ln clrcles ln
the newlyfallen snow, and then rolls over and over ln
366
h~ ai_ PPN
the snowdrlfts wlth obvlous slgns of sexual excltement.
Jakashl ls at one and the same tlme both the narrator`s
greatgrandfather`s brother, and also hls own; he ls both
the leader of a rebelllon whlch took place a century ear
ller, and the lnstlgator of presentday rlots. 'every
moment of those hundred years was crowded lnto thls
one lnstant ln tlme."
Irom one polnt of vlew the scene allows us a
gllmpse of e`s narratlve mastery. unerrlngly he carrles
a serles of events ln two tlme planes to lts traglc culml
natlon. Irom another polnt of vlew, the passage ls an
example of the past breaklng lnto the present, maklng
the flgures resume and vary an earller llne of actlon. In
e`s work, a number of such challenges from the past
agaln and agaln evoke new answers. We have just been
remlnded of the escape of the ancestors to the secluded
valley, the rebelllon of a century earller, the tenslon
between the mlsmatched brothers, and the shock
caused by the chlld`s deformlty. Nuclear catastrophe ls
another such theme, readlly llnked to the theme of the
bralndamaged son. Certaln phllosophlcal elements per
slst as well, coloured by e`s early readlngs of Sartre,
such as the absurdlty of llfe, the lnescapablllty of
responslblllty, and human dlgnlty. But e also lnslsts
on another polnt. undeflned and lnaccesslble reallty
demands a 'model" lf lt ls to be percelved by the senses.
Jhe lncessant reemergences are, however, llnked
to a great project, whose features and dlmenslons have
gradually taken form. Books llke Z Icrsovol Mottcr, Tlc
Silcvt Cry as well as M/T ovd tlc Tolc of tlc !ovdcrs of tlc
Iorcst are, together wlth the short storles, works that fall
lnto thelr proper places when we read the novel that
was publlshed ln Irench last year under the tltle Icttrcs
oux Zvvccs dc òstolgic. Here e explolts the devlce of
the |apanese flrstperson novel to create the llluslon of
an autoblography. In reallty the bookwe are told ln an
lntervlewls 80 percent flctlon. Brother Gll, who ls pre
sented to us as the domlnant flgure ln the narrator`s llfe,
ls thus a llterary lnventlon, a counterflgure who
embodles the latter`s dream of remalnlng ln the wood
land of hls ancestors, readlng Dante. Jhe earller books
now assume thelr rlghtful places ln thls new context
whlch reveals them ln a new llght. In Tlc Silcvt Cry, for
example, occurs a transformatlon of the crlme whlch
once gave Gll ten years ln prlson, but also a revlslon of
hls materlal about the llfe of thelr ancestors.
In e`s work, therefore, we are deallng wlth more
than perslstent leltmotlfs. Jhe books reecho and vary
each other ln a great lngenlous project. Here, lf ever, lt
ls justlflable to talk about a wrlter who ls not wrltlng
books but 'bulldlng" an ouvre. And we can add that
once agaln e lnverts hls materlal ln a new novel ln
whlch the symblosls between a father and hls splrltually
clouded son ls focused on anewa book that paradoxl
cally ends wlth the word 'Rejolce!"
Jhls may sound llke a rlgldly planned structure, but
that ls not at all what the text looks llke. It rather seems as
lf thls stubborn enterprlse ls the outcome of a poetlc obses
slon. e hlmself has descrlbed hls wrltlng as a way of
exorclslng hls demons. Hopefully, he wlll never succeed.
But from hls lncessant wrestllng wlth these rlsky belngs
derlves an ouvre whlch succeeds ln another wayln
escaplng the bounds of the author`s lntentlons. e has
declared that he addresses only hls |apanese readers, wlth
out glanclng at hls worldwlde audlence. But there ls ln hls
'grotesque reallsm" a powerful poetry whlch communl
cates across the boundarles of languages and cultures, a
poetry full of fresh observatlons and conclse lmages. Jhe
furlous perslstence, as well, wlth whlch he returns to hls
motlfs erases these barrlers. eventually we become famlllar
wlth hls flgures, marvel at thelr transformatlons, and are
entlced lnto sharlng the author`s vlew that no truth, no plc
ture ls valld once and for all. Valldlty exlsts on another
level. Out of thls multltude of people and events ln ever
changlng shapes there rlses ln the end the vlslon of a genu
lne humanlst, a polgnant plcture of that whlch concerns us
all.
Dear Mr. e,
You have clalmed that reallty demands a 'model"
lf lt ls to be grasped by our senses. Your books offer,
lndeed, such a 'model," enabllng us to see the lnterac
tlon of tlme present and tlme past, of relentless change
and perslstent myth, and to dlstlngulsh man`s dellcate
posltlon ln the context. It ls my pleasure, on behalf of
the Swedlsh Academy, to convey to you our warmest
congratulatlons on the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature for
l991, and to lnvlte you to recelve the Prlze from the
W _~ p
c`s spcccl ot tlc òbcl ovquct, 10 Dcccmbcr 1994:
I am a strange |apanese who spent hls lnfancy
and boyhood under the overwhelmlng lnfluence of Nlls
Holgersson |protagonlst of Selma Lagerlf`s ìls Hol-
gcrssovs uvdcrboro rcso gcvom Svcrigc (l906-l907; trans
lated as Tlc !ovdcrful Zdvcvturcs of ìls, l907, and Tlc
Iurtlcr Zdvcvturcs of ìls, l9ll)|. So great was Nlls` lnflu
ence on me that there was a tlme I could name Swe
367
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den`s beautlful locales better than those of my own
country.
Nlls` ponderous welght extended to my llterary
predllectlons. I turned a cold shoulder to 'Jhe Jale of
Genjl." I felt closer to Selma Lagerlf and respected her
more than Lady Murasakl, the author of thls celebrated
work. However, thanks agaln to Nlls and hls frlends, I
have redlscovered the attractlon to 'Jhe Jale of Genjl."
Nlls` wlnged comrades carrled me there.
Genjl, the protagonlst of the classlc tale, blds a flock
of geese he sees ln fllght to search for hls wlfe`s departed
soul whlch has falled to appear even ln hls dreams.
Jhe destlnatlon of the soul. thls ls what I, led on by
Nlls Holgersson, came to seek ln the llterature of Western
Europe. I fervently hope that my pursult, as a |apanese, of
llterature and culture wlll, ln some small measure, repay
Western Europe for the llght lt has shed upon the human
condltlon. Perhaps my wlnnlng the Prlze has avalled me of
one such opportunlty. Stlll, so many glfts of thought and
lnslght keep comlng, and I have hardly begun to do any
thlng ln return. Jhls banquet, too, ls another glft whlch I
accept wlth deep gratltude. I thank you.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l991. Kenzabur e ls the
m o~W q k m
i~ NVVQ
Zcodcmy, 1J Uctobcr 1994
Kenzabur e
'wlo witl poctic forcc crcotcs ov imogivcd world, wlcrc lifc ovd
mytl covdcvsc to form o discovccrtivg picturc of tlc lumov
prcdicomcvt todoy
Kenzabur e, now 59 years old, ls |apanese, the
sclon of a promlnent samural famlly. He was born on
the lsland of Shlkoku ln the southwest, but graduated
from the Lnlverslty of Jokyo, where he studled lltera
ture untll l958. Hls publlshed works lnclude novels,
short storles and essays.
e stresses that he wrltes for a |apanese reader
shlp, lmplylng that he has scant expectatlon of reachlng
readers ln other countrles. Hls studles, however, took
on a Western slant and he has been lnfluenced strongly
by the culture of the West. Among the wrlters he men
tlons are Dante, Rabelals, Balzac, Poe, Yeats, Ellot,
Auden, and, not least, Sartre, whose antlheroes and
exlstentlallst dellberatlons have played a slgnlflcant role
for hlm. He descrlbes hls own way of wrltlng as gro
tesque reallsm and readlly cltes the name of Rabelals ln
thls context.
|apan`s capltulatlon after the dropplng of the
atomlc bombs ln l915, when the Emperora dlvlne
personagedescended to the people and spoke ln a
human volce, was a shocklng experlence for the young
e. Jhe humlllatlon took a flrm grlp on hlm and has
coloured much of hls work. He hlmself descrlbes hls
wrltlng as a way of exorclslng demons.
In the lmaglned world he has created, he succeeds
ln portraylng the qualltles humanlty shares by lntenslfy
lng what ls lndlvldual. Jhls ls true ln partlcular of hls
work slnce the l960`s, when he had the experlence of
becomlng the father of a bralndamaged son. Jhls ls the
event that provldes the background ln reallty of Z Icr-
sovol Mottcr (l961).
Jhe novel Tlc Silcvt Cry (l967) ls one of e`s
major works. At flrst glance lt appears to concern an
unsuccessful revolt, but fundamentally the novel deals
wlth people`s relatlonshlps wlth each other ln a confus
lng world ln whlch knowledge, passlons, dreams, ambl
tlons and attltudes merge lnto each other.
Jhe work most recently translated lnto Swedlsh ls
M/T ovd tlc òrrotivc obout tlc Morvcls of tlc Iorcst (l986),
the Swedlsh translatlon (l992). Jhe capltal M ln the
tltle stands for 'the matrlarch," and J for 'the trlck
ster." In the course of the novel these anthropologlcal
types are embodled ln dlfferent lncarnatlons. Jhls ls
done ln short numbered paragraphs whlch, ln thelr
way, reflect the character of the work. Jhe wrlter`s
major theme reappears, and towards the end of the
novel hls son Hlkarl ls deplcted ln a new llght.
Icttrcs oux ovvccs dc vostolgic (translated lnto Irench
ln l993 but not yet avallable ln Engllsh) ls a form of
autoblographlcal novel wlth Dante as lts mentor. In lts
protagonlst, IrreGll, e has created a character who
achleves hls dream of never leavlng the vlllage ln the
forest on hls natlve lsland of Shlkoku. In one way, the
novel ls a reversal of the prevlous one ln lts projectlon
of the fantasy on to chlldhood. Jhe two works are each
remarkable ln themselves, but they also form the flrst
two parts of a planned trllogy ln whlch the thlrd has
been provlslonally tltled 'Jhe Ilery Green Jree." In
thls magnlflcent project, e blnds together hls prlnclpal
concerns. the marvels of the forest, the lnhumanlty of
cltles and hls dlsabled son`s paradoxlcal rlches. Jhere ls
a common denomlnator.
368
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g~~I q Î ~ j
Durlng the last catastrophlc World War, I was a
llttle boy and llved ln a remote, wooded valley on
Shlkoku Island ln the |apanese Archlpelago, thousands
of mlles away from here. At that tlme there were two
books by whlch I was really fasclnated. Tlc Zdvcvturcs of
Hucllcbcrry Iivv and Tlc !ovdcrful Zdvcvturcs of ìls. Jhe
whole world was then engulfed by waves of horror. By
readlng Hucllcbcrry Iivv I felt I was able to justlfy my act
of golng lnto the mountaln forest at nlght and sleeplng
among the trees wlth a sense of securlty whlch I could
never flnd lndoors. Jhe protagonlst of Tlc Zdvcvturcs of
ìls ls transformed lnto a llttle creature, understands
blrds` language and makes an adventurous journey. I
derlved from the story sensuous pleasures of varlous
klnds. Ilrstly, llvlng as I was ln a deep wood on the
Island of Shlkoku just as my ancestors had done long
ago, I had a revelatlon that thls world and thls way of
llfe there were truly llberatlng. Secondly, I felt sympa
thetlc and ldentlfled myself wlth Nlls, a naughty llttle
boy, who whlle traverslng Sweden, collaboratlng wlth
and flghtlng for the wlld geese, transforms hlmself lnto
a boy, stlll lnnocent, yet full of confldence as well as
modesty. On comlng home at last, Nlls speaks to hls
parents. I thlnk that the pleasure I derlved from the
story at lts hlghest level lles ln the language, because I
felt purlfled and upllfted by speaklng along wlth Nlls.
Hls words run as follows (ln Irench and Engllsh trans
latlon).
'Maman, Papa! |e suls grand, je suls de nouveau un
homme!" crlatll.
'Mother and father!" he crled. 'I`m a blg boy. I`m a
human belng agaln!"
I was fasclnated by the phrase 'je suls de nouveau un
homme!" ln partlcular. As I grew up, I was contlnually
to suffer hardshlps ln dlfferent realms of llfeln my fam
lly, ln my relatlonshlp to |apanese soclety and ln my
way of llvlng at large ln the latter half of the twentleth
century. I have survlved by representlng these suffer
lngs of mlne ln the form of the novel. In that process I
have found myself repeatlng, almost slghlng, 'je suls de
nouveau un homme!" Speaklng llke thls as regards
myself ls perhaps lnapproprlate to thls place and to thls
occaslon. However, please allow me to say that the fun
damental style of my wrltlng has been to start from my
personal matters and then to llnk lt up wlth soclety, the
state and the world. I hope you wlll forglve me for talk
lng about my personal matters a llttle further.
Half a century ago, whlle llvlng ln the depth of
that forest, I read Jhe Zdvcvturcs of ìls and felt wlthln lt
two prophecles. One was that I mlght one day become
able to understand the language of blrds. Jhe other was
that I mlght one day fly off wlth my beloved wlld
geesepreferably to Scandlnavla.
After I got marrled, the flrst chlld born to us was
mentally handlcapped. We named hlm Hilori, meanlng
'Llght" ln |apanese. As a baby he responded only to the
chlrps of wlld blrds and never to human volces. One
summer when he was slx years old we were staylng at
our country cottage. He heard a palr of water ralls (Iol-
lus oquoticus) warbllng from the lake beyond a grove,
and he sald wlth the volce of a commentator on a
recordlng of wlld blrds. 'Jhey are water ralls." Jhls
was the flrst moment my son ever uttered human
words. It was from then on that my wlfe and I began
havlng verbal communlcatlon wlth our son.
Hlkarl now works at a vocatlonal tralnlng centre
for the handlcapped, an lnstltutlon based on ldeas we
learnt from Sweden. In the meantlme he has been com
poslng works of muslc. Blrds were the orlglnators that
occasloned and medlated hls composltlon of human
muslc. On my behalf Hlkarl has thus accompllshed the
prophecy that I mlght one day understand the language
of blrds. I must say also that my llfe would have been
lmposslble but for my wlfe wlth her abundant female
force and wlsdom. She has been the very lncarnatlon of
Akka, the leader of Nlls`s wlld geese. Jogether wlth her
I have flown to Stockholm and the second of the proph
ecles has also, to my utmost dellght, now been reallsed.
Kawabata Yasunarl, the flrst |apanese wrlter who
stood on thls platform as a wlnner of the Nobel Prlze
for Llterature, dellvered a lecture entltled opov, tlc
369
ai_ PPN W k iI T a NVVQ
_~I ~ jK It was at once very beautlful and
~K I have used the Engllsh word ~ as an equlva
lent of that word ln |apanese ~~~K Jhls |apanese
adjectlve could have several alternatlves for lts Engllsh
translatlon. Jhe klnd of vagueness that Kawabata
adopted dellberately ls lmplled ln the tltle ltself of hls
lecture. It can be transllterated as 'myself beautlful
|apan." Jhe vagueness of the whole tltle derlves from
the |apanese partlcle 'no" (llterally 'of") llnklng
'Myself" and 'Beautlful |apan."
Jhe vagueness of the tltle leaves room for varlous
lnterpretatlons of lts lmpllcatlons. It can lmply 'myself
as a part of beautlful |apan," the partlcle 'no" lndlcatlng
the relatlonshlp of the noun followlng lt to the noun
precedlng lt as one of possesslon, belonglng or attach
ment. It can also lmply 'beautlful |apan and myself,"
the partlcle ln thls case llnklng the two nouns ln apposl
tlon, as lndeed they are ln the Engllsh tltle of Kawa
bata`s lecture translated by one of the most emlnent
Amerlcan speclallsts of |apanese llterature. He trans
lates '|apan, the beautlful and myself." In thls expert
translatlon the ~ (translator) ls not ln the least a
~ (betrayer).
Lnder that tltle Kawabata talked about a unlque
klnd of mystlclsm whlch ls found not only ln |apanese
thought but also more wldely Orlental thought. By
'unlque" I mean here a tendency towards Zen Bud
dhlsm. Even as a twentlethcentury wrlter Kawabata
deplcts hls state of mlnd ln terms of the poems wrltten
by medleval Zen monks. Most of these poems are con
cerned wlth the llngulstlc lmposslblllty of telllng truth.
Accordlng to such poems words are conflned wlthln
thelr closed shells. Jhe readers can not expect that
words wlll ever come out of these poems and then get
through to us. One can never understand or feel sym
pathetlc towards these Zen poems except by glvlng one
self up and wllllngly penetratlng lnto the closed shells of
those words.
Why dld Kawabata boldly declde to read those
extremely esoterlc poems ln |apanese before the audl
ence ln Stockholm? I look back almost wlth nostalgla
upon the stralghtforward bravery whlch he attalned
towards the end of hls dlstlngulshed career and wlth
whlch he made such a confesslon of hls falth. Kawabata
had been an artlstlc pllgrlm for decades durlng whlch
he produced a host of masterpleces. After those years of
hls pllgrlmage, only by maklng a confesslon as to how
he was fasclnated by such lnaccesslble |apanese poems
that baffle any attempt fully to understand them, was
he able to talk about '|apan, the Beautlful, and Myself,"
that ls, about the world ln whlch he llved and the lltera
ture whlch he created.
It ls noteworthy, furthermore, that Kawabata con
cluded hls lecture as follows.
My works have been descrlbed as works of emptlness,
but lt ls not to be taken for the nlhlllsm of the West.
Jhe splrltual foundatlon would seem to be qulte dlffer
ent. Dogen entltled hls poem about the seasons f~
o~I and even as he sang of the beauty of the sea
sons he was deeply lmmersed ln Zen. Eq~~
b~ pF
Here also I detect a brave and stralghtforward self
assertlon. On the one hand Kawabata ldentlfles hlmself
as belonglng essentlally to the tradltlon of Zen phlloso
phy and aesthetlc senslbllltles pervadlng the classlcal llt
erature of the Orlent. Yet on the other he goes out of hls
way to dlfferentlate emptlness as an attrlbute of hls
works from the nlhlllsm of the West. By dolng so he
was wholeheartedly addresslng the comlng generatlons
of manklnd wlth whom Alfred Nobel entrusted hls
hope and falth.
Jo tell you the truth, rather than wlth Kawabata
my compatrlot who stood here twentyslx years ago, I
feel more splrltual afflnlty wlth the Irlsh poet Wllllam
Butler Yeats, who was awarded a Nobel Prlze for Lltera
ture seventyone years ago when he was at about the
same age as me. Of course I would not presume to rank
myself wlth the poetlc genlus Yeats. I am merely a hum
ble follower llvlng ln a country far removed from hls.
As Wllllam Blake, whose work Yeats revalued and
restored to the hlgh place lt holds ln thls century, once
wrote. 'Across Europe Asla to Chlna |apan llke
llghtnlngs."
Durlng the last few years I have been engaged ln
wrltlng a trllogy whlch I wlsh to be the culmlnatlon of
my llterary actlvltles. So far the flrst two parts have
been publlshed and I have recently flnlshed wrltlng the
thlrd and flnal part. It ls entltled ln |apanese ^ c~
d qK I am lndebted for thls tltle to a stanza from
Yeats`s poem 'Vaclllatlon".
A tree there ls that from lts topmost bough
Is half all glltterlng flame and half all green
Aboundlng follage molstened wlth the dew. . . .
('Vaclllatlon" ll-l3)
In fact my trllogy ls so soaked ln the overflowlng lnflu
ence of Yeats`s poems as a whole. On the occaslon of
Yeat`s wlnnlng the Nobel Prlze the Irlsh Senate pro
posed a motlon to congratulate hlm, whlch contalned
the followlng sentences.
. . . the recognltlon whlch the natlon has galned, as a
promlnent contrlbutor to the world`s culture, through
hls success.
. . . a race that hltherto had not been accepted lnto
the comlty of natlons.
370
W k iI T a NVVQ ai_ PPN
K K K l ~ ~ ~
p~ v~K
K K K ~~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
~ ~ K
Eq k mW `~~ p~ v~F
Yeats ls the wrlter ln whose wake I would llke to follow.
I would llke to do so for the sake of another natlon that
has now been 'accepted lnto the comlty of natlons" but
rather on account of the technology ln electrlcal engl
neerlng and lts manufacture of automoblles. Also I
would llke to do so as a cltlzen of such a natlon whlch
was stamped lnto 'lnsanlty ln enthuslasm of destruc
tlon" both on lts own soll and on that of the nelghbour
lng natlons.
As someone llvlng ln the present world such as
thls one and sharlng bltter memorles of the past
lmprlnted on my mlnd, I cannot utter ln unlson wlth
Kawabata the phrase '|apan, the Beautlful and Myself."
A moment ago I touched upon the 'vagueness" of the
tltle and content of Kawabata`s lecture. In the rest of my
lecture I would llke to use the word 'amblguous" ln
accordance wlth the dlstlnctlon made by the emlnent
Brltlsh poet Kathleen Ralne; she once sald of Wllllam
Blake that he was not so much vague as amblguous. I
cannot talk about myself otherwlse than by saylng
'|apan, the Amblguous, and Myself."
My observatlon ls that after one hundred and
twenty years of modernlsatlon slnce the openlng of the
country, presentday |apan ls spllt between two opposlte
poles of amblgulty. I too am llvlng as a wrlter wlth thls
polarlsatlon lmprlnted on me llke a deep scar.
Jhls amblgulty whlch ls so powerful and pene
tratlng that lt spllts both the state and lts people ls evl
dent ln varlous ways. Jhe modernlsatlon of |apan has
been orlentated toward learnlng from and lmltatlng the
West. Yet |apan ls sltuated ln Asla and has flrmly maln
talned lts tradltlonal culture. Jhe amblguous orlenta
tlon of |apan drove the country lnto the posltlon of an
lnvader ln Asla. On the other hand, the culture of mod
ern |apan, whlch lmplled belng thoroughly open to the
West or at least that lmpeded understandlng by the
West. What was more, |apan was drlven lnto lsolatlon
from other Aslan countrles, not only polltlcally but also
soclally and culturally.
In the hlstory of modern |apanese llterature the
wrlters most slncere and aware of thelr mlsslon were
those 'postwar wrlters" who came onto the llterary
scene lmmedlately after the last War, deeply wounded
by the catastrophe yet full of hope for a reblrth. Jhey
trled wlth great palns to make up for the lnhuman
atrocltles commltted by |apanese mllltary forces ln
Aslan countrles, as well as to brldge the profound gaps
that exlsted not only between the developed countrles
of the West and |apan but also between Afrlcan and
Latln Amerlcan countrles and |apan. Only by dolng so
dld they thlnk that they could seek wlth some humlllty
reconclllatlon wlth the rest of the world. It has always
been my asplratlon to cllng to the very end of the llne of
that llterary tradltlon lnherlted from those wrlters.
Jhe contemporary state of |apan and lts people ln
thelr postmodern phase cannot but be amblvalent.
Rlght ln the mlddle of the hlstory of |apan`s modernlsa
tlon came the Second World War, a war whlch was
brought about by the very aberratlon of the modernlsa
tlon ltself. Jhe defeat ln thls War flfty years ago occa
sloned an opportunlty for |apan and the |apanese as the
very agent of the War to attempt a reblrth out of the
great mlsery and sufferlngs that were deplcted by the
'Postwar School" of |apanese wrlters. Jhe moral props
for |apanese asplrlng to such a reblrth were the ldea of
democracy and thelr determlnatlon never to wage a
war agaln. Paradoxlcally, the people and state of |apan
llvlng on such moral props were not lnnocent but had
been stalned by thelr own past hlstory of lnvadlng other
Aslan countrles. Jhose moral props mattered also to
the deceased vlctlms of the nuclear weapons that were
used for the flrst tlme ln Hlroshlma and Nagasakl, and
for the survlvors and thelr offsprlng affected by radlo
actlvlty (lncludlng tens of thousands of those whose
mother tongue ls Korean).
In the recent years there have been crltlclsms lev
elled agalnst |apan suggestlng that she should offer
more mllltary forces to the Lnlted Natlons forces and
thereby play a more actlve role ln the keeplng and resto
ratlon of peace ln varlous parts of the world. Our heart
slnks whenever we hear these crltlclsms. After the end
of the Second World War lt was a categorlcal lmpera
tlve for us to declare that we renounced war forever ln a
central artlcle of the new Constltutlon. Jhe |apanese
chose the prlnclple of eternal peace as the basls of
morallty for our reblrth after the War.
I trust that the prlnclple can best be understood ln
the West wlth lts long tradltlon of tolerance for conscl
entlous rejectlon of mllltary servlce. In |apan ltself there
have all along been attempts by some to obllterate the
artlcle about renunclatlon of war from the Constltutlon
and for thls purpose they have taken every opportunlty
to make use of pressures from abroad. But to obllterate
from the Constltutlon the prlnclple of eternal peace wlll
be nothlng but an act of betrayal agalnst the peoples of
Asla and the vlctlms of the Atom Bombs ln Hlroshlma
and Nagasakl. It ls not dlfflcult for me as a wrlter to
lmaglne what would be the outcome of that betrayal.
Jhe prewar |apanese Constltutlon that poslted
an absolute power transcendlng the prlnclple of democ
racy had sustalned some support from the populace.
37l
ai_ PPN W k iI T a NVVQ
Even though we now have the halfcenturyold new
Constltutlon, there ls a popular sentlment of support
for the old one that llves on ln reallty ln some quarters.
If |apan were to lnstltutlonallse a prlnclple other than
the one to whlch we have adhered for the last flfty
years, the determlnatlon we made ln the postwar rulns
of our collapsed effort at modernlsatlonthat determl
natlon of ours to establlsh the concept of unlversal
humanlty would come to nothlng. Jhls ls the spectre
that rlses before me, speaklng as an ordlnary lndlvldual.
What I call |apan`s 'amblgulty" ln my lecture ls a
klnd of chronlc dlsease that has been prevalent through
out the modern age. |apan`s economlc prosperlty ls not
free from lt elther, accompanled as lt ls by all klnds of
potentlal dangers ln the llght of the structure of world
economy and envlronmental conservatlon. Jhe 'ambl
gulty" ln thls respect seems to be acceleratlng. It may be
more obvlous to the crltlcal eyes of the world at large
than to us wlthln the country. At the nadlr of the post
war economlc poverty we found a reslllence to endure
lt, never loslng our hope for recovery. It may sound
curlous to say so, but we seem to have no less reslllence
to endure our anxlety about the omlnous consequence
emerglng out of the present prosperlty. Irom another
polnt of vlew, a new sltuatlon now seems to be arlslng
ln whlch |apan`s prosperlty ls golng to be lncorporated
lnto the expandlng potentlal power of both productlon
and consumptlon ln Asla at large.
I am one of the wrlters who wlsh to create serlous
works of llterature whlch dlssoclate themselves from
those novels whlch are mere reflectlons of the vast con
sumer cultures of Jokyo and the subcultures of the
world at large. What klnd of ldentlty as a |apanese
should I seek? W. H. Auden once deflned the novellst
as follows.
. . . among the |ust
Be just, among the Fllthy fllthy too,
And ln hls own weak person, lf he can,
Must suffer dully all the wrongs of Man.
('Jhe Novellst," ll-l1)
Jhls ls what has become my 'hablt of llfe" (ln Ilannery
O`Connor`s words) through belng a wrlter as my pro
fesslon.
Jo deflne a deslrable |apanese ldentlty I would llke
to plck out the word 'decent" whlch ls among the adjec
tlves that George Orwell often used, along wlth words llke
'humane," 'sane" and 'comely," for the character types
that he favoured. Jhls deceptlvely slmple eplthet may
starkly set off and contrast wlth the word 'amblguous"
used for my ldentlflcatlon ln '|apan, the Amblguous, and
Myself." Jhere ls a wlde and lronlcal dlscrepancy between
what the |apanese seem llke when vlewed from outslde
and what they wlsh to look llke.
I hope Orwell would not ralse an objectlon lf I
used the word 'decent" as a synonym of 'humanlst" or
'humanlste" ln Irench, because both words share ln
common qualltles such as tolerance and humanlty.
Among our ancestors were some ploneers who made
palnstaklng efforts to bulld up the |apanese ldentlty as
'decent" or 'humanlst."
One such person was the late Professor Kazuo
Watanabe, a scholar of Irench Renalssance llterature
and thought. Surrounded by the lnsane ardour of patrl
otlsm on the eve and ln the mlddle of the Second World
War, Watanabe had a lonely dream of graftlng the
humanlst vlew of man on to the tradltlonal |apanese
sense of beauty and sensltlvlty to Nature, whlch fortu
nately had not been entlrely eradlcated. I must hasten
to add that Professor Watanabe had a conceptlon of
beauty and Nature dlfferent from that concelved of by
Kawabata ln hls '|apan, the Beautlful, and Myself."
Jhe way |apan had trled to bulld up a modern
state modelled on the West was cataclysmlc. In ways
dlfferent from, yet partly correspondlng to, that process
|apanese lntellectuals had trled to brldge the gap
between the West and thelr own country at lts deepest
level. It must have been a laborlous task or ~~ but lt
was also one that brlmmed wlth joy. Professor
Watanabe`s study of Iranols Rabelals was thus one of
the most dlstlngulshed and rewardlng scholarly
achlevements of the |apanese lntellectual world.
Watanabe studled ln Parls before the Second
World War. When he told hls academlc supervlsor
about hls ambltlon to translate Rabelals lnto |apanese,
the emlnent elderly Irench scholar answered the asplr
lng young |apanese student wlth the phrase. 'Lèntre
prlse lnoule de la traductlon de l`lntradulslble Rabelals"
(the unprecedented enterprlse of translatlng lnto |apa
nese untranslatable Rabelals). Another Irench scholar
answered wlth blunt astonlshment. 'Belle entreprlse
Pantagrullque" (an admlrably Pantagruelllke enter
prlse). In splte of all thls not only dld Watanabe accom
pllsh hls great enterprlse ln a povertystrlcken
envlronment durlng the War and the Amerlcan Occu
patlon, but he also dld hls best to transplant lnto the
confused and dlsorlentated |apan of that tlme the llfe
and thought of those Irench humanlsts who were the
forerunners, contemporarles and followers of Iranols
Rabelals.
In both my llfe and wrltlng I have been a pupll of
Professor Watanabe`s. I was lnfluenced by hlm ln two
cruclal ways. One was ln my method of wrltlng novels.
I learnt concretely from hls translatlon of Rabelals what
Mlkhall Bakhtln formulated as 'the lmage system of
grotesque reallsm or the culture of popular laughter";
372
W k iI T a NVVQ ai_ PPN
the lmportance of materlal and physlcal prlnclples; the
correspondence between the cosmlc, soclal and physlcal
elements; the overlapplng of death and passlons for
reblrth; and the laughter that subverts hlerarchlcal rela
tlonshlps.
Jhe lmage system made lt posslble to seek llter
ary methods of attalnlng the unlversal for someone llke
me born and brought up ln a perlpheral, marglnal, off
centre reglon of the perlpheral, marglnal, offcentre
country, |apan. Startlng from such a background I do
not represent Asla as a new economlc power but an
Asla lmpregnated wlth everlastlng poverty and a
mlxedup fertlllty. By sharlng old, famlllar yet llvlng
metaphors I allgn myself wlth wrlters llke Klm |lha of
Korea, Chon I and Mu |en, both of Chlna. Ior me the
brotherhood of world llterature conslsts ln such rela
tlonshlps ln concrete terms. I once took part ln a hunger
strlke for the polltlcal freedom of a glfted Korean poet. I
am now deeply worrled about the destlny of those
glfted Chlnese novellsts who have been deprlved of
thelr freedom slnce the Jlenanmen Square lncldent.
Another way ln whlch Professor Watanabe has
lnfluenced me ls ln hls ldea of humanlsm. I take lt to be
the qulntessence of Europe as a llvlng totallty. It ls an
ldea whlch ls also perceptlble ln Mllan Kundera`s deflnl
tlon of the splrlt of the novel. Based on hls accurate
readlng of hlstorlcal sources Watanabe wrote crltlcal
blographles, wlth Rabelals at thelr centre, of people
from Erasmus to Sbastlen Castelllon, and of women
connected wlth Henry IV from _ueen Marguerlte to
Gabrlelle Destr. By dolng so Watanabe lntended to
teach the |apanese about humanlsm, about the lmpor
tance of tolerance, about man`s vulnerablllty to hls pre
conceptlons or machlnes of hls own maklng. Hls
slncerlty led hlm to quote the remark by the Danlsh
phllologlst Krlstoffer Nyrop. 'Jhose who do not pro
test agalnst war are accompllces of war." In hls attempt
to transplant lnto |apan humanlsm as the very basls of
Western thought Watanabe was bravely venturlng on
both 'lèntreprlse lnoule" and the 'belle entreprlse Pan
tagrullque."
As someone lnfluenced by Watanabe`s humanlsm I
wlsh my task as a novellst to enable both those who
express themselves wlth words and thelr readers to
recover from thelr own sufferlngs and the sufferlngs of
thelr tlme, and to cure thelr souls of the wounds. I have
sald I am spllt between the opposlte poles of amblgulty
characterlstlc of the |apanese. I have been maklng efforts
to be cured of and restored from those palns and wounds
by means of llterature. I have made my efforts also to pray
for the cure and recovery of my fellow |apanese.
If you wlll allow me to mentlon hlm agaln, my men
tally handlcapped son Hlkarl was awakened by the volces
of blrds to the muslc of Bach and Mozart, eventually com
poslng hls own works. Jhe llttle pleces that he flrst com
posed were full of fresh splendour and dellght. Jhey
seemed llke dew glltterlng on grass leaves. Jhe word J
ls composed of 'not" and 'hurt," that ls,
'not to hurt." Hlkarl`s muslc was ln thls sense a natural
effuslon of the composer`s own lnnocence.
As Hlkarl went on to compose more works, I could
not but hear ln hls muslc also 'the volce of a crylng and
dark soul." Mentally handlcapped as he was, hls strenuous
effort furnlshed hls act of composlng or hls 'hablt of llfe"
wlth the growth of composltlonal technlques and a deep
enlng of hls conceptlon. Jhat ln turn enabled hlm to dls
cover ln the depth of hls heart a mass of dark sorrow
whlch he had hltherto been unable to ldentlfy wlth words.
'Jhe volce of a crylng and dark soul" ls beautlful,
and hls act of expresslng lt ln muslc cures hlm of hls dark
sorrow ln an act of recovery. Iurthermore, hls muslc has
been accepted as one that cures and restores hls contempo
rary llsteners as well. Hereln I flnd the grounds for bellev
lng ln the exqulslte heallng power of art.
Jhls bellef of mlne has not been fully proved.
'Weak person" though I am, wlth the ald of thls unverlfl
able bellef, I would llke to 'suffer dully all the wrongs"
accumulated throughout the twentleth century as a result
of the monstrous development of technology and trans
port. As one wlth a perlpheral, marglnal and offcentre
exlstence ln the world I would llke to seek howwlth what
I hope ls a modest decent and humanlst contrlbutlonI
can be of some use ln a cure and reconclllatlon of man
klnd.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l991. Kenzabur e ls the
373
b lk
(16 Uctobcr 1SSS - 27 òvcmbcr 19J)
o gK p
Zppolocliov Stotc Uvivcrsity
See also the O`Nelll entry ln DI 7: Twcvtictl-Ccvtury
Zmcricov Dromotists.
BOOKS. Tlirst ovd Utlcr Uvc Zct Iloys (Boston. Gorham
Press, l9l1);
cforc rcolfost (New York. Shay, l9l6);
Tlc Moov of tlc Coribbccs ovd Six Utlcr Iloys of tlc Sco
(New York. Bonl Llverlght, l9l9; London.
Cape, l923);
cyovd tlc Horiov (New York. Bonl Llverlght, l920);
Tlc Impcror ovcs, Diff `rcvt, Tlc Strow (New York. Bonl
Llverlght, l92l); republlshed as Iloys Iirst Scrics,
Tlc Strow, Tlc Impcror ovcs, ovd Diff `rcvt (Lon
don. Cape, l922);
Cold (New York. Bonl Llverlght, l92l);
Tlc Hoiry Zpc, Zvvo Clristic, Tlc Iirst Mov (New York.
Bonl Llverlght, l922);
Tlc Hoiry Zpc ovd Utlcr Iloys (London. Cape, l923);
cyovd tlc Horiov ovd Cold (London. Cape, l921);
Zll Cod`s Clilluv Cot !ivgs ovd !cldcd (New York. Bonl
Llverlght, l921);
Tlc Complctc !orls of Iugcvc U``cill, 2 volumes (New
York. Bonl Llverlght, l921);
Dcsirc Uvdcr tlc Ilms (New York. Bonl Llverlght,
l925);
Zll Cod`s Clilluv Cot !ivgs, Dcsirc Uvdcr tlc Ilms, ovd
!cldcd (London. Cape, l925);
Tlc Crcot Cod rowv, Tlc Iouvtoiv, Tlc Moov of tlc Cor-
ibbccs ovd Utlcr Iloys (New York. Bonl Llverlght,
l926); republlshed as Tlc Crcot Cod rowv Ivclud-
ivg Tlc Iouvtoiv, Tlc Drcomy Iid, ovd cforc rcol-
fost (London. Cape, l926);
Morco Milliovs (New York. Bonl Llverlght, l927; Lon
don. Cape, l927);
Ioorus Iouglcd (New York. Bonl Llverlght, l927);
Strovgc Ivtcrludc (New York. Bonl Llverlght, l928;
Dyvomo (New York. Llverlght, l929);
Ioorus Iouglcd ovd Dyvomo (London. Cape, l929);
Z ibliogroply of tlc !orls of Iugcvc U``cill Togctlcr witl tlc
Collcctcd Iocms of Iugcvc U``cill, edlted by Ralph
Sanborn and Barrett H. Clark (New York. Ran
dom House, l93l);
Mourvivg ccomcs Ilcctro (New York. Llverlght, l93l;
ìvc Iloys (New York. Llverlght, l932);
Zl, !ildcrvcss! (New York. Random House, l933);
Doys !itlout Ivd (New York. Random House, l931);
Zl, !ildcrvcss! ovd Doys !itlout Ivd (London. Cape,
l931);
Tlc Iloys of Iugcvc U``cill, 'Wllderness Edltlon," l2 vol
umes (New York. Scrlbners, l931-l935);
b lk I `~~ jI ~
p~I ~ ~ NVPS
k m i~ E^m mF
371
b lk ai_ PPN
Tlc Iovg !oyogc Homc: Scvcv Iloys of tlc Sco (New York.
Modern Llbrary, l910);
Iloys, 3 volumes (New York. Random House, l91l);
Tlc Iccmov Comctl (New York. Random House, l916;
Iost Iloys of Iugcvc U``cill (New York. New Iathoms,
l950)lncludes Zbortiov, Tlc Movic Mov, Tlc
Svipcr, Scrvitudc, and Z !ifc for o Iifc;
Z Moov for tlc Misbcgottcv (New York. Random House,
Tlc Iost !ill ovd Tcstomcvt of Silvcrdcvc Imblcm U``cill
(New Haven. Yale Lnlverslty Press, l956); repub
llshed as Tlc Iost !ill ovd Tcstomcvt of ov Ixtrcmcly
Distivguislcd Dog (Worcester, Mass.. Achllle |. St.
Onge, l972; New York. Holt, l999);
Iovg Doy`s ourvcy ivto ìglt (New Haven. Yale Lnlver
slty Press, l956; London. Cape, l956);
Z Toucl of tlc Ioct (New Haven. Yale Lnlverslty Press,
Huglic (New Haven. Yale Lnlverslty Press, l959; Lon
don. Cape, l962);
Ivscriptiovs: Iugcvc U``cill to Corlotto Movtgomcry U``cill
(New Haven. Yale Lnlverslty Press, l960);
Morc Stotcly Movsiovs (New Haven London. Yale Lnl
verslty Press, l961; London. Cape, l965);
Tcv 'Iost Iloys (New York. Random House, l961; Lon
don. Cape, l965)lncludes Tlirst, Tlc !cb, !orv-
ivgs, Iog, Iccllcssvcss, and Zbortiov;
'Clildrcv of tlc Sco ovd Tlrcc Utlcr Uvpublislcd Iloys,
edlted by |ennlfer McCabe Atklnson (Washlng
ton, D.C.. NCR Mlcrocard Edltlons, l972)
lncludes rcod ovd uttcr, òw I Zsl Jou, and Slcll
Slocl;
Iocms 1912-1942, edlted by Donald C. Gallup (New
Haven. Yale Lnlverslty Llbrary, l979); revlsed as
Iocms 1912-1944 (Boston. Jlcknor Ilelds,
Tlc Colms of Copricorv, 2 volumes, edlted by Gallup
(New Haven, Conn.. Yale Lnlverslty Llbrary,
l98l);
Iugcvc U``cill Zt !orl: `cwly Iclcoscd Idcos for Iloys,
edlted by Vlrglnla Iloyd (New York. Lngar,
l98l);
!orl Diory 1924-194J, 2 volumes, edlted by Gallup
(New Haven. Yale Lnlverslty Llbrary, l98l);
Clris Clristoplcrscv: Z Iloy iv Tlrcc Zcts (Six Sccvcs) (New
York. Random House, l982);
Tlc Uvlvowv U``cill: Uvpublislcd or Uvfomilior !ritivgs of
Iugcvc U``cill, edlted by Jravls Bogard (New
Haven. Yale Lnlverslty Press, l988);
Tlc Uvfivislcd Iloys: òtcs for Tlc !isit of Molotcsto, Tlc
Iost Covqucst, livd Zllcy Cuy, edlted by Iloyd
(New York. Contlnuum, l988);
Complctc Iloys, 3 volumes, edlted by Jravls Bogard,
Llbrary of Amerlca serles (New York. Vlklng,
l988).
PLAY PRODLCJIONS. ouvd Iost for Cordiff, Provlnce
town, Mass., Wharf Jheatre, 28 |uly l9l6; New
York, Jhe Playwrlghts` Jheatre, 3 November
l9l6;
Tlirst, Provlncetown, Mass., Wharf Jheatre, August
l9l6;
cforc rcolfost, New York, Jhe Playwrlghts` Jheatre, l
December l9l6;
Iog, New York, Jhe Playwrlghts` Jheatre, 5 |anuary
l9l7;
Tlc Svipcr, New York, Jhe Playwrlghts` Jheatre, l6
Iebruary l9l7;
Iv tlc ovc, New York, Comedy Jheater, 3l October
l9l7;
Tlc Iovg !oyogc Homc, New York, Jhe Playwrlghts` Jhe
atre, 2 November l9l7;
Ilc, New York, Jhe Playwrlghts` Jheatre, 30 November
l9l7;
Tlc Iopc, New York, Jhe Playwrlghts` Jheatre, 26
Aprll l9l8;
!lcrc tlc Cross Is Modc, New York, Jhe Playwrlghts`
Jheatre, 22 November l9l8;
Tlc Moov of tlc Coribbccs, New York, Jhe Playwrlghts`
Jheatre, 20 December l9l8;
Tlc Drcomy Iid, New York, Jhe Playwrlghts` Jheatre,
3l October l9l9;
cyovd tlc Horiov, New York, Morosco Jheatre, 2 Ieb
ruary l920;
Clris, Atlantlc Clty, N.|., 8 March l920;
Ixorcism, New York, Jhe Playwrlghts` Jheatre, 26
March l920;
Tlc Impcror ovcs, New York, Jhe Playwrlghts` Jheatre,
l November l920; transferred to Selwyn Jhe
atre, 27 December l920;
Diff `rcvt, New York, Jhe Playwrlghts` Jheatre, 27
December l920;
Cold, New York, Irazee Jheatre, l |une l92l;
Zvvo Clristic, New York, Vanderbllt Jheatre, 2 Novem
ber l92l;
Tlc Strow, New York, Greenwlch Vlllage Jheatre, l0
November l92l;
Tlc Iirst Mov, New York, Nelghborhood Playhouse, 1
March l922;
Tlc Hoiry Zpc, New York, Jhe Playwrlghts` Jheatre, 9
March l922;
!cldcd, New York, JhlrtyNlnth Street Jheatre, l7
March l921;
Tlc Zvcicvt Morivcr: Z Dromotic Zrrovgcmcvt of Colcridgc`s
Iocm, New York, Provlncetown Playhouse, 6 Aprll
l921;
375
ai_ PPN b lk
Zll Cod`s Clilluv Cot !ivgs, New York, Provlncetown
Playhouse, l5 May l921; transferred to Green
wlch Vlllage Jheatre, l8 August l921;
S.S. Clcvcoirv, Provlncetown, Mass., Barnstormer`s
Barn, l1 August l921; New York, Provlncetown
Playhouse, 3 November l921;
Dcsirc Uvdcr tlc Ilms, New York, Greenwlch Vlllage
Jheatre, ll November l921;
Tlc Iouvtoiv, New York, Greenwlch Vlllage Jheatre, l0
December l925;
Tlc Crcot Cod rowv, New York, Greenwlch Vlllage
Jheatre, 23 |anuary l926;
Morco Milliovs, New York, Gulld Jheatre, 9 |anuary
l928;
Strovgc Ivtcrludc, New York, |ohn Golden Jheatre, 30
|anuary l928;
Ioorus Iouglcd, Pasadena, Cal., Pasadena Communlty
Playhouse, 9 Aprll l928;
Dyvomo, New York, Martln Beck Jheatre, ll Iebruary
l929;
Mourvivg ccomcs Ilcctro (Homccomivg, Tlc Huvtcd, and
Tlc Houvtcd), New York, Gulld Jheatre, 26 Octo
ber l93l;
Zl, !ildcrvcss!, Plttsburgh, Nlxon Jheatre, 25 Septem
ber l933; New York, Gulld Jheatre, 2 October
l933;
Doys !itlout Ivd, New York, Henry Mlller`s Jheatre, 8
|anuary l931;
Tlc Iccmov Comctl, New York, Martln Beck Jheatre, 9
October l916;
Z Moov for tlc Misbcgottcv, Columbus, Ohlo, Hartman
Jheatre, 20 Iebruary l917; New York, Bljou
Jheatre, 2 May l957;
Iovg Doy`s ourvcy ivto ìglt, Stockholm, Royal Dramatlc
Jheater, l0 Iebruary l956; New York, Helen
Hayes Jheatre, 7 November l956;
Z Toucl of tlc Ioct, Stockholm, Royal Dramatlc Jheater,
29 March l957; New York, Helen Hayes Jheatre,
2 October l958;
Huglic, Stockholm, Royal Dramatlc Jheater, l8 Sep
tember l958; New York, Royale Jheatre, 22
December l961;
Morc Stotcly Movsiovs, Stockholm, Royal Dramatlc Jhe
ater, ll September l962; New York, Broadhurst
Jheatre, 3l October l967.
OJHER. ouvd Iost for Cordiff, ln Tlc Irovivcctowv Iloys,
Iirst Scrics (New York. Shay, l9l6), pp. 7-25;
cforc rcolfost, ln Tlc Irovivcctowv Iloys, Tlird Scrics
(New York. Shay, l9l6), pp. l93-207;
Tlc Drcomy Iid, ln Covtcmporory Uvc-Zct Iloys of 1921,
edlted by Irank Shay (Clnclnnatl. Kldd, l922),
pp. 187-5l7;
Benjamlne DeCasseres, Zvotlcmo!, foreword by O`Nelll
(New York. Gotham Book Mart, l928).
Eugene O`Nelll won the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature
for hls twenty years of unrelentlng effort to create a truly
modern Amerlcan drama. Between l9l6, when he
unvelled ouvd Iost for Cordiff to the fledgllng Provlnce
town Players, and l936, when the Nobel award was
announced, O`Nelll had become Amerlca`s flrst world dra
matlst. When O`Nelll began hls quest to be 'an artlst or
nothlng," he drew for hls models on the great ploneerlng
modern dramatlsts of Europe. Henrlk Ibsen, August
Strlndberg, George Bernard Shaw, and |ohn Mllllngton
Synge. In l927, when Lawrence Langner, a dlrector of the
New York Jheatre Gulld, wrote to hls fellow board mem
bers of O`Nelll, 'Let us admlt that a man whose plays are
belng glven ln London, Parls, Berlln, Prague, Vlenna, and
Moscow ls unlque among Amerlcan dramatlsts," he was
maklng the polnt that thls former student of the world
masters was now one of them. Langner could also have
lncluded Stockholm on hls llst of world cltles, for by the
tlme O`Nelll came up for the prlze, dlstlngulshed produc
tlons of such O`Nelll plays as Zvvo Clristic (l92l), Dcsirc
Uvdcr tlc Ilms (l921), Strovgc Ivtcrludc (l928), and Mourvivg
ccomcs Ilcctro (l93l) had already been staged at the Royal
Dramatlc Jheater of Stockholm.
Desplte thls exposure to O`Nelll, the road to the
prlze was not a smooth one. In l935 O`Nelll had been
hlgh among a llst of flnallsts that lncluded H. G. Wells,
Paul Valry, and G. K. Chesterton, but he was opposed by
the Permanent Secretary of the Swedlsh Academy, Per
Hallstrm, who volced some famlllar objectlons to
O`Nelll`s work. excesslve experlmentatlon, clumsy treat
ment of abstract ldeas, and uneven quallty. Because of the
standoff, no award was made ln l935. By l936, however,
Hallstrm had been persuaded, and hls offlclal award pre
sentatlon address ls a complex, deeply pondered assess
ment of an Amerlcan newcomer by a dlstlngulshed old
world lntellectual. Hallstrm contlnued to dlsapprove of
certaln aspects of O`Nelll`s work, but he also admltted to
belng caught up ln O`Nelll`s dark vlslon of llfe, hls 'abun
dant flow of passlonate, pregnant words," 'the never slum
berlng energy" of hls plots, and hls 'yearnlng to attaln the
monumental slmpllclty characterlstlc of anclent drama," a
quallty that Hallstrm found most fully reallzed ln the
Mourvivg ccomcs Ilcctro trllogy.
Ill health kept O`Nelll from attendlng the Nobel cer
emonles, and he was never able to make hls promlsed vlslt
to Sweden, where he had so strong a followlng. However,
lt was typlcal of O`Nelll to see beyond personal acclalm
and flndas he wrote ln hls letter of thanks, read at the
banquetthat 'thls Nobel Prlze ls a symbol of the recognl
tlon of the comlngofage of the Amerlcan theater."
376
b lk ai_ PPN
Eugene Gladstone O`Nelll was born to |ames and
Mary Ellen O`Nelll on l6 October l888 at the Barrett
House, a resldentlal hotel ln the heart of the New York
Clty theater dlstrlct. He was the thlrd chlld of the couple.
Jhe eldest, |ames O`Nelll |r. ('|amle"), was born ln l878,
and the second, Edmund Burke O`Nelll, was born ln l883
and dled ln l885. Edmund`s premature death and the clr
cumstances surroundlng lt, llke many other events ln
O`Nelll`s famlly llfe, became part of hls work.
|ames O`Nelll was a wellknown stage actor at the
tlme of Eugene`s blrth. Jhe elder O`Nelll was born ln
Kllkenny, Ireland, about l815, came to the Lnlted
States wlth hls famlly ln l855, and grew up ln the Mld
west. After a varlety of jobs, he found he had a glft for
the stage. In the nlneteenthcentury Amerlcan theater,
major stars such as Edwln Booth would tour thelr plays
from clty to clty, uslng actors from local theater compa
nles to flll out secondary roles. After startlng wlth such
walkon parts, |ames O`Nelll moved to lncreaslngly
promlnent roles at theaters ln St. Louls; Washlngton,
D.C.; Cleveland; Chlcago; and San Iranclsco before
jolnlng a leadlng company ln New York, the ultlmate
destlnatlon for an ambltlous actor ln the Lnlted States.
In l883 |ames O`Nelll was offered the leadlng
role of Edmund Dantes ln Alexandre Dumas `s
romantlc drama q ` j ` (l811-l815).
Jhe play sulted the elder O`Nelll`s powerful and
appeallng actlng style and became a huge popular suc
cess. By l885 he was a famlly man, and he bought
excluslve rlghts to the play and made lt hls vehlcle to a
natlonal reputatlon and flnanclal prosperlty. In later
years thls cholce came to seem llke a regrettable aban
donment of hls dream of becomlng a great Shakespear
ean actor ln the Booth tradltlon.
Eugene O`Nelll`s mother was born Mary Ellen
('Ella") _ulnlan on l3 August l857 ln New Haven,
Connectlcut, to parents who were, llke |ames O`Nelll,
Irlsh lmmlgrants ln search of a better future. Ella _uln
lan moved wlth her famlly to Cleveland, Ohlo, where
her father bullt several successful retall buslnesses and
created a prosperous, secure uppermlddleclass llfe for
hls famlly. She got a good Cathollc educatlon from the
nuns at St. Mary`s Academy ln Notre Dame, Indlana,
and nourlshed a talent for muslc. In l872 she met |ames
O`Nelll (then tourlng ln Cleveland) when he vlslted her
father at the famlly home. Her schoollng and hls career
separated them untll l876, when she was ln New York
studylng muslc (wlth her mother as chaperone) and the
actor was performlng there. When she went backstage
to renew thelr earller acqualntance, a romance blos
somed, and the two were marrled on l1 |une l877 at St.
Ann`s Cathollc Church ln lower Manhattan.
Jhe marrlage, by all accounts, was a lovlng one; but
lt proved a dlfflcult one for Ella O`Nelll, who was pulled,
on one hand, by a deslre for a stable home and famlly llfe
and, on the other, by the deslre to be wlth her husband
when he was on tour. Jhey were tourlng when llttle
Edmund caught a fatal case of measles, apparently from
young |amle. Both mother and son carrled a burden of
gullt from that tragedy. In the aftermath of Eugene`s blrth,
Ella O`Nelll developed an addlctlon to morphlne that cast
a shadow over the O`Nelll famlly llfe untll she freed herself
from the drug ln l9l1.
In l881 |ames O`Nelll bought a summer cottage
overlooklng the Jhames Rlver ln New London, Con
nectlcut, and named lt Monte Crlsto ln recognltlon of
the play that was maklng hlm rlch and famous. Irom
l881 untll shortly after the actor`s death ln l920, the
cottage was the one stable home place ln the O`Nelll
famlly`s llfe. In dramatlc hlstory, the Monte Crlsto cot
tage (325 Pequot Avenue) served as the model for the
Jyrone home ln O`Nelll`s i a~ g k
(l956). It ls preserved now as an hlstorlc slte and pll
grlmage destlnatlon for admlrers of O`Nelll`s work.
Jhe young Eugene O`Nelll`s educatlon pro
ceeded along several fronts. As a boy, he was an avld
reader, and at Monte Crlsto cottage he had hls father`s
llbrary of classlc llterature (lncludlng several edltlons of
|ames O`Nelll`s beloved Wllllam Shakespeare) to
explore. Hls formal schoollng began ln rlgorous Catho
llc boys` schools. St. Aloyslus Academy (l895-l900) ln
Rlverdale, New York, and the De La Salle Academy ln
Manhattan (l900-l902). In l902 he was enrolled ln the
nonsectarlan Betts Academy ln Stamford, Connectlcut
(l902-l906), a move that slgnaled the beglnnlng of the
young O`Nelll`s dlsenchantment wlth Cathollclsm.
Wlth the exceptlon of hls flrst year at De La Salle,
O`Nelll was a boardlng student at each of the three
schools. He had the reputatlon of belng shy and reclu
slve. Nevertheless, as a hlghschool student at Betts, he
emerged as a dlstlnctlve young man wlth a reputatlon
for radlcal readlng and oplnlons, as well as an lnslder`s
knowledge of the less respectable byways of New York
Clty. He learned these from hls playboy older brother
|amle. After graduatlng from Betts, O`Nelll had a brlef
college experlence, enterlng Prlnceton ln the fall of
l906 and leavlng ln the sprlng of l907, havlng taken
few classes and havlng passed fewer.
After O`Nelll left Prlnceton, hls father helped hlm
flnd a paylng job, but O`Nelll showed llttle lnterest ln mun
dane work. However, freed from the Prlnceton currlcu
lum, he contlnued hls own selfeducatlon by readlng
radlcal, decadent, and modernlst wrlters such as Irledrlch
Nletzsche, Max Stlrner, Emma Goldman, Charles Baude
lalre, Oscar Wllde, and Ernest Dowson. Now elghteen, he
also began to explore the seamler sldes of New York llfe
wlthout hls brother |amle`s guldance. Hls memorles of thls
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world of gangsters, drunks, prostltutes, addlcts, and other
soclal outcasts served hlm well as a playwrlght.
Belng ln New York on and off durlng the l907-
l9l2 perlod also allowed hlm regular access to the New
York theater. Jhere was much he desplsed, but hls opposl
tlon helped hlm shape hls rebelllon agalnst lt. Jhere was
also much that exclted hlm. Ior example, ln l9ll, Dub
lln`s Abbey Jheatre brought works by Wllllam Butler
Yeats, Lady Isabella Augusta Persse Gregory, and Synge.
O`Nelll later stated, 'lt was seelng the Irlsh Players that
gave me a gllmpse of my opportunlty."
A romance also played an lmportant part ln
O`Nelll`s llfe at thls tlme, usherlng hlm lnto marrlage,
fatherhood, and hls flrst youthful experlences wlth the sea
man`s llfe. In the sprlng of l909, O`Nelll began to see
Kathleen |enklns, the freesplrlted daughter of a promlnent
New York famlly. Both the |enklns and the O`Nelll parents
opposed the relatlonshlp but could not stop the pregnancy
and the hasty marrlage that followed. But |ames O`Nelll
(wlth hls son`s taclt approval) lmmedlately began to sub
vert the marrlage by sendlng O`Nelll, ln the company of
an englneer, to explore the goldmlnlng potentlal of a fam
lly lnvestment property ln the Spanlsh Honduras.
Lpon O`Nelll`s return (and recovery from
malarla), hls father helped hlm return to sea (and maln
taln hls dlstance from hls wlfe and thelr newborn son,
Eugene |r.) as a parttlme crewman on the salldrlven
cargo shlp `~ o~ for a slxtyflveday, 5,900mlle
voyage from Boston to Buenos Alres. Jhe experlence
left hlm wlth ecstatlc memorles of communlon wlth the
sea and keen lnslghts lnto the llfe of men at sea that
later found frequent expresslon ln hls plays. O`Nelll
made as many as elght long sea voyages between Octo
ber l909 and August l9ll. By the tlme he landed ln
New York from hls last one, he had rlsen ln the ranks
from Ordlnary Seaman to AbleBodled Seaman. Jhe
Amerlcan Llnes sweater he wore on that flnal voyage
became a treasured memento of thls perlod of hls llfe.
Durlng O`Nelll`s seagolng years he often stayed ln
waterfront dlves from Buenos Alres to Llverpool, and, by
the age of twentytwo, he had developed an alcohol prob
lem that he struggled wlth for llfe. Even after he gave up
the seaman`s llfe ln August l9ll and settled agaln ln New
York, he could not put the world of seaman`s dlves behlnd
hlm. Although he could have roomed at one of the resl
dentlal hotels ln mldtown Manhattan that hls famlly
favored, O`Nelll chose to stay at a saloon and boardlng
house famlllarly known as '|lmmy the Prlest`s" (252 Iul
ton Street). Jhough dangerous to O`Nelll`s physlcal and
mental health, thls way of llfe also provlded hlm wlth
much powerful materlal for plays.
O`Nelll had fled marrlage and parenthood by
golng to sea. When he returned, Kathleen |enklns
asked only for legal grounds for a dlvorce, not allmony
or chlld support for Eugene |r. On 29 December l9ll
O`Nelll allowed attorneys to wltness hlm ln the com
pany of a prostltute, thus establlshlng adultery as
grounds for the dlvorce decree that was flnallzed ln
October l9l2. Jhls sequence of sordld, humlllatlng
events left O`Nelll free of legal entanglements but not
from psychologlcal problems. Blographers dlffer on the
date and clrcumstances of the event, but sometlme ln
the flrst half of l9l2, O`Nelll attempted sulclde by an
overdose of Veronal at |lmmy the Prlest`s. He was
found by fellow lodgers ln tlme to be revlved, and he
admltted, as so many unsuccessful sulcldes do, that he
felt a renewed deslre to llve. O`Nelll later wrote a play
called b on the subject but destroyed all coples
after lts orlglnal staglng ln l920. Jhe sulclde attempt
marked the lowest polnt of hls llfe, but lt also started a
clear upward movement. In the summer of l9l2 he
returned to the safe envlronment of New London and
took a job as a cub reporter wlth the New London qJ
~K Jhus, O`Nelll took hls flrst tentatlve steps lnto
the wrltlng llfe. He publlshed both prose reportage and
occaslonal verse ln the paper untll lllness forced hlm to
leave ln December l9l2. A month earller, he had been
dlagnosed wlth tuberculosls. O`Nelll entered hls
father`s flrst cholce of treatment facllltles, stayed one
nlght, and jolned the famlly back ln New York, lnslstlng
on better care. After further consultatlons, O`Nelll
entered the Gaylord Iarm Sanatorlum ln Walllngford,
Connectlcut on Chrlstmas Eve, l9l2.
O`Nelll`s flve months of treatment at Gaylord were a
perlod of heallng for both mlnd and body. Wlth hls
enforced lelsure, O`Nelll agaln read avldly and qulte prob
ably began to take notes for the plays he wrote after hls
release from Gaylord on 3 |une l9l3. O`Nelll llved wlth
hls famlly for the rest of the summer, and, when the fall
theater season called them to New York, he took room
and board wlth the Rlppln famlly at nearby 1l6 Pequot
Avenue. In a llfechanglng burst of creatlve energy, O`Nelll
wrote nlne oneact plays and two fulllength plays between
|une l9l3 and August l9l1.
O`Nelll`s flrst plays all draw lmaglnatlvely on
some aspect of hls llfe between l907 and l9l3 and
show hlm learnlng from the best modern playwrlghts,
partlcularly Ibsen, Strlndberg, Gerhart Hauptmann,
and Synge. Jhe most lmportant of hls early plays were
q t (wrltten ln l9l3), a harsh look at the llfe of a
tubercular prostltute and her lllegltlmate chlld; q
(wrltten ln l9l3), a stark portrayal of the mental dlsln
tegratlon of three suncrazed survlvors from a sunken
luxury llner; o (wrltten ln l9l3), a scathlng
look at a plutocrat`s loveless marrlage; t~ (wrltten
ln l9l3), a play about a shlp`s radlo operator who hldes
hls deafness and causes hls shlp to wreck; c (wrltten
ln l9l1), an allegory of the poetlc mlnd, framed as a
378
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play about three survlvors on a fogshrouded llfeboat;
_ b~ c `~ (wrltten ln l9l1), a quletly poetlc
play that studles the relatlonshlps among stolc seamen
as one of thelr group faces death; and ^ (wrltten
ln l9l1), a play deplctlng the lmpact of a town glrl`s
fatal abortlon on the rlch college man who seduced her.
Jhls burst of dramatlc creatlvlty persuaded |ames
O`Nelll to become more actlvely lnvolved ln hls son`s
new career path. Ilrst, the actor subsldlzed the publlca
tlon ln l9l1 of the collectlon q ~ l l ^
m~I lncludlng all of the plays except _ b~
`~ and ^K Second, he agreed to glve hls son
modest flnanclal support to study at Harvard Lnlver
slty ln |ames Plerce Baker`s famous postgraduate seml
nar ln playwrltlng, Engllsh 17. Baker was persuaded to
accept the Prlnceton dropout by O`Nelll`s deslre to be
'an artlst or nothlng" and by the ablllty he saw ln
O`Nelll`s sample work. In September l9l1 O`Nelll set
tled back lnto an academlc settlng for the flrst tlme slnce
leavlng Prlnceton ln l907.
Blographers and crltlcs dlsagree on the lmpact of
Baker`s semlnar on O`Nelll`s development as a play
wrlght. On the one hand, O`Nelll made use throughout
hls career of Baker`s technlque of composlng detalled
outllnes and scenarlos of hls plays before draftlng the
dlalogue. On the other hand, O`Nelll produced almost
no usable work durlng hls semlnar year. Baker lnvlted
O`Nelll back for the advanced workshop the next year
(l9l5-l9l6), but O`Nelll declded to take hls plays
dlrectly to New York Clty and try to make hls mark ln
the heart of Amerlcan theater.
O`Nelll returned to New York ln the autumn of
l9l5 hoplng to flnd a professlonal producer. He placed hls
hopes on hls father`s frlend George Jyler and on a new art
theater company called the Washlngton Square Players.
Jhls group was commltted to presentlng a mlx of classlc
and modern European plays plus work by new Amerlcan
playwrlghts. O`Nelll sent them both hls q ~ l l
^ m~ collectlon and _ b~ `~ but was cha
grlned when hls offerlngs aroused no lnterest.
Ieellng somewhat low, O`Nelll gravltated toward
Greenwlch Vlllage, where he found a saloon and room
lng house offlclally named the Golden Swan but famll
larly known as 'Jhe Hell Hole." Jhe Hell Hole was a
hangout for Greenwlch Vlllage artlsts and wrlters as
well as a varled group of former polltlclans, Irlsh hood
lums, and other frlnge types. O`Nelll soon drlfted lnto a
wlnter of dangerously heavy drlnklng and general dlssl
patlon. Old frlends Louls and Polly Holladay, popular
restaurant owners, helped the shy playwrlght make con
tacts wlth artlsts and wrlters ln the Vlllage. O`Nelll also
became frlends wlth Jerry Carlln, an older, alcohollc
anarchlst who had mastered the art of staylng allve ln
New York wlthout worklng. O`Nelll, who was exlstlng
on a dollaraday allowance from hls father, found Car
lln a source of practlcal advlce on llvlng cheaply. Carlln
also had many frlends ln Greenwlch Vlllage artlstlc clr
cles, and ln the summer of l9l6 he suggested to O`Nelll
that they follow the artlst group to thelr summer gather
lng place, Provlncetown, Massachusetts. Provlncetown
was where O`Nelll the playwrlght flnally got hls flrst
publlc stage productlon.
Provlncetown was a small but thrlvlng flshlng vll
lage at the far end of Cape Cod. When O`Nelll arrlved
there ln |une l9l6, lt had also attracted several summer
art schools and had become a gatherlng place for artlsts
and wrlters. When one such school was evlcted from a
converted flsherman`s pler and shack, the structures
were used as the Wharf Jheatre, the hlstorlc flrst home
of the Provlncetown Players.
Jhe Provlncetown Players emerged from the
same dlsllke of malnstream New York theater that motl
vated the foundlng of the Washlngton Square Players.
But the Provlncetown group commltted ltself to staglng
new Amerlcan plays rather than the Eurocentrlc mlx
ture favored by the Washlngton Square Players. Jhe
leaders of the group were artlstvlslonary and company
dlrector George Cram '|lg" Cook and hls wlfe, novellst
and playwrlght Susan Glaspell, though many other
lndlvlduals of great lnterest were lnvolved. As Glaspell
told lt, she ran lnto Carlln shortly after he and O`Nelll
arrlved on the cape. When she asked Carlln lf he had
any plays wlth hlm, he sald no, but that hls young
frlend O`Nelll had a trunkful. After a llve readlng of
_ b~ `~ at Cook and Glaspell`s house (wlth
the bashful playwrlght llstenlng alone from the dlnlng
room), O`Nelll had found hls productlon company. Jhe
Provlncetown Players were amateurs, but they were
commltted to foundlng a vltal new Amerlcan theater,
wlth O`Nelll`s work at the center of lt.
Jhe Provlncetown Players offered thelr flrst sum
mer season of oneact plays ln l9l6. Jhe flrst program
was headed by Glaspell`s p aI the second
by O`Nelll`s _ b~ `~I and the thlrd and
flnal program by O`Nelll`s qK Ior O`Nelll, the long
walt for theatrlcal valldatlon was over. Pleased wlth
thelr Cape successes, the players reconstltuted them
selves ln Greenwlch Vlllage at l39 MacDougal Street,
ln the same llvely block of old brownstones that housed
the Llberal Club, the radlcal perlodlcal q j~I and
the Washlngton Square Book Shop. Jhey called thelr
l10seat venue the Playwrlghts` Jheatre. Jwo years
later they moved to l33 MacDougal Street, keeplng the
Playwrlghts` Jheatre name untll the l923-l921 season,
when lt became known as the Provlncetown Playhouse.
O`Nelll got hls New York Clty debut durlng the
Provlncetown Players` flrst New York season (l9l6-
l9l7), when they staged _ b~ `~ (3
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November l9l6), _ _~~ (l December l9l6),
c (5 |anuary l9l7), and q p (l6 Iebruary l9l7).
Jhe season succeeded admlrably ln puttlng O`Nelll`s
name and talent ln front of the New York publlc, and ln
March l9l7 an lnsplred O`Nelll moved back to Provlnce
town to work on new plays for the upcomlng season.
Whether lt was the constant presence of the sea or
hls sense that hls sea plays were hls strongest, all four plays
he brought back to New York ln September l9l7 had mar
ltlme characters, settlngs, and themes. Jhe flrst, f w
(premlered 3l October l9l7), plcks up the seamen of the
pKpK d~ from _ b~ `~ and places them ln
a stretch of sea patrolled by German Lboats and alrcraft.
In f (premlered 30 November l9l7), an Ahabllke cap
taln drlves hls men to mutlny and hls wlfe (who ls salllng
wlth hlm) to madness ln hls crazed search for 'lle" (whale
oll). Ior hls thlrd and fourth plays of the sprlng and sum
mer of l9l7, O`Nelll went back to hls d~ materlal.
q i s~ e (premlered 2 November l9l7)
focuses on the Swede Olson and hls doomed attempt to
leave the sea for a farm at home. Jhe last of O`Nelll`s
d~ plays was q j `~ (premlered 20
December l9l8), hls personal favorlte. Jhls play takes the
crew of the d~ to a port ln the Carlbbean and puts
natlve women and a lot of alcohol on board. Jhe vlolent
result of thls mlx has mythlc lnevltablllty to lt.
O`Nelll had relatlonshlps wlth several lnterestlng
women durlng these years, most slgnlflcantly wlth Loulse
Bryant, lover (and then wlfe) of radlcal journallst |ohn
Reed. But by l9l7 O`Nelll seemed to be looklng for the
rlght woman to marry. Before long, he met Agnes Boul
ton, a young woman of beauty and talent trylng (already
wlth some success) to make a place for herself ln llterary
New York. Jhey met at the Hell Hole ln November l9l7,
and after an lntense courtshlp, O`Nelll asked her to move
wlth hlm back to Provlncetown. Jhey marrled there on l2
Aprll l9l8.
Jhe qulet of Provlncetown and the stablllty of mar
rled llfe allowed O`Nelll to establlsh a productlve dally rou
tlne. wrlte all mornlng; take a break for lunch; and spend
the afternoon swlmmlng, boatlng, or explorlng the dunes
wlth hls wlfe. In the evenlngs, there would be readlng,
soclallzlng, and wrltlng ln hls journal. O`Nelll moderated
hls alcohol consumptlon and was flt and healthy. Such
condltlons always brought results on the page, and durlng
thls perlod he completed four new oneact plays Eq oI
p pI t ` f j~I and q a~ hF and
the fulllength play that made hls name on Broadway,
_ eK
q o reached the Provlncetown Players stage on
26 Aprll l9l8 and ls one of many O`Nelll dlssectlons of
pathologlcal greed. p p ls a llghtly lronlc antlwar
plece. t ` f j~ ls another play ln O`Nelll`s
antlgreed mode. Jhe most lmpresslve of thls group of one
act plays was q a~ hI the flrst of O`Nelll`s studles
of Afrlcan Amerlcan llfe ln the early twentleth century.
By far the most slgnlflcant of O`Nelll`s l9l8 com
posltlons, however, was the fulllength drama _
eK Jhls play brought O`Nelll hls flrst serlous lnter
est from a major uptown producer, the respected and
successful |. D. Wllllams. When Wllllams pald O`Nelll
$500 for an optlon to produce _ eI
O`Nelll belleved hls breakthrough moment was at
hand. But Wllllams`s subsequent delaylng tactlcs
proved frustratlng to a wrlter used to worklng ln the
communal world of Greenwlch Vlllage art theaters.
Nevertheless, thlngs went well for O`Nelll ln l9l9
and l920. Jhanks to the lncreaslngly proud |ames
O`Nelll, the young O`Nelll famlly now had a home of
thelr own. As a weddlng present, O`Nelll`s father gave
the couple a house on the Cape Cod dunes not far from
Provlncetown vlllage. Jhe Peaked Hllls Bar house had
been bullt as a federal llfesavlng statlon and later taste
fully converted by Mabel Dodge, a wealthy and color
ful patron of the arts, lnto an lsolated and atmospherlc
summer resldence. Ior an avld swlmmer, boater, and
flsherman such as O`Nelll, the seaslde settlng could not
have been better. In the wlnters, the O`Nellls rented a
house ln the vlllage of Provlncetown and traveled to
New York as rehearsals and other theater buslness
demanded. Jhelr domestlc happlness was further
enhanced by the blrth, on 30 October l9l9, of thelr
flrst chlld, son Shane Rudralgh O`Nelll.
In l9l9 O`Nelll helped hls career by engaglng
Rlchard Madden of the Amerlcan Play Company as hls
agent and Harry Welnberger to handle hls legal con
cerns. Both were hlghly respected professlonals who
put O`Nelll`s career on a secure buslness footlng. Jhey
also became llfelong frlends and confldants. In addltlon,
O`Nelll`s career got a boost from the book trade. In
l9l9 Bonl and Llverlght (publlshers of the Modern
Llbrary serles of classlc books and such upandcomlng
modernlsts as J. S. Ellot, Ernest Hemlngway, and Rob
lnson |effers) proposed to publlsh the best sea plays ln a
collectlon called q j `~ ~ p l
m~ p~K O`Nelll`s varlous publlshers contlnued to
brlng out wellproduced edltlons of hls plays to the
mutual beneflt of wrlter and publlsher allke. As
O`Nelll`s fame grew ln the l920s, hls plays sold well ln
book form, and he jolned the great modern novellsts
and poets on the bookshelves of serlous readers.
O`Nelll lncreaslngly wrote plays that had the qualltles
of serlous flctlonstrong psychologlcal lnslght, rlchly
poetlc prose, and demandlng thematlc complexlty.
Jhe second half of the l9l9-l920 season marked
a cruclal new stage ln O`Nelll`s wrltlng llfe. He put
aslde the oneact play to concentrate on fulllength
drama. Jhls new phase of O`Nelll`s career began when
380
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_ e flnally reached Broadway. Pressured
by O`Nelll and hls new agent Madden, producer Wll
llams declded to open the play ln a serles of matlnee
only showlngs, maklng double use of several cast mem
bers from hls current hlt, c aK Wlth O`Nelll as
dlrector, the play had lts flrst matlnee at the Morosco
Jheatre on 2 Iebruary l920. In the audlence were
proud parents |ames and Ella O`Nelll, but the nervous
playwrlght stayed away, waltlng for the revlews.
O`Nelll had wrltten fulllength plays before, but
none wlth the traglc lntenslty of _ eK Jhe
openlng sltuatlon sets dreams of adventure agalnst fam
lly and domestlclty but glves them all an lronlc twlst.
Robert Mayo ls a poetlc soul who dreams of escaplng
the farm by jolnlng hls seacaptaln uncle on a voyage
'beyond the horlzon" to the Orlent. Hls solld, practlcal
brother Andrew, however, has no dreams beyond mar
rylng Ruth Atklns, the glrl next door, and dolng what
he loves best, farmlng. Ruth upsets both men`s plans
when she tells Robert that she wlshes to marry hlm, not
Andrew. Robert abandons hls dreams of travel for mar
rlage to Ruth but proves to be an lnept farmer. O`Nelll
deplcts hls and Ruth`s downward splral lnto mutual
mlsery and despalr wlth ruthless psychologlcal atten
tlon. Crltlcs and audlences allke found _ e
to be a powerful examlnatlon of the sources of human
unhapplness. Jhe play had a strong run and won
O`Nelll hls flrst Pulltzer Prlze for drama.
Good news ln the theater was followed by bad
news ln the famlly, however. |ames and Eugene O`Nelll
had become lncreaslngly close as the son showed both
dramatlc talent and an obvlous drlve to succeed as a
serlous wrlter. But just as thls new phase ln thelr rela
tlonshlp was growlng, |ames O`Nelll suffered a stroke
and was found also to have advanced lntestlnal cancer.
Durlng the actor`s flnal months, O`Nelll was regularly
at hls father`s slde. When |ames O`Nelll dled ln New
London on l0 August l920, theater lovers on both
sldes of the Atlantlc honored hls memory.
After the funeral, O`Nelll returned to Peaked
Hllls Bar and sought escape from hls grlef ln creatlve
work. In just two months, he wrote two new plays for
the Provlncetown Players` l920-l92l season, q
b g (premlered l November l920) and
a (premlered 27 December l920). a I a play
about a foollshly ldeallstlc young woman who refuses
love ln her youth and ends as an aglng and embarrass
lng fllrt, ran for l00 performances before closlng ln the
sprlng of l92l. By far the more lmportant of the two
was the experlmental tragedy q b gK Jhls
play follows the flnal hours of Brutus |ones, a flamboy
ant polltlcal outslder (brllllantly played by Afrlcan
Amerlcan actor Charles Gllpln) who has used street
smarts, charlsma, and luck to become dlctator of a
small, unnamed Carlbbean natlon populated by the
descendants of former slaves. At the openlng of the
play, |ones`s hubrls ls on full dlsplay as he brags to
Smlthers, a cowardly whlte proflteer who abets |ones`s
schemes, about how he stole the alleglance of the peo
ple from rlval Lem by persuadlng them he could only
be kllled by a sllver bullet. Once he ls on the run, how
ever, the bravado falls away under the relentless pres
sure of the drums of hls pursuers and the emergence of
hls own fears and superstltlons. In style as well as sub
stance, q b g was a spectacular success and
jumped from Greenwlch Vlllage to Broadway, postlng
profltable runs ln both venues and solldlfylng O`Nelll`s
reputatlon as Amerlca`s playwrlght of the future.
In the aftermath of |ames O`Nelll`s death, hls
wldow emerged from the shadow of her husband`s
powerful persona. Ella O`Nelll had been free of her
morphlne dependency for slx years at the tlme her hus
band dled, and she took flrm control of the famlly`s
lnvestment propertles, selllng off the unproductlve ones
and maxlmlzlng the lncome from the rest. More surprls
lngly, perhaps, wastrel |amle O`Nelll qult drlnklng and
became hls mother`s dally companlon and her asslstant
ln the handllng of the famlly buslness. And ln l92l
O`Nelll met Eugene |r., hls elevenyearold son by Kath
leen |enklns. Jhe two got along well, and O`Nelll began
a belated but genulne paternal relatlonshlp wlth the
scholarly, wellspoken boy.
Jhe prollflc O`Nelll had four new plays ready for
the l92l-l922 season, wlth ^~ ` openlng flrst.
^~ ` had gone through several prellmlnary
stages before becomlng the popular hlt that opened on
Broadway on 2 November l92l. Jhe flrst verslon,
known both as ` (ln George Jyler`s falled Atlantlc
Clty tryout ln l920) and ` ` (ln later
prlnt verslons), focused on the tltle character, an old
sallor (drawn from a real acqualntance) who hates 'dat
ole davll sea" and worrles greatly when Anna, hls gen
tle, typlst daughter, falls ln love wlth a shlp`s offlcer. Ior
the revlsed Broadway ^~ Ì O`Nelll made the
Anna character lnto a toughtalklng young prostltute
and her love lnterest lnto a rowdy Irlsh stoker, the
roughandready Matt Burke. Burke falls for Anna at
flrst slght but then must struggle wlth her past and hls
own prejudlces. ^~ ` has passlon, humor, vlo
lent confrontatlons, and moments of rough poetry. It
ends wlth Matt and Anna engaged and Anna plannlng
a household for both husband and father. O`Nelll took
some crltlclsm for the romantlc endlng, but audlences
llked thls energetlc, yet nuanced love story. After a prof
ltable l77performance run, ^~ ` won O`Nelll
hls second Pulltzer Prlze.
O`Nelll`s second play of the season was q p~I
whlch opened on l0 November l92l. q p~ derlves
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from O`Nelll`s stay at Gaylord Sanatorlum, a place for
whlch he always had strong posltlve feellngs, and the
plot was lnsplred by hls frlendshlp wlth a female patlent
there. Jhls undervalued play lasted only 20 perfor
mances at the Greenwlch Vlllage Jheatre.
Whlle O`Nelll was busy ln New York wlth rehears
als for q e~ ^ and q c j~ (both of whlch pre
mlered ln March l922), hls mother and brother had gone
to Callfornla to sell some real estate. In early Iebruary,
Ella O`Nelll had a stroke that left her ln and out of con
sclousness untll she dled on 28 Iebruary l922 at the age of
slxtyfour. Bereft, |amle O`Nelll began to drlnk heavlly
agaln and spent the traln trlp home wlth a prostltute ln hls
compartment to help hlm forget that hls mother`s body
was ln the baggage car. Jhls grotesque eplsode found lts
way lnto O`Nelll`s late play ^ j j
(premlered 20 Iebruary l917). Mary Ellen _ulnlan
O`Nelll was burled ln the famlly plot at St. Mary`s Catho
llc Cemetery ln New London.
q c j~I unevenly wrltten at best, was
neglected ln thls perlod of mournlng and closed after
just 27 performances. q e~ ^ was a dlfferent
story. Lslng the same tactlc that had worked so well
wlth q b gI O`Nelll opened lt ln the experl
mentfrlendly Provlncetown Playhouse ln the Vlllage,
where the new play provoked an lntense response from
audlences and crltlcs, both for lts aggresslvely experl
mental technlque and lts apparently prolabor, antl
capltallst polltlcs. Jhe play opens below decks of a
stately ocean llner where O`Nelll reveals a collectlon of
coaldustcovered men wlth low foreheads, powerful
shoulders, and long, muscular arms formed by years of
feedlng the shlp`s englnes. Jhe protagonlst of q e~
^ ls Robert 'Yank" Smlth, a stokerphllosopher who
argues that the stokers are the soul of the new machlne
age, the men who 'belong." A brlef, traumatlc encoun
ter wlth Mlldred Douglas, a pampered rlch glrl from
flrst class, shatters Yank`s unexpectedly fraglle sense of
self, and the rest of the play takes Yank lnto New York
Clty on a double quest. to avenge hlmself on Mlldred
and her klnd and to regaln hls lost sense of belonglng to
somethlng great and powerful. In a sequence of expres
slonlstlc vlgnettes, Yank ls rebuffed at every turn untll
he flnds hls fate ln the crushlng arms of hls anlmal dou
ble, a glant gorllla ln the zoo. Jhe play had a strong run
ln Greenwlch Vlllage that led to an equally successful
move uptown for another l00 performances, as well as
domestlc and overseas tours.
Jhe growlng commerclal success of the Provlnce
town Players had come to allenate some of the group`s
foundlng members, partlcularly Cook and Glaspell.
When the couple left New York to search for splrltual
renewal at Delphl ln Greece, the dlvlded Provlncetown
Players shut down for a oneyear hlatus. When the
group was reconstltuted for the next season (l923-
l921), O`Nelll and hls two closest assoclates, Robert
Edmond |ones and Kenneth Macgowan, were flrmly ln
charge of lts managementK Jhls new arrangement
allowed O`Nelll to contlnue to release hls less commer
clal plays ln Greenwlch Vlllage whlle stlll wrltlng for the
larger commerclal venues uptown.
O`Nelll`s run of hlt plays brought hlm new flnan
clal securlty. In l922 he bought Brook Iarm, a thlrty
acre estate ln Connectlcut, to serve as hls prlmary fam
lly resldence. He kept the Cape Cod house for sum
mers. Nothlng could help older brother |amle O`Nelll,
however. Jhelr mother`s death had plunged hlm lnto
an alcohollc sllde from whlch there was no recovery,
and he dled of compllcatlons from alcohol abuse ln a
New |ersey sanatorlum on 8 November l923. Wlthln a
llttle more than three years, O`Nelll had lost hls entlre
lmmedlate famlly.
Ior the l923-l921 season O`Nelll was back on the
stage wlth two new plays. t (l7 March l921) and ^
d ` d t (l5 May l921). t ls an lntense
love story between three people, strongly lnfluenced by
Strlndberg`s a~ a~ (l90l). Desplte moments of
wlt, lnslght, and pathos, lt closed after only 21 perfor
mances. ^ d ` d t was O`Nelll`s thlrd
attempt to explore the black experlence ln Amerlca.
Because lt focused dlrectly on an lnterraclal marrlage and
was to be acted by an lnterraclal cast (wlth Afrlcan Amerl
can Paul Robeson and Caucaslan Mary Blalr as the mar
rled couple), the play brought out an army of wouldbe
censors, from the Ku Klux Klan to the Manhattan Dlstrlct
Attorney, to stop lt from openlng. O`Nelll and the
Provlncetown Players held flrm, and the show went on.
Jhe play ltself mlxed reallsm and expresslonlsm to follow
the relatlonshlp of a lowerclass whlte glrl (Ella Downey)
and a mlddleclass black male ( |lm Harrls) from thelr
chlldhood frlendshlp lnto thelr crlslsfllled marrlage. Jhls
serlous, darlng drama ran for l00 performances at the
Provlncetown Playhouse.
Ior the l921-l925 season, O`Nelll brought for
ward stlll another play that agltated New York moral
lsts. a r bK Openlng ll November l921
at the Greenwlch Vlllage Jheatre, thls lntense tragedy,
set ln harsh New England farm country, plts a tough
old patrlarch agalnst hls emblttered youngest son over
the possesslon of the famlly farm and the love of a sul
try and connlvlng younger woman brought home by
the father to be hls thlrd wlfe. O`Nelll takes thls classlc
MayDecember sltuatlon, fllls lt wlth psychoanalytlcally
charged passlon, and lets the lnterlocked fates of the
three characters play themselves out ln a serles of dra
matlc and dlsturblng scenes. Jhe powerful story was
augmented by an lnnovatlve set deslgn by Robert
Edmond |ones, and Walter Huston gave a command
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lng performance as patrlarch Ephralm. Jhe play
shocked and angered the censors but enjoyed a strong
208performance run ln the Vlllage and on Broadway.
By the autumn of l921, O`Nelll had declded that
Brook Iarm was too cold and landlocked for comfort,
and he moved hls wlfe (now pregnant) and Shane to a
rented house ln Bermuda. Daughter Oona was born ln
Bermuda on l1 May l925. Jhe mlld cllmate, frlendly
sea, and soclable Bermudans appealed to the O`Nellls,
and ln l926 they bought and renovated Splthead, thelr
new famlly headquarters.
Jhe l925-l926 season brought two new plays. q
c~ (l0 December l925) and q d~ d _ (23
|anuary l926). q c~ follows the quest of |uan
Ponce de Leon for materlal emplre at flrst and, later, the
more personal salvatlons of eternal youth and ldeal love. It
lasted only 25 performances. However, q d~ d
_ proved to be one of O`Nelll`s most tantallzlng and
dlfflcult successes. Jhe play opens wlth a prologue show
lng three teenagers graduatlng from hlgh school, contem
platlng the llves stretchlng out ahead of them. Bllly Brown
ls a conventlonally handsome youth wlthout depth or
color. Dlon Anthony ls both hls double and hls opposlte.
Jorn between two powerful lnner forcesthe pagan and
the salntly embodled ln hls namehe masks the fraglllty of
the latter wlth the Byronlc attractlveness of the former.
Jhe thlrd teen ls Margaret, the llvely, freshfaced vlrgln
who ls loved by Bllly but loves Dlon. Margaret glves her
self sexually to Dlon on graduatlon nlght, blndlng hlm to
her ln marrlage. Bllly ls left as the envlous outslder, a role
he never qulte escapes. Jhe body of the drama follows the
lntertwlned fates of thls trlo as they age and experlence the
tests and frustratlons of adulthood. Mlxlng reallsm and
symbollsm, O`Nelll uses masks to make vlslble the lntrlca
cles of the relatlonshlp between self and persona. Jhe
earthmother goddess Cybele presldes over the frenzled
human events wlth an lmmortal`s unflappable calm. Many
of the flrst revlewers expressed confuslon, but an lntrlgued
publlc turned out for 278 performances.
Jhe twoyear perlod from l926 to l928 was one of
great turmoll and change ln O`Nelll`s llfe. As l926 began,
O`Nelll, desplte some growlng dlscontent, stlll seemed
commltted to hls marrlage. Jhlngs changed ln the sum
mer of l926 when the O`Nelll famlly vacatloned at Bel
grade LakesI Malne, where actress Carlotta Monterey was
vacatlonlng wlth Ellzabeth Marbury, the buslness partner
of O`Nelll`s agent Madden. Monterey (born Hazel Jhars
lng) was a mlnor stage and screen actress known more for
her exotlc, reflned beauty than her actlng talent. O`Nelll
had flrst met Monterey ln March l922 when she replaced
Blalr as Mlldred Douglas ln the q e~ ^K When they
met agaln at Marbury`s house, Monterey made a strong
lmpresslon on the playwrlght. She offered a glamorous
alternatlve to the dlstractlng turmoll of O`Nelll`s domestlc
clrcle, and the two spent a great deal of tlme together boat
lng and cycllng.
At the end of the summer of l926, the O`Nelll
famlly went back to Bermuda for the wlnter, but
O`Nelll contlnued to vlslt New York on hls own for
medlcal and buslness reasons ln l926 and l927. Durlng
one of these trlps, he and Monterey became lovers.
Jhough wracked wlth gullt and doubt, O`Nelll pushed
ahead wlth the affalr and allowed lt to grow lnto a full
fledged romance. When O`Nelll left Bermuda ln
November l927 to work on rehearsals wlth hls new
productlon company, the respected Jheatre Gulld, he
was leavlng both the place and hls marrlage behlnd.
Jhe flrst play to be staged under O`Nelll`s new
assoclatlon wlth the Jheatre Gulld was j~ jI
whlch opened on 9 |anuary l928 wlth popular Gulld
star Alfred Lunt ln the tltle role. In j~ jI the
boy Marco Polo starts out as a romantlc, ldeallstlc lover
of llfe and ls gradually shaped by the mercantlle culture
of hls famlly and the famlly buslness lnto a satlrlc exem
plar of the Western capltallst mlnd. Marco both
lntrlgues and repels the great Kublal Khan and captures
the heart of Prlncess Kukachln, but hls obtuseness to
poetry, beauty, wlsdom, and romance make hlm a flg
ure of traglc dlsappolntment to the prlncess and the the
ater audlence. j~ j had a respectable 92
performance run.
Jhree weeks later, p~ f opened wlth
Lynn Iontanne (Lunt`s wlfe) ln the role of Nlna Leeds.
Ior p~ fI O`Nelll made two major, lnterlock
lng artlstlc declslons. Jhe flrst was to wrlte the play
long. nlne full acts ln two parts, wlth a onehour supper
break between parts. Whlle some crltlcs feared thls
length would be an lmposltlon on the audlence, lts
actual effect was to create a memorable speclal event
that true theater lovers could not afford to mlss. Jhe
extra length also relnforced the deep structure of the
play. lts presentatlon of vlrtually the whole llfe cycle of
lts characters from youth to age. Jhe extra length also
made posslble hls other maln technlcal lnnovatlon, the
lnterpolatlon of 'unspoken" or hldden thoughts lnto
the conventlonal dlalogue. Jhls modern adaptatlon of
the tradltlonal aslde and sollloquy made lt posslble for
audlences to hear the lnner worklngs of the mlnd ln
relatlon to a character`s publlc speech.
Jhe play opens ln August l9l9, and lts central char
acter ls Nlna Leeds, a strlklngly beautlful twentyyearold
woman whose dreams were shattered when her flanc,
flghter pllot Gordon Shaw, was kllled ln the last days of
World War I. She ls angry at herself for not glvlng herself
sexually to Gordon before he left for the front, and the rest
of the play follows her quest to flnd some peace and mean
lng ln her llfe after thls devastatlng trauma. Jhls journey
proves to be a strange and provocatlve one, packed wlth
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psychologlcal nuance and theatrlcal bravura. Strovgc Ivtcr-
ludc ran an astonlshlng 126 performances and was a
natlonal bestseller as a book. It also won O`Nelll hls thlrd
Pulltzer Prlze for drama.
Wlth Strovgc Ivtcrludc up and runnlng successfully,
O`Nelll and Monterey salled for England and Irance to
begln thelr new llfe together. O`Nelll`s llfe wlth Agnes
Boulton O`Nelll, whlch had started wlth such youthful
passlon ln New York and Provlncetown ln l9l8, was
flnlshed after ten years and two chlldren.
Durlng l928 O`Nelll and Monterey rented a vllla
ln Irance, uslng lt as a base for tourlng and for O`Nelll
to work on hls new play Dyvomo. In the meantlme, how
ever, hls theologlcal eplc Ioorus Iouglcd (wrltten ln
l926-l927) found a producer, Callfornla`s Pasadena
Communlty Playhouse. Ioorus Iouglcd had been prevl
ously thought unstageable because of lts cast slze (more
than 100 separate roles, requlrlng more than l50 per
formers wlth extenslve doubllng of parts), the vocal
demands on the actor who plays lts laughlng protago
nlst, and the hundreds of masks and costumes thls cast
requlres. On 9 Aprll l928 the Pasadena group showed
that the play could be done effectlvely.
Jhe text ltself ls another effort by O`Nelll to provlde
a myth for moderns who have lost the old falth and found
nothlng ln modernlty to replace lt. Lazarus has been ralsed
from the dead, and |esus has moved on, leavlng Lazarus to
confront a cross sectlon of soclal and rellglous groups ln
the Holy Land durlng the perlod of the Roman Emplre.
Jhe message of Lazarus ls that 'there ls no death . . . there
ls only llfe," and hls laughter ls 'a laugh so full of a com
plete acceptance of llfe . . . so devold of all selfconsclous
ness or fear, that lt ls llke a great blrd song trlumphant ln
depths of sky." Jhe traglc fate of Lazarus ls that hls llfe
enhanclng vlslon threatens establlshed authorlty, and ln
the end he dles a second tlme. Jhe corrupt, confllcted
Callgula has the last words. 'Men forget." O`Nelll never
saw a productlon of thls play.
Settled ln a rented house ln the south of Irance,
O`Nelll began worklng on Dyvomo, another theologlcal
play. Dyvomo ls set ln contemporary, rather than blbllcal,
tlmes and was to have been the flrst of a proposed trllogy
wlth the group tltle of 'MythPlays for the GodIorsaken."
Dyvomo follows the troubled splrltual path of lts youth
ful protagonlst Reuben Llght as he trles to free hlmself
from the rlgld, fundamentallst Protestantlsm of hls
preacher father. O`Nelll blamed the fallure of the play
(lt lasted only 50 performances) on hls absence durlng
the rehearsal process.
After sendlng the flnlshed copy of Dyvomo to the
Jheatre Gulld for staglng, O`Nelll set off wlth
Monterey on an elaborate steamshlp tour of the Orlent,
beglnnlng wlth Hong Kong and endlng ln Irance, wlth
stops along the way at Shanghal, Manlla, Slngapore,
Ceylon, and Egypt. However, the whole experlence
proved more troubled than ldylllc and was marred by
O`Nelll`s drlnklng, Monterey`s angry responses (lnclud
lng temporary separatlons), perlods of lllness, and occa
slons of passlonate reconclllatlon. It was undoubtedly a
rellef to return to Irance and settle lnto the Chteau du
Plessls, a spaclous, plcturesque vllla near Jours.
Monterey took up the roles of household manager
(they employed servants) and dlrector of renovatlons,
and O`Nelll settled back lnto hls wrltlng, beglnnlng the
ambltlous Mourvivg ccomcs Ilcctro. On 2 |uly l929
Agnes Boulton O`Nelll`s Reno dlvorce became flnal,
and O`Nelll and Monterey were marrled ln a clvll cere
mony ln Parls on 22 |uly l929. (It was hls thlrd mar
rlage, Monterey`s fourth.)
O`Nelll had often expressed admlratlon for classl
cal Greek tragedy, and ln Mourvivg ccomcs Ilcctro he
made a consclous effort to create an Amerlcan tragedy
ln the trllogy format of the orlglnal festlvals of
Dlonysus. O`Nelll`s prototype was the Urcstcio of
Aeschylus, and he relmaglned lt ln several lmportant
ways. Ilrst, he Amerlcanlzed the story by settlng lt ln
the lmmedlate post-Clvll War perlod; second, he ellml
nated the Greek dlvlnltles and replaced them wlth the
unconsclous drlves of psychoanalysls; and thlrd, he dls
placed the Orestes flgure from centrallty ln favor of the
Electra flgure, O`Nelll`s Lavlnla. Wlth thls last change,
O`Nelll created another play wlth a strong female focus,
as he had done ln Strovgc Ivtcrludc. Jhe crltlcal response
to thls eplc drama was strongly posltlve, and the play
had an excellent l50performance Broadway run. In
addltlon, the book release sold 50,000 coples. Jhls
monumental achlevement went a long way toward
maklng O`Nelll a Nobel candldate.
Jhe wrltlng of Mourvivg ccomcs Ilcctro had been a
demandlng but satlsfylng task that domlnated O`Nelll`s
two and a half years at the Cheau du Plessls. But
unllke many other Amerlcan wrlters of the tlme,
O`Nelll dld not flnd the expatrlate way of llfe llberatlng
or satlsfylng. In May l93l the O`Nellls salled for New
York to work wlth the Gulld on the castlng and
rehearsal process for Mourvivg ccomcs Ilcctro. Almost
lmmedlately, thelr peace was shattered by the publlc
sulclde of Monterey`s former husband Ralph Barton.
O`Nelll soon grew lmpatlent wlth the whlrl of events ln
the clty and began to look for a quleter place to work.
Actress Ilka Chase suggested Sea Island, Georgla, and
ln November l93l the O`Nellls bought two oceanfront
lots and began work on Casa Genotta (from 'Gene"
and 'Carlotta"), a twentyroom Spanlshstyle brlck
house deslgned and constructed under Carlotta
Monterey O`Nelll`s supervlslon. As usual, she took care
of the practlcalltles of llfe, and O`Nelll fell lnto hls
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favored routlne of wrltlng ln the mornlng and swlm
mlng or boatlng ln the afternoon.
O`Nelll flrst began Doys !itlout Ivd, a theologlcal
companlon plece to Dyvomo. After several unsatlsfactory
drafts, he put theology aslde for Zl, !ildcrvcss!, a famlly
comedy unllke anythlng he had wrltten before. Jhe
comedy proved to be easy and qulck to wrlte, and he
sent lt ahead to the Jheatre Gulld as he contlnued to
struggle wlth Doys !itlout Ivd. In the end, both plays
were presented ln the l933-l931 season.
Zl, !ildcrvcss! opened the Gulld season on 2 Octo
ber l933. Jhe play follows seventeenyearold Rlchard
Mlller through a Iourth of |uly and lts 5 |uly aftermath ln
l906 (the year O`Nelll hlmself was seventeen) ln a 'large
small town ln Connectlcut" resembllng O`Nelll`s own
New London. Over the two days, young Rlchard stum
bles through the comlngofage rltuals of most Amerlcan
boys. Jhls Iourth of |uly ls Rlchard`s personal Indepen
dence Day, or, at least, hls flrst hesltant steps ln that dlrec
tlon. Jo augment Rlchard`s story, O`Nelll created a
colorful set of supportlng characters, most notably Natt
Mlller (played to great acclalm by George M. Cohan), a
father flgure wlth strength of character, humor, and down
home wlsdom. Jhe play moves easlly from goodhearted
lrony to outrlght belly laughs, wlth shades of the pathos of
human frallty woven through lt. Zl, !ildcrvcss! was a hlt
wlth crltlcs and audlences allke, and lts 285performance
run left many wonderlng why O`Nelll dld not wrlte ln thls
veln more often.
Jhe hugely successful nlnemonth run of Zl, !il-
dcrvcss! set a dauntlng benchmark for Doys !itlout Ivd
to match when lt opened on 8 |anuary l931. O`Nelll
concelved Doys !itlout Ivd as a 'modern Mlracle" play,
ln whlch the soul of a slnner ( |ohn Lovlng) ls up for
grabs between hls prlest (and uncle) Iather Balrd and
|ohn`s nlhlllstlc alter ego (vlslble only to hlm), lronlcally
named 'Lovlng." In the cllmax of the play, |ohn
chooses God over Lovlng`s nlhlllsm and rushes to a
church to pray. He ls rewarded by hls slck wlfe`s seem
lngly mlraculous recovery. Jhls buoyant endlng
dellghted Cathollc revlewers but lrrltated or antago
nlzed just about everybody else, and Doys !itlout Ivd
closed after 57 performances.
Jhe unrelentlng pace of wrltlng, rewrltlng, and
rehearslng Mourvivg ccomcs Ilcctro, Zl, !ildcrvcss!, and
Doys !itlout Ivd left O`Nelll exhausted and, accordlng
to hls physlclan, on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
It was, everybody agreed, tlme for a rest, and ln late
|anuary l931 the O`Nellls returned to Sea Island,
where O`Nelll took lnsulln to help hlm galn welght and
bought a kayak for exerclse. He dld no further playwrlt
lng durlng l931, but although he returned to actlve
work ln l935, there was no new O`Nelll play on Broad
way untll l916.
When O`Nelll dld begln wrltlng agaln, he had
trouble flndlng a clear dlrectlon. Hls flrst lmpulse was
to complete the 'MythPlays for the GodIorsaken" trll
ogy begun wlth Dyvomo and Doys !itlout Ivd, but after
several frustratlng months, he dropped thls project to
begln sketchlng out plans for a much more ambltlous
one under the group tltle 'A Jale of Possessors Self
Dlspossessed." O`Nelll lntended thls project to be an
hlstorlcal cycle that would trace the splrltual hlstory of
the Lnlted States from the elghteenth to the twentleth
centurles by followlng the fates of two famllles llnked by
marrlage, the 'Yankee" arlstocratlc Harfords and the
humbly born but proud and ambltlous Irlsh lmmlgrant
Melody clan. As O`Nelll worked on scenarlos for lndl
vldual plays, hls conceptlon for the whole grew faster
than hls ablllty to flnlsh the parts. At the end of nearly
flve years of work (lnterrupted by lllness and a house
hold move from Sea Island to Danvllle, Callfornla),
O`Nelll had produced one stageready play (Z Toucl of
tlc Ioct ), one extremely long, untamed draft (Morc
Stotcly Movsiovs), and coplous notes, scenarlos, and
drafts, most of whlch he and hls wlfe destroyed
between l913 and l953.
Jaken together, the two survlvlng works suggest
that the planned cycle mlght have become a landmark
work ln modern drama, but only the flrst stands as a
fully formed O`Nelll play. Z Toucl of tlc Ioct focuses on
the Irlsh slde of the two famllles and shows how they
came to be jolned. Jhe early part of the play ls doml
nated by the largerthanllfe flgure of patrlarch Con
Melody and hls humlllatlng fall from gentlemanly pre
tenslons to acceptance of hls status as an lmmlgrant
Irlsh barkeep. Hls beautlful and lntelllgent daughter
Sara, however, carrles the famlly bloodllne lnto a pros
perous future by seduclng the phllosophlcal youngest
Harford son lnto marrlage and jolnlng her famlly`s raw
Irlsh energy to the wealth and establlshed posltlon of
the Harford llne.
In Morc Stotcly Movsiovs, attentlon ls turned to the
lntrlcacles of the Harford famlly dynamlcs. Lnfortu
nately, thls work exlsts only ln an early, extremely long
and loosely structured verslon ln whlch much verboslty
and repetltlon obscure the core famlllal and sexual
themes. Nelther of these plays was staged durlng
O`Nelll`s llfetlme, although the Jheatre Gulld was
lnterested ln Z Toucl of tlc Ioct.
In l936 O`Nelll`s health decllned agaln, much as
lt had ln l931. Blamlng the Southern heat, the O`Nellls
accepted the lnvltatlon of Lnlverslty of Washlngton
professor Sophus Kelth Wlnther to try the Seattle area.
Wlth Wlnther`s help, they leased a house wlth a vlew
of Puget Sound. In thls settlng, on l2 November l936,
O`Nelll learned that he had been awarded the Nobel
Prlze ln Llterature.
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Jhe news of the award dld not come as a com
plete surprlse. Speculatlons lnvolvlng O`Nelll as a can
dldate had occurred as early as l929, and Slnclalr
Lewls added heat by openly promotlng fellow Amerl
cans O`Nelll and Jheodore Drelser when Lewls
became the flrst Amerlcan laureate ln llterature ln l930.
In general, O`Nelll tended to downplay awards,
although he understood thelr promotlonal value and
prlvately appreclated the recognltlon (partlcularly by
peers such as Yeats, Shaw, Hauptmann, Sean O`Casey,
and Lulgl Plrandello as well as that among hls fellow
Amerlcans who wrote to congratulate hlm). He was
hurt, however, by what he regarded as the lndlfferent
response of Maxwell Anderson and others whom he
felt dld not appreclate the ploneerlng work he had done
that beneflted all Amerlcan playwrlghts. Desplte such
prlvate feellngs, he wrote ln hls banquet speech that he
accepted the award as a gesture of recognltlon of the
new maturlty of the Amerlcan theater and drama. He
also was careful to let hls Swedlsh admlrers know of hls
great debt to thelr own playwrlght Strlndberg. A combl
natlon of general exhaustlon, medlcal recommenda
tlons that he needed rest, and hls llfelong averslon to
publlc appearances comblned to keep hlm from dellver
lng hls thoughts ln person. Hls health took a swlft
downward turn ln the weeks after the Nobel news
arrlved, and O`Nelll was glven hls award ln a truncated
ceremony ln an Oakland, Callfornla, hospltal room.
Amerlcan charg dàffalres |ames E. Brown |r. repre
sented hlm at the banquet ln Stockholm.
In general, the Nobel Prlze dld not have a great
lmpact on the arc of O`Nelll`s career. Lndoubtedly, the
$10,000 monetary wlndfall (somewhat greater than he
was recelvlng for movle rlghts to hls plays at the tlme)
helped hlm wlth expenses whlle he and Carlotta
O`Nelll walted for Casa Genotta to flnd a buyer. But at
thls polnt ln hls llfe, O`Nelll was much more lnterested
ln wrltlng hls flnal great projects than ln actlvely partlcl
patlng agaln ln the marketplace of Broadway theater,
where the publlclty value of the Nobel Prlze would cer
talnly have had an lmmedlate lmpact. Indeed, he stead
fastly reslsted appeals for hls new work from hls frlends
and assoclates on the Jheatre Gulld board, clalmlng to
be tlred of the whole productlon process. In addltlon,
the robust constltutlon that made hlm so physlcally
strong and actlve had begun lts slow decllne as one
lnsldlous dlsease after another seemed to wear away at
hls health. Jhus, from l936 forward, O`Nelll struggled
agalnst the effects of relentlessly decllnlng physlcal
health even as he reached the plnnacle of hls world
fame and was stlll reachlng toward hls fullest powers as
an artlst. Nearly ten years passed between the day the
Swedlsh Consul General brought O`Nelll hls Nobel
Prlze and the appearance of hls next new play on a New
York stage (the underappreclated premlere of Tlc Iccmov
Comctl ln l916).
Jhe O`Nellls sold Casa Genotta early ln l937,
whlle O`Nelll hlmself was stlll ln the hospltal, and they
purchased l60 acres of beautlful but lsolated rldge land
near Danvllle, Callfornla. Here Carlotta O`Nelll super
vlsed the deslgn and constructlon of the Aslanthemed
resldence the couple called Jao House, where they
llved from l938 untll Iebruary l911. In thls house
(now preserved as an O`Nelll museum) the playwrlght
wrote hls last great dramas.
Once he was lnstalled ln hls new home, llfe at Jao
House was geared to O`Nelll`s sevendayaweek work.
Wlth hls acqulescence, O`Nelll`s soclal llfe lncreaslngly
came under the control of hls wlfe, who began to act as
an lnformal chlef of staff, screenlng hls lncomlng mall
and decldlng whlch frlends and famlly would have
access to the man she now referred to as 'Jhe Master."
Jrlps outslde Jao House were rare but dld lnclude
excurslons to San Iranclsco and football games at the
Lnlverslty of Callfornla at Berkeley.
By the summer of l939, O`Nelll tlred of the ever
expandlng (and lncreaslngly unmanageable) 'Possess
ors SelfDlspossessed" cycle and declded to work on
some plays based on hls own early llfe. Jhese ldeas ultl
mately became hls last three fulllength dramas. Tlc Icc-
mov Comctl, Iovg Doy`s ourvcy ivto ìglt, and Z Moov for
tlc Misbcgottcv.
Tlc Iccmov Comctl ls thought by many to be
O`Nelll`s second most lmportant drama. Ior thls play,
O`Nelll went back to the amblence of hls heavy bar
room days, creatlng Harry Hope`s saloon out of memo
rles of |lmmy the Prlest`s and the Hell Hole and fllllng lt
wlth characters lnsplred by old frlends and acqualntan
ces from many decades before. Tlc Iccmov Comctl ls
structured around a twoday perlod ln the summer of
l9l2 and features a large cast of conclsely lndlvldual
lzed characters llnked by two common tralts. a need for
alcohol and an equally compelllng need for a 'plpe
dream," a savlng llluslon that they are not a bunch of
deadenders whose llves are made tolerable only by
drlnk. At the start of the play, the saloon denlzens are
waltlng for the arrlval of salesman Jheodore Hlckman
('Hlckey") to llven up Harry`s blrthday party, but
Hlckey turns the tables by announclng that he has
come thls year not to celebrate everybody`s hopeful
plpe dreams but to destroy them. Bullled and shamed
by Hlckey, the barflles try to meet hls challenge, and
O`Nelll casts an lronlc but (mostly) forglvlng gaze on
thelr efforts. In the flnal act, a serles of startllng twlsts
keeps the tenslon hlgh and elevates the play to genu
lnely traglc stature.
Jlred and weakened from the labor of Tlc Iccmov
Comctl, O`Nelll caught a perslstent case of the flu that
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kept hlm ln bed for two weeks. But he was cheered up
and helped flnanclally ln Iebruary l910 when dlrector
|ohn Iord proposed to update the Glencalrn plays to
the present moment and weave them lnto a slngle
movle to be called Tlc Iovg !oyogc Homc. Iord and
O`Nelll met as fellow IrlshAmerlcan artlsts, and the
movle verslon of Tlc Iovg !oyogc Homc (l910), starrlng
|ohn Wayne, Barry Iltzgerald, and Jhomas Mltchell,
became O`Nelll`s favorlte movle adaptatlon of hls work.
In early sprlng l910, O`Nelll was feellng stronger
agaln, and he began hls most lntlmate effort to portray the
famlllal nexus from whlch he had emerged. Desplte the
hand tremor that made lt nearly lmposslble for hlm to
hold a pencll, O`Nelll pushed hard wlth Iovg Doy`s ourvcy
ivto ìglt through the summer, flnlshlng a flrst draft ln Sep
tember l91l and beglnnlng revlslons lmmedlately. It was
O`Nelll`s lntentlon that thls hlghly personal play would
never be acted on stage and would not appear ln prlnt
form untll twentyflve years after hls death.
Iovg Doy`s ourvcy ivto ìglt ls generally regarded
as O`Nelll`s best play, as well as one of the masterpleces
of world drama. It ls also the most overtly autoblo
graphlcal of hls plays, and ln hls dedlcatlon to Carlotta
O`Nelll he called lt a 'play of old sorrow, wrltten ln
tears and blood." Its four maln characters|ames and
Mary Jyrone and thelr sons |amle and Edmundall
correspond closely to O`Nelll`s father, mother, older
brother, and O`Nelll hlmself. Jhe play beglns on an
August mornlng ln l9l2, lmmedlately after breakfast.
Jhe Jyrones appear at the start to be a qulte normal,
mlddleclass famlly. Yet, there are hlnts of darker under
currentsreferences to Mary`s recovery from some
undlsclosed dlsease and hlnts of other longstandlng
confllcts that emerge later. By the flnal, latenlght and
earlymornlng scenes of the play, Edmund has learned
that he has tuberculosls and must go to a sanatorlum.
|ames Jyrone must face hls stlnglness when the famlly
confronts hlm over sendlng Edmund to the cheapest
avallable hospltal. |ames also reveals to Edmund hls
deepest regretthat he had sacrlflced hls artlstlc lnteg
rlty for easy flnanclal success, just as O`Nelll`s father
felt he had done. Jhe darkest moments of the play
belong to Mary Jyrone, however, as the fact of her
newest relapse lnto drug use becomes palnfully obvlous
to everyone. Her flnal monologue ls a masterplece of
psychologlcal lnslght lnto the mlnd of the addlct and ls
dramatlc speech of the hlghest order.
After completlng Iovg Doy`s ourvcy ivto ìglt,
O`Nelll outllned a serles of oneact monologues to be
gathered under the umbrella tltle of 'By Way of Oblt."
Only Huglic was completed, but thls cleverly structured
and wrltten fable of grlef, lsolatlon, lonellness, and com
munlcatlon shows that O`Nelll`s lncreaslngly weakened
state had not dlmlnlshed hls creatlve power.
Shortly before the |apanese attack on Pearl Har
bor on 7 December l91l, O`Nelll began hls second
Jyrone famlly play, Z Moov for tlc Misbcgottcv. In lt,
O`Nelll glves an ampllfled portralt of the flgure of |amle
Jyrone from Iovg Doy`s ourvcy ivto ìglt and, by lmpll
catlon, a more complex, nuanced lnterpretatlon of older
brother |amle O`Nelll.
As the play opens, |lm Jyrone, the son of a
famous actor, comes to call on Phll Hogan, a classlc,
bogIrlsh reprobate who tenantfarms some Jyrone
land, and |osle, hls largerthanllfe daughter, a vlrgln
wlth a badglrl persona that she deploys to hlde her shy
ness and malntaln her lndependence ln a tough male
world. |lm Jyrone, however, has long been drawn to
her and she to hlm. After some foolery lnvolvlng Phll,
|osle, and a pompous oll tycoon, |lm goes to a local
saloon, promlslng to vlslt |osle later that evenlng. As he
leaves, there ls an aura of potentlal romance ln the alr,
but the |lm Jyrone of Z Moov for tlc Misbcgottcv ls ln a
state of splrltual exhaustlon, a deadness of the soul too
deep to be redeemed by romance. Jhus, a play that
began as an exuberant comedy moves to a somber,
medltatlve concluslon as |lm confesses hls darkest
secrets to |osle ln the moonllt nlght and flnds a measure
of comfort on her capaclous breast.
Jhe attack on Pearl Harbor brought the war
abruptly lnto the O`Nelll famlly as lt dld to everyone else
ln the country. In the aftermath of 7 December l91l,
Eugene O`Nelll |r. gave up hls faculty posltlon at Yale and
attempted to joln mllltary lntelllgence but was turned
away, apparently because of a youthful lnvolvement wlth
leftlst polltlcal groups. Lltlmately, medlcal problems kept
hlm out of the army, and he spent the war as a defense
lndustry factory worker. Shane O`Nelll jolned the Mer
chant Marlne, proud to be an AbleBodled Seaman as hls
father had been. But after a year and a half of duty ln the
dangerous Atlantlc convoys, he was mustered out for psy
chologlcal reasons. As Callfornla prepared for a posslble
|apanese lnvaslon, O`Nelll began to practlce shootlng ln
case he was needed for clvll defense. He held hls plstol
wlth both hands to control hls tremor.
Desplte lllness and the stress of wartlme, by early
l911 O`Nelll had three major fulllength plays (Z Toucl
of tlc Ioct, Tlc Iccmov Comctl, and Z Moov for tlc Misbcgot-
tcv) and one accompllshed oneact play (Huglic, hls flrst
oneact slnce l9l8) slttlng unproduced. In the summer
of l911 Langner, representlng the Jheatre Gulld, vls
lted Callfornla and found O`Nelll was flnally ready to
dlscuss productlon posslbllltles.
In addltlon, the O`Nellls were ready to leave Call
fornla. O`Nelll`s health had deterlorated conslderably
durlng the war years. In addltlon to the tremors (whlch
were mlsdlagnosed as Parklnson`s dlsease), O`Nelll suf
fered from prostate problems, neurltls, low blood pres
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sure, and a varlety of flullke bronchlal lnfectlons. Hls
dlsabllltles put an lncreaslng amount of work pressure
on hls wlfe, who also began to suffer physlcal health
problems and to behave erratlcally and offenslvely
toward both frlends and famlly. In partlcular, she devel
oped a strong jealous streak concernlng attractlve
young women and an lncreaslngly aggresslve tendency
to cut off O`Nelll`s chlldren from contact wlth thelr
father. In addltlon, gasollne ratlonlng, a shortage of
help, and warrelated flnanclal problems made llfe at
the large, lsolated Jao House complex untenable, and
they sold lt and most of thelr furnlshlngs ln Iebruary
l911. When Langner arrlved to dlscuss produclng the
new plays, the O`Nellls were llvlng ln a sulte at the
Huntlngton Hotel ln San Iranclsco.
In October l915 the O`Nellls returned to New
York, llvlng flrst ln a hotel and then movlng lnto a com
fortable penthouse apartment on East Elghtyfourth
Street and Ilfth Avenue. At flrst, O`Nelll`s llfe seemed
llke the good old days, wlth jazz clubs, blcycle races,
and soclallzlng wlth old theater frlends. Dudley
Nlcholls came from Hollywood to dlscuss maklng a
movle of j _ b~I and the Jheatre Gulld
got to work on lts l916 productlon of q f~ Ì
the flrst new O`Nelll play on Broadway slnce a~ tJ
b ln early l931. In many respects, the return to
New York was a rejuvenatlng experlence for O`Nelll,
but lt falled to turn lnto the trlumphant revlval that he
and the Jheatre Gulld had hoped for. Durlng hls
twelve years away from Broadway, O`Nelll had fallen
from the publlc consclousness, and although the Jhe
atre Gulld productlon of q f~ ` (9 October
l916) was respectfully recelved and ran for l36 perfor
mances, lt dld not lgnlte an lmmedlate demand for
more O`Nelll plays.
Nevertheless, the Jheatre Gulld was eager to fol
low q f~ ` wlth ^ j j and
^ q m ln l917, but when ^ j jJ
ran lnto mlxed revlews and attacks by local cen
sors ln outoftown prevlews, O`Nelll wlthdrew both lt
and ^ q m from the Gulld`s productlon
schedule. Ior all practlcal purposes, l916 was the last
year durlng O`Nelll`s llfetlme that he was an actlve pres
ence ln the New York theater world.
O`Nelll`s last years had more unhappy than
happy tlmes. Hls chlldren were an almost constant
source of sadness and consternatlon, much of whlch
was caused by hls own lntranslgence and Carlotta
O`Nelll`s lncreaslngly aggresslve gatekeeplng. Daughter
Oona grew lnto a beautlful and lntelllgent young
woman, but she lost her father`s respect and love when,
ln l913, she capped a serles of frlvolousseemlng
actlons by marrylng Charlle Chaplln, a man her
father`s age (Oona was elghteen) who was also notorl
ous for hls marltal and extramarltal escapades. O`Nelll
conslstently rebuffed Oona`s many subsequent attempts
at reconclllatlon. Relatlons between O`Nelll and hls son
Shane collapsed when the latter was arrested for drug
possesslon and O`Nelll refused to post ball for hlm,
most probably to force hlm lnto a courtordered drug
treatment program. Shane O`Nelll contlnued to llve an
addlct`s lonely exlstence untll hls death by apparent sul
clde ln l977. Eugene O`Nelll |r. was the playwrlght`s
favorlte chlld. Intelllgent, strongwllled, and charls
matlc, Eugene |r. had carved out (and then abandoned)
a stellar academlc career at Yale Lnlverslty as a classl
clst. After the war, he trled unsuccessfully to bulld a
new career ln radlo broadcastlng, but eventually alco
hol and money problems led hlm to commlt sulclde on
25 September l950 ln Woodstock, New York. Jhe loss
of Eugene |r. was a great source of paln ln the weaken
lng playwrlght`s last years
O`Nelll`s closest relatlonshlp ln hls last years was
wlth Carlotta O`Nelll, but thls connectlon too was often
tumultuous. O`Nelll had trouble comlng to grlps wlth how
to llve as an artlst who could no longer practlce hls art,
and Carlotta O`Nelll had dlfflculty maklng the transltlon
from belng a famous man`s lover and wlfe to becomlng
the wlfe and nurse of an lnvalld. Between l917 and l950,
the couple fought often and flercely, separatlng more than
once. Lltlmately a deeper commltment reasserted ltself,
and the two reunlted. O`Nelll llved out the last part of hls
llfe ln a sulte at the Shelton Hotel ln Boston, occupylng hls
tlme readlng mystery storles, llstenlng to hls extenslve col
lectlon of jazz and blues recordlngs, and watchlng the boat
ers on the Charles Rlver from hls slttlngroom wlndows.
Jhe O`Nellls stlll llved at the Shelton when the play
wrlght dled of pneumonla on 27 November l953. Jhe
date and tlme of the funeral were kept secret from
frlends and press allke, and only a halfdozen or so peo
ple attended hls burlal at Iorest Hllls Cemetery ln Bos
ton on 2 December l953. Later examlnatlon of the
autopsy report suggested that the longterm lllness that
caused the trembllng ln hls hands and body was not
Parklnson`s dlsease but a rare degeneratlve dlsease that
attacked the cerebellum and produced Parklnson`sllke
symptoms.
Carlotta O`Nelll outllved her husband by twenty
years and played a major role ln the resurrectlon of
O`Nelll`s llterary and theatrlcal reputatlon that had
already begun wlth |ose _ulntero`s eyeopenlng revlval
of q f~ ` at the Clrcle ln the Square Jheater
(8 May l956) wlth |ason Robards |r. as Hlckey. Car
lotta O`Nelll had already contrlbuted to the O`Nelll
boom of the l950s by freelng the rlghts to i a~
g k and other late plays from Bennett Cerf
and Random House. Publlcatlon rlghts went to Yale
Lnlverslty Press, and the flrst productlon rlghts to i
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Doy`s ourvcy ivto ìglt (overrldlng O`Nelll`s severe
restrlctlons on elther productlon or publlcatlon of the
play) were glven to the Royal Dramatlc Jheater of
Stockholm and dlrector Karl Ragnar Glerow, who
staged Sven Barthel`s Swedlsh translatlon of the play ln
l957. Glerow followed Iovg Doy`s ourvcy ivto ìglt wlth
the world premleres of Huglic (l958) and an abrldged
Morc Stotcly Movsiovs (l962).
Carlotta O`Nelll gave the Swedlsh artlsts the
honor of flrst rlghts to these works because of the
Nobel award, but she also knew that a true O`Nelll
revlval (and the royaltles lt would brlng) would have to
take place ln the Lnlted States. Her cholce to lead thls
movement was _ulntero, who brought Iovg Doy`s our-
vcy ivto ìglt to the Amerlcan stage at the Helen Hayes
Jheatre on 7 November l956, where lt ran for 390 per
formances and won O`Nelll hls fourth Pulltzer Prlze. In
the l950s and l960s, _ulntero was responslble for the
New York productlons of elght dlfferent O`Nelll dra
mas, and he remalned close to Carlotta O`Nelll untll
her deterloratlng mental condltlon made communlca
tlon lmposslble. By the tlme Carlotta O`Nelll dled on l7
November l970, she and _ulntero had succeeded ln
restorlng Eugene O`Nelll to a powerful, lf posthumous,
posltlon ln world theater.
iW
'Tlc Tlcotcr !c !orlcd Ior: Tlc Icttcrs of Iugcvc U``cill
to Icvvctl Mocgowov, edlted by |ackson R. Bryer
and Ruth M. Alvarez (New Haven. Yale Lnlver
slty Press, l982);
'Iovc ovd Zdmirotiov ovd Icspcct: Tlc U``cill-Commivs
Corrcspovdcvcc, edlted by Dorothy Commlns
(Durham, N.C.. Duke Lnlverslty Press, l986);
'Zs Ivcr, Ccvc: Tlc Icttcrs of Iugcvc U``cill to Ccorgc cov
òtlov, edlted by Nancy L. Roberts and Arthur
W. Roberts (Rutherford, N.|.. Ialrlelgh Dlckln
son Lnlverslty Press, l987);
Sclcctcd Icttcrs of Iugcvc U``cill, edlted by Jravls Bogard
and Bryer (New Haven. Yale Lnlverslty Press,
l988);
Z !ivd is Iisivg: Tlc Corrcspovdcvcc of Zgvcs oultov ovd
Iugcvc U``cill, edlted by Wllllam Davles Klng
(Madlson, N.|.. Ialrlelgh Dlcklnson Lnlverslty
Press, 2000).
fW
Mark W. Estrln, ed., Covvcrsotiovs witl Iugcvc U``cill
( |ackson. Lnlverslty Press of Mlsslsslppl, l990).
_~W
|ordan Y. Mlller, Iugcvc U``cill ovd tlc Zmcricov Critic: Z
ibliogroplicol Clccllist (Hamden, Conn.. Archon
Books, l973 |l.e., l971|);
|ennlfer McCabe Atklnson, Iugcvc U``cill: Z Dcscriptivc
ibliogroply (Plttsburgh. Lnlverslty of Plttsburgh
Press, l971);
Madellne Smlth and Rlchard Eaton, Iugcvc U``cill: Zv
Zvvototcd ibliogroply (New York. Garland, l988);
Smlth and Eaton, Iugcvc U``cill: Zv Zvvototcd Ivtcrvo-
tiovol ibliogroply, 197J tlrougl 1999 ( |efferson,
N.C.. McIarland, 200l).
_~W
Arthur Gelb and Barbara Gelb, U``cill (New York.
Harper, l962; London. Cape, l962; enlarged,
New York. Harper Row, l973);
Ollvla E. Coolldge, Iugcvc U``cill (New York. Scrlbners,
l966);
Louls Sheaffer, U``cill, Sov ovd Iloywriglt (Boston. Llttle,
Brown, l968; London. Dent, l969);
Sheaffer, U``cill, Sov ovd Zrtist (Boston. Llttle, Brown,
l973);
Dorls Alexander, Iugcvc U``cill`s Crcotivc Strugglc: Tlc
Dccisivc Dccodc, 1924-19JJ (Lnlverslty Park.
Pennsylvanla State Lnlverslty Press, l992);
Stephen A. Black, Iugcvc U``cill: cyovd Mourvivg ovd
Trogcdy (New Haven. Yale Lnlverslty Press,
l999);
Gelb and Gelb, U``cill: Iifc witl Movtc Cristo (New York.
Applause, 2000).
oW
Jhomas P. Adler, 'Beyond Synge. O`Nelll`s 'Zvvo
Clristic,` Iugcvc U``cill `cwslcttcr, l2 (Sprlng
l988). 31-39;
Dorls Alexander, Iugcvc U``cill`s Iost Iloys: Scporotivg Zrt
from Zutobiogroply (Athens. Lnlverslty of Georgla
Press, 2005);
|ohn V. Antush, 'Eugene O`Nelll. Modern and Post
modern," Iugcvc U``cill Icvicw, l3 (Sprlng l989).
l1-26;
|udlth E. Barlow, Iivol Zcts: Tlc Crcotiov of Tlrcc Iotc
U``cill Iloys (Athens. Lnlverslty of Georgla Press,
l985);
Barlow, 'No HeMen Need Apply. A Look at O`Nelll`s
Heroes," Iugcvc U``cill Icvicw, l9 (Sprlng-Iall
l995). lll-l2l;
Normand Berlln, Iugcvc U``cill (New York. St. Martln`s
Press, l988);
Berlln, U``cill`s Slolcspcorc (Ann Arbor. Lnlverslty of
Mlchlgan Press, l993);
Lennart A. Bjrk, 'Jhe Swedlsh Crltlcal Receptlon of
O`Nelll`s Posthumous Plays," Scovdivoviov Studics,
38 (August l966). 33l-350;
Stephen A. Black, 'On |ason Robards as O`Nelll`s
Nletzschean Iceman," Iugcvc U``cill Icvicw, l7
(Sprlng-Iall l993). l19-l56;
389
ai_ PPN b lk
Harold Bloom, ed., Iugcvc U``cill`s Iovg Doy`s ourvcy
ivto ìglt (New York. Chelsea House, l987);
Bloom, ed., Iugcvc U``cill`s Tlc Iccmov Comctl (New
York. Chelsea House, l987);
Steven I. Bloom, 'Alcohollsm and Intoxlcatlon ln Z
Toucl of tlc Ioct," Diovysos, 2 (Wlnter l99l). 3l-39;
Jravls Bogard, Covtour iv Timc: Tlc Iloys of Iugcvc
U``cill, revlsed edltlon (New York. Oxford Lnl
Bogard, Irom tlc Silcvcc of Too Housc: Issoys obout Iugcvc c
Corlotto U``cill ovd tlc Too Housc Iloys (Danvllle, Cal..
Eugene O`Nelll Ioundatlon, Jao House, l993);
Zander Brletzke, Tlc Zcstlctics of Ioilurc: Dyvomic Structurc
iv tlc Iloys of Iugcvc U``cill ( |efferson, N.C..
McIarland, 200l);
Brletzke, 'Jraglc Vlslon and the Happy Endlng ln 'Zvvo
Clristic,` " Iugcvc U``cill Icvicw, 21 (Sprlng-Iall
2000). 13-60;
Oscar Carglll, N. Brylllon Iagln, and Wllllam |. Ilsher,
eds., U``cill ovd His Iloys: Iour Dccodcs of Criticism
(New York. New York Lnlverslty Press, l96l);
Danlel Cawthon, 'Eugene O`Nelll. Progenltor of a
New Rellglous Drama," Tlcotrc ovd Icligiov, l
(l992). 2l-30;
Mlrlam M. Chlrlco, 'Movlng Iate lnto the Iamlly.
Jragedy Redeflned ln O`Nelll`s Mourvivg ccomcs
Ilcctro," Iugcvc U``cill Icvicw, 21 (Sprlng-Iall
2000). 8l-l00;
Donald P. Costello, 'Iorglveness ln O`Nelll," Modcrv
Dromo, 31 (December l99l). 199-5l2;
Irank R. Cunnlngham, 'O`Nelll`s Beglnnlngs and the
Blrth of Modernlsm ln Amerlcan Drama," Iugcvc
U``cill Icvicw, l7 (Sprlng-Iall l993). ll-20;
Jhlerry Dubost, Strugglc, Dcfcot, or Icbirtl: Iugcvc
U``cill`s !isiov of Humovity ( |efferson, N.C..
McIarland, l997);
Kurt Elsen, Tlc Ivvcr Strcvgtl of Uppositcs: U``cill`s òvclis-
tic Dromo ovd tlc Mclodromotic Imogivotiov (Athens.
Lnlverslty of Georgla Press, l991);
Roger Iorseth, 'Denlal as Jragedy. Jhe Dynamlcs of
Addlctlon ln O`Nelll`s Tlc Iccmov Comctl and Iovg
Doy`s ourvcy ivto ìglt," Diovysos, l (Iall l989). 3-
l8;
Shella Hlckey Garvey, ''Zvvo Clristic` and the 'Iallen
Woman Genre,`" Iugcvc U``cill Icvicw, l9
(Sprlng-Iall l995). 67-80;
Jhomas B. Gllmore, 'Tlc Iccmov Comctl and the Anat
omy of Alcohollsm," Comporotivc Dromo, l8
(l981). 335-317;
Robert I. Gross, 'O`Nelll`s _ueer Interlude. Eplcene
Excess and Camp Pleasures," ourvol of Dromotic
Tlcory ovd Criticism, l2 (Iall l997). 3-22;
Llrlch Halfmann, ed., Iugcvc U``cill: Commcvts ov tlc
Dromo ovd tlc Tlcotcr: Z Sourccbool (Jblngen. G.
Narr, l987);
Mlchael Hlnden, Iovg Doy`s ourvcy ivto ìglt: òtivc Ilo-
qucvcc (Boston. Jwayne, l990);
Hlnden, 'O`Nelll and |amle. A Survlvor`s Jale," Com-
porotivc Dromo, 35 (200l-2002). 135-115;
Deborah Wood Holton, 'Reveallng Bllndness, Reveal
lng Vlslon. Interpretlng O`Nelll`s Black Iemale
Characters ln Moov of tlc Coribbccs, Tlc Drcomy Iid
and Zll Cod`s Clilluv Cot !ivgs," Iugcvc U``cill
Icvicw, l9 (Sprlng-Iall l995). 29-11;
|ohn H. Houchln, ed. Tlc Criticol Icspovsc to Iugcvc
U``cill (Westport, Conn.. Greenwood Press,
l993);
Edna Kenton, Tlc Irovivcctowv Iloycrs ovd tlc Iloywriglts`
Tlcotrc, 191-1922, edlted by Jravls Bogard and
|ackson R. Bryer ( |efferson, N.C.. McIarland,
2001);
Ward B. Lewls, 'O`Nelll and Hauptmann. A Study ln
Mutual Admlratlon," Comporotivc Iitcroturc Studics,
22 (Summer l985). 23l-213;
Mlchael Manhelm, Iugcvc U``cill`s `cw Iovguogc of Iivslip
(Syracuse, N.Y.. Syracuse Lnlverslty Press, l982);
Manhelm, ed., Tlc Combridgc Compoviov to Iugcvc U``cill
(Cambrldge New York. Cambrldge Lnlverslty
Press, l998);
|ames |. Martlne, ed., Criticol Issoys ov Iugcvc U``cill
(Boston. G. K. Hall, l981);
Marc Maufort, 'Jhe Legacy of the Amerlcan Romance
ln O`Nelll`s Expresslonlst Drama," Ivglisl Studics,
5 (l991). 32-15;
Marla J. Mlllora, òrcissism, tlc Iomily, ovd Modvcss: Z
Sclf-Isyclologicol Study of Iugcvc U``cill ovd His Iloys
(New York. Peter Lang, 2000);
Rlchard I. Moorton |r., ed., Iugcvc U``cill`s Ccvtury: Ccv-
tcvviol !icws ov Zmcrico`s Iorcmost Trogic Dromotist
(New York. Greenwood Press, l99l);
Brenda Murphy, U``cill: Iovg Doy`s ourvcy ivto ìglt:
Iloys iv Iroductiov (Cambrldge New York. Cam
brldge Lnlverslty Press, 200l);
Murphy, Tlc Irovivcctowv Iloycrs ovd tlc Culturc of Modcr-
vity (Cambrldge New York. Cambrldge Lnlver
slty Press, 2005);
Mlchael C. O`Nelll, 'Confesslon as Artlflce ln the Plays
of Eugene O`Nelll," Icvosccvcc, 39 (Sprlng l987).
130-11l;
|ohn Orlandello, U``cill ov Iilm (Rutherford, N.|.. Ialr
lelgh Dlcklnson Lnlverslty Press, l982);
|ohn Henry Ralelgh, 'Communal, Iamlllal and Per
sonal Memorles ln O`Nelll`s Iovg Doy`s ourvcy ivto
ìglt," Modcrv Dromo, 3l (March l988). 63-72;
Margaret Loftus Ranald, Tlc Iugcvc U``cill Compoviov
390
b lk ai_ PPN
Ralf Erlk Remshardt, 'Masks and Permutatlons. Jhe
Constructlon of Character ln O`Nelll`s Earller
Plays," Issoys iv Tlcotrc, 8 (May l990). l27-l36;
|ames A. Roblnson, Iugcvc U``cill ovd Uricvtol Tlouglt:
Z Dividcd !isiov (Carbondale. Southern Illlnols
Malcolm Selmon, ''Llke . . . So Many Small Jheatres`.
Jhe Panoptlc and the Jheatrlc ln Iovg Doy`s our-
vcy ivto ìglt," Modcrv Dromo, 10 (Wlnter l997).
526-539;
Yvonne Shafer, ed., Icrformivg U``cill: Covvcrsotiovs witl
Zctors ovd Zctrcsscs (New York. St. Martln`s Press,
2000);
Edward L. Shaughnessy, Dowv tlc ìglts ovd Dowv tlc
Doys: Iugcvc U``cill`s Cotlolic Scvsibility (Notre
Dame, Ind.. Lnlverslty of Notre Dame Press,
l996);
Jhomas Slebold, ed., Icodivgs ov Iugcvc U``cill (San
Dlego. Greenhaven Press, l998);
Anna Slomopoulos, 'Jhe 'Elghth o` Style`. Black
Natlonallsm, the New Deal, and Tlc Impcror
ovcs," Zriovo _uortcrly, 58 (Autumn 2002). 57-
8l;
|ohn H. Stroupe, ed., Criticol Zpprooclcs to U``cill (New
York. AMS, l988);
Egll Jrnqvlst, Iugcvc U``cill: Z Iloywriglt`s Tlcotrc
( |efferson, N.C.. McIarland, 2001);
Barbara Vogllno, ''Games` the Jyrones Play," Iugcvc
U``cill Icvicw, l6 (Sprlng l992). 9l-l03;
Ronald H. Walnscott, Stogivg U``cill: Tlc Ixpcrimcvtol
Jcors, 1920-19J4 (New Haven. Yale Lnlverslty
Press, l988);
Ross Wetzsteon, '|lg Cook, Eugene O`Nelll, and the
Provlncetown Players. Jhe Beloved Communlty
of LlfeGlvers," ln hls Icpublic of Drcoms: Crccvwicl
!illogc, tlc Zmcricov olcmio, 1910-1960 (New
York. Slmon Schuster, 2002);
|udlth Bryant Wlttenberg, 'Iaulkner and Eugene
O`Nelll," Mississippi _uortcrly, 33 (l980). 327-31l;
Jamsen Wolff, ''Eugenlc O`Nelll` and the Secrets of
Strovgc Ivtcrludc," Tlcotrc ourvol, 55 (May 2003).
2l5-231.
m~W
Jhe two most lmportant sources of blographlcal materl
als on Eugene O`Nelll are the manuscrlpt collectlon at
the Belnecke Llbrary at Yale Lnlverslty and the Shaeffer
O`Nelll Collectlon at the Charles E. Shaln Llbrary at
Connectlcut College. Other lmportant archlves are
housed at the Llbrary of Congress, the Museum of the
Clty of New York, the New York Publlc Llbrary, Prlnce
ton Lnlverslty, Harvard Lnlverslty, Cornell Lnlverslty,
the Lnlverslty of Vlrglnla, and the Lnlverslty of Jexas
at Austln.
NVPS k m i~
m~ p
Eugene O`Nelll`s dramatlc productlon has been
of a sombre character from the very flrst, and for hlm
llfe as a whole qulte early came to slgnlfy tragedy.
Jhls has been attrlbuted to the bltter experlences of
hls youth, more especlally to what he underwent as a
sallor. Jhe legendary nlmbus that gathers around celebrl
tles ln hls case took the form of herolc events created out
of hls background. Wlth hls contempt for publlclty,
O`Nelll stralghtway put a stop to all such attempts; there
was no glamour to be derlved from hls drab hardshlps
and tolls. We may lndeed conclude that the stern experl
ences were not uncongenlal to hls splrlt, tendlng as they
dld to afford release of certaln chaotlc forces wlthln hlm.
Hls pesslmlsm was presumably on the one hand an
lnnate tralt of hls belng, on the other an offshoot of the llt
erary current of the age, though posslbly lt ls rather to be
lnterpreted as the reactlon of a profound personallty to the
Amerlcan optlmlsm of old tradltlon. Whatever the source
of hls pesslmlsm may have been, however, the llne of hls
development was marked out, and O`Nelll became by
degrees the unlquely and flercely traglc dramatlst that the
world has come to know. Jhe conceptlon of llfe that he
presents ls not a product of elaborate thlnklng, but lt has
the genulne stamp of somethlng llved through. It ls based
upon an exceedlngly lntense, one mlght say, heartrent,
reallzatlon of the austerlty of llfe, slde by slde wlth a klnd
of rapture at the beauty of human destlnles shaped ln the
struggle agalnst odds.
A prlmltlve sense of tragedy, as we see, lacklng
moral backlng and achlevlng no lnner vlctorymerely the
brlcks and mortar for the temple of tragedy ln the grand
and anclent style. By hls very prlmltlveness, however, thls
modern tragedlan has reached the wellsprlng of thls form
of creatlve art, a nalve and slmple bellef ln fate. At certaln
stages lt has contrlbuted a stream of pulsatlng llfeblood to
hls work.
Jhat was, however, at a later perlod. In hls earllest
dramas O`Nelll was a strlct and somewhat arld reallst;
those works we may here pass by. Of more moment were
a serles of oneact plays, based upon materlal assembled
durlng hls years at sea. Jhey brought to the theatre some
thlng novel, and hence he attracted attentlon.
Jhose plays were not, however, dramatlcally
notable; properly speaklng, merely short storles
couched ln dlalogueform; true works of art, however,
of thelr type, and heartstlrrlng ln thelr slmple, rugged
39l
ai_ PPN b lk
dellneatlon. In one of them, q j `~
(l9l8), he attalns poetlc helghts, partly by the tender
ness ln deplctlng the lndlgence of a sallor`s llfe wlth lts
nalve llluslons of joy, and partly by the artlstlc back
ground of the play. dlrgellke Negro songs comlng from
a whlte coral shore beneath metalllcally glltterlng palms
and the great moon of the Carlbbean Sea. Altogether lt
ls a mystlcal weave of melancholy, prlmltlve savagery,
yearnlng, lunar effulgence, and oppresslve desolateness.
Jhe drama ^~ ` (l92l) achleves lts most
strlklng effect through the descrlptlon of sallors` llfe
ashore ln and about waterfront saloons. Jhe flrst act ls
O`Nelll`s masterplece ln the domaln of strlct reallsm,
each character belng deplcted wlth supreme sureness
and mastery. Jhe content ls the ralslng of a fallen Swed
lsh glrl to respectable human status by the strong and
wholesome lnfluences of the sea; for once pesslmlsm ls
left out of the plcture, the play havlng what ls termed a
happy endlng.
Wlth hls drama q e~ ^ (l922), also con
cerned wlth sallors` llves, O`Nelll launches lnto that
expresslonlsm whlch sets lts stamp upon hls 'ldea
dramas." Jhe alm of expresslonlsm ln llterature and the
plastlc arts ls dlfflcult to determlne; nor need we dlscuss
lt, slnce for practlcal purposes a brlef descrlptlon suf
flces. It endeavours to produce lts effects by a sort of
mathematlcal method; lt may be sald to extract the
square root of the complex phenomena of reallty, and
bulld wlth those abstractlons a new world on an enor
mously magnlfled scale. Jhe procedure ls an lrksome
one and can hardly be sald to achleve mathematlcal
exactltude; for a long tlme, however, lt met wlth great
success throughout the world.
q e~ ^ seeks to present on a monumental
scale the rebelllous slave of steam power, lntoxlcated
wlth hls force and wlth superman ldeas. Outwardly he
ls a relapse to prlmltlve man, and he presents hlmself as
a klnd of beast, sufferlng from yearnlng for genlus. Jhe
play deplcts hls traglcal dlscomflture and ruln on belng
brought up agalnst cruel soclety.
Subsequently O`Nelll devoted hlmself for a num
ber of years to a boldly expresslonlstlc treatment of
ldeas and soclal questlons. Jhe resultlng plays have llt
tle connectlon wlth real llfe; the poet and dreamer lso
lates hlmself, becomlng absorbed ln feverlshly pursued
speculatlon and phantasy.
q b g (l920), as an artlstlc creatlon,
stands rather by ltself; through lt the playwrlght flrst
secured any conslderable celebrlty. Jhe theme
embraces the mental breakdown of a Negro despot who
rules over a Negropopulated lsland ln the West Indles.
Jhe despot perlshes on the fllght from hls glory, hunted
ln the dead of nlght by the trolldrums of hls pursuers
and by recollectlons of the past shaplng themselves as
paralyzlng vlslons. Jhese memorles stretch back
beyond hls own llfe to the dark contlnent of Afrlca.
Here lles concealed the theory of the lndlvldual`s
unconsclous lnner llfe belng the carrler of the successlve
stages ln the evolutlon of the race. As to the rlghtness of
the theory we need form no oplnlon; the play takes so
strong a hold upon our nerves and senses that our
attentlon ls entlrely absorbed.
Jhe 'dramas of ldeas" proper are too numerous
and too dlverslfled to be lncluded ln a brlef survey.
Jhelr themes derlve from contemporary llfe or from
sagas and legends; all are metamorphosed by the
author`s fancy. Jhey play on emotlonal chords all
tlghtly strung, glve amazlng decoratlve effects, and
manlfest a neverfalllng dramatlc energy. Practlcally
speaklng, everythlng ln human llfe ln the nature of
struggle or combat has here been used as a subject for
creatlve treatment, solutlons belng sought for and trled
out of the splrltual or mental rlddles presented. One
favourlte theme ls the cleavage of personallty that arlses
when an lndlvldual`s true character ls drlven ln upon
ltself by pressure from the world wlthout, havlng to
yleld place to a makebelleve character, lts own llve
tralts belng hldden behlnd a mask. Jhe dramatlst`s
muslngs are apt to delve so deep that what he evolves
has an urge, llke deepsea fauna, to burst asunder on
belng brought lnto the llght of day. Jhe results he
achleves, however, are never wlthout poetry; there ls an
abundant flow of passlonate, pregnant words. Jhe
actlon, too, ylelds evldence ln every case of the never
slumberlng energy that ls one of O`Nelll`s greatest glfts.
Lnderneath O`Nelll`s fantastlc love of experl
mentlng, however, ls a hlnt of a yearnlng to attaln the
monumental slmpllclty characterlstlc of anclent drama.
In hls a r b (l921) he made an attempt ln
that dlrectlon, drawlng hls motlf from the New England
farmlng communlty, hardened ln the progress of gener
atlons lnto a type of Purltanlsm that had gradually
come to forfelt lts ldeallstlc lnsplratlon. Jhe course
embarked upon was to be followed wlth more success
ln the 'Electra" trllogy.
In between appeared ^ m~X p~ f
(l928), whlch won hlgh pralse and became renowned.
It ls rlghtly termed 'A Play," for wlth lts broad and
looseknlt method of presentatlon lt cannot be regarded
as a tragedy; lt would rather seem most aptly deflned as
a psychologlcal novel ln scenes. Jo lts subtltle, 'Strange
Interlude," a dlrect clue ls glven ln the course of the
play. 'Llfe, the present, ls the strange lnterlude between
the past and what ls to come." Jhe author trles to make
hls ldea clear, as far as posslble, by resortlng to a pecu
llar devlce. on the one hand, the characters speak and
reply as the actlon of the play demands; on the other,
they reveal thelr real natures and thelr recollectlons ln
392
b lk ai_ PPN
the form of monologues, lnaudlble to the other charac
ters upon the stage. Once agaln, the element of mask
lng!
Regarded as a psychologlcal novel, up to the
polnt at whlch lt becomes too lmprobable for any psy
chology, the work ls very notable for lts wealth of ana
lytlcal and above all lntultlve acumen, and for the
profound lnslght lt dlsplays lnto the lnner worklngs of
the human splrlt. Jhe tralnlng bore frult ln the real
tragedy that followed, the author`s grandest work.
j _ b~ (l93l). Both ln the story lt
unfolds and ln the destlnycharged atmosphere
enshroudlng lt, thls play keeps close to the tradltlon of
the anclent drama, though ln both respects lt ls adjusted
to modern llfe and to modern llnes of thought. Jhe
scene of thls tragedy of the moderntlme house of
Atreus ls lald ln the perlod of the great Clvll War,
Amerlca`s f~. Jhat cholce lends the drama the clear
perspectlve of the past and yet provldes lt wlth a back
ground of lntellectual llfe and thought sufflclently close
to the present day. Jhe most remarkable feature ln the
drama ls the way ln whlch the element of fate has been
further developed. It ls based upon uptodate hypothe
ses, prlmarlly upon the naturalsclentlflc determlnlsm of
the doctrlne of heredlty, and also upon the Ireudlan
omnlsclence concernlng the unconsclous, the nlghtmare
dream of perverse famlly emotlons.
Jhese hypotheses are not, as we know, estab
llshed beyond dlspute, but the alllmportant polnt
regardlng thls drama ls that lts author has embraced
and applled them wlth unfllnchlng conslstency, con
structlng upon thelr foundatlon a chaln of events as
lnescapable as lf they had been proclalmed by the
Sphlnx of Jhebes herself; thereby he has achleved a
masterly example of constructlve ablllty and elaborate
motlvatlon of plot, and one that ls surely wlthout a
counterpart ln the whole range of latterday drama.
Jhls applles especlally to the flrst two parts of the trll
ogy.
Jwo dramas, wholly dlfferent and of a new type
for O`Nelll, followed. Jhey constltute a characterlstlc
lllustratlon of the way he has of never restlng content
wlth a result achleved, no matter what success lt may
have met wlth. Jhey also gave evldence of hls courage,
for ln them he launched a challenge to a conslderable
sectlon of those whose favourable oplnlons he had won,
and even to the dlctators of those oplnlons. Jhough lt
may not at the present tlme be dangerous to defy natu
ral human feellngs and conceptlons, lt ls not by any
means free from rlsk to prlck the sensltlve consclence of
crltlcs. In Î t (l933) the esteemed wrlter of
tragedles astonlshed hls admlrers by presentlng them
wlth an ldylllc mlddleclass comedy and carrled hls
audlences wlth hlm. In lts deplctlon of the splrltual llfe
of young people the play contalns a good deal of poetry,
whlle lts gayer scenes dlsplay unaffected humour and
comedy; lt ls, moreover, throughout slmple and human
ln lts appeal.
In a~ t b (l931) the dramatlst tackled
the problem of rellglon, one that he had untll then
touched upon only superflclally, wlthout ldentlfylng
hlmself wlth lt, and merely from the natural sclentlst`s
combatlve standpolnt. In thls play he showed that he
had an eye for the lrratlonal, felt the need of absolute
values, and was allve to the danger of splrltual lmpover
lshment ln the empty space that wlll be all that ls left
over the hard and solld world of ratlonallsm. Jhe form
the work took was that of a modern mlracle play, and
perhaps, as wlth hls tragedles of fate, the temptatlon to
experlment was of great lmportance ln lts orlglnatlon.
Strlctly observlng the conventlons of the drama form
chosen, he adopted medleval nalvet ln hls presentatlon
of the struggle of good agalnst evll, lntroduclng, how
ever, novel and bold features of stage technlque. Jhe
prlnclpal character he cleaves lnto two parts, whlte and
black, not only lnwardly but also corporeally, each half
leadlng lts own lndependent bodlly llfea specles of
Slamese twlns contradlctlng each other. Jhe result ls a
varlatlon upon earller experlments. Notwlthstandlng
the rlsk attendant upon that venture, the drama ls sus
talned by the author`s rare mastery of scenlc treatment,
whlle ln the spokesman of rellglon, a Cathollc prlest,
O`Nelll has created one of hls most llfellke characters.
Whether that clrcumstance may be lnterpreted as lndl
catlng a declslve change ln hls outlook upon llfe
remalns to be seen ln the future.
O`Nelll`s dramatlc productlon has been extraordl
narlly comprehenslve ln scope, versatlle ln character,
and abundantly frultful ln new departures; and stlll lts
orlglnator ls at a stage of vlgorous development. Yet ln
essentlal matters, he hlmself has always been the same
ln the exuberant and unrestralnably llvely play of hls
lmaglnatlon, ln hls neverwearylng dellght ln glvlng
shape to the ldeas, whether emanatlng from wlthln or
wlthout, that have jostled one another ln the depths of
hls contemplatlve nature, and, perhaps flrst and fore
most, ln hls possesslon of a proudly and ruggedly lnde
pendent character.
In chooslng Eugene O`Nelll as the reclplent of the
l936 Nobel Prlze ln Llterature, the Swedlsh Academy
can express lts appreclatlon of hls pecullar and rare llt
erary glfts and also express thelr homage to hls person
allty ln these words. the Prlze has been awarded to hlm
for dramatlc works of vltal energy, slncerlty, and lnten
slty of feellng, stamped wlth an orlglnal conceptlon of
tragedy.
393
ai_ PPN b lk
lkW _~ p
Ivtroductory rcmorls by Iobcrt Irics, Dircctor of tlc
crgius Iouvdotiov, ot tlc òbcl ovquct ot tlc City Holl iv
Stocllolm, 10 Dcccmbcr 19J6:
It ls dlfflcult to explaln the vltal processes ln the
llvlng organlsm; lt ls dlfflcult to lnterpret the lnmost
essence of matter, but lt ls perhaps most dlfflcult to
sound the human mlnd and to understand the soul ln
lts shlftlng phases. Wlth passlonate lntenslty and lmpul
slve genlus Eugene O`Nelll has done thls ln hls dramas,
and one cannot but be captlvated by the masterly way
ln whlch he deals wlth the great problems of llfe.
Zs U``cill wos uvoblc to bc prcscvt, tlc spcccl wos rcod
by omcs I. rowv r., Zmcricov Clorgc d`Zffoircs:
It ls an extraordlnary prlvllege that has come to
me to take before thls gatherlng of emlnent persons the
place of my fellowcountryman, Mr. Eugene O`Nelll,
reclplent of the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature, who unfortu
nately ls unable to be present here today.
It ls an extraordlnary prlvllege because the slgnlfl
cance and true worth of the Nobel Prlzes are fully rec
ognlzed ln all advanced parts of the world. Jhe Prlzes
are justly held ln honor and esteem, for lt ls well known
that they are awarded wlthout prejudlce of any klnd by
the several commlttees whose members generously
devote much tlme and thought to the task ln thelr
charge.
In addltlon to belng a stlmulus to endeavour and
a hlgh recognltlon of achlevement, the Prlzes are valu
able ln another respect. Owlng to the complete absence
of partlallty ln the awardlng of them, they lnduce peo
ple of all countrles to thlnk ln terms of the world and
manklnd, heedless of classlflcatlons or boundarles of
any character. Jhe good lnfluence of such consplcuous
recognltlon of a partlcular achlevement thus spreads far
beyond lts speclal purpose.
Mr. O`Nelll has been prevented from belng here
today prlnclpally because the state of hls health, dam
aged by overwork, has forced hlm to follow hls doctor`s
orders to llve absolutely quletly for several months. It ls
hls hope, and I follow hls own words ln a letter to me,
that all those connected wlth the festlval wlll accept ln
good falth hls statement of the lmposslblllty of hls
attendlng, and not put lt down to arbltrary tempera
ment, or anythlng of the sort.
In vlew of hls lnablllty to attend, he promptly sent
a speech to be read on hls behalf on thls occaslon. Mr.
O`Nelll ln a letter to me sald regardlng hls speech, 'It ls
no mere artful gesture to please a Swedlsh audlence. It
ls a plaln statement of fact and my exact feellng, and I
am glad of thls opportunlty to get lt sald and on
record." It affords me great pleasure to read now the
speech addressed to thls gatherlng by Mr. Eugene
O`Nelll.
'Ilrst, I wlsh to express agaln to you my deep
regret that clrcumstances have made lt lmposslble for
me to vlslt Sweden ln tlme for the festlval, and to be
present at thls banquet to tell you ln person of my grate
ful appreclatlon.
It ls dlfflcult to put lnto anythlng llke adequate
words the profound gratltude I feel for the greatest
honor that my work could ever hope to attaln, the
award of the Nobel Prlze. Jhls hlghest of dlstlnctlons ls
all the more grateful to me because I feel so deeply that
lt ls not only my work whlch ls belng honored, but the
work of all my colleagues ln Amerlcathat thls Nobel
Prlze ls a symbol of the recognltlon by Europe of the
comlngofage of the Amerlcan theatre. Ior my plays
are merely, through luck of tlme and clrcumstance, the
most wldelyknown examples of the work done by
Amerlcan playwrlghts ln the years slnce the World
Warwork that has flnally made modern Amerlcan
drama ln lts flnest aspects an achlevement of whlch
Amerlcans can be justly proud, worthy at last to clalm
klnshlp wlth the modern drama of Europe, from whlch
our orlglnal lnsplratlon so surely derlves.
Jhls thought of orlglnal lnsplratlon brlngs me to
what ls, for me, the greatest happlness thls occaslon
affords, and that ls the opportunlty lt glves me to
acknowledge, wlth gratltude and prlde, to you and to
the people of Sweden, the debt my work owes to that
greatest genlus of all modern dramatlsts, your August
Strlndberg.
It was readlng hls plays when I flrst started to
wrlte back ln the wlnter of l9l3-l1 that, above all else,
flrst gave me the vlslon of what modern drama could
be, and flrst lnsplred me wlth the urge to wrlte for the
theatre myself. If there ls anythlng of lastlng worth ln
my work, lt ls due to that orlglnal lmpulse from hlm,
whlch has contlnued as my lnsplratlon down all the
years slnce thento the ambltlon I recelved then to fol
low ln the footsteps of hls genlus as worthlly as my tal
ent mlght permlt, and wlth the same lntegrlty of
purpose.
Of course, lt wlll be no news to you ln Sweden
that my work owes much to the lnfluence of Strlndberg.
Jhat lnfluence runs clearly through more than a few of
my plays and ls plaln for everyone to see. Nelther wlll lt
be news for anyone who has ever known me, for I have
always stressed lt myself. I have never been one of
those who are so tlmldly uncertaln of thelr own contrl
391
b lk ai_ PPN
butlon that they feel they cannot afford to admlt ever
havlng been lnfluenced, lest they be dlscovered as lack
lng all orlglnallty.
No, I am only too proud of my debt to Strlnd
berg, only too happy to have thls opportunlty of pro
clalmlng lt to hls people. Ior me, he remalns, as
Nletzsche remalns ln hls sphere, the Master, stlll to thls
day more modern than any of us, stlll our leader. And lt
ls my prlde to lmaglne that perhaps hls splrlt, muslng
over thls year`s Nobel award for llterature, may smlle
wlth a llttle satlsfactlon, and flnd the follower not too
unworthy of hls Master."
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l936. Eugene O`Nelll ls the
lkW ^~~ p~
Et ~ ~~ k mF
Born October 6th, |slc| l888, ln New York Clty.
Son of |ames O`Nelll, the popular romantlc actor. Ilrst
seven years of my llfe spent mostly ln hotels and rall
road tralns, my mother accompanylng my father on hls
tours of the Lnlted States, although she never was an
actress, dlsllked the theatre, and held aloof from lts peo
ple.
Irom the age of seven to thlrteen attended Catho
llc schools. Jhen four years at a nonsectarlan prepara
tory school, followed by one year (l906-l907) at
Prlnceton Lnlverslty.
After expulslon from Prlnceton I led a restless,
wanderlng llfe for several years, worklng at varlous
occupatlons. Was secretary of a small mall order house
ln New York for a whlle, then went on a gold prospect
lng expedltlon ln the wllds of Spanlsh Honduras. Iound
no gold but contracted malarlal fever. Returned to the
Lnlted States and worked for a tlme as asslstant man
ager of a theatrlcal company on tour. After thls, a
perlod ln whlch I went to sea, and also worked ln Bue
nos Alres for the Westlnghouse Electrlcal Co., Swlft
Packlng Co., and Slnger Sewlng Machlne Co. Never
held a job long. Was elther flred qulckly or left qulckly.
Ilnlshed my experlence as a sallor as ablebodled sea
man on the Amerlcan Llne of transatlantlc llners. After
thls, was an actor ln vaudevllle for a short tlme, and
reporter on a small town newspaper. At the end of l9l2
my health broke down and I spent slx months ln a
tuberculosls sanatorlum.
Began to wrlte plays ln the Iall of l9l3. Wrote
the oneact _ b~ `~ ln the Sprlng of l9l1.
Jhls ls the only one of the plays wrltten ln thls perlod
whlch has any merlt.
In the Iall of l9l1, I entered Harvard Lnlverslty
to attend the course ln dramatlc technlque glven by Pro
fessor George Baker. I left after one year and dld not
complete the course.
Jhe Iall of l9l6 marked the flrst productlon of a
play of mlne ln New York_ b~ `~ whlch
was on the openlng blll of the Provlncetown Players. In
the next few years thls theatre put on nearly all of my
short plays, but lt was not untll l920 that a long play
_ e was produced ln New York. It was
glven on Broadway by a commerclal managementbut,
at flrst, only as a speclal matlnee attractlon wlth four
afternoon performances a week. However, some of the
crltlcs pralsed the play and lt was soon glven a theatre
for a regular run, and later on ln the year was awarded
the Pulltzer Prlze. I recelved thls prlze agaln ln l922 for
^~ ` and for the thlrd tlme ln l928 for p~
f.
Jhe followlng ls a llst of all my publlshed and
produced plays whlch are worth mentlonlng, wlth the
year ln whlch they were wrltten.
_ b~ `~ (l9l1), _ _~~ (l9l6), q
i s~ e (l9l7), f w (l9l7), q j
`~ (l9l7), f (l9l7), q o (l9l8), _
e (l9l8), q a~ h (l9l8), t `
f j~ (l9l8), q p~ (l9l9), d (l920), ^~
` (l920, q b g (l920), a (l920),
q c j~ (l92l), q c~ (l92l-22), q e~
^ (l92l), t (l922), ^ d ` d t
(l923), a r b (l921), j~ j
(l923-25), q d~ d _ (l925), i~~ i~
(l926), p~ f (l926-27), a~ (l928 ),
j _ b~ (l929-3l), Î t
(l932), a~ t b (l932-33).
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l936. Eugene O`Nelll ls the
395
_ m~~
(29 ovuory [10 Icbruory, `cw Stylc] 1S90 - J0 Moy 1960)
h~ b~Jo~
Ulio Uvivcrsity
Jhls entry was revlsed from EvansRomalne`s Paster
nak entry ln DI J02: Iussiov Irosc !ritcrs Zftcr !orld
!or II.
BOOKS. livcts v tucloll, lntroductlon by Nlkolal
Nlkolaevlch Aseev (Moscow. Llrlka, l9l1);
Iovcrll bor`crov (Moscow. Jsentrlfuga, l9l7; revlsed,
Moscow Lenlngrad. Gosudarstvennoe lzda
tel`stvo, l929; enlarged edltlon, Moscow Lenln
grad. Oglz, l93l);
Scstro moio liv` (Moscow. Grzhebln, l922); translated
by Olga Andreyev Carllsle as My Sistcr Iifc ovd
Utlcr Iocms (New York. Harcourt Brace |ovano
vlch, l976);
Tcmy i voriotsii (Berlln. Gellkon, l923);
Ioruscl` (Lenlngrad. Gosudarstvennoe lzdatel`stvo,
l925);
Iossloy (Moscow Lenlngrad. Krug, l925)comprlses
'Detstvo Lluvers," 'Il tratto dl Apelle," 'Pls`ma lz
July," and 'Vozdushnye putl";
Ibrovvyc stilli (Moscow. Lzel, l926);
Dcviot`sot piotyi god (Moscow. Gosudarstvennoe lzda
tel`stvo, l927)lncludes 'Devlat`sot platyl god"
and 'Leltenant Shmldt";
Dvc lvigi: Stilli (Scstro moio liv`, Tcmy) (Moscow. Gosu
darstvennoe lzdatel`stvo, l927);
Ibrovvyc stilli (Moscow. Pravda, l929);
vcrivcts (Moscow. Gosudarstvennoe lzdatel`stvo,
l929);
Ullrovvoio gromoto (Lenlngrad. Izdatel`stvo plsatelel v
Lenlngrade, l93l); translated by George Reavey
as 'Safe Conduct," ln Sofc Covduct: Zv Zutobiogro-
ply ovd Utlcr !ritivgs (New York. New Dlrectlons,
l958);
Spcltorsly (Moscow Lenlngrad. Gosudarstvennoe
lzdatel`stvo khudozhestvennol llteratury, l93l);
!toroc roldcvic (Moscow. Iederatslla, l932);
Ibrovvyc stilli (Moscow. Sovetskala llteratura, l933);
Ibrovvyc stillotvorcviio (Moscow. Gosudarstvennoe lzda
tel`stvo khudozhestvennol llteratury, l933);
Iocmy (Moscow. Sovetskala llteratura, l933);
Stillotvorcviio (Lenlngrad. Izdatel`stvo plsatelel v Lenln
grade, l933);
!oduslvyc puti (Moscow. Gosudarstvennoe lzdatel`stvo
khudozhestvennol llteratury, l933)lncludes
'Povest`";
Ibrovvyc stillotvorcviio (Moscow. Gosudarstvennoe lzda
ò rovvill pocdoll (Moscow. Sovetskll plsatel`, l913);
Ibrovvyc stilli i pocmy (Moscow. Gosudarstvennoe lzda
cmvoi prostor (Moscow. Sovetskll plsatel`, l915);
Ibrovvoc (Moscow. Sovetskll plsatel`, l918);
Il Dottor ivogo, translated by Pletro Zveteremlch
(Mllan. Ieltrlnelll, l957); Russlan verslon pub
llshed as Doltor livogo (Mllan. Ieltrlnelll, l958;
Ann Arbor. Lnlverslty of Mlchlgan Press, l958);
translated by Max Hayward and Manya Hararl
as Doctor livogo (London. Colllns Harvlll,
l958; New York. Pantheon, l958); flrst complete
authorlzed edltlon, wlth lntroductlon by Evgenll
Borlsovlch Pasternak (Moscow. Knlzhnala palata,
l989);
Iogdo rogulioctsio (Parls. Izdatel`stvo llubltelel poezll
B. L. Pasternaka, l959);
Soclivcviio, 1 volumes, edlted by Gleb Struve and B. A.
Illlppov (Ann Arbor. Lnlverslty of Mlchlgan
Press, l96l)comprlses volume l, Stilli i pocmy,
1912-19J2; volume 2, Iroo 191-19S: Iovcsti,
rossloy, ovtobiogroficlcslic proivcdcviio; volume 3,
Stilli 19J6-199; Stilli dlio dctci; Stilli, 1912-
197, vc sobrovvyc v lvigi ovtoro; and Stotì i vystuplc-
viio; and volume 1, Doltor livogo;
Stillotvorcviio i pocmy (Moscow. Gosudarstvennoe lzda
tel`stvo khudozhestvennol llteratury, l96l);
Stillotvorcviio i pocmy, edlted by Lev A. Ozerov (Mos
cow. Sovetskll plsatel`, l965)lncludes 'Nabroskl";
Stilli, edlted by Zlnalda Pasternak and Evgenll Paster
nak (Moscow. Gosudarstvennoe lzdatel`stvo khu
dozhestvennol llteratury, l966);
Slcpoio lrosovitso (London. Colllns Harvlll, l969;
London. Ilegon, l969); translated by Hayward
396
_ m~~ ai_ PPN
and Hararl as q _ _~W ^ m~ (London.
Colllns Harvlll, l969; New York. Harcourt,
Brace World, l969);
p~~ m~I edlted by N. Bogoslovsky (Moscow,
l979);
s W m~ ~ I edlted by Evgenll
Pasternak and Elena Vladlmlrovna Pasternak
(Moscow. Sovetskll plsatel`, l982)lncludes i
~X
f~I 2 volumes, edlted by Evgenll Pasternak and
Elena Pasternak (Moscow. Khudozhestvennala
llteratura, l985);
p~ I 5 volumes, edlted by Evgenll Paster
nak, Elena Pasternak, Konstantln Mlkhallovlch
Pollvanov, and V. M. Borlsov, lntroductlon by
Dmltrll Sergeevlch Llkhachev (Moscow. Khu
dozhestvennala llteratura, l989-l992);
_ m~~ (Moscow. Iskusstvo, l990);
p~ I 2 volumes, edlted by Evgenll
Pasternak and V. S. Baevsky, lntroductlon by
Vladlmlr N. Al`fonsov, Blblloteka poeta,
Bol`shala serlla (Lenlngrad. Sovetskll plsatel`,
Lenlngradskoe otdelenle, l990);
_ m~~ i~W k~
~I edlted by Lazar` Ilelshman, HansBernd
Harder, and Sergel Dorzweller, Stanford Slavlc Stud
les, volume ll (Stanford, Cal.. Department of Slavlc
Languages and Llteratures, Stanford Lnlverslty,
l996);
m ~ ~I ll volumes, edlted by
Dlana Vartkesovna Jevekellan (Moscow. Slovo,
2003-2005).
b bW p t (New York. New
Dlrectlons, l919);
p mI translated by |. M. Cohen (London. Benn,
l958);
mI translated by Lydla Pasternak Slater (Ialrwarp,
L.K.. P. Russell, l958; revlsed and enlarged, l959);
^ b~ ^~I translated by Manya Hararl (Lon
don. Colllns Harvlll, l959);
f oW p ~ ^~I translated by Davld
Magarshak (New York. Pantheon, l959);
q i~ pI translated by George Reavey (London.
Peter Owen, l959);
q m _ m~~I NVNQNVSMI translated by
Reavey (New York. Putnam, l959);
mI translated by Eugene M. Kayden (Ann Arbor. Lnl
verslty of Mlchlgan Press, l959);
m ~ mI translated and edlted by Stefan Schlmanskl,
lntroductlon by Cohen (London. Benn, l959);
mI NVRRNVRVI translated by Mlchael Hararl (Lon
don. Colllns Harvlll, l960);
c mI translated by Slater (London. Allen
Lnwln, l963);
_ m~~I l NVRU Eq C i mLd f~F
397
ai_ PPN _ m~~
Tlc Iocms of Doctor livogo, translated by Donald Davle
Collcctcd Slort Irosc, translated and edlted by Chrlsto
pher Barnes (New York. Praeger, l977);
My SistcrIifc ovd Z Sublimc Molody, translated by Mark
Rudman wlth Bohdan Boychuk (Ann Arbor,
Mlch.. Ardls, l983);
Sclcctcd Iocms, translated by |on Stallworthy and Peter
Irance (New York. Norton, l983);
Iostcrvol ov Zrt ovd Crcotivity, translated and edlted by
Angela Llvlngstone (Cambrldge New York.
Cambrldge Lnlverslty Press, l985);
Tlc !oicc of Irosc, translated and edlted by Barnes (Edln
burgh. Polygon, l986)lncludes 'Suboctave
Story";
Tlc Jcor 190, translated by Rlchard Chappell (Lon
don. Spenser, l989);
Sccovd òturc, translated by Andrel Navrozov (London.
Peter Owen, l990);
Sclcctcd !ritivgs ovd Icttcrs, translated by Catherlne |udel
son (Moscow. Progress, l990);
Icoplc ovd Iropositiovs, translated and edlted by Barnes
(Edlnburgh. Polygon, l990);
My SistcrIifc, translated by Rudman and Boychuk
(Evanston, Ill.. Northwestern Lnlverslty Press,
l992).
OJHER. 'Vassermanova reaktslla," ln Iulovog (Mos
cow. Jsentrlfuga, l9l1), pp. 33-38;
'Chernyl bokal," ln !toroi sborvil Tscvtrifugi. Iiotoc
tuboidovic (Moscow. Jsentrlfuga, l9l6), pp. 39-
11;
'Gorod. Otryvkl tselogo," ln Iircv` (Moscow, l920);
'V nashu prozu" |from 'Devlat`sot platyl god"|, ln Iolo-
vod`c. Iitcroturvyi ol`movoll (Moscow Lenlngrad.
Molodala gvardlla, l926), pp. l60-l6l;
'Dvadtsat` strof s predlslovlem," ln IisotcliIrymu (Mos
cow, l928);
'Zametkl k perevodam lz Sheksplra," ln Iitcroturvoio
Moslvo (Moscow. Gosudarstvennoe lzdatel`stvo
khudozhestvennol llteratury, l956).
JRANSLAJIONS. |ohann Wolfgang von Goethe,
Toivy (Moscow. Sovremennlk, l922);
Helnrlch von Klelst, Iobityi luvsliv, Irivts Iridrill Com-
burgslii, Scmcistvo Slroffcvsltciv, and Iobcrt Cislor, ln
hls Sobrovic soclivcvii, 2 volumes, edlted by Nlkolal
Stepanovlch Gumllev and Vll`gelm Aleksandro
vlch Zorgenfrel (Moscow Petrograd. Vsemlrnala
llteratura, l923), pp. l9-l18, l19-l69;
Ben |onson, 'Al`khlmlk," ln Dromoticlcslic proivcdcviio
(Moscow Lenlngrad. Academla, l93l), pp.
30l-561;
VazhaPshavela, mcccd (Jblllsl. Zakglz, l931);
Iocty Cruii (Jblllsl. Zakglz, l935);
Cruivslic lirili (Moscow. Sovetskll plsatel`, l935);
Ibrovvyc pcrcvody (Moscow. Sovetskll plsatel`, l910);
Wllllam Shakespeare, Comlct, privts dotslii (Moscow.
Gosudarstvennoe lzdatel`stvo khudozhestven
nol llteratury, l91l);
Klelst, Iobityi luvsliv (Moscow. Iskusstvo, l91l);
Shakespeare, 'Zlma," ln ollody i pcsvi ovgliislogo
vorodo, edlted by M. M. Morozov (Moscow
Lenlngrad. DEJGIZ, l912), pp. 18-50;
Shakespeare, Iomco i Dlul`ctto (Moscow. Vsesoluznoe
upravlenle po okhrane avtorsklkh prav, l913);
Shakespeare, Zvtovii i Ilcopotro (Moscow. Gosu
darstvennoe lzdatel`stvo khudozhestvennol llte
ratury, l911);
Shakespeare, Utcllovcvctsiovslii movr (Moscow. Gosu
ratury, l915);
Cruivslic pocty (Moscow. Sovetskll plsatel`, l916);
Nlkoloz Baratashvlll, Stillotvorcviio (Moscow. Pravda,
l916);
Cruivslic pocty. Ibrovvyc pcrcvody (Jblllsl. Zarla
vostoka, l917);
Shakespeare, Ccvrill Clctvcrtyi (Moscow. DEJGIZ,
l918);
Sndor Petfl, Ibrovvoc (Moscow. Gosudarstvennoe
lzdatel`stvo khudozhestvennol llteratury, l918);
Shakespeare, Iorol` Iir (Moscow. Gosudarstvennoe
Shakespeare, !. Slclspir v pcrcvodc oriso Iostcrvolo, 2
volumes, edlted by Morozov (Moscow.
Iskusstvo, l919);
|ohann Wolfgang von Goethe, Ioust (Moscow. Gosu
ratury, l953);
Irledrlch von Schlller, Moriio Stiuort (Moscow. Gosu
ratury, l958);
Stilli o Cruii. Cruivslic pocty. Ibrovvyc pcrcvody (Jblllsl.
Zarla vostoka, l958);
Zvtologiio gruivsloi pocii (Moscow. Gosudarstvennoe
Klelst, Dromy. òvclly (Moscow. Gosudarstvennoe lzda
`c io pislu stilli. Icrcvody i pocii vorodov SSSI, edlted
by E. S. Levltlna (Moscow. Sovetskll plsatel`,
l99l).
LNCOLLECJED. 'Prelude," ln 'Borls Pasternak, the
MuslclanPoet and Composer," by Chrlstopher
Barnes, Slovico Hicrosolymitovo, l (l977). 330-335;
'Con moto" |l906|, ln 'Borls Pasternak as Composer,"
by Barnes, Icrformovcc, 6 (l982). l1;
398
_ m~~ ai_ PPN
'Irom the w~ Cycle," translated by Barnes, o~
oI 58 (l999). 298-309.
Borls Pasternak ranks among the greatest wrlt
ers of twentlethcentury Russla. Jo natlve speakers of
Russlan he ls perhaps best known and loved for hls
verse; nonnatlve speakers are rarely famlllar wlth
Pasternak`s poetry because of the dlfflcultles ln trans
latlng lt. In l958 Pasternak became the second Rus
slan wrlter to wln the Nobel Prlze ln LlteratureIvan
Alekseevlch Bunln was the flrst, ln l933and he ls
known outslde the Russlanspeaklng world prlmarlly
for hls novel a w~ (l958; translated, l958).
European and Amerlcan readers often belleve that he
won the Nobel Prlze for hls novel, but they often for
get that the Nobel commlttee noted flrst hls outstand
lng achlevements ln verse. He was clted 'for hls
lmportant achlevement both ln contemporary lyrlcal
poetry and ln the fleld of the great Russlan eplc tradl
tlon."
Pasternak scholars are able to draw on a wealth
of lnformatlon provlded by hls blographers. Yet,
because of hls own autoblographlcal works, scholars
at flrst faced a challenge ln complllng such lnforma
tlon. As Chrlstopher Barnes, Borls A. Kats, and
other scholars have polnted out, Pasternak led read
ers astray ln hls autoblographlcal essays, ln the many
autoblographlcal references found ln hls other works
of prose as well as ln hls poetlc works, and even ln
hls volumlnous correspondence. Desplte hls state
ment ln the autoblographlcal essay l~~~ ~~
(l93l; translated as 'Safe Conduct," l958) agalnst
seelng llfe as 'the llfe of the poet," Pasternak
recounted hls own llfe from the polnt of vlew of a
wrlter. He embelllshed, omltted, and transposed
events for the sake of the narratlve or a polnt he
wlshed to make. He told hls llfe through metaphors,
and lf the events dld not serve hls metaphors, he
altered those events. Jherefore, only because of the
scrupulous attentlon of hls blographers ls one able to
reconstruct the events of hls llfe.
Borls Leonldovlch Pasternak was born ln Mos
cow on 29 |anuary l890 (l0 Iebruary, New Style).
He was the flrst of four chlldren born to artlst
Leonld Oslpovlch Pasternak and planlst Rozallla
Izldorovna (Kofman) Pasternak. Both parents were
|ewlsh natlves of Odessa, hls father from a relatlvely
poor famlly and hls mother from a mlddleclass
home. Ior professlonal reasons the couple declded to
settle ln Moscow and were marrled there on l1 Ieb
ruary l889. Jhelr flrst apartment was on Jverskala
Street, near the old Jrlumphal Gate. Jhe house
remalns standlng to thls day and bears a plaque com
memoratlng Pasternak`s blrth. Jhls worklngclass
and lowermlddleclass dlstrlct ls deplcted ln a
w~ as the nelghborhood where Larlsa (Lara)
Glshar and Pasha Antlpov llve.
Pasternak`s famlly llved frugally on what
Leonld Pasternak made from the sales of hls palnt
lngs and prlvate palntlng lessons, as well as on Roza
llla Pasternak`s lncome from plano lessons. Jhe
famlly`s flnanclal clrcumstances lmproved when ln
l891 Leonld Pasternak, desplte hls |ewlsh back
ground, was lnvlted to teach at the Moscow School
of Palntlng, Sculpture, and Archltecture. Pasternak
once wrote (ln a l926 letter to poet and frlend
Marlna Ivanovna Jsvetaeva) that hls mother sacrl
flced a concert career for her chlldren. But, accordlng
to Evgenll Borlsovlch Pasternak, hls son and blogra
pher, Rozallla Pasternak contlnued to practlce for
several hours a day and perform ln solo and chamber
recltals (ln both prlvate and publlc venues) for as
long as her health permltted. After a scare ln l895,
when Pasternak and hls brother, Aleksandr, became
gravely lll for a brlef tlme, she stopped playlng ln
publlc for ten years. Apparently, her declslon to end
her publlc concerts was a source of gullt for the chll
dren. Pasternak`s lmage of hls mother`s sacrlflce ls
one manlfestatlon of a perslstent theme throughout
hls workthat of women`s dlfflcult lot.
Art and muslc were a constant part of Pasternak`s
upbrlnglng, and the careers that hls slbllngs chose
reflected thls atmosphere. Aleksandr became an archl
tect. Pasternak`s slsters, Lldlla (later known as Lydla
Pasternak Slater) and Zhozeflna (later known as |ose
phlne Pasternak) also wrote, but thelr llterary achleve
ments never approached those of thelr oldest brother.
Jhe careers of Pasternak`s parents brought the famlly
lnto contact wlth renowned artlsts, muslclans, and wrlt
ers of the perlod, lncludlng Leo Jolstoy and the poet
Ralner Marla Rllke. Meetlngs wlth both wrlters are fea
tured ln Pasternak`s llterary autoblographles l~~~
~~ and i ~ (l982, People and Posl
tlons). Both Leonld and Rozallla Pasternak encouraged
thelr son`s early pursults ln varlous dlrectlons, lnclud
lng art and muslc. Jhey wlshed hlm to be well edu
cated, regardless of hls future career path, and enrolled
hlm ln the Ilfth Classlcal Gymnaslum. Although they
preferred to send hlm to a German school ln Moscow,
they knew that graduatlon wlth a gold medal (the
equlvalent of recelvlng an A ln every subject) from a
state gymnaslum was a prerequlslte for |ews to study at
Moscow Lnlverslty wlthout belng subject to a 3 percent
admlsslons quota. Jhere was also a quota for |ews ln
the state schools, and because of thls restrlctlon Paster
nak was unable to enroll untll l90la year later than
the typlcal age of enrollment at ten.
399
ai_ PPN _ m~~
Jhe summer of l903 was momentous for Paster
nak. He met composer Aleksandr Nlkolaevlch Skrl
abln, the famlly`s nelghbor ln Obolenskoe, outslde
Moscow, where the Pasternaks rented a dacha ln the
summer. On 6 August, the Ieast of the Jransflguratlon,
Pasternak broke hls leg ln a fall from a horse; he had
been lmltatlng female bareback rlders, whom hls father
was then palntlng. Ior Pasternak thls lncldent slgnlfled
the blrth of muslc ln hlm. In a prose fragment he wrote
ten years later, he recalled that after the accldent, ln a
dellrlum, he heard the threebeat syncopated rhythm of
the gallop and fall. He noted ln i ~ that
thls lnjury kept hlm from belng drafted; he dld not
mentlon dlrectly, however, the resultlng llmp, whlch he
had for the rest of hls llfe and trled to conceal. In addl
tlon, two local deaths and one near death occurred that
summer, events reflected ln hls later wrltlng. the accl
dental death or sulclde of a man who fell onto the rall
road tracks at Obolenskoe statlon; the death of a youth
as he saved a young woman from drownlng; and the
woman`s attempt at sulclde after learnlng of her savlor`s
demlse. Jhe motlf of drownlng women appears ln Pas
ternak`s early work. Jhe rallroad death appears ln aJ
w~ as the sulclde of Andrel Zhlvago, the father
of the hero Iurll Zhlvago, at the beglnnlng of the novel.
Wantlng to become a composer, Pasternak stud
led muslc serlously throughout hls teens. Leonld and
Rozallla Pasternak were dellghted wlth thelr son`s ambl
tlon and arranged for prlvate lessons ln muslc theory
and composltlon. Pasternak also studled plano, but he
clalmed that he never achleved the technlcal faclllty that
would have allowed hlm to become a professlonal per
former. Jhroughout these years he recelved a solld edu
catlon, but hls llterary tendencles dld not become
apparent untll he was nlneteen.
Llvlng ln the center of Moscow, the Pasternak
famlly wltnessed the revolutlonary wave that swept that
clty and St. Petersburg ln l905. Pasternak later con
veyed the excltement he felt as a teenager at seelng the
revolutlon ln hls own nelghborhood ln hls long poem,
wrltten ln l925 or l926 and tltled slmply 'Devlat`sot
platyl god" (l927, Jhe Year l905). Concerned for the
famlly`s safety ln the face of lnstablllty and the threat of
pogroms, the Pasternaks left for Berlln, where both par
ents were able to carry on thelr professlonal pursults.
Arrlvlng there ln |anuary l906, they stayed ln Ger
many for elght months. Jhe sojourn gave the young
Pasternak the chance to lmprove hls German and to
lncrease hls famlllarlty wlth German llterature.
Lpon the famlly`s return to Moscow, Pasternak
contlnued hls studles at the gymnaslum, as well as hls
prlvate lessons ln muslc theory and composltlon. He
graduated, wlth the necessary gold medal, from the
gymnaslum ln l908. He was admltted to Moscow Lnl
verslty, where he declded to study law, as hls father had
done; thls course of study was deemed easy enough to
leave tlme for other pursults more relevant to the young
composer. Rozallla Pasternak resumed her concert
career and gave publlc concerts from l907 to l9ll,
when a heart condltlon forced her to stop performlng
outslde the home. At some polnt durlng thls perlod,
probably ln l909, when Pasternak was ln hls flrst year
at the unlverslty, he began to attend the meetlngs of the
llterary and artlstlc salon 'Serdarda," where he flrst par
tlclpated as a muslclan.
Desplte Pasternak`s dramatlc account ln l~J
~~ ~~ of hls declslon not to become a professlonal
composer desplte recelvlng Skrlabln`s approval, the
break was actually more gradual, as Evgenll Borlsovlch
Pasternak and Borls A. Kats have polnted out. Paster
nak`s l909 plano sonata was completed ln |une, several
months after hls Iebruary l909 meetlng wlth Skrlabln.
Moreover, there ls evldence ln hls letters of a recurrlng
deslre to return to muslc even as late as l9l6, three
years after hls graduatlon from the unlverslty.
Jhroughout hls llfe Pasternak`s verse and prose demon
strated hls profound love of muslcthematlcally and, as
several scholars have observed, sometlmes structurally.
Skrlabln played a role ln Pasternak`s next llfe step as
well. When the two men saw each other ln Iebruary
l909, the composer advlsed Pasternak to abandon the
study of law and pursue a degree ln phllosophy. In the
l909-l9l0 academlc year Pasternak was admltted to
the Iaculty of Hlstory and Phllosophy at the unlverslty.
Around thls tlme, probably after decldlng agalnst
a career as a composer, Pasternak began to wrlte. Hls
flrst fragments ln verse and prose, whlch he hld from
hls frlends and famlly, date from l909. Pasternak`s
early verse and prose reflect hls phllosophlcal studles,
hls readlng of Russlan and Irench symbollst worksas
well as the works of German Romantlcs and Rllkeand
hls love for muslc. Hls flrst poems are conservatlve ln
form and tend toward dense, scholarly language that ls
remlnlscent, as Barnes and others have noted, of the
Russlan symbollst style. In a l969 contrlbutlon to q
~ ~ (Studles ln Semlotlcs) Iurll
Mlkhallovlch Lotman shows ln hls studles of Paster
nak`s early verse fragments that he worked llke a prose
wrlter, bulldlng hls poems around phrases that appealed
to hlm and alterlng form to sult content.
Pasternak`s early prose fragments, on the other
hand, as Lazar` Ilelshman has dlscussed, constltute
what Roman |akobson called ln a l935 artlcle for p~J
o~ (Slavlc Revlew) a 'poet`s prose." More
experlmental than hls early poetry, they generally are
wlthout plot and read llke lmprovlsatlons. Sentences
tend to be elther tremendously long or ln enlgmatlc
fragments. Characters wlth symbollc names walk the
100
_ m~~ ai_ PPN
streets of Moscow, medltate on art and lnsplratlon, and
descrlbe the natural world and urban landscape as an
anlmated, personlfled unlverse. Jhese prose fragments,
flrst publlshed ln the l970s and l980s, provlde the
reader wlth valuable lnformatlon about Pasternak`s
developlng aesthetlc system. Jhe surroundlng world
that acts upon the wrlter, the notlon of objects that have
souls, the lmage of creatlvlty as the spllttlng of oneself
lnto two parts (one that dles off and another that comes
allve and calls out to an unknown force)all of these
features remalned wlth Pasternak, ln more velled and
poetlcally sophlstlcated form, throughout hls llfe.
Jhroughout hls chlldhood and youth, Paster
nak had had a close relatlonshlp wlth hls cousln ln
St. Petersburg, Ol`ga Mlkhallovna Ireldenberg.
Around l9l0 thls relatlonshlp reached lts peak. He
occaslonally vlslted her and her famlly ln St. Peters
burg. Her rejectlon of hls advances ended hls hopes
for romance, but thelr frlendshlp endured. Jhey con
tlnued to correspond untll hls death, and thelr letters,
publlshed ln both Russlan and Engllsh, reveal much
about Pasternak`s perceptlon of llterature, art, and
the creatlve process.
In l9ll Pasternak`s famlly moved to an apart
ment on Volkhonka Street, ln a bulldlng (now partly
demollshed) located next to the Museum of Ilne Arts;
they occupled thls apartment for the next two decades.
At thls tlme Pasternak flnally settled lnto a wrltlng
career and was lnvolved ln several Moscow llterary clr
cles. Jhrough the Serdarda salon, now transformed
lnto a llterary clrcle called 'Llrlka" (meanlng lyrlc
poetry or lyrlclsm), Pasternak met the poet and crltlc
Sergel Pavlovlch Bobrov, wlth whom he had a close lf
dlfflcult professlonal relatlonshlp durlng the next sev
eral years. Bobrov was an actlve organlzer, though not a
dlplomatlc person, and he played a role ln launchlng
Pasternak`s career. In Moscow, at gatherlngs of the llter
aryphllosophlcal clrcle assoclated wlth the publlshlng
house Musaget, Pasternak met some of the leadlng wrlt
ers and crltlcs of the symbollst movement, whlch
though already beglnnlng lts decllnewas stlll the relgn
lng trend ln Russlan llterature.
Dlslllusloned wlth the unlnsplrlng way that phl
losophy was taught by some of hls professors at Mos
cow Lnlverslty, Pasternak declded to study under
Hermann Cohen, a leader of the neoKantlan school,
at Marburg Lnlverslty ln the summer of l9l2. Dur
lng thls tlme abroad Pasternak declded agalnst phl
losophy as a professlon. He wrltes openly of hls
rejectlon ln l~~~ ~~ and hlnts at lt ln hls
poem 'Marburg" ( publlshed ln l9l7 ln m
~ |Over the Barrlers|). In both works he also
descrlbes a concurrent unsuccessful proposal of mar
rlage to a famlly acqualntance, Ida Vysotskala, when
she came to vlslt ln |une l9l2. In both works he blds
farewell to love and phllosophy and embraces
poetry; ln 'Marburg," ln partlcular, the speaker
appears to have made thls declslon ln one fateful
nlght. In fact, as Barnes and Evgenll Pasternak have
dlsclosed ln thelr respectlve blographles on the poet,
events ran a more gradual and loglcal course. When
Vysotskala vlslted Pasternak ln Marburg, he asked
her to marry hlm; she refused, and he accompanled
her and her slster to Berlln. Lpon Pasternak`s return
to Marburg, Cohenknowlng the dlfflcultles that
|ews faced ln thelr pursults of academlc careers ln
Russlalnvlted Pasternak to contlnue at Marburg
Lnlverslty and complete a doctorate ln phllosophy.
He decllned, however; after completlng hls summer
semester, he jolned hls famlly ln Italy and then
returned to Moscow. Jhus, unllke hls deplctlon of
thls perlod ln hls poetry and prose, Pasternak ln actu
allty sensed only gradually ln Marburg that he dld
not care for the llfe of an academlc. (In a l9 |uly let
ter to hls frlend Aleksandr |Shura| Shtlkh he referred
to career academlcs as 'beasts of lntellectuallsm.")
Although Pasternak completed hls studles at Moscow
Lnlverslty ln the l9l2-l9l3 academlc year, he
began devotlng hlmself to llterature.
On l0 Iebruary l9l3, at a Musaget meetlng,
Pasternak read a paper that became the flrst slgnlflcant
statement of hls aesthetlc vlews. What remalns of
'Slvollzm l bessmertle" (Symbollsm and Immortallty) ls
only an abstract, but lt effectlvely summarlzes the phllo
sophlcal approach that lnfluenced hls wrltlng. Pasternak
poslts the notlon of subjectlvlty as a generlc element
that exlsts outslde the lndlvldual and llves beyond each
person`s death. Jhe poet, ln search of thls 'free subjec
tlvlty" outslde and beyond hlmself, behaves llke objects
ln the surroundlng world. Jhus, already ln l9l3 Paster
nak artlculated one of the fundamental aspects of hls
aesthetlc system. the notlon of the passlve poetsome
one who ls a mere vessel of lnsplratlon and at one wlth
thlngs around hlm or her.
In Aprll l9l3, just as he was completlng hls
unlverslty studles, several of Pasternak`s poems were
publlshed ln the almanac i~I named after the llter
ary group; thls almanac, or mlscellany, was the flrst
publlcatlon by the group. Yet, i~ drew llttle reac
tlon; as Ilelshman notes ln _ m~~W q m
~ e m (l990), there was an 'epldemlc of
poetry" around l9l0, and such publlcatlons were
leglon. Jhat summer, just after graduatlon, Paster
nak wrote the rest of the poems that composed hls
flrst complete book of poetry, _ ~ (l9l1,
Jwln ln the Clouds). Jhls collectlon of twentyone
poems reveals a volce of startllng orlglnallty and,
from the polnt of vlew of Pasternak`s poetlc predeces
10l
ai_ PPN _ m~~
sors, some eccentrlclty. Hls verse mlxes styllstlc reg
lsters and lntroduces colloqulallsms, dlalect, rarely
used words, technlcal words, and forelgn words
even ln rhymlng posltlon. Aspects of Pasternak`s
mature style are evldent ln these poems, such as the
notlon of blendlng wlth the unlverse and the poet`s
tendency to be hldden behlnd objects and events ln
the surroundlng world.
In autumn l9l3 Pasternak moved to modest
lodglngs ln Moscow, away from hls parents` apartment.
In |anuary l9l1 he, Bobrov, and Nlkolal Nlkolaevlch
Aseev formed a group called 'Jsentrlfuga" (Centrl
fuge). Jhey announced to Llrlka thelr break from them
and became one of the Iuturlst alllances that rlvaled the
maln Iuturlst group, the CuboIuturlsts, whose star
poet was Vladlmlr Vladlmlrovlch Malakovsky. Jsentrl
fuga dlstlngulshed ltself among Iuturlst grouplngs as
the one whose poets most openly acknowledged thelr
debts to llterary tradltlon, both Russlan and forelgn.
Whlle the CuboIuturlsts lssued a demand to cast out
varlous poets from the 'shlp of modernlty" ln thelr
famous manlfesto, 'Poshchechlna obshchestvennomu
vkusu" (A Slap ln the Iace of Publlc Jaste), publlshed
ln a mlscellany of the same name ln l9l3, verses by
Jsentrlfuga poets featured promlnent cltatlons from the
works of thelr llterary ancestors. Valerll Iakovlevlch
Brlusov noted thls contrast ln a l9l1 artlcle ln o~~
(Russlan Jhought), ln whlch he was the flrst to call
them Iuturlsts.
Iuturlst polltlcs were hlghly fractlous, and Bobrov
was eager to lnvolve Jsentrlfuga ln the fray. In March
l9l1 he founded the Jsentrlfuga publlshlng house and
lmmedlately publlshed hls essay 'Llrlcheskala tema"
(Jhe Lyrlc Jheme) as a pamphlet. In Aprll he pub
llshed the almanac o (Brachlopod, ln Vladlmlr
Markov`s translatlon), whlch lncluded verse by Jsen
trlfuga and other poets. It also had three Iuturlst poems
by Pasternak that never reappeared durlng hls llfetlme.
More slgnlflcant from the polnt of vlew of Iuturlst poll
tlcs, however, was the publlcatlon ln o of Paster
nak`s only truly polemlcal artlcle, 'Vassermanova
reaktslla" (Jhe Wasserman Jest), ln whlch he attacked
varlous Iuturlst rlvals. Pasternak was later embarrassed
by the tone of hls artlcle and never republlshed lt. Yet,
as Ilelshman has argued, thls artlcle ls crltlcal to an
understandlng of a key concept ln Pasternak`s work,
clarlfled by |akobson ln hls groundbreaklng l935 study
of Pasternak`s poetlcs, 'Randbemerkungen zur Prosa
des Dlchters Pasternak" (Marglnal Notes on the Prose
of the Poet Pasternak, publlshed ln p~ o~).
In 'Vassermanova reaktslla," Pasternak crltlclzes the
Iuturlst poet Vadlm Shershenevlch for uslng metaphors
ln hls verse that are based on 'svlaz` po skhodstvu"
(assoclatlve connectlon by slmllarlty), whlle only 'svlaz`
po smezhnostl" (connectlon by contlngulty) ls justlflable
as a true metaphor. |akobson decoded Pasternak`s
notlon of 'contlgulty" as metonym and saw lt as the
deflnlng tralt of Pasternak`s poetlc system, ln whlch
thlngs are assoclated wlth each other, can replace one
another, and the part can represent the whole. Jhls
tralt, he argued, dlstlngulshes Pasternak`s lnnovatlve
poetlcs from that of the symbollsts, whose prlmary llter
ary devlce was metaphor. Jhus, ln hls l9l1 artlcle
Pasternak put forth a prlnclple of fundamental lmpor
tance to hls work.
o also lncludes a Jsentrlfuga 'charter,"
wrltten by Bobrov, whlch called all Iuturlstsexcept
Malakovsky and Vellmlr Khlebnlkovmedlocrltles, tral
tors, and cowards. Jhls denunclatlon prompted a meet
lng, and several poets, lncludlng Malakovsky, convened
at a caf. What happened the next day, after the meet
lng, was a turnlng polnt ln Pasternak`s career. By accl
dent he met Malakovsky at another caf, and the Cubo
Iuturlst reclted hls long poem s~ j~~W
q~~ (l9l1, Vladlmlr Malakovsky. A Jragedy) to
Pasternak. After thls eplsode Pasternak became an
admlrer of Malakovsky and hls work, and traces of
Malakovsky`s verse were evldent ln Pasternak`s poetry
for at least the next flve to ten years.
In the summer of l9l1 Pasternak was lnvlted to
stay wlth the famlly of the poet |urgls Baltrusaltls at
thelr summer home and tutor thelr elevenyearold son.
Pasternak worked on a commlsslon for Baltrusaltlsa
translatlon of Helnrlch von Klelst`s play a
h (l8ll, Jhe Broken Pltcher). Pasternak was fond of
Klelst and ln l9ll had wrltten a paper on hlm that
remalned unflnlshed and unpubllshed durlng Paster
nak`s llfetlme. He wrote another artlcle on Klelst to
accompany hls translatlon of the play, but lt has been
lost. Jhe play, whlch Pasternak translated as o~
and whlch appeared ln the journal p
(Jhe Contemporary) ln l9l5, was not staged, however,
because the Moscow Chamber Jheater refused to put
on a German playa refusal stemmlng from the polltl
cal cllmate of the tlme.
As the prospect of war loomed, the mood that
summer was grlm. In |uly l9l1 Pasternak was
called to the draft offlce, but he was deemed unsult
able for actlve duty because of hls shortened leg, a
result of hls l903 rldlng accldent. He reacted to
World War I by wrltlng about the nlghtmares of
war ln poems such as 'Durnol son" (Bad Dream),
'Artlllerlst stolt u kormlla . . ." (Jhe artlllery man
stands by the helm . . .), and ''Osen.` Otvykll ot mol
nll . . ." ('Autumn." Lnaccustomed to llghtnlng . . .),
all of whlch were flrst collected ln l9l7 ln m
~X another poem, 'Sochel`nlk" (Chrlstmas
Eve), hlnts at war.
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In the wlnter of l9l1-l9l5 Pasternak met the
flve Slnlakova slsters through Malakovsky and
Aseev, and he fell ln love wlth Nadezhda
Mlkhallovna Slnlakova. Nadezhda and her slsters
had a reputatlon as bohemlans; they had come from
Khar`kov to Moscow ln order to pursue careers ln
the arts, and several of them became romantlcally
lnvolved wlth Iuturlst poets. Accordlng to Paster
nak`s commentators, many of hls poems from the
perlod from l9l1 to l9l6 reflect hls relatlonshlp wlth
Nadezhda Slnlakova.
Durlng that wlnter Pasternak wrote hls flrst slg
nlflcant plece of prose flctlon, a story tltled 'Il tratto
dl Apelle" (Jhe Apelles Mark, flrst publlshed ln
vomio trudo: !rcmmcvil |Jhe Banner of Labor.
Annals|, l9l8; publlshed as 'Apellesova cherta" ln
the book !oduslvyc puti |Aerlal Ways|, l933). Jhe
name Apelles refers to a Greek palnter who llved
durlng the relgn of Alexander the Great. In hls com
mentary ln volume four of the l989-l992 Sobrovic
soclivcvii (Collected Works), Evgenll Pasternak
explalns that the clcrto, or mark, of the tltle ls a thln
brush stroke left by Apelles as a slgn of hls mastery
ln an artlstlc rlvalry. Jhe story ls about a flctlonal
character named Helnrlch Helne and hls meetlng
wlth an Itallan poet, Emlllo Rellnqulmlnl (ln Rus
slan, Rellnkvlmlnl), whose name, wlth an added v
(Rellnqulmlnnl), appeared ln Pasternak`s early prose
sketches. 'Apellesova cherta," a story that addresses
romantlc and artlstlc rlvalry and revenge, has been
lnterpreted by scholars as a reflectlon of Pasternak`s
rlvalrous relatlonshlp wlth Malakovsky and hls reck
onlng wlth the 'Romantlc manner," whlch he wrote
agalnst ln Ullrovvoio gromoto.
Scholars dlsagree about the ldentlty of Paster
nak`s character Helnewhether he meant to portray
hls verslon of the real Helne, or whether the name
was merely an emblem for the great German wrlter.
As Helne blographer |effrey L. Sammons has wrlt
ten, the actual Helne consldered hls body of work
the swan song of Romantlclsm and hlmself both lts
flnal representatlve and murderer. Helne was there
fore lmportant to Pasternak as a model for coplng
wlth hls own llterary ancestors. As Ilelshman asserts
ln oris Iostcrvol: Tlc Ioct ovd His Iolitics, however,
thls antlRomantlc polemlc ls not nearly as strong as
lt becomes ln Pasternak`s later work. Ilelshman sees
the story ln part as an examlnatlon of the tenuous
llne between art and reallty. Ior Evgenll Pasternak,
wrltlng ln oris Iostcrvol: Motcrioly dlio biogrofii (l989,
Borls Pasternak. Materlals for Blography), 'Apelle
sova cherta" represents Helne as both the ordlnary
and the lmmortal, reflected ln the everyday world of
the twentleth century.
In l9l5 Pasternak moved ln wlth the famlly of a
German manufacturer, Morltz Phlllpp, ln order to tutor
thelr son. In Moscow on 28 May of that year, ln an antl
German pogrom, Pasternak`s books and papers were
destroyed, and some of hls manuscrlpts were lost. Also
ln l9l5 he wrote a second theoretlcal artlcle, 'Chernyl
bokal" (Jhe Black Goblet), for Bobrov`s !toroi sborvil
Tscvtrifugi (Second Centrlfuge Mlscellany), publlshed ln
l9l6. Jhe black goblet ls the equlvalent of the slgn on
cardboard boxes that reads, 'thls end up"a call for
cautlon wlth dellcate materlals. Jhe essay ls a call for
art for art`s sake and opposes those who brlng art down
to the level of temporary squabbles, who use art for
polltlcal purposes both grand and petty. Pasternak alms
crltlclsm at, among others, Iuturlsts ln love wlth con
temporanelty and speed. He argues lnstead for a poetry
of eternlty.
In |anuary l9l6 Pasternak took an offlce job ln a
chemlcal factory ln VsevolodoVll`va, located ln the
Lral Mountalns. Accordlng to Barnes ln oris Iostcrvol:
Z Iitcrory iogroply (l989, l998), the move was most
llkely an attempt to avold the draft. Pasternak`s frlend
Konstantln Loks wrote that although Pasternak would
not have been called up because of hls dlsablllty, he
mlstakenly thought he mlght be, and he felt that work
related to the war effort could delay or prevent con
scrlptlon. Pasternak llked the change of scene, and
lmpresslons of hls half year ln the Lrals appeared later
ln hls wrltlngs. A brlef trlp to Ekaterlnburg, for exam
ple, ls reflected ln the settlng of hls story 'Detstvo Llu
vers" (Jhe Chlldhood of Lluvers, wrltten between l9l7
and l9l8, publlshed ln l922 ln òsli dvi |Our Days|);
other lmpresslons appear ln the parts of Doltor livogo
that take place ln the Lrals. In thls remote settlng Pas
ternak began to mlss muslc, and ln Iebruary l9l6, ln a
letter to hls parents, he asked them to send sheet muslc.
He settled down to wrlte fulltlme ln March but pro
duced llttle. Hls efforts lncluded several stunnlng land
scape poems and an artlcle on Wllllam Shakespeare, the
manuscrlpt of whlch has been lost. Pasternak returned
to Moscow ln |une l9l6 and began to gather poems
wrltten wlthln the last two years for hls next book of
verse, Iovcrll bor`crov. Jhese poems show the lnfluence
of Malakovsky and of Iuturlst poetlcs. Iovcrll bor`crov
recelved much more favorable crltlcal attentlon than
had hls flrst book of verse. Most lmportant to Paster
nak, hls father llked lt; prevlously, Leonld Pasternak
had expressed dlsapproval of hls son`s career cholce
and early wrltlng efforts.
In October, Pasternak left Moscow agaln to take a
job slmllar to the one ln VsevolodoVll`va. He traveled
to a place called Jlkhle gory (_ulet Mountalns), on the
rlver Kama, west of the Lrals, and worked there ln a
chemlcal plant at a job arranged for hlm by an acqualn
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tance he had met ln the Lrals, a blochemlst named
Borls Il`lch Zbarsky, who became a soclallst revolutlon
ary. Pasternak`s job lnvolved savlng from conscrlptlon
local workers whose clvlllan work was necessary for the
war effort. In December l9l6 he hlmself was perma
nently released from mllltary servlce. Jhat fall he
worked on translatlons of verse and of a play, Clostclord
(l865), by A. C. Swlnburne; however, he dld not com
plete the project. Durlng hls stay ln Jlkhle gory, Paster
nak also wrote several poems that appeared ln hls
collectlon Tcmy i voriotsii (l923, Jhemes and Varlatlons),
and fragments of longer poems tltled 'Gorod" (Jhe
Clty, publlshed wlth the subtltle 'Otryukl tselogo"
|Excerpts|, l920) and 'Nabroskl. Iantazlla o bllzhnem"
(l965, Sketches. Iantasy about Someone Close). Jhese
long poems were never completed. In addltlon, he
wrote an ecstatlc revlew of Malakovsky`s poetry collec
tlon Irostoc lol myclovic (l9l6, Slmple as Moolng), as
well as a revlew of Aseev`s Ulsovo (l9l6).
In the wlnter of l9l6 Pasternak wrote (but dld
not flnlsh) a story that recalled aspects of hls llfe ln Ber
lln ten years earller, such as the romantlc fllghts of fancy
and horror ln the tales he had read there and hls experl
ences llstenlng to organ muslc, a sound unfamlllar to
most Russlans. In 'Istorlla odnol kontroktavy" (trans
lated as 'Suboctave Story," l986), a pecullar Gothlc
plece that was not publlshed ln Pasternak`s llfetlme, an
organlst lnadvertently murders hls small son. Jhe boy
crawls lnslde the lnstrument and qulckly gets entangled
ln lts worklngs; he dles as hls father, absorbed ln the
muslc, plays the organ, not reallzlng untll too late what
has happened. Jhe narrator expresses sympathy for the
father, an artlst ln a provlnclal town of phlllstlnes who
reject hlm as a murderer and parlah. Later, Pasternak
was so ashamed of the story that he trled to burn lt. Hls
son saved the manuscrlpt, however, and publlshed lt ln
Israel ln l977, many years after Pasternak dled, ln the
journal Slovico Hicrosolymitovo.
Pasternak went back to Moscow ln March l9l7
as soon as he learned about the Iebruary uprlslng.
Llberal reactlonslncludlng those of the Pasternak
famllyto the Iebruary Revolutlon were hlghly posl
tlve. Jhe ecstatlc receptlon of the flrst revolutlon and
Pasternak`s new romantlc relatlonshlp wlth Elena
Vlnograd are reflected ln hls thlrd book of verse,
Scstro moio liv` (l922; translated as My Sistcr Iifc ovd
Utlcr Iocms, l976). He had met Vlnograd, the cousln
of hls close frlend Shura Shtlkh, ln l909. She was
engaged to another acqualntance, Sergel Llstopad
(the son of phllosopher Lev Shestov), who was kllled
ln actlon. After Llstopad`s death, a romance began
between Pasternak and Vlnograd.
Scstro moio liv` ls Pasternak`s most coheslve
book of poetry and, by many accounts, hls most suc
cessful. It conslsts of flfty poems dlvlded lnto tltled
cycles, or chapters, of two to slx poems each. Jhe book
descrlbes hls romance wlth Vlnograd ln Moscow, hls
vlslt to her ln Saratov provlnce, urban and rural land
scapes ln the sprlng and summer, and Moscow street
demonstratlons ln favor of the reglme led by Aleksandr
Iyodorovlch Kerensky; the verses ln thls collectlon also
examlne the nature of poetry and the creatlve process.
Scstro moio liv` was not publlshed untll l922prlmarlly
because of prlntlng and other loglstlcal dlfflcultles stem
mlng from the Russlan Clvll War. Reactlons to the
book were swlft and ecstatlc. lt flrmly establlshed
Pasternak`s career. Yet, wrlters wlth more conservatlve
tastes, such as the mlgre poet Vladlslav Khodasevlch
and the mlgr crltlc Vladlmlr Weldl, dlsllked lts mod
ernlst complexlty, whlch they percelved as shallow
mannerlsm. In addltlon, Communlst crltlcs ln l922 and
afterward wrote dlsparaglngly of Pasternak`s apparent
lack of polltlcal engagement ln hls work.
Pasternak conveyed the polltlcal sltuatlon of these
years ln an unflnlshed verse drama on whlch he
worked ln the summer of l9l7. 'Dramatlcheskle
otryvkl" (Dramatlc Iragments), publlshed ln vomio
trudo ln l9l8, juxtaposes the revolutlonary vlews of
Maxlmlllen Robesplerre and the phllosophlcal muslngs
of Louls de Salnt|ust, who sees revolutlon as a creatlve
act of selfsacrlflce. It ls also a battle of reason and emo
tlon. Jhe reader can see Pasternak sldlng wlth Salnt
|ust and recolllng at the cold calculatlons of Robespl
erre. Barnes notes the lmportance of thls unflnlshed
work as a precursor of the polltlcal arguments ln Doltor
livogo.
Durlng the years l9l7 to l92l Pasternak was
busy wrltlng poems (for hls fourth book of verse, Tcmy i
voriotsii ) and short prose works, some of whlch rank
among hls best. In the autumn of l9l7 he wrote the
story 'Detstvo Lluvers," about a glrl`s comlng of age
(Iiuvcrs ls the Russlan renderlng of the Irench and
Engllsh word 'louvers," referrlng to a type of wlndow
bllnd). Angela Llvlngstone wrltes ln oris Iostcrvol: Dol-
tor livogo (l989) that thls story ls 'generally regarded
as Pasternak`s prose masterplece." It stands out because
of the clarlty of lts language, vlslon, and moral message;
lts perceptlveness ln the psychologlcal portrayal of a
sensltlve glrl on the edge of womanhood; and lts mod
ernlst statements about the relatlonshlp of the word and
the thlng. Jhe herolne, who has the androgynous name
Zhenla Lluvers, matures ln three dlfferent ways. lntel
lectually, by matchlng thlngs wlth thelr names; physl
cally, when she experlences her flrst menstrual perlod;
and emotlonally, by becomlng aware of the fates of
other peopleranglng from her mother, who mlscarrled
after wltnesslng an accldent, to a stranger who was
kllled ln that accldent. Zhenla has many tralts ln com
101
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mon wlth Pasternak`s sensltlve male wrlterheroes. In
both verse and correspondence he wrote of hls sympa
thy wlth 'women`s lot," and thls story, whlch takes
place ln an overwhelmlngly female world, ls one of hls
most eloquent expresslons of such empathy. Jhe story
contlnues the tradltlon of Russlan narratlves about
chlldhood (by Jolstoy, for example) yet departs from lt
ln lts modernlst senslbllltles. 'Detstvo Lluvers" ls wrlt
ten ln a language unusually clear for early Pasternak. It
was well recelved by wrlters such as Iurll Nlkolaevlch
Jynlanov and Mlkhall Alekseevlch Kuzmln.
In hls story 'Pls`ma lz July" (Letters from Jula,
wrltten ln l9l8, publlshed ln l922 ln Slipovvil |Wlld
Rose|), Pasternak explores the contrast between true art
and lmltatlon, or falsehood, through the letters of a poet
who observes actors playlng falsely ln art and llfe. Jhe
poetnarrator reallzes the moral slgnlflcance of art and
hls obllgatlon to be truthful to lt and thus to hlmself.
Jhe same thlng happens ln the second part of the story
to an old actor who goes through hls gestures, replaylng
an eplsode from hls past, and reallzes that he ls only the
medlum for a hlgher force. Wrltten ln both eplstolary
and dlary form, 'Pls`ma lz July" expresses Pasternak`s
vlews on lnsplratlon. the wrlter plays a passlve role and
must therefore be receptlve.
Another l9l8 story, 'Bezllubè" (Lovelessness),
orlglnally a chapter from an unflnlshed novella and flrst
publlshed ln the journal vomio trudo, ls based on Pas
ternak`s return from the Lrals to Moscow ln l9l7, dur
lng whlch, at one polnt, he took a long slelgh rlde to the
traln statlon ln Kazan` together wlth soclallst revolutlon
ary Zbarsky. Jhe story centers on the dedlcatlon of a
man for whom the dream of revolutlon ls dearer than
hls llfe. Jhe revolutlonary and hls travellng companlon
are reflectlons of Zbarsky and Pasternak hlmself; as
Barnes polnts out ln the translated collectlon Tlc !oicc of
Irosc (l986), the characters serve as prototypes for the
opposltlon of Antlpov and Zhlvago ln the novel.
Durlng thls perlod Pasternak drafted one of hls
most quoted essays on art, 'Neskol`ko polozhenll"
(Several Proposltlons), wrltten ln December l9l8
and revlsed ln l922, the same year lt was publlshed
ln Sovrcmcvvil. In thls essay he makes expllclt hls
notlon of the passlve artlst. art ls a 'sponge," not a
'fountaln"; a book ls unaware of anythlng outslde of
ltself. Pasternak compares the obllvlon of art to a
matlng grouse, whlch ls aware only of lts need to
reproduce and therefore to slng. He also wrltes on
the role of consclence ln art and of the unlty of art
across the ages. Proud of 'Neskol`ko polozhenll,"
Pasternak had lntended to make lt the flrst ln a col
lectlon of art essays, tltled '_ulnta essentla" (Ilfth
Essence), but thls plece was the only one he flnlshed.
Jhe years from l9l8 to l92l were extremely
dlfflcult for all Russlans. Muscovltes, lncludlng Pas
ternak, suffered many prlvatlons. Tcmy i voriotsii, hls
next book of verse, lncludes poems that portray the
dlfflcultles, lllnesses, and fears of thls perlod. Evgenll
Pasternak vlews Scstro moio liv` and Tcmy i voriotsii as
opposlte sldes of the same coln. If ln the former, he
asserts (ln oris Iostcrvol: Motcrioly dlio biogrofii ),
nature lmagery ls full of llfe, ln the latter lt ls often
rendered artlflclal or mechanlcal through settlngs
such as a pleasure garden, or through metaphors
such as a watch. One of the lllnesses ln thls book ls
the revolutlon; the lllness from whlch the poet suf
fers, as descrlbed ln the cycle 'Boleza`," ls blended
metonymlcally wlth that of the postOctober reglme
ln verse so dlfflcult that the censors bypassed such
references. In these years flnanclal dlfflcultles and the
vlrtual lmposslblllty of publlshlng creatlve work also
forced Pasternak to turn to translatlon asslgnments
for lncome; translatlon work supported hlm for the
rest of hls llfe.
Pasternak`s parents and slsters left for Berlln ln
l92l, after the clvll war had ended. Pasternak and
hls brother, Aleksandr, declded to stay and remalned
ln two of the famlly`s rooms ln the apartment on
Volkhonka; they gave the other rooms to acqualntan
ces, rather than walt for them to be occupled by
strangers durlng thls era of communallzatlon. Jhat
year Pasternak met Evgenlla (Zhenla) Vladlmlrovna
Lurè, who became hls flrst wlfe; she had moved to
Moscow from Petrograd (formerly St. Petersburg) to
study art and establlsh her career. Jhey were mar
rled ln Petrograd ln Iebruary l922.
In l922 Pasternak made two slgnlflcant acqualn
tances. he met fellow poets Oslp Emllèvlch Man
del`shtam and Jsvetaeva. Mandel`shtam, a Petersburg
poet, had moved to Moscow that year. Jhelr acqualn
tance grew lnto a dlstant frlendshlp, one based on
mutual respect comblned wlth an awareness of thelr
strong personal and artlstlc dlfferences. Jhey contlnued
to meet and correspond untll Mandel`shtam was exlled
to Voronezh ln l931. In l922 Pasternak also recelved a
copy of Jsvetaeva`s collectlon !crsty: Stilli (l92l, Mlle
posts. Poems) and was ln awe of lt. He and Jsvetaeva
had met before only ln passlng. He wrote her to pralse
her work, but by thls tlme she had left Moscow for Ber
lln. Soon afterward she read Scstro moio liv` and wrote
the essay 'Svetovol llven`" (A Downpour of Llght, pub
llshed ln l922 ln the journal Ipopciio |Epos|), a work of
art ln lts own rlght. Pasternak and Jsvetaeva struck up
a correspondence.
In August l922 Pasternak and hls wlfe left for
Berlln. Pasternak took hls manuscrlpt for Tcmy i voriotsii
to Berlln, lntendlng to publlsh lt there; lt came out, pub
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llshed by Gellkon, at the beglnnlng of l923. At thls
tlme Berlln was a center of Russlan culture abroad,
almost as vltal as Parls. Many Russlan wrlters llved ln
Berlln, and desplte the shock of seelng lts postwar con
dltlons, the stay there was pleasant for Pasternak. He
and hls wlfe planned to stay for a year but left for Rus
sla early, ln March l923, because of her pregnancy.
Jhelr son, Evgenll Pasternak, was born ln Moscow that
September.
In l921 Pasternak agaln turned to short prose flc
tlon wlth hls story 'Vozdushnye putl" ( publlshed the
same year ln o |Jhe Russlan Contem
porary|). As Larlssa Rudova lndlcates ln r~
_ m~~ (l997), thls story antlclpates a
w~I partlcularly ln the way the l9l7 Revolutlon ls
treated ln the plot of the novel. Wrltlng ln q s
mI Barnes notes that ln 'Vozdushnye putl" Pasternak
applles a greater harshness to hls deplctlon of the Bol
shevlk era. Jhe love trlangle ln the story also resembles
the one ln a w~I although the gender roles are
the opposlte of those ln Pasternak`s novel. In thls two
part story a woman`s son ls kldnapped. Jhe herolne,
Lella, persuades her lover, Pollvanov, that the chlld ls
hls, and both he and her husband search for the boy,
who ls found. In the second part the boy, now grown,
has been arrested by the Bolshevlks. Once agaln Lella
appeals to Pollvanov, now a Red Army offlcer, to save
hlm. But the appeal comes too late. her son has already
been executed. Jhe prose ln thls story ls much more
complex and elllptlcal than that of 'Detstvo Lluvers" or
'Pls`ma lz July." As ln a later story, 'Povest`" (A Jale,
flrst publlshed ln full ln k |Jhe New World|,
l929), the plot of 'Vozdushnye putl" ls dlfflcult to fol
low, and the style ls remlnlscent of Pasternak`s verse
technlque. Jhe story shows hls growlng lnterest ln the
fate of the lndlvldual ln hlstory. Accordlng to Evgenll
Pasternak ln _ m~~W j~~ ~ ~I the
orlglnal draft, whlch was longer, has been lost. Paster
nak was asked to shorten the story for publlcatlon, and
Barnes notes ln hls blography of the poet that lt was
also cut by censors.
Pasternak contlnued to wrlte verse ln the l920s,
though not at nearly the same rate as ln the l9l0s. He
wrote some landscape poems, as well as verse dedlcated
to Jsvetaeva and Anna Andreevna Akhmatova.
Malnly, however, hls verse ln the l920s turned toward
eplc forms. In l923 he wrote hls flrst major long poem,
'Vysokala bolezn`" (Lofty Malady, flrst varlant pub
llshed ln l921 ln the journal ibc ), about the llnked lll
nesses of revolutlon and art. In thls dark era wrlters
such as Pasternak and Mandel`shtam could see that
thelr age was over, and Pasternak wrltes ln 'Vysokala
bolezn`" of artlsts, lncludlng hlmself, deplctlng thelr
own demlse. He revlsed the poem substantlally and
publlshed lt anew ln l928 ln the journal k W there
he descrlbes Vladlmlr Ilylch Lenln, wlthout namlng
hlm, ln a manner that ls at once ecstatlc and frlghtenlng.
A second eplc poem of the l920s ls 'Devlat`sot platyl
god," about hls experlences as a teenager wltnesslng the
l905 Revolutlon. Jhls work ls not merely a memolr,
however. In order to recreate the splrlt of the events
that occurred ln l905, Pasternak researched materlals
from the era, and the poem ls wrltten ln a style remlnls
cent of a documentary.
Durlng thls tlme, after a lapse of several years,
Pasternak resumed hls correspondence wlth Jsvetaeva.
In late March l926 he read ln manuscrlpt form her new
'Poema kontsa" (Poem of the End), publlshed that year
ln the mlscellany h (Jhe Ark). On the same day
that he recelved Jsvetaeva`s poem, a letter from hls
father came, ln whlch he wrote that Rllke had read and
llked Pasternak`s work. Pasternak wrote Rllke a letter
thanklng hlm and expresslng hls debt to the poet`s own
work. He asked Rllke to send a copy of hls a
b (l923, Dulno Elegles) to Jsvetaeva, whose work
Pasternak pralsed. Rllke dld so, and a threeway corre
spondence among the poets developed. Jhls exchange
ls one of the most extraordlnary eplstolary events ln
twentlethcentury Russlan llterature. It provldes a rlch
source of lnformatlon on the poets` thoughts about art,
thelr own and others` work, and the essence of creatlv
lty and lts sources. It also reveals slgnlflcant blographl
cal lnformatlon about Pasternak and Jsvetaeva. Jhe
extraordlnary threeway correspondence was ln part
romantlc. Pasternak and Jsvetaeva exchanged what
could be consldered love letters, and Jsvetaeva`s letters
to the already alllng Rllke were also passlonate. After a
perlod of lntense correspondence, by September l926
the wrlters had fallen lnto an awkward sllence, and Pas
ternak and Jsvetaeva resumed wrltlng to each other
only after Rllke`s death at the end of that year. Paster
nak`s and Jsvetaeva`s letters from l926 to l928 lnclude
dlscusslons of plans for hlm to vlslt her or even to joln
her ln emlgratlon, although the plans never came to fru
ltlon for varlous reasons, both personal and profes
slonal. Jhe two poets contlnued to exchange letters,
wlth decreaslng lntenslty after l928, untll l935.
In the summer of l926 Pasternak`s wlfe and son
went to vlslt hls famlly ln Germany; Evgenlla Pasternak
also hoped to be cured of the tuberculosls she had con
tracted durlng the Russlan Clvll War. Jhelr marrlage, a
stressful relatlonshlp between two artlsts, had been
stralned further by hls correspondence wlth Jsvetaeva.
Evgenlla Pasternak returned to Moscow wlth thelr son
ln October l926, and the famlly resumed llvlng
together ln thelr cramped quarters at the Volkhonka
apartment.
106
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Pasternak`s next eplc poem, 'Leltenant Shmldt"
(l927, Lleutenant Schmldt), recounts another event of
l905. a naval mutlny agalnst the tsarlst offlcer of a shlp,
led by the lleutenant of the tltle, who was trled and exe
cuted. Pasternak conducted research on thls lncldent,
quotlng extenslvely from some of the documents.
Schmldt, llke Pasternak`s other revolutlonary heroes, ls
of a phllosophlcal turn of mlnd, and, ln Chrlstllke fash
lon (expressed through a blbllcal quotatlon), he ls pre
pared to sacrlflce hlmself for the sake of hls fellow men
and a hlgher cause. Pasternak dedlcated the work to
Jsvetaeva; he wrote the dedlcatlon ln verse, wlth her
name ln an acrostlc. Yet, she was dlsappolnted ln the
weakness of the protagonlst. Once he learned of her
low oplnlon of the poem, he asked to have the dedlca
tlon removed. Iurthermore, the acrostlc had put hlm ln
polltlcal trouble, slnce the mentlon of Jsvetaeva`s name
was no longer permltted ln Sovlet publlcatlons.
Pasternak wrote a novel ln verse, Spcltorsly,
between l925 and l93l. It was publlshed serlally ln
varlous journals (Irug |Jhe Clrcle|, Iovsl |Jhe Ladle|,
Irosvoio vov` |Red Vlrgln Soll|, and òvyi mir) from l925
to l930 and subsequently came out ln a separate edl
tlon ln l93l. Spcltorsly ls closely related to hls fragmen
tary poem 'Dvadtsat` strof s predlslovlem" (Jwenty
Stanzas wlth an Introductlon, wrltten ln l925, pub
llshed ln l928), from whlch lt developed, and to hls
unflnlshed work ln prose 'Jrl glavy lz povestl" (l922,
Jhree Chapters from a Story) and 'Povest`." Jhe actlon
of 'Povest`" takes place durlng the gap of tlme left ln
Spcltorsly; thus, the two works can be consldered lnter
locklng. All three works have autoblographlcal ele
ments. Jhe tltle character of Spcltorsly ls a Moscow
lntellectual, someone who would have been Pasternak`s
contemporary. Jhe protagonlst feels lsolated ln a
changlng world and ln hls romantlc pursults, lncludlng
an affalr wlth another character, Marla Il`lnaamong
whose prototypes, as Pasternak hlmself acknowledged,
was Jsvetaeva. Jhe poet recognlzed herself and certaln
settlngs ln the story. As Ilelshman notes ln oris Iostcr-
vol: Tlc Ioct ovd His Iolitics, the work emerges ln frag
mentary fashlon; the plotllne and the characterlzatlon
of the hero are only vaguely deflned.
Jhe plot of Pasternak`s l929 story 'Povest`" ls
also vague. Its hero has the same name, Spektorsky.
'Povest`" tells the story of a young wrlter who has
romantlc llalsons wlth two utterly dlfferent women. a
Danlsh woman resldlng as a companlon ln the house
hold where he works as a tutor, and a prostltute
named Sashka. Hls opposlte, or foll, ls a man of the
new age named Lemokh. Durlng the course of 'Povest`"
the protagonlst works on hls own story, whlch con
cerns an artlstlc hero named Y3 (Igrek Jretll) who
sells hlmself to the hlghest bldder ln order to support
the women, both enslaved ln dlfferent ways. Here
agaln Pasternak wrltes of the opposltlon between
lntellectual and revolutlonary, developlng a theme
that became lncreaslngly lmportant to hlmartlstlc
martyrdom. Jhls theme had appeared ln earller
works, such as ln Tcmy i voriotsii, and lt became more
pronounced and perslstent through the years.
At thls tlme, wlth the wrltlng of Ullrovvoio gro-
moto, whlch he had begun ln l927, Pasternak moved
from the lmpllcltly autoblographlcal to the expllcltly
autoblographlcal. In thls long essay he formulates hls
professlonal comlngofage ln terms of hls meetlngs wlth
three mentors. flrst wlth Skrlabln (muslc), then wlth
Cohen (phllosophy), and flnally wlth Malakovsky (llter
ature). Hls l900 meetlng wlth Rllke, to whose memory
he dedlcated the work, serves as an lntroductlon. As
Evgenll Pasternak and hls wlfe, Elena Vladlmlrovna
Pasternak, note ln the l989-l992 Sobrovic soclivcvii,
Pasternak had begun Ullrovvoio gromoto wlth the lnten
tlon, concelved before Rllke`s death ln l926, of wrltlng
an artlcle about Rllke and had conducted research
about the poet`s llfe. Rllke`s death changed the focus of
Ullrovvoio gromoto, but hls work remalned the orlglnal
lnsplratlon.
Although Ullrovvoio gromoto cannot be treated llt
erally as an autoblography, lt provldes a path toward an
understandlng of Pasternak`s emergence as a poet. He
wrote lt at the mldpolnt of hls careera tlme when,
under tremendous socletal pressure and lnternal straln,
he was reassesslng hls work. Irom thls work forward he
declared open war on what he ldlosyncratlcally labeled
the 'romantlc manner." He explalns thls stance ln
Ullrovvoio gromoto as 'the treatment of one`s llfe as the
llfe of a poet." He means, among other thlngs, the self
consclousness and hyperbole of hls own age, whlch
lncludes hls symbollst predecessors and hls Iuturlst
contemporarles. Pasternak had fought for years agalnst
Malakovsky`s lnfluence ln hls work, and hls personal
relatlons wlth Malakovsky soured throughout the
l920s, as the CuboIuturlst had become the poet of the
October Revolutlon. Llke the revolutlonary Antlpov ln
Doltor livogo, Malakovsky became a vlctlm of crushed
ldeals. He reallzed by the late l920s that he was falllng
out of step wlth the course of Sovlet hlstory, whlch
caused hlm great despalr. More personal lssues led hlm
to commlt sulclde ln l930.
Pasternak`s crltlcal reassessment of hls wrltlngs
prompted hlm ln l928, whlle worklng on Ullrovvoio
gromoto, to revlse many of the poems from hls flrst
two books, livcts v tucloll and Iovcrll bor`crov. He
trled to rld them of 'romantlc" elements, lncludlng
forelgn words, openly autoblographlcal references,
and hyperbollc lntonatlon. Elena Pasternak argues ln
a l970 contrlbutlon to Iussloc i orubclvoc ioylovovic
107
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(Russlan and Iorelgn Llngulstlcs) that the poet
sought to clarlfy hls work wlth these l928 revlslons.
Ilelshman contends ln oris Iostcrvol v dvodtsotyc gody
(l98l, Borls Pasternak ln the l920s), however, that
Pasternak often made hls poems more obscure. Both
assessments are correct, lf one looks at the revlslons
from dlfferent polnts of vlew. Pasternak does make
hls verse obscure or vague by omlttlng assoclatlve
llnks, references to the lyrlcal 'I," and other elements
that mlght help the reader trace a llne of thought;
through opaclty he dlstances hlmself from the reader.
On the other hand, he saw the revlslons as a clarlflca
tlon of hls aesthetlcs, and from thls polnt of vlew
they accompllsh the task of eraslng the poetlc 'I,"
whlch he saw as a slgn of the 'romantlc manner."
In l930 Pasternak`s personal llfe underwent a slg
nlflcant change. Jhat summer hls famlly rented a dacha
close to those of hls brother and slsterlnlaw and two
couples who were famlly frlends. One of these frlends
was the planlst Genrlkh Gustavovlch Nelgauz and hls
wlfe, Zlnalda Nelgauz. Pasternak fell ln love wlth
Zlnalda Nelgauz, and that autumn ln Moscow he con
fessed hls love to her, her husband, and Evgenlla Paster
nak. He and Nelgauz remalned frlends, but the
marrlages of both men broke up ln l93l. In Iebruary
l93l Pasternak separated from hls wlfe, and ln May he
saw her and thelr son off to Germany, where hls rela
tlves took care of her. Later that month he traveled wlth
a brlgade of wrlters to the Lrals for about two weeks
on an asslgnment to vlslt lndustrlal sltes, but he left
before the end of the project and returned to Moscow
ln early |une. In |uly he traveled to Georgla wlth
Zlnalda Nelgauz. Evgenlla Pasternak returned wlth
thelr son to Moscow at the end of l93l. Professlonal
prospects ln l930s Germany were grlm; she was ln
tlght flnanclal stralts. Around thls tlme Pasternak mar
rled Zlnalda Nelgauz, and ln the sprlng of l932, accord
lng to Evgenll Pasternak ln oris Iostcrvol: Motcrioly dlio
biogrofii, he settled wlth her ln a cramped apartment
(then called the Herzen House, now known as the Llt
erary Instltute) located on Jverskol Boulevard. In Sep
tember l932 Evgenlla Pasternak agreed to swltch
apartments, and Pasternak, hls new wlfe, and her chll
dren moved lnto the rooms on Volkhonka.
Pasternak`s next major book of verse, hls flfth to
be publlshed, reflected both personal and aesthetlc
changes. !toroc roldcvic (Second Blrth) was wrltten
between l930 and l932 and appeared as a book ln
l932. In lt he expresses hls deslre to recreate hlmself as
a poet and slmpllfy hls work so that all hls readers
would be able to understand lt. Jhese poems are
clearer ln meanlng than both hls earller poems and the
l928 revlslons of hls youthful verse. Yet, much ln these
poems remalns obscure, though not to the extent of the
rlddles posed ln hls earller work.
After thls book Pasternak`s poetlc output decllned
sharply. Jhe release of !toroc roldcvic colnclded wlth
the formatlon of the Lnlon of Sovlet Wrlters (Wrlters`
Lnlon), a development that, as Ilelshman notes ln oris
Iostcrvol: Tlc Ioct ovd His Iolitics, Pasternak dld not cele
brate wlth hls colleagues. Durlng the l930s and ln sub
sequent decades, he earned hls llvlng through
translatlons. He turned hls attentlon flrst to the work of
Georglan poets, lncludlng hls frlends Jltslan Jabldze
and Paolo Yashvlll. Jhe translatlon of these poets` work
was polltlcally savvy on Pasternak`s part; to the Rus
slan publlc he was brlnglng poetry from the homeland
of |oseph Stalln, the current Communlst leader, and he
had to translate odes to Stalln by Yashvlll and Nlkoloz
Mltslshvlll ln order to defend them from polltlcal crltl
clsm. Hls efforts on thelr behalf were ln valn. they even
tually perlshed ln the Stallnlst purges. Jhe project also
came from hls slncere love of Georgla, lts poets, and
thelr verse. Pasternak made one more trlp to Georgla ln
connectlon wlth hls translatlons. He dld not speak or
read Georglan but worked wlth lnterllnear translatlons;
ln what ls a falrly common practlce ln Russlan poetlc
translatlng, Pasternak worked from a llteral Russlan
translatlon (done by someone else) of the Georglan
verses and turned them lnto poetlc Russlan. In l935
Iocty Cruii (Poets of Georgla), translated lnto Russlan
by Pasternak and Nlkolal Semenovlch Jlkhonov, was
publlshed. Jhelr renderlngs of Georglan poetry
recelved posltlve crltlcal attentlon.
In May l931 Mandel`shtam was arrested for
composlng an antlStallnlst poem, whlch he had reclted
to some trusted acqualntances, lncludlng Pasternak.
After hearlng the poem from Mandel`shtam ln the
autumn of l933, Pasternak told hlm that the poem dld
not conslst of llterary fact but was a sulcldal actthat he
would pretend he had not heard lt and that Man
del`shtam should never reclte lt to anyone else. After
Mandel`shtam`s arrest, at the request of hls wlfe,
Nadezhda Iakovlevna Mandel`shtam, Pasternak con
tacted the edltor of the newspaper Ivcstiio (News) and
Polltburo member Nlkolal Ivanovlch Bukharln, who
had some lnfluence wlth the reglme. Mandel`shtam`s
sentence was commuted to an exlle of three years, flrst
ln the provlnclal town of Cherdyn` and then ln the
larger clty of Voronezh. Before the second declslon to
exlle the poet ln Voronezh, however, Stalln called
Pasternak. As Evgenll Pasternak relates ln oris Iostcr-
vol: Motcrioly dlio biogrofii, the leader assured Pasternak
that Mandel`shtam would be all rlght and then asked
Pasternak for hls assurances that Mandel`shtam was a
'master" of hls art; Pasternak replled that the callber of
Mandel`shtam as an artlst was not the polnt and that he
108
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would llke to talk to Stalln further about llfe and death.
Stalln hung up.
Jhe flrst Sovlet Wrlters` Congress took place two
months after Stalln`s call to Pasternak, ln August l931,
and Malakovsky`s and Pasternak`s dlfferlng roles as llt
erary models, posltlve or negatlve, were the subject of
debate ln speeches by varlous speakers, lncludlng
Bukharln, Makslm Gor`ky, and Aleksel Aleksandrovlch
Surkov. Jhe role of 'premler Sovlet poet" was bestowed
posthumously on Malakovsky the followlng year.
Ilelshman notes ln hls l990 blography of the poet that
for a few months after the Wrlters` Congress, Pasternak
was optlmlstlc wlth regard to the state and hls posltlon
ln the Sovlet Lnlon. Jhls mood changed, however,
wlth the assasslnatlon on l December l931 of Lenln
grad party chlef Sergey Mlronovlch Klrov; thls event
slgnaled the beglnnlng of the Stallnlst terror, whlch
peaked between l935 and l937. Wrlters had already
been arrested, but the wave of arrests durlng the next
several years frlghtened them lnto sllence. By l935 Pas
ternak was lll wlth depresslon and lnsomnla.
Jhat year he was sent to Parls to attend the Con
gress of Wrlters ln Defense of Culture as one of the
leadlng Russlan authors. Jhe conference featured wrlt
ers from all over the world who came to speak out
agalnst fasclsm and for peace. Although Pasternak was
lll, he was forced to go, together wlth the wrlter Isaak
Emmanullovlch Babel, because thelr Parlslan hosts
lnslsted on thelr presence and that of some other llberal
wrlters. He and Jsvetaeva met brlefly ln what she
called, ln a l935 letter to Anna Jeskov, a 'non
meetlng." By thls tlme she was conslderlng a return to
the Sovlet Lnlon, although Pasternak trled to dlssuade
her by hlntlng at the current sltuatlon there. Jhls trlp
was Pasternak`s last one abroad. Whlle he was able to
vlslt hls slster Zhozeflna and her husband brlefly as he
went through Berlln, he could not vlslt hls parents ln
Munlch durlng the journey, and he never saw them
agaln. Leonld and Rozallla Pasternak contemplated
golng back to Russla when, by l936, the sltuatlon ln
Germany had become lncreaslngly tense for |ews; they
dld not entlrely understand Pasternak`s coded attempts
ln hls letters to prevent them from returnlng. In l938
they resettled ln Oxford, England, where hls slster
Lldlla and her husband were llvlng. Rozallla Pasternak
dled there ln l939, and Leonld Pasternak dled ln l915.
Somewhat recovered from hls lllness and feellng
optlmlstlc because of a general sense that llberallzatlon
was on the threshold (an lncorrect feellng, as Ilelshman
lndlcates ln oris Iostcrvol: Tlc Ioct ovd His Iolitics),
Pasternak wrote two proStalln verses at the end of
l935, publlshed ln Ivcstiio on l |anuary l936. 'Ia
ponlalvse zhlvo . . ." (I understandeverythlng ls allve
. . .) and 'Mne po dushe stroptlvyl norov . . ." (I llke the
stubborn character . . .). Jhey are the flrst poems he
had wrltten slnce the appearance of !toroc roldcvic and
reflect hls attempts at greater clarlty and slmpllclty.
Pasternak acknowledged that he wrote the poems at
Bukharln`s suggestlon and as part of a slncere attempt
to llve wlth the tlmes. Jhe optlmlsm of the perlod
ended a few weeks later wlth the lnltlatlon of the antl
formallsm campalgn, whlch started wlth an attack on
the composer Dmltrll Dmltrlevlch Shostakovlch.
Although Pasternak lncluded the latter poem ln hls
cycle 'Khudozhnlk" (Jhe Artlst, publlshed ln ò rov-
vill pocdoll |On Early Jralns|, l913), the former was
never reprlnted durlng hls llfetlme.
Durlng thls dark era, ln whlch frlends and col
leagues of Pasternak were arrested and kllled, he began
work on what became hls novel Doltor livogo. Jhe
exact year ln whlch Pasternak started wrltlng Doltor
livogo ls dlfflcult to establlsh. Barnes glves the year
l932 (ln oris Iostcrvol: Z Iitcrory iogroply), whlle
Ilelshman lndlcates that work began ln the l920s (ln
oris Iostcrvol: Tlc Ioct ovd His Iolitics). Yet, Evgenll
Pasternak and V. M. Borlsov, who produced commen
tary about the novel for the l989-l992 edltlon of
Pasternak`s collected works, estlmate that Doltor
livogo was started ln the wlnter of l9l7-l9l8, after
the completlon of Scstro moio liv`. Accordlng to thelr
report, Pasternak responded ln a l9l9 questlonnalre
that he was worklng on a novel. In essence, works from
the l920s contrlbuted to the novel; he began pleces
such as 'Detstvo Lluvers" as drafts to a larger work,
and themes from much of hls prose and verse from that
decade appear ln the novel. Jhe novel was drafted at
flrst ln fragments'notes" ln whlch the characters were
flrst formlng and had names that were changed later;
the flrst coherent set of notes, provlslonally tltled
'Zaplskl Patrlka" (Patrlck`s Notes), date from l936.
Desplte the grlm atmosphere of the antlformallsm
campalgn and lts aftermath, Pasternak wrote a few
poems ln the wlnter of l936, followed ln the summer
by a dozen that he dedlcated to hls frlends ln Georgla.
He wrote them at a dacha ln the newly bullt wrlters`
colony of Peredelklno, outslde Moscow and reachable
by commuter traln. (He and hls famlly moved to
another dacha there ln l939, and Peredelklno became
hls maln resldence for the rest of hls llfe.) Jhls cycle of
poems, tltled 'Iz letnlkh zaplsok" (Irom Summer
Notes), was publlshed ln the October l936 lssue of
òvyi mir. It reflects hls new style and hls deslre to
become a part of the world around hlm. Contlnulng a
theme from !toroc roldcvicbut wlth less of a sense of
regretthe cycle shows an effort to depart from hls tor
tured lntellectual heroes. After the publlcatlon of 'Iz let
nlkh zaplsok," Pasternak wrote no verse for four years.
109
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At mldnlght on 3l December l936, on the verge
of a terrlble year, Pasternak`s son wlth Zlnalda Paster
nak was born and named Leonld, after Pasternak`s
father. In l937 the Pasternaks moved to a new apart
ment on Lavrushlnsky pereulok. Jhat year hls closest
Georglan frlends, Jabldze and Yashvlll, were vlctlms of
the terror; the former dled ln prlson, and the latter com
mltted sulclde. On 3l December l937 the flrst excerpts
from Pasternak`s nascent novel were publlshed ln Iitc-
roturvoio gocto (Jhe Llterary Gazette).
In early l939 Pasternak began to translate the
dramas of Shakespeare, beglnnlng wlth Homlct (l601),
whlch he completed at the end of that year. Pasternak`s
translatlons of Shakespeare`s dramas are rendered ln
contemporary Russlan ln a style that reflects hls classl
cal restralnt, begun ln the l930s, but clearly ln hls own
manner. He also translated some of Shakespeare`s son
nets; hls renderlng of Sonnet 66 was publlshed together
wlth hls translatlon of Homlct ln the journal Molodoio
gvordiio (Young Guard) ln l910. Jhe translatlon of
Homlct appeared as a book ln l91l. Pasternak contln
ued to work on Shakespeare translatlons durlng the
l910s. Hls Ibrovvyc pcrcvody (Selected Jranslatlons)
appeared ln l910, and he gave publlc readlngs of hls
translatlons. Ilelshman notes ln hls l990 blography
that such publlc contact lnsplred Pasternak, and he
returned to wrltlng poetry ln the summer of l910. He
produced verse that was lncreaslngly clear, wlth shorter
llnes and slmpler metaphors and slmlles. Jhe themes
remalned much the same as ln hls earller worknature,
love, and art. Yet, hls later verse possesses a calm
reserve generally absent from hls exuberant youthful
work.
Jsvetaeva returned to Moscow ln l939, and
Pasternak helped her flnd translatlon work. Jhe Ger
man assault on the Sovlet Lnlon began ln |une l91l.
Pasternak spent the beglnnlng of the war ln Moscow,
even servlng guard duty on the roof of hls apartment
bulldlng, whlle hls wlfe and son Leonld were evacuated
to the wrlters` colony ln Chlstopol`, ln the Jatar Repub
llc. Jsvetaeva also departed for Chlstopol`, agalnst Pas
ternak`s advlce, and settled ln the nearby town of
Elabuga. Jhere she was unable to flnd work as a wrlter
or translator. On 3l August l91l Jsvetaeva commltted
sulclde. Pasternak, stlll ln Moscow, found out about her
death ln early September. In October he left for Chlsto
pol` to joln hls famlly, and ln the wlnter of l91l-l912
he translated Shakespeare`s Iomco ovd ulict (l599). In
l913, after hls return to Moscow, he wrote 'Pamlatl
Marlny Jsvetaevol` (In Memory of Marlna Jsvetaeva).
Although he reclted thls poem ln publlc at Moscow
State Lnlverslty ln l916, lt was not publlshed untll
l965, flve years after hls death.
In l913 Pasternak publlshed ò rovvill pocdoll.
It conslsted of the cycles 'Voennye meslatsy" (War
Months), 'Khudozhnlk," 'Putevye zaplskl" (Jravel
Notes), and 'Peredelklno." Barnes notes ln oris Iostcr-
vol: Z Iitcrory iogroply that Pasternak was not proud of
the book, whlch was of poor prlnt quallty; he had slm
ply pulled together poems already publlshed elsewhere.
Pasternak was proud of the cycle 'Khudozhnlk," how
ever, and the collectlon as a whole provldes a general
plcture of hls thoughts on nature, art, and war.
Jhroughout the l910s Pasternak wrote essays on
great artlsts and on hls translatlons. Jhese artlcles clar
lfy aspects of hls thought expressed ln more obscure
form ln hls earller verse and prose, but they must be
lnterpreted cautlously; hls vlews on hls work had
changed by thls tlme. 'Zametkl perevodchlka" (Notes
of a Jranslator, wrltten ln l913, publlshed ln l911 ln
vomio |Jhe Banner|) and 'Zametkl k perevodam lz
Sheksplra" (Notes on Shakespeare Jranslatlons, wrltten
between l916 and l956, publlshed ln l956 ln the mls
cellany Iitcroturvoio Moslvo |Llterary Moscow|) provlde
lmportant explanatlons of hls approach to translatlon,
ln llght of hls tendency to depart from the orlglnal ln
order to convey what he consldered lts essence. Most
slgnlflcant among hls artlcles on artlsts ls hls essay on
Irdrlc Chopln, slmply tltled 'Chopln" ( publlshed ln
l915 ln abrldged form ln the journal Icvivgrod; pub
llshed ln l965 ln full ln the newspaper Iitcroturvoio
Iossiio), ln whlch he deflnes reallsm ln an ldlosyncratlc
way. ln essence, Pasternak labels 'reallst" the art of any
epoch that he values hlghly, lncludlng the muslc of
|ohann Sebastlan Bach and of Chopln. Romantlc art,
accordlng to hls measure, ls secondrate and marked by
falsehood, excess, or pretentlousness. Jhese arguments
contlnue hls earller thoughts agalnst the 'romantlc
manner" but do not concern tradltlonal deflnltlons of
Romantlclsm.
Jhe year l916 was lmportant ln Pasternak`s llter
ary blography for two reasons. he was able to devote
hlmself more fully to wrltlng Doltor livogo, and he met
Ol`ga Vsevolodovna Ivlnskala at the offlces of the jour
nal òvyi mir, where she was an asslstant to edltor ln
chlef Konstantln Mlkhallovlch Slmonov. In l917 Paster
nak and Ivlnskala began an affalr that lasted untll hls
death; thelr only extended tlme apart was between
l919 and l951, when she was lmprlsoned ln a Sovlet
labor camp. She was one of the prototypesthe other
was Zlnalda Pasternakfor the herolne Lara ln Doltor
livogo. Startlng ln l956, Ivlnskala also played lnterme
dlary between Pasternak and the Moscow publlcatlon
world; her errands on hls behalf allowed hlm to stay ln
Peredelklno and concentrate on hls work.
Doltor livogo, on whlch Pasternak concentrated
hls efforts from l916 to l955, contlnues many of the
1l0
_ m~~ ai_ PPN
themes he had been developlng slnce hls earllest prose
sketches. the fate of a Russlan lntellectual ln a changlng
world; the passlve nature of the artlst ln hls relatlons
wlth others and ln the face of events beyond hls con
trol; the relatlonshlp of art to hlstory; and the connec
tlon between death and blrth, partlcularly the concept
of reblrth through art. a w~ traces the llfe of
Iurll Andreevlch Zhlvago, the orphaned son of a dlsso
lute mllllonalre who has commltted sulclde. Jhe open
lng scene ls set durlng the funeral of Zhlvago`s mother,
who has dled of tuberculosls. Hls mother`s brother,
Nlkolal Vedenlapln, takes hlm under hls wlng; when
the uncle departs for Swltzerland, he leaves the boy ln
the care of relatlves, the Gromekos, a famlly of Moscow
lntellectuals. Brought up by Aleksandr Aleksandrovlch
Gromeko and hls wlfe, Zhlvago falls ln love wlth and
marrles thelr daughter, Antonlna (Jonla). He studles
medlclne and speclallzes ln dlseases of the eye. Durlng
World War I, Zhlvago ls drafted as an army doctor and
goes to the front. When he returns to Moscow, hls
frlghtened young son slaps hlm ln the face, an act
Zhlvago takes to be an lll omen. Durlng the Russlan
Clvll War, he, Jonla, and thelr son leave for the Lrals
ln order to llve off the land at the former estate of her
mother`s famlly, the Kruegers. Zhlvago`s mysterlous
and powerful half brother Evgraf, who comes to Mos
cow from hls natlve Omsk and vlslts the young famlly,
has advlsed them to move there. Accordlng to Llvlng
stone ln _ m~~W a w~I Evgraf ls
Zhlvago`s deus ex machlna.
Parallel to Zhlvago`s story ls that of Lara, the
daughter of an lmpoverlshed Irench wldow who runs a
sewlng shop. She grows up ln worklngclass Moscow.
So does her future husband, Antlpov, whose worker
father was exlled for organlzlng a rallway laborers`
strlke. Lara ls seduced at the age of slxteen by her
mother`s paramour, a wealthy lawyer named Vlktor
Ippolltovlch Komarovsky. She flnds herself both
attracted and repelled by hls attentlon. In a flt of
despalr, determlned to break off thelr relatlonshlp, Lara
sneaks lnto a Chrlstmas party that Komarovsky ls
attendlng and shoots hlm. Although her shot mlsses
Komarovsky and he ls not hurt, afterward he keeps hls
dlstance from her for fear of scandal. Eventually, she
marrles Antlpov, and they set off to teach ln the Lrals
town of Iurlatln, her blrthplace. Jhelr marrlage
becomes stralned when she tells hlm of her past llalson
wlth Komarovsky. Lnable to bear the shadow of Lara`s
past and hls own feellngs of lnadequacy, Antlpov volun
teers for the front, leavlng her and thelr daughter, Katla.
Zhlvago and Lara are brought together three
tlmes before thelr affalr beglns. He flrst sees her
when Lara`s mother attempts sulclde out of a suspl
clon that Komarovsky ls attracted to her daughter.
Because of the attempted sulclde, a nelghbor ls sum
moned whlle glvlng a concert, attended by Gromeko,
Jonla, Zhlvago, and a frlend. Gromeko accompanles
the nelghbor to Lara`s home. Jhe young Zhlvago
goes along and sees both the sordld sltuatlon and the
exchange of glances between Komarovsky and a
schoolglrl who seems older than her years. Jhe sec
ond meetlng occurs at the Chrlstmas party where
Lara attempts to shoot Komarovsky; Zhlvago and
Jonla are among the attendees. (Before the shootlng,
on the way to the party Zhlvago had passed the wln
dow of Antlpov`s room at the moment when he and
Lara were decldlng to marry; Zhlvago saw the candle
ln the wlndow and began to wrlte a poem about lt.)
At the thlrd meetlng Lara and Zhlvago are together
for a longer perlod. Lara ls a nurse on the front; she
has volunteered for such work ln order to flnd Antl
pov. Zhlvago, now an army doctor, and Lara, known
as Nurse Antlpova, strlke up a frlendshlp. Whlle on
the front they begln to sense that somethlng more
than frlendshlp ls happenlng between them. Jhey
drop the subject, however, and he returns to Mos
cow.
Jhe affalr between Zhlvago and Lara beglns ln
the Lrals, ln the town of Iurlatln, near the Krueger
estate, where the Zhlvagos have settled. He rldes regu
larly to the llbrary, and one day he sees Lara there. He
observes her pleasant effect on others, coples her
address from a llbrarybook order sllp, and vlslts her ln
town. Jhey begln a romance that torments hlm wlth
gullt. On hls way home to confess to hls wlfe, now preg
nant wlth thelr second chlld, he ls stopped by clvllwar
partlsans and forced to serve them as a doctor. He ls
kept under guard for an extended perlod but flnally
escapes and returns by foot to Iurlatln. In Zhlvago`s
absence Jonla and Lara meet. Lara asslsts at the dellv
ery of Jonla`s second chlld, a daughter named Marlla
(Masha). Shortly thereafter, Jonla and her two chlldren
leave Iurlatln. When Zhlvago returns, he moves ln wlth
Lara, who has remalned ln Iurlatln wlth her daughter.
(Jonla and her famlly subsequently are deported, and
they move to Parls.) Iearlng for thelr llvesslnce he ls
now a deserterZhlvago, Lara, and Katla go to the
Krueger estate to hlde for the wlnter. Jhey have an
ldylllc llfe for a brlef perlod, durlng whlch he returns to
wrltlng poetry. Komarovsky flnds them, however, and
persuades Zhlvago that he can take better care of Lara
and her daughter, convlnclng hlm to let them go.
Zhlvago trlcks Lara lnto leavlng wlth Komarovsky by
glvlng her the false lmpresslon that he wlll soon follow
them. Whlle Zhlvago stays behlnd, Komarovsky, Lara,
and her daughter head to the Russlan Iar East, where
Komarovsky assumes a government posltlon. Zhlvago
ls left alone ln despalr. At thls polnt Lara`s husband,
1ll
ai_ PPN _ m~~
now called Strel`nlkov and a nonParty Red Army com
mander, arrlves. He had used the estate before as a
hldeout; ln danger now that the clvll war ls comlng to a
close, he has come to hlde agaln. Jhe two men, who
have met before, dlscuss Lara. Jhat nlght Strel`nlkov
kllls hlmself. Zhlvago, wlth nothlng else left and
warned by Strel`nlkov that staylng at the estate ls dan
gerous, returns to Moscow by foot.
He moves lnto a spare room ln a bulldlng man
aged by Markel, a former servant to the Gromekos. He
soon takes Markel`s daughter, Marlna, a telegraph
operator, as hls commonlaw wlfe. Zhlvago no longer
enjoys the company of hls old frlends, whom he now
conslders false and mannered. Evgraf agaln mysterl
ously steps ln to help. he flnds hls brother a room
where he can llve alone and wrlte. Jhe room that
Evgraf flnds hlm ls the same one ln whlch Antlpov and
Lara declded to marrythe room ln whlch Zhlvago had
seen a candle burnlng on the nlght of the Chrlstmas
party. Zhlvago leaves Marlna and thelr chlld and
spends the rest of hls llfe wrltlng. One day, after gettlng
off a bus, he dles of a heart attack on the street. After
Zhlvago`s death, but not knowlng that he has dled,
Lara returns to Moscow to enroll her daughter ln a con
servatory or theatrlcal academy. She vlslts Antlpov`s
former room and wanders lnto Zhlvago`s funeral there
by accldent. She remalns ln Moscow to help Evgraf sort
through Zhlvago`s papers, slnce she knows hls work
better than anyone else. She asks Evgraf`s advlce about
flndlng a lost chlld. Not long afterward Lara dlsap
pears; the narrator assumes that she has been arrested.
On the front durlng World War II, Zhlvago`s
frlends Mlsha Gordon and Innokentll Dudorov meet a
mysterlous glrl, Janla, who works as a laundress. A
gregarlous person, she tells them about her chlldhood.
Her mother left her ln the care of an acqualntance ln
order to protect her from a stepfather who dlsllked chll
dren; she promlsed to return but dld not. Janla`s guard
lan mlstreated her, and she ran away and ended up
among the bands of homeless chlldren who wandered
about Russla after the clvll war. Gordon and Dudorov
reallze that Janla ls the chlld of Lara and Zhlvago, and
they brlng her to the attentlon of General Evgraf
Zhlvago, who looks after Janla. Jhe novel ends flve to
ten years later, as Dudorov and Gordon reclte
Zhlvago`s poems together; ln them they flnd comfort
and a klnd of transcendence. Jhe collectlon of
Zhlvago`s poems completes the novel.
Jhe lmproved polltlcal cllmate followlng Nlklta
Khrushchev`s secret speech ln the sprlng of l956 gave
Pasternak hope that hls novel mlght be publlshed ln the
Sovlet Lnlon, and he submltted typescrlpts to two jour
nals, k and w~~K Hls efforts came to no avall,
however. In September l956 lt was rejected for publlca
tlon by k K Aware of the rlsk he was taklng, he
gave the manuscrlpt to Itallan publlsher and Commu
nlst Glanglacomo Ieltrlnelll through hls emlssary, the
Itallan Communlst Party journallst Serglo dÀngelo,
who had gone to see Pasternak ln May l956. Barnes
and the commentators to a scholarly edltlon of a
w~I publlshed ln the l989-l992 edltlon of Paster
nak`s collected works, assert that Pasternak released a
typescrlpt (not yet proofread) merely for examlnatlon.
Lnder the lmpresslon that he would be able to revlse
the typescrlpt he had submltted, Pasternak slgned a
contract wlth Ieltrlnelll ln |une l956. In the meantlme,
desplte the rejectlon by k I the state publlshlng
house Goslltlzdat promlsed to publlsh lt, and a contract
was slgned ln |anuary l957. Although Pasternak per
mltted Ieltrlnelll, at the latter`s request, to publlsh the
novel ln Itallan translatlon, he warned that publlcatlon
abroad prlor to the planned appearance of the novel ln
the Sovlet Lnlon could have dlre consequences for hlm.
Rellglous poems from the novel appeared anonymously
ln the mlgr journal d~ (Borders) ln l957, and
excerpts from the novel were publlshed ln the Pollsh
journal l (Oplnlons), from a typescrlpt Pasternak
had glven to the journal; the publlcatlon sparked Sovlet
crltlclsm, and the journal closed. Jhe Sovlet authorltles
forced Pasternak to send a telegram to Ieltrlnelll
lnstructlng hlm to stop publlcatlon, but the wrlter sent a
prlvate letter contradlctlng the telegram. Jhe entlre
novel appeared on 22 November l957 ln Itallan transla
tlon and sold out that day. Jhe frenzy of the Western
press over thls publlcatlon was countered by Sovlet
sllence, and the promlsed edltlon of the novel dld not
appear ln the Sovlet Lnlon. Jhe publlshlng house
Mouton brought out the flrst Russlan edltlon; lt
appeared ln the Netherlands ln l958 wlth the Ieltrlnelll
lmprlnt (at the lnslstence of the Itallan publlsher, who
stopped the prlnt run after fewer than one hundred cop
les). In |anuary l959 Ieltrlnelll released lts own Russlan
edltlon wlthout glvlng Pasternak the chance to correct
lt. Pasternak wrote hls frlend, the Slavlst |acquellne de
Proyart, to whom he entrusted matters related to publl
catlon ln the West, that he was deeply upset by the
errors ln lt. Jhus began her own efforts to have a cor
rected edltlon publlshed from a clean manuscrlpt
Pasternak had glven her ln l957.
Pasternak`s fame abroad lncreased tremendously
wlth the l958 publlcatlon of a w~ ln Russlan
and wlth translatlons of the novel lnto major European
languages. Jhe novel remalned unpubllshed ln the
Sovlet Lnlon untll l988, when lt came out ln four
lssues of k one of the landmark cultural events
to occur durlng perestrolka. Separate edltlons soon fol
lowed, lncludlng one publlshed ln the same year as lts
serlal appearance; the textologlcal dlfflcultles of the
1l2
_ m~~ ai_ PPN
work were resolved only wlth thls book verslon. Jhe
scholarly edltlon appeared ln l990 as volume three of
Pasternak`s flvevolume Sobrovic soclivcvii (l989-l992).
Jhe novel was adapted for motlon plctures ln l965, ln
a productlon dlrected by Davld Lean, and was adapted
as a mlnlserles for Brltlsh televlslon ln 2003.
Llterary analysls and crltlclsm on Doltor livogo ls
vast and varledso vast that there are works and por
tlons of works devoted to summarlzlng the scholarshlp.
Notable among these overvlews are those of Llvlng
stone, Nell Cornwell, and Munlr Sendlch. Importantly,
however, scholarshlp on the novel appeared entlrely
outslde the Sovlet Lnlon untll lts l988 publlcatlon ln
Russla. Some early Western studles crltlclzed the novel
for lts lack of a loglcal progresslon of events, lts lnexpll
cable use of tlme, lts unbellevable colncldences, and lts
monologlc language ln whlch only varlants of Paster
nak`s own volce are present. Other crltlcs noted that
these are ln fact features of Pasternak`s poetlc system.
the lnexpllcable temporal shlfts reflect ones that are
present ln hls early poetry, and the colncldences reflect
hls vlew of the unlty of all thlngs. Jhe monologlc volce
has been lnterpreted as the equlvalent of a poet`s lyrlcal
'I." Jo Pasternak`s defenders the novel makes sense lf
read as a klnd of poem ln prose and through the lens of
Pasternak`s earller work and aesthetlc statements.
Many studles of Doltor livogo from the l960s and
l970s focus on the phllosophlcal and llterary anteced
ents of the novel. Scholars have studled lts formal and
symbollc structure, lncludlng the relatlonshlp of prose
to poetry ln the work. Later crltlclsm on Doltor livogo
has concentrated on lts rlddles. lts references, use of dla
lect and folk motlfs, and speclflc colncldences. Blogra
phers and crltlcs have also studled the connectlon of
Pasternak`s other works to the novel, juxtaposlng lt
wlth hls earller poetry and prose ln order both to clarlfy
aspects of the novel and to show the unlty of Paster
nak`s aesthetlc system. Studles of the novel slnce lt
began recelvlng assessments have also examlned proto
types for the maln characters and subtextual sources,
from lts smallest detalls to lts overall phllosophy.
Shortly after Pasternak flnlshed wrltlng Doltor
livogo, another burst of creatlvlty came over hlm. In
l955 the state publlshlng house Goslltlzdat approached
hlm about complllng a collectlon of verse from hls
entlre career. He wrote hls second autoblographlcal
essay, Iiudi i pololcviio, ln l956 lnltlally as an lntroduc
tlon to thls proposed volume. He began to revlse hls
earller verse, followlng the crlterla he had establlshed
for hls later versebrevlty and slmpllclty. He also began
to wrlte new poems for the collectlon. What emerged
was the beglnnlng of a new book of poems, Iogdo
rogulioctsio (When the Weather Clears), completed ln
l959 and publlshed that year ln Parls. Iiudi i pololcviio
ls the memolr of a wrlter toward the end of hls career
who wlshes to revlse the record and examlne hls llfe
from a llterary dlstance. Pasternak attempts to correct
what he now sees as aesthetlc errors ln hls flrst autobl
ography. Jhe essay ls wrltten ln a dlfferent tone, wlth
less emphasls on hls palnful breaks wlth hls mentors
and more focus on hls connectlons to other wrlters,
lncludlng Blok and Rllke. Pasternak contlnues hls crltl
clsm of what he calls 'romantlclsm" but from a more
dlstanced polnt of vlew. Because he states a dlsllke for
hls work prlor to l910 and calls lt mannered, the mem
olr ls problematlc lf one takes lt as an explanatlon of hls
entlre body of work. Moreover, lt ls full of lnstances of
poetlc llcense wlth regard to blographlcal detalls. Iiudi i
pololcviio ls lnterestlng, nonetheless, both as an ldlosyn
cratlc account of hls llfe and as a work of llterature.
In October l958, the same year that the flrst
Engllsh translatlon of Doltor livogo appeared, Pas
ternak recelved the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature, for
whlch he had been nomlnated every year from l916
to l950 and agaln ln l957. At flrst he accepted the
prlze ln a rapturously appreclatlve telegram. A
vlclous campalgn began agalnst hlm, however, and
he was expelled from the Wrlters` Lnlon, desplte hls
protest that the award was an honor not only to hlm
but to Russlan llterature, and hls stated wllllngness to
donate the prlze money to the Sovlet Peace Iund.
Although the Nobel cltatlon generally pralsed Paster
nak`s poetry and contrlbutlon to the eplc tradltlon,
L.S. Secretary of State |ohn Ioster Dulles declared
that the award was for Doltor livogo, whlch the
Sovlet Lnlon had condemned; thls perceptlon dld
not please Khrushchev. Pasternak was forced to
reject the prlze and dld so regretfully ln a second tele
gram, whlch Evgenll Pasternak quotes ln oris Iostcr-
vol: Tlc Trogic Jcors, 19J0-1960 (l990). 'In vlew of
the meanlng whlch the award made to me has
acqulred ln the soclety to whlch I belong, I am
obllged to decllne lt. Do not take my voluntary
renunclatlon amlss." Yet, the press campalgn agalnst
hlm dld not stop. He was advlsed to wrlte a letter to
Khrushchev, begglng that he not be expelled from the
country. Such a letter would prevent exlle, accordlng to
Pasternak`s frlends, so he slgned a letter to Khrushchev
that had been wrltten by Ivlnskala and others. In
exchange for a second statement of contrltlon, also pre
pared by Ivlnskala and others and meant for publlca
tlon ln the newspaper Irovdo (Jruth), he was allowed to
contlnue hls correspondence wlth wrlters and readers
ln the West. Ilnally, at Ivlnskala`s suggestlon and wlth
her help, he wrote Khrushchev another, more personal,
letter asklng to be allowed to resume professlonal trans
latlons and earn a llvlng. In l959 thls work became pos
slble agaln for Pasternak, although hls case was not
1l3
ai_ PPN _ m~~
helped when a poem he had wrltten ln |anuary, 'Jhe
Nobel Prlze," was publlshed ln Engllsh ln the Doily Moil
on ll Iebruary l959 after Pasternak had entrusted lt to
journallst Anthony Brown. Jhe poem, as quoted by
Barnes, expresses Pasternak`s frustratlon over the prlze
sltuatlon.
Dld I commlt a helnous crlme?
A murder, or some evll deed?
At the beauty of my land
I merely made the whole world weep.
Pasternak was summoned to the offlce of chlef prosecu
tor R. A. Rudenko and threatened wlth arrest lf he con
tlnued to have contact wlth forelgners.
Jhat same year Pasternak began wrltlng hls
last work, a play tltled Slcpoio lrosovitso (l969; trans
lated as Tlc livd couty, l969), whlch he was not
able to flnlsh. It ls about the fate of peasants on a
Russlan estate ln the mlddle of the nlneteenth cen
tury, before and after emanclpatlon. Jhe 'slepala
krasavltsa" of the tltle ls a peasant glrl, Lusha, who ls
bllnded by pleces of a plaster bust that ls shattered
when the master of the estate trles to shoot hls valet.
(Accordlng to Pasternak`s plans, as related to Olga
Andreyev Carllsle and publlshed ln her !oiccs iv tlc
Svow: Ivcouvtcrs witl Iussiov !ritcrs |l962|, Lusha`s
son, a talented serf actor who would galn hls free
dom after the l86l emanclpatlon of the serfs, was to
brlng a great doctor from abroad to heal hls mother.)
Pasternak suggests that Lusha`s bllndness represents
the bllndness of Russla, a condltlon that potentlally
could be cured only wlth the emanclpatlon of the
serfs. Pasternak studled hlstorlcal sources for the
play, as he had for hls eplc poems and for Doltor
livogo. Concerns for the fate of hls country and a
fasclnatlon wlth lts hlstory occupled hlm to the end
of hls llfe.
In the last years of hls llfe Pasternak corre
sponded regularly wlth forelgn wrlters and others lnter
ested ln hls work. He found such contact encouraglng,
although the wrltlng of so many letters exhausted hlm
physlcally. Sovlet authorltles, aware of the extent and
value of thls correspondence, used hls rlght to recelve
mall from abroad as a means of control. Durlng and
after the scandal of the Nobel Prlze, they alternately
took away and returned hls rlght to forelgn correspon
dence. Accounts of hls eplstolary frlendshlps, such as
Renate Schweltzer`s Ircuvdscloft mit oris Iostcrvol (l963,
Irlendshlp wlth Borls Pasternak), provlde valuable
lnformatlon about hls latellfe aesthetlc vlews. hls letters
are often clearer than hls statements ln verse or ln belle
trlstlc prose.
Pasternak had a heart attack ln May l960, after
whlch he was dlagnosed wlth lung cancer. He dled on
30 May l960. Hls funeral ln Peredelklno on 2 |une was
attended by hundreds, although there was no offlclal
announcement of lt. He ls burled ln the cemetery at
Peredelklno, and hls dacha there ls now a museum ln
hls honor.
After Pasternak dled, Ivlnskala was arrested agaln
and sentenced to elght years ln a prlson camp. She
served a part of her sentence and was released ln l963.
Prlor to her arrest, agents of the Komltet gosudarstven
nol bezopastnostl (KGB, State Securlty Commlttee)
selzed from her the manuscrlpt for Pasternak`s Slcpoio
lrosovitso. Ivlnskala dled ln l995.
Soon after the death of Borls Pasternak, the
offlclal attltude toward hlm once agaln took a llberal
turn. In l96l a collectlon of hls poems came out, and
ln l965 a scholarly edltlon of hls collected verse was
publlshed ln the 'Blblloteka poeta" (Poet`s Llbrary)
serles, wlth an lntroductlon by Andrel Donatovlch
Slnlavsky. Also ln l96l the flrst complete edltlon of
Pasternak`s works was publlshed by the Lnlverslty
of Mlchlgan Press, the authorltatlve edltlon untll the
appearance of hls l989-l992 Sobrovic soclivcvii. Schol
arshlp on Pasternak flourlshed abroad and contlnued
to grow ln the West ln the l970s and l980s. Several
lnternatlonal congresses devoted to hls work were
held ln Europe and the Lnlted States durlng these
two decades, and proceedlngs from the conferences
have appeared ln multlple volumes. In the Sovlet
Lnlon durlng thls same perlod, before perestrolka,
Pasternak`s posltlon was amblguous. In l990, how
ever, the colncldence of the freedoms permltted by
perestrolka and the centenary of Pasternak`s blrth
produced a second boom of scholarshlp on hlm.
Many superb studles on Pasternak appeared ln the
Sovlet Lnlon and abroad at thls tlme. Hls work con
tlnues to attract conslderable scholarly attentlon. A
more complete scholarly edltlon of hls wrltlngs, Iol-
voc sobrovic soclivcvii s prilolcviiomi (Complete Col
lected Works), was publlshed between 2003 and
2005.
iW
Icttcrs to Ccorgiov Iricvds, translated by Davld Magar
shack (New York. Harcourt, Brace World,
l968);
Icrcpislo s Ul`goi Ircidcvbcrg (New York. Harcourt Brace
|ovanovlch, l980); translated by Elllot Mossman
and Margaret Wettlln as Tlc Corrcspovdcvcc of oris
Iostcrvol ovd Ulgo Ircidcvbcrg, 1910-194, edlted
by Mossman (New York. Harcourt Brace
|ovanovlch, l982); republlshed as Iolivcvvoio
privioovvost`: Icrcpislo s Ul`goi Ircidcvbcrg, edlted by
1l1
_ m~~ ai_ PPN
Evgenll Borlsovlch Pasternak and Elena
Vladlmlrovna Pasternak (Moscow. ArtIleks,
2000);
Z. Ifrov. Iostcrvolu: Iis`mo i ssylli (194S-197)
(Parls. YMCAPress, l982);
Icttcrs, Summcr 1926, by Pasternak, Ralner Marla Rllke,
and Marlna Ivanovna Jsvetaeva, translated by
Wettlln and Walter Arndt, edlted by Evgenll Pas
ternak, Elena Pasternak, and Konstantln Marko
vlch Azadovsky (San Dlego. Harcourt Brace
|ovanovlch, l985); Russlan verslon publlshed as
Iis`mo 1926 godo (Moscow. Knlga, l990);
enlarged as Dyllovic lirili (Moscow. ArtIleks,
2000);
Icrcpislo oriso Iostcrvolo, edlted by Evgenll Pasternak
and Elena Pasternak, lntroductlon by Lldlla
Iakovlevna Glnzburg (Moscow. Khudozhestven
nala llteratura, l990);
Iis`mo . I. Iostcrvolo l lcvc . `. `cigou-Iostcrvol,
edlted by K. M. Pollvanov (Moscow. Dom,
l993);
oris Iostcrvol i Scrgci obrov: Iis`mo clctyrcll dcsiolctii,
edlted by M. A. Rashkovskala, Stanford Slavlc
Studles, volume l0 (Stanford, Cal.. Department
of Slavlc Languages and Llteratures, Stanford
Lnlverslty, l996);
Iis`mo l roditcliiom i scstrom, 2 volumes, edlted by Evgenll
Pasternak and Elena Pasternak, Stanford Slavlc
Studles, volumes l8-l9 (Stanford, Cal.. Depart
ment of Slavlc Languages and Llteratures, Stan
ford Lnlverslty, l998);
Suslclcstvovovìo tlov` slvovoio: Icrcpislo s Ivgcvici Iostcr-
vol s dopolvitcl`vymi pis`momi l I. . Iostcrvolu i cgo
vospomivoviiomi (Moscow. Novoe llteraturnoe
obozrenle, l998);
. Iostcrvol: iogrofiio v pis`moll, edlted by Evgenll
Pasternak and Elena Pasternak (Moscow. Art
Ileks, 2000);
Dusli voclivoiut vidct`: Iis`mo 1922-19J6 godov, by Paster
nak and Jsvetaeva, edlted by E. B. Korklna and
I. D. Shevelenko (Moscow. Vagrlus, 2001).
_~W
Nlkolal Aleksandrovlch Jroltsky, oris Icovidovicl Iostcr-
vol 1S90-1960: ibliogrofiio (New York. All
Slavlc, l969);
Grlgorll Demlanovlch Zlenko and Natal`la Nlkolaevna
Chernego, oris Iostcrvol: ibliogroficlcslii ulootcl`
(Odessa. Odesskala gosudarstvennala nauchnala
blblloteka lmenl A. M. Gor`kogo, l990);
Munlr Sendlch and Erlka Greber, Iostcrvol`s Doctor
Zhlvago. Zv Ivtcrvotiovol ibliogroply of Criticism
(197-19S) (East Lanslng, Mlch.. Russlan Lan
guage |ournal, l990);
Sendlch, oris Iostcrvol: Z Icfcrcvcc Cuidc (New York.
G. K. Hall, l991);
N. G. Zakharenko, ed., Iusslic pisotcli (Iocty): Sovctslii
pcriod: iobibliogroficlcslii ulootcl` (St. Petersburg.
Rossllskala natslonal`nala blblloteka, l995).
_~W
Gerd Ruge, Iostcrvol: Z Iictoriol iogroply, translated by
Beryl and |oseph Avrach (New York. McGraw
Hlll, l959);
Guy de Mallac, oris Iostcrvol: His Iifc ovd Zrt (Nor
man. Lnlverslty of Oklahoma Press, l98l);
Ronald Hlngley, Iostcrvol: Z iogroply (London.
Weldenfeld Nlcolson, l983);
Evgenll Borlsovlch Pasternak, oris Iostcrvol: Motcrioly
dlio biogrofii (Moscow. Sovetskll plsatel`, l989);
Chrlstopher Barnes, oris Iostcrvol: Z Iitcrory iogroply,
2 volumes (Cambrldge. Cambrldge Lnlverslty
Press, l989, l998);
Evgenll Pasternak, oris Iostcrvol: Tlc Trogic Jcors,
19J0-1960, translated by Mlchael Duncan, wlth
poetry translated by Ann Pasternak Slater and
Cralg Ralne (London. Colllns Harvlll, l990);
Lazar` Ilelshman, oris Iostcrvol: Tlc Ioct ovd His Iolitics
(Cambrldge, Mass.. Harvard Lnlverslty Press,
l990);
Evgenll Pasternak, oris Iostcrvol: iogrofiio (Moscow.
Jsltadel`, l997);
Evgenll Pasternak and Elena Pasternak, liv` Iostcr-
volo: Dolumcvtol`voc povcstvovovic (St. Petersburg.
Zvezda, 2001);
Dmltrll Bykov, oris Iostcrvol, second edltlon (Moscow.
Molodala gvardlla, 2006).
oW
Vladlmlr N. Al`fonsov, Iociio oriso Iostcrvolo (Lenln
grad. Sovetskll plsatel`, Lenlngradskoe otdelenle,
l990);
Vadlm Solomonovlch Baevsky, oris Iostcrvolliril:
Usvovy pocticlcsloi sistcmy (Smolensk. JrastImakom,
l993);
Baevsky, Iostcrvol (Moscow. Izdatel`stvo Moskovskogo
unlverslteta, l997);
Chrlstopher Barnes, 'Blography, Autoblography, and
'Slster Llfe`. Some Problems ln Chronlcllng
Pasternak`s Early Years," Irisl Slovovic Studics, 1
(l983). 18-58;
Catherlne Cleplela, Tlc Somc Solitudc: oris Iostcrvol ovd
Morivo Tsvctocvo (Ithaca, N.Y.. Cornell Lnlverslty
Press, 2006);
Edlth W. Clowes, ed., Doctor livogo: Z Criticol Compov-
iov (Evanston, Ill.. Northwestern Lnlverslty Press,
l995);
1l5
ai_ PPN _ m~~
Robert Conquest, Courogc of Ccvius: Tlc Iostcrvol Zffoir
(London. Colllns Harvlll, l966);
Nell Cornwell, Iostcrvol`s òvcl: Icrspcctivcs ov 'Doctor
livogo (Keele, L.K.. Essays ln Poetlcs, l986);
Sergej Dorzweller and HansBernd Harder, eds., Iostcrvol-
Studicv: citrogc um Ivtcrvotiovolcv Iostcrvol-Iovgrcss
1991 iv Morburg (Munlch. Otto Sagner, l993);
Vlctor Erllch, ed., Iostcrvol: Z Collcctiov of Criticol Issoys
Karen EvansRomalne, oris Iostcrvol ovd tlc Troditiov of
Ccrmov Iomovticism (Munlch. Otto Sagner, l997);
Lazar` Ilelshman, oris Iostcrvol v dvodtsotyc gody
(Munlch. Wllhelm Ilnk, l98l);
Ilelshman, 'Iragmenty 'futurlstlcheskol` blografll
Pasternaka," Slovico Hicrosolymitovo, 1 (l979). 79-
ll3;
Ilelshman, 'Problems ln the Poetlcs of Pasternak,"
ITI: Z ourvol for Dcscriptivc Ioctics ovd Tlcory of
Iitcroturc, 1 (l979). 13-6l;
Ilelshman, ed., oris Iostcrvol ovd His Timcs (Berkeley,
Cal.. Berkeley Slavlc Speclaltles, l989);
Ilelshman, ed., Ioctry ovd Icvolutiov: oris Iostcrvol`s My
Slster Llfe, Stanford Slavlc Studles, volume 2l
(Stanford, Cal.. Department of Slavlc Languages
and Llteratures, Stanford Lnlverslty, l999);
Anna Kay Irance, oris Iostcrvol`s Trovslotiovs of Slolcspcorc
(Berkeley. Lnlverslty of Callfornla Press, l978);
Henry Glfford, Iostcrvol: Z Criticol Study (Cambrldge
New York. Cambrldge Lnlverslty Press, l977);
Olga Raevsky Hughes, Tlc Ioctic !orld of oris Iostcrvol
(Prlnceton. Prlnceton Lnlverslty Press, l971);
Ol`ga Vsevolodovna Ivlnskala, ! plcvu vrcmcvi: Cody s
orisom Iostcrvolom (Parls. Iayard, l978); trans
lated by Max Hayward as Z Coptivc of Timc: My
Jcors witl Iostcrvol (New York. Doubleday, l978);
Borls A. Kats, ed., Muylo v tvorclcstvc, sud`bc i domc
oriso Iostcrvolo: Sborvil litcroturvyll, muylol`vyll i
iobroitcl`vyll trudov (Lenlngrad. Sovetskll
kompozltor, Lenlngradskoe otdelenle, l99l);
Angela Llvlngstone, oris Iostcrvol: Doltor livogo
(Cambrldge New York. Cambrldge Lnlverslty
Press, l989);
Llvlngstone, 'Some Afflnltles ln the Prose of the Poets
Rllke and Pasternak," Iorum for Modcrv Iovguogc
Studics, l9 ( |anuary l983). 271-281;
Anna Ljunggren, uvcvilio . Iostcrvolo: 6 frogmcvtov o
Iclilvimivi (Stockholm. Almqvlst Wlksell Inter
natlonal, l981);
Lev Loseff, ed., oris Iostcrvol 1S90-1990: Ccvtcvviol
Symposium, Norwlch Symposla ln Russlan Lltera
ture and Culture, volume l (Northfleld, Vt.. Rus
slan School of Norwlch Lnlverslty, l99l);
Iurll Mlkhallovlch Lotman, 'Stlkhotvorenlla rannego
Pasternaka l nekotorye voprosy strukturnogo
lzuchenlla teksta," Trudy po volovym sistcmom, no. 1
(l969). 206-238;
Anna Majmleskulow, ed., Ioctilo Iostcrvolo: Iostcrvol`s
Ioctics (Bydgoszcz. Wydawnlctwo Lczelnlane wsp
w Bydgoszcze, l990);
Guy de Mallac, 'Pasternak`s CrltlcalEsthetlc Vlews,"
Iussiov Iitcroturc Triquortcrly, 6 (l973). 502-532;
Zola Maslenlkova, Iortrct oriso Iostcrvolo (Moscow.
Sovetskala Rossll, l990);
Elllot Mossman, 'Pasternak`s Prose Style. Some Obser
vatlons," Iussiov Iitcroturc Triquortcrly, l (l97l).
386-398;
Mossman, 'Pasternak`s Short Ilctlon," Iussiov Iitcroturc
Triquortcrly, 2 (l972). 279-302;
Nlls Ake Nllsson, ed., oris Iostcrvol: Issoys (Stockholm.
Almqvlst Wlksell Internatlonal, l976);
Katherlne Jlernan O`Connor, Iostcrvol`s 'My Sistcr Iifc:`
Tlc Illusiov of òrrotivc (Ann Arbor, Mlch.. Ardls,
l988);
Aleksandr Leonldovlch Pasternak, !ospomivoviio
(Munlch Vlenna. Wllhelm IlnkIerdlnand
Schnlngh, l983; enlarged edltlon, Moscow.
ProgressJradltslla, 2002); translated by Lydla
Pasternak Slater as Z !ovislcd Ircscvt: Tlc Mcmoirs
of Zlcxovdcr Iostcrvol, edlted by Pasternak Slater
(New York Oxford. Oxford Lnlverslty Press,
l981);
Elena Vladlmlrovna Pasternak, 'Rabota Borlsa paster
naka nad tslklom 'Nachal`nala pora,`" Iussloc i
orubclvoc ioylovovic, 1 (l970). l21-l1l;
Pasternak and M. I. Ielnberg, eds., !ospomivoviio o orisc
Iostcrvolc (Moscow. Slovo, l993);
Leonld Oslpovlch Pasternak, opisli rovyll lct, edlted
by Zhozeflna Pasternak (Moscow. Sovetskll khu
dozhnlk, l975); translated by |ennlfer Bradshaw
as Tlc Mcmoirs of Icovid Iostcrvol (New York.
_uartet, l982);
Zlnalda Nlkolaevna Pasternak, !toroc roldcvic: Iis`mo l . `.
Iostcrvol (Moscow. GRIJ/Dommuzel B. Pasternaka,
l993);
Dale Plank, Iostcrvol`s Iyric: Z Study of Souvd ovd Imogcry
(Jhe Hague. Mouton, l966);
Krystyna Pomorska, Tlcmcs ovd !oriotiovs iv Iostcrvol`s
Ioctics (Llsse, Belglum. Peter de Rldder Press,
l975);
Darlene Reddaway, 'Pasternak, Spengler, and _uan
tum Mechanlcs. Constants, Varlables, and Chalns
of Equatlons," Iussiov Iitcroturc, 26 (l992). 37-70;
Mary I. Rowland and Paul Rowland, Iostcrvol`s 'Doctor
livogo (Carbondale. Southern Illlnols Lnlver
slty Press, l967);
Larlssa Rudova, Iostcrvol`s Slort Iictiov ovd tlc Culturol
!ovguord (New York. Peter Lang, l991);
1l6
_ m~~ ai_ PPN
Rudova, Uvdcrstovdivg oris Iostcrvol (Columbla. Lnl
verslty of South Carollna Press, l997);
Rlma Salys, 'Izmerltel`nala edlnltsa russkol zhlznl.
Pushkln ln the Work of Borls Pasternak," Iussiov
Iitcroturc, 9 (l986). 317-392;
|ean Marle Schultz, 'Pasternak`s 'Zerkalo`," Iussiov Iit-
croturc, l3 (l983). 8l-l00;
Renate Schweltzer, Ircuvdscloft mit oris Iostcrvol
(Vlenna. Kurt Desch, l963);
D. Segal, 'Pro Domo Sua. Jhe Case of Borls Paster
nak," Slovico Hicrosolymitovo, l (l977). l99-250;
Igor` Pavlovlch Smlrnov, Iomov toiv 'Doltor livogo
(Moscow. Novoe llteraturnoe obozrenle, l996);
Klrll Jaranovsky, 'On the Poetlcs of Borls Pasternak,"
Iussiov Iitcroturc, 9 (l98l). 339-358;
|ane Jaubman, 'Marlna Jsvetaeva and Borls Paster
nak. Jowards the Hlstory of a Irlendshlp," Ius-
siov Iitcroturc Triquortcrly, 2 (Wlnter l972). 303-
32l;
Vlctor Jerras, 'Borls Pasternak and Romantlc Aesthet
lcs," Iopcrs ov Iovguogc c Iitcroturc, 3 (Wlnter
l967). 12-56;
Jerras, 'Borls Pasternak and Jlme," Covodiov Slovic
Studics, 2 (Summer l968). 261-270;
Aflanl Jomlllna and N. G. Jomlllna, Z o mvoiu slum
pogovi: oris Iostcrvol i vlost`. Dolumcvty 196-1972
(Moscow. ROSSPEN, 200l);
Marlna Ivanovna Jsvetaeva, 'Epos l llrlka v sovremen
nol Rossll," òvyi grod, 6-7 (l933);
Jsvetaeva, 'Poety s lstorlel l poety bez lstorll," ln her
Sobrovic soclivcvii, volume 5 (Moscow. Jerra,
l997), pp. 75-l06;
Jsvetaeva, 'Svetovol llven`," Ipopcio, 3 (l922);
Iurll Nlkolaevlch Jynlanov, 'Promezhutok," ln hls
Zrlloisty i vovotory (Lenlngrad. Prlbol, l929), pp.
51l-580.
m~W
Most of Borls Pasternak`s papers are ln the Pasternak
famlly archlve ln Moscow, under the care of Evgenll
Borlsovlch Pasternak and Elena Vladlmlrovna Paster
nak, and ln the Pasternak Jrust ln Oxford, England.
Elsewhere ln Moscow, Pasternak`s papers are archlved
at the Instltute of World Llterature (IMLI), fond l20;
the Russlan State Llbrary (RGB) ln the Department of
Manuscrlpts, fond 386 (the Valerll Iakovlevlch Brlusov
archlve); the Russlan State Archlve of Llterature and
Art (RGALI), fond 379; the State Llterary Museum
(GLM), fond l13, osvovvoi fovd (baslc archlve) 1810. In
St. Petersburg, collectlons of Pasternak`s papers can be
found at the Russlan Natlonal Llbrary (RNB), fonds
171 and 60. Jhey are also located at the Georglan Llter
ary Museum ln Jblllsl. In the Lnlted States, archlves of
Pasternak`s papers are housed at the Houghton Llbrary
of Harvard Lnlverslty; at Sterllng Memorlal Llbrary of
Yale Lnlverslty; at Amherst College (ln the Jhomas P.
Whltney Collectlon); and ln the I. J. Holtzman Collec
tlon at the Hoover Instltutlon Archlve at Stanford Lnl
verslty.
NVRU k m i~
^
Swcdisl Zcodcmy
Gentlemen.
Jhls year`s Nobel Prlze for Llterature has been
awarded by the Swedlsh Academy to the SovletRusslan
wrlter Borls Pasternak for hls notable achlevement ln
both contemporary poetry and the fleld of the great
Russlan narratlve tradltlon.
As ls well known, Pasternak has sent word that he
does not wlsh to accept the dlstlnctlon. Jhls refusal, of
course, ln no way alters the valldlty of the award. Jhere
remalns only for the Academy, however, to announce
wlth regret that the presentatlon of the Prlze cannot
take place.
1l7
l~ m~
(J1 Morcl 1914 - 19 Zpril 199S)
g ^~ j~
Uvivcrsity of Morylovd ot Collcgc Iorl
Jhls entry was revlsed from Agullar Mora`s Paz entry
ln DI 290: Modcrv Spovisl Zmcricov Iocts, Sccovd Scrics.
See also the Paz entrles ln DI Jcorbool: 1990 and DI
Jcorbool: 199S.
BOOKS. Iuvo silvcstrc (Mexlco Clty. Ibula, l933);
ò posorv (Mexlco Clty. Slmbad, l936);
Io dcl lombrc (Mexlco Clty. Slmbad, l937);
ojo tu cloro sombro y otros pocmos sobrc Ispovo (Valencla.
Edlclones Espaolas, l937);
Ivtrc lo picdro y lo flor (Mexlco Clty. Nueva Voz, l91l);
Z lo orillo dcl muvdo y Irimcr do, ojo tu cloro sombro, Io
dcl lombrc, òclc dc rcsurrccciovcs (Mexlco Clty.
ARS, l912);
Iibcrtod bojo polobro (Mexlco Clty. Jezontle, l919);
revlsed and enlarged as Iibcrtod bojo polobro: Ubro
poctico, 19J-197 (Mexlco Clty. Iondo de Cul
tura Econmlca, l960; revlsed and enlarged
agaln, l968);
Il lobcrivto dc lo solcdod (Mexlco Clty. Cuadernos Amer
lcanos, l950; revlsed and enlarged edltlon, Mex
lco Clty. Iondo de Cultura Econmlca, l959);
translated by Lysander Kemp as Tlc Iobyrivtl of
Solitudc: Iifc ovd Tlouglt iv Mcxico (New York.
Grove, l96l; London. Evergreen, l96l);
enlarged as Il lobcrivto dc lo solcdod: Iosdoto !uclto o
cl lobcrivto dc lo solcdod (Mexlco Clty. Iondo de
Cultura Econmlca, l98l);
Zguilo o sol? (Mexlco Clty. Jezontle, l95l); translated
by Ellot Welnberger as Ioglc or Suv? (New York.
October House, l970; New York. New Horlzons,
l976; London. Owen, l990);
Scmillos poro uv limvo (Mexlco Clty. Jezontle, l951);
Io lijo dc Ioppoccivi (Mexlco Clty. Revlsta Mexlcana de
Llteratura, l956);
Il orco y lo liro: Il pocmo, lo rcvclociov poctico, pocso c listorio
(Mexlco Clty. Iondo de Cultura Econmlca,
l956); translated by Ruth L. C. Slmms as Tlc
ow ovd tlc Iyrc: Tlc Iocm, tlc Ioctic Icvclotiov,
Ioctry ovd History (Austln. Lnlverslty of Jexas
Press, l973);
Ios pcros dcl olmo (Mexlco Clty. Lnlversldad Naclonal
Autnoma de Mxlco, l957);
Iicdro dc sol (Mexlco Clty. Jezontle, l957); translated by
Peter Mlller as Suv Stovc (Joronto. Contact,
l963);
Io cstociov violcvto (Mexlco Clty. Iondo de Cultura
Econmlca, l958);
l~ m~ I j~Jg m~I ~ a~ eI k
vI ~ ~ NVVM k m
i~ Ee ^Ld f~F
1l8
l~ m~ ai_ PPN
Tomoyo cv lo pivturo mcxicovo (Mexlco Clty. Lnlversldad
Naclonal Autnoma de Mxlco, l959);
Solomovdro, 19S-1961 (Mexlco Clty. Mortlz, l962);
!icvto cvtcro (Delhl. Caxton, l965);
Cuodrivio: Doro, Iopc !clordc, Icssoo, Ccrvudo (Mexlco
Clty. Mortlz, l965);
Ios sigvos cv rotociov (Buenos Alres. SLR, l965);
Iucrtos ol compo (Mexlco Clty. Lnlversldad Naclonal
Autnoma de Mxlco, l966);
Cloudc Icvi-Strouss o Il vucvo fcstv dc Isopo (Mexlco Clty.
Mortlz, l967); translated by |. S. Bernsteln and
Maxlne Bernsteln as Cloudc Icvi-Strouss: Zv Ivtro-
ductiov (Ithaca, N.Y.. Cornell Lnlverslty Press,
l970);
Corricvtc oltcrvo (Mexlco Clty. Slglo XXI, l967); trans
lated by Helen R. Lane as Zltcrvotivg Currcvt (New
York. Vlklng, l973);
lovco (Mexlco Clty. Mortlz, l967);
Discos visuolcs (Mexlco Clty. Era, l968);
Morccl Duclomp o Il costillo dc lo purco (Mexlco Clty.
Era, l968); translated by Donald Gardner as Mor-
ccl Duclomp; or, Tlc Costlc of Iurity (London. Cape
Gollard, l970); revlsed and enlarged as Zporicvcio
dcsvudo: Io obro dc Morccl Duclomp (Mexlco Clty.
Era, l973); revlsed edltlon translated by Rachel
Phllllps ln Morccl Duclomp: Zppcorovcc Strippcd orc
(New York. Vlklng, l976);
Covjuvciovcs y disyuvciovcs (Mexlco Clty. Mortlz, l969);
translated by Lane as Covjuvctiovs ovd Disjuvctiovs
(New York. Vlklng, l971);
Iodcro cstc (1962-196S): Iodcro cstc; Hocio cl comicvo;
lovco (Mexlco Clty. Mortlz, l969);
Iosdoto (Mexlco Clty. Slglo XXI, l970); translated by
Kemp as Tlc Utlcr Mcxico: Critiquc of tlc Iyromid
(New York. Grove, l972);
Ios cosos cv su sitio: Sobrc lo litcroturo cspovolo dcl siglo XX,
by Paz and |uan Marlchal (Mexlco Clty. Ilnls
terre, l97l);
Topocmos (Mexlco Clty. Era, l97l);
Icvgo, by Paz, |acques Roubaud, Edoardo Sangulnettl,
and Charles Jomllnson (Parls. Galllmard, l97l);
translated by Jomllnson as Icvgo: Z Cloiv of Iocms
(Harmondsworth, L.K. New York. Penguln,
l979);
Troducciov: Iitcroturo y litcrolidod (Barcelona. Jusquets,
l97l);
Il sigvo y cl goroboto (Mexlco Clty. Mortlz, l973);
Solo o dos voccs, by Paz and |ulln Ros (Barcelona.
Lumen, l973);
Clildrcv of tlc Mirc: Modcrv Ioctry from Iomovticism to tlc
Zvovt-Cordc, translated by Phllllps (Cambrldge,
Mass.. Harvard Lnlverslty Press, l971); orlglnal
Spanlsh verslon publlshed as Ios lijos dcl limo: Dcl
romovticismo o lo vovguordio (Barcelona. Selx Barral,
l971);
Io busqucdo dcl comicvo (Madrld. Edltorlal Iundamen
tos, l971);
Il movo gromtico (Barcelona. Selx Barral, l971); trans
lated by Lane as Tlc Movlcy Crommoriov (New
York. Seaver, l98l);
Iosodo cv cloro (Mexlco Clty. Iondo de Cultura
Econmlca, l975; revlsed, l978);
!uclto (Barcelona. Selx Barral, l976);
Xovicr !illourrutio cv pcrsovo y cv obro (Mexlco Clty.
Iondo de Cultura Econmlca, l978);
Zir orv / Hijos dcl oirc: Iocmos, by Paz and Charles Jom
llnson (Mexlco Clty. Jaller Martn Pescador,
l979);
Il ogro filovtropico: Historio ovd poltico, 1971-197S (Barce
lona. Selx Barral, l979); translated ln Tlc Ioby-
rivtl of Solitudc; ovd, Tlc Utlcr Mcxico; Icturv to tlc
Iobyrivtl of Solitudc; Mcxico ovd tlc Uvitcd Stotcs; Tlc
Ililovtlropic Ugrc (New York. Grove, l985);
Iv/Mcdiociovcs (Barcelona. Selx Barral, l979);
Iocmos (19J-197) (Barcelona. Selx Barral, l979);
Sor uovo Ivcs dc lo Cru, o, Ios trompos dc lo fc (Barcelona.
Selx Barral, l982); translated by Margaret Sayers
Peden as Sor uovo, or, Tlc Trops of Ioitl (Cam
brldge, Mass.. Harvard Lnlverslty Press, l988);
Sombros dc obros: Zrtc y litcroturo (Barcelona. Selx Barral,
l983);
Ticmpo vublodo (Barcelona. Selx Barral, l983); translated
as Uvc Iortl, Iour or Iivc !orlds: Icflcctiovs ov Cov-
tcmporory History (San Dlego. Harcourt Brace
|ovanovlch, l985);
Hombrcs cv su siglo y otros cvsoyos (Barcelona. Selx Barral,
l981);
Iosiov crtico (Barcelona. Selx Barral, l985);
rbol odcvtro (Barcelona. Selx Barral, l987); translated
by Welnberger as Z Trcc !itliv (New York. New
Dlrectlons, l988);
Mcxico cv lo obro dc Uctovio Io, 3 volumes, edlted by Paz
and Luls Marlo Schnelder (Mexlco Clty. Iondo
de Cultura Econmlca, l987);
Covvcrgcvccs: Issoys ov Zrt ovd Iitcroturc, translated by
Lane (San Dlego. Harcourt Brace |ovanovlch,
l987); Spanlshlanguage verslon publlshed as Cov-
vcrgcvcios (Barcelona. Selx Barral, l99l);
Irimcros lctros (19J1-194J), selected by Enrlco Marlo
Sant (Barcelona. Selx Barral, l988);
Iocso, mito, rcvoluciov: Ircmio Zlcxis dc Tocqucvillc (Mexlco
Clty. Vuelta, l989);
Io otro vo: Iocso y fiv dc siglo (Barcelona. Selx Barral,
l990); translated by Lane as Tlc Utlcr !oicc: Issoys
ov Modcrv Ioctry (New York. Harcourt Brace
|ovanovlch, l99l);
1l9
ai_ PPN l~ m~
Icqucvo crovico dc grovdcs dos (Mexlco Clty. Iondo de
Cultura Econmlca, l990);
Iv Scorcl of tlc Ircscvt: òbcl Iccturc, 1990, blllngual edl
tlon, translated by Anthony Stanton (San Dlego.
Harcourt Brace |ovanovlch, l990);
Zl poso (Barcelona. Selx Barral, l992);
Il lobcrivto dc lo solcdod; Iostdoto; !uclto o Il lobcrivto dc lo
solcdod (Mexlco Clty. Iondo de Cultura
Econmlca, l992);
Itivcrorio (Mexlco Clty. Iondo de Cultura Econmlca,
l993); translated by |ason Wllson as Itivcrory: Zv
Ivtcllcctuol ourvcy (New York. Harcourt Brace,
l999);
Io llomo doblc: Zmor y crotismo (Barcelona. Selx Barral,
l993); translated by Lane as Tlc Doublc Ilomc:
Iovc ovd Iroticism (New York. Harcourt Brace,
l995);
Uv ms oll crotico: Sodc (Mexlco Clty. Vuelta/Hellpolls,
l993); translated by Welnberger as Zv Irotic
cyovd: Sodc (New York. Harcourt Brace, l998);
!islumbrcs dc lo Ivdio (Barcelona. Selx Barral, l995);
translated by Welnberger as Iv Iiglt of Ivdio (New
York. Harcourt Brace, l997);
Icflcjos, rcplicos: Dilogos cov Irovcisco dc _ucvcdo (Madrld.
La Palma, l996);
Dclto dc civcos broos (Barcelona. Galaxla Gutenberg,
l998);
Iiguros y figurociovcs, by Paz and Marle |os Paz (Barce
lona. Galaxla Gutenberg, l999); translated by
Welnberger as Iigurcs ovd Iigurotiovs (New York.
New Dlrectlons, 2002);
Il comivo dc lo posiov, Iopc !clordc (Mexlco Clty. Selx
Barral, 200l).
b ~ `W Ubro poctico (19J-19SS)
(Barcelona. Selx Barral, l990);
Ubros complctos dc Uctovio Io, l5 volumes (Barcelona.
Crculo de Lectores / Mexlco Clty. Iondo de Cul
tura Econmlca, l991-2001);
Sucvo cv libcrtod: Iscritos polticos, selected by Yvn Gre
nler (Mexlco Clty. Planeta, 200l).
b bW Sclcctcd Iocms, translated by Murlel
Rukeyser (Bloomlngton. Indlana Lnlverslty
Press, l963);
Covfigurotiovs, translated by G. Aroul and others (New
York. New Dlrectlons, l97l; London. Cape,
l97l);
Iorly Iocms, 19J-19, translated by Rukeyser and
others (Bloomlngton. Indlana Lnlverslty Press,
l973);
Tlc Sircv ovd tlc Scoslcll, ovd Utlcr Issoys ov Iocts ovd
Ioctry, translated by Lysander Kemp and Marga
ret Sayers Peden (Austln. Lnlverslty of Jexas
Press, l976);
Z Droft of Slodows ovd Utlcr Iocms, edlted by Ellot Weln
berger, translated by Welnberger, Ellzabeth
Blshop, and Mark Strand (New York. New Dlrec
tlons, l979);
Tlc Iobyrivtl of Solitudc; ovd, Tlc Utlcr Mcxico; Icturv to
tlc Iobyrivtl of Solitudc; Mcxico ovd tlc Uvitcd Stotcs;
Tlc Ililovtlropic Ugrc, translated by Kemp, Yara
Mllos, and Rachel Phllllps Belash (New York.
Grove, l985);
Uv Iocts ovd Utlcrs, translated by Mlchael Schmldt (New
York. Seaver, l986);
Tlc Collcctcd Iocms of Uctovio Io, 197-19S7, edlted by
Welnberger, translated by Welnberger and others
(New York. New Dlrectlons, l987);
Issoys ov Mcxicov Zrt, translated by Helen R. Lane (New
York. Harcourt Brace, l993);
Z Tolc of Two Cordcvs: Iocms from Ivdio, 192-199,
edlted by Welnberger, translated by Welnberger
and others (New York. New Dlrectlons Blbelot,
l997).
OJHER. Paul Claudel, ed., Zvtlologic dc lo pocsic mcxi-
coivc, translated by Guy Lvls Mano, lntroductlon
and commentarles by Paz (Parls. Nagel, l952);
Zvtlology of Mcxicov Ioctry, edlted by Paz, translated by
Samuel Beckett (Bloomlngton. Indlana Lnlver
slty Press, l958);
Iocso cv movimicvto, Mcxico, 191-1966, complled by Paz
(Mexlco Clty. Slglo XXI, l966); revlsed and
translated as `cw Ioctry of Mcxico, edlted by Mark
Strand (New York. Dutton, l970; London. Secker
Warburg, l972);
Iv Iroisc of Hovds: Covtcmporory Crofts of tlc !orld, lncludes
essay by Paz (Greenwlch, Conn.. New York
Graphlc Soclety, l971);
!crsiovcs y divcrsiovcs, complled by Paz (Mexlco Clty.
Mortlz, l971).
Jhe lntellectual work of Octavlo Paz ls one of the
most extenslve and lmportant contrlbutlons ln the hls
tory of Latln Amerlca. He wrote more than twenty
books of poetry (more than thlrty lf all verslons of the
dlfferent edltlons that exlst for many of the books are
consldered) and as many booklength essays about such
toplcs as llterature, erotlclsm, polltlcs, anthropology,
and palntlng. Lntll hls death he fueled an lntellectual
passlon thatthrough hls essays and the magazlnes that
he headedturned hlm lnto an lndlspensable gulde ln
the Spanlsh language for several generatlons. Not only
wlth hls poetry but also wlth hls prose, Paz renovated
Spanlsh, thanks to hls mastery of nuance, the communl
catlon between words, and the archltecture of syntax.
In Iocso, mito, rcvoluciov: Ircmio Zlcxis dc Tocqucvillc
(l989, Poetry, Myth, Revolutlon. Alexls de Jocquevllle
120
l~ m~ ai_ PPN
Prlze), hls acceptance speech upon recelvlng that award,
Paz stated.
Desde ml adolescencla he escrlto poemas y no he
cesado de escrlblrlos. _ulse ser poeta y nada ms. En
mls llbros de prosa me propuse servlr a la poesa, justlfl
carla y defenderla, expllcarla ante los otros y ante m
mlsmo. Pronto descubr que la defensa de la poesa,
menospreclada en nuestro slglo, era lnseperable de la
defensa de la llbertad. De ah ml lnters apaslonado por
los asuntos poltlcos y soclales que han agltado a nues
tro tlempo.
(From adolescence I have wrltten poems and I have not
stopped wrltlng them. I wanted to be a poet and noth
lng more. In my books of prose I made up my mlnd to
serve poetry, to justlfy and defend lt, and to explaln lt
to others and to myself. I soon dlscovered that the
defense of poetry, desplsed ln our century, was lnsepa
rable from the defense of llberty. From there my pas
slonate lnterest ln the polltlcal and soclal lssues that
have agltated our tlmes.)
Jhls declaratlon clearly shows how he concelved the
lntlmate relatlonshlp between hls dlfferent lntellectual
enterprlses. hls poems, hls essays on poetry, and hls hls
torlcal, polltlcal, and soclal reflectlons.
Paz`s work was recognlzed worldwlde through
translatlons of hls books and many awards. the Iestlval
of the Poetry of Ilanders Prlze ln l972, the |erusalem
Llterature Prlze ln l977, and the Grand Algle dÒr ln
Nlce ln l979. In addltlon, ln l982 he recelved the Cer
vantes Prlze, glven for llterature. In l989 he recelved
the Premlo Alexls de Jocquevllle ln Irance; and, flnally,
ln l990 he was awarded the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature.
Paz was born on 3l March l9l1 ln Mexlco Clty
to Octavlo Paz Solrzano and |oseflna Lozano. Jhe dlc
tator Vlctorlano Huerta governed Mexlco Clty, whlle ln
the north varlous army reglments, prlnclpally those of
Pancho Vllla, were advanclng toward the clty. Emlllano
Zapata and hls allles domlnated the terrltorles to the
south of Mexlco Clty. Paz`s father, a lawyer, had jolned
Zapata`s army, leavlng Paz`s paternal grandfather as the
strongest lnfluence on the boy durlng the early years of
hls llfe. Jhe grandfather, Ireneo Paz, was a wellknown
flgure from the reglme of Porflrlo Daz; he had fought
agalnst the Irench ln the l860s, founded newspapers,
publlshed novels, and served as a natlonal representa
tlve and senator of the republlc.
Wlth the exceptlon of a few months spent ln the
Lnlted States wlth hls exlled father at the end of l920,
Paz llved all of hls chlldhood ln hls grandfather`s home
ln Mlxcoac, a vlllage southeast of Mexlco Clty. He read
hls flrst lmportant books ln hls grandfather`s llbrary,
and on the patlo he encountered flg trees, flowers, and
church bells, all of whlch were fundamental lmages ln
hls memory and ln hls poetry. 'En Mlxcoac, pueblo de
lablos quemados, slo, la hlguera sealaba los camblos
del ao" (In Mlxcoac, vlllage of burned llps, alone, the
flg tree slgnaled the change of season), he recalled ln
^~ \ (l95l; translated as b~ p\I l970).
Paz recelved hls flrst formal educatlon ln a Catho
llc school of the Marlan order where, perhaps, he
acqulred hls llfelong repugnance for the |esults, whom
he later called 'los bolshevlques de la lglesla catllca"
(the Bolshevlks of the Cathollc Church) ln j ~
~ l~ m~ (l987, Mexlco ln the Works of
Octavlo Paz). In l929, at flfteen years of age, Paz partlc
lpated ln hls flrst polltlcal actlvlty. a student strlke ln
support of |os Vasconcelos, whom many were sure
had been fraudulently strlpped of the presldency ln the
electlons carrled out that year. Although Paz occaslon
ally dlsagreed wlth hls ldeas, he always consldered Vas
concelos to be one of the most llvely and authentlc
lntellectual flgures of Mexlco and Latln Amerlca, refer
rlng to hlm ln a l91l book revlew as 'el gran creador o
recreador de la naturaleza y los hombres de Amrlca"
(the great creator or recreator of nature and of the men
of Amerlca).
At seventeen Paz publlshed hls flrst poem,
founded hls flrst llterary magazlne, _~~~ (Handrall),
and met other wrlters who lnfluenced hlm, lncludlng
Xavler Vlllaurrutla, a Mexlcan wrlter from the prevlous
generatlon. Jhat generatlon had been named for the
magazlne ` (Contemporarles). In l978 Paz
publlshed one of hls best books of personal reflectlon
and llterary crltlclsm about Vlllaurrutla, u~ s~J
~ ~ ~ (Xavler Vlllaurrutla, the Man
and Hls Work). Jhere he descrlbes, wlth subtle obser
vatlons and lllumlnatlng lnslghts, hls personal relatlon
shlp not only wlth Vlllaurrutla but also wlth many
Contemporneos and wlth the larger llterary world of
hls youth. (In l935 he met |orge Cuesta, another mem
ber of thls same group who had a great lnfluence on hls
llfe.) In addltlon, Paz lntroduces perceptlve judgments
about Mexlcan character, the ldentlty of Mexlcan lltera
ture, and hlmself that do not appear ln any other of hls
books wlth such lmmedlate spontanelty.
In l933 Paz publlshed hls flrst book of poems,
i~ (Wlld Moon). Although ln l988 he helped
put together an edltlon of prose texts from early ln hls
career that had remalned dlspersed ln magazlnes and
newspapers, he never deslred to reedlt hls flrst book of
poemsa small book totally lndebted to what was the
sunset of Latln Amerlcan Modernlsm ln poets such as
Enrlque Gonzlez Martnez of Mexlco and Alberto
Lreta of Peru. Jhe year that i~ appeared, Paz
had flnlshed hls preparatory studles and had begun hls
unlverslty studles ln law. Although he never flnlshed hls
law degree, he had the opportunlty to attend classes at a
12l
ai_ PPN l~ m~
locatlon that provldes the theme of one of hls most
accompllshed poems. San Ildefonso, well known ln
Mexlco for houslng a |esult school for more than one
hundred years prlor to belng the seat of a wellknown
modernday preparatory school. In two of hls classes he
had notable lntellectuals as professors. Carlos Pelllcer
for llterature and Antonlo Daz Soto y Gamacompan
lon and frlend of hls father durlng the revolutlonfor
Mexlcan hlstory.
Paz later remembered wlth great lntenslty and
affectlon that ln those years, prlor to the death of hls
father ln l936, hls house was vlslted by many of hls
father`s frlends from hls tlme of opotisto mllltancy and
by many peasants who sollclted the servlces of a lawyer
ln land dlsputes. Lltlmately, however, Paz`s father was a
broken man whose alcohollsm put great straln on hls
famlly. Hls father`s polltlcal bellefs, together wlth those
vlslts of former comrades from the revolutlon, lald the
groundwork for one of Paz`s deepestrooted polltlcal
ldeas. 'Zapata est ms all de la controversla entre los
llberales y los conservadores, los marxlstas y los neo
capltallstas. Zapata est ovtcsy tal vez, sl Mxlco no se
extlngue, estar dcspucs" (Zapata ls beyond the contro
versy between the Llberals and the Conservatlves, the
Marxlsts and the Neocapltallsts. Zapata ls bcforcand
maybe, lf Mexlco does not extlngulsh ltself, lt wlll be
oftcr). Jhls declaratlon, made ln a l975 lntervlew col
lected ln Tlc Iobyrivtl of Solitudc; ovd, Tlc Utlcr Mcxico;
Icturv to tlc Iobyrivtl of Solitudc; Mcxico ovd tlc Uvitcd
Stotcs; Tlc Ililovtlropic Ugrc (l985), was surprlslng.
Rarely dld Paz speak wlth such forceful emphasls of a
polltlcal movement ln Mexlco or ln any part of the
world. Jen years later, ln another lntervlewthls one
collected ln Mcxico cv lo obro dc Uctovio Iohe returned
to the same theme.
Yo vlv todo eso y en ml adolescencla conoc a algunos
veteranos del zapatlsmo. Ms tarde reflexlon mucho
acerca de esa semllla verdad que encerraba la revuelta
campeslna. Advert en ella una faceta mllenarlsta que
no s sl llamar utplca, una voluntad de regresar a una
socledad precapltallsta y premoderna, el sueo de una
tlerra poseda en comn. _ulz sea lmposlble fundar
este tlpo de comunldad pero es un sueo que da pro
fundldad a la vlda.
(I llved all that and ln my adolescence I met some of the
veterans of Zapata`s movement. Later, I reflected a lot
about that seed of truth wlthln the peasant uprlslng. I
recognlzed lt as a mlllennlal facet, perhaps utoplan, of a
wlll to return to a precapltallst, premodern soclety, the
dream of communally owned land. Although lt may be
lmposslble to found thls type of communlty, lt ls a
dream that glves profundlty to llfe.)
By l931, wlth the beglnnlng of the presldency of
Lzaro Crdenas, great lmpetus was glven to publlc
educatlon ln Mexlco. Paz partlclpated ln that drlve, and
ln l936, after dropplng out of the unlverslty, he jolned
two frlends ln foundlng a secondary school for the chll
dren of workers ln Yucatn, one of the poorest reglons
of the country. Another result of hls stay and experl
ence ln that reglon was the book Ivtrc lo picdro y lo flor
(l91l, Between the Stone and the Ilower). By then Paz
had been offlclally 'recelved" by the group of Contem
porneos, even though they were, ln fact, from the gen
eratlon prlor to hls own. Around that tlme he marrled
Elena Garro, who was also a wrlter ln early bloom.
Whlle she dlstlngulshed herself through her novels,
short storles, and plays, Paz made hls mark ln poetry
and essays. In l937 they traveled to Europe.
Jhrough the lntercesslons of Arturo Serrano
Plaja, of Pablo Neruda, and probably of Rafael Albertl,
whom Paz had met ln l931 ln Mexlco, Paz had
recelved an lnvltatlon to partlclpate ln the Second Inter
natlonal Congress of Antlfasclst Wrlters, whlch took
place ln Madrld and Valencla ln support of the Spanlsh
Republlc. Durlng a oneyear stay ln Europe, Paz llved
through the flrst battles of the Spanlsh Clvll War, meet
lng ln Spaln and Parls wrlters and artlsts such as Csar
Abraham Vallejo, Mlguel Hernndez, Luls Buuel, and
Robert Desnos. Before travellng or durlng hls stay ln
Europe, Paz publlshed Io dcl lombrc (l937, Man`s
Roots), a long love poem dlvlded lnto flfteen parts, ln
whlch the poet looks for an amorous experlence to be
authentlc, personal, and unlque, and beyond the two
realltles of love, the one 'nude and clear" and the other
'black . . . qulet and tense." In Spaln that same year, Paz
publlshed ojo tu cloro sombro y otros pocmos sobrc Ispovo
(Lnder Your Llght Shadow and Other Poems about
Spaln), a book that he reedlted ln Mexlco four years
later, omlttlng the poems about Spaln.
On returnlng to Mexlco, Paz partlclpated ln the
foundlng of another magazlne, Tollcr (Workshop), the
name of whlch was attached to the wrlters of hls gener
atlon, a group that lncludes authors such as Efran
Huerta, |os Revueltas, and Rafael Solana. Durlng the
three years of the llfe of the magazlne, events occurred
that lnfluenced Paz`s subsequent thought and work.
Jhe nonaggresslon pact of l939 between |oseph Stalln
and Adolf Hltler was, for many leftlst mllltants, 'un
hecho que nos sacudl, nos dlvldl y que a algunos,
nos abrl los ojos" (a fact that shook us up, dlvlded us
and that for some, opened our eyes), Paz recalls ln Som-
bros dc obros: Zrtc y litcroturo (l983, Shadows of Works.
Art and Llterature). He was among those drlven to sup
port Leon Jrotsky, whose arrlval ln Mexlco ln fllght
from the persecutlon of Stalln permltted the under
standlng of many of hls polltlcal posltlons ln a dlrect
122
l~ m~ ai_ PPN
manner, not dlstorted by the propaganda of hls capltal
lst and Stallnlst enemles.
As a result of the trlumph of fasclsm ln Spaln,
another lmportant fact from those years was the arrlval
of thousands of Republlcan refugees, among whom
were many artlsts, phllosophers, lntellectuals, and hlsto
rlans who lent an lnvaluable presence and llvellness to
Mexlcan culture throughout the rest of the twentleth
century. Jhelr arrlval ls lmmedlately perceptlble ln the
composltlon of the edltorlal commlttee of Tollcr, whlch,
beglnnlng wlth the flfth lssue, brought ln such wrlters
as |uan GllAlbert, Antonlo SnchezBarbudo, and
Ramn Gaya. Iurthermore, the teachlngs of the phllos
opher |os Gaos, who was also a Spanlsh refugee, famll
larlzed Paz wlth the work of Martln Heldegger and of
Edmund Husserl.
Between l939 and l91l Paz read two other
works essentlal to hls lntellectual formatlon. Ivtroductiov
o lo pocsic frovoisc (l939, Irench Poetry. An Overvlew)
by Jhlerry Maulnler and Histoirc dc lo littcroturc frovoisc
dc 17S9 o vos jours (l936, Hlstory of Irench Llterature
from l789 to the Present) by Albert Jhlbaudet, a work
expllcltly pralsed by Paz hlmself. Both books deflnl
tlvely establlshed a canon of Irench llterature that lden
tlfled Grard de Nerval, Charles Baudelalre, |ean
NlcolasArthur Rlmbaud, and Stphane Mallarm
rather than Vlctor Hugo, Alphonse de Lamartlne, or
Alfred de Musset as the true founders of twentleth
century llterature. Jhls lnterest ln the symbollsts was
apparent ln the contents of Tollcr: ln the slxth lssue Vll
laurrutla revlewed Maulnler`s book, clearly slgnallng
the novelty of lts vlslon. Also, ln the flrst lssue there had
appeared a translatlon of Uvc Soisov cv cvfcr (l873, A
Season ln Hell) by Rlmbaud, presented wlth a foreword
by Luls Cardoza y Aragn, the Guatemalan wrlter who
had recently arrlved from Europe and whose presence
ln those years served as a brldge between the genera
tlon of Paz and the European and Latln Amerlcan
avantgarde. Jhls reappralsal of another llne of llterary
modernlty declslvely changed the way ln whlch Paz
confronted the polltlcal and llterary alternatlves of hls
tlmes, partlcularly ln Ios lijos dcl limo: Dcl romovticismo o lo
vovguordio (l971; orlglnally publlshed as Clildrcv of tlc
Mirc: Modcrv Ioctry from Iomovticism to tlc Zvovt-Cordc).
In 'Poesla e hlstorla. Iourcl y nosotros" (Poetry
and Hlstory. Iourcl and Ls), an essay collected ln Som-
bros dc obros, Paz sums up the confllct of hls generatlon.
En Mxlco los que tenamos velntlclnco aos en l910
oponamos mentalmente las flguras de nuestros poetas
a las de los tlranos. Daro, Machado y |uan Ramn nos
consolaban de los Franco, los Somoza y los Jrujlllo.
Pero la poesa no era, para nosotros, nl un refuglo nl
una fuga. era una conclencla y una fldelldad. Aquello
que la hlstorla haba separado, ella lo una. Frente a las
rulnas y los proyectos desmoronados, veamos elevarse
sus edlflclos dlfanos. la poesa era la contlnuldad.
(In Mexlco those of us who were twentyflve years old
ln l910 lmaglned the flgures of our poets ln opposltlon
to the tyrants. Daro, Machado, and |uan Ramn
|lmnez consoled us ln the face of the Francos, the
Somozas, and the Jrujlllos. But poetry was, for us, nel
ther a refuge nor an escape. lt was a consclousness and
a loyalty. Jhat whlch hlstory had separated, poetry
jolned together. Faclng the rulns and the crumbllng
projects, we used to see the ethereal edlflces rlse up.
poetry was contlnulty.)
In 'Antevspera. Tollcr (l938-l91l)" (Day before Yes
terday. Tollcr |l938-l91l|), another essay collected ln
the same anthology, he assesses hls own generatlon.
'Nuestros afanes y preocupaclones eran confusos pero
en su confusln mlsma . . . se dlbujaba ya nuestro tema.
poesa e hlstorla" (Our labors and preoccupatlons were
confused, but ln the same confuslon . . . our theme was
taklng form. poetry and hlstory).
Accordlng to Paz, beglnnlng wlth German
Romantlclsm at the end of the elghteenth century a rad
lcal separatlon had been produced between poetry and
hlstory that, ln some cases, had led to mutual lgno
rance, and ln some cases vlolent opposltlon, between
practltloners of the two arts. Jhls ldea was profoundly
central to Paz`s poetlc work. Many of hls essays are con
cerned wlth elaboratlng and deflnlng thls theme, per
mlttlng hlm, over tlme, to work hls way to a slngle clear
concluslon, on whlch he based Ios lijos dcl limo, one of
hls most lnterestlng llterary essays.
Lpon hls return from Europe, Paz collaborated ln
the foundlng of a leftlst perlodlcal, Il Iopulor (Jhe Pop
ular), although he qulckly became dlslllusloned wlth
thls undertaklng when faced wlth the unwllllngness of
many leftlsts to crltlclze the Sovlet Lnlon ln splte of
knowlng about the represslve and antlrevolutlonary
character of the Stallnlst reglme. In the next decade Paz
looked for alternatlves to those who equated belng
agalnst the Sovlet Lnlon wlth belng ln favor of the fas
clsm of Hltler, Benlto Mussollnl, and Iranclsco Iranco
or wlth the capltallst axls headed by the Lnlted States.
Paz found hlmself, ln the l910s, among such
thlnkers as Vlctor Serge, Benjamln Peret, and |ean
Malaquals, all of whom malntalned lndependent polltl
cal posltlons, and hls stay ln Parls from l915 to l95l
put hlm ln dlrect personal contact wlth the Surreallsts;
nevertheless, the actual lnfluence of Jrotsky and Surre
allsm does not appear ln hls work untll sometlme later.
In the flrst edltlon of Il lobcrivto dc lo solcdod (l950;
translated as Tlc Iobyrivtl of Solitudc: Iifc ovd Tlouglt iv
Mcxico, l96l) the crltlcal reflectlons lndebted to Jrotsky
about the Cold War are not present, nor ls the passlon
123
ai_ PPN l~ m~
ate exaltatlon of erotlclsmlndebted to Surreallsmas a
way of overcomlng 'el laberlnto de la soledad." Paz
added those elements to the second edltlon of that key
book ln l959.
Latln Amerlcan avantgarde poetry, whlch had
arlsen ln the flrst decade of the century, had produced
by the beglnnlng of the l910s lts masterpleces. Trilcc
(l922), Iocmos lumovos (l939, Human Poems), and
Ispovo, oporto dc m cstc cli (l910, Spaln, Jake Jhls
Cup from Me) by Vallejo; Zltoor (l93l) by Vlcente
Huldobro; Icsidcvcio cv lo ticrro (l933, Resldence on
Earth) by Neruda; and Mucrtc siv fiv (l939, Death wlth
out End) by |os Gorostlza. Ior many the avantgarde
was subsequently reduced to a mllltant attltude that
advocated the subjugatlon of llterature to the defense of
polltlcal ldeas. Jhe next generatlon found ltself con
frontlng the cholce of elther contlnulng the work of the
avantgarde or golng down a path ln apparent opposl
tlon to that seemlngly exhausted movement, the road of
the socalled pure poetry. Jhe approaches were not
completely separate, however. Ior example, ln Mucrtc siv
fiv Gorostlza can be sald to have partlclpated ln the
avantgarde movement wlth hls materlallstlc reflectlons
of llfe whlle also belonglng to Gongorlsmo, the styllstlc
renovatlon of Luls de Gngora`s poetryat the same
tlme that he proposes metaphorlc vlslons close to the
phenomenology of pure poetry. Jhe presence of
Gorostlza ls notlceable ln many of Paz`s own poems
from that perlodfor example, the l91l verslon of ojo
tu cloro sombro and 'Noche de resurrecclones" (Nlght of
Resurrectlons) from Z lo orillo dcl muvdo y Irimcr do, ojo
tu cloro sombro, Io dcl lombrc, òclc dc rcsurrccciovcs
(l912, At the Edge of the World and Ilrst Day, Lnder
Your Llght Shadow, Man`s Roots, Nlght of Resurrec
tlons). In effect, the poetlc work of Paz from those years
demonstrates a search ln all currents, lncludlng the one
lnsplred by the phllosophy of Irledrlch Nletzsche, that
had begun wlth Trilcc and Zltoor. Jherefore, lt ls not
unusual to flnd ln Paz`s works of that perlod varlous
dualltles that remalned unresolved untll many years
later.
Jhe osclllatlng duallty of Io dcl lombrc, between
a reallty of terrlble, gutwrenchlng 'roots" and an ldeal
of 'unmovable, eternal, and uncorruptlble" forms,
reappears, ampllfled to cosmlc dlmenslons ln ojo tu
cloro sombro and then slmpllfled ln Ivtrc lo picdro y lo flor
through an opposltlon expressed by the tltle of the
poem, 'between the stone and the flower." Jhls poem,
the product of Paz`s stay ln Yucatn, offers a desolate
vlslon of subterranean rlvers and thelr 'cenotes"
underground water trapped ln cavesas 'El agua ahor
cada" (hung water); the power of money 'Sobre los
huesos de los hombres se levanta" (ls ralsed over the
bones of men) and 'crea deslertos lnflnltos" (creates
lnflnlte deserts). Manklnd passes 'como una flor por
este lnflerno estrll" (llke a flower through thls sterlle
hell), bound for another destlnatlon, toward redemp
tlon. Before redeemlng hlmself, however, the poet must
flnlsh wlth everythlng ln thls 'mundo seco . . . mundo
desangrado" (dry world . . . blooddralned world).
Jhus, the poem concludes. 'Para acabar com todo, / oh
mundo seco, / para acabar con todo" (Jo flnlsh wlth
everythlng, / oh dry world, / to flnlsh wlth everythlng).
In l912 Paz publlshed Z lo orillo dcl muvdo, a book
that collects poetry wrltten and publlshed slnce l935,
lncludlng two poems that had already appeared as
books. ojo tu cloro sombro and Io dcl lombrc. Although
the former was reproduced ln thls new edltlon wlth
only one change, the latter was corrected so extenslvely
that lt ls dlfflcult to say that the l937 poem and the
l912 poem are one and the same.
Irom that moment on, Paz dld not stop correctlng
hls poems and essays. Hls wlll to correct ls an lmportant
tralt to conslder ln any analysls of hls work as a whole.
Ior example, Io dcl lombrc was changed slgnlflcantly
on at least three occaslons. ln Z lo orillo dcl muvdo and ln
the l960 and l968 edltlons of Iibcrtod bojo polobro
(l919, Iree by the Word). Whlch one should be consld
ered the flnal verslon? Jhe answer ls more dlfflcult than
lt seems, because ln all the corrected verslons the
author never stopped lndlcatlng that the true verslon of
the poem was the one wrltten ln l935 and l936 and
flrst publlshed ln l937. Moreover, Paz`s oplnlons on the
subject of correctlng poems are contradlctory. In Il orco
y lo liro: Il pocmo, lo rcvclociov poctico, pocso c listorio
(l956; translated as Tlc ow ovd tlc Iyrc: Tlc Iocm, tlc
Ioctic Icvclotiov, Ioctry ovd History, l973) he says, 'El
poema est hecho de palabras necesarlas y lnsustltul
bles. Por eso es tan dlfcll correglr una obra ya hecha.
Joda correccln lmpllca una recreacln, un volver
sobre nuestros pasos, hacla dentro de nosotros . . .
lmposlble camblar una coma sln trastornar todo el edlfl
clo" (Jhe poem ls made up of necessary and unsubstl
tutable words. Ior that reason, lt ls very dlfflcult to
correct a completed work. Every correctlon lmplles a re
creatlon, a return to our footsteps, lnward . . . lmpossl
ble to change a comma wlthout shaklng up the whole
bulldlng). Returnlng to the subject ln l979, however, he
sald ln the presentatlon of Iocmos (19J-197) (Poems
|l935-l975|). 'Los poemas son objectos verbales lnaca
bados e lnacabables. No exlste lo que se llama 'versln
deflnltlva`. cada poema es el borrador de otro, que
nunca escrlblremos" (Poems are verbal objects, unfln
lshed and unendlng. Jhe socalled deflnltlve verslon
does not exlst. each poem erases another that we wlll
never wrlte). In splte of thls declaratlon, some years
later, ln l995, he changed hls mlnd agaln ln the lntro
ductlon to the last edltlon of Iibcrtod bojo polobro: 'Jhls
121
l~ m~ ai_ PPN
edltlon . . . lncludes correctlons made by the author,
and as such, can be consldered a deflnltlve verslon."
Every reader of Paz should keep ln mlnd thls par
tlcular quallty about hls work, lf he or she ls not read
lng a crltlcal edltlon of the respectlve book. All the
edltlons of Iibcrtod bojo polobro were revlsed, corrected,
enlarged, or cut. Although the second edltlon of Il
lobcrivto dc lo solcdod lncorporated lmportant changes,
they were not the last. Slmllarly, there were changes
made ln the second edltlons of Iosdoto (l970; translated
as Tlc Utlcr Mcxico: Critiquc of tlc Iyromid, l972), Ios lijos
dcl limo, and Sor uovo Ivcs dc lo Cru, o, Ios trompos dc lo fc
(l982; translated as Sor uovo, or, Tlc Trops of Ioitl,
l988).
In l913 Paz collaborated ln the foundlng of
another magazlne, Il lijo prodigo (Jhe Prodlgal Son), a
short tlme before leavlng for the Lnlted States on a
Guggenhelm Iellowshlp. Jhls tlme hls absence from
Mexlco lasted ten years. In that perlod he publlshed
Iibcrtod bojo polobro, Il lobcrivto dc lo solcdod, and Zguilo o
sol?, a collectlon of prose poems heavlly lnfluenced by
Surreallsm.
Paz jolned the dlplomatlc corps of the Mexlcan
government ln l915 and served ln Parls, New York,
New Delhl, Jokyo, and Geneva. Hls and Garro`s
daughter, Helena, was born ln l918 ln Parls, where Paz
was statloned from l915 to l95l. Hls tlme ln Parls was
of llfelong lmportance, because he came to see Surreal
lsm not just as a llterary style or subgroup of the avant
garde but rather as a renewlng of the most radlcal of the
Romantlc prlnclples. the vltal lmportance of erotlclsm,
the power of llterature, and the unrenounceable asplra
tlon for freedom. Surreallsm, at flrst, had only lnflu
enced hlm styllstlcally, as evldenced ln Zguilo o sol?, a
book composed of Surreallst texts that lack the ldeas
about erotlclsm and llberty that appear flrst ln the sec
ond edltlon of Il lobcrivto dc lo solcdod.
In preparlng Il lobcrivto dc lo solcdod, key to the
blography of Paz and of modern Mexlco ltself, the orlg
lnal contact that he had had ln Mexlco wlth Heldegger
and wlth phenomenology through the Spanlsh refugees
such as Gaos was of crltlcal lmportance. In Parls, Paz
galned a knowledge of agnostlc and Cathollc exlsten
tlallsm that added fundamentally to hls lnterpretatlon of
what lt means to be Mexlcan. Also, thlnkers and wrlters
such as Albert Camus, Cornellus Castorladls, and Kos
tas Papaloannou (wlth whom he remalned frlends untll
death) relnforced ln Paz the posslblllty of afflrmlng a
'thlrd way" ln the face of an already clear consolldatlon
of the two blocs durlng the Cold War. Jhls thlrd way
was expressed ln Paz`s works through thlnklng that
osclllated between the Jrotskylst soclallst alternatlve to
Stallnlsm and the vlslon of rebelllon offered by Camus
ln a book that strongly lnfluenced Paz, I`lommc rcvoltc
(l95l, Jhe Rebel). Jhls osclllatlon was dependent, per
haps, on the theme at hand for Paz ln any glven
moment. Jherefore, when he expanded hls chapter
'Nuestros Das" (Jhe Present Day) ln the second edl
tlon of Il lobcrivto dc lo solcdod to lnclude comments
about the state of world polltlcs, the Jrotskylst perspec
tlve was more sultable to an analysls of that sltuatlon.
When Paz analyzed ln a general way such lssues as the
confllct of poetry wlth hlstory, the problem of falled rev
olutlons, and the lmperatlve of the struggle for freedom,
Camus`s perspectlve managed to be less lndebted to
any speclflc polnt of vlew whlle at the same tlme cate
gorlcally rejectlng all dlctatorshlps wlthout regard to
ldeology. Jhe common element ln Paz`s vlew of both
Jrotsky and Camus ls the notlon of permanent revolu
tlon. Durlng those same years ln Parls, Paz found that
thls notlon fulfllled the axloms of Surreallsm, both lntel
lectually and personally.
Il lobcrivto dc lo solcdod made lts mark ln a tlme of
reflectlon about Mexlco that resulted from the Mexlcan
Revolutlon of l9l0 to l920. Although the search for
the characterlstlcs that deflne a natlon dld not occur
excluslvely ln Mexlcobetween l930 and l950 Argen
tlna, Peru, and Cuba were also engaged ln the same
actlvltythe greatest number of works on the toplc was
produced there. Although Il lobcrivto dc lo solcdod was
not the last of these works, lt was the most lnfluentlal.
Wlth a masterful style and a notable capaclty for syn
thesls, Paz offered, on the one hand, lastlng lmages of
the tlmeless character of the Mexlcan people and, on
the other, lmages of the hlstorlcal slngularlty of Mexlco.
Jhe masks, the mark left by the Spanlsh Conquest ln
the 'sons of the clivgodo," the duallty between sllence
and vlolence wltnessed ln Mexlcan flestas, and lndlffer
ence ln the face of death all exempllfy the Mexlcan
character. Images that argue for the hlstorlcal slngular
lty of Mexlco are found ln hls portrayal of the traumatlc
passage through the dlfferent hlstorlcal perlods of the
countrya process endlng ln the encounter between
Mexlco and ltself, that ls to say, wlth lts own ldentlty,
durlng the Revolutlon. Jhe book ends wlth a largely
phllosophlcal reflectlon (the flrst verslon excluslvely
exlstentlallst and the second wlth Surreallst elements)
about the solltary state of Mexlcans and of all human
belngs ln general. In thls manner Paz expressed ln hls
own way the axlom, domlnant ln the Mexlcan culture
of that tlme, that Mexlco had become part of unlversal
hlstory. 'Somos, por prlmera vez en nuestra hlstorla,
contemporneos de todos los hombres" (We are, for the
flrst tlme ln our hlstory, the contemporarles of all men).
Paz returned to Mexlco ln l953, and wlthln slx
years he became one of the country`s most lmportant
cultural flguresbut also the most controverslalnot
only for hls publlcatlons but also for hls defense of Sur
125
ai_ PPN l~ m~
reallsm and for hls artlstlc actlvltles. Hls partlclpatlon ln
the theater group Poesa en voz alta (Poetry Aloud) was
one of the most orlglnal enterprlses of the second half
of the twentleth century ln Mexlco. Because of thls
project a new generatlon of artlsts was formed, and
Paz`s only play, Io lijo dc Ioppoccivi (l956), based on
Nathanlel Hawthorne`s l811 short story 'Rappacclnl`s
Daughter," was staged.
In those years, before hls departure agaln for
Parls ln l959, Paz flnlshed wrltlng Il orco y lo liro, an
essay that he had spent years thlnklng about and outlln
lng. Jwo books of poetry also appeared. Iicdro dc sol
(l957; translated as Suv Stovc, l963) and Io cstociov vio-
lcvto (l958, Jhe Vlolent Season). Although they com
plement one another, the book of prose and the books
of poetry also represent two opposlte moments ln the
development of Paz`s work. Whlle the flrst book lnau
gurates Paz`s deflnltlve thlnklng on the nature of poetry,
the other two books end a stage ln hls poetlc wrltlng,
and wlth such flnallty as to affect from that polnt on the
meanlng and dlrectlon of Paz`s correctlons of all hls pre
vlous work. Nevertheless, the three works share a fun
damental vlslon of poetry as the only avallable resource
for overcomlng the fallures of hlstory; of poetlc exerclse
(readlng and wrltlng) as the only actlvlty that allows
human belngs to leave the ldeologlcal, economlc, soclal,
and symbollc prlson that modernlty has lmposed on
them ln the prevlous two centurles; and of poetry as the
genre of language that reafflrms the essentlal lncllnatlon
of manklnd toward freedom, true erotlclsm, and true
unlon.
Il orco y lo liro puts forth the vlslon of a poet ln the
mlddle of the twentleth century who, through certaln
theosophlcal precepts taken from Baudelalre and from
Andr Breton, looks to renovate the symbollst enter
prlse from the tlme of the German Romantlcs. Poetry ls
seen as a means of returnlng to the orlglnal unlty where
the word nelther gave meanlng nor had meanlng
because the word was an act, as expressed ln the last
llne of 'Hlmno entre rulnas" (Hymn among Rulns)
from Io cstociov violcvto: 'palabras que son flores que
son frutas que son actos" (words that are flowers that
are frult that are acts). Jhls vuclto, or return to an orlgl
nal ldentlty where poetry, myth, rellglon, and phlloso
phy are blended together, has modern sources ln |ean
|acques Rousseau and |ohann Gottfrled Herder,
although Paz expounds upon the ldea ln terms beflttlng
the theory of 'correspondences" of Baudelalre and of
the 'communlcatlng vessels" of Breton, a great admlrer
of Antolne Iabre dÒllvet, an lmportant theosophlst
from the beglnnlng of the nlneteenth century.
Wlth lnnovatlve prose Paz covers themes that are
the cornerstones of hls thlnklng. Above all, he ponders
the nature of the poetlc lmage, whlch for hlmln dlrect
accordance wlth Surreallst pronouncementswas lrre
duclble 'to whatever expllcatlon or lnterpretatlon."
Also lmportant were the declslve functlon of rhythm
and the transcendental nature of the poetlc experlence,
ln whlch hls theory of returnlng to Lnlty by way of the
Other ls lald out ln great detall. 'La experlencla del
Otro culmlna en la experlencla de la Lnldad" (Jhe
experlence of the Other culmlnates ln the experlence of
Lnlty).
A few years later Paz lncorporated lnto hls lntel
lectual genealogy an lmportant llnk ln the sequence
between the nlneteenth and the twentleth centurles.
Mallarm. Ios sigvos cv rotociov (Slgns ln Movement), an
essay publlshed for the flrst tlme by the Argentlne mag
azlne Sur ln l965, was already publlclzed as a new chap
ter of Il orco y lo liro. In effect, lt was added as an
appendlx to the second edltlon of that book. Mallarm
represented another phase ln the contlnulty of the
avantgarde, whlle slmultaneously breaklng wlth that
contlnulty by, accordlng to Paz, carrylng the ldentlty of
the world wlthln the word to extremes. In that sense
Mallarm belongs to the modern tradltlon not so much
because he afflrmed lt but rather because he denled lt.
Irom there arose a concept that Paz characterlzed as the
'hlstorlcal" nature of modern poetry. the tradltlon of
rupture. In the analysls of Mallarm`s bestknown
poem, 'Ln coup de ds jamals nàbollra le hasard" (A
DlceJhrow Wlll Never Abollsh Chance), lndlcatlons of
what later appears ln Paz`s lovco (l967, Whlte) clearly
can be percelved. Jhose characterlstlcs lnclude not only
the typographlcal layout and the klnd of slmultanelty
that sprlngs up wlth symbollst free verse but also, most
slgnlflcantly, the concept of a productlve or creatlve
space. 'El lcgodo a que expresamente se reflere Uv coup
dc dcs . . . es una forma; y ms, es la forma mlsma de la
poslbllldad. un poema cerrado al mundo, pero ablerto
al espaclo sln nombre" (Jhe lcgocy to whlch Uv coup dc
dcs expressly refers . . . ls a shape; and even more, lt ls
the shape of posslblllty. a poem closed to the world but
open to a nameless space). Jhe concept becomes more
evldent when he wrltes of art (lncludlng hls own) after
Mallarm. 'El espaclo se vuelve escrltura. los espaclos
en blanco representan al sllenclo (y tal vez por eso
mlsmo) dlcen algo que no dlcen los slgnos" (Space
becomes wrltlng. blankness represents sllence |and per
haps for thls very reason| lt says somethlng not
expressed by slgns). At a more theoretlcal level thls
essay announces the rupture of Paz wlth the flrst avant
garde movement (especlally wlth Huldobro) as he para
doxlcally proposes to contlnue wlth the same tradltlon.
'Hoy la poesa no puede ser destruccln slno bsqueda
del sentldo. Nada sabemos de ese sentldo porque la slg
nlflcacln no est en lo que ahora se dlce slno ms all,
en un horlzonte que apenas se aclara" (Joday poetry
126
l~ m~ ai_ PPN
cannot be the destructlon of meanlng but rather the
search for meanlng. We know nothlng of that meanlng
because now the slgnlflcance ls not ln what ls sald but
beyond, ln a barely vlslble horlzon).
Nevertheless, b ~ ~ ~I lncludlng lts appen
dlx, ls an ahlstorlcal book. Wlth i ln l971
and i~ ~ W m~ ln l990 (translated as
q l sW b~ j mI l99l) Paz added
an hlstorlcal dlmenslon to hls lnqulry. Jhese two books
are exceptlonal for thelr llterary and cultural thlnklng
about Latln Amerlca, slnce no one before or after Paz
has consldered these themes wlth such breadth, famll
larlty, and lntultlon or wlth so many lmportant and con
troverslal observatlons.
Jhe ~I or return to orlglns, was baslc to Paz`s
thlnklng beglnnlng at the end of the l950s. Hls reflec
tlons on the concept of revolutlon ln the Westreflec
tlons that are the key to hls theory about the
relatlonshlp between hlstory and poetryare summed
up ln hls address on the occaslon of recelvlng the Pre
mlo Alexls de Jocquevllle.
la novedad de la Revolucln parece absoluta; rompe
con el pasado e lnstaura un rglmen raclonal, justo y
radlcalmente dlstlnto al antlguo. Sln embargo, esta
novedad absoluta fue vlsta y vlvlda como un refresco al
prlnclplo del prlnclplo. La Revolucln es la vuelta al
tlempo del orlgen, antes de la lnjustlcla, antes de ese
momento en que, dlce Rousseau, al marcar los lmltes
de un pedazo de tlerra, un hombre dljo. b K Ese
da comenz la deslgualdad y, con ella, la dlscordla y la
opresln. la hlstorla.
(the novelty of revolutlon seems absolute; lt breaks
wlth the past and lnstalls a reglme that ls ratlonal, just,
and radlcally dlfferent from the former reglme. Never
theless, thls absolute novelty was seen and llved as a
return to the beglnnlng of the beglnnlng. Revolutlon ls
the return to the tlme of orlgln, before lnjustlce, before
that moment ln whlch, accordlng to Rousseau, to mark
the llmlts of a plece of land, a man sald. q K On
that day, lnequallty began, and wlth lt, dlscord and
oppresslon. hlstory.)
s~ ls a term that appears ln many of hls essays; lt
also glves lts name to a book of poems publlshed ln
l976; to an appendlx ln the l98l edltlon of b ~
~ ~ tltled 'Vuelta a El laberlnto" (Return to the
Labyrlnth); to one of the most lnfluentlal magazlnes
throughout the Hlspanlc world, whlch he dlrected from
l976 untll hls death; and to a publlshlng house spun off
from the magazlne.
On another front, the poetlc search lnltlated by
Paz ln the l930s culmlnated ln i~ ~ ~ and ln
m~ I when he found hlmself at a crossroads
between polltlcal poetry and pure poetry. An almost
unanlmous consensus exlsts that m~ ls Paz`s
masterplece. Comprlslng 581 hendecasyllables (the flrst
flve and a half of whlch are repeated at the end), thls
poem ls effectlvely a central polnt of hls creatlve llfe ln
that he revlsed earller poems ln llght of lt and based hls
subsequent poetry on lt. Jhlrty years later, ln 'Ejerclclo
preparatorlo" (Preparatory Exerclse) from ~
(l987; translated as ^ q tI l988), when he wrltes
of how he wlshes to dle, Paz contlnues ln an expllclt
and contradlctory manner one of the maln ldeas postu
lated ln m~ W
Sln nombre, sln cara.
la muerta que yo qulero
lleva ml nombre,
tlene ml cara
(Wlthout a name, wlthout a face.
Jhe death I wlsh for
Has my name,
Has my face).
Jhe 581 llnes represent the 581 days of the Venuslan
cycle, whose symbollc representatlon appears ln the
Aztec calendar ln the form of two serpents of flre seen
ln proflle, such that the two faces blend to create a sln
gle face. Jhe fuslon of the dualltyof the I wlth the
Other, of llfe wlth death, of eternlty wlth the lnstant,
of the llved experlence wlth the memoryruns
through the entlre poem llke a splrltual, experlentlal,
and memoryladen journey through both the personal
llfe of the poet and the hlstory of humanlty. Wlthln that
fuslon, at the same tlme, hlstory tenaclously struggles
wlth lts unendlng serles of horrors, crlmes, and banall
tles and also wlth the means of corruptlon such as
money, soclal conventlons, and represslve laws.
Jhe poem osclllates between forms of unlon (love
ln lts purest sense, erotlclsm ln lts hlghest form) and the
means of rupture; and whlle the forms overcome the
means, the means undermlne the forms ln an unendlng
clrcular movement. Indeed, the poem ltself ls clrcular; lt
ends wlth the same llnes wlth whlch lt began, and lts
llnes are plalnly lndlcatlve of perpetual movement.
un sauce de crlstal, un chopo de agua,
un alto surtldor que el vlento arquea,
un rbol blen plantado mas danzante,
un camlnar de ro que se curva,
avanza, retrocede, da un rodeo
y llega slempre
(a crystal wlllow, a poplar of water,
a tall spout the wlnd arches over,
a tree wellplanted yet stlll danclng,
a course of rlver that curves,
advances, recedes, makes a detour
and always arrlves).
127
ai_ PPN l~ m~
Jhls poem ls the most structurally accompllshed of
Paz`s works. It ls a contlnuous movement of syntax,
experlence, and metaphorlcal references to 'un camlnar
tranqullo" (a tranqull walk) and 'un camlnar entre las
espuras" (a walk between the thlckets); a ceaseless tra
versal of the lover`s body ('voy por tu cuerpo como por
el mundo" |I travel your body as I travel the world|)
and of the past ('y proslgo sln cuerpo, busco a tlentas, /
corredores sln fln de la memorla" |and I contlnue on
wlthout a body, searchlng bllndly, / endless corrldors of
memory|); and the emphatlc expresslon of hope and
the asplratlon for orlglnal unlty and lnnocence.
porque las desnudeces enlazadas
saltan el tlempo y son lnvulnerables,
nada las toca, vuelven al prlnclplo,
no hay t nl yo, maana, ayer nl nombres,
verdad de dos en slo un cuerpo y alma,
oh ser total . . .
(because the entwlned lovers
leap over tlme and are lnvulnerable,
nothlng touches them, they return to the beglnnlng,
there ls no you or I, tomorrow, yesterday, or names,
truth from two ln only one body and soul,
oh total belng . . . ).
Paz never agaln sought a formal symmetry as coherent
as the one found ln thls poem. Wlth regular accentua
tlon of hendecasyllables, a symbollc number of verses,
and a perfect representatlon of the clrcularlty of the
Aztec calendarthe apparent lnsplratlon for the work
Iicdro dc sol ends all edltlons of Iibcrtod bojo polobro from
l960 on, thereby effectlvely concludlng a stage of Paz`s
poetlc development.
In l956 Paz was named dlrector of lnternatlonal
affalrs for the Mexlcan dlplomatlc corps, and ln l962
he left Mexlco to serve as ambassador to Indla, where
he met and marrled Marle|os Jramlnl ln l961. Paz
had lnltlated a dlvorce from Garro ln l959, but the
dlvorce was not acknowledged by the Mexlcan govern
ment for several years. In addltlon to hls prevlous stay
ln Indla, thls new contact wlth Eastern culture was crltl
cal to broadenlng and substantlatlng many of Paz`s lntu
ltlons and anxletles. Paz`s new avantgarde stage began
ln l958 wlth the poems that formed the book Solomov-
dro, 19S-1961 (l962, Salamander, l958-l96l) and
culmlnated ln two clearly 'orlental" books. lovco and
Iodcro cstc (1962-196S): Iodcro cstc; Hocio cl comicvo;
lovco (l969, Eastern Rampart |l962-l968|. Eastern
Rampart; Joward the Beglnnlng; Whlte).
Irom the flrst poem of Solomovdro, slgns of a new
poetlc are perceptlble ln the predomlnance of the free,
lndependent lmagery (an expllclt feature of the return
to symbollsm); the lrresolute use of opposltes (for
example, 'Demaslado tarde" |Joo late| and 'Dema
slado temprano" |Joo early|); and play on words such
as 'Ln reloj da la hora / Ya es hora / No es hora /
Ahora es ahora / Ya es hora de acabar con las horas"
(A clock glves the hour / It ls already the hour / It ls
not the hour / Now ls now / Now ls the hour to put an
end to the hours). In 'El puente" (Jhe Brldge) another
essentlal characterlstlc ls found. the crosslng of the real
world (representatlve) wlth language and the creatlon of
'lluslnes de realldad" (llluslons of reallty) as lf they
were trompe lòell deplctlons of knowledge or of the
perceptlon of reallty.
Entre ahora y ahora,
entre yo soy y t eres,
la palabra
(Between now and now,
Between I am and you are,
Jhe word ).
In lovco, one of the most avantgarde of Paz`s poems
and of all of Latln Amerlcan poetry, the lnltlal lmpulse
ls found preclsely ln the play on words. 'el comlenzo /
el clmlento / la slmlente" (the beglnnlng / the founda
tlon / the seed). Irom that polnt on, the poem contlnues
developlng organlcally on many levels. Only the flrst
edltlon of lovco reproduces the orlglnal lntentlon of the
poet. Its lncorporatlon lnto the second edltlon of Iodcro
cstc renders lmposslble the orlglnal reproductlon. Paz
descrlbes the orlglnal edltlon ln hls lntroductlon to the
poem ln lts new presentatlon.
Como no ha sldo poslble reproduclr aqu todas la car
acterstlcas de la edlcln de _~ (Mxlco, l967),
sealo que este poema debera leerse como una suc
esln de slgnos sobre una pglna nlca; a medlda que
avanza la lectura, la pglna se desdobla. un espaclo que
en su movlmlento deja aparecer el texto y que, en clerto
modo, lo produce. Algo as como el vlaje lnmvll al que
nos lnvlta un rollo de plnturas y emblemas tntrlcos. sl
lo desenrollamos, se despllega ante nuestros ojos en rlt
ual, una suerte de procesln o peregrlnacln hacla
dnde? El expaclo fluye, engendra un texto, lo dlslpa
transcurre como sl fuese tlempo.
(Slnce lt has not been posslble to reproduce here all the
characterlstlcs of the orlglnal edltlon of _~ |Mexlco
Clty, l967|, I wlll polnt out that thls poem should be read
as a successlon of slgns on one slngle page; ln such a way
that as the readlng progresses, the page unfolds. a space
that through movement allows the text to appear and
whlch, ln a sense, produces the same text. Slmllar to the
statlonary journey to whlch a roll of plctures and tantrlc
emblems lnvlte us. lf we unroll lt, before our eyes a rltual
unfolds, a chance for processlon or peregrlnatlon toward,
where? Jhe space flows, generates a text, and then dlssl
pates ltelapslng as lf lt were tlme.)
128
l~ m~ ai_ PPN
Jhere ls even more formal experlmentatlon ln the orlglnal
verslon of lovco: the text ls dlvlded lnto three columns,
each wlth dlstlnct typography and dlfferent colored lnk.
Iurthermore, as Paz hlmself had already lndlcated ln hls
descrlptlon of the orlglnal poem, there exlst multlple possl
ble readlngs. It can be read as one text or as three, follow
lng the columns, whlle the mlddle column can also be read
as slx separate poems, and the other two columns are each
composed of four parts. Ilnally, the dlfferent sectlons and
unlts can be comblned ln so many ways as to multlply the
posslbllltles enormously.
Contemporaneous wlth the appearance of that
poem, a llkemlnded novel, Ioyuclo (Hopscotch), was
publlshed by |ullo Cortzar ln l963. In the genre of
poetry, however, such formal and typographlc boldness
had not been seen ln Latln Amerlca slnce the Creaclon
lsmo of Huldobro durlng the l9l0s and books such as
Dcscripciov dcl ciclo (l928, Descrlptlon of the Sky) by the
Peruvlan Alberto Hldalgo, whose poems were also pre
sented on slngle pages that unfolded ln order to slmu
late cosmlc spaces where the poems were prlnted. Both
Creaclonlsmo and the Slmultanesmo of Hldalgo have
many polnts ln common wlth thls new exerclse of the
avantgarde that Paz created durlng the l960s.
Not colncldentally, a return to the movements of
the early twentleth century provoked ln Paz the deslre
to reflect on one of the most radlcal and lnfluentlal art
lsts of that tlme. Marcel Duchamp. In l968 Paz pub
llshed Morccl Duclomp o Il costillo dc lo purco (translated
as Morccl Duclomp; or, Tlc Costlc of Iurity, l970), whlch
flve years later was republlshed ln a corrected and
expanded edltlon under the tltle Zporicvcio dcsvudo: Io
obro dc Morccl Duclomp (translated as Morccl Duclomp:
Zppcorovcc Strippcd orc, l976).
In Paz`s descrlptlon of lovco perhaps the key
word ls producc, as the new poetlc of Paz was centered
on the ldea of how a poem ls born, develops, and ends.
Jhus, many of the avantgarde resources were tech
nlques to lay bare the creatlve process, as lf Paz were
searchlng for a way, ln 'Intermltenclas del Oeste (3)"
(Interruptlons from the West |3|), for example, to show
how the slngular object called a poem ls created.
La llmpldez
(qulz valga la pena
escrlblrlo sobre la llmpleza
de esta hoja)
no es lmplda.
(Jhe llmpldlty
|perhaps lt ls worthwhlle
to wrlte lt on the purlty
of thls sheet|
ls not llmpld.)
Irom thls new manner of percelvlng the act of wrltlng and
the productlon of texts, Paz concluded that hlstory ls wlth
out meanlng and that the present wlll return to the prlvl
leged tlme of lts own reflectlon (and not only the hlstorlcal
present)toplcs about whlch he dedlcated books such as
Il ogro filovtropico: Historio ovd poltico, 1971-197S (l979, Jhe
Phllanthroplc Ogre. Hlstory and Polltlcs, l97l-l978),
Ticmpo vublodo (l983; translated as Uvc Iortl, Iour or Iivc
!orlds: Icflcctiovs ov Covtcmporory History, l985), and Icqucvo
crovico dc grovdcs dos (l990, Short Chronlcle of Hlstorlcal
Days). Paz also developed the concept of an lnstantaneous
present (or eternal present, whlch ls the same ln thls case)
as a regulator of a new valuatlon of llfe. 'Jhe present ls
perpetual," he wrltes ln !icvto cvtcro (l965, Wlnd from All
Compass Polnts), a poem later lncorporated lnto Iodcro
cstc. Irom that eternal or lnstantaneous present Paz
returned to hls own past ln order to follow the footsteps of
memory ln what ls perhaps the last of hls great books of
poetry, Iosodo cv cloro (l975).
Odos com el alma,
pasos mentales ms que sombras,
sombras del pensamlento ms que pasos,
por el camlno de ecos
que la memorla lnventa y borra.
sln camlnar camlnan
sobre este ahora, puente
tendldo entre una letra y otra.
(Heard wlth the soul,
mental footsteps more than shadows,
shadows of thought more than footsteps,
on the road of echoes
that memory lnvents and erases.
wlthout walklng they walk
on thls now, brldge
extended between one letter and another.)
In these flrst llnes of Iosodo cv cloro the fundamental fea
tures of the neoavantgarde poetlc of Paz have not dls
appeared. the bare synesthesla; the 'lluslnes de
realldad" wlth thelr lntersectlons between the textual
and the representatlve ('puente / tendldo entre una letra
y otra"); and the alternatlon of opposltes ('pasos men
tales" and 'sombras," then 'sombras del pensamlento"
and 'pasos"). In thls case, however, the technlques of
the avantgarde are asslmllated by a classlcal rhythm of
Spanlshthe caprlclous but harmonlous comblnatlon of
heptasyllables and hendecasyllables. In effect, thls verse
of remembrance refers agaln to the classlcal perfectlon
of Iicdro dc sol and even echoes lt wlth lts clrcular struc
ture. Jhus, the poem ends where lt began.
Estoy en donde estuve.
voy detrs del murmullo,
pasos dentro de m, odos con los ojos,
129
ai_ PPN l~ m~
el murmullo es mental, yo soy mls pasos,
olgo las voces que yo plenso,
las voces que me plensan al pensarlas.
Soy la sombra que arrojan mls palabras.
(I am where I was.
I go behlnd the murmur,
Footsteps wlthln myself, heard wlth the eyes,
Jhe murmur ls mental, I am my footsteps,
I hear the volces that I lmaglne,
Jhe volces that lmaglne me as I lmaglne them.
I am the shadow cast by my words.)
In l968, because of the 2 October massacre ln
Jlatelolco, Mexlco Clty, Paz renounced hls ambassa
dorshlp to Indla, a gesture that galned hlm enormous
prestlge among those who struggled for democracy ln
Mexlco. In l970 Paz returned to Mexlco deflnltlvely.
Although he took many trlps and llved many seasons
abroad by lnvltatlon of unlversltles such as Harvard
and Cambrldge, he reslded prlnclpally ln hls natlve
country and clty, Mexlco Clty, about whlch he wrote a
memorable poem, 'Hablo de la cludad" (I Speak of the
Clty). Jhat epoch also colnclded wlth hls tendency to
oppose whatever movement proclalmed soclallst asplra
tlons and to support the forelgn pollcy of the Lnlted
States, partlcularly concernlng Latln Amerlca.
Paz undertook the task of dlrectlng the llterary
magazlne Ilurol from l97l untll l976, whlch contrlb
uted to hls declslon to resettle permanently ln Mexlco.
He reslgned as dlrector of that magazlne when the Mex
lcan government vlolently expelled the managlng edl
tors of the newspaper Ixcclsior, whlch had dlstlngulshed
ltself for lts crltlcal posltlon vlsavls the authorltarlan
lsm of the slttlng presldent, Luls Echeverrla. Because
Ilurol had been flnanced by Ixcclsior, Paz never agaln
had anythlng to do wlth the newspaper after l976,
although Ilurol contlnued to appear. In that same year
he founded the magazlne !uclto, whlch lasted untll hls
death.
If the whole of Paz`s work from the l970s untll hls
death ls examlned, several tendencles are vlslble. Jhe
most obvlous was the fact that he reduced hls poetlc
productlon (though not the work of correctlon) whlle
conslstently malntalnlng hls essay wrltlng. Jhe dlver
slty of themes, objects, and reflectlons ln hls wrltlng
broadened. Also crltlcal to those years was the fact that
Paz undertook one of the most serlous and rlgorous hls
torlcal lnvestlgatlons of hls career. Sor uovo Ivcs dc lo
Cru, o, Ios trompos dc lo fc, a polemlcal book of both
great lnqulry and great llmltatlons. One of several
polnts of dlspute among crltlcs was hls vlslon of the
poetlc work of Sor |uana, especlally ln regard to 'Prlm
ero sueo" (l692, Ilrst Dream), about whlch Paz may
have overly emphaslzed the unproven hermetlc sources
of the poem and, furthermore, overlooked the fact that
thls work belongs to a preclse rhetorlcal moment, for
the purpose of transformlng lt lnto an almost contempo
rary poem conslstent wlth hls own crltlcal perspectlve.
Paz never consented to dlscuss the counterarguments
proposed to hlm by varlous wellgrounded and well
lntentloned crltlcs. In any case, the portralt of Sor |uana
forms one part of what can be called an lndlspensable
trlptych of Paz`s llterary descrlptlons of Mexlcan
authors, along wlth the portrayal of Ramn Lpez
Velarde ln Cuodrivio: Doro, Iopc !clordc, Icssoo, Ccrvudo
(l965, _uadrlvlum. Daro, Lpez Velarde, Pessoa,
Cernuda) and that of Vlllaurrutla ln Xovicr !illourrutio
cv pcrsovo y cv obro. In addltlon, the book about Sor
|uana constltutes a contlnuatlon of Paz`s reflectlons on
the hlstory of Mexlco, leadlng to the extenslon of one
of the chapters of Il lobcrivto dc lo solcdod, whlch culml
nates ln a global vlslon of natlonal hlstory. Jhe totallz
lng projectlon of hls thoughts on Mexlco was recast ln
three volumes that appeared ln l987 under the all
encompasslng tltle of Mcxico cv lo obro dc Uctovio Io, ln
fact a klnd of anthology.
Another clear tendency of Paz`s last two decades
as a wrlter was a natural and understandable return to
several themes and characters that moved hlm person
ally and dlsquleted hlm on a llterary plane. Paz wrote
blographlcal sketches ln prose verse about hls frlends
that are convlnclng ln thelr emotlon, freshness, and
spontanelty. Hls last book of poetry, rbol odcvtro,
lncludes several poems ln thls veln. Perhaps the most
notable aspect of thls book, however, ls the fact that at
seventythree years of age Paz once agaln demonstrated
hls capaclty to glve new dlrectlon to hls poetlc work.
Whlle many of the avantgarde tralts endure ln thls col
lectlon, another element becomes apparent, although lt
ls not completely successful. Jhls new ldea concerned a
concept of reallty as no longer belng ln the presentand
much less ln that ensemble of tlme made up of the past
and the future. Reallty, Paz suggests ln a few poems ln
rbol odcvtro, exlsts ln the lnterstlce of those two forms
of tlme, wlthout metaphor, elaboratlon, thought, or
declslon. Jhe poem 'Declr. Hacer" (Jo Say. Jo Do)
beglns.
Entre lo que veo y dlgo,
entre lo que dlgo y callo,
entre lo que callo y sueo,
entre lo que sueo y olvldo,
la poesa
Se desllza
entre el s y el no.
(Between what I see and say,
between what I say and sllence,
between what I sllence and dream,
130
l~ m~ ai_ PPN
between what I dream and forget,
poetry
Sllps
between yes and no.)
Jhe poem 'Insomne" (Insomnla) ends on a slmllar
note. 'No estoy vlvo nl muerto. / desplerto estoy, despl
erto / en un ojo deslerto" (I am nelther allve nor dead. /
awake I am, awake / ln a desert eye).
Paz dld not develop thls new poetlc vlslon, how
ever; he reallzed that he lacked the tlme for the
endeavor, as seen ln the beglnnlng of the last poem of
the book, 'Carta de creencla" (Letter of Jestlmony).
Entre la noche y el da
hay un terrltorlo lndeclso.
No es luz nl sombra.
es tlempo.
(Between nlght and day
there ls an undeclded terrltory.
It ls nelther llght nor shadow.
lt ls tlme.)
In Paz`s last years the cancer that ultlmately proved
fatal to hlm dld not completely suppress hls creatlve
capaclty. Gatherlng dlspersed essays, he gave flnal
touches to hls ldeas ln all the areas that had troubled
hlm. Some of hls most lmportant works from those
years are Sombros dc obros; Covvcrgcvcios (l99l; orlglnally
publlshed as Covvcrgcvccs: Issoys ov Zrt ovd Iitcroturc,
l987); Itivcrorio (l993; translated as Itivcrory: Zv Ivtcllcc-
tuol ourvcy, l999), whlch lncludes a short but movlng
autoblography; and the trllogy of works on world poll
tlcsIl ogro filovtropico, Ticmpo vublodo, and Icqucvo crovico
dc grovdcs dos.
Ior Paz three fundamental moments stood out ln
the hlstory of Mexlco. the Conquest, whlch marked the
break wlth lndlgenous culture; Independence, whlch
marked a break wlth Spanlsh culture; and the Revolu
tlon of l9l0-l920, through whlch Mexlco had encoun
tered (at least momentarlly) a form of recuperatlve
unlty. Accordlng to hlm, the defeat of the lndlgenous
clvlllzatlon by the Spanlsh owed more to lts 'hlstorlcal
solltude" and lts lgnorance of other forms of clvlllzatlon
than to lts technlcal lnferlorlty. At the other extreme Paz
crltlclzed the slngleparty system lmposed after the rev
olutlon whlle slmultaneously belng unable to concelve
of Mexlcan natlonal unlty except through the prlsm of
western European tradltlon and, more speclflcally,
through the dynamlcs of Mexlcan Creoles. As he
declared ln the flrst edltlon of Il lobcrivto dc lo solcdod:
'No toda la poblacln que hablta nuestro pas es objeto
de mls reflexlones, slno un grupo concreto, constltuldo
por esos que, por razones dlversas, tlenan conlencla de
su ser en tanto que mexlcanos" (Not all the populatlon
that lnhablt our country are the objects of my reflec
tlons, but rather one group ln partlcular, made up of
those who, for dlverse reasons, are consclous of belng
Mexlcans). A few llnes later he vaguely ldentlfles thls
'mlnora" (mlnorlty) more by negatlon than by deflnl
tlon. 'La mlnora . . . No solamente es la nlca actlva
frente a la lnercla lndoespaola del restoslno que cada
da modela ms el pas a su lmagen" (Jhls mlnorlty . . .
ls not only the sole actlve oneln the face of the pre
Columblan/Spanlsh lnertla of the restbut even models
the country ln lts own lmage more each day). Jhat ls to
say, the Indlans and mestlzos were consldered outslde
of thls ldea of natlon, although, paradoxlcally, they
were (and contlnue to be) the majorlty of the popula
tlon of the country.
In llterature, Mexlco (and ln part, Latln Amerlca
as well) had three great stages. the preColumblan, the
seventeenthcentury baroque, and the modernbegln
nlng wlth Latln Amerlcan Modernlsm. Jhe absence of
a crltlcal century (the elghteenth century ln Europe)
had lmpeded, accordlng to Paz, a true Romantlclsm ln
Mexlco, Latln Amerlca, and the larger Hlspanlc world,
slnce Romantlclsm was fundamentally a reactlon to the
ratlonallsm of the Enllghtenment. Ior hlm thls reactlon
characterlzed llterature, especlally modern poetry, as a
survlvor of a vlsloncommunal, orlglnal, humanlst,
and mythlcal ln natureln the mldst of the dlsasters of
hlstory and the fallure of revolutlons (beglnnlng wlth
the Irench Revolutlon). In splte of thls opposltlon,
poetry and llterature were lnconcelvable wlthout the
crltlcal splrlt that was, and stlll ls, slmultaneously both
an lnherltance from and a surpasslng of Enllghtenment
ratlonallsm. Crltlclsm allows poetry to confront hlstory,
as well as to provoke lts own natural lncllnatlon toward
radlcal change and contlnual renovatlon of 'orlglnal
lty," elements crltlcal to the constructlon of that new
temporalltyexcluslve to modern artthat Paz named
the 'tradlcln de la ruptura" (tradltlon of rupture).
After Paz`s dlsllluslonment wlth Stallnlst commu
nlsm ln the late l930s, wlth all radlcal revolutlons, and
wlth what he saw as totalltarlanlsm, he followed the
example of the Camus of I`lommc rcvoltc, becomlng an
lncessant crltlc. At the end of hls llfe, perhaps convlnced
of the gravlty of hls lllness, Paz was able to wrlte two
books that are surprlslngly youthful, fresh, and allve
wlth hls thoughts. Io llomo doblc: Zmor y crotismo (l993;
translated as Tlc Doublc Ilomc: Iovc ovd Iroticism, l995)
and Uv ms oll crotico: Sodc (l993; translated as Zv Irotic
cyovd: Sodc, l998). Jhese two works both contlnue
and end hls exploratlon of two of the themes that most
attracted and obsessed hlm. love and erotlclsm. Jhe
ldea of the llberatlng and authentlcally vltal nature of
erotlc love, already present ln the appendlx to the sec
ond edltlon of Il lobcrivto dc lo solcdod and fully devel
13l
ai_ PPN l~ m~
oped ln one of hls best books, Covjuvciovcs y disyuvciovcs
(l969; translated as Covjuvctiovs ovd Disjuvctiovs, l971),
reappears ln Io llomo doblc and ln Uv ms oll crotico.
Although he may have changed hls oplnlon on varlous
themes and had many lntellectual trajectorles that
defled easy coherence, Paz never retreated from one of
the baslc axloms of the Surreallsm that he redlscovered
durlng hls stay ln Parls durlng the l910s. the conjuga
tlon of erotlclsm, llberty, and poetry. In l995 he stlll
found the tlme to publlsh and present hls last book. !is-
lumbrcs dc lo Ivdio (translated as Iv Iiglt of Ivdio, l997).
Irom that polnt on, Paz was extremely lll and perhaps
worn down from the delay and lnevltablllty of hls
approachlng death.
On l7 December l997, from the garden of hls
home, and ln the presence of the presldent of the
Republlc, other wellknown offlclals from both the gov
ernment and flnanclal clrcles of Mexlco, and hls frlends,
Octavlo Paz lnaugurated the foundatlon that bears hls
name. Wlth that ceremony Paz contradlcted hlmself ln
one of hls most dearly held ldeas about the role of lntel
lectuals. 'Intellectuals can be useful worklng for the
State, on the condltlon that they know how to keep
thelr dlstance from Power." Accordlng to Chrlstopher
Domnguez, that same afternoon, after learnlng of the
death of a close colleague of many years, Paz spoke of
hls own approachlng demlse. 'When I learned of the
serlousness of my lllness, I reallzed I would not be able
to follow the subllme path of Chrlstlanlty. I do not
belleve ln transcendence. Jhe ldea of extlnctlon calms
me. I wlll become thls glass of water that I am drlnklng.
I wlll be matter." Lntll the end Paz remalned a poet,
true to hls declslon from adolescence. Jhe metaphor
for hls own death echoes an lmage from one of the
poems of hls youth, 'En Lxmal" (In Lxmal). 'el hom
bre bebe sol, es agua, es tlerra" (Man drlnks sun, ls
water, ls dust). Paz dled ln Mexlco Clty on l9 Aprll
l998.
iW
Trovsblovco: Im torvo o lovco dc Uctovio Io, by Paz and
Haroldo de Campos (Rlo de |anelro. Guanabara,
l986);
Mcmorios y polobros: Cortos o Icrc Cimfcrrcr, 1966-1997,
edlted by Pere Glmferrer (Barcelona. Selx Barral,
l999);
Cortos cruodos, by Paz and Arnaldo Orflla Reynal (Mex
lco Clty. Slglo XXI, 2005).
fW
Braullo Peralta, Il pocto cv su ticrro: Dilogos cov Uctovio
Io (Mexlco Clty. Grljalbo, l996);
Elena Ponlatowska, Uctovio Io: Ios polobros dcl rbol
(Barcelona. Plaza |ans, l998).
_~W
Hugo Veranl, Uctovio Io: ibliogrofo crtico (Mexlco
Clty. Lnlversldad Naclonal Autnoma de Mx
lco, l983);
Veranl, ibliogrofo crtico dc Uctovio Io, 19J1-1996
(Mexlco Clty. Coleglo Naclonal, l997).
_~W
Iernando Vlzcano, iogrofo poltico dc Uctovio Io, o, Io
roov ordicvtc (Malaga. Algazara, l993);
Gulllermo Sherldan, Iocto cov poisojc: Ivsoyos sobrc lo vido
dc Uctovio Io (Mexlco Clty. Era, 2001).
oW
Harold Bloom, ed., Uctovio Io (Phlladelphla. Chelsea
House, 2002);
Irances Chlles, Uctovio Io, tlc Mytlic Dimcvsiov (New
York. Peter Lang, l987);
Chrlstopher Domnguez, Io sobiduro siv promcso: !idos y
lctros dcl Siglo XX (Mexlco Clty. Mortlz, 200l);
|ohn M. Ieln, Toword Uctovio Io: Z Icodivg of His Mojor
Iocms, 197-1976 (Lexlngton. Lnlverslty Press of
Kentucky, l986);
Angel Ilores, ed., Zproximociovcs o Uctovio Io (Mexlco
Clty. Mortlz, l971);
Pere Glmferrer, Iccturos dc Uctovio Io (Barcelona. Ana
grama, l980);
Roberto Hozven, Uctovio Io: !iojcro dcl prcscvtc (Mexlco
Clty. Coleglo Naclonal, l991);
Ivar Ivask, ed., Tlc Icrpctuol Ircscvt: Tlc Ioctry ovd Irosc of
Uctovio Io (Norman. Lnlverslty of Oklahoma
Press, l973);
Rubn Medlna, Zutor, outoridod y outoriociov: Iscrituro y
poctico cv Uctovio Io (Mexlco Clty. El Coleglo de
Mxlco, l999);
Vctor Manuel Mendlola, ed., Icstcjo: S0 ovos dc Uctovio
Io (Mexlco Clty. El tucn de Vlrglnla, l991);
Rachel Phllllps, Tlc Ioctic Modcs of Uctovio Io (London
New York. Oxford Lnlverslty Press, l972);
|ose _ulroga, Uvdcrstovdivg Uctovio Io (Columbla. Lnl
verslty of South Carollna Press, l999);
Alberto Ruy Snchez, Uvo ivtroducciov o Uctovio Io
(Mexlco Clty. |oaqun Mortlz, l990);
Enrlco Marlo Sant, Il octo dc los polobros: Istudios y dil-
ogos cov Uctovio Io (Mexlco Clty. Iondo de Cul
tura Econmlca, l997);
Sant, 'Octavlo Paz. Otherness and the Search for the
Present," Ccorgio Icvicw, 19 (Sprlng l995). 265-
27l;
Maya SchrerNussberger, Uctovio Io: Troycctorios y
visiovcs (Mexlco Clty. Iondo de Cultura
Econmlca, l989);
132
l~ m~ ai_ PPN
Letlcla Illana Lnderwood, l~ m~ ~ i~~
mW ^ m ^~ (New York. Peter
Lang, l992);
Salvador Vzquez Vallejo, b ~ ~~
l~ m~ (Mexlco Clty. Benemrlta Lnlversldad
Autnoma de Puebla/M. A. Porra, 2006);
Rodney Wllllamson, q t p~W ^ g~
o~ m l~ m~ (Joronto. Lnlver
slty of Joronto Press, 2006);
|ason Wllson, l~ m~W ^ p e m (Cam
brldge New York. Cambrldge Lnlverslty Press,
l979).
NVVM k m i~
m~ p
m h b~I p ^~
Eq~~ pF
Gentlemen,
When the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature ls awarded,
for the second tlme ln successlon, to a wrlter from the
Spanlshspeaklng world, lt ls a remlnder of the excep
tlonal llterary vltallty and rlchness of thls sphere ln our
age. However, our maln focus ls on one of lts most brll
llant representatlves. the Mexlcan poet and essaylst
Octavlo Paz. Jhe prlze cltatlon lndlcates what ls per
haps most lmmedlately strlklng ln hls wrltlng. hls
passlon and hls lntegrlty. We flnd them unlted ln the
energetlc ~the refusal to servethat thls
poet addresses to varlous quarters. On one occaslon
he throws hls 'no" agalnst the leftlst utopla of an all
powerful soclety, on another hls protest ls dlrected
agalnst a capltallsm lacklng ethlcs and culture. But he
also asserts hls lntegrlty vlsavls the herltage that ls so
allve to thls great humanlstonly by confrontlng tradl
tlon can the poet establlsh a real dlalogue wlth the past.
Paz`s most famlllar 'no" ls hls reslgnatlon from
the post as the ambassador of hls country ln New
Delhl, ln protest agalnst the massacre of demonstratlng
students ln the Plaza de Jlatelolco ln l968. But thls out
rage ls, ln hls eyes, an outburst emanatlng from a trou
blesome past that llves on ln our mldst. Dlstant tlmes
and dlstant reglons exlst ln the here and now. Indlan
and |apanese experlence has a presence as natural as
the Aztec calendar. Mexlco`s great l7thCentury poet ls
ln that way a contemporary. ln Sor |uana Ins de la
Cruz, Paz recognlzes not only the dlstlnctlve Mexlcan
character but also the lntellectuals from our century
who are transformed, under the pressure of a totalltar
lan lnqulsltlon, lnto thelr own prosecutors.
Most remarkable ls how these broad conflgura
tlons ln tlme and space are condensed ln a handful of
words. Paz ls, ln Carlos Iuentes`s phrase, 'the great
welder." Jhrowlng off torrents of sparks, hls paradoxes
llnk the most dlfferlng entltles. A central concept ls 'the
eternal moment"the frequent scene of Paz`s poetry. In
the magnlflcent long poem m~ (Sunstone) from
l957 we face a present ln flames where 'all of the
names are a slngle name, / all of the faces a slngle face, /
all of the centurles a slngle moment." It ls, we learn, 'a
moment / chlselled from the dream"and thus a
remlnder of the early lnfluences of surreallsm, whlch
preclsely forced dlfferent tlmes, reglons, and ldentltles
to merge ln one slngle here, now, and I, dlctated by the
loglc of the dream. But Paz ls also one of the great love
poets of hls language and ln hls central poetry lt ls less
the dream than the sensual communlon that overcomes
all dlstlnctlons, as when the two, 'dlzzy and entwlned,
fall / on the grass," 'the sky comes down," space 'noth
lng but llght and sllence," and 'we lose our names,"
floatlng adrlft between 'blue and green" ln 'total tlme"
(m~ ). Also ln the latest collectlon of poems,
~ (A Jree Wlthln), love can ln thls way erase
what llmlts us. lt opens 'the forbldden door" and 'takes
us to the other slde of tlme."
Of speclal lmportance ls the weldlng together of
thought and sensuousness. Jhls ls a great theme ln
modern poetry. J. S. Ellot thus went back to the
Engllsh l7thCentury poets who could stlll 'feel thelr
thoughts as lmmedlately as the odour of a rose." In a
slmllar way, Paz draws strength from the orlglnal Indlan
poetry of hls country ln hls strlvlng for the 'sensuous
lntelllgence" lndlcated by the prlze cltatlon. 'Reason ls
lncarnated at last," as he says ln a poem from l918. By
weldlng together thlnklng and sensuousness Paz can
glve an lmmedlate palpablllty to hls contlnuous reflec
tlon on poetry, both when he partlclpates ln the mlsslon
of 'spelllng" the world, glvlng lt a name and thereby a
vlslblllty, and when, as a reader, he flnds hlmself
watched from the whlsperlng 'follage of the letters"
(m~~ ~). Wlth such a method he can deplct tlme
ln all lts obtruslve omlnousness, and glve love power to
surmount lt.
Dear Dr. Paz,
It has been my task to glve a plcture of your wrlt
lng ln a few mlnutes. It ls llke trylng to press a contlnent
lnto a walnut shella feat for whlch the language of crlt
lclsm ls poorly equlpped. Jhls ls, however, what you
have managed to do, agaln and agaln, ln poems whlch
have, qulte rlghtly, an lmprobably hlgh speclflc gravlty.
133
ai_ PPN l~ m~
I am happy to convey the cordlal congratulatlons of the
Swedlsh Academy to a wrlter of such substance. I now
ask you to recelve from the hands of Hls Majesty the
Klng thls year`s Nobel Prlze ln Llterature.
m~W _~ p
m~ ~ k _~I NM a NVVM
Eq~~ ^ p~FW
Your Majestles, Ladles and Gentlemen,
I shall be brlefbut, slnce tlme ls elastlc, I am
afrald you are golng to hear me for one hundred and
elghty very long seconds.
We are wltnesslng not only the end of a century
but the end of a hlstorlcal perlod. What wlll arlse from
the collapse of ldeology? Is thls the dawn of an era of
unlversal concord and freedom for all or wlll there be a
resurgence of trlbal ldolatry and rellglous fanatlclsm,
unleashlng dlscord and tyranny? Wlll the powerful
democracles that have achleved freedom and abun
dance become less selflsh and show more understand
lng towards the deprlved natlons? Wlll the latter learn
to dlstrust the preachers of doctrlnalre vlolence who
have led them to fallure? And ln my own part of the
world, ln Latln Amerlca, and especlally ln Mexlco, my
natlve land, wlll we flnally achleve true modernlty,
whlch ls not just polltlcal democracy, economlc prosper
lty and soclal justlce but also reconclllatlon wlth our tra
dltlon and wlth ourselves?
It ls lmposslble to know. Jhe recent past has
taught us that noone holds the keys to hlstory. Jhe
century ends wlth a throng of questlons. Yet we can be
certaln of one thlng. llfe on our planet ls endangered.
Our unthlnklng cult of progress together wlth the very
advances ln our struggle to explolt nature have turned
lnto a sulcldal race. |ust as we are beglnnlng to unravel
the secrets of the galaxles and the atomlc partlcle, as we
explore the enlgmas of molecular blology and the orl
glns of llfe, we have wounded the very heart of nature.
Jhls ls why the most lmmedlate and most urgent ques
tlon ls the survlval of the envlronment, regardless of
whatever forms of soclal and polltlcal organlzatlon
natlons may choose. Jhe defence of nature ls the
defence of manklnd.
At the close of thls century we have dlscovered
that we are part of a vast system (or network of sys
tems) ranglng from plants and anlmals to cells, mole
cules, atoms and stars. We are a llnk ln 'the great chaln
of belng," as the phllosophers of antlqulty used to call
the unlverse. One of man`s oldest gestures, repeated
dally from the beglnnlng of tlme, ls to look up and mar
vel at the starry sky. Jhls act of contemplatlon fre
quently ends ln a feellng of fraternal ldentlflcatlon wlth
the unlverse. In the countryslde one nlght, years ago, as
I contemplated the stars ln the cloudless sky, I heard the
metalllc sound of the elytra of a crlcket. Jhere was a
strange correspondence between the reverberatlon of
the flrmament at nlght and the muslc of the tlny lnsect.
I wrote these llnes.
Jhe sky`s blg.
Lp there, worlds scatter.
Perslstent,
unfazed by so much nlght,
a crlcket. brace and blt.
Stars, hllls, clouds, trees, blrds, crlckets, men. each has
lts world, each ls a world, and yet all of these worlds
correspond. We can only defend llfe lf we experlence a
revlval of thls feellng of solldarlty wlth nature. It ls not
lmposslble. ~ ls a word that belongs to the tradl
tlons of Llberallsm and Soclallsm, of sclence and rell
glon.
I ralse my glassanother anclent gesture of frater
nltyand drlnk to the health, happlness and prosperlty
of Your Majestles and to the great, noble and peace
lovlng people of Sweden.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l990. Octavlo Paz ls the
m o~W q k m
i~ NVVM
l m~ p~ p
^~I NN l NVVM
Octavlo Paz
Jhls year the Nobel Prlze for Llterature goes to
the Mexlcan wrlter, poet and essaylst Octavlo Paz,
honourlng a wrlter of Spanlsh wlth a wlde lnternatlonal
perspectlve.
Paz publlshed hls flrst collectlon of poems whlle
stlll ln hls teens. Joday, ln hls seventyslxth year, he
remalns actlve as a wrlter and a crltlc.
In ^ a~ p~ from l975 there ls a llne
whlch provldes the key to much of Paz`s productlon.
'Seelng the world ls spelllng lt." Hls poetry conslsts, ln
other words, to a very great extent of wrltlng both wlth
and about words. In Paz`s surreallstlcally lnsplred
131
l~ m~ ai_ PPN
thought the words are endowed ln thls way wlth new,
changeable, and rlcher meanlngs. Jhe power of the
poetlc vocatlonoften asserted by Brodsky, Walcott and
othersglves the words a form of otherwlse unattaln
able content. 'We never say / the words of the poem /
Jhe poem tells us" (from oI l969). In a poem to
Roman |akobson of l976 he artlculates hls stance.
'Between what I see and what I say, / between what I
say and what I keep sllent, / between what I keep sllent
and what I dream, / between what I dream and what I
forget. / poetry."
Paz`s poetry and essays evolve from an lntractable
but frultful unlon of cultures. preColumblan Indlan,
the Spanlsh Conqulstadors and Western Modernlsm.
Experlences from Indla and other areas are lncluded as
well. All of thls has, ln shlftlng conflguratlons, been
reflected ln hls work. Hls own ldentlty, Mexlcan and, ln
lts broader meanlng, LatlnAmerlcan, has already been
explored declslvely ln q i~ p (l950).
Jhe poet hlmself embodles thls unlon of cul
tureslt ls ln hls blood. Hls mother`s famlly was Span
lsh, from Andalusla. On hls father`s slde the Indlan and
the Spanlsh are comblned.
One of the hlgh polnts of Paz`s poetry ls the long
poem p p (l957). Jhls was lnsplred by a magnlfl
cent calendar stone, whlch stlll stands as an helrloom
from the Aztecs, whose calendar was based on the con
junctlons of Venus and the sun. Jhe 581 days of thls
cycle are matched by the 581 llnes of the poem. Jhls
suggestlve work wlth lts many layers of meanlng seems
to lncorporate, lnterpret and reconstrue major exlsten
tlal questlons, death, tlme, love and reallty.
As a publlsher of magazlnes, s~ (Return) belng
the latest, Paz has been a lodestar ln the tlde of oplnlon.
Others have qulte slmply been obllged to state thelr
posltlon ln relatlon to hls. He has pursued hls humanls
tlc course wlth unlque lntegrlty, whlch ls also recorded
ln the prlze cltatlon.
In hls book p g~~I I q q~ c~ (l982)
he applles llterary hlstory and the hlstory of ldeas ln
deplctlng |uana Ins de la Cruz, a remarkable l7th cen
tury woman. Jhls erudlte poet and dramatlst, a ladyln
waltlng who later became a nun, ls the subject of a pen
etratlng analysls agalnst the background of the culture
and soclety of her day. Jhe work takes the form of a
portralt, one whlch bears the slgnature of a great
humanlst.
Paz has wrltten exqulslte love poetry, at the same
tlme sensuous and vlsual. 'Woman. / fountaln ln the
nlght. / I am bound to her qulet flowlng." In hls latest
collectlon of poems, ^ q t (l987), we are con
fronted wlth a serles of reflectlons on death. Paz turns
lnwards on hlmself ln a new way.
135
m~W k iI U a NVVM
f p~ m
Eq~~ ^ p~F
I begln wlth two words that all men have uttered
slnce the dawn of humanlty. thank you. Jhe word gratl
tude has equlvalents ln every language and ln each tongue
the range of meanlngs ls abundant. In the Romance lan
guages thls breadth spans the splrltual and the physlcal,
from the dlvlne grace conceded to men to save them from
error and death, to the bodlly grace of the danclng glrl or
the fellne leaplng through the undergrowth. Grace means
pardon, forglveness, favour, beneflce, lnsplratlon; lt ls a
form of address, a pleaslng style of speaklng or palntlng, a
gesture expresslng pollteness, and, ln short, an act that
reveals splrltual goodness. Grace ls gratultous; lt ls a glft.
Jhe person who recelves lt, the favoured one, ls grateful
for lt; lf he ls not base, he expresses gratltude. Jhat ls what
I am dolng at thls very moment wlth these welghtless
words. I hope my emotlon compensates thelr welghtless
ness. If each of my words were a drop of water, you would
see through them and gllmpse what I feel. gratltude,
acknowledgment. And also an lndeflnable mlxture of fear,
respect and surprlse at flndlng myself here before you, ln
thls place whlch ls the home of both Swedlsh learnlng and
world llterature.
Languages are vast realltles that transcend those
polltlcal and hlstorlcal entltles we call natlons. Jhe Euro
pean languages we speak ln the Amerlcas lllustrate thls.
Jhe speclal posltlon of our llteratures when compared to
those of England, Spaln, Portugal and Irance depends pre
clsely on thls fundamental fact. they are llteratures wrltten
ln transplanted tongues. Languages are born and grow
from the natlve soll, nourlshed by a common hlstory. Jhe
European languages were rooted out from thelr natlve soll
and thelr own tradltlon, and then planted ln an unknown
and unnamed world. they took root ln the new lands and,
as they grew wlthln the socletles of Amerlca, they were
transformed. Jhey are the same plant yet also a dlfferent
plant. Our llteratures dld not passlvely accept the changlng
fortunes of the transplanted languages. they partlclpated ln
the process and even accelerated lt. Jhey very soon ceased
to be mere transatlantlc reflectlons. at tlmes they have
been the negatlon of the llteratures of Europe; more often,
they have been a reply.
In splte of these osclllatlons the llnk has never
been broken. My classlcs are those of my language and
I conslder myself to be a descendant of Lope and _ue
vedo, as any Spanlsh wrlter would . . . yet I am not a
Spanlard. I thlnk that most wrlters of Spanlsh Amerlca,
as well as those from the Lnlted States, Brazll and Can
ada, would say the same as regards the Engllsh, Portu
guese and Irench tradltlons. Jo understand more
clearly the speclal posltlon of wrlters ln the Amerlcas,
we should thlnk of the dlalogue malntalned by |apa
nese, Chlnese or Arablc wrlters wlth the dlfferent lltera
tures of Europe. It ls a dlalogue that cuts across multlple
languages and clvlllzatlons. Our dlalogue, on the other
hand, takes place wlthln the same language. We are
Europeans yet we are not Europeans. What are we
then? It ls dlfflcult to deflne what we are, but our works
speak for us.
In the fleld of llterature, the great novelty of the
present century has been the appearance of the Amerl
can llteratures. Jhe flrst to appear was that of the
Engllshspeaklng part and then, ln the second half of
the 20th Century, that of Latln Amerlca ln lts two great
branches. Spanlsh Amerlca and Brazll. Although they
are very dlfferent, these three llteratures have one com
mon feature. the confllct, whlch ls more ldeologlcal
than llterary, between the cosmopolltan and natlvlst
tendencles, between Europeanlsm and Amerlcanlsm.
What ls the legacy of thls dlspute? Jhe polemlcs have
dlsappeared; what remaln are the works. Apart from
thls general resemblance, the dlfferences between the
three llteratures are multlple and profound. One of
them belongs more to hlstory than to llterature. the
development of AngloAmerlcan llterature colncldes
wlth the rlse of the Lnlted States as a world power
whereas the rlse of our llterature colncldes wlth the
polltlcal and soclal mlsfortunes and upheavals of our
natlons. Jhls proves once more the llmltatlons of soclal
and hlstorlcal determlnlsm. the decllne of emplres and
soclal dlsturbances sometlmes colnclde wlth moments
of artlstlc and llterary splendour. LlPo and Ju Iu wlt
nessed the fall of the Jang dynasty; Velzquez palnted
for Iellpe IV; Seneca and Lucan were contemporarles
and also vlctlms of Nero. Other dlfferences are of a llt
erary nature and apply more to partlcular works than
136
m~W k iI U a NVVM ai_ PPN
to the character of each llterature. But can we say that
llteratures have a ~~\ Do they possess a set of
shared features that dlstlngulsh them from other lltera
tures? I doubt lt. A llterature ls not deflned by some fan
clful, lntanglble character; lt ls a soclety of unlque
works unlted by relatlons of opposltlon and afflnlty.
Jhe flrst baslc dlfference between LatlnAmerlcan
and AngloAmerlcan llterature lles ln the dlverslty of
thelr orlglns. Both begln as projectlons of Europe. Jhe
projectlon of an lsland ln the case of North Amerlca;
that of a penlnsula ln our case. Jwo reglons that are
geographlcally, hlstorlcally and culturally eccentrlc.
Jhe orlglns of North Amerlca are ln England and the
Reformatlon; ours are ln Spaln, Portugal and the
CounterReformatlon. Ior the case of Spanlsh Amerlca
I should brlefly mentlon what dlstlngulshes Spaln from
other European countrles, glvlng lt a partlcularly orlgl
nal hlstorlcal ldentlty. Spaln ls no less eccentrlc than
England but lts eccentrlclty ls of a dlfferent klnd. Jhe
eccentrlclty of the Engllsh ls lnsular and ls characterlzed
by lsolatlon. an eccentrlclty that excludes. Hlspanlc
eccentrlclty ls penlnsular and conslsts of the coexlstence
of dlfferent clvlllzatlons and dlfferent pasts. an lncluslve
eccentrlclty. In what would later be Cathollc Spaln, the
Vlslgoths professed the heresy of Arlanlsm, and we
could also speak about the centurles of domlnatlon by
Arablc clvlllzatlon, the lnfluence of |ewlsh thought, the
Reconquest, and other characterlstlc features.
Hlspanlc eccentrlclty ls reproduced and multl
plled ln Amerlca, especlally ln those countrles such as
Mexlco and Peru, where anclent and splendld clvlllza
tlons had exlsted. In Mexlco, the Spanlards encoun
tered hlstory as well as geography. Jhat hlstory ls stlll
allve. lt ls a present rather than a past. Jhe temples and
gods of preColumblan Mexlco are a plle of rulns, but
the splrlt that breathed llfe lnto that world has not dls
appeared; lt speaks to us ln the hermetlc language of
myth, legend, forms of soclal coexlstence, popular art,
customs. Belng a Mexlcan wrlter means llstenlng to the
volce of that present, that presence. Llstenlng to lt,
speaklng wlth lt, declpherlng lt. expresslng lt. . . . After
thls brlef dlgresslon we may be able to percelve the
pecullar relatlon that slmultaneously blnds us to and
separates us from the European tradltlon.
Jhls consclousness of belng separate ls a constant
feature of our splrltual hlstory. Separatlon ls sometlmes
experlenced as a wound that marks an lnternal dlvlslon,
an angulshed awareness that lnvltes selfexamlnatlon; at
other tlmes lt appears as a challenge, a spur that lncltes
us to actlon, to go forth and encounter others and the
outslde world. It ls true that the feellng of separatlon ls
unlversal and not pecullar to Spanlsh Amerlcans. It ls
born at the very moment of our blrth. as we are
wrenched from the Whole we fall lnto an allen land.
Jhls experlence becomes a wound that never heals. It ls
the unfathomable depth of every man; all our ventures
and explolts, all our acts and dreams, are brldges
deslgned to overcome the separatlon and reunlte us
wlth the world and our fellowbelngs. Each man`s llfe
and the collectlve hlstory of manklnd can thus be seen
as attempts to reconstruct the orlglnal sltuatlon. An
unflnlshed and endless cure for our dlvlded condltlon.
But lt ls not my lntentlon to provlde yet another
descrlptlon of thls feellng. I am slmply stresslng the fact
that for us thls exlstentlal condltlon expresses ltself ln
hlstorlcal terms. It thus becomes an awareness of our
hlstory. How and when does thls feellng appear and
how ls lt transformed lnto consclousness? Jhe reply to
thls doubleedged questlon can be glven ln the form of
a theory or a personal testlmony. I prefer the latter.
there are many theorles and none ls entlrely convlnclng.
Jhe feellng of separatlon ls bound up wlth the
oldest and vaguest of my memorles. the flrst cry, the
flrst scare. Llke every chlld I bullt emotlonal brldges ln
the lmaglnatlon to llnk me to the world and to other
people. I llved ln a town on the outsklrts of Mexlco
Clty, ln an old dllapldated house that had a junglellke
garden and a great room full of books. Ilrst games and
flrst lessons. Jhe garden soon became the centre of my
world; the llbrary, an enchanted cave. I used to read
and play wlth my couslns and schoolmates. Jhere was
a flg tree, temple of vegetatlon, four plne trees, three ash
trees, a nlghtshade, a pomegranate tree, wlld grass and
prlckly plants that produced purple grazes. Adobe
walls. Jlme was elastlc; space was a splnnlng wheel. All
tlme, past or future, real or lmaglnary, was pure pres
ence. Space transformed ltself ceaselessly. Jhe beyond
was here, all was here. a valley, a mountaln, a dlstant
country, the nelghbours` patlo. Books wlth plctures,
especlally hlstory books, eagerly leafed through, sup
plled lmages of deserts and jungles, palaces and hovels,
warrlors and prlncesses, beggars and klngs. We were
shlpwrecked wlth Slnbad and wlth Roblnson, we
fought wlth dÀrtagnan, we took Valencla wlth the Cld.
How I would have llked to stay forever on the Isle of
Calypso! In summer the green branches of the flg tree
would sway llke the salls of a caravel or a plrate shlp.
Hlgh up on the mast, swept by the wlnd, I could make
out lslands and contlnents, lands that vanlshed as soon
as they became tanglble. Jhe world was llmltless yet lt
was always wlthln reach; tlme was a pllable substance
that weaved an unbroken present.
When was the spell broken? Gradually rather
than suddenly. It ls hard to accept belng betrayed by a
frlend, decelved by the woman we love, or that the ldea
of freedom ls the mask of a tyrant. What we call 'flnd
lng out" ls a slow and trlcky process because we our
selves are the accompllces of our errors and deceptlons.
137
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Nevertheless, I can remember falrly clearly an lncldent
that was the flrst slgn, although lt was qulckly forgot
ten. I must have been about slx when one of my cous
lns who was a llttle older showed me a North Amerlcan
magazlne wlth a photograph of soldlers marchlng along
a huge avenue, probably ln New York. 'Jhey`ve
returned from the war" she sald. Jhls handful of words
dlsturbed me, as lf they foreshadowed the end of the
world or the Second Comlng of Chrlst. I vaguely knew
that somewhere far away a war had ended a few years
earller and that the soldlers were marchlng to celebrate
thelr vlctory. Ior me, that war had taken place ln
another tlme, not here and now. Jhe photo refuted me.
I felt llterally dlslodged from the present.
Irom that moment tlme began to fracture more
and more. And there was a plurallty of spaces. Jhe
experlence repeated ltself more and more frequently.
Any plece of news, a harmless phrase, the headllne ln a
newspaper. everythlng proved the outslde world`s exlst
ence and my own unreallty. I felt that the world was
spllttlng and that I dld not lnhablt the present. My
present was dlslntegratlng. real tlme was somewhere
else. My tlme, the tlme of the garden, the flg tree, the
games wlth frlends, the drowslness among the plants at
three ln the afternoon under the sun, a flg torn open
(black and red llke a llve coal but one that ls sweet and
fresh). thls was a flctltlous tlme. In splte of what my
senses told me, the tlme from over there, belonglng to
the others, was the real one, the tlme of the real present.
I accepted the lnevltable. I became an adult. Jhat was
how my expulslon from the present began.
It may seem paradoxlcal to say that we have been
expelled from the present, but lt ls a feellng we have all
had at some moment. Some of us experlenced lt flrst as
a condemnatlon, later transformed lnto consclousness
and actlon. Jhe search for the present ls nelther the
pursult of an earthly paradlse nor that of a tlmeless eter
nlty. lt ls the search for a real reallty. Ior us, as Spanlsh
Amerlcans, the real present was not ln our own coun
trles. lt was the tlme llved by others, by the Engllsh, the
Irench and the Germans. It was the tlme of New York,
Parls, London. We had to go and look for lt and brlng lt
back home. Jhese years were also the years of my dls
covery of llterature. I began wrltlng poems. I dld not
know what made me wrlte them. I was moved by an
lnner need that ls dlfflcult to deflne. Only now have I
understood that there was a secret relatlonshlp between
what I have called my expulslon from the present and
the wrltlng of poetry. Poetry ls ln love wlth the lnstant
and seeks to rellve lt ln the poem, thus separatlng lt
from sequentlal tlme and turnlng lt lnto a flxed present.
But at that tlme I wrote wlthout wonderlng why I was
dolng lt. I was searchlng for the gateway to the present.
I wanted to belong to my tlme and to my century. A llt
tle later thls obsesslon became a flxed ldea. I wanted to
be a modern poet. My search for modernlty had begun.
What ls modernlty? Ilrst of all lt ls an amblguous
term. there are as many types of modernlty as there are
socletles. Each has lts own. Jhe word`s meanlng ls
uncertaln and arbltrary, llke the name of the perlod that
precedes lt, the Mlddle Ages. If we are modern when
compared to medleval tlmes, are we perhaps the Mlddle
Ages of a future modernlty? Is a name that changes
wlth tlme a real name? Modernlty ls a word ln search of
lts meanlng. Is lt an ldea, a mlrage or a moment of hls
tory? Are we the chlldren of modernlty or lts creators?
Nobody knows for sure. It doesn`t matter much. we fol
low lt, we pursue lt. Ior me at that tlme modernlty was
fused wlth the present or rather produced lt. the present
was lts last supreme flower. My case ls nelther unlque
nor exceptlonal. from the Symbollst perlod, all modern
poets have chased after that magnetlc and eluslve flgure
that fasclnates them. Baudelalre was the flrst. He was
also the flrst to touch her and dlscover that she ls noth
lng but tlme that crumbles ln one`s hands. I am not
golng to relate my adventures ln pursult of modernlty.
they are not very dlfferent from those of other 20th
Century poets. Modernlty has been a unlversal passlon.
Slnce l850 she has been our goddess and our demon
ess. In recent years, there has been an attempt to exor
clse her and there has been much talk of
'postmodernlsm." But what ls postmodernlsm lf not an
even more modern modernlty?
Ior us, as Latln Amerlcans, the search for poetlc
modernlty runs hlstorlcally parallel to the repeated
attempts to modernlze our countrles. Jhls tendency
beglns at the end of the l8th Century and lncludes
Spaln herself. Jhe Lnlted States was born lnto moder
nlty and by l830 was already, as de Jocquevllle
observed, the womb of the future; we were born at a
moment when Spaln and Portugal were movlng away
from modernlty. Jhls ls why there was frequent talk of
'Europeanlzlng" our countrles. the modern was outslde
and had to be lmported. In Mexlcan hlstory thls pro
cess beglns just before the War of Independence. Later
lt became a great ldeologlcal and polltlcal debate that
passlonately dlvlded Mexlcan soclety durlng the l9th
Century. One event was to call lnto questlon not the
legltlmacy of the reform movement but the way ln
whlch lt had been lmplemented. the Mexlcan Revolu
tlon. Lnllke lts 20thCentury counterparts, the Mexl
can Revolutlon was not really the expresslon of a
vaguely utoplan ldeology but rather the exploslon of a
reallty that had been hlstorlcally and psychologlcally
repressed. It was not the work of a group of ldeologlsts
lntent on lntroduclng prlnclples derlved from a polltlcal
theory; lt was a popular uprlslng that unmasked what
was hldden. Ior thls very reason lt was more of a reve
138
latlon than a revolutlon. Mexlco was searchlng for the
present outslde only to flnd lt wlthln, burled but allve.
Jhe search for modernlty led us to dlscover our antlq
ulty, the hldden face of the natlon. I am not sure
whether thls unexpected hlstorlcal lesson has been
learnt by all. between tradltlon and modernlty there ls a
brldge. When they are mutually lsolated, tradltlon stag
nates and modernlty vaporlzes; when ln conjunctlon,
modernlty breathes llfe lnto tradltlon, whlle the latter
replles wlth depth and gravlty.
Jhe search for poetlc modernlty was a _uest, ln
the allegorlcal and chlvalrlc sense thls word had ln the
l2th Century. I dld not flnd any Grall although I dld
cross several ~ ~ vlsltlng castles of mlrrors and
camplng among ghostly trlbes. But I dld dlscover the
modern tradltlon. Ior modernlty ls not a poetlc school
but a llneage, a famlly dlspersed over several contlnents
and whlch for two centurles has survlved many sudden
changes and mlsfortunes. publlc lndlfference, lsolatlon,
and trlbunals ln the name of rellglous, polltlcal, aca
demlc and sexual orthodoxy. Because lt ls a tradltlon
and not a doctrlne, lt has been able to perslst and to
change at the same tlme. Jhls ls also why lt ls so
dlverse. each poetlc adventure ls dlstlnct and each poet
has sown a dlfferent plant ln the mlraculous forest of
speaklng trees. Yet lf the works are dlverse and each
route ls dlstlnct, what ls lt that unltes all these poets?
Not an aesthetlc but a search. My search was not fancl
ful, even though the ldea of modernlty ls a mlrage, a
bundle of reflectlons. One day I dlscovered I was golng
back to the startlng polnt lnstead of advanclng. the
search for modernlty was a descent to the orlglns.
Modernlty led me to the source of my beglnnlng, to my
antlqulty. Separatlon had now become reconclllatlon. I
thus found out that the poet ls a pulse ln the rhythmlc
flow of generatlons.
*
Jhe ldea of modernlty ls a byproduct of our con
ceptlon of hlstory as a unlque and llnear process of suc
cesslon. Although lts orlglns are ln |udaeoChrlstlanlty,
lt breaks wlth Chrlstlan doctrlne. In Chrlstlanlty, the
cycllcal tlme of pagan cultures ls supplanted by unre
peatable hlstory, somethlng that has a beglnnlng and
wlll have an end. Sequentlal tlme was the profane tlme
of hlstory, an arena for the actlons of fallen men, yet
stlll governed by a sacred tlme whlch had nelther begln
nlng nor end. After |udgement Day there wlll be no
future elther ln heaven or ln hell. In the realm of eter
nlty there ls no successlon because everythlng ls. Belng
trlumphs over becomlng. Jhe now tlme, our concept of
tlme, ls llnear llke that of Chrlstlanlty but open to lnfln
lty wlth no reference to Eternlty. Ours ls the tlme of
profane hlstory, an lrreverslble and perpetually unfln
lshed tlme that marches towards the future and not
towards lts end. Hlstory`s sun ls the future and Progress
ls the name of thls movement towards the future.
Chrlstlans see the world, or what used to be
called the or worldly llfe, as a place of trlal. souls
can be elther lost or saved ln thls world. In the new con
ceptlon the hlstorlcal subject ls not the lndlvldual soul
but the human race, sometlmes vlewed as a whole and
sometlmes through a chosen group that represents lt.
the developed natlons of the West, the proletarlat, the
whlte race, or some other entlty. Jhe pagan and Chrls
tlan phllosophlcal tradltlon had exalted Belng as
changeless perfectlon overflowlng wlth plenltude; we
adore Change, the motor of progress and the model for
our socletles. Change artlculates ltself ln two prlvlleged
ways. as evolutlon and as revolutlon. Jhe trot and the
leap. Modernlty ls the spearhead of hlstorlcal move
ment, the lncarnatlon of evolutlon or revolutlon, the
two faces of progress. Ilnally, progress takes place
thanks to the dual actlon of sclence and technology,
applled to the realm of nature and to the use of her
lmmense resources.
Modern man has deflned hlmself as a hlstorlcal
belng. Other socletles chose to deflne themselves ln
terms of values and ldeas dlfferent from change. the
Greeks venerated the and the clrcle yet were
unaware of progress; llke all the Stolcs, Seneca was
much concerned about the eternal return; Salnt Augus
tlne belleved that the end of the world was lmmlnent;
Salnt Jhomas constructed a scale of the degrees of
belng, llnklng the smallest creature to the Creator, and
so on. One after the other these ldeas and bellefs were
abandoned. It seems to me that the same decllne ls
beglnnlng to affect our ldea of Progress and, as a result,
our vlslon of tlme, of hlstory and of ourselves. We are
wltnesslng the twlllght of the future. Jhe decllne of the
ldea of modernlty and the popularlty of a notlon as
dublous as that of 'postmodernlsm" are phenomena
that affect not only llterature and the arts. we are expe
rlenclng the crlsls of the essentlal ldeas and bellefs that
have gulded manklnd for over two centurles. I have
dealt wlth thls matter at length elsewhere. Here I can
only offer a brlef summary.
In the flrst place, the concept of a process open to
lnflnlty and synonymous wlth endless progress has
been called lnto questlon. I need hardly mentlon what
everybody knows. natural resources are flnlte and wlll
run out one day. In addltlon, we have lnfllcted what
may be lrreparable damage on the natural envlronment
and our own specles ls endangered. Ilnally, sclence and
technology, the lnstruments of progress, have shown
wlth alarmlng clarlty that they can easlly become
destructlve forces. Jhe exlstence of nuclear weapons ls
139
ai_ PPN m~W k iI U a NVVM
a refutatlon of the ldea that progress ls lnherent ln hls
tory. Jhls refutatlon, I add, can only be called devastat
lng.
In the second place, we have the fate of the hlstor
lcal subject, manklnd, ln the 20th Century. Seldom
have natlons or lndlvlduals suffered so much. two
world wars, tyrannles spread over flve contlnents, the
atomlc bomb and the prollferatlon of one of the cruel
lest and most lethal lnstltutlons known by man. the con
centratlon camp. Modern technology has provlded
countless beneflts, but lt ls lmposslble to close our eyes
when confronted by slaughter, torture, humlllatlon,
degradatlon, and other wrongs lnfllcted on mllllons of
lnnocent people ln our century.
In the thlrd place, the bellef ln the necesslty of
progress has been shaken. Ior our grandparents and
our parents, the rulns of hlstory (corpses, desolate
battleflelds, devastated cltles) dld not lnvalldate the
underlylng goodness of the hlstorlcal process. Jhe scaf
folds and tyrannles, the confllcts and savage clvll wars
were the prlce to be pald for progress, the blood money
to be offered to the god of hlstory. A god? Yes, reason
ltself delfled and prodlgal ln cruel acts of cunnlng,
accordlng to Hegel. Jhe alleged ratlonallty of hlstory
has vanlshed. In the very domaln of order, regularlty
and coherence (ln pure sclences llke physlcs) the old
notlons of accldent and catastrophe have reappeared.
Jhls dlsturblng resurrectlon remlnds me of the terrors
that marked the advent of the mlllennlum, and the
angulsh of the Aztecs at the end of each cosmlc cycle.
Jhe last element ln thls hasty enumeratlon ls the
collapse of all the phllosophlcal and hlstorlcal hypothe
ses that clalmed to reveal the laws governlng the course
of hlstory. Jhe bellevers, confldent that they held the
keys to hlstory, erected powerful states over pyramlds
of corpses. Jhese arrogant constructlons, destlned ln
theory to llberate men, were very qulckly transformed
lnto glgantlc prlsons. Joday we have seen them fall,
overthrown not by thelr ldeologlcal enemles but by the
lmpatlence and the deslre for freedom of the new gener
atlons. Is thls the end of all Ltoplas? It ls rather the end
of the ldea of hlstory as a phenomenon, the outcome of
whlch can be known ln advance. Hlstorlcal determln
lsm has been a costly and bloodstalned fantasy. Hlstory
ls unpredlctable because lts agent, manklnd, ls the per
sonlflcatlon of lndetermlnlsm.
Jhls short revlew shows that we are very proba
bly at the end of a hlstorlcal perlod and at the beglnnlng
of another. Jhe end of the Modern Age or just a muta
tlon? It ls dlfflcult to tell. In any case, the collapse of
Ltoplan schemes has left a great vold, not ln the coun
trles where thls ldeology has proved to have falled but
ln those where many embraced lt wlth enthuslasm and
hope. Ior the flrst tlme ln hlstory manklnd llves ln a
sort of splrltual wllderness and not, as before, ln the
shadow of those rellglous and polltlcal systems that con
soled us at the same tlme as they oppressed us.
Although all socletles are hlstorlcal, each one has llved
under the guldance and lnsplratlon of a set of meta
hlstorlcal bellefs and ldeas. Ours ls the flrst age that ls
ready to llve wlthout a metahlstorlcal doctrlne; whether
they be rellglous or phllosophlcal, moral or aesthetlc,
our absolutes are not collectlve but prlvate. It ls a dan
gerous experlence. It ls also lmposslble to know
whether the tenslons and confllcts unleashed ln thls
prlvatlzatlon of ldeas, practlces and bellefs that
belonged tradltlonally to the publlc domaln wlll not end
up by destroylng the soclal fabrlc. Men could then
become possessed once more by anclent rellglous fury
or by fanatlcal natlonallsm. It would be terrlble lf the
fall of the abstract ldol of ldeology were to foreshadow
the resurrectlon of the burled passlons of trlbes, sects
and churches. Jhe slgns, unfortunately, are dlsturblng.
Jhe decllne of the ldeologles I have called meta
hlstorlcal, by whlch I mean those that asslgn to hlstory
a goal and a dlrectlon, lmplles flrst the taclt abandon
ment of global solutlons. Wlth good sense, we tend
more and more towards llmlted remedles to solve con
crete problems. It ls prudent to abstaln from leglslatlng
about the future. Yet the present requlres much more
than attentlon to lts lmmedlate needs. lt demands a
more rlgorous global reflectlon. Ior a long tlme I have
flrmly belleved that the twlllght of the future heralds
the advent of the now. Jo thlnk about the now lmplles
flrst of all to recover the crltlcal vlslon. Ior example, the
trlumph of the market economy (a trlumph due to the
adversary`s default) cannot be slmply a cause for joy. As
a mechanlsm the market ls efflclent, but llke all mecha
nlsms lt lacks both consclence and compasslon. We
must flnd a way of lntegratlng lt lnto soclety so that lt
expresses the soclal contract and becomes an lnstru
ment of justlce and falrness. Jhe advanced democratlc
socletles have reached an envlable level of prosperlty; at
the same tlme they are lslands of abundance ln the
ocean of unlversal mlsery. Jhe toplc of the market ls
lntrlcately related to the deterloratlon of the envlron
ment. Pollutlon affects not only the alr, the rlvers and
the forests but also our souls. A soclety possessed by
the frantlc need to produce more ln order to consume
more tends to reduce ldeas, feellngs, art, love, frlend
shlp and people themselves to consumer products.
Everythlng becomes a thlng to be bought, used and
then thrown ln the rubblsh dump. No other soclety has
produced so much waste as ours has. Materlal and
moral waste.
Reflectlng on the now does not lmply rellnqulsh
lng the future or forgettlng the past. the present ls the
meetlng place for the three dlrectlons of tlme. Nelther
110
can lt be confused wlth faclle hedonlsm. Jhe tree of
pleasure does not grow ln the past or ln the future but
at thls very moment. Yet death ls also a frult of the
present. It cannot be rejected, for lt ls part of llfe. Llvlng
well lmplles dylng well. We have to learn how to look
death ln the face. Jhe present ls alternatlvely lumlnous
and sombre, llke a sphere that unltes the two halves of
actlon and contemplatlon. Jhus, just as we have had
phllosophles of the past and of the future, of eternlty
and of the vold, tomorrow we shall have a phllosophy
of the present. Jhe poetlc experlence could be one of lts
foundatlons. What do we know about the present?
Nothlng or almost nothlng. Yet the poets do know one
thlng. the present ls the source of presences.
In thls pllgrlmage ln search of modernlty I lost
my way at many polnts only to flnd myself agaln. I
returned to the source and dlscovered that modernlty ls
not outslde but wlthln us. It ls today and the most
anclent antlqulty; lt ls tomorrow and the beglnnlng of
the world; lt ls a thousand years old and yet newborn.
It speaks ln Nahuatl, draws Chlnese ldeograms from
the 9th Century, and appears on the televlslon screen.
Jhls lntact present, recently unearthed, shakes off the
dust of centurles, smlles and suddenly starts to fly, dls
appearlng through the wlndow. A slmultaneous plural
lty of tlme and presence. modernlty breaks wlth the
lmmedlate past only to recover an ageold past and
transform a tlny fertlllty flgure from the neollthlc lnto
our contemporary. We pursue modernlty ln her lnces
sant metamorphoses yet we never manage to trap her.
She always escapes. each encounter ends ln fllght. We
embrace her and she dlsappears lmmedlately. lt was
just a llttle alr. It ls the lnstant, that blrd that ls every
where and nowhere. We want to trap lt allve but lt flaps
lts wlngs and vanlshes ln the form of a handful of sylla
bles. We are left emptyhanded. Jhen the doors of per
ceptlon open sllghtly and the other tlme appears, the
real one we were searchlng for wlthout knowlng lt. the
present, the presence.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l990. Octavlo Paz ls the
11l
p~Jg m
E^ iF
(J1 Moy 1SS7 - 20 Scptcmbcr 197)
`~~ p~~ _~
Tulovc Uvivcrsity
and
c~ ^K ^
Iouisiovo Stotc Uvivcrsity
See also the Perse entry ln DI 2S: Modcrv Ircvcl Iocts.
BOOKS. Ilogcs, as Salntleger Leger (Parls. Edltlons de
la Nouvelle Revue Iranalse, l9ll); revlsed and
enlarged edltlon, as St|. Perse (Parls. Edltlons de
la Nouvelle Revue Iranalse/Galllmard, l925;
revlsed and enlarged edltlon, Parls. Galllmard,
l918); l925 edltlon translated by Loulse Varse
as Ilogcs ovd Utlcr Iocms (New York. Norton,
l911; revlsed edltlon |based on l953 Irench edl
tlon ln Uuvrc poctiquc: Soivt-olv Icrsc|, New York.
Pantheon, l956);
Zmitic du privcc (Parls. Ronald Davls, l921);
Zvobosc (Parls. Galllmard, l921; revlsed and enlarged,
l918); translated by J. S. Ellot as Zvobosis,
blllngual edltlon (London. Iaber Iaber, l930;
revlsed edltlon, New York. Harcourt, Brace,
l938; revlsed and enlarged edltlon, based on
l918 Irench edltlon, New York. Harcourt, Brace,
l919; London. Iaber Iaber, l959);
Iomc pour !olcry Iorboud (Llge, Belglum. A la Lampe
dÀladdln, l936);
Ixil: Iomc (Marsellles. Edltlons Cahlers du Sud, l912;
revlsed edltlon, Buenos Alres. Les Edltlons
Lettres Iranalses, l912);
Iluics (Buenos Alres. Les Edltlons Lettres Iranalses,
l911);
_uotrc pomcs, 1941-1944 (Buenos Alres. Les Edltlons
Lettres Iranalses, l911); republlshed as Ixil, suivi
dc Iomc o l`ctrovgrc, Iluics, `cigcs (Parls. Galll
mard, l915); revlsed as Ixil, suivi dc Iomcs o
l`ctrovgrc, Iluics, `cigcs (Parls. Galllmard, l916);
translated by Denls Devlln as Ixilc ovd Utlcr Iocms,
blllngual edltlon (New York. Pantheon, l919);
!cvts (Parls. Galllmard, l916); translated by Hugh
Chlsholm as !ivds, blllngual edltlon (New York.
Pantheon, l953);
Uuvrc poctiquc: Soivt-olv Icrsc (2 volumes, Parls. Galll
mard, l953, l960; revlsed and enlarged, 3 vol
umes, l967-l970)comprlses volume l, Ilogcs,
Io Cloirc dcs Iois, Zvobosc, Ixil, !cvts (l953)
lncludes revlsed edltlon of Ilogcs; volume l
revlsed as Ilogcs, Io Cloirc dcs Iois, Zvobosc, Ixil
(l960; revlsed l967); volume 2, !cvts, Zmcrs, Clro-
viquc (l960; revlsed, l967); revlsed as !cvts, suivi
dc Clroviquc (l968); and volume 3, Zmcrs, suivi
dÙiscoux ct l`Zllocutiov ou bovquct òbcl (l970);
Zmcrs (Parls. Galllmard, l957); translated by Wallace
Iowlle as Scomorls, blllngual edltlon (New York.
Pantheon, l958);
Clroviquc (llmlted edltlon, Marsellles. Cahlers du Sud,
l959; trade edltlon, Parls. Galllmard, l960);
translated by Robert Iltzgerald, blllngual edltlon
(New York. Pantheon, l96l);
Iocsic: Zllocutiov ou ovquct òbcl du 10 dcccmbrc 1960
(Parls. Galllmard, l96l); translated by W. H.
Auden as Uv Ioctry by St.-olv Icrsc, Spcccl of Zcccp-
tovcc upov tlc Zword of tlc òbcl Iric for Iitcroturc
Dclivcrcd iv Stocllolm Dcccmbcr 10, 1960 (N.p., Bol
llngen Ioundatlon, l96l);
Hommogc o Iobivdrovotl Togorc (Llge, Belglum. Edltlons
Dynamo, l962);
IÙrdrc dcs oiscoux, lllustrated by Georges Braque (Parls.
Soclt dÈdltlons dàrt, l962); republlshed, wlth
out lllustratlons, as Uiscoux (llmlted edltlon, Parls.
Soclt dÈdltlons dàrt, l962; trade edltlon,
Parls. Galllmard, l963); translated by Iltzgerald
112
p~Jg m ai_ PPN
as irds, blllngual edltlon (New York. Pantheon,
l966);
!olcry Iorboud; ou, I`Hovvcur littcroirc (Llge, Belglum.
Edltlons Dynamo, l962);
Silcvcc pour Cloudcl (Llge, Belglum. Edltlons Dynamo,
l963);
Zu souvcvir dc !olcry Iorboud (Llge, Belglum. Edltlons
Dynamo, l963);
Iour Dovtc (Parls. Galllmard, l965);
Clovtc por ccllc qui fut lo . . . (Parls. Prlvately prlnted by
Robert Blanchet, l969); translated by Rlchard
Howard as Clovtc por ccllc qui fut lo . . . ('Suvg by
Uvc !lo !os Tlcrc) (Prlnceton. Prlnceton Lnl
Uuvrcs compltcs, Blbllothque de la Pllade (Parls. Galll
mard, l972; enlarged edltlon, l982);
Clovt pour uv cquivoxc (Parls. Galllmard, l975); trans
lated by Howard as Sovg for ov Iquivox, blllngual
edltlon (Prlnceton. Prlnceton Lnlverslty Press,
l977).
b ~ `W Zmitic du privcc dc Soivt-olv
Icrsc, edlted by Albert Henry (Parls. Galllmard,
l979);
Zvobosc dc Soivt-olv Icrsc, edlted by Henry (Parls. Galll
mard, l983);
òcturvc . . . , edlted by Henry (Parls. Galllmard, l985).
b bW Two Zddrcsscs, blllngual edltlon
(New York. Pantheon, l966)comprlses 'On
Poetry," translated by W. H. Auden, and
'Dante," translated by Robert Iltzgerald;
irds by Soivt-olv Icrsc, translated by |. Roger Llttle
(Durham, L.K.. North Gate Press, l967);
St.-olv Icrsc: Collcctcd Iocms, blllngual edltlon, translated
by Auden and others (Prlnceton. Prlnceton Lnl
verslty Press, l97l).
When the Swedlsh Academy announced that the
laureate of the l960 Nobel Prlze ln Llterature was Salnt
|ohn Perse, connolsseurs of poetry ln Amerlca and sev
eral European countrles were not astonlshed; lt was,
rather, certaln Irench who expressed surprlse. Perse`s
work was much better known abroad than ln Irance.
Perse`s poem Zvobosc (l921) had been translated lnto
many languages, lncludlng verslons by emlnent llterary
flgures. an Engllsh verslon by J. S. Ellot (Zvobosis,
l930); a German one by Walter Benjamln and Bernard
Groethuysen, wlth a preface by Hugo von Hofmanns
thal; and an Itallan verslon by Gluseppe Lngarettl. Ear
ller verse had been translated lnto German by Ralner
Marla Rllke; many other poems or selectlons by Perse
had been publlshed abroad. Zvobosc had been set to
muslc by Amerlcan composer Alan Hovhaness, and a
Swedlsh composer, KarlBlrger Blomdahl, had created
from lt an oratorlo. Jhe Bolllngen Ioundatlon ln the
Lnlted States had underwrltten publlcatlon of the
poet`s verse ln blllngual edltlons. He was appreclated by
p~Jg mI ~ NVPM Ee~LoJsLd f~F
113
ai_ PPN p~Jg m
fellow wrlters and wealthy patrons of the arts ln Amer
lca, and AngloSaxon crltlcs were among the flrst to
publlsh slgnlflcant studles of hls poetry and have
remalned among hls best commentators. Ellot called
hlm one of the most lmportant poets of hls generatlon
and ranked ^~~ as hlgh as |ames |oyce`s ^~ i~
m~ (l928, a separately publlshed sectlon of cJ
~ t~ |l939|); Amerlcan poet Conrad Alken wrote
ln l957 that Perse was 'le plus grand pote du monde
aujourd`hul" (the greatest poet ln the world today)
(both statements appear ln e p~Jg m).
In Irance, however, hls wrltlngs had been repub
llshed lnfrequently; durlng a perlod of seventeen years,
no new work had appeared there. Moreover, as a hlgh
ranklng dlplomat under hls real name, Alexls Leger, he
had spent lengthy perlods abroad, resldlng for flve
years ln Chlna and seventeen, wlthout lnterruptlon, ln
the Lnlted States, where he contlnued llvlng much of
the tlme thereafter. In addltlon, he had publlshed under
a pseudonym from l921 on. Iurthermore, hls verse
seemed to certaln readers somewhat arcane and not
partlcularly Irench, unllke that of Paul Valry, a rlval
for the rank of greatest Irench poet of the century.
Denls de Rougement (ln e p~Jg m)
found ln Perse`s work 'un grand lyrlsme amrlcaln"
(great Amerlcan lyrlclsm).
Leger was not even born ln Europe; he was from
Guadeloupe, an lsland of the Irench Antllles. (Crltlcs
and publlshers often spell the name iI but the
author and hls famlly dld not.) He was born Marle
Ren Auguste Alexls SalntLeger Leger on 3l May
l887 on a prlvate lslet, hls famlly`s property, just off the
roadstead of La PolnteaPltre, orlglnally called Ilet a
Ieullles, later SalntLeger les Ieullles. He thus belonged
to the New World, not the Old, though that dld not
make hlm qulte Amerlcan; lt was, he wrote, common
for Irench lslanders to reply when they were asked, ln
Europe, where they were from. 'DÀtlantlque" (from
Atlantlcas lf lt were a contlnent). On both sldes Alexls
descended from Irench colonlals. Hls mother,
IranolseRene Dormoy, came from a famlly of plant
ers and naval offlcers establlshed ln the Antllles slnce
the elghteenth century; hls father, Amde SalntLeger,
a lawyer, descended from a younger son of a Burgun
dlan famlly that had settled ln Guadeloupe ln the late
seventeenth century. Jwo plantatlons, on whlch sugar
and coffee were cultlvated, remalned ln the maternal
famlly. Alexls had three elder slsters and a younger one,
who dled when he was a boy.
Leger`s chlldhood was happy, lf lt ls correct to read
hls earllest poems as autoblographlcal. An attack of
typhold was one of the few events that marred hls early
boyhood. He was partlcularly enamored of the sea and
remalned so all hls llfe. Jo |oseph Conrad he wrote ln
l92l (ln a letter reprlnted ln the Blbllothque de la Pllade
edltlon of hls |l972, Complete Works|).
'Du falt de ma nalssance, de mon enfance et de mon trs
long atavlsme lnsulalre dans une petlte le des Caralbes, la
mer est pour mol chose lmentalre, comme mle a mon
sang mme, et qul a flnl, a mon lnsu, par me tout envahlr"
(Because of my blrth, my chlldhood, and my very long
lnsular atavlsm on a llttle Carlbbean lsland, the sea ls for
me an elementary thlng, as though mlngled wlth my very
blood, and has, wlthout my knowlng lt, flnally lnvaded me
throughout).
Jhls paradlsal vlslon of llfe ln Leger`s early poems
whlch ls hls equlvalent of what Charles Baudelalre ln the
nlneteenth century had called 'le vert paradls des amours
enfantlnes" (the green paradlse of chlldhood loves)ls sub
stantlated by the detalled outllne of hls llfe ln the Pllade
edltlon of Perse`s complete works. Readers should note,
however, that he hlmself drew up thls account, essentlally
an autoblography though called a blography, just as he
selected and edlted the entlre contentsa case of self
lmmortallzlng, slnce collected works ln the Pllade serles
are ordlnarlly prepared by others, the author belng
deceased. Whlle there ls no evldence the account ls falla
clous, lt appears sllghtly selflndulgent, tlnged wlth nostal
gla, and, as Guy Iquant remarked, not exempt from
obscurltles. Jhere are, ln addltlon, omlsslons, notably con
cernlng hls close relatlonshlps wlth varlous women. Jhe
account mentlons hls flrst horse, boat, and telescope, all at
age elght; the horse and boat are evoked ln the early
poems. Equltatlon and navlgatlonalong wlth swlmmlng
and hlklngremalned among hls favorlte pursults. He
speaks of hls tutorsan old retlred naval offlcer, a prlest
who taught hlm Latln, and a learned botanlst, the author
of respected manuals of West Indlan flora, whose lessons
ln natural hlstory nurtured what became a llfelong lnterest.
Jhese lessons were followed by studles at the lyce of La
PolnteaPltre startlng ln l896. Leger also mentlons hls
large rescue dog, rare anlmals lmported from Guyana, and
servants and workers of varled races and orlglns (Orlental,
Afrlcan, Carlbbean) at hls famlly`s town house and on the
lslet. A Hlndu woman ln the household gave hlm gllmpses
of Hlndu rltes.
Jhere were also, however, earthquakes and volca
nlc eruptlons, reflected ln the early poems. Jhe quake
of l897 caused the ruln of many famllles and a general
economlc crlsls. Leger was dlsturbed by lts conse
quences; nevertheless, he wrote ln a l9l8 letter to hls
mother. '|e nàl jamals pu mèmpcher dàlmer, en
toute poque et en tout lleu, ces jeux de grandes forces
naturelles. lnondatlons, typhons, slsmes, ruptlons vol
canlques, grandes pldmles et soulvements dlvers" (I
have never been able to keep myself from llklng, at all
tlmes and ln all places, the play of great natural forces.
floods, typhoons, earthquakes, volcanlc eruptlons, great
111
p~Jg m ai_ PPN
epldemlcs and varlous upheavals). In l899 Amde
SalntLeger, leavlng the lslands forever, took hls famlly
to Irance ln order to procure a better educatlon for hls
son and a stable economlc sltuatlon. Young Leger`s
travels and years spent on forelgn soll fed hls under
standlng of the human condltlon as exlle (an outlook
shared wlth Albert Camus) and human belngs as
strangers to themselves and the unlverse. '_ue savons
nous de l`homme, notre spectre, sous sa cape de lalne et
son grand feutre d`tranger?" (What do we know of
man, our specter, under hls stranger`s woolen cloak and
broad felt hat?), he asked ln ` (l959; translated,
l96l).
Jhe famlly settled ln Pau, not far from the
Pyrenees ln southwest Irance, where Alexls enrolled ln
the lyce, remalnlng untll l901. He hated hls new
mllleu; accordlng to a l9ll letter from Valery Larbaud
to LonPaul Iargue, lncluded ln the Pllade edltlon,
Leger expressed dlsgust for Irance, 'un pays dtes
table" (a detestable country). He won prlzes for Irench
composltlon as well as Latln and Greek and graduated
wlth honors. In l901 he began studylng law ln Bor
deaux and was drawn ln partlcular by the phllosophy of
law and Roman law. Jhe only redeemlng feature of
Bordeaux, Leger sald, was lts portbut he added that
docks were always beautlful. Concurrently he took
courses ln other subjects, lncludlng Greek and natural
sclences. Jhroughout hls llfe, he remalned lnterested ln
geology, botany, ornlthology, and other branches of scl
ence; to hlm, sclence and the humanltles were not
opposed but complementary.
In l905 Leger met Paul Claudel, who gave the
young poet a copy of hls ode 'Les Muses" (Jhe
Muses), publlshed that year. Claudel became an
admlrer of Leger`s verse; thelr rellglous vlews were not
ldentlcal, however. Leger never ascrlbed to any rell
glon; hls thought, whlle lncludlng elements of Hlndu
lsm, may best be descrlbed as pagan or panthelstlc.
Leger also became acqualnted wlth a young _~I
|acques Rlvlrea frlend of both Claudel and Andr
Gldewho eventually became edltor of i~ k
o c~~ (koc). Leger`s lengthy correspondence
(more than 10 percent of the orlglnal materlal ln the
l972 Pllade edltlon) lncludes letters (some conslder
ably edlted) to these llterary flgures and many more
persons of note, as well as to famlly members; the
annotated correspondence ls a major source of blo
graphlcal lnformatlon and others` statements on hls
work.
Leger`s studles were lnterrupted, flrst by hls one
year mllltary servlce, then by the death ln l907 of hls
father, whlch necessltated hls return to Pau, as the only
son, to see to practlcal matters hls mother and slsters were
lncapable of managlng. He resumed hls studles ln l908,
addlng soclology and ethnology to hls law currlculum.
In l908 the poem 'Des vllles sur trols modes"
(Cltles ln Jhree Modes), dated l906, appeared ln a
magazlne ln Montpelller. Perse dld not authorlze lts
reproductlon as part of hls juvenllla, though after lt
appeared anyway ln a l952 volume concernlng hlm, he
allowed lts reprlntlng wlthln an early letter ln the
Pllade collectlon. Another early text, 'Pour fter des
olseaux" (Jo Celebrate Blrds), dated l907, orlglnally
called 'Cohorte"(Cohort), was sent by Rlvlre to Glde
for the kocI but when Leger learned lt was ln press he
demanded lts removal; lt too appears ln the early corre
spondence. Jhe only other authorlzed juvenllla are
f~ ` (Plctures for Crusoe), composed ln l901
and publlshed ln the koc ln l909.
Accordlng to a statement ln the Pllade blogra
phy, Leger underwent a phllosophlc crlsls ln l909 and
destroyed varlous manuscrlpts. Jhe phllosophy of
Henrl Bergson was popular at the tlme, and Leger`s
alluslons to hlm ln connectlon wlth hls early studles
suggest acqualntance wlth Bergson`s thought. Among
phllosophers whose works lnterested hlm more, how
ever, accordlng to hls correspondence, were Baruch
Splnoza, Georg Wllhelm Irledrlch Hegel, and Irledrlch
Nletzsche. Greatly attracted by Nletzsche, Leger crltl
clzed hlm (ln a l909 letter to Gabrlel Irlzeau) only for
not havlng gone far enough lnto the lmpllcatlons of hls
own thought ('de ne pas aller lulmme assez loln dans
Nletzsche").
f~ Ì whlch appeared under the seml
pseudonym Salntleger Leger, dlsplays an astonlshlng
maturlty of talent for an author only seventeen years
old. Jhe poetlc form ls one to whlch, wlth rare excep
tlons, the poet remalned falthfulsomethlng between
free verse and poem ln prose, sometlmes prlnted ln ltal
lcs, elsewhere ln roman type. Iree verse had been lntro
duced ln Irance ln the late nlneteenth century by the
mlnor symbollsts; Gustave Kahn ls often glven credlt
for lnauguratlng lt, though others also practlced lt. Jhe
Irench prose poem dates from Louls (called Aloyslus)
Bertrand, author of d~~ ~ k (l812), but lt was
used more famously ln the nlneteenth century by
Baudelalre, especlally ln m (l869;
translated as m m `~ _~~I l905),
later tltled i p m~I and |eanNlcolasArthur
Rlmbaud, ln i f~ (l886; translated, l953).
Perse mentloned all three authors ln hls preface
(reprlnted ln the Pllade volume) for a new edltlon of
Iargue`s poetry (l963).
f~ ` conslsts of nlne tltled sectlons, or
poems, of uneven length. Whlle each can stand on lts
own, they constltute a coherent whole. Each ls com
posed of unlts (what ln tradltlonal verse would be
115
ai_ PPN p~Jg m
termed livcs or posslbly stovos) conslstlng of a grammat
lcal fragment, sentence, or group of sentences that
beglns wlth an lndentatlon (as for a paragraph) and
contlnues through one or more prlnted llnes. If unlts
run past the flrst llne, they return to the lefthand mar
gln, as ln prose. Jhe result ls a type of free verse, yet
wlth extenslve prosellke bulldlng blocks, though the
dlctlon, marked by strong rhythms, ls never that of
ordlnary prose. Owlng to dlfferent typefaces and slzes
of paper, runover patterns are dlfferent ln dlfferent edl
tlons; Perse, who usually supervlsed the preparatlon of
hls volumes, apparently dld not vlew the appearance of
the unlt on the page as cruclal. When the works are
reclted or sung, the length of runon llnes ls of course
lmmaterlal.
Jhere are slmllarltles between thls form and Rlm
baud`s ln Ics Illumivotiovs, whlch Perse called ln the l963
artlcle 'lmprleuses" (urgent). Addltlonal Rlmbaldlan
touches mark Imogcs o Crusoc, lncludlng lts tltle (illumivotiovs
as used by Rlmbaud means 'palnted plates"). Jhe musl
callty of Imogcs o Crusoc ls suggested by the fact that com
poser Louls Durey, a member of the Group of Slx, set the
work to muslc ln l9l8. Although Leger once expressed to
Rlvlre hls opposltlon to the fuslon of poetry and muslc,
elsewhere he spoke of the muslcal effect created by certaln
of hls pages. In addltlon, Leger`s form resembles Claudel`s
ln hls poetlc dramas and lyrlcal verse, lnfluenced by Scrlp
ture. Jhe resemblances justlfy applylng to Leger`s llnes the
term vcrsct (meanlng Blble verse), whlch Claudel used for
hls own; alternatlvely, the term stovccs, a llttleused word
formerly meanlng stovos, now lndlcatlng any ample lyrlc
form, may be applled. Because there ls no lndlcatlon, how
ever, that the young Leger had encountered any of Clau
del`s works by l901, no lnfluence can be ascertalned.
Conslstlng chlefly ln evocatlon (partly ln the
present tense) rather than narratlon, Imogcs o Crusoc
deplcts the hero of Danlel Defoe`s l7l9 novel Iobivsov
Crusoc, 'vlell homme aux malns nues" (old man wlth
empty hands), back ln London but out of place ln the
dark and unsalubrlous clty, where he feels exlled much
more than on hls lsland. 'La vllle par le fleuve coule a
la mer comme un abcs" (Jhe clty flows through the
rlver to the sea llke an abscess). Jhe tone ls nostalglc.
Images of llght contrast wlth the grlm clty vlews. 'Ju
nàvals pu ressusclter l`bloulssement perdu" (You were
unable to resuscltate the dazzllng vlslon, lost). Crusoe`s
only hope ls metaphyslcal. openlng the Blble, he walts
for the great wlnd that wlll 'desceller" (unseal) hlm.
Jhe poet proceeds by brlef alluslons and a few clear
symbols. One sectlon, 'La Gralne" (Jhe Seed), conslsts
of only two short sentences. Jhe lmpersonal expresslon
of homeslckness set a model for Perse`s later work,
whlch ls not confesslonal. In a letter dated l918 to Adrl
enne Monnler, he wrote. 'La personnallt mme du
pote nàppartlent en rlen au lecteur qul nà drolt quà
lòeuvre rvolue, dtache comme un frult de son
arbre" (Jhe very personallty of the poet belongs ln no
way to the reader, who has a rlght only to the flnlshed
work, detached llke frult from lts tree).
Imogcs o Crusoc, whlch may be termed a crossroads
of nature and culture, ls marked by what became a
flxed tralt of Perse`s wrltlng, the copresence of prlmltlv
lsm and advanced clvlllzatlon. Preference ls glven not to
the culture of lndustrlal England but to slmpler thlngs,
natural or artlsanmade. honey ln a tree, a green frult,
palm leaves, a parrot, a bow. When, ln Perse`s work,
modern manufactured objects, such as boats, tele
scopes, and alrplanes, appear valuable, lt ls not for thelr
economlc functlon but because they allow human
belngs to subject nature ln new ways and to create fur
ther relatlonshlps wlth lt.
Ilogcs (l9ll; translated as Ilogcs ovd Utlcr Iocms,
l911), brought out through Glde`s sponsorshlp by the
new ÌI publlshlng enterprlse and slgned Salntleger
Leger, was pralsed by Larbaud ln the flrst revlew of
Leger`s workpubllshed ln Io Ilolovgc (December
l9ll) and reprlnted ln Hovvcur o Soivt-olv Icrsc. Calllng
Leger 'un vral pote" (a true poet), Larbaud added.
'Le monde de M. Leger est tout neuf et cèst son
monde, a lul tout seul" (Monsleur Leger`s world ls
qulte new and lt ls hls world, hls alone). One sectlon
was later set to muslc by Darlus Mllhaud. Jhe work
comprlses an openlng poem, 'Ecrlt sur la porte" (Wrlt
ten on the Door), and three serles. 'Images a Cruso,"
'Pour fter une enfance" (Jo Celebrate a Chlldhood),
and 'Eloges" (Pralses); all three serles had appeared ln
the ÌI. Perse was fond of hls own tltle, whlch
announces the laudatory mode, frequent ln hls work,
marked by pralse of experlence, nature, love, llfe, wlth
repetltlons llke those of rellglous lltanles. ' jàl lleu de
louer! fable gnreuse, table dàbondance!" (Oh I
have cause for pralse! Oh generous fable, oh table of
abundance).
Jhe form of Ilogcs ls that of Imogcs o Crusoc.
Wlthln each serles, subsectlons are deslgnated by tltles
or roman numerals, or, ln the openlng poem, separated
by three asterlsks. Some parts have few long unlts and
dlsplay symmetry or structural parallellsm, as ln these
openlng llnes of 'Ecrlt sur la porte".
|àl une peau couleur de tabac rouge ou de mulet,
jàl un chapeau en moelle de sureau couvert de tolle
blanche.
(My skln ls the color of red tobacco or of a mule;
I have a hat made of eldertree plth covered wlth whlte
cloth.)
116
p~Jg m ai_ PPN
Such parallellsm, a recurrlng feature, depends on gram
mar (both syntax and morphology) and lexlcal cholces,
repeated at regular or lrregular lntervals. Whlle there
are vague elements of plot, lteratlon works agalnst pro
gresslon; Ilogcs, whlle dynamlc generally, ls nonpro
gresslve. One of the poet`s achlevements here and
elsewhere ls to make the famlllar appear strange and
the strange famlllar, thereby sharpenlng vlslon and
focuslng attentlon anew on the ordlnary. Desplte an
abundance of slmple declaratlons, the language ls
hlghly flguratlve, marked by unusual analogles, wlth
commc or oivsi quc (llke), and many metaphors, lncludlng
examples of synestheslaa blend of two sensatlons, as
ln 'un brult lumlneux" (a lumlnous sound) from sec
tlon 6 of 'Pour fter une enfance." Addltlonal features
of Ilogcs that became constants ln Perse`s work and con
trlbute to lts coherence are frequent alllteratlon, asso
nance, consonance, and other sound echoes; blendlng
of concrete wlth abstract; lnverslons (an lnltlal predlcate
adjectlve, for lnstance); and an extremely ornate vocab
ulary, featurlng forelgn and archalc words. Leger was
fond of botanlcal names, curlous placenames, technlcal
terms from arts, sclences, and trades, and other unusual
nomenclature. Notable also are the abundant exclama
tlon marks and uses of ol!
Although Leger`s heteroclltlc comblnatlons and
transformlng metaphors later attracted the attentlon of
two young surreallsts, Ren Crevel and Charles Vltrac,
and although the surreallsts` leader, Andr Breton,
pralsed hls example, hls poetry ln Ilogcs ls not vlslonary
ln the sense of 'fantastlc," 'unreal," or 'halluclnatory";
but lts vlsual force creates, by selectlon, treatment, and
llghtlng of materlal, a personal vlslon of the world, as
Larbaud had seen ln connectlon wlth Imogcs o Crusoc. In
hls way, Leger carrled out what Rlmbaud had recom
mended. for the poet to become voyovt (seer).
Jhe poems present gllmpses of colonlal soclety,
seen favorably, as suggested by the Engllsh eplgraph
'Klng Llght`s Settlements," or what Larbaud called, ln
reportlng a meetlng wlth Leger, the 'Colonles du Rol
Lumlre." (Icgcr ln Irench means liglt[wciglt]; through
Engllsh, lt lntroduces the sense of [suv]liglt.) Whlle
there ls no crltlcal dlmenslon, no sense of class confllct
or colonlal gullt, the work dlsplays no arrogance elther;
house employees are spoken of wlth respect and affec
tlon. Ilogcs lllustrates thus a permanent feature of the
poet`s workmoral and aesthetlc elevatlon. Jhe quasl
arlstocracy wlth whlch he was famlllar ln colonlal
Guadeloupe became ln hls wrltlng an arlstocracy of the
splrlt, marked by superlor pursults and vlslons. '|e
parle dùne haute condltlon, jadls, entre des hommes et
leurs fllles" (I speak of a lofty condltlon, formerly,
among men and thelr daughters). Glde`s later remark
(ln Hovvcur o Soivt-olv Icrsc) ls pertlnent. 'Il y a dans
lòeuvre de Leger ... je ne sals quol de prlncler qul
m`lntlmlde" (Jhere ls somethlng undeflnably prlncely
ln Leger`s work ... that lntlmldates me).
In Ilogcs, the exotlc seems normal rather than artl
flclal. Archalc touches add dlstance ln tlme to dlstance
ln space. Jhere ls a sllght dreamllke quallty also. '|àl
falt ce songe, ll nous a consums sans rellques" (I had
thls dream; lt has consumed us wlthout rellcs). Jhough
the tone ls nostalglc, Ilogcs celebrates the real. One
means of celebratlon ls metaphorlcal llnklng of thlngs,
whlch establlshes, or dlvlnes, thelr hldden connectlons.
Another ls by asslgnlng names, as a token of knowledge
or of possesslon. Leger dld not, however, understand
the poet as a partlclpant wlth God ln creatlon; there ls
no place for the Dlvlnlty ln hls poetlc world. In hls
revlew of !cvts (l916; translated as !ivds, l953),
reprlnted ln the Pllade edltlon and ln Hovvcur o Soivt-
olv Icrsc, Claudel observed. 'Dleu est un mot que
Salnt|ohn Perse vlte, dlralsje rellgleusement?" (God ls
a word that Salnt|ohn Perse avolds, should I say rell
glously?). Ior Perse the poet ls the one who flnds, or
creates, meanlng ln the world. Poetry, he sald, was a
way to llve better.
Jhe features of these early poems present resem
blances wlth hlstorlc Romantlclsm and lts helr, Symbol
lsm. Leger`s use of repetltlon, enumeratlon, and names
recalls Vlctor Hugo; hls love of nature and nostalgla for
the past remlnd readers of all the Irench Romantlcs; hls
synesthetlc lmages recall both Baudelalre and Rlm
baud; and hls emphasls on vlslon can be traced
throughout the nlneteenth century, from Hugo through
Baudelalre to Rlmbaud. Whlle younger than Claudel,
Glde, Proust, and Valry, Leger thus belongs ln thelr
company as a twentlethcentury descendant of the
Romantlcs and the Symbollsts allke, although he gener
ally dlscarded the overblown rhetorlc of the Romantlc
poets, and the latter`s separatlon of poetry and llfe was
forelgn to hlm.
Moreover, the contrary lmpulse, that of classl
clsm, slmllarly marks hls work, as Larbaud noted ln hls
revlew. 'Cèst làlexandrln de Malherbe et de Raclne,
restaur par Baudelalre" (It ls the alexandrlne of Mal
herbe and Raclne, restored by Baudelalre). Actual alex
andrlnes (twelve syllables separated by a caesura after
the slxth) as well as octosyllablc llnes can be found ln
Leger`s verses, and many llnes testlfy to hls concern for
balance and symmetry, a taste he shares wlth other
modern wrlters of classlcal tendencles, such as Glde
and Valry.
In addltlon, as early as Ilogcs Leger showed hlm
self to be a modernlst. Hls work ls characterlzed by rup
tures, leaps, and dlscontlnultles more than by constant
flow. Elllpsls polnts, dashes, abrupt llnebreaks, surprls
lng runon llnes, blank spaces between versets, asterlsks
117
ai_ PPN p~Jg m
settlng off subsectlons, many quotatlon marks wlthout
ldentlflcatlon of speakerall these features, produclng
fragmentatlon, create the sort of structural dlscontlnulty
that characterlzes certaln modernlst masterpleces.
Leger`s amblgulty, alluslveness, and hermetlclsm are
other modernlst features, although hls obscurlty has
antecedents ln the nlneteenth century (wrltlngs of Rlm
baud and Stphane Mallarm ln partlcular). Slmllarly,
hls lnterest ln what ls new, open, and dynamlc ls a mod
ernlst tralt. He lllustrates the flexlblllty of twentleth
century Irench llterature, whlch, ln lts drlve for lnnova
tlon, allowed syntheses of tradltlonal styles wlth newer
modes.
After flnlshlng hls law studles, Leger went to Parls
ln l9ll to lnvestlgate career cholces, lncludlng the for
elgn servlce, whlch appealed to hlm. He brlefly consld
ered lmmlgratlng to Brazll or Borneo but was
dlscouraged by Claudel, who, ln a letter from Irank
furt, descrlbed the llfe of a modern colonlal as dreadful.
Lpon the advlce of Phlllppe Berthelot, a dlplomat, and
Claudel`s frlend Arthur Iontalne, Leger declded upon
the forelgn servlce, whlch requlred further study before
examlnatlons. As part of hls preparatlons, he vlslted
England twlce, studylng economlc and labor toplcs but
also meetlng llterary flgures such as Arnold Bennett, G. K.
Chesterton, and Conrad. He also spent tlme ln Spaln
(he spoke Spanlsh) and Germany; ln both countrles he
took notes on ports and other commerclal and lndus
trlal facllltles. In Parls he enlarged hls clrcle of Irench
llterary acqualntances, whlch lncluded Valry.
After passlng hls examlnatlons ln l9l1, Leger
was asslgned to the press servlce of the Mlnlstry of Ior
elgn Affalrs, _ual dÒrsay. When World War I broke
out ln August that year, he was sent to Bordeaux, but
after some months he was recalled to Parls, where he
was able to lead an actlve soclal llfe.
In l9l6 Leger was sent as thlrd secretary to the
Irench legatlon to Chlna. Hls mlsslon was connected to
a SlnoIrench crlsls then at lts helght, whlch he helped
resolve. He was also responslble for protectlng the dlp
lomatlc quarter of Peklng agalnst an outbreak of plague
ln l9l8. Intended as temporary, hls stay ln Chlna was
ln fact prolonged for flve years, and he was promoted
to flrst secretary. In l92l he was lnvlted by the presl
dent of the Chlnese republlc to remaln as hls polltlcal
advlser; but new polltlcal condltlons created by the Ver
sallles Peace Conference made acceptance of the offer
unreallstlc.
Leger stated later that he had not been tempted
by the luxurles of the Orlent. Ior a modest prlce, he
rented a small dlsaffected Jaolst temple at a day`s dls
tance on horseback from the clty; there, ln solltude,
looklng west toward legendary caravan routes, he com
posed ^~~K He wltnessed an ephemeral restoratlon
of the Manchu dynasty by a mllltary coup d`tat, fol
lowed by a march on Peklng by a war lord and the clty`s
llberatlon by republlcan armles. He also traveled ln
Korea and Indochlna.
Returnlng home ln sprlng l92l, he flrst vlslted
|apan, then Hawall, from whlch he took a tramp
steamer to Polynesla, stopplng at Samoa and Iljl, where
he then embarked on a schooner to crulse among the
lslands. Subsequently, havlng reached San Iranclsco, he
left for Chlcago and Washlngton. After hls stay ln
Amerlca, he went on to Parls; then, ln November, he
was sent to Washlngton, D.C., to partlclpate ln an lnter
natlonal conference on arms llmltatlon and Iar Eastern
questlons. Jhe close cooperatlon between Leger and
Arlstlde Brland, both prlme mlnlster and forelgn mlnls
ter, began then. Brland, favorably lmpressed by hls fel
low dlplomat, begged hlm to accept a post ln the
governmentwhlch would requlre Leger to be ln Parls,
whereas he wanted to travel. Jhe poet decllned the
offer, untll at the last mlnute, when he was at the dock
to see Brland off to Irance, he changed hls mlnd. Brl
and lmmedlately lnslsted that Leger take passage on
that shlp and would not let hlm dlsembark, although he
had no luggagenot even a toothbrush or pajamas.
Whlle Leger galned the confldence of other major gov
ernmental flgures, hls frlendshlp and collaboratlon wlth
Brland were the closest.
In Parls agaln, startlng ln l922, Leger dlscovered
to hls surprlse that hls poetlc reputatlon, based solely
on bI had grown lmmensely. He renewed tles wlth
wrlters such as Glde and Rlvlre and made new llterary
acqualntances. Jhe poet had several unpubllshed
manuscrlpts ln hls portfollo. In l922 he allowed the
openlng 'Chanson" (Song) of ^~~ to appear
unslgned ln the koc and the flnal 'Chanson" ln fJ
X he also partlclpated anonymously ln foundlng and
dlrectlng a magazlne, `K
In l921 Leger authorlzed the publlcatlon of ^~J
~ ln lts entlrety ln the koc and then as a book. Hls
new pen name, under whlch lt appeared, was flrst wrlt
ten St|. Perse, later spelled out. Because of hls proml
nent posltlon at the Mlnlstry of Iorelgn Affalrs he dld
not wlsh for hls work to appear under hls real name. In
l918, however, Leger admltted to poet MaxPol
Iouchet (ln a letter reprlnted ln the Pllade edltlon) that
he had always 'pratlqu ... le ddoublement de la per
sonnallt" (practlced ... the doubllng of personallty).
Crltlcs who assume the cholce of name was not entlrely
arbltrary, lncludlng |eanPlerre Rlchard, have specu
lated on lts orlglns. Leger denled that lt was connected
to Persla or the Latln poet Aulus Perslus Ilaccus; he
clalmed that lt had come to mlnd, for unknown rea
sons, and that he accepted lt for lts resonance and com
plete dlsconnectlon wlth hls true ldentlty, ln order to
118
p~Jg m ai_ PPN
erect a deflnltlve barrler between dlplomat and poet. He
wlshed, lt ls sald, for the 'Salnt|ohn" to be pronounced
as ln Engllsh (though whether he meant the Amerlcan
pronunclatlon 'Salnt|ohn" or the Brltlsh 'Slnjln" at
that tlme ls unclear). Jranslatlons of ^~~ appeared
shortly; ln addltlon to those by Ellot, Benjamln, and
Lngarettl, there were verslons ln Russlan, Spanlsh, and
Rumanlan. In a l927 letter to Perse, quoted ln the
Pllade edltlon, Ellot pralsed the poem as 'one of the
greatest and most unusual of modern tlmes." In turn,
Perse publlshed ln ` hls partlal translatlon of
Ellot`s 'Jhe Hollow Men" (l925).
Jhe tltle word, ^~~I was used by Xenophon
ln hls ^~~K Comlng from the Greek ~~~ (to
go up), lt means an ascenslon, ln partlcular an expedl
tlon from the sea toward the lnterlor of a country; yet,
because Xenophon`s account ls famous for 'Jhe March
of the Jen Jhousand"the adventurous retreat of
Greek mercenarles from the Euphrates to the Black Sea
(10l-399 _.`.)the term ls llkewlse used for a descent
to the sea. Leger had employed lt (ln texts quoted ln the
Pllade edltlon) before l921. Jo Rlvlre ln l9l0 he had
spoken metaphorlcally (alludlng to poets and crltlcs) of
'un compagnonnage; une 'anabase,` sl vous voulez, ou
retour a la Mer" (a companlonshlp, an 'anabasls" lf you
wlsh, or return to the Sea); to Claudel he had wrltten ln
l9ll.
|àlmerals qu`ll me ft donn un jour de mener une
'oeuvre" comme une ^~~ sous la condulte de ses
chefs. (Et ce mot mme me semble sl beau que jàlme
rals blen rencontrer lòeuvre qul pt assumer un tel
tltre. Il me hante.)
(I should llke for lt to be glven to me someday to carry
out a 'work" llke an ^~~ under the leadershlp of lts
chlefs. |And that word ltself seems to me so flne that I
should llke to meet the work that mlght assume such a
tltle. It haunts me.|)
^~~I on whlch Perse`s lnternatlonal reputatlon
was lnltlally based, conslsts of ten numbered sectlons
enclosed by the chansons. Some sectlons are subdlvlded
by asterlsks. Jhe baslc unlt ls the verset, sometlmes
only a llne, but often several llnes long, glvlng the effect
of prose poetry. Whlle a flrstperson volce ls heard, the
poem ls not expllcltly personal; lt looks outward, not
lnward. Its lexlcal and metaphorlc rlchnesslncludlng
many synthetlc metaphors (wlthout expllclt comparl
son)ls strlklng, lts dlfflcultles no less so. Whlle com
mentators have clarlfled the poem by explalnlng rare
words and ldentlfylng obscure references, readers wlth
out such explanatlons can stlll savor lts beauty of lan
guage, lncludlng Latlnate words enrlched by centurles
of poetlc connotatlons. In addltlon to dlfflculty, there ls
slmpllclty. 'Et la terre en ses gralnes alles, comme un
pote en ses propos, voyage" (And the earth ln lts
wlnged seeds, llke a poet ln hls words, travels).
Desplte the domlnant narratlve mode (except for
the two chansons), there ls no unamblguous plotllne;
but the poem ls generally taken to be a hlghly poetl
clzed and dlscontlnuous account of an expedltlon,
dlrected toward the west, not clearly sltuated elther
chronologlcally or geographlcally, but premodern.
'Nous tablmes en haut lleu nos plges au bonheur"
(We establlshed ln a hlgh place our traps for happlness).
Many sectlons read llke a synopsls of events ln varlous
parts of the globe over mlllennla. Jhe use of synecdo
cheparts standlng for wholessupports the ldea of rep
resentatlve eplsodes. Jhere are loose parallels wlth eplc.
Greek clvlllzatlon ls recalled obllquely by the tltle and
the adjectlve (sectlon 8), referrlng to the Seleu
cldae, a dynasty (3l2-61 _.`.) founded by a general of
Alexander the Great, whlch at lts helght relgned over
Persla, Babylonla, Syrla, and part of Asla Mlnor. Jhe
name |abal, from the Book of Genesls, suggests a much
older tlme, as does the mentlon of bronze, a repeated
motlf, along wlth lron. Jhe chlef topographlcal refer
ences are to the desert and the sea, both of whlch are
characterlzed by salt, one of Perse`s key lmages. Other
motlfs lnclude frult, horses, shlps, the wlnd, blrds, ber
rles, stars, and especlally the sun.
Perse called hls work the 'pome de la solltude
dans làctlon" (poem of solltude ln actlon). Jhere
appears to be a leader, whose wlll ls the drlvlng force of
the adventure. '_ul nà, louant la solf, bu lèau des
sables dans un casque, / |e lul fals peu crdlt au com
merce de l`me" (Jo hlm who has not, pralslng thlrst,
drunk the water of the sands ln a helmet, / I glve llttle
credlt ln the transactlons of the soul). Perse emphaslzes
fervor and deslre; but deslre must lead to actlon, lest lt
become pestllentlal. Jhe leader enrolls those whom he
calls 'chercheurs ... trouveurs de ralsons pour sèn aller
allleurs" (seekers ... flnders of reasons to go elsewhere).
Lonellness, dlsplacement, conquest, lllness, death,
deslre, and sexuallty are among the themes woven ln.
In sectlon 1 a clty ls founded; the language becomes
rlcher and denser, wlth mentlons of bronze and stone,
archltectural constructlons, hydraullc lnstallatlons,
shlps, trade goods, and varlous pursults such as bank
lng. Jhere are lntlmatlons of further development and
conquest of other peoples. Lengthy versets contalnlng
homologues and other passages wlth enumeratlons and
detalls polnt to the expanslon of clvlllzatlon. Arthur |.
Knodel speaks ln thls connectlon of Perse`s 'telescoplng
lnto one rlotous tangle all the posslble happenlngs of a
great mllltary expedltlon."
It appears, however, that the new clty, whether or
not lt represents the ldeal communlty of the premodern
119
ai_ PPN p~Jg m
world, cannot be the leader`s flnal destlnatlon. Jhere
seems to be more than one departure, more than one
settlement. In a j i~~ o artlcle, Roger
Llttle polnted out the lmportance of the threshold ln the
poem. each step seems to be a polnt of departure
toward another ln the search for elther the future (to
whlch there are references) or some sort of prlmordlal,
collectlve dream whlch ls the past. 'Jerre arable du
songe! _ul parle de btlr? |àl vu la terre dlstrlbue en
de vastes espaces et ma pense nèst pas dlstralte du
navlgateur" (Arable land of dream! Who speaks of
bulldlng? I have seen the earth dlstrlbuted ln vast
spaces and my thought ls not heedless of the navlgator).
Alaln Bosquet speaks of the 'dserts de l`me et des
sens. ces normes espaces ou l`tre tout entler peut
sàbstralre, oubller son slcle, retrouver dàutres slcles,
en lnventer plusleurs" (deserts of the soul and the
senses. these enormous spaces where a belng can
abstract ltself wholly, forget lts century, flnd other cen
turles, lnvent several) (from e p~Jg m).
Verb tenses convey both tlme and tlmelessness, varylng
from the hlstorlc past (or ~ ) to the future; mul
tlple volces create a polyphonlc composltlon.
^~~ carrles out poetlcally the ~ ~ (vltal
lmpulse or thrust) that Bergson made central to hls phl
losophy. Leger even mentloned Bergson`s term ln a let
ter to hls mother that speaks of '~ ~ du grand
mouvement en cours par le monde" (the vltal thrust of
the great movement ln process through the world). It ls
not a matter of lnfluence but of commonallty of vlew
expressed by two thlnkers ln dlfferent modes. Jhe
poem ls dynamlc, vlrlle, full of energy, movement, and
bold asplratlons, and the language flts lts varlous motlfs
of vltalltyconquest, deslre, travel. Whlle lt ls not feml
nlne ln tone, lts drlves and actlvltles belng those assocl
ated wlth men, lts loglc ls not analytlcal but ls dlrected
by poetlc lmaglnatlon, whlch flnds a parallel ln Bergso
nlan lntultlon, a creatlve mode of knowledge.
`~ ~ m NVSO ~ d _~ E~~ ~ _I NVSPFI
~ ~ ~ E` oJsLd f~F
150
p~Jg m ai_ PPN
Perse`s next publlcatlon, ^ (Irlendshlp
of the Prlnce), wrltten around l9ll, appeared ln `
(l921), then ln a separate edltlon, followed by republlca
tlon ln a l925 edltlon of bK It ls composed of four sec
tlons ln long versets, each sectlon belng followed by a
refraln. 'Cèst du Rol que je parle, ornement de nos vellles,
honneur du sage sans honneur" (I speak of the Klng, orna
ment of our vlglls, honor of the wlse man wlthout honor).
Jhe serles ls bullt around the theme of royalty; but the
prlnce or klng, apparently the ldeal leader, ls ldentlfled wlth
hls thought, not hls body. As ln ^~~I there ls a vague
narratlve llne. Jhe speaker seems to be a traveler (he ls
addressed as s~) who ls summoned by the 'Prlnce
taclturne" (qulet prlnce). Jhe prlnce ls famous. 'Jon nom
falt lòmbre dùn grand arbre" (Your name creates the
shadow of a great tree). Jhe voyager arrlves ln hls land
wlth a traln of men and anlmals. Jhe receptlon ls courte
ous, and the senses are satlsfled. 'Et d`heure plus vaste que
cette heure, nous nèn connmes polnt" (And we knew no
hour more lmmense than that hour); 'Et le pays est gou
vern. . . . La lampe brllle sous Son tolt" (And the country
ls governed. . . . Jhe lamp shlnes under Hls roof ).
In l925, as forelgn mlnlster, Brland named Berthelot
general secretary of the mlnlstry and appolnted Leger as
dlrector of hls cablnet. Irom that date untll World War II,
Leger decllned to play any llterary role, publlshed nothlng
new (untll l912), and forbade the republlcatlon of any ear
ller text (untll l917). He held democratlc vlews, lllustrated
ln posltlons for whlch he argued at the mlnlstry, but hls
poems are never expllcltly polltlcal.
Jhe most lmportant achlevement of Leger ln the
l920s was the preparatlon of what became the Locarno
treatles (l925) and KelloggBrland agreements (Pact of
Parls, l928). Jhe former guaranteed German borders wlth
Irance and Belglum and pledged demllltarlzatlon of the
Rhlneland; the latter, deslgned and drawn up by Leger,
ultlmately slgned by slxtytwo natlons, dlsavowed war as
an lnstrument of settllng lnternatlonal dlsputes. He worked
also on matters connected to the Iar East and partlclpated
ln major conferences ln Geneva, London, and elsewhere.
He drafted a memorandum, presented ln l930 to the
League of Natlons, for the organlzatlon of a federated
Europea novel ldea at the tlme. He was promoted repeat
edly untll, ln l933, he recelved the rank of ambassador
and, followlng Brland`s death ln l932, was named general
secretary of the forelgn mlnlstry ln the cablnet of Edouard
Daladler. Jhat posltlon was vlewed by some as the most
lmportant ln Irance, not excludlng mlnlsters. 'Le vral
mlnlstre sàppelle Leger" (Jhe real mlnlster ls named
Leger), noted Paul Allard.
He dld not make a dlsplay of hls prlvate llfe, but
hls Pllade blography mentlons hls seafarlng vacatlons
from l925 through l932; he salled alone or wlth a
small crew to the Aran Islands or along the route to
Newfoundland. Among hls acqualntances ln the l930s
was Comtesse Marthe de Iels, who, accordlng to blog
rapher Erlka Ostrovsky, 'shared hls exlstence." By
l932 he was ln love wlth Rosalla Snchez Abreu,
known as Llllta, admlred for her beauty and lntelll
gence and pursued ardently also by |ean Glraudoux.
Born ln Parls ln l886 of Cuban parents, she had been
taken to Havana by her mother but had returned to
Parls ln l908 and marrled Adal Henraux ln l92l. Jhe
passlonate relatlonshlp between her and Leger lasted
for years. Jhelr letters have been publlshed.
In the l930s Leger traveled to several European
natlons and met Benlto Mussollnl, |oseph Stalln, and
Adolf Hltler. He negotlated a IrancoSovlet agreement
ln l935. Jhe rlse of fasclsm and the German reoccupa
tlon of the Rhlneland ln l936 made moot the treatles of
Locarno and Parls. He opposed flrmly all appeasement
of Itallan and German aggrandlzement and argued
valnly for punltlve measures agalnst Germany. As a
hlghranklng mlnlsterlal flgure, however, he was,
accordlng to protocol, obllged to yleld to offlclal poll
cles, once announced, whether he approved of them
personally or not; when he offered to reslgn ln dlsagree
ment wlth Mlnlster Plerre Laval ln l935, hls reslgnatlon
was not accepted. He thus found hlmself, ln l938, the
chlef representatlve of Irance at the Munlch conference,
when the maln European powers acceded to Hltler`s
annexatlon of the Sudetenland portlon of Czechoslova
kla, ln hope of forestalllng war; Perse dlsagreed wlth the
posltlon.
When, after war had been declared ln September
l939, German troops lnvaded Belglum and Irance
(May l910), Leger, suspect as belllcose to the appease
ment factlon and a useful scapegoat for a government
anxlous to show lt was actlng, was dlsmlssed as general
forelgn secretary. He was not even properly lnformed
of hls removal. Offered (as a consolatlon glft and ln
order to remove hlm from Parls) the post of ambassa
dor to the Lnlted States, he refused lt. Instead, he left
on l6 |une by shlp for England, where he met wlth
Wlnston Churchlll and other lmportant Brltlsh flgures,
then departed for Canada and the Lnlted States. Jhls
trlp was the beglnnlng of a seventeenyear exlle.
Jhus began Leger`s long Amerlcan perlod. He
flrst went to New York, where he learned that the col
laboratlonlst Vlchy government, establlshed under the
headshlp of Phlllppe Ptaln after the German lnvaslon
and Irench surrender, had conflscated hls property and
deprlved hlm of Irench cltlzenshlp. He was vlllfled ln
the collaboratlonlst press, and hls Parls apartment was
plundered; all hls manuscrlpts were taken by the Nazls
to Germany. Later, Russlans removed them; they have
never been recovered.
15l
ai_ PPN p~Jg m
After slx months ln New York, Leger accepted an
offer to go to Washlngton, D.C., as a consultant, under
the name Salnt|ohn Perse, at the Llbrary of Congress.
Jhls appolntment was arranged by poet Archlbald
MacLelsh, an admlrer of ^~~ and at the tlme the
Llbrarlan of Congress. Leger, mlndful of hls rank of
Irench ambassadorwhlch ln hls eyes he retalned, slnce
to hlm the Vlchy government`s actlons were lllegltl
mateaccepted the post only wlth the assurance that hls
salary came from a prlvate donor, not the Amerlcan
government. Hls functlons lncluded complllng blbllog
raphles, and he held thls post untll l916, when he
recelved a contract wlth the Bolllngen Ioundatlon that
provlded for an annual stlpend. In l91l Rosalla Hen
raux arrlved ln Washlngton ln straltened clrcumstances,
and he asslsted her. Accordlng to Ostrovsky, durlng the
war he proposed to another woman, Carley Dawson,
who decllned to marry hlm.
Llke Antolne de SalntExupry, llkewlse ln Amerlca
durlng part of the war, Leger dld not rally to the party of
General Charles de Gaulle. He explalned that hls reserva
tlons bore not on de Gaulle hlmself nor on hls organlza
tlon ln London and lts moral authorlty, but on lts clalm to
be the offlclal government of Irance; ln Leger`s vlew, the
clalm was unfounded, slnce de Gaulle had not been
elected to any posltlon. In fact, Leger never warmed to de
Gaulle, flndlng hlm unduly ambltlous. He dld, however,
express hls solldarlty wlth the ldea of reslstance agalnst
German hegemony, meet varlous Iree Irench representa
tlves ln Amerlca, and urge Presldent Iranklln D.
Roosevelt to lntervene ln the war. After the llberatlon of
Parls ln l911, hls natlonallty and honors were restored,
and he was relntegrated lnto the Irench dlplomatlc servlce
wlth the rank of ambassador (unasslgned).
Perse`s flrst great Amerlcan work was 'Exll" (trans
lated ln the volume bI l919). It appeared ln the Amerl
can magazlne m ln l912, then ln Irance (two edltlons,
one clandestlne), Swltzerland, and Brazll. Perse wrote to
MacLelsh. 'Ce pome, malgr mon horreur de toute
posle dlrecte ou 'personnelle,` est malgr mol, dans sa
transposltlon, tout lmprgn de Georgetown ou je vls non
loln de vous" (Jhls poem, desplte my dlsllke of any dlrect
or 'personal" poetry, ls, ln splte of myself, qulte fllled wlth
Georgetown, where I llve not far from you). Among those
who pralsed the work were Alken and Glde. Jo thls poem
were subsequently added others to constltute a fourpoem
volume, llkewlse called bK
Jhe publlcatlon hlstory of the four works lndlvldu
ally and the volume attests to Perse`s Amerlcan and lnter
natlonal connectlons ln wartlme. Jhe volume appeared ln
Buenos Alres ln l911. 'Exll" had already appeared ln the
Lnlted States and three other countrles. 'Plules," wrltten
near Savannah, Georgla (l913), was, after the Buenos
Alres appearance, publlshed ln translatlon as 'Ralns" by
Allen Jate, edltor of the p~ oI ln l911; 'Nelges,"
wrltten ln New York (l911), was, followlng the Buenos
Alres publlcatlon, republlshed ln Irench ln the p~
o (l915) wlth a translatlon under the tltle 'Snows";
and 'Pome a l`trangre" (dated Washlngton l912) was
publlshed ln magazlnes ln New York (l913), Alglers
(l911), and Montreal (l915), then reprlnted wlth a transla
tlon ('Poem for a Iorelgn Lady") ln q _~ n~
ln New York (l916).
Jhe poem 'Exll" conslsts of seven parts compos
lng what the author called 'un pome de l`ternlt de
lèxll dans la condltlon humalne" (a poem on the tlme
lessness of exlle ln the human condltlon). Jhe human
destlny ls dynamlc, not statlc. '. . . Joujours ll y eut
cette clameur, toujours ll y eut cette splendeur, / Cette
chose errante par le monde . . . / Lne seule et longue
phrase sans csure a jamals lnlntelllglble. . . " (Always
there was thls clamor, always there was thls splendor, /
Jhls errant thlng through the world . . . / A slngle long
llne wlthout a caesura, forever unlntelllglble). Motlfs
favored by Perse elsewhere reappear. desert and sand,
sea, threshold, breath, the Prlnce, and many others.
Jhe flgure of the Stranger who slngs that everythlng ls
new can be asslmllated to the poet, who appears expllc
ltly at the end, hls presence havlng been prepared by
mentlon of grammatlcal and llterary termssyntax,
poem, caesura, lamb, book. In sectlon 6, the long para
graphs of accumulatlon bullt on 'Celul qul . . . " (He
who . . . ) recall those ln ^~~K None of these features
presents the novelty of ^~~I however, and the flg
ures of the stranger and wanderer are less forcefully
deslgned. Repetltlon, a constant ln Perse`s work, ls car
rled almost to the polnt of parody, and certaln features
of the dlctlon have the effect of poetlc tlcs. Words
appear chosen for thelr sound echoes, lnterestlng but
arbltrarlly lnserted. Ior lnstance, ~I ~I and ~
(eagles, enslgns, or lnslgnla; angles; sour) appear ln just
two short llnes, wlthout other connectlon.
'Plules," a nlnepart serles, celebrates raln, ln lts con
nectlon wlth sky (lncludlng llghtnlng), sea, and earth. Jhe
plural of the tltle suggests abundance of preclpltatlon after
a dry perlod, and, llke certaln other tltles, relnforces the
lmpresslon of multlpllclty, even ublqulty, glven by several
celebratory poems Perse wrote. Jhere are many references
to human flgures, functlons, and tools, for raln takes lts
meanlng through human attrlbutlons. In the flrst verset lt
appears as a tree of multlpllclty and abundance. 'Le ban
yan de la plule prend ses asslses sur la Vllle" (Jhe banyan
tree of raln takes hold of |or. establlshes lts seat ln| the
Clty). Apostrophes to the ralns ask that they wash the
hearts of men and thelr most beautlful accompllshments
by language ( poems, dreams, knowledge). In the penultl
mate sectlon the raln 'perd ses asslses" (loses lts hold) and
marches on, somewhat llke the peoples and conquerors of
152
p~Jg m ai_ PPN
other poems. Jhe concludlng llnes are amblguous. per
haps a trlumph, at least for poetry, slnce the volce refers to
the 'seull arlde du pome" (dry threshold of the poem).
'Nelges," dedlcated to the author`s mother,
whom he dld not see agaln after l910, conslsts of four
numbered sectlons, each composed of a few short para
graphs. As lf contlnulng 'Plules," the poem beglns 'Et
puls vlnrent les nelges" (And then the snows came).
Jhe snow ls evoked as 'ce haut falt de plume" (thls
hlgh feat of feathers), 'le premler affleurement de cette
heure soyeuse" (the flrst touch of that sllken hour), 'un
frlement de clls" (a brushlng of eyelashes), 'de
grandes nacres sans dfaut" (great flawless motherof
pearl). Yet, reallstlc urban notes are heard, the clearest
belng that of shovels and snowplows. Jhe theme of
exlle ls lntroduced when the poem speaks of 'ceux qul
campent chaque jour plus loln du lleu de leur nals
sance" (those who camp each day farther from thelr
blrthplace); and an errant flgure reappears, perhaps a
poet, slnce he wanders through 'les plus vlellles
couches du langage" (the oldest layers of language).
Jhe flnal poem of bI 'Pome a l`trangre," a
short work of three sectlons, evokes the unhapplness of
an anonymous female flgure who cannot reconclle her
self to exlle ln Amerlca. Lnllke the women of ^~~I
she ls somewhat lndlvlduallzed, desplte anonymlty.
Publlcatlon of the correspondence between Leger and
Rosalla Henraux ln l987 allowed scholars to ldentlfy
her as the woman. Jhe poem lllustrates a permanent
feature of Perse`s lmaglnatlon, the poetlc metamorpho
sls of objects and scenes and, often, the unlon of dlspa
rate elements. In thls lnstance, the clty of Washlngton
(features of whlch are recognlzable) ls transformed lnto
a marlne vlslon ln whlch land and sea are one.
sI a long, exhortatlve poem ln four parts, was
composed at Seven Hundred Acre Island, a prlvate
lsland near Dark Harbor, Malne. Subdlvlded lnto num
bered sectlons, the poem emphaslzes the power of
wlnd, more dynamlc than raln and snow. 'C`talent de
trs grandes forces en crolssance sur toutes plstes de ce
monde" (It was very great forces, lncreaslng over all the
paths of thls world). Wlnds are shown to play a cultural
role, slnce, as ^~~ lllustrated earller, human achleve
ment ls closely bound to natural forces and elements,
both facllltators and threats. In sI wlth lts theme of
renewal and flgure of the Innovator, whose human
breath resembles the world`s movlng alr, the forces of
wlnd act to cleanse, dlsperslng not only natural phe
nomena such as locusts but the debrls of human actlv
lty and whole clvlllzatlons, restorlng 'la face brve de la
terre" (the brlef face of earth). 'Volcl quèlles nous
rafrachlssalent dùn songe de promesses" (Here they
refresh us by a dream of promlses). Among objects to
be carrled off by wlnd are altars and 'les llvres trlstes"
(sad books)whlch must be taken as rellglous texts.
Although modern lnventlonstralns, alrplanes, tele
graph, and radloappear, and there are vague sugges
tlons of Washlngton, D.C., cltles are not favorably
vlewed; the poet speaks of 'un golgotha dòrdure et de
ferrallle" (a Golgotha of fllth and scrap metal).
A vague narratlve llne lntlmates movement
toward the Occldent and new lands, evoked by men
tlon of canyons, mesas, and gorges, features of the
Amerlcan southwest, then by alluslons to the Paclflc,
the Sea of Balboa. What ls sought ls not utllltarlan but
splrltual. 'Car notre qute nèst plus de culvres nl dòr
vlerge, mals. . . nous cherchons, dans làmande et
lòvule et le noyau dèspces nouvelles, au foyer de la
force l`tlncelle mme de son crl" (Ior our quest ls no
longer for copper or vlrgln gold, but . . . we seek, ln the
almond and the egg and the kernel of new specles, ln
the hearth of strength the very spark of lts cry). Jhe
poem alludes clearly to lts own amblgulty. 'O Pote . . .
homme parlant dans l`qulvoque" (O Poet . . . man
speaklng equlvocally). Yet, ln a departure from Perse`s
usual obllqulty of reference, thls quest ls expllcltly con
nected to human values, threatened by twentlethcen
tury events. 'Mals cèst de l`homme qu`ll sàglt! . . .
Jmolgnage pour l`homme!" (But lt`s a questlon of
man! . . . Jestlmony for man!) In hls pralse of sI
Claudel polnted out ln partlcular lts connectlon wlth
the Atlantlc, Amerlca, and especlally the settlng sun,
whlch he called 'la patrle de tous les hommes de dslr"
(the homeland of all men of deslre).
In l918 Perse publlshed i~ d (Jhe
Glory of Klngs), a flvepart serles. One part (the last),
'Berceuse" (Lullaby), ls, exceptlonally, ln regular flve
llne stanzas of octosyllablc llnes, unrhymed. Jhe others
are composed ln the usual versets, mostly short. Jhe
flrst part, 'Rcltatlon a l`loge dùne relne" (Recltatlon
ln Pralse of a _ueen), was wrltten around l9ll. It con
slsts of flve short sectlons of seven versets, each ln a
man`s volce, apparently (quotatlon marks are used),
each followed by the same refraln. Motlfs and currents
from earller poems reappear. royalty, wealth, dlscrlml
natlon of tastethat ls, clvlllzatlonbut also sensuallty
(an erotlc note ls heard). Woman, as Ostrovsky has
wrltten, appears 'as an object of vlolent physlcal deslre"
and at the same tlme 'a hleratlc flgure of enormous pro
portlons resembllng the fertlllty goddesses of the most
anclent klnd." Lnllke ^ and ^~~I the
poem has dlstlnctly femlnlne lmagery, wlth descrlptlons
and lntlmatlons of the female body, lts connectlon to
the moon, lts blood motlf.
Jhe flnal sectlons of i~ d I 'Hlstolre du
rgent" (Jhe Regent`s Story), 'Chanson du prsomptlf "
(Song of the Helr Presumptlve), and 'Berceuse," pursue
the theme of government and royalty. A volce, appar
153
ai_ PPN p~Jg m
ently that of the Helr Presumptlve, speaks of someone,
perhaps hlmself, who 'marche dans les songes et
sàchemlne vers la mer" (walks ln dreams and heads
toward the sea), whlle 'tous les chemlns du monde
nous mangent dans la maln" (all the paths of the world
eat from our hand). In the lullaby, there ls lamentatlon
rather than rejolclng, for only daughters have been
born, untll, flnally, 'lòrdre reprend"(order ls restored)
as a son ls expected. Jhe sensuallty of the queen
pralsed ln the flrst serles and the theme of lnherltance
are here expllcltly connected to soclal stablllty.
In l957 Leger returned to Irance for the flrst tlme ln
seventeen years, bypasslng Parls and golng dlrectly to an
estate named 'Les Vlgneaux," on the penlnsula of Glens
(almost an lsland), near Hyres, on the Rlvlera. A house
there had been purchased for hlm by some Amerlcan
frlends, lncludlng Mlna Curtlss, a wealthy and generous
supporter of arts and artlsts, especlally those connected to
Irance. Ior a whlle he reslded there for half of each year;
ln hls last years he no longer returned to Amerlca.
^ (translated as p~~I l958), of whlch por
tlons were publlshed prevlously ln magazlne form ln Parls
(l950), appeared ln l957. It ls a lengthy work, both lyrlcal
and eplc ln tone, organlzed around the theme of the sea.
Jhe whole poem has been translated lnto many lan
guages, portlons thereof lnto other languages. Jhe tltle
word, derlved from Scandlnavlan, refers to elevated
coastal objects servlng as beacons to marlners. It lncludes
the syllable (sea) (femlnlne ln Irench) and lts homo
phone (mother); lt ls also both homophone and hom
onym of the mascullne plural adjectlve meanlng I a
posslble secondary connotatlon. Countless alllteratlons ln
support these homophones. Jhe poem ls ln multlple
parts, most subdlvlded. 'Invocatlon," 'Strophe,"
'Choeur" (Chorus), and 'Ddlcace" (Dedlcatlon). In
Greek tragedy, both chorus and strophe were fundamen
tal. Jhe latter was the lnltlal component of a choral ode;
the word later referred to a structural dlvlslon of
any lrregularly stanzalc poem of lntermedlate length. In
Perse`s poem, the strophe ls ln nlne parts, the last sub
dlvlded lnto seven sectlons, some ln turn subdlvlded; the
chorus follows. Varlous lexlcal ltems support the motlf of
Greek drama and of recltatlon ln honor of the sea.
Jhe sea ls prlmordlal, reachlng beyond human hls
tory, nourlshlng lt. It ls not approached phenomenologl
cally, as JI ln the manner of Edmund Husserl,
nor geologlcally; what ls essentlal are lts connectlons to
human belngs and lts seamarks. 'Et de la mer ellemme ll
ne sera pas questlon, mals de son rgne au coeur de
l`homme" (And of the sea ltself lt shall not be a questlon,
but of lts relgn ln man`s heart). It ls, Perse wrltes, the mem
ory of the longest day, the promlse of forever, the 'face
premlre de nos songes" (flrst face of our dreams); lt ls the
'nourrlce du plus grand art" (nurturer of the greatest art),
the matrlx of the greatest text. It ls assoclated wlth both the
moon and the sun at lts zenlth; the prlmary place glven to
the mldday sun establlshes a parallel wlth Valry`s 'Le
Clmtlre marln" (l922, Jhe Cemetery by the Sea). Man
ls mortal, but the brllllant noonday llght announces the
eternlty of the moment, 'l`homme lmmortel au foyer de
l`lnstant" (man lmmortal ln the hearth |or focus| of the
lnstant).
Jhe strongest marks of the sea are, however, affec
tlvethe bonds of love and deslre. Whereas Perse had
wrltten earller of the poet`s lmpersonallty, he sald ln a
l955 letter to hls frlend Katherlne Chapln Blddle that the
poet`s functlon ls 'd`lntgrer la chose qu`ll voque ou de
s`y lntgrer, s`ldentlflant a cette chose jusquà la devenlr
lulmme et s`y confondre" (to lntegrate the thlng he
lnvokes or lntegrate hlmself lnto lt, ldentlfylng wlth that
thlng to the polnt of becomlng lt hlmself and jolnlng lt).
Jhus several crltlcs, among them Ostrovsky, read ^ as
a hlghly personal statement of erotlc deslre as well as love
for the sea. |acques Gulcharnaud even called the poem a
'great erotlc hymn." Jhe sectlon tltled (from the openlng
llne) 'Etrolts sont les valsseaux," often anthologlzed and
translated, ls a celebratlon of love.
. . . Etrolts sont les valsseaux, trolte notre couche.
Immense l`tendue des eaux, plus vaste notre emplre
Aux chambres closes du dslr.
(. . . Narrow are the shlps, narrow our bed.
Immense the extent of the waters, even vaster our emplre
In the closed rooms of deslre).
Jhe flrst llne, a classlcal alexandrlne, ls marked by syntac
tlcal lnverslons, repetltlon of adjectlve, and elllpsls of a
verb; the elllpsls and lnverslon are echoed ln the next llne.
Crltlcs have seen lmltatlon of ocean rhythms ln the rlse
and fall of certaln llnes. In the followlng subsectlons, the
volce of a woman ls heard, addresslng 'l`homme avlde"
(hungry man); the man`s volce follows, 'mer molmme a
ton orlent" (sea myself, to your orlent). Jhe entlre sectlon
pralses the one flesh of man and woman; the body, ln
Perse`s poetry, ls not dlsgustlng.
In l958 Leger marrled Dorothy Mllburn Russell
(the couple had no chlldren). Later that year he was
awarded an honorary doctorate from Yale Lnlverslty. Jhe
next year he publlshed Ì composed on Glens. Jhe
tltle, meanlng I from the Greek (tlme), sug
gests both tlme and hlstory or accompllshments wlthln
tlme. _uestloned about the word, Perse replled (ln a pas
sage reproduced ln the Pllade edltlon) that lt should be
taken ln a double meanlng, personal and lmpersonal.
'Cèst un pome a la terre, et a l`homme, et au temps, con
fondus tous trols pour mol dans la mme notlon lntempo
relle d`ternlt" ( It`s a poem to the earth, and to man, and
to tlme, all three unlted for me ln the same atemporal
151
p~Jg m ai_ PPN
notlon of eternlty). Dag Hammarskjld (who translated
the work), then secretary of the Lnlted Natlons, lnter
preted the poem as lmpersonal, wrltlng that lt expressed
'avec une clart dlvlnatolre" (wlth clalrvoyant clarlty) the
author`s deep reactlons to the polltlcal crlses of the perlod.
In elght parts, composed chlefly of long versets, the poem
celebrates what Perse calls 'grand ge". 'Grand ge, nous
volcl. Rendezvous prls, et de longtemps, avec cette heure
de grand sens" (Great age, here we are. An appolntment
made, and slnce long ago, wlth thls hour of great mean
lng). Jhe speaker appears to be a traveler, a navlgator, say
lng farewell. 'Il est temps de brler nos vlellles coques
charges dàlgues. / . . . . / Joute cette passlon d`tre et tout
ce pouvolr d`tre, ah! tout ce trs grand souffle voyageur"
(It ls tlme to burn our old keels laden wlth seaweed. / . . . .
/ All that passlon of belng and all that power of belng, ah!
all that very great travellng splrlt).
In addltlon to the motlf of the sea there are men
tlons of lslands, desert tralts, trees, the austral sky, salt,
and other natural features. Age ls seen as 'lèmbrase
ment dùn solr aux senteurs dàlgue sche" (the blaze of
an evenlng wlth odors of dry seaweed) and a prepara
tlon for 'de plus hautes transhumances" (hlgher
changes of pasture). Jhe past ls lmmense. 'la horde des
Slcles" (the horde of Centurles). But the future ls possl
blllty. 'Nous sommes ptres du futur" (We are herders
of the future). Jhere ls no dlrect metaphyslcal state
ment, but a phrase such as 'Pour nous la turbulence
dlvlne a son dernler remous" (Ior us, dlvlne turbulence
ln lts last eddy) suggests that lmmanent and vlslble
experlence does have a dlvlne dlmenslon. Others wlll
bulld 'parml les schlstes et les laves" (among schlst and
lava); 'pour nous chante dja plus hautalne aventure"
(for us, a haughtler adventure already slngs).
Perse recelved the Grand Prlx Natlonal des Lettres
ln l959. In l960 Leger traveled to Argentlna as a guest of
the government; for a month and a half he vlslted the
country, meetlng wrlters such as |orge Luls Borges and
Vlctorla Ocampo ln Buenos Alres and seelng Patagonla,
Jlerra del Iuego, and Cape Horn. Later that year Perse
recelved the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature 'for the soarlng
fllght and the evocatlve lmagery of hls poetry whlch ln a
vlslonary fashlon reflects the condltlons of our tlme," as
the cltatlon read. At the awards banquet, Bertll Llndblad,
presldent of the Royal Academy of Sclences ln Stockholm,
spoke of the poet`s 'subllme lntultlon," wlth whlch he had
descrlbed 'ln brllllant metaphors the reactlon of the
human soul to a world of lnexhaustlble rlchness." He con
tlnued. 'You are one of the most powerful defenders of the
rlghts of modern poetry to be recognlzed and accepted as
a llvlng force."
Perse`s reply, publlshed ln the Pllade edltlon under
the tltle 'Posle" (Poetry), began. '|àl accept pour la
posle l`hommage qul lul est lcl rendu, et que jàl hte de
lul restltuer" (I have accepted for poetry the homage here
rendered to lt and whlch I hasten to restore to lt). He
noted the lncreaslng dlssoclatlon between poetry and the
materlal servltude of soclety. _uotlng an anonymous scl
entlst (whose credentlals resemble those of Albert Eln
steln) on lmaglnatlon as the true terraln of sclentlflc
germlnatlon, Perse observed that sclence and poetry,
though proceedlng by dlfferent methods, are both con
cerned wlth dlslnterested questlonlng of the world. Poetry
goes even farther, however, because by lts analoglc and
symbollc language, lts correspondences, lt transmlts 'le
mouvement mme de lÈtre" (the very movement of
Belng). In addltlon to belng a mode of knowledge, lt ls also
a mode of llfe. 'Cèst dans la posle que trouve refuge le
dlvln" (Dlvlnlty flnds refuge ln poetry).
Perse was seventythree years old when he
recelved the Nobel Prlze. Hls work was nearly com
plete; translatlons by emlnent flgures already exlsted;
and hls stature among the cognoscentl was flrmly estab
llshed, so the prlze dld not dramatlcally change hls rep
utatlon or lncrease the number of translatlons and
blllngual edltlons of hls works. Hls fame obvlously
spread somewhat, however, because of the prlze. Jo
judge by hls actlvltles (lnvltatlons, meetlngs wlth well
known flgures, and correspondence wlth some of these
flgures), he acqulred an even larger clrcle of acqualntan
ces worldwlde ln the llterary and artlstlc clrcles and also
dlplomatlc ones. He was lnvlted to |ohn I. Kennedy`s
lnauguratlon ln |anuary l96l, and ln l963 ln Irance he
was glven a dlnner on a warshlp and a receptlon on an
alrcraft carrler. He dld not go on lecture tours or clrcu
late as a publlc flgure as much as some Nobel wlnners
have done; he preferred travel, spendlng tlme wlth
frlends, llstenlng to muslc, boatlng, and wrltlng.
Jhe standard edltlon of hls next work, l~
(translated as _I l966), was publlshed ln l963. Jhe
year before, the text had appeared under the tltle
il ~ (Jhe Order of Blrds) ln a deluxe vol
ume, a jolnt project wlth Georges Braque, who pro
vlded etchlngs. Blrds are mentloned many tlmes ln
other pages by Perse, lncludlng hls early text 'Pour
fter des olseaux." He had also spent tlme ln serlous
study of some specles. l~ ls ln thlrteen parts, com
posed of short paragraphs that resemble prose more
than verse. Jhe work ls both a commentary on aspects
of Braque`s etchlngs and an lmaglnatlve treatment of
blrds, whlch goes beyond the vlsual pretexts to lntro
duce motlfs typlcal of the poet.
Short poems that appeared ln the koc after
l~ are 'Chant par celle qul fut la" (l969; trans
lated as 'Sung by One Who Was Jhere," l970),
'Chant pour un qulnoxe" (l97l; translated as 'Song
for an Equlnox," l977), 'Nocturne"(l973; translated ln
p ~ bI l977), and 'Scheresse" (l971,
155
ai_ PPN p~Jg m
Drought). In 'Scheresse," the poet addresses Maa
(Maya), a Hlndu dlvlnlty, and proclalms that 'la vle
remontera de ses abrls sous terre" (llfe wlll rlse agaln
from lts shelters under the earth). Jhe productlon of
Leger`s last decades also lncludes books on Dante
Allghlerl, Claudel, and Larbaud; commentarles on hls
own verse; and artlcles, letters, and speeches, some ln
homage to other artlsts. Hls last poems were collected
as Clovt pour uv cquivoxc (l975; translated as Sovg for ov
Iquivox, l977). Leger, who had cancer, dled on 20 Sep
tember l975 and was burled ln a small cemetery on the
Glens Penlnsula.
By hls hlgh poetlc achlevement, recognlzed by
fellow poets and crltlcs allke and attested to by many
translatlons as well as awards, Salnt|ohn Perse ls wor
thy of belng ranked among the most lmportant twentl
ethcentury poets. He deserves recognltlon also for hls
poetlc lntegrltyconslstency, concern for clrcum
stances of publlcatlon and edltlons, and eschewlng of
faclle confesslonal effects. Hls outstandlng career as a
dlplomat adds to hls stature, showlng that for hlm
poetry was not lnconslstent wlth llfe and underllnlng
hls humane concerns. As blographer |ean dÈudevllle
stresses, poetry for hlm was a mode of exlstence. Iar
from chooslng elther ascetlc devotlon to art or a deca
dent, selflndulgent aesthetlclsm, Leger wlshed to ful
flll llfe, for hlmself and others, through poetry; hls
vlslon, whlle expressed ln orlglnal dlctlon and poetlc
craftsmanshlp demandlng of the reader, ls never con
flned to the partlcular but always moves to the gen
eral. In contrast to the pesslmlsm that relgned ln much
Irench llterature of the mld twentleth century, hls
work also expresses strong vltallty. Jhls characterlstlc
ls desplte lts occaslonal dreamllke quallty, whlch ls
not that of the nlneteenthcentury aesthetes such as
the Comte |eanMarle Mathlas PhlllppeAuguste de
Vllllers de lÌsleAdam, for whom dream replaced llfe,
nor the dlstorted reallty cultlvated ln the l920s by the
Surreallsts, but a consclous and frultful daydreamlng,
often preparatory to actlon.
Perse`s work also suggests what civiliotiov
means, broadly speaklng. In hls role of maker ( poct
comlng through Latln from the Greek poictcs, meanlng
both poct and molcr), the poet shares ln the establlsh
ment and reflnement of clvlllzatlon. Iouchet (ln Hov-
vcur o Soivt-olv Icrsc) called Perse`s wrltlng 'la culture
a son fate" (culture at lts peak). Jhe sense of tlmeless
ness adherlng to many of hls pages arlses from the fact
that they polnt not to a partlcular clvlllzatlon but to
the ageold experlence of man brlnglng to bear on
nature hls capacltles for alteratlon of the glven and
fabrlcatlon of the new. Even sufferlng and death
appear ln an anthropologlcal llghtexperlences
belonglng to all tlmes, all places. It ls suggested ultl
mately that human belngs are one wlth the unlverse.
Jhus poetry, as Perse carrled lt out, ls akln to belng;
Iquant termed hls work a 'Cantlque a l`tre" (Hymn
to Belng) and Irench phllosopher Maurlce Merleau
Ponty spoke of lt as 'la chalr du monde" (the flesh of
the world). It celebrates, to borrow the poet`s phrase
ln 'Chant pour un qulnoxe," an 'qulnoxe dùne
heure entre la Jerre et l`Homme" (equlnox of one
hour between Earth and Man).
iW
Icttcrs: St.-olv Icrsc, translated and edlted by Arthur |.
Knodel (Prlnceton. Prlnceton Lnlverslty Press,
l979);
Leger and Rosalla Snchez Abreu, Icttrcs o l`ctrovgrc,
edlted by Maurlcette Berne (Parls. Galllmard,
l987);
Corrcspovdovcc Soivt-olv Icrsccov Ioullov: 192-1966,
edlted by |olle GardesJasmlne, Cahlers Salnt
|ohn Perse, no. l0 (Parls. Galllmard, l99l);
Zlcxis Icgcr, Dog HommorsljldCorrcspovdovcc: 19-
1961, edlted by MarleNolle Llttle, Cahlers
Salnt|ohn Perse, no. ll (Parls. Galllmard, l993);
translated by Llttle and Wllllam C. Parker as Tlc
Ioct ovd tlc Diplomot: Tlc Corrcspovdcvcc of Dog Hom-
morsljld ovd Zlcxis Icgcr (Syracuse, N.Y.. Syracuse
Lnlverslty Press, 200l);
Icttrcs d`Zlcxis Icgcr o Cobricl Iricou: 1906-1912, edlted
by Albert Henry (Brussels. Acadmle Royale de
Belglque, l993);
Corrcspovdovcc 1942-194: Iogcr Coillois, Soivt-olv Icrsc,
edlted by GardesJamlne, Cahlers Salnt|ohn
Perse, no. l3 (Parls. Galllmard, l996);
Courricr d`cxil: Soivt-olv Icrsc ct scs omis omcricovs, 1940-
1970, edlted and translated by Carol Rlgolot,
Cahlers Salnt|ohn Perse, no. l5 (Parls. Galll
mard, 200l);
Icttrcs o uvc domc d`Zmcriquc, Mivo Curtiss, edlted by
Mlrellle Sacotte, Cahlers Salnt|ohn Perse, no. l6
(Parls. Galllmard, 2003).
_~W
Ruth S. Ireltag, 'Salnt|ohn Perse. A Llst of Hls Wrlt
lngs ln the Collectlons of the Llbrary of Con
gress," ln Plerre Emmanuel`s Soivt-olv Icrsc:
Iroisc ovd Ircscvcc (Washlngton, D.C.. Llbrary of
Congress, l97l), pp. 25-80;
Roger Llttle, Soivt-olv Icrsc: Z ibliogroply for Studcvts of
His Ioctry (London. Grant Cutler, l97l; supple
ments, l976, l982);
Ren Galand, 'Salnt|ohn Perse," ln Z Criticol ibliogro-
ply of Ircvcl Iitcroturc, edlted by Rlchard A.
Brooks, volume 6, Tlc Twcvtictl Ccvtury, edlted by
Douglas W. Alden and Brooks, part 2, Irivcipolly
156
p~Jg m ai_ PPN
Ioctry, Tlcotcr, ovd Criticism bcforc 1940, ovd Issoy
(Syracuse, N.Y.. Syracuse Lnlverslty Press, l980),
pp. l021-l059.
_~W
|ean dÈudevllle, Soivt-olv Icrsc ou lo pocsic pour micux
vivrc (Parls. LÀslathque, l981);
Erlka Ostrovsky, Uvdcr tlc Sigv of Zmbiguity: Soivt-olv
Icrsc/Zlcxis Icgcr (New York. New York Lnlverslty
Press, l985).
oW
Marcelle AchardAbell, 'Heldegger et la posle de Salnt
|ohn Perse. Ln rapprochement," Icvuc dc Mctoply-
siquc ct dc Morolc, 7l ( |uly-September l966);
Paul Allard, Ic _uoi dÙrsoy: Sov pcrsovvcl, scs rouogcs, scs dcs-
sous (Parls. Edltlons de Irance, l938);
Peter Baker, Ubdurotc rilliovcc: Ixtcriority ovd tlc Modcrv Iovg
Iocm (Galnesvllle. Lnlverslty of Ilorlda Press, l99l);
Alaln Bosquet, Soivt-olv Icrsc (Parls. Seghers, l952;
enlarged, l97l);
Andr Brlncourt, Mcssogcrs dc lo vuit: Iogcr Mortiv du Cord,
Soivt-olv Icrsc, Zvdrc Molroux (Parls. Grasset, l995);
Evellne Caduc, Soivt-olv Icrsc: Covvoissovcc ct crcotiov (Parls.
|os Cortl, l977);
Roger Calllols, Ioctiquc dc Soivt-olv Icrsc (Parls. Galllmard,
l951);
|acques Charpler, Soivt-olv Icrsc (Parls. Galllmard, l962);
Ellsabeth CossHumbert, Soivt-olv Icrsc: Iocsic, scicvcc dc
l`ctrc: Uvc lccturc ovtologiquc dc lòuvrc dc Soivt-olv Icrsc
(Nancy. Presses Lnlversltalres de Nancy, l993);
Mechthlld Cranston, Ivfovcc mov omour: Io Icvcric vcrs
l`cvfovcc dovs lòuvrc dc Cuilloumc Zpollivoirc, Soivt-olv
Icrsc ct Icvc Clor (Parls. Debresse, l970);
Chrlstlan Doumet, Ics Tlmcs ocricvs dovs lòuvrc dc Soivt-
olv Icrsc (Parls. Mlnard, l976);
YvesAlaln Iavre, Soivt-olv Icrsc: Ic Iovgogc ct lc socrc
(Parls. |os Cortl, l977);
Guy Iquant, Soivt-olv Icrsc: _ui ctcs-vous? (Lyons. La
Manufacture, l986);
Wallace Iowlle, 'Jhe Poetlcs of Salnt|ohn Perse," Ioctry
(Chlcago), 82 (September l953);
Ren Galand, Soivt-olv Icrsc (New York. Jwayne, l972);
Roger Garaudy, Dùv rcolismc sovs rovogcs: Iicosso, Soivt-olv
Icrsc, Ioflo (Parls. Plon, l963);
Plerre Guerre, Soivt-olv Icrsc ct l`lommc (Parls. Galllmard,
l955);
|acques Gulcharnaud, 'Vowels of the Sea. Zmcrs by Salnt
|ohn Perse," Jolc Ircvcl Studics, 2l (Sprlng-Summer
l958), 72-82;
Albert Henry, 'Zmcrs dc Soivt-olv Icrsc: Uvc Iocsic dc mouvc-
mcvt (Neuchtel, Swltzerland. Edltlons de La Bacon
nlre, l963);
Hovvcur o Soivt-olv Icrsc (Parls. Galllmard, l965);
Henrl Hoppenot, D`Zlcxis Icgcr o Soivt-olv Icrsc (Llge,
Belglum. Edltlons Dynamo, l96l);
Arthur |. Knodel, Soivt-olv Icrsc: Z Study of His Ioctry (Edln
burgh. Edlnburgh Lnlverslty Press, l966);
Knodel, 'Jowards an Lnderstandlng of Zvobosc," IMIZ,
79 ( |une l961). 329-313;
Camllle R. La Bosslre, 'Jhe Monumental Nonsense of
Salnt|ohn Perse," Iolio, l8 (Iebruary l990);
Henrlette Levlllaln, Ic Iitucl poctiquc dc Soivt-olv Icrsc
(Parls. Galllmard, l977);
Roger Llttle, Itudcs sur Soivt-olv Icrsc (Parls. Kllncksleck,
l981);
Llttle, 'Jhe Image of the Jhreshold ln the Poetry of Salnt
|ohn Perse," Modcrv Iovguogc Icvicw, 61 (October
l969). 777-792;
Llttle, Soivt-olv Icrsc (London. Athlone, l973);
Llttle, 'Salnt|ohn Perse, pote anglals," Icvuc dc Iittcroturc
Comporcc, 16 (l972);
Albert Loranquln, Soivt-olv Icrsc (Parls. Galllmard, l963);
Archlbald MacLelsh, 'Jhe Llvlng Sprlng," Soturdoy Icvicw,
32 (l6 |uly l919). 8-9;
Catherlne Mayaux, Ics Icttrcs d`Zsic dc Soivt-olv Icrsc: lcs
rccits dùv potc (Parls. Galllmard, l991);
Plerre Mazars, Uvc ourvcc ovcc Soivt-olv Icrsc (Llge, Bel
glum. Edltlons Dynamo, l96l);
Charles Moeller, I`Hommc modcrvc dcvovt lc solut: Sortrc, T. S.
Iliot, Ioflo, Soivt-olv Icrsc, Cloudcl, Icguy (Parls. Edl
tlons Ouvrlres, l965);
Chrlstlan Murclaux, Soivt-olv Icrsc (Parls. Edltlons Lnl
versltalres, l96l);
C. E. Nelson, 'Salnt|ohn Perse and J. S. Ellot," !cstcrv
Humovitics Icvicw, l7 (Sprlng l963);
Monlque Parent, Soivt-olv Icrsc ct quclqucs dcvovcicrs (Parls.
Kllncksleck, l960);
Georges Poulet, 'Salnt|ohn Perse," ln hls Itudcs sur lc tcmps
lumoiv (Parls. Plon, l961), pp. l60-l86;
Kathleen Ralne, 'Salnt|ohn Perse. Poet of the Marvelous,"
ln her Dcfcvdivg Zvcicvt Sprivgs (London. Oxford Lnl
verslty Press, l968), pp. l76-l92;
Mlrellle Sacotte, 'Ilogcs ct 'Io Cloirc dcs Iois dc Soivt-olv
Icrsc (Parls. Galllmard, l999);
Maurlce Salllet, Soivt-olv Icrsc, potc dc gloirc (Parls. Mer
cure de Irance, l952);
Rlchard L. Sterllng, Tlc Irosc !orls of Soivt-olv Icrsc:
Towords ov Uvdcrstovdivg of His Ioctry (New York. Peter
Lang, l991).
m~W
Jhe papers of Salnt|ohn Perse are at the Ioundatlon
Salnt|ohn Perse, AlxenProvence.
157
ai_ PPN p~Jg m
NVSM k m i~
m~ p
^ I m~ p~
p ^~
Jhe Nobel Prlze laureate ln llterature for thls year
bears a name of unusual sound, whlch he chose at flrst
to protect hlmself from the curlous. Salnt|ohn Perse ls
the poet`s name that was to be made lnternatlonally
famous by a prlvate man who ln clvll llfe ls called
Alexls Lger and, as such, was to acqulre great prestlge
ln another domaln of publlc llfe. Jhus hls llfe ls dlvlded
lnto two perlods, one of whlch has ended whereas the
other ls contlnulng. Alexls Lger, the dlplomat, has
been transformed lnto Salnt|ohn Perse, the poet.
Consldered as a llterary personage, he presents a
blography remarkable ln many respects. Born ln l887
ln Guadeloupe, he belonged to a Irench famlly that
came to settle there as early as the seventeenth century.
He spent hls chlldhood ln thls troplcal Eden of the
Antllles, all rustllng wlth palms, but at the age of eleven
he left for Irance wlth hls famlly. He was educated at
Pau and at Bordeaux, declded to take a degree ln law,
and ln l9l1 entered upon a dlplomatlc career. Sent flrst
to Peklng, he next found hlmself entrusted wlth lncreas
lngly lmportant asslgnments. As Secretary General for
the Mlnlstry of Iorelgn Affalrs for several years, wlth
the rank of Counclllor of State, he assumed major
responslbllltles durlng the polltlcal events that were the
prelude to the Second World War.
After the defeat of Irance ln l910 he was
abruptly suspended and went lnto exlle, was consldered
a dangerous adversary by the Vlchy reglme, and was
even deprlved of hls Irench cltlzenshlp. He found ref
uge ln Washlngton, where he occupled a posltlon as llt
erary advlser to the Llbrary of Congress. Jhe Irench
state was soon to relnstate hlm ln hls full rlghts, but the
exlle flrmly refused to reenter dlplomacy. In recent
years, however, he has repeatedly returned to Irance
for prlvate reasons.
Here ls a career whlch opens vast vlstas and whlch
presupposes ln the one who succeeds ln lt a breadth of per
spectlve acqulred under many condltlons, comblned wlth
a splrltual tone of uncommon dynamlc quallty. Jhls lnter
natlonal versatlllty, the hallmark of the great traveller, con
stltutes moreover one of the themes often repeated ln the
poet`s work. He owed hls flrst success to the cycle of
poems entltled m ~ (Jo Celebrate a Chlld
hood), l9l0, whose dazzllng lmagery evokes ln the golden
dawn of chlldhood memorles the exotlc paradlse of
Guadeloupe, lts fabulous plants and anlmals. Irom Chlna
he brought back an eplc poem, ^~~ (Anabasls), l921,
whlch relates, ln a form suggestlve and hard as enamel, a
mysterlous warllke expedltlon lnto the Aslan deserts. Jhe
same, uncompromlslngly dense form, ln whlch verse and
prose are unlted ln a solemn flow blendlng Blbllcal verse
wlth the rhythm of the Alexandrlne, ls found agaln ln the
collectlons of poems whlch followed. b (Exlle), l912,
and s (Wlnds), l916, both wrltten ln Amerlca. Jhey
constltute an lmposlng statement of the unlnterrupted
cycle of degeneratlon and rejuvenatlon, whlle ^
(Seamarks), l957, celebrates the sea, the eternal dlspenser
of power, the flrst cradle of clvlllzatlons.
Jhese works are, lt ls true, of marked slngularlty,
compllcated ln form and thought, but the master who cre
ated them ls anythlng but excluslve, lf one means by that
that he lmmures hlmself ln a satlsfled autonomy and ls
lnterested only ln hlmself. _ulte the contrary; hls domlnat
lng quallty ls the wlsh to express the human, selzed ln all
lts multlpllclty, all lts contlnulty; the wlsh to descrlbe man,
forever the creator, struggllng from century to century
agalnst the equally perpetual lnsubordlnatlon of the ele
ments. He ldentlfles hlmself wlth all the races who have
llved on our stormy planet. 'Our race ls old," he sald ln a
poem, 'our face ls nameless. And tlme knows much about
all the men that we may have been ... the ocean of thlngs
besets us. Death ls at the porthole, but our route ls not
there."
In thls exaltatlon of man`s creatlve power, Salnt|ohn
Perse may sometlmes recall the hymns of the German
poet, Hlderlln, who also was a maglclan of speech, fllled
wlth the grandeur of the poetlc vocatlon. It ls very easy to
treat thls subllme falth ln the power of poetry as a paradox
ln order to bellttle lt, especlally when lt seems to assert
ltself wlth a force lnversely proportlonal to the need of
arouslng an lmmedlate response to the thlrst for human
communlon. On the other hand, Salnt|ohn Perse ls an
eloquent example of the lsolatlon and estrangement whlch
ln our era are a vltal condltlon for poetlc creatlon when lts
alm ls hlgh.
One can only admlre the lntegrlty of hls poetlc attl
tude, the lofty lnslstence wlth whlch he perseveres ln the
only mode of expresslon that allows hlm to reallze hls
lntentlons, an excluslve but always pertlnent form. Jhe
lnexhaustlble luxurlance of the plcturesque style of hls
rhapsodles ls lntellectually demandlng and may weary the
reader of whom the poet demands such efforts of concen
tratlon. He takes hls metaphors from all dlsclpllnes, from
all eras, from all mythologles, from all reglons; hls cycles
of poems call to mlnd those great sea shells from whlch a
cosmlc muslc seems to emanate. Jhls expanslve lmaglna
tlon ls hls strength. Exlle, separatlonevocatlons whose
volceless murmur glves hls poetry lts general tonallty; and
through the double theme of man`s strength and helpless
158
p~Jg m ai_ PPN
ness a herolc appeal can be percelved, an appeal whlch ls
perhaps expressed more dlstlnctly than before ln the poet`s
latest work, Clroviquc (Chronlcle), l960, fllled wlth a
breath of grandeur, ln whlch the poet recapltulates every
thlng, at the end of the day, whlle maklng velled alluslons
to the present state of the world. And he even makes a pro
phetlc appeal to Europe to have lt conslder thls fateful
moment, thls turnlng polnt ln the course of hlstory. Jhe
poem ends wlth these words. 'Great age, here we are.
Jake measure of the heart of man."
It ls, then, correct to say that Salnt|ohn Perse,
behlnd an apparent abstruseness and symbols frequently
dlfflcult to grasp, brlngs a unlversal message to hls contem
porarles. One has every reason to add that ln hls own way
he perpetuates a majestlc tradltlon ln Irench poetlc art,
especlally the rhetorlcal tradltlon lnherlted from the clas
slcs. In short, thls honour awarded to hlm only conflrms
the posltlon he has acqulred ln letters as one of the great
leaders ln poetry.
mW _~ p
Ivtroductory rcmorls by . Iivdblod, Ircsidcvt of tlc
Ioyol Zcodcmy of Scicvccs, ot tlc òbcl ovquct ot tlc City
Holl iv Stocllolm, 10 Dcccmbcr 1960:
Mr. Salnt|ohn PerseWlth subllme lntultlon you
know how to descrlbe ln brllllant metaphors the reac
tlon of the soul of humanlty to a world of lnexhaustlble
rlchness. Your poetlc opus covers past, present, and
future wlth lts wlngs; lt reflects and lllumlnates all at
once the genesls of our unlverse. You are one of the
powerful defenders of the rlght of modern poetry to be
recognlzed and accepted as a llvlng force actlng upon
the emotlonal basls of the tumultuous world ln whlch
we llve.
Icrsc`s spcccl (Trovslotiov)
I have accepted ln behalf of poetry the honour
whlch has been glven to lt here and whlch I am anxlous
to restore to lt. Wlthout you poetry would not often be
held ln esteem, for there appears to be an lncreaslng dls
soclatlon between poetlc actlvlty and a soclety enslaved
by materlallsm. Jhe poet accepts thls spllt, although he
has not sought lt. It would exlst for the sclentlst as well,
were lt not for the practlcal uses of sclence. But lt ls the
dlslnterested thought of both sclentlst and poet that ls
honoured here. In thls place at least let them no longer
be consldered hostlle brothers. Ior they are explorlng
the same abyss and lt ls only ln thelr modes of lnvestlga
tlon that they dlffer.
When one watches the drama of modern sclence
dlscoverlng lts ratlonal llmlts ln pure mathematlcs;
when one sees ln physlcs two great doctrlnes poslt, the
one a general theory of relatlvlty, the other a quantum
theory of uncertalnty and lndetermlnlsm that would
llmlt forever the exactltude even of physlcal measure
ments; when one has heard the greatest sclentlflc lnno
vator of thls century, the lnltlator of a modern
cosmology that reduces the vastest lntellectual synthesls
to the terms of an equatlon, lnvoke lntultlon to come to
the ald of reason and proclalm that 'the lmaglnatlon ls
the true seed bed of sclence," golng even so far as to
clalm for the sclentlst the beneflt of a true artlstlc vlslon.
ls one not justlfled ln conslderlng the tool of poetry as
legltlmate as that of loglc?
In truth, every creatlon of the mlnd ls flrst of all
'poetlc" ln the proper sense of the word; and lnasmuch
as there exlsts an equlvalence between the modes of
senslblllty and lntellect, lt ls the same functlon that ls
exerclsed lnltlally ln the enterprlses of the poet and the
sclentlst. Dlscurslve thought or poetlc elllpslswhlch of
these travels to, and returns from, more remote
reglons? And from that prlmal nlght ln whlch two men
born bllnd grope for thelr ways, the one equlpped wlth
the tools of sclence, the other helped only by the flashes
of hls lmaglnatlon, whlch one returns sooner and more
heavlly laden wlth a brlef phosphorescence? Jhe
answer does not matter. Jhe mystery ls common to
both. And the great adventure of the poetlc mlnd ls ln
no way secondary to the dramatlc advances of modern
sclence. Astronomers have been bewlldered by the the
ory of an expandlng unlverse, but there ls no less
expanslon ln the moral lnflnlte of the unlverse of man.
As far as the frontlers of sclence are pushed back, over
the extended arc of these frontlers one wlll hear the
poet`s hounds on the chase. Ior lf poetry ls not, as has
been sald, 'absolute reallty," lt comes very close to lt,
for poetry has a strong longlng for, and a deep percep
tlon of, reallty, sltuated as lt ls at that extreme llmlt of
cooperatlon where the real seems to assume shape ln
the poem. Jhrough analogy and symbollsm, through
the remote lllumlnatlons of medlatlng lmagery, through
the lnterplay of thelr correspondences ln a thousand
chalns of reactlons and strange assoclatlons, and flnally,
through the grace of a language lnto whlch the very
rhythm of Belng has been translated, the poet lnvests
hlmself wlth a surreallty that cannot be that of sclence.
Is there among men a more strlklng dlalectlc, one that
engages them more completely? Slnce even the phlloso
phers are desertlng the threshold of metaphyslcs, lt ls
the poet`s task to retrleve metaphyslcs; thus poetry, not
phllosophy, reveals ltself as the true 'daughter of won
159
ai_ PPN p~Jg m
der," accordlng to the words of that anclent phllosopher
to whom lt was most suspect.
But more than a mode of perceptlon, poetry ls
above all a way of llfe, of lntegral llfe. Jhe poet
exlsted among the cave men; he wlll exlst among men
of the atomlc age, for he ls an lnherent part of man.
Even rellglons have been born from the need for
poetry, whlch ls a splrltual need, and lt ls through the
grace of poetry that the dlvlne spark llves forever ln
the human fllnt. When mythologles vanlsh, the
dlvlne flnds refuge and perhaps even contlnuatlon ln
poetry. As ln the processlons of antlqulty the bearers
of bread ylelded thelr place to the bearers of torches,
so now ln the domaln of soclal order and of the
lmmedlacles of human need lt ls the poetlc lmaglna
tlon that ls stlll lllumlnatlng the lofty passlon of peo
ples ln quest of llght. Look at man walklng proudly
under the load of hls eternal task; look at hlm movlng
along under hls burden of humanlty, when a new
humanlsm opens before hlm, fraught wlth true unl
versallty and wholeness of soul. Ialthful to lts task,
whlch ls the exploratlon of the mystery of man, mod
ern poetry ls engaged ln an enterprlse the pursult of
whlch concerns the full lntegratlon of man. Jhere ls
nothlng Pythlan ln such poetry. Nor ls lt purely aes
thetlc. It ls nelther the art of the embalmer, nor that of
the decorator. It does not breed cultured pearls, nor
does lt deal ln semblances and emblems, and lt would
not be satlsfled by any feast of muslc. Poetry allles
ltself wlth beautya supreme unlonbut never uses lt
as lts ultlmate goal or sole nourlshment. Refuslng to
dlvorce art from llfe, love from perceptlon, lt ls actlon,
lt ls passlon, lt ls power, and always the lnnovatlon
whlch extend borders. Love ls lts hearthflre, lnsurrec
tlon lts law; lts place ls everywhere, ln antlclpatlon. It
wants nelther to deny nor to keep aloof, lt expects no
beneflts from the advantages of lts tlme. Attached to
lts own destlny and free from any ldeology, lt recog
nlzes ltself the equal of llfe, whlch ls lts own justlflca
tlon. And wlth one embrace, llke a slngle great, llvlng
strophe, lt clasps both past and future ln the present,
the human wlth the superhuman planetary space wlth
unlversal space. Jhe obscurlty for whlch lt ls
reproached pertalns not to lts own nature, whlch ls to
lllumlnate, but to the nlght whlch lt explores, the
nlght of the soul and the mystery ln whlch human
exlstence ls shrouded. Obscurlty ls banlshed from lts
expresslon and thls expresslon ls no less exactlng than
that of sclence.
Jhus by hls total adherence to that whlch ls, the
poet malntalns for us a relatlonshlp wlth the perma
nence and unlty of Belng. And hls lesson ls one of
optlmlsm. Ior hlm the entlre world of thlngs ls gov
erned by a slngle law of harmony. Nothlng can hap
pen that by nature could exceed the measure of man.
Jhe worst upheavals of hlstory are nothlng but sea
sonal rhythms ln a much vaster cycle of repetltlons
and renewals. And the Iurles that cross the scene
wlth llfted torches llght only a fragment of the long
hlstorlcal process. Rlpenlng clvlllzatlons do not dle ln
the throes of one autumn. they merely change. Inertla
ls the only menace. Jhe poet ls the one who breaks
through our hablts. And ln thls way the poet flnds
hlmself tled to hlstory desplte hlmself. No aspect of
the drama of hls tlmes ls forelgn to hlm. May he glve
all of us a clear taste of llfe ln thls great age. Ior thls ls
a great and new tlme calllng for a new selfappralsal.
And, after all, to whom would we yleld the honour of
belonglng to our age?
'Do not fear," says Hlstory, llftlng one day her
mask of vlolence, and wlth her hand maklng the con
clllatory gesture of the Aslatlc dlvlnlty at the cllmax
of her dance of destructlon, 'Do not fear nor doubt,
for doubt ls sterlle and fear servlle. Llsten lnstead to
the rhythmlc beat that my hlgh lnnovatlng hand
lmposes on the great human theme ln the constant
process of creatlon. It ls not true that llfe can
renounce ltself. Jhere ls nothlng llvlng whlch pro
ceeds from nothlngness or yearns for lt. But nelther
does anythlng ever keep form or measure under the
lncessant flux of Belng. Jhe tragedy lles not ln meta
morphosls as such. Jhe true drama of the age ls ln
the wldenlng gap between temporal and eternal man.
Is man lllumlnated on one slde golng to grow dark on
the other? And wlll hls forced maturatlon ln a com
munlty wlthout communlon be nothlng but a false
maturlty?"
It ls up to the true poet to bear wltness among
us to man`s double vocatlon.
And that means holdlng up to hls mlnd a mlrror
more sensltlve to hls splrltual posslbllltles. It means
evoklng ln thls our century a human condltlon more
worthy of orlglnal man. It means, flnally, brlnglng the
collectlve soul lnto closer contact wlth the splrltual
energy of the world. In the face of nuclear energy, wlll
the poet`s clay lamp sufflce for hls purpose? Yes, lf
man remembers the clay.
Jhus lt ls enough for the poet to be the bad con
sclence of hls age.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l960. Salnt|ohn Perse ls the
160
e~ m
(10 Uctobcr 19J0 - )
p eK d~
Icvtucly Stotc Uvivcrsity
See also the Plnter entrles ln DI 1J: ritisl Dromotists
Sivcc !orld !or II and DI J10: ritisl ovd Irisl Dromo-
tists Sivcc !orld !or II, Iourtl Scrics.
SELECJED BOOKS. Tlc irtldoy Iorty (London.
Encore, l959);
Tlc irtldoy Iorty ovd Utlcr Iloys (London. Methuen,
l960); republlshed as Tlc irtldoy Iorty ovd Tlc
Ioom (New York. Grove, l960)lncludes Tlc
irtldoy Iorty, Tlc Ioom, and Tlc Dumb !oitcr;
Tlc Corctolcr (London. Methuen, l960);
Tlc Corctolcr ovd Tlc irtldoy Iorty (Garden Clty, N.|..
Doubleday, l960);
Z ìglt Uut (London. S. Irench, l96l);
Z Sliglt Zclc ovd Utlcr Iloys (London. Methuen, l96l)
comprlses Z Sliglt Zclc, Z ìglt Uut, Tlc Dworfs,
Troublc iv tlc !orls, Tlc locl ovd !litc, Icqucst
Stop, Iost to Co, and Zpplicovt;
Tlrcc Iloys: Z Sliglt Zclc, Tlc Collcctiov, Tlc Dworfs (New
York. Grove, l962);
Tlc Collcctiov ovd Tlc Iovcr (London. Methuen, l963)
lncludes 'Jhe Examlnatlon";
Tlc Dworfs ovd Iiglt Icvuc Slctclcs (New York. Drama
tlsts Play Servlce, l965)comprlses Tlc Dworfs,
Troublc iv tlc !orls, Tlc locl ovd !litc, Icqucst
Stop, Iost to Co, Zpplicovt, Ivtcrvicw, Tlot`s Zll, and
Tlot`s Jour Troublc; augmented wlth Tlc `cw !orld
Urdcr as Tlc Dworfs ovd ìvc Icvuc Slctclcs (New
York. Dramatlsts Play Servlce, l999);
Tlc Homccomivg (London. Methuen, l965; New York.
Grove, l967);
Tco Iorty (London. Methuen, l965; New York. Grove,
l966);
Tco Iorty ovd Utlcr Iloys (London. Methuen, l967)com
prlses Tco Iorty, Tlc oscmcvt, and ìglt Sclool;
Tlc Iovcr, Tco Iorty, Tlc oscmcvt (New York. Grove,
l967);
Iovdscopc (London. Pendragon, l968);
Iocms (London. Enltharmon, l968);
Z ìglt Uut, ìglt Sclool, Icvuc Slctclcs (New York.
Grove, l968);
Moc (London. Pendragon, l968);
Iovdscopc ovd Silcvcc (London. Methuen, l969; New
York. Grove, l970)lncludes ìglt;
Iivc Scrccvploys (London. Methuen, l97l); republlshed
as Tlc Scrvovt ovd Utlcr Scrccvploys (London Bos
ton. Iaber Iaber, l99l)comprlses Tlc Scrvovt,
Tlc Iumpliv Iotcr, Tlc _uillcr Mcmorovdum, Zcci-
dcvt, and Tlc Co-ctwccv;
e~ m k ~ ~ b~
pI pI T a OMMRK e ~
~ E^m mFK
16l
ai_ PPN e~ m
Uld Timcs (London. Methuen, l97l; New York. Grove,
l973);
Movologuc (London. Covent Garden, l973);
ò Mov`s Iovd (London. Eyre Methuen, l975; New
York. Grove, l975);
Tlc Iroust Scrccvploy, adapted from Marcel Proust`s Z lo
rcclcrclc dc tcmps pcrdu (London. Eyre Methuen/
Chatto Wlndus, l978; New York. Grove, l978);
Iocms ovd Irosc 1949-1977 (London. Eyre Methuen,
l978; New York. Grove, l978); revlsed and
republlshed as Collcctcd Iocms ovd Irosc (London.
Methuen, l986; expanded edltlon, London.
Iaber Iaber, l990; New York. Grove, l996);
ctroyol (London. Eyre Methuen, l978; New York.
Grove, l979);
I Ivow tlc Ilocc: Iocms (Warwlck. Grevllle Press, l979);
Tlc Hotlousc (London. Eyre Methuen, l980; New York,
Grove, l980);
Iomily !oiccs (London. Next Edltlons/Iaber Iaber,
l98l; New York. Grove, l98l);
Tlc Scrccvploy of Tlc Ircvcl Iicutcvovt`s !omov (London.
Cape, l98l); republlshed as Tlc Ircvcl Iicutcvovt`s
!omov: Z Scrccvploy (New York. Llttle, Brown,
l98l);
Tlc Ircvcl Iicutcvovt`s !omov ovd Utlcr Scrccvploys (Lon
don. Methuen, l982)comprlses Tlc Ircvcl Iicu-
tcvovt`s !omov, Tlc Iost Tycoov, and Iovgrislc, Co
Dowv;
Utlcr Iloccs: Tlrcc Iloys (London. Methuen, l982; New
York. Grove, l983)comprlses Iomily !oiccs, !icto-
rio Stotiov, and Z Iivd of Zloslo; augmented wlth
Uvc for tlc Iood as Utlcr Iloccs: Iour Iloys (New
York. Dramatlsts Play Servlce, l981);
Uvc for tlc Iood (London. Methuen, l981; augmented,
l985; New York. Grove, l986);
Mouvtoiv Iovguogc (London Boston. Iaber Iaber,
l988);
Tlc Hcot of tlc Doy (London Boston. Iaber Iaber,
l989);
Tlc Comfort of Strovgcrs ovd Utlcr Scrccvploys (London
Boston. Iaber Iaber, l990)comprlses Tlc Com-
fort of Strovgcrs, Icuviov, Turtlc Diory, and !ictory;
Tlc Dworfs: Z òvcl (London Boston. Iaber Iaber,
l990);
Iorty Timc: Z Scrccvploy (London Boston. Iaber
Iaber, l99l);
Iloys Uvc (London. Iaber Iaber, l99l; New York.
Grove, l99l)comprlses 'Wrltlng for the Jhe
atre," Tlc irtldoy Iorty, Tlc Ioom, Tlc Dumb
!oitcr, Z Sliglt Zclc, Tlc Hotlousc, Z ìglt Uut, Tlc
locl ovd !litc, and 'Jhe Examlnatlon";
Iloys Two (London. Iaber Iaber, l99l; New York.
Grove, l99l)comprlses 'Wrltlng for Myself,"
Tlc Corctolcr, Tlc Dworfs, Tlc Collcctiov, Tlc Iovcr,
ìglt Sclool, Troublc iv tlc !orls, Tlc locl ovd
!litc, Icqucst Stop, Tlc Iost to Co, and Spcciol Uffcr;
Tcv Iorly Iocms (Warwlck. Grevllle Press, l992);
Iorty Timc ovd Tlc `cw !orld Urdcr (New York. Grove,
l993);
Tlc Triol: Zdoptcd from tlc òvcl by Irov Ioflo (London
Boston. Iaber Iaber, l993);
Moovliglt (London. Iaber Iaber, l993; New York.
Grove, l991);
Zslcs to Zslcs (London. Iaber Iaber, l996; New York.
Grove, l997);
Iloys Tlrcc (London. Iaber Iaber, l997; New York.
Grove, l997)comprlses Tlc Homccomivg, Tco
Iorty, Tlc oscmcvt, Iovdscopc, Silcvcc, Uld Timcs, ò
Mov`s Iovd, ìglt, Tlot`s Jour Troublc, Tlot`s Zll,
Zpplicovt, Ivtcrvicw, Diologuc for Tlrcc, and 'Jea
Party" |story|;
Iloys Iour (London. Iaber Iaber, l998; New York.
Grove, l998)comprlses ctroyol, Movologuc, Iom-
ily !oiccs, Z Iivd of Zloslo, !ictorio Stotiov, Uvc for tlc
Iood, Mouvtoiv Iovguogc, Iorty Timc, Zslcs to Zslcs,
Ircciscly, and Tlc `cw !orld Urdcr;
!orious !oiccs: Ioctry, Irosc, Iolitics, 194S-199S (London.
Iaber Iaber, l998; New York. Grove, l998);
revlsed as !orious !oiccs: Ioctry, Irosc, Iolitics, 194S-
200 (London. Iaber Iaber, 2005);
Cclcbrotiov ovd Tlc Ioom (New York. Grove, l999; Lon
don. Iaber Iaber, 2000);
Icmcmbrovcc of Tlivgs Iost, adapted by Plnter and Dl Jre
vls from Plnter`s Tlc Iroust Scrccvploy (London.
Iaber Iaber, 2000);
Tlc Disoppcorcd ovd Utlcr Iocms (London. Enltharmon,
2002);
Ircss Covfcrcvcc (London. Iaber Iaber, 2002);
!or (London. Iaber Iaber, 2003);
Dcotl ctc. (New York. Grove, 2005).
PLAY PRODLCJIONS. Tlc Ioom, Brlstol, Brlstol
Lnlverslty Drama Studlo, l5 May l957; pro
duced wlth Tlc Dumb !oitcr, London, Hampstead
Jheatre Club, 2l |anuary l960 (transferred to
Royal Court Jheatre, 8 March l960); produced
wlth Z Sliglt Zclc, New York, Wrlters Stage Jhe
atre, 9 December l961;
Tlc irtldoy Iorty, Cambrldge, Arts Jheatre, 28 Aprll
l958; London, Lyrlc Jheatre Hammersmlth, l9
May l958; New York, Booth Jheatre, 3 October
l967;
Tlc Dumb !oitcr, translated lnto German by Wllly H.
Jhlem, Irankfurt am Maln, Klelnes Haus, 28
Iebruary l959; produced wlth Tlc Ioom, Lon
don, Hampstead Jheatre Club, 2l |anuary l960
(transferred to Royal Court Jheatre, 8 March
162
e~ m ai_ PPN
l960); produced wlth Tlc Collcctiov, New York,
Cherry Lane Jheatre, 26 November l962;
Troublc iv tlc !orls and Tlc locl ovd !litc, ln Uvc to
Zvotlcr (revue), London, Lyrlc Jheatre Hammer
smlth, l5 |uly l959;
Icqucst Stop, Iost to Co, and Spcciol Uffcr, ln Iicccs of Iiglt
(revue), London, Apollo Jheatre, 23 September
l959;
Tlc Corctolcr, London, Arts Jheatre, 27 Aprll l960
(transferred to Duchess Jheatre, 30 May l960);
New York, Lyceum Jheatre, 1 October l96l;
Z Sliglt Zclc, London, Arts Jheatre, l8 |anuary l96l;
produced wlth Tlc Ioom, New York, Wrlters
Stage Jheatre, 9 December l961;
Z ìglt Uut, London, Comedy Jheatre, 2 October
l96l;
Tlc Collcctiov, London, Aldwych Jheatre, l8 |une l962;
produced wlth Tlc Dumb !oitcr, New York,
Cherry Lane Jheatre, 26 November l962;
Tlc Dworfs, produced wlth Tlc Iovcr, London, New
Arts Jheatre, l8 September l963; produced wlth
Tlc Dumb !oitcr, New York, Abbey Jheatre, 3
May l971;
Tlc Iovcr, produced wlth Tlc Dworfs, London, New
Arts Jheatre, l8 September l963; New York,
Cherry Lane Jheatre, 1 |anuary l961;
Tlc Homccomivg, Cardlff, New Jheatre, 22 March l965;
London, Aldwych Jheatre, 3 |une l965; New
York, Muslc Box Jheatre, 5 |anuary l967;
Tco Iorty and Tlc oscmcvt, New York, Eastslde Play
house, l5 October l968; London, Duchess Jhe
atre, l7 September l970;
ìglt, ln !c !lo Zrc Zbout To . . . , London, Hampstead
Jheatre Club, 6 Iebruary l969; produced agaln
ln Mixcd Doublcs: Zv Ivtcrtoivmcvt ov Morriogc
(revlsed verslon of !c !lo Zrc Zbout To . . .), Lon
don, Comedy Jheatre, 9 Aprll l969;
Iovdscopc and Silcvcc, London, Aldwych Jheatre, 2 |uly
l969; New York, Iorum Jheatre, 2 Aprll l970;
Uld Timcs, London, Aldwych Jheatre, l |une l97l; New
York, Bllly Rose Jheatre, l6 November l97l;
Movologuc, Hampstead, Klng`s Head Jheatre, 29
August l973;
ò Mov`s Iovd, London, Old Vlc (Natlonal Jheatre), 23
Aprll l975; New York, Longacre Jheatre, 9
November l976;
ctroyol, London, Lyttelton Jheatre (Natlonal Jheatre),
l5 November l978; New York, Jrafalgar Jheatre,
5 |anuary l980;
Tlc Hotlousc, London, Hampstead Jheatre, 21 Aprll
l980 (transferred to Ambassador Jheatre, 25
|une l980); New York, Playhouse Jheatre, 6 May
l982;
Iomily !oiccs, London, Natlonal Jheatre, l3 Iebruary
l98l;
Z Iivd of Zloslo and !ictorio Stotiov, London, Cottesloe
Jheatre (Natlonal Jheatre), l1 October l982;
Ircciscly, London, Apollo Jheatre, l9 December l983;
Uvc for tlc Iood, London, Lyrlc Jheatre Studlo, l3
March l981;
Mouvtoiv Iovguogc, London, Lyttelton Jheatre
(Natlonal Jheatre), 20 October l988;
Tlc `cw !orld Urdcr, London, Royal Court Jheatre
Lpstalrs, l9 |uly l99l;
Iorty Timc, London, Almelda Jheatre, 3l October
l99l;
Moovliglt, London, Almelda Jheatre, 7 September
l993;
Zslcs to Zslcs, London, Ambassadors Jheatre, l2 Sep
tember l996;
Cod`s Uwv District, London, Lyrlc Jheatre Hammer
smlth, 27 March l997;
Cclcbrotiov, London, Almelda Jheatre, l6 March 2000;
Icmcmbrovcc of Tlivgs Iost, adapted by Plnter and Dl Jre
vls from Plnter`s Tlc Iroust Scrccvploy, London,
Cottesloe Jheatre (Natlonal Jheatre), 23 Novem
ber 2000;
Slctclcs, London, Natlonal Jheatre, 8 and ll Iebruary
2002comprlsed Tlot`s Jour Troublc, Tlc locl ovd
!litc, Tcss, Troublc iv tlc !orls, Iost to Co, Spcciol
Uffcr, Tlot`s Zll, ìglt, and Ircss Covfcrcvcc.
PRODLCED SCRIPJS. Z Sliglt Zclc, radlo, BBC
Jhlrd Programme, 29 |uly l959;
Z ìglt Uut, radlo, BBC Jhlrd Programme, l March
l960; televlslon, ABC Weekend Jelevlslon, 21
Aprll l960;
Tlc irtldoy Iorty, televlslon, IJV, 22 March l960;
Tlc Dworfs, radlo, BBC Jhlrd Programme, 2 December
l960;
Tlc Collcctiov, televlslon, Assoclated Redlffuslon Jelevl
slon, ll May l96l;
ìglt Sclool, televlslon, Assoclated Redlffuslon Jelevl
slon, 2l |uly l96l;
Tlc Iovcr, televlslon, Assoclated Redlffuslon Jelevlslon,
28 March l963;
Zpplicovt, Diologuc for Tlrcc, Ivtcrvicw, Tlot`s Zll, and
Tlot`s Jour Troublc, radlo, BBC Jhlrd Programme,
l963;
Tlc Scrvovt, adapted from Robln Maugham`s novel,
motlon plcture, Sprlngbok/Elstree, l963;
Tlc Cucst (L.K. tltle, Tlc Corctolcr), motlon plcture,
|anus, l961;
Tlc Iumpliv Iotcr, adapted from Penelope Mortlmer`s
novel, motlon plcture, Rank, l961;
Tco Iorty, televlslon, BBC, 25 March l965;
163
ai_ PPN e~ m
q n j~I adapted from Elleston Jrevor`s
novel, motlon plcture, 20th CenturyIox, l966;
q _~I televlslon, BBC, 20 Iebruary l967;
Î adapted from Nlcholas Mosley`s novel, motlon
plcture, Clnema V, l967;
i~~I radlo, BBC Jhlrd Programme, 25 Aprll
l968;
q _~ m~I motlon plcture, Contlnental, l968;
q dJ_I adapted from L. P. Hartley`s novel,
motlon plcture, EMI, l970;
jI televlslon, BBC, l3 Aprll l973;
q eI motlon plcture, Amerlcan Illm Jhe
atre, l973;
q Ì televlslon, Granada, l976;
q i~ qI adapted from I. Scott Iltzgerald`s novel,
motlon plcture, Paramount, l976;
i~I d aI adapted from Aldan Hlgglns`s
novel, televlslon, BBC, 20 September l978;
k j~ i~I televlslon, BBC Iour, l978;
c~ sI radlo, BBC Radlo Jhree, 22 |anuary
l98l;
q c i~ t~I adapted from |ohn
Iowles`s novel, motlon plcture, Lnlted Artlsts,
l98l;
_~~I motlon plcture, 20th CenturyIox/Horlzon,
l983;
q a~I adapted from Russell Hoban`s novel,
motlon plcture, Lnlted Brltlsh Artlsts/Brltannlc,
l985;
q e~ a~I adapted from Ellzabeth Bowen`s
novel, televlslon, Granada, l989;
oI adapted from Ired Lhlman`s novel, motlon
plcture, C.L.G. Illms/Irance 3 Clnema/Les Illms
Arlane/NEI Dlffuslon, l989;
q ` p~I adapted from Ian McEwan`s
novel, motlon plcture, Rank/Soverelgn, l990 |l.e.,
l99l|;
q e~~ q~I adapted from Margaret Atwood`s
novel, motlon plcture, Clnecom, l990;
q q~I adapted from Iranz Kafka`s story, motlon plc
ture, BBC/Europanda, l993;
q m p~I radlo, BBC Radlo Jhree, 3l
December l995.

Jhe 2005 reclplent of the Nobel Prlze ln Lltera
ture was Brltlsh dramatlst Harold Plnter, 'who ln hls
plays uncovers the preclplce under everyday prattle and
forces entry lnto oppresslon`s closed rooms," as the clta
tlon read. Jhrough the course of hls career, Plnter has
wrltten many good plays and several great plays, works
that wlll stand the test of tlme. He changed the nature
of stage language and also the nature of audlence expec
tatlons, creatlng a notable lmpact on world drama. Play
wrlghts not only ln the Lnlted States and Great Brltaln
but also throughout western Europe, lndeed around the
world, obvlously have been lnfluenced by hls wrltlng,
and many of them admlt so openly and wlth great rev
erence. He ls an lnternatlonal force ln the theater, as
reflected ln the broad spectrum of languages lnto whlch
hls plays have been translated, lncludlng Arablc, Czech,
Danlsh, Dutch, Chlnese, Ilnnlsh, Irench, German,
Greek, Hebrew, Hungarlan, Itallan, |apanese, Norwe
glan, Pollsh, Portuguese, SerboCroat, Slovak, Swedlsh,
and Jurklsh.
Plnter`s playwrltlng ls of a plece, but evolutlon
arlly so. Hls thlrtytwo stage plays and thlrteen pub
llshed sketches flt loosely lnto four subject focl over
four eras. Each of the subject categorles ls a natural out
growth of the dramas that precede lt, though at flrst
blush they seem to be unconnected or even wrltten by a
dlfferent author. In the late l950s through the mld
l960s, he wrote 'comedles of menace," so labeled by
Irvlng Wardle ln l958 because the dramas were fllled
wlth characters confronted by menace; yet, the plays
lncluded a great deal of unconventlonal humor, some of
lt havlng the tang of |ewlsh theater. Jhese plays were
followed by a set of transltlonal dramas that led lnto
dramas concerned wlth psychologlcal need. Hls mem
ory plays were wrltten prlmarlly ln the late l960s
through the l970s. Hls flnal works, from about l981
through 2002, when he stopped wrltlng plays, were
essentlally polltlcal ln theme. Hls last publlshed dra
matlc work was the sketch m ` (2002). Jhere
ls occaslonally some overlap ln these dlvlslonsthe
amuslng s~ p~ ln l982 could have been
lncluded wlth hls funny l959 revue sketches, and the
horrlflcally movlng ^ ^ (l996) could flt wlth
the plays wrltten ten years earllerbut generally speak
lng the plays flt lnto thematlc and styllstlc grouplngs.
Blographer Mlchael Bllllngton and scholars such
as Martln Esslln and Steven H. Gale have drawn con
nectlons between the playwrlght`s youth and the
themes ln hls dramas, llnks that are especlally obvlous
ln those early comedles of menace. Plnter, born on l0
October l930, was the only chlld of Hyman ( |ack)
Plnter and Irances Mann Plnter. He grew up ln Hack
ney, a grlm, rough, worklngclass nelghborhood ln Lon
don, where hls father was a women`s tallor.
Jwo sets of events helped form the youngster`s
worldvlew. Jhe flrst was World War II and the Ger
man bomblng blltz of London. Plnter remembers seelng
hls backyard ln flames from the bombs, and he was
evacuated to the countryslde for the duratlon of the
war when he was nlne years old. When he was moved
to the countryslde, he took wlth hlm only hls favorlte
crlcket bat; crlcket has remalned a llfelong obsesslon.
He followed the game closely and played on several
crlcket sldes. He even became presldent of a local
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crlcket club, Jhe Galtles, and he and Jom Stoppard
played on the same team for a whlle after both of them
had achleved fame. He revealed hls appreclatlon of the
game by namlng some of hls characters ln ò Mov`s
Iovd (l975) after prel9l1 allstar crlcketers George
Hlrst, R. H. Spooner, Irank Ioster, and |ohnny Brlggs,
and he lnserted a crlcket match lnto hls motlonplcture
scrlpt for the awardwlnnlng Tlc Co-ctwccv (l970). In
any case, the terrors of the bomblngs and the sense of
lsolatlon and desertlon and uncertalnty that accompa
nled the authortobe`s evacuatlon out of London cre
ated ln the young man`s mlnd an awareness of the
ublqultousness of menace, as ls evldenced ln hls
remembrance 'Evacuees," flrst publlshed ln Tlc Iivtcr
Icvicw ln l991.
After the war, the concept of allpervadlng men
ace was reenforced by Plnter`s schoolboy experlences.
Walklng through alleys on hls way home from school,
he was often confronted by gangs of neoNazls, young
toughs looklng for a flght. Hls wearlng glasses and car
rylng schoolbooks were symbols that proved to the
dlmwltted junlor gangsters that he must be elther a |ew
(whlch he was) or a Communlst. Waltlng for thelr vlc
tlms, the gang members held broken mllk bottles ln
thelr hands, prepared 'to carve up" any |ew or Com
munlst who came along. It ls not surprlslng that the
sense of allpervadlng, lnescapable menace became a
preemlnent and guldlng theme ln the wrlter`s earllest
plays and poetry.
Another trademark of the author`s works grew
out of hls backalley experlence. Hls only defense was
hls ablllty to use wordsas he walked through the
blockade of hoodlums, he kept up a runnlng conversa
tlon wlth them. ''Are you all rlght?` 'Yes, I`m all rlght.`
'Well, that`s all rlght then, lsn`t lt?`" It worked. he was
never attacked. Lnderstandlng of the lmportance of
words and the worklngs of language are part of the
authorlal persona that led to the Nobel Prlze.
Jhls understandlng ls reflected humorously and
succlnctly ln two of the wrlter`s shorter plays. In Tco
Iorty (flrst read as a short story on the BBC Jhlrd Pro
gramme, 2 |une l961 and acted on BBC televlslon on
25 March l965 before lt premlered on stage ln New
York ln l968), two young brothers engage ln a Lewls
Carroll-style dlscusslon.
|OHN. Chlldren seem to mean a great deal to thelr
parents, I`ve notlced. Jhough I`ve often wondered
what 'a great deal` means.
JOM. I`ve often wondered what 'mean` means.
Reallzlng that deflnltlons can be sllppery and that the
same word can be used by dlfferent people ln many dlf
ferent ways ls lmportant ln comprehendlng how words
can be used not only to communlcate but to block com
munlcatlon as well.
In Tlc Dworfs (publlshed ln l96l, performed ln
l963), whlch began as a novel about Plnter`s frlends,
Mark and Len are havlng a dlscusslon durlng whlch
Len asks Mark a questlon about hls background, result
lng ln thls exchange.
MARK. I see that butter`s golng up.
LEN. I`m prepared to belleve lt, but lt doesn`t answer
my questlon.
Jhat ls exactly Mark`s polnt. Len`s questlons have
begun to hlt too close to home, and he ls not prepared
to reveal any more of hlmself than he already has. In
Tlc Dumb !oitcr (l960), Plnter had shown what hap
pens when one of the characters asks too many ques
tlons. he ends up ln front of hls murderous partner`s
gun. In the case of Tlc Dworfs, Plnter shows that asklng
questlons ls frowned upon, but he does so ln a slmple
llngulstlc maneuver that deflects the questloner.
Certalnly, some of Plnter`s understandlng of the
power of words also came from hls school days at
Hackney Downs Grammar School where he worked
wlth Engllsh teacher |oe Brearley and learned about the
theater. Interestlngly, Plnter`s flrst efforts at creatlve
wrltlng were poems. In the August l950 lssue of Ioctry
Iovdov, hls poems 'New Year ln the Mldlands" and
'Chandellers and Shadows" were publlshed. Jhree
months later, 'New Year ln the Mldlands" was
reprlnted ln the same journal along wlth 'Rural Idyll"
and 'European Revels." Jhe pleces were slgned
'Harold Plnta." Jhese poems, and most of those that
have followed over the decades, are related to hls dra
maturgy ln both style and content.
Durlng the perlod at Hackney Downs, Plnter
enjoyed hls flrst theatergolng experlence. He saw Slr
Donald Wolflt playlng Klng Lear. He was so enthralled
that he returned flve tlmes and later acted the part of
one of the klng`s knlghts wlth Wolflt ln a productlon of
Iivg Icor. Plnter wrote and acted under Brearley`s tute
lage, and he met several boys at school who later
became llfelong frlends and buslness assoclates (lnclud
lng hls accountant, actor Henry Woolf, and publlsher
|lmmy Wax).
Plnter soon turned to actlng as a serlous career.
He won a grant to attend the Royal Academy of Dra
matlc Art, but after about two terms he found that he
'dldn`t care for lt very much." Jhe asplrlng actor faked
a nervous breakdown and left the academy, though for
several months he pretended that he was stlll enrolled
so as not to upset hls parents. He wrote poems, he
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recalls ln 'Wrltlng for Myself" (l96l), hundreds of
them, and wlth the help of Reggle Smlth, who had
helped hlm get the Royal Academy grant, he began act
lng small parts on the radlo (hls flrst was ln the BBC
Home Servlce Broadcast 'Iocus on Iootball Pools" on
l9 September l950, and he played Abergavenny ln a
BBC Jhlrd Programme productlon of Wllllam Shake
speare`s e sfff ). Jhen Anew McMaster`s l95l
advertlsement ln p~ calllng for actors for a Shakes
pearean tour of Ireland drew hls attentlon. In j~
(l968), Plnter recounts hls elghteenmonth perlod wlth
the repertory company wlth great fondness and admlra
tlon for McMaster and for frlends he made ln the com
panyAlun Owen, Patrlck Magee, and Barry Ioster.
In l953 Plnter acted ln ^ v i f as part of
Wolflt`s classlcal season at Klng`s Jheatre ln Hammer
smlth. Jhere he met Vlvlen Merchant (real name Ada
Jhomson), an actress. Jhe next year Plnter assumed
the stage name Davld Baron and was lnvolved ln tour
lng provlnclal England ln repertory. He and Merchant
marrled ln l956 and had a son, Danlel, ln l958. Mer
chant performed ln many of her husband`s plays, and
crltlcs and scholars often suggest that the parts were
wrltten expressly for her.
Besldes hls stage experlences, whlch lnclude per
formlng ln nlne stage productlons slnce l960, Plnter
has acted ln thlrteen radlo programs between l95l and
2000; he has performed on televlslon ten tlmes; and he
has acted ln seven movles. Hls knowledge of the stage
from the actor`s polnt of vlew proved lnvaluable when
he began wrltlng plays. He knew how speeches and
actlons work on stage better than most dramatlsts do,
and many famous actors who worked ln hls plays,
lncludlng Alan Bates, Robert Shaw, Donald Pleasence,
Cyrll Cusack, Slr |ohn Glelgud, Llv Lllman, and Slr
Ralph Rlchardson, call hlm an 'actor`s" playwrlght. In
a related capaclty, he has dlrected thlrtyslx theatrlcal
productlons, many of them belng hls own plays or
those of fellow contemporary Brltlsh playwrlght Slmon
Grey, and he has dlrected seven motlon plctures and
televlslon productlons. Hls llfelong success as a stage
dlrector surely derlves from hls actlng experlence as
well. As a dlrector he tolerates no stage 'buslness." An
actor does what he or she ls dlrected to do ln the stage
dlrectlons and nothlng else. If the actor does not under
stand what a partlcular llne means, Plnter`s advlce ls
not to worry about lt. just say the words as they are
wrltten, and they wlll take care of themselves.
In late l956 Woolf was a graduate student at Brls
tol Lnlverslty when the presldent of the Green Room
Soclety at the unlverslty declded to stage an evenlng of
oneact plays. She asked hlm lf he knew of any one
acters, and he suggested that Plnter mlght have some
thlng. Woolf wrote to Plnter asklng lf he could provlde
a play wlthln a week. Plnter, who was actlng ln a reper
tory season ln Jorque, Devon, responded that he could
not produce anythlng ln less than slx months. Jhen, ln
four days, worklng between mornlng rehearsals of one
play and evenlng performances of another, Plnter wrote
q oI a play based on an lmage of two men whom
he had seen ln at a London party. A small man (the
wrlter _uentln Crlsp) kept popplng pleces of bread lnto
the mouth of a large, sllent man who was slttlng at a
kltchen table. Jhe play was flrst performed ln the
Drama Studlo, a converted squash court, on l5 May
l957.
Durlng the Natlonal Student Drama Iestlval ln
December l957, the play was revlved, and Harold Hob
son, a prestlglous drama crltlc for the London p~
qI lauded lt ln hls revlew of the festlval. Producer
Mlchael Codron read the revlew and contacted Plnter
to ask lf he had any other plays. Plnter replled that he
was worklng on one tltled 'Jhe Party," whlch became
q _~ m~K Jhls play opened at the Arts Jheatre
ln Cambrldge on 28 Aprll l958, wlth Plnter asslstlng ln
the dlrectlng. On l9 May the play moved to the Lyrlc
Jheatre, Hammersmlth, a suburb of London. Jhe
majorlty of the crltlcs, exceptlng Hobson, lambasted the
work, and lt closed after a oneweek run, maklng only
260, lls., and 8d.
q o offers the essence of Plnter`s comedles
of menace dramas. A woman, Rose, vlrtually never
leaves her room ln a boardlnghouse for fear of some
unnamed menace that lurks outslde her door. Jhls sltu
atlon sets the pattern for Plnter`s characters throughout
hls career. Jhere ls a room. It has a door. Jhe person ln
the room ls menaced by somethlng snuffllng about out
slde that door. When someone knocks, a need for verl
flcatlon of who or what ls on the other slde of the door
ls created. Jhe lnhabltant has to determlne whether lt ls
the omnlpresent, ublqultous menace or merely some
thlng harmless. Jhls lnformatlon can only be found out
by communlcatlng wlth whoever or whatever ls on the
other slde of the door. But, ln communlcatlng, the
lnhabltant runs the danger of reveallng hls Achllles
heel, some sort of weakness that wlll allow the menace
to enter and destroy hlm. Jhls sltuatlon enhances the
menace, whlch reenforces the need for communlcatlon
and verlflcatlon, whlch lncreases the need for noncom
munlcatlve communlcatlon. Jhls clrcular trladmen
ace, communlcatlon, verlflcatlonappears ln one way
or another ln vlrtually all of the playwrlght`s plays. It ls
easy to see the lnfluence of the young Plnter`s experl
ences durlng the war and ln the alleys followlng the war
on hls perceptlons of the world that surrounded hlm.
Another factor that llterally may have lnfluenced
hls vlew of the world ls hls need to wear eyeglasses.
Especlally ln hls early plays, the dramatlst has a mlnor
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preoccupatlon wlth vlslon. Rlley ls bllnd and Rose loses
her slght at the end of q oX Stanley`s eyeglasses are
purposely broken and he ls accused of belng 'cock
eyed" ln q _~ m~X Edward speaks of bllndlng
the wasp ln ^ p ^ (broadcast ln l959, publlshed
ln l96l); Dlsson has problems wlth hls slght ln q~
m~K Woolf, Plnter`s llfelong frlend, clalms that the
playwrlght`s poor vlslon ls one of the reasons that he
wrltes about perceptlon, llteral and flguratlve. Corners
do not appear to have sharp edges to Plnter. Because of
hls dlfflculty focuslng on perlpheral objects, he ls more
aware of the shadowy borderllnes of reallty than are
those wlth normal slght.
If q o explores how menace can break lnto a
sanctuary and destroy the person wlthln, lt ls easy to
see ln hls plays how Plnter arrlved at the next step of hls
exploratlon of menace. What lf one runs from the men
ace? Jhat ls what happens ln q _~ m~K In
Plnter`s flrst play to be presented professlonally, Stanley
has run to a seaslde boardlnghouse. Jhere, two lntrud
ers enter hls llfe. Goldberg ls a |ewlsh buslnessman;
McCann ls a defrocked Irlsh prlest. In a short perlod of
tlme they accuse hlm of a plethora of soclal faux pas,
polltlcal lndlscretlons, and actual crlmes. Lnder thelr
constant barrage of accusatlons, Stanley breaks down,
and the play ends wlth the palr of menacers taklng hlm
off to 'meet" Monty, a horrlfylngly suggestlve end.
Another of the menace plays, q a t~I
offers the ultlmate conundrum. two professlonal klllers
who are subjected to menace. Gus wlnds up ln front of
hls partner`s gun because he asks too many questlons
(Who makes the arrangements to brlng the vlctlm to
them? Who clears up the mess afterward?). When the
curtaln comes down at the end of the play, lt ls Ben who
ls menaced even though he holds the gun. Gus`s ques
tlons may have led hlm before hls partner/executloner,
but now Ben ls faced wlth an lmposslble cholce. On the
one hand, lf he shoots Gus, he wlll begln to ask ques
tlons, and he already knows what wlll happen to hlm lf
he does. On the other hand, lf he does not murder hls
partner, surely those who arranged the murder wlll be
after hlm too.
Plnter offers all of these posslbllltles ln a presenta
tlon that ls full of humor, whlch ls one element of the
dramatlst`s technlque that ls too often overlooked or
lgnored. Besldes the early revlew sketches that were
broadcast on the BBC Jhlrd Programme ln l963
(^~I a~ qI fI q~ Î and
q~ v q), along wlth i~ d and a serles of
contrlbutlons to slx televlslon comedy shows between
l963 and l977, he lncludes amuslng moments ln most
of hls plays up to the polltlcal dramas, and even then
there ls occaslonal humor lnvolved. Based on contradlc
tlons, Plnter`s humor frequently reenforces ln the audl
ence a sense that there are no rlght answers to any
questlon. At the same tlme, Plnter`s humor ls based on
loglcal non sequlturs. Jhe laughter comes because the
questlon and the answer are not obvlously connected,
and thls dlsconnect reveals somethlng about those par
tlclpatlng ln the conversatlon. What that ls, he leaves
the audlence to flgure out, whlch ls one of the reasons
he ls so appeallng as a wrlter. He provldes the clues but
not the answers.
Another perspectlve on the wrlter`s humor ls sup
plled by Plnter hlmself. Leonard Russell, the London
p~ q llterary edltor, wrote ln August l960 about
hls reactlon to q `~~I whlch had premlered ln
Aprll. He complalned about the audlence`s 'lndlscrlml
nate laughter whlch greeted the play." Plnter replled ln
a letter on l1 August. 'Certalnly I laughed myself whlle
wrltlng 'Jhe Caretaker,` but not all the tlme, not 'lndls
crlmlnately.` An element of the absurd ls, I thlnk, one of
the features of the play, but at the same tlme I dld not
lntend lt to be merely a laughable farce. If there hadn`t
been other lssues at stake the play would not have been
wrltten." He goes on to say that 'everythlng ls funny,"
but 'the polnt about tragedy ls that lt ls K"
Incldentally, Plnter`s lntroductlon to the general
publlc and the scholarly communlty focused on what
Esslln labeled 'the Absurd." In hls l96l groundbreak
lng study, q q~ Î Esslln explalned that
hls deflnltlon of absurd was related to lts orlglnal use,
meanlng belng out of harmony rather than rldlculous.
Accordlng to Esslln, ln absurdlst plays onedlmenslonal
characters show no development; there ls vlrtually no
plot; and language ls devalued. Whlle the label stuck to
Plnter`s work for much of hls career, lts appllcatlon ls
lncorrect. Plnter`s characters are not onedlmenslonal
they are motlvated and they show development durlng
the course of a play. Jhere ls a plot, and qulte clearly
language ls an essentlal component. In q e
(l965), when Ruth rolls about on the frontroom floor
ln a passlonate embrace wlth her brotherlnlaw whlle
her husband watches, her actlons are not 'absurd."
Marrlage and her famlly have falled to satlsfy her prl
mary appetltes, and from a psychologlcal polnt of vlew
her actlons are perfectly legltlmate ln that they are
deslgned to fulflll her personal needs. Jhls psychologl
cal element of need ls a key to understandlng Plnter`s
theater.
Around the turn of the twentleth century, Scandl
navlan playwrlghts such as Henrlk Ibsen and August
Strlndberg and the Russlan author Anton Chekhov
began wrltlng about everyday matters that were experl
enced by ordlnary people, and the language spoken ln
the plays was the language of the common people. Jhe
use of quotldlan vocabularles and uneven rhythms
began to reflect the language of the person on the street.
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ai_ PPN e~ m
Jhese tralts were plcked up by Engllshlanguage drama
tlsts such as the Irlsh wrlters Sean O`Casey, Lady Isa
bella Augusta Persse Gregory, and |ohn Mllllngton
Synge, but lt was Samuel Beckett who truly broke new
ground ln the theater. Beckett took the language of
stage characters ln new dlrectlons wlth the use of such
devlces as pauses and repetltlons.
Plnter was a great fan of Beckett`s work, and the
two men became frlends early ln Plnter`s career. In fact,
untll Beckett`s death ln l989, Plnter sent coples of hls
playslnprogress to the man who was almost hls men
tor and asked for hls oplnlon. Invarlably, Beckett would
say that the play was flne, except for maybe one blt of
dlalogue or actlon here or there. Plnter usually thought
about the suggestlons that Beckett made to correct these
mlnor lapses, but he also usually kept the plays as he
had wrltten themuntll, that ls, he saw them performed
ln rehearsals or tryouts. Invarlably, he would agree wlth
Beckett`s assessment, and the correctlon suggested by
the older wrlter would be lncorporated lnto the play.
Nevertheless, Plnter surpassed Beckett ln repllcat
lng onstage the ordlnary language of the common Brlt
lsher. Irom the earllest moments of hls career, crltlcs
called attentlon to the author`s ablllty to capture every
daysoundlng speech onstage. Llke other elements ln
stage productlons, actual speech does not sound real
onstage. Plnter`s glft was capturlng the essence of every
day speech so that lt sounded real when spoken
onstage; 'tape recorder" speech, crltlcs called lt, as
though he had used a machlne to repllcate the sounds
and cadences of real people talklng.
In Plnter`s dramas the reallstlc language serves to
contrast wlth and underscore the events taklng place on
the stage. Jyplcally, there ls a current of reallstlc speech
runnlng through the play. Jhe progresslon ln the plays
ls a movement from reallty (readlng a newspaper) to
absurdlty (the protagonlst, reduced to an lnartlculate
shambles, llterally ls taken for a rlde). Jhe underlylng
flow of reallstlc language perslstently contrasts wlth the
'unreallstlc" context ln whlch lt ls uttered, emphaslzlng
the absurdlty of the surroundlng events so that they
seem even more absurd than they mlght otherwlse
appear. Jhe fact that the characters speak as though
engaged ln everyday conversatlon ln the mldst of these
abnormal events helghtens the dramatlc effect of thelr
outrageous aspects.
Language functlons ln other ways, too. It can be a
way to structure the unlverse (as ln q o or q
a~), create characterlzatlons (as wlth Aston`s slow,
careful artlculatlon versus Mlck`s qulck, bltlng, care
fully crafted pronunclatlons ln q `~~), serve as a
weapon of attack or a fortlflcatlon for defense (as ln q
e), or provlde a nebulous metaphor for the
past (as ln i~~I whlch opened ln l969; kI
whlch premlered ln l969; and l qI flrst produced
ln l97l).
Jhe dramatlst`s llngulstlc technlques are many
and varled, and they are sometlmes the antlthesls of
what normally would be consldered approprlate, stan
dard speech. Among the technlques that he employs are
the use of a common vocabulary, malaproplsms, non
sequlturs, cllchs, jargon, tautology, repetltlon, llloglc,
lmagery, phatlc responses, the rhythms and patterns of
everyday conversatlon, and pauses and sllences. Jhls
last element has become one of Plnter`s slgnatures.
In most dramas, dlalogue or actlon ls vlrtually
contlnuous. Such ls not the case ln Plnter`s theatrlcal
works. Accordlng to Irank Marcus, once, when the
author was attendlng the flrst readlng of a onehour
televlslon scrlpt that he had wrltten, the producer asked
hls asslstant for the tlme score. 'Exactly 28 mlnutes 31
seconds," she responded. Jhere was an awkward
sllence. Jhen Plnter explalned. 'You see, there are a lot
of pauses." Jhese breaks ln spoken language are of
such consequence, so vltal ln transmlttlng the wrlter`s
meanlng, that dlrector Peter Hall held a 'dot and
pause" rehearsal for the orlglnal cast of q eK
Beckett successfully lncludes these nonverbal elements
ln hls plays, but Plnter takes them a step further, not
only glvlng them lmport ln recreatlng reallstlcsoundlng
language but maklng them markers ln terms of content
and meanlng.
Whlle people do pause ln thelr everyday conver
satlons, lt ls normally because they are searchlng for
somethlng to say or to avold saylng somethlng. In
Plnter`s plays, the pause serves many purposes, from
the klnd of actual lapses that occur ln normal conversa
tlon to an lndlcator of extreme emotlonal lnvolvement.
Most often, they are used to emphaslze the subject mat
ter. In q eI Ruth`s descrlptlon of her home
ln Amerlca ls not long ln actual word count, but the
tlme lt takes her to relate lt ls drawn out by the pauses
between her statementspauses that make Amerlca
sound more barren than her slmple descrlptlon would
lndlcate. Jhe pauses lmply the obvlous emotlonal effect
that the sterlllty of her surroundlngs has lmposed on
her. Pauses, therefore, demonstrate a contlnulng
thought process and contrlbute to developlng tenslon
by exposlng the lntenslty of the thought that has not yet
broken lnto a verbally communlcable pattern.
A sllence, Plnter explalned to |ohn Lahr, ls
entlrely dlfferent. 'a sllence . . . means that somethlng
has happened to create the lmposslblllty of anyone
speaklng for a certaln amount of tlmeuntll they can
recover from whatever happened before the sllence."
Sllences, then, slgnal the concluslon of one llne of thlnk
lng and the beglnnlng of a new subject of conversatlon.
A pause says, 'thlnk about what I have just sald." It ls
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the equlvalent of the end of a scene. A sllence ls llke the
end of an act. It says that toplc of conversatlon ls closed.
In an exchange ln q e between Ruth and
Lenny about how he knew a partlcular glrl had the pox,
Lenny pauses between Ruth`s questlon and hls answer.
Jhe pause lndlcates that he ls thlnklng about hls
answer. After he replles, there ls a sllence, and then he
says, 'You and my brother are newlyweds, are you?"
Jhe toplc of dlseased glrls ls closed, and a new toplc ls
opened. Jhe break ls clearcut, and the audlence ls
thereby prepared to go on to somethlng new.
Iollowlng the comedles of menace ln whlch the
playwrlght exposes the effects of omnlpresent physlcal
menace, Plnter began to explore the source of menace.
In ^ p Î q ` (l962), and q i
(l963), for lnstance, hls characters are no longer threat
ened by external forces. Jhe full exploratlon of thls
new subject matter began wlth q `~~I consldered
by many crltlcs to be the dramatlst`s best early play. In
thls play the menace, a tramp named Davles, ls lnvlted
lnto the room by the lnhabltant, Aston. Jhe tramp`s
presence dlsrupts Aston`s llfe, but lt ls more threatenlng
to Aston`s brother, Mlck. Jhe tltle of the play refers to
Mlck, who ls the caretaker of hls older brother because
hls brother has been bralndamaged by electroshock
treatment approved by thelr mother because Aston`s
thlnklng patterns do not flt her soclal norm. In thls case,
the menace ls removed through a concerted effort by
the two brothers, who reestabllsh thelr fraternal rela
tlonshlp, one that flts both of thelr needs. In some ways
thls play ls transltlonal. What mlght be a menace ls
brought lnto the room and becomes the menaced as the
brothers flght to meet thelr common needs ln the face
of an lntruder.
Jhere ls no questlon that Plnter recelved the
Nobel Prlze for hls playwrltlng. At the same tlme, the
Nobel Commlttee also recognlzed hls mastery of other
flelds of wrltlng, most notably hls screenwrltlng. Plnter
wrote twentyfour screenplays between l961 and 2000.
Jwo were never fllmed, and three were rewrltten by
other wrlters. In many ways, the movle scrlpts parallel
hls wrltlng for the stage. Jhe flrst of these was a clne
matlc adaptatlon of q `~~ ln l961. Jhe scrlpt
captures the essence of the play and to some extent goes
beyond lts source, for lt allows Plnter to 'open out" the
playto show, as he says, that there ls a world, a real
world, outslde the oneroom settlng of the drama.
Plnter ls seen as a man walklng ln the street ln one of
the early scenes, and he acted ln several of the other
motlon plctures made from hls scrlpts as well as ln
j~ m~ (2000).
Most of the screenplays are adaptatlons of other
people`s novels. Jhe prlmary exceptlons are the scrlpts
for fllmed verslons of hls own dramas. q _~ m~
ln l968, q e ln l973, and _~~ (l978) ln
l982. Gale contends (ln a 2003 study) that the screen
wrlter`s prlmary genlus ls hls ablllty to grasp the
essence of the novel that he ls adaptlng, expandlng the
kernel and focuslng lt ln a way that ls true to the orlgl
nal source but ln the process creatlng a new work of art.
Jhls talent ls evldent from hls flrst motlonplcture
scrlpt, q p~I ln l962 to hls unfllmed screenplay of
h i~ ln 2000.
Jhe scrlpt for |ohn Iowles`s q c i~
t~ (l98l) ls consldered Plnter`s major contrlbutlon
to wrltlng for the screen. In lt he demonstrates hls cre
atlve process at lts best ln condenslng a llterary master
plece wlthout dlmlnlshlng lt and actually enhanclng lt
through hls cleverly constructed movlewlthlnamovle
by deallng wlth the elghteenthcentury world featured
ln the novel through the eyes of a twentlethcentury
actor and actress who are lovers both on fllm and ln
real/reel llfe (for even the contemporary couple are
onscreen lmages). As mlght be expected, the technlques
that he utlllzes and the themes that he explores ln hls
stage plays are evldent ln the movles made from hls
screenplays. Jhe same ls true of hls work ln televlslon,
ln features such as q~ m~I shown on the BBC Jhlrd
Programme ln l965, and q _~I flrst televlsed by
the BBC ln l967. Not surprlslngly, over the years there
deflnltely has been movement ln the opposlte dlrectlon,
too, as he lncorporates clnematlc technlques lnto hls
stage dramas.
q e ls one of Plnter`s two greatest
plays, and lt best demonstrates how the wrlter collapses
menace lnto the human need for love. Of course, hls
deflnltlon of love ls not the one found ln a dlctlonary,
'affectlon based on admlratlon or benevolence." What
Plnter calls 'love" really amounts to an lndlvldual psy
chologlcal need that must be fulfllled for the emotlonal
wellbelng of the organlsm. It ls a psychologlcal prlmary
appetlte. Jhe language of the play clearly reflects thls
vlew, but not ln terms readlly accepted by flrsttlme
audlences. How can a husband watch hls wlfe roll
around on the floor ln a passlonate embrace wlth hls
brother and not react, audlences asked. Because the
lndlvldual needs of the characters ln the play allowed,
even demanded these actlons, Plnter answers. It ls a
matter of 'love and the lack of love," the artlst says.
Jo understand Plnter ls to be able to set aslde pre
conceptlons and judgments, to let the work explaln
ltself. In the openlng scene of q eI Max, the
father, and Lenny, hls mlddle son, seem bent on kllllng
each other. Jhey cuss and argue, threaten physlcal
harm, and say the most outrageous thlngs. Jhat these
thlngs are not the common dlalogue ln most famllles
does not mean that they are beyond the pale. It ls the
exact opposlte. When Lenny tells hls father to 'Plug
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ai_ PPN e~ m
lt . . . you stupld sod," hls father replles, 'Llsten! I`ll
chop your splne off, you talk to me llke that! . . . Jalk
lng to your lousy fllthy father llke that!" Jhe key to the
meanlng of thls exchange ls ln the second half of Max`s
retort. He calls hlmself a 'lousy fllthy father." Would he
say that lf he meant lt? What ls happenlng ls a klnd of
male bondlng, a parallel wlth the klnd of lnteractlon
common between tenyearold boys who punch each
other on the shoulder to show thelr affectlon for one
another wlthout seemlng effemlnate. Jhere ls no
woman ln the house to temper the men`s actlons, and lt
ls as though they are ln an arrested stage of develop
ment. Men do not show affectlon for one another ln a
lowerclass London butcher`s home the way they mlght
ln a mlddle or upperclass home, but they love one
another nonetheless.
When Jeddy brlngs home hls wlfe, Ruth, to meet
the famlly, there ls another confrontatlon. Lenny walks
lnto the front room ln the mlddle of the nlght to flnd a
strange woman standlng there. He does not questlon
who she ls or why she ls there. He has needs that have
no bearlng on that lnformatlonher presence and hls
ablllty to control her are all that matter to hlm. When
he offers her a drlnk and asks whether she would llke lt
on the 'rocks," she responds, 'What do you know
about rocks?" Jhls response makes llttle sense at thls
polnt. Later, when she ls talklng about her llfe ln Amer
lca as the wlfe of a phllosophy professor who sees thelr
llfe together as ldylllc ('She`s a wonderful wlfe and
mother. . . . She`s got lots of frlends. It`s a great llfe."),
her descrlptlon ls 'It`s all rock. And sand. It stretches . . .
so far . . . everywhere you look. And there`s lots of
lnsects there. m~K And there`s lots of lnsects there."
Jhls descrlptlon ls not the plcture of an ldeal llfe ln a
'stlmulatlng envlronment." Jhe pauses and repetltlons
and the reference back to 'What do you know about
rocks?" capture the sterlllty of her llfe and her need for
some klnd of change.
In the flnal scene, Jeddy prepares to return to
Amerlca, hls three sons, and the glorlous llfe that he
leads at the unlverslty. Ruth ls left wlth hls famlly, the
men who have suggested that she become a prostltute
to support them and that she mlght servlce them as
well. Lenny even suggests that hls brother have busl
ness cards prlnted to glve to hls colleagues so they can
take advantage of Ruth`s servlces when they are ln
England. As Jeddy moves to the front door to leave,
Ruth calls to hlm. 'Don`t become a stranger." Jhe use
of a cllch ln thls clrcumstance ls funny because lt does
not seem to flt, but lt preclsely condenses the meanlng
of the play lnto thls trlte expresslon. She means lt. She
has nothlng agalnst her husband; he slmply does not
fulflll her needs. So, off he goes, and she wlshes hlm
well as she stays behlnd. It ls her homecomlng, not hls.
She has shown durlng the course of the play that she
can take control, and lt ls unllkely that she wlll become
a prostltute, but she ls staylng because she ls fulfllllng
her needs by taklng care of the men ln the household.
Jhe shlft ln what constltutes a home ls lndlcatlve of the
change ln Plnter`s theme as he moves from the presenta
tlon of menace to a comment on psychologlcal need as
a source of menace.
Havlng determlned that menace ls a derlvatlve of
need, Plnter began to search out the source from whlch
that need sprlngs, and he came to the concluslon that lt
ls ln the human mlnd, whlch ls why lt ls always a threat
that cannot be escaped. Jhls concluslon leads to the
memory or mlnd plays, beglnnlng unobtruslvely wlth
hls short masterplece kK In kI a husband and
wlfe remlnlsce about thelr flrst meetlng. In the begln
nlng, thelr recollectlons match, but soon the memorles
dlverge. Accordlng to thelr lndlvldual needs, they per
celved thlngs dlfferently at the tlme of thelr meetlng,
and as tlme has gone by, thelr memorles have changed
to meet thelr changlng needs, posslbly to the extent that
what they have to remember may never have hap
penedbut they create a memory that flts thelr needs,
not reallty.
Jhe shlft ln vlewpolnt ls also an lndlcator of
Plnter`s sklll. Jhe majorlty of authors wrlte what ls
essentlally the same play over and over, wlth new char
acters and settlngs. Plnter`s plays show a progresslon
from the examlnatlon of one source of menace to
another. Jhey also lncorporate a change ln style that ls
dramatlc and unexpected. Each tlme the playwrlght
shlfts hls thematlc emphasls, so too does he shlft hls
style. Someone who knows that Plnter wrote l q
would not guess that he also wrote q `~~K As he
moves lnto the memory plays, hls style becomes lyrlcal,
as ls beflttlng hls new subject matter.
Jhe culmlnatlon of Plnter`s examlnatlon of the
worklngs of the human mlnd ls hls second great play,
l qK Jhe openlng scene shows the playwrlght`s
command of hls dramatlc tools. Jhe curtaln opens to
reveal three people ln a room. Jwo of them are engaged
ln conversatlon whlle the thlrd stands ln shadows look
lng out a wlndow. Jhe flrst two, Kate and her husband,
Deeley, are talklng about Anna, Kate`s former room
mate, who ls on her way to vlslt them. Jhe woman at
the wlndow turns around and enters the conversatlon,
talklng about the wonderful casserole they had for dln
ner. Plnter wants the audlence to see the thlrd character,
Anna, as belng ln the mlnds of the husband and wlfe,
but he also wants to sklp a scene change, the arrlval of
Anna at the couple`s door, and the dlnner. Jhls proce
dure ls the equlvalent of a clnematlc jump cut.
What transplres from thls polnt on ls a battle to
the death between the husband and the former room
170
e~ m ai_ PPN
mate for the wlfe`s affectlons. But Plnter ls not an ordl
nary dramatlst, so the battle develops ln ways that
leaves the audlence mystlfled about what ls happenlng.
Deeley and Anna share memorles of thelr tlmes wlth
Kate and other people. Soon there ls a contest golng on,
although agaln lt ls not clear at flrst that there ls any
thlng other than remlnlsclng. _ulckly, the memorles of
each begln to lncorporate the remembered actlons of
the other. Anna remembers Deeley at a party at whlch
he looked up her dress. Deeley takes that memory and
creates an offshoot of lt by rememberlng Anna wllllngly
slttlng so as to let hlm look up her dress. All of these
exchanges are both amuslng and confuslng untll Deeley
lnterrupts the dlalogue between Anna and Kate to state,
'My name ls Orson Welles." Slnce the audlence knows
that ls untrue, suddenly everythlng that has been sald ls
open to questlon.
Jhe contest ls over when Kate effectlvely decldes
that Anna ls dead. 'I remember you dead." Anna says
nothlng else ln the rest of the play. Kate ls the strongest
character because she ls the object and can thus control
who obtalns the object. When she decldes to stay wlth
Deeley, she llterally destroys Anna. Ior the last several
mlnutes, not a word ls sald on stage. Anna stands and
then slts down. Deeley gets up and slts down. Other
wlse, there ls no actlon. In many ways, l q ls a
dramatlzatlon of the openlng llnes of J. S. Ellot`s
'Burnt Norton".
q ~ ~
^ ~ I
^ ~ ~K
Plnter, who admlres Ellot greatly, has brought the con
cept to llfe ln a concrete manlfestatlon.
At thls polnt ln hls career the dramatlst became a
polltlcal actlvlst not only ln hls everyday actlons and let
ter wrltlng but ln hls plays as well. Many scholars
belleve that Plnter`s more publlc stance was an offshoot
of developments ln hls personal llfe. By l975 Merchant
had publlcly denounced hlm for carrylng on a longtlme
affalr wlth the famous blographer Lady Antonla Iraser,
a llalson well known ln London llterary clrcles but
unknown by the general publlc. Plnter and Merchant
dlvorced that year, and Merchant dled ln l982, report
edly as a result of chronlc alcohollsm. Plnter and Iraser
marrled ln l980. Iraser was from, and marrled lnto, a
polltlcal famlly, and she was open and actlve ln her pol
ltlcs. Many scholars are of the oplnlon that Iraser`s
goadlng led to her new husband`s turn to the polltlcal.
Lp to that polnt, as televlslon journallst |oan Bakewell
told Bllllngton, he 'dldn`t wrlte about world polltlcs.
He wrote about personal vlolence." Bllllngton belleves
that the polltlcal lngredlent ln the dramatlst`s persona
came to the fore ln the l970s because of hls close assocl
atlon wlth leftlst artlsts such as Amerlcan dlrector
|oseph Losey and Engllsh actress Dame Peggy Ash
croft, playwrlghts Davld Mercer and |oe Orton, along
wlth Bakewell, whose affalr wlth Plnter from l962 to
l969 ls the source for _~~I one of hls most movlng
plays. Plnter clalms that lt was the mllltary coup ln
Chlle ln l973 that was the catalyst, when the legally
elected soclallst government was overthrown and
unspeakable atrocltles were commltted on the Chllean
people by thelr own government. In any case, he
became hlghly actlve ln a wlde range of areas, a sam
pllng of whlch lncludes worklng wlth Amerlcan drama
tlst Arthur Mlller for freedom of expresslon through the
Internatlonal PEN organlzatlon, speaklng out on behalf
of the Nlcaraguan Contras ln l987, helplng to brlng
together a group of llkemlnded artlsts under the rubrlc
of the |une 20 Soclety ln l988, and uslng every speak
lng and letterwrltlng opportunlty, lncludlng hls Nobel
lecture, to bash the Lnlted States and Great Brltaln for
thelr actlons ln Iraq.
Jhe dramas from thls perlod forward are harsh
and bltter, polltlcally polnted. Jhe horrors of torture are
related ln a bonechllllng manner ln l o~
(l981) and j~ i~~ (l988). Even m~ q
(l99l) and `~ (l999) lnclude undercurrents of
bltter uneaslness and cruelty that break through the
veneer of clvlllzatlon, threatenlng the characters. Only
^ ^ makes a polltlcal statement ln the mood of
the memory plays as Rebecca talks about her lost baby
ln terms of another woman`s loss of a chlld to a storm
trooper. Jhe Holocaust lmages mlght be out of Plnter`s
|ewlsh background and human hlstory, but the actlon
takes place years after the war, so the holocaust belng
descrlbed ls a statement about the contlnuatlon of such
actlons throughout tlme.
q a~I Plnter`s only novel, harbors the seeds
of many of hls dramatlc subjects and technlques. Chap
ter l0 of the novel was flrst publlshed ln q m
o ln l988, and the completed novel was publlshed
ln l990. In lt the author traces the lntertwlnlng llves of
four young Londoners, lncludlng Pete and Len from
the play verslon.
It ls also worth repeatlng that Plnter began wrlt
lng poetry at a young age, and most of hls early wrltlng
was ln thls genre. He has contlnued wrltlng poetry
throughout hls llfe, publlshlng many lndlvldual poems
ln a varlety of journals. Several volumes of hls poetry
(some lncludlng prose as well) have been publlshed.
Between l987 and 2006, he also edlted at least slx vol
umes of hls own essays and of other wrlters` poetry. He
recelved the Wllfred Owen Prlze for poetry ln 2001.
He sald ln 2005 that whlle he wlll no longer wrlte plays,
he contlnues to wrlte poetry. Jhe reverence wlth whlch
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ai_ PPN e~ m
he holds thls fleld of wrltlng ls reenforced by hls con
cludlng hls Nobel lecture by quotlng from hls poem
'Death."
In October 2005 Plnter recelved the news that he
had won the Nobel Prlze ln Llterature. He was flabber
gasted. He protested that he had had no expectatlon of
wlnnlng thls most prestlglous of all llterary awards and
had not even known that he had been nomlnated.
Actually, Plnter had been offlclally nomlnated for
the award at least elght years earller. Jhere were
rumors that he was on the llst of nomlnees for some
years before that. Conslderlng that hls most prollflc,
best, and most lnfluentlal wrltlng was done ln the l960s
through the l980s, and that the llst of lmportant llterary
awards he had already won durlng hls career was qulte
lmpresslve, Irancls X. Glllen, coedltor of q m
oI and dramatlst Donald Ireed wrote letters to the
Nobel commlttee nomlnatlng hlm ln l997. Ior a year or
two afterward, each tlme the award was announced, lt
was assumed that hls work was belng lgnored for one
or both of two reasons. Elther he was far too publlcly
polltlcal and too outspoken ln hls antlpathy toward the
Amerlcan government, or hls plays were consldered too
dark and bleakly negatlve (desplte that they often
lnclude humor and that many of them end posltlvely).
Jhe postaward reactlon ls that Plnter won for one
or two other reasons. Elther the commlttee flnally rec
ognlzed hls accompllshments and wanted to acknowl
edge hls achlevements and contrlbutlons to world
drama by maklng the award before he dledhe had
been ln bad health for several years, a survlvor of can
cer of the esophagusor hls outspokenly harsh polltlcal
stance on behalf of world peace and human rlghts made
hlm more attractlve than lf he were merely an outstand
lng wrlter. Plnter hlmself belleves that hls human rlghts
actlvltles, whlch were noted by the Nobel jury, mlght
have played a part ln hls selectlon. 'I`ve been wrltlng
plays for about 50 years, but I am also very polltlcally
engaged and I am not at all sure to what extent that fac
tor had anythlng to do wlth thls award," he says. He
also states that he wlll 'certalnly remaln deeply engaged
ln the questlon of polltlcal structures ln thls world," as
he told the q (London) ln October 2005.
Plnter has been polltlcally aware throughout hls
career. When he was elghteen he was taken to trlal
twlce for shlrklng hls Natlonal Servlce mllltary obllga
tlon. He 'was aware of the sufferlng and of the horror
of war, and by no means was I golng to subscrlbe to
keep lt golng," he sald ln a 'Jalk of the Jown" lnter
vlew ln q k v (25 Iebruary l967). Both tlmes
the maglstrate determlned that he was truly a consclen
tlous objector and released hlm. Jhe second tlme he
was trled, Plnter was so sure that he was golng to go to
jall for hls bellefs that he took a toothbrush wlth hlm
when he went to hls trlal. Stlll, early ln hls career he was
asked why he dld not wrlte about soclal problems. Hls
answer to lntervlewer Lawrence Bensky ln l966 was
that soclal and polltlcal lssues were secondary to com
lng to an understandlng of the nature of belng a
human, to comprehend what lt ls to be human and to
relate to other humans. Jhus, he sald, lt ls senseless to
wrlte about polltlcs or soclal lssues, although he shows
hls awareness of polltlcal matters ln hls plays even as
early as q _~ m~ ln McCann`s dlatrlbes.
In England, dramatlsts Stoppard, Alan Ayck
bourn, and Davld Hare pralsed Plnter`s selectlon for
the Nobel. 'It`s wholly deserved and I`m completely
thrllled. As a wrlter, Harold has been unswervlng for 50
years," Stoppard told the q (London)K Ayckbourn
sald, 'It`s a most flttlng award." In Hare`s oplnlon,
'Jhls ls a brllllant cholce. Not only has Harold Plnter
wrltten some of the outstandlng plays of hls tlme, he
has also blown fresh alr lnto the musty attlc of conven
tlonal Engllsh llterature by lnslstlng that everythlng he
does has a publlc and polltlcal dlmenslon."
Plnter`s health prevented hlm from attendlng the
award ceremonles; hls Nobel lecture was prerecorded
and shown on vldeo ln Brssalen at the Swedlsh Acad
emy ln Stockholm on 7 December 2005. In hls lecture,
the dramatlst beglns by quotlng from hls own essays,
talks, and lntervlews on the nature of reallty and truth.
He also dlscusses hls own creatlve process, the lmages
and words that start hlm to wrltlng. Eventually, he says,
the characters take on llves of thelr own. 'flnally you
flnd that you have people of flesh and blood on your
hands, people wlth wlll and an lndlvldual senslblllty of
thelr own, made out of component parts you are unable
to change, manlpulate or dlstort." Jhls polnt leads the
wrlter to comment on 'language ln art," whlch, he
malntalns, 'remalns a hlghly amblguous transactlon, a
qulcksand, a trampollne, a frozen pool whlch mlght
glve way. . . at any tlme."
Reassertlng that the 'search for the truth can
never stop," Plnter comments on polltlcal theater and
how lt ls dlfferent from regular theater. Irom thls polnt
on, however, the lecture turns lnto a dlatrlbe, as Plnter
castlgates the Lnlted States for what he conslders lts
atrocltles and 'tapestry of lles." He berates England for
followlng along as well. He concludes hls speech by say
lng that 'unfllnchlng, unswervlng, flerce lntellectual
determlnatlon, as cltlzens, to deflne the ~ truth of our
llves and our socletles ls a cruclal obllgatlon whlch
devolves upon us all. It ls ln fact mandatory. If such a
determlnatlon ls not embodled ln our polltlcal vlslon we
have no hope of restorlng what ls so early lost to usthe
dlgnlty of man."
Plnter`s most startllng and most lmpresslve contrl
butlon to theater ln the twentleth century was the effect
172
e~ m ai_ PPN
of hls plays on hls audlences. When Plnter began wrlt
lng dramas ln the late l950s, the paradlgm was Sha
vlan. George Bernard Shaw, the wlnner of the l925
Nobel Prlze ln Llterature, was the towerlng playwrlght
of the late nlneteenth and early twentleth century. Soon
after the curtaln went up on Shaw`s plays, the audlence
knew everythlng they needed to know about the char
acters. who they were, what thelr llneage was, what
they dld, how wealthy they were, what they belleved,
and anythlng else that mlght dellneate them. In a Plnter
play, just the opposlte ls the case. It ls as though the
audlence gets on a bus and slts down behlnd two peo
ple who are engaged ln a conversatlon. Vlewers know
nothlng about the two people, nothlng about who and
what they are talklng about, although the two convers
lng share all of thls knowledge, and the audlence has
come lnto the mlddle of the conversatlon. What the
audlence ls left wlth ls a fleetlng, unconnected dlscus
slon for whlch they have no referents. Nonetheless,
they have to make sense of what they have overheard.
Jhat requlres lntelllgence and acts of lmaglnatlon and
deductlon for whlch Plnter`s flrst audlences were not
prepared or equlpped. Early audlence reactlons and
crltlcs` revlews made lt clear that they were perturbed,
dlsturbed, and offended by the demands made upon
them by the playwrlght. Jhe boxofflce recelpts for the
Jhursday matlnee of Tlc irtldoy Iorty totaled 2 6s.
On the openlng nlght of Tlc Corctolcr ln Dsseldorf,
Plnter followed the Contlnental custom of taklng a bow
wlth the actors. 'I was at once booed vlolently by what
must have been the flnest collectlon of booers ln the
world. I thought they were uslng megaphones, but lt
was pure mouth. . . . we took thlrtyfour curtaln calls,
all to boos," Plnter recalls ln 'Between the Llnes" (pub
llshed ln Tlc Suvdoy Timcs | London|, 1 March l962).
But, between the premleres of Tlc irtldoy Iorty
and Tlc Corctolcr, audlences were already beglnnlng to
grasp what Plnter was dolng. Jhey were learnlng not to
go lnto the theater wlth preformed expectatlons.
Instead, they were becomlng wllllng to open thelr
mlnds and to accept what was glven to them. Jhls sea
change ls apparent ln the awards that Tlc Corctolcr
recelved. Tlc Ivcvivg Stovdord Award ln England and
the Page l Award of the Newspaper Gulld of New
York. Wlthout Plnter`s lnfluence ln thls area, many of
the plays and movles that present sltuatlons, alluslons,
unexplalned motlves, merglng realltles, confllctlng
truths, and assumptlons that audlences now take for
granted would not have been wrltten. He created a new
sense of stage reallty. In so dolng, he slmultaneously
produced a new set of standards and procedures for
theaters worldwlde.
Plnter recelved hls flrst major award when he was
made a Commander of the Brltlsh Emplre (C.B.E.) on
_ueen Ellzabeth II`s Chrlstmas llst ln l966'one year
oftcr the Beatles," he noted. Jhe Nobel Prlze ls the
supreme valldatlon of hls work ln the theater and other
areas of llterature. It represents worldwlde recognltlon
of hls contrlbutlons, whlch are many, varled, lnfluentlal,
and lastlng. On the practlcal slde, the prlze wldens and
enlarges the audlence to whom he can express hls pollt
lcal oplnlons. In the flnal analysls, Harold Plnter ls one
of the most lmaglnatlve and lnnovatlve dramatlsts of all
tlme.
fW
Lawrence Bensky, 'Harold Plnter. An Intervlew," Ioris
Icvicw, l0 (Iall l966). l3-37; republlshed ln !rit-
crs ot !orl: Tlc Ioris Icvicw Ivtcrvicws, thlrd serles
(New York. Vlklng, l967), pp. 317-368;
Mel Gussow, Covvcrsotiovs witl Iivtcr (London. Nlck
Hern / New York. Llmellght Edltlons, l991).
_~W
Davld S. Palmer, 'A Harold Plnter Checkllst," Twcvtictl
Ccvtury Iitcroturc, l6 (l970). 287-296;
Herman J. Schroll, Horold Iivtcr: Z Study of His Icputo-
tiov (19S-1969) ovd o Clccllist (Metuchen, N.|..
Scarecrow Press, l97l);
Rudlger Imhof, Iivtcr: Z ibliogroply (London Los
Angeles. J_ Publlcatlons, l975);
Steven H. Gale, Horold Iivtcr: Zv Zvvototcd ibliogroply
(Boston. G. K. Hall, l978);
Irancls X. Glllen and Gale, eds., Iivtcr Icvicw: Collcctcd
Issoys (Jampa. Lnlverslty of Jampa Press, l987- );
Susan Hollls Merrltt, 'Jhe Harold Plnter Archlve ln
the Brltlsh Llbrary," ln Iivtcr Icvicw: Collcctcd
Issoys 1994 (Jampa. Lnlverslty of Jampa Press,
l991), pp. l1-53;
Wllllam Baker and |ohn C. Ross, Horold Iivtcr: Z iblio-
groplicol History (New Castle, Del.. Oak Knoll
Press, 2005).
_~W
Mlchael Bllllngton, Tlc Iifc ovd !orl of Horold Iivtcr
(London. Iaber Iaber, l996).
oW
Guldo Almansl and Slmon Henderson, Horold Iivtcr
(London. Methuen, l983);
Raymond Armstrong, Ioflo ovd Iivtcr: Slodow-oxivg
(New York. St. Martln`s Press, l999);
Mark Batty, Zbout Iivtcr: Tlc Iloywriglt ovd tlc !orl
(London. Iaber Iaber, 2005);
Katherlne H. Burkman and |ohn L. KundertGlbbs,
eds., Iivtcr ot Sixty (Bloomlngton Indlanapolls.
Indlana Lnlverslty Press, l993);
173
ai_ PPN e~ m
Martln Esslln, Iivtcr, tlc Iloywriglt, slxth edltlon (Lon
don. Methuen, 2000);
Steven H. Gale, uttcr`s Coivg Up: Zv Zvolysis of Horold
Iivtcr`s !orl (Durham, N.C.. Duke Lnlverslty
Press, l977);
Gale, Slorp Cut: Horold Iivtcr`s Scrccvploys ovd tlc Zrtistic
Iroccss (Lexlngton. Lnlverslty of Kentucky Press,
2003);
Gale, ed., Criticol Issoys ov Horold Iivtcr (Boston. G. K.
Hall, l990);
Arthur Ganz, ed., Iivtcr: Z Collcctiov of Criticol Issoys
Lols Gordon, ed., Horold Iivtcr: Z Coscbool (New York
London. Garland, l990); revlsed as Iivtcr ot 70: Z
Coscbool (New York. Routledge, 200l);
Charles Grlmes, Horold Iivtcr`s Iolitics: Z Silcvcc cyovd
Iclo (Madlson. Ialrlelgh Dlcklnson Lnlverslty
Press, 2005);
Horold Iivtcr: Z Cclcbrotiov (London. Iaber Iaber,
2000);
HoroldIivtcr.Urg http.//www.haroldplnter.org`;
|ohn Haynes, Tolivg tlc Stogc: Twcvty-Uvc Jcors of Iovdov
Tlcotrc. Ilotogropls (New York. Jhames Hud
son, l986);
Leslle Kane, ed., Tlc Zrt of Crimc: Tlc Iloys ovd Iilms of
Horold Iivtcr ovd Dovid Momct (New York. Rout
ledge, 2001);
Ronald Knowles, Uvdcrstovdivg Horold Iivtcr (Columbla.
Lnlverslty of South Carollna Press, l995);
|ohn Lahr, ed., Z Coscbool ov Horold Iivtcr`s Tlc Homccom-
ivg (New York. Grove, l97l);
Irank Marcus, 'Plnter. Jhe Pause that Refreshes," `cw
Jorl Timcs, l2 |uly l969, D8;
Susan Hollls Merrltt, Iivtcr iv Iloy: Criticol Strotcgics ovd
tlc Iloys of Horold Iivtcr (Durham London. Duke
Blll Nalsmlth, Horold Iivtcr: Tlc Corctolcr, Tlc irtldoy
Iorty, Tlc Homccomivg (London. Iaber Iaber,
2000);
Peter Raby, ed., Tlc Combridgc Compoviov to Horold Iivtcr
(Cambrldge. Cambrldge Lnlverslty Press, 200l);
Llnda Renton, Iivtcr ovd tlc Ubjcct of Dcsirc: Zv Zpproocl
Tlrougl tlc Scrccvploys (Oxford. Legenda, 2002);
Ellzabeth Sakellarldou, Iivtcr`s Icmolc Iortroits (London
Jotowa, N.|.. Macmlllan, l988);
Mlchael Scott, ed., Horold Iivtcr: Tlc irtldoy Iorty, Tlc
Corctolcr, Tlc Homccomivg (Baslngstoke, L.K..
Macmlllan, l986);
Marc Sllversteln, Horold Iivtcr ovd tlc Iovguogc of Culturol
Iowcr (Lewlsburg, Pa.. Bucknell Lnlverslty Press,
l993);
Ian Smlth, ed., Iivtcr iv tlc Tlcotrc (London. Nlck Hern,
2005).
m~W
Jhe Harold Plnter Archlve at the Brltlsh Llbrary ls the
most extenslve collectlon of Plnter materlal, lncludlng
manuscrlpt and typescrlpt drafts of plays, screenplays,
poetry, and prose, donated by Plnter ln September
l993. Jhe Lllly Llbrary, Indlana Lnlverslty, also has
three drafts of Tlc Corctolcr.
OMMR k m i~
m~ p
by Icr !ostbcrg, Mcmbcr of tlc Swcdisl Zcodcmy, Cloirmov
of its òbcl Committcc
Your Majestles, Your Royal Hlghnesses, Esteemed
Nobel Laureates, Ladles and Gentlemen,
Harold Plnter ls the renewer of Engllsh drama ln
the 20th century. 'Plnteresque" ls an adjectlve llsted ln
the Oxford Dlctlonary. Llke Kafka, Proust and Graham
Greene he has charted a terrltory, a Plnterland wlth a
dlstlnct topography.
Wlth hls twentynlne plays and about a hundred
that he has dlrected or acted ln, he has made the theatre
hls own domaln. Hls flgures barrlcade themselves ln
unpredlctable dlalogues. Between the llnes of unre
solved threats, lt rolls and stlngs. What we hear are slg
nals for everythlng we do not hear.
Jhe abyss under chat, the unwllllngness to com
munlcate other than superflclally, the need to rule and
mlslead, the suffocatlng sensatlon of accldents bubbllng
under the quotldlan, the nervous perceptlon that a dan
gerous story has been censoredall thls vlbrates
through Plnter`s drama.
Hls characters are at the mercy of each other on
the perlphery of llfe. Jhey are also prlsoners ln the
llmbo of class dlvlslons, set phrases and solldlfled hab
lts. Jhelr ldentltles, backgrounds and hlstorles are
vague, and dlfferent verslons exlst dependlng on who ls
rememberlng. Jhey seldom llsten to each other but lt ls
preclsely thelr mental deafness that makes us llsten. Not
a word passes unnotlced, nor can we relax a slngle
mlnute. Atmospherlc pressure fluctuates as secrets
unroll and shlft the dlstrlbutlon of power.
Memorleslnvented, manlpulated or realflow as
a hot undercurrent through Plnter`s plays. We model
the past to respond to the demands of the present and
to form our future.
As closed rooms open to an lnternatlonal commu
nlty, Plnter redeflnes romantlc love as a more reslllent
love that lncludes frlendshlp and the exlgency to pro
mote justlce through actlon. In Mouvtoiv Iovguogc, love
171
e~ m ai_ PPN
takes the form of an uncondltlonal generoslty mlsslng
ln hls earller works. Jo survlve, we must do good deeds
and stand up for the enslaved ln thls age of terror and
splralllng vlolence.
It ls usually sald that Plnter`s polltlcal commlt
ment came late. But Plnter hlmself descrlbes even hls
flrst perlodq a t~I q _~ m~I q eJ
as polltlcal. In these 'comedles of menace," lan
guage ls a weapon of aggresslon, evaslon and torture.
Jhe early works can be seen as metaphors for authorl
tarlan lnterventlon on several levels. the power of the
state, the power of the famlly, the power of rellglonall
undermlnlng the lndlvldual`s crltlcal questlons. Plnter
uncovers the reasons for wantlng to destroy the ldentlty
of others and the fear dlsgulsed as vlolence agalnst
those who stand outslde the party, club or natlon.
Plnter`s work has nelther wlnners nor losers. In
the power game between characters, we seldom know
who has the upper hand; they change places, growlng
and slnklng through llnes that seldom seem dellberate.
Jhe characters have sldes lnvlslble to the eye, exposed
ln the ultravlolet rays of amblgulty. Jhey grope forward
between lnvlslble walls and stratlfy lnto dlfferent levels
of reallty. In defendlng themselves agalnst lntruslon,
they blockade themselves ln spaces mlned llke allen ter
raln.
Plnter has perforated conventlonally reallstlc
drama wlth taclturnlty`s mystery, and has equlpped hls
overblown flgures wlth so many outlets that we can llve
wlth the characters and see them age and decay as we
do. Jhe solld and lmpenetrable flgures of publlc llfe dls
lntegrate ln dlsastrous lncoherence. Jhey send mes
sages that never seem to arrlve, yet we leave the theatre
less rlghteous than on enterlng.
Ior systematlsts, the world exlsts to put ln order.
Ior Harold Plnter lt ls for dlssembllng, through whlch
the good and the humane flnd a way to seep out
through the bureaucratlc cage of lngralned reflexes. In a
ruthless analysls of the totalltarlan, he lllumlnates the
paln of the lndlvldual.
Jhrowaway llnes stlng, llttle words corrode, what
ls halfsald crushes, what ls taclt forebodes catastrophe.
Plnter, the tallor`s son, sclssors language, allowlng the
actlon to orlglnate from the volces and rhythms of the
characters. Jhus, there ls no glven plot. We do not ask.
'What wlll happen next?" Rather, 'What ls happen
lng?"
Jhe words are lnstruments of power. Words are
repeated untll they resemble truth. In a tlme of over
lnformatlon, Plnter frees words from descrlblng reallty
and makes them reallty ltself, at tlmes poetlc, more
often oppresslve. At the end, lt ls only through language
that we can erase our destlny and recreate lt.
Dear Harold Plnter,
In lts cholce of a Nobel Laureate the Swedlsh
Academy recognlses only the creatlve power of a slngle
lndlvldual regardless of natlon, sex and llterary genre.
Jhls needs emphaslslng. However Brltlsh you may
appear ln the eyes of many, your lnternatlonal and
lnterhuman lmpact ln the fleld of drama has been
unlquely strong and lnsplrlng for half a century. If
someone thlnks your prlze ls late ln comlng, we may
reply that at any glven moment somewhere ln the
world your plays are relnterpreted by new generatlons
of dlrectors and actors.
In your works, seductlvely accesslble and frlght
enlngly mysterlous, the curtaln rlses on dense llfe
landscapes and harrowlng conflnement. In poetlc
lmages, you lllumlnate an exlstence where fantasy and
the nlghtmare of reallty clash.
In the absence of thls year`s Nobel Laureate ln
Llterature, I request hls publlsher Mr. Stephen Page to
come forward and recelve Mr. Plnter`s Prlze from the
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, 2005.|
175
mW k iI T a OMMR
Î q C m
In l958 I wrote the followlng. 'Jhere are no hard
dlstlnctlons between what ls real and what ls unreal,
nor between what ls true and what ls false. A thlng ls
not necessarlly elther true or false; lt can be both true
and false."
I belleve that these assertlons stlll make sense and
do stlll apply to the exploratlon of reallty through art.
So as a wrlter I stand by them but as a cltlzen I cannot.
As a cltlzen I must ask. What ls true? What ls false?
Jruth ln drama ls forever eluslve. You never qulte
flnd lt but the search for lt ls compulslve. Jhe search ls
clearly what drlves the endeavour. Jhe search ls your
task. More often than not you stumble upon the truth
ln the dark, collldlng wlth lt or just gllmpslng an lmage
or a shape whlch seems to correspond to the truth,
often wlthout reallslng that you have done so. But the
real truth ls that there never ls any such thlng as one
truth to be found ln dramatlc art. Jhere are many.
Jhese truths challenge each other, recoll from each
other, reflect each other, lgnore each other, tease each
other, are bllnd to each other. Sometlmes you feel you
have the truth of a moment ln your hand, then lt sllps
through your flngers and ls lost.
I have often been asked how my plays come
about. I cannot say. Nor can I ever sum up my plays,
except to say that thls ls what happened. Jhat ls what
they sald. Jhat ls what they dld.
Most of the plays are engendered by a llne, a
word or an lmage. Jhe glven word ls often shortly fol
lowed by the lmage. I shall glve two examples of two
llnes whlch came rlght out of the blue lnto my head, fol
lowed by an lmage, followed by me.
Jhe plays are q e and l qK Jhe
flrst llne of q e ls 'What have you done
wlth the sclssors?" Jhe flrst llne of l q ls 'Dark."
In each case I had no further lnformatlon.
In the flrst case someone was obvlously looklng
for a palr of sclssors and was demandlng thelr where
abouts of someone else he suspected had probably sto
len them. But I somehow knew that the person
addressed dldn`t glve a damn about the sclssors or
about the questloner elther, for that matter.
'Dark" I took to be a descrlptlon of someone`s
halr, the halr of a woman, and was the answer to a
questlon. In each case I found myself compelled to pur
sue the matter. Jhls happened vlsually, a very slow
fade, through shadow lnto llght.
I always start a play by calllng the characters A, B
and C.
In the play that became q e I saw a
man enter a stark room and ask hls questlon of a
younger man slttlng on an ugly sofa readlng a raclng
paper. I somehow suspected that A was a father and
that B was hls son, but I had no proof. Jhls was how
ever conflrmed a short tlme later when B (later to
become Lenny) says to A (later to become Max), 'Dad,
do you mlnd lf I change the subject? I want to ask you
somethlng. Jhe dlnner we had before, what was the
name of lt? What do you call lt? Why don`t you buy a
dog? You`re a dog cook. Honest. You thlnk you`re cook
lng for a lot of dogs." So slnce B calls A 'Dad" lt
seemed to me reasonable to assume that they were
father and son. A was also clearly the cook and hls
cooklng dld not seem to be held ln hlgh regard. Dld thls
mean that there was no mother? I dldn`t know. But, as I
told myself at the tlme, our beglnnlngs never know our
ends.
'Dark." A large wlndow. Evenlng sky. A man, A
(later to become Deeley), and a woman, B (later to
become Kate), slttlng wlth drlnks. 'Iat or thln?" the
man asks. Who are they talklng about? But I then see,
standlng at the wlndow, a woman, C (later to become
Anna), ln another condltlon of llght, her back to them,
her halr dark.
It`s a strange moment, the moment of creatlng
characters who up to that moment have had no exlst
ence. What follows ls fltful, uncertaln, even halluclna
tory, although sometlmes lt can be an unstoppable
avalanche. Jhe author`s posltlon ls an odd one. In a
sense he ls not welcomed by the characters. Jhe charac
ters reslst hlm, they are not easy to llve wlth, they are
lmposslble to deflne. You certalnly can`t dlctate to them.
Jo a certaln extent you play a neverendlng game wlth
them, cat and mouse, bllnd man`s buff, hlde and seek.
176
mW k iI T a OMMR ai_ PPN
But flnally you flnd that you have people of flesh and
blood on your hands, people wlth wlll and an lndlvld
ual senslblllty of thelr own, made out of component
parts you are unable to change, manlpulate or dlstort.
So language ln art remalns a hlghly amblguous
transactlon, a qulcksand, a trampollne, a frozen pool
whlch mlght glve way under you, the author, at any
tlme.
But as I have sald, the search for the truth can
never stop. It cannot be adjourned, lt cannot be post
poned. It has to be faced, rlght there, on the spot.
Polltlcal theatre presents an entlrely dlfferent set
of problems. Sermonlslng has to be avolded at all cost.
Objectlvlty ls essentlal. Jhe characters must be allowed
to breathe thelr own alr. Jhe author cannot conflne and
constrlct them to satlsfy hls own taste or dlsposltlon or
prejudlce. He must be prepared to approach them from
a varlety of angles, from a full and unlnhlblted range of
perspectlves, take them by surprlse, perhaps, occaslon
ally, but nevertheless glve them the freedom to go
whlch way they wlll. Jhls does not always work. And
polltlcal satlre, of course, adheres to none of these pre
cepts, ln fact does preclsely the opposlte, whlch ls lts
proper functlon.
In my play q _~ m~ I thlnk I allow a
whole range of optlons to operate ln a dense forest of
posslblllty before flnally focusslng on an act of subjuga
tlon.
j~ i~~ pretends to no such range of
operatlon. It remalns brutal, short and ugly. But the sol
dlers ln the play do get some fun out of lt. One some
tlmes forgets that torturers become easlly bored. Jhey
need a blt of a laugh to keep thelr splrlts up. Jhls has
been conflrmed of course by the events at Abu Ghralb
ln Baghdad. j~ i~~ lasts only 20 mlnutes,
but lt could go on for hour after hour, on and on and
on, the same pattern repeated over and over agaln, on
and on, hour after hour.
^ Î on the other hand, seems to me to
be taklng place under water. A drownlng woman, her
hand reachlng up through the waves, dropplng down
out of slght, reachlng for others, but flndlng nobody
there, elther above or under the water, flndlng only
shadows, reflectlons, floatlng; the woman a lost flgure
ln a drownlng landscape, a woman unable to escape the
doom that seemed to belong only to others.
But as they dled, she must dle too.
Polltlcal language, as used by polltlclans, does not
venture lnto any of thls terrltory slnce the majorlty of
polltlclans, on the evldence avallable to us, are lnter
ested not ln truth but ln power and ln the malntenance
of that power. Jo malntaln that power lt ls essentlal that
people remaln ln lgnorance, that they llve ln lgnorance
of the truth, even the truth of thelr own llves. What sur
rounds us therefore ls a vast tapestry of lles, upon
whlch we feed.
As every slngle person here knows, the justlflca
tlon for the lnvaslon of Iraq was that Saddam Husseln
possessed a hlghly dangerous body of weapons of mass
destructlon, some of whlch could be flred ln 15 mln
utes, brlnglng about appalllng devastatlon. We were
assured that was true. It was not true. We were told that
Iraq had a relatlonshlp wlth Al _aeda and shared
responslblllty for the atroclty ln New York of September
llth 200l. We were assured that thls was true. It was
not true. We were told that Iraq threatened the securlty
of the world. We were assured lt was true. It was not
true.
Jhe truth ls somethlng entlrely dlfferent. Jhe
truth ls to do wlth how the Lnlted States understands
lts role ln the world and how lt chooses to embody lt.
But before I come back to the present I would llke
to look at the recent past, by whlch I mean Lnlted
States forelgn pollcy slnce the end of the Second World
War. I belleve lt ls obllgatory upon us to subject thls
perlod to at least some klnd of even llmlted scrutlny,
whlch ls all that tlme wlll allow here.
Everyone knows what happened ln the Sovlet
Lnlon and throughout Eastern Europe durlng the post
war perlod. the systematlc brutallty, the wldespread
atrocltles, the ruthless suppresslon of lndependent
thought. All thls has been fully documented and verl
fled.
But my contentlon here ls that the L.S. crlmes ln
the same perlod have only been superflclally recorded,
let alone documented, let alone acknowledged, let alone
recognlsed as crlmes at all. I belleve thls must be
addressed and that the truth has conslderable bearlng
on where the world stands now. Although constralned,
to a certaln extent, by the exlstence of the Sovlet Lnlon,
the Lnlted States` actlons throughout the world made lt
clear that lt had concluded lt had carte blanche to do
what lt llked.
Dlrect lnvaslon of a soverelgn state has never ln
fact been Amerlca`s favoured method. In the maln, lt
has preferred what lt has descrlbed as 'low lntenslty
confllct." Low lntenslty confllct means that thousands
of people dle but slower than lf you dropped a bomb on
them ln one fell swoop. It means that you lnfect the
heart of the country, that you establlsh a mallgnant
growth and watch the gangrene bloom. When the pop
ulace has been subduedor beaten to deaththe same
thlngand your own frlends, the mllltary and the great
corporatlons, slt comfortably ln power, you go before
the camera and say that democracy has prevalled. Jhls
was a commonplace ln L.S. forelgn pollcy ln the years
to whlch I refer.
177
ai_ PPN mW k iI T a OMMR
Jhe tragedy of Nlcaragua was a hlghly slgnlflcant
case. I choose to offer lt here as a potent example of
Amerlca`s vlew of lts role ln the world, both then and
now.
I was present at a meetlng at the L.S. embassy ln
London ln the late l980s.
Jhe Lnlted States Congress was about to declde
whether to glve more money to the Contras ln thelr
campalgn agalnst the state of Nlcaragua. I was a mem
ber of a delegatlon speaklng on behalf of Nlcaragua but
the most lmportant member of thls delegatlon was a
Iather |ohn Metcalf. Jhe leader of the L.S. body was
Raymond Seltz (then number two to the ambassador,
later ambassador hlmself). Iather Metcalf sald. 'Slr, I
am ln charge of a parlsh ln the north of Nlcaragua. My
parlshloners bullt a school, a health centre, a cultural
centre. We have llved ln peace. A few months ago a
Contra force attacked the parlsh. Jhey destroyed
everythlng. the school, the health centre, the cultural
centre. Jhey raped nurses and teachers, slaughtered
doctors, ln the most brutal manner. Jhey behaved llke
savages. Please demand that the L.S. government wlth
draw lts support from thls shocklng terrorlst actlvlty."
Raymond Seltz had a very good reputatlon as a
ratlonal, responslble and hlghly sophlstlcated man. He
was greatly respected ln dlplomatlc clrcles. He llstened,
paused and then spoke wlth some gravlty. 'Iather," he
sald, 'let me tell you somethlng. In war, lnnocent peo
ple always suffer." Jhere was a frozen sllence. We
stared at hlm. He dld not fllnch.
Innocent people, lndeed, always suffer.
Ilnally somebody sald. 'But ln thls case 'lnnocent
people` were the vlctlms of a gruesome atroclty subsl
dlsed by your government, one among many. If Con
gress allows the Contras more money further atrocltles
of thls klnd wlll take place. Is thls not the case? Is your
government not therefore gullty of supportlng acts of
murder and destructlon upon the cltlzens of a soverelgn
state?"
Seltz was lmperturbable. 'I don`t agree that the
facts as presented support your assertlons," he sald.
As we were leavlng the Embassy a L.S. alde told
me that he enjoyed my plays. I dld not reply.
I should remlnd you that at the tlme Presldent
Reagan made the followlng statement. 'Jhe Contras
are the moral equlvalent of our Ioundlng Iathers."
Jhe Lnlted States supported the brutal Somoza
dlctatorshlp ln Nlcaragua for over 10 years. Jhe Nlca
raguan people, led by the Sandlnlstas, overthrew thls
reglme ln l979, a breathtaklng popular revolutlon.
Jhe Sandlnlstas weren`t perfect. Jhey possessed
thelr falr share of arrogance and thelr polltlcal phlloso
phy contalned a number of contradlctory elements. But
they were lntelllgent, ratlonal and clvlllsed. Jhey set
out to establlsh a stable, decent, plurallstlc soclety. Jhe
death penalty was abollshed. Hundreds of thousands of
povertystrlcken peasants were brought back from the
dead. Over l00,000 famllles were glven tltle to land.
Jwo thousand schools were bullt. A qulte remarkable
llteracy campalgn reduced llllteracy ln the country to
less than one seventh. Iree educatlon was establlshed
and a free health servlce. Infant mortallty was reduced
by a thlrd. Pollo was eradlcated.
Jhe Lnlted States denounced these achlevements
as Marxlst/Lenlnlst subverslon. In the vlew of the L.S.
government, a dangerous example was belng set. If Nlc
aragua was allowed to establlsh baslc norms of soclal
and economlc justlce, lf lt was allowed to ralse the stan
dards of health care and educatlon and achleve soclal
unlty and natlonal self respect, nelghbourlng countrles
would ask the same questlons and do the same thlngs.
Jhere was of course at the tlme flerce reslstance to the
status quo ln El Salvador.
I spoke earller about 'a tapestry of lles" whlch
surrounds us. Presldent Reagan commonly descrlbed
Nlcaragua as a 'totalltarlan dungeon." Jhls was taken
generally by the medla, and certalnly by the Brltlsh gov
ernment, as accurate and falr comment. But there was
ln fact no record of death squads under the Sandlnlsta
government. Jhere was no record of torture. Jhere was
no record of systematlc or offlclal mllltary brutallty. No
prlests were ever murdered ln Nlcaragua. Jhere were ln
fact three prlests ln the government, two |esults and a
Maryknoll mlsslonary. Jhe totalltarlan dungeons were
actually next door, ln El Salvador and Guatemala. Jhe
Lnlted States had brought down the democratlcally
elected government of Guatemala ln l951 and lt ls estl
mated that over 200,000 people had been vlctlms of
successlve mllltary dlctatorshlps.
Slx of the most dlstlngulshed |esults ln the world
were vlclously murdered at the Central Amerlcan Lnl
verslty ln San Salvador ln l989 by a battallon of the
Alcatl reglment tralned at Iort Bennlng, Georgla, LSA.
Jhat extremely brave man Archblshop Romero was
assasslnated whlle saylng mass. It ls estlmated that
75,000 people dled. Why were they kllled? Jhey were
kllled because they belleved a better llfe was posslble
and should be achleved. Jhat bellef lmmedlately quall
fled them as communlsts. Jhey dled because they
dared to questlon the status quo, the endless plateau of
poverty, dlsease, degradatlon and oppresslon, whlch
had been thelr blrthrlght.
Jhe Lnlted States flnally brought down the Sand
lnlsta government. It took some years and conslderable
reslstance but relentless economlc persecutlon and
30,000 dead flnally undermlned the splrlt of the Nlcara
guan people. Jhey were exhausted and poverty
strlcken once agaln. Jhe caslnos moved back lnto the
178
country. Iree health and free educatlon were over. Blg
buslness returned wlth a vengeance. 'Democracy" had
prevalled.
But thls 'pollcy" was by no means restrlcted to
Central Amerlca. It was conducted throughout the
world. It was neverendlng. And lt ls as lf lt never hap
pened.
Jhe Lnlted States supported and ln many cases
engendered every rlght wlng mllltary dlctatorshlp ln the
world after the end of the Second World War. I refer to
Indonesla, Greece, Lruguay, Brazll, Paraguay, Haltl,
Jurkey, the Phlllpplnes, Guatemala, El Salvador, and,
of course, Chlle. Jhe horror the Lnlted States lnfllcted
upon Chlle ln l973 can never be purged and can never
be forglven.
Hundreds of thousands of deaths took place
throughout these countrles. Dld they take place? And
are they ln all cases attrlbutable to L.S. forelgn pollcy?
Jhe answer ls yes they dld take place and they are
attrlbutable to Amerlcan forelgn pollcy. But you
wouldn`t know lt.
It never happened. Nothlng ever happened. Even
whlle lt was happenlng lt wasn`t happenlng. It dldn`t
matter. It was of no lnterest. Jhe crlmes of the Lnlted
States have been systematlc, constant, vlclous, remorse
less, but very few people have actually talked about
them. You have to hand lt to Amerlca. It has exerclsed a
qulte cllnlcal manlpulatlon of power worldwlde whlle
masqueradlng as a force for unlversal good. It`s a brll
llant, even wltty, hlghly successful act of hypnosls.
I put to you that the Lnlted States ls wlthout
doubt the greatest show on the road. Brutal, lndlfferent,
scornful and ruthless lt may be but lt ls also very clever.
As a salesman lt ls out on lts own and lts most saleable
commodlty ls self love. It`s a wlnner. Llsten to all Amer
lcan presldents on televlslon say the words, 'the Amerl
can people," as ln the sentence, 'I say to the Amerlcan
people lt ls tlme to pray and to defend the rlghts of the
Amerlcan people and I ask the Amerlcan people to trust
thelr presldent ln the actlon he ls about to take on
behalf of the Amerlcan people."
It`s a sclntlllatlng stratagem. Language ls actually
employed to keep thought at bay. Jhe words 'the
Amerlcan people" provlde a truly voluptuous cushlon
of reassurance. You don`t need to thlnk. |ust lle back on
the cushlon. Jhe cushlon may be suffocatlng your lntel
llgence and your crltlcal facultles but lt`s very comfort
able. Jhls does not apply of course to the 10 mllllon
people llvlng below the poverty llne and the 2 mllllon
men and women lmprlsoned ln the vast gulag of prls
ons, whlch extends across the L.S.
Jhe Lnlted States no longer bothers about low
lntenslty confllct. It no longer sees any polnt ln belng
retlcent or even devlous. It puts lts cards on the table
wlthout fear or favour. It qulte slmply doesn`t glve a
damn about the Lnlted Natlons, lnternatlonal law or
crltlcal dlssent, whlch lt regards as lmpotent and lrrele
vant. It also has lts own bleatlng llttle lamb tagglng
behlnd lt on a lead, the pathetlc and suplne Great Brlt
aln.
What has happened to our moral senslblllty? Dld
we ever have any? What do these words mean? Do
they refer to a term very rarely employed these days
consclence? A consclence to do not only wlth our own
acts but to do wlth our shared responslblllty ln the acts
of others? Is all thls dead? Look at Guantanamo Bay.
Hundreds of people detalned wlthout charge for over
three years, wlth no legal representatlon or due process,
technlcally detalned forever. Jhls totally lllegltlmate
structure ls malntalned ln deflance of the Geneva Con
ventlon. It ls not only tolerated but hardly thought
about by what`s called the 'lnternatlonal communlty."
Jhls crlmlnal outrage ls belng commltted by a country,
whlch declares ltself to be 'the leader of the free world."
Do we thlnk about the lnhabltants of Guantanamo
Bay? What does the medla say about them? Jhey pop
up occaslonallya small ltem on page slx. Jhey have
been conslgned to a no man`s land from whlch lndeed
they may never return. At present many are on hunger
strlke, belng forcefed, lncludlng Brltlsh resldents. No
nlcetles ln these forcefeedlng procedures. No sedatlve
or anaesthetlc. |ust a tube stuck up your nose and lnto
your throat. You vomlt blood. Jhls ls torture. What has
the Brltlsh Iorelgn Secretary sald about thls? Nothlng.
What has the Brltlsh Prlme Mlnlster sald about thls?
Nothlng. Why not? Because the Lnlted States has sald.
to crltlclse our conduct ln Guantanamo Bay constltutes
an unfrlendly act. You`re elther wlth us or agalnst us. So
Blalr shuts up.
Jhe lnvaslon of Iraq was a bandlt act, an act of
blatant state terrorlsm, demonstratlng absolute con
tempt for the concept of lnternatlonal law. Jhe lnvaslon
was an arbltrary mllltary actlon lnsplred by a serles of
lles upon lles and gross manlpulatlon of the medla and
therefore of the publlc; an act lntended to consolldate
Amerlcan mllltary and economlc control of the Mlddle
East masqueradlngas a last resortall other justlflca
tlons havlng falled to justlfy themselvesas llberatlon. A
formldable assertlon of mllltary force responslble for
the death and mutllatlon of thousands and thousands of
lnnocent people.
We have brought torture, cluster bombs, depleted
uranlum, lnnumerable acts of random murder, mlsery,
degradatlon and death to the Iraql people and call lt
'brlnglng freedom and democracy to the Mlddle East."
How many people do you have to klll before you
quallfy to be descrlbed as a mass murderer and a war
crlmlnal? One hundred thousand? More than enough, I
179
ai_ PPN mW k iI T a OMMR
would have thought. Jherefore lt ls just that Bush and
Blalr be arralgned before the Internatlonal Crlmlnal
Court of |ustlce. But Bush has been clever. He has not
ratlfled the Internatlonal Crlmlnal Court of |ustlce.
Jherefore lf any Amerlcan soldler or for that matter
polltlclan flnds hlmself ln the dock Bush has warned
that he wlll send ln the marlnes. But Jony Blalr has rat
lfled the Court and ls therefore avallable for prosecu
tlon. We can let the Court have hls address lf they`re
lnterested. It ls Number l0, Downlng Street, London.
Death ln thls context ls lrrelevant. Both Bush and
Blalr place death well away on the back burner. At least
l00,000 Iraqls were kllled by Amerlcan bombs and mls
slles before the Iraq lnsurgency began. Jhese people
are of no moment. Jhelr deaths don`t exlst. Jhey are
blank. Jhey are not even recorded as belng dead. 'We
don`t do body counts," sald the Amerlcan general
Jommy Iranks.
Early ln the lnvaslon there was a photograph pub
llshed on the front page of Brltlsh newspapers of Jony
Blalr klsslng the cheek of a llttle Iraql boy. 'A grateful
chlld," sald the captlon. A few days later there was a
story and photograph, on an lnslde page, of another
fouryearold boy wlth no arms. Hls famlly had been
blown up by a mlsslle. He was the only survlvor. 'When do
I get my arms back?" he asked. Jhe story was dropped.
Well, Jony Blalr wasn`t holdlng hlm ln hls arms, nor the
body of any other mutllated chlld, nor the body of any
bloody corpse. Blood ls dlrty. It dlrtles your shlrt and tle
when you`re maklng a slncere speech on televlslon.
Jhe 2,000 Amerlcan dead are an embarrassment.
Jhey are transported to thelr graves ln the dark. Iuner
als are unobtruslve, out of harm`s way. Jhe mutllated
rot ln thelr beds, some for the rest of thelr llves. So the
dead and the mutllated both rot, ln dlfferent klnds of
graves.
Here ls an extract from a poem by Pablo Neruda,
'I`m Explalnlng a Iew Jhlngs".
And one mornlng all that was burnlng,
one mornlng the bonflres
leapt out of the earth
devourlng human belngs
and from then on flre,
gunpowder from then on,
and from then on blood.
Bandlts wlth planes and Moors,
bandlts wlth flngerrlngs and duchesses,
bandlts wlth black frlars spatterlng blesslngs
came through the sky to klll chlldren
and the blood of chlldren ran through the streets
wlthout fuss, llke chlldren`s blood.
|ackals that the jackals would desplse
stones that the dry thlstle would blte on and splt out,
vlpers that the vlpers would abomlnate.
Face to face wlth you I have seen the blood
of Spaln tower llke a tlde
to drown you ln one wave
of prlde and knlves.
Jreacherous
generals.
see my dead house,
look at broken Spaln.
from every house burnlng metal flows
lnstead of flowers
from every socket of Spaln
Spaln emerges
and from every dead chlld a rlfle wlth eyes
and from every crlme bullets are born
whlch wlll one day flnd
the bull`s eye of your hearts.
And you wlll ask. why doesn`t hls poetry
speak of dreams and leaves
and the great volcanoes of hls natlve land.
Come and see the blood ln the streets.
Come and see
the blood ln the streets.
Come and see the blood
ln the streets!*
Let me make lt qulte clear that ln quotlng from
Neruda`s poem I am ln no way comparlng Republlcan
Spaln to Saddam Husseln`s Iraq. I quote Neruda
because nowhere ln contemporary poetry have I read
such a powerful vlsceral descrlptlon of the bomblng of
clvlllans.
I have sald earller that the Lnlted States ls now
totally frank about puttlng lts cards on the table. Jhat ls
the case. Its offlclal declared pollcy ls now deflned as
'full spectrum domlnance." Jhat ls not my term, lt ls
thelrs. 'Iull spectrum domlnance" means control of
land, sea, alr and space and all attendant resources.
Jhe Lnlted States now occuples 702 mllltary
lnstallatlons throughout the world ln l32 countrles,
wlth the honourable exceptlon of Sweden, of course.
We don`t qulte know how they got there but they are
there all rlght.
Jhe Lnlted States possesses 8,000 actlve and
operatlonal nuclear warheads. Jwo thousand are on
halr trlgger alert, ready to be launched wlth l5 mlnutes
warnlng. It ls developlng new systems of nuclear force,
known as bunker busters. Jhe Brltlsh, ever coopera
tlve, are lntendlng to replace thelr own nuclear mlsslle,
Jrldent. Who, I wonder, are they almlng at? Osama bln
Laden? You? Me? |oe Dokes? Chlna? Parls? Who
knows? What we do know ls that thls lnfantlle lnsan
ltythe possesslon and threatened use of nuclear weap
onsls at the heart of present Amerlcan polltlcal
phllosophy. We must remlnd ourselves that the Lnlted
180
States ls on a permanent mllltary footlng and shows no
slgn of relaxlng lt.
Many thousands, lf not mllllons, of people ln the
Lnlted States ltself are demonstrably slckened, shamed
and angered by thelr government`s actlons, but as
thlngs stand they are not a coherent polltlcal forceyet.
But the anxlety, uncertalnty and fear whlch we can see
growlng dally ln the Lnlted States ls unllkely to dlmln
lsh.
I know that Presldent Bush has many extremely
competent speech wrlters but I would llke to volunteer
for the job myself. I propose the followlng short address
whlch he can make on televlslon to the natlon. I see
hlm grave, halr carefully combed, serlous, wlnnlng, sln
cere, often begulllng, sometlmes employlng a wry smlle,
curlously attractlve, a man`s man.
'God ls good. God ls great. God ls good. My
God ls good. Bln Laden`s God ls bad. Hls ls a bad God.
Saddam`s God was bad, except he dldn`t have one. He
was a barbarlan. We are not barbarlans. We don`t chop
people`s heads off. We belleve ln freedom. So does
God. I am not a barbarlan. I am the democratlcally
elected leader of a freedomlovlng democracy. We are a
compasslonate soclety. We glve compasslonate electro
cutlon and compasslonate lethal lnjectlon. We are a
great natlon. I am not a dlctator. He ls. I am not a bar
barlan. He ls. And he ls. Jhey all are. I possess moral
authorlty. You see thls flst? Jhls ls my moral authorlty.
And don`t you forget lt."
A wrlter`s llfe ls a hlghly vulnerable, almost
naked actlvlty. We don`t have to weep about that. Jhe
wrlter makes hls cholce and ls stuck wlth lt. But lt ls
true to say that you are open to all the wlnds, some of
them lcy lndeed. You are out on your own, out on a
llmb. You flnd no shelter, no protectlonunless you lle
ln whlch case of course you have constructed your own
protectlon and, lt could be argued, become a polltlclan.
I have referred to death qulte a few tlmes thls
evenlng. I shall now quote a poem of my own called
'Death."
t ~ ~ \
t ~ \
t~ ~ ~ \
e ~ ~ \
t ~ ~ \
t ~ ~ ~
l
l ~ ~ ~~ \
t~ ~ ~~\
t~ ~~\
_ ~ ~~\
t~ ~ ~ ~ \
t~ ~ ~ ~ ~\
a ~ ~ ~\
e ~ \
e ~ ~ ~\
a ~ ~
a
a
a ~ ~~
a ~
When we look lnto a mlrror we thlnk the lmage that
confronts us ls accurate. But move a mllllmetre and the
lmage changes. We are actually looklng at a neverendlng
range of reflectlons. But sometlmes a wrlter has to
smash the mlrrorfor lt ls on the other slde of that mlr
ror that the truth stares at us.
I belleve that desplte the enormous odds whlch
exlst, unfllnchlng, unswervlng, flerce lntellectual deter
mlnatlon, as cltlzens, to deflne the ~ truth of our llves
and our socletles ls a cruclal obllgatlon whlch devolves
upon us all. It ls ln fact mandatory.
If such a determlnatlon ls not embodled ln our
polltlcal vlslon we have no hope of restorlng what ls so
nearly lost to usthe dlgnlty of man.
* Extract from 'I`m Explalnlng a Iew Jhlngs" trans
lated by Nathanlel Jarn, from Pablo Neruda. p
mI publlshed by |onathan Cape, London l970. Lsed
by permlsslon of Jhe Random House Group Llmlted.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, 2005. Harold Plnter ls the
18l
i m~
(2S uvc 1S67 - 10 Dcccmbcr 19J6)
j~~ d
Uvivcrsity of Torovto
See also the Plrandello entry ln DI 264: Itoliov Irosc
!ritcrs, 1900-194.
BOOKS. Mol giocovdo (Palermo. Llbrerla Internazlonale
Laurlel dl Carlo Clausen, l889);
Iosquo di Cco (Mllan. Llbrerla Edltrlce Galll, l89l);
Ioutc uvd Ioutcvtwiclcluvg dcr Muvdort vov Cirgcvti (Halle.
Druck der Buchdruckerel des Walsenhauses,
l89l); translated by Glovannl Busslno as Tlc
Souvds of tlc Cirgcvti Diolcct ovd Tlcir Dcvclopmcvt,
Amerlcan Lnlverslty Serles. Llngulstlcs, volume
l3 (New York. Peter Lang, l992);
Zmori scvo omorc (Rome. Stablllmento Bontempelll Edl
tore, l891);
Ilcgic rcvovc (Rome. Lnlone Cooperatlva Edltrlce,
l895);
ompogvo (Rome. Socleta Edltrlce Dante Allghlerl,
l90l);
cffc dcllo mortc c dcllo vito, 2 volumes (Ilorence. Luma
chl, l902, l903);
Il turvo (Catanla. Glannotta, l902); translated by
Irances Keene as Tlc Mcrry-Co-Iouvd of Iovc ln
Tlc Mcrry-Co-Iouvd of Iovc ovd Utlcr Storics (New
York. New Amerlcan Llbrary, l961);
_uovd`cro motto (Jurln. Stregllo, l902);
iovclc c vcrc (Jurln. Stregllo, l901);
Il fu Mottio Ioscol (Rome. La Nuova Antologla, l901);
translated by Arthur Llvlngston as Tlc Iotc Mottio
Ioscol (New York. Dutton, l923);
Irmo bifrovtc (Mllan. Jreves, l906);
Zrtc c scicvo (Rome. W. Modes Llbralo Edltore, l908);
I`cscluso (Mllan. Jreves, l908); translated by Leo
Ongley as Tlc Uutcost (New York. Dutton, l925);
Iùmorismo (Lanclano. R. Carabba, l908); revlsed and
expanded (Ilrenze. Battlstelll, l920); translated
by Antonlo Illlano and Danlel P. Jesta as Uv
Humor (Chapel Hlll. Lnlverslty of North Carollna
Press, l971);
Scomovdro (Rome. Jlpografla Roma dl Arnanl e Steln,
l909);
Io vito vudo (Mllan. Jreves, l9l0);
Suo morito (Ilorence. _uattrlnl, l9ll); republlshed as
Ciustivo Iovccllo voto oggilo ln Tutti i romovi
(Mllan. Mondadorl, l911); translated by Martha
Klng and Mary Ann Irese Wltt as Hcr Husbovd
(Durham, N.C.. Duke Lnlverslty Press, 2000);
Tcrctti (Mllan. Jreves, l9l2);
Iuor di cliovc (Genoa. Iormgglnl, l9l2);
I vcccli c i giovovi (Mllan. Jreves, l9l3); translated by
C. K. ScottMoncrleff as Tlc Uld ovd tlc Jouvg, 2
volumes (London. Chatto Wlndus, l928; New
York. Dutton, l928);
i m~ Ee ^Ld f~F
182
i m~ ai_ PPN
Ic duc mosclcrc (Ilorence. _uattrlnl, l9l1);
Io troppolo (Mllan. Jreves, l9l5);
Irbo dcl vostro orto (Mllan. Studlo Edltorlale Lombardo,
l9l5);
Si giro (Mllan. Jreves, l9l6); revlsed as _uodcrvi di
Scrofivo Cubbio opcrotorc (Ilorence. Bemporad,
l925); translated by ScottMoncrleff as Sloot: Tlc
òtcbools of Scrofivo Cubbio, Civcmotogropl Upcrotor
(New York. Dutton, l926);
Sc vov cos (Mllan. Jreves, l9l7); republlshed as Io
rogiovc dcgli oltri ln Iìvvcsto; Io rogiovc dcgli oltri
(Mllan. Jreves, l92l);
I domovi, luvcd (Mllan. Jreves, l9l7);
Iiolo (Rome. Iormgglnl, l9l7); translated by Erlc Bent
ley and Gerardo Guerrlerl ln òlcd Mosls, edlted
by Bentley (New York. Dutton, l952);
Zllùscito (Mllan. Jreves, l9l7); translated by Blanche
Valentlne Mltchell as Zt tlc Ixit ln Tlc Uvc-Zct
Iloys of Iuigi Iirovdcllo, edlted by Llvlngston (New
Uv covollo vcllo luvo (Mllan. Jreves, l9l8); translated by
Samuel Putnam as Horsc iv tlc Moov: Twclvc Slort
Storics (New York. Dutton, l932);
Icvsoci, Ciocomivo!; Cosi (sc vi porc); Il pioccrc dcllòvcsto
(Mllan. Jreves, l9l8); Cosi (sc vi porc) translated
by Llvlngston as Iiglt Jou Zrc! (If Jou Tlivl So) ln
Tlrcc Iloys (London. Dent, l922; New York. Dut
ton, l922); Il pioccrc dcllòvcsto translated by Llv
lngston as Tlc Ilcosurc of Hovcsty ln Iocl iv His Uwv
!oy, ovd Two Utlcr Iloys (London. Dent, l923;
New York. Dutton, l923);
crccclc c lo gucrro (Mllan. Iacchl, l9l9; enlarged edl
tlon, Mllan. Mondadorl, l931);
Il corvcvolc dci morti (Ilorence. Battlstelll, l9l9);
Il giuoco dcllc porti; Mo vov uvo coso scrio (Mllan. Jreves,
l9l9); Il giuoco dcllc porti translated by Robert Rletty
as Tlc Iulcs of tlc Comc ln Tlc Iulcs of tlc Comc; Tlc
Iifc I Covc Jou; Ioorus, edlted by E. Martln Browne
(Harmondsworth, L.K.. Penguln, l959);
Iumc di Sicilio; Il bcrrctto o sovogli; Io potcvtc (Mllan. Jreves,
l920); Iumc di Sicilio translated by Isaac Goldberg as
Siciliov Iimcs ln Iloys of tlc Itoliov Tlcotrc (Boston. |. W.
Luce, l92l); Il bcrrctto o sovogli translated by |ohn
and Marlon Ileld as Cop ovd cllsIl bcrrctto o sovogli
(New York. Manyland Books, l971); Io potcvtc
translated by Ellsabeth Abbott as Tlc Iiccvcc ln Tlc
Uvc-Zct Iloys of Iuigi Iirovdcllo, edlted by Llvlngston
(New York. Dutton, l928);
Tutto pcr bcvc (Ilorence. Bemporad, l920); translated by
Henry Reed as Zll for tlc cst ln Iiglt Jou Zrc! (If Jou
Tlivl So), Zll for tlc cst, ovd Hcvry I!, edlted by
Browne (Harmondsworth, L.K.. Penguln, l962);
Comc primo, mcglio di primo (Ilorence. Bemporad, l92l);
Iìvvcsto (Mllan. Jreves, l92l); translated by Rletty as
Croftcd ln Collcctcd Iloys, volume 3 (London.
Calder / New York. Rlverrun Press, l992);
Sci pcrsovoggi iv ccrco dòutorc (Ilorence. Bemporad,
l92l); translated by Edward Storer as Six Cloroc-
tcrs iv Scorcl of ov Zutlor ln Tlrcc Iloys (London.
Dent, l922; New York. Dutton, l922); revlsed
(Ilorence. Bemporad Ilgllo, l925);
Ivrico I! (Ilorence. Bemporad, l922); translated as
Hcvry I! ln Tlrcc Iloys (London. Dent, l922; New
Io sigvoro Morli, uvo c duc (Ilorence. Bemporad, l922);
Iùomo, lo bcstio c lo virtu (Ilorence. Bemporad, l922);
Io rollcgroto (Ilorence. Bemporad, l922);
Io sciollc vcro (Ilorence. Bemporad, l922);
Iùomo solo (Ilorence. Bemporad, l922);
Io mosco (Ilorence. Bemporad, l923);
Iv silcvio (Ilorence. Bemporad, l923);
!cstirc gli igvudi (Ilorence. Bemporad, l923); translated
by Llvlngston as òlcd ln Iocl iv His Uwv !oy, ovd
Two Utlcr Iloys (London. Dent, l923; New York.
Dutton, l923); orlglnal Itallan verslon of Iocl iv
His Uwv !oy publlshed as Cioscuvo o suo modo (Ilo
rence. Bemporad, l921);
Tutt`c trc (Ilorence. Bemporad, l921);
Io vito clc ti dicdi (Ilorence. Bemporad, l921); trans
lated as Tlc Iifc I Covc Jou ln Tlc Iulcs of tlc Comc;
Tlc Iifc I Covc Jou; Ioorus, edlted by Browne
(Harmondsworth, L.K.. Penguln, l959);
Iòltro figlio (Ilorence. Bemporad, l925); translated by
Wllllam Murray as Tlc Utlcr Sov ln Iirovdcllo`s
Uvc-Zct Iloys, edlted by Murray (Garden Clty,
N.Y.. Anchor, l961);
Io gioro (Ilorence. Bemporad, l925); translated by Llv
lngston as Tlc or ln Tlc Uvc-Zct Iloys of Iuigi
Iirovdcllo, edlted by Llvlngston (New York. Dut
ton, l928);
Dol voso ol ciclo (Ilorence. Bemporad, l925; revlsed edl
tlon, Mllan. Mondadorl, l925);
Dovvo Mimmo (Ilorence. Bemporad, l925);
Sogro dcl Sigvorc dcllo òvc (Ilorence. Bemporad, l925);
translated by Murray as Tlc Icstivol of Uur Iord of
tlc Slip ln Iirovdcllo`s Uvc-Zct Iloys, edlted by Mur
ray (Garden Clty, N.Y.. Anchor, l961);
Ccc (Ilorence. Bemporad, l926); translated by Abbott
as Clcc-Clcc ln Tlc Uvc-Zct Iloys of Iuigi Iirovdcllo,
edlted by Llvlngston (New York. Dutton, l928);
Zllùscito; Il dovcrc dcl mcdico; Io morso; Iùomo dol fiorc iv
bocco (Ilorence. Bemporad, l926); Il dovcrc dcl mcd-
ico translated by Mltchell as Tlc Doctor`s Duty ln
Tlc Uvc-Zct Iloys of Iuigi Iirovdcllo, edlted by Llv
lngston (New York. Dutton, l928); Io morso trans
lated by Abbott as Tlc !icc ln Tlc Uvc-Zct Iloys of
Iuigi Iirovdcllo, edlted by Llvlngston (New York.
183
ai_ PPN i m~
Dutton, l928); Iùomo dol fiorc iv bocco translated
by Llvlngston as Tlc Mov witl tlc Ilowcr iv His
Moutl ln Tlc Uvc-Zct Iloys of Iuigi Iirovdcllo, edlted
by Llvlngston (New York. Dutton, l928);
Iìmbccillc (Ilorence. Bemporad, l926); translated by
Mltchell as Tlc Imbccilc ln Tlc Uvc-Zct Iloys of Iuigi
Iirovdcllo, edlted by Llvlngston (New York. Dut
ton, l928);
Uvo, vcssuvo c ccvtomilo (Ilorence. Bemporad, l926);
translated by Samuel Putnam as Uvc, òvc, ovd o
Huvdrcd Tlousovd (New York. Dutton, l933);
Il vccclio dio (Ilorence. Bemporad, l926);
Iòmico dcllc mogli (Ilorence. Bemporad, l927); trans
lated by Marta Abba as Tlc !ivcs` Iricvd (New
York. S. Irench, l919);
Diovo c lo Tudo (Ilorence. Bemporad, l927); translated
by Abba as Diovo ovd Tudo (New York. S. Irench,
l960);
Io vuovo colovio (Ilorence. Bemporad, l928); translated
by Abba as Tlc `cw Colovy ln Tlc Mouvtoiv Ciovts
ovd Utlcr Iloys (New York. Crown, l958);
Il vioggio (Ilorence. Bemporad, l928);
Covdcloro (Ilorence. Bemporad, l928);
Iooro (Mllan. Mondadorl, l929); translated as Ioorus
ln Tlc Iulcs of tlc Comc; Tlc Iifc I Covc Jou; Io-
orus, edlted by Browne (Harmondsworth, L.K..
Penguln, l959);
0 di uvo o di vcssuvo (Ilorence. Bemporad, l929);
Comc tu mi vuoi (Mllan. Mondadorl, l930); translated by
Putnam as Zlos Jou Dcsirc Mc (New York. Dutton,
l93l);
_ucsto scro si rccito o soggctto (Mllan. Mondadorl, l930);
translated by Putnam as Toviglt !c Improvisc (New
Trovorsi (Mllan. Mondadorl, l932); translated by Abba
as To Iivd Uvcsclf (New York. S. Irench, l913);
Io fovolo dcl figlio combioto, muslc by G. Irancesco Malpl
ero (Mllan. Rlcordl, l933);
_uovdo si quolcuvo (Mllan. Mondadorl, l933); trans
lated by Abba as !lcv Somcbody Is Somcbody ln Tlc
Mouvtoiv Ciovts ovd Utlcr Iloys (New York. Crown,
l958);
òv si so comc (Mllan. Mondadorl, l935); translated by
Abba as ò Uvc Ivows How (New York. S. Irench,
l919);
Iìvvcsto; Sogvo (mo forsc vo); Iòmico dcllc mogli; Io morso;
Io sigvoro Morli, uvo c duc (Mllan. Mondadorl,
l936); Sogvo (mo forsc vo) translated as Drcom, ut
Icrlops òt (l930);
Mo vov c uvo coso scrio; cllovito; Io potcvtc; Iòltro figlio;
Iiolo; 0 di uvo o di vcssuvo (Mllan. Mondadorl,
l937); cllovito translated by Murray ln Iirovdcllo`s
Uvc-Zct Iloys, edlted by Murray (Garden Clty,
N.Y.. Anchor, l961);
Uvo giorvoto (Mllan. Mondadorl, l937);
Zllùscito; Io vuovo colovio; Iooro; Io fovolo dcl figlio com-
bioto; I gigovti dcllo movtogvo (Mllan. Mondadorl,
l938); I gigovti dcllo movtogvo translated by Abba
as Tlc Mouvtoiv Ciovts ln Tlc Mouvtoiv Ciovts ovd
Utlcr Iloys (New York. Crown, l958).
b ~ `W Upcrc di Iuigi Iirovdcllo, I
Classlcl Contemporanel Itallanl (Mllan. Monda
dorl, l956-l960)comprlses volumes l and 2,
òvcllc pcr uv ovvo, edlted by Corrado Alvaro
(l956-l957); volume 3, Tutti i romovi, edlted by
Alvaro (l957); volumes 1 and 5, Mosclcrc vudc,
edlted by Sllvlo DÀmlco (l958); and volume 6,
Soggi, pocsic, c scritti vorii, edlted by Manllo Lo
VecchloMustl (l960);
Tutti i romovi, 2 volumes, edlted by Glovannl Macchla
and Marlo Costanzo (Mllan. Mondadorl, l973);
Mosclcrc vudc, 2 volumes, edlted by Alessandro
DÀmlco (Mllan. Mondadorl, l986, l993);
òvcllc pcr uv ovvo, 3 volumes ln slx books, edlted by
Costanzo (Mllan. Mondadorl, l986-l990);
Tutto il tcotro iv diolctto, 2 volumes, edlted by Sarah Zap
pulla Muscara (Mllan. Bomplanl, l993; enlarged,
2002).
b bW Tlc òlcd Trutl ovd Ilcvcv Utlcr
Storics, translated by Arthur and Henrle Mayne
(London. |ohn Lane, l931; New York. Dutton,
l931);
Slort Storics, translated by Llly Duplalx (New York.
Slmon Schuster, l959);
To Clotlc tlc òlcd, ovd Two Utlcr Iloys, translated by
Wllllam Murray (New York. Dutton, l962);
Tlc Iotc Mottio Ioscol, translated by Wllllam Weaver
(Garden Clty, N.Y.. Doubleday, l961);
Tolcs of Modvcss: Z Sclcctiov from Iuigi Iirovdcllo`s Short
Storles for a Year, edlted and translated by Glo
vannl Busslno (Brookllne Vlllage, Mass.. Dante
Lnlverslty of Amerlca Press, l981);
Tlc Iotc Mottio Ioscol, translated by Nlcoletta Slmbo
rowskl (London. Dedalus, l986);
Toviglt !c Improvisc; ovd 'Icovoro Zddio! translated by |.
Douglas Campbell and Leonard G. Sbrocchl
(Ottawa. Canadlan Soclety for Itallan Studles,
l987);
Tolcs of Suicidc: Z Sclcctiov from Iuigi Iirovdcllo`s Short Sto
rles for a Year, edlted and translated by Busslno
(Boston. Dante Lnlverslty of Amerlca Press,
l988);
Uvc, ò Uvc ovd Uvc Huvdrcd Tlousovd, translated by
Weaver (New York. Marslllo, l990);
Iirovdcllo`s Mojor Iloys, translated by Erlc Bentley (Evans
ton, Ill.. Northwestern Lnlverslty Press, l99l);
Tlc Iulcs of tlc Comc, translated by Davld Hare (Bath,
L.K.. Absolute Classlcs, l993).
181
i m~ ai_ PPN
PLAY PRODLCJIONS. i~ ~I Rome, Jeatro
Metastaslo, 9 December l9l0;
i p~I Rome, Jeatro Metastaslo, 9 December
l9l0;
f I Rome, Sala Lmberto, 20 |une l9l3;
p I Mllan, Jeatro Manzonl, l0 Aprll l9l5;
Ì Roma, Jeatro Orfeo, l1 December l9l5;
m~I d~> Rome, Jeatro Nazlonale, l0 |uly
l9l6;
iI Rome, Jeatro Argentlna, 1 November l9l6;
revlsed, Mllan, Jeatro Nuovo, 8 |une l912;
` E ~FI Mllan, Jeatro Ollmpla, l8 |une l9l7;
f ~ ~I Rome, Jeatro Nazlonale, 27 |une
l9l7; Rome, Jeatro Morgana, l5 December
l923;
i~ ~~I Rome, Jeatro Nazlonale, 9 |uly l9l7; |ln Ital
lan|, Rome, Jeatro Nazlonale, 30 March l925;
f ~ I Jurln, Jeatro Carlgnano, 27 Novem
ber l9l7;
j~ ~ ~ ~I Llvorno, Jeatro Rosslnl, 22
November l9l8;
f ~I Rome, Jeatro _ulrlno, 6 December
l9l8;
iI Mllan, Jeatro Manzonl, 29 |anuary l9l9;
i~ ~I Rome, Jeatro Argentlna, l9 Iebruary l9l9;
iI ~ ~ ~ I Mllan, Jeatro Ollmpla, 2 May
l9l9;
q I Rome, Jeatro _ulrlno, 2 March l920;
` ~I ~I Venlce, Jeatro Goldonl, 21
March l920;
Ì San Pellegrlno, Jeatro del Caslno, l0 |uly l920;
i~ ~ j ~ I Rome, Jeatro Argentlna, l2
November l920;
p ~ ~ ~I Rome, Jeatro Valle, 9 May
l92l;
b fsI Mllan, Jeatro Manzonl, 21 Iebruary l922;
^~I Rome, Jeatro Argentlna, 28 September l922;
iI Rome, Jeatro _ulrlno, l0 October l922;
s I Rome, Jeatro _ulrlno, l1 November
l922;
i ~ ~I Rome Jeatro degll Indlpendentl,
2l Iebruary l923;
i~ ~ I Rome, Jeatro _ulrlno, l2 October
l923;
i~ I Rome, Jeatro Nazlonale, 23 November
l923;
`~ ~ I Mllan, Jeatro del Illodrammatlcl, 22
May l921;
p~~ p ~ k~I Rome, Jeatro Odescalchl, 2
Aprll l925;
a~~ ~ q~I Zurlch, Schausplelhaus, 20 November
l926; |ln Itallan|, Mllan, Jeatro Eden, l1 |anuary
l927;
i~~ I Rome, Jeatro Argentlna, 28 Aprll
l927;
_~~I Mllan, Jeatro Eden, 27 May l927;
p~~I Ilorence, Jeatro dellÀccademla del Ildentl,
l9 Iebruary l928;
i~ ~ ~I Rome, Jeatro Argentlna, 21 March
l928;
i~~ |ln Engllsh|, Huddersfleld, Royal Jheatre, 9
|uly l929; |ln Itallan|, Jurln, Jeatro dl Jorlno, 7
December l929;
M I Jurln, Jeatro dl Jorlno, 1 Novem
ber l929;
n~ ~ ~ ~ |ln German|, Koenlgsberg,
Neues Schausplelhaus, 25 |anuary l930; |ln Ital
lan|, Jurln, Jeatro dl Jorlno, l1 Aprll l930;
` I Mllan, Jeatro del Illodrammatlcl, l8
Iebruary l930;
p E~ F |ln Portuguese|, Llsbon, Jeatro Naclo
nal, 22 September l93l; |ln Itallan|, Genoa, Glar
dlno dÌtalla, l0 December l937;
q~I Naples, Jeatro del Ilorentlnl, 1 November
l932;
n~ ~ |ln Spanlsh|, Buenos Alres, Jeatro
Odeon, 20 September l933;
i~ ~~ ~~ |ln German|, Braunschwelg,
Landstheater, l3 |anuary l931; |ln Itallan|, wlth
muslc by Glan Irancesco Mallplero, Rome,
Jeatro Reale dellÒpera, 21 March l931;
k ~ |ln Czech|, Prague, Natlonal Jheater, l3
December l935; |ln Itallan|, Rome, Jeatro Argen
tlna, l3 December l935;
f ~ ~ ~~I Ilorence, Glardlno de Boboll, 5
|une l937.
JRANSLAJION. |ohann Wolfgang Goethe, b
~ (Llvorno. Glustl, l896).
LNCOLLECJED. 'Dramma e sonoro," `~I l7
(l0 November l939). 277-278.
Lulgl Plrandello was a controverslal and eclectlc
person whose work traversed many genres and medla.
He was, flrst and foremost, a dramatlst; but he was also
a novellst, an essaylst, a poet, and a palnter. Plrandello
ls worldfamous for hls revolutlonary theater, and he ls
best known ln the Engllshspeaklng world for hls cele
brated trllogy of the 'theater ln the theater," as he
deflned lt ln the preface to the deflnltlve Itallan edltlon
of hls complete theatrlcal works. Jhe plays ln thls trll
ogy are p ~ ~ ~ (performed and
publlshed ln l92l; translated as p `~~ p~
~ Î l922), `~ ~ (performed and
publlshed ln l923; translated as b~ e l t~I
185
ai_ PPN i m~
l921), and _ucsto scro si rccito o soggctto (performed and
publlshed ln l930; translated as Toviglt !c Improvisc,
l932). Hls theatrlcal productlon, however, lncludes
more than forty plays, all of whlch have been assem
bled lnto two volumes wlth the tltle that Plrandello hlm
self gave the collectlon. Mosclcrc vudc (l958, Naked
Masks). He was also a prollflc wrlter of narratlve works
and wrote seven novels, all of whlch were collected ln
two volumes tltled Tutti i romovi (l973, All the Novels).
Jhe most notable of hls novels are Il fu Mottio Ioscol
(l901; translated as Tlc Iotc Mottio Ioscol, l923); Si giro
(l9l6), revlsed as _uodcrvi di Scrofivo Cubbio opcrotorc
(l925; translated as Sloot: Tlc òtcbools of Scrofivo Cub-
bio, Civcmotogropl Upcrotor, l926), and Uvo, vcssuvo c ccv-
tomilo (l926; translated as Uvc, òvc, ovd o Huvdrcd
Tlousovd, l933).
Plrandello also wrote a plethora of short storles
(the collectlon of hls complete short storles ls tltled
òvcllc pcr uv ovvo |l956-l957, Short Storles for a Year|),
and he was once even labeled a 'maestro del componl
mento breve" (master of short narratlve). Slmllarly,
beglnnlng as far back as hls unlverslty years, he was
engaged ln both crltlcal and theoretlcal speculatlon.
One of hls bestknown essaysone that has always been
well recelved, hlghly quoted, and studled ln the Engllsh
speaklng worldls hls study of humor, Iùmorismo (trans
lated as Uv Humor, l971), flrst publlshed ln l908 and
then expanded and reprlnted ln l920. In many ways,
Iùmorismo can be consldered a manlfesto of Plrandello`s
aesthetlc and exlstentlal bellefs, a statement on hls poet
lcs, and a phllosophlcal lnvestlgatlon lnto the relatlon
shlp between llfe and art, reallty and lts artlstlc
representatlon. Indeed, Iùmorismo lles at the foundatlon
of Plrandello`s revolutlonary narratlve and dramatlc
works and ln many ways constltutes the one true key to
hls mysterlous and allurlng unlverse. Plrandello also
wrote several poems, many of whlch have been com
plled together wlth hls theoretlcal essays and crltlcal
wrltlngs ln a volume flrst edlted by Manllo Lo Vecchlo
Mustl wlth the tltle Soggi, pocsic, c scritti vorii (l960,
Essays, Poems, and Varlous Wrltlngs). Ilnally, begln
nlng as far back as the early l900s, Plrandello wrote
essays and gave lntervlews on the clnema, and one of
hls novels, _uodcrvi di Scrofivo Cubbio opcrotorc, even
focused on the world of motlon plctures, thereby add
lng ln a substantlal manner to the debate generatlng
around the flourlshlng new medlum. Plrandello also
wrote several screenplays, further contrlbutlng to the
clnematlc repertolre of the tlme.
Plrandello was constantly engaged ln contempo
rary debate and challenged by new artlstlc expresslons;
yet, unquestlonably, one of the most strlklng character
lstlcs of hls work, beyond lts rlchness and dlverslty, ls
lts actuallty. Slnce l993 there has been a conslderable
prollferatlon of productlons of hls theater, and espe
clally of some of hls most controverslal plays, such as
Sci pcrsovoggi iv ccrco dòutorc and I gigovti dcllo movtogvo
(translated as Tlc Mouvtoiv Ciovts, l958; performed ln
l937, publlshed ln l938), hls last and lncomplete play
and, presumably, the thlrd act of hls socalled tcotro dci
miti (theater of myths). Lnquestlonably, the last two
decades of the twentleth century recorded a renewed
lnterest ln Plrandello as one of the protagonlsts of the
passage from the theater of the actor to the theater of
the author, and then to that of the author/dlrector, that
ls, the socalled tcotro di rcgio. Jhls revlved lnterest ln
Plrandello`s lovehate relatlonshlp wlth the theater and,
speclflcally, wlth the stage ls parallel to a renewed crltl
cal attentlon that has been called to hls equally contro
verslal relatlonshlp wlth the motlon plcture. Yet, thls
complexlty of feellngs and lntentlons ls ln fact one of
the characterlstlc tralts of the Slclllan author; lndeed,
Plrandello was always rather susplclous of the theater,
or at least of the mlseenscne of a wrltten work, even
when he chose to confront lt dlrectly by belng the dlrec
tor of hls Jeatro dÀrte from l925 to l928. Lndoubt
edly, the prlmary reason for such a reblrth of lnterest ln
Plrandello ls the actuallty and contemporary nature of
hls work.
Plrandello was born on 28 |une l867 ln Glrgentl,
Slclly to Stefano and Caterlna Plrandello. Plrandello`s
llfe thus spanned almost seventy years, perfectly dlvlded
lnto two practlcally equal parts. the tlme of candlellght
and the tlme of electrlclty, or the tlme of photography
and the tlme of motlon plctures. In ldentlfylng Plran
dello both as a wltness and as a protagonlst of a cruclal
perlod ln the development of modernlty, one can better
understand the reasons for hls contemporary appeal.
Jhe emergence of new technologles have forever
changed humanklnd`s perceptlon of reallty, and,
accordlngly, the ways of representlng lt.
In l882 the Plrandello famlly moved to Palermo
and llved there for flve years whlle Lulgl attended
school. In l886 the famlly returned to Agrlgento, but
Lulgl remalned ln Palermo to complete hls secondary
studles at the Lyceum. Jhe followlng year he enrolled
at the Lnlverslty of Rome to pursue a degree ln phllol
ogy. Durlng thls flrst stay ln Rome, Plrandello became
an avld theatergoer.
In l889 he moved to Germany to contlnue hls
studles at the Lnlverslty ln Bonn. He completed all the
necessary requlrements for hls degree ln two years and
returned to Italy ln l89l. After a brlef stay ln Slclly he
moved to Rome and almost lmmedlately lnformed hls
relatlves that he was wrltlng several plays.
Almost from lts onset, Plrandello`s theater constl
tuted a fresh and utterly novel volce ln the early twentl
eth century because of hls revolutlonary theatrlcal
186
i m~ ai_ PPN
language that was chlefly geared toward the lnvestlga
tlon of a character`s lnternal structure. Wlth hls theatrl
cal works, as well as wlth hls novels and short storles,
Plrandello pursued the dlssoclatlon of one of the funda
mental elements of the flctlonal constructlon. the char
acter. Ilnally, ln the contrast between the 'mask"
(lmposed by others onto the lndlvldual) and the 'face"
(the subject`s true personallty), Plrandello`s dlssoclated
character flnds lt lmposslble to retrleve or even to recog
nlze hls own lnner self, so much that he elther ldentlfles
wlth the maskas happens, for lnstance, to Mattla Pas
cal ln the l901 novelor questlons the very notlon of
ldentlty, as occurs ln many of hls works, such as `
E ~F (performed ln l9l7, publlshed ln l9l8; trans
lated as o v ^> Ef v q pFI l922). At flrst,
then, the character undergoes a most profound dlssocla
tlon ln Plrandello`s theatrlcal works; soon after, how
ever, the author proceeded to shatter the entlre
structure of tradltlonal theater. In hls own transforma
tlon as a playwrlght, Plrandello brought hls theater to
the threshold of the modern theatrlcal experlence, the
theater of cruelty and allenatlon of Samuel Beckett and
Eugne Ionesco. He dld so by consclously leadlng hls
characters to an awareness of the lrreparable fracture
between belng and exlstlng. ln Plrandello`s dlsquletlng
paradlgm, llfe and thought are two dlssoclated entltles
placed ln a dlalectlcal and yet nonconstructlve relatlon
shlp, two parallel forces that never meet. Only art, and
perhaps even only theater, serves as the forum ln whlch
thls seemlngly lrresolvable dllemma may be resolved.
Plrandello`s attltude toward the theater was a rather
pecullar one. He began wrltlng plays as a young man, but
at the age of twenty he burned them all; he dld wrlte two
more plays shortly thereafter, 'La gente allegra" (Jhe
Merry People) and 'Le popolane" (Jhe Peasants), but
these works too eventually went mlsslng. Between l89l
and l899 Plrandello returned to theater three tlmes and
wrote i (l9l0, Jhe Epllogue), f (l9l5, Jhe
Klte), and p~~ (publlshed ln l909, performed ln
l928; Scamander), but none of these three texts reached
the stage lmmedlately. Jhen, for an entlre decade, from
l899 to l909, Plrandello falled to wrlte a slngle play, all the
whlle remalnlng extremely prollflc ln wrltlng novels, short
storles, and essays. Durlng thls perlod Plrandello reached
full artlstlc maturlty. ln l901 he wrote the novel that gave
hlm world renown, f j~~ m~~I and ln l908 he pub
llshed iI the essay that offers a rlch phllosophlcal
and exlstentlal pronouncement and lndeed serves as a
manlfesto of hls poetlcs.
In l891, whlle ln Glrgentl, Plrandello marrled
Antonletta Portulano, a fellow Slclllan and the daughter of
hls father`s buslness assoclate. A week after thelr marrlage
Lulgl returned wlth Antonletta to Rome. In l895 thelr flrst
son, Stefano was born, followed by Lletta, l896, and
Iausto, l897. Antonletta was to have a flrst, although mlld,
nervous breakdown shortly after Iausto`s blrth.
In l903 Plrandello`s fortune changed dramatlcally.
In fact, hls father, Stefano, lnvested all hls capltal, and
Antonletta`s seventythousandllre dowry ln a new sulphur
mlne that flooded. Everythlng was lost, and the author
needed to flnd a way to support hls famlly as hls salary
from a teachlng posltlon ln Rome was barely sufflclent to
pay for the rent of thelr apartment ln Rome. Hls wlfe, on
the other hand, never recovered from the trauma and was
ultlmately housed ln a mental lnstltutlon ln l9l1.
In thls perlod, Plrandello may not have wrltten for
the theater, but he certalnly wrote on the theater. In l899,
for lnstance, he wrote an extremely lmportant essay tltled
'Làzlone parlata" (Jhe Spoken Actlon), publlshed ln the
journal f j~I the content of whlch he elaborated and
expanded ln hls l907 essay 'Illustratorl, attorl e traduttorl"
(Illustrators, Actors, and Jranslators), whlch has proven to
be one of the most noteworthy and contradlctory state
ments on the theater he made durlng an entlre career. In
the essay, Plrandello addresses the problems posed by the
mlseenscne, the lrreparable confllct between the work of
artas concelved ln the mlnd of the authorand lts stag
lng, whlch, ln Plrandello`s assessment, ls only a poor and
unsatlsfactory translatlon of the author`s orlglnal concep
tlon. He concludes the essay by assertlng that the theater ls
lncapable of fulfllllng lts mandate as a legltlmate form of
artlstlc expresslon.
Such an outlook contlnued for the entlre flrst decade
of the century and was lnterrupted, almost excluslvely for
economlc reasons, ln l9l0 when he wrote a oneact play,
i p~ (publlshed ln l920; translated as p~
iI l92l), for hls frlend Nlno Martogllo, who brought lt
to the stage at the Jeatro Metastaslo ln Rome. In l9ll
Plrandello wrote another oneact play, f
(performed ln l9l3, publlshed ln l926; translated as q
a aI l928), and ln l9l3 he wrote ` (performed
ln l9l5, publlshed ln l926; translated as `JÌ l928).
Jhe wrltlng of these two plays was then followed by
another long sllence that was suddenly lnterrupted ln
l9l6, at whlch polnt hls theatrlcal productlon vlrtually
erupted and contlnued to yleld lmpresslve works untll hls
death ln l936. In three years Plrandello worked on flfteen
plays, among whlch were i (performed ln l9l6, pub
llshed ln l9l7; translated, l952), m~I d~> (per
formed ln l9l6, publlshed ln l9l7; Jhlnk About It,
Glacomlno!), f ~ ~ (performed ln l9l7, pub
llshed ln l920; translated as `~ ~ _I l971), ` E
~FI and f ~ (performed ln l9l8, publlshed
ln l9l9; translated as q o d~I l959). Jhe flrst
three plays were orlglnally wrltten ln Slclllan; only later
dld Itallan verslons accompany them. All flfteen of the
plays produced between l9l6 and l9l9 were wrltten wlth
almost lmmedlate staglng ln mlnd. Indeed, as theater con
187
ai_ PPN i m~
tlnued to occupy a greater portlon of the author`s con
sclousness and llfe, he found hlmself lncreaslngly absorbed
ln the dlscusslon surroundlng the problems posed by the
mlseenscne.
In a letter to hls son Stefano, wrltten on 21 Octo
ber l9l6, Plrandello wrltes fondly about iW
E dopo f c j~~ m~~I la cosa mla a cul tengo dl plu.
forse la plu fresca e vlva. . . . L`ho scrltta ln qulndlcl
glornl, questèstate; ed stata la mla vlllegglatura.
Dlfattl, sl svolge ln campagna . . . e tutta la commedla
plena dl cantl e dl sole. E cosl gloconda, che non pare
opera mla. . . . La sentlral al tuo rltorno, perch certo
questa opera che vlvra a lungo.
It ls, after q i~ j~~ m~~I the thlng I care for
most. perhaps the freshest and llvellest. . . . I wrote lt
thls past summer ln flfteen days; lt was my hollday. In
fact, lt takes place ln the country . . . and the whole play
ls fllled wlth songs and sunshlne. It ls so cheerful that lt
doesn`t even seem my own work. . . . You`ll hear lt
when you come back, because I am sure thls work wlll
have a long llfe.
Jhe play ls llvely and fresh, and, to a certaln extent,
rather dlfferent from hls other plays of the perlod, such
as m~I d~>I f ~ ~I ` E ~FI
and f ~I as well as ^~ (publlshed ln
l9l7, performed ln l922; translated as ^ bI
l928), f ~ (performed ln l9l7, publlshed
ln l9l8; translated as q m~ eI l923),
i (performed ln l9l9, publlshed ln l92l; trans
lated as d~I l992), i~ ~ (performed ln l9l9,
publlshed ln l920; translated as q iI l928), and
j~ ~ ~ ~ (performed ln l9l8, publlshed ln
l9l9; But It`s Nothlng Serlous). Jhe most strlklng dlf
ference, however, ls not so much the campestral and
bucollc settlng fllled wlth sunshlne and slnglng, but the
fact that ln i the characters are not lnternally dlssocl
ated; they do not become the place of the confllct
between 'mask" and 'face"; they are not torn by lnter
nal turmoll, and ln fact experlence llfe ln a largely joyful
manner.
Jhls work was clearly an extravaganza for the
Slclllan author who, at the tlme, was profoundly trou
bled by the death of hls mother and by hls wlfe`s
descent lnto madness; perhaps of even greater conse
quence, however, was the outbreak of World War I and
the declslon on the part of hls son Stefano to go to war,
a declslon that led to hls eventual lnternment ln Aus
trlan concentratlon camps. Yet, perhaps because of thls
overrldlng sensatlon of loomlng death, Plrandello cre
ated the character of Llola. he ls a peasant, but he also
stands for beauty, youth, vlrlllty, and, most of all, fertll
lty. Llola may be, as blographer Gaspare Gludlce
observed, the artlstlc embodlment of Stefano Plran
dello, who cannot dle and must, ln fact, llve.
Overall, the play has a utoplan flare, and lts story
ls staged ln a Slclly fllled wlth a fantastlc atmosphere.
Jhe story of Llola`s many sexual escapades, whlch lead
at least flve dlfferent women to bear hlm chlldren, flnds
a common thread ln the young man`s slnglng and ultl
mately constructs a charmlng Medlterranean myth.
Jhe play was flrst staged at the Jeatro Argentlna ln
Rome on 1 November l9l6, and ln an lntervlew glven
two days prlor to the openlng Plrandello declared that
the play was a 'vlcenda dl passlonl" (tale of passlons),
and he emphaslzed the fact that ln iI characters`
actlons are motlvated by envy, hate, and vengeance. In
so dolng, Plrandello encouraged the notlon that the
play was a drama rather than a comedy, for here the
comedlc elements serve to decontextuallze the drama
and somewhat undermlne the naturallstlc and reglonal
elements of the tale. Jhe play was orlglnally wrltten ln
dlalect and thus dlrected toward a speclflc audlencea
mlddleclass spectator that the author`s own son and
mother would typlfy perfectly and whom they would
ldentlfy wlth and flnd amuslng. Indeed, ln the preface
to the l9l7 Itallan edltlon of the play, Plrandello warns
the reader of the relevance of dlalect for the purpose of
achlevlng artlstlc freedom.
Jhe Glrgentl (Agrlgento) dlalect ls also the lan
guage of m~I d~> and f ~ ~I and
both plays were, along wlth iI wrltten ln l9l6.
m~I d~> was wrltten between the end of Iebru
ary and the beglnnlng of March for the actor Angelo
Musco and was the flrst of Plrandello`s works con
celved for the Slclllan theater. Plrandello`s posltlon
toward dlalect theater ln general, and Slclllan dlalect
theater ln partlcular, had been, untll then, utterly nega
tlve ln theory, though amblguous ln practlce. Desplte
hls frlendshlp wlth Martogllo, the founder and pro
moter of Slclly`s dlalect theater, Plrandello had not par
tlclpated ln the establlshment of such a theater ln the
flrst years of the twentleth century. Martogllo attempted
repeatedly to lnvolve hls frlend ln the renewal and rena
scence of a theatrlcal repertolre that had been deflned
for all too long by patrlotlc and soclal texts of the nlne
teenth century. In l909 Plrandello publlshed an essay
tltled 'Jeatro slclllano" (Slclllan Jheater) ln whlch he
expressed hls skeptlclsm toward the future of a dlalect
theater and ralsed doubts on the legltlmacy of such an
operatlon outslde the reglonal conflnes.
Only ln the sprlng of l9l5, after the consensus
recelved by Musco ln Ilorence and Mllan, dld Plran
dello declde to rewrlte one of hls oneact plays, i
p~I for the Slclllan actor, and the text was eventually
staged ln Catanla. Later, after the success garnered by
i p~ at the Jeatro Metastaslo, ln Rome, Plran
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i m~ ai_ PPN
dello declded to glve Musco hls threeact play m~I
d~> as well. Jhe source of the play ls a short
story bearlng the same tltle and publlshed for the flrst
tlme ln the ` ~ p~ on 23 Iebruary l9l0; lt
tells of an aged junlorhlghschool teacher, Agostlno
Jotl, who decldes to marry a glrl, Lllllna. She ls ln love
wlth a young man, Glacomlno Dellsl, and ls expectlng
hls baby. By marrylng Lllllna, Professor Jotl decldes to
bulld hls own pecullar famlly, whlch would lnclude Gla
comlno and would constltute an alternatlve to the exlst
lng and accepted soclal order. He does so somewhat to
secure for the young couple the money of hls penslon
upon hls death and thus to take hls own personal
revenge on a government and an entlre soclety that
hardly recognlze the work he has done for decades.
Jhe structure of the play follows the module of
the typlcal Catanese theatrlcal plece. the flrst act stages
the prefatory events of the short story, taklng place ln
the ~I the junlorhlgh school of a typlcal Slclllan
small town. Jhe second act opens upon the sltuatlon
presented ln the beglnnlng of the story. Jhe thlrd and
flnal act, on the other hand, ls the mlseenscne of the
second part of the story. lt takes place ln Glacomlno`s
house, and, as he enters the scene, the orlglnal dlalogue
between Glacomlno and Jotl reemerges; however, the
act eventually closes wlth a thoroughly new endlng.
Jhe most strlklng novelty of the plece lles ln Professor
Jotl`s speeches on the relatlvlty of soclal roles and ln hls
lncllnatlon to surprlse and to confuse the antagonlst.
_ulte obvlously, the seeds for the typlcal Plrandelllan
character are lald wlth Agostlno Jotl. unquestlonably,
he possesses some of the tralts that were further devel
oped and became the quallfylng characterlstlcs of Plran
dello`s many ~I such as Clampa ln f ~
~ and Lamberto Laudlsl ln ` E ~FI as well
as Dlego Clncl ln `~ ~ I the second play of
hls famous metatheatrlcal trllogy. Indeed, ln the com
plex web Jotl eventually manages to construct, as well
as ln hls long and convoluted reasonlng, one flnds some
of the morbld and obsesslve attltudes but also the
estranglng strategles that characterlze most of Plran
dello`s theater.
Jhe author wrote the play ln roughly two weeks,
from 25 Iebruary to l0 March l9l6, and on l0 |uly the
play was staged at the Jeatro Nazlonale ln Rome. Soon
after, lt opened throughout Italy wlth a flnal perfor
mance ln Mllan. m~I d~> was qulte successful,
and most crltlcs ascrlbed lt to the 'teatro del grottesco"
(theater of the grotesque) that was becomlng lncreas
lngly popular at the tlme. Jhe text was never prlnted ln
lts orlglnal blllngual form, but Plrandello publlshed an
Itallan verslon of lt ln the journal k ln the
May-|une lssue of l9l7. Jhe mlseenscne of the text
was rlddled wlth problems and was frequently rejected
by productlon companles for belng excesslvely
'reglonal" ln form and content and far too llmlted by
the lmprlnt of dlalect theater. Jhe flrst staglng of the
Itallan verslon of the play dates to l920-l92l and was
based on the Jreves edltlon of the text; lt was then
glven a further staglng ln l926-l927 by the Compagnla
del Jeatro dÀrte dlrected by Plrandello hlmself, and
thls tlme they used the l925 edltlon publlshed by Bem
porad. Yet, a performance ln Itallan comparable to
Musco`s deplctlon of Agostlno Jotl ln Slclllan was not
wltnessed untll Serglo Jofano`s performance ln the
sprlng of l932.
Lntll m~I d~>I the wrlter`s relatlonshlp
wlth the theater had been occaslonal and questlonlng;
around thls tlme, a close relatlonshlp between Plran
dello and the stage truly began. Wlth thls play the Slcll
lan author began to develop a close dlalogue wlth the
stage, wlth actors and actlng, and thus wlth the dlrector.
In the summer of l9l6, as he brought i to
concluslon, Plrandello lntended to close hls theatrlcal
'parentheses" and to return deflnltlvely to narratlve flc
tlon, as ln fact he dld ln September when he wrote the
novel rI ~K Yet, after correctlng a col
lectlon of short storles for the publlshlng house Jreves
tltled b ~I (l9l7, And Jomorrow, Monday),
he began the composltlon of three plays, one of whlch
was ` E ~FK He worked on lt from March to
Aprll of l9l7. On 3 Aprll l9l7, ln a letter to hls son Ste
fano, then a war prlsoner ln Mauthausen, Plrandello
malntalned that he had just completed a work that was
more a parable than a play. He stated then that the ldea
came from a dream ln whlch he envlsloned a dreadfully
abysmal deadend courtyard. Jhe offlclal source of the
work, however, ls the short story 'La slgnora Irola e ll
slgnor Ponza, suo genero" (Mrs. Irola and Mr. Ponza,
Her SonlnLaw), wrltten the same year and lncluded ln
the collectlon r~ ~~. Plrandello`s tale largely
retalns the themes and structures of the short story,
except that ln hls play the lndlvldual case becomes a
collectlve affalr, a trlal ln whlch everyone ls lnvolved.
Jhe story centers on a rather amblguous love trlangle
lnvolvlng Mr. Ponza, Mrs. Irolahls motherlnlaw
and Mrs. Ponza, whose face ls never revealed to the
audlence. Both Mr. Ponza and Mrs. Irola have a dlffer
ent truth to offer ln relatlon to the ldentlty of Mrs.
Ponza, and each malntalns that the other ls mad. Jhere
are no tanglble accounts of thelr llves prlor to thls
moment because an earthquake has destroyed all evl
dence of thelr pasta major dlfference between the
short story and the playand the entlre communlty
becomes embrolled ln an lnvestlgatlon that wlll lead
nowhere. Mr. Ponza and Mrs. Irola are even forced to
confront one another ln the play, but no effort wlll
prove successful ln flndlng a slngle and unequlvocal
189
ai_ PPN i m~
truth. Laudlsl, Plrandello`s ~I observes the varl
ous phases of the lnvestlgatlon, whlch soon turns lnto a
collectlve trlal, and wlttlly comments upon them, thus
emphaslzlng the fact that the tale ls to be taken as a
klnd of parable.
Irom lts openlng ln Mllan at the Jeatro Ollmpla
on l8 |une l9l7, ` E ~F was consldered a man
lfesto of 'plrandelllsmo" (plrandelllsm), as lt came to be
known, and slnce then lt has often been lnterpreted ln
purely relatlvlstlc terms. As Romano Luperlnl has
observed, thls complex story of a man who thlnks hls
second wlfe ls the woman whom hls motherlnlaw
belleves to be her own daughterand the man`s flrst
wlfeclearly examlnes the notlons of both ldentlty
(who ls the wlfe?) and truth (who ls mad? Mr. Ponza or
Mrs. Irola?). Ilrst the lnvestlgatlon and then the trlal
eventually transform the theatrlcal stage lnto what Glo
vannl Macchla has termed a 'camera della tortura"
(torture chamber). Jhe play turns lnto an example of a
theater of cruelty ln whlch the petlt bourgeolsle ls
staged ln lts presumptuous clalm that lt ls lndeed possl
ble to flnd an objectlve truth, one that ls thoroughly
verlflable on factual grounds. Jhe drama ls generated
by the way ln whlch Plrandello dellberately and, ln a
way, cruelly attacks a commonsenslcal notlon of truth
and stages the sadlsm of the petlt bourgeolsle. Accord
lng to Plrandello, who hereln deflnes hls lntrlnslc
modernlty, truth ls only a process, an hlstorlcal and rel
atlve becomlng, that llves ln lndlvldual consclences and
achleves total reallzatlon ln the dlalectlcor even ln the
confllct ltselfof the several lnterpretatlons.
Wlthout a doubt, Plrandello`s lovehate relatlon
shlp wlth the stage experlenced a thoroughly new phase
beglnnlng wlth ` E ~FI and from there on the
problem of the mlseenscne became lncreaslngly rele
vant and eventually central to hls dramatlc wrltlng, cul
mlnatlng ln l92l wlth p ~ ~ ~ and
the trllogy of the 'theater ln the theater." In the second
half of the l9l0s, the same theater that Plrandello had
condemned wlth such vehemence ln hls l907 essay
exerted a conslderable lnfluence over hls llfe and work.
not only dld the theatrlcal event become the very sub
ject matter of hls plays, but lt lnsplred hlm to the polnt
of foundlng and dlrectlng a theatrlcal company, the
Jeatro dÀrte. Jhe prlmary functlon of the Jeatro
dÀrte was not merely to stage Plrandello`s own works
but rather mostly to reallze those of other playwrlghts,
thereby provlng the author`s complete lnvolvement
wlth the theatrlcal experlence.
In hls book m~W f ~ ~ (l993;
Plrandello. Jhe Lneaslness of Jheatre), Claudlo Vlcentlnl
dlscusses Plrandello`s only apparently llnear encounter
wlth the theater, whlch had been superflclally descrlbed
as characterlzed flrst by susplclon, and later by utter fas
clnatlon. Vlcentlnl, however, refutes such an lnterpreta
tlon, cltlng an lntervlew that Plrandello gave to the
Irench newspaper i on 20 |uly l925. In that
lnstance Plrandello defends the l907 essay 'Illustratorl,
attorl e traduttorl," ln whlch he condemned theater, and
then reafflrms what he asserted prevlously, clalmlng
that ultlmately, the mlseenscne ls a betrayal of the
orlglnal work. Vlcentlnl warns, however, agalnst a rash
dlsmlssal of Plrandello`s contrlbutlon to the evolutlon
of the theatrlcal experlence. thls seemlngly contradlc
tory statement came on the eve of the openlng of a play
that ls, after all, centered on these very lssues, for the
confllct between the mlseenscne and the orlglnal text
constltutes the better part of the dramatlc actlon. Jhls
apparently lncongruous behavlor testlfles to Plran
dello`s astute awareness of the complexlty of the ques
tlon at hand at a tlme when theater was experlenclng a
thorough transformatlon, for he attacks that very ques
tlon ln hls work ln new and unforeseen ways.
Iar from occupylng a perlpheral posltlon ln the
development of twentlethcentury poetlcs, Plrandello
was rlght at the center of the debates, well aware of the
fact that ln the early twentleth century the two prevall
lng nlneteenthcentury poetlcs, naturallsm and symbol
lsm, were experlenclng a pervaslve crlsls that led to a
thoroughly new understandlng of both narratlve and
dramatlc art. In theater, lt was, ln fact, between l905
and l908 that the crlsls reached lts most acute stage and
found lts resolutlon ln the experlmentatlon of such
dlverse personalltles as Konstantln Stanlslavsky, Vsevo
lod Meyerhold, and Edward Gordon Cralg. As Plran
dello was wrltlng hls l907 essay and taklng a stance
vlrtually agalnst the theater, or at least agalnst the pro
cess of 'translatlon" of a workas orlglnally concelved
by the authoronto the stage, many lntellectuals and
dramatlsts were experlmentlng wlth ways to solve the
precarlous relatlonshlp between the wrltten text and the
staglng. Andr Antolne was proposlng absolute fldellty
to the wrltten text ln observance of naturallstlc aesthetlc
prlnclples; Stanlslavsky declared the lmposslblllty of the
theatrlcal transposltlon of the work as concelved by the
author`s lmaglnatlon; Meyerhold proposed to over
come the lmpasse by uslng theatrlcal lmprovlsatlon, ln
ways slmllar to the practlce of the Commedla dellÀrte;
and Cralg stated the need to abollsh the supremacy of
the wrltten text, but he also felt that the actor was lnca
pable of produclng a true form of art.
Jhese lssues are preclsely those that Plrandello
dlscusses ln hls essay. he moves from a rlgldly naturalls
tlc posltlon and states that theater ls slmply the repro
ductlon on stage of a wrltten text; yet, he malntalns that
lt ls lmposslble to reproduce on stage the work as lt was
'freely" lmaglned by the author slnce the actors are dlf
ferent from the characters, and stage decor cannot
190
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reproduce the place of the actlon that the author has
lmaglned. He further states that the wrltten dramatlc
text ls complete ln ltself, and that as such the mlseen
scne ls obsolete; therefore, accordlng to Plrandello, the
only way to appreclate the work ls to read lt, slnce on
stage one can only achleve an artlflclal and false copy.
Jheater can be saved only by breaklng lts dependence
on the wrltten text. thls break lmplles relylng solely on
the actor, resortlng, as lt were, to somethlng akln to the
Commedla dellÀrte. Plrandello feels, however, that the
actor, unstable and lmperfect by nature, would only be
capable of produclng work that ls llkewlse unstable and
lmperfect; as a result, theater would become, as was the
case wlth the Commedla dellÀrte, 'trlvlale, perch
opera d`lmprovvlsazlone" (trlvlal, because lt would be a
work of lmprovlsatlon).
Only a few years after thls powerful lndlctment of
the theater, Plrandello began to experlence hls strange
meetlngs wlth the characters, as several short storles
lndlcate. Jhe flrst was '_uandèro matto" (l902,
When I Was Crazy), ln whlch hls characters beslege the
author hlmself. 'Ero lnfattl dlvenuto un albergo aperto
a tuttl. E se ml plcchlavo un po` sulla fronte, sentlvo che
vl stava sempre gente allogglata. poverettl che avevan
blsogno del mlo aluto" (I had lndeed become a hotel
open to everybody. And lf I banged on my forehead, I
felt there were always people llvlng there. those poor
souls ln need of my help). Jhen there came 'Person
aggl" (l906, Characters), ln whlch the author recelves
the unfortunate characters of hls future short storles,
and for the flrst tlme there comes forth a young mald
named 'Iantasla" (Imaglnatlon), who later appears ln
the preface of the new edltlon of p ~ ~
~K Jhe gallery of Plrandello`s phantoms contln
ued to grow wlth the creatlon of Dr. Illeno, the maln
character of 'Jragedla dl un personagglo" (l9ll, Jhe
Jragedy of a Character). In hls words one flnds an
almost llteral appllcatlon of Plrandello`s poetlcs of
humor as well as an antlclpatlon of the words uttered
by the Iather ln p ~ ~ ~K
Dr. Illeno ls further developed wlth the 'ombre
brullcantl nellòmbra" (the shadows swarmlng ln the
darkness) that crowd the novella tltled 'Colloqul con l
personaggl" (l9l5, Colloqula wlth the Characters). All
these characters, these flgments of the author`s lmaglna
tlon, these splrlts llve ln an elsewhere that can only be
accessed by the wrlter, and they lmplore hlm to glve
them an artlstlc form and consequently a true llfe. Wlth
these characters, a change ln Plrandello`s focus truly
occurs, a shlft ln hls conceptlon of the work of artfrom
one ln whlch the author ls creator to one that glves cre
atlve prlmacy to the character. In thls new vlslon the
work of art becomes the world of the characters who,
as Plrandello states ln an lntervlew publlshed ln k~
^~ ln |anuary l906, 'devono vlvere nellòpera
dàrte come nella realta, per conto loro" (must llve ln
the work of art as they do ln reallty, on thelr own).
At thls stage ln hls aesthetlc speculatlon, the theat
rlcal form became a natural venue, slnce placlng the
character at the center of the creatlve process means
many thlngs, such as relylng more heavlly on dlrect
speech. In narratlve, there ls a profound transformatlon
ln the passage from the thlrd to the flrst person, whlch
translates lnto a shlft of emphasls from monologue to
dlalogue. thls shlft ls one of the maln noveltles ln
twentlethcentury flctlon, and lndeed between l900
and l9l1 a fundamental transformatlon took place ln
Plrandello`s own narratlve as the presence of flrst
person dlscourse and dlalogue lncreased dramatlcally.
Jhe eventual move to the theatrlcal form would seem
qulte natural for the Slclllan author; yet, as Vlcentlnl
observed, durlng the years ln whlch Plrandello was
shaplng hls new conceptlon of artlstlc creatlon as belng
the product of the characters` dlrect lnltlatlve, he was
unable to flnd theoretlcal and aesthetlc justlflcatlon ln
support of the notlon of an artlstlc dlmenslon ln the the
atrlcal experlence. In l9l8 he declared.
Io sono nemlco non dellàrte drammatlca, bensl dl quel
mondo postlcclo e convenzlonale del palcoscenlco, ln
cul lòpera dàrte drammatlca purtroppo, lnevltabll
mente, destlnata a perdere tanto della sua verlta ldeale e
superlore, quanto acqulsta dl realta materlale e flttlzla.
I am not an enemy of the dramatlc art, but of the fake
and conventlonal world of the stage, ln whlch unfortu
nately any artlstlc dramatlc work ls lnevltably destlned
both to lose lts ldeal and superlor truth and to acqulre
materlal and flctlonal reallty.
Irom an artlstlc standpolnt, Plrandello seems here to
recognlze the legltlmacy of dramatlc wrltlng, but not of
lts mlseenscne. World War I, among other thlngs,
helped to resolve thls seemlngly lnextrlcable dllemma
and radlcally changed the artlstlc and, consequently,
theatrlcal experlence of the new century. Indeed, the
war prompted Plrandello to turn to dramatlc actlon
the horrlflc events led hlm to conslder just how lnade
quate the wrltten word mlght ln fact be as a means of
expresslon. He was not alone ln thls regard, however,
for between l9l1 and l9l6 the theater experlenced the
end of a cycle and the beglnnlng of a thoroughly new
phase of development as lt addressed the vexlng prob
lem of the relatlonshlp between the wrltten text and the
mlseenscne. thls tlme the theater went declslvely ln
the dlrectlon of the mlseenscne, as ls exempllfled ln
the varlous avantgarde posltlons ln the second decade
of the twentleth century and eventually extendlng lnto
the thlrd.
19l
ai_ PPN i m~
Jhe flrst play of Plrandello`s 'theater ln the the
ater" trllogy has an undenlably testamentary nature
and ultlmately reafflrms the prlnclples that he estab
llshed ln 'Illustratorl, attorl e traduttorl." Vlcentlnl once
agaln polnts out that the play ls, after all, an appllcatlon
of the two baslc prlnclples expressed ln that essay. the
theatrlcal performance ls but the mlseenscne of a
wrltten work, wlthout whlch the event would turn lnto
chaos; second, the staglng of a wrltten text ls destlned
to fallure slnce the materlal means of the stage cannot
adequately reproduce the fantastlc reallty as lt freely
developed ln the author`s lmaglnatlon. Plrandello, how
ever, was utterly convlnced at thls polnt that theater
could not be merely rejected, and he felt that the mlse
enscne was almost lnevltable. In fact, once dlsmlssed
by the author, the characters of the play do not go and
search for another author, as was the case wlth Dr.
Illeno ln l9ll, but they lnvade the stage, slnce that ls
the place where they were destlned to attaln true llfe, as
Plrandello wrote ln the l925 preface to the play. Lltl
mately, as scholars have observed, p ~ ~
~ emerges from the lntertwlnlng of three motlfs.
the dependence of the theater on the llterary work; the
need for the llterary work to materlallze on stage; and
the lnablllty of the stage to reallze the work wlthout dls
solvlng lts artlstlc reallty. Because of lts metadlscurslve
nature, p ~ ~ ~ played a key role ln
the development of European theater ln the l920s.
On 23 |uly l9l7, ln a letter to hls son Stefano,
Plrandello wrltes of the sad story of a 'romanzo da
fare" (novel ln progress), p ~ ~ ~I
the tale of a group of characters who haunt hlm and
obsesslvely ask hlm to glve them a narratlve form; the
author refuses and eventually sends them away, and the
'romanzo da fare," Plrandello wrltes ln the letter, wlll
then be completed. Llttle ls known about what con
vlnced hlm to wrlte a play lnstead. Yet, the story
remalned largely the same when he gave lt dramatlc
form ln the wlnter of l920. Jhe actlon ls falrly stralght
forward. on the stage of a theater, a group of actors ls
rehearslng Plrandello`s f ~ under the
supervlslon of a 'capocomlco" (theater dlrector). Jhe
rehearsal has just begun when slx odd 'characters"
dressed ln black appear ln the theater. a mlddleaged
man wlth a falrly unpleasant appearance (the Iather); a
mature woman wlth her face covered by a vell (the
Mother); a beautlful but arrogant elghteenyearold
woman (the Stepdaughter); a stern and selfabsorbed
young man (the Son); a shy and dlsorlented boy (the
Boy); and a fouryearold glrl dressed ln whlte (the
Glrl). Jhey lmmedlately lnform thelr stupefled audl
ence that they are characters born ln the lmaglnatlon of
an author who was then unwllllng or unable to glve
them an artlstlc llfe. Allvebut lacklng true llfethey
have come to the theater looklng for an author who
mlght welcome them ln hls lmaglnatlon and glve them
a true llfe.
At flrst the Actors dlrect sarcastlc remarks toward
the Characters, but then they become lncreaslngly
engaged as all of the Characters contradlctorlly but
enthuslastlcally recount the tale of the drama each of
them ls eager to rellve on stage. Jhe Dlrector ls lnltlally
fasclnated by the posslblllty of wrltlng a scrlpt from
thelr story, but then the Characters take over and rellve
before the Actors the lmportant moments of thelr llves.
Yet, as the Actors try to play those same scenes, the
Characters rlse up agalnst the lnadequate translatlon of
thelr drama and laugh at the sterlle attempt to render
thelr reallty on stage. Jhe Dlrector lnslsts that the
Actors contlnue, and, ln a mlxture of narratlon and rep
resentatlon, the Characters are about to reenact the epl
logue of thelr story when the Son refuses to partlclpate,
and ln so dolng prevents the full development of the
narratlve and the completlon of the actlon. the Glrl
ends up drownlng ln a fountaln, and the Son ends up
shootlng hlmself. Jhe Actors wonder lf what they have
wltnessed ls reallty or flctlon; the Iather shouts,
'Realta, realta!" (Reallty, reallty!); and the curtaln falls
whlle the Dlrector complalns about havlng lost an
entlre day of rehearsal. Jhus ends the orlglnal verslon
of the play.
Jhe plot ls stralghtforward, but the story ls falrly
complex, wlth a rlch texture of dlverslfled motlfs. the
drama of the Characters, the torment of artlstlc cre
atlon, and the lnvestlgatlon of the theatrlcal event, as
Alessandro DÀmlco explalns ln hls prefatory remarks
to the l993 Mondadorl edltlon of the play. In sum, the
work results ln a 'straordlnarlo ~ "
(extraordlnary ~~) mlraculously created
by the new dlmenslon glven to the character, whlch ls
now no longer slmply protestlng but ln open and out
spoken revolt, thus lmposlng hls or her own perspectlve
upon the drama that ls unfoldlng.
Jhe orlglnal text was flrst brought to the stage by
the theater company dlrected by Darlo Nlccodeml on 9
May l92l at the Jeatro Valle ln Rome. Jhe fller
warned the audlence that lt was a 'commedla da fare,
ln tre attl e senza scene" (play ln progress, ln three acts
and wlthout scenes). Desplte the great performance
glven by Vera Verganl (the Stepdaughter) and, lndeed,
by the entlre company, and notwlthstandlng the lnltlal
enthuslasm generated by the flrst two acts, the thlrd
part and the end provoked an extreme reactlon by part
of the audlence, who booed the staglng. Inltlally, the
receptlon of Plrandello`s flrst play of the socalled trll
ogy of the theater was controverslal to say the least, but
then on 27 September l92l the play was brought to the
Jeatro Manzonl ln Mllan, where lt generated a trlum
192
i m~ ai_ PPN
phant response, as reported by the chronlcles of the
tlme. Jhereafter, p ~ ~ ~ recelved
many productlons, both natlonally and lnternatlonally,
and the performances glven ln New York (l992), Parls
(l923), and Berlln (l921) are among the most cele
brated staglngs of the play.
Jhe play was eventually rewrltten ln l925, and
varlous changes were brought to the orlglnal text. Most
of the revlslons were lnsplred by a twofold experlence.
Plrandello was profoundly transformed by hls practlce
as a dlrector of the Jeatro dÀrte from l925 to l928,
and the plays that he wrote after l925 show clear slgns
of hls famlllarlty wlth the problems born from the stag
lng of a wrltten text. Such an experlence prompted hlm
to brlng substantlal changes to some of hls earller
works. Moreover, he hlred actress Marta Abba, who
became hls love lnterest and muse for the rest of hls llfe.
Plrandello also was conslderably lnfluenced by the
dlverse mlseenscnes of the play produced over the
years. Lnquestlonably, the verslon that most affected
hlm was Georges Pltoff`s l923 productlon at the
Comdle des Champs Elyses. Jwo years prlor to the
rewrltlng of the play, Plrandello wltnessed the rehears
als and the premlere of Pltoff`s mlseenscne; even
though he flrst rejected lt, he was later lnsplred by lt.
Even though another of Plrandello`s plays, f ~
I had already been staged ln Parls at the
Jhtre de lÀteller on 20 December l922, Pltoff`s
staglng of p ~ ~ ~ contrlbuted to the
creatlon of Plrandello`s reputatlon ln Irance.
In hls lnterpretatlon, Pltoff emphaslzed the
expresslonlstlc elements of the playthe lrratlonal, dls
quletlng, and mysterlous aspects, and thls focus makes
hls staglng stlll one of the most memorable. He also
lntroduced several lnnovatlons. flrst and foremost, the
ghostly and phantasmal nature of the Characters,
whlch was further emphaslzed by the way ln whlch
they entered and left the scene, vla an elevator nor
mally used to brlng props onto the stage; havlng come
from the sky, they would naturally go back to the sky at
the end of the performance. Jhe Characters` extra
human dlmenslon was accentuated by the actors` out
landlsh, almost extraterrestrlal dlctlon, especlally on the
part of the actor playlng the Iather, Pltoff hlmself.
Another lnnovatlve aspect of the renderlng was glven
by Benjamln Cremleux`s rhythmlc and terse translatlon
of the text ltself.
When Plrandello declded to rewrlte and eventu
ally to stage p ~ ~ ~ at the Jeatro
Odescalchl ln Rome on l8 May l925, he consldered all
the varlatlons of hls text, lncludlng Pltoff`s, as well as
Max Relnhardt`s productlon ln Berlln and Brock Pem
berton`s staglng ln New York. In wrltlng the l925 ver
slon of p ~ ~ ~I Plrandello made
slgnlflcant changes to the orlglnal text. Ilrst of all, he
ellmlnated the fourth wall. whlle ln the l92l verslon
the actlon unfolds only on the stage, ln the new edltlon
the stage ls connected to the orchestra vla a stalrcase, by
whlch the Dlrector moves back and forth between stage
and orchestra throughout the productlon. In the end,
the Stepdaughter exlts the stage through the same stalr
case and dashes out of the theater ln horror. Second, ln
the orlglnal text the slx Characters are slmply sketched,
whlle the l925 verslon clearly speclfles that Actors and
Characters belong to two dlstlnct worlds, and the oppo
sltlon ls manlfest ln the temporal dlmenslon of the
Actors and the hyperreallty of the Characters who, as
Plrandello states ln hls stage dlrectlons, must wear
masks and thus be deflned by the lmmutable trace of
thelr fundamental sentlment. As created entltles, the
Characters no longer frlghten the audlence but ultl
mately mesmerlze lt; furthermore, ln the new verslon
the Actors remaln onstage throughout, whlle prevlously
only the Mother, the Stepdaughter, and the Son stayed
on ln the thlrd act. Jhlrd, the end of the play ls wholly
dlfferent. whlle the l92l edltlon ends wlth the words
uttered by the Dlrector on the strangeness of the event
and the nulsance of havlng wasted a day of rehearsal, ln
the l925 verslon the Iather, Mother, and Son reappear
onstage as the Stepdaughter flles away wlth a horrlflc
scream, and the shadows of the other Characters are
frozen and remaln there to haunt the stage even when
the play ls de facto flnlshed. Jhe Characters thus
become a menaclng presence, ever capable of reappear
lng before the spectators. Here Plrandello wlllfully
ampllfles the metaphorlc dlmenslon of the theater ln the
theater. One must also remember that the preface to the
play, whlch was absent ln the flrst verslon, was flrst
publlshed ln |anuary l925 ln the journal `~ wlth
the tltle, 'Come e perch ho scrltto p ~ ~
~" (How and Why I Wrote p `~~ p~
~ ^). Jhe l933 edltlon of the play does not dlf
fer substantlally from the l925 edltlon.
Naturally, the changes that Plrandello brought to
the orlglnal play ln l925 are lmportant from both a for
mal and an aesthetlc perspectlve. Jhe ellmlnatlon of the
fourth wall means that the boundarles of the theatrlcal
experlence are broadened conslderably to encompass
the spectators, who, whlle not dlrectly partlclpatlng ln
the dramatlc actlon, are constantly remlnded of thelr llt
eral 'lmmerslon" ln the actlon as lt unfolds ln the total
lty of the theatrlcal space. Jhematlcally, the central
lssue of the l92l verslon, lncest, ls relegated to a sec
ondary role ln the unfoldlng of events ln the l925 edl
tlon.
In September l92l Plrandello proposed a new
play to the actor Renato Ruggerl, one that he had not
yet started wrltlng, but whose structure he already had
193
ai_ PPN i m~
ln mlndor so he malntalned ln a letter to the actor ln
whlch he also announced the tltle of hls new work,
'Enrlco IV, tragedla ln tre attl" (Henry IV, a Jragedy ln
Jhree Acts). At the tlme he was wrltlng s
(performed ln l922, publlshed ln l923; translated as
k~I l923), a play lmaglned for Emma Gramatlca,
and he was waltlng for a response from Eleonora Duse,
to whom he had proposed the subject of i~ ~
(performed ln l923, publlshed ln l921; translated
as q i f d~ vI l959). Yet, as soon as Ruggerl
agreed to the project, the dramatlst began to wrlte b
fs (performed and publlshed ln l922; translated as
e fsI l922) and flnlshed lt by November of the
same year.
Jhe story unfolds just as Plrandello had orlgl
nally related lt to Ruggerl. twenty years ln the past, a
group of young arlstocrats declded to organlze a cos
tume cavalcade durlng Carnlval ln an Lmbrlan vllla.
One of them, whose 'real" name ls never revealed
throughout the play, was to dress llke Henry IV, but on
the day of the party, as he was paradlng wlth hls dame,
the Marchesa Matllde of Juscany, hls horse got dlsorl
ented, and he fell and bumped hls head. When he
woke, he was frozen ln the false ldentlty of Henry IV.
the masque he had so metlculously constructed for hlm
self became the true persona of the great and traglc
emperor from Saxony who so strenuously fought
agalnst Pope Gregory VIII. Jwenty years pass, and
Henry IV llves a qulet llfe as a madman. He ls almost
flfty years old, and yet he ls always the young emperor
that he lmpersonated on the day of the cavalcade. Jlme
seems to have frozen ln that masque, whlch for hlm has
become a reallty. One day, a group of frlends and rela
tlves organlze a mlseenscne to try to awaken hlm to
reallty; yet, the tragedy beglns at preclsely thls polnt.
the man whom everybody belleves to be crazy has
already 'awakened" years ago, but he has been slmulat
lng hls madness to derlde those who belleve that he ls
ln fact mad. As the cruel mlseenscne ls enacted, he
actually belleves hlmself to be crazy for a moment, but
then he recognlzes the ruse and vlndlcates hlmself once
and for all by kllllng the man, Jlto Belcredl, who had
eventually stolen hls beloved lady, Matllde Splna. Jhe
closure of the dramatlc actlon ls utterly amblguous, as
the spectator ls glven no clear lndlcatlon of whether the
protagonlst ls stlll 'sane" or lf he has reverted to the
world of 'otherness."
DÀmlco comments on the cruclal and plvotal
posltlon of thls play, both chronologlcally and splrltu
ally, ln Plrandello`s theatrlcal work. He malntalns that
b fs ls 'uno spartlacque tra ll versante delle com
medle slclllane per Musco e della serle costltutlva del
personagglo plrandelllano (Laudlsl, Baldovlno, Gala,
Lorl, ll Padre) e quello successlvo del 'mltl,` del compl
mento della trllogla sul teatro nel teatro, delle metafore
sullàrte" (a watershed between the body of the Slclllan
plays wrltten for Musco and those that establlshed the
typlcal Plrandelllan character |Laudlsl, Baldovlno, Gala,
Lorl, the Iather|, and the subsequent body of works
called the 'myths,` those that completed the trllogy of
the theater ln the theater, as well as the metaphorlcal
plays). In more than one respect the play dlffers from all
the others; the dlstlnctlveness of the play ls also mlr
rored both ln the aullc context that, no matter how false
lt may be, ls thoroughly new for Plrandello, and ln the
fact that the play bears the subtltle of 'tragedy," a term
that was later applled to both i~ ~ and
a~~ ~ q~ (performed ln l926, publlshed ln l927;
translated as a~~ ~ q~I l960) but that ls truly
approprlate only for b fsK
Wlth regard to content, a syncretlsm of the most
characterlstlc and recurrent Plrandelllan themes
emerges ln b fsK DÀmlco enumerates them. the
lrreverslblllty of tlme (whlch one flnds ln f j~~
m~~ ); true or slmulated madness, reallty or flctlon
(whlch one flnds ln so many of Plrandello`s works, such
as f ~ ~ and ` x ~z ); hlstory as a
refuge (as ln the novel f ~ |l9l3; translated
as q l ~ vI l928|), and the dlstanclng of a
present that ls lmmedlately turned lnto hlstory; llfe as a
perpetual torment, as lt ls for the Iather; and the lmpos
slblllty or unwllllngness to reallze oneself, as happens to
the Son ln p ~ ~ ~K Although malnly
a drama of folly, b fs ls ln fact a deceptlvely super
flclal shlft from the themes and form of p ~
~ ~ and the other plays that later constltuted
the trllogy of the 'theater ln the theater"; lndeed, ln thls
work, Plrandello lnvestlgates, among other lssues, the
lnterplay between llluslon and reallty, the confllct
between 'llvlng as slmulatlon" and 'actlng as llvlng,"
and thus the complexltles of actlng and slmulatlng ln an
artlstlc and soclal context.
Jhe flrst staglng of the play was laden wlth prob
lems and ultlmately took place wlthout Ruggerl, who
was lll, on 21 Iebruary l922 at the Jeatro Manzonl ln
Mllan; yet, lt was a success. Ruggerl dld play the role of
Henry IV repeatedly throughout hls career. In l925,
dlslllusloned wlth the varlous productlons of the play
and preparlng for a tour of London and Parls wlth the
Jeatro dÀrte and havlng Ruggerl as guest artlst, Plran
dello took lt upon hlmself to dlrect b fsI whlch pre
mlered at the Jeatro Argentlna on ll |une. When
Ruggerl`s collaboratlon wlth the Jeatro dÀrte came to
an end, Lamberto Plcasso replaced hlm and, under
Plrandello`s tutelage, masterfully reallzed the author
dlrector`s ldeal of humorlstlc actlng. Jhe fortune of
b fs was lndeed remarkable even after Plrandello`s
death, a fate that ls perhaps best explalned by the other
191
i m~ ai_ PPN
wlse lacklng presence of a truly traglc character ln the
hlstory of Itallan modern theater.
Beglnnlng ln l92l wlth Sci pcrsovoggi iv ccrco dòutorc,
and ln l922 wlth Ivrico I!, and up to around l928 (a
perlod that also lncludes hls debut as dlrector of hls theatrl
cal company ln l925), Plrandello came to confront the the
atrlcal experlence ln lts complexlty. Irom then onward, he
experlmented wlth a fuller use of space, and wlth Cioscuvo
o suo modo he not only reached a cllmactlc and devastatlng
removal of the fourth wall and the lnvaslon of the orches
tra but also expanded the actlon to the space outslde the
theater ltself, where the greatest narratlve of all, Hlstory,
contlnuously unfolds. Posslbly wrltten ln late sprlng l923
and publlshed by Bemporad ln l921, the play was pre
sented for the flrst tlme ln Mllan at the Jeatro del Illo
drammatlcl on 22 May l921.
Jhe dramatlc actlon of Cioscuvo o suo modo, the sec
ond play of the trllogy, ls constructed around the con
fllct between the Spectators, the Author, and the Actors.
Such a confllct eventually lnterrupts the play, and the
plot wlll never advance to the polnt of glvlng a true res
olutlon to the dramatlc actlonlndeed, the thlrd act wlll
never be performed. Jhe fobulo, however, ls utterly
completed and resolved, an aspect that Plrandello hlm
self hlghllghts ln the famous preface to the collectlon of
hls theatrlcal works, Mosclcrc vudc. On the one hand,
the play seems to be a perfectly 'normal" tale of a tradl
tlonal bourgeols love trlangle between a woman and
two men. But then, as the dramatlc actlon unfolds,
another actlon develops on and off the stage, and
slowly but surely ln a frantlc misc-cv-obmc (story wlthln
a story), lt lnvades and lays slege to the orchestra as
well as to the space outslde the theater, the relgn of
'reallty"the very place where the spectators llve but ln
whlch they are here forced to see themselves llvlng ln a
perfectly humorlstlc constructlon.
Cioscuvo o suo modo ls thus the forum for the enact
ment of a double frustratlon, the dlrector`s and the
spectator`s. Jhe dlrector, who establlshes hlmself as the
mcttcur cv scvc (dlrector) of the play, must confront the
llmltatlons of a tradltlonal theatrlcal space from the
openlng stage dlrectlons, whlch lndlcate that the dra
matlc actlon ought to begln outslde the theater, on the
sldewalk where a speclal edltlon of the 'Glornale della
sera" (dally newspaper) ls to be dlstrlbuted. Jhe specta
tors are deprlved of thelr own personal ldentltles as
they see repllcas of themselves onstage, reactlng ln thelr
place to the dramatlc actlon, and are thus also forced to
see themselves 'llvlng" rather than slmply experlenclng
a llve actlon dlrectly and reactlng to lt autonomously.
Jhe actors are also provlded wlth a mlrror reflectlon of
thelr own characters ln the 'real" people who had been
lnvolved ln the actual case as reported by the paper and
are accordlngly forced to confront thelr lnadequacy,
thelr fundamentally spllt condltlon. In Cioscuvo o suo
modo, the exchange and contamlnatlon between flctlon
and reallty ls programmatlcally stated. Jhe flxed char
acters ln the play onstage and the momentary ones
crowdlng the foyer are examples of a slmultaneous con
frontatlon, as ln a mlrror reflectlon, and thus they docu
ment the dlssolutlon of Romantlc lrratlonallsm. Jhe
lntentlon, as Plrandello asserts ln the preface to Mosclcrc
vudc, ls to flnd a coherent artlstlc form that can better
express the crlsls of contemporary soclety ln the most
troubled years of modern hlstory, the years of Iasclsm
and Nazlsm.
Jhe year after the completlon of Cioscuvo o suo
modo, Plrandello abandoned the hypothesls that
prompted the creatlon of the flrst two plays of the trll
ogy of the 'theater ln the theater" and wrote a oneact
play, whlch was meant to be, as he stated ln a letter, a
pecullar work of a 'total" nature. lt must encapsulate
the 'synthesls" of a comprehenslve vlslon of llfe and
humanlty, and lts dramatlc actlon ls to lnvade the
orchestra. Ilndlng a source ln hls short story 'Il Slgnore
della Nave" (l9l6, Jhe Lord of the Shlp), Plrandello
wrote the play Sogro dcl Sigvorc dcllo òvc ln the summer
of l921 (performed and publlshed ln l925; translated
as Tlc Icstivol of Uur Iord of tlc Slip, l961). Slgnlflcantly,
he opened hls dlrectorlal career wlth hls new company,
the Jeatro dÀrte, by staglng both Tlc Cods of tlc Mouv-
toiv, a l9l0 play wrltten by the Irlsh playwrlght Lord
Dunsany, and thls oneact work at the Jeatro Odescal
chl ln Rome on 2 Aprll l925.
Jhe plot of the play ls of only relatlve lmpor
tance, as lt revolves around a peasant festlvlty that
takes place annually ln honor of a mlraculous cruclflx
sheltered ln a small country church. Of greater lmpor
tance are the stage dlrectlons and the lnnovatlve use of
the theatrlcal space. Jhe number of characters ls also
lmpresslve and utterly anomalous for one of Plran
dello`s plays. Jhe set exposes the portal of the sanctu
ary and the space before lt, whlch ls progresslvely
lnvaded by a crowd of bellevers, mlraculously healed
people, peasants, artlsans, shopkeepers, thleves, and
drunks, as well as lnnkeepers, muslclans, and ped
dlers. Some enter the stage from the sldes, but the vast
majorlty come from the back of the theater, from
behlnd the audlence, and walk through the orchestra
to reach the stage. As the flux of people reaches lts cll
max, the portal of the church opens, and there exlts a
processlon led by a ghastly prlest who holds a maca
bre bloody cruclflx. At flrst shaken by a feellng of ter
ror, the crowd kneels but then follows the processlon
outslde the theater as the church bells toll. What ls
pecullar ln thls work ls the use of space preflgured by
Plrandello ln hls stage dlrectlons and then partlcularly
ln hls own staglng ln l925. He chose a relatlvely small
195
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theater for the flrst mlseenscne of the play. the
Jeatro Odescalchl held llttle more than two hundred
spectators, and the staglng became memorable for the
creatlon of a total and enveloplng atmosphere, charac
terlzed by a saturatlon of space, a compresslon of tlme,
and a profuslon of dlverslfled sounds.
It ls certalnly noteworthy that Plrandello, after
havlng thoroughly lnvestlgated on paper the lnnumera
ble confllcts of the theatrlcal event and explored lts
potentlal, declded to delve lnto the enlgmatlc world of
the stage and began such an lnvestlgatlon wlth thls par
tlcular play. He had hesltated before acceptlng the dlrec
tlon of the Jeatro dÀrte and the proposltlon of
renewlng the Itallan stage by presentlng a fresh reper
tolre of new European playwrlghts` texts. Jhe Jeatro
dÀrte, also known as 'Jeatro degll Lndlcl" or 'Jeatro
del Dodlcl," was establlshed ln l921 by Plrandello, hls
son Stefano, and a group of promlnent lntellectuals; the
lntentlon was to promote a 'quallty" theater and thus to
oppose the dramatlc productlon prevalent ln Itallan the
aters of the tlme.
Between l925 and l928 Plrandello wrote several
plays, among them Io gioro (l925; translated as Tlc or,
l928), Diovo c lo Tudo, and Iòmico dcllc mogli (performed
and publlshed ln l927; translated as Tlc !ivcs` Iricvd,
l919) ln l926, as well as Io vuovo colovio (performed
and publlshed ln l928; translated as Tlc `cw Colovy,
l958) and Iooro (performed and publlshed ln l929;
translated as Ioorus, l959) ln early l928, and Sogvo (mo
forsc vo) (performed ln l93l, publlshed ln l936; trans
lated as Drcom, ut Icrlops òt, l930) and _ucsto scro si
rccito o soggctto ln late l928 and early l929. Yet, after
staglng Sogro dcl Sigvorc dcllo òvc ln l925, Plrandello
also left three plays unflnlshed'Parl" (Even), 'Com
medla senza tltolo" (Play Wlthout Jltle), and 'La
moglle dl prlma" (Jhe Wlfe of Before)and thls fact,
certalnly atyplcal ln the author`s career, testlfles to a cer
taln lmpasse provoked ln the Slclllan author by the
exploratlon of the theatrlcal event ln lts complexlty
once he became dlrector of the Jeatro dÀrte.
In Sogvo (mo forsc vo), a oneact play that flrst
showed ln Llsbon on 22 September l93l, the author
stages a dream sequence dlrectly and wlthout medla
tlons ln ways slmllar only to those found ln some of hls
short storles. Plrandello wrote thlrtythree oneact plays,
only a few of whlch were lnsplred by short storles, and
one of them ls Sogvo (mo forsc vo), the source of whlch ls
the novella 'La realta del sogno" (Jhe Reallty of
Dream), publlshed ln l9l1. What ls lnterestlng to note,
ln thls respect, ls that eventually the play was the source
of another short story, 'Effettl dl un sogno lnterrotto"
(Effects of an Interrupted Dream), publlshed ln l936.
Both texts, Sogvo (mo forsc vo) and 'Effettl dl un sogno
lnterrotto," somewhat dlfferent ln terms of plot, can be
sultably compared, lnsofar as they both focus on the
amblgulty between the lmaglnary and the real world
and alm at constructlng a threshold, a space of contaml
natlon between dream and reallty, a space ln whlch slm
ulatlon becomes a true state of halluclnatlon. In Sogvo
(mo forsc vo) the audlence ls not called to wltness the
truth of dreamlng but the very dlscourse of dreamlng,
and ln thls sense thls dramatlc text seems a dlrect appll
catlon of the ldeas expressed by Plrandello ln the l899
essay 'Làzlone parlata."
As the play opens, Plrandello stages an lmmedl
ate halluclnatory state so that suddenly there seems to
be a total colncldence between dream and mlseen
scne. Jhe play opens ln a famlllar bourgeols llvlng
room where a beautlful young lady ls sleeplng on a
couch that suddenly transforms flrst lnto a bed and
then back lnto a couch ln a fluld and anthropomorphlc
movement generated by deslre, fear, and memory
whlle the sleeper ls dreamlng. In the beglnnlng, Plran
dello constructs a verltable misc-cv-obmc between the
vlslble and the lnvlslble scene, and only ln the end,
wlth the lnvaslon of the dally dlmenslon when the ser
vant knocks at the door, do the two become one. Yet,
the servant does not utter a word, and ln the end there
ls no unmasklng of the amblgulty between the three
levels of experlencethe real, the lmaglnary, and the
symbollc.
Wlth the flrst play of the new trllogy of 'teatro del
mltl," Io vuovo colovio, Plrandello enters lnto a thoroughly
new phase of hls development as a playwrlght and as an
artlst. Ior the flrst tlme, he called a work of hls a 'myth."
Structurally, the play ls extremely lnnovatlve as lt devl
ates from prevlous works, beglnnlng wlth lts prologue,
whlch prepares the dramatlc actlon to come and ln lts
antlclpatory functlon acts slmllarly to the chorus ln
Greek theater. Jhe prologue lntroduces a group of
thleves, smugglers, former convlcts, and a prostltute who
declde to create a new llfe for themselves by foundlng
thelr own soclety on a deserted lsland, whlch was once a
penal colony but was abandoned because lt was often
shaken by earthquakes. Irom lts openlng, there are pre
monltory slgns of the lmpendlng doom awaltlng the pro
tagonlsts. Jhe play has often been lnterpreted as a
polltlcal allegory, and yet lt lends ltself more legltlmately
to a metatheatrlcal readlng, for the flnal slnklng of the
lsland where thls group of mlsflts flnds refuge ln search
of a new llfe seems to be more llkened to the lmmlnent
dlssolutlon of Plrandello`s own theatrlcal company ln the
same year that he wrote Io vuovo colovio.
Jhe flrst myth was then followed by the second,
Iooro, staged for the flrst tlme ln Engllsh at the Royal
Jheatre ln Huddersfleld on 9 |uly l929, and then ln
Jurln by Marta Abba`s theatrlcal company on 7
December l929. As can be evlnced from the tltle ltself,
196
i m~ ai_ PPN
mlracles abound ln thls play; to be preclse, three mlra
cles take place, two of whlch are true 'resurrectlons."
Although the play ls not a remarkable artlstlc achleve
ment, lt does propose an unconventlonal rellglous per
spectlve, whlch ls an essentlal condltlon for the reblrth
of theater ltself, ln the Slclllan author`s vlew.
Jhe last and unflnlshed theatrlcal work left by
Plrandello ls I gigovti dcllo movtogvo, the thlrd play of
the 'teatro del mltl." Hls son Stefano wrote that, only
two days prlor to hls death, Plrandello declared that
he had found the central problem of the play.
Io seppl da Lul, quella mattlna, soltanto questo, che
aveva trovato un ollvo saraceno. 'C`" ml dlsse sorrl
dendo 'un ollvo saraceno, grande, ln mezzo alla scena.
con cul ho rlsolto tutto." E polch lo non comprendevo
bene, sogglunse. 'per tlrarvl ll tendone. . . ." Cosl capll
che Egll sl occupava, forse da qualche glorno, a rlsol
vere questo partlcolare dl fatto. Era molto contento
dàverlo trovato.
Jhat mornlng he told me only thls, that he had found a
Saracen ollve tree. 'Jhere ls," he told me wlth a smlle,
'a Saracen ollve tree, blg, ln the mlddle of the set wlth
whlch I resolved everythlng." And slnce I dld not seem
to understand well, he added. 'to draw the curtaln. . . ."
Jhus I understood that he had been preoccupled wlth
solvlng thls practlcal detall for a few days. He was very
pleased to have found a solutlon.
Notwlthstandlng Stefano Plrandello`s reconstructlon,
the work ls lncomplete; furthermore, Plrandello dld not
supervlse the flrst edltlon of the play and dld not clas
slfy lt as myth even though many detalls suggest that he
would have done so lf he had llved long enough. Plran
dello openly deflned two of hls works as myths, Io
vuovo colovio and Iooro, and certalnly analogles can be
drawn between these two works and I gigovti dcllo movto-
gvo. Abba`s words appeared ln the appendlx to the play,
publlshed posthumously, and support thls lnterpreta
tlon as she commented on the premlere of the play one
year after Plrandello`s death.
_uesto 'Mlto dellÀrte," messo ln scena dopo pochl
mesl dalla morte dl Lulgl Plrandello al teatro allàperto
del Glardlno del Boboll dl Flrenze, nel magglo floren
tlno del l937, da Renato Slmonl, ebbe un enorme suc
cesso, rappresentato come fu lasclato dallÀutore
'lncompluto." . . . Lulgl Plrandello chlam f ~ ~
~~ 'Mlto dellÀrte."
Jhls 'Myth of Art," staged only a few months after
Lulgl Plrandello`s death ln the open alr theater at the
Glardlno del Boboll ln Florence, wlthln the program of
the Florentlne May ln l937, by Renato Slmonl, was
lncredlbly successful, represented as lt was left by the
Author, 'unflnlshed." . . . Lulgl Plrandello called q
j~ d~ the 'Myth of Art."
Perhaps even more lmportant ls Plrandello`s commen
tary to the edltlon of I fovtosmi (Jhe Ghosts) when he
wrote that the text, wrltten ln l93l, ls lncomplete lnso
far as lt ls part of I gigovti dcllo movtogvo (lndeed lts flrst
and second segments), and that I gigovti dcllo movtogvo
was to be the thlrd of hls modern myths. In hls words,
the flrst plece, Iooro, ls a rellglous myth, whlle the sec
ond, Io vuovo colovio, ls a soclal one, and the thlrd was
to be the myth of art. In an advanced stage of develop
ment, and almost ln closure of hls career, Plrandello felt
compelled to resort to a mythlcal dlmenslon of knowl
edge to restore the dldactlc functlon of the theater. Only
wlth the retrleval of Greek mythologyrellglous, soclal,
and artlstlccan art regaln lts role of a publlc lnstltutlon
capable of regeneratlng the ethlcal dlmenslon of the the
ater. Accordlngly, the three 'myths" must be lnter
preted as Plrandello`s attempt to retrleve the lntegrlty
and truthfulness of the theater, and to restore lts orlgl
nal and lntrlnslc authentlclty. Jhe rellglous, the soclal,
and the artlstlc are three aspects of the Greek culture
that Plrandello belleved ought to be relnstated ln con
temporary theater and soclety.
In I gigovti dcllo movtogvo, the dramatls personae
are dlvlded lnto four groups. the flrst ls the theatrlcal
company led by Countess Ilse; the second ls the Scalog
natl (the Lnfortunates), who llve ln the Vllla; then, a
thlrd group ls made up of 'Iantoccl, Apparlzlonl,
lÀngelo Centuno" (Puppets, Apparltlons, the Angel
Centuno); and last but not least, there ls Cotrone,
referred to as 'Il Mago" (Jhe Maglclan), lsolated from
the others and central to the development of the dra
matlc actlon. Ior the flrst tlme ln Plrandello`s theatrlcal
productlon, there are supernatural characters; further
more, the tlme and place are lndetermlnatereaders are
told ln the stage dlrectlons that the actlon ls to unfold at
the borders between 'favola" (falry tale) and reallty.
Jhe locatlon of the mlseenscne ls no longer the stage,
as lt ls ln Sci pcrsovoggi iv ccrco dòutorc; lt ls not the recon
structlon of an hlstorlcal place, as lt ls ln Ivrico I!; nor ls
lt a purely mental space, as ln Sogvo (mo forsc vo). Jhe
Vllla degll Scalognatl ls a place of phantasmal apparl
tlons and phantasmagorlc audlovlsual spectacles.
Cotrone, beglnnlng wlth hls flrst monologue,
establlshes the tone of the entlre work. he controls the
Scalognatl, but perhaps most lmportant, he lmmedl
ately dlsmlsses the materlal world ln favor of the lmagl
nary world. Cotrone totally dlstrusts ratlonallty, and ln
the end of hls flrst monologue he concludes by statlng
that thelr klngdom ls the nlght and thelr exlstentlal con
dltlon ls the relgn of dream, not necessarlly ln a state of
sleep but even whlle awake and partaklng ln the actlon.
Cotrone has been expectlng Ilse and her theatrlcal com
pany, and thus from the beglnnlng lt ls apparent that he
exerclses control over the others as well as over the
197
ai_ PPN i m~
space around them. Jhe Vllla looks llke a mlseenscne
to Ilse and her company at thelr arrlval, whlle the Sca
lognatl thlnk the Countess and her actors have been
lnvlted to entertaln them. In any case, lt ls clear that the
Vllla and the space surroundlng lt become a stage on
whlch the play I gigovti dcllo movtogvo wlll unfold. Jhe
settlng plays a central role ln the metatheatrlcal con
structlon, slnce the actors see the Vllla as a stage, and
the Scalognatl thlnk the vlsltors are golng to stage a play
at the Vllla ltself, whlch lnstead wlll soon host a serles
of maglcal occurrences.
Ilse`s theatrlcal company had long searched for an
audlence for lts productlon of Io fovolo dcl figlio combioto
(publlshed ln l933, performed ln l931; Jhe Ialrytale
of the Changed Son), a play Plrandello adapted from
hls l902 short story 'Il flgllo camblato" (Jhe Changed
Son) and wrote between l930 and l932, after he had
already lnltlated the wrltlng of I gigovti dcllo movtogvo.
Jhe maln dlfference between the short story, Io fovolo
dcl figlio combioto, and I gigovti dcllo movtogvo ls that ln the
former two there ls no trace of the supernatural charac
ters, who are only evoked, whereas supernatural char
acters crowd the stage of the latter, slnce he belleved
that by lts very nature, myth makes the lmposslble seem
posslble, credlble, and thus 'real."
Ilse stages Io fovolo dcl figlio combioto durlng I
gigovti dcllo movtogvo; lndeed, she has spent most of
her llfe staglng thls play for her lover. Jhroughout
the play Ilse and her actors seem to be looklng for an
audlence rather than for an author, and Io fovolo dcl
figlio combioto ls truly a case of 'theater ln the theater."
Its functlon ls to unmask the border between
'favola" and 'mlto," a boundary that ultlmately
deflnes the llmlt between belng and llvlng. Ilse and
her company, as well as Cotrone, as he eventually
admlts, all left clvlllzatlon because of people`s lnabll
lty to recognlze true art. Wlthln the unfoldlng of the
dramatlc actlon, the 'favola" ls consclously lnvented
and false, whlle the occurrences at the Vllla and ln lts
surroundlngs, even though utterly lncredlble, are
accepted as real because of the mythlc space wlthln
whlch they take place.
In November l931 Plrandello was awarded the
Nobel Prlze ln Llterature. Before golng to Stockholm to
recelve lt, on l December l931 he publlshed an artlcle
ln the Parlslan Ic ourvol tltled 'Sulsje un destructeur?"
ln whlch he attempted to glve a response to those who
had accused hlm of belng a precursor of the Iasclst
reglme. Yet, hls posltlon was lndeed controverslal slnce,
whlle earller he had condemned the crltlcs who had so
deflned hlm, ln that artlcle he came to suggest that the
tlmes demanded Caesars and Octavlanuses so that
poets such as Vlrgll could exlst, and ln so dolng com
pared hlmself to Vlrgll, and Mussollnl to Caesar. Back
ln Rome, Plrandello found no celebratlon awaltlng hlm,
but on a cold and foggy mornlng slmply hls frlend
Masslmo Bontempelll, accompanled by wrlter Paola
Maslno.
It seems apparent that at the closure of hls long
career, Plrandello overcame the lmpasse that he had
reached ln hls lnvestlgatlon of the theatrlcal event by
resortlng to a personal understandlng of the
'mythlc" dlmenslon of Greek tragedy. He belleved
that the only way to move beyond the tradltlonal llm
ltatlons of the theater was by relnventlng and thus
relnvestlng ln lts centurlesold mythlcal dlmenslon,
and thus restorlng the truth of the theater, whlch the
Greeks consldered the supreme artlstlc expresslon.
Plrandello dled of heart fallure on l0 December l936
as he was worklng on the clnematlc adaptatlon of hls
novel Il fu Mottio Ioscol and the thlrd act of I gigovti
dcllo movtogvo.
Lulgl Plrandello`s lnltlal posltlon toward the the
ater was falrly conservatlve as he preached the suprem
acy of the wrltten text over the mlseenscne. Hls flrst
plays, perhaps even those up to Il giuoco dcllc porti, were
closely tled to thls tradltlonal notlon of the theater, and
hls energy was geared mostly toward hls narratlve and
essaylstlc productlon. Wlth the outbreak of World War
I and the occurrence of speclflc personal tragedles,
Plrandello felt the need for a medlum of expresslon that
could better lllustrate the complexltles of the 'real," and
he thus moved declslvely toward the theater. Jhe great
dlvlde wlthln hls work ls marked by Sci pcrsovoggi iv ccrco
dòutorc, a play that lnltlates a thoroughly lnnovatlve and
experlmental perlod ln hls theatrlcal productlon. Plran
dello`s work ln the theater culmlnated wlth the 'teatro
del mltl," the last segment ln the author`s endless search
for a form of artlstlc expresslon that could flnd and rep
resent, lf not an absolute truth, a coherent journey
toward the acqulsltlon of a new dlmenslon of knowl
edge.
iW
IirovdclloMortoglio: Cortcggio ivcdito, edlted by Sarah
Zappulla Muscara (Mllan. Pan, l979);
Cortcggi ivcditi: cov Ujctti, Zlbcrtivi, Urvicto, òvoro, DcCu-
bcrvotis, Dc Iilippo, edlted by Zappulla Muscara
(Rome. Bulzonl, l980);
Icttcrc do ovv 1SS9-1S91, edlted by Ello Provldentl
Ipistolorio fomiliorc giovovilc (1SS6-1S9S), edlted by Prov
ldentl (Ilorence. Le Monnler, l986);
Cortcggio IirovdclloIuggcri: Zppuvti pcr uvo studio dcl rop-
porto fro outorc c ivtcrprctc, edlted by Leonardo
Bragaglla (Iano. Blblloteca Comunale Iederlcl
ana, l987);
198
i m~ ai_ PPN
Icttcrc giovovili do Iolcrmo c do Iomo 1SS6-1SS9, edlted
by Provldentl (Rome. Bulzonl, l993);
Zmiciio mio: Icttcrc ivcditc ol pocto Ciuscppc Sclir, 1SS6-
1SS7, edlted by Angela Armatl and Alfredo Bar
blna (Rome. Bulzonl, l991);
Icttcrc di Iuigi Iirovdcllo ollo fidovoto Zvtovictto Iortulovo,
edlted by Blaglo Alessl (Agrlgento. Edlzlonl Cen
tro Culturale Plrandello, l991);
Iirovdcllo`s Iovc Icttcrs to Morto Zbbo, edlted and trans
lated by Benlto Ortolanl (Prlnceton. Prlnceton
Lnlverslty Press, l991); orlglnal Itallan publlshed
as Icttcrc o Morto Zbbo (Mllan. Mondadorl, l995);
Icttcrc dcllo formoiovc, 1S91-1S9S: Cov oppcvdicc di lcttcrc
sporsc 1S99-1919, edlted by Provldentl (Rome.
Bulzonl, l996);
Iuigi Iirovdcllo ivtimo: Icttcrc c documcvti ivcditi, edlted by
Renata Marslll Antonettl (Rome. Gangeml,
l998);
Icttcrc o Iictto, edlted by Marla Lulsa Agulrre DÀmlco
(Mllan. Mondadorl, l999);
Il figlio prigiovicro: Cortcggio tro Iuigi c Stcfovo Iirovdcllo
durovtc lo gucrro 191-191S, edlted by Andrea
Plrandello (Mllan. Mondadorl, 2005).
fW
Susan Bassnett, 'Intervlew wlth Lulgl Plrandello," Jcor-
bool of tlc ritisl Iirovdcllo Socicty, 1 (l981). 18-55.
_~W
Antonlo Barblna, ibliogrofio dcllo critico pirovdclliovo
(1SS9-1961) (Ilorence. Le Monnler, l967);
Corrado Donatl, ibliogrofio dcllo critico pirovdclliovo
(1962-19S1) (Ilorence. Edlzlonl La Glnestra,
l986);
Donatl and A. J. Ossanl, Iirovdcllo vcl livguoggio dcllo
sccvo. Motcrioli bibliogrofici doi quotidiovi itoliovi
(1962-1990) (Ravenna. Longo, l993);
Paola Casella, Strumcvti di filologio pirovdclliovo: Complc-
mcvto oll`cdiiovc critico dcllc 'òvcllc pcr uv ovvo:
Soggi c bibliogrofio critico (Ravenna. Longo, l997).
_~W
Iederlco Vlttore Nardelll, Iùomo scgrcto: !ito c croci di
Iuigi Iirovdcllo (Verona. Mondadorl, l932);
republlshed as Iirovdcllo: Iùomo scgrcto, edlted by
Marta Abba (Mllan. Bomplanl, l986);
Gaspare Gludlce, Iuigi Iirovdcllo (Jurln. LJEJ, l963);
abrldged and translated by Alastalr Hamllton as
Iirovdcllo: Z iogroply (London New York.
Oxford Lnlverslty Press, l975);
Enzo Lauretta, Iuigi Iirovdcllo. Storio di uv pcrsovoggio
'fuori di cliovc (Mllan. Mursla, l980);
Lauretta, Iirovdcllo, o, Io crisi (Mllan. San Paolo, l991).
oW
Marta Abba, Coro mocstro: Icttcrc o Iuigi Iirovdcllo
(1926-19J6), edlted by Pletro Irasslca (Mllan.
Mursla, l991);
Antonlo Alesslo and Glullana Sangulnettl Katz, eds., Ic
fovti di Iirovdcllo (Palermo. Palumbo, l996);
Robert Alonge, Iuigi Iirovdcllo (RomeBarl. Laterza,
l997);
Alonge, Modri, oldrocclc, Zmovti: Io figuro fcmmivilc vcl
tcotro di Iirovdcllo (Mllan. Costa Nolan, l997);
Alonge, ed., Iirovdcllo c il tcotro (Palermo. Palumbo,
l985);
Iranca Angellnl, Scrofivo c lo tigrc: Iirovdcllo tro scritturo
tcotro c civcmo (Venlce. Marslllo, l990);
Angellnl, Il tcotro dcl òvcccvto do Iirovdcllo o Io (Rome
Barl. Laterza, l998);
Lmberto Artloll, Iirovdcllo ollcgorico: I fovtosmi dcllìmmogivorio
cristiovo (RomeBarl. Laterza, 200l);
Renato Barllll, Ivtroduiovc o Iuigi Iirovdcllo: Upcrc
(Rome. Istltuto Pollgraflco dello Stato, l996);
Barllll, Iirovdcllo: Uvo rivoluiovc culturolc (Mllan. Mursla,
l986);
Cllve Barker and Susan Bassnett, 'Locatlng Plrandello
ln the European Jheatre Context," Jcorbool of tlc
ritisl Iirovdcllo Socicty, 5 (l985). l-l9;
Marlta Bartolazzl, 'Plrandello e la carlcatura," Zricl, l
(l997). ll3-l2l;
Blanca Iergola Baruscotto, Io tcotrolito dol scvso ollo rop-
prcscvtoiovc: 'Sci pcrsovoggi iv ccrco di outorc
(Rome. Angell, l997);
Ilora A. Bassanese, Uvdcrstovdivg Iuigi Iirovdcllo
(Columbla. Lnlverslty of South Carollna Press,
l997);
Bassnett and |ennlfer Lorch, eds., Iuigi Iirovdcllo iv tlc
Tlcotrc (Chur, Swltzerland Phlladelphla. Har
wood Academlc Publlshers, l993);
Erlc Bentley, 'Jhe Plrandello Commentarles," Iirovdcl-
liov Studics, l (Wlnter l985). l-73;
Glan Paolo Blasln and Nlcolas |. Perella, eds., Iirovdcllo
Danlela Blnl, Iirovdcllo ovd His Musc: Tlc Iloys for Morto
Zbbo (Galnesvllle. Lnlverslty Press of Ilorlda,
l998);
Gluseppe Bolognese, 'I glgantl lndustrlall dl Plran
dello," ln Icttcroturo c ivdustrio, edlted by Glorglo
Barblerl Squarottl and Carlo Ossola (Ilorence.
Olschkl, l997), pp. 637-619;
Nlno Borselllno, Iitrotto c immogivi di Iirovdcllo (Rome
Barl. Laterza, l99l);
Luclano Bottonl, 'Il sagglo e la sclenza. Lùmorlsmo dl
Plrandello," Ivtcrsciovi, l (l985). l55-l7l;
Serglo Bullegas, Iirovdcllo c 'Iooro: Il mito sullo sccvo
(Alessandrla. Edlzlonl dellÒrso, l991);
199
ai_ PPN i m~
Guy Callan, 'Ways of Staglng Plrandello`s Jheatre,"
Iirovdcllo Studics: ourvol of tlc Socicty for Iirovdcllo
Studics, 6AA (2000). 20, 18-6l;
Glauco Cambon, ed., Iirovdcllo: Z Collcctiov of Criticol
Issoys (Englewood Cllffs, N.|.. PrentlceHall,
l967);
Paolo Chlarlnl, 'Brecht e Plrandello," ln Ztti dcl covvcgvo
ivtcrvoiovolc di studi pirovdclliovi. !cvcio 2- ottobrc
1961 (Venlce. Marslllo, l967);
Mlchele Cometa, Il tcotro di Iirovdcllo iv Ccrmovio
(Palermo. Novecento, l986);
Beatrlce Corrlgan, 'Plrandello as a Dlrector," Tlcotcr
Icscorcl, l2 (l972). l55-l63;
Grazlella Corslnovl, Il corpo c lo suo ombro: Studi pirovdcl-
liovi (Ioggla. Bastogl Edltrlce Itallana, l997);
Geraldlne Cousln, 'Stanlslavsky and Plrandello. Irom
Jext to Performance," Jcorbool of tlc ritisl Iirov-
dcllo Socicty, 5 (l985). 13-59;
Cosmo Crlf, I volti di Iirovdcllo, 2 volumes (Palermo.
Manfredl Edltore, l977, l979)comprlses volume
l, Dollc origivi o Il fu Mottio Ioscol, and volume 2,
Dollo '!ito vudo ollo Icolto dcl Mito;
Alessandro DÀmlco and Alessandro Jlnterrl, eds.,
Iirovdcllo copocomico: Io compogvio dcl Tcotro d`Zrtc di
Iomo: 192-2S (Palermo. Sellerlo, l987);
|ulle Dashwood, ed., Iuigi Iirovdcllo: Tlc Tlcotrc of Ioro-
dox (Lewlston, N.Y.. Edwln Mellen Press, l996);
Maurlzlo Del Mlnlstro, Iirovdcllo: Sccvo, pcrsovoggio c film
(Rome. Bulzonl Edltore, l980);
Dante della Jerza, Trodiiovc c ivvovoiovc: Studi su Dc
Sovctis, Crocc c Iirovdcllo (Naples. Llguorl, l999);
|ohn L. DlGaetanl, ed., Z Compoviov to Iirovdcllo Studics
(Westport, Conn.. Greenwood Press, l99l);
Robert S. Dombroskl, 'Laudlsl`s Laughter and the
Soclal Dlmenslon of Iiglt Jou Zrc (If Jou Tlivl
So)," Modcrv Dromo, l6 (l973). 337-316;
Corrado Donatl, Iuigi Iirovdcllo vcllo storio dcllo critico
(Iossombrone. Metauro, l998);
Murlel Lazzarlnl Dossln, Iirovdcllo c il tcotro covtcmporovco
Roberto Illlppettl, Iirovdcllo vorrotorc c pocto: Iogiovc c
mistcro (Castel Bolognese. Ithaca Jools, l997);
Danlela Sanl Ilnk, 'Plrandello a New York nel docu
mentl della stampa amerlcana," _uodcrvi di tcotro,
l0 (l980). l23-l1l;
Ilona Irled, 'Jhe Sogro dcl Sigvorc dcllo òvc: A New
Klnd of Jheatre?" Jcorbool of tlc Socicty for Iirov-
dcllo Studics, l1 (l991). 6l-68;
Gerard Genot, ed., Iirovdcllo (1S67-1967) (Parls.
Lettres Modernes Mlnard, l968);
Nlno Genovese and Sebastlano Gesu, eds., Io muso
ivquictovtc di Iirovdcllo: Il Civcmo, 2 volumes
(Palermo. Bonanno Edltore, l990);
Manuela Glerl, 'Character and Dlscourse from Plran
dello to Ielllnl. Deflnlng a Countertradltlon ln an
Itallan Context," _uodcrvi dìtoliovistico, XII, l
(l992). 13-55;
Glerl, Covtcmporory Itoliov Iilmmolivg: Strotcgics of Subvcr-
siov: Iirovdcllo, Icllivi, Scolo ovd tlc Dircctors of tlc
`cw Ccvcrotiov (Joronto. Lnlverslty of Joronto
Press, l995);
Glerl and Glan Paolo Blasln, eds., Iuigi Iirovdcllo: Covtcmpo-
rory Icrspcctivcs (Joronto. Lnlverslty of Joronto Press,
l999);
Ello Gloanola, Iirovdcllo: Io follio (Genoa. Il Melangolo,
l983);
Paola Danlela Glovanelll, ed., Iirovdcllo pocto (Ilorence.
Vallecchl, l98l);
Glovanelll, ed., Iirovdcllo soggisto (Palermo. Palumbo,
l982);
Robert S. C. Gordon, 'Notes on the Iorelgn Leglon.
Relatlons between Clnema, Llterature and Jhe
atre ln Italy ln the Sllent Era," Iirovdcllo Studics:
ourvol of tlc Socicty for Iirovdcllo Studics, 6AA, l8
(l998). 5-21;
Maggle Gunsberg, 'Hysterla as Jheatre. Plrandello`s
Hysterlcal Women," Jcorbool of tlc Socicty for Iirov-
dcllo Studics, l2 (l992). 32-52;
Gunsberg, Iotriorclol Icprcscvtotiovs: Ccvdcr ovd Discoursc
iv Iirovdcllo`s Tlcotrc (Oxford, Provldence. Berg,
l991);
Susan C. Haedlcke, 'Jheatre of the Grotesque. Meyer
hold, Plrandello and Albee," ISZ: Tlc Ufficiol Iub-
licotiov of tlc Iirovdcllo Socicty of Zmcrico, 8 (l992).
l9-33;
Ann Caesar Hallamore, 'Changlng Costume, Chang
lng Identlty. Women ln the Jheatre of Plrandello,
Bontempelll and Wedeklnd," Iomovcc Studics, 20
(Summer l992). 2l-29;
Stephen Kolsky, 'New Jheatre for Old? Plrandello`s Sci
pcrsovoggi iv ccrco dòutorc and Goldonl`s Il tcotro
comico," Covodiov ourvol of Itoliov Studics, l3
(l990). 52-68;
Enzo Lauretta, ed., I miti di Iirovdcllo (Palermo.
Palumbo, l975);
Lauretta, ed., Io pcrsovo vcllòpcro di Iuigi Iirovdcllo
(Mllan. Mursla, l990);
Lauretta, ed., Iirovdcllo c il tcotro (Mllan. Mursla, l993);
Lauretta, ed., Iirovdcllo c lo suo opcro (Palermo. Palumbo,
l997);
Lauretta, ed., Iirovdcllo c lc ovovguordic (Agrlgento. Cen
tro Nazlonale Studl Plrandelllanl, l999);
Lauretta, ed., Iirovdcllo c lÌuropo (Lecce. Mannl, 200l);
Lauretta, ed., Iirovdcllo c lòltrc (Mllan. Mursla, l99l);
Lauretta, ed., Iirovdcllo: Tcotro c musico (Palermo.
Palumbo, l995);
500
i m~ ai_ PPN
Lauretta, ed., Io trilogio di Iirovdcllo (Agrlgento. Edl
zlone del Centro Nazlonale Studl Plrandelllanl,
l977);
Glgl Llvlo, Il tcotro iv rivolto: Iuturismo, grottcsco, Iirovdcllo
c pirovdcllismo (Mllan. Mursla, l976);
|ennlfer Lorch, 'Plrandello, Commedla dellàrte, and
Improvlsatlon," ln Tlc Commcdio dcllòrtc from tlc
Icvoissovcc to Dorio Io, edlted by Chrlstopher
Calrns (Lewlston, N.Y.. Edwln Mellen Press,
l989), pp. 297-3l3;
Luclo Lugnanl, ed., Tutto Iirovdcllo: Iocsic, soggi, romovi,
vovcllc, tcotro (Agrlgento. Edlzlonl del Centro Nazl
onale dl Studl Plrandelllanl, l986);
Romano Luperlnl, Ivtroduiovc o Iirovdcllo (RomeBarl.
Laterza, l992);
Glovannl Macchla, Iirovdcllo o lo stovo dcllo torturo
(Mllan. Mondadorl, l98l);
Lucla Massl, 'Plrandello`s Jheory of Modern Myths,"
Jcorbool of tlc ritisl Iirovdcllo Socicty, 6 (l986). l-
l8;
Irederlck May, 'Dlaloglc Hllarlty and BodyMadness.
Itallan Iuturlsm and the Jheatre," ln Zltro Iolo:
Itoliov Studics iv Mcmory of Ircdcricl Moy, edlted by
Suzanne Klernan (Sydney. Irederlck May Ioun
datlon for Itallan Studles, l996), pp. 9-37;
Stefano Mllloto, ed., Iirovdcllo c il tcotro dcl suo tcmpo
(Agrlgento. Sarcuto, l983);
Mllloto and Enzo Scrlvano, eds., Iirovdcllo c lo culturo dcl
suo tcmpo (Mllan. Mursla, l981);
|orn Moestrup, Tlc Structurol Iottcrvs of Iirovdcllo`s !orl
(Odense. Odense Lnlverslty Press, l972);
Sarah Zappulla Muscara, ed., Iirovdcllo diolcttolc
(Palermo. Palumbo, l983);
Lurana Donnels O`Malley, 'Plays wlthln Reallstlc
Plays. Metadrama as Crltlque of Drama ln Plran
dello and Chekhov," Tlcotrc Studics, 35 (l990).
10-19;
Roger Ollver, Drcoms of Iossiov: Tlc Tlcotcr of Iuigi Iirov-
dcllo (New York. New York Lnlverslty Press,
l979);
Julllo Pagano, 'Phllosophy and Joothache. Plrandello
Meets Montalgne," Iivisto di Studi Itoliovi, l
(l997). 75-87;
Anne Paoluccl, Iirovdcllo`s Tlcotcr: Tlc Iccovcry of tlc
Modcrv Stogc for Dromotic Zrt (Carbondale. South
ern Illlnols Lnlverslty Press, l971);
Nlshan Parlaklan, 'A Dlrector`s Readlng of Plrandello`s
Slx Characters," ISZ: Tlc Ufficiol Iublicotiov of tlc
Iirovdcllo Socicty of Zmcrico, 7 (l99l). 15-50;
Parlaklan, 'A Dlrector`s Jhoughts on Hcvry I!," ISZ:
Tlc Ufficiol Iublicotiov of tlc Iirovdcllo Socicty of Zmcr-
ico, 5 (l989). l6-22;
Glorglo Patrlzl, Iirovdcllo c lùmorismo (Rome. Llthos,
l997);
Jony Pearson, 'Evrelnov and Plrandello. Jwo Jheatrl
callsts ln Search of the Chlef Jhlng," Tlcotrc
Icscorcl Ivtcrvotiovol, l7 (Sprlng l992). 26-38;
Gllda Pennlca, ed., Iirovdcllo c lo Ccrmovio (Palermo.
Palumbo, l981);
Alfonso Procacclnl, 'Plrandello and the Enlgma of Non
Sense," _uodcrvi dìtoliovistico, 3 (l982). 5l-62;
Olga Ragusa, Iuigi Iirovdcllo: Zv Zpproocl to His Tlcotrc
(Edlnburgh. Edlnburgh Lnlverslty Press, l980);
|ohn B. Rey, 'A Case of Identlty. Jhe Source of Plran
dello`s Zs Jou Dcsirc Mc," Modcrv Dromo, l5 (l973).
133-139;
Leonardo Sclascla, ed., Umoggio o Iirovdcllo (Mllan.
Bomplanl, l986);
Enzo Scrlvano, Io vocoiovc covtcso: òtc su Iirovdcllo c il
tcotro (Rome. Bulzonl, l995);
Scrlvano, ed., Iirovdcllo c lo drommoturgio fro lc duc gucrrc
(Agrlgento. Edlzlonl del Centro Nazlonale Studl
Plrandelllanl, l985);
Rlchard A. Soglluzzo, Iuigi Iirovdcllo, Dircctor: Tlc Iloy-
wriglt iv tlc Tlcotrc (Metuchen, N.|.. Scarecrow
Press, l982);
Dorothea Stewens, 'Jhe Character as Dlrector. from
Icovoro oddio! to _ucsto scro si rccito o soggctto," Jcor-
bool of tlc ritisl Iirovdcllo Socicty, 2 (l982). 66-72;
|ennlfer Stone, Iirovdcllo`s òlcd Irompt: Tlc Structurc of
Icpctitiov iv Modcrvism (Ravenna. Longo Edltore,
l989);
Claudlo Vlcentlnl, 'Plrandello and the Problem of Jhe
atre as an Imposslble Art," Jcorbool of tlc ritisl
Iirovdcllo Socicty, 1 (l981). l-20;
Vlcentlnl, Iirovdcllo: il disogio dcl tcotro (Venlce. Marslllo,
l993);
Enzo Zappulla, Iirovdcllo c il tcotro sicilovo (Catanla. Mal
mone, l986).
m~W
Jhe manuscrlpts of Lulgl Plrandello are housed ln
archlves at varlous llbrarles and museums ln the Lnlted
States and abroad. Plrandello`s papers can be found ln the
Enthoven Collectlon of the Vlctorla and Albert Museum
ln London. In Italy, archlves of Plrandello`s works may be
found at the followlng lnstltutlons or organlzatlons. Blbllo
teca Nazlonale Centrale, Blblloteca Jeatrale del Burcardo,
and Istltuto dl Studl Plrandelllanl, all located ln Rome;
Museo degll Attorl ln Genoa, ln the Guldo Salvlnl Collec
tlon; and at Mondadorl Edltore Press ln Mllan. In the
Lnlted States, Plrandello collectlons are housed at Hough
ton Llbrary, Harvard Lnlverslty, ln Cambrldge, Massa
chusetts; Llbrary of Congress, ln Washlngton, D.C.; ln the
Jheater Collectlon of the New York Publlc Llbrary ln
New York Clty; and at Prlnceton Lnlverslty Llbrary ln
Prlnceton, New |ersey, where Plrandello`s letters to Marta
Abba are kept.
50l
ai_ PPN i m~
NVPQ k m i~
m~ p
m e~I m~ p~ p ^~
Jhe work of Lulgl Plrandello ls extenslve. As an
author of novellas he certalnly ls wlthout equal ln output,
even ln the prlmary country of thls llterary genre. Boc
cacclo`s a~ contalns one hundred novellas; Plran
dello`s k ~ (l922-37) has one for each day
of the year. Jhey offer much varlatlon ln subject matter
as well as ln character. descrlptlons of llfe elther purely
reallstlc or phllosophlcally profound or paradoxlcal, as
often marked by humour as by satlre. Jhere are also cre
atlons of a jaunty poetlc lmaglnatlon ln whlch the
demands of reallty glve way to an ldeal and creatlve
truth.
Jhe common feature of all these novellas ls the
effortless lmprovlsatlon that glves them spontanelty, lan,
and llfe. But slnce the llmlted scope of the novella
demands a partlcularly strlct composltlon, we also flnd
the result of lmprovlsatlon. In hls hurrled treatment of
the subject Plrandello may soon lose control, wlthout any
concern for the overall lmpresslon. Although hls novellas
reveal much orlglnallty, they are hardly representatlve of
the accompllshed master; thls ls readlly apparent when
one notes the many motlfs whlch were later employed ln
hls dramatlc work.
Nor do hls novels mark the zenlth of hls llterary
achlevement. Although hls early novels were lmbued
wlth the same ldeas wlth whlch he made hls profoundly
orlglnal contrlbutlon to the modern theatre, he reserved
the deflnltlve shaplng of these ldeas for the theatre.
In the short survey that ls posslble here, we can
mentlon only one of these novels ln whlch a dlstlnctlve
feature of hls concept of our tlmes, hls dlsgust and fear of
materlallsm whlch mechanlzes llfe, appears most
strongly. Jhe novel ls p ~ (l9l6) xp> zI tltled after a
technlcal term of the clnema, 'Shoot one." Jhe expres
slon warns the actors when the shootlng of a scene
beglns. Jhe narrator ls the one who 'shoots," that ls, the
cameraman of a large fllm lndustry. He flnds a speclal
meanlng ln hls work. Ior hlm, llfe wlth all lts good and
evll ls reduced to the materlal of lmages mechanlcally
produced for a thoughtless pastlme; lt has no other pur
pose. Jhe photographlc apparatus becomes a demon
whlch swallows everythlng and unrolls lt on the fllm reel,
thus glvlng lt an outward appearance of reallty, an
appearance whlch ls, ln essence, splrltual death and emp
tlness. Our modern exlstence revolves and runs wlth the
same llfeless speed, completely mechanlzed as lf lt were
destroyed and annlhllated. Jhe author`s attltude ls
expressed wlth extreme lntenslty. Jhe mere plot ls devas
tatlng enough.
Jhat ls the background of Plrandello`s dramas, llm
lted as they most often are to purely psychologlcal prob
lems. Jhe bltterness of our present era must have had
much lnfluence on the plays` pesslmlstlc phllosophy even
lf thls phllosophy ls based on the author`s nature.
j~ k (l9l8-2l), the tltle he gave to hls col
lectlon of plays, ls dlfflcult to translate because of lts com
plexlty. Llterally thls expresslons means 'naked masks,"
but 'masks" usually lndlcates a bare surface. In thls case,
however, the word ls applled to the dlsgulse whlch hldes
one from others and from one`s self and whlch slgnlfles to
Plrandello the form of the selfa surface wlth an unfath
omable belng behlnd lt. 'Velled" masks, analyzed and dls
solved wlth penetratlng clarlty. thls ls the portrayal of
human belngs ln hls dramasmen are unmasked. Jhat ls
the meanlng of the phrase.
Jhe most remarkable feature of Plrandello`s art ls
hls almost maglcal power to turn psychologlcal analysls
lnto good theatre. Lsually the theatre requlres human stereo
types; here the splrlt ls llke a shadow, obscurlty behlnd
obscurlty, and one cannot declde what ls more or less cen
tral lnslde. Ilnally one racks hls bralns, for there ls no cen
tre. Everythlng ls relatlve, nothlng can be grasped
completely, and yet the plays can sometlmes selze, captl
vate, and charm even the great lnternatlonal publlc. Jhls
result ls wholly paradoxlcal. As the author hlmself
explalned, lt depends on the fact that hls works 'arlse out
of lmages taken from llfe whlch have passed through a fll
ter of ldeas and whlch hold me completely captlve." It ls
the lmage whlch ls fundamental, not, as many have
belleved, the abstract ldea dlsgulsed afterwards by an
lmage.
It has been sald that Plrandello has but a 'slngle"
ldea, the lllusory nature of the personallty, of the 'I." Jhe
charge ls easy to prove. Jhe author ls lndeed obsessed
wlth that ldea. However, even lf the ldea ls expanded to
lnclude the relatlvlty of everythlng man belleves he sees
and understands, thls charge ls unfalr.
Plrandello`s dramatlc art dld not at flrst break wlth
general llterary tendencles. He treated soclal and ethlcal
problems, the confllct between parenthood and the soclal
structure wlth lts lnflexlble notlons of honour and
decency, and the dlfflcultles that human goodness flnds ln
protectlng ltself agalnst the same adversarles. All thls was
presented ln morally as well as loglcally compllcated sltua
tlons and ended elther ln vlctory or defeat. Jhese prob
lems had thelr natural counterpart ln the analysls of the
'I" of the characters who were as relatlve as the ldea
agalnst whlch they were flghtlng.
In several of hls plays lt ls the ldea others have of a
personallty and the effect they experlence from lt whlch
502
i m~ ai_ PPN
becomes the prlnclpal subject. Others know us only as we
know them, lmperfectly; and yet we make deflnltlve judg
ments. It ls under the atmospherlc pressure of these judg
ments that the consclousness of one`s self can be changed.
In q (l920) x^ c q _z thls psychologlcal
process ls carrled to lts concluslon. In s
(l923) xq ` k~z the motlf ls turned upslde down
and assumes a movlng traglc character. A lost llfe, an 'I,"
no longer flndlng anythlng ln ltself, deslres death but, turn
lng entlrely to the outslde, has a last pathetlc wlsh to have
a proper shroud ln the beautlfylng ldea whlch others have
of lts former belng. In thls grlpplng play even lylng
appears by lts angulsh as a klnd of lnnocence.
But the author does not stop here; several of hls
plays deal wlth the lle ln the world of relatlvlty and exam
lne wlth a penetratlng loglc how more or less crlmlnal thls
lle ls. In i~ ~ (l921) xq i f d~ vz the
rlght to unreallty recelves beautlful and great expresslon.
A woman, havlng lost her only son, no longer has any
thlng whlch holds her to llfe; yet the very vlolence of the
blow reawakens ln her a strength whlch dlspels death, as
llght dlspels darkness. All has become shadows; she feels
that not only herself but all exlstence ls 'such stuff as
dreams are made of." In her heart she guards both the
memory and the dream, and now they are able to surpass
all other thlngs. Jhe son to whom she gave llfe, who
always fllled her soul, fllls lt stlll. Jhere no vold ls posslble;
the son cannot be removed. He remalns ln her presence, a
form she cannot grasp; she feels hlm there as much as she
ls able to feel anythlng. Jhus the relatlvlty of truth has
taken the shape of a slmple and subllme mystery.
Jhe same relatlvlty appears as an enlgma ln `
E ~F (l9l8) xo v ^ Ef v q v ^FzK Jhe
play ls called a parable, whlch means that lts slngular
story makes no pretenslons to reallty. It ls a bold and lnge
nlous fabrlcatlon whlch lmparts wlsdom. Jhe clrcum
stances of a famlly, recently settled ln a provlnclal clty,
become lntolerable to the other lnhabltants of the town.
Of the three members of the famlly, the husband, the
wlfe, and the motherlnlaw, elther the husband or the
motherlnlaw, each otherwlse reasonable, must be vlewed
as selzed wlth absurd ldeas about the ldentlty of the wlfe.
Jhe last speaker always has the flnal say on the lssue, but
a comparlson of the confllctlng statements leaves lt ln
doubt. Jhe questlonlngs and the confrontatlon of the two
characters are descrlbed wlth great dramatlc art and wlth
a knowledge of the most subtle maladles of the soul. Jhe
wlfe should be able to resolve the puzzle, but when she
appears she ls velled llke the goddess of knowledge and
speaks mysterlously; to each of the lnterested partles she
represents what she must be ln order for that person to
preserve hls lmage of her. In reallty she ls the symbol of
the truth whlch no one can grasp ln lts entlrety.
Jhe play ls also a brllllant satlre on man`s curloslty
and false wlsdom; ln lt Plrandello presents a catalogue of
types and reveals a penetratlng selfconcelt, elther partlally
or completely rldlculous, ln those attemptlng to dlscover
truth. Jhe whole remalns a masterplece ln lts own rlght.
Jhe central problem ln the author`s dramatlc work,
however, ls the analysls of the 'I"lts dlssolutlon ln con
trary elements, the negatlon of lts unlty as lllusory, and
the symbollcal descrlptlon of the j~ . Jhanks to
the lnexhaustlble productlvlty of hls mlnd, Plrandello
attacks the problem from dlfferent sldes, some of whlch
have already been mentloned.
By soundlng the depths of madness, he makes
lmportant dlscoverles. In the tragedy of b fs (l922)
xe fszI for example, the strongest lmpresslon comes
from the struggle of the personallty for lts ldentlty ln the
eternally flowlng torrent of tlme. In f ~
(l9l9) xq o d~z Plrandello creates a drama
of pure abstractlons. he uses the artlflclal notlons of duty
to whlch members of soclety can be subjected by the force
of tradltlon wlth resolute loglc for an actlon completely
contrary to expectatlon. As by a stroke of a maglc wand,
the game of abstractlons fllls the scene wlth an extremely
captlvatlng llfe.
p m~ ~ ~ (l92l) xp `~~
p~ ~ ^z ls a game slmllar to that descrlbed ear
ller and at the same tlme lts very opposlte; lt ls both pro
foundly serlous and full of ldeas. Here unrestralned
creatlve lmaglnatlon rather than abstractlon domlnates. It
ls the true drama of poetlc creatlon; lt ls also the settllng of
accounts between the theatre and truth, between appear
ance and reallty. Moreover, lt ls the halfdespalrlng mes
sage of art to the soul of a ravaged age, of fragmentary
scenes both fulmlnatlng and exploslve. Jhls flood of vlo
lent feellng and superlor lntellectuallty, rlch ln poetry, ls
truly the lnsplratlon of genlus. Jhe worldwlde success of
the play, whlch proves that lt has to some extent been
understood, ls as extraordlnary as the plece ltself. Jhere ls
nelther the necesslty nor the tlme to recall lts maglcally
startllng detalls.
Jhe sceptlcal psychology on whlch Plrandello has
based hls remarkable productlon ls purely negatlve. If lt
were adopted by the general publlc wlth the same nalvet
wlth whlch new and bold ldeas are generally recelved, lt
would lndeed entall more than one rlsk. But there ls no
danger that thls wlll happen. It applles ltself to purely
lntellectual realms and the general publlc scarcely follows
lt there. If by chance someone mlght be persuaded that
hls 'I" ls a flctlon, he would soon be convlnced that ln
practlce thls 'I" does possess a certaln degree of reallty.
|ust as lt ls lmposslble to prove the freedom of the wlll,
whlch ls however constantly proved by experlence, so the
'I" manlfestly flnds means to make ltself remembered.
Jhese means are gross or subtle. Jhe most subtle of them
503
ai_ PPN i m~
perhaps conslsts ln the faculty of thought ltself; among
others, the thought whlch wants to annlhllate the 'I."
But the analytlcal work of thls great wrlter retalns
lts value, especlally lf compared to several other thlngs to
whlch we have been treated ln our tlme. Psychologlcal
analysls has glven us complexes, whlch have spread
lmmense pleasure and joy. Jhey have even been wor
shlpped as fetlshes by apparently plous mlnds. Barbarous
fetlshes! Jo a person wlth some vlsual lmaglnatlon, they
resemble seaweed entangled ln the water. Small flsh often
hover before thls seaweed medltatlng untll, thelr heads
clear at last, they slnk lnto lt and dlsappear. Plrandello`s
sceptlclsm protects us from such adventures; furthermore,
he can help us. He warns us not to touch the dellcate tls
sue of the human soul ln a coarsely dogmatlc and bllnd
manner.
As a morallst, Plrandello ls nelther paradoxlcal nor
destructlve. Good remalns good, and evll, evll. A nobly
oldfashloned humanlty domlnates hls ldeas about the
world of men. Hls bltter pesslmlsm has not stlfled hls lde
allsm; hls penetratlng analytlcal reason has not cut the
roots of llfe. Happlness does not occupy a large place ln
the world of hls lmaglnatlon, but what glves dlgnlty to llfe
stlll flnds enough alr to breathe ln lt.
Dear Dr. PlrandelloMlne was the dlfflcult task of
presentlng a conclse synopsls of your profound llterary
work. Although such a brlef sketch ls hardly adequate, I
have carrled out my charge wlth pleasure.
May I now ask you to recelve from Hls Majesty the
Nobel Prlze ln Llterature, of whlch the Swedlsh Academy
has deemed you worthy.
m~W _~ p
Ivtroductory rcmorls by Irofcssor Crov Iiljcstrovd of tlc Coro-
livc Ivstitutc ot tlc òbcl ovquct ot tlc City Holl iv Stocllolm,
10 Dcccmbcr 19J4:
Soclety ls a hlgher unlt of llfe than the lndlvldual;
lt has a greater complexlty and lnvolves adjustments of
dlfferent klnds. Jhe confllcts arlslng from the necesslty
of such adaptatlons have been the subject of Mr. Plran
dello`s work. At present the problems concerned call for
lnvestlgatlons along other llnes than those followed by
medlclne and the other sclences. Mr. Plrandello, at once
phllosopher, poet, and dramatlst, has been able to
understand and descrlbe dlfferent phases of human
mentallty. He has studled lts changes ln dlsease and
thelr subtle relatlons to the normal mlnd. He has pene
trated deeply lnto the obscure borderland between real
lty and dream. We honour hlm as one of the great
masters of dramatlc art.
Plrandello`s speech (Jranslatlon)
I take deep satlsfactlon ln expresslng my respect
ful gratltude to Your Majestles for havlng graclously
honoured thls banquet wlth your presence. May I be
permltted to add the expresslon of my deep gratltude
for the klnd welcome I have been glven as well as for
thls evenlng`s receptlon, whlch ls a worthy epllogue to
the solemn gatherlng earller today at whlch I had the
lncomparable honour of recelvlng the Nobel Prlze ln
Llterature for l931 from the august hands of Hls Maj
esty the Klng.
I also wlsh to express my profound respect and
slncere gratltude to the emlnent Royal Swedlsh Acad
emy for lts dlstlngulshed judgment, whlch crowns my
long llterary career.
Ior the success of my llterary endeavours, I had
to go to the school of llfe. Jhat school, although useless
to certaln brllllant mlnds, ls the only thlng that wlll help
a mlnd of my klnd. attentlve, concentrated, patlent,
truly chlldllke at flrst, a doclle pupll, lf not of teachers,
at least of llfe, a pupll who would never abandon hls
complete falth and confldence ln the thlngs he learned.
Jhls falth resldes ln the slmpllclty of my baslc nature. I
felt the need to belleve ln the appearance of llfe wlthout
the sllghtest reserve or doubt.
Jhe constant attentlon and deep slncerlty wlth
whlch I learned and pondered thls lesson revealed
humlllty, a love and respect for llfe that were lndlspens
able for the asslmllatlon of bltter dlsllluslons, palnful
experlences, frlghtful wounds, and all the mlstakes of
lnnocence that glve depth and value to our experlences.
Jhls educatlon of the mlnd, accompllshed at great cost,
allowed me to grow and, at the same tlme, to remaln
myself.
As my true talents developed, they left me com
pletely lncapable of llfe, as becomes a true artlst, capa
ble only of thoughts and feellngs; of thoughts because I
felt, and of feellngs because I thought. In fact, under the
llluslon of creatlng myself, I created only what I felt and
was able to belleve.
I feel lmmense gratltude, joy, and prlde at the
thought that thls creatlon has been consldered worthy
of the dlstlngulshed award you have bestowed on me.
I would gladly belleve that thls Prlze was glven not
so much to the vlrtuoslty of a wrlter, whlch ls always neg
llglble, but to the human slncerlty of my work.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l931. Lulgl Plrandello ls the
501
e m~
(24 uly 1S7 - 21 Zugust 194J)
c _
(Jranslated by Russell Dees)
Jhls entry was revlsed from Behrendt`s Pontoppldan
entry ln DI J00: Dovisl !ritcrs from tlc Icformotiov to
Dccodcvcc, 10-1900.
BOOKS. Stllcdc !ivgcr (Copenhagen. A. Schou,
l88l)lncludes 'Klrkeskuden" and 'Et Ende
llgt";
Sovdivgc Mcviglcd: Iv Iortllivg (Copenhagen. A. Schou,
l883);
Iovdsbybillcdcr (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l883)
lncludes 'En Ilskerrede," translated (from an ear
ller magazlne verslon) by |ullanne Sarauw as 'A
Ilsher Nest" ln Zmcricov-Scovdivoviov Icvicw, l5
(l927). 176-186;
Uvg Ilslov: Idyl (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l885);
revlsed as Uvg Ilslov: lodc of cv Mivdclrovs
(Copenhagen. Schubothe, l906);
Mimoscr: It Iomiljcliv (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l886);
translated by Gordlus Nlelsen as Tlc Zpotlccory`s
Dougltcrs (London. Jrbner, l890);
Iro Hyttcrvc: `yc Iovdsbybillcdcr (Copenhagen. Gylden
dal, l887; Mlnneapolls. C. Rasmussen, l888);
Isbjrvcv: It Iortrt (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l887);
translated by |ames Massengale as Tlc Iolor cor:
Z Iortroit, Wlsconsln Introductlons to Scandlnavla
II, no. l2 (Madlson. Department of Scandlnavlan
Studles, Lnlverslty of Wlsconsln, 2003);
Spgclscr: Iv Historic (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l888);
Iollclivsslildrivgcr, volume l (Copenhagen. P. Hauberg,
l888); volume 2 (Copenhagen. Nyt dansk Iorlags
konsortlum, l890);
Irvilcr (Copenhagen. P. G. Phlllpsen, l890);
òtur: To smoo Iomovcr, 2 volumes (Copenhagen.
Schubothe, l890)comprlses !ildt and Iv ovdc;
Iciscbildcr ous Dovcmorl (Copenhagen. Hst Son,
l890);
Slycr: Slildrivgcr fro Irovisoricrvcs Dogc (Copenhagen.
Gyldendal, l890)lncludes 'Illum Galgebakke.
En Prolog," translated by Davld Stoner as 'Gal
lows Hlll at Ilum" ln Zvtlology of Dovisl Iitcroturc,
edlted by Irederlk |. Bllleskov |ansen and P. M.
Mltchell (Carbondale. Southern Illlnols Lnlver
slty Press, l972), pp. 333-359;
e m~I NUVN E~ c oX
` c _F
505
ai_ PPN e m~
Muld: It Tidsbillcdc (Copenhagen. P. G. Phlllpsen,
l89l); translated by Allce Lucas as Imovucl; or,
Clildrcv of tlc Soil (London. Dent, l896);
Dct forjttcdc Iovd: It Tidsbillcdc (Copenhagen. P. G.
Phlllpsen, l892); translated by Lucas as Tlc Irom-
iscd Iovd (London. Dent, l896);
Mivdcr (Copenhagen. P. G. Phlllpsen, l893);
Dcv gomlc Zdom. Slildrivg fro Zlforvcj (Copenhagen. P. G.
Phlllpsen, l891);
òttcvogt (Copenhagen. P. G. Phlllpsen, l891);
Dommcvs Dog: It Tidsbillcdc (Copenhagen. P. G. Phll
lpsen, l895);
Hjsovg: Slildrivg fro Zlforvcj (Copenhagen. Schubothe,
l896);
Iirlcsludcv: Iv Iortllivg, second edltlon (Copenhagen.
Schubothe, l897);
Dct forjttcdc Iovd (Copenhagen. Nordlske Iorlag, l898;
revlsed edltlon, Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l9l8)
comprlses Muld, Dct forjttcdc Iovd, and Dommcvs
Dog;
Iyllc-Icr: Hovs Uvgdom (Copenhagen. Nordlske Iorlag,
l898);
Iyllc-Icr fivdcr Slottcv (Copenhagen. Nordlske Iorlag,
l898);
Iortllivgcr, 2 volumes (Copenhagen. Nordlske Iorlag,
l899)lncludes 'rneflugt," translated by Llda
Slbonl Hanson as 'Eagle`s Illght" ln Zmcricov-
Scovdivoviov Icvicw, l7 (l929). 556-558;
Iyllc-Icr: Hovs Irliglcd (Copenhagen. Nordlske Ior
lag, l899);
Iyllc-Icr i dct Ircmmcdc (Copenhagen. Nordlske Iorlag,
l899);
Dct idcolc Hjcm (Aarhus. |ydsk IorlagsIorretnlng,
l900);
Iillc Idlttc: It Iortrt (Copenhagen. Nordlske Iorlag,
l900); republlshed as Tloro vov Dclcv ln òvcllcr
og Slitscr: It Udvolg, volume 2 (Copenhagen. Gyl
dendal, l922), pp. 269-352;
Iyllc-Icr: Hovs storc !rl (Copenhagen. Nordlske Ior
lag, l90l);
Iyllc-Icr og lovs Ircstc (Copenhagen. Nordlske Iorlag,
l902);
Dc vildc Iuglc: It Slucspil (Copenhagen. Nordlske Ior
lag, l902);
Iyllc-Icr: Hovs Icjsc til Zmcrilo (Copenhagen. Nordlske
Iorlag, l903);
It Ivdcligt: Iv Iovdsbylistoric (Copenhagen. Schubothe,
l901);
Iyllc-Icr: Hovs sidstc Iomp (Copenhagen. Gyldendal,
l901);
orgmcstcr Hoccl og Hustru: It Dobbcltportrt (Copen
hagen. Gyldendal, l905); translated by Martln A.
Davld as urgomostcr Hoccl ovd His !ifc, wlth an
lntroductlon by Ilemmlng Behrendt, blllngual
edltlon (Lysaker. Geelmuyden.Klese/Scandlna
vlan Alrllnes, l999);
Iyllc-Icr, collected and revlsed edltlon, 3 volumes
(Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l905; revlsed, 2 vol
umes, l9l8)comprlses Iyllc-Icr: Hovs Uvgdom,
Iyllc-Icr fivdcr Slottcv, Iyllc-Icr: Hovs Irliglcd,
Iyllc-Icr i dct Ircmmcdc, Iyllc-Icr: Hovs storc !rl,
Iyllc-Icr og lovs Ircstc, Iyllc-Icr: Hovs Icjsc til
Zmcrilo, and Iyllc-Icr: Hovs sidstc Iomp;
Zsgoordsrcjcv: It Slucspil (Copenhagen. Schubothe,
l906); revlsed as Zsgoordsrcjcv: It Iorspil (Copen
hagen. Gyldendal, l928);
Hovs Ivost og Mclusivc (Copenhagen. Schubothe, l907);
Dct storc Spgclsc (Copenhagen. Schubothe, l907);
Dcv lovgcligc Cst (Copenhagen. Schubothe, l908);
translated by Hanson (from l902 perlodlcal ver
slon) as 'Jhe Royal Guest" ln Dcvmorl`s cst Sto-
rics: Zv Ivtroductiov to Dovisl Iictiov, edlted by
Hanna Astrup Larsen (New York. Amerlcan
Scandlnavlan Ioundatlon/Norton, l928), pp.
2l7-236;
Torbcv og yttc, En IortlllngKres, no. l (Copenhagen.
Gyldendal, l9l2);
Storclolt, En IortlllngKres, no. 2 (Copenhagen. Gyl
dendal, l9l3);
Iirlcv og dcvs Mvd: It Iorcdrog (Copenhagen. Gylden
dal, l9l1);
Toldcrc og Syvdcrc, En IortlllngKres, no. 3 (Copen
hagen. Gyldendal, l9l1);
Ivslcvs Dd, En IortlllngKres, no. 1 (Copenhagen.
Gyldendal, l9l5);
Iovsivglolm, En IortlllngKres, no. 5 (Copenhagen.
Gyldendal, l9l6);
Dc Ddcs Iigc, 2 volumes (Copenhagen. Gyldendal,
l9l7)comprlses Torbcv og yttc, Storclolt, Toldcrc og
Syvdcrc, Ivslcvs Dd, and Iovsivglolm;
It Irliglcdscvcvtyr (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l9l8);
Iv !ivtcrrcjsc: òglc Dogbogsblodc (Copenhagen. Gylden
dal, l920);
Movds Himmcrig (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l927);
Drcvgcoor (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l933);
Homsliftc (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l936);
Zrv og Cld (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l938);
Iomiljcliv (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l910);
Uvdcrvcjs til mig sclv. It Tilbogcblil (Copenhagen. Gylden
dal, l913)abrldgment of Drcvgcoor, Homsliftc,
Zrv og Cld, and Iomiljcliv.
b ~ `W òvcllcr og Slitscr: It Udvolg,
3 volumes (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l922-l930);
Ilum Colgcbollc; Dcv frstc Ccvdorm; òttcvogt, edlted by
Vllhelm hlenschlger (Copenhagen. Gyldendal/
Dansklrerforenlngen, l926);
Isbjrvcv: It Iortrt, edlted by Svend Norrlld (Copen
hagen. Gyldendal/Dansklrerforenlngen, l91l);
506
e m~ ai_ PPN
Dct forjttcdc Iovd: Iorlortct Udgovc, edlted and abrldged
by Aage Bertelsen (Copenhagen. Dansklrer
forenlngen, l913);
Iro Hyttcrvc, edlted by |ohannes P. Olsen (Copenhagen.
Gyldendal/Dansklrerforenlngen, l953);
Movds Himmcrig, edlted by Esther Skjerbk and
Jhorklld Skjerbk (Copenhagen. Gyldendal,
l96l);
orgmcstcr Hoccl og Hustru, edlted by Irederlk Nlelsen
(Copenhagen. Gyldendal/Dansklrerforenlngen,
l961);
Iyllc-Icr, edlted, wlth an afterword, by Jhorklld Skjer
bk, 2 volumes (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l961);
Uvg Ilslov og ovdrc Iortllivgcr, edlted by Jhorklld Skjer
bk (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l965);
Iro Hyttcrvc: Slyggcrids fro Iovdsbycv, edlted by Esther
Skjerbk and Jhorklld Skjerbk (Copenhagen.
Gyldendal, l973);
Dct forjttcdc Iovd, edlted by Jhorklld Skjerbk, 3 vol
umes (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l979);
Mogistcr Clobs Iopircr, edlted by Jhorklld Skjerbk
(Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l979)comprlses Mivdcr,
Dcv gomlc Zdom, and Hjsovg;
Mimoscr: It Iomiljcliv, afterword by Blrgltte Hesselaa
(Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l979);
Slycr, edlted by Jhorklld Skjerbk (Copenhagen. Gyl
dendal, l979);
Urvcflugt og ovdrc Irvilcr, edlted by Jhorklld Skjerbk
(Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l979)comprlses Irvi-
lcr and Dcv lovgcligc Cst;
Dc Ddcs Iigc, 2 volumes, edlted by Jhorklld Skjerbk
Iv !ivtcrrcjsc, afterword by Ilemmlng Behrendt (Copen
hagen. C. Andersen, l982);
Dct idcolc Hjcm, wlth essay by Poul Behrendt (Copen
hagen. Amadeus, l986);
Irovjydcr og Molbocr, afterword by Jhorklld Skjerbk
(Randers. Randers Antlkvarlat, l989);
Ivctolcr, edlted by |ohan de Myllus (Copenhagen.
Aschehoug, l993);
Hcvril Iovtoppidov, mcllcm Zvdcgrd og Urvcljcm, edlted
by |rn rum Hansen (Hernlng. Systlme,
l991);
Mcvivgcr c Holdvivgcr: Zf Urbovus` Dogbog, edlted by
Erlk H. Madsen (Hjbjerg. Hovedland, l991);
Dct forjttcdc Iovd, 2 volumes, edlted by Esther Klel
berg and Lars Peter Rmhlld (Copenhagen.
Gyldendal/ Danske Sprog og Lltteraturselskab,
l997);
Hcvril Iovtoppidovs Digtc, edlted by Brge Andersen
(Copenhagen. C. A. Reltzel, l999);
Smoo Iomovcr, 1SS-1S90, edlted by Ilemmlng
Behrendt (Copenhagen. Danske Sprog og Llt
teraturselskab / Valby. Borgen, l999)com
prlses Uvg clslov, Mimoscr, Isbjrvcv, Spgclscr, and
òtur;
Smoo Iomovcr, 1S9J-1900, edlted by Ilemmlng
Behrendt (Copenhagen. Danske Sprog og Llt
teraturselskab / Valby. Borgen, 2001)com
prlses Mivdcr, òttcvogt, Dcv gomlc Zdom,
Hjsovg, Iillc Idlttc, and Dct idcolc Hjcm.
PLAY PRODLCJIONS. Zsgoordsrcjcv, Odense,
Odense Jeater, 30 November l906; revlsed,
Copenhagen, Iolketeatret, 26 |anuary l907;
revlsed as Iogvo, Copenhagen, Iolketeatret, 20
November l99l;
Tloro vov Dclcv, by Pontoppldan and Hjalmar Berg
man, Copenhagen, Dagmarteatret, 26 March
l9l1.
PRODLCED SCRIPJS. Dc vildc Iuglc, Danmarks
Radlo, 20 August l932;
Tloro vov Dclcv, by Pontoppldan and Hjalmar Berg
man, Danmarks Radlo, l8 December l962.
In hls brlef autoblographlcal statement for the
Nobel Ioundatlon, wrltten after sharlng the Nobel Prlze
ln Llterature wlth Karl Gjellerup ln l9l7, Henrlk Pon
toppldan called hls three great novel sequencesDct for-
jttcdc Iovd (l892-l895, Jhe Promlsed Land), Iyllc-Icr
(l898-l901, Lucky Per), and Dc Ddcs Iigc (l9l2-
l9l6, Jhe Realm of the Dead)'et sammenhngende
Blllede af Nutldens Danmark" (a comprehenslve plc
ture of contemporary Denmark). Pontoppldan`s llterary
body of work, one of the most volumlnous and exten
slve ln Danlsh llterature, conslsts of flfty tltles wrltten
over a perlod of more than slxty years. He llved all over
Denmark, and hls wrltlngs reflect hls famlllarlty wlth
both the Danlsh people and thelr envlrons. Ideologl
cally, Pontoppldan`s work reflects the new lndustrlal era
as well as the old parochlal soclety. As a llterary flgure,
he was both a ratlonallst and a Romantlc, a symbollst
and a llngulstlc purltan, a fashlonable dandy and a
slmple wayfarer carrylng only a knapsack and pen.
Henrlk Pontoppldan was born on 21 |uly l857 to
Dlnes Pontoppldan and Marle Oxenbl Pontoppldan.
Hls father, a llterate, serlous, and somewhat bltter man,
was at thls tlme a mlnlster ln Irederlcla. Hls mother
had a brllllant mlnd, but glvlng blrth to slxteen chlldren
weakened her health. In the summer of l863 the famlly
moved to Randers, where the father hoped for a rlcher
parlsh. Jhe famlly flnances remalned stralned, how
ever, because of Dlnes Pontoppldan`s duty to fund the
penslon of hls predecessor. Jhroughout hls llfe, Henrlk
Pontoppldan also suffered tlght flnanclal constralnts.
Even the Nobel Prlze money he recelved was reduced
by a bank fallure ln l927. Randers became Pontoppl
507
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dan`s paradlse on earth, partlcularly ln hls memolrs and
hls llterary works. Jhe Prusslan occupatlon of |utland
from Aprll to November l861 made an early lmpres
slon on hlm that dld not dlmlnlsh durlng hls adult llfe.
Whlle hls three older brothers grew up ln the optlmlstlc
rush of vlctory after the war wlth Prussla (l818 to
l850) over SchleswlgHolsteln, Pontoppldan, along
wlth many of hls peers, was marked for llfe by the Dan
lsh defeat of l861 ln the second war wlth Prussla.
When Pontoppldan turned flfteen, he was vlsltlng
the lsland of Bog ln southern Denmark, where hls
grandfather had served as the parlsh pastor. An older
cousln took hlm up to the hlghest spot on the lsland
and polnted across the water toward the many church
splres dottlng the Danlsh landscape. Ior the prevlous
350 years ln the surroundlng Danlsh parlshes, elther
the pastor or hls wlfe had belonged to the Pontoppldan
famlly. Later ln llfe, Pontoppldan descrlbed thls experl
ence ln one of hls autoblographlcal works, a~~
(l933, Boyhood Years); the vlew of the splres made hlm
understand that he was a sort of helr to the realm. He
was descended from a long llne of pastors, but he never
became a clergyman hlmself; lnstead, he vlewed hls
natlve Denmark as hls parlsh.
In the early l870s, after returnlng home from hls
vlslt to Bog, Pontoppldan founded a llterary group ln
Randers conslstlng of flve schoolmates. Jhe group met
once a week to dlscuss thelr favorlte authors, present
new ldeas, drlnk, and smoke. Outslde of school, Pon
toppldan led an actlve outdoor llfe. he swam and salled
ln the fjord and hlked wlth frlends, partlcularly north to
the ocean and west to the moors and the world of hls
favorlte author, Steen Steensen Bllcher. A broad
chested, robust boy wlth a dark complexlon, Pontoppl
dan was strlklngly handsome, wlth sparkllng blue eyes.
He matured qulckly, although he was not tall (flve feet,
nlne lnches, accordlng to hls mllltaryservlce record),
and he was enthuslastlc on the dance floor and popular
wlth the glrls. Hls academlc forte lay ln mathematlcs
and physlcs, and hls father would have llked to see hlm
become a merchant`s apprentlce to the chlldless uncle
who took the boy and hls cousln to Bog. Instead, a
beloved mathematlcs teacher helped Pontoppldan to
reallze hls deslre to become an englneer.
In the fall of l873 Pontoppldan arrlved ahead of
hls schoolmates ln Copenhagen, where hls three elder
brothers already reslded. Although he formed close tles
wlth hls brother Morten, hls relatlonshlp to hls two
other brothers remalned dlstant. After hls preparatory
mathematlcs examlnatlon, Pontoppldan was accepted ln
the fall semester of l871 to the Polytechnlcal Instltute of
Denmark (later renamed the Jechnlcal Lnlverslty of
Denmark), founded by the physlclst Hans Chrlstlan
rsted, whlch at that tlme lay ln the heart of old
Copenhagen. After l875 Pontoppldan llved ln the old
resldentlal quarter known as Nyboder; lts vlllage atmo
sphere made hlm feel more at home than the suburban
nelghborhood of Nrrebro, where he had begun hls llfe
ln the capltal clty. He remalned an outdoor person,
always out trekklng, and he later chose remote resl
dences ln the provlnces not only because of tlght
flnances but also because soclal lsolatlon became a pre
condltlon for hls wrltlng.
In the sprlng of l876, as an englneerlng student,
Pontoppldan applled to take part ln a geologlcal expedl
tlon to Greenland. In a slngle slttlng he plowed through
Hlnrlch Rlnk`s twovolume work on Greenland and lts
people, d~I ~ ~ (l852,
l857, Greenland, Geographlcally and Statlstlcally
Descrlbed). Another student, however, was chosen for
the trlp. Lslng an lnherltance from hls grandfather,
Pontoppldan dulled hls dlsappolntment wlth a trlp to
Swltzerland. He experlenced the Alps flrsthand and
became acqualnted wlth mortal fear durlng a mountaln
cllmb. When he returned home (followlng a romance
wlth a Swlss mllkmald), he threw hlmself lnto readlng
another descrlptlve work, Hermann Alexander von
Berlepsch`s a ^ (l86l, Jhe Alps; translated lnto
Danlsh as Î l873). Jhus equlpped wlth both flrst
hand and secondhand knowledge, Pontoppldan set out
the followlng wlnter to wrlte a drama drawn from hls
experlences, whlch he tltled, typlcally for the tlmes,
'Hjemvee" (Nostalgla). At the beglnnlng of March l879
he sent an entlrely rewrltten plece to the Danlsh Royal
Jheater and recelved an encouraglng rejectlon. Return
lng home from hls father`s funeral ln |une of the same
year, he showed hls brother Morten the manuscrlpt.
Jhe manuscrlpt was later burned, but, accordlng to
Pontoppldan`s own statement ln e~ (l936,
Sloughlng the Skln), lt must have been 'temmellg nje
kalkeret" (a rather preclse palntlng) of hls experlences
ln Swltzerland. Desplte hls father`s death Pontoppldan
took the flnal examlnatlon ln December l879 but falled
a major subject, hydraullcs. Accordlng to contemporary
statements, he could easlly have taken the examlnatlon
agaln and passed, but he dld not avall hlmself of that
optlon.
Pontoppldan`s flrst story, 'Klrkeskuden" (Jhe
Votlve Shlp), was flnlshed ln a flrst verslon ln l879. At
thelr mother`s request, Morten Pontoppldan offered hls
brother a job as a teacher at hls (folk hlgh
school) ln northern Zealand beglnnlng ln Iebruary
l880. At the school Henrlk Pontoppldan met Mette
Marle Hansen, a farmer`s daughter almost two years
hls elder, who was employed at hls brother`s house.
Jhey were engaged ln the sprlng of l88l. Durlng the
summer of l88l 'Klrkeskuden" was rewrltten and took
on the styllstlc color of the recently publlshed novel
508
e m~ ai_ PPN
Zrbcjdsfoll (l88l, Worklng People) by Norweglan
author Alexander Klelland. In 'Klrkeskuden," a llvely
tale that lncludes the germs of a surprlslng number of
Pontoppldan`s later wrltlngs, an adolescent boy ls
placed ln the care of a pale mlnlster and hls wlfe. He
rebels agalnst the couple by attemptlng to launch a
votlve shlp from the church (such model shlps were
often dlsplayed ln churches, among other thlngs, to
serve as a symbol for the Chrlstlan Church as a safe
shlp on the sea of the world). Jhe shlp lmmedlately
slnks, and the boy then runs off to sea. In thls text sar
casm and satlre are blended wlth the lyrlcal and the gro
tesque, partlcularly ln the raw descrlptlon of the
pastor`s death. Pontoppldan and Hansen were marrled
ln December l88l on the royaltles of hls debut book,
Stllcdc !ivgcr (l88l, Cllpped Wlngs), whlch lncluded
'Klrkeskuden." Jhe couple honeymooned ln northern
Italy.
In addltlon to 'Klrkeskuden," whlch takes up
twothlrds of the book, Stllcdc !ivgcr also lncludes the
story 'Et Endellgt" (Jhe End of a Llfe), flrst publlshed
ln September l88l ln the llterary perlodlcal Udc og
Hjcmmc (Abroad and at Home), and two short sarcastlc
sketches taken from Copenhagen soclety. Stllcdc
!ivgcr ls nelther a homogenous nor a partlcularly well
composed book. Whereas 'Klrkeskuden" had lts orlgln
ln student soclal excurslons to the Roskllde Ijord, 'Et
Endellgt" was Pontoppldan`s flrst work about the rural
proletarlat. Jhe edltor of Udc og Hjcmmc, Otto Borchse
nlus, became hls mentor. When a spllt developed
between the 'Danlsh" and the 'European" factlons of
the Venstre (Llberal) polltlcal party, Borchsenlus
became the llterary edltor of the polltlcally moderate
newspaper Morgcvblodct. In both perlodlcals he helped
Pontoppldan along the path of hls llterary career, partly
by acceptlng hls contrlbutlons, often wrltten under the
pseudonym 'Rustlcus," and partly by revlewlng hls
works, not uncrltlcally and sometlmes unfalrly. Jhe
two severed tles ln l887.
After a satlrlcal descrlptlon of the follcljslolc
mllleu ln Sovdivgc Mcviglcd (l883, Sandlnge Parlsh),
Pontoppldan publlshed hls flrst 'Skyggerlds fra Lands
byen" (Sllhouettes of the Vlllage) ln Iovdsbybillcdcr
(l883, Vlllage Sketches). Late ln l881, along wlth hls
wlfe and two chlldren, he moved to hls lnlaws` vlllage,
stby, ln Horns Herred. Hls elder daughter dled ln
March l885 of tubercular menlngltls, whlch developed
ln the mlserable and unhealthy condltlons to whlch he
had conslgned hls famlly. Meanwhlle, Pontoppldan
worked ln a comfortable room at hls slsterlnlaw`s
house on one of the larger farms ln the vlllage. In some
of hls wrltlngs he drew too closely upon local materlal,
such as ln 'Naadsensbrd" (Alms), whlch was lncluded
ln hls next story collectlon, Iro Hyttcrvc (l887, Irom the
Huts). Wlth empathy or sarcasm he descrlbed ln recog
nlzable detall the mlsery and exploltatlon ln the small,
classdlvlded soclety of the vlllage. Jhe vlllagers mlght
have tolerated thls lntruslon lf Pontoppldan had run as
a candldate for parllament and champloned polltlcally
the vlews he had alred ln hls short storles. He dld not
take thls path, however, always remalnlng an lndepen
dent observer.
In addltlon to wrltlng short storles, Pontoppldan
developed a genre of hls own, the 'smaa Romaner"
(short novels). Jhe flrst one, Uvg Ilslov (l885, Young
Love), ls set outslde the vlllage, ln closer contact wlth
spellblndlng nature. A glrl ls seduced and then aban
doned by a Copenhagen student; lnstead of puttlng up
wlth her local flanc, she commlts sulclde. Pontoppldan
also threw hlmself lnto several experlments wlth genre;
wlth the short novel Mimoscr: It Iomiljcliv (l886, Mlmo
sas. A Iamlly Llfe; translated as Tlc Zpotlccory`s Dougl-
tcrs, l890) he dlscovered how easy lt was to play games
wlth the bourgeolsle. Jhe book was acclalmed by both
sldes of the socalled femlnlst debate, but the author
hlmself refused, as always, to take sldes.
A doctor`s perslstent advlce to move the famlly to
healthler quarters persuaded Pontoppldan ln the sum
mer of l886 to rent a large, abandoned manager`s resl
dence at an old paper factory on the coast of northern
Zealand ln Havreholm, south of Hornbk. Here he
could slt ln the tower room and remaln undlsturbed
whlle the famlly went about lts buslness ln the many
halfempty rooms below. Pontoppldan`s feellngs for hls
wlfe are known only from a slngle statement ln a letter
dated a year after hls daughter`s death ln l885, prlor to
thelr flnal departure from stby. At that polnt, hls wlfe
was pregnant wlth thelr thlrd chlld, a son. Pontoppldan
wrote, '|o ldre jeg bllver, des drllgere kan jeg und
vre hende. Skulde nogen nogenslnde skrlve mln
Blografl, mtte hun derl lndtage den fornemste Plads"
(Jhe older I get, the more I feel I cannot do wlthout
her. If anyone ever wrltes my blography, she must
assume the most dlstlngulshed place).
In the summer of l887, however, at the seaslde
resort of Blokhus ln northern |utland, Pontoppldan met
Antolnette Kofoed, flve years hls junlor and the daugh
ter of the wldow of a ranklng offlclal ln the Mlnlstry of
|ustlce. Later, ln hls old age, he descrlbed hls encounter
wlth Kofoed on a tennls court as an attractlon he had
trled to flght. He had already provlded a convlnclng
descrlptlon of the agonles of an unfalthful husband ln
Mimoscr. In the summer of l888 hls wlfe moved wlth the
chlldren from Havreholm. Jhe couple was unable to
work through the crlsls of hls encounter wlth Kofoed,
and the marrlage falled. Only then, accordlng to Pon
toppldan ln hls old age, dld he renew hls connectlon
wlth Kofoed.
509
ai_ PPN e m~
In Uvg Ilslov, Spgclscr: Iv Historic (l888, Ghosts.
A Hlstory), and !ildt (l890, Wlld Game), storles of
unhappy, hardwon, and unrequlted love, respectlvely,
unfold ln a spellblndlng and reflectlve way. Isbjrvcv: It
Iortrt (l887; translated as Tlc Iolor cor: Z Iortroit,
2003), set ln Greenland, a place Pontoppldan never vls
lted, explores the character of the prlestly rebel that
became so dear to hls authorlal splrlt. pure of heart,
rough ln manner, and worldweary.
Nature plays an amblguous role as both seducer
and redeemer ln Pontoppldan`s wrltlngs. Jhls tradltlon
recalls the German Romantlclsm of Ludwlg Jleck`s
'Der blonde Eckbert" (l797). One can also trace a mel
ancholy from the |utland moors, remlnlscent of the
work of Bllcher, whlch unltes a falrytale atmosphere
wlth the earthy power of popular speechunllke the
clty llfe of Copenhagen, wlth whlch the provlnclal boy
from Randers was never reconclled. At the same tlme,
however, Pontoppldan was academlcally schooled
enough to reallze how easlly thls natural connectlon
could shortclrcult. Not untll late ln hls wrltlng, ln
Iyllc-Icr, dld he achleve mastery of nature as a rellglous
mlrror of the human soul and lts labyrlnths.
Pontoppldan`s journallsm at flrst conslsted prlma
rlly of llterary adaptatlons of lmpresslons and ldeas.
After becomlng connected to the newspaper Iolitilcv ln
the summer of l887 and then obtalnlng a job on the
dally Ijbcvlovvs rs-Tidcvdc (Copenhagen`s Exchange
News) ln August l889, hls wrltlng acqulred a more
columnlstllke character, although there were also
revlews and llterary texts among hls contrlbutlons
(among them, a draft verslon of !ildt ).
Not untll March l881 dld a personal relatlonshlp
develop between Pontoppldan and the lnfluentlal llter
ary crltlc Georg Brandes, and even then Brandes dld
not become a successor to Borchsenlus as a llterary
gulde or advlser. On the contrary, he never expressed
much of an oplnlon on Pontoppldan`s wrltlngs, nor dld
he try to broaden European acqualntance wlth the
younger wrlter`s works. In hls correspondence Brandes
expressed a solldarlty that was never reclprocated wlth
the same warmth from Pontoppldan. In hls autoblo
graphlcal volume Zrv og Cld (l938, Inherltance and
Debt) Pontoppldan characterlzes hls relatlonshlp wlth
Brandes as a fleetlng acqualntance, expresslng thereby
lts volatlle character. Ideologlcally, Pontoppldan was
closer to Brandes and hls school of thought, whlch
eventually came to be called Brandeslanlsm, than to
any other movement. Pontoppldan`s personal goals,
however, were hlgher, and, for better or for worse, hls
anchorlng ln the clerlcal mllleu was qulte allen to
Brandes, who never really understood Pontoppldan`s
major novels, a fact that ls evldent ln the one artlcle
Brandes wrote on Pontoppldan`s works.
In Aprll l889 Pontoppldan and hls wlfe offlclally
separated. Durlng the waltlng perlod before he could
marry Kofoed, he partlclpated ln Copenhagen`s llterary
caf llfe, to whlch August Strlndberg, Edvard Brandes
(Georg Brandes`s younger brother), Peter Nansen, and
|ohannes |orgensen also belonged, as well as the artlsts
assoclated wlth Pontoppldan`s frlend |ohan Rohde.
Pontoppldan also became acqualnted wlth the poet
Holger Drachmann and developed a deep lovehate
relatlonshlp wlth hlm wlth regard to llterary tastes. Pon
toppldan dlsplayed a more polltlcally orlented lrony
and satlre ln hls next collectlon of short storles, Slycr
(l890, Clouds), Georg Brandes`s favorlte among hls
early books. Jhese storles, whlch flay the lnjustlces of
the conservatlve polltlcal party Hjre (Rlght) and the
lack of polltlcal wlll on the part of ordlnary Venstre
members, were wrltten durlng the perlod of 'provl
slonal government" from l885, when the Hjre Party
governed wlthout a parllamentary basls.
In Aprll l892, when hls dlvorce was flnally
granted, Pontoppldan marrled Kofoed. Jhe couple had
two chlldren, a daughter ln l891 and a son ln l896. Ior
many years Pontoppldan had to provlde for two faml
lles, a straln that dld not lmprove hls flnanclal sltuatlon.
Both hls sons lmmlgrated (ln l905 and l920, respec
tlvely) to the Amerlcas. one to the Lnlted States and
the other to Brazll. Nelther ever returned, except for
brlef vlslts. As a father Pontoppldan was supposedly
dlstant, not unllke hls own descrlptlon of the character
LykkePer as a father. Kofoed was called 'reflned and
sensltlve" by one of the servants. Affllcted wlth weak
health, Kofoed suffered from more than one dlsease,
whlch often kept her ln bed or hospltallzed untll her
death ln l928. She was, however, a strong support for
her husband ln the many dark days that followed. In
the poem 'Slvbruden" (Jhe Sllver Weddlng Brlde),
Pontoppldan wrote, 'Dln Iryd blev mln, / mln Sorg
blev dln, / og flles var vor Lykke" (Your joy became
mlne / my sorrow thlne, / and unlted our common hap
plness). Jhe llterary crltlc Vllhelm Andersen, a close
frlend of the couple, wrote ln hls Hcvril Iovtoppidov: It
vydovsl Iorfottcrslob (l9l7, Henrlk Pontoppldan. A Mod
ern Danlsh Authorshlp) that Kofoed had 'fuldt saa
megen Indflydelse paa 'Stllen` l hans Personllghed som
Goldschmldt paa den l hans Romaner og Noveller"
( just as much lnfluence on the 'style" of hls personallty
as |Mer| Goldschmldt on that of hls novels and short
storles).
Pontoppldan`s plan for hls flrst major novel was
to recall hls vlllage days. At the close of l883 he had
promlsed hls publlsher 'Et stort, bredt og lyst Blllede
fra Landet" (a blg, broad, and llghthearted plcture of
the country). Pontoppldan wrote that the maln theme
would be the breach between the followers of N. I. S.
5l0
e m~ ai_ PPN
Grundtvlg and the dlsclples of the Indre Mlsslon
(Home Mlsslon), an evangellcal sect wlthln the Luthe
ran Church, between the llght and the dark. Jhe novel
would also provlde a vlvld, palnterly vlew of somethlng
that dld not exlst ln Danlsh llterature. the large popular
assemblles, church meetlngs, electlon meetlngs, Chrlst
mas partles, and other aspects of vlllage llfe wlth whlch
Pontoppldan was lntlmately famlllar. Lltlmately, the
novel, planned for two volumes, came to be wrltten ln
Copenhagen and changed character. Although lt
remalned large, Pontoppldan concentrated on one maln
character, Pastor Emanuel Hansted, and presented an
ever darkenlng vlslon of llluslon and defeat. Muld
(l89l, Soll; translated as Imovucl; or, Clildrcv of tlc Soil,
l896) was the result of approxlmately flve years of wrlt
lng.
In Dct forjttcdc Iovd (l892; translated as Tlc
Iromiscd Iovd, l896), concelved and cast as a novel
about a Jolstoyan ldeallst, Hansted ls forced to reslgn
hlmself to defeat ln hls attempt to unlte hls urban back
ground wlth the apparently pastoral ldyll wlth whlch he
had fallen ln love. Rellglous contradlctlons surface ln
the character of the weaver Hansen, a demonlc seducer
who undermlnes Hansted`s llluslons. Jhe polltlcal and
rellglous themes surface ln Hansted`s personal spllt
between two women. hls wlfe, Hanslgne, from a small
vlllage, and Ragnhlld, a deacon`s daughter wlth the
same cultural background as Hansted. He glves up,
leaves hls wlfe, and, together wlth hls chlldren, returns
to the capltal clty.
Jhe year after completlng the second volume of
the novel sequence, Pontoppldan plcked up the thread
and wrote a thlrd volume, tltled Dommcvs Dog (l895,
|udgment Day), ln whlch he places Hansted ln the follc-
ljslolc envlronment he had already descrlbed ln Sov-
divgc Mcviglcd. In the mldst of farreachlng theologlcal,
cultural, and polltlcal dlscusslons, Hansted follows hls
destlny lnto rellglous madness, sendlng hlm deflnltlvely
lnto the abyss as a dreamer. Jhe book ends wlth hls
death. Jhls development was not a clear extenslon of
the flrst two volumes and presupposed a revlslon of
them. Wlth some reluctance, Pontoppldan undertook
thls rewrltlng and ln l898 publlshed an edltlon of the
trllogy under the tltle Dct forjttcdc Iovd, a verslon that
ltself proved not to be deflnltlve.
Durlng and after the lengthy composltlon of Dct
forjttcdc Iovd, Pontoppldan publlshed a serles of
smaller books. Some of them were a reworklng of older
materlal. Jhe collectlon Irvilcr (l890, Chronlcles)
lncludes short, polnted descrlptlons, wrltten ln an
archalcsometlmes falrytale or fablellkestyle, whlch
proflted from Pontoppldan`s deep famlllarlty wlth the
language of the Blble and Danlsh myths. Jhe majorlty
of these pleces had been publlshed, under Pontoppl
dan`s Copenhagen pseudonym Lrbanus, ln the col
umns of Ijbcvlovvs rs-Tidcvdc from September to
November l889. One of the new selectlons ls 'De Vlses
Sten" (Jhe Phllosopher`s Stone), ln whlch a Klng Lear
flgure, bllnded and banlshed, teaches a downycheeked
lad that the phllosopher`s stone ls 'a deep, sllent con
tempt for humanlty." Jhe most bltter text ln thls llttle
book, 'De Vlses Sten" lacks the humor that character
lzes the other storles. Jogether wlth a text from l889,
'Landsbyens Dronnlng" (_ueen of the Vlllage), 'De
Vlses Sten" lndlcates that Pontoppldan had begun to
reador at least become acqualnted wlththe ldeas of
the German phllosopher Irledrlch Nletzsche. In August
l889 Georg Brandes publlshed hls lectures on
Nletzsche, and, llke many of hls Danlsh contemporar
les, Pontoppldan derlved an lmportant lmpetus from
them.
!ildt, one of the two short novels ln òtur (l890),
publlshed lmmedlately after Irvilcr, represents Pontop
pldan`s lnltlal attempt at flrstperson narratlve ln a
longer format. Both books were publlshed whlle he was
ln Berlln, where he went on hls flrst trlp to the south
slnce hls honeymoon, thanks to a muchsoughtafter
prlvately funded Ancker travel grant, whlch he recelved
after years of appllcatlon. Jhe grant money remalned at
home to support the famlly, and Pontoppldan cooped
hlmself up ln Berlln on an advance to contlnue wrltlng
Muld. Nelther at thls tlme nor later dld he fulflll hls
dream, encouraged by Georg Brandes, of travellng to
Parls. Pontoppldan never reached Irance or England.
Mivdcr (l893, Memorles) lnvolves a recastlng of
older materlal. Jhe result ls an orlglnal elegy upon the
flrstperson narrator`s flrst love, experlenced early ln
puberty, and lt unfolds ln a nostalglc descrlptlon of the
envlrons, almost perfectly matchlng the author`s chlld
hood home and surroundlng vlclnlty.
Pontoppldan`s most famous chronlcle, 'rne
flugt" (translated as 'Eagle`s Illght," l929), was com
pleted ln l893, publlshed ln a perlodlcal ln l891, and
appeared later ln a new edltlon of Irvilcr ln volume
one of Iortllivgcr (l899, Jales). Apparently wrltten as
an lnverslon of Hans Chrlstlan Andersen`s falry tale
'Den grlmme lllng" (l813, Jhe Lgly Duckllng), lt
tells of Klaus, an eagle who grew up wlth 'cllpped
wlngs" on a pastor`s duck farm. After the pastor`s
death, the eagle has the chance to spread hls wlngs lnto
the lcy wllderness of the Nletzschean mountalntops. A
female eagle lures the clumsy Klaus so far away from
home that he changes hls mlnd and returns home
alone, only to be shot down by a farmer as a common
chlcken thlef and to end on the dung heap, 'Ior det
hjlper alllgevel lkke, at man har llgget l et rneg, nr
man er voxet op l Andegrden" (Ior lt ls no use to
come from the egg of an eagle, lf one has grown up on a
5ll
ai_ PPN e m~
duck farm). Jhe text may also be lnterpreted as a grlm
parody of the classlc paradlgm of the blldungsroman
and the protagonlst`s movement from home to home
lessness and then back home.
òttcvogt (l891, Nlght Watch), another wldely
read work by Pontoppldan, became part of the canon
for teachers of Danlsh llterature. Jhe novel takes place
ln a Danlsh colony ln Rome a few years before the tlme
when Pontoppldan hlmself spent hls yearlong honey
moon wlth Kofoed ln that clty. Hls flrst 'artlst novel,"
part of òttcvogt conslsts of theoretlcal dlscusslons
between the protagonlst, the palnter |rgen Hallagera
revolutlonary anarchlst of the soclalreallst school who
has just marrled Lrsula, the daughter of a patrlclan
famllyand hls good frlend and colleague Jhorklld
Drehllng, who has been taken by the new sensltlvlty
and symbollc tendencles of the tlmes. Jhe book
lncludes Hallager`s furlous rant agalnst the tlmes. Hls
flnal llne became a famlllar quotatlon. 'Hold Galden
flydende!" (Keep the wound open!). Even hls namea
homonym of lolv-ogcr (halfacre)lndlcates that he rep
resents only one slde of the truth. Whereas Hallager
lntones the vlews of Pontoppldan`s llterary journallsm,
Drehllng, for hls part, repeats statements from Spgclscr
that were lnterpreted as Pontoppldan`s flrst slgnal of a
reorlentatlon ln hls wrltlngs from soclal to personal
exploratlon. '|eg vd, at man l Llvet kan mde Sorger
og Skuffelser, der nager langt vrre end baade Sult og
Kulde" (I know that, ln llfe, one may meet sorrows and
dlsappolntments that plague one longer than elther
hunger or cold).
One chronlcle that dld not go lnto Irvilcr but
had been publlshed that same year, l890, under Pon
toppldan`s usual pseudonym of Lrbanus ln Ijbcvlovvs
rs-Tidcvdc was 'Den gamle Adam" (Jhe Old Adam),
ln whlch a randy Adam asks the Lord to create women
for hlm from all hls rlbs. Jogether wlth hls book revlew
of Vlggo Stuckenberg`s novel Mcssios (l889, Jhe Mes
slah), 'Den gamle Adam" resulted ln a lawsult agalnst
the newspaper. Jhe edltor of the paper, Georg
Brandes`s brother Ernst, was held llable for the book
revlew, and Pontoppldan lost hls state support for a
year.
Less accompllshed than Mivdcr ls Dcv gomlc Zdom
(l891), conslstlng of the tltle work and varlous shorter
pleces, lncludlng a brlef, almost aphorlstlc text, a
'Dlary" from Ijbcvlovvs rs-Tidcvdc. Llke the clrcus
glrl Elvlra Madlgan and the Swedlsh count who fell
madly ln love and commltted sulclde ln l889 on
Iunen`s southern lsland of Jslnge, the vacatlonlng
older deputy judge ln Dcv gomlc Zdom falls for a glrl,
and lt costs hlm hls wlfe and chlldren. Not the judge,
however, but a young secondary character commlts sul
clde over unhappy love at the end of the book. In all of
these works the flrstperson narrator takes on lncreas
lngly lndlvldual features. He ls most strongly reallzed ln
Hjsovg (l896, Hymn). Llke the narrator ln !ildt, the
phllologlst ln Hjsovg ls a ruttlng swaln who lmaglnes
havlng hls sexual debut wlth an older, marrled, and
apparently neglected woman. In thls lnstance the phllol
ogy student has absorbed a great deal of llterature ln hls
years of study and, therefore, clothes hls deslre ln splrl
tual garb.
Whlle the narrators ln !ildt and Dcv gomlc Zdom
are contemporaneous wlth thelr settlng, the narrators of
both Mivdcr and Hjsovg, the same age as thelr author,
look back at an earller tlme. In all four short novels,
Pontoppldan uses these lmpllclt elements to create
lronlc dlstance and satlrlcal mockery, so that readers
themselves are allowed to draw thelr own concluslons
about where the 'truth" of the charactersln partlcular,
of the narrator hlmselflles. Jhus, the omnlsclent nar
rator who governs the major novels ls suspended ln
many of the shorter ones for a more elegant eplc game.
At the tlme, llterary crltlcs had a dlfflcult tlme under
standlng thls game and often belleved that Pontoppldan
could be taken 'at hls word." Ior example, a slngle sen
tence from the parody 'Preface" ln Hjsovg was taken
out of context to characterlze the author as one who
'above all loves clarlty of thought and mascullne mental
composure." Pontoppldan dld not object to thls state
ment; from thls tlme, he created a publlc mask behlnd
whlch he could make hls artlstlc faces.
Pontoppldan then turned to hls next great novel,
Iyllc-Icr, publlshed ln elght volumes from l898 to l901
and collected ln l905. Once agaln, he used hls own llfe
as a startlng polnt; yet, one can understand nothlng lf
one reads the novel only as autoblography. Scholars
contlnue to dlscuss the extent to whlch Pontoppldan
knew how the course of thls novel would run and how
lt would end. Some have seen 'rneflugt" as the
model. Peter Andreas 'Per" Sldenlus, son of a mlnlster,
wants to be an englneer and a modern man. He strlves
to surpass the llmlts of the envlronment ruthlessly to
conquer the world, lncludlng |akobe, the daughter of a
wealthy |ew named Salomon. Per creates a grandlose
plan for a canal system to connect the poorer parts of
the country, proposes a port at the west coast of |utland,
and lnvents machlnes to collect oceanwave energy. But
when |akobe draws hlm up to the thln alr of freedom
and demands that he choose the end over the means to
flnance hls projects, he loses courage and flees back to
Chrlstlanlty and the comfortable embrace of the Danlsh
provlnces. Per then marrles Inger, the daughter of a pas
tor, and ralses hls chlldren wlth the same allenatlng dls
tance under whlch he hlmself was ralsed.
It took Pontoppldan seven years to reach thls
polnt ln the narratlve, and now mldway through he
5l2
e m~ ai_ PPN
struggled wlth wrlter`s block. Among other thlngs, he
used the tlme to edlt hls earller wrltlngs and to study
Nletzsche. What drew hlm to Nletzsche, also a pastor`s
son, was hls lndlvlduallsm and hls removal of 'dlvlne"
judgment to the lnner llfe of the human belng. Jhls
new, modern humanlsm wlthout external soclal dutles
attracted Pontoppldan, who always saw hlmself as an
outslder. Dlsappolnted ln hls polltlcal asplratlons for the
young Danlsh democracy, Pontoppldan easlly absorbed
Nletzsche`s elltlst vlews, whlch held that the strong per
son could master hls own fate, just as one creates a
work of art. Jhe respect that must be won ls self
respect.
Pontoppldan then took hls character LykkePer
down a long, tortuous road, turnlng the goal of hls hap
plness from the external to the lnternal, from bllss ln a
materlal sense to the llberatlng sufferlng of renunclatlon
and to an lnslght that goes beyond Nletzsche to Arthur
Schopenhauer, back to a conceptlon of natural rellglon.
After separatlng hlmself from hls wlfe and chlldren and
movlng to the remotest part of the country ln splendld
lsolatlon, Peron the last page of the novelcounts hlm
self lucky for havlng llved ln a tlme that called upon the
lnstlnct 'at slg selv l guddommellge Ngenhed" (to
oneself ln dlvlne nakedness).
Ior many years iJm was consldered part of
the tradltlon of the Danlsh ~~~ (dreamer novel),
and some scholars have lnterpreted the endlng as an
expresslon of Pontoppldan`s lrony. Jhe concluslon has
also been lnterpretedfor example, by Vllhelm Ander
senas an expresslon of LykkePer`s lnablllty to express
and recelve love. Slnce the late l990s, research has
focused on understandlng Pontoppldan. no longer can
anyone flnd a way around lnterpretlng iJm as a
deeply serlous, albelt poetlc, phllosophlcal work that
does not say thlngs dlrectly but unamblguously polnts
ln one dlrectlon. Jhese conslderatlons do not change
the lnterpretatlon of iJm as a broad, multlfaceted
descrlptlon of Denmark and Danlsh soclety ln the last
quarter of the nlneteenth century. Jhe humor and
harsh satlre ln the novel are components ln a tlghtly
woven composltlon, uslng leltmotlvs and symbollc
lcons. Jhat Pontoppldan`s struggle wlth the novel was
dlfflcult ls also apparent from the fact that, upon com
pletlng lt, he announced the new l905 edltlon and
asked that the novel be evaluated on the basls of the
later verslon.
In l900, durlng the pause ln hls work on iJ
mI Pontoppldan publlshed two short novels, i
o (Llttle Red Rldlng Hood; republlshed as q~
~ aI l922) and a ~ e (Jhe Ideal Home).
Both are about marrlage. i o ls a reworklng of
a story from i~I 'Arv" (Inherltance); ln a
~ e Pontoppldan plays wlth the ldea of a matrlar
chy ln whlch the chlldren wlll not be affected by any
lncompatlblllty between the parents. Jhe father
remalns wlth hls slsters and helps to ralse the slsters`
chlldren.
Durlng these years Pontoppldan also lald the
foundatlons for three short novels but dld not complete
them untll later. _ e e (l905; trans
lated as _~ e ~ e tI l999), a
p (l907, Jhe Great Apparltlon), and a
d (l908; translated as 'Jhe Royal Guest," l928). In
the flrst and thlrd of these, marrlage ls elther crlppled
by lnner tyranny or shaken to lts foundatlons by an
external agent.
a pI whlch ls also the tltle of a llttle
fable at the concluslon of iJmI ls quantltatlvely the
smallest of the short novels. Jhe text fulfllls the
demands of the genre, presentlng a novellstlc mlrror of
the sequence of an entlre llfe`s destlny. Ilrst and fore
most an emblematlc text, a p bullds on the
sustalnlng metaphor of Pontoppldan`s entlre body of
work. 'Jhe great apparltlon" stands for the moral and
rellglous prejudlces from the past that should have been
rejected by a modern mlnd. In the story a young ser
vant glrl ln a vlllage commlts sulclde out of fear of her
master`s condemnatlon for meetlng her boyfrlend.
e~ was dramatlzed ln l902 as a c
(Jhe Wlld Blrds), but, llke lts successor, ^~~
(l906, Jhe Asgaard Shrlmp; revlsed, l928), the play
enjoyed llttle noteworthy popularlty. Nelther as a dra
matlst nor as a poet dld Pontoppldan achleve much for
hls efforts. e~ h~ j (l907, Hans Kvast and
Meluslne), another artlst novel, ralses the questlon of
whether true art can be created on false premlses. Jhe
surprlslng answer ls yes. In hls journallstlc llterary crltl
clsm Pontoppldan had earller been preoccupled wlth
what llttle meanlng authentlclty has for true art. Hugo
Martens ls a composer and as full of selfdeceptlon as
Hjalmar Ekdal ln Henrlk Ibsen`s s~ (l881; trans
lated as q t aI l890). Jhls falllng, however,
does not prevent Martens from composlng (after a
pathetlc sulclde attempt) a great and successful muslcal
work durlng a sea trlp along the Norweglan west coast.
e~ h~ j ls the most sarcastlc of Pontoppl
dan`s books, and he once agaln lent hls protagonlst
some of hls own tralts.
Pontoppldan later came to compare hls last great
novel, a a o (collected edltlon, l9l7), flrst pub
llshed ln flve separate volumes from l9l2 to l9l6, to a
muslcal composltlon, a slmple atmospherlc motlf set for
a large orchestra. Although the author does not state
thls motlf, there can be no doubt that lt ls ln a mlnor
key. Jhe melancholy ln the descrlptlon of the llfelong
but frultless love between the tltle characters ln the flrst
volume, q g (l9l2), ls deeper than anywhere
5l3
ai_ PPN e m~
else ln Pontoppldan`s wrltlngs. Manor owner Jorben
Dlhmer ls not a protagonlst of the same type as Han
sted or LykkePer. Hls endeavors, however, lle ln the
same dlrectlon; desplte a promlslng polltlcal career and
an analytlcal mlnd, Jorben dellberately allows a fatal
but treatable metabollc dlsease to galn sway over hls llfe
and ends up wlth the same ascetlclsm as LykkePer,
although wlth the llmlted optlmlsm of a broader per
spectlve on natural rellglon.
Around Jorben and |ytte, whose spllt consclous
ness ls the prlmary obstacle to the couple`s happlness,
Pontoppldan palnts a gallery of cultural fools who rush
about ln search of power, wealth, and honor. He drastl
cally cut the text of the l9l7 edltlon by a quarter, and
not necessarlly to lts advantage, although the structure
of the book became clearer. Even more than ln hls pre
vlous novels, Pontoppldan moves about the country
and lts varlous envlrons. Dc Ddcs Iigc ls not as deep as
hls two prevlous major novels, but, wlth lts humor, lt
etches a plcture that does not leave much hope for the
development of culture ln the shadow of World War I.
As Jorben observes when he refuses to take over polltl
cal power ln the country, 'Vl beflnder os paa en
Ddssejler, som en skn Dag gaar tllbunds med os alle
sammen" (We flnd ourselves on a phantom shlp that
wlll one day slnk wlth all of us on board). He descrlbes
a natlon whose clvlllzatlon ls dlseased and dares not
reallze ltself ln the dlvlne nakedness that LykkePer
found. Wlth Dc Ddcs Iigc Pontoppldan founded, uslng
the works of Honor de Balzac and Emlle Zola as dls
tant models, the collectlve satlrlcal novel ln Denmark.
Preachers, artlsts, polltlclans, doctors, buslnessmen, and
womeneven those women beloved and worshlped by
Pontoppldando not escape belng strlpped of thelr
ratlonallzatlons.
As early as Iyllc-Icr, Pontoppldan had lncluded a
portralt of Georg Brandes ln hls wrltlng. In Dc Ddcs
Iigc he lncluded a poem for Brandes`s seventleth blrth
day ln l9l2 suggestlng that the ldeals for whlch the
Modern Breakthrough struggled had been deserted, not
only by lts descendants and camp followers but also by
the orlglnators of the movement, who were not so pure
of heart that they, ln Sren Klerkegaard`s words, wllled
only one thlng. Jhe domlnatlng polltlclan ln Dc Ddcs
Iigc, Enslev, mlrrors Brandes`s mlsgulded efforts (ln
Pontoppldan`s eyes). Desplte the deep pesslmlsm of the
novel, and desplte Pontoppldan`s lncreaslng fear about
the end of clvlllzatlon, he has Dc Ddcs Iigc fade lnto a
fraglle utopla, set to the reedy tones of the panplpe.
In l9l7, when Pontoppldan shared the Nobel
Prlze ln Llterature wlth Gjellerup, he stated that lt
should have gone to Georg Brandes, who had been pro
posed for the award several tlmes, but ln valn. Some of
the Nobel commlttee members felt that Brandes and
Pontoppldan lacked the 'ldeallsm" that Gjellerup sup
posedly possessed. Others, however, felt that Gjellerup
was not a strong enough candldate by hlmself; they had
lnltlally consldered |akob Knudsen as a coreclplent, but
Knudsen dled ln Iebruary l9l7, so Pontoppldan suc
ceeded hlm as a nomlnee. Jhe shared prlze was thus a
compromlse, though subsequent oplnlon has been that
Pontoppldan was more deservlng. Jhe cltatlon for Pon
toppldan stated that he recelved the award 'for hls
authentlc descrlptlons of presentday llfe ln Denmark."
Probably because of the effects of World War I, there
was no Nobel ceremony that year, but Pontoppldan and
Gjellerup recelved thelr prlze on 8 November l9l7. Jhe
award provlded the occaslon for new marketlng, wlth
consequent revlsed edltlons of Dct forjttcdc Iovd and
Iyllc-Icr, less thorough than prevlous revlslons. In
l922 Pontoppldan`s short novels were collected, along
wlth hls short storles, lnto two volumes as òvcllcr og
Slitscr: It Udvolg (Novels and Sketches. A Selectlon),
followed by a thlrd volume ln l930.
Pontoppldan, though lacklng 'ldeallsm," was not
wlthout a utoplan vlslon. In thls mental landscape, the
mountalntop ls the place for lmportant declslons, and
here he takes hls characters ln It Irliglcdscvcvtyr (l9l8,
An Amorous Ialry Jale). Ior the flrst tlme he allows a
connectlon between a man and a woman to end hap
plly. between the phllosopher and Schopenhauer spe
clallst Gabrlel Vadum and Ingrld, the unfalthful wlfe of
a pastor. Between these two, love becomes God. Pon
toppldan changed thls endlng, however, ln the second
edltlon of It Irliglcdscvcvtyr, publlshed ln the thlrd vol
ume of òvcllcr og Slitscr, after hls wlfe`s death ln l928.
In the revlsed verslon Ingrld dles before she and
Gabrlel can fulflll thelr love ln a lastlng llfe together.
Pontoppldan`s flnal novel, Movds Himmcrig (l927,
Man`s Heaven), was undoubtedly better concelved
than lt was executed. An echo of Enslev ln Dc Ddcs
Iigc, scholar and newspaperman Nlels Jhorsen, dlsap
polnted ln hls career, rages flrst agalnst the Rlght and
then agalnst the Left and ends up ln a bllnd natlonal
lsm. On the personal front, he suffers defeat ln love
when hls neglected wlfe commlts sulclde. Characters
from Zsgoordsrcjcv and It Irliglcdscvcvtyr reappear ln
Movds Himmcrig, whlch never achleves the broad over
vlew of Pontoppldan`s large novels or the penetratlon of
hls short ones.
Durlng hls flnal thlrteen years, Pontoppldan occu
pled hlmself prlmarlly wlth hls own llfe story. Jhe four
small volumes of memolrs he publlshed from l933 to
l910Drcvgcoor, Homsliftc, Zrv og Cld, and Iomiljcliv
(l910, Iamlly Llfe)and the collected and abrldged ver
slon, Uvdcrvcjs til mig sclv (l913, On the Way to Myself),
appear as a carefully prepared autoblography of a
strong artlstlc character. Ior example, he lntroduces a
5l1
e m~ ai_ PPN
flctlonal flgure, called Schaff, who splrltually guldes the
young Pontoppldan even before he beglns to create.
Pontoppldan lnterprets and organlzes hls llfe around a
fatallstlc bellef (Augustlne`s 'Jrahlmur" |We are
gulded|) ln a 'natural" development.
Once restlessly movlng around all over central
Europe, Pontoppldan settled down and spent the last flf
teen years of hls llfe ln a suburb of Copenhagen. He
dled there on 2l August l913 after havlng destroyed all
of the drafts, dlarles, and letters he could accumulate.
Ior many years hls Uvdcrvcjs til mig sclv was the autho
rlzed verslon of hls llfe. Because he was so popular ln
hls llfetlme, hls works could hardly escape a decllne ln
attentlon durlng the l960s and l970s, but Pontoppldan
has slnce reemerged as a favorlte among readers and
crltlcs, who appreclate hlm for more than hls abllltles as
a palnter of 'hlstorlcal" frescoes.
Durlng hls entlre career Pontoppldan tended to
rewrlte, correct, abrldge, tlghten, and alter hls texts. As
was customary at the tlme, he presumed that the latest
edltlons would automatlcally become the authorltatlve
ones. After flnlshlng the second edltlon of Iyllc-Icr,
publlshed ln l905, Pontoppldan addressed the dlstlnc
tlon between the older and newer edltlons and clalmed
that the older edltlon related to the new ln exactly the
same way that a palnter`s nature studles relate to the
flnlshed palntlng. He remarked that one`s preference
was a matter of taste. on the one hand, the sketch mlght
have a freshness of color that could not easlly be pre
served ln a more careful composltlon. On the other
hand, the flnlshed palntlng was llkely more accesslble,
more lucld, and thereby more strongly colored by the
artlst`s fundamental outlook.
It was, howeverand lsnot slmply a matter of
cholce wlth respect to elther Dct forjttcdc Iovd or Iyllc-
Icr: the flrst edltlons, ln each case conslstlng of several
lndlvldual volumes, are not accesslble as coherent, lnte
grated works. One may choose the collected l898 edl
tlon of Dct forjttcdc Iovd and that of l905 for Iyllc-Icr,
or the further revlsed, collected edltlons of each from
l9l8. Joday, most scholars prefer the former, but the
latter are now ln prlnt ln paperback. No slngle offlclal
pollcy exlsts among Pontoppldan`s helrs and the varl
ous publlshers of hls works. Gyldendal, Det danske
Sprog og Lltteraturselskab (Jhe Danlsh Language and
Llterature Assoclatlon), and the Pontoppldan Soclety.
Dlfferent edltlons are used for dlfferent reasons. No col
lected, crltlcal edltlon of Pontoppldan`s works exlsts.
Desplte comprehenslve plans, only Dct forjttcdc Iovd
has been publlshed ln a crltlcal edltlon (l997) by Det
danske Sprog og Lltteraturselskab. Several of the smoo
Iomovcr have been reprlnted (from the flrst edltlons) by
Det danske Sprog og Lltteraturselskab and equlpped
wlth explanatory notes and afterwords. Regardless of
whlch edltlons are prlmary, Henrlk Pontoppldan`s work
contlnues to endure.
iW
Hcvril Iovtoppidov og Ccorg rovdcs, volume l. Iv dolu-
mcvtorisl rcdcgrclsc for brcvvclslivgcv og dcv pcrsovligc
lovtolt, edlted by Ellas Bredsdorff (Copenhagen.
Gyldendal, l961);
Hcvril Iovtoppidovs rcvc, 2 volumes, edlted by Breds
dorff and Carl Erlk Bay (Copenhagen. Gylden
dal, l997).
fW
C. C. Clausen, 'Henrlk Pontoppldan," Hvcr ottcvdc Dog,
ll (l0 September l905). 792-791;
Anonymous, 'Henrlk Pontoppldan om Lykke Per,"
Iolitilcv (l9 December l905). 1;
Carl Henrlk Clemmensen, as Clerk, 'Henrlk Pontoppl
dan om Georg Brandes," òtiovoltidcvdc, 2l Iebru
ary l927, p. l;
Clemmensen, 'Henrlk Pontoppldan om slg selv,"
òtiovoltidcvdc, 23 |uly l927, pp. l-2.
_~W
Poul Carlt Andersen, Hcvril Iovtoppidov: Iv iogrofi og
ibliogrofi (Copenhagen. Levln Munksgaard,
l931).
oW
Knut Ahnlund, Hcvril Iovtoppidov: Icm luvudlivjcr i frfot-
tcrslopct (Stockholm. Nordstedt, l956);
Ahnlund, ed., Umlrivg Iyllc-Icr: Iv studicbog (Copen
hagen. H. Reltzel, l97l);
Vllhelm Andersen, Hcvril Iovtoppidov: It vydovsl Iorfot-
tcrslob (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l9l7);
Ilemmlng Behrendt, ed., Uvdcrgovgcvs ovgstDc Ddcs
Iigc, Pontoppldan Selskabets Skrlftserle, 3, no. l
(Odense. Syddansk Lnlversltetsforlag, 2001);
Irederlk |. Bllleskov |ansen, Hcvril Iovtoppidov: Icdctrd
for lscrc (Copenhagen. Nordlsk Iorlag, l978);
Georg Brandes, 'Henrlk Pontoppldan," ln hls Iuglcpcr-
spcltiv (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l9l3), pp. l-2l;
Ellas Bredsdorff, Hcvril Iovtoppidov og Ccorg rovdcs, vol
ume 2. Iv lritisl uvdcrsgclsc of Hcvril Iovtoppidovs
forlold til Ccorg rovdcs og rovdcs-livjcv i dovsl vd-
sliv (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l961);
Ernst Ekman, 'Henrlk Pontoppldan as a Crltlc of Mod
ern Danlsh Soclety," Scovdivoviov Studics, 29
(l957). l70-l83;
Hcvril IovtoppidovIortol for lscrc, studcrcvdc, lrcrc og for-
slcrc http.//www.henrlkpontoppldan.dk`;
Bent Haugaard |eppesen, Hcvril Iovtoppidovs somfuvdslri-
til: Studicr ovcr dcv sociolc dcbot i forfottcrslobct,
5l5
ai_ PPN e m~
1SS1-1927 (Copenhagen. Gad, l962; enlarged
edltlon, Copenhagen. Vlnten, l977);
Nlels Kofoed, Hcvril Iovtoppidov: Zvorlismcv og dcmolroticts
trogcdic (Copenhagen. C. A. Reltzel, l986);
P. M. Mltchell, Hcvril Iovtoppidov (Boston. Jwayne,
l979);
Klaus P. Mortensen, Irovi og utopi: Iv bog om Hcvril Iov-
toppidov (Copenhagen. Gyldendal, l982);
H. P. Rohde, Dct lydcr som ct cvcvtyrog ovdrc Hcvril
Iovtoppidov-studicr (Copenhagen. C. A. Reltzel,
l98l);
Hakon Stangerup and I. |. Bllleskov |ansen, Iro Ccorg
rovdcs til olovvcs !. cvscv, volume 1 of Dovsl lit-
tcroturlistoric, edlted by P. H. Jraustedt (Copen
hagen. Polltlken, l977);
Ejnar Jhomsen, ed., Hcvril Iovtoppidov til Mivdc
Karl V. Jhomsen, Hold goldcv flydcvdc. Tovlcr og tcvdcvscr
i Hcvril Iovtoppidovs forfottcrslob (Arhus. S. Lund,
l957);
|rgen E. Jlemroth, Dct lobyrivtislc Sivd. Hcvril Iovtoppi-
dovs forfottcrslob, 1SS1-1904 (Odense. Odense
Jlemroth, Moslcspil (Odense. Odense Lnlverslty Press,
l988).
m~W
Henrlk Pontoppldan`s collected letters and manuscrlpts
are at the Danlsh Royal Llbrary ln Copenhagen and at
the Lokalhlstorlsk Arklv ln Randers.
NVNT k m i~ m~
Hcvril Iovtoppidov rcccivcd tlc òbcl Iric iv Iitcroturc ov S
òvcmbcr 1917. Tlcrc wos vo oword ccrcmovy, prcscvtotiov, or
lccturc tlot ycor. Tlis occouvt of tlc worls of Iovtoppidov ovd
fcllow wivvcr Iorl Cjcllcrup wos writtcv by Svcv Sdcrmov,
Swcdisl critic, somctimc oftcr tlc owordivg of tlc pric.
Karl Gjellerup was born ln l857 and dled on
October ll, l9l9. Llke Henrlk Pontoppldan, he came
from a famlly of mlnlsters. He chose a career ln the
clergy although he felt no speclal calllng for lt; rather
hls lncllnatlons drew hlm strongly toward llterature,
and alongslde hls 'bread and butter studles" he devoted
hlmself to readlng the Greek, Engllsh, and especlally
the German classlcs. In the course of hls theologlcal
studles, he came gradually to take a purely negatlve
attltude toward theology and became attracted by the
llterary radlcallsm led by Georg Brandes. In l878 he
made hls llterary dbut under the pseudonym of
'Eplgonos" wlth a short novel entltled Iv idcolist |An
Ideallst|. He publlshed next, ln qulck successlon, a
serles of tales and poems ln whlch he posed as a fanatlc
enemy of all theology and as a sworn partlsan of Dar
wln and the doctrlne of evolutlon.
After thls flrst perlod of antltheologlcal battles,
not marked by a profound orlglnallty, Gjellerup under
took a trlp abroad durlng whlch he collected hls
thoughts and found hls lntellectual equlllbrlum. At the
same tlme hls llterary talent took on more dlstlnct out
llnes. the descrlptlon of an era, Iomulus (l883); the
beautlful short story 'GDur" (l883) |GMajor|, a por
tralt of lntlmacy; and especlally the great drama ryvlild
(l881), whlch marks the peak of hls talent durlng thls
perlod. Jhe theme of thls drama ls the eplsode of the
Volsunga Saga ln whlch Slgurd and Brunhllde, flndlng
themselves on the same mountaln, are separated by
thelr destlny but dream of and deslre one another. Jhls
waltlng, full of torment, thls qulet deslre, lmbues wlth
sentlment the tragedy whlch ls presented wlth strength
and wlth great poetlc and plctorlal rlchness. Jhe verse,
especlally ln the choruses composed ln the anclent fash
lon, attalns great lyrlc beauty. Jhe scope of the work ls
due to lts depth and form; through lts ldeallsm and
moral elevatlon lt contrasts absolutely wlth the other
productlons of the naturallstlc perlod durlng whlch lt
was wrltten. In splte of hls freedom of thought,
Gjellerup had at bottom only a few common bonds
wlth the naturallstlc school. He had, on the contrary,
many more addresses wlth German classlclsm, wlth the
llterature of antlqulty, and wlth the wealth of sentlments
of Wagner, and when he reallzed thls fact, he broke
sharply and publlcly wlth the school of Brandes ln hls
travel book, !ovdrcoorct (l885) |Wander Year|. Hls llter
ary productlon ( plays, lyrlc poems, storles) was hence
forth orlented toward ldeallsm, but at the beglnnlng lt
only barely succeeded from the artlstlc polnt of vlew,
even though the rlchness of hls poetlc glfts was always
vlslble ln lt. Jhe best of the books he publlshed durlng
the last years of thls perlod was the charmlng novel
Mivvo (l889), a truly beautlful love story and a dellcate
study of femlnlne psychology whlch must be classed ln
the hlghest rank of Scandlnavlan novels. Let us clte also
that novel wlth the broadest foundatlons and a solld
constructlon, Mllcv (l896) |Jhe Mlll|, a curlous analy
sls of the state of mlnd of a murderer who becomes
remorseful and denounces hlmself; lt ls a work of traglc
grandeur. Less remarkable as works of art, but expres
slve of Gjellerup`s hlgh moral ldeas about marrlage and
the relatlonshlp between the sexes, are hls modem
bourgeols dramas Hcrmov !ovdcl (l89l), !utllorv
(l893), and Hovs Ixccllcvcc (l895). Jhese dramas are
not a plea for marrlage. Indeed, the author puts the ldea
of marrlage above banal conventlons, and preclsely
because he puts lt so hlgh, he does not flnd lt reallzed ln
5l6
e m~ ai_ PPN
ordlnary marrlages. He proposes as a purer model the
free unlon, even though lt would not have the consecra
tlon of church or state, provlded that thls unlon ls the
only one ln a human llfe.
Jhese dramas, whose tendency ls rellglous
desplte thelr lndlvlduallstlc revolts, form a transltlon
between the flrst ldeas of the author and those whlch
characterlze the last and most slgnlflcant perlod of hls
llterary llfe. It was wlthout doubt the enthuslasm for the
muslcal drama of Wagner, to whlch he devoted a mas
terly work, whlch led hlm to the study of Buddhlst wls
dom wlth lts annlhllatlon of the personallty ln the
unlversal world of Nlrvana. Among the works wrltten
by Gjellerup ln the twentleth century, the best ones are
lnsplred preclsely by these speculatlons on Indla and
place on stage Hlndu subjects whlch he has treated so
poetlcally and ldeallstlcally that they have aroused gen
eral admlratlon. Jhls perlod of hls work began wlth a
muslcal play, l (l903) |Jhe Sacrlflclal Ilres|, the
legend of a young dlsclple of Brahma who ln the slm
pllclty of hls plous soul dlscovers wlsdom beneath the
llteral sense of the law, and who wlshes to preserve ln
the world the three sacrlflclal flres. the flre of the soul,
the flame of love, and the flre of the funeral pyre whlch
consumes the body. Phllosophlcal thought ls here allled
freely and harmonlously wlth the creatlve lmaglnatlon
of a poet. In the great mythlc novel, m h~~~
(l906), whlch contalns a hlstory of Buddha`s era,
Gjellerup has elucldated the essentlal characterlstlcs of
the Buddhlst conceptlon of the world, lts doctrlne of
renunclatlon, lts effort toward perfectlon, and lts
dreams of paradlse, of Nlrvana, and of unlversal
destructlon. Kamanlta ls the man ln search of earthly
satlsfactlons who, after seelng the fraglllty of all thlngs,
deslres lnstead eternal treasures. We follow hlm not
only durlng hls earthly llfe but also durlng the dlfferent
transformatlons he undergoes ln the 'Western Para
dlse," ln whlch the troplcal sumptuousness of Indla ls
redlscovered. Jhose who have destroyed themselves
awaken here and leave thelr lotus buds to partlclpate ln
the dance of the blessed and to undergo new lncarna
tlons, followlng whlch thelr souls begln a new exlstence
ln the emplre of the Buddha of the hundred thousand
cycles. In splte of lts unlnterrupted speculatlons on
Hlndu phllosophy, thls poem exerclses a slngular fascl
natlon. _ulte lntultlvely the poet seems to have pene
trated lnto the splrltual llfe of a faroff people and to
have expressed thelr dreams of lt wlth the vlslonary`s
glft. In certaln passages of thls poem one flnds the splrlt
of the Arablan Nlghts, and certaln parts of the Western
Paradlse present a penetratlng plcture of the sumptuous
magnlflcence of the llfe of the blessed. In the same way
the drama a (l907) |Jhe Wlfe of the
Perfect One|, whlch deals wlth the purlflcatlons that
Buddha`s wlfe must undergo to attaln perfectlon, ls a
masterplece. Jhe author has succeeded ln permlttlng
hls own nature and genlus to shlne through these dog
matlc and phllosophlcal revelatlons of a mlllennlal phl
losophy. Gjellerup`s last great work, s ~
(l9l0) |World Wanderers|, wlth lts halfOrlental, half
western moral, does not attaln the same artlstlc beauty,
but lt contalns beautlful detalls and holds our lnterest
through a mystlclsm full of lmaglnatlon as much as
through the development of the actlon.
Karl Gjellerup was that strange comblnatlon, a
scholar as well as a poet. Hls lnventlve lmaglnatlon and
hls glfts of vlslonary poetry were often dlfflcult to har
monlze wlth hls speclflc knowledge and hls llvely lntelll
gence. Hls earller works are characterlzed by very
broad but sometlmes clumsy descrlptlons, phllosophlcal
rather than spontaneous. Jhey occaslonally neglect
artlstlc form, but they are always rlch ln ldeas and full
of promlses of orlglnallty. Among them are such
remarkable works as _ and j~. A poet who
gathers all the flowers; a splrlt that seeks tlrelessly untll
lt reaches lts true domaln ln the world of Hlndu mystl
clsm, ln whlch hls profound thought and hls ldeal effort
to clarlfy the enlgmas of truth and llfe are comblned
wlth hls artlstlc lnstlnct. such ls the Gjellerup of the sec
ond perlod. Jhought charged wlth emotlon, a great
knowledge of the soul, a great deslre for beauty, and a
poetlc art have glven blrth to works of endurlng value.
Jhe author of m h~~~ and a J
has justlflably been called the 'classlc poet of Bud
dhlsm."
* * *
Henrlk Pontoppldan belongs to the generatlon of
wrlters who followed closely the 'modern renalssance"
of Danlsh llterature after l870, whlch had as lts prlncl
pal representatlves Georg Brandes, Holger Drachmann,
and |. P. |acobsen. As a wrlter, hls partlcular provlnce ls
the novella. As an observer of human nature, as hlsto
rlan of the moral llfe of hls tlme, he assuredly ranks flrst
among contemporary Danlsh novellsts. Born ln |utland
ln l857, he was the son of a Protestant mlnlster whose
ldeas were tlnged wlth the doctrlne of Grundtvlg. He
was educated at a polytechnlcal college. Later he taught
school, but soon he gave up all professlons to follow
only hls vocatlon as a wrlter. Hls flrst book, p
s |Cllpped Wlngs|, appeared ln l88l; slnce then he
has publlshed a great number of books, among them
works of great and lastlng value. Durlng hls youth he
had bltter experlences of the Danlsh character and llfe
whlch must have been a determlnlng lnfluence on hls
career as a wrlter. All hls work ls a struggle agalnst what
seemed to hlm deceptlve and perfldlous llluslons, false
authorlty, romantlclsm, superstltlous bellef ln beautlful
phrases, and the lntoxlcatlon of lofty words, exalted
5l7
ai_ PPN e m~
sentlments, and moral fear. In a word, lt ls 'the process
of lyrlc putrefactlon" by whlch the soclety of the Old
World, ln hls judgment, ls headlng toward lts ruln.
Jhus ln p~ j (l883) |Jhe Parlsh of
Sandlnge|, he flnds fault wlth the falsltles ln the hlgher
educatlonal system; ln p (l890) |Clouds|, he crltl
clzes the leftlst Danlsh polltlclan of sonorous but empty
phrases under the provlsory laws of Estrup; ln a
~ ^~ (l891) |Jhe Old Adam| and e~ (l896)
|Song of Songs|, he exposes the ravlngs of the amorous
lmaglnatlon and lofty sentlments; and ln k~ (l890),
he exerclses hls lrony on the exaltatlon of nature.
j (l886) |Mlmosas| supports a theory completely
opposed to the ldea whlch had been domlnant slnce
Bjrnson defended lt ln b ~ |A Gauntlet|, the ldea
whlch demanded man`s purlty and fldellty ln sexual
relatlons. a ~ e (l900) |Jhe Ideal Home| ls a
defence of matrlarchy agalnst marrlage. k~~ (l891)
|Nlght Watch| and the play ^~~ (l906) |Jhe
Wlld Chase| contaln attacks agalnst modern art and
lyrlc poetry whlch are only objects of luxury. Jo
anaemlc culture, the enemy of llfe, Pontoppldan
opposes nature as lt ls developed ln freedom. He shows
an ardent sympathy especlally for the soclal and revolu
tlonary struggle and for the ldeas of ratlonal posltlvlsm.
However, he never speaks ln hls own name; the charac
ters whom he puts on stage speak for themselves, but
the splrlt of hls books ls revolutlonary. What ls curlous,
however, ls that he hlmself was nourlshed on the 'stale
mllk of romantlclsm" and that he ls a lyrlclst ln splte of
hls reallstlc splrlta deepseated contradlctlon whlch
has permltted hlm to clothe reallty ln romantlc vells and
at the same tlme to undermlne romantlclsm by means
of lrony.
Pontoppldan`s masterpleces are the threevolume
novel a i~ (l89l-l895) |Jhe Promlsed
Land| and the novel iJm |Lucky Peter|, orlglnally
publlshed ln elght volumes (l898-l901) but later con
densed (l905)two monumental works whlch glve a
tableau of the splrltual llfe of Denmark after l860. Jhe
flrst of these novels, a vast plcture of rustlc llfe, portrays
the opposltlon between the peasants and the lnhabltants
of the cltles. It shows that even the most enthuslastlc
attempts to restore these classes to unlty are doomed to
certaln fallure. Jhe prlnclpal character, an ldeallstlc
prlest from Copenhagen, motlvated by a strong feellng
of duty, wlshes to llve wlth the peasants ln order to llft
them out of thelr condltlon; but he flnds hlmself
decelved ln hls falth ln the people, as well as ln hls mls
slon as a prlest and the posslblllty of adaptlng lt to
everyday llfe and actlons. He ends as an unbalanced
vlslonary. LykkePer, on the contrary, ls a young pro
vlnclal, an englneer, who has flrmly declded to achleve
happlness ln the capltal. Contrary to the prlest of a
i~I he ls a man who ls lnterested only ln pos
ltlve reallty; he dlsllkes everythlng rellglous, metaphysl
cal, or aesthetlc. He behaves llke a man of energy
whom nothlng can stop ln the reallzatlon of hls bold
plans. But he also lacks that strength of domlnatlon
over hlmself whlch ls the necessary condltlon for a free
soul, and he falls vlctlm to that Chrlstlan romantlclsm
whlch he has ln hls blood and whlch ls preclsely what
he scorned. What ls remarkable ln thls book ls the mas
terly exposltlon of the essentlal dlfferences between
|ewlsh and Germanlc ldeas. A thlrd cycle of novels, a
a o (l9l2-l9l6) |Jhe Klngdom of the Dead|,
whose last parts were completed durlng the World War,
also glves a whole serles of lmages of Denmark at the
end of the nlneteenth and beglnnlng of the twentleth
century. Its subject ls the unfortunate attempt of a radl
cal polltlclan to awaken a 'people who are sleeplng." It
contalns lnterestlng soclal descrlptlons and vlvld por
tralts (based on llvlng models), but on the whole thls
work cannot be compared wlth the key works of the
precedlng perlod.
Henrlk Pontoppldan has been called the classlclst
of the new Danlsh reallsm. He wrltes ln a nervous and
supple prose whlch has the peaceful, regular rhythm of
healthy breathlng. He narrates slmply and easlly wlth
out valn search for artlstlc words, but he has the rare
glft of expresslng reallty clearly and ln a llvely manner.
One flnds the whole of Denmark ln hls wrltlngs. |ut
land, the lslands, and the capltal; the commerclal clty
and the country wlth lts manors, lts parsonages, lts
schools, and lts taverns. One feels that the author has
llved what he wrltes about. Moreover, the countryslde
ls not descrlbed for ltself but for the men who llve
there; lt has value only because lt condltlons men. Jhe
essentlal object of Pontoppldan ls man and hls destlny,
and ln the objectlve descrlptlon of human destlny he
reveals hlmself as an lncomparable artlst. He has
knowledge of the dlfferent classes of Danlsh people; he
really knows thelr language, thelr manners, thelr hablts,
and thelr dlsposltlon. He ls skllled ln maklng out of hls
characters portralts ln promlnent rellef, but he knows
also how to endow them wlth an lntense lnterlor llfe
whlch expresses thelr personalltles. When one has read
hls work, one remembers a great number of dlstlnctly
lndlvlduallzed characters and the condltlons of thelr
exlstence. It ls a broad avenue traced across Danlsh llfe
durlng several decades. In the two central works, espe
clally, there are admlrable descrlptlons and characters
whose emotlonal llves are portrayed ln changlng psy
chologlcal sltuatlons and ln scenes of great beauty. All
the detalls appear, but the dlfferent parts of each novel
and lts detalls are put together effortlessly to glve a gen
erally unlfled work. Henrlk Pontoppldan ls an eplc
5l8
e m~ ai_ PPN
author of great range who, ln an lmposlng endeavour,
seeks to reallze a work of monumental dlmenslons.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l9l7.|
m~W ^~~ p~
Et ~ ~~ k mF
My father, Dlnes Pontoppldan, belonged to an
old famlly of clergymen and was hlmself a mlnlster. My
mother, whose malden name was Oxenbl, was the
daughter of a government offlclal. Jhey had slxteen
chlldren. One of the mlddle ones ln the flock, I was
born on |uly 21, l857, ln the small |utland town of
Irederlcla. In l863, my father was transferred to Ran
ders, another |utland town, where a year later, at the
age of slx, I experlenced the lnvaslon of the allled Prus
slan and Austrlan armles. When I was seventeen I went
to Copenhagen, where I was accepted at the Polytechnl
cal College. After a summer trlp to Swltzerland, whlch
was rlch ln experlences, I started wrltlng. In the begln
nlng I almed at descrlptlons of nature and folk llfe untll,
as the years passed, the descrlptlon of man became my
chlef lnterest.
My flrst book was publlshed ln l88l. I began
wlth a few volumes of smaller tales, among whlch was
c~ e (l887) |Irom the Cottages|. But the subjects
whlch especlally attracted me demanded a more spa
clous form and a broader style. I turned to the novel, an
artlstlc form whlch had ln former days been neglected
and had thus acqulred a bad reputatlon, but whlch dur
lng the nlneteenth century had developed and elevated
ltself to the ranks occupled by drama and the anclent
eplc. In a trllogy, a i~ (l89l-l895) |Jhe
Promlsed Land|, iJm (l898-l901) |Lucky Peter|,
and a a o (l9l2-l9l6) |Jhe Klngdom of the
Dead|, I have attempted to glve a contlnuous plcture of
the Denmark of today through descrlptlons of human
mlnds and human fates whlch reflect the soclal, rell
glous, and polltlcal struggles of the tlme. Aslde from
thls, over the years I have produced a number of mlnor
and more personal works, whereln lmaglnatlon has
been allowed to play more freely. I mentlon r b
(l885) |Young Love|, j (l893) |Memolrs|, a
~ ^~ (l891) |Jhe Old Adam|, e~ (l896)
|Song of Songs|, _ e e (l905)
|Mayor Hoeck and Wlfe|, a d~ (l908)
|Jhe Royal Guest|, and e~ h~ j (l907)
|Hans Kvast and Meluslne|. My collected works com
prlse approxlmately forty volumes.
| Jhe Nobel Ioundatlon, l9l7. Henrlk Pontoppldan
ls the sole author of the text.|
5l9
k m i~~ i~I NVMNOMMR
NVMNW Sully Prudhomme (Irance)
NVMOW Jheodor Mommsen (Germany; born Denmark)
NVMPW Bjrnstjerne Bjrnson (Norway)
NVMQW Irdrlc Mlstral (Irance) and |os Echegaray
(Spaln)
NVMRW Henryk Slenklewlcz (Poland)
NVMSW Glosu Carduccl (Italy)
NVMTW Rudyard Klpllng (Lnlted Klngdom; born Bom
bay, Brltlsh Indla)
NVMUW Rudolf Eucken (Germany)
NVMVW Selma Lagerlf (Sweden)
NVNMW Paul Heyse (Germany)
NVNNW Maurlce Maeterllnck (Belglum)
NVNOW Gerhart Hauptmann (Germany)
NVNPW Rablndranath Jagore (Indla)
NVNQW No prlze was awarded
NVNRW Romaln Rolland (Irance)
NVNSW Verner von Heldenstam (Sweden)
NVNTW Karl Gjellerup (Denmark) and Henrlk Pontoppl
dan (Denmark)
NVNUW No prlze was awarded
NVNVW Carl Spltteler (Swltzerland)
NVOMW Knut Hamsun (Norway)
NVONW Anatole Irance (Irance)
NVOOW |aclnto Benavente (Spaln)
NVOPW Wllllam Butler Yeats (Ireland)
NVOQW Wadysaw Reymont (Poland)
NVORW George Bernard Shaw (Lnlted Klngdom; born
Ireland)
NVOSW Grazla Deledda (Italy; born Sardlnla)
NVOTW Henrl Bergson (Irance)
NVOUW Slgrld Lndset (Norway; born Denmark)
NVOVW Jhomas Mann (Germany)
NVPMW Slnclalr Lewls (Lnlted States)
NVPNW Erlk Axel Karlfeldt (Sweden)
NVPOW |ohn Galsworthy (Lnlted Klngdom)
NVPPW Ivan Bunln (stateless; domlclle ln Irance; born
Russla)
NVPQW Lulgl Plrandello (Italy)
NVPRW No prlze was awarded
NVPSW Eugene O`Nelll (Lnlted States)
NVPTW Roger Martln du Gard (Irance)
NVPUW Pearl S. Buck (Lnlted States)
NVPVW Irans Eemll Slllanp (Ilnland)
NVQMW No prlze was awarded
NVQNW No prlze was awarded
NVQOW No prlze was awarded
NVQPW No prlze was awarded
NVQQW |ohannes V. |ensen (Denmark)
NVQRW Gabrlela Mlstral (Chlle)
NVQSW Hermann Hesse (Swltzerland; born Germany)
NVQTW Andr Glde (Irance)
NVQUW J. S. Ellot (Lnlted Klngdom; born Lnlted States)
NVQVW Wllllam Iaulkner (Lnlted States)
NVRMW Bertrand Russell (Lnlted Klngdom)
NVRNW Pr Lagerkvlst (Sweden)
NVROW Iranols Maurlac (Irance)
NVRPW Slr Wlnston Churchlll (Lnlted Klngdom)
NVRQW Ernest Hemlngway (Lnlted States)
NVRRW Halldr Laxness (Iceland)
NVRSW |uan Ramn |lmnez (Spaln)
NVRTW Albert Camus (Irance; born Algerla)
NVRUW Borls Pasternak (LSSR)
NVRVW Salvatore _uaslmodo (Italy)
NVSMW Salnt|ohn Perse (Irance; born Guadeloupe
Island)
NVSNW Ivo Andrl (Yugoslavla; born Bosnla)
NVSOW |ohn Stelnbeck (Lnlted States)
NVSPW Glorgos Seferls (Greece; born Jurkey)
NVSQW |eanPaul Sartre (Irance)
NVSRW Mlkhall Sholokhov (LSSR)
NVSSW Shmuel Yosef Agnon (Israel) and Nelly Sachs
(Sweden; born Germany)
NVSTW Mlguel ngel Asturlas (Guatemala)
NVSUW Yasunarl Kawabata ( |apan)
NVSVW Samuel Beckett (Ireland)
NVTMW Aleksandr Solzhenltsyn (LSSR)
NVTNW Pablo Neruda (Chlle)
NVTOW Helnrlch Bll (Iederal Republlc of Germany)
NVTPW Patrlck Whlte (Australla; born Lnlted Klng
dom)
NVTQW Eyvlnd |ohnson (Sweden) and Harry Martlnson
(Sweden)
NVTRW Eugenlo Montale (Italy)
NVTSW Saul Bellow (Lnlted States; born Canada)
NVTTW Vlcente Alelxandre (Spaln)
NVTUW Isaac Bashevls Slnger (Lnlted States; born
Poland)
ROM
k m i~~ i~I NVMNOMMR ai_ PPN
NVTVW l b EdF
NVUMW `~ j Em~Lr p~F
NVUNW b~ `~ Er hX _~~F
NVUOW d~ d~~ j E`~F
NVUPW t~ d Er hF
NVUQW g~~ p E`~~F
NVURW `~ p Ec~F
NVUSW t p~ Ek~F
NVUTW g _ Er p~X rppoF
NVUUW k~ j~ EbF
NVUVW `~ g `~ Ep~F
NVVMW l~ m~ EjF
NVVNW k~ d Ep ^~F
NVVOW a t~ Ep~ i~F
NVVPW q j Er p~F
NVVQW h~ E g~~F
NVVRW p~ e~ Ef~F
NVVSW t~~ p~ Em~F
NVVTW a~ c Ef~F
NVVUW g p~~~ Em~F
NVVVW d d~ Ec~ o d~F
OMMMW d~ u~ Ec~X `~F
OMMNW sK pK k~~ Er hX q~F
OMMOW f h Ee~F
OMMPW gK jK ` Ep ^~F
OMMQW b g E^~F
OMMRW e~ m Er hF
RON
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a tK ^ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K j~ q~ r
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c~ ^K ^ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K Ki~~ p~ r
b~ _~ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K r `~~I i ^
c _ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K
k~ _ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K k p r
`~~ p~~ _~ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K Kq~ r
_~ `~ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K r _ `~
p~~ a~Jq K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K r q~ ~ p~ ^
h~ b~Jo~ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K l r
p eK d~ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K h p~ r
j~~ d K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K Kr q
a e K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K Kt `~~ r
e~ e~ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K r ea
e~ h K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K e ~
p~~ jK h K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K n r
o~ i~ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K k vI k v
g ^~ j~ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K r j~~ ~ ` m~
m~ k K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K r t~
h~ m K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K r ` i
^~ o K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K _~ r
b~~ o K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K r ^~
i p~ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K a~ `
b p~ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K t~ r
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g t~ K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K r tj~
o~ t K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K r `~
i oK t K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K r q~ ~ ^
ROR
`
`~ f
ai_ W a~ i~ _~I s NJPPN
v W a~ i~ _~ v~I NVUMJOMMO
ap W a~ i~ _~ a~ pI s NJNV
àî_ W ` a~ ^~ i~ _~I s NJT
à_i_ W ` a~ _ i~ _~I s NJU
àti_ W ` a~ t i~ _~I s NJQ
^
Aakjr, |eppe l8ool930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Aarestrup, Emil l800l85o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Abbey, Edward l927l989 . . . . . . . . . DL25o, 275
Abbey, Edwin Austin l852l9ll . . . . . . . . DLl88
Abbey, Maj. |. R. l891l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Abbey Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Jhe Abbey Jheatre and Irish Drama,
l900l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Abbot, Willis |. l8o3l931. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Abbott, Edwin A. l838l92o. . . . . . . . . . . DLl78
Abbott, |acob l803l879 . . . . . . . . . DLl, 12, 213
Abbott, Lee K. l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Abbott, Lyman l835l922. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL79
Abbott, Robert S. l8o8l910 . . . . . . . . . DL29, 9l
'Abd alHamid alKatib
circa o89750 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Abe Kb l921l993. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Abelaira, Augusto l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Abelard, Ieter circa l079ll12. . . . . . DLll5, 208
AbelardSchuman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Abell, Arunah S. l80ol888. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Abell, Kjeld l90ll9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Abercrombie, Lascelles l88ll938. . . . . . . . DLl9
Jhe Iriends of the Dymock Ioets. . . . . . . .Y00
Aberdeen Lniversity Iress Limited . . . . . . DLl0o
Abish, Walter l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30, 227
Ablesimov, Aleksandr Onisimovich
l712l783. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Abraham a Sancta Clara lo11l709. . . . . . DLlo8
Abrahams, Ieter
l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . DLll7, 225; CDWL3
Abramov, Iedor Aleksandrovich
l920l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Abrams, M. H. l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
Abramson, |esse l901l979 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
^~ circa 790800 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Abschatz, Hans Amann von
lo1olo99 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Abse, Dannie l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27, 215
Abu al'Atahiyah 718825.. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Abu Nuwas circa 7578l1 or 8l5 . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Abu Jammam circa 805815 . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Abutsuni l22ll283 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Academy Chicago Iublishers . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Accius circa l70 _.`.circa 80 _.`. . . . . . . . DL2ll
'An account of the death of the Chevalier de La
arre," Voltaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Accrocca, Elio Iilippo l923l99o. . . . . . . . DLl28
Ace ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Achebe, Chinua l930 . . . . DLll7; CDWL3
Achtenberg, Herbert l938 . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
Ackerman, Diane l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Ackroyd, Ieter l919 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55, 23l
Acorn, Milton l923l98o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Acosta, |os de l510lo00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Acosta, Oscar Zeta l935.l971. . . . . . . . . . DL82
Acosta Jorres, |os l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Actors Jheatre of Louisville . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Adair, Gilbert l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl91
Adair, |ames l709.l783.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30
Aalsteinn Kristmundsson (see Steinn Steinarr)
Adam, Graeme Mercer l839l9l2 . . . . . . . DL99
Adam, Robert orthwick, II
l8o3l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Adame, Leonard l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Adameteanu, Gabriel 1942- . . . . . . . . . DL232
Adamic, Louis l898l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Adamov, Arthur Surenovitch
l908l970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
Adamovich, Georgii l891l972 . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Adams, Abigail l711l8l8 . . . . . . . . . DLl83, 200
Adams, Alice l92ol999 . . . . . . . . . DL231; Y8o
Adams, ertha Leith (Mrs. Leith Adams,
Mrs. R. S. de Courcy Laffan)
l837.l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Adams, rooks l818l927. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL17
Adams, Charles Irancis, |r. l835l9l5 . . . . DL17
Adams, Douglas l952200l. . . . . . . DL2ol; Y83
Adams, Iranklin I. l88ll9o0. . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Adams, Glenda l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Adams, Hannah l755l832 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Adams, Henry l838l9l8 . . . . . . . DLl2, 17, l89
Adams, Herbert axter l850l90l . . . . . . . DL17
Adams, |ames Jruslow
l878l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7; DSl7
Adams, |ohn l735l82o. . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l, l83
Adams, |ohn _uincy l7o7l818. . . . . . . . . . DL37
Adams, Lonie l899l988. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL18
Adams, Levi l802l832. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Adams, Richard l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Adams, Samuel l722l803. . . . . . . . . . . DL3l, 13
Adams, Sarah Iuller Ilower
l805l818 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
Adams, Jhomas l582/l583lo52 . . . . . . . DLl5l
Adams, William Jaylor l822l897 . . . . . . . DL12
|. S. and C. Adams |publishing house|. . . . . DL19
Adamson, Harold l90ol980. . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Adamson, Sir |ohn l8o7l950 . . . . . . . . . . . DL98
Adamson, Robert l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Adcock, Arthur St. |ohn
l8o1l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl35
Adcock, etty l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
'Certain Gifts" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Jribute to |ames Dickey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Adcock, Ileur l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Addams, |ane l8o0l935. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Addison, |oseph
lo72l7l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl0l; CDL2
Ade, George l8ool911. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll, 25
Adeler, Max (see Clark, Charles Heber)
Adlard, Mark l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Adler, Richard l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Adonias Iilho
(Adonias Aguiar Iilho)
l9l5l990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl15, 307
Adorno, Jheodor W. l903l9o9. . . . . . . . DL212
Adoum, |orge Enrique l92o . . . . . . . . . DL283
`~ f ai_ PPN
ROS
Advance Iublishing Company . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Ady, Endre l877l9l9. . . . . . DL2l5; CDWL1
AE l8o7l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9; CDL5
lfric circa 955circa l0l0 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Aeschines circa 390 _.`.circa 320 _.`. . . . . .DLl7o
Aeschylus 525521 _.`.15o155 _.`.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o; CDWLl
^ m~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl
Aesthetics
EighteenthCentury Aesthetic
Jheories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
African Literature
Letter from Khartoum. . . . . . . . . . . . . Y90
African American
AfroAmerican Literary Critics.
An Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Jhe lack Aesthetic. ackground . . . . . . . DS8
Jhe lack Arts Movement,
by Larry Neal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
lack Jheaters and Jheater Organizations
in America, l9oll982.
A Research List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
lack Jheatre. A Iorum |excerpts| . . . DL38
`~~ | journal| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y87
Community and Commentators.
lack Jheatre and Its Critics . . . . . DL38
Jhe Emergence of lack
Women Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS8
Jhe Hatchillops Collection. . . . . . . . DL7o
A Look at the Contemporary lack
Jheatre Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
Jhe MoorlandSpingarn Research
Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7o
'Jhe Negro as a Writer," by
G. M. McClellan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL50
'Negro Ioets and Jheir Ioetry," by
Wallace Jhurman . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL50
Olaudah Equiano and Lnfinished |ourneys.
Jhe SlaveNarrative Jradition and
JwentiethCentury Continuities, by
Iaul Edwards and Iauline J.
Wangman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll7
IHYLON (Iourth _uarter, l950),
Jhe Negro in Literature.
Jhe Current Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7o
Jhe Schomburg Center for Research
in lack Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7o
Jhree Documents |poets|, by |ohn
Edward ruce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL50
After Dinner Opera Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y92
Agassiz, Elizabeth Cary l822l907. . . . . . DLl89
Agassiz, Louis l807l873 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 235
Agee, |ames
l909l955 . . . . . . . DL2, 2o, l52; CDALl
Jhe Agee Legacy. A Conference at
the Lniversity of Jennessee
at Knoxville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y89
Agnon, Shmuel Yosef l887l970 . . . . . . . . DL329
Aguilera Malta, Demetrio l909l98l . . . . DLl15
Aguirre, Isidora l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Agustini, Delmira l88ol9l1 . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Ahlin, Lars l9l5l997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Ai l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Ai Wu l901l992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Aichinger, Ilse l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85, 299
Aickman, Robert l9l1l98l. . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Aidoo, Ama Ata l912 . . . .DLll7; CDWL3
Aiken, Conrad
l889l973. . . . . . . . DL9, 15, l02; CDAL5
Aiken, |oan l9212001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
Aikin, Lucy l78ll8o1 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl11, lo3
Ainsworth, William Harrison
l805l882 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l
Ass, CharlotteElizabeth lo91.l733 . . . DL3l3
Aistis, |onas l901l973 . . . . . DL220; CDWL1
Aitken, Adam l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Aitken, George A. l8o0l9l7 . . . . . . . . . . DLl19
Robert Aitken |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL19
Aitmatov, Chingiz l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Akenside, Mark l72ll770 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl09
Akhmatova, Anna Andreevna
l889l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Akins, Zo l88ol958. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Aksakov, Ivan Sergeevich l823l82o . . . . .DL277
Aksakov, Sergei Jimofeevich
l79ll859. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
Aksyonov, Vassily l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Akunin, oris (Grigorii Shalvovich
Chkhartishvili) l95o . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Akutagawa Rynsuke l892l927 . . . . . . . DLl80
Alabaster, William l5o8lo10. . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Alain de Lille circa lllol202/l203 . . . . . DL208
AlainIournier l88ol9l1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo5
Alanus de Insulis (see Alain de Lille)
Alarcn, Irancisco X. l951 . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Alarcn, |usto S. l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Alba, Nanina l9l5l9o8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Albee, Edward l928 . . . DL7, 2oo; CDALl
Albert, Octavia l853ca. l889 . . . . . . . . . DL22l
Albert the Great circa l200l280 . . . . . . . DLll5
Alberti, Rafael l902l999. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Albertinus, Aegidius circa l5o0lo20 . . . . DLlo1
Alcaeus born circa o20 _.`. . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7o
Alcoforado, Mariana, the Iortuguese Nun
lo10l723. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Alcott, Amos ronson
l799l888. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 223; DS5
Alcott, Louisa May l832l888
. . . DLl, 12, 79, 223, 239; DSl1; CDAL3
Alcott, William Andrus l798l859 . . . . DLl, 213
Alcuin circa 732801 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Aldana, Irancisco de l537l578 . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Aldanov, Mark (Mark Landau)
l88ol957. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Alden, Henry Mills l83ol9l9. . . . . . . . . . DL79
Alden, Isabella l81ll930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL12
|ohn . Alden |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL19
Alden, eardsley, and Company . . . . . . . . DL19
Aldington, Richard
l892l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . .DL20, 3o, l00, l19
Aldis, Dorothy l89ol9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Aldis, H. G. l8o3l9l9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
Aldiss, rian W. l925 . . . . . . . DLl1, 2ol, 27l
Aldrich, Jhomas ailey
l83ol907 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL12, 7l, 71, 79
Alegra, Ciro l909l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll3
Alegra, Claribel l921 . . . . . . . . . DLl15, 283
Aleixandre, Vicente l898l981. . . . . DLl08, 329
Aleksandraviius, Jonas (see Aistis, Jonas)
Aleksandrov, Aleksandr Andreevich
(see Durova, Nadezhda Andreevna)
Alekseeva, Marina Anatolèvna
(see Marinina, Aleksandra)
dÀlembert, |ean Le Rond l7l7l783 . . . . DL3l3
Alencar, |os de l829l877 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Aleramo, Sibilla (Rena Iierangeli Iaccio)
l87ol9o0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1, 2o1
Aleshkovsky, Ietr Markovich l957 . . . DL285
Aleshkovsky, Yuz l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL3l7
Alexander, Cecil Irances l8l8l895. . . . . DLl99
Alexander, Charles l8o8l923 . . . . . . . . . . DL9l
Charles Wesley Alexander
|publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Alexander, |ames lo9ll75o. . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Alexander, Lloyd l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Alexander, Meena l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Alexander, Sir William, Earl of Stirling
l577.lo10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2l
Alexie, Sherman l9oo . . . . . . DLl75, 20o, 278
Alexis, Willibald l798l87l . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Alf laylah wa laylah
ninth century onward . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Alfred, King 819899 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Alger, Horatio, |r. l832l899 . . . . . . . . . . . DL12
Algonquin ooks of Chapel Hill . . . . . . . . DL1o
Algren, Nelson
l909l98l . . . . . . .DL9; Y8l, 82; CDALl
Nelson Algren. An International
Symposium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Ali, Agha Shahid l919200l. . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Ali, Ahmed l908l991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Ali, Monica l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
'Ali ibn Abi Jalib circa o00ool . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Aljamiado Literature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Allan, Andrew l907l971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Allan, Jed l9lol995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Allbeury, Jed l9l7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL87
Alldritt, Keith l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
ai_ PPN `~ f
ROT
`
Allen, Dick l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282

Allen, Ethan l738l789 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Allen, Irederick Lewis l890l951 . . . . . . . DLl37
Allen, Gay Wilson l903l995 . . . . . DLl03; Y95
Allen, George l808l87o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL59
Allen, Grant l818l899 . . . . . . . . . DL70, 92, l78
Allen, Henry W. l9l2l99l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y85
Allen, Hervey l889l919. . . . . . . . . DL9, 15, 3lo
Allen, |ames l739l808 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Allen, |ames Lane l819l925. . . . . . . . . . . . DL7l
Allen, |ay Iresson l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
|ohn Allen and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Allen, Iaula Gunn l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl75
Allen, Samuel W. l9l7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Allen, Woody l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
George Allen |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DLl0o
George Allen and Lnwin Limited . . . . . . . DLll2
Allende, Isabel l912 . . . . . DLl15; CDWL3
Alline, Henry l718l781 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Allingham, Margery l901l9oo. . . . . . . . . . DL77
Jhe Margery Allingham Society. . . . . . . . .Y98
Allingham, William l821l889 . . . . . . . . . . DL35
W. L. Allison |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . DL19
Jhe ^~ j ^ ~ p~~
j ^ circa l350l100 . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Allott, Kenneth l9l2l973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20
Allston, Washington l779l813 . . . . . . . DLl, 235
Almeida, Manuel Antnio de
l83ll8ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
|ohn Almon |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . DLl51
Alonzo, Dmaso l898l990. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Alsop, George lo3opost lo73 . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Alsop, Richard l7oll8l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Henry Altemus and Company. . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Altenberg, Ieter l885l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8l
Althusser, Louis l9l8l990 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL212
Altolaguirre, Manuel l905l959 . . . . . . . . DLl08
Aluko, J. M. l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll7
Alurista l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Alvarez, A. l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 10
Alvarez, |ulia l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282
Alvaro, Corrado l895l95o. . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
Alver, etti l90ol989 . . . . . . DL220; CDWL1
Amadi, Elechi l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll7
Amado, |orge l9l2200l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll3
Amalrik, Andrei
l938l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Ambler, Eric l909l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
Jhe Library of America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Jhe Library of America. An Assessment
After Jwo Decades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
America. or, A Ioem on the Settlement
of the ritish Colonies, by Jimothy
Dwight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
American ible Society
Department of Library, Archives, and
Institutional Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
American Conservatory
Jheatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
American Culture
American Iroletarian Culture.
Jhe Jwenties and Jhirties . . . . . . . . DSll
Studies in American |ewish Literature . . . . . . . .Y02
Jhe American Library in Iaris . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y93
American Literature
Jhe Literary Scene and Situation and . . .
(Who esides Oprah) Really Runs
American Literature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Who Owns American Literature, by
Henry Jaylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y91
Who Runs American Literature. . . . . . . . .Y91
American News Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
A Century of Ioetry, a Lifetime of Collecting.
|. M. Edelstein`s Collection of Jwentieth
Century American Ioetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Jhe American Ioets` Corner. Jhe Iirst
Jhree Years (l983l98o) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
American Iublishing Company. . . . . . . . . . DL19
^~ p~
xb~z o~~ c f~
f ^~ p~
Ek NVPOF. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
American Stationers` Company. . . . . . . . . . DL19
Jhe American Studies Association
of Norway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
American SundaySchool Lnion . . . . . . . . . DL19
American Jemperance Lnion . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
American Jract Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Jhe American Jrust for the ritish Library . . .Y9o
American Writers` Congress
2527 April l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
American Writers Congress
Jhe American Writers Congress
(9l2 October l98l) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
Jhe American Writers Congress. A Report
on Continuing usiness . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
Ames, Iisher l758l808. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Ames, Mary Clemmer l83ll881 . . . . . . . . DL23
Ames, William l57olo33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Amfiteatrov, Aleksandr l8o2l938 . . . . . . DL3l7
Amiel, HenriIrdric l82ll88l. . . . . . . . DL2l7
Amini, |ohari M. l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Amis, Kingsley l922l995
. . .DLl5, 27, l00, l39, 32o; Y9o; CDL7
Amis, Martin l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, l91
Ammianus Marcellinus
circa ^.a. 330^.a. 395 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ll
Ammons, A. R. l92o200l . . . . . . . . . . DL5, lo5
Amory, Jhomas lo9l.l788 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
^~I l998 ooker Irize winner,
Ian McEwan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Amyot, |acques l5l3l593. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Anand, Mulk Raj l9052001 . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Anania, Michael l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl93
Anaya, Rudolfo A. l937 . . . . . DL82, 20o, 278
^ o circa l200l225. . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Andersch, Alfred l9l1l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Andersen, enny l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Andersen, Hans Christian l805l875 . . . . DL300
Anderson, Alexander l775l870 . . . . . . . . DLl88
Anderson, David l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Anderson, Irederick Irving l877l917 . . . . DL202
Anderson, |essica l9lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Anderson, Margaret l88ol973 . . . . . . . . DL1, 9l
Anderson, Maxwell l888l959 . . . . . . . DL7, 228
Anderson, Iatrick l9l5l979. . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Anderson, Iaul Y. l893l938 . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Anderson, Ioul l92o200l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Jribute to Isaac Asimov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y92
Anderson, Robert l750l830. . . . . . . . . . . DLl12
Anderson, Robert l9l7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Anderson, Sherwood l87ol91l
. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1, 9, 8o; DSl; CDAL1
Andrade, |orge (Alusio |orge Andrade
Iranco) l922l981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Andrade, Mario de l893l915. . . . . . . . . . DL307
Andrade, Oswald de ( |os Oswald de Sousa
Andrade) l890l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Andreae, |ohann Valentin l58olo51 . . . . DLlo1
Andreas Capellanus
fl. circa ll85 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL208
AndreasSalom, Lou l8oll937 . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Andreev, Leonid Nikolaevich
l87ll9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Andres, Stefan l90ol970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Andresen, Sophia de Mello reyner
l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Andreu, lanca l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
Andrewes, Lancelot l555lo2o . . . . . DLl5l, l72
Andrews, Charles M. l8o3l913. . . . . . . . . DLl7
Andrews, Miles Ieter .l8l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL89
Andrews, Stephen Iearl l8l2l88o . . . . . . DL250
Andrian, Leopold von l875l95l . . . . . . . . DL8l
Andri, Ivo
l892l975 . . . . . . . . DLl17, 329; CDWL1
Andrieux, Louis (see Aragon, Louis)
Andrus, Silas, and Son. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Andrzejewski, |erzy l909l983 . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Angell, |ames urrill l829l9lo . . . . . . . . . DLo1
Angell, Roger l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7l, l85
Angelou, Maya l928 . . . . . . .DL38; CDAL7
Jribute to |ulian Mayfield . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y81
Anger, |ane fl. l589 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Angers, Ilicit (see Conan, Laure)
`~ f ai_ PPN
ROU
q ^Jp~ `
circa 890ll51 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Angus and Robertson (LK) Limited . . . . DLll2
Anhalt, Edward l9l12000. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Anissimov, Myriam l913 . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Anker, Nini Roll l873l912 . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Annenkov, Iavel Vasilèvich
l8l3.l887. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL277
Annensky, Innokentii Iedorovich
l855l909 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Henry I. Anners |publishing house| . . . . . . DL19
^ between l077 and l08l . . . . . . . . DLl18
Anouilh, |ean l9l0l987. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
Anscombe, G. E. M. l9l9200l . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Anselm of Canterbury l033ll09. . . . . . . DLll5
Anstey, I. l85ol931 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl1l, l78
'Antarah ('Antar ibn Shaddad al'Absi)
.early seventh century.. . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Anthologizing New Iormalism. . . . . . . . . DL282
Anthony, Michael l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl25
Anthony, Iiers l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Anthony, Susanna l72ol79l . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Antin, David l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo9
Antin, Mary l88ll919 . . . . . . . . . . DL22l; Y81
Anton Llrich, Duke of runswickLneburg
lo33l7l1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Antschel, Iaul (see Celan, Iaul)
Antunes, Antnio Lobo l912 . . . . . . . DL287
Anyidoho, Kofi l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Anzalda, Gloria l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Anzengruber, Ludwig l839l889 . . . . . . . DLl29
Apess, William l798l839. . . . . . . . . .DLl75, 213
Apodaca, Rudy S. l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Apollinaire, Guillaume l880l9l8 . . DL258, 32l
Apollonius Rhodius third century _.`. . . . .DLl7o
Apple, Max l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Appelfeld, Aharon l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
D. Appleton and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
AppletonCenturyCrofts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Applewhite, |ames l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Jribute to |ames Dickey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Applewood ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
April, |eanIierre l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Apukhtin, Aleksei Nikolaevich
l810l893 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL277
Apuleius circa ^.a. l25post ^.a. lo1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ll; CDWLl
Aquin, Hubert l929l977. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Aquinas, Jhomas l221/l225l271 . . . . . . DLll5
Aragon, Louis l897l982 . . . . . . . . . . DL72, 258
Aragon, Vernacular Jranslations in the
Crowns of Castile and l352l5l5 . . . DL28o
Aralica, Ivan l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Aratus of Soli
circa 3l5 _.`.circa 239 _.`. . . . . . . . .DLl7o
Arbasino, Alberto l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Arbor House Iublishing Company . . . . . . DL1o
Arbuthnot, |ohn loo7l735. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0l
Arcadia House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Arce, |ulio G. (see Llica, |orge)
Archer, William l85ol921. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Archilochhus
mid seventh century _.`.b.. . . . . . . . . .DLl7o
Jhe Archpoet circa ll30.. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Archpriest Avvakum (Ietrovich)
lo20.lo82. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Arden, |ohn l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3, 215
^ c~~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo2
Ardis Iublishers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y89
Ardizzone, Edward l900l979 . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Arellano, |uan Estevan l917 . . . . . . . . DLl22
Jhe Arena Iublishing Company . . . . . . . . DL19
Arena Stage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Arenas, Reinaldo l913l990. . . . . . . . . . . DLl15
Arendt, Hannah l90ol975 . . . . . . . . . . . DL212
Arensberg, Ann l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y82
Arghezi, Judor l880l9o7 . . . DL220; CDWL1
Arguedas, |os Mara l9lll9o9 . . . . . . . DLll3
Argelles, Hugo l9322003 . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Argueta, Manlio l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl15
'Arib alMa`muniyah 797890 . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Arias, Ron l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Arishima Jakeo l878l923. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Aristophanes circa 11o _.`.circa 38o _.`.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o; CDWLl
Aristotle 381 _.`.322 _.`.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o; CDWLl
Ariyoshi Sawako l93ll981 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Arland, Marcel l899l98o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL72
Arlen, Michael l895l95o . . . . . . . DL3o, 77, lo2
Arlt, Roberto l900l912. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Armah, Ayi Kwei l939 . . . DLll7; CDWL3
Armantrout, Rae l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl93
Der arme Hartmann .after ll50 . . . . . . . DLl18
Armed Services Editions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Armitage, G. E. (Robert Edric) l95o . . DL2o7
Armstrong, Martin Donisthorpe
l882l971. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl97
Armstrong, Richard l903l98o . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Armstrong, Jerence Ian Iytton (see Gawsworth, |ohn)
Arnauld, Antoine lol2lo91 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Arndt, Ernst Moritz l7o9l8o0. . . . . . . . . . DL90
Arnim, Achim von l78ll83l. . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Arnim, ettina von l785l859 . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Arnim, Elizabeth von (Countess Mary Annette
eauchamp Russell) l8ool91l . . . . DLl97
Arno Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Arnold, Edwin l832l901 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
Arnold, Edwin L. l857l935 . . . . . . . . . . .DLl78
Arnold, Matthew
l822l888 . . . . . . . . . . DL32, 57; CDL1
Ireface to m (l853) . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Arnold, Jhomas l795l812 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL55
Edward Arnold |publishing house| . . . . . . DLll2
Arnott, Ieter l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
Arnow, Harriette Simpson l908l98o . . . . . DLo
Arp, ill (see Smith, Charles Henry)
Arpino, Giovanni l927l987. . . . . . . . . . . .DLl77
Arrabal, Iernando l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
Arrebo, Anders l587lo37 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Arreola, |uan |os l9l8200l . . . . . . . . . . DLll3
Arrian circa 89circa l55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7o
|. W. Arrowsmith |publishing house| . . . . DLl0o
Arrufat, Antn l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Art
|ohn Dos Iassos. Artist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Jhe Iirst IostImpressionist
Exhibition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS5
Jhe Omega Workshops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl0
Jhe Second IostImpressionist
Exhibition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS5
Artaud, Antonin l89ol918 . . . . . . . DL258, 32l
Artel, |orge l909l991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Arthur, Jimothy Shay
l809l885 . . . . . . . .DL3, 12, 79, 250; DSl3
Artmann, H. C. l92l2000. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
Artsybashev, Mikhail Ietrovich
l878l927. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Arvin, Newton l900l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Asch, Nathan l902l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1, 28
Nathan Asch Remembers Iord Madox
Iord, Sam Roth, and Hart Crane . . . . Y02
Ascham, Roger l5l5/l5lol5o8. . . . . . . . DL23o
Aseev, Nikolai Nikolaevich
l889l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Ash, |ohn l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Ashbery, |ohn l927 . . . . . . . . . DL5, lo5; Y8l
Ashbridge, Elizabeth l7l3l755 . . . . . . . . DL200
Ashburnham, ertram Lord
l797l878 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
Ashendene Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Asher, Sandy l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y83
Ashton, Winifred (see Dane, Clemence)
Asimov, Isaac l920l992 . . . . . . . . . . . DL8; Y92
Jribute to |ohn Ciardi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y8o
Askew, Anne circa l52ll51o. . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Aspazija l8o5l913. . . . . . . . DL220; CDWL1
Asselin, Olivar l871l937. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Jhe Association of American Iublishers . . . . . Y99
Jhe Association for Documentary Editing. . . . Y00
ai_ PPN `~ f
ROV
`
Jhe Association for the Study of

Literature and Environment (ASLE). . . . . .Y99
Astell, Mary loool73l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL252
Astley, Jhea l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Astley, William (see Warung, Irice)
Asturias, Miguel ngel
l899l971 . . . . DLll3, 290, 329; CDWL3
Atava, S. (see Jerpigorev, Sergei Nikolaevich)
Atheneum Iublishers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Atherton, Gertrude l857l918. . . . . DL9, 78, l8o
Athlone Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Atkins, |osiah circa l755l78l . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Atkins, Russell l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Atkinson, Kate l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Atkinson, Louisa l831l872. . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Jhe Atlantic Monthly Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Attaway, William l9lll98o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7o
Atwood, Margaret l939 . . . . . DL53, 25l, 32o
Aubert, Alvin l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Aub, Max l903l972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Aubert de Gasp, IhillipeIgnaceIranois
l8l1l81l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Aubert de Gasp, Ihillipe|oseph
l78ol87l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Aubign, Jhodore Agrippa d`
l552lo30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Aubin, Napolon l8l2l890 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Aubin, Ienelope
lo85circa l73l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to q i `~~
m (l723) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
AubreyIletcher, Henry Lancelot (see Wade, Henry)
Auchincloss, Louis l9l7 . . . . . DL2, 211; Y80
Auden, W. H.
l907l973. . . . . . . . . . . .DLl0, 20; CDLo
Audiberti, |acques l899l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
Audio Art in America. A Iersonal Memoir . . . .Y85
Audubon, |ohn |ames l785l85l. . . . . . . . DL218
Audubon, |ohn Woodhouse
l8l2l8o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl83
Auerbach, erthold l8l2l882 . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Auernheimer, Raoul l87ol918 . . . . . . . . . . DL8l
Augier, Emile l820l889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl92
Augustine 351130. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
Aulnoy, MarieCatherine Le |umel
de arneville, comtesse d`
lo50/lo5ll705 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Aulus Gellius
circa ^.a. l25circa ^.a. l80. . . . . . . . DL2ll
Austen, |ane l775l8l7 . . . . . .DLllo; CDL3
Auster, Iaul l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL227
Austin, Alfred l835l9l3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
Austin, |. L. l9lll9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Austin, |ane Goodwin l83ll891 . . . . . . . DL202
Austin, |ohn l790l859 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Austin, Mary Hunter
l8o8l931 . . . . . . . . . DL9, 78, 20o, 22l, 275
Austin, William l778l81l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL71
Australie (Emily Manning)
l815l890 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Authors and Newspapers Association . . . . . DL1o
Authors` Iublishing Company. . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Avallone, Michael l921l999 . . . . . DL30o; Y99
Jribute to |ohn D. MacDonald . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Jribute to Kenneth Millar . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Jribute to Raymond Chandler . . . . . . . . . .Y88
Avalon ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Avancini, Nicolaus lolllo8o . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Avendao, Iausto l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Averros ll2oll98. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
Avery, Gillian l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
Avicenna 980l037 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
vila |imnez, Antonio l898l9o5 . . . . . . DL283
Avison, Margaret l9l8l987 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Avon ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Avyius, |onas l922l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
Awdry, Wilbert Vere l9lll997 . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Awoonor, Kofi l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll7
Ayala, Irancisco l90o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Ayckbourn, Alan l939 . . . . . . . . . . DLl3, 215
Ayer, A. |. l9l0l989. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Aym, Marcel l902l9o7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL72
Aytoun, Sir Robert l570lo38 . . . . . . . . . . DLl2l
Aytoun, William Edmondstoune
l8l3l8o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32, l59
Azevedo, Alusio l857l9l3. . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Azevedo, Manuel Antnio lvares de
l83ll852 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Azorn ( |os Martnez Ruiz)
l873l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
_
.V. (see Jhomson, |ames)
a |in l9012005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
abbitt, Irving l8o5l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo3
abbitt, Natalie l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
|ohn abcock |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . DL19
abel, Isaak Emmanuilovich
l891l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL272
abits, Mihly l883l91l . . . DL2l5; CDWL1
abrius circa l50200. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o
abson, Marian l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27o
aca, |immy Santiago l952 . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
acchelli, Riccardo l89ll985. . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
ache, enjamin Iranklin l7o9l798 . . . . . . DL13
achelard, Gaston l881l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
acheller, Irving l859l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL202
achmann, Ingeborg l92ol973 . . . . . . . . . DL85
ainskaituien, Salomja (see Nris, Salomja)
acon, Delia l8lll859. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 213
acon, Irancis
l5ollo2o . . . . . DLl5l, 23o, 252; CDLl
acon, Sir Nicholas circa l5l0l579 . . . . . DLl32
acon, Roger circa l2l1/l220l292 . . . . . DLll5
acon, Jhomas circa l700l7o8. . . . . . . . . . DL3l
acovia, George
l88ll957 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220; CDWL1
Richard G. adger and Company . . . . . . . . DL19
agaduce Music Lending Library . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
age, Robert l728l80l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
agehot, Walter l82ol877 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL55
aggesen, |ens l7o1l82o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
agley, Desmond l923l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL87
agley, Sarah G. l80ol818. . . . . . . . . . . . DL239
agnold, Enid
l889l98l . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3, lo0, l9l, 215
agryana, Elisaveta
l893l99l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl17; CDWL1
ahr, Hermann l8o3l931 . . . . . . . . . DL8l, ll8
af, |eanAntoine de l532l589 . . . . . . . . DL327
ail, Murray l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
ailey, Abigail Abbot
l71ol8l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
ailey, Alfred Goldsworthy l905l997 . . . . DLo8
ailey, H. C. l878l9ol. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
ailey, |acob l73ll808 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
ailey, Iaul l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 27l
ailey, Ihilip |ames l8lol902 . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Irancis ailey |publishing house|. . . . . . . . . DL19
aillargeon, Iierre l9lol9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
aillie, Hugh l890l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
aillie, |oanna l7o2l85l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL93
ailyn, ernard l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
ain, Alexander
b ` ~ o (l8oo)
|excerpt| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL57
ainbridge, eryl l933 . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 23l
aird, Irene l90ll98l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
aker, Augustine l575lo1l. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5l
aker, Carlos l909l987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
aker, David l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
aker, George Iierce l8ool935 . . . . . . . . DL2oo
aker, Herschel C. l9l1l990 . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
aker, Houston A., |r. l913 . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
aker, Howard
Jribute to Caroline Gordon . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
Jribute to Katherine Anne Iorter . . . . . . . .Y80
aker, Nicholson l957 . . . . . . . . . DL227; Y00
Review of Nicholson aker`s a cW
i~ ~ ^~ m~ . . . . . . . Y00
aker, Samuel White l82ll893 . . . . . . . . DLloo
aker, Jhomas lo5ol710 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
`~ f ai_ PPN
RPM
Walter H. aker Company
('aker`s Ilays") . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Jhe aker and Jaylor Company . . . . . . . . DL19
akhtin, Mikhail Mikhailovich
l895l975. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL212
akunin, Mikhail Aleksandrovich
l8l1l87o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL277
alaban, |ohn l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
ald, Wambly l902l990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
alde, |acob lo01loo8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
alderston, |ohn l889l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
aldwin, |ames l921l987
. . . . . . DL2, 7, 33, 219, 278; Y87; CDALl
aldwin, |oseph Glover
l8l5l8o1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, ll, 218
aldwin, Louisa (Mrs. Alfred aldwin)
l815l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
aldwin, William circa l5l5l5o3 . . . . . . DLl32
Richard and Anne aldwin
|publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl70
ale, |ohn l195l5o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
alestrini, Nanni l935 . . . . . . . . DLl28, l9o
alfour, Sir Andrew lo30lo91 . . . . . . . . DL2l3
alfour, Arthur |ames l818l930 . . . . . . . DLl90
alfour, Sir |ames lo00lo57 . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
allantine ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
allantyne, R. M. l825l891 . . . . . . . . . . DLlo3
allard, |. G. l930 . . . . . . DLl1, 207, 2ol, 3l9
allard, Martha Moore l735l8l2 . . . . . . DL200
allerini, Luigi l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
allou, Maturin Murray (Lieutenant Murray)
l820l895 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL79, l89
Robert O. allou |publishing house| . . . . . DL1o
al`mont, Konstantin Dmitrievich
l8o7l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
alzac, Guez de l597.lo51 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
alzac, Honor de l799l855 . . . . . . . . . . DLll9
ambara, Joni Cade
l939l995 . . . . . . . . . DL38, 2l8; CDAL7
amford, Samuel l788l872 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl90
A. L. ancroft and Company . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
ancroft, George l800l89l. . . DLl, 30, 59, 213
ancroft, Hubert Howe l832l9l8. . . . DL17, l10
andeira, Manuel l88ol9o8 . . . . . . . . . . DL307
andelier, Adolph I. l810l9l1 . . . . . . . . DLl8o
ang, Herman l857l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
angs, |ohn Kendrick l8o2l922 . . . . . DLll, 79
anim, |ohn l798l812. . . . . . . .DLllo, l58, l59
anim, Michael l79ol871 . . . . . . . . DLl58, l59
anks, Iain (M.) l951 . . . . . . . . . DLl91, 2ol
anks, |ohn circa lo53l70o. . . . . . . . . . . . DL80
anks, Russell l910 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl30, 278
annerman, Helen l8o2l91o . . . . . . . . . DLl1l
antam ooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
anti, Anna l895l985. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl77
anville, |ohn l915 . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 27l, 32o
anville, Jhodore de l823l89l. . . . . . . DL2l7
ao Jianxiao l87ol973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
araka, Amiri
l931 . . . .DL5, 7, lo, 38; DS8; CDALl
Baraczak, Stanisaw l91o . . . . . . . . . . DL232
aranskaia, Natalìa Vladimirovna
l908 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
aratynsky, Evgenii Abramovich
l800l811 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
arba|acob, Iorfirio l883l912. . . . . . . . DL283
arbauld, Anna Laetitia
l713l825. . . . . . . . . . . DLl07, l09, l12, l58
arbeau, Marius l883l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
arber, |ohn Warner l798l885 . . . . . . . . . DL30
arberi Squarotti, Giorgio l929 . . . . . . DLl28
arbey dÀurevilly, |ulesAmde
l808l889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll9
arbier, Auguste l805l882 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
arbilian, Dan (see arbu, Ion)
arbour, |ohn circa l3lol395 . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
arbour, Ralph Henry l870l911. . . . . . . . DL22
arbu, Ion l895l9ol. . . . . . DL220; CDWL1
arbusse, Henri l873l935. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo5
arclay, Alexander circa l175l552 . . . . . DLl32
E. E. arclay and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
C. W. ardeen |publishing house| . . . . . . . DL19
arham, Richard Harris l788l815 . . . . . DLl59
arich, ill l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
aring, Maurice l871l915. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL31
aringGould, Sabine l831l921 . . . DLl5o, l90
arker, A. L. l9l82002 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, l39
arker, Clive l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
arker, Dudley (see lack, Lionel)
arker, George l9l3l99l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20
arker, Harley Granville l877l91o . . . . . . DLl0
arker, Howard l91o . . . . . . . . . . DLl3, 233
arker, |ames Nelson l781l858. . . . . . . . . DL37
arker, |ane lo52l727 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39, l3l
arker, Lady Mary Anne l83ll9ll . . . . DLloo
arker, Iat l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27l, 32o
arker, William circa l520after l57o. . . . DLl32
Arthur arker Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
arkov, Ivan Semenovich l732l7o8. . . . . DLl50
arks, Coleman l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
arlach, Ernst l870l938 . . . . . . . . . . DL5o, ll8
arlow, |oel l751l8l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
q m m~ (l778) . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
arnard, |ohn lo8ll770 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
arnard, Marjorie (M. arnard Eldershaw)
l897l987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
arnard, Robert l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27o
arne, Kitty (Mary Catherine arne)
l883l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
arnes, arnabe l57llo09 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
arnes, Djuna l892l982 . . . . DL1, 9, 15; DSl5
arnes, |im l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl75
arnes, |ulian l91o . . . . . . . . . . . DLl91; Y93
Notes for a Checklist of Iublications . . . . . Y0l
arnes, Margaret Ayer l88ol9o7 . . . . . . . . DL9
arnes, Ieter l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3, 233
arnes, William l80ll88o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
A. S. arnes and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
arnes and Noble ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
arnet, Miguel l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl15
arney, Natalie l87ol972 . . . . . . . . DL1; DSl5
arnfield, Richard l571lo27 . . . . . . . . . . .DLl72
aroja, Io l872l95o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Richard W. aron |publishing house| . . . . . DL1o
arr, Amelia Edith Huddleston
l83ll9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL202, 22l
arr, Robert l850l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL70, 92
arral, Carlos l928l989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
arrax, Gerald William l933 . . . . DL1l, l20
arrs, Maurice l8o2l923. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl23
arreno, Maria Isabel (see Jhe Jhree Marias.
A Landmark Case in Iortuguese
Literary History)
arrett, Eaton Stannard l78ol820. . . . . . DLllo
arrie, |. M.
l8o0l937 . . . . . DLl0, l1l, l5o; CDL5
arrie and |enkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
arrio, Raymond l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
arrios, Gregg l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
arry, Ihilip l89ol919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7, 228
arry, Robertine (see Iranoise)
arry, Sebastian l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
arse and Hopkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
arstow, Stan l928 . . . . . . . . . DLl1, l39, 207
Jribute to |ohn raine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y8o
arth, |ohn l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL2, 227
arthelme, Donald
l93ll989 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 231; Y80, 89
arthelme, Irederick l913 . . . . . . DL211; Y85
arthes, Roland l9l5l980 . . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
artholomew, Irank l898l985 . . . . . . . . .DLl27
artlett, |ohn l820l905. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 235
artol, Cyrus Augustus l8l3l900. . . . DLl, 235
arton, ernard l781l819. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9o
arton, |ohn ca. lol0lo75. . . . . . . . . . . . DL23o
arton, Jhomas Iennant l803l8o9 . . . . DLl10
artram, |ohn lo99l777 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
artram, William l739l823. . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
ai_ PPN `~ f
RPN
`
arykova, Anna Iavlovna l839l893 . . . . DL277

ashshar ibn urd circa 7l1circa 781 . . . . DL3ll
asic ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
asille, Jheodore (see econ, Jhomas)
ass, Rick l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l2, 275
ass, J. |. l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
assani, Giorgio l9lo2000 . . . . DLl28, l77, 299
asse, William circa l583lo53 . . . . . . . . . DLl2l
assett, |ohn Spencer l8o7l928 . . . . . . . . . DLl7
assler, Jhomas |oseph (see ass, J. |.)
ate, Walter |ackson l9l8l999. . . . . . DLo7, l03
ateman, Stephen circa l5l0l581. . . . . . . DLl3o
Christopher ateman
|publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl70
ates, H. E. l905l971. . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo2, l9l
ates, Katharine Lee l859l929 . . . . . . . . . DL7l
atiushkov, Konstantin Nikolaevich
l787l855. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
. J. atsford |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DLl0o
atteux, Charles l7l3l780 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
attiscombe, Georgina l905 . . . . . . . . . DLl55
q _~ j~ circa l000 . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
audelaire, Charles l82ll8o7 . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
audrillard, |ean l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
auer, runo l809l882 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33
auer, Wolfgang l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
aum, L. Irank l85ol9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
aum, Vicki l888l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
aumbach, |onathan l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y80
ausch, Richard l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Jribute to |ames Dickey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y97
Jribute to Ieter Jaylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y91
ausch, Robert l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l8
awden, Nina l925 . . . . . . . . . DLl1, lol, 207
ax, Clifford l88ol9o2. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0, l00
axter, Charles l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
ayer, Eleanor (see Ierry, Eleanor)
ayer, Konrad l932l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
ayle, Iierre lo17l70o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8, 3l3
ayley, arrington |. l937 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
aynes, Iauline l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
aynton, arbara l857l929 . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
azin, Herv ( |ean Iierre Marie Hervazin)
l9lll99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Jhe C Iour Samuel |ohnson Irize
for Nonfiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
each, Sylvia l887l9o2. . . . . . . . . . . DL1; DSl5
eacon Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
eadle and Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
eagle, Ieter S. l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y80
eal, M. I. l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
eale, Howard K. l899l959. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
eard, Charles A. l871l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
eat Generation (eats)
As I See It, by Carolyn Cassady . . . . . . DLlo
A eat Chronology. Jhe Iirst Jwentyfive
Years, l911l9o9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Jhe Commercialization of the Image
of Revolt, by Kenneth Rexroth. . . . DLlo
Iour Essays on the eat Generation . . . DLlo
in New York City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL237
in the West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL237
Outlaw Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Ieriodicals of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
eattie, Ann l917 . . . . . . . . DL2l8, 278; Y82
eattie, |ames l735l803 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl09
eatty, Chester l875l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
eauchemin, Nre l850l93l . . . . . . . . . . DL92
eauchemin, Yves l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
eaugrand, Honor l818l90o . . . . . . . . . . DL99
eaulieu, VictorLvy l915 . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
eaumarchais, IierreAugustin Caron de
l732l799 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
eaumer, Mme de .l7oo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
eaumont, Irancis circa l581lolo
and Iletcher, |ohn
l579lo25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL58; CDLl
eaumont, Sir |ohn l583.lo27. . . . . . . . . DLl2l
eaumont, |oseph lololo99. . . . . . . . . . . DLl2o
eauvoir, Simone de l908l98o. . . . . DL72; Y8o
Iersonal Jribute to Simone de eauvoir . . . .Y8o
eaver, ruce l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
echer, Llrich l9l0l990. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
ecker, Carl l873l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
ecker, |urek l937l997 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75, 299
ecker, |urgen l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
eckett, Mary l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
eckett, Samuel
l90ol989 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3, l5, 233, 3l9,
32l, 329; Y90; CDL7
eckford, William l7o0l811. . . . . . . . DL39, 2l3
eckham, arry l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
ekovi, Matija l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
econ, Jhomas circa l5l2l5o7 . . . . . . . . DLl3o
ecque, Henry l837l899 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl92
eddoes, Jhomas l7o0l808. . . . . . . . . . . DLl58
eddoes, Jhomas Lovell l803l819 . . . . . . DL9o
ede circa o73735 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
edford|ones, H. l887l919 . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
edregal, Yolanda l9l3l999. . . . . . . . . . . DL283
eebe, William l877l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL275
eecher, Catharine Esther
l800l878 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 213
eecher, Henry Ward
l8l3l887 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, 13, 250
eer, George L. l872l920. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL17
eer, |ohann lo55l700 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
eer, Iatricia l9l9l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
eerbohm, Max l872l95o . . . . . . . . . DL31, l00
eerHofmann, Richard l8ool915. . . . . . . DL8l
eers, Henry A. l817l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7l
S. O. eeton |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
egley, Louis l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
gon, Elisabeth lo9ol755. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
ehan, rendan
l923l9o1 . . . . . . . . . .DLl3, 233; CDL7
ehn, Aphra lo10.lo89. . . . . . . . DL39, 80, l3l
ehn, Harry l898l973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
ehrman, S. N. l893l973. . . . . . . . . . . . DL7, 11
eklemishev, Iurii Solomonvich
(see Krymov, Iurii Solomonovich)
elaney, Archibald Stansfeld (see Grey Owl)
elasco, David l853l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Clarke elford and Company . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
elgian Luxembourg American Studies
Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
elinsky, Vissarion Grigorèvich
l8lll818 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
elitt, en l9ll2003. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
elknap, |eremy l711l798 . . . . . . . . . . DL30, 37
ell, Adrian l90ll980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
ell, Clive l88ll9o1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl0
ell, Daniel l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
ell, Gertrude Margaret Lowthian
l8o8l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl71
ell, |ames Madison l82ol902. . . . . . . . . . DL50
ell, Madison Smartt l957 . . . . . . DL2l8, 278
Jribute to Andrew Nelson Lytle . . . . . . . . .Y95
ell, Marvin l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
ell, Millicent l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
ell, _uentin l9l0l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
ell, Vanessa l879l9ol. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl0
George ell and Sons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Robert ell |publishing house|. . . . . . . . . . . DL19
ellamy, Edward l850l898 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2
ellamy, |oseph l7l9l790 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
|ohn ellamy |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DLl70
i~ _ ^ l80ol837 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll0
ellezza, Dario l911l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
elli, Carlos Germn l927 . . . . . . . . . . DL290
elli, Gioconda l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
elloc, Hilaire l870l953 . . . . DLl9, l00, l1l, l71
elloc, Madame (see Iarkes, essie Rayner)
ellonci, Maria l902l98o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
ellow, Saul l9l52005
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 28, 299, 329; Y82;
DS3; CDALl
Jribute to Isaac ashevis Singer . . . . . . . . .Y9l
`~ f ai_ PPN
RPO
elmont Iroductions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
elov, Vasilii Ivanovich l932 . . . . . . . . DL302
els, Alberts l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Belevica, Vizma l93l . . . DL232; CDWL1
ely, Andrei l880l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
emelmans, Ludwig l898l9o2 . . . . . . . . . DL22
emis, Samuel Ilagg l89ll973 . . . . . . . . . DLl7
William emrose |publishing house| . . . . DLl0o
en no Naishi l228.l27l.. . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
enavente, |acinto l8ool951. . . . . . . . . . DL329
enchley, Robert l889l915. . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
encr, Matej (see Kukuin, Martin)
enedetti, Mario l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll3
enedict, Iinckney l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
enedict, Ruth l887l918. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
enedictus, David l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
enedikt Grndal l82ol907 . . . . . . . . . . DL293
enedikt, Michael l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
enediktov, Vladimir Grigorèvich
l807l873 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
ent, Stephen Vincent
l898l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1, 18, l02, 219
Stephen Vincent ent Centenary . . . . . . . Y97
ent, William Rose l88ol950 . . . . . . . . . DL15
enford, Gregory l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y82
entez, Sandra l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
enjamin, Iark l809l8o1 . . . . DL3, 59, 73, 250
enjamin, Ieter (see Cunningham, Ieter)
enjamin, S. G. W. l837l9l1 . . . . . . . . . DLl89
enjamin, Walter l892l910 . . . . . . . . . . DL212
enlowes, Edward lo02lo7o. . . . . . . . . . DLl2o
enn, Gottfried l88ol95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5o
enn rothers Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
ennett, Alan l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
ennett, Arnold
l8o7l93l. . . . DLl0, 31, 98, l35; CDL5
Jhe Arnold ennett Society. . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
ennett, Charles l899l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
ennett, Emerson l822l905 . . . . . . . . . . DL202
ennett, Gwendolyn l902l98l . . . . . . . . . DL5l
ennett, Hal l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
ennett, |ames Gordon l795l872 . . . . . . . DL13
ennett, |ames Gordon, |r. l81ll9l8 . . . . DL23
ennett, |ohn l8o5l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL12
ennett, Louise l9l9 . . . . .DLll7; CDWL3
enni, Stefano l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
enoist, IranoiseAlbine Iuzin de
La Martinire l73ll809 . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
enoit, |acques l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
enson, A. C. l8o2l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL98
enson, E. I. l8o7l910 . . . . . . . . . . DLl35, l53
Jhe E. I. enson Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Jhe Jilling Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
enson, |ackson |. l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
enson, Robert Hugh l87ll9l1 . . . . . . . DLl53
enson, Stella l892l933 . . . . . . . . . . DL3o, lo2
ent, |ames Jheodore l852l897. . . . . . . .DLl71
ent, Mabel Virginia Anna .. . . . . . . . . . .DLl71
entham, |eremy l718l832 . . . . DLl07, l58, 252
entley, E. C. l875l95o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL70
entley, Ihyllis l891l977 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
entley, Richard loo2l712 . . . . . . . . . . . DL252
Richard entley |publishing house| . . . . . DLl0o
enton, Robert l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
enziger rothers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
_ circa 900l000 or 790825
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o; CDLl
erberova, Nina l90ll993 . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
erent, Wacaw l873l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
eresford, Anne l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
eresford, |ohn Davys
l873l917. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo2, l78, l97
'Experiment in the Novel" (l929)
|excerpt|. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3o
eresfordHowe, Constance l922 . . . . . DL88
R. G. erford Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
erg, Elizabeth l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
erg, Stephen l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
ergengruen, Werner l892l9o1 . . . . . . . . DL5o
erger, |ohn l92o . . . . . . DLl1, 207, 3l9, 32o
erger, Meyer l898l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
erger, Jhomas l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2; Y80
A Statement by Jhomas erger . . . . . . . . . Y80
ergman, Hjalmar l883l93l. . . . . . . . . . DL259
ergman, Ingmar l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
ergson, Henri l859l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL329
erkeley, Anthony l893l97l. . . . . . . . . . . DL77
erkeley, George lo85l753 . . . . DL3l, l0l, 252
Jhe erkley Iublishing Corporation . . . . . DL1o
erkman, Alexander l870l93o . . . . . . . . DL303
erlin, Irving l888l989. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
erlin, Lucia l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
erman, Marshall l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
erman, Sabina l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
ernal, Vicente |. l888l9l5. . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
ernanos, Georges l888l918 . . . . . . . . . . DL72
ernard, Catherine loo3.l7l2. . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
ernard, Harry l898l979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
ernard, |ohn l75ol828 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
ernard of Chartres circa l0o0ll21. . . . DLll5
ernard of Clairvaux l090ll53 . . . . . . . DL208
ernard, Richard l5o8lo1l/lo12 . . . . . . DL28l
ernard Silvestris
fl. circa ll30llo0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL208
ernardin de SaintIierre l737l8l1 . . . . . DL3l3
ernari, Carlo l909l992. . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl77
ernhard, Jhomas
l93ll989 . . . . . . . . .DL85, l21; CDWL2
ernires, Louis de l951 . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27l
ernstein, Charles l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo9
roalde de Verville, Iranois
l55olo2o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
erriault, Gina l92ol999 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
errigan, Daniel l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
errigan, Jed l931l983 . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, lo9
erry, Wendell l931 . . . . . . . DL5, o, 231, 275
erryman, |ohn l9l1l972. . . . DL18; CDALl
ersianik, Louky l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
erssenbrugge, Meimei l917 . . . . . . . DL3l2
Jhomas erthelet |publishing house| . . . . .DLl70
erto, Giuseppe l9l1l978. . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl77
ertocci, Ieter Anthony l9l0l989 . . . . . .DL279
ertolucci, Attilio l9ll2000 . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
erton, Iierre l9202001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
ertrand, Louis 'Aloysius" l807l81l . . . .DL2l7
esant, Sir Walter l83ol90l . . . . . . DLl35, l90
essaLus, Agustina l922 . . . . . . . . . . DL287
essette, Gerard l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
essie, Alvah l901l985. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
ester, Alfred l9l3l987. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
esterman, Jheodore l901l97o . . . . . . . DL20l
eston, Henry (Henry eston Sheahan)
l888l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL275
estSeller Lists
An Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
What`s Really Wrong With
estseller Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
estuzhev, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich
(Marlinsky) l797l837 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
estuzhev, Nikolai Aleksandrovich
l79ll855. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
ethamEdwards, Matilda arbara
(see Edwards, Matilda arbara etham)
etjeman, |ohn
l90ol981 . . . . . . . . .DL20; Y81; CDL7
etocchi, Carlo l899l98o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
ettarini, Mariella l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
etts, Doris l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l8; Y82
everidge, Albert |. l8o2l927 . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7
everidge, |udith l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
everley, Robert circa lo73l722 . . . . . DL21, 30
evilacqua, Alberto l931 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
evington, Louisa Sarah l815l895. . . . . DLl99
eyle, MarieHenri (see Stendhal)
ze, Jhodore de (Jheodore eza)
l5l9lo05 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
hatt, Sujata l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Biaoszewski, Miron l922l983 . . . . . . . DL232
ai_ PPN `~ f
RPP
`
ianco, Margery Williams l88ll911 . . . . DLlo0

ibaud, Adle l851l91l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
ibaud, Michel l782l857 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
ibliography
ibliographical and Jextual Scholarship
Since World War II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y89
Center for ibliographical Studies and
Research at the Lniversity of
California, Riverside. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y9l
Jhe Great ibliographers Series . . . . . . . . .Y93
Irimary ibliography. A Retrospective. . . .Y95
ichsel, Ieter l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
ickerstaff, Isaac |ohn l733circa l808 . . . . DL89
Drexel iddle |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . DL19
idermann, |acob
l577 or l578lo39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
idwell, Walter Hilliard l798l88l . . . . . . . DL79
iehl, Charlotta Dorothea l73ll788. . . . . DL300
ienek, Horst l930l990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
ierbaum, Otto |ulius l8o5l9l0. . . . . . . . . DLoo
ierce, Ambrose l812l9l1.
. . . . . . DLll, l2, 23, 7l, 71, l8o; CDAL3
igelow, William I. l879l9oo. . . . . . . . . . . DL9l
iggers, Earl Derr l881l933 . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
iggle, Lloyd, |r. l9232002. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
igiaretti, Libero l905l993 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl77
igland, Eileen l898l970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl95
iglow, Hosea (see Lowell, |ames Russell)
igongiari, Iiero l9l1l997. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
ilac, Olavo l8o5l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
ilenchi, Romano l909l989. . . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
illinger, Richard l890l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
illings, Hammatt l8l8l871. . . . . . . . . . . DLl88
illings, |ohn Shaw l898l975 . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
illings, |osh (see Shaw, Henry Wheeler)
inchy, Maeve l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
inding, Rudolf G. l8o7l938 . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
ing Xin l900l999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
ingay, Malcolm l881l953. . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
ingham, Caleb l757l8l7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL12
ingham, George arry l90ol988 . . . . . . DLl27
ingham, Sallie l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
William ingley |publishing house| . . . . . . DLl51
inyon, Laurence l8o9l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9
_~~ _~~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl12
iography
iographical Documents . . . . . . . . . . . .Y81, 85
A Celebration of Literary iography . . . . .Y98
Conference on Modern iography . . . . . . .Y85
Jhe Cult of iography
Excerpts from the Second Iolio Debate.
'iographies are generally a disease of
English Literature" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
New Approaches to iography. Challenges
from Critical Jheory, LSC Conference
on Literary Studies, l990 . . . . . . . . . . .Y90
'Jhe New iography," by Virginia Woolf,
k v e~ qI
30 October l927. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl19
'Jhe Iractice of iography," in q b
p e ~ l b~I by
Harold Nicolson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl19
'Irinciples of iography," in b~~
~ l b~I by Sidney Lee . . . DLl19
Remarks at the Opening of 'Jhe iographical
Iart of Literature" Exhibition, by
William R. Cagle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Survey of Literary iographies . . . . . . . . . .Y00
A Jransit of Ioets and Others. American
iography in l982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Jhe Year in Literary
iography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y83-0l
iography, Jhe Iractice of.
An Interview with . L. Reid . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
An Interview with David Herbert Donald. . . Y87
An Interview with Humphrey Carpenter. . . . Y81
An Interview with |oan Mellen . . . . . . . . . .Y91
An Interview with |ohn Caldwell Guilds . . . . Y92
An Interview with William Manchester . . .Y85
|ohn ioren |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . DL19
ioy Casares, Adolfo l9l1l999 . . . . . . . . DLll3
ird, Isabella Lucy l83ll901 . . . . . . . . . . DLloo
ird, Robert Montgomery l80ol851 . . . . DL202
ird, William l888l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . DL1; DSl5
Jhe Cost of the `~W William ird
to Ezra Iound. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
irken, Sigmund von lo2olo8l . . . . . . . . DLlo1
irney, Earle l901l995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
irrell, Augustine l850l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL98
isher, Iurman l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7l
ishop, Elizabeth
l9lll979 . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, lo9; CDALo
Jhe Elizabeth ishop Society . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
ishop, |ohn Ieale l892l911 . . . . . . . DL1, 9, 15
ismarck, Otto von l8l5l898 . . . . . . . . . DLl29
isset, Robert l759l805 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl12
issett, ill l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
itov, Andrei Georgievich l937 . . . . . . . DL302
itzius, Albert (see Gotthelf, |eremias)
jrnboe, |ens l920l97o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
jrnson, jrnstjerne l832l9l0 . . . . . . . DL329
jrnvig, Jhorkild l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
lack, David (D. M.) l91l . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
lack, Gavin (Oswald Morris Wynd)
l9l3l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27o
lack, Lionel (Dudley arker)
l9l0l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27o
lack, Winifred l8o3l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Walter |. lack |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL1o
lackamore, Arthur lo79. . . . . . . . . DL21, 39
lackburn, Alexander L. l929 . . . . . . . . . . .Y85
lackburn, |ohn l923l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
lackburn, Iaul l92ol97l . . . . . . . . DLlo; Y8l
lackburn, Jhomas l9lol977 . . . . . . . . . . DL27
lacker, Jerence l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27l
lackmore, R. D. l825l900 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8
lackmore, Sir Richard lo51l729. . . . . . . DLl3l
lackmur, R. I. l901l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo3
lackwell, Alice Stone l857l950. . . . . . . . DL303
asil lackwell, Iublisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
lackwood, Algernon Henry
l8o9l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl53, l5o, l78
lackwood, Caroline l93ll99o . . . . . DLl1, 207
William lackwood and Sons, Ltd. . . . . . . DLl51
_~ b j~~
l8l7l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll0
lades, William l821l890 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
laga, Lucian l895l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
lagden, Isabella l8l7.l873 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
lair, Eric Arthur (see Orwell, George)
lair, Irancis Ireston l79ll87o. . . . . . . . . . DL13
lair, Hugh
i o ~ _ i (l783),
|excerpts| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
lair, |ames circa lo55l713. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
lair, |ohn Durburrow l759l823 . . . . . . . . DL37
lais, MarieClaire l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
laise, Clark l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
lake, George l893l9ol. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
lake, Lillie Devereux l833l9l3. . . . DL202, 22l
lake, Nicholas (C. Day Lewis)
l901l972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
lake, William
l757l827. . . . . . . DL93, l51, lo3; CDL3
Jhe lakiston Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
lanchard, Stephen l950 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
lanchot, Maurice l9072003. . . . . . . . DL72, 29o
lanckenburg, Christian Iriedrich von
l711l79o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91
landiana, Ana l912 . . . . . . DL232; CDWL1
lanshard, rand l892l987 . . . . . . . . . . . DL279
lasco Ibez, Vicente l8o7l928 . . . . . . . DL322
laser, Robin l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo5
laumanis, Rudolfs l8o3l908 . . . . . . . . . DL220
leasdale, Alan l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
ledsoe, Albert Jaylor
l809l877 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, 79, 218
leecker, Ann Eliza l752l783 . . . . . . . . . . DL200
lelock and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
lennerhassett, Margaret Agnew
l773l812 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Geoffrey les |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DLll2
lessington, Marguerite, Countess of
l789l819 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLloo
`~ f ai_ PPN
RPQ
lew, Mary Clearman l939 . . . . . . . . . DL25o
licher, Steen Steensen l782l818 . . . . . . DL300
Jhe lickling Homilies circa 97l . . . . . . . DLl1o
lind, Mathilde l81ll89o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
q _ ^~I 2000 ooker Irize winner,
Margaret Atwood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
lish, |ames l92ll975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
E. liss and E. White
liven, ruce l889l977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
lixen, Karen l885l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
loch, Ernst l885l977. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
loch, Robert l9l7l991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Jribute to |ohn D. MacDonald . . . . . . . . . Y8o
lock, Lawrence l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
lock, Rudolph (see Lessing, runo)
lok, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich
l880l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
londal, Iatricia l92ol959 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
loom, Harold l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
loomer, Amelia l8l8l891 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL79
loomfield, Robert l7ool823 . . . . . . . . . . DL93
loomsbury Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl0
Jhe a~ Hoax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl0
loor, Ella Reeve l8o2l95l. . . . . . . . . . . DL303
lotner, |oseph l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
lount, Jhomas lol8.lo79. . . . . . . . . . . DL23o
loy, Lon l81ol9l7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl23
lume, |udy l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Jribute to Jheodor Seuss Geisel . . . . . . . . Y9l
lunck, Hans Iriedrich l888l9ol . . . . . . . DLoo
lunden, Edmund l89ol971 . . . .DL20, l00, l55
lundeville, Jhomas l522.lo0o . . . . . . . DL23o
lunt, Lady Anne Isabella Noel
l837l9l7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl71
lunt, Wilfrid Scawen l810l922 . . . . .DLl9, l71
ly, Nellie (see Cochrane, Elizabeth)
ly, Robert l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
lyton, Enid l897l9o8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
oaden, |ames l7o2l839 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL89
oal, Augusto l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
oas, Irederick S. l8o2l957 . . . . . . . . . . DLl19
Jhe obbsMerrill Company . . . . . . . DL1o, 29l
Jhe obbsMerrill Archive at the
Lilly Library, Indiana Lniversity. . . . . Y90
oborykin, Ietr Dmitrievich
l83ol92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
obrov, Semen Sergeevich
l7o3.l8l0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
obrowski, |ohannes l9l7l9o5 . . . . . . . . . DL75
ocage, Manuel Maria arbosa du
l7o5l805. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
odenheim, Maxwell l892l951 . . . . . . DL9, 15
odenstedt, Iriedrich von l8l9l892. . . . DLl29
odini, Vittorio l9l1l970 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
odkin, M. McDonnell l850l933. . . . . . . DL70
odley, Sir Jhomas l515lol3. . . . . . . . . DL2l3
odley Head. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
odmer, |ohann |akob lo98l783. . . . . . . . DL97
odmershof, Imma von l895l982 . . . . . . DL85
odsworth, Ired l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
var Gumundsson l939 . . . . . . . . DL293
oehm, Sydney l908l990. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
oer, Charles l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
oethius circa 180circa 521 . . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
oethius of Dacia circa l210. . . . . . . . . . DLll5
ogan, Louise l897l970 . . . . . . . . . . DL15, lo9
ogarde, Dirk l92ll999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
ogdanov, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich
l873l928. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
ogdanovich, Ippolit Iedorovich
circa l713l803 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
David ogue |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DLl0o
ohjalian, Chris l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
hme, |akob l575lo21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
H. G. ohn |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
ohse, August looll712 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
oie, Heinrich Christian l711l80o . . . . . . DL91
oileauDespraux, Nicolas lo3ol7ll. . . . DL2o8
ojunga, Lygia l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
ok, Edward W. l8o3l930 . . . . . . DL9l; DSlo
oland, Eavan l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
oldrewood, Rolf (Jhomas Alexander rowne)
l82o.l9l5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
olingbroke, Henry St. |ohn, Viscount
lo78l75l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0l
ll, Heinrich
l9l7l985. . . . . DLo9, 329; Y85; CDWL2
olling, Robert l738l775. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
olotov, Andrei Jimofeevich
l738l833. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
olt, Carol l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
olt, Robert l921l995 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3, 233
olton, Herbert E. l870l953. . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
onaventura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
onaventure circa l2l7l271. . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
onaviri, Giuseppe l921 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl77
ond, Edward l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3, 3l0
ond, Michael l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
ondarev, Iurii Vasilèvich l921 . . . . . DL302
q _ mI l985 ooker Irize winner,
Keri Hulme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Albert and Charles oni
|publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
oni and Liveright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
onnefoy, Yves l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL258
onner, Marita l899l97l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL228
onner, Iaul Hyde l893l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl7
onner, Sherwood (see McDowell, Katharine
Sherwood onner)
Robert onner`s Sons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
onnin, Gertrude Simmons (see ZitkalaSa)
onsanti, Alessandro l901l981 . . . . . . . .DLl77
ontempelli, Massimo l878l9o0. . . . . . . DL2o1
ontemps, Arna l902l973 . . . . . . . . . DL18, 5l
q _ _ (l8o7l880, l881l9l8,
l935l938. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl3
Jhe ook League of America. . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
ook Reviewing
Jhe American ook Review. A Sketch . . . Y92
ook Reviewing and the
Literary Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9o, 97
ook Reviewing in America . . . . . . . . Y87-91
ook Reviewing in America and the
Literary Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y95
ook Reviewing in Jexas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y91
ook Reviews in Glossy Magazines. . . . . . Y95
Do Jhey or Don`t Jhey.
Writers Reading ook Reviews. . . . . . Y0l
Jhe Most Iowerful ook Review
in America |k v q
_ o| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y82
Some Surprises and Lniversal Jruths . . . . Y92
Jhe Year in ook Reviewing and the
Literary Situation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
ook Supply Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Jhe ook Jrade History Group. . . . . . . . . . . . Y93
Jhe ooker Irize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9o-98
Address by Anthony Jhwaite,
Chairman of the ooker Irize |udges
Comments from Iormer ooker
Irize Winners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y8o
oorde, Andrew circa l190l519 . . . . . . . DLl3o
oorstin, Daniel |. l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7
Jribute to Archibald MacLeish . . . . . . . . . Y82
Jribute to Charles Scribner |r. . . . . . . . . . . Y95
ooth, Iranklin l871l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl88
ooth, Mary L. l83ll889. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL79
ooth, Ihilip l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y82
ooth, Wayne C. l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
ooth, William l829l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl90
or, |osef l90ol979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
orchardt, Rudolf l877l915 . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
orchert, Wolfgang l92ll917 . . . . . . DLo9, l21
ording, Anders lol9lo77 . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
orel, Itrus l809l859 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll9
orgen, |ohan l902l979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
orges, |orge Luis
l899l98o . . . DLll3, 283; Y8o; CDWL3
Jhe Ioetry of |orge Luis orges . . . . . . . . Y8o
A Iersonal Jribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y8o
orgese, Giuseppe Antonio l882l952. . . DL2o1
ai_ PPN `~ f
RPR
`
rne, Ludwig l78ol837 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90

ornstein, Miriam l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
orowski, Jadeusz
l922l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5; CDWL1
orrow, George l803l88l . . . . . . DL2l, 55, loo
osanquet, ernard l818l923 . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
oscn, |uan circa l190l512 . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
osch, |uan l909200l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl15
osco, Henri l888l97o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL72
osco, Monique l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
osman, Herman Charles l905l95l . . . . DL225
ossuet, |acquesnigne lo27l701 . . . . . . DL2o8
ostic, |oe l908l988. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
oston, Lucy M. l892l990 . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
_ n~ o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl
oston Lniversity
Editorial Institute at oston Lniversity. . . .Y00
Special Collections at oston Lniversity. . .Y99
oswell, |ames
l710l795. . . . . . . . . .DLl01, l12; CDL2
oswell, Robert l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
osworth, David . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Excerpt from 'Excerpts from a Report
of the Commission," in q a~
a~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
ote, Hermann circa l1o0circa l520. . . . DLl79
otev, Khristo l817l87o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl17
otkin, Vasilii Ietrovich l8lll8o9 . . . . . . DL277
otta, Anne C. Lynch l8l5l89l . . . . . DL3, 250
otto, |n (see Krasko, Ivan)
ottome, Ihyllis l882l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl97
ottomley, Gordon l871l918. . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
ottoms, David l919 . . . . . . . . . DLl20; Y83
ottrall, Ronald l90ol959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20
ouchardy, |oseph l8l0l870 . . . . . . . . . . DLl92
oucher, Anthony l9lll9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
oucher, |onathan l738l801. . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
oucher de oucherville, Georges
l8l1l891 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
oudreau, Daniel (see Coste, Donat)
ouhours, Dominique lo28l702 . . . . . . . . DL2o8
ourassa, Napolon l827l9lo . . . . . . . . . . DL99
ourget, Iaul l852l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl23
ourinot, |ohn George l837l902 . . . . . . . . DL99
ourjaily, Vance l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2, l13
ourne, Edward Gaylord l8o0l908. . . . . . DL17
ourne, Randolph l88ol9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . DLo3
ousoo, Carlos l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
ousquet, |o l897l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL72
ova, en l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
ovard, Oliver K. l872l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
ove, Emmanuel l898l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL72
owen, Elizabeth
l899l973 . . . . . . . . . .DLl5, lo2; CDL7
owen, Irancis l8lll890. . . . . . . . DLl, 59, 235
owen, |ohn l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
owen, Marjorie l88ol952. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl53
owenMerrill Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
owering, George l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
owers, athsheba lo7ll7l8 . . . . . . . . . . DL200
owers, Claude G. l878l958 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
owers, Edgar l9212000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
owers, Iredson Jhayer
l905l99l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl10; Y 9l
Jhe Editorial Style of Iredson owers . . . .Y9l
Iredson owers and
Studies in ibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . Y 9l
Iredson owers and the Cambridge
eaumont and Iletcher. . . . . . . . . . . . Y 9l
Iredson owers as Critic of Renaissance
Dramatic Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y 9l
Iredson owers as Music Critic . . . . . . . . .Y9l
Iredson owers, Master Jeacher . . . . . . . Y 9l
An Interview |on Nabokov| . . . . . . . . . . . Y80
Working with Iredson owers . . . . . . . . . .Y9l
owles, Iaul l9l0l999. . . . . . DL5, o, 2l8; Y99
owles, Samuel, III l82ol878. . . . . . . . . . . DL13
owles, William Lisle l7o2l850 . . . . . . . . . DL93
owman, Louise Morey l882l911. . . . . . . DLo8
owne, orden Iarker l817l9l9 . . . . . . . DL270
oyd, |ames l888l911 . . . . . . . . . . . DL9; DSlo
oyd, |ohn l9l22002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
oyd, |ohn l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
oyd, Martin l893l972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
oyd, Jhomas l898l935 . . . . . DL9, 3lo; DSlo
oyd, William l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23l
oye, Karin l900l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL259
oyesen, Hjalmar Hjorth
l818l895 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2, 7l; DSl3
oylan, Clare l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
oyle, Kay l902l992 DL1, 9, 18, 8o; DSl5;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y93
oyle, Roger, Earl of Orrery lo2llo79 . . . DL80
oyle, J. Coraghessan
l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l8, 278; Y8o
oi, Mirko l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
rackenbury, Alison l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
rackenridge, Hugh Henry
l718l8lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll, 37
Jhe Rising Glory of America . . . . . . . . DL37
rackett, Charles l892l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
rackett, Leigh l9l5l978 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8, 2o
|ohn radburn |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL19
radbury, Malcolm l9322000 . . . . . . DLl1, 207
radbury, Ray l920 . . . . . .DL2, 8; CDALo
radbury and Evans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
raddon, Mary Elizabeth
l835l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8, 70, l5o
radford, Andrew lo8ol712. . . . . . . . . DL13, 73
radford, Gamaliel l8o3l932. . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
radford, |ohn l719l830 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
radford, Roark l89ol918. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8o
radford, William l590lo57 . . . . . . . . DL21, 30
radford, William, III l7l9l79l. . . . . . DL13, 73
radlaugh, Charles l833l89l . . . . . . . . . . DL57
radley, David l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
radley, I. H. l81ol921. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
radley, Katherine Harris (see Iield, Michael)
radley, Marion Zimmer l930l999 . . . . . . . DL8
radley, William Aspenwall l878l939 . . . . . DL1
Ira radley and Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
|. W. radley and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
radshaw, Henry l83ll88o . . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
radstreet, Anne
lol2 or lol3lo72. . . . . . . .DL21; CDAL2
radnas, Kazys l9l7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
radwardine, Jhomas circa l295l319. . . DLll5
rady, Irank l921l98o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Irederic A. rady |publishing house|. . . . . . DL19
raga, Rubem l9l3l990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
ragg, Melvyn l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 27l
rahe, Jycho l51olo0l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Charles H. rainard |publishing house|. . . . DL19
raine, |ohn
l922l98o . . . . . . . . . DLl5; Y8o; CDL7
raithwait, Richard l588lo73 . . . . . . . . . DLl5l
raithwaite, William Stanley
l878l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL50, 51
rker, Llrich l735l798 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91
ramah, Ernest l8o8l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL70
ranagan, Jhomas l771l813 . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
rancati, Vitaliano l907l951 . . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
ranch, William lackwell l927 . . . . . . . DL7o
rand, Christianna l907l988 . . . . . . . . . . DL27o
rand, Max (see Iaust, Irederick Schiller)
rando, Raul l8o7l930. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
randen Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
randes, Georg l812l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
ranner, H.C. l903l9oo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
rant, Sebastian l157l52l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl79
rantme (Iierre de ourdeille)
l510.lol1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
rassey, Lady Annie (Allnutt)
l839l887 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLloo
rathwaite, Edward Kamau
l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl25; CDWL3
rault, |acques l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
raun, Matt l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l2
`~ f ai_ PPN
RPS
raun, Volker l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75, l21
rautigan, Richard
l935l981 . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 5, 20o; Y80, 81
raxton, |oanne M. l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
ray, Anne Eliza l790l883 . . . . . . . . . . . DLllo
ray, Jhomas lo5ol730 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
razdionis, ernardas l9072002 . . . . . . DL220
George raziller |publishing house| . . . . . . DL1o
Jhe read Loaf Writers` Conference l983. . . . Y81
reasted, |ames Henry l8o5l935 . . . . . . . DL17
recht, ertolt
l898l95o . . . . . . . . DL5o, l21; CDWL2
redel, Willi l90ll9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5o
regendahl, Marie l8o7l910 . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
reitinger, |ohann |akob l70ll77o. . . . . . . DL97
rekke, Iaal l923l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
remser, onnie l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
remser, Ray l931l998. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
rennan, Christopher l870l932 . . . . . . . DL230
rentano, ernard von l90ll9o1 . . . . . . . DL5o
rentano, Clemens l778l812 . . . . . . . . . . DL90
rentano, Iranz l838l9l7. . . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
rentano`s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
renton, Howard l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
reslin, |immy l929l99o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
reton, Andr l89ol9oo . . . . . . . . . . DLo5, 258
reton, Nicholas circa l555circa lo2o. . . DLl3o
Jhe reton Lays
l300early fifteenth century . . . . . . . . DLl1o
rett, Lily l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
rett, Simon l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27o
rewer, Gil l922l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
rewer, Luther A. l858l933 . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
rewer, Warren and Iutnam . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
rewster, Elizabeth l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
reytenbach, reyten l939 . . . . . . . . . DL225
ridge, Ann (Lady Mary Dolling Sanders
O`Malley) l889l971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
ridge, Horatio l80ol893 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl83
ridgers, Sue Ellen l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
ridges, Robert
l811l930 . . . . . . . . . . DLl9, 98; CDL5
Jhe ridgewater Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
ridie, |ames l888l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
rieux, Eugene l858l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl92
rigadere, Anna
l8oll933 . . . . . . . . . . . DL220; CDWL1
riggs, Charles Irederick
l801l877. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, 250
righouse, Harold l882l958. . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
right, Mary Chavelita Dunne
(see Egerton, George)
rightman, Edgar Sheffield l881l953. . . .DL270
. |. rimmer Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
rines, Irancisco l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
rink, Andr l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL225
rinley, George, |r. l8l7l875. . . . . . . . . . DLl10
rinnin, |ohn Malcolm l9lol998 . . . . . . . DL18
risbane, Albert l809l890 . . . . . . . . . DL3, 250
risbane, Arthur l8o1l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
ritish Academy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
q _ ` l793l813 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll0
ritish Library
Jhe American Jrust for the
ritish Library. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9o
Jhe ritish Library and the Regular
Readers` Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9l
uilding the New ritish Library
at St Iancras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y91
ritish Literary Irizes . . . . . . . . . . . . DL207; Y98
ritish Literature
Jhe 'Angry Young Men". . . . . . . . . . . DLl5
AuthorIrinters, l17ol599 . . . . . . . . DLlo7
Jhe Comic Jradition Continued. . . . . DLl5
Documents on SixteenthCentury
Literature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo7, l72
b _~ lo19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5l
Letter from London . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9o
^ j j~~. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo7
'Modern English Irose`` (l87o),
by George Saintsbury . . . . . . . . . . DL57
Sex, Class, Iolitics, and Religion |in the
ritish Novel, l930l959| . . . . . . . DLl5
Victorians on Rhetoric and Irose
Style. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL57
Jhe Year in ritish Iiction . . . . . . . . . . Y99-0l
'You`ve Never Had It So Good," Gusted
by 'Winds of Change". ritish
Iiction in the l950s, l9o0s,
and After . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
ritish Literature, Old and Middle English
AngloNorman Literature in the
Development of Middle English
Literature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Jhe ^~ j ^ ~
p~~ j ^
circa l350l100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
^ o circa l200l225 . . . . . . . DLl1o
q ^Jp~ ` circa
890ll51 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
q _~ j~ circa l000 . . . . . . DLl1o
_ circa 900l000 or
790825 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o; CDLl
Jhe lickling Homilies circa 97l . . . . DLl1o
Jhe reton Lays
l300early fifteenth century. . . . . DLl1o
q `~ m~
circa l100l125 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Jhe Celtic ackground to Medieval
English Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Jhe Chester Ilays circa l505l532;
revisions until l575 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
` j circa l300 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Jhe English Language. 1l0
to l500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Jhe Germanic Epic and Old English
Heroic Ioetry. tI t~I
and q c ~ c . . . . . . . DLl1o
g circa 930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Jhe Matter of England l210l100. . . DLl1o
Jhe Matter of Rome early twelfth to
late fifteenth centuries . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Middle English Literature.
An Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Jhe Middle English Lyric . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Morality Ilays. j~ circa l150l500
and b~ circa l500. . . . . . . . DLl1o
NJown Ilays circa l1o8 to early
sixteenth century. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Old English Literature.
An Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Old English Riddles
eighth to tenth centuries . . . . . . . DLl1o
q l ~ k~
circa ll89ll99 . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
q m~ i l122l509 . . . . . . . . DLl1o
q p~~ circa 970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Jhe p b i~ circa
thirteenth to fifteenth centuries . . . DLl1o
q _ o ~ i `~
g~ l8lll825. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll0
rito, Aristeo l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
rittain, Vera l893l970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
riusov, Valerii Iakovlevich
l873l921. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
rizeux, Auguste l803l858. . . . . . . . . . . .DL2l7
roadway Iublishing Company. . . . . . . . . DL1o
roch, Hermann
l88ol95l . . . . . . . . .DL85, l21; CDWL2
rochu, Andr l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
rock, Edwin l927l997. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
rockes, arthold Heinrich lo80l717 . . . DLlo8
rod, Max l881l9o8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8l
rodber, Erna l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl57
rodhead, |ohn R. l8l1l873. . . . . . . . . . . DL30
rodkey, Harold l930l99o . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
rodsky, |oseph (Iosif Aleksandrovich
rodsky) l910l99o. . . . . . DL285, 329; Y87
Nobel Lecture l987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y87
rodsky, Michael l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
roeg, ob l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7l
rgger, Suzanne l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
rome, Richard circa l590lo52 . . . . . . . . DL58
rome, Vincent l9l02001. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
romfield, Louis l89ol95o . . . . . . . . DL1, 9, 8o
romige, David l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl93
roner, E. M. l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28
Jribute to ernard Malamud. . . . . . . . . . . Y8o
ronk, William l9l8l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo5
ronnen, Arnolt l895l959 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
ai_ PPN `~ f
RPT
`
ront, Anne l820l819 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l, l99

ront, Charlotte
l8lol855 . . . . . .DL2l, l59, l99; CDL1
ront, Emily
l8l8l818 . . . . . . DL2l, 32, l99; CDL1
Jhe ront Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
rook, Stephen l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL201
rook Iarm l81ll817 . . . . . . . . DLl; 223; DS5
rooke, Irances l721l789. . . . . . . . . . . DL39, 99
rooke, Henry l703.l783. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
rooke, L. Leslie l8o2l910 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1l
rooke, Margaret, Ranee of Sarawak
l819l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl71
rooke, Rupert
l887l9l5 . . . . . . . . . .DLl9, 2lo; CDLo
Jhe Iriends of the Dymock Ioets. . . . . . . .Y00
rooker, ertram l888l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
rookeRose, Christine l923 . . . . . DLl1, 23l
rookner, Anita l928 . . . . . DLl91, 32o; Y87
rooks, Charles Jimothy l8l3l883. . . DLl, 213
rooks, Cleanth l90ol991 . . . . . . . . DLo3; Y91
Jribute to Walker Iercy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y90
rooks, Gwendolyn
l9l72000 . . . . . . . . DL5, 7o, lo5; CDALl
rooks, |eremy l92ol991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
rooks, Mel l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
rooks, Noah l830l903 . . . . . . . . . DL12; DSl3
rooks, Richard l9l2l992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
rooks, Van Wyck l88ol9o3 . . . . DL15, o3, l03
rophy, rigid l929l995 . . . . . . . DLl1, 70, 27l
rophy, |ohn l899l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
rorson, Hans Adolph lo91l7o1 . . . . . . . DL300
rossard, Chandler l922l993 . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
rossard, Nicole l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
roster, Dorothy Kathleen l877l950 . . . . DLlo0
rother Antoninus (see Everson, William)
rotherton, Lord l85ol930 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
rougham, |ohn l8l0l880 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
rougham and Vaux, Henry Ieter
rougham, aron l778l8o8. . . . DLll0, l58
roughton, |ames l9l3l999. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
roughton, Rhoda l810l920 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8
roun, Heywood l888l939 . . . . . . . . DL29, l7l
rowder, Earl l89ll973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
rown, Alice l85ol918. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL78
rown, ob l88ol959 . . . . . . . . DL1, 15; DSl5
rown, Cecil l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
rown, Charles rockden
l77ll8l0 . . . . . . . . DL37, 59, 73; CDAL2
rown, Christy l932l98l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
rown, Dee l9082002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y80
rown, Irank London l927l9o2 . . . . . . . . DL7o
rown, Iredric l90ol972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
rown, George Mackay
l92ll99o . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl1, 27, l39, 27l
rown, Harry l9l7l98o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
rown, Ian l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
rown, Larry l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231, 292
rown, Lew l893l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
rown, Marcia l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
rown, Margaret Wise l9l0l952. . . . . . . . DL22
rown, Morna Doris (see Ierrars, Elizabeth)
rown, Oliver Madox l855l871. . . . . . . . . DL2l
rown, Sterling l90ll989. . . . . . . . DL18, 5l, o3
rown, J. E. l830l897. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
rown, Jhomas Alexander (see oldrewood, Rolf)
rown, Warren l891l978. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
rown, William Hill l7o5l793 . . . . . . . . . . DL37
rown, William Wells
l8l5l881 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, 50, l83, 218
rown Lniversity
Jhe Iestival of Vanguard Narrative . . . . . .Y93
rowne, Charles Iarrar l831l8o7 . . . . . . . DLll
rowne, Irances l8lol879 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
rowne, Irancis Iisher l813l9l3. . . . . . . . DL79
rowne, Howard l908l999 . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
rowne, |. Ross l82ll875. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL202
rowne, Michael Dennis l910 . . . . . . . . DL10
rowne, Sir Jhomas lo05lo82 . . . . . . . . DLl5l
rowne, William, of Javistock
l590lo15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2l
rowne, Wynyard l9lll9o1 . . . . . . . DLl3, 233
rowne and Nolan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
rownell, W. C. l85ll928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7l
rowning, Elizabeth arrett
l80ol8ol . . . . . . . . . .DL32, l99; CDL1
rowning, Robert
l8l2l889 . . . . . . . . . .DL32, lo3; CDL1
Essay on Chatterron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Introductory Essay. i m
_ p (l852) . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
'Jhe Novel in |Robert rowning`s|
'Jhe Ring and the ook`" (l9l2),
by Henry |ames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
rownjohn, Allan l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Jribute to |ohn etjeman . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y81
rownson, Orestes Augustus
l803l87o . . . . . . . . . DLl, 59, 73, 213; DS5
ruccoli, Matthew |. l93l . . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
|oseph |Heller| and George |V. Higgins| . . . .Y99
Response |to usch on Iitzgerald|. . . . . . . .Y9o
Jribute to Albert Erskine . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y93
Jribute to Charles E. Ieinberg . . . . . . . . . .Y88
Working with Iredson owers . . . . . . . . . .Y9l
ruce, Charles l90ol97l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
ruce, |ohn Edward l85ol921
Jhree Documents |African American
poets| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL50
ruce, Leo l903l979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
ruce, Mary Grant l878l958. . . . . . . . . . DL230
ruce, Ihilip Alexander l85ol933 . . . . . . . DL17
ruceNovoa, |uan l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
ruckman, Clyde l891l955. . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
ruckner, Ierdinand l89ll958. . . . . . . . . DLll8
rundage, |ohn Herbert (see Herbert, |ohn)
runner, |ohn l931l995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Jribute to Jheodore Sturgeon . . . . . . . . . .Y85
rutus, Dennis
l921 . . . . . . . . . . DLll7, 225; CDWL3
ryan, C. D. . l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
ryan, William |ennings l8o0l925 . . . . . DL303
ryant, Arthur l899l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl19
ryant, William Cullen l791l878
. . . . . . . . . DL3, 13, 59, l89, 250; CDAL2
ryce, |ames l838l922. . . . . . . . . . . DLloo, l90
ryce Echenique, Alfredo
l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl15; CDWL3
ryden, ill l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
rydges, Sir Samuel Egerton
l7o2l837 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl07, l12
ryskett, Lodowick l51o.lol2 . . . . . . . . DLlo7
uchan, |ohn l875l910 . . . . . . . . DL31, 70, l5o
uchanan, George l50ol582 . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
uchanan, Robert l81ll90l . . . . . . . . DLl8, 35
'Jhe Ileshly School of Ioetry and
Other Ihenomena of the Day"
(l872) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
'Jhe Ileshly School of Ioetry.
Mr. D. G. Rossetti" (l87l),
by Jhomas Maitland . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
uchler, |ustus l9l1l99l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL279
uchman, Sidney l902l975 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
uchner, Augustus l59llool . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
chner, Georg
l8l3l837 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33; CDWL2
ucholtz, Andreas Heinrich lo07lo7l. . . . .DLlo8
uck, Iearl S.
l892l973 . . . . . . . DL9, l02, 329; CDAL7
ucke, Charles l78ll81o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll0
ucke, Richard Maurice l837l902 . . . . . . . DL99
uckingham, Edwin l8l0l833. . . . . . . . . . DL73
uckingham, |oseph Jinker l779l8ol . . . . DL73
uckler, Ernest l908l981. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
uckley, Vincent l925l988 . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
uckley, William I., |r. l925 . . . . DLl37; Y80
Iublisher`s Statement Irom the
Initial Issue of k~~ o
(l9 November l955). . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
uckminster, |oseph Stevens
l781l8l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
uckner, Robert l90ol989. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
`~ f ai_ PPN
RPU
udd, Jhomas .lo98 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
ud, Guillaume l1o8l510 . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
udrys, A. |. l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
uechner, Irederick l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y80
uell, |ohn l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
uenaventura, Enrique l9252003 . . . . . . DL305
ufalino, Gesualdo l920l99o . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
uffon, GeorgesLouis Leclerc de
l707l788 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
'Le Discours sur le style". . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
|ob uffum |publishing house|. . . . . . . . . . DL19
ugnet, Georges l879l98l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
aluhturi 82l897 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
uies, Arthur l810l90l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
ukiet, Melvin |ules l953 . . . . . . . . . . DL299
ukowski, Charles l920l991 . . . DL5, l30, lo9
ulatovi, Miodrag
l930l99l . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l; CDWL1
ulgakov, Mikhail Afanasèvich
l89ll910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL272
ulgarin, Iaddei Venediktovich
l789l859. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
ulger, ozeman l877l932 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7l
ull, Olaf l883l933. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
ullein, William
between l520 and l530l57o. . . . . . . DLlo7
ullins, Ed l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL7, 38, 219
ulosan, Carlos l9lll95o. . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
ulwer, |ohn lo0olo5o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23o
ulwerLytton, Edward (also Edward
ulwer) l803l873 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l
'On Art in Iiction "(l838) . . . . . . . . . . DL2l
umpus, |erry l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y8l
unce and rother . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
unin, Ivan l870l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7, 329
unner, H. C. l855l89o . . . . . . . . . . . .DL78, 79
unting, asil l900l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20
untline, Ned (Edward Zane Carroll
|udson) l82ll88o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8o
unyan, |ohn lo28lo88 . . . . . DL39; CDL2
Jhe Author`s Apology for
His ook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
urch, Robert l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
urciaga, |os Antonio l910 . . . . . . . . . DL82
urdekin, Katharine (Murray Constantine)
l89ol9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL255
rger, Gottfried August l717l791 . . . . . . DL91
urgess, Anthony ( |ohn Anthony urgess Wilson)
l9l7l993 . . . . . . DLl1, l91, 2ol; CDL8
Jhe Anthony urgess Archive at
the Harry Ransom Humanities
Research Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Anthony urgess`s VV kW
An Opinion Ioll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
urgess, Gelett l8ool95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
urgess, |ohn W. l811l93l. . . . . . . . . . . . DL17
urgess, Jhornton W. l871l9o5. . . . . . . . DL22
urgess, Stringer and Company. . . . . . . . . DL19
urgos, |ulia de l9l1l953. . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
urick, Si l909l98o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7l
urk, |ohn Daly circa l772l808 . . . . . . . . DL37
urk, Ronnie l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
urke, Edmund l729.l797 . . . . . . . DLl01, 252
urke, |ames Lee l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
urke, |ohnny l908l9o1. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
urke, Kenneth l897l993 . . . . . . . . . . DL15, o3
urke, Jhomas l88ol915 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl97
urley, Dan l907l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
urley, W. |. l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27o
urlingame, Edward Livermore
l818l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL79
urliuk, David l882l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
urman, Carina l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
urnet, Gilbert lo13l7l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0l
urnett, Irances Hodgson
l819l921 . . . . . . . . . .DL12, l1l; DSl3, l1
urnett, W. R. l899l982. . . . . . . . . . . DL9, 22o
urnett, Whit l899l973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
urney, Ianny l752l810 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Dedication, q t~ (l8l1) . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to b~ (l778) . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
urns, Alan l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, l91
urns, |oanne l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
urns, |ohn Horne l9lol953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y85
urns, Robert l759l79o . . . . DLl09; CDL3
urns and Oates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
urnshaw, Stanley l90o . . . . . . . . . DL18; Y97
|ames Dickey and Stanley urnshaw
Correspondence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Review of Stanley urnshaw. Jhe
Collected Ioems and Selected
Irose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Jribute to Robert Ienn Warren . . . . . . . . . Y89
urr, C. Chauncey l8l5.l883 . . . . . . . . . DL79
urr, Esther Edwards l732l758. . . . . . . . DL200
urroughs, Edgar Rice l875l950 . . . . . . . . DL8
Jhe urroughs ibliophiles . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
urroughs, |ohn l837l92l . . . . . . . . .DLo1, 275
urroughs, Margaret J. G. l9l7 . . . . . . DL1l
urroughs, William S., |r. l917l98l . . . . . DLlo
urroughs, William Seward l9l1l997
. . . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 8, lo, l52, 237; Y8l, 97
urroway, |anet l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
urt, Maxwell Struthers
l882l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8o; DSlo
A. L. urt and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
urton, Hester l9l32000 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
urton, Isabel Arundell l83ll89o. . . . . . DLloo
urton, Miles (see Rhode, |ohn)
urton, Richard Irancis
l82ll890 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL55, loo, l81
urton, Robert l577lo10. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5l
urton, Virginia Lee l909l9o8. . . . . . . . . DL22
urton, William Evans l801l8o0 . . . . . . . DL73
urwell, Adam Hood l790l819 . . . . . . . . DL99
ury, Lady Charlotte l775l8ol. . . . . . . . DLllo
usch, Irederick l91l200o . . . . . . . . . DLo, 2l8
Excerpts from Irederick usch`s LSC
Remarks |on I. Scott Iitzgerald| . . . . . Y9o
Jribute to |ames Laughlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Jribute to Raymond Carver . . . . . . . . . . . Y88
usch, Niven l903l99l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
ushnell, Horace l802l87o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl3
usiness Literature
Jhe Claims of usiness and Literature.
An Lndergraduate Essay by
Maxwell Ierkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
ussires, Arthur de l877l9l3. . . . . . . . . . DL92
utler, Charles circa l5o0lo17 . . . . . . . . DL23o
utler, Guy l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL225
utler, |oseph lo92l752. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL252
utler, |osephine Elizabeth l828l90o . . . DLl90
utler, |uan l912l98l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
utler, |udith l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
utler, Octavia E. l917200o . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
utler, Iierce l881l953. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl87
utler, Robert Olen l915 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl73
utler, Samuel lol3lo80. . . . . . . . . .DLl0l, l2o
utler, Samuel
l835l902 . . . . . . . DLl8, 57, l71; CDL5
utler, William Irancis l838l9l0 . . . . . . DLloo
E. H. utler and Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
utor, Michel l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Nathaniel utter
utterworth, Hezekiah l839l905 . . . . . . . DL12
uttitta, Ignazio l899l997. . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
utts, Mary l890l937. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
uzo, Alex l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
uzzati, Dino l90ol972. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl77
yars, etsy l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
yatt, A. S. l93o . . . . . . .DLl1, l91, 3l9, 32o
yles, Mather l707l788 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Henry ynneman
ynner, Witter l88ll9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL51
yrd, William circa l513lo23 . . . . . . . . . .DLl72
yrd, William, II lo71l711 . . . . . . . . DL21, l10
yrne, |ohn Keyes (see Leonard, Hugh)
yron, George Gordon, Lord
l788l821. . . . . . . . . . DL9o, ll0; CDL3
Jhe yron Society of America. . . . . . . . . . Y00
ai_ PPN `~ f
RPV
`
yron, Robert l905l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl95

yzantine Novel, Jhe Spanish . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
`
Caballero onald, |os Manuel
l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Cabaero, Eladio l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
Cabell, |ames ranch l879l958 . . . . . . . DL9, 78
Cabeza de aca, Manuel l853l9l5 . . . . . DLl22
Cabeza de aca Gilbert, Iabiola
l898l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Cable, George Washington
l811l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2, 71; DSl3
Cable, Mildred l878l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl95
Cabral, Manuel del l907l999. . . . . . . . . . DL283
Cabral de Melo Neto, |oo
l920l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Cabrera, Lydia l900l99l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl15
Cabrera Infante, Guillermo
l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll3; CDWL3
Cabrujas, |os Ignacio l937l995. . . . . . . . DL305
Cadell |publishing house|. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl51
Cady, Edwin H. l9l7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Caedmon fl. o58o80 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Caedmon School circa oo0899 . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Caesar, Irving l895l99o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Cafs, rasseries, and istros. . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl5
Cage, |ohn l9l2l992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl93
Cahan, Abraham l8o0l95l . . . . . . . DL9, 25, 28
Cahn, Sammy l9l3l993. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Cain, George l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Cain, |ames M. l892l977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
Cain, Iaul (Ieter Ruric, George Sims)
l902l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Caird, Edward l835l908 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Caird, Mona l851l932. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl97
aks, Aleksandrs
l90ll950 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220; CDWL1
Caldecott, Randolph l81ol88o . . . . . . . . DLlo3
|ohn Calder Limited
|Iublishing house| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Caldern de la arca, Ianny
l801l882 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl83
Caldwell, en l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
Caldwell, Erskine l903l987 . . . . . . . . . . DL9, 8o
H. M. Caldwell Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Caldwell, Jaylor l900l985. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl7
Calhoun, |ohn C. l782l850 . . . . . . . . . DL3, 218
Clinescu, George l899l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . DL220
Calisher, Hortense l9ll . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 2l8
Calkins, Mary Whiton l8o3l930. . . . . . . DL270
Callaghan, Mary Rose l911 . . . . . . . . . DL207
Callaghan, Morley l903l990 . . . . . DLo8; DSl5
Callahan, S. Alice l8o8l891. . . . . . . DLl75, 22l
`~~ | journal|. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y87
Callimachus circa 305 _.`.210 _.`.. . . . . . DLl7o
Calmer, Edgar l907l98o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Calverley, C. S. l83ll881 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
Calvert, George Henry
l803l889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, o1, 218
Calverton, V. I. (George Goetz)
l900l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Calvin, |ean l509l5o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Calvino, Italo l923l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Cambridge, Ada l811l92o. . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Cambridge Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
`~ p E`~~ `~~~F
circa l050 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Cambridge Lniversity
Cambridge and the Apostles . . . . . . . . . . . DS5
Cambridge Lniversity Iress . . . . . . . . . . . DLl70
Camden, William l55llo23. . . . . . . . . . . DLl72
Camden House. An Interview with
|ames Hardin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y92
Cameron, Eleanor l9l22000 . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Cameron, George Irederick
l851l885 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Cameron, Lucy Lyttelton l78ll858. . . . . DLlo3
Cameron, Ieter l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
Cameron, William leasdell l8o2l95l. . . . DL99
Camm, |ohn l7l8l778 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Cames, Lus de l521l580. . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Camon, Ierdinando l935 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Camp, Walter l859l925. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Campana, Dino l885l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Campbell, ebe Moore l950200o . . . . . . DL227
Campbell, David l9l5l979. . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Campbell, Gabrielle Margaret Vere
(see Shearing, |oseph, and owen, Marjorie)
Campbell, |ames Dykes l838l895 . . . . . . DLl11
Campbell, |ames Edwin l8o7l89o . . . . . . . DL50
Campbell, |ohn lo53l728. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Campbell, |ohn W., |r. l9l0l97l . . . . . . . . . DL8
Campbell, Ramsey l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Campbell, Robert l9272000 . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Campbell, Roy l90ll957 . . . . . . . . . . DL20, 225
Campbell, Jhomas l777l811 . . . . . . . DL93, l11
Campbell, William Edward (see March, William)
Campbell, William Wilfred l858l9l8 . . . . DL92
Campion, Edmund l539l58l . . . . . . . . . DLlo7
Campion, Jhomas
l5o7lo20 . . . . . . . . . . DL58, l72; CDLl
Campo, Rafael l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282
Campton, David l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
Camus, Albert l9l3l9o0 . . . . . . DL72, 32l, 329
Camus, |eanIierre l581lo52. . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Jhe Canadian Iublishers` Records Database . . .Y9o
Canby, Henry Seidel l878l9ol. . . . . . . . . . DL9l
Cancioneros. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Candelaria, Cordelia l913 . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Candelaria, Nash l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
`~I Voltaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Canetti, Elias
l905l991 . . . . . DL85, l21, 329; CDWL2
Canham, Erwin Dain l901l982. . . . . . . . DLl27
Canitz, Iriedrich Rudolph Ludwig von
lo51lo99 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Cankar, Ivan l87ol9l8. . . . . DLl17; CDWL1
Cannan, Gilbert l881l955 . . . . . . . . . DLl0, l97
Cannan, |oanna l89ol9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Cannell, Kathleen l89ll971. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Cannell, Skipwith l887l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL15
Canning, George l770l827. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl58
Cannon, |immy l9l0l973 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7l
Cano, Daniel l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Old Dogs / New Jricks. New
Jechnologies, the Canon, and the
Structure of the Irofession . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Cant, Norma Elia l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Cantwell, Robert l908l978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
|onathan Cape and Harrison Smith
|publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
|onathan Cape Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
apek, Karel l890l938 . . . . DL2l5; CDWL1
Capen, |oseph lo58l725. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Capes, ernard l851l9l8. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5o
Capote, Jruman l921l981
. . . . . . . DL2, l85, 227; Y80, 81; CDALl
Capps, enjamin l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25o
Caproni, Giorgio l9l2l990 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Caragiale, Mateiu Ioan l885l93o. . . . . . . DL220
Carballido, Emilio l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Cardarelli, Vincenzo l887l959 . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Cardenal, Ernesto l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Crdenas, Reyes l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Cardinal, Marie l929200l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Cardoza y Aragn, Luis l90ll992. . . . . . DL290
Carducci, Giosu l835l907 . . . . . . . . . . . DL329
Carew, |an l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Carew, Jhomas l591 or l595lo10 . . . . . DLl2o
Carey, Henry circa lo87lo89l713 . . . . . . . DL81
Carey, Mathew l7o0l839. . . . . . . . . . . DL37, 73
M. Carey and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Carey, Ieter l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289, 32o
Carey and Hart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Carlell, Lodowick lo02lo75. . . . . . . . . . . . DL58
Carleton, William l791l8o9. . . . . . . . . . . DLl59
G. W. Carleton |publishing house| . . . . . . . DL19
Carlile, Richard l790l813 . . . . . . . . DLll0, l58
`~ f ai_ PPN
RQM
Carlson, Ron l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
Carlyle, |ane Welsh l80ll8oo. . . . . . . . . . DL55
Carlyle, Jhomas
l795l88l. . . . . . . . . . DL55, l11; CDL3
'Jhe Hero as Man of Letters.
|ohnson, Rousseau, urns"
(l81l) |excerpt| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL57
Jhe Hero as Ioet. Dante; Shakspeare
(l81l) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Carman, liss l8oll929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
`~~ _~~ circa l230 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Carnap, Rudolf l89ll970 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL270
Carnero, Guillermo l917 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Carossa, Hans l878l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Carpenter, Humphrey
l91o2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55; Y81, 99
Carpenter, Stephen Cullen .l820. . . . . . . DL73
Carpentier, Alejo
l901l980 . . . . . . . . . . . DLll3; CDWL3
Carr, Emily l87ll915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Carr, |ohn Dickson l90ol977 . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Carr, Marina l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
Carr, Virginia Spencer l929 . . . . . . DLlll; Y00
Carrera Andrade, |orge l903l978 . . . . . . DL283
Carrier, Roch l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Carrillo, Adolfo l855l92o. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Carroll, Gladys Hasty l901l999. . . . . . . . . DL9
Carroll, |ohn l735l8l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Carroll, |ohn l809l881 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Carroll, Lewis
l832l898 . . . . . DLl8, lo3, l78; CDL1
Jhe Lewis Carroll Centenary . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Jhe Lewis Carroll Society
of North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Carroll, Iaul l927l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Carroll, Iaul Vincent l900l9o8 . . . . . . . . DLl0
Carroll and Graf Iublishers . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Carruth, Hayden l92l . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, lo5
Jribute to Raymond Carver. . . . . . . . . . . . Y88
Carryl, Charles E. l81ll920. . . . . . . . . . . DL12
Carson, Anne l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl93
Carson, Rachel l907l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL275
Carswell, Catherine l879l91o. . . . . . . . . . DL3o
Cartagena, Alfonso de circa l381l15o . . DL28o
Cartagena, Jeresa de l125.. . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Crtrescu, Mirea l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Carter, Angela
l910l992 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 207, 2ol, 3l9
Carter, Elizabeth l7l7l80o. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl09
Carter, Henry (see Leslie, Irank)
Carter, Hodding, |r. l907l972 . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Carter, |ared l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282
Carter, |ohn l905l975. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Carter, Landon l7l0l778. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Carter, Lin l930l988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y8l
Carter, Martin l927l997 . . . .DLll7; CDWL3
Carter, Robert, and rothers . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Carter and Hendee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Cartwright, |im l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
Cartwright, |ohn l710l821 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl58
Cartwright, William circa lolllo13 . . . . DLl2o
Caruthers, William Alexander
l802l81o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, 218
Carver, |onathan l7l0l780 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Carver, Raymond l938l988 . . . DLl30; Y83,88
Iirst Strauss 'Livings`` Awarded to Cynthia
Ozick and Raymond Carver
An Interview with Raymond Carver. . . . Y83
Carvic, Heron l9l7.l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27o
Cary, Alice l820l87l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL202
Cary, |oyce l888l957 . . . DLl5, l00; CDLo
Cary, Iatrick lo23.lo57 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3l
Casal, |ulin del l8o3l893 . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Case, |ohn l510lo00. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Casey, Gavin l907l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Casey, |uanita l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Casey, Michael l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Cassady, Carolyn l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
'As I See It" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Cassady, Neal l92ol9o8 . . . . . . . . . . .DLlo, 237
Cassell and Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Cassell Iublishing Company . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Cassill, R. V. l9l92002 . . . . . . . . DLo, 2l8; Y02
Cassity, Jurner l929 . . . . . . . . . . DLl05; Y02
Cassius Dio circa l55/lo1post 229 . . . . . .DLl7o
Cassola, Carlo l9l7l987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl77
Castellano, Olivia l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Castellanos, Rosario
l925l971. . . . . . . . .DLll3, 290; CDWL3
Castelo ranco, Camilo l825l890 . . . . . DL287
Castile, Irotest Ioetry in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Castile and Aragon, Vernacular Jranslations
in Crowns of l352l5l5. . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Castillejo, Cristbal de l190.l550 . . . . . DL3l8
Castillo, Ana l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl22, 227
Castillo, Rafael C. l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
q `~ m~
circa l100l125 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Castlemon, Harry (see Iosdick, Charles Austin)
Castro, rian l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Castro, Consuelo de l91o . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Castro Alves, Antnio de l817l87l. . . . . DL307
aule, Kole l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Caswall, Edward l8l1l878 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Catacalos, Rosemary l911 . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Cather, Willa l873l917
. . . . . . . . DL9, 51, 78, 25o; DSl; CDAL3
Jhe Willa Cather Iioneer Memorial
and Education Ioundation . . . . . . . . . Y00
Catherine II (Ekaterina Alekseevna), 'Jhe Great,"
Empress of Russia l729l79o. . . . . . . DLl50
Catherwood, Mary Hartwell l817l902. . . DL78
Catledge, Jurner l90ll983. . . . . . . . . . . .DLl27
Catlin, George l79ol872 . . . . . . . . . DLl8o, l89
Cato the Elder 231 _.`.l19 _.`. . . . . . . . DL2ll
Cattafi, artolo l922l979 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Catton, ruce l899l978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7
Catullus circa 81 _.`.51 _.`.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL2ll; CDWLl
Causley, Charles l9l72003 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Caute, David l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 23l
Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle,
Margaret Lucas
lo23.lo73. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3l, 252, 28l
Cawein, Madison l8o5l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . DL51
William Caxton |publishing house| . . . . . .DLl70
Jhe Caxton Irinters, Limited . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Caylor, O. I. l819l897 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Caylus, MartheMarguerite de
lo7ll729. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
Cayrol, |ean l9ll2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Cecil, Lord David l902l98o . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
Cela, Camilo |os
l9lo2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322, 329; Y89
Nobel Lecture l989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y89
Celan, Iaul l920l970 . . . . . . DLo9; CDWL2
Celati, Gianni l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Celaya, Gabriel l9lll99l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Cline, LouisIerdinand l891l9ol . . . . . . DL72
Celtis, Conrad l159l508. . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl79
Cendrars, laise l887l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . DL258
Jhe Steinbeck Centennial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Censorship
Jhe Island Jrees Case. A Symposium on
School Library Censorship . . . . . . . . . Y82
Center for ibliographical Studies and
Research at the Lniversity of
California, Riverside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9l
Center for ook Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
Jhe Center for the ook in the Library
of Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y93
A New Voice. Jhe Center for the
ook`s Iirst Iive Years. . . . . . . . . . . . . Y83
Centlivre, Susanna loo9.l723. . . . . . . . . . DL81
Jhe Centre for Writing, Iublishing and
Irinting History at the Lniversity
of Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Jhe Century Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
|. M. Edelstein`s Collection of
JwentiethCentury American Ioetry . . . . . Y02
ai_ PPN `~ f
RQN
`
Cernuda, Luis l902l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31

Cerruto, Oscar l9l2l98l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Cervantes, Lorna Dee l951 . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Csaire, Aim l9l3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
de Cspedes, Alba l9lll997 . . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
Cetina, Gutierre de l5l1l7.l55o . . . . . . DL3l8
Ch., J. (see Marchenko, Anastasiia Iakovlevna)
Cha, Jheresa Hak Kyung l95ll982 . . . . DL3l2
Chaadaev, Ietr Iakovlevich
l791l85o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
Chabon, Michael l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL278
Chacel, Rosa l898l991 . . . . . . . . . . DLl31, 322
Chacn, Eusebio l8o9l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Chacn, Ielipe Maximiliano l873.. . . . . . . DL82
Chadwick, Henry l821l908. . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
ChadwyckHealey`s IullJext Literary Databases.
Editing Commercial Databases of
Irimary Literary Jexts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y95
Challans, Eileen Mary (see Renault, Mary)
Chalmers, George l712l825. . . . . . . . . . . . DL30
Chaloner, Sir Jhomas l520l5o5 . . . . . . . DLlo7
Chamberlain, Samuel S. l85ll9lo. . . . . . . DL25
Chamberland, Iaul l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Chamberlin, William Henry l897l9o9. . . . DL29
Chambers, Charles Haddon l8o0l92l . . . DLl0
Chambers, Mara Cristina (see Mena, Mara Cristina)
Chambers, Robert W. l8o5l933 . . . . . . . DL202
W. and R. Chambers
|publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Chambers, Whittaker l90ll9ol . . . . . . . DL303
Chamfort, SbastienRoch Nicolas de
l710.l791. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
Chamisso, Adelbert von l78ll838 . . . . . . . DL90
Champfleury l82ll889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll9
Champier, Symphorien l172.l539. . . . . . DL327
Chan, |effery Iaul l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Chandler, Harry l8o1l911. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Chandler, Norman l899l973 . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Chandler, Otis l927200o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Chandler, Raymond
l888l959 . . . .DL22o, 253; DSo; CDAL5
Raymond Chandler Centenary. . . . . . . . . .Y88
Chang, Diana l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Channing, Edward l85ol93l. . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
Channing, Edward Jyrrell
l790l85o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 59, 235
Channing, William Ellery
l780l812 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 59, 235
Channing, William Ellery, II
l8l7l90l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 223
Channing, William Henry
l8l0l881 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 59, 213
Chapelain, |ean l595lo71. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Chaplin, Charlie l889l977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Chapman, George
l559 or l5o0lo31 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo2, l2l
Chapman, Olive Murray l892l977 . . . . . DLl95
Chapman, R. W. l88ll9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Chapman, William l850l9l7. . . . . . . . . . . DL99
|ohn Chapman |publishing house| . . . . . . . DLl0o
Chapman and Hall |publishing house| . . . DLl0o
Chappell, Ired l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo, l05
'A Detail in a Ioem" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Chappell, William l582lo19 . . . . . . . . . . DL23o
Char, Ren l907l988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL258
Charbonneau, |ean l875l9o0. . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Charbonneau, Robert l9lll9o7 . . . . . . . . DLo8
Charles, Gerda l9l1l99o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
William Charles |publishing house| . . . . . . . DL19
Charles dÒrlans l391l1o5 . . . . . . . . . . DL208
Charley (see Mann, Charles)
Charrire, Isabelle de l710l805 . . . . . . . . DL3l3
Charskaia, Lidiia l875l937. . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Charteris, Leslie l907l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
Chartier, Alain circa l385l130 . . . . . . . . . DL208
Charyn, |erome l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Chase, orden l900l97l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Chase, Edna Woolman l877l957 . . . . . . . . DL9l
Chase, |ames Hadley (Ren Raymond)
l90ol985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27o
Chase, Mary Coyle l907l98l. . . . . . . . . . DL228
ChaseRiboud, arbara l93o . . . . . . . . . DL33
Chateaubriand, IranoisRen de
l7o8l818 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll9
Chtelet, GabrielleEmilie Du
l70ol719 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
Chatterjee, Lpamanyu l959 . . . . . . . . . DL323
Chatterton, Jhomas l752l770 . . . . . . . . . DLl09
Essay on Chatterton (l812), by
Robert rowning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Chatto and Windus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Chatwin, ruce l910l989 . . . . . . . . DLl91, 201
Chaucer, Geoffrey
l310.l100 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl1o; CDLl
New Chaucer Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
Chaudhuri, Amit l9o2 . . . . . . . . . DL2o7, 323
Chaudhuri, Nirad C. l897l999 . . . . . . . . DL323
Chauncy, Charles l705l787 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Chauveau, Iierre|osephOlivier
l820l890 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Chvez, Denise l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Chvez, Iray Anglico l9l0l99o . . . . . . . . DL82
Chayefsky, Iaddy l923l98l. . . . . DL7, 11; Y8l
Cheesman, Evelyn l88ll9o9 . . . . . . . . . . DLl95
Cheever, Ezekiel lol5l708 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Cheever, George arrell l807l890 . . . . . . . DL59
Cheever, |ohn l9l2l982
. . . . . . . DL2, l02, 227; Y80, 82; CDALl
Cheever, Susan l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Cheke, Sir |ohn l5l1l557 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Chekhov, Anton Iavlovich l8o0l901 . . . DL277
Chelsea House. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Chnedoll, Charles de l7o9l833 . . . . . . DL2l7
Cheney, rainard
Jribute to Caroline Gordon . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
Cheney, Ednah Dow l821l901 . . . . . . DLl, 223
Cheney, Harriet Vaughan l79ol889. . . . . . DL99
Chnier, Marie|oseph l7o1l8ll . . . . . . . DLl92
Cheng Xiaoqing l893l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Cherny, Sasha l880l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Chernyshevsky, Nikolai Gavrilovich
l828l889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Cherry, Kelly l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Cherryh, C. |. l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y80
Chesebro`, Caroline l825l873 . . . . . . . . . DL202
Chesney, Sir George Jomkyns
l830l895 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl90
Chesnut, Mary oykin l823l88o. . . . . . . DL239
Chesnutt, Charles Waddell
l858l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2, 50, 78
Chesson, Mrs. Nora (see Hopper, Nora)
Chester, Alfred l928l97l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Chester, George Randolph l8o9l921 . . . . DL78
revisions until l575 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Chesterfield, Ihilip Dormer Stanhope,
Iourth Earl of lo91l773. . . . . . . . . . . DLl01
Chesterton, G. K. l871l93o
. . DLl0, l9, 31, 70, 98, l19, l78; CDLo
'Jhe Ethics of Elfland" (l908) . . . . . . DLl78
Chettle, Henry
circa l5o0circa lo07. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Cheuse, Alan l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
Chew, Ada Nield l870l915 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl35
Cheyney, Edward I. l8oll917. . . . . . . . . . DL17
Chiang Yee l903l977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Chiara, Iiero l9l3l98o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl77
Chicanos
Chicano History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Chicano Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Chicano Literature. A ibliography . . DL209
A Contemporary Ilourescence of Chicano
Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y81
Literatura Chicanesca. Jhe View Irom
Without . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Child, Irancis |ames l825l89o. . . . DLl, o1, 235
Child, Lydia Maria l802l880 . . . . DLl, 71, 213
Child, Ihilip l898l978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Childers, Erskine l870l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL70
Children`s Literature
Afterword. Iropaganda, NambyIamby,
and Some ooks of Distinction . . . DL52
`~ f ai_ PPN
RQO
Children`s ook Awards and Irizes. . . DLol
Children`s ook Illustration in the
Jwentieth Century . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Children`s Illustrators, l800l880 . . . DLlo3
Jhe Harry Iotter Ihenomenon . . . . . . . . . Y99
Iony Stories, Omnibus
Essay on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Jhe Reality of One Woman`s Dream.
Jhe de Grummond Children`s
Literature Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
School Stories, l9l1l9o0 . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Jhe Year in Children`s
ooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y92-9o, 98-0l
Jhe Year in Children`s Literature . . . . . . . Y97
Childress, Alice l9lol991 . . . . . . . .DL7, 38, 219
Childress, Mark l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Childs, George W. l829l891 . . . . . . . . . . DL23
Chilton ook Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Chin, Irank l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20o, 3l2
Chin, |ustin l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Chin, Marilyn l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Chinweizu l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Chinnov, Igor` l909l99o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Chitham, Edward l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
Chittenden, Hiram Martin l858l9l7 . . . . DL17
Chivers, Jhomas Holley l809l858. . . DL3, 218
Chkhartishvili, Grigorii Shalvovich
(see Akunin, oris)
Chocano, |os Santos l875l931 . . . . . . . DL290
Cholmondeley, Mary l859l925 . . . . . . . DLl97
Chomsky, Noam l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
Chopin, Kate l850l901. . . DLl2, 78; CDAL3
Chopin, Ren l885l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Choquette, Adrienne l9l5l973 . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Choquette, Robert l905l99l . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Choyce, Lesley l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Chrtien de Jroyes
circa ll10circa ll90 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL208
Christensen, Inger l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Christensen, Lars Saabye l953 . . . . . . DL297
q `~ b~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl
Jhe Christian Iublishing Company. . . . . . DL19
Christie, Agatha
l890l97o. . . . . . . .DLl3, 77, 215; CDLo
Christine de Iizan
circa l3o5circa l13l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL208
Christopher, |ohn (Sam Youd) l922 . . DL255
` p~~ circa 950 . . . . . . DLl18
Christy, Howard Chandler l873l952 . . . DLl88
Chu, Louis l9l5l970. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Chukovskaia, Lidiia l907l99o. . . . . . . . . DL302
Chulkov, Mikhail Dmitrievich
l713.l792 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Church, enjamin l731l778 . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Church, Irancis Iharcellus l839l90o . . . . DL79
Church, Ieggy Iond l903l98o . . . . . . . . DL2l2
Church, Richard l893l972 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Church, William Conant l83ol9l7. . . . . . DL79
Churchill, Caryl l938 . . . . . . . . . . DLl3, 3l0
Churchill, Charles l73ll7o1 . . . . . . . . . . DLl09
Churchill, Winston l87ll917 . . . . . . . . . DL202
Churchill, Sir Winston
l871l9o5. . . DLl00, 329; DSlo; CDL5
Churchyard, Jhomas l520.lo01 . . . . . . DLl32
E. Churton and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Chute, Marchette l909l991 . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Ciardi, |ohn l9lol98o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5; Y8o
Cibber, Colley lo7ll757 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL81
Cicero l0o _.`.13 _.`. . . . . . .DL2ll, CDWLl
Cima, Annalisa l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
ingo, ivko l935l987. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Cioran, E. M. l9lll995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
ipkus, Alfonsas (see NykaNilinas, Alfonsas)
Cirese, Eugenio l881l955. . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Crulis, Jnis (see els, Alberts)
Cisneros, Antonio l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Cisneros, Sandra l951 . . . . . . . . . DLl22, l52
City Lights ooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Civil War (l8ol-l8o5)
attles and Leaders of the Civil War. . . .DL17
Official Records of the Rebellion . . . . . DL17
Recording the Civil War . . . . . . . . . . . DL17
Cixous, Hlne l937 . . . . . . . . . . . DL83, 212
`~ Î Sophie Cottin . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Clampitt, Amy l920l991 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Jribute to Alfred A. Knopf. . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
Clancy, Jom l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL227
Clapper, Raymond l892l911 . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Clare, |ohn l793l8o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL55, 9o
Clarendon, Edward Hyde, Earl of
lo09lo71. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0l
Clark, Alfred Alexander Gordon
(see Hare, Cyril)
Clark, Ann Nolan l89ol995 . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Clark, C. E. Irazer, |r. l925200l. . . DLl87; Y0l
C. E. Irazer Clark |r. and
Hawthorne ibliography. . . . . . . DL2o9
Jhe Iublications of C. E. Irazer
Clark |r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o9
Clark, Catherine Anthony l892l977. . . . . DLo8
Clark, Charles Heber l81ll9l5 . . . . . . . . DLll
Clark, Davis Wasgatt l8l2l87l. . . . . . . . . DL79
Clark, Douglas l9l9l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27o
Clark, Eleanor l9l3l99o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Clark, |. I. l935 . . . . . . . . .DLll7; CDWL3
Clark, Lewis Gaylord
l808l873. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL3, o1, 73, 250
Clark, Mary Higgins l929 . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Clark, Walter Van Jilburg
l909l97l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, 20o
Clark, William l770l838. . . . . . . . . DLl83, l8o
Clark, William Andrews, |r.
l877l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl87
C. M. Clark Iublishing Company . . . . . . . DL1o
Clarke, Sir Arthur C. l9l7 . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Jribute to Jheodore Sturgeon . . . . . . . . . . Y85
Clarke, Austin l89ol971 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0, 20
Clarke, Austin C. l931 . . . . . . . . . DL53, l25
Clarke, Gillian l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Clarke, |ames Ireeman
l8l0l888 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 59, 235; DS5
Clarke, |ohn circa l59olo58 . . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Clarke, Lindsay l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23l
Clarke, Marcus l81ol88l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Clarke, Iauline l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
Clarke, Rebecca Sophia l833l90o . . . . . . DL12
Clarke, Samuel lo75l729 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL252
Robert Clarke and Company. . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Clarkson, Jhomas l7o0l81o. . . . . . . . . . DLl58
Claudel, Iaul l8o8l955 . . . . . DLl92, 258, 32l
Claudius, Matthias l710l8l5 . . . . . . . . . . DL97
Clausen, Andy l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Claussen, Sophus l8o5l93l . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Clawson, |ohn L. l8o5l933 . . . . . . . . . . .DLl87
Claxton, Remsen and Haffelfinger . . . . . . . DL19
Clay, Cassius Marcellus l8l0l903 . . . . . . DL13
Clayton, Richard (see Haggard, William)
Cleage, Iearl l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL228
Cleary, everly l9lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Cleary, Kate McIhelim l8o3l905. . . . . . DL22l
Cleaver, Vera l9l9l992 and
Cleaver, ill l920l98l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Cleeve, rian l92l2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27o
Cleland, |ohn l7l0l789 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Clemens, Samuel Langhorne (Mark Jwain)
l835l9l0 . . . . . . . . . . DLll, l2, 23, o1, 71,
l8o, l89; CDAL3
Comments Irom Authors and Scholars on
their Iirst Reading of e c . . . . . Y85
Huck at l00. How Old Is
Huckleberry Iinn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y85
Mark Jwain on Ierpetual Copyright . . . . . Y92
A New Edition of e c. . . . . . . . . . . . Y85
Clement, Hal l9222003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Clemo, |ack l9lol991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Clephane, Elizabeth Cecilia l830l8o9 . . DLl99
Cleveland, |ohn lol3lo58. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2o
Cliff, Michelle l91o . . . . . .DLl57; CDWL3
Clifford, Lady Anne l590lo7o . . . . . . . . DLl5l
Clifford, |ames L. l90ll978 . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
ai_ PPN `~ f
RQP
`
Clifford, Lucy l853.l929. . . . . DLl35, l1l, l97

Clift, Charmian l923l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Clifton, Lucille l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, 1l
Clines, Irancis X. l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Clive, Caroline (V) l80ll873. . . . . . . . . . DLl99
Edward |. Clode |publishing house|. . . . . . . DL1o
Clough, Arthur Hugh l8l9l8ol . . . . . . . . DL32
Cloutier, Ccile l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Clouts, Sidney l92ol982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL225
Cluttonrock, Arthur l8o8l921 . . . . . . . . DL98
Coates, Robert M.
l897l973. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1, 9, l02; DSl5
Coatsworth, Elizabeth l893l98o . . . . . . . . DL22
Cobb, Charles E., |r. l913 . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Cobb, Irank I. l8o9l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Cobb, Irvin S. l87ol911. . . . . . . . . DLll, 25, 8o
Cobbe, Irances Iower l822l901 . . . . . . . DLl90
Cobbett, William l7o3l835 . . . . DL13, l07, l58
Cobbledick, Gordon l898l9o9. . . . . . . . . DLl7l
Cochran, Jhomas C. l902l999 . . . . . . . . . DLl7
Cochrane, Elizabeth l8o7l922 . . . . . . DL25, l89
Cockerell, Sir Sydney l8o7l9o2 . . . . . . . . DL20l
Cockerill, |ohn A. l815l89o. . . . . . . . . . . . DL23
Cocteau, |ean l889l9o3 . . . . . . . DLo5, 258, 32l
Coderre, Emile (see |ean Narrache)
Cody, Liza l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27o
Coe, |onathan l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23l
Coetzee, |. M. l910 . . . . . . . . DL225, 32o, 329
Coffee, Lenore |. l900.l981. . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Coffin, Robert I. Jristram l892l955 . . . . . DL15
Coghill, Mrs. Harry (see Walker, Anna Louisa)
Cogswell, Ired l9l7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Cogswell, Mason Iitch l7oll830 . . . . . . . . DL37
Cohan, George M. l878l912 . . . . . . . . . . DL219
Cohen, Arthur A. l928l98o. . . . . . . . . . . . DL28
Cohen, Leonard l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Cohen, Matt l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Cohen, Morris Raphael l880l917 . . . . . . DL270
Colasanti, Marina l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Colbeck, Norman l903l987. . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Colden, Cadwallader
lo88l77o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21, 30, 270
Colden, |ane l721l7oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Cole, arry l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Cole, George Watson l850l939. . . . . . . . DLl10
Colegate, Isabel l93l . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 23l
Coleman, Emily Holmes l899l971 . . . . . . . DL1
Coleman, Wanda l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Coleridge, Hartley l79ol819 . . . . . . . . . . . DL9o
Coleridge, Mary l8oll907. . . . . . . . . . DLl9, 98
Coleridge, Samuel Jaylor
l772l831 . . . . . . . . . . DL93, l07; CDL3
Coleridge, Sara l802l852. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
Colet, |ohn l1o7l5l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Colette l873l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo5
Colette, Sidonie Gabrielle (see Colette)
Colinas, Antonio l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
Coll, |oseph Clement l88ll92l . . . . . . . . DLl88
|. M. Edelstein`s Collection of
JwentiethCentury American Ioetry . . . . .Y02
Collier, |ohn l90ll980 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77, 255
Collier, |ohn Iayne l789l883. . . . . . . . . . DLl81
Collier, Mary lo90l7o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL95
Collier, Robert |. l87ol9l8. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9l
I. I. Collier |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Collin and Small . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Collingwood, R. G. l889l913 . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Collingwood, W. G. l851l932. . . . . . . . . DLl19
Collins, An floruit circa lo53. . . . . . . . . . . DLl3l
Collins, Anthony lo7ol729. . . . . . . . . . . . DL252
Collins, Merle l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Collins, Michael l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Collins, Michael (see Lynds, Dennis)
Collins, Mortimer l827l87o . . . . . . . . . DL2l, 35
Collins, Jom (see Iurphy, |oseph)
Collins, Wilkie
l821l889 . . . . . . . DLl8, 70, l59; CDL1
'Jhe Lnknown Iublic`` (l858)
|excerpt| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL57
Jhe Wilkie Collins Society . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Collins, William l72ll759 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl09
Isaac Collins |publishing house|. . . . . . . . . . DL19
William Collins, Sons and Company. . . . . DLl51
Collis, Maurice l889l973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl95
Collyer, Mary l7lo.l7o3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Colman, enjamin lo73l717 . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Colman, George, the Elder l732l791. . . . . DL89
Colman, George, the Younger
l7o2l83o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL89
S. Colman |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Colombo, |ohn Robert l93o . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Colonial Literature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Colquhoun, Iatrick l715l820 . . . . . . . . . DLl58
Colter, Cyrus l9l02002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Colum, Iadraic l88ll972. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9
q `~ e ^~ k
A Symposium on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y92
Columbus, Christopher l15ll50o . . . . . . DL3l8
Columella fl. first century ^.a.. . . . . . . . . . DL2ll
Colvin, Sir Sidney l815l927 . . . . . . . . . . DLl19
Colwin, Laurie l911l992. . . . . . . . DL2l8; Y80
Comden, etty l9l5 and
Green, Adolph l9l82002. . . . . . . DL11, 2o5
Comi, Girolamo l890l9o8. . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Comisso, Giovanni l895l9o9. . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
Commager, Henry Steele l902l998. . . . . . DLl7
Commynes, Ihilippe de
circa l117l5ll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL208
Compton, D. G. l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Comptonurnett, Ivy l881.l9o9 . . . . . . . DL3o
Conan, Laure (Ilicit Angers)
l815l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord History and Life. . . . . . . . . . DL223
Concord. Literary History
of a Jown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL223
Jhe Old Manse, by Hawthorne . . . . . DL223
Jhe Jhoreauvian Iilgrimage. Jhe
Structure of an American Cult . . . DL223
Concrete Ioetry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Conde, Carmen l90ll99o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Condillac, Etienne onnot de
l7l1l780 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
Condorcet, Marie|eanAntoineNicolas Caritat,
marquis de l713l791 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
'Jhe Jenth Stage". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Congreve, William
lo70l729 . . . . . . . . . . .DL39, 81; CDL2
Ireface to f~ (lo92) . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
W. . Conkey Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Conlon, Evelyn l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
Conn, Stewart l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
Connell, Evan S., |r. l921 . . . . . . . . DL2; Y8l
Connelly, Marc l890l980 . . . . . . . . . DL7; Y80
Connolly, Cyril l903l971. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL98
Connolly, |ames . l8o8l957. . . . . . . . . . . DL78
Connor, Ralph (Charles William Gordon)
l8o0l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Connor, Jony l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Conquest, Robert l9l7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Conrad, |oseph
l857l921 . . . . DLl0, 31, 98, l5o; CDL5
|ohn Conrad and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Conroy, |ack l899l990. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
A Jribute |to Nelson Algren|. . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
Conroy, Iat l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
q `~I l971 ooker Irize winner,
Nadine Gordimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Considine, ob l90ol975. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Consolo, Vincenzo l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Constable, Henry l5o2lol3. . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Archibald Constable and Company . . . . . DLl51
Constable and Company Limited . . . . . . . DLll2
Constant, enjamin l7o7l830. . . . . . . . . . DLll9
Constant de Rebecque, Henrienjamin de
(see Constant, enjamin)
`~ f ai_ PPN
RQQ
Constantine, David l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Constantine, Murray (see urdekin, Katharine)
ConstantinWeyer, Maurice l88ll9o1. . . . DL92
` (magazine)
Contempo Caravan.
Kites in a Windstorm . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y85
Jhe Continental Iublishing Company. . . . DL19
A Conversation between William Riggan
and |anette Jurner Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Conversations with Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y95
Conway, Anne lo3llo79. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL252
Conway, Moncure Daniel
l832l907. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 223
Cook, Ebenezer circa loo7circa l732. . . . . DL21
Cook, Edward Jyas l857l9l9. . . . . . . . . DLl19
Cook, Eliza l8l8l889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
Cook, George Cram l873l921 . . . . . . . . DL2oo
Cook, Michael l933l991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
David C. Cook Iublishing Company. . . . . DL19
Cooke, George Willis l818l923 . . . . . . . . DL7l
Cooke, |ohn Esten l830l88o . . . . . . . DL3, 218
Cooke, Ihilip Iendleton
l8lol850. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, 59, 218
Cooke, Rose Jerry l827l892 . . . . . . . DLl2, 71
Increase Cooke and Company . . . . . . . . . . DL19
CookLynn, Elizabeth l930 . . . . . . . . . .DLl75
Coolbrith, Ina l81ll928 . . . . . . . . . . DL51, l8o
Cooley, Ieter l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
'Into the Mirror" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Coolidge, Clark l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl93
Coolidge, Susan
(see Woolsey, Sarah Chauncy)
George Coolidge |publishing house|. . . . . . DL19
Coomaraswamy, Ananda l877l917. . . . . DL323
Cooper, Anna |ulia l858l9o1 . . . . . . . . . DL22l
Cooper, Edith Emma l8o2l9l3 . . . . . . . DL210
Cooper, Giles l9l8l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Cooper, |. California l9.. . . . . . . . . . . DL2l2
Cooper, |ames Ienimore
l789l85l. . . . . . . DL3, l83, 250; CDAL2
Jhe icentennial of |ames Ienimore Cooper.
An International Celebration. . . . . . . . Y89
Jhe |ames Ienimore Cooper Society . . . . . Y0l
Cooper, Kent l880l9o5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Cooper, Susan l935 . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol, 2ol
Cooper, Susan Ienimore l8l3l891 . . . . . DL239
William Cooper |publishing house| . . . . . .DLl70
|. Coote |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl51
Coover, Robert l932 . . . . . . . . DL2, 227; Y8l
Jribute to Donald arthelme . . . . . . . . . . . Y89
Copeland and Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
opi, ranko l9l5l981. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Copland, Robert l170.l518 . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Coppard, A. E. l878l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo2
Coppe, Iranois l812l908 . . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
Coppel, Alfred l92l2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y83
Jribute to |essamyn West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
Coppola, Irancis Iord l939 . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Copway, George (Kahgegagahbowh)
l8l8l8o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl75, l83
Copyright
Jhe Development of the Author`s
Copyright in ritain . . . . . . . . . . DLl51
Jhe Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Expanding Copyright Irotection in
Cyberspace and eyond . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Editorial. Jhe Extension of Copyright . . . Y02
Mark Jwain on Ierpetual Copyright . . . . . Y92
Iublic Domain and the Violation
of Jexts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Jhe _uestion of American Copyright
in the Nineteenth Century
Ireface, by George Haven Iutnam
Jhe Evolution of Copyright, by
rander Matthews
Summary of Copyright Legislation in
the Lnited States, by R. R. owker
Analysis of the Irovisions of the
Copyright Law of l89l, by
George Haven Iutnam
Jhe Contest for International Copyright,
by George Haven Iutnam
Cheap ooks and Good ooks,
by rander Matthews . . . . . . . . DL19
Writers and Jheir Copyright Holders.
the WAJCH Iroject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y91
Corazzini, Sergio l88ol907 . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Corbett, Richard l582lo35. . . . . . . . . . . DLl2l
Corbire, Jristan l815l875 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
Corcoran, arbara l9ll . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Cordelli, Iranco l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Corelli, Marie l855l921 . . . . . . . . . . DL31, l5o
Corle, Edwin l90ol95o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y85
Corman, Cid l9212001. . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, l93
Cormier, Robert l9252000 . . . DL52; CDALo
Corn, Alfred l913 . . . . . . . . DLl20, 282; Y80
Corneille, Iierre lo0olo81 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Cornford, Irances l88ol9o0. . . . . . . . . . DL210
Cornish, Sam l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Cornish, William
circa l1o5circa l521 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Cornwall, arry (see Irocter, ryan Waller)
Cornwallis, Sir William, the Younger
circa l579lol1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5l
Cornwell, David |ohn Moore (see le Carr, |ohn)
Cornwell, Iatricia l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Coronel Lrtecho, |os l90ol991. . . . . . . DL290
Corpi, Lucha l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Corrington, |ohn William
l932l988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo, 211
Corriveau, Monique l927l97o . . . . . . . . DL25l
Corrothers, |ames D. l8o9l9l7. . . . . . . . . DL50
Corso, Gregory l930200l. . . . . . . .DL5, lo, 237
Cortzar, |ulio l9l1l981. . . .DLll3; CDWL3
Cortz, Carlos l9232005. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Cortez, |ayne l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Corvinus, Gottlieb Siegmund
lo77l71o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Corvo, aron (see Rolfe, Irederick William)
Cory, Annie Sophie (see Cross, Victoria)
Cory, Desmond (Shaun Lloyd McCarthy)
l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27o
Cory, William |ohnson l823l892 . . . . . . . DL35
Coryate, Jhomas l577.lol7. . . . . . . DLl5l, l72
osi, Dobrica l92l . . . . .DLl8l; CDWL1
Cosin, |ohn l595lo72 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5l, 2l3
Cosmopolitan ook Corporation. . . . . . . . DL1o
Cossa, Roberto l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Costa, Maria Velho da (see Jhe Jhree Marias.
Literary History)
Costain, Jhomas . l885l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Coste, Donat (Daniel oudreau)
l9l2l957. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Costello, Louisa Stuart l799l870. . . . . . . DLloo
CotaCrdenas, Margarita l91l . . . . . DLl22
Ct, Denis l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Cotten, ruce l873l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl87
Cotter, |oseph Seamon, |r. l895l9l9. . . . . DL50
Cotter, |oseph Seamon, Sr. l8oll919 . . . . DL50
Cottin, Sophie l770l807 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
`~ ^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
|oseph Cottle |publishing house| . . . . . . . DLl51
Cotton, Charles lo30lo87. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3l
Cotton, |ohn l581lo52 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Cotton, Sir Robert ruce l57llo3l . . . . DL2l3
Couani, Anna l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Coulter, |ohn l888l980. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Cournos, |ohn l88ll9oo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL51
Courteline, Georges l858l929 . . . . . . . . DLl92
Cousins, Margaret l905l99o . . . . . . . . . .DLl37
Cousins, Norman l9l5l990 . . . . . . . . . . .DLl37
Couvreur, |essie (see Jasma)
Coventry, Irancis l725l751. . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Dedication, q e m
i (l75l) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Coverdale, Miles l187 or l188l5o9 . . . . DLlo7
N. Coverly |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . DL19
CoviciIriede . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Cowan, Ieter l9l12002. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Coward, Noel
l899l973. . . . . . . . . . DLl0, 215; CDLo
Coward, McCann and Geoghegan. . . . . . . DL1o
ai_ PPN `~ f
RQR
`
Cowles, Gardner l8oll91o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29

Cowles, Gardner 'Mike", |r.
l903l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27, l37
Cowley, Abraham lol8loo7. . . . . . . DLl3l, l5l
Cowley, Hannah l713l809. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL89
Cowley, Malcolm
l898l989 . . . . . . . DL1, 18; DSl5; Y8l, 89
Cowper, Richard ( |ohn Middleton Murry |r.)
l92o2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Cowper, William l73ll800. . . . . . . . DLl01, l09
Cox, A. . (see erkeley, Anthony)
Cox, |ames McMahon l903l971 . . . . . . . DLl27
Cox, |ames Middleton l870l957 . . . . . . . DLl27
Cox, Leonard circa l195circa l550 . . . . . DL28l
Cox, Ialmer l810l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL12
Coxe, Louis l9l8l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Coxe, Jench l755l821 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Cozzens, Irederick S. l8l8l8o9 . . . . . . . . DL202
Cozzens, |ames Gould l903l978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . DL9, 291; Y81; DS2; CDALl
Cozzens`s j~ p~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y97
Ernest Hemingway`s Reaction to
|ames Gould Cozzens . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
|ames Gould CozzensA View
from Afar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y97
|ames Gould Cozzens. How to
Read Him. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y97
|ames Gould Cozzens Symposium and
Exhibition at the Lniversity of
South Carolina, Columbia . . . . . . . . . .Y00
j o~ (or Something) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y97
Novels for GrownLps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y97
Crabbe, George l751l832 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL93
Crace, |im l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23l
Crackanthorpe, Hubert l870l89o . . . . . . DLl35
Craddock, Charles Egbert (see Murfree, Mary N.)
Cradock, Jhomas l7l8l770 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Craig, Daniel H. l8lll895. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Craik, Dinah Maria l82ol887 . . . . . . DL35, lo3
Cramer, Richard en l950 . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Cranch, Christopher Iearse
l8l3l892 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 12, 213; DS5
Crane, Hart l899l932 . . . . .DL1, 18; CDAL1
Iord, Sam Roth, and Hart Crane . . . . .Y02
Crane, R. S. l88ol9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo3
Crane, Stephen
l87ll900 . . . . . . . . DLl2, 51, 78; CDAL3
Stephen Crane. A Revaluation, Virginia
Jech Conference, l989. . . . . . . . . . . . .Y89
Jhe Stephen Crane Society. . . . . . . . . .Y98, 0l
Crane, Walter l815l9l5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo3
Cranmer, Jhomas l189l55o . . . . . . DLl32, 2l3
Crapsey, Adelaide l878l9l1. . . . . . . . . . . . DL51
Crashaw, Richard lol2/lol3lo19 . . . . . . DLl2o
Craven, Avery l885l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
Crawford, Charles l752circa l8l5 . . . . . . . DL3l
Crawford, I. Marion l851l909 . . . . . . . . . DL7l
Crawford, Isabel Valancy l850l887. . . . . . DL92
Crawley, Alan l887l975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Crayon, Geoffrey (see Irving, Washington)
Crayon, Iorte (see Strother, David Hunter)
Creamer, Robert W. l922 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7l
Creasey, |ohn l908l973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
Creative Age Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Creative Nonfiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Crbillon, ClaudeIrosper |olyot de
l707l777 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
Crbillon, ClaudeIrosper |olyot de
lo71l7o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
William Creech |publishing house| . . . . . . DLl51
Jhomas Creede |publishing house| . . . . . . DLl70
Creel, George l87ol953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Creeley, Robert l92o2005
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, lo, lo9; DSl7
Creelman, |ames
l859l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23
Cregan, David l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Creighton, Donald l902l979 . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Crmazie, Octave l827l879 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Crmer, Victoriano l909. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Crenne, Helisenne de (Marguerite de riet)
l5l0.l5o0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Crescas, Hasdai circa l310l1l2. . . . . . . . DLll5
Crespo, Angel l92ol995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
Cresset Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Cresswell, Helen l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
Crvecoeur, Michel Guillaume |ean de
l735l8l3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Crewe, Candida l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL207
Crews, Harry l935 . . . . . . . . . . DLo, l13, l85
Crichton, Michael ( |ohn Lange, |effrey Hudson,
Michael Douglas) l912 . . . . DL292; Y8l
Crispin, Edmund (Robert ruce Montgomery)
l92ll978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL87
Cristofer, Michael l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Criticism
AfroAmerican Literary Critics.
An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Jhe Consolidation of Opinion. Critical
Responses to the Modernists . . . . . DL3o
'Criticism in Relation to Novels"
(l8o3), by G. H. Lewes . . . . . . . . . DL2l
Jhe Limits of Iluralism . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
Modern Critical Jerms, Schools, and
Movements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
'Ianic Among the Ihilistines``.
A Iostscript, An Interview
with ryan Griffin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
Jhe Recovery of Literature. Criticism
in the l990s. A Symposium . . . . . . . . .Y9l
Jhe Stealthy School of Criticism (l87l),
by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. . . . . . . . DL35
Crnjanski, Milos
l893l977 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl17; CDWL1
Crocker, Hannah Mather l752l829 . . . . . DL200
Crockett, David (Davy)
l78ol83o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, ll, l83, 218
CroftCooke, Rupert (see ruce, Leo)
Crofts, Ireeman Wills l879l957. . . . . . . . . DL77
Croker, |ohn Wilson l780l857. . . . . . . . . DLll0
Croly, George l780l8o0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl59
Croly, Herbert l8o9l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9l
Croly, |ane Cunningham l829l90l . . . . . . DL23
Crompton, Richmal l890l9o9 . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Cronin, A. |. l89ol98l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Cros, Charles l812l888. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
Crosby, Caresse l892l970 and
Crosby, Harry l898l929 and . . DL1; DSl5
Crosby, Harry l898l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL18
Crosland, Camilla Joulmin (Mrs. Newton
Crosland) l8l2l895. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Cross, Amanda (Carolyn G. Heilbrun)
l92o2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Cross, Gillian l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
Cross, Victoria l8o8l952 . . . . . . . . . DLl35, l97
CrossleyHolland, Kevin l91l . . . . DL10, lol
Crothers, Rachel l870l958. . . . . . . . . . DL7, 2oo
Jhomas Y. Crowell Company. . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Crowley, |ohn l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Crowley, Mart l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7, 2oo
Crown Iublishers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Crowne, |ohn lo1ll7l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL80
Crowninshield, Edward Augustus
l8l7l859 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl10
Crowninshield, Irank l872l917. . . . . . . . . DL9l
Croy, Homer l883l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Crumley, |ames l939 . . . . . . . . . DL22o; Y81
Cruse, Mary Anne l825.l9l0 . . . . . . . . . DL239
Cruz, Migdalia l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL219
Cruz, Sor |uana Ins de la lo5llo95 . . . . DL305
Cruz, Victor Hernndez l919 . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Cruz e Sousa, |oo l8oll898 . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Csokor, Iranz Jheodor l885l9o9 . . . . . . . DL8l
Csori, Sndor l930 . . . . . . DL232; CDWL1
Cuadra, Iablo Antonio l9l22002 . . . . . . DL290
Cuala Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Cudworth, Ralph lol7lo88 . . . . . . . . . . . DL252
Cueva, |uan de la l513lol2. . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Cugoano, _uobna Ottabah l797.. . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Cullen, Countee
l903l91o . . . . . . . . . DL1, 18, 5l; CDAL1
Culler, |onathan D. l911 . . . . . . . . DLo7, 21o
Cullinan, Elizabeth l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
Culverwel, Nathaniel lol9.lo5l. . . . . . . DL252
Cumberland, Richard l732l8ll. . . . . . . . . DL89
`~ f ai_ PPN
RQS
Cummings, Constance Gordon
l837l921. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl71
Cummings, E. E.
l891l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . DL1, 18; CDAL5
Jhe E. E. Cummings Society. . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Cummings, Ray l887l957. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Cummings and Hilliard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Cummins, Maria Susanna l827l8oo . . . . . DL12
Cumpin, Carlos l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Cunard, Nancy l89ol9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
|oseph Cundall |publishing house| . . . . . . DLl0o
Cuney, Waring l90ol97o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5l
CuneyHare, Maude l871l93o . . . . . . . . . DL52
Cunha, Euclides da l8ool909. . . . . . . . . DL307
Cunningham, Allan
l781l812. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLllo, l11
Cunningham, |. V. l9lll985 . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Cunningham, Michael l952 . . . . . . . . DL292
Cunningham, Ieter (Ieter Lauder, Ieter
enjamin) l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Ieter I. Cunningham
Cunquiero, Alvaro l9lll98l . . . . . . . . . DLl31
Cuomo, George l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y80
Cupples, Lpham and Company. . . . . . . . . DL19
Cupples and Leon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Cuppy, Will l881l919. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Curiel, arbara rinson l95o . . . . . . . DL209
Edmund Curll |publishing house|. . . . . . . DLl51
Currie, |ames l75ol805. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl12
Currie, Mary Montgomerie Lamb Singleton,
Lady Currie (see Iane, Violet)
` j circa l300. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Curti, Merle E. l897l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
Curtis, Anthony l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
Curtis, Cyrus H. K. l850l933 . . . . . . . . . DL9l
Curtis, George William
l821l892 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 13, 223
Curzon, Robert l8l0l873 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLloo
Curzon, Sarah Anne l833l898 . . . . . . . . . DL99
Cusack, Dymphna l902l98l . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Cushing, Eliza Lanesford
l791l88o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Cushing, Harvey l8o9l939. . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Custance, Olive (Lady Alfred Douglas)
l871l911. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Cynewulf circa 770810 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Cyrano de ergerac, Savinien de
lol9lo55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Czepko, Daniel lo05loo0 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Czerniawski, Adam l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
a
Dabit, Eugne l898l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo5
Daborne, Robert circa l580lo28. . . . . . . . DL58
Dbrowska, Maria
l889l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5; CDWL1
Dacey, Ihilip l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
'Eyes Across Centuries.
Contemporary Ioetry and 'Jhat
Vision Jhing,`" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Dach, Simon lo05lo59 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Dacier, Anne Le Ivre lo17l720 . . . . . . . DL3l3
Dagerman, Stig l923l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL259
Daggett, Rollin M. l83ll90l . . . . . . . . . . DL79
DÀguiar, Ired l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Dahl, Roald l9lol990. . . . . . . . . . . DLl39, 255
Dahlberg, Edward l900l977 . . . . . . . . . . . DL18
Dahn, Ielix l831l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
q a~ t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Dal`, Vladimir Ivanovich (Kazak Vladimir
Lugansky) l80ll872. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
Dale, Ieter l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Daley, Arthur l901l971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7l
Dall, Caroline Healey l822l9l2 . . . . . DLl, 235
Dallas, E. S. l828l879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL55
q d~ p |excerpt|(l8oo) . . . . . . . DL2l
Jhe Dallas Jheater Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
DÀlton, Louis l900l95l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Dalton, Roque l935l975. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Daly, Carroll |ohn l889l958. . . . . . . . . . DL22o
Daly, J. A. l87ll918. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Damon, S. Ioster l893l97l. . . . . . . . . . . . DL15
William S. Damrell |publishing house| . . . . DL19
Dana, Charles A. l8l9l897. . . . . . DL3, 23, 250
Dana, Richard Henry, |r.
l8l5l882 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, l83, 235
Dandridge, Ray Garfield l882l930. . . . . . DL5l
Dane, Clemence l887l9o5 . . . . . . . . .DLl0, l97
Danforth, |ohn loo0l730 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Danforth, Samuel, I lo2olo71. . . . . . . . . . DL21
Danforth, Samuel, II loool727 . . . . . . . . . DL21
a~ ^~~I IierreAmbroiseIranois
Choderlos de Laclos . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Daniel, |ohn M. l825l8o5. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Daniel, Samuel l5o2 or l5o3lol9. . . . . . . DLo2
Daniel Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Daniel`, Iulii l925l988. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Daniells, Roy l902l979. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Daniels, |im l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Daniels, |onathan l902l98l . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Daniels, |osephus l8o2l918 . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Daniels, Sarah l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
Danilevsky, Grigorii Ietrovich
l829l890 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Dannay, Irederic l905l982. . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
Danner, Margaret Esse l9l5 . . . . . . . . . DL1l
|ohn Danter |publishing house| . . . . . . . . .DLl70
Dantin, Louis (Eugene Seers)
l8o5l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Danto, Arthur C. l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL279
Danzig, Allison l898l987 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7l
DÀrcy, Ella circa l857l937 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl35
Daro, Rubn l8o7l9lo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Dark, Eleanor l90ll985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Darke, Nick l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
Darley, Ielix Octavious Carr
l822l888 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl88
Darley, George l795l81o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9o
Darmesteter, Madame |ames
(see Robinson, A. Mary I.)
Darrow, Clarence l857l938. . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Darwin, Charles l809l882 . . . . . . . . . DL57, loo
Darwin, Erasmus l73ll802. . . . . . . . . . . . DL93
Daryush, Elizabeth l887l977. . . . . . . . . . . DL20
Das, Kamala l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Dashkova, Ekaterina Romanovna
(ne Vorontsova) l713l8l0. . . . . . . . DLl50
Dashwood, Edme Elizabeth Monica de la Iasture
(see Delafield, E. M.)
Dattani, Mahesh l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Daudet, Alphonse l810l897 . . . . . . . . . . DLl23
dÀulaire, Edgar Iarin l898l98o and
dÀulaire, Ingri l901l980 . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Davenant, Sir William lo0oloo8. . . . DL58, l2o
Davenport, Guy l9272005. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Jribute to |ohn Gardner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y82
Davenport, Marcia l903l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl7
Davenport, Robert circa l7
century. . . . . DL58
Daves, Delmer l901l977. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Davey, Irank l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Davidson, Avram l923l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Davidson, Donald l893l9o8. . . . . . . . . . . DL15
Davidson, Donald l9l72003 . . . . . . . . . . .DL279
Davidson, |ohn l857l909 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9
Davidson, Lionel l922 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 27o
Davidson, Robyn l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Davidson, Sara l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Davi Stefnsson fr Iagraskgi
l895l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
Davie, Donald l922l995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Davie, Elspeth l9l9l995. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl39
Davies, Sir |ohn l5o9lo2o . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl72
Davies, |ohn, of Hereford l5o5.lol8 . . . DLl2l
Davies, Rhys l90ll978 . . . . . . . . . . DLl39, l9l
Davies, Robertson l9l3l995. . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Davies, Samuel l723l7ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Davies, Jhomas l7l2.l785 . . . . . . . DLl12, l51
ai_ PPN `~ f
RQT
`
Davies, W. H. l87ll910 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9, l71

Ieter Davies Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Davin, Nicholas Ilood l810.l90l . . . . . . . DL99
Daviot, Gordon l89o.l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
(see also Jey, |osephine)
Davis, Arthur Hoey (see Rudd, Steele)
Davis, enjamin |. l903l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Davis, Charles A. (Major |. Downing)
l795l8o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Davis, Clyde rion l891l9o2. . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Davis, Dick l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10, 282
Davis, Irank Marshall l905l987 . . . . . . . . DL5l
Davis, H. L. l891l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, 20o
Davis, |ack l9l72000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Davis, |ohn l771l851 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Davis, Lydia l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Davis, Margaret Jhomson l92o . . . . . . . DLl1
Davis, Ossie l9l72005 . . . . . . . . . . DL7, 38, 219
Davis, Owen l871l95o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL219
Davis, Iaxton l925l991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y89
Davis, Rebecca Harding
l83ll9l0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL71, 239
Davis, Richard Harding l8o1l9lo
. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2, 23, 78, 79, l89; DSl3
Davis, Samuel Cole l7o1l809. . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Davis, Samuel Iost l850l9l8. . . . . . . . . . DL202
Davison, Irank Dalby l893l970. . . . . . . . DL2o0
Davison, Ieter l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Davydov, Denis Vasilèvich
l781l839 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Davys, Mary lo71l732. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to q t jK a~
(l725) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
DAW ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Dawe, ruce l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Dawson, Ernest l882l917 . . . . . . . DLl10; Y02
Dawson, Iielding l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Dawson, Sarah Morgan l812l909 . . . . . . DL239
Dawson, William l701l752. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Day, Angel fl. l583l599 . . . . . . . . . . DLlo7, 23o
Day, enjamin Henry l8l0l889. . . . . . . . . DL13
Day, Clarence l871l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Day, Dorothy l897l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Day, Irank Iarker l88ll950 . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Day, |ohn circa l571circa lo10 . . . . . . . . . . DLo2
Day, Marele l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Day, Jhomas l718l789. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
|ohn Day |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . . DLl70
Jhe |ohn Day Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Mahlon Day |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Day Lewis, C. (see lake, Nicholas)
Dazai Osamu l909l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Deacon, William Arthur l890l977. . . . . . . DLo8
Deal, orden l922l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
de Angeli, Marguerite l889l987. . . . . . . . . DL22
De Angelis, Milo l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Debord, Guy l93ll991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
De ow, |. D. . l820l8o7 . . . . . . . DL3, 79, 218
Debs, Eugene V. l855l92o. . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
de ruyn, Gnter l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
de Camp, L. Sprague l9072000 . . . . . . . . . . DL8
De Carlo, Andrea l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
De Casas, Celso A. l911 . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Dechert, Robert l895l975 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of
the Citizen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
a~~ o t~I Olympe
de Gouges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Dedications, Inscriptions, and
Annotations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l-02
Dee, |ohn l527lo08 or lo09. . . . . . . DLl3o, 2l3
Deeping, George Warwick l877l950 . . . . DLl53
Deffand, Marie de VichyChamrond,
marquise Du lo9ol780 . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
Defoe, Daniel
loo0l73l . . . . . . . DL39, 95, l0l; CDL2
Ireface to ` g~ (l722) . . . . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to q c~ ^
o ` (l7l9) . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to j c~ (l722) . . . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to o ` (l7l9) . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to o~~ (l721) . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
de Iontaine, Ielix Gregory l831l89o. . . . . DL13
De Iorest, |ohn William
l82ol90o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2, l89
DeIrees, Madeline l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
'Jhe Ioet`s Kaleidoscope. Jhe
Element of Surprise in the
Making of the Ioem" . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
DeGolyer, Everette Lee l88ol95o . . . . . . DLl87
de Graff, Robert l895l98l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
de Graft, |oe l921l978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll7
De Groen, Alma l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
a e circa 980. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Deighton, Len l929 . . . . . . .DL87; CDL8
De|ong, Meindert l90ol99l. . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Dekker, Jhomas
circa l572lo32 . . . . . . DLo2, l72; CDLl
Delacorte, George J., |r. l891l99l. . . . . . . DL9l
Delafield, E. M. l890l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL31
Delahaye, Guy (Guillaume Lahaise)
l888l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
de la Mare, Walter l873l95o
. . . . . . . . . . DLl9, l53, lo2, 255; CDLo
Deland, Margaret l857l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL78
Delaney, Shelagh l939 . . . . .DLl3; CDL8
Delano, Amasa l7o3l823 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl83
Delany, Martin Robinson l8l2l885. . . . . . DL50
Delany, Samuel R. l912 . . . . . . . . . . . DL8, 33
de la Roche, Mazo l879l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Delavigne, |ean Iranois Casimir
l793l813 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl92
Delbanco, Nicholas l912 . . . . . . . . . DLo, 231
Delblanc, Sven l93ll992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Del Castillo, Ramn l919 . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Deledda, Grazia l87ll93o . . . . . . . . DL2o1, 329
De Len, Nephtal l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Deleuze, Gilles l925l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
Delfini, Antonio l907l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
Delgado, Abelardo arrientos l93l . . . . DL82
Del Giudice, Daniele l919 . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
De Libero, Libero l90ol98l . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Delibes, Miguel l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Delicado, Irancisco
circa l175circa l510. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
DeLillo, Don l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo, l73
de Lint, Charles l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
de Lisser H. G. l878l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll7
Dell, Iloyd l887l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Dell Iublishing Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
delle Grazie, Marie Eugene l8o1l93l . . . . DL8l
Deloney, Jhomas died lo00 . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo7
Deloria, Ella C. l889l97l. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl75
Deloria, Vine, |r. l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl75
del Rey, Lester l9l5l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Del Vecchio, |ohn M. l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS9
Del`vig, Anton Antonovich l798l83l. . . . DL205
de Man, Iaul l9l9l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
DeMarinis, Rick l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l8
Demby, William l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
De Mille, |ames l833l880 . . . . . . . . . DL99, 25l
de Mille, William l878l955 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2oo
Deming, Ihilander l829l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . DL71
Deml, |akub l878l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Demorest, William |ennings l822l895. . . . DL79
De Morgan, William l839l9l7 . . . . . . . . DLl53
Demosthenes 381 _.`.322 _.`. . . . . . . . . . DLl7o
Henry Denham |publishing house| . . . . . . DLl70
Denham, Sir |ohn lol5loo9. . . . . . . . DL58, l2o
Denison, Merrill l893l975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
J. S. Denison and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Dennery, Adolphe Ihilippe
l8lll899 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl92
Dennie, |oseph l7o8l8l2 . . . . . DL37, 13, 59, 73
Dennis, C. |. l87ol938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Dennis, |ohn lo58l731. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0l
Dennis, Nigel l9l2l989 . . . . . . . . DLl3, l5, 233
Denslow, W. W. l85ol9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl88
`~ f ai_ PPN
RQU
Dent, |. M., and Sons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Dent, Lester l901l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Dent, Jom l932l998. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
Denton, Daniel circa lo2ol703 . . . . . . . . . DL21
DeIaola, Jomie l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
De _uille, Dan l829l898 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8o
De _uincey, Jhomas
l785l859. . . . . . . . . DLll0, l11; CDL3
'Rhetoric`` (l828; revised, l859)
|excerpt| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL57
'Style" (l810; revised, l859)
|excerpt| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL57
Derby, George Horatio l823l8ol . . . . . . . DLll
|. C. Derby and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Derby and Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
De Ricci, Seymour l88ll912 . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Derleth, August l909l97l . . . . . . . . DL9; DSl7
Derrida, |acques l9302001 . . . . . . . . . . . DL212
Jhe Derrydale Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Derzhavin, Gavriil Romanovich
l713l8lo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Desai, Anita l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27l, 323
Desani, G. V. l9092000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Desaulniers, Gonzalve l8o3l931. . . . . . . . DL92
DesbordesValmore, Marceline
l78ol859. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
Descartes, Ren l59olo50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Deschamps, Emile l79ll87l . . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
Deschamps, Eustache l310.l101 . . . . . . DL208
Desbiens, |eanIaul l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
des Iorts, LouisRene l9l8200l . . . . . . . DL83
Deshpande, Shashi l938 . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Desiato, Luca l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Desjardins, MarieCatherine
(see Villedieu, Madame de)
Desnica, Vladan l905l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Desnos, Robert l900l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL258
Des Iriers, onaventure
l5l0.l513. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Desportes, Ihilippe l51olo0o . . . . . . . . . DL327
DesRochers, Alfred l90ll978 . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Des Roches, Madeleine l520.l587. and
Catherine des Roches l512l587.. . . . . DL327
Des Roches, Madeleine
l520.l587. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Desrosiers, LoIaul l89ol9o7 . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Dessaulles, LouisAntoine l8l9l895 . . . . . DL99
Dessl, Giuseppe l909l977 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl77
Destouches, LouisIerdinand
(see Cline, LouisIerdinand)
Desvignes, Lucette l92o . . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
DeSylva, uddy l895l950 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
De Jabley, Lord l835l895 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
Deutsch, abette l895l982 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL15
Deutsch, Niklaus Manuel
(see Manuel, Niklaus)
Andr Deutsch Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Devanny, |ean l891l9o2. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Deveaux, Alexis l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
De Vere, Aubrey l8l1l902 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
Devereux, second Earl of Essex, Robert
l5o5lo0l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Jhe DevinAdair Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
De Vinne, Jheodore Low
l828l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Devlin, Anne l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
DeVoto, ernard l897l955 . . . . . . . . . DL9, 25o
De Vries, Ieter l9l0l993 . . . . . . . . . . DLo; Y82
Jribute to Albert Erskine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y93
Dewart, Edward Hartley l828l903. . . . . . DL99
Dewdney, Christopher l95l . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Dewdney, Selwyn l909l979 . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Dewey, |ohn l859l952 . . . . . . . . . . .DL21o, 270
Dewey, Orville l791l882. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL213
Dewey, Jhomas . l9l5l98l . . . . . . . . . DL22o
DeWitt, Robert M., Iublisher . . . . . . . . . . DL19
DeWolfe, Iiske and Company . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Dexter, Colin l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL87
de Young, M. H. l819l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Dhlomo, H. I. E. l903l95o. . . . . . . . DLl57, 225
Dhu alRummah (Abu alHarith Ghaylan ibn 'Lqbah)
circa o9ocirca 735 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Dhuoda circa 803after 813 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
q a~ l810l811 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL223
Jhe Dial Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
'Dialogue entre un prtre et un moribond,"
Marquis de Sade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Diamond, I. A. L. l920l988 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Dias Gomes, Alfredo l922l999. . . . . . . . DL307
Daz del Castillo, ernal
circa l19ol581 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Dibble, L. Grace l902l998 . . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Dibdin, Jhomas Irognall
l77ol817 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
Di Cicco, Iier Giorgio l919 . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Dick, Ihilip K. l928l982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Dick and Iitzgerald. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Dickens, Charles l8l2l870
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l, 55, 70, l59,
loo; DS5; CDL1
Dickey, Eric |erome l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Dickey, |ames l923l997 . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, l93;
Y82, 93, 9o, 97; DS7, l9; CDALo
|ames Dickey and Stanley urnshaw
|ames Dickey at SeventyA Jribute . . . . . Y93
|ames Dickey, American Ioet. . . . . . . . . . . Y9o
Jhe |ames Dickey Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Jhe Life of |ames Dickey. A Lecture to
the Iriends of the Emory Libraries,
by Henry Hart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Jribute to Archibald MacLeish . . . . . . . . . Y82
Jribute to Malcolm Cowley. . . . . . . . . . . . Y89
Jribute to Jruman Capote. . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
Jributes |to Dickey| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Dickey, William l928l991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Dickinson, Emily
l830l88o . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 213; CDAL3
Dickinson, |ohn l732l808. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Dickinson, |onathan lo88l717 . . . . . . . . . DL21
Dickinson, Iatric l9l1l991. . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Dickinson, Ieter l927 . . . . . . . DL87, lol, 27o
|ohn Dicks |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Dickson, Gordon R. l923200l . . . . . . . . . . DL8
a~ i~ _~
^~ ^~ a~
i~ _~ b ~
` . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98-02
a~ i~ _~
v~ Awards . . . . . . . . . .Y92-93, 97-02
q a~ k~~ _~ . . . . . . . DLl11
Diderot, Denis l7l3l781 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
'Jhe Encyclopedia". . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Didion, |oan l931
. . . . . . . . DL2, l73, l85; Y8l, 8o; CDALo
Di Donato, Iietro l9lll992 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Die Irstliche ibliothek Corvey . . . . . . . . . . . Y9o
Diego, Gerardo l89ol987 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
Dietz, Howard l89ol983. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Dez, Luis Mateo l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Digby, Everard l550.lo05 . . . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Digges, Jhomas circa l51ol595 . . . . . . . DLl3o
Jhe Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Expanding Copyright Irotection in
Cyberspace and eyond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Diktonius, Elmer l89ol9ol. . . . . . . . . . . DL259
Dillard, Annie l915 . . . . . . . DL275, 278; Y80
Dillard, R. H. W. l937 . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, 211
Charles J. Dillingham Company . . . . . . . . DL19
G. W. Dillingham Company . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Edward and Charles Dilly
|publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl51
Dilthey, Wilhelm l833l9ll. . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Dimitrova, laga l922 . . . .DLl8l; CDWL1
Dimov, Dimitr l909l9oo. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Dimsdale, Jhomas |. l83l.l8oo. . . . . . . DLl8o
Dinescu, Mircea l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Dinesen, Isak (see lixen, Karen)
Ding Ling l901l98o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Dingelstedt, Iranz von l8l1l88l . . . . . . DLl33
Dinis, |lio ( |oaquim Guilherme
Gomes Coelho) l839l87l. . . . . . . . . DL287
Dintenfass, Mark l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
ai_ PPN `~ f
RQV
`
Diogenes, |r. (see rougham, |ohn)

Diogenes Laertius circa 200. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o
DiIrima, Diane l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, lo
Disch, Jhomas M. l910 . . . . . . . . . . DL8, 282
'Le Discours sur le style," GeorgesLouis Leclerc
de uffon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
a~I l999 ooker Irize winner,
|. M. Coetzee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Diski, |enny l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27l
Disney, Walt l90ll9oo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Disraeli, enjamin l801l88l . . . . . . . . DL2l, 55
DÌsraeli, Isaac l7ool818 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl07
ai_ Award for Distinguished
Literary Criticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Ditlevsen, Jove l9l7l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Ditzen, Rudolf (see Iallada, Hans)
Divakaruni, Chitra anerjee l95o . . . . DL323
Dix, Dorothea Lynde l802l887 . . . . . . DLl, 235
Dix, Dorothy (see Gilmer, Elizabeth Meriwether)
Dix, Edwards and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Dix, Gertrude circa l871. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl97
Dixie, Ilorence Douglas l857l905 . . . . . . DLl71
Dixon, Ella Hepworth
l855 or l857l932. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl97
Dixon, Iaige (see Corcoran, arbara)
Dixon, Richard Watson l833l900 . . . . . . . DLl9
Dixon, Stephen l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
ai_ Award for Distinguished
Literary Criticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Dmitriev, Andrei Viktorovich l95o . . . . DL285
Dmitriev, Ivan Ivanovich l7o0l837. . . . . . DLl50
Dobell, ertram l812l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
Dobell, Sydney l821l871 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Dobie, |. Irank l888l9o1. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l2
Dobles Yzaguirre, |ulieta l913 . . . . . . . . DL283
Dblin, Alfred l878l957. . . . . DLoo; CDWL2
Dobroliubov, Nikolai Aleksandrovich
l83ol8ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL277
Dobson, Austin l810l92l . . . . . . . . . DL35, l11
Dobson, Rosemary l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Doctorow, E. L.
l93l . . . . . DL2, 28, l73; Y80; CDALo
Dodd, Susan M. l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
Dodd, William E. l8o9l910. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
Anne Dodd |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . DLl51
Dodd, Mead and Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Doderer, Heimito von l89ol9oo . . . . . . . . DL85
. W. Dodge and Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Dodge, Mary Abigail l833l89o . . . . . . . . DL22l
Dodge, Mary Mapes
l83l.l905 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL12, 79; DSl3
Dodge Iublishing Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Dodgson, Charles Lutwidge (see Carroll, Lewis)
Dodsley, Robert l703l7o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL95
R. Dodsley |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . DLl51
Dodson, Owen l9l1l983. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7o
Dodwell, Christina l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Doesticks, _. K. Ihilander, I. .
(see Jhomson, Mortimer)
Doheny, Carrie Estelle l875l958 . . . . . . . DLl10
Doherty, |ohn l798.l851 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl90
Doig, Ivan l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20o
Doina, tefan Augustin l922 . . . . . . . DL232
Dolet, Etienne l509l51o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Domnguez, Sylvia Maida l935 . . . . . . DLl22
Donaghy, Michael l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282
Iatrick Donahoe |publishing house| . . . . . . DL19
Donald, David H. l920 . . . . . . . . DLl7; Y87
Donaldson, Scott l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Doni, Rodolfo l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl77
Donleavy, |. I. l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo, l73
Donnadieu, Marguerite (see Duras, Marguerite)
Donne, |ohn
l572lo3l . . . . . . . . .DLl2l, l5l; CDLl
Donnelly, Ignatius l83ll90l . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2
R. R. Donnelley and Sons Company. . . . . . DL19
Donoghue, Emma l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Donohue and Henneberry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Donoso, |os l921l99o . . . . DLll3; CDWL3
M. Doolady |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Dooley, Ebon (see Ebon)
Doolittle, Hilda l88ol9ol . . . . . DL1, 15; DSl5
Doplicher, Iabio l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Dor, Milo l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
George H. Doran Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Dorat, |ean l508l588. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Dorcey, Mary l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
Dorgels, Roland l88ol973 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo5
Dorn, Edward l929l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Dorr, Rheta Childe l8ool918. . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Dorris, Michael l915l997 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl75
Dorset and Middlesex, Charles Sackville,
Lord uckhurst, Earl of lo13l70o . . . .DLl3l
Dorsey, Candas |ane l952 . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Dorst, Jankred l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75, l21
Dos Iassos, |ohn l89ol970
. . . . . . . . . DL1, 9, 3lo; DSl, l5; CDAL5
|ohn Dos Iassos. A Centennial
Commemoration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y9o
|ohn Dos Iassos. Artist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
|ohn Dos Iassos Newsletter . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
rKpK^K (Documentary). . . . . . . . . . . . . DL271
Dostoevsky, Iyodor l82ll88l . . . . . . . . . DL238
Doubleday and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Doubrovsky, Serge l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Dougall, Lily l858l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Doughty, Charles M.
l813l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl9, 57, l71
Douglas, Lady Alfred (see Custance, Olive)
Douglas, Ellen ( |osephine Ayres Haxton)
l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Douglas, Gavin l17ol522. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Douglas, Keith l920l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Douglas, Norman l8o8l952. . . . . . . . DL31, l95
Douglass, Irederick l8l7l895
. . . . . . . . . . DLl, 13, 50, 79, 213; CDAL2
Irederick Douglass Creative Arts Center Y0l
Douglass, William circa lo9ll752 . . . . . . . DL21
Dourado, Autran l92o . . . . . . . . . DLl15, 307
Dove, Arthur G. l880l91o. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl88
Dove, Rita l952 . . . . . . . . . DLl20; CDAL7
Dover Iublications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Doves Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Dovlatov, Sergei Donatovich
l91ll990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Dowden, Edward l813l9l3 . . . . . . . . DL35, l19
Dowell, Coleman l925l985 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Dowland, |ohn l5o3lo2o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl72
Downes, Gwladys l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Downing, |., Major (see Davis, Charles A.)
Downing, Major |ack (see Smith, Seba)
Dowriche, Anne
before l5o0after lol3 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl72
Dowson, Ernest l8o7l900 . . . . . . . . . DLl9, l35
William Doxey |publishing house|. . . . . . . . DL19
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan
l859l930 . . . DLl8, 70, l5o, l78; CDL5
Jhe Iriory Scholars of New York . . . . . . . .Y99
Doyle, Kirby l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Doyle, Roddy l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl91, 32o
Drabble, Margaret
l939 . . . . . . . . DLl1, l55, 23l; CDL8
Jribute to Graham Greene . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y9l
Drach, Albert l902l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
Drachmann, Holger l81ol908. . . . . . . . . DL300
a~~ (Documentary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL301
Dragojevi, Danijel l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Dragn, Osvaldo l929l999 . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Drake, Samuel Gardner l798l875 . . . . . . DLl87
Drama (p Jheater)
Jhe Dramatic Iublishing Company . . . . . . DL19
Dramatists Ilay Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Drant, Jhomas
early l510s.l578 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo7
Draper, |ohn W. l8lll882 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30
Draper, Lyman C. l8l5l89l . . . . . . . . . . . DL30
Drayton, Michael l5o3lo3l . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2l
Dreiser, Jheodore l87ll915
. . . . . . . DL9, l2, l02, l37; DSl; CDAL3
`~ f ai_ PPN
RRM
Jhe International Jheodore Dreiser
Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Notes from the Lnderground
of p `~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Dresser, Davis l901l977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
Drew, Elizabeth A.
'A Note on Jechnique" |excerpt|
(l92o) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3o
Drewe, Robert l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Drewitz, Ingeborg l923l98o . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Drieu La Rochelle, Iierre l893l915 . . . . . DL72
Drinker, Elizabeth l735l807 . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Drinkwater, |ohn l882l937. . . . . .DLl0, l9, l19
Jhe Iriends of the Dymock Ioets . . . . . . . Y00
DrosteHlshoff, Annette von
l797l818 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33; CDWL2
Jhe Drue Heinz Literature Irize
Excerpt from 'Excerpts from a Report
of the Commission," in David
osworth`s q a~ a~
An Interview with David osworth . . . . . . Y82
Drummond, William, of Hawthornden
l585lo19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2l, 2l3
Drummond, William Henry l851l907 . . . DL92
Drummond de Andrade, Carlos
l902l987. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Druzhinin, Aleksandr Vasilèvich
l821l8o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Druzhnikov, Yuri l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Dryden, Charles l8o0.l93l . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7l
Dryden, |ohn
lo3ll700. . . . . . DL80, l0l, l3l; CDL2
Dri, Marin
circa l508l5o7 . . . . . . . .DLl17; CDWL1
Duane, William l7o0l835 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Du artas, Guillaume l511l590 . . . . . . . DL327
Dub, Marcel l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Dub, Rodolphe (see Hertel, Iranois)
Du ellay, |oachim l522.l5o0 . . . . . . . . DL327
Dubie, Norman l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Dubin, Al l89ll915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Du occage, AnneMarie l7l0l802. . . . . DL3l3
Dubois, Silvia l788 or l789.l889 . . . . . . DL239
Du ois, W. E. .
l8o8l9o3 . . . .DL17, 50, 9l, 21o; CDAL3
Du ois, William Ine l9lol993 . . . . . . . DLol
Dubrovina, Ekaterina Oskarovna
l81ol9l3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Dubus, Andre l93ol999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Jribute to Michael M. Rea. . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Dubus, Andre, III l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Ducange, Victor l783l833. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl92
Du Chaillu, Iaul elloni l83l.l903 . . . . DLl89
Ducharme, Rjean l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Dui, |ovan l87ll913 . . . . .DLl17; CDWL1
Duck, Stephen l705.l75o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL95
Gerald Duckworth and Company
Limited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Duclaux, Madame Mary (see Robinson, A. Mary I.)
Dudek, Louis l9l8200l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Dudintsev, Vladimir Dmitrievich
l9l8l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
DudleySmith, Jrevor (see Hall, Adam)
Duell, Sloan and Iearce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Duerer, Albrecht l17ll528 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl79
Duff Gordon, Lucie l82ll8o9 . . . . . . . . DLloo
Dufferin, Helen Lady, Countess of Gifford
l807l8o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
Duffield and Green. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Duffy, Maureen l933 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 3l0
Dufief, Nicholas Gouin l77ol831 . . . . . . DLl87
Dufresne, |ohn l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Dugan, Alan l9232003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Dugard, William lo0oloo2 . . . . . . . .DLl70, 28l
William Dugard |publishing house| . . . . . .DLl70
Dugas, Marcel l883l917. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
William Dugdale |publishing house|. . . . . DLl0o
Du Guillet, Iernette l520.l515. . . . . . . . DL327
Duhamel, Georges l881l9oo . . . . . . . . . . DLo5
Dujardin, Edouard l8oll919 . . . . . . . . . DLl23
Dukes, Ashley l885l959. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Dumas, Alexandre l821l895 . . . . . . . DLl92
Dumas, Alexandre l802l870 . . . . . DLll9, l92
Dumas, Henry l931l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
du Maurier, Daphne l907l989 . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Du Maurier, George l831l89o . . . . . DLl53, l78
Dummett, Michael l925 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Dunbar, Iaul Laurence
l872l90o. . . . . . . . DL50, 51, 78; CDAL3
Introduction to i i i (l89o),
by William Dean Howells . . . . . . . DL50
Dunbar, William
circa l1o0circa l522 . . . . . . . . . DLl32, l1o
Duncan, Dave l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Duncan, David |ames l952 . . . . . . . . . DL25o
Duncan, Norman l87ll9lo. . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Duncan, _uince l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl15
Duncan, Robert l9l9l988 . . . . . . DL5, lo, l93
Duncan, Ronald l9l1l982 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Duncan, Sara |eannette l8oll922. . . . . . . DL92
Dunigan, Edward, and rother . . . . . . . . . DL19
Dunlap, |ohn l717l8l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Dunlap, William l7ool839 . . . . . . . DL30, 37, 59
Dunlop, William 'Jiger" l792l818. . . . . . DL99
Dunmore, Helen l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Dunn, Douglas l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Dunn, Harvey Jhomas l881l952. . . . . . DLl88
Dunn, Stephen l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
'Jhe Good, Jhe Not So Good" . . . . DLl05
Dunne, Dominick l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Dunne, Iinley Ieter l8o7l93o. . . . . . . DLll, 23
Dunne, |ohn Gregory l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y80
Dunne, Ihilip l908l992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Dunning, Ralph Cheever l878l930 . . . . . . DL1
Dunning, William A. l857l922. . . . . . . . . .DLl7
Duns Scotus, |ohn circa l2ool308 . . . . . DLll5
Dunsany, Lord (Edward |ohn Moreton
Drax Ilunkett, aron Dunsany)
l878l957. . . . . . . . . DLl0, 77, l53, l5o, 255
Dunton, W. Herbert l878l93o . . . . . . . . DLl88
|ohn Dunton |publishing house| . . . . . . . . .DLl70
Dupin, AmantineAuroreLucile (see Sand, George)
Du Iont de Nemours, Iierre Samuel
l739l8l7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
Dupuy, Eliza Ann l8l1l880 . . . . . . . . . . DL218
Durack, Mary l9l3l991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Durand, Lucile (see ersianik, Louky)
Duranti, Irancesca l935 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Duranty, Walter l881l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Duras, Marguerite (Marguerite Donnadieu)
l9l1l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83, 32l
Durfey, Jhomas lo53l723 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL80
Durova, Nadezhda Andreevna
(Aleksandr Andreevich Aleksandrov)
l783l8oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
Durrell, Lawrence l9l2l990
. . . . . . . . . . . DLl5, 27, 201; Y90; CDL7
William Durrell |publishing house|. . . . . . . DL19
Drrenmatt, Iriedrich
l92ll990 . . . . . . . . .DLo9, l21; CDWL2
Duston, Hannah lo57l737. . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Dutt, Joru l85ol877 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
E. I. Dutton and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Duun, Olav l87ol939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Duvoisin, Roger l901l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Duyckinck, Evert Augustus
l8lol878. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, o1, 250
Duyckinck, George L.
l823l8o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, 250
Duyckinck and Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Dwight, |ohn Sullivan l8l3l893. . . . . DLl, 235
Dwight, Jimothy l752l8l7. . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
America. or, A Ioem on the Settlement
of the ritish Colonies, by
Jimothy Dwight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Dybek, Stuart l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Dyer, Charles l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Dyer, Sir Edward l513lo07. . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Dyer, George l755l81l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL93
Dyer, |ohn lo99l757 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL95
Dyk, Viktor l877l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Dylan, ob l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
ai_ PPN `~ f
RRN
`
b
Eager, Edward l9lll9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Eagleton, Jerry l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL212
Eames, Wilberforce
l855l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl10
Earle, Alice Morse
l853l9ll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22l
Earle, |ohn lo00 or lo0lloo5 . . . . . . . . . DLl5l
|ames H. Earle and Company . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
East Europe
Independence and Destruction,
l9l8l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
Social Jheory and Ethnography.
Languageand Ethnicity in
Western versus Eastern Man . . . . DL220
Eastlake, William l9l7l997 . . . . . . . . . DLo, 20o
Eastman, Carol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Eastman, Charles A. (Ohiyesa)
l858l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl75
Eastman, Max l883l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9l
Eaton, Daniel Isaac l753l8l1. . . . . . . . . . DLl58
Eaton, Edith Maude l8o5l9l1. . . . . DL22l, 3l2
Eaton, Winnifred l875l951 . . . . . . . DL22l, 3l2
Eberhart, Richard
l9012005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL18; CDALl
Jribute to Robert Ienn Warren . . . . . . . . .Y89
Ebner, |eannie l9l82001. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
EbnerEschenbach, Marie von
l830l9lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8l
Ebon l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Eooks` Second Act in Libraries. . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
b~ `~ circa l015. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Ecco Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Echegaray, |os l832l9lo. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL329
Eckhart, Meister circa l2o0circa l328 . . . DLll5
q b o l805l8o8 . . . . . . . . . . . DLll0
Eco, Lmberto l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o, 212
Eddison, E. R. l882l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL255
Edel, Leon l907l997. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Edelfeldt, Inger l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
|. M. Edelstein`s Collection of Jwentieth
Century American Ioetry (A Century of Ioetry,
a Lifetime of Collecting) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Edes, enjamin l732l803. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Edgar, David l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3, 233
Viewpoint. Iolitics and
Ierformance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Edgerton, Clyde l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL278
Edgeworth, Maria
l7o8l819 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLllo, l59, lo3
q b o l802l929. . . . . . . . . DLll0
Edinburgh Lniversity Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Editing
Conversations with Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y95
Editorial Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
Jhe Editorial Style of Iredson owers . . . .Y9l
Editorial. Jhe Extension of Copyright . . . .Y02
We See the Editor at Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Whose r\ Jhe Iunction of Editing . . . Y97
Jhe Editor Iublishing Company. . . . . . . . . DL19
Editorial Institute at oston Lniversity . . . . . . .Y00
Edmonds, Helen Woods Ierguson
(see Kavan, Anna)
Edmonds, Randolph l900l983 . . . . . . . . . DL5l
Edmonds, Walter D. l903l998 . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Edric, Robert (see Armitage, G. E.)
Edschmid, Kasimir l890l9oo. . . . . . . . . . . DL5o
Edson, Margaret l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2oo
Edson, Russell l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
Edwards, Amelia Anne landford
l83ll892 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl71
Edwards, Dic l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
Edwards, Edward l8l2l88o. . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
Edwards, |onathan l703l758 . . . . . . . DL21, 270
Edwards, |onathan, |r. l715l80l . . . . . . . . DL37
Edwards, |unius l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Edwards, Matilda arbara etham
l83ol9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl71
Edwards, Richard l521l5oo. . . . . . . . . . . . DLo2
Edwards, Sarah Iierpont l7l0l758. . . . . . DL200
|ames Edwards |publishing house|. . . . . . . DLl51
Effinger, George Alec l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Egerton, George l859l915. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl35
Eggleston, Edward l837l902 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2
Eggleston, Wilfred l90ll98o . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Egltis, Anlavs l90ol993. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
Eguren, |os Mara l871l912 . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Ehrenreich, arbara l91l . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
Ehrenstein, Albert l88ol950 . . . . . . . . . . . DL8l
Ehrhart, W. D. l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS9
Ehrlich, Gretel l91o . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l2, 275
Eich, Gnter l907l972 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9, l21
Eichendorff, |oseph Ireiherr von
l788l857 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Eifukumonìn l27ll312 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Eigner, Larry l92ol99o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, l93
b _~ lo19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5l
Eilhart von Oberge
circa ll10circa ll95. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Einar enediktsson l8o1l910 . . . . . . . . . DL293
Einar Krason l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
Einar Mr Gumundsson l951 . . . . . . DL293
Einhard circa 770810 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Eiseley, Loren l907l977 . . . . . . . . DL275, DSl7
Eisenberg, Deborah l915 . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
Eisenreich, Herbert l925l98o . . . . . . . . . . DL85
Eisner, Kurt l8o7l9l9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Ekelf, Gunnar l907l9o8. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL259
Eklund, Gordon l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Ekman, Kerstin l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Ekwensi, Cyprian l92l . . . DLll7; CDWL3
Elaw, Zilpha circa l790. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL239
George Eld |publishing house|. . . . . . . . . . DLl70
Elder, Lonne, III l93l . . . . . . . . . DL7, 38, 11
Iaul Elder and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Eldershaw, Ilora (M. arnard Eldershaw)
l897l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Eldershaw, M. arnard (see arnard, Marjorie and
Eldershaw, Ilora)
q b jI l970 ooker Irize winner,
ernice Rubens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Jhe Electronic Jext Center and the Electronic
Archive of Early American Iiction at the
Lniversity of Virginia Library . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Eliade, Mircea l907l98o. . . . DL220; CDWL1
Elie, Robert l9l5l973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Elin Ielin l877l919. . . . . . . . DLl17; CDWL1
Eliot, George
l8l9l880 . . . . . . . .DL2l, 35, 55; CDL1
Jhe George Eliot Iellowship. . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Eliot, |ohn lo01lo90 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Eliot, J. S. l888l9o5
. . . . . . DL7, l0, 15, o3, 215, 329; CDAL5
J. S. Eliot Centennial. Jhe Return
of the Old Iossum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y88
Jhe J. S. Eliot Society. Celebration and
Scholarship, l980l999. . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Eliot`s Court Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl70
Elizabeth I l533lo03 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Elizabeth von NassauSaarbrcken
after l393l15o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl79
Elizondo, Salvador l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl15
Elizondo, Sergio l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Elkin, Stanley
l930l995 . . . . . . . . .DL2, 28, 2l8, 278; Y80
Elles, Dora Amy (see Wentworth, Iatricia)
Ellet, Elizabeth I. l8l8.l877 . . . . . . . . . . . DL30
Elliot, Ebenezer l78ll819. . . . . . . . . . DL9o, l90
Elliot, Irances Minto (Dickinson)
l820l898 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLloo
Elliott, Charlotte l789l87l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
Elliott, George l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Elliott, George I. l9l8l980 . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
Elliott, |anice l93ll995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Elliott, Sarah arnwell l818l928 . . . . . . . DL22l
Elliott, Sumner Locke l9l7l99l . . . . . . . . DL289
Elliott, Jhomes and Jalbot . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Elliott, William, III l788l8o3. . . . . . . . DL3, 218
Ellin, Stanley l9lol98o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Ellis, Alice Jhomas (Anna Margaret Haycraft)
l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl91
Ellis, ret Easton l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
`~ f ai_ PPN
RRO
Ellis, Edward S. l810l9lo. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL12
Irederick Staridge Ellis
|publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Ellis, George E.
'Jhe New Controversy Concerning
Miracles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS5
Jhe George H. Ellis Company. . . . . . . . . . DL19
Ellis, Havelock l859l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl90
Ellison, Harlan l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Jribute to Isaac Asimov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y92
Ellison, Ralph
l9l1l991. . . . DL2, 7o, 227; Y91; CDALl
Ellmann, Richard l9l8l987 . . . . . . DLl03; Y87
Ellroy, |ames l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o; Y9l
Jribute to Raymond Chandler. . . . . . . . . . Y88
Eluard, Iaul l895l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL258
Elyot, Jhomas l190.l51o. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Elytis, Odysseus l9lll99o . . . . . . . . . . . DL329
Emanuel, |ames Andrew l92l . . . . . . . . DL1l
Emecheta, uchi l911 . . . .DLll7; CDWL3
Emerson, Ralph Waldo
l803l882 . . . . . DLl, 59, 73, l83, 223, 270;
DS5; CDAL2
Ralph Waldo Emerson in l982 . . . . . . . . . Y82
Jhe Ralph Waldo Emerson Society. . . . . . Y99
Emerson, William l7o9l8ll . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Emerson, William R. l923l997. . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Emin, Iedor Aleksandrovich
circa l735l770 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Emmanuel, Iierre l9lol981 . . . . . . . . . . DL258
Empedocles fifth century _.`. . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7o
Empson, William l90ol981 . . . . . . . . . . . DL20
Enchi Iumiko l905l98o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
'Jhe Encyclopedia," Denis Diderot . . . . . DL3l1
Ende, Michael l929l995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
End Shsaku l923l99o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Engel, Marian l933l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Engel`gardt, Sofìa Vladimirovna
l828l891 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL277
Engels, Iriedrich l820l895 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Engle, Iaul l908l99l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL18
Jribute to Robert Ienn Warren . . . . . . . . . Y89
English, Jhomas Dunn l8l9l902. . . . . . DL202
q b m~I l992 ooker Irize winner,
Michael Ondaatje. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Ennius 239 _.`.lo9 _.`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ll
Enquist, Ier Olov l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Enright, Anne l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Enright, D. |. l9202002. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Enright, Elizabeth l909l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Enright, Nick l9502003. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Epic, Jhe SixteenthCentury Spanish. . . . DL3l8
Epictetus circa 55circa l25l30 . . . . . . . . .DLl7o
Epicurus 312/31l _.`.27l/270 _.`. . . . . . .DLl7o
dÈpinay, Louise (LouiseIlorenceItronille Jardieu
dÈsclavelles, marquise dÈpinay)
l72ol783 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
Epps, ernard l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Epshtein, Mikhail Naumovich l950 . . DL285
Epstein, |ulius l9092000 and
Epstein, Ihilip l909l952. . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Epstein, Leslie l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Editors, Conversations with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y95
Equiano, Olaudah
circa l715l797 . . . . . . . DL37, 50; CDWL3
Olaudah Equiano and Lnfinished
|ourneys. Jhe SlaveNarrative
Jradition and JwentiethCentury
Continuities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLll7
Eragny Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Erasmus, Desiderius l1o7l53o . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Erba, Luciano l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Erdman, Nikolai Robertovich
l900l970. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL272
Erdrich, Louise
l951 . . . . . . .DLl52, l75, 20o; CDAL7
Erenburg, Ilìa Grigorèvich l89ll9o7 . . .DL272
Erichsenrown, Gwethalyn Graham
(see Graham, Gwethalyn)
Eriugena, |ohn Scottus circa 8l0877 . . . . DLll5
Ernst, Iaul l8ool933 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo, ll8
Erofeev, Venedikt Vasilèvich
l938l990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Erofeev, Viktor Vladimirovich
l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Ershov, Ietr Iavlovich l8l5l8o9. . . . . . . DL205
Erskine, Albert l9lll993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y93
At Home with Albert Erskine . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Erskine, |ohn l879l95l. . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, l02
Erskine, Mrs. Steuart .l918 . . . . . . . . . . DLl95
Ertel`, Aleksandr Ivanovich
l855l908 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Ervine, St. |ohn Greer l883l97l . . . . . . . . DLl0
Eschenburg, |ohann |oachim
l713l820. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL97
Escofet, Cristina l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Escoto, |ulio l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl15
Esdaile, Arundell l880l95o. . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Esenin, Sergei Aleksandrovich
l895l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Eshleman, Clayton l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Espaillat, Rhina I. l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282
Espanca, Ilorbela l891l930 . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Espriu, Salvador l9l3l985 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
Ess Ess Iublishing Company . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Essex House Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Esson, Louis l878l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Essop, Ahmed l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL225
Esterhzy, Iter l950 . . . . . DL232; CDWL1
Estes, Eleanor l90ol988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Estes and Lauriat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Estienne, Henri II (Henricus Stephanus)
l53ll597 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Estleman, Loren D. l952 . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
Eszterhas, |oe l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Etherege, George lo3ocirca lo92 . . . . . . . DL80
Ethridge, Mark, Sr. l89ol98l . . . . . . . . . .DLl27
Ets, Marie Hall l893l981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Etter, David l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Ettner, |ohann Christoph lo51l721 . . . . DLlo8
Eucken, Rudolf l81ol92o. . . . . . . . . . . . DL329
Eudora Welty Remembered in
Jwo Exhibits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Eugene Gant`s Irojected Works . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Eupolemius fl. circa l095 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Euripides circa 181 _.`.107/10o _.`.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o; CDWLl
Evans, Augusta |ane l835l909 . . . . . . . . DL239
Evans, Caradoc l878l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo2
Evans, Charles l850l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl87
Evans, Donald l881l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL51
Evans, George Henry l805l85o . . . . . . . . DL13
Evans, Hubert l892l98o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Evans, Mari l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Evans, Mary Ann (see Eliot, George)
Evans, Nathaniel l712l7o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Evans, Sebastian l830l909 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
Evans, Ray l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
M. Evans and Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Evaristi, Marcella l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
Everett, Alexander Hill l790l817 . . . . . . . DL59
Everett, Edward l791l8o5. . . . . . . DLl, 59, 235
Everson, R. G. l903 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Everson, William l9l2l991 . . . . . .DL5, lo, 2l2
Evreinov, Nikolai l879l953. . . . . . . . . . . .DL3l7
Ewald, |ohannes l713l78l. . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Ewart, Gavin l9lol995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Ewing, |uliana Horatia l81ll885 . . . DL2l, lo3
q b~ l808l88l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll0
Exley, Irederick l929l992 . . . . . . . DLl13; Y8l
Editorial. Jhe Extension of Copyright . . . . . . . Y02
von Eyb, Albrecht l120l175 . . . . . . . . . . .DLl79
Eyre and Spottiswoode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Ezekiel, Nissim l9212001 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Ezera, Regna l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Ezzo .after l0o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
c
Iaber, Irederick William l8l1l8o3. . . . . . DL32
Iaber and Iaber Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
ai_ PPN `~ f
RRP
`
Iaccio, Rena (see Aleramo, Sibilla)

Iacsimiles
Jhe Lses of Iacsimile. A Symposium. . . . .Y90
Iadeev, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich
l90ll95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL272
Iagundo, Ana Mara l938 . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
Iainzil`berg, Ilìa Arnol`dovich
(see Il`f, Ilìa and Ietrov, Evgenii)
Iair, Ronald L. l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Iairfax, eatrice (see Manning, Marie)
Iairlie, Gerard l899l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
Ialdbakken, Knut l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Ialkberget, |ohan ( |ohan Ietter Lillebakken)
l879l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Iallada, Hans l893l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5o
q c~ o~I l99l ooker Irize winner,
en Okri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Iancher, etsy l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Iane, Violet l813l905 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
Ianfrolico Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Ianning, Katherine l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Ianon, Irantz l925l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
Ianshawe, Sir Richard lo08looo . . . . . . . DLl2o
Iantasy Iress Iublishers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Iante, |ohn l909l983 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30; Y83
AlIarabi circa 870950. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
Iarabough, Laura l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL228
Iarah, Nuruddin l915 . . . DLl25; CDWL3
Iarber, Norma l909l981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
^ c~ ^ (Documentary). . . . . . . . DL308
Iargue, LonIaul l87ol917. . . . . . . . . . . DL258
Iarigoule, Louis (see Romains, |ules)
Iarjeon, Eleanor l88ll9o5. . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Iarley, Harriet l8l2l907. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL239
Iarley, Walter l920l989. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Iarmborough, Ilorence l887l978 . . . . . . . DL201
Iarmer, everley l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Iarmer, Ienelope l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
Iarmer, Ihilip |os l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Iarnaby, Jhomas l575.lo17. . . . . . . . . . . DL23o
Iarningham, Marianne (see Hearn, Mary Anne)
Iarquhar, George circa lo77l707. . . . . . . . . DL81
Iarquharson, Martha (see Iinley, Martha)
Iarrar, Irederic William l83ll903 . . . . . . DLlo3
Iarrar, Straus and Giroux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Iarrar and Rinehart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Iarrell, |. G. l935l979 . . . . . . . . DLl1, 27l, 32o
Iarrell, |ames J. l901l979 . . . . DL1, 9, 8o; DS2
Iast, Howard l9l12003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Iaulkner, William l897l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DL9, ll, 11, l02, 3lo, 330; DS2; Y8o; CDAL5
Iaulkner and Yoknapatawpha
Conference, Oxford, Mississippi. . . . . .Y97
Iaulkner Centennial Addresses . . . . . . . . . . Y97
'Iaulkner l00Celebrating the Work,"
Lniversity of South Carolina,
Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Impressions of William Iaulkner. . . . . . . . . Y97
William Iaulkner and the IeopletoIeople
Irogram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
William Iaulkner Centenary
Celebrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Jhe William Iaulkner Society. . . . . . . . . . .Y99
George Iaulkner |publishing house| . . . . . DLl51
Iaulks, Sebastian l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL207
Iauset, |essie Redmon l882l9ol . . . . . . . . DL5l
Iaust, Irederick Schiller (Max rand)
l892l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25o
Iaust, Irvin
l921 . . . . . . . .DL2, 28, 2l8, 278; Y80, 00
I Wake Lp Screaming |Response to
Ken Auletta| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Jribute to ernard Malamud . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Jribute to Meyer Levin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
Iawcett, Edgar l817l901 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL202
Iawcett, Millicent Garrett l817l929 . . . . . DLl90
Iawcett ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Iay, Jheodore Sedgwick l807l898. . . . . . DL202
Iearing, Kenneth l902l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Iederal Writers` Iroject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Iederman, Raymond l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y80
Iedin, Konstantin Aleksandrovich
l892l977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL272
Iedorov, Innokentii Vasilèvich
(see Omulevsky, Innokentii Vasilèvich)
Ieiffer, |ules l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7, 11
Ieinberg, Charles E. l899l988. . . . DLl87; Y88
Ieind, arthold lo78l72l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Ieinstein, Elaine l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 10
Ieirstein, Irederick l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282
Ieiss, Iaul Louis l875l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Ieldman, Irving l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo9
Ielipe, Carlos l9lll975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Ielipe, Lon l881l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Iell, Irederick, Iublishers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Iellowship of Southern Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Ielltham, Owen lo02.loo8 . . . . . . . DLl2o, l5l
Ielman, Shoshana l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
Iels, Ludwig l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Ielton, Cornelius Conway
l807l8o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 235
Iel`zen, Iurii (Nikolai erngardovich Ireidenshtein)
l891.l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
MotheInelon, Iranois de Salignac de la
lo5ll7l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Ienn, Harry l837l9ll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl88
Iennario, David l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Ienner, Dudley l558.l587. . . . . . . . . . . . DL23o
Ienno, |enny l7o5.l803 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Ienno, |ohn l75ll798. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
R. I. Ienno and Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Ienoglio, eppe l922l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl77
Ienton, Geoffrey l539.lo08. . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Ienton, |ames l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Jhe Hemingway/Ienton
Correspondence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Ierber, Edna l885l9o8. . . . . . . DL9, 28, 8o, 2oo
Ierdinand, Vallery, III (see Salaam, Kalamu ya)
Ierguson, Sir Samuel l8l0l88o . . . . . . . . . DL32
Ierguson, William Scott l875l951 . . . . . . . DL17
Iergusson, Robert l750l771 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl09
Ierland, Albert l872l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Ierlinghetti, Lawrence
l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, lo; CDALl
Jribute to Kenneth Rexroth . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Iermor, Iatrick Leigh l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Iern, Ianny (see Iarton, Sara Iayson Willis)
Ierrars, Elizabeth (Morna Doris rown)
l907l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL87
Ierr, Rosario l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl15
Ierreira, Verglio l9lol99o. . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
E. Ierret and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Ierrier, Susan l782l851 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLllo
Ierril, Jhomas Hornsby l89ol988. . . . . . DL20o
Ierrini, Vincent l9l3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL18
Ierron, |acques l92ll985. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Ierron, Madeleine l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Ierrucci, Iranco l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Iet, Afanasii Afanasèvich
l820.l892 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL277
Ietridge and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Ieuchtersleben, Ernst Ireiherr von
l80ol819 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Ieuchtwanger, Lion l881l958 . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Ieuerbach, Ludwig l801l872. . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Ieuillet, Octave l82ll890. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl92
Ieydeau, Georges l8o2l92l. . . . . . . . . . . DLl92
Iibiger, Mathilde l830l872. . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Iichte, |ohann Gottlieb l7o2l8l1. . . . . . . . DL90
Iicke, Arthur Davison l883l915 . . . . . . . . DL51
Iiction
American Iiction and the l930s . . . . . . . DL9
Iiction estSellers, l9l0l915 . . . . . . . . DL9
Iostmodern Holocaust Iiction . . . . . . DL299
Jhe Year in Iiction . . . . . . . Y81, 8o, 89, 91-99
Jhe Year in Iiction. A iased View . . . . . .Y83
Jhe Year in L.S. Iiction . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00, 0l
Jhe Year`s Work in Iiction. A Survey . . . .Y82
Iiedler, Leslie A. l9l72003 . . . . . . . . . . DL28, o7
Jribute to ernard Malamud . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
`~ f ai_ PPN
RRQ
Iield, arron l789l81o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Iield, Edward l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Iield, Eugene
l850l895 . . . . . . . . . DL23, 12, l10; DSl3
Iield, |ohn l515.l588 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo7
Iield, |oseph M. l8l0l85o . . . . . . . . . . . DL218
Iield, Marshall, III l893l95o . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Iield, Marshall, IV l9lol9o5 . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Iield, Marshall, V l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Iield, Michael (Katherine Harris radley)
l81ol9l1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
'Jhe Ioetry Iile" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Iield, Nathan l587lol9 or lo20 . . . . . . . . DL58
Iield, Rachel l891l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, 22
Iielding, Helen l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23l
Iielding, Henry
l707l751 . . . . . . . DL39, 81, l0l; CDL2
'Defense of ^~" (l752) . . . . . . . . . . DL39
q e ^ g ^
|excerpt| (l712) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Letter to |Samuel| Richardson on `~~
(l718). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to g ^ (l712) . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to Sarah Iielding`s c~~
i (l717) |excerpt| . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to Sarah Iielding`s q
^ a~ p (l711) . . . DL39
Review of `~~ (l718) . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
q g (l719) |excerpt| . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Iielding, Sarah l7l0l7o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to q ` (l751) . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Iields, Annie Adams l831l9l5 . . . . . . . . DL22l
Iields, Dorothy l905l971 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Iields, |ames J. l8l7l88l . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 235
Iields, |ulia l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Iields, Osgood and Company . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Iields, W. C. l880l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Iierstein, Harvey l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2oo
Iiges, Eva l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl1, 27l
Iiguera, Angela l902l981 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Iilmer, Sir Robert l58olo53 . . . . . . . . . . DLl5l
Iilson, |ohn circa l753l788 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Iinch, Anne, Countess of Winchilsea
looll720. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL95
Iinch, Annie l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282
Iinch, Robert l900 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Iindley, Jimothy l9302002. . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Iinlay, Ian Hamilton l925 . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Iinley, Martha l828l909. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL12
Iinn, Elizabeth Anne (McCaul)
l825l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLloo
Iinnegan, Seamus l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
Iinney, |ack l9lll995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Iinney, Walter raden (see Iinney, |ack)
Iirbank, Ronald l88ol92o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3o
Iirmin, Giles lol5lo97 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Iirst Edition Library/Collectors`
Reprints, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9l
Iischart, |ohann
l51o or l517l590 or l59l . . . . . . . . .DLl79
Iischer, Karoline Auguste Iernandine
l7o1l812. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91
Iischer, Jibor l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23l
Iish, Stanley l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
Iishacre, Richard l205l218 . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
Iisher, Clay (see Allen, Henry W.)
Iisher, Dorothy Canfield
l879l958. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, l02
Iisher, Leonard Everett l921 . . . . . . . . . DLol
Iisher, Roy l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Iisher, Rudolph l897l931 . . . . . . . . . DL5l, l02
Iisher, Steve l9l3l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
Iisher, Sydney George l85ol927. . . . . . . . DL17
Iisher, Vardis l895l9o8. . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, 20o
Iiske, |ohn lo08lo77. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Iiske, |ohn l812l90l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL17, o1
Iitch, Jhomas circa l700l771 . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Iitch, William Clyde l8o5l909. . . . . . . . . . DL7
IitzGerald, Edward l809l883. . . . . . . . . . DL32
Iitzgerald, I. Scott l89ol910
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1, 9, 8o; Y8l, 92;
DSl, l5, lo; CDAL1
I. Scott Iitzgerald. A Descriptive
ibliography, Supplement (200l) . . . . Y0l
I. Scott Iitzgerald Centenary
Celebrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9o
I. Scott Iitzgerald Inducted into the
American Ioets` Corner at St. |ohn
the Divine; Ezra Iound anned . . . . . Y99
'I. Scott Iitzgerald. St. Iaul`s Native Son
and Distinguished American Writer".
Lniversity of Minnesota Conference,
293l October l982. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y82
Iirst International I. Scott Iitzgerald
Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y92
q d~ d~ (Documentary). . . . . DL2l9
q f k (Documentary) . . . .DL273
Iitzgerald, Ienelope
l9lo2000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, l91, 32o
Iitzgerald, Robert l9l0l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y80
IitzGerald, Robert D. l902l987 . . . . . . . DL2o0
Iitzgerald, Jhomas l8l9l89l . . . . . . . . . . DL23
Iitzgerald, Zelda Sayre l900l918 . . . . . . . . . . Y81
Iitzhugh, Louise l928l971 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Iitzhugh, William circa lo5ll70l . . . . . . . DL21
Ilagg, |ames Montgomery l877l9o0 . . . . DLl88
Ilanagan, Jhomas l9232002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y80
Ilanner, Hildegarde l899l987. . . . . . . . . . DL18
Ilanner, |anet l892l978. . . . . . . . . . DL1; DSl5
Ilannery, Ieter l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
Ilaubert, Gustave l82ll880 . . . . . . DLll9, 30l
Ilavin, Martin l883l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Ileck, Konrad (fl. circa l220) . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Ilecker, |ames Elroy l881l9l5 . . . . . . DLl0, l9
Ileeson, Doris l90ll970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Ileier, Marieluise l90ll971 . . . . . . . DL5o, l21
Ileischer, Nat l887l972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Ileming, Abraham l552.lo07. . . . . . . . . DL23o
Ileming, Ian l908l9o1 . . .DL87, 20l; CDL7
Ileming, |oan l908l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27o
Ileming, May Agnes l810l880 . . . . . . . . . DL99
Ileming, Iaul lo09lo10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Ileming, Ieter l907l97l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl95
Iletcher, Giles, the Elder l51ololl . . . . . DLl3o
Iletcher, Giles, the Younger
l585 or l58olo23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2l
Iletcher, |. S. l8o3l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL70
Iletcher, |ohn l579lo25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL58
Iletcher, |ohn Gould l88ol950. . . . . . . DL1, 15
Iletcher, Ihineas l582lo50 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2l
Ilieg, Helmut (see Heym, Stefan)
Ilint, I. S. l885l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9
Ilint, Jimothy l780l810 . . . . . . . . . . .DL73, l8o
Ilgstad, Kjartan l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Ilorensky, Iavel Aleksandrovich
l882l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Ilores, |uan de fl. l170l500. . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
IloresWilliams, |ason l9o9 . . . . . . . . . DL209
Ilorio, |ohn l553.lo25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl72
Iludd, Robert l571lo37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Ilynn, Elizabeth Gurley l890l9o1 . . . . . DL303
Io, Dario l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL330; Y97
Nobel Lecture l997. Contra |ogulatores
Obloquentes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Ioden, Giles l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Iofanov, Konstantin Mikhailovich
l8o2l9ll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL277
Ioix, |. V. l893l987. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
Ioley, Martha l897l977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl37
Iolger, Henry Clay l857l930 . . . . . . . . . DLl10
Iolio Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Iollain, |ean l903l97l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL258
Iollen, Charles l79ol810. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL235
Iollen, Eliza Lee (Cabot) l787l8o0 . . . DLl, 235
Iollett, Ken l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL87; Y8l
Iollett Iublishing Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
|ohn West Iolsom |publishing house| . . . . . DL19
Iolz, Hans
between l135 and l110l5l3 . . . . . . .DLl79
Ionseca, Manuel da l9lll993 . . . . . . . . DL287
Ionseca, Rubem l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Iontane, Jheodor
l8l9l898 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl29; CDWL2
Iontenelle, ernard Le ovier de
lo57l757 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8, 3l3
Iontes, Montserrat l910 . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
ai_ PPN `~ f
RRR
`
Ionvisin, Denis Ivanovich

l711 or l715l792 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Ioote, Horton l9lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o, 2oo
Ioote, Mary Hallock
l817l938 . . . . . . . . . . DLl8o, l88, 202, 22l
Ioote, Samuel l72ll777 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL89
Ioote, Shelby l9lo2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2, l7
Iorbes, Calvin l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Iorbes, Ester l89ll9o7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Iorbes, |ohn l950l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL=325
Iorbes, Rosita l893.l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl95
Iorbes and Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Iorce, Ieter l790l8o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30
Iorch, Carolyn l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, l93
Iord, Charles Henri l9l32002 . . . . . . . . DL1, 18
Iord, Corey l902l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Iord, Iord Madox
l873l939 . . . . . . .DL31, 98, lo2; CDLo
Iord, Sam Roth, and Hart Crane . . . . .Y02
|. . Iord and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Iord, |esse Hill l928l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Iord, |ohn l58o.. . . . . . . . . . . DL58; CDLl
Iord, R. A. D. l9l5l998. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Iord, Richard l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL227
Iord, Worthington C. l858l91l. . . . . . . . . DL17
Iords, Howard, and Hulbert . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Ioreman, Carl l9l1l981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Iorester, C. S. l899l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Jhe C. S. Iorester Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
Iorester, Irank (see Herbert, Henry William)
Iormalism, New
Anthologizing New Iormalism . . . . . . DL282
Jhe Little Magazines of the
New Iormalism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282
Jhe New Narrative Ioetry . . . . . . . . . DL282
Iresses of the New Iormalism and
the New Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282
Jhe Irosody of the New Iormalism . . DL282
Younger Women Ioets of the
New Iormalism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282
Iorman, Harry uxton l812l9l7. . . . . . . DLl81
Iorns, Mara Irene l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Iorrest, Leon l937l997. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Iorsh, Ol`ga Dmitrievna l873l9ol. . . . . . DL272
Iorster, E. M. l879l970
. DL31, 98, lo2, l78, l95; DSl0; CDLo
'Iantasy," from ^ k
(l927) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl78
Iorster, Georg l751l791 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91
Iorster, |ohn l8l2l87o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl11
Iorster, Margaret l938 . . . . . . . . . DLl55, 27l
Iorsyth, Irederick l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL87
Iorsyth, William
'Literary Style`` (l857) |excerpt| . . . . . . DL57
Iorten, Charlotte L. l837l9l1 . . . . . . DL50, 239
Iages from Her Diary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL50
Iortini, Iranco l9l7l991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Iortune, Mary ca. l833ca. l9l0 . . . . . . . . DL230
Iortune, J. Jhomas l85ol928 . . . . . . . . . . DL23
Iosdick, Charles Austin l812l9l5 . . . . . . . DL12
Iosse, |on l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Ioster, David l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Ioster, Genevieve l893l979 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Ioster, Hannah Webster
l758l810 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37, 200
Ioster, |ohn lo18lo8l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Ioster, Michael l901l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Ioster, Myles irket l825l899 . . . . . . . . . DLl81
Ioster, William Z. l88ll9ol. . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Ioucault, Michel l92ol981. . . . . . . . . . . . DL212
Robert and Andrew Ioulis
Iouqu, Caroline de la Motte l771l83l . . . .DL90
Iouqu, Iriedrich de la Motte
l777l813. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Iour Seas Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Iour Winds Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Iournier, Henri Alban (see AlainIournier)
Iowler, Christopher l953 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Iowler, Connie May l958 . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Iowler and Wells Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Iowles, |ohn
l92o . . . . . . . . DLl1, l39, 207; CDL8
Iox, |ohn l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
Iox, |ohn, |r. l8o2 or l8o3l9l9 . . . . DL9; DSl3
Iox, Iaula l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Iox, Richard Kyle l81ol922. . . . . . . . . . . . DL79
Iox, William Irice l92o . . . . . . . . . DL2; Y8l
Remembering |oe Heller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Richard K. Iox |publishing house|. . . . . . . . DL19
Ioxe, |ohn l5l7l587 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Iraenkel, Michael l89ol957. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Irame, Ronald l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
Irance, Anatole l811l921 . . . . . . . . DLl23, 330
Irance, Richard l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Irancis, Convers l795l8o3. . . . . . . . . . DLl, 235
Irancis, Dick l920 . . . . . . . .DL87; CDL8
Irancis, Sir Irank l90ll988 . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Irancis, |effrey, Lord l773l850. . . . . . . . . DLl07
C. S. Irancis |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Iranck, Sebastian l199l512 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl79
Irancke, Kuno l855l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7l
Iranoise (Robertine arry) l8o3l9l0. . . . DL92
Iranois, Louise von l8l7l893. . . . . . . . . DLl29
Irank, runo l887l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll8
Irank, Leonhard l882l9ol . . . . . . . . DL5o, ll8
Irank, Melvin l9l3l988. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Irank, Waldo l889l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, o3
Iranken, Rose l895.l988 . . . . . . DL228, Y81
Iranklin, enjamin
l70ol790 . . . . DL21, 13, 73, l83; CDAL2
Iranklin, |ames lo97l735 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Iranklin, |ohn l78ol817. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Iranklin, Miles l879l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Iranklin Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Irantz, Ralph |ules l902l979 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Iranzos, Karl Emil l818l901 . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Iraser, Antonia l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27o
Iraser, G. S. l9l5l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Iraser, Kathleen l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo9
Irattini, Alberto l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Irau Ava .ll27. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Iraunce, Abraham l558.l592 or l593 . . DL23o
Irayn, Michael l933 . . . . . DLl3, l1, l91, 215
Irazier, Charles l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Irchette, LouisHonor l839l908 . . . . . . DL99
Irederic, Harold l85ol898. . . . DLl2, 23; DSl3
Ireed, Arthur l891l973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Ireeling, Nicolas l9272003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL87
Jribute to Georges Simenon . . . . . . . . . . . .Y89
Ireeman, Douglas Southall
l88ol953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7; DSl7
Ireeman, |oseph l897l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Ireeman, |udith l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25o
Ireeman, Legh Richmond l812l9l5 . . . . . DL23
Ireeman, Mary E. Wilkins
l852l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2, 78, 22l
Ireeman, R. Austin l8o2l913 . . . . . . . . . . DL70
Ireidank circa ll70circa l233. . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Ireiligrath, Ierdinand l8l0l87o . . . . . . . . DLl33
Iremlin, Celia l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27o
Irmont, |essie enton l831l902. . . . . . . DLl83
Irmont, |ohn Charles
l8l3l890 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl83, l8o
Irench, Alice l850l931 . . . . . . . . . DL71; DSl3
Irench, David l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Irench, Evangeline l8o9l9o0. . . . . . . . . . DLl95
Irench, Irancesca l87ll9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl95
|ames Irench |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . DL19
Samuel Irench |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL19
Samuel Irench, Limited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Irench Literature
GeorgesLouis Leclerc de uffon, 'Le Discours
sur le style". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Marie|eanAntoineNicolas Caritat, marquis de
Condorcet, 'Jhe Jenth Stage" . . . DL3l1
Sophie Cottin, `~ ^ . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of
the Citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
`~ f ai_ PPN
RRS
Denis Diderot, 'Jhe Encyclopedia". . DL3l1
Epic and east Epic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL208
Irench Arthurian Literature. . . . . . . . DL208
Olympe de Gouges, Dcclorotiov of tlc Iiglts
of !omov. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Iranoise dÌssembourg de Graffigny, Icttcrs from
o Icruviov !omov. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
ClaudeAdrien Helvtius, Tlc Spirit of
Iows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Iaul Henri Jhiry, baron d`Holbach (writing as
|eanaptiste de Mirabaud), Tlc Systcm
of Aoturc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
IierreAmbroiseIranois Choderlos de Laclos,
Dovgcrous Zcquoivtovccs . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Lyric Ioetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
LouisSbastien Mercier, Ic Toblcou
dc Ioris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
CharlesLouis de Secondat, baron de
Montesquieu, Tlc Spirit of Iows . . DL3l1
Other Ioets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
Ioetry in NineteenthCentury Irance.
Cultural ackground and Critical
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
Iomov dc lo Iosc: Guillaume de Lorris
l200 to l205circa l230, |ean de
Meun l235/l210circa l305 . . . . DL208
|ean|acques Rousseau, Tlc Sociol
Covtroct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Marquis de Sade, 'Dialogue entre un prtre et
un moribond" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Saints` Lives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL208
Jroubadours, Troborit, and
Jrouvres. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL208
AnneRobert|acques Jurgot, baron de lÀulne,
'Memorandum on Local
Government". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Voltaire, 'An account of the death of the cheva
lier de La arre" . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Voltaire, Covdidc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Voltaire, Ililosoplicol Dictiovory . . . . . . DL3l1
Irench Jheater
Medieval Irench Drama . . . . . . . . . . DL208
Iarisian Jheater, Iall l981. Joward
a New aroque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y85
Ireneau, Ihilip l752l832. . . . . . . . . . . . DL37, 13
Jhe Rising Glory of America. . . . . . . . DL37
Ireni, Melo l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Irron, Elie Catherine l7l8l77o . . . . . . . DL3l3
Ireshfield, Douglas W. l815l931 . . . . . . .DLl71
Ireud, Sigmund l85ol939. . . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
Ireytag, Gustav l8lol895. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Irda . Sigurardttir l910 . . . . . . . . DL293
Iridegrd, |an l897l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL259
Iried, Erich l92ll988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
Iriedan, etty l92l200o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
Iriedman, ruce |ay l930 . . . . . DL2, 28, 211
Iriedman, Carl l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Iriedman, Kinky l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Iriedrich von Hausen circa ll7lll90 . . . DLl38
Iriel, rian l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3, 3l9
Iriend, Krebs l895.l9o7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Iries, Iritz Rudolf l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Irisch, Max
l9lll99l . . . . . . . . .DLo9, l21; CDWL2
Irischlin, Nicodemus l517l590. . . . . . . . .DLl79
Irischmuth, arbara l91l . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
Iritz, |ean l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Iroissart, |ean circa l337circa l101 . . . . . DL208
Iromm, Erich l900l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
Iromentin, Eugene l820l87o . . . . . . . . . DLl23
Irontinus circa ^.a. 35^.a. l03/l01. . . . . DL2ll
Irost, A. . l85ll928 . . . . . . . . . DLl88; DSl3
Irost, Robert
l871l9o3. . . . . . . . . DL51; DS7; CDAL1
Irostenson, Katarina l953 . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Irothingham, Octavius rooks
l822l895 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 213
Iroude, |ames Anthony
l8l8l891 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8, 57, l11
Iruitlands l813l811 . . . . . . . . . DLl, 223; DS5
Iry, Christopher l9072005 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Jribute to |ohn etjeman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
Iry, Roger l8ool931. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl0
Iry, Stephen l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL207
Irye, Northrop l9l2l99l . . . . . . . DLo7, o8, 21o
Iuchs, Daniel l909l993 . . . . . DL9, 2o, 28; Y93
Jribute to Isaac ashevis Singer. . . . . . . . . Y9l
Iuentes, Carlos l928 . . . . .DLll3; CDWL3
Iuertes, Gloria l9l8l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Iugard, Athol l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL225
Jhe Iugitives and the Agrarians.
Jhe Iirst Exhibition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y85
Iujiwara no Shunzei lll1l201 . . . . . . . . DL203
Iujiwara no Jameaki l230s.l290s. . . . . DL203
Iujiwara no Jameie ll98l275 . . . . . . . . . DL203
Iujiwara no Jeika llo2l21l . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Iuks, Ladislav l923l991. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Iulbecke, William l5o0lo03. . . . . . . . . . .DLl72
Iuller, Charles l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38, 2oo
Iuller, Henry lake l857l929 . . . . . . . . . . DLl2
Iuller, |ohn l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Iuller, Margaret (see Iuller, Sarah)
Iuller, Roy l9l2l99l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5, 20
Jribute to Christopher Isherwood . . . . . . . Y8o
Iuller, Samuel l9l2l997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Iuller, Sarah l8l0l850 . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 59, 73,
l83, 223, 239; DS5; CDAL2
Iuller, Jhomas lo08lool . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5l
Iullerton, Hugh l873l915. . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7l
Iullwood, William fl. l5o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23o
Iulton, Alice l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl93
Iulton, Len l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y8o
Iulton, Robin l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Iurbank, I. N. l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
Iuretire, Antoine lol9lo88. . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Iurman, Laura l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y8o
Iurmanov, Dmitrii Andreevich
l89ll92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL272
Iurness, Horace Howard l833l9l2 . . . . . DLo1
Iurness, William Henry
l802l89o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 235
Iurnivall, Irederick |ames l825l9l0. . . . DLl81
Iurphy, |oseph (Jom Collins)
l813l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Iurthman, |ules l888l9oo. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Shakespeare and Montaigne. A
Symposium by |ules Iurthman . . . . . . Y02
Iurui Yoshikichi l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Iushimi, Emperor l2o5l3l7 . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Iutabatei Shimei (Hasegawa Jatsunosuke)
l8o1l909 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Iyleman, Rose l877l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
d
G., l972 ooker Irize winner,
|ohn erger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Gaarder, |ostein l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Gadallah, Leslie l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Gadamer, HansGeorg l9002002 . . . . . . DL29o
Gadda, Carlo Emilio l893l973 . . . . . . . . .DLl77
Gaddis, William l922l998 . . . . . . . . . .DL2, 278
William Gaddis. A Jribute . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Gg, Wanda l893l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Gagarin, Ivan Sergeevich l8l1l882 . . . . DLl98
Gagnon, Madeleine l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Gaiman, Neil l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Gaine, Hugh l72ol807 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Hugh Gaine |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . DL19
Gaines, Ernest |.
l933 . . . . . DL2, 33, l52; Y80; CDALo
Gaiser, Gerd l908l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Gaitskill, Mary l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
Galarza, Ernesto l905l981 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Galaxy Science Iiction Novels . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Galbraith, Robert (or Caubraith)
circa l183l511 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Gale, Zona l871l938. . . . . . . . . . . .DL9, 228, 78
Galen of Iergamon l29after 2l0. . . . . . . .DLl7o
Gales, Winifred Marshall l7oll839 . . . . DL200
Galich, Aleksandr l9l8l977 . . . . . . . . . . .DL3l7
Medieval GalicianIortuguese Ioetry. . . . DL287
Gall, Louise von l8l5l855 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Gallagher, Jess l913 . . . . . . .DLl20, 2l2, 211
ai_ PPN `~ f
RRT
`
Gallagher, Wes l9lll997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27

Gallagher, William Davis l808l891 . . . . . . DL73
Gallant, Mavis l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Gallegos, Mara Magdalena l935 . . . . . DL209
Gallico, Iaul l897l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, l7l
Gallop, |ane l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
Galloway, Grace Growden l727l782. . . . . DL200
Galloway, |anice l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
Gallup, Donald l9l32000. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Galsworthy, |ohn l8o7l933
. . DLl0, 31, 98, lo2, 330; DSlo; CDL5
Galt, |ohn l779l839 . . . . . . . . . . DL99, llo, l59
Galton, Sir Irancis l822l9ll . . . . . . . . . . DLloo
Galvin, rendan l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Gambaro, Griselda l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Gambit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Gamboa, Reymundo l918 . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
d~ d k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo2
Gan, Elena Andreevna (Zeneida Rva)
l8l1l812 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand
l8o9l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Gandlevsky, Sergei Markovich
l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Gannett, Irank E. l87ol957 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Gant, Eugene. Irojected Works . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
Gao Xingjian l910 . . . . . . . . . . . DL330; Y00
Nobel Lecture 2000. 'Jhe Case for
Literature" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
Gaos, Vicente l9l9l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
Garca, Andrew l851.l913 . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Garca, Cristina l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Garca, Lionel G. l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Garca, Richard l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Garca, Santiago l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Garca Mrquez, Gabriel
l927 . . . . . DLll3, 330; Y82; CDWL3
Jhe Magical World of Macondo. . . . . . . . .Y82
Nobel Lecture l982. Jhe Solitude of
Latin America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
A Jribute to Gabriel Garca Mrquez . . . . .Y82
Garca Marruz, Iina l923 . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
GarcaCamarillo, Cecilio l913 . . . . . . . DL209
Garcilaso de la Vega circa l503l53o. . . . . DL3l8
Garcilaso de la Vega, Inca l539lolo . . . . DL3l8
Gardam, |ane l928 . . . . . . . . . DLl1, lol, 23l
Gardell, |onas l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Garden, Alexander circa lo85l75o. . . . . . . DL3l
Gardiner, |ohn Rolfe l93o . . . . . . . . . . DL211
Gardiner, Margaret Iower Iarmer
(see lessington, Marguerite, Countess of)
Gardner, |ohn
l933l982 . . . . . . . . . . DL2; Y82; CDAL7
Garfield, Leon l92ll99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
Garis, Howard R. l873l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Garland, Hamlin l8o0l910 . . DLl2, 7l, 78, l8o
Jhe Hamlin Garland Society . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
Garneau, IranoisXavier l809l8oo . . . . . DL99
Garneau, Hector de SaintDenys
l9l2l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Garneau, Michel l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Garner, Alan l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol, 2ol
Garner, Helen l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Garner, Hugh l9l3l979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Garnett, David l892l98l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL31
Garnett, Eve l900l99l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Garnett, Richard l835l90o . . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
Garnier, Robert l515.l590 . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Garrard, Lewis H. l829l887 . . . . . . . . . . DLl8o
Garraty, |ohn A. l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
Garrett, Almeida ( |oo aptista da Silva
Leito de Almeida Garrett)
l799l851 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Garrett, George
l929 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 5, l30, l52; Y83
Literary Irizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
My Summer Reading Orgy. Reading
for Iun and Games. One Reader`s
Report on the Summer of 200l . . . . . .Y0l
A Summing Lp at Century`s End . . . . . . . .Y99
Jribute to Michael M. Rea . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Jribute to Iaxton Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y91
Jribute to William Goyen . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
A Writer Jalking. A Collage . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
Garrett, |ohn Work l872l912. . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Garrick, David l7l7l779 . . . . . . . . . . . DL81, 2l3
Garrison, William Lloyd
l805l879 . . . . . . . . DLl, 13, 235; CDAL2
Garro, Elena l920l998. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl15
Garshin, Vsevolod Mikhailovich
l855l888 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL277
Garth, Samuel looll7l9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL95
Garve, Andrew l908200l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL87
Gary, Romain l9l1l980. . . . . . . . . . . DL83, 299
Gascoigne, George l539.l577 . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Gascoyne, David l9lo200l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20
Gash, |onathan ( |ohn Grant) l933 . . . . DL27o
Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn
l8l0l8o5 . . . . . . DL2l, l11, l59; CDL1
Jhe Gaskell Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Gaskell, |ane l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Gaspey, Jhomas l788l87l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLllo
Gass, William H. l921 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 227
Gates, Doris l90ll987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Gates, Henry Louis, |r. l950 . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
Gates, Lewis E. l8o0l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7l
Gatto, Alfonso l909l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Gault, William Campbell l9l0l995 . . . . . DL22o
Jribute to Kenneth Millar . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Gaunt, Mary l8oll912 . . . . . . . . . . DLl71, 230
Gautier, Jhophile l8lll872 . . . . . . . . . . DLll9
Gautreaux, Jim l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Gauvreau, Claude l925l97l . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Jhe d~~JIoet
fl. circa l350l100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Gawsworth, |ohn (Jerence Ian Iytton
Armstrong) l9l2l970. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL255
Gay, Ebenezer lo9ol787. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Gay, |ohn lo85l732 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL81, 95
Gayarr, Charles E. A. l805l895. . . . . . . . DL30
Charles Gaylord |publishing house|. . . . . . . DL19
Gaylord, Edward King l873l971 . . . . . . . DLl27
Gaylord, Edward Lewis l9l92003 . . . . . . DLl27
Gazdanov, Gaito l903l97l. . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Gbler, Carlo l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27l
Geda, Sigitas l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Geddes, Gary l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Geddes, Virgil l897l989. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Gedeon (Georgii Andreevich Krinovsky)
circa l730l7o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Gee, Maggie l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL207
Gee, Shirley l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
Geibel, Emanuel l8l5l881. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Geiogamah, Hanay l915 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl75
Geis, ernard, Associates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Geisel, Jheodor Seuss l901l99l . . . DLol; Y9l
Gelb, Arthur l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Gelb, arbara l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Gelber, |ack l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7, 228
Glinas, Gratien l909l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Gellert, Christian Ierchtegott
l7l5l7o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL97
Gellhorn, Martha l908l998. . . . . . . . . . . . Y82, 98
Gems, Iam l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Genet, |ean l9l0l98o. . . . . . . . DL72, 32l; Y8o
Genette, Grard l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL212
Genevoix, Maurice l890l980. . . . . . . . . . . DLo5
Genis, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich
l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Genlis, StphanieIlicit Ducrest, comtesse de
l71ol830 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
Genovese, Eugene D. l930 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
Gent, Ieter l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Geoffrey of Monmouth
circa ll00ll55 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
George, Elizabeth l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
George, Henry l839l897 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23
George, |ean Craighead l9l9 . . . . . . . . . DL52
George, W. L. l882l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl97
`~ f ai_ PPN
RRU
George III, King of Great ritain
and Ireland l738l820. . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Gcorgslicd 89o.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Gerber, Merrill |oan l938 . . . . . . . . . . DL2l8
Gerhardie, William l895l977 . . . . . . . . . . DL3o
Gerhardt, Iaul lo07lo7o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Grin, Winifred l90ll98l. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
GrinLajoie, Antoine l821l882 . . . . . . . . DL99
German Literature
A Call to Letters and an Invitation
to the Electric Chair . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Jhe Conversion of an Lnpolitical
Man. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Jhe German Radio Ilay . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
Jhe German Jransformation from the
aroque to the Enlightenment . . . . DL97
Germanophilism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
A Letter from a New Germany . . . . . . . . . Y90
Jhe Making of a Ieople. . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Jhe Novel of Impressionism . . . . . . . . DLoo
Iattern and Iaradigm. History as
Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Iremisses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Jhe `Jwenties and erlin. . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Wolfram von Eschenbach`s Iorivol:
Irologue and ook 3. . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Writers and Iolitics. l87ll9l8 . . . . . . DLoo
German Literature, Middle Ages
Zbrogovs circa 790800 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Zvvolicd between l077 and l08l. . . . . DLl18
Jhe Arthurian Jradition and
Its European Context . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Combridgc Sovgs (Cormivo Covtobrigcvsio)
circa l050 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Clristus uvd dic Somoritcriv circa 950. . . DLl18
Dc Hcivrico circa 980. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
cbosis Coptivi circa l015. . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Gcorgslicd 89o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
German Literature and Culture from
Charlemagne to the Early Courtly
Ieriod . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18; CDWL2
Jhe Germanic Epic and Old English
Heroic Ioetry. !idsitl, !oldcrc,
and Tlc Iiglt ot Iivvsburg . . . . . . . DLl1o
Graf Rudolf between circa
ll70 and circa ll85 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Hcliovd circa 850. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Dos Hildcsbrovdslicd
circa 820 . . . . . . . . . DLl18; CDWL2
Ioiscrclrovil circa ll17 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Jhe Legends of the Saints and a
Medieval Christian
Worldview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Iudus dc Zvticlristo circa llo0 . . . . . . . DLl18
Iudwigslicd 88l or 882 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Muspilli circa 790circa 850 . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Uld Gcrmov Gcvcsis and Uld Gcrmov
xodus circa l050circa ll30 . . . . DLl18
Old High German Charms
and lessings . . . . . . DLl18; CDWL2
Jhe Uld Higl Gcrmov Isidor
circa 790800 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Ictruslicd circa 851. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Ilysiologus circa l070circa ll50 . . . . . DLl18
Iuodlicb circa l050l075 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
'Spiclmovvscpcv (circa ll52
circa l500) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Jhe Strasbourg Oaths 812. . . . . . . . . DLl18
Totiov circa 830. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
!oltlorius circa 825. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
!cssobruvvcr Gcbct circa 7878l5 . . . . . DLl18
German Jheater
German Drama 800l280 . . . . . . . . . DLl38
German Drama from Naturalism
to Iascism. l889l933 . . . . . . . . . DLll8
Gernsback, Hugo l881l9o7 . . . . . . . . .DL8, l37
Gerould, Katharine Iullerton
l879l911. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL78
Samuel Gerrish |publishing house| . . . . . . . DL19
Gerrold, David l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Gerso, Jeolinda l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Gershon, Karen l923l993. . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Gershwin, Ira l89ol983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Jhe Ira Gershwin Centenary. . . . . . . . . . . Y9o
Gerson, |ean l3o3l129 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL208
Gersonides l288l311 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
Gerstcker, Iriedrich l8lol872 . . . . . . . . DLl29
Gertsen, Aleksandr Ivanovich
(see Herzen, Alexander)
Gerstenberg, Heinrich Wilhelm von
l737l823 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL97
Gervinus, Georg Gottfried
l805l87l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Gery, |ohn l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282
Gener, Solomon l730l788. . . . . . . . . . . . DL97
Geston, Mark S. l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
AlGhazali l058llll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
Ghelderode, Michel de (AdolpheAdhmar Martens)
l898l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
Ghose, Zulfikar l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Ghosh, Amitav l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Tlc Glost Iood, l995 ooker Irize winner,
Iat arker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Gibbings, Robert l889l958. . . . . . . . . . . DLl95
Gibbon, Edward l737l791. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl01
Gibbon, |ohn Murray l875l952 . . . . . . . . DL92
Gibbon, Lewis Grassic (see Mitchell, |ames Leslie)
Gibbons, Iloyd l887l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Gibbons, Kaye l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Gibbons, Reginald l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Gibbons, William eighteenth century. . . . . DL73
Gibson, Charles Dana
l8o7l911. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl88; DSl3
Gibson, Graeme l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Gibson, Margaret l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Gibson, Margaret Dunlop l813l920. . . . .DLl71
Gibson, Wilfrid l878l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9
Gibson, William l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Gibson, William l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Gide, Andr l8o9l95l . . . . . . . DLo5, 32l, 330
Gigure, Diane l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Gigure, Roland l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Gil de iedma, |aime l929l990 . . . . . . . DLl08
GilAlbert, |uan l90ol991. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
Gilbert, Anthony l899l973. . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
Gilbert, Elizabeth l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Gilbert, Sir Humphrey l537l583 . . . . . . DLl3o
Gilbert, Michael l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL87
Gilbert, Sandra M. l93o . . . . . . . DLl20, 21o
Gilchrist, Alexander l828l8ol . . . . . . . . DLl11
Gilchrist, Ellen l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Gilder, |eannette L. l819l9lo . . . . . . . . . . DL79
Gilder, Richard Watson l811l909 . . . .DLo1, 79
Gildersleeve, asil l83ll921. . . . . . . . . . . DL7l
Giles, Henry l809l882 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo1
Giles of Rome circa l213l3lo. . . . . . . . . DLll5
Gilfillan, George l8l3l878 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl11
Gill, Eric l882l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL98
Gill, Sarah Irince l728l77l . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
William I. Gill Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Gillespie, A. Lincoln, |r. l895l950 . . . . . . . DL1
Gillespie, Haven l883l975 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Gilliam, Ilorence fl. twentieth century . . . . . DL1
Gilliatt, Ienelope l932l993. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Gillott, |acky l939l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Gilman, Caroline H. l791l888 . . . . . . . DL3, 73
Gilman, Charlotte Ierkins l8o0l935 . . . DL22l
Jhe Charlotte Ierkins Gilman Society . . . Y99
W. and |. Gilman |publishing house| . . . . . DL19
Gilmer, Elizabeth Meriwether
l8oll95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Gilmer, Irancis Walker l790l82o . . . . . . . DL37
Gilmore, Mary l8o5l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Gilroy, Irank D. l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Gimferrer, Iere (Iedro) l915 . . . . . . . . DLl31
Ginger, Aleksandr S. l897l9o5 . . . . . . . . .DL3l7
Gingrich, Arnold l903l97o. . . . . . . . . . . .DLl37
Irospectus Irom the Initial Issue of
squirc (Autumn l933). . . . . . . . . .DLl37
'With the Editorial Ken," Irospectus
Irom the Initial Issue of Icv
(7 April l938) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl37
Ginibi, Ruby Langford l931 . . . . . . . . DL325
Ginsberg, Allen
l92ol997 . . . .DL5, lo, lo9, 237; CDALl
ai_ PPN `~ f
RRV
`
Ginzburg, Evgeniia
l901l977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Ginzburg, Lidiia Iakovlevna
l902l990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Ginzburg, Natalia l9lol99l. . . . . . . . . . . DLl77
Ginzkey, Iranz Karl l87ll9o3 . . . . . . . . . . DL8l
Gioia, Dana l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20, 282
Giono, |ean l895l970. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL72, 32l
Giotti, Virgilio l885l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Giovanni, Nikki l913 . . . .DL5, 1l; CDAL7
Giovannitti, Arturo l881l959. . . . . . . . . . DL303
Gipson, Lawrence Henry l880l97l . . . . . . DLl7
Girard, Rodolphe l879l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Giraudoux, |ean l882l911. . . . . . . . . DLo5, 32l
Girondo, Oliverio l89ll9o7. . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Gissing, George l857l903. . . . . . DLl8, l35, l81
Jhe Ilace of Realism in Iiction (l895). . . DLl8
Giudici, Giovanni l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Giuliani, Alfredo l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Gjellerup, Karl l857l9l9 . . . . . . . . . DL300, 330
Glackens, William |. l870l938 . . . . . . . . . DLl88
Gladilin, Anatolii Jikhonovich
l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Gladkov, Iedor Vasilèvich l883l958. . . . DL272
Gladstone, William Ewart
l809l898 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL57, l81
Glaeser, Ernst l902l9o3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Glancy, Diane l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl75
Glanvill, |oseph lo3olo80 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL252
Glanville, rian l93l . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5, l39
Glapthorne, Henry lol0lo13. . . . . . . . . . . DL58
Glasgow, Ellen l873l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, l2
Jhe Ellen Glasgow Society . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
Glasier, Katharine ruce l8o7l950. . . . . . DLl90
Glaspell, Susan l87ol918 . . . . . . DL7, 9, 78, 228
Glass, Montague l877l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Glassco, |ohn l909l98l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Glauser, Iriedrich l89ol938. . . . . . . . . . . . DL5o
Glavin, Anthony l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
I. Gleason`s Iublishing Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Gleim, |ohann Wilhelm Ludwig
l7l9l803 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL97
Glendinning, Robin l938 . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Glendinning, Victoria l937 . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
Glidden, Irederick Dilley (Luke Short)
l908l975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25o
Glinka, Iedor Nikolaevich l78ol880 . . . . DL205
Glover, Keith l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL219
Glover, Richard l7l2l785 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL95
Glover, Sue l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Glck, Louise l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Glyn, Elinor l8o1l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl53
Gnedich, Nikolai Ivanovich l781l833 . . . DL205
Gobineau, |osephArthur de
l8lol882 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl23
q d p~ qI l997 ooker Irize winner,
Arundhati Roy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Godber, |ohn l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
Godbout, |acques l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Goddard, Morrill l8o5l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Goddard, William l710l8l7. . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Godden, Rumer l907l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
Godey, Louis A. l801l878 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL73
Godey and McMichael . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Godfrey, Dave l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Godfrey, Jhomas l73ol7o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Godine, David R., Iublisher . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Godkin, E. L. l83ll902 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL79
Godolphin, Sidney lol0lo13 . . . . . . . . . . DLl2o
Godwin, Gail l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo, 231
M. |. Godwin and Company . . . . . . . . . . . DLl51
Godwin, Mary |ane Clairmont
l7ool81l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo3
Godwin, Iarke l8lol901 . . . . . . . . DL3, o1, 250
Godwin, William l75ol83o . . . . . . . DL39, l01,
l12, l58, lo3, 2o2; CDL3
Ireface to pK i (l799) . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Goering, Reinhard l887l93o . . . . . . . . . . DLll8
Goes, Albrecht l908 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Goethe, |ohann Wolfgang von
l719l832 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91; CDWL2
Goetz, Curt l888l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
Goffe, Jhomas circa l592lo29. . . . . . . . . . DL58
Goffstein, M. . l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Gogarty, Oliver St. |ohn l878l957 . . . . DLl5, l9
Gogol, Nikolai Vasilèvich l809l852 . . . . DLl98
Goines, Donald l937l971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Gold, Herbert l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2; Y8l
Jribute to William Saroyan. . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
Gold, Michael l893l9o7. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, 28
Goldbarth, Albert l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Goldberg, Dick l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Golden Cockerel Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Golding, Arthur l53olo0o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Golding, Louis l895l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl95
Golding, William
l9lll993 . . . . . . . . . . .DLl5, l00, 255, 32o,
330; Y83; CDL7
Nobel Lecture l993. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Jhe Stature of William Golding . . . . . . . . .Y83
Goldman, Emma l8o9l910 . . . . . . . . . . . DL22l
Goldman, William l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Goldring, Douglas l887l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . DLl97
Goldschmidt, Meir Aron l8l9l887 . . . . . DL300
Goldsmith, Oliver l730.l771
. . . . . . . DL39, 89, l01, l09, l12; CDL2
Goldsmith, Oliver l791l8ol. . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Goldsmith Iublishing Company . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Goldstein, Richard l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Goldsworthy, Ieter l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Gollancz, Sir Israel l8o1l930 . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Victor Gollancz Limited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Gomberville, Marin Le Roy, sieur de
lo00.lo71. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL2o8
Gombrowicz, Witold
l901l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5; CDWL1
Gomez, MadeleineAnglique Ioisson de
lo81l770 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
Gmez de Ciudad Real, Alvar (Alvar Gmez
de Guadalajara) l188l538 . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Gmez_uiones, |uan l912 . . . . . . . . DLl22
Laurence |ames Gomme
Gompers, Samuel l850l921. . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Gonalves Dias, Antnio l823l8o1 . . . . . DL307
Goncharov, Ivan Aleksandrovich
l8l2l89l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Goncourt, Edmond de l822l89o . . . . . . . DLl23
Goncourt, |ules de l830l870 . . . . . . . . . . DLl23
Gonzales, Rodolfo 'Corky" l928 . . . . . DLl22
Gonzaleserry, Erlinda l912 . . . . . . . . DL209
'Chicano Language". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Gonzlez, Angel l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Gonzalez, Genaro l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Gonzalez, N. V. M. l9l5l999. . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Gonzlez, OttoRal l92l . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Gonzalez, Ray l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Gonzlez de Mireles, |ovita
l899l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Gonzlez Martnez, Enrique
l87ll952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
GonzlezJ., Csar A. l93l . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Goodis, David l9l7l9o7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
Goodison, Lorna l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Goodman, Allegra l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
Goodman, Nelson l90ol998 . . . . . . . . . . DL279
Goodman, Iaul l9lll972. . . . . . . . . DLl30, 21o
Jhe Goodman Jheatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Goodrich, Irances l89ll981 and
Hackett, Albert l900l995 . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Goodrich, Samuel Griswold
l793l8o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 12, 73, 213
S. G. Goodrich |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL19
C. E. Goodspeed and Company . . . . . . . . . DL19
Goodwin, Stephen l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Googe, arnabe l510l591 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Gookin, Daniel lol2lo87. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Gopegui, eln l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
`~ f ai_ PPN
RSM
Goran, Lester l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
Gordimer, Nadine l923 . . . . . . . . . DL225, 32o,
330; Y9l
Nobel Lecture l99l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9l
Gordon, Adam Lindsay l833l870. . . . . . DL230
Gordon, Caroline
l895l98l . . . . . . . DL1, 9, l02; DSl7; Y8l
Gordon, Charles I. (see OyamO)
Gordon, Charles William (see Connor, Ralph)
Gordon, Giles l910 . . . . . . . . .DLl1, l39, 207
Gordon, Helen Cameron, Lady Russell
l8o7l919. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl95
Gordon, Lyndall l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
Gordon, Mack l901l959. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Gordon, Mary l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo; Y8l
Gordone, Charles l925l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Gore, Catherine l800l8ol . . . . . . . . . . . DLllo
Goreooth, Eva l870l92o . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Gores, |oe l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o; Y02
Jribute to Kenneth Millar . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y83
Gorey, Edward l9252000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Gorgias of Leontini
circa 185 _.`.37o _.`. . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7o
Gor`ky, Maksim l8o8l93o . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Gorodetsky, Sergei Mitrofanovich
l881l9o7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Gorostiza, |os l90ll979. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Grres, |oseph l77ol818 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Gosse, Edmund l819l928. . . . . . DL57, l11, l81
Gosson, Stephen l551lo21 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl72
q p ^ (l579) . . . . . . . . . . .DLl72
Gotanda, Ihilip Kan l95l . . . . . . . . . . DL2oo
Gotlieb, Ihyllis l92o . . . . . . . . . . . DL88, 25l
GoJoba ll80l239. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Gottfried von Straburg
died before l230 . . . . . . DLl38; CDWL2
Gotthelf, |eremias l797l851. . . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Gottschalk circa 801/8088o9 . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Gottsched, |ohann Christoph
l700l7oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL97
Gtz, |ohann Nikolaus l72ll78l. . . . . . . . DL97
Goudge, Elizabeth l900l981. . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Gouges, Olympe de l718l793 . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
a~~ o t~. . . . . . DL3l1
Gough, |ohn . l8l7l88o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL213
Gould, Wallace l882l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL51
Gournay, Marie de l5o5lo15 . . . . . . . . . DL327
Govoni, Corrado l881l9o5. . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Govrin, Michal l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Gower, |ohn circa l330l108 . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Goyen, William l9l5l983. . . . . . DL2, 2l8; Y83
Goytisolo, |os Augustn l928 . . . . . . . DLl31
Goytisolo, |uan l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Goytisolo, Luis l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Gozzano, Guido l883l9lo . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Grabbe, Christian Dietrich l80ll83o . . . DLl33
Gracq, |ulien (Louis Ioirier) l9l0 . . . . . DL83
Grady, Henry W. l850l889 . . . . . . . . . . . DL23
Graf, Oskar Maria l891l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . DL5o
d~ o between circa ll70 and
circa ll85. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Graff, Gerald l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
Graffigny, Iranoise dÌssembourg de
lo95l758. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
i ~ m~ t~ . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Richard Grafton |publishing house| . . . . . .DLl70
Grafton, Sue l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
Graham, Irank l893l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Graham, George Rex l8l3l891 . . . . . . . . DL73
Graham, Gwethalyn (Gwethalyn Graham
Erichsenrown) l9l3l9o5. . . . . . . . . DL88
Graham, |orie l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Graham, Katharine l9l7200l . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Graham, Lorenz l902l989 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7o
Graham, Ihilip l9l5l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Graham, R. . Cunninghame
l852l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL98, l35, l71
Graham, Shirley l89ol977 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7o
Graham, Stephen l881l975. . . . . . . . . . . DLl95
Graham, W. S. l9l8l98o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20
William H. Graham |publishing house| . . . DL19
Graham, Winston l9l02003 . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
Grahame, Kenneth l859l932 . . . DL31, l1l, l78
Grainger, Martin Allerdale l871l91l . . . . DL92
Gramatky, Hardie l907l979 . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Gramcko, Ida l921l991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Gramsci, Antonio l89ll937 . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
Granada, Iray Luis de l501l588 . . . . . . DL3l8
Grand, Sarah l851l913. . . . . . . . . . .DLl35, l97
Grandbois, Alain l900l975 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Grandson, Oton de circa l315l397. . . . . DL208
Grange, |ohn circa l55o.. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Granger, Jhomas l578lo27. . . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Granich, Irwin (see Gold, Michael)
Granin, Daniil l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Granovsky, Jimofei Nikolaevich
l8l3l855 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
Grant, Anne MacVicar l755l838 . . . . . . DL200
Grant, Duncan l885l978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl0
Grant, George l9l8l988. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Grant, George Monro l835l902. . . . . . . . DL99
Grant, Harry |. l88ll9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Grant, |ames Edward l905l9oo . . . . . . . . DL2o
Grant, |ohn (see Gash, |onathan)
War of the Words (and Iictures). Jhe Creation
of a Graphic Novel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Grass, Gnter l927 DL75, l21, 330; CDWL2
Nobel Lecture l999.
'Jo e Continued . . ." . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Jribute to Helen Wolff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y91
Grasty, Charles H. l8o3l921 . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Grau, Shirley Ann l929 . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 2l8
Graves, |ohn l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y83
Graves, Richard l7l5l801. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Graves, Robert l895l985
. . . . DL20, l00, l9l; DSl8; Y85; CDLo
Jhe St. |ohn`s College
Robert Graves Jrust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9o
Gray, Alasdair l931 . . . . . . . .DLl91, 2ol, 3l9
Gray, Asa l8l0l888 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 235
Gray, David l838l8ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Gray, Simon l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Gray, Robert l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Gray, Jhomas l7lol77l . . . . DLl09; CDL2
Grayson, Richard l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
Grayson, William |. l788l8o3. . . . DL3, o1, 218
Jhe Great ibliographers Series. . . . . . . . . . . . Y93
q d~ d~ (Documentary) . . . . . . . . DL2l9
'Jhe Greatness of Southern Literature".
League of the South Institute for the
Study of Southern Culture and History
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Grech, Nikolai Ivanovich l787l8o7 . . . . . DLl98
Greeley, Horace
l8lll872. . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL3, 13, l89, 250
Green, Adolph l9l52002 . . . . . . . . . DL11, 2o5
Green, Anna Katharine
l81ol935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL202, 22l
Green, Duff l79ll875 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Green, Elizabeth Shippen l87ll951 . . . . DLl88
Green, Gerald l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28
Green, Henry l905l973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5
Green, |onas l7l2l7o7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Green, |oseph l70ol780. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Green, |ulien l900l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1, 72
Green, Iaul l891l98l. . . . . . . DL7, 9, 219; Y8l
Green, J. H. l83ol882 . . . . . . . . . . DLl90, 2o2
Green, Jerence M. l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
J. and S. Green |publishing house|. . . . . . . DL19
Green Jiger Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Jimothy Green |publishing house| . . . . . . . DL19
Greenaway, Kate l81ol90l. . . . . . . . . . . DLl1l
Greenberg. Iublisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Greene, Asa l789l838. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Greene, elle da Costa l883l950 . . . . . . .DLl87
Greene, Graham l901l99l
. . . . . . . . . . . .DLl3, l5, 77, l00, lo2, 20l, 201;
Y85, 9l; CDL7
ai_ PPN `~ f
RSN
`
Jribute to Christopher Isherwood. . . . . . . .Y8o

Greene, Robert l558l592. . . . . . . . . . DLo2, lo7
Greene, Robert ernard (ob), |r.
l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
enjamin H Greene |publishing house| . . . . DL19
Greenfield, George l9l72000 . . . . . . . . . . .Y9l, 00
Derek Robinson`s Review of George
Greenfield`s o a . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Greenhow, Robert l800l851 . . . . . . . . . . . DL30
Greenlee, William . l872l953 . . . . . . . . DLl87
Greenough, Horatio l805l852. . . . . . . DLl, 235
Greenwell, Dora l82ll882. . . . . . . . . DL35, l99
Greenwillow ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Greenwood, Grace (see Lippincott, Sara |ane Clarke)
Greenwood, Walter l903l971. . . . . . . DLl0, l9l
Greer, en l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Greflinger, Georg lo20.lo77 . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Greg, W. R. l809l88l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL55
Greg, W. W. l875l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Gregg, |osiah l80ol850 . . . . . . . . . . DLl83, l8o
Gregg Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Gregory, Horace l898l982. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL18
Gregory, Isabella Augusta Iersse, Lady
l852l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Gregory of Rimini circa l300l358 . . . . . . DLll5
Gregynog Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Greiff, Len de l895l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Greiffenberg, Catharina Regina von
lo33lo91 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Greig, Nol l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
Grekova, Irina (Elena Sergeevna Venttsel`)
l9072002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Grenfell, Wilfred Jhomason
l8o5l910. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Grenville, Kate l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Gress, Elsa l9l9l988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Greve, Ielix Iaul (see Grove, Irederick Ihilip)
Greville, Iulke, Iirst Lord rooke
l551lo28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo2, l72
Grey, Sir George, K.C.. l8l2l898 . . . . . DLl81
Grey, Lady |ane l537l551 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Grey, Zane l872l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, 2l2
Zane Grey`s West Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
Grey Owl (Archibald Stansfeld elaney)
l888l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92; DSl7
Grey Walls Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Griboedov, Aleksandr Sergeevich
l795.l829 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Grice, Iaul l9l3l988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL279
Grier, Eldon l9l7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Grieve, C. M. (see MacDiarmid, Hugh)
Griffin, artholomew fl. l59o . . . . . . . . . . DLl72
Griffin, ryan
'Ianic Among the Ihilistines``.
A Iostscript, An Interview
with ryan Griffin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
Griffin, Gerald l803l810 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl59
Jhe Griffin Ioetry Irize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
Griffith, Elizabeth l727.l793 . . . . . . . . DL39, 89
Ireface to q a~ a (l7o9) . . . DL39
Griffith, George l857l90o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl78
Ralph Griffiths |publishing house| . . . . . . . DLl51
Griffiths, Jrevor l935 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3, 215
S. C. Griggs and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Griggs, Sutton Elbert l872l930 . . . . . . . . . DL50
Grignon, ClaudeHenri l891l97o. . . . . . . . DLo8
Grigorèv, Apollon Aleksandrovich
l822l8o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL277
Grigorovich, Dmitrii Vasilèvich
l822l899 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Grigson, Geoffrey l905l985 . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Grillparzer, Iranz
l79ll872 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33; CDWL2
Grimald, Nicholas
circa l5l9circa l5o2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Grimk, Angelina Weld l880l958 . . . . DL50, 51
Grimk, Sarah Moore l792l873 . . . . . . . . DL239
Grimm, Irdric Melchior l723l807 . . . . DL3l3
Grimm, Hans l875l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Grimm, |acob l785l8o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Grimm, Wilhelm
l78ol859 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90; CDWL2
Grimmelshausen, |ohann |acob Christoffel von
lo2l or lo22lo7o. . . . . . DLlo8; CDWL2
Grimshaw, eatrice Ethel l87ll953 . . . . . DLl71
Grmur Jhomsen l820l89o. . . . . . . . . . . DL293
Grin, Aleksandr Stepanovich
l880l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL272
Grindal, Edmund l5l9 or l520l583 . . . . DLl32
Gripe, Maria (Kristina) l923 . . . . . . . . . DL257
Griswold, Rufus Wilmot
l8l5l857 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, 59, 250
Gronlund, Laurence l81ol899. . . . . . . . . DL303
Grosart, Alexander alloch l827l899 . . . DLl81
Grosholz, Emily l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282
Gross, Milt l895l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Grosset and Dunlap. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Grosseteste, Robert circa llo0l253 . . . . . DLll5
Grossman, Allen l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl93
Grossman, David l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Grossman, Vasilii Semenovich
l905l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL272
Grossman Iublishers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Grosvenor, Gilbert H. l875l9oo. . . . . . . . . DL9l
Groth, Klaus l8l9l899. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Groulx, Lionel l878l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Grove, Irederick Ihilip (Ielix Iaul Greve)
l879l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Grove Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Groys, oris Efimovich l917 . . . . . . . . . DL285
Grubb, Davis l9l9l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Gruelle, |ohnny l880l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
von Grumbach, Argula
l192after l5o3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl79
Grundtvig, N. I. S. l783l872 . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Grymeston, Elizabeth
before l5o3before lo01 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Grynberg, Henryk l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Gryphius, Andreas
lololoo1 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1; CDWL2
Gryphius, Christian lo19l70o . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Guare, |ohn l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7, 219
Guarnieri, Gianfrancesco l931 . . . . . . . DL307
Guberman, Igor Mironovich l93o . . . . DL285
Gubergur ergsson l932 . . . . . . . . . . DL293
Gumundur dvarsson l901l971 . . . . . DL293
Gumundur Gslason Hagaln
l898l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
Gumundur Magnsson (see |n Jrausti)
Guerra, Jonino l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Guest, arbara l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, l93
Guevara, Iray Antonio de l180.l515 . . . DL3l8
Guvremont, Germaine l893l9o8 . . . . . . . DLo8
Guglielminetti, Amalia l88ll91l . . . . . . . DL2o1
Guidacci, Margherita l92ll992 . . . . . . . . DLl28
Guilln, |orge l893l981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Guilln, Nicols l902l989 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Guilloux, Louis l899l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL72
Guilpin, Everard
circa l572after lo08. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Guiney, Louise Imogen l8oll920 . . . . . . . DL51
Guiterman, Arthur l87ll913 . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Gul`, Roman l89ol98o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Gumilev, Nikolai Stepanovich
l88ol92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Gnderrode, Caroline von
l780l80o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Gunduli, Ivan l589lo38 . . . DLl17; CDWL1
Gunesekera, Romesh l951 . . . . . . DL2o7, 323
Gunn, ill l931l989. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
Gunn, |ames E. l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Gunn, Neil M. l89ll973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5
Gunn, Jhom l929 . . . . . . . . DL27; CDL8
Gunnar Gunnarsson l889l975. . . . . . . . . DL293
Gunnars, Kristjana l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Gnther, |ohann Christian lo95l723 . . . . DLlo8
Gupta, Sunetra l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Gurik, Robert l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Gurney, A. R. l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2oo
Gurney, Ivor l890l937. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Jhe Ivor Gurney Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
`~ f ai_ PPN
RSO
Guro, Elena Genrikhovna l877l9l3 . . . . DL295
Gustafson, Ralph l909l995 . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Gustafsson, Lars l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Gtersloh, Albert Iaris l887l973 . . . . . . . DL8l
Guterson, David l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Guthrie, A. ., |r. l90ll99l . . . . . . . . DLo, 2l2
Guthrie, Ramon l89ol973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Guthrie, Jhomas Anstey (see Anstey, IC)
Guthrie, Woody l9l2l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Jhe Guthrie Jheater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Gutirrez Njera, Manuel l859l895 . . . . DL290
Guttormur |. Guttormsson l878l9oo . . . DL293
Gutzkow, Karl l8lll878 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Guy, Ray l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Guy, Rosa l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Guyot, Arnold l807l881 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl3
Gwynn, R. S. l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282
Gwynne, Erskine l898l918. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Gyles, |ohn lo80l755 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Gyllembourg, Jhomasine l773l85o . . . . DL300
Gyllensten, Lars l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Gyrir Elasson l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
Gysin, rion l9lol98o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
e
H.D. (see Doolittle, Hilda)
Habermas, |rgen l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL212
Habington, William lo05lo51 . . . . . . . . DLl2o
Hacker, Marilyn l912 . . . . . . . . . DLl20, 282
Hackett, Albert l900l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Hacks, Ieter l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
Hadas, Rachel l918 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20, 282
Hadden, riton l898l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9l
Hagedorn, Iriedrich von l708l751 . . . . . DLlo8
Hagedorn, |essica Jarahata l919 . . . . . DL3l2
Hagelstange, Rudolf l9l2l981 . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Hagerup, Inger l905l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Haggard, H. Rider
l85ol925 . . . . . . . . . . . DL70, l5o, l71, l78
Haggard, William (Richard Clayton)
l907l993. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27o; Y93
Hagy, Alyson l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
HahnHahn, Ida Grfin von l805l880 . . DLl33
Haigrown, Roderick l908l97o. . . . . . . . DL88
Haight, Gordon S. l90ll985. . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Hailey, Arthur l9202001. . . . . . . . . . DL88; Y82
Haines, |ohn l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, 2l2
Hake, Edward fl. l5oolo01. . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Hake, Jhomas Gordon l809l895. . . . . . . DL32
Hakluyt, Richard l552.lolo. . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Halas, Irantisek l90ll919 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Halbe, Max l8o5l911. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll8
Halberstam, David l931 . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Haldane, Charlotte l891l9o9 . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Haldane, |. . S. l892l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Haldeman, |oe l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Haldeman|ulius Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Hale, E. |., and Son. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Hale, Edward Everett
l822l909 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl, 12, 71, 235
Hale, |anet Campbell l91o . . . . . . . . . .DLl75
Hale, Kathleen l8982000 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Hale, Leo Jhomas (see Ebon)
Hale, Lucretia Ieabody l820l900. . . . . . . DL12
Hale, Nancy
l908l988 . . . . . . . . . DL8o; DSl7; Y80, 88
Hale, Sarah |osepha (uell)
l788l879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl, 12, 73, 213
Hale, Susan l833l9l0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22l
Hales, |ohn l581lo5o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5l
Halvy, Ludovic l831l908 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl92
Haley, Alex l92ll992 . . . . . . . DL38; CDAL7
Haliburton, Jhomas Chandler
l79ol8o5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll, 99
Hall, Adam (Jrevor DudleySmith)
l920l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27o
Hall, Anna Maria l800l88l . . . . . . . . . . DLl59
Hall, Donald l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Hall, Edward l197l517 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Hall, Halsey l898l977. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Hall, |ames l793l8o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL73, 71
Hall, |oseph l571lo5o . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2l, l5l
Hall, Radclyffe l880l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Hall, Rodney l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Hall, Sarah Ewing l7oll830 . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Hall, Stuart l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL212
Samuel Hall |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . DL19
alHallaj 857922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Hallam, Arthur Henry l8lll833 . . . . . . . DL32
On Some of the Characteristics of
Modern Ioetry and On the
Lyrical Ioems of Alfred
Jennyson (l83l) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Halldr Laxness (Halldr Gujnsson)
l902l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL293, 33l
Halleck, IitzGreene l790l8o7 . . . . . . DL3, 250
Haller, Albrecht von l708l777. . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Halliday, rett (see Dresser, Davis)
Halligan, Marion l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
HalliwellIhillipps, |ames Orchard
l820l889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
Hallmann, |ohann Christian
lo10l701 or l7lo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Hallmark Editions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Halper, Albert l901l981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Halperin, |ohn William l91l . . . . . . . . DLlll
Halstead, Murat l829l908 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23
Hamann, |ohann Georg l730l788. . . . . . . DL97
Hamburger, Michael l921 . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Hamilton, Alexander l7l2l75o . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Hamilton, Alexander l755.l801 . . . . . . . . DL37
Hamilton, Cicely l872l952. . . . . . . . .DLl0, l97
Hamilton, Edmond l901l977 . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Hamilton, Elizabeth l758l8lo. . . . . .DLllo, l58
Hamilton, Gail (see Corcoran, arbara)
Hamilton, Gail (see Dodge, Mary Abigail)
Hamish Hamilton Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Hamilton, Hugo l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Hamilton, Ian l938200l . . . . . . . . . . DL10, l55
Hamilton, |anet l795l873 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
Hamilton, Mary Agnes l881l9o2 . . . . . . .DLl97
Hamilton, Iatrick l901l9o2 . . . . . . . .DLl0, l9l
Hamilton, Virginia l93o2002 . . . DL33, 52; Y0l
Hamilton, Sir William l788l85o . . . . . . . DL2o2
HamiltonIaterson, |ames l91l . . . . . . DL2o7
Hammerstein, Oscar, 2nd l895l9o0 . . . . DL2o5
Hammett, Dashiell
l891l9ol . . . . . . . DL22o; DSo; CDAL5
An Appeal in q^` . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9l
q d~ h and Other Dashiell
Hammett Mysteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9o
Knopf to Hammett. Jhe Editoral
q j~ c~ (Documentary) . . . . DL280
Hammon, |upiter l7lldied between
l790 and l80o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l, 50
Hammond, |ohn .loo3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Hamner, Earl l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Hampson, |ohn l90ll955. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Hampton, Christopher l91o . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Hamsun, Knut l859l952 . . . . . . . . . DL297, 330
HandelMazzetti, Enrica von
l87ll955. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8l
Handke, Ieter l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85, l21
Handlin, Oscar l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7
Hankin, St. |ohn l8o9l909 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Hanley, Clifford l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Hanley, |ames l90ll985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Hannah, arry l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo, 231
Hannay, |ames l827l873 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l
Hannes Hafstein l8oll922 . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
Hano, Arnold l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Hanrahan, arbara l939l99l . . . . . . . . . DL289
Hansberry, Lorraine
l930l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . .DL7, 38; CDALl
Hansen, |oseph l9232001 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
Hansen, Martin A. l909l955 . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
ai_ PPN `~ f
RSP
`
Hansen, Jhorkild l927l989 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1

Hanson, Elizabeth lo81l737. . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Hapgood, Norman l8o8l937 . . . . . . . . . . . DL9l
Happel, Eberhard Werner lo17lo90. . . . . DLlo8
Haq, Kaiser l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Harbach, Otto l873l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
q e~ l815l819 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 223
Harburg, E. Y. 'Yip" l89ol98l . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Harcourt race |ovanovich . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Hardenberg, Iriedrich von (see Novalis)
Harding, Walter l9l7l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Hardwick, Elizabeth l9lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Hardy, Alexandre l572.lo32 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Hardy, Irank l9l7l991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Hardy, Jhomas
l810l928 . . . . . . . DLl8, l9, l35; CDL5
'Candour in English Iiction" (l890) . . . DLl8
Hare, Cyril l900l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
Hare, David l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3, 3l0
Hare, R. M. l9l92002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Hargrove, Marion l9l92003 . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Hring, Georg Wilhelm Heinrich
(see Alexis, Willibald)
Harington, Donald l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl52
Harington, Sir |ohn l5o0lol2 . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Harjo, |oy l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20, l75
Harkness, Margaret ( |ohn Law)
l851l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl97
Harley, Edward, second Earl of Oxford
lo89l71l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Harley, Robert, first Earl of Oxford
looll721 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Harlow, Robert l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Harman, Jhomas fl. l5ool573. . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Harness, Charles L. l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Harnett, Cynthia l893l98l . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
Harnick, Sheldon l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Jribute to Ira Gershwin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y9o
Jribute to Lorenz Hart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y95
Harper, Edith Alice Mary (see Wickham, Anna)
Harper, Iletcher l80ol877 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL79
Harper, Irances Ellen Watkins
l825l9ll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL50, 22l
Harper, Michael S. l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Harper and rothers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Harpur, Charles l8l3l8o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Harraden, eatrice l8o1l913 . . . . . . . . . . DLl53
George G. Harrap and Company
Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Harriot, Jhomas l5o0lo2l . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Harris, Alexander l805l871. . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Harris, enjamin .circa l720 . . . . . . . . DL12, 13
Harris, Christie l9072002. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Harris, Errol E. l908 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL279
Harris, Irank l85ol93l . . . . . . . . . . DLl5o, l97
Harris, George Washington
l8l1l8o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, ll, 218
Harris, |oanne l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27l
Harris, |oel Chandler
l818l908 . . . . . . . . . . . DLll, 23, 12, 78, 9l
Jhe |oel Chandler Harris Association . . . .Y99
Harris, Mark l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2; Y80
Jribute to Irederick A. Iottle . . . . . . . . . . . Y87
Harris, William Jorrey l835l909. . . . . . . DL270
Harris, Wilson l92l . . . . . DLll7; CDWL3
Harrison, Mrs. urton
(see Harrison, Constance Cary)
Harrison, Charles Yale l898l951. . . . . . . . DLo8
Harrison, Constance Cary l813l920. . . . DL22l
Harrison, Irederic l83ll923 . . . . . . . DL57, l90
'On Style in English Irose`` (l898). . . . DL57
Harrison, Harry l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
|ames I. Harrison Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Harrison, |im l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Harrison, M. |ohn l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Harrison, Mary St. Leger Kingsley
(see Malet, Lucas)
Harrison, Iaul Carter l93o . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
Harrison, Susan Irances l859l935. . . . . . . DL99
Harrison, Jony l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10, 215
Harrison, William l535l593 . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Harrison, William l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
Harrisse, Henry l829l9l0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL17
Harry, |. S. l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Jhe Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
at the Lniversity of Jexas at Austin. . . . . .Y00
Harryman, Carla l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl93
Harsdrffer, Georg Ihilipp lo07lo58 . . . . DLlo1
Harsent, David l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Hart, Albert ushnell l851l913. . . . . . . . . DLl7
Hart, Anne l7o8l831 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Hart, Elizabeth l77ll833 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Hart, |ulia Catherine l79ol8o7. . . . . . . . . . DL99
Hart, Kevin l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Hart, Lorenz l895l913. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Larry Hart. Still an Influence . . . . . . . . . . .Y95
Lorenz Hart. An American Lyricist . . . . . .Y95
Jhe Lorenz Hart Centenary . . . . . . . . . . . .Y95
Hart, Moss l901l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7, 2oo
Hart, Oliver l723l795 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Rupert HartDavis Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Harte, ret l83ol902
. . . . . . . . . DLl2, o1, 71, 79, l8o; CDAL3
Harte, Edward Holmead l922 . . . . . . . DLl27
Harte, Houston Harriman l927 . . . . . . DLl27
Harte, |ack l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
Hartlaub, Ielix l9l3l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5o
Hartlebon, Otto Erich l8o1l905 . . . . . . . DLll8
Hartley, David l705l757. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL252
Hartley, L. I. l895l972 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5, l39
Hartley, Marsden l877l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL51
Hartling, Ieter l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Hartman, Geoffrey H. l929 . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
Hartmann, Sadakichi l8o7l911 . . . . . . . . . DL51
Hartmann von Aue
circa llo0circa l205. . . . DLl38; CDWL2
Hartshorne, Charles l8972000 . . . . . . . . . DL270
Haruf, Kent l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Harvey, Gabriel l550.lo3l . . . DLlo7, 2l3, 28l
Harvey, |ack (see Rankin, Ian)
Harvey, |eanCharles l89ll9o7 . . . . . . . . . DL88
Harvill Iress Limited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Harwood, Gwen l920l995. . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Harwood, Lee l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Harwood, Ronald l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
alHasan alasri o12728 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Haek, |aroslav
l883l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5; CDWL1
Haskins, Charles Homer l870l937 . . . . . . DL17
Haslam, Gerald l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l2
Hass, Robert l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05, 20o
Hasselstrom, Linda M. l913 . . . . . . . . . DL25o
Hastings, Michael l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
Hatar, Gyz l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Jhe Hatchillops Collection . . . . . . . . . . . DL7o
Hathaway, William l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Hatherly, Ana l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Hauch, Carsten l790l872. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Hauff, Wilhelm l802l827 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Hauge, Olav H. l908l991 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Haugen, IaalHelge l915 . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Haugwitz, August Adolph von
lo17l70o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Hauptmann, Carl l858l92l. . . . . . . . DLoo, ll8
Hauptmann, Gerhart
l8o2l91o . . . . . DLoo, ll8, 330; CDWL2
Hauser, Marianne l9l0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Havel, Vclav l93o . . . . . . . DL232; CDWL1
Haven, Alice . Neal l827l8o3 . . . . . . . . DL250
Havergal, Irances Ridley l83ol879 . . . . . DLl99
Hawes, Stephen l175.before l529 . . . . . . DLl32
Hawker, Robert Stephen l803l875 . . . . . . DL32
Hawkes, |ohn
l925l998 . . . . . . . . . DL2, 7, 227; Y80, Y98
|ohn Hawkes. A Jribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Jribute to Donald arthelme . . . . . . . . . . .Y89
Hawkesworth, |ohn l720l773. . . . . . . . . . DLl12
Hawkins, Sir Anthony Hope (see Hope, Anthony)
`~ f ai_ PPN
RSQ
Hawkins, Sir |ohn l7l9l789 . . . . . . DLl01, l12
Hawkins, Walter Everette l883. . . . . . . . . DL50
Hawthorne, Nathaniel l801l8o1
. . . DLl, 71, l83, 223, 2o9; DS5; CDAL2
Jhe Nathaniel Hawthorne Society. . . . . . . Y00
Jhe Old Manse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL223
Hawthorne, Sophia Ieabody
l809l87l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl83, 239
Hay, |ohn l835l905 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2, 17, l89
Hay, |ohn l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL275
Hayashi Iumiko l903l95l . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Haycox, Ernest l899l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20o
Haycraft, Anna Margaret (see Ellis, Alice Jhomas)
Hayden, Robert
l9l3l980. . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, 7o; CDALl
Haydon, enjamin Robert l78ol81o . . . DLll0
Hayes, |ohn Michael l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Hayley, William l715l820. . . . . . . . . DL93, l12
Haym, Rudolf l82ll90l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Hayman, Robert l575lo29 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Hayman, Ronald l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
Hayne, Iaul Hamilton
l830l88o . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL3, o1, 79, 218
Hays, Mary l7o0l813 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl12, l58
Hayslip, Le Ly l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Hayward, |ohn l905l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Haywood, Eliza lo93.l75o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Dedication of i~~ |excerpt|
(l723). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to q a m
|excerpt| (l723) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
q q~Jq~ |excerpt| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Haywood, William D. l8o9l928. . . . . . . DL303
Willis I. Hazard |publishing house| . . . . . . DL19
Hazlitt, William l778l830 . . . . . . . . DLll0, l58
Hazzard, Shirley l93l . . . . . . . . . DL289; Y82
Head, essie
l937l98o. . . . . . . . . DLll7, 225; CDWL3
Headley, |oel J. l8l3l897 . . . DL30, l83; DSl3
Heaney, Seamus l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL10, 330;
Y95; CDL8
Nobel Lecture l991. Crediting Ioetry . . . . Y95
Heard, Nathan C. l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Hearn, Lafcadio l850l901 . . . . . .DLl2, 78, l89
Hearn, Mary Anne (Marianne Iarningham,
Eva Hope) l831l909 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Hearne, |ohn l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll7
Hearne, Samuel l715l792 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Hearne, Jhomas lo78.l735 . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Hearst, William Randolph l8o3l95l . . . . DL25
Hearst, William Randolph, |r.
l908l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Heartman, Charles Irederick
l883l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
e~ ~ aI l975 ooker Irize winner,
Ruth Irawer |habvala . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Heath, Catherine l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Heath, |ames Ewell l792l8o2 . . . . . . . . . DL218
Heath, Roy A. K. l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLll7
HeathStubbs, |ohn l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Heavysege, Charles l8lol87o . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Hebbel, Iriedrich
l8l3l8o3 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29; CDWL2
Hebel, |ohann Ieter l7o0l82o. . . . . . . . . . DL90
Heber, Richard l771l833 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
Hbert, Anne l9lo2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Hbert, |acques l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Hebreo, Len circa l1o0l520 . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Hecht, Anthony l923 . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, lo9
Hecht, en l891l9o1 . . . . DL7, 9, 25, 2o, 28, 8o
Hecker, Isaac Jhomas l8l9l888. . . . . DLl, 213
Hedge, Irederic Henry
l805l890 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 59, 213; DS5
Hefner, Hugh M. l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Iriedrich
l770l83l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Heiberg, |ohan Ludvig l79ll8o0 . . . . . . DL300
Heiberg, |ohanne Luise l8l2l890. . . . . . DL300
Heide, Robert l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL219
Heidegger, Martin l889l97o . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
Heidenstam, Verner von l859l910 . . . . . DL330
Heidish, Marcy l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y82
Heienbttel, Helmut l92ll99o . . . . . . . . DL75
Heike monogatari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Hein, Christoph l911 . . . DLl21; CDWL2
Hein, Iiet l905l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Heine, Heinrich l797l85o . . . DL90; CDWL2
Heinemann, Larry l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS9
William Heinemann Limited . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Heinesen, William l900l99l. . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Heinlein, Robert A. l907l988 . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Heinrich, Willi l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Heinrich |ulius of runswick|
l5o1lol3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Heinrich von dem Jrln
fl. circa l230. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Heinrich von Melk
fl. after llo0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Heinrich von Veldeke
circa ll15circa ll90 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Heinse, Wilhelm l71ol803 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91
Heinz, W. C. l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7l
Heiskell, |ohn l872l972. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Hejinian, Lyn l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo5
Helder, Herberto l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
e~ circa 850 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Heller, |oseph
l923l999 . . . . . . DL2, 28, 227; Y80, 99, 02
Excerpts from |oseph Heller`s
LSC Address, 'Jhe Literature
of Despair" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9o
Remembering |oe Heller, by William
Irice Iox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
A Jribute to |oseph Heller . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Heller, Michael l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo5
Hellman, Lillian l90ol981 . . . . . DL7, 228; Y81
Hellwig, |ohann lo09lo71. . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Helprin, Mark l917 . . . . . . . . . . Y85; CDAL7
Helvtius, ClaudeAdrien l7l5l77l. . . . . DL3l3
q p i~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Helwig, David l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Hemans, Ielicia l793l835 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9o
Hemenway, Abby Maria l828l890. . . . . DL213
Hemingway, Ernest l899l9ol . . . . . . DL1, 9, l02,
2l0, 3lo, 330; Y8l, 87, 99; DSl, l5, lo; CDAL1
A Centennial Celebration . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Come to Iapa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Jhe Ernest Hemingway Collection at
the |ohn I. Kennedy Library. . . . . . . . Y99
Ernest Hemingway Declines to
Introduce t~ ~ m~ . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Ernest Hemingway`s Reaction to
|ames Gould Cozzens . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Ernest Hemingway`s Joronto |ournalism
Revisited. With Jhree Ireviously
Lnrecorded Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y92
Ialsifying Hemingway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9o
^ c~ ^ (Documentary) . . . . DL308
Hemingway Centenary Celebration
at the |IK Library. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Jhe Hemingway/Ienton
Hemingway in the |IK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Jhe Hemingway Letters Iroject
Iinds an Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Hemingway Salesmen`s Dummies . . . . . . . Y00
Hemingway. JwentyIive Years Later . . . . Y85
A Literary Archaeologist Digs On.
A rief Interview with Michael
Reynolds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Not Immediately Discernible . . . but
Eventually _uite Clear. Jhe c
i and c~ v~ of
Hemingway`s Centenary . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Iackaging Iapa. q d~ b . . . . . . Y8o
Second International Hemingway
Colloquium. Cuba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Hmon, Louis l880l9l3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Hempel, Amy l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l8
Hempel, Carl G. l905l997 . . . . . . . . . . . .DL279
Hemphill, Iaul l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y87
Hnault, Gilles l920l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Henchman, Daniel lo89l7ol . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Henderson, Alice Corbin l88ll919 . . . . . DL51
Henderson, Archibald l877l9o3 . . . . . . . DLl03
ai_ PPN `~ f
RSR
`
Henderson, David l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l

Henderson, George Wylie l901l9o5 . . . . . DL5l
Henderson, Zenna l9l7l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Henighan, Jom l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Henisch, Ieter l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
Henley, eth l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Henley, William Ernest l819l903 . . . . . . . DLl9
Henniker, Ilorence l855l923. . . . . . . . . . DLl35
Henning, Rachel l82ol9l1. . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Henningsen, Agnes l8o8l9o2 . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Henry, Alexander l739l821 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Henry, uck l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Henry, Marguerite l902l997 . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Henry, O. (see Iorter, William Sydney)
Henry, Robert Selph l889l970. . . . . . . . . . DLl7
Henry, Will (see Allen, Henry W.)
Henry VIII of England l19ll517 . . . . . . DLl32
Henry of Ghent
circa l2l7l229 l293 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
Henryson, Robert
l120s or l130scirca l505. . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Henschke, Alfred (see Klabund)
Hensher, Ihilip l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Hensley, Sophie Almon l8ool91o . . . . . . . DL99
Henson, Lance l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl75
Henty, G. A. l832l902. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8, l1l
Jhe Henty Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Hentz, Caroline Lee l800l85o . . . . . . . DL3, 218
Heraclitus
fl. circa 500 _.`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o
Herbert, Agnes circa l880l9o0. . . . . . . . . DLl71
Herbert, Alan Iatrick l890l97l . . . . . DLl0, l9l
Herbert, Edward, Lord, of Cherbury
l582lo18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2l, l5l, 252
Herbert, Irank l920l98o . . . . . .DL8; CDAL7
Herbert, George l593lo33. . DLl2o; CDLl
Herbert, Henry William l807l858 . . . . . DL3, 73
Herbert, |ohn l92o200l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Herbert, Mary Sidney, Countess of Iembroke
(see Sidney, Mary)
Herbert, Xavier l90ll981 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Herbert, Zbigniew
l921l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232; CDWL1
Herbst, |osephine l892l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Herburger, Gunter l932 . . . . . . . . . DL75, l21
Herculano, Alexandre l8l0l877. . . . . . . . DL287
Hercules, Irank E. M. l9l7l99o. . . . . . . . . DL33
Herder, |ohann Gottfried l711l803 . . . . . . DL97
. Herder ook Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Heredia, |osMara de l812l905. . . . . . . DL2l7
Herford, Charles Harold l853l93l . . . . . DLl19
Hergesheimer, |oseph l880l951. . . . . . DL9, l02
Heritage Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Hermann the Lame l0l3l051 . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Hermes, |ohann Jimotheu l738l82l. . . . . DL97
Hermlin, Stephan l9l5l997 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Hernndez, Alfonso C. l938 . . . . . . . . DLl22
Hernndez, Ins l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Hernndez, Miguel l9l0l912. . . . . . . . . . DLl31
Hernton, Calvin C. l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
Herodotus circa 181 _.`.circa 120 _.`.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o; CDWLl
Hrot, Antoine l190.l5o7. . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Heron, Robert l7o1l807. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl12
Herr, Michael l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Herrera, Daro l870l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Herrera, Iernando de l531.l597 . . . . . . . DL3l8
Herrera, |uan Ielipe l918 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
E. R. Herrick and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Herrick, Robert l59llo71 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2o
Herrick, Robert l8o8l938 . . . . . . . . DL9, l2, 78
Herrick, William l9l52001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Herrmann, |ohn l900l959. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Hersey, |ohn
l9l1l993 . . . DLo, l85, 278, 299; CDAL7
Hertel, Iranois l905l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Hervazin, |ean Iierre Marie (see azin, Herv)
Hervey, |ohn, Lord lo9ol713. . . . . . . . . . DLl0l
Herwig, Georg l8l7l875. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Herzen, Alexander (Aleksandr Ivanovich
Gersten) l8l2l870 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL277
Herzog, Emile Salomon Wilhelm
(see Maurois, Andr)
Hesiod eighth century _.`. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o
Hesse, Hermann
l877l9o2 . . . . . . . . . DLoo, 330; CDWL2
Hessus, Eobanus l188l510 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl79
Heureka! (see Kertsz, Imre and Nobel Irize
in Literature. 2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Hewat, Alexander circa l713circa l821 . . . DL30
Hewett, Dorothy l9232002 . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Hewitt, |ohn l907l987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Hewlett, Maurice l8oll923 . . . . . . . . DL31, l5o
Heyen, William l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Heyer, Georgette l902l971. . . . . . . . . DL77, l9l
Heym, Stefan l9l3200l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Heyse, Iaul l830l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29, 330
Heytesbury, William
circa l3l0l372 or l373. . . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
Heyward, Dorothy l890l9ol. . . . . . . . DL7, 219
Heyward, Duose l885l910 . . . DL7, 9, 15, 219
Heywood, |ohn l197.l580.. . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Heywood, Jhomas l573 or l571lo1l . . . . DLo2
Hiaasen, Carl l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Hibberd, |ack l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Hibbs, en l90ll975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
'Jhe Saturday Evening Iost reaffirms
a policy," en Hibb`s Statement
in q p~~ b m
(lo May l912) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
Hichens, Robert S. l8o1l950. . . . . . . . . . DLl53
Hickey, Emily l815l921. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
Hickman, William Albert l877l957 . . . . . . DL92
Hicks, Granville l90ll982 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
Hidalgo, |os Luis l9l9l917 . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Hiebert, Iaul l892l987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Hieng, Andrej l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Hierro, |os l9222002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Higgins, Aidan l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Higgins, Colin l91ll988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Higgins, George V.
l939l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2; Y8l, 98-99
Afterword |in response to Cozzen`s
j o~ (or Something)| . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
^ b a~W Jhe Last George V.
Higgins Novel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Jhe ooks of George V. Higgins.
A Checklist of Editions
and Irintings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
George V. Higgins in Class . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Jribute to Alfred A. Knopf . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y81
Jributes to George V. Higgins . . . . . . . . . .Y99
'What You Lose on the Swings You Make
Lp on the MerryGoRound". . . .Y99
Higginson, Jhomas Wentworth
l823l9ll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, o1, 213
Highsmith, Iatricia l92ll995. . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Highwater, |amake l912. . . . . . . . DL52; Y85
Hijuelos, Oscar l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl15
Hildegard von ingen l098ll79. . . . . . . . DLl18
a~ e~
circa 820 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18; CDWL2
Hildesheimer, Wolfgang l9lol99l. . . DLo9, l21
Hildreth, Richard l807l8o5 . . . DLl, 30, 59, 235
Hill, Aaron lo85l750 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL81
Hill, Geoffrey l932 . . . . . . . .DL10; CDL8
George M. Hill Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Hill, 'Sir" |ohn l7l1.l775. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Lawrence Hill and Company,
Iublishers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Hill, |oe l879l9l5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Hill, Leslie l880l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5l
Hill, Reginald l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27o
Hill, Susan l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, l39
Hill, Walter l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Hill and Wang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Hillberry, Conrad l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Hillerman, Jony l925 . . . . . . . . . . DL20o, 30o
Hilliard, Gray and Company. . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Hills, Lee l90o2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
`~ f ai_ PPN
RSS
Hillyer, Robert l895l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL51
Hilsenrath, Edgar l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Hilton, |ames l900l951. . . . . . . . . . . . DL31, 77
Hilton, Walter died l39o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Hilton and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Himes, Chester l909l981 . . . .DL2, 7o, l13, 22o
|oseph Hindmarsh |publishing house| . . . .DLl70
Hine, Daryl l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Hingley, Ronald l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
HinojosaSmith, Rolando l929 . . . . . . . DL82
Hinton, S. E. l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CDAL7
Hippel, Jheodor Gottlieb von
l71ll79o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL97
Hippius, Zinaida Nikolaevna
l8o9l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Hippocrates of Cos fl. circa
125 _.`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o; CDWLl
Hirabayashi Jaiko l905l972 . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Hirsch, E. D., |r. l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
Hirsch, Edward l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
'Historical Novel," Jhe Holocaust . . . . . . DL299
Hoagland, Edward l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Hoagland, Everett H., III l912 . . . . . . . DL1l
Hoban, Russell l925 . . . . . . . . . . . DL52; Y90
Hobbes, Jhomas l588lo79. . . DLl5l, 252, 28l
Hobby, Oveta l905l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Hobby, William l878l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Hobsbaum, Ihilip l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Hobsbawm, Eric (Irancis Newton)
l9l7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
Hobson, Laura Z. l900l98o . . . . . . . . . . . DL28
Hobson, Sarah l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Hoby, Jhomas l530l5oo . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Hoccleve, Jhomas
circa l3o8circa l137 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Hoch, Edward D. l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Hochhuth, Rolf l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
Hochman, Sandra l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Hocken, Jhomas Morland l83ol9l0 . . . DLl81
Hocking, William Ernest l873l9oo. . . . . .DL270
Hodder and Stoughton, Limited. . . . . . . . DLl0o
Hodgins, |ack l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Hodgman, Helen l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Hodgskin, Jhomas l787l8o9 . . . . . . . . . DLl58
Hodgson, Ralph l87ll9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9
Hodgson, William Hope
l877l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL70, l53, l5o, l78
Hoe, Robert, III l839l909 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Hoeg, Ieter l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Hoel, Sigurd l890l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Hoem, Edvard l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Hoffenstein, Samuel l890l917 . . . . . . . . . DLll
Hoffman, Alice l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Hoffman, Charles Ienno
l80ol881 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, 250
Hoffman, Daniel l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Jribute to Robert Graves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y85
Hoffmann, E. J. A.
l77ol822. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90; CDWL2
Hoffman, Irank . l888l958 . . . . . . . . . DLl88
Hoffman, William l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
Jribute to Iaxton Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y91
Hoffmanswaldau, Christian Hoffman von
lololo79. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Hofmann, Michael l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Hofmannsthal, Hugo von
l871l929. . . . . . . . . .DL8l, ll8; CDWL2
Hofmo, Gunvor l92ll995 . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Hofstadter, Richard l9lol970 . . . . . . . DLl7, 21o
Hogan, Desmond l950 . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 3l9
Hogan, Linda l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl75
Hogan and Jhompson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Hogarth Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2; DSl0
Hogg, |ames l770l835. . . . . . . . .DL93, llo, l59
Hohberg, Wolfgang Helmhard Ireiherr von
lol2lo88 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
von Hohenheim, Ihilippus Aureolus
Jheophrastus ombastus (see Iaracelsus)
Hohl, Ludwig l901l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5o
Hjholt, Ier l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Holan, Vladimir l905l980 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
d`Holbach, Iaul Henri Jhiry, baron
l723l789 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
q p k~ (as |eanaptiste de
Mirabaud) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Holberg, Ludvig lo81l751 . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Holbrook, David l923 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 10
Holcroft, Jhomas l715l809 . . . . DL39, 89, l58
Ireface to ^ (l780). . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Holden, |onathan l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
'Contemporary Verse Storytelling". . . DLl05
Holden, Molly l927l98l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Hlderlin, Iriedrich
l770l813. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90; CDWL2
Holdstock, Robert l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
e~I l971 ooker Irize winner,
Stanley Middleton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Holiday House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Holinshed, Raphael died l580 . . . . . . . . . DLlo7
Holland, |. G. l8l9l88l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl3
Holland, Norman N. l927 . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
Hollander, |ohn l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Holley, Marietta l83ol92o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Hollinghurst, Alan l951 . . . . . . . . DL207, 32o
Hollingsworth, Margaret l910 . . . . . . . . DLo0
Hollo, Anselm l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Holloway, Emory l885l977 . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Holloway, |ohn l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Holloway House Iublishing Company . . . DL1o
Holme, Constance l880l955 . . . . . . . . . . DL31
Holmes, Abraham S. l82l.l908. . . . . . . . DL99
Holmes, |ohn Clellon l92ol988 . . . . .DLlo, 237
'Iour Essays on the eat
Generation". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Holmes, Mary |ane l825l907 . . . . . DL202, 22l
Holmes, Oliver Wendell
l809l891 . . . . . . DLl, l89, 235; CDAL2
Holmes, Richard l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
Holmes, Jhomas |ames l871l959. . . . . . .DLl87
Jhe Holocaust 'Historical Novel" . . . . . . DL299
Holocaust Iiction, Iostmodern. . . . . . . . . DL299
Holocaust Novel, Jhe 'SecondGeneration"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Holroyd, Michael l935 . . . . . . . . DLl55; Y99
Holst, Hermann E. von l81ll901 . . . . . . DL17
Holt, |ohn l72ll781 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Henry Holt and Company . . . . . . . . . DL19, 281
Holt, Rinehart and Winston. . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Holtby, Winifred l898l935. . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Holthusen, Hans Egon l9l3l997 . . . . . . . DLo9
Hlty, Ludwig Christoph Heinrich
l718l77o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91
Holub, Miroslav
l923l998 . . . . . . . . . . . DL232; CDWL1
Holz, Arno l8o3l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll8
Home, Henry, Lord Kames
(see Kames, Henry Home, Lord)
Home, |ohn l722l808. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL81
Home, William Douglas l9l2l992 . . . . . . DLl3
Home Iublishing Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Homer circa eighthseventh centuries _.`.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o; CDWLl
Homer, Winslow l83ol9l0. . . . . . . . . . . DLl88
Homes, Geoffrey (see Mainwaring, Daniel)
Honan, Iark l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Hone, William l780l812. . . . . . . . . .DLll0, l58
Hongo, Garrett Kaoru l95l . . . . DLl20, 3l2
Honig, Edwin l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Hood, Hugh l9282000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Hood, Mary l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
Hood, Jhomas l799l815 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9o
Hook, Sidney l902l989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL279
Hook, Jheodore l788l81l . . . . . . . . . . . DLllo
Hooker, |eremy l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Hooker, Richard l551lo00 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Hooker, Jhomas l58olo17. . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
hooks, bell l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
Hooper, |ohnson |ones
l8l5l8o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, ll, 218
ai_ PPN `~ f
RST
`
Hope, A. D. l9072000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289

Hope, Anthony l8o3l933 . . . . . . . . DLl53, l5o
Hope, Christopher l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL225
Hope, Eva (see Hearn, Mary Anne)
Hope, Laurence (Adela Ilorence
Cory Nicolson) l8o5l901 . . . . . . . . . DL210
Hopkins, Ellice l83ol901. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl90
Hopkins, Gerard Manley
l811l889 . . . . . . . . . . .DL35, 57; CDL5
Hopkins, |ohn .l570. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Hopkins, |ohn H., and Son . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Hopkins, Lemuel l750l80l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Hopkins, Iauline Elizabeth l859l930 . . . . DL50
Hopkins, Samuel l72ll803 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Hopkinson, Irancis l737l79l . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Hopkinson, Nalo l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Hopper, Nora (Mrs. Nora Chesson)
l87ll90o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Hoppin, Augustus l828l89o . . . . . . . . . . DLl88
Hora, |osef l89ll915 . . . . . . DL2l5; CDWL1
Horace o5 _.`.8 _.`. . . . . . . . DL2ll; CDWLl
Horgan, Iaul l903l995 . . . . . DLl02, 2l2; Y85
Horizon Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Horkheimer, Max l895l973. . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
Hornby, C. H. St. |ohn l8o7l91o . . . . . . . DL20l
Hornby, Nick l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL207
Horne, Irank l899l971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5l
Horne, Richard Henry (Hengist)
l802 or l803l881 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Horne, Jhomas lo08lo51 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Horney, Karen l885l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
Hornung, E. W. l8ool92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL70
Horovitz, Israel l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Horta, Maria Jeresa (see Jhe Jhree Marias.
Literary History)
Horton, George Moses l797.l883. . . . . . . DL50
George Moses Horton Society . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Horvth, Odn von l90ll938 . . . . . . DL85, l21
Horwood, Harold l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
E. and E. Hosford |publishing house| . . . . . DL19
Hoskens, |ane Ienn lo93l770.. . . . . . . . . DL200
Hoskyns, |ohn circa l5oolo38 . . . . . DLl2l, 28l
Hosokawa Ysai l535lol0. . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Hospers, |ohn l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL279
Hospital, |anette Jurner l912 . . . . . . . . DL325
Hostovsk, Egon l908l973. . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Hotchkiss and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
e i~I l981 ooker Irize winner,
Anita rookner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Hough, Emerson l857l923. . . . . . . . . . DL9, 2l2
Houghton, Stanley l88ll9l3 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Houghton Mifflin Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
e ~ e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl3
Household, Geoffrey l900l988 . . . . . . . . . DL87
Housman, A. E. l859l93o . . . .DLl9; CDL5
Housman, Laurence l8o5l959. . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Houston, Iam l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
Houwald, Ernst von l778l815 . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Hovey, Richard l8o1l900 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL51
e i~ f t~I e i~I l991 ooker Irize winner,
|ames Kelman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Howard, Donald R. l927l987 . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Howard, Maureen l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Howard, Richard l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Howard, Roy W. l883l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Howard, Sidney l89ll939 . . . . . . . DL7, 2o, 219
Howard, Jhomas, second Earl of Arundel
l585lo1o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Howe, E. W. l853l937. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2, 25
Howe, Henry l8lol893 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30
Howe, Irving l920l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
Howe, |oseph l801l873 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Howe, |ulia Ward l8l9l9l0. . . . . DLl, l89, 235
Howe, Iercival Iresland l88ol911. . . . . . DLl19
Howe, Susan l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Howell, Clark, Sr. l8o3l93o. . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Howell, Evan I. l839l905 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23
Howell, |ames l591.looo. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5l
Howell, Soskin and Company . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Howell, Warren Richardson
l9l2l981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl10
Howells, William Dean l837l920
. . . . . . . . . DLl2, o1, 71, 79, l89; CDAL3
Introduction to Iaul Laurence
Dunbar`s i i i
(l89o) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL50
Jhe William Dean Howells Society . . . . . .Y0l
Howitt, Mary l799l888 . . . . . . . . . . DLll0, l99
Howitt, William l792l879 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll0
Hoyem, Andrew l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Hoyers, Anna Ovena l581lo55 . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Hoyle, Ired l9l5200l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Hoyos, Angela de l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Henry Hoyt |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Hoyt, Ialmer l897l979. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Hrabal, ohumil l9l1l997. . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Hrabanus Maurus 77o.85o. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Hronsk, |osef Cger l89ol9o0 . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Hrotsvit of Gandersheim
circa 935circa l000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Hubbard, Elbert l85ol9l5. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9l
Hubbard, Kin l8o8l930. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Hubbard, William circa lo2ll701 . . . . . . . DL21
Huber, Jherese l7o1l829. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Huch, Iriedrich l873l9l3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Huch, Ricarda l8o1l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Huddle, David l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Hudgins, Andrew l95l . . . . . . . . . DLl20, 282
Hudson, Henry Norman l8l1l88o . . . . . . DLo1
Hudson, Stephen l8o8.l911 . . . . . . . . . . DLl97
Hudson, W. H. l81ll922. . . . . . DL98, l53, l71
Hudson and Goodwin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Huebsch, . W., oral history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
. W. Huebsch |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL1o
Hueffer, Oliver Madox l87ol93l. . . . . . . DLl97
Huet, Iierre Daniel
Ireface to q e o~
(l7l5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Hugh of St. Victor circa l09oll1l . . . . . . DL208
Hughes, David l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Hughes, Dusty l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
Hughes, Hatcher l88ll915 . . . . . . . . . . . DL219
Hughes, |ohn lo77l720. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL81
Hughes, Langston l902l9o7 . . . . . . . DL1, 7, 18,
5l, 8o, 228, 3l5; DSl5; CDAL5
Hughes, Richard l900l97o. . . . . . . . . DLl5, lol
Hughes, Jed l930l998. . . . . . . . . . . . DL10, lol
Hughes, Jhomas l822l89o . . . . . . . . DLl8, lo3
Hugo, Richard l923l982 . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, 20o
Hugo, Victor l802l885 . . . . . . DLll9, l92, 2l7
Hugo Awards and Nebula Awards . . . . . . . . DL8
Huidobro, Vicente l893l918 . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Hull, Richard l89ol973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
Hulda (Lnnur enediktsdttir jarklind)
l88ll91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
Hulme, Keri l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Hulme, J. E. l883l9l7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9
Hulton, Anne .l779. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Humanism, SixteenthCentury
Spanish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Humboldt, Alexander von l7o9l859 . . . . . DL90
Humboldt, Wilhelm von l7o7l835. . . . . . . DL90
Hume, David l7lll77o. . . . . . . . . . . DLl01, 252
Hume, Iergus l859l932. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL70
Hume, Sophia l702l771 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
HumeRothery, Mary Catherine
l821l885 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Humishuma
(see Mourning Dove)
Hummer, J. R. l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Humor
American Humor. A Historical
Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
American Humor Studies Association . . . .Y99
Jhe Comic Jradition Continued
|in the ritish Novel|. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5
Humorous ook Illustration . . . . . . . . . DLll
International Society for Humor Studies. . .Y99
`~ f ai_ PPN
RSU
Newspaper Syndication of American
Humor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Selected Humorous Magazines
(l820l950) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
ruce Humphries |publishing house| . . . . DL1o
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
l39ll117. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Humphrey, William
l921l997. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo, 2l2, 231, 278
Humphreys, David l752l8l8 . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Humphreys, Emyr l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5
Humphreys, |osephine l915 . . . . . . . . DL292
Hunayn ibn Ishaq 809873 or 877. . . . . . . DL3ll
Huncke, Herbert l9l5l99o. . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Huneker, |ames Gibbons
l857l92l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7l
Hunold, Christian Iriedrich
lo8ll72l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Hunt, Irene l907 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Hunt, Leigh l781l859. . . . . . . . .DL9o, ll0, l11
Hunt, Violet l8o2l912 . . . . . . . . . . .DLlo2, l97
Hunt, William Gibbes l79ll833 . . . . . . . . DL73
Hunter, Evan (Ed Mcain)
l92o2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o; Y82
Hunter, |im l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Hunter, Kristin l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Jribute to |ulian Mayfield . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
Hunter, Mollie l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
Hunter, N. C. l908l97l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
HunterDuvar, |ohn l82ll899 . . . . . . . . . DL99
Huntington, Henry E. l850l927. . . . . . . DLl10
Jhe Henry E. Huntington Library . . . . . . Y92
Huntington, Susan Mansfield
l79ll823. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Hurd and Houghton. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Hurst, Iannie l889l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8o
Hurst and lackett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Hurst and Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Hurston, Zora Neale
l90l.l9o0. . . . . . . . . . DL5l, 8o; CDAL7
Husserl, Edmund l859l938 . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
Husson, |ulesIranoisIlix (see Champfleury)
Huston, |ohn l90ol987. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Hutcheson, Irancis lo91l71o . . . . . . DL3l, 252
Hutchinson, Ron l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
Hutchinson, R. C. l907l975 . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Hutchinson, Jhomas l7lll780 . . . . . . DL30, 3l
Hutchinson and Company
(Iublishers) Limited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Huth, Angela l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27l
Hutton, Richard Holt
l82ol897. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL57
von Hutten, Llrich l188l523 . . . . . . . . . .DLl79
Huxley, Aldous l891l9o3
. . . . . . DL3o, l00, lo2, l95, 255; CDLo
Huxley, Elspeth |osceline
l907l997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77, 201
Huxley, J. H. l825l895 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL57
Huyghue, Douglas Smith l8lol89l . . . . . DL99
Huysmans, |orisKarl l818l907 . . . . . . . DLl23
Hwang, David Henry
l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l2, 228, 3l2
Hyde, Donald l909l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Hyde, Mary l9l22003. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Hyman, Jrina Schart l939 . . . . . . . . . . DLol
f
Iavorsky, Stefan lo58l722 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Iazykov, Nikolai Mikhailovich
l803l81o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Ibez, Armando I. l919 . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Ibez, Sara de l909l97l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Ibarbourou, |uana de l892l979. . . . . . . . DL290
Ibn Abi Jahir Jayfur 820893 . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Ibn _utaybah 828889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Ibn alRumi 83o89o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Ibn Sa'd 781815. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Ibrahim alMawsili
712 or 713803 or 801 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Ibn ajja circa l077ll38. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
Ibn Gabirol, Solomon
circa l02lcirca l058 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
Ibn alMuqaffa' circa 723759 . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Ibn alMu'tazz 8ol908 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Ibuse Masuji l898l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Ichij Kanera
(see Ichij Kaneyoshi)
Ichij Kaneyoshi (Ichij Kanera)
l102l18l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Iffland, August Wilhelm
l759l8l1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91
Iggulden, |ohn l9l7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Ignatieff, Michael l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Ignatow, David l9l1l997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Ike, Chukwuemeka l93l . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Ikky Sjun l391l18l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Iles, Irancis
(see erkeley, Anthony)
Il`f, Ilìa (Ilìa Arnol`dovich Iainzil`berg)
l897l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL272
Illich, Ivan l92o2002. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL212
Illustration
Children`s ook Illustration in the
Jwentieth Century . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Children`s Illustrators, l800l880 . . . DLlo3
Early American ook Illustration . . . . DL19
Jhe Iconography of ScienceIiction
Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Jhe Illustration of Early German
Literary Manuscripts, circa
ll50circa l300 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Minor Illustrators, l880l9l1 . . . . . . DLl1l
Illys, Gyula l902l983 . . . . .DL2l5; CDWL1
Imbs, ravig l901l91o . . . . . . . . . . DL1; DSl5
Imbuga, Irancis D. l917 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl57
Immermann, Karl l79ol810 . . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Imru` al_ays circa 52ocirca 5o5. . . . . . . DL3ll
f ~ c p~I l97l ooker Irize winner,
V. S. Naipaul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Inchbald, Elizabeth l753l82l . . . . . . . DL39, 89
Indiana Lniversity Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Ingamells, Rex l9l3l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Inge, William l9l3l973. . . .DL7, 219; CDALl
Ingelow, |ean l820l897. . . . . . . . . . . DL35, lo3
Ingemann, . S. l789l8o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Ingersoll, Ralph l900l985. . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl27
Jhe Ingersoll Irizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
Ingoldsby, Jhomas (see arham, Richard Harris)
Ingraham, |oseph Holt l809l8o0 . . . . DL3, 218
Inman, |ohn l805l850 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL73
Innerhofer, Iranz l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
Innes, Michael ( |. I. M. Stewart)
l90ol991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27o
Innis, Harold Adams l891l952. . . . . . . . . DL88
Innis, Mary _uayle l899l972. . . . . . . . . . DL88
In Sgi l12ll502. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Inoue Yasushi l907l99l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
International Iublishers Company. . . . . . . DL1o
Internet (publishing and commerce)
Author Websites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Jhe ook Jrade and the Internet . . . . . . . Y00
Eooks Jurn the Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Jhe EResearcher. Iossibilities
and Iitfalls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Interviews on Epublishing. . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
|ohn Lpdike on the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
LitCheck Website. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Virtual ooks and Enemies of ooks. . . . . Y00
Interviews
Adoff, Arnold. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Aldridge, |ohn W. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9l
Anastas, enjamin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
aker, Nicholson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
ank, Melissa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
ass, J. |. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y80
ernstein, Harriet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y82
etts, Doris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y82
osworth, David . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y82
ottoms, David . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y83
ai_ PPN `~ f
RSV
`
owers, Iredson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y80

urnshaw, Stanley. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y97
Carpenter, Humphrey. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y81, 99
Carr, Virginia Spencer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
Carver, Raymond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Cherry, Kelly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Conroy, |ack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
Coppel, Alfred. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Cowley, Malcolm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
Davis, Iaxton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y89
Devito, Carlo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y91
De Vries, Ieter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Dickey, |ames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Donald, David Herbert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y87
Editors, Conversations with . . . . . . . . . . . .Y95
Ellroy, |ames. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y9l
Iancher, etsy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Iaust, Irvin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
Iulton, Len . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Iurst, Alan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
Garrett, George . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Gelfman, |ane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y93
Goldwater, Walter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y93
Gores, |oe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Greenfield, George . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y9l
Griffin, ryan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
Groom, Winston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
Guilds, |ohn Caldwell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y92
Hamilton, Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
Hardin, |ames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y92
Harris, Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y80
Harrison, |im. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Hazzard, Shirley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Herrick, William . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
Higgins, George V. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Hoban, Russell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y90
Holroyd, Michael . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Horowitz, Glen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y90
Iggulden, |ohn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
|akes, |ohn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
|enkinson, Edward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
|enks, Jom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Kaplan, |ustin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
King, Ilorence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y85
Klopfer, Donald S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y97
Krug, |udith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Lamm, Donald . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y95
Laughlin, |ames. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y9o
Lawrence, Starling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y95
Lindsay, |ack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y81
Mailer, Norman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y97
Manchester, William . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y85
Max, D. J.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y91
McCormack, Jhomas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
McNamara, Katherine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Mellen, |oan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y91
Menaker, Daniel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Mooneyham, Lamarr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Murray, Les. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
Nosworth, David. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
O`Connor, Iatrick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y81, 99
Ozick, Cynthia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Ienner, |onathan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Iennington, Lee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Ienzler, Otto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y9o
Ilimpton, George . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Iotok, Chaim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y81
Iowell, Iadgett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
Irescott, Ieter S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Rabe, David . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y9l
Rechy, |ohn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Reid, . L. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Reynolds, Michael. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y95, 99
Robinson, Derek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Rollyson, Carl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Rosset, arney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Schlafly, Ihyllis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Schroeder, Iatricia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Schulberg, udd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l, 0l
Scribner, Charles, III. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y91
Sipper, Ralph. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y91
Smith, Cork. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y95
Staley, Jhomas I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
Styron, William. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y80
Jalese, Nan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y91
Jhornton, |ohn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y91
Joth, Susan Allen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Jyler, Anne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Vaughan, Samuel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Von Ogtrop, Kristin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y92
Wallenstein, arry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y92
Weintraub, Stanley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Williams, |. Chamberlain . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y81
Into the Iast. William |ovanovich`s
Reflections in Iublishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Ionesco, Eugne l909l991 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
Ireland, David l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Jhe National Library of Ireland`s
New |ames |oyce Manuscripts. . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Irigaray, Luce l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
Irving, |ohn l912 . . . . . . . . . . DLo, 278; Y82
Irving, Washington l783l859
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, ll, 30, 59, 73, 71,
l83, l8o, 250; CDAL2
Irwin, Grace l907 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Irwin, Will l873l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Isaksson, Llla l9lo2000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Iser, Wolfgang l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL212
Isherwood, Christopher
l901l98o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5, l95; Y8o
Jhe Christopher Isherwood Archive,
Jhe Huntington Library . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Ishiguro, Kazuo l951 . . . . . . . . . . DLl91, 32o
Ishikawa |un l899l987. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Iskander, Iazil` Abdulevich l929 . . . . . DL302
Jhe Island Jrees Case. A Symposium on
School Library Censorship
An Interview with |udith Krug
An Interview with Ihyllis Schlafly
An Interview with Edward . |enkinson
An Interview with Lamarr Mooneyham
An Interview with Harriet ernstein. . . . . .Y82
Islas, Arturo
l938l99l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Issit, Debbie l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
Ivanievi, Drago l907l98l . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Ivanov, Georgii l891l951. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Ivanov, Viacheslav Ivanovich
l8ool919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Ivanov, Vsevolod Viacheslavovich
l895l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL272
Ivask, Yuri l907l98o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Ivaska, Astrde l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
M. |. Ivers and Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Iwaniuk, Wacaw l9l5200l . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Iwano Hmei l873l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Iwaszkiewicz, |arosav l891l980 . . . . . . . DL2l5
Iyayi, Iestus l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Izumi Kyka l873l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
g
|ackmon, Marvin E. (see Marvin X)
|acks, L. I. l8o0l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl35
|ackson, Angela l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
|ackson, Charles l903l9o8. . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
|ackson, Helen Hunt
l830l885 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL12, 17, l8o, l89
|ackson, Holbrook l871l918 . . . . . . . . . . . DL98
|ackson, Laura Riding l90ll99l . . . . . . . . DL18
|ackson, Shirley
l9lol9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . DLo, 231; CDALl
|acob, Max l87ol911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL258
|acob, Naomi l881.l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
|acob, Iiers Anthony Dillingham
(see Anthony, Iiers)
|acob, Violet l8o3l91o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
|acobi, Iriedrich Heinrich l713l8l9. . . . . . DL91
|acobi, |ohann Georg l710l81l . . . . . . . . . DL97
George W. |acobs and Company. . . . . . . . . DL19
|acobs, Harriet l8l3l897 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL239
|acobs, |oseph l851l9lo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1l
|acobs, W. W. l8o3l913. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl35
Jhe W. W. |acobs Appreciation Society . . .Y98
|acobsen, |. I. l817l885 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
`~ f ai_ PPN
RTM
|acobsen, |rgenIrantz l900l938 . . . . . . DL2l1
|acobsen, |osephine l908 . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
|acobsen, Rolf l907l991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
|acobson, Dan l929 . . . . . DLl1, 207, 225, 3l9
|acobson, Howard l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL207
|acques de Vitry circa llo0/ll70l210 . . . DL208
|ger, Irank l92ol977. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
|a'far alSadiq circa 7027o5 . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
William |aggard |publishing house| . . . . . .DLl70
|ahier, Iiero l881l9oo. . . . . . . . . . . DLll1, 2o1
al|ahiz circa 77o8o8 or 8o9 . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
|ahnn, Hans Henny l891l959 . . . . . DL5o, l21
|aimes, Ireyre, Ricardo l8oo.l933 . . . . . DL283
|akes, |ohn l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL278; Y83
|akobna |ohnson ( |akobna Sigurbjarnardttir)
l883l977. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
|akobson, Roman l89ol982 . . . . . . . . . . DL212
|ames, Alice l818l892. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22l
|ames, C. L. R. l90ll989 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl25
|ames, Clive l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
|ames, George I. R. l80ll8o0 . . . . . . . . DLllo
|ames, Henry l813l9lo
. . . . . . .DLl2, 7l, 71, l89; DSl3; CDAL3
'Jhe Iuture of the Novel" (l899) . . . . DLl8
'Jhe Novel in |Robert rowning`s|
'Jhe Ring and the ook`"
(l9l2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
|ames, |ohn circa lo33l729 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
|ames, M. R. l8o2l93o . . . . . . . . . . DLl5o, 20l
|ames, Naomi l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL201
|ames, I. D. (Ihyllis Dorothy |ames White)
l920 . . . . . . DL87, 27o; DSl7; CDL8
Jribute to Charles Scribner |r. . . . . . . . . . . Y95
|ames, Jhomas l572.lo29 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
L. I. |ames |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . DL19
|ames, Will l892l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSlo
|ames, William l812l9l0 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL270
|ames VI of Scotland, I of England
l5oolo25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl5l, l72
^ p q~ ` p o
~ `~ _ l ~
b p m (l581). . . . . .DLl72
|ameson, Anna l791l8o0. . . . . . . . . . DL99, loo
|ameson, Iredric l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
|ameson, |. Iranklin l859l937 . . . . . . . . . DLl7
|ameson, Storm l89ll98o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3o
|anar, Drago l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
|ans, Clara l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
|anevski, Slavko l9202000 . DLl8l; CDWL1
|anowitz, Jama l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
|ansson, Jove l9l1200l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
|anvier, Jhomas l819l9l3 . . . . . . . . . . . DL202
|apan
'Jhe Development of Meiji |apan" . . DLl80
'Encounter with the West" . . . . . . . . DLl80
|apanese Literature
Letter from |apan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y91, 98
Medieval Jravel Diaries . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Surveys. l987l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
|aramillo, Cleofas M. l878l95o. . . . . . . . DLl22
|aramillo Levi, Enrique l911 . . . . . . . . DL290
|arir after o50circa 730. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
|arman, Mark l952 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20, 282
|arrell, Randall
l9l1l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . DL18, 52; CDALl
|arrold and Sons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
|arry, Alfred l873l907. . . . . . . . . . . DLl92, 258
|arves, |ames |ackson l8l8l888 . . . . . . . DLl89
|asmin, Claude l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
|aunsudrabi, |nis l877l9o2. . . . . . . . . DL220
|ay, |ohn l715l829. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
|ean de Garlande (see |ohn of Garland)
|efferies, Richard l818l887 . . . . . . . . DL98, l1l
Jhe Richard |efferies Society . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
|effers, Lance l9l9l985. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
|effers, Robinson
l887l9o2. . . . . . . . . . DL15, 2l2; CDAL1
|efferson, Jhomas
l713l82o. . . . . . . . . . DL3l, l83; CDAL2
|g l8ool910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
|elinek, Elfriede l91o . . . . . . . . . . . DL85, 330
|ellicoe, Ann l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3, 233
|emison, Mary circa l712l833. . . . . . . . . DL239
|en, Gish l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
|enkins, Dan l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
|enkins, Elizabeth l905 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
|enkins, Robin l9l22005. . . . . . . . . . .DLl1, 27l
|enkins, William Iitzgerald (see Leinster, Murray)
Herbert |enkins Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
|ennings, Elizabeth l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
|ens, Walter l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
|ensen, Axel l9322003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
|ensen, |ohannes V. l873l950 . . . . . DL2l1, 330
|ensen, Merrill l905l980. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
|ensen, Jhit l87ol957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
|ephson, Robert l73ol803. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL89
|erome, |erome K. l859l927 . . . . .DLl0, 31, l35
Jhe |erome K. |erome Society . . . . . . . . . . Y98
|erome, |udson l927l99l. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
'Reflections. After a Jornado". . . . . . DLl05
|errold, Douglas l803l857 . . . . . . . DLl58, l59
|ersild, Ier Christian l935 . . . . . . . . . . DL257
|esse, I. Jennyson l888l958 . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
|ewel, |ohn l522l57l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23o
|ohn I. |ewett and Company . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
|ewett, Sarah Orne l819l909 . . . .DLl2, 71, 22l
Jhe |ewish Iublication Society. . . . . . . . . . DL19
Studies in American |ewish Literature . . . . . . . Y02
|ewitt, |ohn Rodgers l783l82l . . . . . . . . . DL99
|ewsbury, Geraldine l8l2l880 . . . . . . . . . DL2l
|ewsbury, Maria |ane l800l833 . . . . . . . DLl99
|habvala, Ruth Irawer
l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl39, l91, 323, 32o
|iang Guangci l90ll93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
|imnez, |uan Ramn l88ll958 . . . DLl31, 330
|in, Ha l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL211, 292
|oans, Jed l9282003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo, 1l
|odelle, Estienne l532.l573. . . . . . . . . . . DL327
|ha l525lo02. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
|hann Sigurjnsson l880l9l9 . . . . . . . . DL293
|hannes r Ktlum l899l972 . . . . . . . . DL293
|ohannis de Garlandia (see |ohn of Garland)
|ohn, Errol l921l988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
|ohn, Eugenie (see Marlitt, E.)
|ohn of Dumbleton
circa l3l0circa l319 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
|ohn of Garland ( |ean de Garlande,
|ohannis de Garlandia)
circa ll95circa l272 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL208
Jhe |ohn Reed Clubs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
|ohns, Captain W. E. l893l9o8 . . . . . . . DLlo0
|ohnson, Mrs. A. E. ca. l858l922. . . . . . DL22l
|ohnson, Amelia (see |ohnson, Mrs. A. E.)
|ohnson, . S. l933l973 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 10
|ohnson, Charles lo79l718 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL81
|ohnson, Charles l918 . . . . . . . . . . .DL33, 278
|ohnson, Charles S. l893l95o. . . . . . . DL5l, 9l
|ohnson, Colin (Mudrooroo) l938 . . . DL289
|ohnson, Denis l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
|ohnson, Diane l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y80
|ohnson, Dorothy M. l905-l981. . . . . . . DL20o
|ohnson, E. Iauline (Jekahionwake)
l8oll9l3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl75
|ohnson, Edgar l90ll995 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
|ohnson, Edward l598lo72. . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
|ohnson, Eyvind l900l97o . . . . . . . DL259, 330
|ohnson, Ienton l888l958 . . . . . . . . . DL15, 50
|ohnson, Georgia Douglas
l877.l9oo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5l, 219
|ohnson, Gerald W. l890l980 . . . . . . . . . DL29
|ohnson, Greg l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
|ohnson, Helene l907l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5l
|acob |ohnson and Company . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
|ohnson, |ames Weldon
l87ll938. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5l; CDAL1
|ohnson, |ohn H. l9l82005. . . . . . . . . . . .DLl37
ai_ PPN `~ f
RTN
`
'ackstage," Statement Irom the

Initial Issue of b
(November l915. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
|ohnson, |oseph |publishing house| . . . . . . DLl51
|ohnson, Linton Kwesi l952 . . . . . . . . . DLl57
|ohnson, Lionel l8o7l902. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9
|ohnson, Nunnally l897l977. . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
|ohnson, Owen l878l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y87
|ohnson, Iamela Hansford l9l2l98l. . . . . DLl5
|ohnson, Iauline l8oll9l3. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
|ohnson, Ronald l935l998. . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo9
|ohnson, Samuel lo9ol772 . . . DL21; CDL2
|ohnson, Samuel
l709l781. . . . . . . . . DL39, 95, l01, l12, 2l3
o~I no. 1 (l750) |excerpt| . . . . . . . . DL39
Jhe C Iour Samuel |ohnson Irize
for Nonfiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
|ohnson, Samuel l822l882. . . . . . . . . . DLl, 213
|ohnson, Susanna l730l8l0 . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
|ohnson, Jerry l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
|ohnson, Lwe l931l981. . . . . DL75; CDWL2
enjamin |ohnson |publishing house| . . . . . DL19
enjamin, |acob, and Robert |ohnson
|publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
|ohnston, Annie Iellows l8o3l93l. . . . . . . DL12
|ohnston, asil H. l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
|ohnston, David Claypole l798.l8o5 . . . . DLl88
|ohnston, Denis l90ll981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
|ohnston, Ellen l835l873 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
|ohnston, George l9l2l970 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
|ohnston, George l9l3l970 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
|ohnston, Sir Harry l858l927 . . . . . . . . . DLl71
|ohnston, |ennifer l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
|ohnston, Mary l870l93o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
|ohnston, Richard Malcolm l822l898 . . . . DL71
|ohnstone, Charles l7l9.l800.. . . . . . . . . . DL39
|ohst, Hanns l890l978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
|kull |akobsson l933l978 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
|olas, Eugene l891l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1, 15
|olley, Elizabeth l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
|n Stefn Sveinsson or Svensson (see Nonni)
|n Jrausti (Gumundur Magnsson)
l873l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
|n r Vr ( |n |nsson) l9l72000 . . . . . DL293
|nas Hallgrmsson l807l815. . . . . . . . . . DL293
|ones, Alice C. l853l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
|ones, Charles C., |r. l83ll893 . . . . . . . . . DL30
|ones, D. G. l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
|ones, David l895l971 . . .DL20, l00; CDL7
|ones, Diana Wynne l931 . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
|ones, Ebenezer l820l8o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
|ones, Ernest l8l9l8o8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
|ones, Gayl l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33, 278
|ones, George l800l870 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl83
|ones, Glyn l905l995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5
|ones, Gwyn l907 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5, l39
|ones, Henry Arthur l85ll929 . . . . . . . . . DLl0
|ones, Hugh circa lo92l7o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
|ones, |ames l92ll977 . . . . . . . DL2, l13; DSl7
|ames |ones Iapers in the Handy
Writers` Colony Collection at
the Lniversity of Illinois at
Springfield. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Jhe |ames |ones Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y92
|ones, |enkin Lloyd l9ll2001. . . . . . . . . . DLl27
|ones, |ohn eauchamp l8l0l8oo . . . . . . DL202
|ones, |oseph, Major
(see Jhompson, William Jappan)
|ones, LeRoi (see araka, Amiri)
|ones, Lewis l897l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5
|ones, Madison l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl52
|ones, Marie l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
|ones, Ireston l93ol979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
|ones, Rodney l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
|ones, Jhom l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
|ones, Sir William l71ol791 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl09
|ones, William Alfred l8l7l900 . . . . . . . . . DL59
|ones`s Iublishing House. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
|ong, Erica l912 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 5, 28, l52
|onke, Gert I. l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
|onson, en
l572.lo37 . . . . . . . . .DLo2, l2l; CDLl
|onsson, Jor l9lol95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
|ordan, |une l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
|orgensen, |ohannes l8ool95o . . . . . . . . . DL300
|ose, Nicholas l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
|oseph, |enny l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
|oseph and George. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Michael |oseph Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
|osephson, Matthew l899l978 . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
|osephus, Ilavius 37l00. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o
|osephy, Alvin M., |r.
|osiah Allen`s Wife (see Holley, Marietta)
|osipovici, Gabriel l910 . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 3l9
|osselyn, |ohn .lo75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
|oudry, Iatricia l92l2000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
|ouve, Iierre |ean l887l97o . . . . . . . . . . . DL258
|ovanovich, William l920200l. . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
Into the Iast. William |ovanovich`s
Reflections on Iublishing . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
|Response to Ken Auletta| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
q q tW William
|ovanovich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Jribute to Charles Scribner |r.. . . . . . . . . . .Y95
|ovine, Irancesco l902l950 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
|ovine, Giuseppe l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
|oyaux, Ihilippe (see Sollers, Ihilippe)
|oyce, Adrien (see Eastman, Carol)
|oyce, |ames l882l91l
. . . . . . . . DLl0, l9, 3o, lo2, 217; CDLo
Danis Rose and the Rendering of r . . . .Y97
|ames |oyce Centenary. Dublin, l982. . . . .Y82
|ames |oyce Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y85
A |oyce (Con)Jext. Danis Rose and the
Remaking of r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Jhe National Library of Ireland`s
New |ames |oyce Manuscripts . . . . . . .Y02
Jhe New r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y81
Iublic Domain and the Violation of
Jexts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Jhe _uinn Draft of |ames |oyce`s
Circe Manuscript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Stephen |oyce`s Letter to the Editor of
q f q . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
rI Reader`s Edition. Iirst Reactions. . . Y97
We See the Editor at Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Whose r\ Jhe Iunction of Editing . . . Y97
|ozsef, Attila l905l937 . . . . . DL2l5; CDWL1
San |uan de la Cruz l512l59l . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
|uarroz, Roberto l925l995. . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Orange |udd Iublishing Company . . . . . . . DL19
|udd, Sylvester l8l3l853 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 213
g circa 930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
|uelHansen, Erna l815l922 . . . . . . . . . . DL300
|ulian of Norwich l312circa l120. . . . . . DLll1o
|ulius Caesar
l00 _.`.11 _.`. . . . . . . . . DL2ll; CDWLl
|une, |ennie
(see Croly, |ane Cunningham)
|ung, Carl Gustav l875l9ol. . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
|ung, Iranz l888l9o3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll8
|nger, Ernst l895l998. . . . . . DL5o; CDWL2
a q circa l275 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
|ungStilling, |ohann Heinrich
l710l8l7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91
|unqueiro, Ablio Manuel Guerra
l850l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
|ustice, Donald l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
|uvenal circa ^.a. o0circa ^.a. l30
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ll; CDWLl
Jhe |uvenile Library
(see M. |. Godwin and Company)
h
Kacew, Romain (see Gary, Romain)
Kafka, Iranz l883l921. . . . . . DL8l; CDWL2
Kahn, Gus l88ol91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Kahn, Roger l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7l
Kaik Jakeshi l939l989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
`~ f ai_ PPN
RTO
Kinn (Kristjn Nels |nsson/Kristjan
Niels |ulius) l8o0l93o . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
Kaiser, Georg l878l915. . . . DLl21; CDWL2
h~ circa ll17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Kaleb, Vjekoslav l905 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Kalechofsky, Roberta l93l . . . . . . . . . . DL28
Kaler, |ames Otis l818l9l2. . . . . . . . . DLl2, 12
Kalmar, ert l881l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Kamensky, Vasilii Vasilèvich
l881l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Kames, Henry Home, Lord
lo9ol782. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l, l01
Kamo no Chmei (Kamo no Nagaakira)
ll53 or ll55l2lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Kamo no Nagaakira (see Kamo no Chmei)
Kampmann, Christian l939l988. . . . . . . DL2l1
Kandel, Lenore l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Kane, Sarah l97ll999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Kaneko, Lonny l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Kang, Younghill l903l972. . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Kanin, Garson l9l2l999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
A Jribute (to Marc Connelly) . . . . . . . . . . Y80
Kaniuk, Yoram l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Kant, Hermann l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Kant, Immanuel l721l801. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91
Kantemir, Antiokh Dmitrievich
l708l711 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Kantor, MacKinlay l901l977 . . . . . . . DL9, l02
Kanze Kjir Nobumitsu l135l5lo . . . . DL203
Kanze Motokiyo (see Zeimi)
Kaplan, Ired l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Kaplan, |ohanna l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28
Kaplan, |ustin l925 . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll; Y8o
Kaplinski, |aan l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Kapnist, Vasilii Vasilevich l758.l823 . . . DLl50
Karadi,Vuk Stefanovi
l787l8o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl17; CDWL1
Karamzin, Nikolai Mikhailovich
l7ool82o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Karinthy, Irigyes l887l938 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Karlfeldt, Erik Axel l8o1l93l. . . . . . . . . DL330
Karmel, Ilona l9252000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Karnad, Girish l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Karsch, Anna Louisa l722l79l . . . . . . . . . DL97
Kasack, Hermann l89ol9oo . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Kasai Zenz l887l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Kaschnitz, Marie Luise l90ll971 . . . . . . . DLo9
Kassk, Lajos l887l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Kastelan, |ure l9l9l990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl17
Kstner, Erich l899l971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5o
Kataev, Evgenii Ietrovich
(see Il`f, Ilìa and Ietrov, Evgenii)
Kataev, Valentin Ietrovich l897l98o. . . . DL272
Katenin, Iavel Aleksandrovich
l792l853. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Kattan, Naim l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Katz, Steve l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y83
KaJzetnik l35o33 (Yehiel Dinur)
l909200l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Kauffman, |anet l915 . . . . . . . . . DL2l8; Y8o
Kauffmann, Samuel l898l97l. . . . . . . . . DLl27
Kaufman, ob l925l98o. . . . . . . . . . . DLlo, 1l
Kaufman, George S. l889l9ol . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Kaufmann, Walter l92ll980. . . . . . . . . . .DL279
Kavan, Anna (Helen Woods Ierguson
Edmonds) l90ll9o8. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL255
Kavanagh, I. |. l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Kavanagh, Iatrick l901l9o7. . . . . . . . DLl5, 20
Kaverin, Veniamin Aleksandrovich
(Veniamin Aleksandrovich Zil`ber)
l902l989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL272
Kawabata Yasunari l899l972 . . . . . DLl80, 330
Kay, Guy Gavriel l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
KayeSmith, Sheila l887l95o. . . . . . . . . . . DL3o
Kazakov, Iurii Iavlovich l927l982 . . . . . DL302
Kazin, Alfred l9l5l998. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
Keane, |ohn . l9282002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Keary, Annie l825l879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo3
Keary, Eliza l827l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Keating, H. R. I. l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL87
Keatley, Charlotte l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
Keats, Ezra |ack l9lol983. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Keats, |ohn l795l82l . . . DL9o, ll0; CDL3
Keble, |ohn l792l8oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32, 55
Keckley, Elizabeth l8l8.l907 . . . . . . . . . DL239
Keeble, |ohn l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y83
Keeffe, arrie l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3, 215
Keeley, |ames l8o7l931. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
W. . Keen, Cooke and Company . . . . . . . DL19
Jhe Mystery of Carolyn Keene . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Kefala, Antigone l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Keillor, Garrison l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y87
Keith, Marian (Mary Esther MacGregor)
l871.l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Keller, Gary D. l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Keller, Gottfried
l8l9l890 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29; CDWL2
Keller, Helen l880l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Kelley, Edith Summers l881l95o . . . . . . . . DL9
Kelley, Emma Dunham .. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22l
Kelley, Ilorence l859l932. . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Kelley, William Melvin l937 . . . . . . . . . DL33
Kellogg, Ansel Nash l832l88o . . . . . . . . . DL23
Kellogg, Steven l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Kelly, George E. l887l971. . . . . . . . . . .DL7, 219
Kelly, Hugh l739l777 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL89
Kelly, Iiet and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Kelly, Robert l935 . . . . . . . . . . .DL5, l30, lo5
Kelman, |ames l91o . . . . . . .DLl91, 3l9, 32o
Kelmscott Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Kelton, Elmer l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25o
Kemble, E. W. l8oll933. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl88
Kemble, Ianny l809l893 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Kemelman, Harry l908l99o. . . . . . . . . . . DL28
Kempe, Margery circa l373l138. . . . . . . DLl1o
Kempinski, Jom l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Kempner, Iriederike l83ol901 . . . . . . . . DLl29
Kempowski, Walter l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Kenan, Randall l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Claude Kendall |publishing company| . . . . DL1o
Kendall, Henry l839l882 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Kendall, May l8oll913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Kendell, George l809l8o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Keneally, Jhomas l935 . . . . DL289, 299, 32o
Kenedy, I. |., and Sons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Kenk circa l283circa l352. . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Kenna, Ieter l930l987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Kennan, George l815l921 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl89
Kennedy, A. L. l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27l
Kennedy, Adrienne l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
Kennedy, |ohn Iendleton l795l870. . . DL3, 218
Kennedy, Leo l9072000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Kennedy, Margaret l89ol9o7 . . . . . . . . . . DL3o
Kennedy, Iatrick l80ll873 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl59
Kennedy, Richard S. l920 . . . . . . DLlll; Y02
Kennedy, William l928 . . . . . . . . DLl13; Y85
Kennedy, X. |. l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Kennelly, rendan l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Kenner, Hugh l9232003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
Jribute to Cleanth rooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y80
Mitchell Kennerley |publishing house| . . . . DL1o
Kenny, Maurice l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl75
Kent, Irank R. l877l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Kenyon, |ane l917l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Kenzheev, akhyt Shkurullaevich
l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Keough, Hugh Edmund l8o1l9l2 . . . . . .DLl7l
Keppler and Schwartzmann . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Ker, |ohn, third Duke of Roxburghe
l710l801. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Ker, N. R. l908l982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
KeralioRobert, LouiseIlicit de
l758l822. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
Kerlan, Irvin l9l2l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl87
Kermode, Irank l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL212
Kern, |erome l885l915. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl87
ai_ PPN `~ f
RTP
`
Kernaghan, Eileen l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l

Kerner, |ustinus l78ol8o2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Kerouac, |ack
l922l9o9 . . . DL2, lo, 237; DS3; CDALl
Auction of |ack Kerouac`s
l o~ Scroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
Jhe |ack Kerouac Revival . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y95
'Remeeting of Old Iriends``.
Jhe |ack Kerouac Conference . . . . . . .Y82
Statement of Correction to "Jhe |ack
Kerouac Revival" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y9o
Kerouac, |an l952l99o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Charles H. Kerr and Company . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Kerr, Orpheus C. (see Newell, Robert Henry)
Kersh, Gerald l9lll9o8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL255
Kertsz, Imre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299, 330; Y02
Kesey, Ken
l935200l . . . . . . . . DL2, lo, 20o; CDALo
Kessel, |oseph l898l979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL72
Kessel, Martin l90ll990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5o
Kesten, Hermann l900l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5o
Keun, Irmgard l905l982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Key, Ellen l819l92o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL259
Key and iddle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Keynes, Sir Geoffrey l887l982. . . . . . . . . DL20l
Keynes, |ohn Maynard l883l91o. . . . . . . . . DSl0
Keyserling, Eduard von l855l9l8 . . . . . . . DLoo
alKhalil ibn Ahmad circa 7l879l . . . . . . . DL3ll
Khan, Adib l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Khan, Ismith l9252002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl25
alKhansa` fl. late sixthmid
seventh centuries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Kharitonov, Evgenii Vladimirovich
l91ll98l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Kharitonov, Mark Sergeevich l937 . . . . DL285
Khaytov, Nikolay l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Khemnitser, Ivan Ivanovich
l715l781. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Kheraskov, Mikhail Matveevich
l733l807 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Khlebnikov, Velimir l885l922 . . . . . . . . . DL295
Khodasevich, Vladislav l88ol939 . . . . . . DL3l7
Khomiakov, Aleksei Stepanovich
l801l8o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Khristov, oris l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Khvoshchinskaia, Nadezhda Dmitrievna
l821l889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Khvostov, Dmitrii Ivanovich
l757l835. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Kibirov, Jimur Iurèvich (Jimur
Iurèvich Zapoev) l955 . . . . . . . . . DL285
Kidd, Adam l802.l83l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
William Kidd |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Kidde, Harald l878l9l8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Kidder, Jracy l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Kiely, enedict l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5, 3l9
Kieran, |ohn l892l98l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7l
Kierkegaard, Sren l8l3l855. . . . . . . . . . DL300
Kies, Marietta l853l899. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL270
Kiggins and Kellogg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Kiley, |ed l889l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Kilgore, ernard l908l9o7. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Kilian, Crawford l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Killens, |ohn Oliver l9lol987 . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Killigrew, Anne loo0lo85 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3l
Killigrew, Jhomas lol2lo83 . . . . . . . . . . . DL58
Kilmer, |oyce l88ol9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL15
Kilroy, Jhomas l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
Kilwardby, Robert circa l2l5l279 . . . . . . DLll5
Kilworth, Garry l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Kim, Anatolii Andreevich l939 . . . . . . DL285
Kimball, Richard urleigh l8lol892 . . . . DL202
Kincaid, |amaica l919
. . . . . . . DLl57, 227; CDAL7; CDWL3
Kinck, Hans Ernst l8o5l92o . . . . . . . . . . DL297
King, Charles l811l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8o
King, Clarence l812l90l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2
King, Ilorence l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y85
King, Irancis l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5, l39
King, Grace l852l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2, 78
King, Harriet Hamilton l810l920 . . . . . . DLl99
King, Henry l592loo9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2o
Solomon King |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL19
King, Stephen l917 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl13; Y80
King, Susan Ietigru l821l875 . . . . . . . . . DL239
King, Jhomas l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl75
King, Woodie, |r. l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
Kinglake, Alexander William
l809l89l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL55, loo
Kingo, Jhomas lo31l703. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Kingsbury, Donald l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Kingsley, Charles
l8l9l875 . . . . . . . . DL2l, 32, lo3, l78, l90
Kingsley, Henry l830l87o . . . . . . . . . DL2l, 230
Kingsley, Mary Henrietta l8o2l900. . . . . DLl71
Kingsley, Sidney l90ol995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Kingsmill, Hugh l889l919. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl19
Kingsolver, arbara
l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL20o; CDAL7
Kingston, Maxine Hong
l910 . . DLl73, 2l2, 3l2; Y80; CDAL7
Kingston, William Henry Giles
l8l1l880 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo3
Kinnan, Mary Lewis l7o3l818. . . . . . . . . DL200
Kinnell, Galway l927 . . . . . . . . . . . DL5; Y87
Kinsella, |ohn l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Kinsella, Jhomas l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Kipling, Rudyard l8o5l93o
. . . . . . . DLl9, 31, l1l, l5o, 330; CDL5
Kipphardt, Heinar l922l982 . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
Kirby, William l8l7l90o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Kircher, Athanasius lo02lo80 . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Kireevsky, Ivan Vasilèvich l80ol85o. . . . DLl98
Kireevsky, Ietr Vasilèvich l808l85o . . . . DL205
Kirk, Hans l898l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Kirk, |ohn Ioster l821l901 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL79
Kirkconnell, Watson l895l977. . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Kirkland, Caroline M.
l80ll8o1 . . . . . . . . DL3, 73, 71, 250; DSl3
Kirkland, |oseph l830l893. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2
Irancis Kirkman |publishing house| . . . . . DLl70
Kirkpatrick, Clayton l9l52001 . . . . . . . . DLl27
Kirkup, |ames l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Kirouac, Conrad (see MarieVictorin, Irre)
Kirsch, Sarah l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Kirst, Hans Hellmut l9l1l989. . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Kis, Danilo l935l989. . . . . . DLl8l; CDWL1
Kita Morio l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Kitcat, Mabel Greenhow l859l922 . . . . . DLl35
Kitchin, C. H. . l895l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
Kittredge, William l932 . . . . . . . . DL2l2, 211
Kiukhel`beker, Vil`gel`m Karlovich
l797l81o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Kizer, Carolyn l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, lo9
Kjaerstad, |an l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Klabund l890l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Klaj, |ohann lololo5o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Klappert, Ieter l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Klass, Ihilip (see Jenn, William)
Klein, A. M. l909l972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Kleist, Ewald von l7l5l759 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL97
Kleist, Heinrich von
l777l8ll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90; CDWL2
Klma, Ivan l93l . . . . . . . . DL232; CDWL1
Klimentev, Andrei Ilatonovic
(see Ilatonov, Andrei Ilatonovich)
Klinger, Iriedrich Maximilian
l752l83l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91
Kliuev, Nikolai Alekseevich l881l937 . . . DL295
Kliushnikov, Viktor Ietrovich
l81ll892 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Klopfer, Donald S.
Impressions of William Iaulkner . . . . . . . . Y97
Oral History Interview with Donald
S. Klopfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Klopstock, Iriedrich Gottlieb
l721l803 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL97
Klopstock, Meta l728l758 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL97
Kluge, Alexander l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
`~ f ai_ PPN
RTQ
Kluge, I. I. l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Knapp, |oseph Ialmer l8o1l95l. . . . . . . . DL9l
Knapp, Samuel Lorenzo l783l838 . . . . . . DL59
|. |. and I. Knapton |publishing house| . . DLl51
Kniazhnin, Iakov orisovich
l710l79l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Knickerbocker, Diedrich (see Irving, Washington)
Knigge, Adolph Iranz Iriedrich Ludwig,
Ireiherr von l752l79o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91
Charles Knight and Company . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Knight, Damon l9222002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Knight, Etheridge l93ll992 . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Knight, |ohn S. l891l98l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Knight, Sarah Kemble loool727 . . . . DL21, 200
Knightruce, G. W. H. l852l89o . . . . . .DLl71
Knister, Raymond l899l932 . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Knoblock, Edward l871l915. . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Knopf, Alfred A. l892l981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
Knopf to Hammett. Jhe Editoral
Alfred A. Knopf |publishing house| . . . . . . DL1o
Knorr von Rosenroth, Christian
lo3olo89 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Knowles, |ohn l92o200l. . . . . . DLo; CDALo
Knox, Irank l871l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Knox, |ohn circa l5l1l572 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Knox, |ohn Armoy l850l90o . . . . . . . . . . DL23
Knox, Lucy l815l881 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Knox, Ronald Arbuthnott l888l957. . . . . DL77
Knox, Jhomas Wallace l835l89o. . . . . . DLl89
Knudsen, |akob l858l9l7 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Knut, Dovid l900l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Kobayashi Jakiji l903l933 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Kober, Arthur l900l975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Kobiakova, Aleksandra Ietrovna
l823l892 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Kocbek, Edvard l901l98l . . . DLl17; CDWL1
Koch, C. |. l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Koch, Howard l902l995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Koch, Kenneth l9252002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Kda Rohan l8o7l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Koehler, Jed l891l973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Koenigsberg, Moses l879l915. . . . . . . . . . DL25
Koeppen, Wolfgang l90ol99o. . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Koertge, Ronald l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Koestler, Arthur l905l983 . . . . . . Y83; CDL7
Kohn, |ohn S. Van E. l90ol97o. . . . . . . . DLl87
Kokhanovskaia
(see Sokhanskaia, Nadezhda Stepanova)
Kokoschka, Oskar l88ol980. . . . . . . . . . DLl21
Kolatkar, Arun l9322001 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Kolb, Annette l870l9o7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Kolbenheyer, Erwin Guido
l878l9o2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo, l21
Kolleritsch, Alfred l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
Kolodny, Annette l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
Kolts, ernardMarie l918l989. . . . . . . DL32l
Kol`tsov, Aleksei Vasilèvich
l809l812 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Komarov, Matvei circa l730l8l2. . . . . . . DLl50
Komroff, Manuel l890l971. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Komunyakaa, Yusef l917 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Kondoleon, Harry l955l991. . . . . . . . . . DL2oo
Koneski, lae l92ll993. . . DLl8l; CDWL1
Konigsburg, E. L. l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Konparu Zenchiku l105l1o8. . . . . . . . . DL203
Konrd, Gyrgy l933 . . . . DL232; CDWL1
Konrad von Wrzburg
circa l230l287 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Konstantinov, Aleko l8o3l897 . . . . . . . . DLl17
Konwicki, Jadeusz l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Koontz, Dean l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Kooser, Jed l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Kopit, Arthur l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Kops, ernard l92o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Kornbluth, C. M. l923l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Krner, Jheodor l79ll8l3 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Kornfeld, Iaul l889l912. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll8
Korolenko, Vladimir Galaktionovich
l853l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL277
Kosinski, |erzy l933l99l. . . . . . . DL2, 299; Y82
Kosma, Ciril l9l0l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Kosovel, Sreko l901l92o. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl17
Kostrov, Ermil Ivanovich l755l79o . . . . . DLl50
Kotzebue, August von l7oll8l9 . . . . . . . . DL91
Kotzwinkle, William l938 . . . . . . . . . . .DLl73
Kovai, Ante l851l889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl17
Kovalevskaia, Sofìa Vasilèvna
l850l89l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL277
Kovi, Kajetan l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Kozlov, Ivan Ivanovich l779l810. . . . . . . DL205
Kracauer, Siegfried l889l9oo . . . . . . . . . DL29o
Kraf, Elaine l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y8l
Kramer, |ane l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Kramer, Larry l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL219
Kramer, Mark l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Kranjevi, Silvije Strahimir l8o5l908 . . DLl17
Krasko, Ivan l87ol958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Krasna, Norman l909l981 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Kraus, Hans Ieter l907l988 . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Kraus, Karl l871l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll8
Krause, Herbert l905l97o. . . . . . . . . . . . DL25o
Krauss, Ruth l9lll993. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Krauth, Nigel l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Kreisel, Henry l922l99l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Krestovsky V.
(see Khvoshchinskaia, Nadezhda Dmitrievna)
Krestovsky, Vsevolod Vladimirovich
l839l895 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Kreuder, Ernst l903l972. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
KrvMickeviius, Vincas l882l951 . . . DL220
Kreymborg, Alfred l883l9oo . . . . . . . . DL1, 51
Krieger, Murray l9232000 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
Krim, Seymour l922l989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Kripke, Saul l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL279
Kristensen, Jom l893l971 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Kristeva, |ulia l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL212
Kristjn Nels |nsson/Kristjan Niels |ulius
(see Kinn)
Kritzer, Hyman W. l9l82002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Krivulin, Viktor orisovich l911200l. . . DL285
Krlea, Miroslav
l893l98l . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl17; CDWL1
Krock, Arthur l88ol971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Kroetsch, Robert l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Kropotkin, Ietr Alekseevich l812l92l . . .DL277
Kross, |aan l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Kruchenykh, Aleksei Eliseevich
l88ol9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Krdy, Gyula l878l933. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Krutch, |oseph Wood
l893l970. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo3, 20o, 275
Krylov, Ivan Andreevich l7o9l811 . . . . . DLl50
Krymov, Iurii Solomonovich
(Iurii Solomonovich eklemishev)
l908l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL272
Kubin, Alfred l877l959. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8l
Kubrick, Stanley l928l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
h circa l230l210. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Kuffstein, Hans Ludwig von l582lo5o. . DLlo1
Kuhlmann, _uirinus lo5llo89. . . . . . . . DLlo8
Kuhn, Jhomas S. l922l99o . . . . . . . . . . .DL279
Kuhnau, |ohann loo0l722 . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Kukol`nik, Nestor Vasilèvich
l809l8o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Kukun, Martin
l8o0l928 . . . . . . . . . . . .DL2l5; CDWL1
Kumin, Maxine l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Kuncewicz, Maria l895l989 . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Kundera, Milan l929 . . . . . DL232; CDWL1
Kunene, Mazisi l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLll7
Kunikida Doppo l8o9l908 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Kunitz, Stanley l905200o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL18
Kunjufu, |ohari M. (see Amini, |ohari M.)
Kunnert, Gunter l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Kunze, Reiner l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Kuo, Helena l9lll999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Kupferberg, Juli l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
ai_ PPN `~ f
RTR
`
Kuprin, Aleksandr Ivanovich

l870l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Kuraev, Mikhail Nikolaevich l939 . . . . DL285
Kurahashi Yumiko l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Kureishi, Hanif l951 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl91, 215
Krnberger, Ierdinand l82ll879 . . . . . . . DLl29
Kurz, Isolde l853l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Kusenberg, Kurt l901l983. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Kushchevsky, Ivan Afanasèvich
l817l87o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Kushner, Jony l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL228
Kuttner, Henry l9l5l958. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Kuzmin, Mikhail Alekseevich
l872l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Kuznetsov, Anatoli
l929l979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299, 302
Kyd, Jhomas l558l591 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo2
Kyffin, Maurice circa l5o0.l598 . . . . . . . DLl3o
Kyger, |oanne l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Kyne, Ieter . l880l957. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL78
Kygoku Jamekane l251l332 . . . . . . . . . DL203
Kyrklund, Willy l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
i
L. E. L. (see Landon, Letitia Elizabeth)
Lab, Louise l520.l5oo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Laberge, Albert l87ll9o0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Laberge, Marie l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Labiche, Eugne l8l5l888. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl92
Labrunie, Gerard (see Nerval, Gerard de)
La ruyre, |ean de lo15lo9o . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
La Calprende lo09.loo3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Lacan, |acques l90ll98l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
La Capria, Raffaele l922 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
La Ceppde, |ean de l550.lo23. . . . . . . . DL327
La Chausse, IierreClaude Nivelle de
lo92l751 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
Laclos, IierreAmbroiseIranois Choderlos de
l71ll803 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
a~ ^~~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Lacombe, Iatrice
(see JrullierLacombe, |oseph Iatrice)
Lacretelle, |acques de l888l985 . . . . . . . . . DLo5
Lacy, Ed l9lll9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
Lacy, Sam l903 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7l
Ladd, |oseph rown l7o1l78o . . . . . . . . . . DL37
La Iarge, Oliver l90ll9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Lafayette, MarieMadeleine, comtesse de
lo31lo93 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Laffan, Mrs. R. S. de Courcy
(see Adams, ertha Leith)
Lafferty, R. A. l9l12002. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
La Ilesche, Irancis l857l932 . . . . . . . . . . DLl75
La Iontaine, |ean de lo2llo95 . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Laforet, Carmen l92l2001. . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Laforge, |ules l8o0l887 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
Lagerkvist, Ir l89ll971 . . . . . . . . . DL259, 33l
Lagerlf, Selma
l858l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL259, 33l
Lagorio, Gina l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
La Guma, Alex
l925l985 . . . . . . . . DLll7, 225; CDWL3
Lahaise, Guillaume (see Delahaye, Guy)
La Harpe, |eanIranois de l739l803. . . . .DL3l3
Lahiri, |humpa l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL323
Lahontan, LouisArmand de Lom dÀrce,
aron de loool7l5.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Lai He l891l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Laing, Kojo l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Laird, Carobeth l895l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Laird and Lee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Lake, Iaul l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282
Lali, Ivan V. l93ll99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Lali, Mihailo l9l1l992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Lalonde, Michle l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Lamantia, Ihilip l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Lamartine, Alphonse de
l790l8o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
Lamb, Lady Caroline
l785l828 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLllo
Lamb, Charles
l775l831 . . . . . . DL93, l07, lo3; CDL3
Lamb, Mary l7o1l871 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo3
Lambert, Angela l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27l
Lambert, AnneJhrse de (AnneJhrse de
Marguenat de Courcelles, marquise de Lambert)
lo17l733. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
Lambert, etty l933l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
La Mettrie, |ulien Offroy de
l709l75l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
Lamm, Donald
Goodbye, Gutenberg. A Lecture at
the New York Iublic Library,
l8 April l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y95
Lamming, George
l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl25; CDWL3
La Mothe Le Vayer, Iranois de
l588lo72 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
LÀmour, Louis l908l988. . . . . . . . DL20o; Y80
Lampman, Archibald l8oll899 . . . . . . . . . DL92
Lamson, Wolffe and Company . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Lancer ooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Lanchester, |ohn l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Lander, Ieter (see Cunningham, Ieter)
Landesman, |ay l9l9 and
Landesman, Iran l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Landolfi, Jommaso l908l979. . . . . . . . . . DLl77
Landon, Letitia Elizabeth l802l838. . . . . . DL9o
Landor, Walter Savage l775l8o1 . . . . DL93, l07
Landry, NapolonI. l881l95o . . . . . . . . . DL92
Landvik, Lorna l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Lane, Charles l800l870 . . . . . . . DLl, 223; DS5
Lane, I. C. l885l981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Lane, Laurence W. l890l9o7. . . . . . . . . . . DL9l
Lane, M. Jravis l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Lane, Iatrick l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Lane, Iinkie Gordon l923 . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
|ohn Lane Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Laney, Al l89ol988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1, l7l
Lang, Andrew l811l9l2 . . . . . . DL98, l1l, l81
Langer, Susanne K. l895l985 . . . . . . . . . DL270
Langevin, Andr l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Langford, David l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Langgsser, Elisabeth l899l950. . . . . . . . . DLo9
Langhorne, |ohn l735l779 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl09
Langland, William circa l330circa l100. . DLl1o
Langton, Anna l801l893. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Lanham, Edwin l901l979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Lanier, Sidney l812l88l . . . . . . . . DLo1; DSl3
Lanyer, Aemilia l5o9lo15 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2l
Lao She l899l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Lapointe, Gatien l93ll983 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Lapointe, IaulMarie l929 . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
La Rame, Iierre de (Ietrus Ramus, Ieter Ramus)
l5l5l572 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Larcom, Lucy l821l893. . . . . . . . . . DL22l, 213
Lardner, |ohn l9l2l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7l
Lardner, Ring l885l933
. . . . . . DLll, 25, 8o, l7l; DSlo; CDAL1
Lardner l00. Ring Lardner
Centennial Symposium. . . . . . . . . . . . .Y85
Lardner, Ring, |r. l9l52000 . . . . . . . DL2o, Y00
Larivey, Iierre de l51llol9 . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Larkin, Ihilip l922l985 . . . . . . DL27; CDL8
Jhe Ihilip Larkin Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
La Roche, Sophie von l730l807. . . . . . . . . DL91
La Rochefoucauld, Iranois duc de
lol3lo80 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL2o8
La Rocque, Gilbert l913l981. . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Laroque de Roquebrune, Robert
(see Roquebrune, Robert de)
Larrick, Nancy l9l02001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Lars, Claudia l899l971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Larsen, Nella l893l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5l
Larsen, Jhger l875l928. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Larson, Clinton I. l9l9l991 . . . . . . . . . . DL25o
La Sale, Antoine de
circa l38ol1o0/l1o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL208
Las Casas, Iray artolom de
l171l5oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Lasch, Christopher l932l991. . . . . . . . . . DL21o
Lasdun, |ames l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
LaskerSchler, Else l8o9l915 . . . . . . DLoo, l21
Lasnier, Rina l9l5l997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
`~ f ai_ PPN
RTS
Lassalle, Ierdinand l825l8o1 . . . . . . . . . DLl29
i~ lI l99o ooker Irize winner,
Graham Swift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
La Jaille, |ean de l531.loll. . . . . . . . . . DL327
LateMedieval Castilian Jheater . . . . . . . DL28o
Latham, Robert l9l2l995. . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Lathan, Emma (Mary |ane Latsis |l927l997| and
Martha Henissart |l929 |) . . . . . . . DL30o
Lathrop, Dorothy I. l89ll980 . . . . . . . . . DL22
Lathrop, George Iarsons l85ll898 . . . . . DL7l
Lathrop, |ohn, |r. l772l820 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Latimer, Hugh l192.l555. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Latimore, |ewel Christine McLawler
(see Amini, |ohari M.)
Latin Literature, Jhe Lniqueness of . . . . DL2ll
La Jour du Iin, Iatrice de l9lll975. . . . DL258
Latymer, William l198l583 . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Laube, Heinrich l80ol881 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Laud, William l573lo15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Laughlin, |ames l9l1l997. . . . . . DL18; Y9o, 97
A Jribute |to Henry Miller| . . . . . . . . . . . . Y80
Jribute to Albert Erskine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y93
Jribute to Kenneth Rexroth. . . . . . . . . . . . Y82
Jribute to Malcolm Cowley. . . . . . . . . . . . Y89
Laumer, Keith l925l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Lauremberg, |ohann l590lo58 . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Laurence, Margaret l92ol987. . . . . . . . . . DL53
Laurentius von Schnffis lo33l702. . . . . DLlo8
Laurents, Arthur l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Laurie, Annie (see lack, Winifred)
Laut, Agnes Christiana l87ll93o . . . . . . . DL92
Lauterbach, Ann l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl93
Lautramont, Isidore Lucien Ducasse,
Comte de l81ol870 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
Lavater, |ohann Kaspar l71ll80l . . . . . . . DL97
Lavin, Mary l9l2l99o . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5, 3l9
Law, |ohn (see Harkness, Margaret)
Lawes, Henry l59oloo2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2o
Lawler, Ray l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Lawless, Anthony (see MacDonald, Ihilip)
Lawless, Emily (Jhe Hon. Emily Lawless)
l815l9l3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Lawrence, D. H. l885l930
. . . . . DLl0, l9, 3o, 98, lo2, l95; CDLo
Jhe D. H. Lawrence Society of
North America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Lawrence, David l888l973 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Lawrence, |erome l9l52001 . . . . . . . . . . DL228
Lawrence, Seymour l92ol991 . . . . . . . . . . . . Y91
Jribute to Richard Yates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y92
Lawrence, J. E. l888l935. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl95
Jhe J. E. Lawrence Society. . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Lawson, George l598lo78 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Lawson, Henry l8o7l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Lawson, |ohn .l7ll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Lawson, |ohn Howard l891l977. . . . . . . DL228
Lawson, Louisa Albury l818l920. . . . . . DL230
Lawson, Robert l892l957. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Lawson, Victor I. l850l925 . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Layard, Austen Henry l8l7l891. . . . . . . DLloo
Layton, Irving l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
LaZamon fl. circa l200. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Lazarevi, Laza K. l85ll890. . . . . . . . . . DLl17
Lazarus, George l901l997 . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Lazhechnikov, Ivan Ivanovich
l792l8o9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
Lea, Henry Charles l825l909 . . . . . . . . . DL17
Lea, Sydney l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20, 282
Lea, Jom l907200l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Leacock, |ohn l729l802 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Leacock, Stephen l8o9l911 . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Lead, |ane Ward lo23l701 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3l
Leadenhall Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Leakey, Caroline Woolmer l827l88l . . . . DL230
Leapor, Mary l722l71o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl09
Lear, Edward l8l2l888. . . . . . . DL32, lo3, loo
Leary, Jimothy l920l99o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
W. A. Leary and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Lautaud, Iaul l872l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo5
Leavis, I. R. l895l978. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL212
Leavitt, David l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Leavitt and Allen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Le lond, Mrs. Aubrey l8oll931. . . . . . .DLl71
le Carr, |ohn (David |ohn Moore Cornwell)
l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL87; CDL8
Jribute to Graham Greene. . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9l
Jribute to George Greenfield. . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Lcavel, Roland (see Dorgeles, Roland)
Lechlitner, Ruth l90l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL18
Leclerc, Ilix l9l1l988. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Le Clzio, |. M. G. l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Leder, Rudolf (see Hermlin, Stephan)
Lederer, Charles l9l0l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Ledwidge, Irancis l887l9l7 . . . . . . . . . . . DL20
Lee, Changrae l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Lee, Cherylene l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Lee, Dennis l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Lee, Don L. (see Madhubuti, Haki R.)
Lee, George W. l891l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5l
Lee, Gus l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Lee, Harper l92o . . . . . . . . . . DLo; CDALl
Lee, Harriet l757l85l and
Lee, Sophia l750l821 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Lee, Laurie l9l1l997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Lee, Leslie l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2oo
Lee, LiYoung l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo5, 3l2
Lee, Manfred . l905l97l . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl37
Lee, Nathaniel circa lo15lo92 . . . . . . . . . DL80
Lee, Robert E. l9l8l991. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL228
Lee, Sir Sidney l859l92o . . . . . . . . DLl19, l81
'Irinciples of iography," in
b~~ ~ l b~ . . . . . . DLl19
Lee, Janith l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Lee, Vernon
l85ol935 . . . . . . . .DL57, l53, l5o, l71, l78
Lee and Shepard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Le Ianu, |oseph Sheridan
l8l1l873. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l, 70, l59, l78
Lefvre dÈtaples, |acques
l1o0.l53o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Leffland, Ella l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
le Iort, Gertrud von l87ol97l. . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Le Gallienne, Richard l8ool917 . . . . . . . . . DL1
Legar, Hugh Swinton
l797l813 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL3, 59, 73, 218
Legar, |ames Mathewes l823l859. . . . DL3, 218
Lger, Antoine|. l880l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Leggett, William l80ll839 . . . . . . . . . . . DL250
Le Guin, Lrsula K.
l929 . . . . . .DL8, 52, 25o, 275; CDALo
Lehman, Ernest l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Lehmann, |ohn l907l989 . . . . . . . . . . DL27, l00
|ohn Lehmann Limited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Lehmann, Rosamond l90ll990 . . . . . . . . DLl5
Lehmann, Wilhelm l882l9o8. . . . . . . . . . DL5o
Leiber, Iritz l9l0l992. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm lo1ol7lo . . . DLlo8
Leicester Lniversity Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Leigh, Carolyn l92ol983 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Leigh, W. R. l8ool955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl88
Leinster, Murray l89ol975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Leiser, ill l898l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Leisewitz, |ohann Anton l752l80o . . . . . . DL91
Leitch, Maurice l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Leithauser, rad l913 . . . . . . . . . DLl20, 282
Leland, Charles G. l821l903 . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Leland, |ohn l503.l552 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Lemaire de elges, |ean l173.. . . . . . . . . DL327
Lemay, Iamphile l837l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Lemelin, Roger l9l9l992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Lemercier, Louis|eanNpomucne
l77ll810. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl92
Le Moine, |ames MacIherson l825l9l2 . DL99
Lemon, Mark l809l870 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo3
ai_ PPN `~ f
RTT
`
Le Moyne, |ean l9l3l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88

Lemperly, Iaul l858l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Leero, Vicente l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
LÈngle, Madeleine l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Lennart, Isobel l9l5l97l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Lennox, Charlotte l729 or l730l801 . . . . . DL39
Lenox, |ames l800l880 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl10
Lenski, Lois l893l971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Lentricchia, Irank l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
Lenz, Hermann l9l3l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Lenz, |. M. R. l75ll792 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91
Lenz, Siegfried l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Len, Iray Luis de l527l59l . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Leonard, Elmore l925 . . . . . . . . . DLl73, 22o
Leonard, Hugh l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Leonard, William Ellery l87ol911 . . . . . . . DL51
Leong, Russell C. l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Leonov, Leonid Maksimovich
l899l991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL272
Leonowens, Anna l831l9l1. . . . . . . . DL99, loo
Leontèv, Konstantin Nikolaevich
l83ll89l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL277
Leopold, Aldo l887l918. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL275
LeIan, Douglas l9l1l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Lepik, Kalju l920l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Leprohon, Rosanna Eleanor l829l879. . . . DL99
Le _ueux, William l8o1l927. . . . . . . . . . . DL70
Lermontov, Mikhail Iurèvich
l8l1l81l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Lerner, Alan |ay l9l8l98o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Lerner, Max l902l992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
LernetHolenia, Alexander l897l97o . . . . . DL85
Le Rossignol, |ames l8ool9o9 . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Lesage, AlainRen loo8l717 . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
Lescarbot, Marc circa l570lo12 . . . . . . . . . DL99
LeSeur, William Dawson l810l9l7 . . . . . . DL92
LeSieg, Jheo. (see Geisel, Jheodor Seuss)
Leskov, Nikolai Semenovich
l83ll895 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Leslie, Doris before l902l982 . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Leslie, Eliza l787l858 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL202
Leslie, Irank (Henry Carter)
l82ll880 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13, 79
Irank Leslie |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Lemian, olesaw l878l937 . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Lesperance, |ohn l835.l89l . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Lespinasse, |ulie de l732l77o . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
Lessing, runo l870l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28
Lessing, Doris
l9l9 . . . . . . . DLl5, l39; Y85; CDL8
Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim
l729l78l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL97; CDWL2
Jhe Lessing Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
LÈstoile, Iierre de l51ololl . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Le Sueur, Meridel l900l99o. . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Lettau, Reinhard l929l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
i ~ m~ t~I Iranoise dÌssembourg
de Graffigny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Jhe Hemingway Letters Iroject Iinds
an Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Lever, Charles l80ol872 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l
Lever, Ralph ca. l527l585 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23o
Leverson, Ada l8o2l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl53
Levertov, Denise
l923l997 . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, lo5; CDAL7
Levi, Ieter l93l2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Levi, Irimo l9l9l987. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl77, 299
Levien, Sonya l888l9o0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Levin, Meyer l905l98l . . . . . . . . DL9, 28; Y8l
Levin, Ihillis l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282
Lvinas, Emmanuel l90ol995 . . . . . . . . . DL29o
Levine, Norman l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Levine, Ihilip l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Levis, Larry l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
LviStrauss, Claude l908 . . . . . . . . . . DL212
Levitov, Aleksandr Ivanovich
l835.l877 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL277
Levy, Amy l8oll889 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5o, 210
Levy, enn Wolfe l900l973 . . . . . . . DLl3; Y8l
Levy, Deborah l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Lewald, Ianny l8lll889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Lewes, George Henry l8l7l878 . . . . . DL55, l11
(l8o3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l
q m p i~
(l8o5) |excerpt|. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL57
Lewis, Agnes Smith l813l92o . . . . . . . . . DLl71
Lewis, Alfred H. l857l9l1 . . . . . . . . . DL25, l8o
Lewis, Alun l9l5l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20, lo2
Lewis, C. Day (see Day Lewis, C.)
Lewis, C. I. l883l9o1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL270
Lewis, C. S. l898l9o3
. . . . . . . . . . DLl5, l00, lo0, 255; CDL7
Jhe New York C. S. Lewis Society . . . . . . .Y99
Lewis, Charles . l812l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Lewis, David l91l200l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL279
Lewis, Henry Clay l825l850. . . . . . . . DL3, 218
Lewis, |anet l899l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y87
Lewis, Matthew Gregory
l775l8l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39, l58, l78
Lewis, Meriwether l771l809 . . . . . . DLl83, l8o
Lewis, Norman l9082003 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Lewis, R. W. . l9l72002. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Lewis, Richard circa l700l731 . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Lewis, Saunders l893l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Lewis, Sinclair l885l95l
. . . . . . . . . . DL9, l02, 33l; DSl; CDAL1
Sinclair Lewis Centennial Conference. . . . .Y85
Jhe Sinclair Lewis Society . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Lewis, Wilmarth Sheldon l895l979. . . . . DLl10
Lewis, Wyndham l882l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5
q ~ t j~
|excerpt| (l927). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3o
Lewisohn, Ludwig l882l955 . . . DL1, 9, 28, l02
Leyendecker, |. C. l871l95l. . . . . . . . . . . DLl88
Leyner, Mark l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Lezama Lima, |os l9l0l97o . . . . . . DLll3, 283
Lzardire, MarieCharlotteIauline Robert de
l751l835 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l3
L`Heureux, |ohn l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
Libbey, Laura |ean l8o2l921. . . . . . . . . . DL22l
Libedinsky, Iurii Nikolaevich
l898l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL272
q i~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Library History Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
Eooks` Second Act in Libraries . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Jhe Library of America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Jhe Library of America. An Assessment
After Jwo Decades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Licensing Act of l737. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL81
Leonard Lichfield I |publishing house| . . . DLl70
Lichtenberg, Georg Christoph
l712l799 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91
Jhe Liddle Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Lidman, Sara l9232001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Lieb, Ired l888l980. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7l
Liebling, A. |. l901l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1, l7l
Lieutenant Murray (see allou, Maturin Murray)
i ~ q j~ hI l983 ooker Irize winner,
|. M. Coetzee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
i mI 2002 ooker Irize winner,
Yann Martel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Lighthall, William Douw l857l951 . . . . . . DL92
Lihn, Enrique l929l988. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Lilar, Iranoise (see Mallet|oris, Iranoise)
Liliùokalani, _ueen l838l9l7. . . . . . . . . DL22l
Lillo, George lo9ll739. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL81
Lilly, |. K., |r. l893l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl10
Lilly, Wait and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Lily, William circa l1o8l522 . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Lim, Shirley Geoklin l911 . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Lima, |orge de l893l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Lima arreto, Afonso Henriques de
l88ll922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Limited Editions Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Limn, Graciela l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Limonov, Eduard l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Lincoln and Edmands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Lind, |akov l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
`~ f ai_ PPN
RTU
Linda Vilhjlmsdttir l958 . . . . . . . . . DL293
Lindesay, Ethel Iorence
(see Richardson, Henry Handel)
Lindgren, Astrid l9072002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Lindgren, Jorgny l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Lindsay, Alexander William, Jwentyfifth
Earl of Crawford l8l2l880 . . . . . . . DLl81
Lindsay, Sir David circa l185l555 . . . . . DLl32
Lindsay, David l878l915. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL255
Lindsay, |ack l900l990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
Lindsay, Lady (Caroline lanche
Elizabeth Iitzroy Lindsay)
l811l9l2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
Lindsay, Norman l879l9o9. . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Lindsay, Vachel
l879l93l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL51; CDAL3
q i _~I 2001 ooker Irize winner,
Alan Hollinghurst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Linebarger, Iaul Myron Anthony
(see Smith, Cordwainer)
Ling Shuhua l900l990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Link, Arthur S. l920l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
Linn, Ed l9222000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Linn, |ohn lair l777l801 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Lins, Osman l921l978 . . . . . . . . . . DLl15, 307
Linton, Eliza Lynn l822l898 . . . . . . . . . . DLl8
Linton, William |ames l8l2l897. . . . . . . . DL32
arnaby ernard Lintot
Lion ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Lionni, Leo l9l0l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Lippard, George l822l851 . . . . . . . . . . . DL202
Lippincott, Sara |ane Clarke
l823l901 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
|. . Lippincott Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Lippmann, Walter l889l971 . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Lipton, Lawrence l898l975. . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Lisboa, Irene l892l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Liscow, Christian Ludwig
l70ll7o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL97
Lish, Gordon l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Jribute to Donald arthelme . . . . . . . . . . . Y89
Lisle, CharlesMarieRen Leconte de
l8l8l891. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
Lispector, Clarice
l925.l977 . . . . . . . . DLll3, 307; CDWL3
LitCheck Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Literary Awards and Honors . . . . . . . . . . . Y8l-02
ooker Irize. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y8o, 9o-98
Jhe Drue Heinz Literature Irize . . . . . . . . Y82
Jhe Elmer Holmes obst Awards
in Arts and Letters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y87
Jhe Griffin Ioetry Irize. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Literary Irizes |ritish|. . . . . . . . . DLl5, 207
National ook Critics Circle
Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00-0l
Jhe National |ewish
ook Awards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y85
Nobel Irize. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y80-02
Winning an Edgar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
q i~ ` ~ t o
NUNVJNUOU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll0
Literary Ieriodicals.
`~~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y87
Expatriates in Iaris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl5
New Literary Ieriodicals.
A Report for l987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y87
A Report for l988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y88
A Report for l989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y89
A Report for l990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y90
A Report for l99l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9l
A Report for l992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y92
A Report for l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y93
Literary Research Archives
Jhe Anthony urgess Archive at
the Harry Ransom Humanities
Research Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Archives of Charles Scribner`s Sons. . . . . DSl7
erg Collection of English and
American Literature of the
New York Iublic Library. . . . . . . . . . . Y83
Jhe obbsMerrill Archive at the
Lilly Library, Indiana Lniversity. . . . . Y90
Die Irstliche ibliothek Corvey. . . . . . . . Y9o
Guide to the Archives of Iublishers,
|ournals, and Literary Agents in
North American Libraries . . . . . . . . . . Y93
Jhe Henry E. Huntington Library . . . . . . Y92
Jhe Humanities Research Center,
Lniversity of Jexas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y82
Jhe |ohn Carter rown Library . . . . . . . . Y85
Kent State Special Collections . . . . . . . . . . Y8o
Jhe Lilly Library. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
Jhe Modern Literary Manuscripts
Collection in the Special
Collections of the Washington
Lniversity Libraries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y87
A Iublisher`s Archives. G. I. Iutnam . . . . Y92
Special Collections at oston
Lniversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Jhe Lniversity of Virginia Libraries . . . . . Y9l
Jhe William Charvat American Iiction
Collection at the Ohio State
Lniversity Libraries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y92
Literary Societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98-02
Jhe Margery Allingham Society . . . . . . . . Y98
Jhe American Studies Association
of Norway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Jhe Arnold ennett Society. . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Jhe Association for the Study of
Literature and Environment
(ASLE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
elgian Luxembourg American Studies
Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Jhe E. I. enson Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Jhe Elizabeth ishop Society. . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Jhe |Edgar Rice| urroughs
ibliophiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Jhe yron Society of America. . . . . . . . . . Y00
Jhe Lewis Carroll Society
of North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Jhe Willa Cather Iioneer Memorial
and Education Ioundation . . . . . . . . . Y00
New Chaucer Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Jhe Wilkie Collins Society . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Jhe |ames Ienimore Cooper Society. . . . . Y0l
Jhe Stephen Crane Society . . . . . . . . . Y98, 0l
Jhe E. E. Cummings Society. . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Jhe |ames Dickey Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
|ohn Dos Iassos Newsletter. . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Jhe Iriory Scholars |Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle| of New York. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Jhe International Jheodore Dreiser
Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Jhe George Eliot Iellowship . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Jhe J. S. Eliot Society. Celebration and
Scholarship, l980l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Jhe Ralph Waldo Emerson Society. . . . . . Y99
Jhe William Iaulkner Society . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Jhe C. S. Iorester Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Jhe Hamlin Garland Society. . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Jhe |Elizabeth| Gaskell Society . . . . . . . . . Y98
Jhe Charlotte Ierkins Gilman Society . . . Y99
Jhe Ellen Glasgow Society . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Zane Grey`s West Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Jhe Ivor Gurney Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Jhe |oel Chandler Harris Association . . . . Y99
Jhe Nathaniel Hawthorne Society. . . . . . . Y00
Jhe |George Alfred| Henty Society . . . . . . Y98
George Moses Horton Society. . . . . . . . . . Y99
Jhe William Dean Howells Society. . . . . . Y0l
WW2 HMSO Iaperbacks Society . . . . . . Y98
American Humor Studies Association . . . . Y99
International Society for Humor Studies . . . Y99
Jhe W. W. |acobs Appreciation Society . . Y98
Jhe Richard |efferies Society. . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Jhe |erome K. |erome Society. . . . . . . . . . Y98
Jhe D. H. Lawrence Society of
North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Jhe J. E. Lawrence Society. . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Jhe |Gotthold| Lessing Society . . . . . . . . . Y00
Jhe New York C. S. Lewis Society . . . . . . Y99
Jhe Sinclair Lewis Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Jhe |ack London Research Center . . . . . . Y00
Jhe |ack London Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Jhe Cormac McCarthy Society. . . . . . . . . Y99
Jhe Melville Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Jhe Arthur Miller Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Jhe Milton Society of America . . . . . . . . . Y00
International Marianne Moore Society . . . Y98
International Nabokov Society. . . . . . . . . . Y99
ai_ PPN `~ f
RTV
`
Jhe Vladimir Nabokov Society . . . . . . . . .Y0l

Jhe Ilannery O`Connor Society. . . . . . . . .Y99
Jhe Wilfred Owen Association. . . . . . . . . .Y98
Ienguin Collectors` Society . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Jhe |E. A.| Ioe Studies Association . . . . . .Y99
Jhe Katherine Anne Iorter Society . . . . . .Y0l
Jhe eatrix Iotter Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Jhe Ezra Iound Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
Jhe Iowys Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Iroust Society of America . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
Jhe Dorothy L. Sayers Society . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Jhe ernard Shaw Society . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Jhe Society for the Study of
Southern Literature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
Jhe Wallace Stevens Society. . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Jhe Harriet eecher Stowe Center . . . . . . .Y00
Jhe R. S. Surtees Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Jhe Jhoreau Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Jhe Jilling |E. I. enson| Society. . . . . . . .Y98
Jhe Jrollope Societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
H. G. Wells Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Jhe Western Literature Association . . . . . .Y99
Jhe William Carlos Williams Society. . . . .Y99
Jhe Henry Williamson Society. . . . . . . . . .Y98
Jhe |Nero| Wolfe Iack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Jhe Jhomas Wolfe Society. . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Worldwide Wodehouse Societies. . . . . . . . .Y98
Jhe W. . Yeats Society of N.Y. . . . . . . . . .Y99
Jhe Charlotte M. Yonge Iellowship . . . . . .Y98
Literary Jheory
Jhe Year in Literary Jheory. . . . . . . Y92-Y93
i~ ~ kI `~ j~ (l885),
by George Moore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8
Litt, Joby l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7, 3l9
Littell, Eliakim l797l870 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL79
Littell, Robert S. l83ll89o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL79
Little, rown and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Little Magazines and Newspapers . . . . . . . . . DSl5
Selected EnglishLanguage Little
Magazines and Newspapers
|Irance, l920l939| . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
New Iormalism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282
q i o l9l1l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl5
Littlewood, |oan l9l12002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Liu, Aimee E. l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Liu E l857l909. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Lively, Ienelope l933 . . . DLl1, lol, 207, 32o
Liverpool Lniversity Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
q i m (l753) . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl12
Livesay, Dorothy l909l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Livesay, Ilorence Randal l871l953 . . . . . . DL92
Livings, Henry l929l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Livingston, Anne Home l7o3l81l . . . DL37, 200
Livingston, |ay l9l5200l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Livingston, Myra Cohn l92ol99o . . . . . . . DLol
Livingston, William l723l790 . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Livingstone, David l8l3l873 . . . . . . . . . . DLloo
Livingstone, Douglas l932l99o . . . . . . . . DL225
Livshits, enedikt Konstantinovich
l88ol938 or l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Livy 59 _.`.^.a. l7 . . . . . . . . DL2ll; CDWLl
Liyong, Jaban lo (see Jaban lo Liyong)
Lizrraga, Sylvia S. l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Llamazares, |ulio l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Llewellyn, Kate l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Llewellyn, Richard l90ol983. . . . . . . . . . . DLl5
Llorns Jorres, Luis l87ol911 . . . . . . . . . DL290
Edward Lloyd |publishing house| . . . . . . . DLl0o
Lobato, |os ento Monteiro
l882l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Lobel, Arnold l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Lochhead, Liz l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Lochridge, etsy Hopkins (see Iancher, etsy)
Locke, Alain l88ol951. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5l
Locke, David Ross l833l888. . . . . . . . DLll, 23
Locke, |ohn lo32l701. . . . . DL3l, l0l, 2l3, 252
Locke, Richard Adams l800l87l . . . . . . . . DL13
LockerLampson, Irederick
l82ll895 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35, l81
Lockhart, |ohn Gibson
l791l851 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLll0, llo l11
Lockridge, Irancis l89ol9o3 . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Lockridge, Richard l898l982. . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Lockridge, Ross, |r. l9l1l918 . . . . DLl13; Y80
i ~ p . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo2
Lodge, David l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, l91
Lodge, George Cabot l873l909. . . . . . . . . DL51
Lodge, Henry Cabot l850l921 . . . . . . . . . DL17
Lodge, Jhomas l558lo25 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl72
a m (l579) |excerpt| . . . . . . DLl72
Loeb, Harold l89ll971 . . . . . . . . . . DL1; DSl5
Loeb, William l905l98l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Loesser, Irank l9l0l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Lofting, Hugh l88ol917. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Logan, Deborah Norris l7oll839 . . . . . . DL200
Logan, |ames lo71l75l. . . . . . . . . . . . DL21, l10
Logan, |ohn l923l987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Logan, Martha Daniell l701.l779 . . . . . . DL200
Logan, William l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Logau, Iriedrich von lo05lo55 . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Logue, Christopher l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Lohenstein, Daniel Casper von
lo35lo83 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Lohrey, Amanda l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Lo|ohansson, Ivar l90ll990 . . . . . . . . . . DL259
Lokert, George (or Lockhart)
circa l185l517 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Lomonosov, Mikhail Vasilèvich
l7lll7o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
London, |ack
l87ol9lo . . . . . DL8, l2, 78, 2l2; CDAL3
Jhe |ack London Research Center . . . . . . . Y00
Jhe |ack London Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
q i j~~ l820l829 . . . . . . . . . DLll0
Long, David l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
Long, H., and rother . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Long, Haniel l888l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL15
Long, Ray l878l935. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth
l807l882 . . . . . . . . DLl, 59, 235; CDAL2
Longfellow, Samuel l8l9l892 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl
Longford, Elizabeth l90o2002 . . . . . . . . . DLl55
Longinus circa first century . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o
Longley, Michael l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
J. Longman |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . DLl51
Longmans, Green and Company . . . . . . . . DL19
Longmore, George l793.l8o7 . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Longstreet, Augustus aldwin
l790l870 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, ll, 71, 218
D. Longworth |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL19
Lnn, ystein l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Lonsdale, Irederick l88ll951 . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Loos, Anita l893l98l. . . . . DLll, 2o, 228; Y8l
Lopate, Ihillip l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y80
Lope de Rueda l5l0.l5o5. . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Lopes, Ierno l380/l390.l1o0. . . . . . . . DL287
Lopez, arry l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25o, 275
Lpez, Diana (see Isabella, Ros)
Lpez, |osefina l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Lpez de Mendoza, igo
(see Santillana, Marqus de)
Lpez Velarde, Ramn l888l92l. . . . . . . DL290
Loranger, |eanAubert l89ol912 . . . . . . . . DL92
Lorca, Iederico Garca l898l93o . . . . . . . DLl08
Lord, |ohn Keast l8l8l872. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Lorde, Audre l931l992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Lorimer, George Horace l8o7l937. . . . . . . DL9l
A. K. Loring |publishing house|. . . . . . . . . . DL19
Loring and Mussey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Lorris, Guillaume de (see o~ ~ o)
Lossing, enson |. l8l3l89l . . . . . . . . . . . DL30
Lothar, Ernst l890l971. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8l
D. Lothrop and Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Lothrop, Harriet M. l811l921. . . . . . . . . . DL12
Loti, Iierre l850l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl23
Lotichius Secundus, Ietrus l528l5o0. . . . DLl79
`~ f ai_ PPN
RUM
Lott, Emmeline fl. nineteenth century . . . DLloo
Louisiana State Lniversity Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Lounsbury, Jhomas R. l838l9l5. . . . . . . DL7l
Lous, Iierre l870l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl23
Lveid, Cecile l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Lovejoy, Arthur O. l873l9o2 . . . . . . . . . .DL270
Lovelace, Earl l935 . . . . . DLl25; CDWL3
Lovelace, Richard lol8lo57 . . . . . . . . . . DLl3l
|ohn W. Lovell Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Lovell, Coryell and Company . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Lover, Samuel l797l8o8. . . . . . . . . . DLl59, l90
Lovesey, Ieter l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL87
Jribute to Georges Simenon . . . . . . . . . . . Y89
Lovinescu, Eugen
l88ll913 . . . . . . . . . . . DL220; CDWL1
Lovingood, Sut
(see Harris, George Washington)
Low, Samuel l7o5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Lowell, Amy l871l925 . . . . . . . . . . . DL51, l10
Lowell, |ames Russell l8l9l89l
. . . . . . .DLl, ll, o1, 79, l89, 235; CDAL2
Lowell, Robert
l9l7l977 . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, lo9; CDAL7
Lowenfels, Walter l897l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Lowndes, Marie elloc l8o8l917 . . . . . . . DL70
Lowndes, William Jhomas l798l813 . . . DLl81
Humphrey Lownes |publishing house| . . . .DLl70
Lowry, Lois l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Lowry, Malcolm l909l957 . . . DLl5; CDL7
Lowther, Iat l935l975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Loy, Mina l882l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1, 51
Loynaz, Dulce Mara l902l997. . . . . . . . DL283
Lozeau, Albert l878l921. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Lu Ling l923l991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Lu Xun l88ll93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Lu Yin l898.l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Lubbock, Iercy l879l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl19
Lucan ^.a. 39^.a. o5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ll
Lucas, E. V. l8o8l938. . . . . . . . DL98, l19, l53
Iielding Lucas |r. |publishing house|. . . . . . DL19
Luce, Clare ooth l903l987 . . . . . . . . . . DL228
Luce, Henry R. l898l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9l
|ohn W. Luce and Company . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Lucena, |uan de ca. l130l50l. . . . . . . . . DL28o
Lucian circa l20l80. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7o
LucieSmith, Edward l933 . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Lucilius circa l80 _.`.l02/l0l _.`. . . . . . DL2ll
Lucini, Gian Iietro l8o7l9l1 . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Luco Cruchaga, Germn l891l93o . . . . DL305
Lucretius circa 91 _.`.circa 19 _.`.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ll; CDWLl
Luder, Ieter circa l1l5l172. . . . . . . . . . . .DLl79
Ludlam, Charles l913l987 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2oo
Ludlum, Robert l927200l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y82
i ^ circa llo0 . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Ludvigson, Susan l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Ludwig, |ack l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Ludwig, Otto l8l3l8o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
i 88l or 882. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Luera, Yolanda l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Luft, Lya l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl15
Lugansky, Kazak Vladimir
(see Dal`, Vladimir Ivanovich)
Lugn, Kristina l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Lugones, Leopoldo l871l938 . . . . . . . . . DL283
Luhan, Mabel Dodge l879l9o2 . . . . . . . DL303
Lukcs, Georg (see Lukcs, Gyrgy)
Lukcs, Gyrgy
l885l97l. . . . . . . . .DL2l5, 212; CDWL1
Luke, Ieter l9l9l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Lummis, Charles I. l859l928. . . . . . . . . DLl8o
Lundkvist, Artur l90ol99l. . . . . . . . . . . DL259
Lunts, Lev Natanovich
l90ll921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL272
I. M. Lupton Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Lupus of Ierrires
circa 805circa 8o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Lurie, Alison l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2
Lussu, Emilio l890l975. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
Lustig, Arnot l92o . . . . . . . . . . . DL232, 299
Luther, Martin
l183l51o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl79; CDWL2
Luzi, Mario l9l12005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
L`vov, Nikolai Aleksandrovich
l75ll803 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Lyall, Gavin l9322003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL87
Lydgate, |ohn circa l370l150 . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Lyly, |ohn circa l551lo0o . . . . . . . . . DLo2, lo7
Lynch, Martin l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Lynch, Iatricia l898l972 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Lynch, Richard fl. l59olo0l. . . . . . . . . . .DLl72
Lynd, Robert l879l919. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL98
Lynds, Dennis (Michael Collins)
l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Jribute to Kenneth Millar . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y83
Why I Write Mysteries. Night and Day. . . Y85
Lyon, Matthew l719l822 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Lyotard, |eanIranois l921l998 . . . . . . DL212
Lyricists
Additional Lyricists. l920l9o0. . . . . DL2o5
Lysias circa 159 _.`.circa 380 _.`.. . . . . . .DLl7o
Lytle, Andrew l902l995. . . . . . . . . . . DLo; Y95
Jribute to Caroline Gordon. . . . . . . . . . . . Y8l
Jribute to Katherine Anne Iorter . . . . . . . Y80
Lytton, Edward
(see ulwerLytton, Edward)
Lytton, Edward Robert ulwer
l83ll89l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
j
Maass, |oachim l90ll972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Mabie, Hamilton Wright l815l9lo. . . . . . DL7l
Mac A`Ghobhainn, Iain (see Smith, Iain Crichton)
MacArthur, Charles l895l95o . . . . . DL7, 25, 11
Macaulay, Catherine l73ll79l . . . . . . . . DLl01
Macaulay, David l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Macaulay, Rose l88ll958. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3o
Macaulay, Jhomas abington
l800l859 . . . . . . . . . . DL32, 55; CDL1
Macaulay Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Maceth, George l932l992 . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Macbeth, Madge l880l9o5. . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
MacCaig, Norman l9l0l99o . . . . . . . . . . DL27
MacDiarmid, Hugh
l892l978. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20; CDL7
MacDonald, Cynthia l928 . . . . . . . . . DLl05
MacDonald, George l821l905. . . . DLl8, lo3, l78
MacDonald, |ohn D.
l9lol98o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8, 30o; Y8o
MacDonald, Ihilip l899.l980 . . . . . . . . . DL77
Macdonald, Ross (see Millar, Kenneth)
Macdonald, Sharman l95l . . . . . . . . . DL215
MacDonald, Wilson l880l9o7 . . . . . . . . . DL92
Macdonald and Company (Iublishers) . . DLll2
MacEwen, Gwendolyn l91ll987 . . . DL53, 25l
Macfadden, ernarr l8o8l955 . . . . . . DL25, 9l
MacGregor, |ohn l825l892. . . . . . . . . . . DLloo
MacGregor, Mary Esther (see Keith, Marian)
Macherey, Iierre l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
Machado, Antonio l875l939 . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Machado, Manuel l871l917 . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Machado de Assis, |oaquim Maria
l839l908 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Machar, Agnes Maule l837l927 . . . . . . . . DL92
Machaut, Guillaume de
circa l300l377 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL208
Machen, Arthur Llewelyn |ones
l8o3l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3o, l5o, l78
MacIlmaine, Roland fl. l571. . . . . . . . . . . DL28l
MacInnes, Colin l9l1l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
MacInnes, Helen l907l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL87
Mac Intyre, Jom l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
Maiulis, |onas (see Maironis, |onas)
Mack, Maynard l909200l . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Mackall, Leonard L. l879l937 . . . . . . . . DLl10
MacKay, Isabel Ecclestone l875l928. . . . . DL92
Mackay, Shena l911 . . . . . . . . . . DL23l, 3l9
ai_ PPN `~ f
RUN
`
MacKaye, Iercy l875l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL51

Macken, Walter l9l5l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
MacKenna, |ohn l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
Mackenzie, Alexander l7o3l820 . . . . . . . . DL99
Mackenzie, Alexander Slidell
l803l818 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl83
Mackenzie, Compton l883l972 . . . . . DL31, l00
Mackenzie, Henry l715l83l . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
q iI no. 20 (l785) . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Mackenzie, Kenneth (Seaforth Mackenzie)
l9l3l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Mackenzie, William l758l828 . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Mackey, Nathaniel l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo9
Mackey, William Wellington l937 . . . . . . DL38
Mackintosh, Elizabeth (see Jey, |osephine)
Mackintosh, Sir |ames l7o5l832 . . . . . . . DLl58
Macklin, Charles lo99l797. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL89
Maclaren, Ian (see Watson, |ohn)
MaclarenRoss, |ulian l9l2l9o1. . . . . . . . DL3l9
MacLaverty, ernard l912 . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
MacLean, Alistair l922l987 . . . . . . . . . . . DL27o
MacLean, Katherine Anne l925 . . . . . . . . DL8
Maclean, Norman l902l990 . . . . . . . . . . DL20o
MacLeish, Archibald l892l982
. . . . . . . DL1, 7, 15; Y82; DSl5; CDAL7
MacLennan, Hugh l907l990 . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
MacLeod, Alistair l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Macleod, Iiona (see Sharp, William)
Macleod, Norman l90ol985 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Mac Low, |ackson l9222001 . . . . . . . . . . DLl93
MacMahon, ryan l909l998. . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
Macmillan and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Jhe Macmillan Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Macmillan`s English Men of Letters,
Iirst Series (l878l892) . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl11
MacNamara, rinsley l890l9o3 . . . . . . . . DLl0
MacNeice, Louis l907l9o3. . . . . . . . . . DLl0, 20
Macphail, Andrew l8o1l938 . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Macpherson, |ames l73ol79o . . . . . . . . . . DLl09
Macpherson, |ay l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Macpherson, |eanie l881l91o . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Macrae Smith Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
MacRaye, Lucy etty (see Webling, Lucy)
|ohn Macrone |publishing house|. . . . . . . . DLl0o
MacShane, Irank l927l999 . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
MacyMasius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Madden, David l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Madden, Sir Irederic l80ll873 . . . . . . . . DLl81
Maddow, en l909l992. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Maddux, Rachel l9l2l983. . . . . . . DL231; Y93
Madgett, Naomi Long l923 . . . . . . . . . . DL7o
Madhubuti, Haki R. l912 . . . . . DL5, 1l; DS8
Madison, |ames l75ll83o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Madsen, Svend Age l939 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Madrigal, Alfonso Iernndez de (El Jostado)
ca. l105l155 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Maeterlinck, Maurice l8o2l919. . . . DLl92, 33l
New Iormalism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282
Magee, David l905l977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Maginn, William l791l812. . . . . . . . DLll0, l59
Magoffin, Susan Shelby l827l855 . . . . . . DL239
Mahan, Alfred Jhayer l810l9l1 . . . . . . . . DL17
Mahapatra, |ayanta l928 . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
MaheuxIorcier, Louise l929 . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Mahfz, Najb (Naguib Mahfouz)
l9ll200o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL33l; Y88;
Mahfz, Najb l9ll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y88
Nobel Lecture l988. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y88
Mahin, |ohn Lee l902l981 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Mahon, Derek l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Maiakovsky, Vladimir Vladimirovich
l893l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Maikov, Apollon Nikolaevich
l82ll897 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL277
Maikov, Vasilii Ivanovich l728l778 . . . . . DLl50
Mailer, Norman l923
. . . . . . . DL2, lo, 28, l85, 278; Y80, 83, 97;
DS3; CDALo
Jribute to Meyer Levin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
Maillart, Ella l903l997. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl95
Maillet, Adrienne l885l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Maillet, Antonine l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Maillu, David G. l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Maimonides, Moses ll38l201 . . . . . . . . . DLll5
Main Selections of the ookoftheMonth
Club, l92ol915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Mainwaring, Daniel l902l977 . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Mair, Charles l838l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Mair, |ohn circa l1o7l550. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Maironis, |onas l8o2l932 . . DL220; CDWL1
Mais, Roger l905l955 . . . . . DLl25; CDWL3
Maitland, Sara l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27l
Major, Andre l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Major, Charles l85ol9l3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL202
Major, Clarence l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Major, Kevin l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Major ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Makanin, Vladimir Semenovich
l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Makarenko, Anton Semenovich
l888l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL272
Makemie, Irancis circa lo58l708 . . . . . . . . DL21
q j~ ^~ Contract . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Makovsky, Sergei l877l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Maksimov, Vladimir Emelìanovich
l930l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Maksimovi, Desanka
l898l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl17; CDWL1
Malamud, ernard l9l1l98o
. . . . . . . . DL2, 28, l52; Y80, 8o; CDALl
ernard Malamud Archive at the
Harry Ransom Humanities
Research Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Mlncioiu, Ileana l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Malaparte, Curzio
(Kurt Erich Suckert) l898l957 . . . . . DL2o1
Malerba, Luigi l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Malet, Lucas l852l93l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl53
Malherbe, Iranois de l555lo28 . . . . . . . DL327
Mallarm, Stphane l812l898 . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
Malleson, Lucy eatrice (see Gilbert, Anthony)
Mallet|oris, Iranoise (Iranoise Lilar)
l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Mallock, W. H. l819l923 . . . . . . . . . . DLl8, 57
'Every Man His Own Ioet; or,
Jhe Inspired Singer`s Recipe
ook" (l877). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
'Le Style cèst l`homme" (l892) . . . . . . DL57
j i ~ i~ (l920),
|excerpt| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL57
Malone, Dumas l892l98o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
Malone, Edmond l71ll8l2 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl12
Malory, Sir Jhomas
circa l100l1l0 l17l. . . .DLl1o; CDLl
Malouf, David l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Malpede, Karen l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL219
Malraux, Andr l90ll97o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL72
q j~ c~ (Documentary). . . . . . . . DL280
Malthus, Jhomas Robert
l7ool831 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl07, l58
Maltz, Albert l908l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl02
Malzberg, arry N. l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Mamet, David l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Mamin, Dmitrii Narkisovich
l852l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Manaka, Matsemela l95o . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Maas, |os ngel l97l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Manchester Lniversity Iress . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Mandel, Eli l922l992. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Mandel`shtam, Nadezhda Iakovlevna
l899l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Mandel`shtam, Osip Emilèvich
l89ll938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Mandeville, ernard lo70l733 . . . . . . . . . DLl0l
Mandeville, Sir |ohn
mid fourteenth century . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Mandiargues, Andr Iieyre de
l909l99l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Manea, Norman l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Manfred, Irederick l9l2l991. . . . DLo, 2l2, 227
`~ f ai_ PPN
RUO
Manfredi, Gianfranco l918 . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Mangan, Sherry l901l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Manganelli, Giorgio l922l990 . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Manilius fl. first century ^.a. . . . . . . . . . . DL2ll
Mankiewicz, Herman l897l953 . . . . . . . . DL2o
Mankiewicz, |oseph L. l909l993 . . . . . . . DL11
Mankowitz, Wolf l921l998. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5
Manley, Delarivire lo72.l721 . . . . . . DL39, 80
Ireface to q p eI n
w~~I ~ w~~~ (l705) . . . . DL39
Mann, Abby l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Mann, Charles l929l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Mann, Emily l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2oo
Mann, Heinrich l87ll950. . . . . . . . . DLoo, ll8
Mann, Horace l79ol859 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 235
Mann, Klaus l90ol919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5o
Mann, Mary Ieabody l80ol887 . . . . . . . DL239
Mann, Jhomas
l875l955. . . . . . . . . DLoo, 33l; CDWL2
Mann, William DÀlton l839l920 . . . . . DLl37
Mannin, Ethel l900l981 . . . . . . . . . DLl9l, l95
Manning, Emily (see Australie)
Manning, Irederic l882l935. . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Manning, Laurence l899l972 . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Manning, Marie l873.l915. . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Manning and Loring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Mannyng, Robert fl.
l303l338 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Mano, D. Keith l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Manor ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Manrique, Gmez l1l2.l190 . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Manrique, |orge ca. l110l179 . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Mansfield, Katherine l888l923. . . . . . . . DLlo2
Mantel, Hilary l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27l
Manuel, Niklaus circa l181l530 . . . . . . . .DLl79
Manzini, Gianna l89ol971 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl77
Mao Dun l89ol98l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Mapanje, |ack l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Maraini, Dacia l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Maraise, MarieCatherineRene Darcel de
l737l822 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Maramzin, Vladimir Rafailovich
l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
March, William (William Edward Campbell)
l893l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, 8o, 3lo
Marchand, Leslie A. l900l999 . . . . . . . . DLl03
Marchant, essie l8o2l91l. . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Marchant, Jony l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
Marchenko, Anastasiia Iakovlevna
l830l880 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Marchessault, |ovette l938 . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Marcinkeviius, Justinas l930 . . . . . . . DL232
Marcos, Ilnio (Ilnio Marcos de arros)
l935l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Marcus, Irank l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Marcuse, Herbert l898l979 . . . . . . . . . . DL212
Marden, Orison Swett l850l921. . . . . . . DLl37
Marechera, Dambudzo l952l987 . . . . . . DLl57
Marek, Richard, ooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Mares, E. A. l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Marguerite de Navarre l192l519 . . . . . . DL327
Margulies, Donald l951 . . . . . . . . . . . DL228
Mariana, |uan de l535 or l53olo21 . . . . DL3l8
Mariani, Iaul l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Maras, |avier l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Marie de Irance fl. llo0ll78. . . . . . . . . . DL208
MarieVictorin, Irre (Conrad Kirouac)
l885l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Marin, iagio l89ll985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Marinetti, Iilippo Jommaso
l87ol911. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1, 2o1
Marinina, Aleksandra (Marina Anatolèvna
Alekseeva) l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Marinkovi, Ranko
l9l3200l . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl17; CDWL1
Marion, Irances l88ol973 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Marius, Richard C. l933l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y85
Marivaux, Iierre Carlet de Chamblain de
lo88l7o3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Markandaya, Kamala l9212001 . . . . . . . DL323
Markevich, oleslav Mikhailovich
l822l881 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Markfield, Wallace l92o2002 . . . . . . . . DL2, 28
Markham, E. A. l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
Markham, Edwin l852l910 . . . . . . . DL51, l8o
Markish, David l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Markle, Iletcher l92ll99l . . . . . . . . DLo8; Y9l
Marlatt, Daphne l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Marlitt, E. l825l887 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Marlowe, Christopher
l5o1l593 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo2; CDLl
Marlyn, |ohn l9l2l985. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Marmion, Shakerley lo03lo39 . . . . . . . . . DL58
Marmontel, |eanIranois l723l799 . . . . DL3l1
Der Marner before l230circa l287 . . . . . DLl38
Marnham, Iatrick l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Marot, Clment l19ol511. . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Jhe j~~ q~ l588l589 . . . . . . . . DLl32
Marquand, |ohn I. l893l9o0 . . . . . . . DL9, l02
Marques, Helena l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Marqus, Ren l9l9l979 . . . . . . . . DLll3, 305
Marquis, Don l878l937 . . . . . . . . . . . DLll, 25
Marriott, Anne l9l3l997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Marryat, Irederick l792l818 . . . . . . DL2l, lo3
Mars, |uan l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Marsh, Capen, Lyon and Webb . . . . . . . . . DL19
Marsh, George Ierkins
l80ll882 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, o1, 213
Marsh, |ames l791l812. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 59
Marsh, Narcissus lo38l7l3. . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Marsh, Ngaio l899l982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
Marshall, Alan l902l981 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Marshall, Edison l891l9o7. . . . . . . . . . . DLl02
Marshall, Edward l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Marshall, Emma l828l899 . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo3
Marshall, |ames l912l992. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Marshall, |oyce l9l3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Marshall, Iaule l929 . . . . . . . . DL33, l57, 227
Marshall, Jom l938l993. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Marsilius of Iadua
circa l275circa l312 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
Mars|ones, Adam l951 . . . . . . . . . DL207, 3l9
Marson, Lna l905l9o5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl57
Marston, |ohn l57olo31 . . . . . . . . . . .DL58, l72
Marston, Ihilip ourke l850l887. . . . . . . DL35
Martel, Yann l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Martens, Kurt l870l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Mart, |os l853l895. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Martial circa ^.a. 10circa ^.a. l03
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL2ll; CDWLl
William S. Martien |publishing house| . . . . DL19
Martin, Abe (see Hubbard, Kin)
Martin, Catherine ca. l817l937. . . . . . . . DL230
Martin, Charles l912 . . . . . . . . . . DLl20, 282
Martin, Claire l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Martin, David l9l5l997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Martin, |ay l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Martin, |ohann (see Laurentius von Schnffis)
Martin, Jhomas lo9ol77l . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Martin, Violet Ilorence (see Ross, Martin)
Martin du Gard, Roger l88ll958. . . DLo5, 33l
Martineau, Harriet
l802l87o. . . . . DL2l, 55, l59, lo3, loo, l90
Martnez, Demetria l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Martnez de Joledo, Alfonso
l398.l1o8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Martnez, Eliud l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Martnez, Max l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Martnez, Rubn l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Martn Gaite, Carmen l9252000 . . . . . . DL322
MartnSantos, Luis l921l9o1. . . . . . . . . DL322
Martinson, Harry l901l978 . . . . . . DL259, 33l
Martinson, Moa l890l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . DL259
Martone, Michael l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l8
Martyn, Edward l859l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Marvell, Andrew
lo2llo78. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3l; CDL2
ai_ PPN `~ f
RUP
`
Marvin X l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38

Marx, Karl l8l8l883 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Marzials, Jheo l850l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
Masefield, |ohn l878l9o7
. . . . . . . . . . . DLl0, l9, l53, lo0; CDL5
Masham, Damaris Cudworth, Lady
lo59l708 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL252
Masino, Iaola l908l989. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
Mason, A. E. W. l8o5l918. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL70
Mason, obbie Ann
l910 . . . . . . . . . . DLl73; Y87; CDAL7
Mason, I. van Wyck (Geoffrey Coffin, Irank W.
Mason, Ward Weaver) l90ll978. . . . . DL30o
Mason, William l725l797. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl12
Mason rothers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
q j~~ n~ o
l817l850 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl
q j~. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Massey, Gerald l828l907. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Massey, Linton R. l900l971. . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Massie, Allan l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27l
Massinger, Ihilip l583lo10 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL58
Masson, David l822l907 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl11
Masters, Edgar Lee
l8o8l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL51; CDAL3
Masters, Hilary l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
Masters, Olga l9l9l98o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Mastronardi, Lucio l930l979. . . . . . . . . . DLl77
Mat` Maria (Elizaveta Kuz`minaKaravdeva
Skobtsova, ne Iilenko) l89ll915 . . . . DL3l7
Matevski, Mateja l929 . . . DLl8l; CDWL1
Mather, Cotton
loo3l728 . . . . . . . DL21, 30, l10; CDAL2
Mather, Increase lo39l723 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Mather, Richard l59oloo9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Matheson, Annie l853l921 . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Matheson, Richard l92o . . . . . . . . . . . DL8, 11
Matheus, |ohn I. l887l98o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5l
Mathews, Aidan l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
Mathews, Cornelius l8l7.l889 . . . DL3, o1, 250
Elkin Mathews |publishing house| . . . . . . . DLll2
Mathews, |ohn |oseph l891l979 . . . . . . . DLl75
Mathias, Roland l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Mathis, |une l892l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Mathis, Sharon ell l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Matkovi, Marijan l9l5l985 . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Matos, Antun Gustav l873l9l1 . . . . . . . . DLl17
Matos Iaoli, Irancisco l9l52000 . . . . . . . DL290
Matsumoto Seich l909l992 . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Jhe Matter of England l210l100. . . . . . . DLl1o
Jhe Matter of Rome early twelfth to late
fifteenth century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Matthew of Vendme
circa ll30circa l200 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL208
Matthews, rander l852l929. . DL7l, 78; DSl3
Matthews, rian l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Matthews, |ack l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Matthews, Victoria Earle l8oll907 . . . . . DL22l
Matthews, William l912l997. . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Matthas |ochumsson l835l920 . . . . . . . . DL293
Matthas |ohannessen l930 . . . . . . . . . . DL293
Matthiessen, I. O. l902l950 . . . . . . . . . . . DLo3
Matthiessen, Ieter l927 . . . . . . . DLo, l73, 275
Maturin, Charles Robert l780l821 . . . . . DLl78
Matute, Ana Mara l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Maugham, W. Somerset l871l9o5
. . . . DLl0, 3o, 77, l00, lo2, l95; CDLo
Maupassant, Guy de l850l893 . . . . . . . . DLl23
Maupertuis, IierreLouis Moreau de
lo98l759 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Maupin, Armistead l911 . . . . . . . . . . . DL278
Mauriac, Claude l9l1l99o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Mauriac, Iranois l885l970. . . . . . . . DLo5, 33l
Maurice, Irederick Denison l805l872 . . . . DL55
Maurois, Andr l885l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo5
Maury, |ames l7l8l7o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Mavor, Elizabeth l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Mavor, Osborne Henry (see ridie, |ames)
Maxwell, Gavin l9l1l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Maxwell, William
l9082000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l8, 278; Y80
Jribute to Nancy Hale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y88
H. Maxwell |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . DL19
|ohn Maxwell |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DLl0o
May, Elaine l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
May, Karl l812l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
May, Jhomas l595/l59olo50 . . . . . . . . . . DL58
Mayer, ernadette l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo5
Mayer, Mercer l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Mayer, O. . l8l8l89l. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, 218
Mayes, Herbert R. l900l987 . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
Mayes, Wendell l9l9l992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Mayfield, |ulian l928l981 . . . . . . . . DL33; Y81
Mayhew, Henry l8l2l887 . . . . . . DLl8, 55, l90
Mayhew, |onathan l720l7oo . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Mayne, Ethel Colburn l8o5l91l . . . . . . . DLl97
Mayne, |asper lo01lo72. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2o
Mayne, Seymour l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Mayor, Ilora Macdonald l872l932 . . . . . . DL3o
Mayrcker, Iriederike l921 . . . . . . . . . . DL85
Mazrui, Ali A. l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl25
Maurani, Ivan l8l1l890 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl17
Mazursky, Iaul l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
McAlmon, Robert l89ol95o . . . DL1, 15; DSl5
'A Night at ricktop`s" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
McArthur, Ieter l8ool921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
McAuley, |ames l9l7l97o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Robert M. Mcride and Company . . . . . . . DL1o
McCabe, Iatrick l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl91
McCafferty, Owen l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
McCaffrey, Anne l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
McCann, Colum l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
McCarthy, Cormac l933 . . . . . DLo, l13, 25o
Jhe Cormac McCarthy Society . . . . . . . . .Y99
McCarthy, Mary l9l2l989 . . . . . . . . DL2; Y8l
McCarthy, Shaun Lloyd (see Cory, Desmond)
McCay, Winsor l87ll931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
McClane, Albert |ules l922l99l . . . . . . . DLl7l
McClatchy, C. K. l858l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
McClellan, George Marion l8o0l931 . . . . DL50
'Jhe Negro as a Writer". . . . . . . . . . . . DL50
McCloskey, Robert l9l12003 . . . . . . . . . . DL22
McCloy, Helen l901l992. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
McClung, Nellie Letitia l873l95l . . . . . . . DL92
McClure, |ames l939200o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27o
McClure, |oanna l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
McClure, Michael l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
McClure, Ihillips and Company . . . . . . . . . DL1o
McClure, S. S. l857l919. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9l
A. C. McClurg and Company. . . . . . . . . . . DL19
McCluskey, |ohn A., |r. l911 . . . . . . . . . DL33
McCollum, Michael A. l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y87
McConnell, William C. l9l7 . . . . . . . . . DL88
McCord, David l897l997. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
McCord, Louisa S. l8l0l879 . . . . . . . . . . DL218
McCorkle, |ill l958 . . . . . . . . . . . DL231; Y87
McCorkle, Samuel Eusebius l71ol8ll. . . . DL37
McCormick, Anne O`Hare l880l951 . . . . DL29
McCormick, Kenneth Dale l90ol997 . . . . . . . Y97
McCormick, Robert R. l880l955 . . . . . . . DL29
McCourt, Edward l907l972. . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
McCoy, Horace l897l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
McCrae, Hugh l87ol958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
McCrae, |ohn l872l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
McCrumb, Sharyn l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
McCullagh, |oseph . l812l89o . . . . . . . . DL23
McCullers, Carson
l9l7l9o7 . . . . . DL2, 7, l73, 228; CDALl
McCulloch, Jhomas l77ol813. . . . . . . . . . DL99
McCunn, Ruthanne Lum l91o . . . . . . DL3l2
McDermott, Alice l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
McDonald, Iorrest l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
McDonald, Walter l931 . . . . . . . DLl05, DS9
'Getting Started. Accepting the
Regions You Ownor Which
Own You". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
`~ f ai_ PPN
RUQ
McDougall, Colin l9l7l981 . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
McDowell, Katharine Sherwood onner
l819l883 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL202, 239
Obolensky McDowell
|publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
McEwan, Ian l918 . . . . . .DLl1, l91, 3l9, 32o
McIadden, David l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
McIall, Irances Elizabeth Clarke
(see Grand, Sarah)
McIarland, Ron l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25o
McIarlane, Leslie l902l977. . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
McIee, William l88ll9oo. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl53
McGahan, Andrew l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
McGahern, |ohn l931 . . . . . . DLl1, 23l, 3l9
McGee, Jhomas DÀrcy l825l8o8. . . . . . DL99
McGeehan, W. O. l879l933 . . . . . . . .DL25, l7l
McGill, Ralph l898l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
McGinley, Ihyllis l905l978 . . . . . . . . DLll, 18
McGinniss, |oe l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
McGirt, |ames E. l871l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL50
McGlashan and Gill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
McGough, Roger l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
McGrath, |ohn l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
McGrath, Iatrick l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23l
McGrawHill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
McGuane, Jhomas l939 . . . . . DL2, 2l2; Y80
Jribute to Seymour Lawrence . . . . . . . . . . Y91
McGuckian, Medbh l950 . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
McGuffey, William Holmes l800l873. . . . DL12
McGuinness, Irank l953 . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
McHenry, |ames l785l815 . . . . . . . . . . . DL202
McIlvanney, William l93o . . . . . . . DLl1, 207
McIlwraith, |ean Newton l859l938 . . . . . DL92
McInerney, |ay l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
McInerny, Ralph l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
McIntosh, Maria |ane l803l878 . . . DL239, 218
McIntyre, |ames l827l90o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
McIntyre, O. O. l881l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
McKay, Claude l889l918 . . . . .DL1, 15, 5l, ll7
Jhe David McKay Company. . . . . . . . . . . DL19
McKean, William V. l820l903 . . . . . . . . . DL23
McKenna, Stephen l888l9o7 . . . . . . . . . DLl97
Jhe McKenzie Jrust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9o
McKerrow, R. . l872l910 . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
McKinley, Robin l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
McKnight, Reginald l95o . . . . . . . . . . DL231
McLachlan, Alexander l8l8l89o . . . . . . . DL99
McLaren, Iloris Clark l901l978. . . . . . . . DLo8
McLaverty, Michael l907l992. . . . . . . . . . DLl5
McLean, Duncan l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
McLean, |ohn R. l818l9lo. . . . . . . . . . . . DL23
McLean, William L. l852l93l . . . . . . . . . DL25
McLennan, William l85ol901 . . . . . . . . . DL92
McLoughlin rothers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
McLuhan, Marshall l9lll980 . . . . . . . . . DL88
McMaster, |ohn ach l852l932 . . . . . . . . DL17
McMillan, Jerri l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
McMurtry, Larry l93o
. . . . . . . . DL2, l13, 25o; Y80, 87; CDALo
McNally, Jerrence l939 . . . . . . . . . . .DL7, 219
McNeil, Ilorence l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
McNeile, Herman Cyril l888l937 . . . . . . DL77
McNickle, DÀrcy l901l977 . . . . . . . DLl75, 2l2
McIhee, |ohn l93l . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl85, 275
McIherson, |ames Alan l913 . . . . DL38, 211
McIherson, Sandra l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y8o
McJaggart, |. M. E. l8ool925 . . . . . . . . DL2o2
McWhirter, George l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
McWilliam, Candia l955 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
McWilliams, Carey l905l980. . . . . . . . . DLl37
'q k~ Iuture," Carey
McWilliams`s Editorial Iolicy
in k~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
Mda, Zakes l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL225
Mead, George Herbert l8o3l93l . . . . . . .DL270
Mead, L. J. l811l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1l
Mead, Matthew l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Mead, Jaylor circa l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Meany, Jom l903l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7l
Mears, Gillian l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Mechthild von Magdeburg
circa l207circa l282 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Medieval GalicianIortuguese Ioetry . . . . DL287
Medill, |oseph l823l899 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Medoff, Mark l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Meek, Alexander eaufort
l8l1l8o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, 218
Meeke, Mary .l8lo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLllo
Mehta, Ved l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Mei, Lev Aleksandrovich l822l8o2 . . . . .DL277
Meinke, Ieter l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Meireles, Ceclia l90ll9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Meja, Iedro l197l55l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Mejia Vallejo, Manuel l923 . . . . . . . . . DLll3
Melanchthon, Ihilipp l197l5o0 . . . . . . . .DLl79
Melanon, Robert l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Mell, Max l882l97l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8l, l21
Mellow, |ames R. l92ol997. . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Mel`nikov, Iavel Ivanovich l8l8l883 . . . DL238
Meltzer, David l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Meltzer, Milton l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Melville, Elizabeth, Lady Culross
circa l585lo10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl72
Melville, Herman
l8l9l89l . . . . . . . DL3, 71, 250; CDAL2
Jhe Melville Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Melville, |ames
(Roy Ieter Martin) l93l . . . . . . . . .DL27o
'Memorandum on Local Government," Anne
Robert|acques Jurgot, bacon de
lÀulne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Mena, |uan de l1lll15o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Mena, Mara Cristina l893l9o5 . . . DL209, 22l
Menander 31231l _.`.circa 29229l _.`.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o; CDWLl
Menantes (see Hunold, Christian Iriedrich)
Mencke, |ohann urckhard lo71l732. . . DLlo8
Mencken, H. L. l880l95o
. . . . . . . . . DLll, 29, o3, l37, 222; CDAL1
'erlin, Iebruary, l9l7". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Irom the Initial Issue of ^~ j
( |anuary l921) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl37
Mencken and Nietzsche. An
Lnpublished Excerpt from H. L.
Mencken`s j i ~ ^ ~
b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y93
Mendelssohn, Moses l729l78o . . . . . . . . . DL97
Mendes, Catulle l81ll909 . . . . . . . . . . . .DL2l7
Mndez M., Miguel l930 . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Mendoza, Diego Hurtado de
l501l575. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Mendoza, Eduardo l913 . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Jhe Mercantile Library of New York. . . . . . . . Y9o
Mercer, Cecil William (see Yates, Dornford)
Mercer, David l928l980. . . . . . . . . . .DLl3, 3l0
Mercer, |ohn l701l7o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Mercer, |ohnny l909l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Mercier, LouisSbastien l710l8l1 . . . . . DL3l1
i q~~ m~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Meredith, George
l828l909 . . . . DLl8, 35, 57, l59; CDL1
Meredith, Louisa Anne l8l2l895 . . DLloo, 230
Meredith, Owen
(see Lytton, Edward Robert ulwer)
Meredith, William l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Meres, Irancis
m~~ q~~I t q~ (l598)
|excerpt| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl72
Merezhkovsky, Dmitrii Sergeevich
l8o5l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Mergerle, |ohann Llrich
(see Abraham Sancta Clara)
Mrime, Irosper l803l870 . . . . . . .DLll9, l92
Merino, |os Mara l91l . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Merivale, |ohn Herman l779l811. . . . . . . DL9o
Meriwether, Louise l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
MerleauIonty, Maurice l908l9ol . . . . . DL29o
Merlin Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
ai_ PPN `~ f
RUR
`
Merriam, Eve l9lol992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol

Jhe Merriam Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Merril, |udith l923l997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Jribute to Jheodore Sturgeon . . . . . . . . . .Y85
Merrill, |ames l92ol995. . . . . . . DL5, lo5; Y85
Merrill and aker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Jhe Mershon Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Merton, Jhomas l9l5l9o8 . . . . . . . DL18; Y8l
Merwin, W. S. l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, lo9
|ulian Messner |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL1o
Mszly, Mikls l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
|. Metcalf |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Metcalf, |ohn l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Jhe Methodist ook Concern. . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Methuen and Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Meun, |ean de (see o~ ~ o)
Mew, Charlotte l8o9l928 . . . . . . . . . DLl9, l35
Mewshaw, Michael l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y80
Meyer, Conrad Ierdinand l825l898 . . . . DLl29
Meyer, E. Y. l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Meyer, Eugene l875l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Meyer, Michael l92l2000. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
Meyers, |effrey l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Meynell, Alice l817l922. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9, 98
Meynell, Viola l885l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl53
Meyrink, Gustav l8o8l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8l
Mzires, Ihilipe de circa l327l105 . . . . . DL208
Michael, Ib l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Michael, Livi l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Michalis, Karen l872l950. . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Michaels, Anne l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Michaels, Leonard l9332003 . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Michaux, Henri l899l981 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL258
Micheaux, Oscar l881l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL50
Michel of Northgate, Dan
circa l2o5circa l310. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Micheline, |ack l929l998. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Michener, |ames A. l907.l997 . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Micklejohn, George circa l7l7l8l8. . . . . . . DL3l
Middle Hill Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Middleton, Christopher l92o . . . . . . . . . DL10
Middleton, Richard l882l9ll . . . . . . . . . DLl5o
Middleton, Stanley l9l9 . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 32o
Middleton, Jhomas l580lo27 . . . . . . . . . . DL58
j Ì l98l ooker Irize winner,
Salman Rushdie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Miegel, Agnes l879l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5o
Mieelaitis, Eduardas l9l9l997 . . . . . . . . DL220
Miguis, |os Rodrigues l90ll980. . . . . . DL287
Mihailovi, Dragoslav l930 . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Mihali, Slavko l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Mikhailov, A.
(see Sheller, Aleksandr Konstantinovich)
Mikhailov, Mikhail Larionovich
l829l8o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Mikhailovsky, Nikolai Konstantinovich
l812l901 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL277
Miles, |osephine l9lll985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL18
Miles, Susan (Lrsula Wyllie Roberts)
l888l975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Milikovi, ranko l931l9ol. . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Milius, |ohn l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Mill, |ames l773l83o . . . . . . . . DLl07, l58, 2o2
Mill, |ohn Stuart
l80ol873 . . . . . .DL55, l90, 2o2; CDL1
Jhoughts on Ioetry and Its Varieties
(l833) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Andrew Millar |publishing house| . . . . . . . DLl51
Millar, Kenneth
l9l5l983 . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 22o; Y83; DSo
Mills, |uan |os l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Millay, Edna St. Vincent
l892l950 . . . . . . . . . .DL15, 219; CDAL1
Millen, Sarah Gertrude l888l9o8 . . . . . . DL225
Miller, Andrew l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Miller, Arthur l9l52005. . . DL7, 2oo; CDALl
Jhe Arthur Miller Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
Miller, Caroline l903l992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Miller, Eugene Ethelbert l950 . . . . . . . . DL1l
Miller, Heather Ross l939 . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Miller, Henry
l89ll980 . . . . . . . . DL1, 9; Y80; CDAL5
Miller, Hugh l802l85o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl90
Miller, |. Hillis l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
Miller, |ason l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Miller, |oaquin l839l9l3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8o
Miller, May l899l995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Miller, Iaul l90ol99l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Miller, Ierry l905l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7, o3
Miller, Sue l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl13
Miller, Vassar l921l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Miller, Walter M., |r. l923l99o . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Miller, Webb l892l910. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
|ames Miller |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Millett, Kate l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
Millhauser, Steven l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2
Millican, Arthenia |. ates l920 . . . . . . . DL38
Milligan, Alice l8ool953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Mills, Magnus l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Mills and oon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Milman, Henry Hart l79ol8o8 . . . . . . . . . DL9o
Milne, A. A. l882l95o . . . . . DLl0, 77, l00, lo0
Milner, Ron l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
William Milner |publishing house| . . . . . . DLl0o
Milnes, Richard Monckton (Lord Houghton)
l809l885 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32, l81
Milton, |ohn
lo08lo71 . . . . . DLl3l, l5l, 28l; CDL2
Jhe Milton Society of America. . . . . . . . . . Y00
Miosz, Czesaw
l9ll2001 . . . . . . . . DL2l5, 33l; CDWL1
Minakami Jsutomu l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Minamoto no Sanetomo ll92l2l9. . . . . . DL203
Minco, Marga l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Jhe Minerva Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl51
j~ circa ll50l280 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Jhe Music of j~ . . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Minns, Susan l839l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl10
Minsky, Nikolai l855l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Minton, alch and Company . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Minyana, Ihilippe l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
Mirbeau, Octave l818l9l7. . . . . . . . DLl23, l92
Mirikitani, |anice l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Mirk, |ohn died after l1l1.. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Mir, Gabriel l879l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Mir, Ricardo l883l910. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Miron, Gaston l928l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
^ j j~~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo7
Mirsky, D. S. l890l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Mishima Yukio l925l970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Mistral, Irdric l830l9l1. . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Mistral, Gabriela l889l957 . . . . . . . DL283, 33l
Mitchel, |onathan lo21loo8. . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Mitchell, Adrian l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Mitchell, Donald Grant
l822l908 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 213; DSl3
Mitchell, Gladys l90ll983. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
Mitchell, |ames Leslie l90ll935. . . . . . . . . DLl5
Mitchell, |ohn (see Slater, Iatrick)
Mitchell, |ohn Ames l815l9l8. . . . . . . . . . DL79
Mitchell, |oseph l908l99o . . . . . . . DLl85; Y9o
Mitchell, |ulian l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Mitchell, Ken l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Mitchell, Langdon l8o2l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Mitchell, Loften l9l9200l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
Mitchell, Margaret l900l919 . . .DL9; CDAL7
Mitchell, S. Weir l829l9l1. . . . . . . . . . . . DL202
Mitchell, W. |. J. l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
Mitchell, W. O. l9l1l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Mitchison, Naomi Margaret (Haldane)
l897l999 . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0, l9l, 255, 3l9
Mitford, Mary Russell l787l855. . . . DLll0, llo
Mitford, Nancy l901l973. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Mittelholzer, Edgar
l909l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll7; CDWL3
`~ f ai_ PPN
RUS
Mitterer, Erika l90o200l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
Mitterer, Ielix l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
Mitternacht, |ohann Sebastian
lol3lo79. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Miyamoto Yuriko l899l95l . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Mizener, Arthur l907l988. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Mo, Jimothy l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl91
Moberg, Vilhelm l898l973 . . . . . . . . . . . DL259
Modern Age ooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Modern Language Association of America
Jhe Modern Language Association of
America Celebrates Its Centennial . . . Y81
Jhe Modern Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Modiano, Iatrick l915 . . . . . . . . . DL83, 299
Modjeska, Drusilla l91o . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Moffat, Yard and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Moffet, Jhomas l553lo01 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Mofolo, Jhomas l87ol918 . . . . . . . . . . . DL225
Mohr, Nicholasa l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl15
Moix, Ana Mara l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
Molesworth, Louisa l839l92l . . . . . . . . DLl35
Molire ( |eanaptiste Ioquelin)
lo22lo73 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Mller, Ioul Martin l791l838 . . . . . . . . . DL300
Mllhausen, alduin l825l905. . . . . . . . DLl29
Molnr, Ierenc l878l952. . . DL2l5; CDWL1
Molnr, Mikls (see Mszly, Mikls)
Momaday, N. Scott
l931 . . . . . . .DLl13, l75, 25o; CDAL7
Mommsen, Jheodor l8l7l903 . . . . . . . . DL33l
Monkhouse, Allan l858l93o. . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Monro, Harold l879l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9
Monroe, Harriet l8o0l93o . . . . . . . . . DL51, 9l
Monsarrat, Nicholas l9l0l979 . . . . . . . . . DLl5
Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley
lo89l7o2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL95, l0l
Montague, C. E. l8o7l928 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl97
Montague, |ohn l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Montaigne, Michel de l533l592 . . . . . . . DL327
Montale, Eugenio l89ol98l . . . . . . DLll1, 33l
Montalvo, Garci Rodrguez de
ca. l150.before l505 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Montalvo, |os l91ol991 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Montemayor, |orge de l52l.l5ol. . . . . . DL3l8
Montero, Rosa l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Monterroso, Augusto l92l2003 . . . . . . . DLl15
Montesquieu, CharlesLouis de Secondat, baron de
lo89l755. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
q p i~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Montesquiou, Robert de l855l92l. . . . . DL2l7
Montgomerie, Alexander
circa l550.l598 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo7
Montgomery, |ames l77ll851. . . . . . DL93, l58
Montgomery, |ohn l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Montgomery, Lucy Maud
l871l912. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92; DSl1
Montgomery, Marion l925 . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Montgomery, Robert ruce (see Crispin, Edmund)
Montherlant, Henry de l89ol972 . . . DL72, 32l
q j o l719l811 . . . . . . . . . . DLll0
Monti, Ricardo l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Montigny, Louvigny de l87ol955. . . . . . . DL92
Montoya, |os l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Moodie, |ohn Wedderburn Dunbar
l797l8o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Moodie, Susanna l803l885 . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Moody, |oshua circa lo33lo97 . . . . . . . . . DL21
Moody, William Vaughn l8o9l9l0. . . . .DL7, 51
j qI l987 ooker Irize winner,
Ienelope Lively . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Moorcock, Michael l939 .DLl1, 23l, 2ol, 3l9
Moore, Alan l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Moore, rian l92ll999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Moore, Catherine L. l9lll987 . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Moore, Clement Clarke l779l8o3. . . . . . . DL12
Moore, Dora Mavor l888l979 . . . . . . . . . DL92
Moore, G. E. l873l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Moore, George l852l933 . . . . DLl0, l8, 57, l35
i~ ~ kI `~ j~
(l885) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8
Moore, Lorrie l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
Moore, Marianne
l887l972 . . . . . . . . . DL15; DS7; CDAL5
International Marianne Moore Society . . . Y98
Moore, Mavor l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Moore, Richard l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
'Jhe No Self, the Little Self, and
the Ioets". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Moore, J. Sturge l870l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9
Moore, Jhomas l779l852. . . . . . . . . DL9o, l11
Moore, Ward l903l978. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Moore, Wilstach, Keys and Company . . . . DL19
Moorehead, Alan l90ll983 . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Moorhouse, Irank l938 . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Moorhouse, Geoffrey l93l . . . . . . . . . DL201
Moorish Novel of the Sixteenth
Century, Jhe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Jhe MoorlandSpingarn Research
Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7o
Moorman, Mary C. l905l991 . . . . . . . . DLl55
Mora, Iat l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Moraes, Dom l9382001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Moraes, Vinicius de l9l3l980 . . . . . . . . DL307
Moraga, Cherre l952 . . . . . . . . . . DL82, 219
Morales, Alejandro l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Morales, Mario Roberto l917 . . . . . . . DLl15
Morales, Rafael l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
and b~ circa l500 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Morand, Iaul (l888l97o) . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo5
Morante, Elsa l9l2l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl77
Morata, Olympia Iulvia l52ol555 . . . . . .DLl79
Moravia, Alberto l907l990. . . . . . . . . . . .DLl77
Mordaunt, Elinor l872l912 . . . . . . . . . . .DLl71
Mordovtsev, Daniil Lukich l830l905 . . . DL238
More, Hannah
l715l833. . . . . . . . . . . DLl07, l09, llo, l58
More, Henry lol1lo87 . . . . . . . . . . DLl2o, 252
More, Sir Jhomas
l177/l178l535 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o, 28l
Morejn, Nancy l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Morellet, Andr l727l8l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Morency, Iierre l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Moreno, Dorinda l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Moretti, Marino l885l979. . . . . . . . DLll1, 2o1
Morgan, erry l9l92002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Morgan, Charles l891l958. . . . . . . . .DL31, l00
Morgan, Edmund S. l9lo . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7
Morgan, Edwin l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Morgan, |ohn Iierpont l837l9l3 . . . . . . DLl10
Morgan, |ohn Iierpont, |r. l8o7l913 . . . DLl10
Morgan, Robert l911 . . . . . . . . . DLl20, 292
Morgan, Sally l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Morgan, Sydney Owenson, Lady
l77o.l859 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLllo, l58
Morgner, Irmtraud l933l990 . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Morhof, Daniel Georg lo39lo9l . . . . . . DLlo1
Mori, Kyoko l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Mori gai l8o2l922. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Mori, Joshio l9l0l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Mricz, Zsigmond l879l912 . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Morier, |ames |ustinian
l782 or l783.l819 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLllo
Mrike, Eduard l801l875. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Morin, Iaul l889l9o3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Morison, Richard l5l1.l55o . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Morison, Samuel Eliot l887l97o . . . . . . . . .DLl7
Morison, Stanley l889l9o7. . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Moritz, Karl Ihilipp l75ol793. . . . . . . . . . DL91
j `~ circa l220l230 . . . . . . . . DLl38
Morley, Christopher l890l957 . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Morley, |ohn l838l923. . . . . . . . DL57, l11, l90
Moro, Csar l903l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Morris, George Iope l802l8o1. . . . . . . . . DL73
Morris, |ames Humphrey (see Morris, |an)
Morris, |an l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Morris, Lewis l833l907 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
Morris, Margaret l737l8lo . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
ai_ PPN `~ f
RUT
`
Morris, Mary McGarry l913 . . . . . . . . DL292

Morris, Richard . l901l989 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
Morris, William l831l89o
. . . . DLl8, 35, 57, l5o, l78, l81; CDL1
Morris, Willie l931l999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y80
Jribute to Irwin Shaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y81
Morris, Wright
l9l0l998 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 20o, 2l8; Y8l
Morrison, Arthur l8o3l915 . . . . DL70, l35, l97
Morrison, Charles Clayton l871l9oo. . . . . DL9l
Morrison, |ohn l901l998. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Morrison, Joni l93l
. . . . DLo, 33, l13, 33l; Y8l, 93; CDALo
Nobel Lecture l993. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y93
Morrissy, Mary l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
William Morrow and Company . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Morse, |ames Herbert l81ll923 . . . . . . . . DL7l
Morse, |edidiah l7oll82o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Morse, |ohn J., |r. l810l937 . . . . . . . . . . . DL17
Morselli, Guido l9l2l973. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl77
j Î the ^~ and the
p~~ circa l350l100 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Mortimer, Iavell Lee l802l878. . . . . . . . . DLlo3
Mortimer, |ohn
l923 . . . . . . . . DLl3, 215, 27l; CDL8
Morton, Carlos l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Morton, H. V. l892l979. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl95
|ohn I. Morton and Company . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Morton, Nathaniel lol3lo85 . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Morton, Sarah Wentworth l759l81o . . . . . DL37
Morton, Jhomas circa l579circa lo17 . . . . DL21
Moscherosch, |ohann Michael
lo0lloo9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Humphrey Moseley
Mser, |ustus l720l791. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL97
Mosley, Nicholas l923 . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 207
Mosley, Walter l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Moss, Arthur l889l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Moss, Howard l922l987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Moss, Jhylias l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Motion, Andrew l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Motley, |ohn Lothrop
l8l1l877 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 30, 59, 235
Motley, Willard l909l9o5 . . . . . . . . . DL7o, l13
Mott, Lucretia l793l880. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL239
enjamin Motte |r.
Motteux, Ieter Anthony loo3l7l8 . . . . . . . DL80
Mottram, R. H. l883l97l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3o
Mount, Ierdinand l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23l
Mour, Erin l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Mourning Dove (Humishuma) between
l882 and l888.l93o . . . . . . . . . DLl75, 22l
Movies
Iiction into Iilm, l928l975. A List
of Movies ased on the Works
of Authors in ritish Novelists,
l930l959. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5
Movies from ooks, l920l971. . . . . . . . DL9
Mowat, Iarley l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
A. R. Mowbray and Company,
Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Mowrer, Edgar Ansel l892l977 . . . . . . . . . DL29
Mowrer, Iaul Scott l887l97l . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Edward Moxon |publishing house| . . . . . . DLl0o
|oseph Moxon |publishing house| . . . . . . . DLl70
Moyes, Iatricia l9232000. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27o
Mphahlele, Es`kia (Ezekiel)
l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . DLl25, 225; CDWL3
Mroek, Sawomir l930 . . . DL232; CDWL1
Mtshali, Oswald Mbuyiseni
l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl25, 225
Mu Shiying l9l2l910. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
alMubarrad 82o898 or 899 . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
j . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo2
Mudford, William l782l818. . . . . . . . . . . DLl59
Mudrooroo (see |ohnson, Colin)
Mueller, Lisel l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Muhajir, El (see Marvin X)
Muhajir, Nazzam Al Iitnah (see Marvin X)
Muhammad the Irophet circa 570o32 . . . DL3ll
Mhlbach, Luise l8l1l873. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Muir, Edwin l887l959 . . . . . . . . DL20, l00, l9l
Muir, Helen l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Muir, |ohn l838l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8o, 275
Muir, Iercy l891l979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Muj Ichien l22ol3l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Mukherjee, harati l910 . . . . DLo0, 2l8, 323
Mulcaster, Richard l53l or l532loll . . . DLlo7
Muldoon, Iaul l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Mulisch, Harry l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Mulkerns, Val l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
Mller, Iriedrich (see Mller, Maler)
Mller, Heiner l929l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
Mller, Maler l719l825 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91
Muller, Marcia l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
Mller, Wilhelm l791l827 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Mumford, Lewis l895l990 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo3
Munby, A. N. L. l9l3l971 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Munby, Arthur |oseph l828l9l0 . . . . . . . . DL35
Munday, Anthony l5o0lo33 . . . . . . . DLo2, l72
Mundt, Clara (see Mhlbach, Luise)
Mundt, Jheodore l808l8ol . . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Munford, Robert circa l737l783. . . . . . . . . DL3l
Mungoshi, Charles l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Munk, Kaj l898l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Munonye, |ohn l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll7
Muoz Molina, Antonio l95o . . . . . . . DL322
Munro, Alice l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
George Munro |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL19
Munro, H. H.
l870l9lo . . . . . . . . . .DL31, lo2; CDL5
Munro, Neil l8o1l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5o
Norman L. Munro |publishing house| . . . . . DL19
Munroe, Kirk l850l930. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL12
Munroe and Irancis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
|ames Munroe and Company . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
|oel Munsell |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Munsey, Irank A. l851l925 . . . . . . . . DL25, 9l
Irank A. Munsey and Company. . . . . . . . . DL19
Mura, David l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Murakami Haruki l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Muratov, Iavel l88ll950. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Murayama, Milton l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Muravèv, Mikhail Nikitich l757l807 . . . . DLl50
Murdoch, Iris l9l9l999
. . . . . . . . . . DLl1, l91, 233, 32o; CDL8
Murdock, |ames
Irom p j m . . . . . . . . DS5
Murdoch, Rupert l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Murfree, Mary N. l850l922 . . . . . . . . DLl2, 71
Murger, Henry l822l8ol. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll9
Murger, LouisHenri (see Murger, Henry)
Murnane, Gerald l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Murner, Jhomas l175l537. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl79
Muro, Amado l9l5l97l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Murphy, Arthur l727l805 . . . . . . . . . DL89, l12
Murphy, eatrice M. l908l992 . . . . . . . . . DL7o
Murphy, Dervla l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Murphy, Emily l8o8l933. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Murphy, |ack l923l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
|ohn Murphy and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Murphy, |ohn H., III l9lo . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Murphy, Richard l927l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Murphy, Jom l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Murray, Albert L. l9lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
Murray, Gilbert l8ool957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Murray, |im l9l9l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
|ohn Murray |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DLl51
Murray, |udith Sargent
l75ll820 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37, 200
Murray, Les l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Murray, Iauli l9l0l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Murry, |ohn Middleton l889l957 . . . . . . DLl19
'Jhe reakLp of the Novel"
(l922) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3o
`~ f ai_ PPN
RUU
Murry, |ohn Middleton, |r. (see Cowper, Richard)
Musus, |ohann Karl August
l735l787 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL97
Muschg, Adolf l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Musil, Robert
l880l912 . . . . . . . . DL8l, l21; CDWL2
j circa 790circa 850 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Musset, Alfred de l8l0l857 . . . . . . .DLl92, 2l7
enjamin . Mussey
and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Muste, A. |. l885l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Mutafchieva, Vera l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Mutis, Alvaro l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Mwangi, Meja l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl25
Myers, Irederic W. H.
l813l90l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl90
Myers, Gustavus l872l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL17
Myers, L. H. l88ll911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5
Myers, Walter Dean l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Myerson, |ulie l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Mykle, Agnar l9l5l991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
MykolaitisIutinas,
Vincas l893l9o7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
Myles, Eileen l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl93
Myrdal, |an l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Mystery
l985. Jhe Year of the Mystery.
A Symposium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y85
Comments from Other Writers . . . . . . . . . Y85
Jhe Second Annual New York Iestival
of Mystery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Why I Read Mysteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y85
Why I Write Mysteries. Night and Day,
by Michael Collins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y85
k
Na Irous oneta circa l29ol328. . . . . . . DL208
Nabl, Iranz l883l971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8l
Nabakov, Vra l902l99l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9l
Nabokov, Vladimir l899l977 . . . . . . . DL2, 211,
278, 3l7; Y80, 9l; DS3; CDALl
International Nabokov Society. . . . . . . . . . Y99
An Interview |On Nabokov|, by
Iredson owers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y80
Nabokov Iestival at Cornell. . . . . . . . . . . . Y83
Jhe Vladimir Nabokov Archive in the
erg Collection of the New York
Iublic Library. An Overview . . . . . . . Y9l
Jhe Vladimir Nabokov Society . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Ndasi, Ladislav (see |g)
Naden, Constance l858l889. . . . . . . . . . DLl99
Nadezhdin, Nikolai Ivanovich
l801l85o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
Nadson, Semen Iakovlevich l8o2l887 . . .DL277
Naevius circa 2o5 _.`.20l _.`. . . . . . . . . DL2ll
Nafis and Cornish. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Nagai Kaf l879l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Nagel, Ernest l90ll985. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL279
Nagibin, Iurii Markovich l920l991 . . . . DL302
Nagrodskaia, Evdokiia Apollonovna
l8ool930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Naipaul, Shiva l915l985. . . . . . . . . DLl57; Y85
Naipaul, V. S. l932 DLl25, 201, 207, 32o, 33l;
Y85, Y0l; CDL8; CDWL3
Nobel Lecture 200l. 'Jwo Worlds". . . . . . Y0l
Nakagami Kenji l91ol992 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Nakanoin Masatada no Musume (see Nij, Lady)
Nakowska, Zofia l881l951 . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Namora, Iernando l9l9l989 . . . . . . . . . DL287
|oseph Nancrede |publishing house| . . . . . . DL19
Naranjo, Carmen l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl15
Narayan, R. K. l90o200l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Narbikova, Valeriia Spartakovna
l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Narezhny, Vasilii Jrofimovich
l780l825. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
Narrache, |ean (Emile Coderre)
l893l970. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Nasby, Ietroleum Vesuvius (see Locke, David Ross)
Eveleigh Nash |publishing house| . . . . . . . DLll2
Nash, Ogden l902l97l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Nashe, Jhomas l5o7lo0l. . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo7
Nason, |erry l9l0l98o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein l933 . . . . . . . . . .DL279
Nast, Cond l873l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9l
Nast, Jhomas l810l902 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl88
Nastasijevi, Momilo l891l938 . . . . . . . DLl17
Nathan, George |ean l882l958. . . . . . . . DLl37
Nathan, Robert l891l985. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Nation, Carry A. l81ol9ll. . . . . . . . . . . DL303
National ook Critics Circle Awards . . . . . Y00-0l
Jhe National |ewish ook Awards. . . . . . . . . . Y85
Natsume Sseki l8o7l9lo . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Naughton, ill l9l0l992. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Nava, Michael l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Navarro, |oe l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Naylor, Gloria l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl73
Nazor, Vladimir l87ol919. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl17
Ndebele, Njabulo l918 . . . . . . . . . DLl57, 225
Neagoe, Ieter l88ll9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Neal, |ohn l793l87o . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 59, 213
Neal, |oseph C. l807l817 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Neal, Larry l937l98l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
Jhe Neale Iublishing Company. . . . . . . . . DL19
Nearing, Scott l883l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Nebel, Irederick l903l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
Nebrija, Antonio de l112 or l111l522 . . DL28o
Nedreaas, Jorborg l90ol987 . . . . . . . . . DL297
I. Jennyson Neely |publishing house| . . . . DL19
Negoiescu, Ion l92ll993. . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
Negri, Ada l870l915. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Nehru, Iandit |awaharlal l889l9o1 . . . . DL323
Neihardt, |ohn G. l88ll973 . . . . . DL9, 51, 25o
Neidhart von Reuental
circa ll85circa l210 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Neilson, |ohn Shaw l872l912 . . . . . . . . . DL230
Nekrasov, Nikolai Alekseevich
l82ll877. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL277
Nekrasov, Viktor Ilatonovich
l9lll987. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
NeledinskyMeletsky, Iurii Aleksandrovich
l752l828. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Nelligan, Emile l879l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Nelson, Alice Moore Dunbar l875l935 . . DL50
Nelson, Antonya l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
Nelson, Kent l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
Nelson, Richard K. l91l . . . . . . . . . . . .DL275
Nelson, Jhomas, and Sons |L.K.| . . . . . . DLl0o
Nelson, Jhomas, and Sons |L.S.|. . . . . . . . DL19
Nelson, William l908l978. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Nelson, William Rockhill l81ll9l5 . . . . . DL23
Nemerov, Howard l920l99l . . . . . DL5, o; Y83
Nmeth, Lszl l90ll975 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Nepos circa l00 _.`.post 27 _.`. . . . . . . . DL2ll
Nris, Salomja l901l915 . . DL220; CDWL1
Neruda, Iablo l901l973 . . . . . . . . . DL283, 33l
Nerval, Grard de l808l855. . . . . . . . . . .DL2l7
Nervo, Amado l870l9l9. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Nesbit, E. l858l921 . . . . . . . . . DLl1l, l53, l78
Ness, Evaline l9lll98o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Nestroy, |ohann l80ll8o2. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Nettleship, R. L. l81ol892 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Neugeboren, |ay l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28
Neukirch, enjamin lo55l729. . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Neumann, Alfred l895l952 . . . . . . . . . . . DL5o
Neumann, Ierenc (see Molnr, Ierenc)
Neumark, Georg lo2llo8l. . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Neumeister, Erdmann lo7ll75o . . . . . . . DLlo8
Nevins, Allan l890l97l. . . . . . . . . . DLl7; DSl7
Nevinson, Henry Woodd l85ol91l . . . . DLl35
Jhe New American Library. . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
New Directions Iublishing Corporation. . . DL1o
q k j j~~ l8l1l881 . . . . DLll0
k v q _ o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y82
|ohn Newbery |publishing house|. . . . . . . DLl51
Newbolt, Henry l8o2l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9
Newbound, ernard Slade (see Slade, ernard)
Newby, Eric l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Newby, I. H. l9l8l997. . . . . . . . . . . DLl5, 32o
Jhomas Cautley Newby
|publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
ai_ PPN `~ f
RUV
`
Newcomb, Charles King l820l891 . . . DLl, 223

Newell, Ieter l8o2l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL12
Newell, Robert Henry l83ol90l . . . . . . . . DLll
Newhouse, Samuel I. l895l979 . . . . . . . . DLl27
Newman, Cecil Earl l903l97o . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Newman, David l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Newman, Irances l883l928. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y80
Newman, Irancis William l805l897 . . . . DLl90
Newman, G. I. l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Newman, |ohn Henry
l80ll890 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8, 32, 55
Mark Newman |publishing house|. . . . . . . . DL19
Newmarch, Rosa Harriet l857l910 . . . . . DL210
George Newnes Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Newsome, Effie Lee l885l979 . . . . . . . . . . DL7o
Newton, A. Edward l8o1l910 . . . . . . . . . DLl10
Newton, Sir Isaac lo12l727 . . . . . . . . . . . DL252
Nex, Martin Andersen l8o9l951 . . . . . . DL2l1
Nezval, Vtslav
l900l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5; CDWL1
Ngugi wa Jhiongò
l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl25; CDWL3
Niatum, Duane l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl75
Jhe k and the h~
circa l200 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Nichol, . I. l911l988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Nicholas of Cusa l10ll1o1 . . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
Nichols, Ann l89l.l9oo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL219
Nichols, everly l898l983. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Nichols, Dudley l895l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Nichols, Grace l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Nichols, |ohn l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Nichols, Mary Sargeant (Neal) Gove
l8l0l881 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 213
Nichols, Ieter l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3, 215
Nichols, Roy I. l89ol973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
Nichols, Ruth l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Nicholson, Edward Williams yron
l819l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
Nicholson, Geoff l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27l
Nicholson, Norman l9l1l987 . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Nicholson, William l872l919. . . . . . . . . . DLl1l
N Chuilleanin, Eilan l912 . . . . . . . . . DL10
Nicol, Eric l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Nicolai, Iriedrich l733l8ll . . . . . . . . . . . . DL97
Nicolas de Clamanges circa l3o3l137 . . . DL208
Nicolay, |ohn G. l832l90l and
Hay, |ohn l838l905. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL17
Nicole, Iierre lo25lo95 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Nicolson, Adela Ilorence Cory (see Hope, Laurence)
Nicolson, Harold l88ol9o8 . . . . . . . DLl00, l19
'Jhe Iractice of iography," in
q b p e ~
l b~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl19
Nicolson, Nigel l9l72001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
N Dhuibhne, Eils l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
Niebuhr, Reinhold l892l97l . . . . . DLl7; DSl7
Niedecker, Lorine l903l970 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL18
Nieman, Lucius W. l857l935. . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Nietzsche, Iriedrich
l811l900 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29; CDWL2
Mencken and Nietzsche. An Lnpublished
Excerpt from H. L. Mencken`s j i
~ ^ ~ b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y93
Nievo, Stanislao l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Niggli, |osefina l9l0l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y80
Nightingale, Ilorence l820l9l0 . . . . . . . . DLloo
Nij, Lady (Nakanoin Masatada no Musume)
l258after l30o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Nij Yoshimoto l320l388. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Nikitin, Ivan Savvich l821l8ol . . . . . . . . DL277
Nikitin, Nikolai Nikolaevich l895l9o3 . . DL272
Nikolev, Nikolai Ietrovich l758l8l5 . . . . DLl50
Niles, Hezekiah l777l839 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Nims, |ohn Irederick l9l3l999 . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Jribute to Nancy Hale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y88
Nin, Anas l903l977. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 1, l52
Nna jrk rnadttir l91l2000 . . . . . . . DL293
Nio, Ral l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Nissenson, Hugh l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28
Niven, Irederick |ohn l878l911. . . . . . . . . DL92
Niven, Larry l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Nixon, Howard M. l909l983 . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Nizan, Iaul l905l910. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL72
Njegos, Ietar II Ietrovi
l8l3l85l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl17; CDWL1
Nkosi, Lewis l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57, 225
Noah, Mordecai M. l785l85l . . . . . . . . . DL250
Noailles, Anna de l87ol933 . . . . . . . . . . . DL258
Nobel Ieace Irize
Jhe Nobel Irize and Literary Iolitics . . . . .Y88
Elie Wiesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Nobel Irize in Literature
Shmuel Yosef Agnon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL329
Vicente Aleixandre . . . . . . . . . . . DLl08, 329
Ivo Andri. . . . . . . . DLl17, 329; CDWL1
Miguel ngel Asturias. . . . . . . . DLll3, 290,
329; CDWL3
Samuel eckett . . . . . . . DLl3, l5, 233, 3l9,
32l, 329; Y90; CDL7
Saul ellow . . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 28, 299, 329;
Y82; DS3; CDALl
|acinto enevente . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL329
Henri ergson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL329
jrnstjerne jrnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL329
Heinrich ll . . . DLo9, 329; Y85; CDWL2
|oseph rodsky . . . . . . . . . DL285, 329; Y87
Iearl S. uck . . . . . DL9, l02, 329; CDAL7
Ivan unin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7, 329
Albert Camus . . . . . . . . . . . . DL72, 32l, 329
Elias Canetti . . . DL85, l21, 329; CDWL2
Giosu Carducci . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL329
Camilo |os Cela. . . . . . . . DL322, 329; Y89
Sir Winston Churchill . . . . . . . . DLl00, 329;
DSlo; CDL5
|. M. Coetzee. . . . . . . . . . . . DL225, 32o, 329
Grazia Deledda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o1, 329
|ose Echegaray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL329
J. S. Eliot . . . . . . . DL7, l0, 15, o3, 215, 329;
Y88, 99; CDAL5
Odysseus Elytis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL329
Rudolf Eucken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL329
William Iaulkner . . . .DL9, ll, 11, l02, 3lo,
330; DS2; Y8o; CDAL5
Dario Io . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL330; Y97
Anatole Irance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl23, 330
|ohn Galsworthy . . . . . . . .DLl0, 31, 98, lo2,
330; DSlo; CDL5
Gao Xingjian. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL330; Y00
Gabriel Garca Mrquez . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3,
330; Y82; CDWL3
Andr Gide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo5, 32l, 330
Karl Gjellerup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL300, 330
William Golding . . . . . . . . . .DLl5, l00, 255,
32o, 330; Y83; CDL7
Nadine Gordimer . . . . . . . DL225, 32o, 330;
Y9l
Gnter Grass. . . . . . . . DL75, l21, 330; Y99
Knut Hamsun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297, 330
Gerhart Hauptmann . . . . . . . . . . DLoo, ll8,
330; CDWL2
Seamus Heaney. . . . . . . . . . DL10, 330; Y95;
CDL8
Verner von Heidenstam . . . . . . . . . . . DL330
Ernest Hemingway . . . . . . . . . . DL1, 9, l02,
2l0, 3lo, 330; Y8l, 87, 99; DSl, l5, lo;
CDAL1
Hermann Hesse . . . . DLoo, 330; CDWL2
Iaul Heyse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29, 330
Elfriede |elinek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85, 330
|ohannes V. |ensen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL330
|uan Ramn |imnez . . . . . . . . . . DLl31, 330
Eyvind |ohnson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL259, 330
Erik Axel Karlfeldt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL330
Yasunari Kawabata . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80, 330
Imre Kertsz . . . . . . . . . . . DL299, 330; Y02
Rudyard Kipling . . . . . . .DLl9, 31, l1l, l5o,
330; CDL5
Ir Lagerkvist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Selma Lagerf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Halldr Laxness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Sinclair Lewis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Maurice Maeterlinck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Najb Mahfz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y88, 33l
Jhomas Mann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
`~ f ai_ PPN
RVM
Roger Martin du Gard. . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Harry Martinson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Iranois Mauriac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Czesaw Miosz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Irdric Mistral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Gabriela Mistral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Jheodor Mommsen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Eugenio Montale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Joni Morrison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y93, 33l
V. S. Naipaul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l, 33l
Iablo Neruda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Kenzabur e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y91, 33l
Eugene O`Neill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
oris Iasternak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Octavio Iaz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y90, 33l
Saint|ohn Ierse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Harold Iinter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Luigi Iirandello . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
Henrik Iontoppidan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33l
|os Saramago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
|aroslav Seifert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
Claude Simon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y85
Wole Soyinka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y8o
Wisawa Szymborska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9o
Derek Walcott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y92
Nobre, Antnio l8o7l900 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Nodier, Charles l780l811 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll9
Nol, Marie (Marie Mlanie Rouget)
l883l9o7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL258
Noel, Roden l831l891 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
Nogami Yaeko l885l985. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Nogo, Rajko Ietrov l915 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Nolan, William I. l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Noland, C. I. M. l8l0.l858 . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Noma Hiroshi l9l5l99l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Nonesuch Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Creative Nonfiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Nonni ( |n Stefn Sveinsson or Svensson)
l857l911. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
Noon, |eff l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Noonan, Robert Ihillipe (see Jressell, Robert)
Noonday Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Noone, |ohn l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Nora, Eugenio de l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
Nordan, Lewis l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
Nordbrandt, Henrik l915 . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Nordhoff, Charles l887l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Norn, Lars l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Norfolk, Lawrence l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Norman, Charles l901l99o . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Norman, Marsha l917 . . . . . . . . . DL2oo; Y81
Norris, Charles G. l88ll915. . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Norris, Irank
l870l902. . . . . . . DLl2, 7l, l8o; CDAL3
Norris, Helen l9lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Norris, |ohn lo57l7l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL252
Norris, Leslie l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27, 25o
Norse, Harold l9lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Norte, Marisela l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
North, Marianne l830l890. . . . . . . . . . . .DLl71
North Ioint Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Nortje, Arthur l912l970 . . . . . . . . . DLl25, 225
Norton, Alice Mary (see Norton, Andre)
Norton, Andre l9l22005 . . . . . . . . . . . DL8, 52
Norton, Andrews l78ol853. . . . DLl, 235; DS5
Norton, Caroline l808l877 . . . DL2l, l59, l99
Norton, Charles Eliot l827l908 . . DLl, o1, 235
Norton, |ohn lo0oloo3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Norton, Mary l903l992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Norton, Jhomas l532l581 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo2
W. W. Norton and Company. . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Norwood, Robert l871l932 . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Nosaka Akiyuki l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Nossack, Hans Erich l90ll977 . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Notker albulus circa 8109l2 . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Notker III of Saint Gall
circa 950l022 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Notker von Zweifalten .l095. . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Nourse, Alan E. l928l992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Novak, Slobodan l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Novak, Vjenceslav l859l905 . . . . . . . . . DLl17
Novakovich, |osip l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
Novalis l772l80l. . . . . . . . . . DL90; CDWL2
Novaro, Mario l8o8l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Novs Calvo, Lino l903l983 . . . . . . . . . DLl15
Novelists
i~ g~ Statements and
_uestionnaires from Iirst Novelists . . . . Y87
Novels
q `~ e ^~ k
A Symposium on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y92
Jhe Great Modern Library Scam . . . . . . . Y98
Novels for GrownLps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Jhe Iroletarian Novel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Novel, Jhe 'SecondGeneration" Holocaust
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Jhe Year in the Novel . . . . . . Y87-88, Y90-93
Novels, ritish
'Jhe reakLp of the Novel" (l922),
by |ohn Middleton Murry. . . . . . . DL3o
Jhe Consolidation of Opinion. Critical
Responses to the Modernists. . . . . DL3o
(l8o3), by G. H. Lewes . . . . . . . . . DL2l
'Experiment in the Novel" (l929)
|excerpt|, by |ohn D. eresford . . . DL3o
'Jhe Iuture of the Novel" (l899), by
Henry |ames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8
q d~ p (l8oo), by E. S. Dallas
|excerpt|. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l
A Haughty and Iroud Generation
(l922), by Iord Madox Hueffer . . DL3o
Literary Effects of World War II . . . . . DLl5
'Modern Novelists Great and Small"
(l855), by Margaret Oliphant . . . . DL2l
Jhe Modernists (l932),
by |oseph Warren each . . . . . . . . DL3o
A Note on Jechnique (l92o), by
Elizabeth A. Drew |excerpts| . . . . . DL3o
NovelReading. q t `~
aX q t tK j~~
q~~ (l879),
by Anthony Jrollope . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l
Novels with a Iurpose (l8o1), by
|ustin M`Carthy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l
'On Art in Iiction" (l838),
by Edward ulwer. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l
Jhe Iresent State of the English Novel
(l892), by George Saintsbury . . . . DLl8
Representative Men and Women.
A Historical Ierspective on
the ritish Novel, l930l9o0. . . . . DLl5
'Jhe Revolt" (l937), by Mary Colum
|excerpts| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3o
'Sensation Novels" (l8o3), by
H. L. Manse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l
Sex, Class, Iolitics, and Religion |in
the ritish Novel, l930l959| . . . . DLl5
q ~ t j~ (l927),
by Wyndham Lewis |excerpts| . . . DL3o
Noventa, Giacomo l898l9o0 . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Novikov, Nikolai Ivanovich
l711l8l8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Novomesk, Laco l901l97o . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Nowlan, Alden l933l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Nowra, Louis l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Noyes, Alfred l880l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20
Noyes, Crosby S. l825l908. . . . . . . . . . . . DL23
Noyes, Nicholas lo17l7l7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Noyes, Jheodore W. l858l91o. . . . . . . . . DL29
Nozick, Robert l9382002 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL279
sixteenth century. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Nugent, Irank l908l9o5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Nunez, Sigrid l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Nusi, ranislav
l8o1l938 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl17; CDWL1
David Nutt |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Nwapa, Ilora
l93ll993 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl25; CDWL3
Nye, Edgar Wilson (ill)
l850l89o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLll, 23, l8o
Nye, Naomi Shihab l952 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Nye, Robert l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 27l
NykaNilinas, Alfonsas l9l9 . . . . . . . DL220
l
Oakes, Lrian circa lo3llo8l . . . . . . . . . . DL21
ai_ PPN `~ f
RVN
`
Oakes Smith, Elizabeth

l80ol893 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 239, 213
Oakley, Violet l871l9ol. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl88
Oates, |oyce Carol l938
. . . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 5, l30; Y8l; CDALo
Jribute to Michael M. Rea . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y97
ba Minako l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Ober, Irederick Albion l819l9l3. . . . . . . DLl89
Ober, William l920l993. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y93
Oberholtzer, Ellis Iaxson l8o8l93o . . . . . . DL17
Jhe Obituary as Literary Iorm. . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Obradovi, Dositej l710.l8ll . . . . . . . . . DLl17
O`rien, Charlotte Grace l815l909. . . . . DL210
O`rien, Edna l932 DLl1, 23l, 3l9; CDL8
O`rien, Iitz|ames l828l8o2. . . . . . . . . . . DL71
O`rien, Ilann (see O`Nolan, rian)
O`rien, Kate l897l971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5
O`rien, Jim
l91o . . . . . DLl52; Y80; DS9; CDAL7
O Cadhain, Mirtn l905l970 . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
O`Casey, Sean l880l9o1 . . . . .DLl0; CDLo
Occom, Samson l723l792 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl75
Occomy, Marita onner l899l97l . . . . . . . DL5l
Ochs, Adolph S. l858l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
OchsOakes, George Washington
l8oll93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
O`Connor, Ilannery l925l9o1
. . . . . . . . DL2, l52; Y80; DSl2; CDALl
Jhe Ilannery O`Connor Society. . . . . . . . .Y99
O`Connor, Irank l903l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo2
O`Connor, |oseph l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Octopus Iublishing Group . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Oda Sakunosuke l9l3l917 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Odell, |onathan l737l8l8 . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l, 99
O`Dell, Scott l903l989. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Odets, Clifford l90ol9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7, 2o
Odhams Iress Limited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Odio, Eunice l922l971. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Odoevsky, Aleksandr Ivanovich
l802l839 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Odoevsky, Vladimir Iedorovich
l801 or l803l8o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
Odoevtseva, Irina l895l990. . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
O`Donnell, Ieter l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL87
O`Donovan, Michael (see O`Connor, Irank)
O`Dowd, ernard l8ool953. . . . . . . . . . . DL230
e, Kenzabur l935 . . . . . . DLl82, 33l; Y91
Nobel Lecture l991. |apan, the
Ambiguous, and Myself . . . . . . . . . . . .Y91
Oehlenschlger, Adam l779l850 . . . . . . . DL300
OÌaolain, |ulia l932 . . . . . . . . DLl1, 23l, 3l9
OÌaolain, Sean l900l99l . . . . . . . . . DLl5, lo2
OffLoop Jheatres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Offord, Carl Ruthven l9l0l990. . . . . . . . . DL7o
lI l979 ooker Irize winner,
Ienelope Iitzgerald . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
OÌlaherty, Liam l89ol981 . . . DL3o, lo2; Y81
Ogarev, Nikolai Ilatonovich l8l3l877. . . DL277
|. S. Ogilvie and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Ogilvy, Eliza l822l9l2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
Ogot, Grace l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl25
O`Grady, Desmond l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Ogunyemi, Wale l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
O`Hagan, Howard l902l982 . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
O`Hara, Irank l92ol9oo . . . . . . . . DL5, lo, l93
O`Hara, |ohn
l905l970 . . . DL9, 8o, 321; DS2; CDAL5
|ohn O`Hara`s Iottsville |ournalism . . . . . .Y88
O`Hare, Kate Richards l87ol918 . . . . . . . DL303
O`Hegarty, I. S. l879l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Ohio State Lniversity
Lniversity Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y92
Okada, |ohn l923l97l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Okara, Gabriel l92l . . . . . DLl25; CDWL3
O`Keeffe, |ohn l717l833. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL89
Nicholas Okes |publishing house| . . . . . . . DLl70
Okigbo, Christopher
l930l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl25; CDWL3
Okot pìtek l93ll982. . . . . DLl25; CDWL3
Okpewho, Isidore l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Okri, en l959 . . . . . . . DLl57, 23l, 3l9, 32o
Olafur |hann Sigursson l9l8l988 . . . . DL293
q l aI l98o ooker Irize winner,
Kingsley Amis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Old Dogs / New Jricks. New Jechnologies,
the Canon, and the Structure of
the Irofession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Old Iranklin Iublishing House . . . . . . . . . . DL19
l d~ d and l d~ b
circa l050circa ll30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Jhe l e d~ f
circa 790800 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Older, Iremont l85ol935. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Oldham, |ohn lo53lo83. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3l
Oldman, C. . l891l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Olds, Sharon l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Olearius, Adam l599lo7l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
O`Leary, Ellen l83ll889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
O`Leary, |uan E. l879l9o9. . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Olesha, Iurii Karlovich l899l9o0. . . . . . . DL272
Oliphant, Laurence l829.l888. . . . . . DLl8, loo
Oliphant, Margaret l828l897. . . DLl8, l59, l90
'Modern NovelistsGreat and Small"
(l855) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l
Oliveira, Carlos de l92ll98l. . . . . . . . . . DL287
Oliver, Chad l928l993. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Oliver, Mary l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, l93
Ollier, Claude l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Olsen, Jillie l9l2/l9l32007
. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28, 20o; Y80; CDAL7
Olson, Charles l9l0l970 . . . . . . . . DL5, lo, l93
Olson, Elder l909l992. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL18, o3
Olson, Sigurd I. l899l982 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL275
Jhe Omega Workshops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl0
Omotoso, Kole l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl25
Omulevsky, Innokentii Vasilèvich
l83o |or l837|l883 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Ondaatje, Michael l913 . . . . . DLo0, 323, 32o
O`Neill, Eugene l888l953 . DL7, 33l; CDAL5
Eugene O`Neill Memorial Jheater
Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Eugene O`Neill`s Letters. A Review . . . . . .Y88
Onetti, |uan Carlos
l909l991 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll3; CDWL3
Onions, George Oliver l872l9ol. . . . . . . DLl53
Onofri, Arturo l885l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
O`Nolan, rian l9lll9oo. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23l
Oodgeroo of the Jribe Noonuccal
(Kath Walker) l920l993 . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Opie, Amelia l7o9l853. . . . . . . . . . . DLllo, l59
Opitz, Martin l597lo39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Oppen, George l908l981. . . . . . . . . . . DL5, lo5
Oppenheim, E. Ihillips l8ool91o . . . . . . . DL70
Oppenheim, |ames l882l932. . . . . . . . . . . DL28
Oppenheimer, |oel l930l988 . . . . . . . . DL5, l93
Optic, Oliver (see Adams, William Jaylor)
Orczy, Emma, aroness l8o5l917 . . . . . . . DL70
Oregon Shakespeare Iestival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Origo, Iris l902l988. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
O`Riordan, Kate l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Orlovitz, Gil l9l8l973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 5
Orlovsky, Ieter l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Ormond, |ohn l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Ornitz, Samuel l890l957 . . . . . . . . . . . DL28, 11
O`Rourke, I. |. l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Orozco, Olga l920l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Orten, |i l9l9l91l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Ortese, Anna Maria l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl77
Ortiz, Lourdes l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Ortiz, Simon |. l91l . . . . . . . DLl20, l75, 25o
l and t circa l225l250 . . . . DLl38
Orton, |oe l933l9o7. . . . . DLl3, 3l0; CDL8
Orwell, George (Eric Arthur lair)
l903l950 . . . DLl5, 98, l95, 255; CDL7
Jhe Orwell Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y81
(Re)Iublishing Orwell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Ory, Carlos Edmundo de l923 . . . . . . . DLl31
Osbey, renda Marie l957 . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
`~ f ai_ PPN
RVO
Osbon, . S. l827l9l2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Osborn, Sarah l7l1l79o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Osborne, |ohn l929l991. . . . . DLl3; CDL7
l~ ~ i~I l988 ooker Irize winner,
Ieter Carey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Osgood, Irances Sargent l8lll850. . . . . DL250
Osgood, Herbert L. l855l9l8. . . . . . . . . . DL17
|ames R. Osgood and Company . . . . . . . . DL19
Osgood, McIlvaine and Company . . . . . . DLll2
O`Shaughnessy, Arthur l811l88l. . . . . . . DL35
Iatrick O`Shea |publishing house| . . . . . . . DL19
Osipov, Nikolai Ietrovich l75ll799. . . . . DLl50
Oskison, |ohn Milton l879l917. . . . . . . . .DLl75
Osler, Sir William l819l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
Osofisan, Iemi l91o . . . . DLl25; CDWL3
Ostenso, Martha l900l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Ostrauskas, Kostas l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Ostriker, Alicia l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Ostrovsky, Aleksandr Nikolaevich
l823l88o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL277
Ostrovsky, Nikolai Alekseevich
l901l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL272
Osundare, Niyi l917 . . . . .DLl57; CDWL3
Oswald, Eleazer l755l795 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Oswald von Wolkenstein
l37o or l377l115 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl79
Otero, las de l9lol979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
Otero, Miguel Antonio l859l911 . . . . . . . DL82
Otero, Nina l88ll9o5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Otero Silva, Miguel l908l985. . . . . . . . . DLl15
Otfried von Weienburg
circa 800circa 875. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Otis, roaders and Company. . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Otis, |ames (see Kaler, |ames Otis)
Otis, |ames, |r. l725l783 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Otsup, Nikolai l891l958. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Ottaway, |ames l9ll2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Ottendorfer, Oswald l82ol900 . . . . . . . . . DL23
Ottieri, Ottiero l9212002 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl77
OttoIeters, Louise l8l9l895 . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Otway, Jhomas lo52lo85 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL80
Ouellette, Iernand l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Ouida l839l908 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8, l5o
Outing Iublishing Company . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Overbury, Sir Jhomas
circa l58llol3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5l
Jhe Overlook Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Ovid 13 _.`.^.a. l7 . . . . . . . DL2ll; CDWLl
Oviedo, Gonzalo Iernndez de
l178l557 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Owen, Guy l925l98l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Owen, |ohn l5o1lo22. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2l
|ohn Owen |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Ieter Owen Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Owen, Robert l77ll858 . . . . . . . . . . DLl07, l58
Owen, Wilfred
l893l9l8 . . . . . . . DL20; DSl8; CDLo
A Centenary Celebration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y93
Jhe Wilfred Owen Association . . . . . . . . . Y98
q l ~ k~
circa ll89ll99 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Owsley, Irank L. l890l95o. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
Oxford, Seventeenth Earl of, Edward
de Vere l550lo01 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl72
OyamO (Charles I. Gordon)
l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2oo
Ozerov, Vladislav Aleksandrovich
l7o9l8lo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Ozick, Cynthia l928 . . . DL28, l52, 299; Y82
Iirst Strauss 'Livings`` Awarded
to Cynthia Ozick and
Raymond Carver
An Interview with Cynthia Ozick . . . . Y83
m
Iace, Richard l182.l53o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo7
Iacey, Desmond l9l7l975. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Iacheco, |os Emilio l939 . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Iack, Robert l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
m~ `~ e~ e~ e~I l993 ooker Irize winner,
Roddy Doyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Iadell Iublishing Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Iadgett, Ron l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Iadilla, Ernesto Chvez l911 . . . . . . . DLl22
L. C. Iage and Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Iage, Louise l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
Iage, I. K. l9lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Iage, Jhomas Nelson
l853l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl2, 78; DSl3
Iage, Walter Hines l855l9l8 . . . . . . . DL7l, 9l
Iaget, Irancis Edward l80ol882. . . . . . . DLlo3
Iaget, Violet (see Lee, Vernon)
Iagliarani, Elio l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Iagnol, Marcel l895l971. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
Iain, arry l8o1l928 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl35, l97
Iain, Ihilip .circa looo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Iaine, Robert Jreat, |r. l773l8ll . . . . . . . DL37
Iaine, Jhomas
l737l809 . . . . DL3l, 13, 73, l58; CDAL2
Iainter, George D. l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
Iainter, William l510.l591. . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Ialazzeschi, Aldo l885l971 . . . . . . . DLll1, 2o1
Ialei, Marina Anatolèvna l955 . . . . . . DL285
Ialencia, Alfonso de l121l192 . . . . . . . . DL28o
Ials Matos, Luis l898l959 . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Ialey, Grace l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28, 2l8
Ialey, William l713l805 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL252
Ialfrey, |ohn Gorham
l79ol88l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 30, 235
Ialgrave, Irancis Jurner l821l897 . . . . . . DL35
Ialissy, ernard l5l0.l590. . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Ialmer, |oe H. l901l952. . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7l
Ialmer, Michael l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo9
Ialmer, Nettie l885l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Ialmer, Vance l885l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Ialtock, Robert lo97l7o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Ialudan, |acob l89ol975. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
IaludinMller, Irederik l809l87o . . . . . DL300
Ian ooks Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Ianaev, Ivan Ivanovich l8l2l8o2 . . . . . . DLl98
Ianaeva, Avdotìa Iakovlevna
l820l893 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Ianama, Norman l9l12003 and
Irank, Melvin l9l3l988. . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Iancake, reece D`| l952l979. . . . . . . . . DLl30
Ianduro, Leif l923l977. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Ianero, Leopoldo l909l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Iangborn, Edgar l909l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Ianizzi, Sir Anthony l797l879. . . . . . . . . DLl81
Ianneton, Ihilippe (see Ringuet)
Ianova, Vera Iedorovna l905l973 . . . . . DL302
Ianshin, Alexei l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Iansy (see Alden, Isabella)
Iantheon ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Iapadatengescu, Hortensia
l87ol955. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
Iapantonio, Michael l907l97o . . . . . . . . .DLl87
Iaperback Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Iaperback Science Iiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Iapini, Giovanni l88ll95o . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
Iaquet, Alfons l88ll911. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Iaracelsus l193l51l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl79
Iaradis, Suzanne l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Iral, Vladimr, l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Iardoe, |ulia l801l8o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLloo
Iar, Ambroise l5l0 or l5l7.l590. . . . . DL327
Iaredes, Amrico l9l5l999 . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Iareja Diezcanseco, Alfredo l908l993 . . DLl15
Iarents` Magazine Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Iaretsky, Sara l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Iarfit, Derek l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Iarise, Goffredo l929l98o . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl77
Iarish, Mitchell l900l993. . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Iarizeau, Alice l930l990. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Iark, Ruth l923. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Iarke, |ohn l751l789 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Iarker, Dan l893l9o7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Iarker, Dorothy l893l9o7 . . . . . . DLll, 15, 8o
ai_ PPN `~ f
RVP
`
Iarker, Gilbert l8o0l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99

Iarker, |ames l7l1l770. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Iarker, |ohn |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Iarker, Matthew l501l575 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Iarker, Robert . l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Iarker, Stewart l91ll988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
Iarker, Jheodore l8l0l8o0 . . . . DLl, 235; DS5
Iarker, William Riley l90ol9o8. . . . . . . . DLl03
|. H. Iarker |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Iarkes, essie Rayner (Madame elloc)
l829l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Iarkman, Irancis
l823l893 . . . . . . . . . DLl, 30, l83, l8o, 235
Iarks, Gordon l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Iarks, Jim l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23l
Iarks, William lo98l750 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
William Iarks |publishing house|. . . . . . . . . DL19
Iarley, Ieter (see Goodrich, Samuel Griswold)
Iarmenides late sixthfifth century _.`. . . . DLl7o
Iarnell, Jhomas lo79l7l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL95
Iarnicki, Jeodor l908l988. . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Iarnok, Sofiia Iakovlevna (Iarnokh)
l885l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Iarr, Catherine l5l3.l518 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Iarra, Nicanor l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Iarrington, Vernon L. l87ll929. . . . . . DLl7, o3
Iarrish, Maxfield l870l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . DLl88
Iarronchi, Alessandro l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Iarshchikov, Aleksei Maksimovich
(Raiderman) l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
m~~ o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Iarton, |ames l822l89l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30
Iarton, Sara Iayson Willis
l8lll872 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13, 71, 239
S. W. Iartridge and Company. . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Iarun, Vesna l922 . . . . . . DLl8l; CDWL1
Iascal, laise lo23loo2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Iasinetti, Iier Maria l9l3 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl77
Iasolini, Iier Iaolo l922l975 . . . . . . DLl28, l77
Iastan, Linda l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Iasternak, oris
l890l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302, 33l
Iaston, George (Emily Morse Symonds)
l8o0l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl19, l97
q m~ i l122l509 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Iastoral Novel of the Sixteenth
Century, Jhe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Iastorius, Irancis Daniel
lo5lcirca l720 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Iatchen, Kenneth l9lll972 . . . . . . . . . DLlo, 18
Iater, Walter l839l891. . . DL57, l5o; CDL1
Aesthetic Ioetry (l873) . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
'Style" (l888) |excerpt| . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL57
Iaterson, A. . 'anjo" l8o1l91l . . . . . . DL230
Iaterson, Katherine l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Iatmore, Coventry l823l89o. . . . . . . . DL35, 98
Iaton, Alan l903l988 . . . . . . . . . DL225; DSl7
Iaton, |oseph Noel l82ll90l. . . . . . . . . . . DL35
Iaton Walsh, |ill l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
Iatrick, Edwin Hill ('Jed") l90ll9o1 . . . DLl37
Iatrick, |ohn l90ol995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Iattee, Ired Lewis l8o3l950 . . . . . . . . . . . DL7l
Iatterson, Alicia l90ol9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Iatterson, Eleanor Medill l88ll918. . . . . . DL29
Iatterson, Eugene l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Iatterson, |oseph Medill l879l91o. . . . . . . DL29
Iattillo, Henry l72ol80l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Iaul, Elliot l89ll958 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1; DSl5
Iaul, |ean (see Richter, |ohann Iaul Iriedrich)
Iaul, Kegan, Jrench, Jrubner and
Company Limited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Ieter Iaul ook Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Stanley Iaul and Company Limited . . . . . DLll2
Iaulding, |ames Kirke
l778l8o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, 59, 71, 250
Iaulin, Jom l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Iauper, Ieter, Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Iaustovsky, Konstantin Georgievich
l892l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL272
Iavese, Cesare l908l950 . . . . . . . . . DLl28, l77
Iavi, Milorad l929 . . . . . DLl8l; CDWL1
Iavlov, Konstantin l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Iavlov, Nikolai Iilippovich l803l8o1 . . . . . DLl98
Iavlova, Karolina Karlovna l807l893. . . . . DL205
Iavlovi, Miodrag
l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l; CDWL1
Iavlovsky, Eduardo l933 . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Iaxton, |ohn l9lll985. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Iayn, |ames l830l898 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8
Iayne, |ohn l812l9lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
Iayne, |ohn Howard l79ll852. . . . . . . . . . DL37
Iayson and Clarke. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Iaz, Octavio l9l1l998 . . . DL290, 33l; Y90, 98
Nobel Lecture l990. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y90
Iazzi, Roberto l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Iea, Enrico l88ll958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
Ieabody, Elizabeth Ialmer
l801l891 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 223
Ireface to o ~ pW
b d~ m
p~ ` . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS5
Elizabeth Ialmer Ieabody
Ieabody, |osephine Ireston l871l922 . . . DL219
Ieabody, Oliver William ourn
l799l818 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL59
Ieace, Roger l899l9o8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Ieacham, Henry l578lo11. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5l
Ieacham, Henry, the Elder
l517lo31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl72, 23o
Ieachtree Iublishers, Limited . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Ieacock, Molly l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Ieacock, Jhomas Love l785l8oo. . . . DL9o, llo
Iead, Deuel .l727. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Ieake, Mervyn l9lll9o8 . . . . . . DLl5, lo0, 255
Ieale, Rembrandt l778l8o0 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl83
Iear Jree Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Iearce, Ihilippa l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
H. . Iearson |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . DL19
Iearson, Hesketh l887l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl19
Ieattie, Donald Culross l898l9o1 . . . . . . DL275
Iechersky, Andrei (see Mel`nikov, Iavel Ivanovich)
Ieck, George W. l810l9lo. . . . . . . . . . DL23, 12
H. C. Ieck and Jheo. liss
Ieck, Harry Jhurston l85ol9l1 . . . . . DL7l, 9l
Ieden, William l9l3l999. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
Jribute to William Goyen . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Ieele, George l55ol59o . . . . . . . . . . . DLo2, lo7
Iegler, Westbrook l891l9o9. . . . . . . . . . . DLl7l
Iguy, Charles l873l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL258
Ieirce, Charles Sanders l839l9l1 . . . . . . DL270
Ieki, orislav l930l992 . . . DLl8l; CDWL1
Ielecanos, George I. l957 . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Ieletier du Mans, |acques l5l7l582 . . . . . DL327
Ielevin, Viktor Olegovich l9o2 . . . . . . DL285
Iellegrini and Cudahy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Ielletier, Aim (see Vac, ertrand)
Ielletier, Irancine l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Iellicer, Carlos l897.l977. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Iemberton, Sir Max l8o3l950. . . . . . . . . . DL70
de la Iea, Jerri l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Ienfield, Edward l8ool925 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl88
Ienguin ooks |L.K.| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Iifty Ienguin Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y85
Ienguin Collectors` Society. . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Ienguin ooks |L.S.| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Ienn, William lo11l7l8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Ienn Iublishing Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Ienna, Sandro l90ol977. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Iennell, |oseph l857l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl88
Ienner, |onathan l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Iennington, Lee l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Ienton, rian l901l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Iepper, Stephen C. l89ll972 . . . . . . . . . . DL270
Iepys, Samuel
lo33l703 . . . . . . . . . DLl0l, 2l3; CDL2
`~ f ai_ PPN
RVQ
Iercy, Jhomas l729l8ll. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl01
Iercy, Walker l9lol990 . . . . . . . . DL2; Y80, 90
Jribute to Caroline Gordon. . . . . . . . . . . . Y8l
Iercy, William l575lo18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl72
Ierec, Georges l93ol982. . . . . . . . . . DL83, 299
Ierelman, ob l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl93
Ierelman, S. |. l901l979 . . . . . . . . . . . DLll, 11
Ierez, Raymundo 'Jigre"
l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Irez de Ayala, Ramn l880l9o2. . . . . . DL322
Irez de Guzmn, Iernn
ca. l377ca. l1o0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
IrezReverte, Arturo l95l . . . . . . . . . DL322
Ieri Rossi, Cristina l91l . . . . . . . DLl15, 290
Ierkins, Eugene l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Ierkins, Maxwell
Jhe Claims of usiness and Literature.
An Lndergraduate Essay . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Ierkins, William l558lo02 . . . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Ierkoff, Stuart Z. l930l971 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Ierley, Moses Henry l801l8o2. . . . . . . . . DL99
Iermabooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Ierovsky, Aleksei Alekseevich
(Antonii Iogorel`sky) l787l83o. . . . . DLl98
Ierrault, Charles lo28l703. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Ierri, Henry l5ollol7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23o
Ierrin, Alice l8o7l931. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5o
Ierry, Anne l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27o
Ierry, liss l8o0l951. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7l
Ierry, Eleanor l9l5l98l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Ierry, Henry (see Ierri, Henry)
Ierry, Matthew l791l858 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl83
Ierry, Sampson l717l823. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl58
Ierse, Saint|ohn l887l975. . . . . . . . DL258, 33l
Iersius ^.a. 31^.a. o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ll
Ierutz, Leo l882l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8l
Iesetsky, ette l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Iessanha, Camilo l8o7l92o. . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Iessoa, Iernando l888l935. . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Iestalozzi, |ohann Heinrich l71ol827 . . . . DL91
Ieter, Laurence |. l9l9l990. . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Ieter of Spain circa l205l277 . . . . . . . . . DLll5
Ieterkin, |ulia l880l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Ieters, Ellis (Edith Iargeter)
l9l3l995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27o
Ieters, Lenrie l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll7
Ieters, Robert l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
'Ioreword to i _~~" . . . . . DLl05
Ietersham, Maud l889l97l and
Ietersham, Miska l888l9o0 . . . . . . . . DL22
Ieterson, Charles |acobs l8l9l887 . . . . . . DL79
Ieterson, Len l9l7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Ieterson, Levi S. l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20o
Ieterson, Louis l922l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7o
Ieterson, J. ., and rothers . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Ietitclair, Iierre l8l3l8o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Ietrescu, Camil l891l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
Ietronius circa ^.a. 20^.a. oo
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ll; CDWLl
Ietrov, Aleksandar l938 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Ietrov, Evgenii (Evgenii Ietrovich Kataev)
l903l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL272
Ietrov, Gavriil l730l80l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Ietrov, Valeri l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Ietrov, Vasilii Ietrovich l73ol799 . . . . . . DLl50
Ietrovi, Rastko
l898l919 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl17; CDWL1
Ietrushevskaia, Liudmila Stefanovna
l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
m circa 851. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Ietry, Ann l908l997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7o
Iettie, George circa l518l589 . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Itur Gunnarsson l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
Ieyton, K. M. l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
Ifaffe Konrad fl. circa ll72. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Ifaffe Lamprecht fl. circa ll50 . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Ifeiffer, Emily l827l890 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
Iforzheimer, Carl H. l879l957 . . . . . . . . DLl10
Ihaedrus circa l8 _.`.circa ^.a. 50 . . . . . DL2ll
Ihaer, Jhomas l5l0.l5o0 . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo7
Ihaidon Iress Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Iharr, Robert Deane l9lol992 . . . . . . . . . DL33
Ihelps, Elizabeth Stuart l8l5l852. . . . . . DL202
Ihelps, Elizabeth Stuart l811l9ll. . . DL71, 22l
Ihilander von der Linde
(see Mencke, |ohann urckhard)
Ihilby, H. St. |ohn . l885l9o0 . . . . . . . DLl95
Ihilip, Marlene Nourbese l917 . . . . . . DLl57
Ihilippe, CharlesLouis l871l909 . . . . . . . DLo5
Ihilips, |ohn lo7ol708. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL95
Ihilips, Katherine lo32loo1 . . . . . . . . . . DLl3l
Ihillipps, Sir Jhomas l792l872. . . . . . . . DLl81
Ihillips, Caryl l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Ihillips, David Graham
l8o7l9ll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, l2, 303
Ihillips, |ayne Anne l952 . . . . . . DL292; Y80
Jribute to Seymour Lawrence . . . . . . . . . . Y91
Ihillips, Robert l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
'Iinding, Losing, Reclaiming. A Note
on My Ioems". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Jribute to William Goyen . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y83
Ihillips, Stephen l8o1l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Ihillips, Llrich . l877l931. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
Ihillips, Wendell l8lll881 . . . . . . . . . . . DL235
Ihillips, Willard l781l873 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL59
Ihillips, William l9072002 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
Ihillips, Sampson and Company . . . . . . . . DL19
Ihillpotts, Adelaide Eden (Adelaide Ross)
l89ol993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Ihillpotts, Eden l8o2l9o0. . . DLl0, 70, l35, l53
Ihilo circa 20l5 _.`.circa ^.a. 50 . . . . . . .DLl7o
m~ a~I Voltaire. . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Ihilosophical Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Ihilosophy
EighteenthCentury Ihilosophical
ackground. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Ihilosophic Jhought in oston . . . . . DL235
Jranslators of the Jwelfth Century.
Literary Issues Raised and
Impact Created . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
Elihu Ihinney |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL19
Ihoenix, |ohn (see Derby, George Horatio)
IHYLON (Iourth _uarter, l950),
Jhe Negro in Literature.
Jhe Current Scene. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7o
m circa l070circa ll50. . . . . . . . . DLl18
II.O. (Ii O, Ieter Oustabasides)
l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Iiccolo, Lucio l903l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Iichette, Henri l9212000 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
Iickard, Jom l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
William Iickering |publishing house| . . . . DLl0o
Iickthall, Marjorie l883l922 . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Iicoult, |odi l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Iictorial Irinting Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Iiel, Gerard l9l52001. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl37
'An Announcement to Our Readers,"
Gerard Iiel`s Statement in p
^~ (April l918) . . . . . . . . . . .DLl37
Iielmeier, |ohn l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2oo
Iiercy, Marge l93o . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl20, 227
Iierre, DC l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Iierro, Albino l9lol995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Iignotti, Lamberto l92o . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Iike, Albert l809l89l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL71
Iike, Zebulon Montgomery l779l8l3. . . DLl83
Iillat, Ion l89ll915. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
Iil`niak, oris Andreevich (oris Andreevich
Vogau) l891l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL272
Iilon, |eanGuy l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Iinar, Ilorencia fl. ca. late
fifteenth century. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Iinckney, Eliza Lucas l722l793. . . . . . . . DL200
Iinckney, |osephine l895l957. . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Iindar circa 5l8 _.`.circa 138 _.`.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o; CDWLl
Iindar, Ieter (see Wolcot, |ohn)
Iineda, Cecile l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Iinero, Arthur Wing l855l931. . . . . . . . . DLl0
Iiero, Miguel l91ol988 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2oo
Iinget, Robert l9l9l997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
ai_ PPN `~ f
RVR
`
Iinkney, Edward Coote

l802l828 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL218
Iinnacle ooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Iion, Nlida l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl15, 307
Iinsky, Robert l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Reappointed Ioet Laureate . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Iinter, Harold l930
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl3, 3l0, 33l; CDL8
Writing for the Jheatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Iinto, Ierno Mendes l509/l5ll.l583 . . DL287
Iiontek, Heinz l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Iiozzi, Hester Lynch |Jhrale|
l71ll82l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl01, l12
Iiper, H. eam l901l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Iiper, Watty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Iirandello, Luigi l8o7l93o . . . . . . . . DL2o1, 33l
Iirckheimer, Caritas l1o7l532 . . . . . . . . . DLl79
Iirckheimer, Willibald l170l530 . . . . . . . DLl79
Iires, |os Cardoso l925l998. . . . . . . . . . DL287
Iisar, Samuel l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Iisarev, Dmitrii Ivanovich l810l8o8 . . . . DL277
Iisemsky, Aleksei Ieofilaktovich
l82ll88l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Iitkin, Jimothy l7ool817. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30
Iitter, Ruth l897l992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20
Iix, Mary loool709 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL80
Iixercourt, Ren Charles Guilbert de
l773l811 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl92
Iizarnik, Alejandra l93ol972 . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Il, |osefina l909l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Ilaatje, Sol J. l87ol932 . . . . . . . . . . DLl25, 225
Ilanchon, Roger l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
Ilante, David l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Ilantinga, Alvin l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL279
Ilaten, August von l79ol835 . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Ilath, Sylvia
l932l9o3 . . . . . . . . . DL5, o, l52; CDALl
Ilato circa 128 _.`.318317 _.`.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o; CDWLl
Ilato, Ann l821. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL239
Ilaton l737l8l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Ilatonov, Andrei Ilatonovich (Andrei
Ilatonovich Klimentev)
l899l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL272
Ilatt, Charles l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Ilatt and Munk Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Ilautus circa 251 _.`.l81 _.`.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ll; CDWLl
Ilayboy Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
|ohn Ilayford |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DLl70
Der Ileier fl. circa l250 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Ileijel, Agneta l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Ilenzdorf, Llrich l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Ileshcheev, Aleksei Nikolaevich
l825.l893 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL277
Ilessen, Elizabeth l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Iletnev, Ietr Aleksandrovich
l792l8o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Iliekne, Elza Rozenberga (see Aspazija)
Iliekns, |nis (see Rainis, |nis)
Ilievier, Jheodor l892l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Ilimpton, George l9272003 . . DLl85, 21l; Y99
Iliny the Elder ^.a. 23/21^.a. 79 . . . . . . . DL2ll
Iliny the Younger
circa ^.a. ol^.a. ll2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ll
Ilomer, William
l903l973 . . . . . . . . . . . DL20, lo2, l9l, 225
Ilotinus 201270. . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o; CDWLl
Ilowright, Jeresa l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Ilume, Jhomas lo30l701 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Ilumly, Stanley l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, l93
Ilumpp, Sterling D. l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Ilunkett, |ames l9202003. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Ilutarch
circa 1ocirca l20. . . . . . . DLl7o; CDWLl
Ilymell, Charles l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Iocket ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Iodest, |os |. l858l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Ioe, Edgar Allan l809l819
. . . . . . . . . . DL3, 59, 73, 71, 218; CDAL2
Jhe Ioe Studies Association . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Ioe, |ames l92ll980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Jhe Ioet Laureate of the Lnited States . . . . . . .Y8o
Statements from Iormer Consultants
in Ioetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Ioetry
Aesthetic Ioetry (l873) . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
A Century of Ioetry, a Lifetime of
Collecting. |. M. Edelstein`s
Collection of Jwentieth
Century American Ioetry. . . . . . . . . . .Y02
'Certain Gifts," by etty Adcock . . . . DLl05
Concrete Ioetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Contempo Caravan. Kites in a
Windstorm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y85
'Contemporary Verse Storytelling,"
by |onathan Holden . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
'A Detail in a Ioem," by Ired
Chappell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
'Jhe English Renaissance of Art"
(l908), by Oscar Wilde . . . . . . . . . DL35
'Every Man His Own Ioet; or,
Jhe Inspired Singer`s Recipe
ook" (l877), by
H. W. Mallock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
'Eyes Across Centuries. Contemporary
Ioetry and 'Jhat Vision Jhing,`"
by Ihilip Dacey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
A Iield Guide to Recent Schools
of American Ioetry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
'Iinding, Losing, Reclaiming.
A Note on My Ioems,
by Robert Ihillips" . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
'Jhe Ileshly School of Ioetry and Other
Ihenomena of the Day" (l872). . . . DL35
'Jhe Ileshly School of Ioetry.
Mr. D. G. Rossetti" (l87l) . . . . . . . DL35
Jhe G. Ross Roy Scottish Ioetry Collection
at the Lniversity of South Carolina . . .Y89
'Getting Started. Accepting the Regions
You Ownor Which Own You,"
by Walter McDonald . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
'Jhe Good, Jhe Not So Good," by
Stephen Dunn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Jhe Griffin Ioetry Irize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Jhe Hero as Ioet. Dante; Shakspeare
(l81l), by Jhomas Carlyle . . . . . . DL32
'Images and 'Images,`" by Charles
Simic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
'Into the Mirror," by Ieter Cooley . . . DLl05
'Knots into Webs. Some Autobiographical
Sources," by Dabney Stuart . . . . . DLl05
'LÈnvoi" (l882), by Oscar Wilde . . . . DL35
'Living in Ruin," by Gerald Stern . . . DLl05
Looking for the Golden Mountain.
Ioetry Reviewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y89
Lyric Ioetry (Irench) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL2o8
Medieval GalicianIortuguese
Ioetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
'Jhe No Self, the Little Self, and the
Ioets," by Richard Moore . . . . . . DLl05
On Some of the Characteristics of Modern
Ioetry and On the Lyrical Ioems of
Alfred Jennyson (l83l) . . . . . . . . . DL32
Jhe Iitt Ioetry Series. Ioetry Iublishing
Joday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y85
'Jhe Ioetry Iile," by Edward
Iield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Ioetry in NineteenthCentury Irance.
Cultural ackground and Critical
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
Jhe Ioetry of |orge Luis orges . . . . . . . . .Y8o
'Jhe Ioet`s Kaleidoscope. Jhe Element
of Surprise in the Making of the
Ioem" by Madeline DeIrees . . . . DLl05
Jhe IreRaphaelite Controversy. . . . . . DL35
Irotest Ioetry in Castile . . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
'Reflections. After a Jornado,"
by |udson |erome . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Statements from Iormer Consultants
in Ioetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Statements on the Art of Ioetry . . . . . . DL51
Jhe Study of Ioetry (l880), by
Matthew Arnold. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
A Survey of Ioetry Anthologies,
l879l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL51
Jhoughts on Ioetry and Its Varieties
(l833), by |ohn Stuart Mill . . . . . . . DL32
Lnder the Microscope (l872), by
A. C. Swinburne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
Jhe Lnterberg Ioetry Center of the
92nd Street Y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Victorian Ioetry. Iive Critical
Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLV35
Year in Ioetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y83-92, 91-0l
Year`s Work in American Ioetry . . . . . . . . .Y82
`~ f ai_ PPN
RVS
Ioets
q i m (l753). . . . . . . . . . DLl12
Minor Ioets of the Earlier
Seventeenth Century . . . . . . . . . . DLl2l
Other ritish Ioets Who Iell
in the Great War . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2lo
Other Ioets |Irench| . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
SecondGeneration Minor Ioets of
the Seventeenth Century . . . . . . . DLl2o
JhirdGeneration Minor Ioets of
the Seventeenth Century . . . . . . . DLl3l
Iogodin, Mikhail Ietrovich l800l875 . . . DLl98
Iogorel`sky, Antonii
(see Ierovsky, Aleksei Alekseevich)
Iohl, Irederik l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Jribute to Jheodore Sturgeon . . . . . . . . . . Y85
Ioirier, Louis (see Gracq, |ulien)
Iolek, Karel l892l915 . . . DL2l5; CDWL1
Iolanyi, Michael l89ll97o . . . . . . . . . . . DLl00
Iole, Reginald l500l558 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Iolevoi, Nikolai Alekseevich l79ol81o . . DLl98
Iolezhaev, Aleksandr Ivanovich
l801l838 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Ioliakoff, Stephen l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Iolidori, |ohn William l795l82l. . . . . . . DLllo
Iolite, Carlene Hatcher l932 . . . . . . . . . DL33
Iollard, Alfred W. l859l911 . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Iollard, Edward A. l832l872 . . . . . . . . . . DL30
Iollard, Graham l903l97o . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Iollard, Iercival l8o9l9ll. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7l
Iollard and Moss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Iollock, Sharon l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Iolonsky, Abraham l9l0l999. . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Iolonsky, Iakov Ietrovich l8l9l898 . . . . .DL277
Iolotsky, Simeon lo29lo80. . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Iolybius circa 200 _.`.ll8 _.`. . . . . . . . . .DLl7o
Iomialovsky, Nikolai Gerasimovich
l835l8o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Iomilio, Mario l92ll990 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl77
Iompia, Raul (Raul dÀvila Iompia)
l8o3l895 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Ionce, Mary Helen l938 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
IonceMontoya, |uanita l919 . . . . . . . DLl22
Ionet, |ohn l5lo.l55o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Ionge, Irancis l899l988. . . . . . . . . DL258; Y02
Ioniatowska, Elena
l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll3; CDWL3
Ionsard, Iranois l8l1l8o7 . . . . . . . . . . DLl92
William Ionsonby |publishing house|. . . . .DLl70
Iontiggia, Giuseppe l931 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Iontoppidan, Henrik l857l913 . . . . DL300, 33l
Iony Stories, Omnibus Essay on . . . . . . . DLlo0
Ioole, Ernest l880l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Ioole, Sophia l801l89l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLloo
Ioore, enjamin Ierley l820l887 . . . . . . . DL23
Iopa, Vasko l922l99l . . . . DLl8l; CDWL1
Iope, Abbie Hanscom l858l891. . . . . . . DLl10
Iope, Alexander
lo88l711. . . . . . DL95, l0l, 2l3; CDL2
Ioplavsky, oris l903l935 . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Iopov, Aleksandr Serafimovich
(see Serafimovich, Aleksandr Serafimovich)
Iopov, Evgenii Anatolèvich l91o . . . . DL285
Iopov, Mikhail Ivanovich
l712circa l790. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Iopovi, Aleksandar l929l99o . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Iopper, Karl l902l991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Iopular Culture Association/
American Culture Association . . . . . . . . Y99
Iopular Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Ioquelin, |eanaptiste (see Molire)
Iorete, Marguerite .l3l0. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL208
Iorlock, Martin (see MacDonald, Ihilip)
Iorpoise Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Iorta, Antonio l935l989. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Iorter, Anna Maria l780l832 . . . . . DLllo, l59
Iorter, Cole l89ll9o1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Iorter, David l780l813 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl83
Iorter, Dorothy l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Iorter, Eleanor H. l8o8l920. . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Iorter, Gene Stratton (see StrattonIorter, Gene)
Iorter, Hal l9lll981. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Iorter, Henry circa sixteenth century . . . . . DLo2
Iorter, |ane l77ol850. . . . . . . . . . . . DLllo, l59
Iorter, Katherine Anne l890l980
. . . . . . . DL1, 9, l02; Y80; DSl2; CDAL7
Jhe Katherine Anne Iorter Society . . . . . . Y0l
Iorter, Ieter l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10, 289
Iorter, William Sydney (O. Henry)
l8o2l9l0 . . . . . . . .DLl2, 78, 79; CDAL3
Iorter, William J. l809l858 . . . . . DL3, 13, 250
Iorter and Coates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Iortillo Jrambley, Estela l927l998 . . . . . DL209
Iortis, Charles l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Medieval GalicianIortuguese Ioetry . . . . DL287
Iosey, Alexander l873l908 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl75
mI l990 ooker Irize winner,
A. S. yatt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Iostans, Marianne circa l8l0l8o5. . . . . . DLloo
Iostgate, Raymond l89ol97l . . . . . . . . . .DL27o
Iostl, Carl (see Sealsfield, Carl)
Iostmodern Holocaust Iiction . . . . . . . . . DL299
Ioston, Jed l90ol971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5l
Iotekhin, Aleksei Antipovich
l829l908 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Iotok, Chaim l9292002 . . . . . . . . . . DL28, l52
A Conversation with Chaim Iotok . . . . . . Y81
Jribute to ernard Malamud. . . . . . . . . . . Y8o
Iotter, eatrix l8ool913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1l
Jhe eatrix Iotter Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Iotter, David M. l9l0l97l . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7
Iotter, Dennis l935l991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
|ohn E. Iotter and Company . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Iottle, Irederick A. l897l987 . . . . . DLl03; Y87
Ioulin, |acques l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Iound, Ezra l885l972
. . . . . . . . . . . DL1, 15, o3; DSl5; CDAL1
Jhe Cost of the `~W William ird
to Ezra Iound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Jhe Ezra Iound Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Ioverman, C. E. l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
Iovey, Meic l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Iovich, Shirley l905l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7l
Iowell, Anthony l9052000 . . . DLl5; CDL7
Jhe Anthony Iowell Society. Iowell and
the Iirst iennial Conference . . . . . . . Y0l
Iowell, Dawn l897l9o5
Dawn Iowell, Where Have You een
All Our Lives.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Iowell, |ohn Wesley l831l902 . . . . . . . . DLl8o
Iowell, Iadgett l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
Iowers, |. I. l9l7l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Iowers, |immy l903l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Iownall, David l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Iowys, |ohn Cowper l872l9o3. . . . . DLl5, 255
Iowys, Llewelyn l881l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL98
Iowys, J. I. l875l953. . . . . . . . . . . . DL3o, lo2
Jhe Iowys Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Ioynter, Nelson l903l978 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl27
Irada, |uan Manuel de l970 . . . . . . . . DL322
Irado, Adlia l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Irado, Iedro l88ol952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Irados, Emilio l899l9o2. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
Iraed, Mrs. Caroline (see Iraed, Rosa)
Iraed, Rosa (Mrs. Caroline Iraed)
l85ll935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Iraed, Winthrop Mackworth l802l839 . . DL9o
Iraeger Iublishers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Iraetorius, |ohannes lo30lo80 . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Iratolini, Vasco l9l3l99l . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl77
Iratt, E. |. l882l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Iratt, Samuel |ackson l719l8l1 . . . . . . . . DL39
Ireciado Martin, Iatricia l939 . . . . . . DL209
Irfontaine, Yves l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Irelutsky, |ack l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Irentice, George D. l802l870. . . . . . . . . . DL13
IrenticeHall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Irescott, Orville l90ol99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9o
ai_ PPN `~ f
RVT
`
Irescott, William Hickling

l79ol859 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 30, 59, 235
Ireseren, Iranc
l800l819 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl17; CDWL1
Iresses (p ~ Iublishing)
Small Iresses in Great ritain and
Ireland, l9o0l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Small Iresses I. |argon Society . . . . . . . . . .Y81
Small Iresses II. Jhe Spirit Jhat Moves
Ls Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y85
Small Iresses III. Iushcart Iress . . . . . . . . . Y87
Ireston, Margaret |unkin
l820l897 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL239, 218
Ireston, May Wilson l873l919 . . . . . . . . DLl88
Ireston, Jhomas l537l598. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo2
Irvert, |acques l900l977. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL258
Irvost dÈxiles, Antoine Iranois
lo97l7o3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Irice, Anthony l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27o
Irice, Reynolds l933 . . . . . . . . DL2, 2l8, 278
Irice, Richard l723l79l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl58
Irice, Richard l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
Irichard, Katharine Susannah
l883l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Irideaux, |ohn l578lo50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23o
Iriest, Christopher l913 . . . . . DLl1, 207, 2ol
Iriestley, |. . l891l981
. . . .DLl0, 31, 77, l00, l39; Y81; CDLo
Iriestley, |oseph l733l801 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL252
Irigov, Dmitrii Aleksandrovich l910 . . DL285
Irime, enjamin Young l733l79l. . . . . . . . DL3l
Irimrose, Diana floruit circa lo30 . . . . . . . DLl2o
Irince, I. J. l9l22003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20
Irince, Nancy Gardner
l799circa l85o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL239
Irince, Jhomas lo87l758 . . . . . . . . . . DL21, l10
Iringle, Jhomas l789l831 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL225
Irintz, Wolfgang Casper lo1ll7l7 . . . . . . DLlo8
Irior, Matthew loo1l72l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL95
Irisco, Michele l9202003. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl77
Irishvin, Mikhail Mikhailovich
l873l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL272
Iritchard, William H. l932 . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Iritchett, V. S. l900l997. . . . . . . . . . . DLl5, l39
Irobyn, May l85o or l857l909 . . . . . . . . DLl99
Irocter, Adelaide Anne l825l8o1. . . . DL32, l99
Irocter, ryan Waller l787l871. . . . . . DL9o, l11
Iroctor, Robert l8o8l903. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
Irokopovich, Ieofan lo8l.l73o . . . . . . . . DLl50
Irokosch, Irederic l90ol989 . . . . . . . . . . . DL18
Ironzini, ill l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
Iropertius circa 50 _.`.post lo _.`.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ll; CDWLl
Iropper, Dan l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Irose, Irancine l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
Irotagoras circa 190 _K`K120 _K`K . . . . . . . . DLl7o
Irotest Ioetry in Castile
ca. l115ca. l50o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Iroud, Robert l728l8l3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30
Iroust, Marcel l87ll922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo5
Marcel Iroust at l29 and the Iroust
Society of America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
Marcel Iroust`s o~ q m~W
Jhe Rediscovered Galley Iroofs . . . . .Y00
Irutkov, Koz`ma Ietrovich
l803l8o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL277
Irynne, |. H. l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Irzybyszewski, Stanislaw l8o8l927 . . . . . . DLoo
IseudoDionysius the Areopagite floruit
circa 500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
Iublic Lending Right in America
ILR and the Meaning of Literary
Iroperty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Statement by Sen. Charles
McC. Mathias, |r. ILR. . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Statements on ILR by American Writers . . . Y83
Iublic Lending Right in the Lnited Kingdom
Jhe Iirst Year in the Lnited Kingdom . . . .Y83
Iublishers |listed by individual names|
Iublishers, Conversations with.
An Interview with Charles Scribner III . . .Y91
An Interview with Donald Lamm. . . . . . . .Y95
An Interview with |ames Laughlin . . . . . . .Y9o
An Interview with Iatrick O`Connor . . . . .Y81
Iublishing
Jhe Art and Mystery of Iublishing.
Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
ook Iublishing Accounting. Some asic
Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
l873 Iublishers` Catalogues . . . . . . . . . DL19
Jhe Literary Scene 2002. Iublishing, ook
Reviewing, and Literary |ournalism. . .Y02
Main Jrends in JwentiethCentury
ook Clubs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Overview of L.S. ook Iublishing,
l9l0l915. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Jhe Iitt Ioetry Series. Ioetry Iublishing
Joday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y85
Iublishing Iiction at LSL Iress . . . . . . . . . Y87
Jhe Iublishing Industry in l998.
pJJ~K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Jhe Iublishing Industry in l999 . . . . . . . .Y99
Iublishers and Agents. Jhe Columbia
Connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y87
Responses to Ken Auletta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Southern Writers etween the Wars . . . . DL9
Jhe State of Iublishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Jrends in JwentiethCentury
Mass Market Iublishing . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Jhe Year in ook Iublishing. . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
IcklerMuskau, Hermann von
l785l87l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Iurtolas, Soledad l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Iufendorf, Samuel von lo32lo91. . . . . . . DLlo8
Iugh, Edwin William l871l930 . . . . . . . . DLl35
Iugin, A. Welby l8l2l852 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL55
Iuig, Manuel l932l990 . . . . DLll3; CDWL3
Iuisieux, Madeleine dÀrsant de
l720l798 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Iulgar, Hernando del (Iernando del Iulgar)
ca. l13oca. l192. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Iulitzer, |oseph l817l9ll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23
Iulitzer, |oseph, |r. l885l955 . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Iulitzer Irizes for the Novel, l9l7l915. . . . . DL9
Iulliam, Eugene l889l975 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Iurcell, Deirdre l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Iurchas, Samuel l577.lo2o . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5l
Iurdy, Al l9l82000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Iurdy, |ames l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 2l8
Iurdy, Ken W. l9l3l972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
Iusey, Edward ouverie l800l882 . . . . . . DL55
Iushkin, Aleksandr Sergeevich
l799l837 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Iushkin, Vasilii L`vovich
l7ool830 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Iutnam, George Ialmer
l8l1l872 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, 79, 250, 251
G. I. Iutnam |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL251
G. I. Iutnam`s Sons |L.K.| . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
G. I. Iutnam`s Sons |L.S.| . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
A Iublisher`s Archives. G. I. Iutnam. . . . .Y92
Iutnam, Hilary l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL279
Iutnam, Samuel l892l950 . . . . . . . . DL1; DSl5
Iuttenham, George l529.l590. . . . . . . . . DL28l
Iuzo, Mario l920l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Iyle, Ernie l900l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Iyle, Howard
l853l9ll . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL12, l88; DSl3
Iyle, Robert Michael l917 . . . . . . . . . . DL275
Iym, arbara l9l3l980 . . . . . . DLl1, 207; Y87
Iynchon, Jhomas l937 . . . . . . . . . . DL2, l73
Iyramid ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Iyrnelle, LouiseClarke l850l907 . . . . . . . DL12
Iythagoras circa 570 _.`.. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o
n
_ays ibn alMulawwah circa o807l0 . . . . DL3ll
_ian Zhongshu l9l0l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
_uad, M. (see Lewis, Charles .)
_uaritch, ernard l8l9l899 . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
_uarles, Irancis l592lo11 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2o
q n~ o l809l9o7. . . . . . . . . . DLll0
_uasimodo, Salvatore l90ll9o8 . . . . . . . DLll1
_ueen, Ellery (see Dannay, Irederic, and
Manfred . Lee)
_ueen, Irank l822l882. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Jhe _ueen City Iublishing House . . . . . . . DL19
_ueirs, Ea de l815l900 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
`~ f ai_ PPN
RVU
_ueneau, Raymond l903l97o . . . . . DL72, 258
_uennell, Ieter l905l993 . . . . . . . . DLl55, l95
_uental, Antero de
l812l89l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
_uesada, |os Luis l918 . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
_uesnel, |oseph l71ol809. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
_uillerCouch, Sir Arthur Jhomas
l8o3l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl35, l53, l90
_uin, Ann l93ol973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 23l
_uinault, Ihilippe lo35lo88 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
_uincy, Samuel, of Georgia
fl. eighteenth century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
_uincy, Samuel, of Massachusetts
l731l789 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
_uindlen, Anna l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
_uine, W. V. l9082000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL279
_uinn, Anthony l9l5200l . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
_uinn, |ohn l870l921. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
_uinez, Naomi l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
_uintana, Leroy V. l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
_uintana, Miguel de lo7ll718
A Iorerunner of Chicano
Literature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
_uintilian circa ^.a. 10circa ^.a. 9o . . . . DL2ll
_uintus Curtius Rufus
fl. ^.a. 35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ll
Harlin _uist ooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
_uoirez, Iranoise (see Sagan, Iranoise)
o
Raabe, Wilhelm l83ll9l0 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Raban, |onathan l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Rabe, David l910 . . . . . . . . . . DL7, 228; Y9l
Rabelais, Iranois l191.l593 . . . . . . . . . DL327
Rabi'ah al'Adawiyyah circa 72080l . . . . DL3ll
Raboni, Giovanni l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Rachilde l8o0l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl23, l92
Racin, Koo l908l913. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl17
Racine, |ean lo39lo99 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Rackham, Arthur l8o7l939. . . . . . . . . . . DLl1l
Raczymow, Henri l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Radauskas, Henrikas
l9l0l970. . . . . . . . . . . . DL220; CDWL1
Radcliffe, Ann l7o1l823 . . . . . . . . . . .DL39, l78
Raddall, Jhomas l903l991 . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Radford, Dollie l858l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Radichkov, Yordan l9292001 . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Radiguet, Raymond l903l923 . . . . . . . . . DLo5
Radishchev, Aleksandr Nikolaevich
l719l802. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Radnti, Mikls
l909l911 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5; CDWL1
Radrign, |uan l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Radvnyi, Netty Reiling (see Seghers, Anna)
Rafat, Jaufiq l927l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Rahv, Ihilip l908l973. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
Raich, Semen Egorovich l792l855 . . . . . DL205
Raikovi, Stevan l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Raiderman (see Iarshchikov, Aleksei Maksimovich)
Raimund, Ierdinand |akob l790l83o . . . . DL90
Raine, Craig l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Raine, Kathleen l9082003. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20
Rainis, |nis l8o5l929. . . . . DL220; CDWL1
Rainolde, Richard
circa l530lo0o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o, 23o
Rainolds, |ohn l519lo07. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Raki, Milan l87ol938 . . . . .DLl17; CDWL1
Rakosi, Carl l9032001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl93
Ralegh, Sir Walter
l551.lol8. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl72; CDLl
Raleigh, Walter
p (l897) |excerpt|. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL57
Ralin, Radoy l9232001. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Ralph, |ulian l853l903 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23
Ramanujan, A. K. l929l993 . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Ramat, Silvio l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Rame, Marie Louise de la (see Ouida)
Ramrez, Sergo l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl15
Ramke, in l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Ramler, Karl Wilhelm l725l798 . . . . . . . . DL97
Ramon Ribeyro, |ulio l929l991 . . . . . . . DLl15
Ramos, Graciliano l892l953 . . . . . . . . . DL307
Ramos, Manuel l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Ramos Sucre, |os Antonio l890l930. . . DL290
Ramous, Mario l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Rampersad, Arnold l91l . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Ramsay, Allan lo81 or lo85l758 . . . . . . . DL95
Ramsay, David l719l8l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30
Ramsay, Martha Laurens l759l8ll. . . . . DL200
Ramsey, Irank I. l903l930 . . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Ranch, Hieronimus |ustesen
l539lo07. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Ranck, Katherine _uintana l912 . . . . DLl22
Rand, Avery and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Rand, Ayn l905l982 . . . DL227, 279; CDAL7
Rand McNally and Company . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Randall, David Anton l905l975 . . . . . . . DLl10
Randall, Dudley l9l12000 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Randall, Henry S. l8lll87o . . . . . . . . . . . DL30
Randall, |ames G. l88ll953 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
Jhe Randall |arrell Symposium. A Small
Collection of Randall |arrells. . . . . . . . Y8o
Excerpts Irom Iapers Delivered at the
Randall |arrel Symposium. . . . . . . . . . Y8o
Randall, |ohn Herman, |r. l899l980. . . . .DL279
Randolph, A. Ihilip l889l979. . . . . . . . . . DL9l
Anson D. I. Randolph
Randolph, Jhomas lo05lo35. . . . . . DL58, l2o
Random House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Rankin, Ian ( |ack Harvey) l9o0 . . . . . DL2o7
Henry Ranlet |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL19
Ransom, Harry l908l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl87
Ransom, |ohn Crowe
l888l971. . . . . . . . . . . DL15, o3; CDAL7
Ransome, Arthur l881l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Rao, Raja l908 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Raphael, Irederic l93l . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 3l9
Raphaelson, Samson l89ol983. . . . . . . . . DL11
Rare ook Dealers
ertram Rota and His ookshop. . . . . . . . Y9l
An Interview with Glenn Horowitz . . . . . . Y90
An Interview with Otto Ienzler . . . . . . . . . Y9o
An Interview with Ralph Sipper . . . . . . . . Y91
New York City ookshops in the
l930s and l910s. Jhe Recollections
of Walter Goldwater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y93
Rare ooks
Research in the American Antiquarian
ook Jrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Jwo Hundred Years of Rare ooks and
Literary Collections at the
Lniversity of South Carolina . . . . . . . Y00
Rascn anda, Vctor Hugo l918 . . . . DL305
Rashi circa l010ll05. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL208
Raskin, Ellen l928l981. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Rasputin, Valentin Grigorèvich
l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Rastell, |ohn l175.l53o. . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o, l70
Rattigan, Jerence
l9lll977. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3; CDL7
Raven, Simon l927200l . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27l
Ravenhill, Mark l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Ravnkilde, Adda l8o2l883. . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Rawicz, Iiotr l9l9l982. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan l89ol953
. . . . . . . . . . .DL9, 22, l02; DSl7; CDAL7
Rawlinson, Richard lo90l755. . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Rawlinson, Jhomas lo8ll725 . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Rawls, |ohn l92l2002. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL279
Raworth, Jom l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Ray, David l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Ray, Gordon Norton l9l5l98o. . . . .DLl03, l10
Ray, Henrietta Cordelia l819l9lo . . . . . . DL50
Raymond, Ernest l888l971. . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Raymond, Henry |. l820l8o9. . . . . . . .DL13, 79
Raymond, Ren (see Chase, |ames Hadley)
Razaf, Andy l895l973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
alRazi 8o5.925. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Rea, Michael l927l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
ai_ PPN `~ f
RVV
`
Michael M. Rea and the Rea Award for

the Short Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y97
Reach, Angus l82ll85o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL70
Read, Herbert l893l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . DL20, l19
Read, Martha Meredith
fl. nineteenth century. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Read, Opie l852l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23
Read, Iiers Iaul l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Reade, Charles l8l1l881. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l
Reader`s Digest Condensed ooks . . . . . . . DL1o
o~ r Symposium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y97
Reading, Ieter l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Reading Series in New York City. . . . . . . . . . . .Y9o
Reaney, |ames l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Rebhun, Iaul l500.l51o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl79
Rbora, Clemente l885l957. . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Rebreanu, Liviu l885l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
Rechy, |ohn l931 . . . . . . . . DLl22, 278; Y82
Redding, |. Saunders l90ol988 . . . . . . DLo3, 7o
|. S. Redfield |publishing house|. . . . . . . . . . DL19
Redgrove, Ieter l9322003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Redmon, Anne l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Redmond, Eugene . l937 . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Redol, Alves l9lll9o9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
|ames Redpath |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL19
Reed, Henry l808l851. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL59
Reed, Henry l9l1l98o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Reed, Ishmael
l938 . . . . . . . . DL2, 5, 33, lo9, 227; DS8
Reed, Rex l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Reed, Sampson l800l880. . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 235
Reed, Jalbot aines l852l893 . . . . . . . . . DLl1l
Reedy, William Marion l8o2l920 . . . . . . . DL9l
Reese, Lizette Woodworth l85ol935 . . . . . DL51
Reese, Jhomas l712l79o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Reeve, Clara l729l807 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to q l b _~
(l778) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
q m o~ (l785)
|excerpt| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Reeves, |ames l909l978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
Reeves, |ohn l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
ReevesStevens, Garfield l953 . . . . . . . DL25l
Rgio, |os ( |os Maria dos Reis Iereira)
l90ll9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Henry Regnery Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Rgo, |os Lins do l90ll957 . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Rehberg, Hans l90ll9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
Rehfisch, Hans |os l89ll9o0 . . . . . . . . . DLl21
Reich, Ebbe Klvedal l910 . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Reid, Alastair l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Reid, . L. l9l8l990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Reid, Christopher l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Reid, Iorrest l875l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl53
Reid, Helen Rogers l882l970 . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Reid, |ames fl. eighteenth century . . . . . . . . DL3l
Reid, Mayne l8l8l883. . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l, lo3
Reid, Jhomas l7l0l79o . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l, 252
Reid, V. S. (Vic) l9l3l987 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl25
Reid, Whitelaw l837l9l2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23
Reilly and Lee Iublishing Company . . . . . . DL1o
Reimann, rigitte l933l973 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Reinmar der Alte circa llo5circa l205. . . DLl38
Reinmar von Zweter
circa l200circa l250. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Reisch, Walter l903l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Reizei Iamily . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Religion
A Crisis of Culture. Jhe Changing
Role of Religion in the
New Republic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
q o~ a~I l989 ooker Irize winner,
Kazuo Ishiguro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Remarque, Erich Maria
l898l970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5o; CDWL2
Remington, Irederic
l8oll909 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2, l8o, l88
Remizov, Aleksei Mikhailovich
l877l957. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Renaud, |acques l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Renault, Mary l905l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Rendell, Ruth (arbara Vine)
l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL87, 27o
Rensselaer, Maria van Cortlandt van
lo15lo89 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Repplier, Agnes l855l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22l
Reshetnikov, Iedor Mikhailovich
l81ll87l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Restif (Rtif) de La retonne, NicolasEdme
l731l80o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Rettenbacher, Simon lo31l70o. . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Retz, |eanIranoisIaul de Gondi,
cardinal de lol3lo79 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Reuchlin, |ohannes l155l522. . . . . . . . . . DLl79
Reuter, Christian loo5after l7l2 . . . . . . . DLlo8
Ileming H. Revell Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Reverdy, Iierre l889l9o0. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL258
Reuter, Iritz l8l0l871 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Reuter, Gabriele l859l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Reventlow, Iranziska Grfin zu
l87ll9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Review of Reviews Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Rexroth, Kenneth l905l982
. . . . . . DLlo, 18, lo5, 2l2; Y82; CDALl
Jhe Commercialization of the Image
of Revolt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Rey, H. A. l898l977. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Reyes, Carlos |os l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Reynal and Hitchcock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Reynolds, G. W. M. l8l1l879 . . . . . . . . . . DL2l
Reynolds, |ohn Hamilton
l791l852 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9o
Reynolds, Sir |oshua l723l792. . . . . . . . . DLl01
Reynolds, Mack l9l7l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Reza, Yazmina l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
Reznikoff, Charles l891l97o . . . . . . . . DL28, 15
Rhetoric
Continental European Rhetoricians,
l100lo00, and Jheir Influence
in Reaissance England . . . . . . . . . DL23o
A Iinding Guide to Key Works on
Microfilm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23o
Glossary of Jerms and Definitions of
Rhetoic and Logic . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23o
Rhett, Robert arnwell l800l87o. . . . . . . . DL13
Rhode, |ohn l881l9o1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
Rhodes, Eugene Manlove l8o9l931 . . . . DL25o
Rhodes, |ames Iord l818l927 . . . . . . . . . . DL17
Rhodes, Richard l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Rhys, |ean l890l979
. . . . DL3o, ll7, lo2; CDL7; CDWL3
Ribeiro, ernadim
fl. ca. l175/l182l52o/l511. . . . . . . . . DL287
Ricardo, David l772l823 . . . . . . . . . DLl07, l58
Ricardou, |ean l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Riccoboni, Marie|eanne (Marie|eanne de
Heurles Laboras de Mzires Riccoboni)
l7l3l792 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Rice, Anne (A. N. Roquelare, Anne Rampling)
l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Rice, Christopher l978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Rice, Elmer l892l9o7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1, 7
Rice, Grantland l880l951 . . . . . . . . . DL29, l7l
Rich, Adrienne l929 . . . . . DL5, o7; CDAL7
Richard, Mark l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
Richard de Iournival
l20ll259 or l2o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL208
Richards, David Adams l950 . . . . . . . . . DL53
Richards, George circa l7o0l8l1 . . . . . . . . DL37
Richards, I. A. l893l979. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Richards, Laura E. l850l913 . . . . . . . . . . . DL12
Richards, William Carey l8l8l892 . . . . . . DL73
Grant Richards |publishing house| . . . . . . DLll2
Richardson, Charles I. l85ll9l3. . . . . . . . DL7l
Richardson, Dorothy M. l873l957 . . . . . . DL3o
Jhe Novels of Dorothy Richardson
(l9l8), by May Sinclair. . . . . . . . . . DL3o
Richardson, Henry Handel
(Ethel Ilorence Lindesay Robertson)
l870l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl97, 230
Richardson, |ack l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Richardson, |ohn l79ol852 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Richardson, Samuel
lo89l7ol . . . . . . . . . .DL39, l51; CDL2
`~ f ai_ PPN
SMM
Introductory Letters from the Second
Edition of m~~ (l71l) . . . . . . . . . DL39
Iostscript to |the Jhird Edition of |
`~~ (l75l) . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to the Iirst Edition of
m~~ (l710) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to the Jhird Edition of
`~~ (l75l) |excerpt| . . . . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to Volume l of `~~
(l717) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to Volume 3 of `~~
(l718). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Richardson, Willis l889l977 . . . . . . . . . . . DL5l
Riche, arnabe l512lol7 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Richepin, |ean l819l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl92
Richler, Mordecai l93l200l . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Richter, Conrad l890l9o8 . . . . . . . . . DL9, 2l2
Richter, Hans Werner l908l993 . . . . . . . . DLo9
Richter, |ohann Iaul Iriedrich
l7o3l825. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91; CDWL2
|oseph Rickerby |publishing house| . . . . . DLl0o
Rickword, Edgell l898l982. . . . . . . . . . . . DL20
Riddell, Charlotte l832l90o . . . . . . . . . . DLl5o
Riddell, |ohn (see Iord, Corey)
Ridge, |ohn Rollin l827l8o7 . . . . . . . . . . .DLl75
Ridge, Lola l873l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL51
Ridge, William Iett l859l930 . . . . . . . . . DLl35
Riding, Laura (see |ackson, Laura Riding)
Ridler, Anne l9l2200l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Ridruego, Dionisio l9l2l975 . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Riel, Louis l811l885. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Riemer, |ohannes lo18l7l1. . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Riera, Carme l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Rifbjerg, Klaus l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Riffaterre, Michael l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
Riggs, Lynn l899l951. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl75
Riis, |acob l819l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23
|ohn C. Riker |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL19
Riley, |ames l777l810 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl83
Riley, |ohn l938l978. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Rilke, Rainer Maria
l875l92o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8l; CDWL2
Rimanelli, Giose l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl77
Rimbaud, |eanNicolasArthur
l851l89l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
Rinehart and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Ringuet l895l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Ringwood, Gwen Iharis l9l0l981 . . . . . . DL88
Rinser, Luise l9ll2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Ros, Alberto l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Ros, Isabella l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Ripley, Arthur l895l9ol. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Ripley, George l802l880 . . . . .DLl, o1, 73, 235
Jhe Rising Glory of America.
Jhree Ioems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Jhe Rising Glory of America. Written in l77l
(l78o), by Hugh Henry rackenridge
and Ihilip Ireneau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Riskin, Robert l897l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Risse, Heinz l898l989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Rist, |ohann lo07loo7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Ristikivi, Karl l9l2l977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
Ritchie, Anna Mowatt l8l9l870 . . . . . DL3, 250
Ritchie, Anne Jhackeray l837l9l9. . . . . . DLl8
Ritchie, Jhomas l778l851 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
o m~~I l980 ooker Irize winner,
William Golding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Jhe Ritz Iaris Hemingway Award. . . . . . . . . . Y85
Mario Varga Llosa`s Acceptance Speech . . Y85
Rivard, Adjutor l8o8l915. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Rive, Richard l93ll989 . . . . . . . . . DLl25, 225
Rivera, |os l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL219
Rivera, Marina l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Rivera, Joms l935l981. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Rivers, Conrad Kent l933l9o8. . . . . . . . . DL1l
Riverside Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Rivington, |ames circa l721l802. . . . . . . . DL13
Charles Rivington |publishing house|. . . . DLl51
Rivkin, Allen l903l990. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Roa astos, Augusto l9l72005 . . . . . . . . DLll3
RobbeGrillet, Alain l922 . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Robbins, Jom l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y80
Roberts, Charles G. D. l8o0l913 . . . . . . . DL92
Roberts, Dorothy l90ol993 . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Roberts, Elizabeth Madox
l88ll91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, 51, l02
Roberts, |ohn (see Swynnerton, Jhomas)
Roberts, Kate l89ll985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
Roberts, Keith l9352000. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Roberts, Kenneth l885l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Roberts, Michle l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23l
Roberts, Jheodore Goodridge
l877l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Roberts, Lrsula Wyllie (see Miles, Susan)
Roberts, William l7o7l819 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl12
|ames Roberts |publishing house| . . . . . . . DLl51
Roberts rothers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
A. M. Robertson and Company. . . . . . . . . DL19
Robertson, Ethel Ilorence Lindesay
(see Richardson, Henry Handel)
Robertson, William l72ll793 . . . . . . . . . DLl01
Robin, Leo l895l981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Robins, Elizabeth l8o2l952 . . . . . . . . . . DLl97
Robinson, A. Mary I. (Madame |ames
Darmesteter, Madame Mary
Duclaux) l857l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Robinson, Casey l903l979 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Robinson, Derek l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Robinson, Edwin Arlington
l8o9l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL51; CDAL3
Review by Derek Robinson of George
Greenfield`s o a . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Robinson, Henry Crabb l775l8o7 . . . . . .DLl07
Robinson, |ames Harvey l8o3l93o . . . . . DL17
Robinson, Lennox l88ol958 . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Robinson, Mabel Louise l871l9o2 . . . . . . DL22
Robinson, Marilynne l913 . . . . . . . . . DL20o
Robinson, Mary l758l800 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl58
Robinson, Richard circa l515lo07 . . . . . DLlo7
Robinson, Jherese l797l870 . . . . . . . DL59, l33
Robison, Mary l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Robls, Emmanuel l9l1l995 . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Roccatagliata Ceccardi, Ceccardo
l87ll9l9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Rocha, Adolfo Correira da (see Jorga, Miguel)
Roche, illy l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
Rochester, |ohn Wilmot, Earl of
lo17lo80. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3l
Rochon, Esther l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Rock, Howard l9lll97o. . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl27
Rockwell, Norman Ierceval l891l978 . . DLl88
Rodgers, Carolyn M. l915 . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Rodgers, W. R. l909l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20
Rodney, Lester l9ll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Rodoreda, Merc l908l983 . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Rodrigues, Nelson l9l2l980. . . . . . . . . . DL307
Rodrguez, Claudio l931l999. . . . . . . . . DLl31
Rodrguez, |oe D. l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Rodriguez, |udith l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Rodrguez, Luis |. l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Rodriguez, Richard l911 . . . . . . . . DL82, 25o
Rodrguez |ulia, Edgardo l91o . . . . . . DLl15
Roe, E. I. l838l888 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL202
Roethke, Jheodore
l908l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . DL5, 20o; CDALl
Rogers, |ane l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl91
Rogers, Iattiann l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Rogers, Samuel l7o3l855 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL93
Rogers, Will l879l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Rohmer, Sax l883l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL70
Roig, Montserrat l91ol99l. . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Roiphe, Anne l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y80
Rojas, Arnold R. l89ol988. . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Rojas, Iernando de ca. l175l51l . . . . . . DL28o
Roland de la Ilatire, Marie|eanne
(Madame Roland) l751l793 . . . . . . . DL3l1
ai_ PPN `~ f
SMN
`
Rolfe, Edwin (Solomon Iishman)

l909l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Rolfe, Irederick William
l8o0l9l3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL31, l5o
Rolland, Romain l8ool911 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo5
Rolle, Richard circa l290l300 l319 . . . . DLl1o
Rlvaag, O. E. l87ol93l . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, 2l2
Romains, |ules l885l972 . . . . . . . . . . DLo5, 32l
A. Roman and Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
o~ ~ oW Guillaume de Lorris
l200/l205circa l230, |ean de
Meun l235l210circa l305 . . . . . . . . DL208
Romano, Lalla l90o200l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl77
Romano, Octavio l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Rome, Harold l908l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Romero, Leo l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Romero, Lin l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Romero, Orlando l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Ronsard, Iierre de l521l585 . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Rook, Clarence l8o3l9l5. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl35
Roosevelt, Jheodore
l858l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL17, l8o, 275
Root, Waverley l903l982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Root, William Iitt l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Roquebrune, Robert de l889l978 . . . . . . . DLo8
Rorty, Richard l93l . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o, 279
Rosa, |oo Guimarres l908l9o7. . . DLll3, 307
Rosales, Luis l9l0l992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
Roscoe, William l753l83l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo3
Rose, Dilys l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
Rose, Reginald l9202002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Rose, Wendy l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl75
Rosegger, Ieter l813l9l8. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Rosei, Ieter l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
Rosen, Norma l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28
Rosenbach, A. S. W. l87ol952. . . . . . . . . DLl10
Rosenbaum, Ron l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Rosenbaum, Jhane l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Rosenberg, Isaac l890l9l8 . . . . . . . . DL20, 2lo
Rosenfeld, Isaac l9l8l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28
Rosenthal, Harold l9l1l999 . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
|immy, Red, and Others. Harold
Rosenthal Remembers the Stars of
the Iress ox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
Rosenthal, M. L. l9l7l99o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Rosenwald, Lessing |. l89ll979 . . . . . . . . DLl87
Ross, Alexander l59llo51 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5l
Ross, Harold l892l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
Ross, |erry l92ol955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Ross, Leonard _. (see Rosten, Leo)
Ross, Lillian l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Ross, Martin l8o2l9l5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl35
Ross, Sinclair l908l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Ross, W. W. E. l891l9oo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Rosselli, Amelia l930l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Rossen, Robert l908l9oo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Rosset, arney l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Rossetti, Christina l830l891 . . . DL35, lo3, 210
Rossetti, Dante Gabriel
l828l882 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35; CDL1
Jhe Stealthy School of
Criticism (l87l) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
Rossner, |udith l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Rostand, Edmond l8o8l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . DLl92
Rosten, Leo l908l997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Rostenberg, Leona l9082005. . . . . . . . . . DLl10
Rostopchina, Evdokiia Ietrovna
l8lll858 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Rostovsky, Dimitrii lo5ll709. . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Rota, ertram l903l9oo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
ertram Rota and His ookshop . . . . . . . .Y9l
Roth, Gerhard l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85, l21
Roth, Henry l90o.l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28
Roth, |oseph l891l939. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
Roth, Ihilip
l933 . . . . . DL2, 28, l73; Y82; CDALo
Rothenberg, |erome l93l . . . . . . . . . DL5, l93
Rothschild Iamily . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
Rotimi, Ola l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl25
Rotrou, |ean lo09lo50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Rousseau, |ean|acques l7l2l778 . . . . . . . DL3l1
q p~ `~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Routhier, Adolpheasile l839l920 . . . . . . DL99
Routier, Simone l90ll987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
George Routledge and Sons. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Roversi, Roberto l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Rowe, Elizabeth Singer lo71l737 . . . . . DL39, 95
Rowe, Nicholas lo71l7l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL81
Rowlands, Ian l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Rowlands, Samuel circa l570lo30 . . . . . . DLl2l
Rowlandson, Mary
circa lo37circa l7ll . . . . . . . . . . . DL21, 200
Rowley, William circa l585lo2o . . . . . . . . DL58
Rowling, |. K.
Jhe Harry Iotter Ihenomenon . . . . . . . . .Y99
Rowse, A. L. l903l997. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
Rowson, Susanna Haswell
circa l7o2l821 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37, 200
Roy, Arundhati l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . DL323, 32o
Roy, Camille l870l913. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Jhe G. Ross Roy Scottish Ioetry Collection
at the Lniversity of South Carolina . . . . . .Y89
Roy, Gabrielle l909l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Roy, |ules l9072000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Jhe Royal Court Jheatre and the English
Stage Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Jhe Royal Court Jheatre and the New
Drama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Jhe Royal Shakespeare Company
at the Swan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y88
Royall, Anne Newport l7o9l851 . . . . DL13, 218
Royce, |osiah l855l9lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL270
Jhe Roycroft Irinting Shop. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
RoydeSmith, Naomi l875l9o1 . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Royster, Vermont l9l1l99o . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Richard Royston |publishing house| . . . . . DLl70
Rozanov, Vasilii Vasilèvich
l85ol9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Rewicz, Tadeusz l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Ruark, Gibbons l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Ruban, Vasilii Grigorevich l712l795 . . . . DLl50
Rubens, ernice l9282001. . . . . DLl1, 207, 32o
Rubio, Murilo l9lol99l. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Rubina, Dina Ilìnichna l953 . . . . . . . . DL285
Rubinshtein, Lev Semenovich l917 . . . DL285
Rudd and Carleton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Rudd, Steele (Arthur Hoey Davis) . . . . . . DL230
Rudkin, David l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Rudnick, Iaul l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2oo
Rudnicki, Adolf l909l990 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Rudolf von Ems circa l200circa l251 . . . DLl38
Ruffin, |osephine St. Iierre l812l921 . . . . DL79
Rufo, |uan Gutirrez l517.lo20.. . . . . . . DL3l8
Ruganda, |ohn l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Ruggles, Henry |oseph l8l3l90o. . . . . . . . DLo1
Ruiz de urton, Mara Amparo
l832l895 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209, 22l
Rukeyser, Muriel l9l3l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL18
Rule, |ane l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Rulfo, |uan l9l8l98o. . . . . . DLll3; CDWL3
Rumaker, Michael l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Rumens, Carol l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Rummo, IaulEerik l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Runyon, Damon
l880l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll, 8o, l7l
o circa l050l075 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Rush, enjamin l71ol8l3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Rush, Rebecca l779. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Rushdie, Salman l917 . . . . . . DLl91, 323, 32o
Rusk, Ralph L. l888l9o2. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Ruskin, |ohn
l8l9l900 . . . . . . DL55, lo3, l90; CDL1
Russ, |oanna l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Russell, enjamin l7oll815 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Russell, ertrand l872l970. . . . . . . . DLl00, 2o2
Russell, Charles Edward l8o0l91l . . . . . . DL25
Russell, Charles M. l8o1l92o . . . . . . . . . DLl88
Russell, Eric Irank l905l978 . . . . . . . . . . DL255
`~ f ai_ PPN
SMO
Russell, Ired l90o2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Russell, George William (see AE)
Russell, Countess Mary Annette eauchamp
(see Arnim, Elizabeth von)
Russell, Willy l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
. . Russell and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
R. H. Russell and Son. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Rutebeuf fl.l219l277. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL208
Rutherford, Mark l83ll9l3 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8
Ruxton, George Irederick
l82ll818 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8o
Rva, Zeneida (see Gan, Elena Andreevna)
Ryan, Gig l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Ryan, |ames l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Ryan, Michael l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y82
Ryan, Oscar l901 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Rybakov, Anatolii Naumovich
l9lll991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Ryder, |ack l87ll93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Ryga, George l932l987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Rylands, Enriqueta Augustina Jennant
l813l908 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
Rylands, |ohn l80ll888 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
Ryle, Gilbert l900l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Ryleev, Kondratii Iedorovich
l795l82o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Rymer, Jhomas lo13.l7l3. . . . . . . . . . . DLl0l
Ryskind, Morrie l895l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Rzhevsky, Aleksei Andreevich
l737l801 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
p
Jhe Saalfield Iublishing Company . . . . . . DL1o
Saba, Lmberto l883l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Sbato, Ernesto l9ll . . . . DLl15; CDWL3
Saberhagen, Ired l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Sabin, |oseph l82ll88l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Sabino, Iernando (Iernando Javares Sabino)
l9232001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Sacer, Gottfried Wilhelm lo35lo99. . . . . DLlo8
Sachs, Hans l191l57o . . . . . . DLl79; CDWL2
SCarneiro, Mrio de l890l9lo. . . . . . . DL287
Sack, |ohn l9302001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Sackler, Howard l929l982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Sackville, Lady Margaret l88ll9o3 . . . . DL210
Sackville, Jhomas l53olo08 and
Norton, Jhomas l532l581. . . . . . . . . DLo2
Sackville, Jhomas l53olo08. . . . . . . . . . DLl32
SackvilleWest, Edward l90ll9o5 . . . . . . DLl9l
SackvilleWest, Vita l892l9o2. . . . . . DL31, l95
p~ eI l992 ooker Irize winner,
arry Lnsworth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
S de Miranda, Irancisco de
l18ll588.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Sade, Marquis de (DonatienAlphonseIranois,
comte de Sade) l710l8l1 . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
'Dialogue entre un prtre et un
moribond". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Sadlier, Mary Anne l820l903. . . . . . . . . . DL99
D. and |. Sadlier and Company . . . . . . . . . DL19
Sadoff, Ira l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Sadoveanu, Mihail l880l9ol . . . . . . . . . DL220
Sadur, Nina Nikolaevna l950 . . . . . . . DL285
Senz, enjamin Alire l951 . . . . . . . . . DL209
Saenz, |aime l92ll98o . . . . . . . . . . DLl15, 283
Saffin, |ohn circa lo2ol7l0 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Sagan, Iranoise l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Sage, Robert l899l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Sagel, |im l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Sagendorph, Robb Hansell l900l970 . . . DLl37
Sahagn, Carlos l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Sahgal, Nayantara l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Sahkomaapii, Iiitai (see Highwater, |amake)
Sahl, Hans l902l993. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Said, Edward W. l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
Saigy lll8ll90 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Saijo, Albert l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Saiko, George l892l9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
Sainteeuve, CharlesAugustin
l801l8o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
SaintExupry, Antoine de l900l911 . . . . DL72
SaintGelais, Mellin de l190.l558 . . . . . DL327
St. |ohn, |. Allen l872l957. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl88
St |ohn, Madeleine l912 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
St. |ohns, Adela Rogers l891l988. . . . . . . DL29
St. Omer, Garth l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLll7
Saint Iierre, Michel de l9lol987 . . . . . . . DL83
Saintsbury, George l815l933 . . . . . . . DL57, l19
'Modern English Irose`` (l87o) . . . . . . DL57
Jhe Iresent State of the English
Novel (l892),. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8
SaintSimon, Louis de Rouvroy, duc de
lo75l755 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
St. Dominic`s Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Jhe St. |ohn`s College Robert Graves Jrust . . Y9o
St. Martin`s Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
pK k~ l873l88l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl3
Saiokuken Sch l118l532. . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Saki (see Munro, H. H.)
Salaam, Kalamu ya l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
Salacrou, Armand l899l989 . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
Salamun, Joma l91l . . . DLl8l; CDWL1
Salas, Iloyd l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
SlazMarquez, Rubn l935 . . . . . . . . DLl22
Salcedo, Hugo l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Salemson, Harold |. l9l0l988. . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Salesbury, William l520.l581.. . . . . . . . DL28l
Salinas, Luis Omar l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Salinas, Iedro l89ll95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31
Salinger, |. D.
l9l9 . . . . . . . . .DL2, l02, l73; CDALl
Salkey, Andrew l928l995. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl25
Sallust circa 8o _.`.35 _.`.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL2ll; CDWLl
Salt, Waldo l9l1l987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Salter, |ames l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Salter, Mary |o l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Saltus, Edgar l855l92l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL202
Saltykov, Mikhail Evgrafovich
l82ol889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Salustri, Carlo Alberto (see Jrilussa)
Salverson, Laura Goodman l890l970. . . . DL92
Samain, Albert l858l900 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL2l7
Sampson, Richard Henry (see Hull, Richard)
Samuels, Ernest l903l99o. . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Sanborn, Iranklin enjamin
l83ll9l7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 223
Snchez, Ilorencio l875l9l0 . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Snchez, Luis Rafael l93o . . . . . . DLl15, 305
Snchez, Ihilomeno 'Ihil`` l9l7 . . . . . DLl22
Snchez, Ricardo l91ll995. . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Snchez, Sal l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Sanchez, Sonia l931 . . . . . . . . . . DL1l; DS8
Snchez de Arvalo, Rodrigo
l101l170. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Snchez de adajoz, Diego .l552. . . . . . DL3l8
Snchez Ierlosio, Rafael l927 . . . . . . . DL322
Sand, George l801l87o. . . . . . . . . . .DLll9, l92
Sandburg, Carl
l878l9o7. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7, 51; CDAL3
Sandel, Cora (Sara Iabricius)
l880l971. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Sandemose, Aksel l899l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Sanders, Edward l939 . . . . . . . . . . DLlo, 211
Sanderson, Robert l587loo3. . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Sandoz, Mari l89ol9oo. . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, 2l2
Sandwell, . K. l87ol951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Sandy, Stephen l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo5
Sandys, George l578lo11 . . . . . . . . . DL21, l2l
Sangster, Charles l822l893. . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Sanguineti, Edoardo l930 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Sanjnishi Sanetaka l155l537. . . . . . . . . DL203
San Iedro, Diego de fl. ca. l192. . . . . . . . DL28o
Sansay, Leonora .after l823 . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Sansom, William l9l2l97o . . . . . . . . . . . DLl39
SantÀnna, Affonso Romano de
l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Santayana, George
l8o3l952 . . . . . . DL51, 7l, 21o, 270; DSl3
ai_ PPN `~ f
SMP
`
Santiago, Danny l9lll988. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22

Santillana, Marqus de (igo Lpez de Mendoza)
l398l158 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Santmyer, Helen Hooven l895l98o . . . . . . . . .Y81
Santos, ienvenido l9lll99o . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Sanvitale, Irancesca l928 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Sapidus, |oannes l190l5ol. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl79
Sapir, Edward l881l939. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Sapper (see McNeile, Herman Cyril)
Sappho circa o20 _.`.circa 550 _.`.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o; CDWLl
Saramago, |os l922 . . . . . . . . . . DL287; Y98
Nobel Lecture l998. How Characters
ecame the Masters and the Author
Jheir Apprentice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Sarban ( |ohn W. Wall) l9l0l989. . . . . . . DL255
Sardou, Victorien l83ll908 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl92
Sarduy, Severo l937l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll3
Sargent, Iamela l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
SaroWiwa, Ken l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Saroyan, Aram
Rites of Iassage |on William Saroyan| . . . .Y83
Saroyan, William
l908l98l . . . . . DL7, 9, 8o; Y8l; CDAL7
Sarraute, Nathalie l900l999. . . . . . . . DL83, 32l
Sarrazin, Albertine l937l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Sarris, Greg l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl75
Sarton, May l9l2l995 . . . . . . . . . . . DL18; Y8l
Sartre, |eanIaul l905l980 . . . . . DL72, 29o, 32l
Sassoon, Siegfried
l88ol9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20, l9l; DSl8
A Centenary Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Jributes from Vivien I. Clarke and
Michael Jhorpe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Sata Ineko l901l998. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Saturday Review Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Saunders, |ames l9252001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Saunders, |ohn Monk l897l910 . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Saunders, Margaret Marshall
l8oll917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Saunders and Otley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Saussure, Ierdinand de l857l9l3 . . . . . . . DL212
Savage, |ames l781l873 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30
Savage, Marmion W. l803.l872 . . . . . . . . DL2l
Savage, Richard lo97.l713. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL95
Savard, IlixAntoine l89ol982. . . . . . . . . DLo8
Savery, Henry l79ll812. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Saville, (Leonard) Malcolm l90ll982 . . . DLlo0
p~I l97o ooker Irize winner,
David Storey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Savinio, Alberto l89ll952 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
Sawyer, Robert |. l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Sawyer, Ruth l880l970. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Sayer, Mandy l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Sayers, Dorothy L.
l893l957 . . . . DLl0, 3o, 77, l00; CDLo
Jhe Dorothy L. Sayers Society . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Sayle, Charles Edward l8o1l921 . . . . . . . DLl81
Sayles, |ohn Jhomas l950 . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Sbarbaro, Camillo l888l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Scalapino, Leslie l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl93
Scannell, Vernon l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Scarry, Richard l9l9l991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Scve, Maurice circa l502circa l5o1. . . . . DL327
Schack, Hans Egede l820l859. . . . . . . . . DL300
Schaefer, |ack l907l99l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l2
Schaeffer, Albrecht l885l950 . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Schaeffer, Susan Iromberg l91l . . . DL28, 299
Schaff, Ihilip l8l9l893 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl3
Schaper, Edzard l908l981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Scharf, |. Jhomas l813l898. . . . . . . . . . . . DL17
Schede, Iaul Melissus l539lo02 . . . . . . . DLl79
Scheffel, |oseph Viktor von l82ol88o . . . DLl29
Scheffler, |ohann lo21lo77. . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Schhad, Georges l905l999 . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
Schelling, Iriedrich Wilhelm |oseph von
l775l851 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Scherer, Wilhelm l81ll88o . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Scherfig, Hans l905l979. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Schickele, Ren l883l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Schiff, Dorothy l903l989. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Schiller, Iriedrich
l759l805 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91; CDWL2
p Î l982 ooker Irize winner,
Jhomas Keneally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Schirmer, David lo23lo87 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Schlaf, |ohannes l8o2l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll8
Schlegel, August Wilhelm l7o7l815 . . . . . . DL91
Schlegel, Dorothea l7o3l839 . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Schlegel, Iriedrich l772l829. . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Schleiermacher, Iriedrich l7o8l831 . . . . . . DL90
Schlesinger, Arthur M., |r. l9l7 . . . . . . . . DLl7
Schlumberger, |ean l877l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . DLo5
Schmid, Eduard Hermann Wilhelm
(see Edschmid, Kasimir)
Schmidt, Arno l9l1l979. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Schmidt, |ohann Kaspar (see Stirner, Max)
Schmidt, Michael l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Schmidtbonn, Wilhelm August
l87ol952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll8
Schmitz, Aron Hector (see Svevo, Italo)
Schmitz, |ames H. l9lll98l. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Schnabel, |ohann Gottfried lo92l7o0. . . . DLlo8
Schnackenberg, Gjertrud l953 . . . . . . . DLl20
Schnitzler, Arthur
l8o2l93l . . . . . . . . . DL8l, ll8; CDWL2
Schnurre, Wolfdietrich l920l989 . . . . . . . . DLo9
Schocken ooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Scholartis Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Scholderer, Victor l880l97l. . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Jhe Schomburg Center for Research
in lack Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7o
Schnbeck, Virgilio (see Giotti, Virgilio)
Schnherr, Karl l8o7l913. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll8
Schoolcraft, |ane |ohnston l800l81l . . . . DLl75
School Stories, l9l1l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Schopenhauer, Arthur l788l8o0. . . . . . . . . DL90
Schopenhauer, |ohanna l7ool838 . . . . . . . DL90
Schorer, Mark l908l977. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Schottelius, |ustus Georg lol2lo7o . . . . . DLlo1
Schouler, |ames l839l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL17
Schoultz, Solveig von l907l99o . . . . . . . . DL259
Schrader, Iaul l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Schreiner, Olive
l855l920 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8, l5o, l90, 225
Schroeder, Andreas l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Schubart, Christian Iriedrich Daniel
l739l79l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL97
Schubert, Gotthilf Heinrich l780l8o0 . . . . DL90
Schcking, Levin l8l1l883 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Schulberg, udd l9l1 . . . . . DLo, 2o, 28; Y8l
Excerpts from LSC Iresentation
|on I. Scott Iitzgerald| . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y9o
I. |. Schulte and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Schulz, runo l892l912. . . . DL2l5; CDWL1
Schulze, Hans (see Iraetorius, |ohannes)
Schupp, |ohann althasar lol0lool. . . . . DLlo1
Schurz, Carl l829l90o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23
Schuyler, George S. l895l977. . . . . . . . DL29, 5l
Schuyler, |ames l923l99l . . . . . . . . . . DL5, lo9
Schwartz, Delmore l9l3l9oo . . . . . . . . DL28, 18
Schwartz, |onathan l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Schwartz, Lynne Sharon l939 . . . . . . . DL2l8
Schwarz, Sibylle lo2llo38 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Schwarzart, Andre l928 . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Schwerner, Armand l927l999 . . . . . . . . . DLlo5
Schwob, Marcel l8o7l905 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl23
Sciascia, Leonardo l92ll989 . . . . . . . . . . DLl77
Science Iiction and Iantasy
Documents in ritish Iantasy and
Science Iiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl78
Hugo Awards and Nebula Awards . . . . . DL8
Jhe Iconography of ScienceIiction
Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Jhe New Wave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Iaperback Science Iiction . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Science Iantasy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
ScienceIiction Iandom and
Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
ScienceIiction Ianzines. Jhe Jime
inders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
`~ f ai_ PPN
SMQ
ScienceIiction Iilms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Science Iiction Writers of America
and the Nebula Award . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Selected ScienceIiction Magazines and
Anthologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
A World Chronology of Important Science
Iiction Works (l8l8l979). . . . . . . . DL8
Jhe Year in Science Iiction
and Iantasy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00, 0l
Scot, Reginald circa l538l599. . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Scotellaro, Rocco l923l953. . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Scott, Alicia Anne (Lady |ohn Scott)
l8l0l900. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Scott, Catharine Amy Dawson
l8o5l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Scott, Dennis l939l99l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl25
Scott, Dixon l88ll9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL98
Scott, Duncan Campbell l8o2l917 . . . . . . DL92
Scott, Evelyn l893l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, 18
Scott, I. R. l899l985. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Scott, Irederick George l8oll911. . . . . . . DL92
Scott, Geoffrey l881l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl19
Scott, Harvey W. l838l9l0. . . . . . . . . . . . DL23
Scott, |ohn l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Scott, Lady |ane (see Scott, Alicia Anne)
Scott, Iaul l920l978 . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 207, 32o
Scott, Sarah l723l795 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Scott, Jom l9l8l995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Scott, Sir Walter l77ll832
. . . . . . . DL93, l07, llo, l11, l59; CDL3
Scott, William ell l8lll890. . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Walter Scott Iublishing Company
Limited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
William R. Scott |publishing house| . . . . . . DL1o
ScottHeron, Gil l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Scribe, Eugne l79ll8ol. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl92
Scribner, Arthur Hawley l859l932. . . . . DSl3, lo
Scribner, Charles l851l930. . . . . . . . . . . DSl3, lo
Scribner, Charles, |r. l92ll995 . . . . . . . . . . . . Y95
Reminiscences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl7
Charles Scribner`s Sons . . . .DL19; DSl3, lo, l7
Archives of Charles Scribner`s Sons. . . . . DSl7
p j~~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl3
p j . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl3
Scripps, E. W. l851l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Scudder, Horace Elisha l838l902 . . . . DL12, 7l
Scudder, Vida Dutton l8oll951 . . . . . . . . DL7l
Scudry, Madeleine de lo07l70l . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Scupham, Ieter l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
q p~I 2005 ooker Irize winner,
|ohn anville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
q p~I q p~I l978 ooker Irize winner,
Iris Murdoch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Seabrook, William l88ol915. . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Seabury, Samuel l729l79o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Seacole, Mary |ane Grant l805l88l . . . . DLloo
q p~~ circa 970. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Sealsfield, Charles (Carl Iostl)
l793l8o1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33, l8o
Searle, |ohn R. l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL279
Sears, Edward I. l8l9.l87o. . . . . . . . . . . . DL79
Sears Iublishing Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Seaton, George l9lll979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Seaton, William Winston l785l8oo. . . . . . DL13
Sebillet, Jhomas l5l2l589 . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Martin Secker |publishing house| . . . . . . . DLll2
Martin Secker, and Warburg Limited. . . . DLll2
Jhe 'Second Generation" Holocaust
Novel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Sedgwick, Arthur George l811l9l5 . . . . . DLo1
Sedgwick, Catharine Maria
l789l8o7. . . . . . . . . .DLl, 71, l83, 239, 213
Sedgwick, Ellery l872l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9l
Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky l950 . . . . . . . DL21o
Sedley, Sir Charles lo39l70l. . . . . . . . . . DLl3l
Seeberg, Ieter l925l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Seeger, Alan l888l9lo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL15
Seers, Eugene (see Dantin, Louis)
Segal, Erich l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y8o
Segal, Lore l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Segedin, Ietar l909l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Seghers, Anna l900l983 . . . . DLo9; CDWL2
Seid, Ruth (see Sinclair, |o)
Seidel, Irederick Lewis l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
Seidel, Ina l885l971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5o
Seifert, |aroslav
l90ll98o . . . . . . . DL2l5; Y81; CDWL1
|aroslav Seifert Jhrough the Eyes of
the EnglishSpeaking Reader . . . . . . . . Y81
Jhree Ioems by |aroslav Seifert. . . . . . . . . Y81
Seifullina, Lidiia Nikolaevna l889l951 . . .DL272
Seigenthaler, |ohn l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Seizin Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Sjour, Victor l8l7l871 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL50
Sjour Marcou et Ierrand, |uan Victor
(see Sjour, Victor)
Sekowski, |sef|ulian, aron rambeus
(see Senkovsky, Osip Ivanovich)
Selby, ettina l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Selby, Hubert |r. l9282001 . . . . . . . . . DL2, 227
Selden, George l929l989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Selden, |ohn l581lo51 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Seleni, Slobodan l933l995 . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Self, Edwin I. l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
Self, Will l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL207
Seligman, Edwin R. A. l8oll939 . . . . . . . DL17
Selimovi, Mesa
l9l0l982 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl8l; CDWL1
Sellars, Wilfrid l9l2l989 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL279
Sellings, Arthur (Arthur Gordon Ley)
l9lll9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Selous, Irederick Courteney l85ll9l7 . . .DLl71
Seltzer, Chester E. (see Muro, Amado)
Jhomas Seltzer |publishing house| . . . . . . . DL1o
Selvadurai, Shyam l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Selvon, Sam l923l991 . . . . .DLl25; CDWL3
Semel, Nava l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Semmes, Raphael l809l877 . . . . . . . . . . DLl89
Senancour, Etienne de l770l81o . . . . . . . DLll9
Sena, |orge de l9l9l978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Sendak, Maurice l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Sender, Ramn |. l90ll982 . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Seneca the Elder
circa 51 _.`.circa ^.a. 10. . . . . . . . . . DL2ll
Seneca the Younger
circa l _.`.^.a. o5. . . . . .DL2ll; CDWLl
Sencal, Eva l905l988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Sengstacke, |ohn l9l2l997 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl27
Senior, Olive l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl57
Senkovsky, Osip Ivanovich
( |zef|ulian Sekowski, aron rambeus)
l800l858 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
Senoa, August l838l88l. . . .DLl17; CDWL1
Sentimental Iiction of the Sixteenth
Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Sepamla, Sipho l932 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57, 225
Serafimovich, Aleksandr Serafimovich
(Aleksandr Serafimovich Iopov)
l8o3l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL272
Serao, Matilde l85ol927. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
Seredy, Kate l899l975. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Sereni, Vittorio l9l3l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
William Seres |publishing house| . . . . . . . .DLl70
SergeevJsensky, Sergei Nikolaevich (Sergei
Nikolaevich Sergeev) l875l958 . . . . .DL272
Serling, Rod l921l975. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Sernine, Daniel l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Serote, Mongane Wally l911 . . . . DLl25, 225
Serraillier, Ian l9l2l991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
Serrano, Nina l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Service, Robert l871l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Sessler, Charles l851l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl87
Seth, Vikram l952 . . . . . . . . . DLl20, 27l, 323
Seton, Elizabeth Ann l771l82l . . . . . . . . DL200
Seton, Ernest Jhompson
l8o0l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92; DSl3
Seton, |ohn circa l509l5o7 . . . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Setouchi Harumi l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Settle, Mary Lee l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Seume, |ohann Gottfried l7o3l8l0 . . . . . . DL91
ai_ PPN `~ f
SMR
`
Seuse, Heinrich l295.l3oo. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl79

Seuss, Dr. (see Geisel, Jheodor Seuss)
Severianin, Igor` l887l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Severin, Jimothy l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Svign, Marie de Rabutin Chantal,
Madame de lo2olo9o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Sewall, |oseph lo88l7o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Sewall, Richard . l9082003 . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Sewall, Samuel lo52l730 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Sewell, Anna l820l878. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo3
Sewell, Stephen l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Sexton, Anne l928l971 . . .DL5, lo9; CDALl
SeymourSmith, Martin l928l998 . . . . . . DLl55
Sgorlon, Carlo l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Shaara, Michael l929l988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Shabel`skaia, Aleksandra Stanislavovna
l815l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Shadwell, Jhomas lo1l.lo92 . . . . . . . . . . DL80
Shaffer, Anthony l92o200l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Shaffer, Ieter l92o . . . .DLl3, 233; CDL8
Muhammad ibn Idris alShafi'i 7o7820 . . . DL3ll
Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper,
Jhird Earl of lo7ll7l3 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0l
Shaginian, Marietta Sergeevna
l888l982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL272
Shairp, Mordaunt l887l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Shakespeare, Nicholas l957 . . . . . . . . . . DL23l
Shakespeare, William
l5o1lolo . . . . . . DLo2, l72, 2o3; CDLl
Jhe New Variorum Shakespeare. . . . . . . . .Y85
Shakespeare and Montaigne. A Symposium
by |ules Iurthman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
$o,loo,000 for a _> Observations on
q p~~ c cW q e
_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
JaylorMade Shakespeare. Or Is
'`Shall I Die.`` the LongLost Jext
of ottom`s Dream. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y85
Jhe Shakespeare Globe Jrust . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y93
Shakespeare Head Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Shakhova, Elisaveta Nikitichna
l822l899 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL277
Shakhovskoi, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich
l777l81o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Shalamov, Varlam Jikhonovich
l907l982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
alShanfara fl. sixth century . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Shange, Ntozake l918 . . . . . . . . . . . DL38, 219
Shapcott, Jhomas W. l935 . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Shapir, Ol`ga Andreevna l850l9lo . . . . . DL295
Shapiro, Karl l9l32000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL18
Sharon Iublications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Sharov, Vladimir Aleksandrovich
l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Sharp, Margery l905l99l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
Sharp, William l855l905 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5o
Sharpe, Jom l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 23l
Shaw, Albert l857l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9l
Shaw, George ernard
l85ol950 . . . . . . . DLl0, 57, l90, CDLo
Jhe ernard Shaw Society . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
'Stage Censorship. Jhe Rejected
Statement" (l9ll) |excerpts| . . . . . DLl0
Shaw, Henry Wheeler l8l8l885 . . . . . . . . DLll
Shaw, Irwin
l9l3l981 . . . . . . DLo, l02; Y81; CDALl
Shaw, |oseph J. l871l952. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
'As I Was Saying," |oseph J. Shaw`s
Editorial Rationale in _~ j~
( |anuary l927) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
Shaw, Mary l851l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL228
Shaw, Robert l927l978. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3, l1
Shaw, Robert . l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Shawn, Wallace l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2oo
Shawn, William l907l992. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
Irank Shay |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Shchedrin, N. (see Saltykov, Mikhail Evgrafovich)
Shcherbakova, Galina Nikolaevna
l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Shcherbina, Nikolai Iedorovich
l82ll8o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL277
Shea, |ohn Gilmary l821l892 . . . . . . . . . . DL30
Sheaffer, Louis l9l2l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Sheahan, Henry eston (see eston, Henry)
Shearing, |oseph l88ol952. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL70
Shebbeare, |ohn l709l788 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Sheckley, Robert l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Shedd, William G. J. l820l891 . . . . . . . . . DLo1
Sheed, Wilfrid l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Sheed and Ward |L.S.| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Sheed and Ward Limited |L.K.| . . . . . . . . DLll2
Sheldon, Alice . (see Jiptree, |ames, |r.)
Sheldon, Edward l88ol91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Sheldon and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Sheller, Aleksandr Konstantinovich
l838l900 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft l797l85l
. . . . . . . . . DLll0, llo, l59, l78; CDL3
Ireface to c~X I q
j m (l8l8) . . . . . . . . DLl78
Shelley, Iercy ysshe
l792l822 . . . . . . DL9o, ll0, l58; CDL3
Shelnutt, Eve l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Shen Congwen l902l988. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Shenshin (see Iet, Afanasii Afanasèvich)
Shenstone, William l7l1l7o3 . . . . . . . . . . . DL95
Shepard, Clark and rown . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Shepard, Ernest Howard l879l97o. . . . . . DLlo0
Shepard, Sam l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7, 2l2
Shepard, Jhomas I, lo01 or lo05lo19 . . . DL21
Shepard, Jhomas, II, lo35lo77 . . . . . . . . . DL21
Shepherd, Luke fl. l517l551. . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Sherburne, Edward lolol702. . . . . . . . . . DLl3l
Sheridan, Irances l721l7oo . . . . . . . . . DL39, 81
Sheridan, Richard rinsley
l75ll8lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL89; CDL2
Sherman, Irancis l87ll92o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Sherman, Martin l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL228
Sherriff, R. C. l89ol975 . . . . . . . DLl0, l9l, 233
Sherrod, lackie l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Sherry, Norman l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
Jribute to Graham Greene . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y9l
Sherry, Richard l50ol55l or l555. . . . . . DL23o
Sherwood, Mary Martha l775l85l . . . . . DLlo3
Sherwood, Robert E. l89ol955 . . . DL7, 2o, 219
Shevyrev, Stepan Ietrovich
l80ol8o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Shi Juo (Lu Ien) l9l0l988 . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Shiel, M. I. l8o5l917. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl53
Shiels, George l88ol919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Shiga Naoya l883l97l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Shiina Rinz l9lll973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Shikishi Naishinn ll53.l20l . . . . . . . . . DL203
Shillaber, enjamin Ienhallow
l8l1l890 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, ll, 235
Shimao Joshio l9l7l98o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Shimazaki Json l872l913 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Shimose, Iedro l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Shine, Jed l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
Shinkei l10ol175 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Ship, Reuben l9l5l975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Shirer, William L. l901l993. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
ShirinskyShikhmatov, Sergii Aleksandrovich
l783l837 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Shirley, |ames l59olooo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL58
Shishkov, Aleksandr Semenovich
l753l81l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Shmelev, I. S. l873l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Shockley, Ann Allen l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Sholokhov, Mikhail Aleksandrovich
l905l981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL272
Shno |unz l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Shore, Arabella l820.l90l. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
Shore, Louisa l821l895 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
Short, Luke (see Glidden, Irederick Dilley)
Ieter Short |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . DLl70
Shorter, Dora Sigerson l8ool9l8 . . . . . . . DL210
Shorthouse, |oseph Henry l831l903 . . . . . DLl8
Short Stories
Michael M. Rea and the Rea Award
for the Short Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Jhe Year in Short Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y87
Jhe Year in the Short Story. . . . . . . Y88, 90-93
`~ f ai_ PPN
SMS
Shtetsu l38ll159. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Showalter, Elaine l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7
Shreve, Anita l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Shteiger, Anatolii l907l911 . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Shukshin, Vasilii Makarovich
l929l971. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Shulevitz, Lri l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Shulman, Max l9l9l988. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Shute, Henry A. l85ol913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Shute, Nevil (Nevil Shute Norway)
l899l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL255
Shuttle, Ienelope l917 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 10
Shvarts, Evgenii L`vovich l89ol958 . . . . DL272
Sibawayhi circa 750circa 795 . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Sibbes, Richard l577lo35 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5l
Sibiriak, D. (see Mamin, Dmitrii Narkisovich)
Siddal, Elizabeth Eleanor l829l8o2 . . . . DLl99
Sidgwick, Ethel l877l970. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl97
Sidgwick, Henry l838l900 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Sidgwick and |ackson Limited . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Sidhwa, apsi l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Sidney, Margaret (see Lothrop, Harriet M.)
Sidney, Mary l5ollo2l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo7
Sidney, Sir Ihilip
l551l58o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo7; CDLl
^ ^ m (the Olney edition,
l595, of a mF. . . . . . . . DLlo7
Sidney`s Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
q p h~I l973 ooker Irize winner,
|. G. Iarrell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Sierra, Rubn l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Sierra Club ooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Siger of rabant circa l210circa l281 . . . DLll5
Sigourney, Lydia Huntley
l79ll8o5. . . . . . .DLl, 12, 73, l83, 239, 213
Silkin, |on l930l997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Silko, Leslie Marmon
l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl13, l75, 25o, 275
Silliman, enjamin l779l8o1. . . . . . . . . . DLl83
Silliman, Ron l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo9
Silliphant, Stirling l9l8l99o . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Sillitoe, Alan l928 . . . . DLl1, l39; CDL8
Jribute to |. . Iriestly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
Silman, Roberta l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28
Silone, Ignazio (Secondino Jranquilli)
l900l978. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
Silva, everly l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Silva, Clara l905l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Silva, |os Asunci l8o5l89o . . . . . . . . . DL283
Silverberg, Robert l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Silverman, Kaja l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
Silverman, Kenneth l93o . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Simak, Clifford D. l901l988. . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Simcoe, Elizabeth l7o2l850. . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Simcox, Edith |emima l811l90l. . . . . . . DLl90
Simcox, George Augustus l81ll905. . . . . DL35
Sime, |essie Georgina l8o8l958 . . . . . . . . DL92
Simenon, Georges l903l989. . . . . . . DL72; Y89
Simic, Charles l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
'Images and 'Images`" . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Simionescu, Mircea Horia l928 . . . . . . . DL232
Simmel, Georg l858l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
Simmel, |ohannes Mario l921 . . . . . . . . DLo9
Valentine Simmes |publishing house| . . . . .DLl70
Simmons, Ernest |. l903l972 . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Simmons, Herbert Alfred l930 . . . . . . . DL33
Simmons, |ames l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Simms, William Gilmore
l80ol870. . . . . . . . . . . .DL3, 30, 59, 73, 218
Simms and MÌntyre. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Simon, Claude l9l32005 . . . . . . . . . DL83; Y85
Nobel Lecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y85
Simon, Neil l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL7, 2oo
Simon and Schuster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Simonov, Konstantin Mikhailovich
l9l5l979. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Simons, Katherine Drayton Mayrant
l890l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y83
Simovi, Ljubomir l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Simpkin and Marshall
|publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl51
Simpson, Helen l897l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
Simpson, Louis l923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Simpson, N. I. l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Sims, George l923l999. . . . . . . . . . . DL87; Y99
Sims, George Robert l817l922 . . .DL35, 70, l35
Sinn, Rogelio l902l991. . . . . . . . . DLl15, 290
Sinclair, Andrew l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Sinclair, ertrand William l88ll972 . . . . . DL92
Sinclair, Catherine l800l8o1. . . . . . . . . . DLlo3
Sinclair, Clive l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
Sinclair, |o l9l3l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28
Sinclair, Lister l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Sinclair, May l8o3l91o . . . . . . . . . . . DL3o, l35
Jhe Novels of Dorothy Richardson
(l9l8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3o
Sinclair, Lpton l878l9o8. . . . . . DL9; CDAL5
Lpton Sinclair |publishing house|. . . . . . . . DL1o
Singer, Isaac ashevis l901l99l
. . . . . . . . . DLo, 28, 52, 278; Y9l; CDALl
Singer, Mark l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Singh, Khushwant l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL323
Singmaster, Elsie l879l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Siniavsky, Andrei (Abram Jertz)
l925l997. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Sinisgalli, Leonardo l908l98l. . . . . . . . . DLll1
Siodmak, Curt l9022000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Srbu, Ion D. l9l9l989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Siringo, Charles A. l855l928 . . . . . . . . . DLl8o
Sissman, L. E. l928l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Sisson, C. H. l9l12003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27
Sitwell, Edith l887l9o1 . . . . . . DL20; CDL7
Sitwell, Osbert l892l9o9. . . . . . . . . .DLl00, l95
Sivanandan, Ambalavaner l923 . . . . . DL323
SixteenthCentury Spanish Epic, Jhe. . . . DL3l8
Skcel, |an l922l989. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Skalbe, Krlis l879l915. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
Skrmeta, Antonio
l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl15; CDWL3
Skavronsky, A. (see Danilevsky, Grigorii Ietrovich)
Skeat, Walter W. l835l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
William Skeffington |publishing house| . . DLl0o
Skelton, |ohn l1o3l529. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Skelton, Robin l925l997. . . . . . . . . . . . DL27, 53
kma, Antanas l9l0l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
Skinner, Constance Lindsay
l877l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Skinner, |ohn Stuart l788l85l. . . . . . . . . . DL73
Skipsey, |oseph l832l903 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
SkouHansen, Jage l925 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Skrzynecki, Ieter l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
kvoreck, Josef l921 . . . . DL232; CDWL1
Slade, ernard l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Slamnig, Ivan l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Slanekov, oena (see Jimrava)
Slataper, Scipio l888l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
Slater, Iatrick l880l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Slaveykov, Iencho l8ool9l2. . . . . . . . . . .DLl17
Slaviek, Milivoj l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Slavitt, David l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, o
Sleigh, urrows Willcocks Arthur
l82ll8o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Sleptsov, Vasilii Alekseevich l83ol878 . . .DL277
Slesinger, Jess l905l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl02
Slessor, Kenneth l90ll97l . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Slick, Sam (see Haliburton, Jhomas Chandler)
Sloan, |ohn l87ll95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl88
Sloane, William, Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Slonimsky, Mikhail Leonidovich
l897l972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL272
Sluchevsky, Konstantin Konstantinovich
l837l901. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL277
Small, Maynard and Company. . . . . . . . . . DL19
Smart, Christopher l722l77l . . . . . . . . . DLl09
Smart, David A. l892l957 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl37
Smart, Elizabeth l9l3l98o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Smart, |. |. C. l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Smedley, Menella ute l820.l877 . . . . . DLl99
ai_ PPN `~ f
SMT
`
William Smellie |publishing house| . . . . . . DLl51

Smiles, Samuel l8l2l901 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL55
Smiley, |ane l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL227, 231
Smith, A. |. M. l902l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Smith, Adam l723l790 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl01, 252
Smith, Adam (George |erome Waldo
Goodman) l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Smith, Alexander l829l8o7 . . . . . . . . . DL32, 55
'On the Writing of Essays`` (l8o2) . . . . DL57
Smith, Amanda l837l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22l
Smith, etty l89ol972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Smith, Carol Sturm l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
Smith, Charles Henry l82ol903 . . . . . . . . DLll
Smith, Charlotte l719l80o . . . . . . . . . DL39, l09
Smith, Chet l899l973. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7l
Smith, Cordwainer l9l3l9oo. . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Smith, Dave l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Jribute to |ohn Gardner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Smith, Dodie l89ol990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Smith, Doris uchanan l9312002 . . . . . . . DL52
Smith, E. E. l890l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Smith, Elihu Hubbard l77ll798 . . . . . . . . . DL37
Smith, Elizabeth Oakes (Irince)
(see Oakes Smith, Elizabeth)
Smith, Eunice l757l823 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Smith, I. Hopkinson l838l9l5. . . . . . . . . . . DSl3
Smith, George D. l870l920 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl10
Smith, George O. l9lll98l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Smith, Goldwin l823l9l0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Smith, H. Allen l907l97o . . . . . . . . . . . DLll, 29
Smith, Harry . l8o0l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Smith, Hazel rannon l9l1l991 . . . . . . . DLl27
Smith, Henry circa l5o0circa l59l. . . . . . DLl3o
Smith, Horatio (Horace)
l779l819 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9o, llo
Smith, Iain Crichton (Iain Mac A`Ghobhainn)
l928l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10, l39, 3l9
Smith, |. Allen l8o0l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL17
Smith, |ames l775l839 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9o
Smith, |essie Willcox l8o3l935 . . . . . . . . DLl88
Smith, |ohn l580lo3l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21, 30
Smith, |ohn lol8lo52. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL252
Smith, |osiah l701l78l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Smith, Ken l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Smith, Lee l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl13; Y83
Smith, Logan Iearsall l8o5l91o. . . . . . . . . DL98
Smith, Margaret ayard l778l811 . . . . . . DL218
Smith, Mark l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Smith, Michael lo98circa l77l . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Smith, Iauline l882l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL225
Smith, Red l905l982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29, l7l
Smith, Roswell l829l892 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL79
Smith, Samuel Harrison l772l815 . . . . . . . DL13
Smith, Samuel Stanhope l75ll8l9 . . . . . . . DL37
Smith, Sarah (see Stretton, Hesba)
Smith, Sarah Iogson l771l870 . . . . . . . . . DL200
Smith, Seba l792l8o8. . . . . . . . . . . DLl, ll, 213
Smith, Stevie l902l97l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20
Smith, Sydney l77ll815. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl07
Smith, Sydney Goodsir l9l5l975. . . . . . . . DL27
Smith, Sir Jhomas l5l3l577 . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Smith, Vivian l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Smith, W. Gordon l928l99o . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Smith, Wendell l9l1l972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7l
Smith, William fl. l595l597 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Smith, William l727l803 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
^ d~ f~ ` j~~
(l753) |excerpts| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Smith, William l728l793 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30
Smith, William Gardner l927l971 . . . . . . . DL7o
Smith, William Henry l808l872 . . . . . . . DLl59
Smith, William |ay l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Smith, Elder and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl51
Harrison Smith and Robert Haas
|. Stilman Smith and Company . . . . . . . . . . DL19
W. . Smith and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
W. H. Smith and Son. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Leonard Smithers |publishing house|. . . . . DLll2
Smollett, Jobias
l72ll77l. . . . . . . . . . .DL39, l01; CDL2
Dedication to c~ ` c~
(l753) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to c~ ` c~
(l753) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL39
Ireface to o o~ (l718) . . . . . DL39
Smythe, Irancis Sydney l900l919 . . . . . . DLl95
Snelling, William |oseph l801l818. . . . . . DL202
Snellings, Rolland (see Jour, Askia Muhammad)
Snodgrass, W. D. l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Snorri Hjartarson l90ol98o . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
Snow, C. I.
l905l980 . . . . . DLl5, 77; DSl7; CDL7
Snyder, Gary
l930 . . . . . . . . DL5, lo, lo5, 2l2, 237, 275
Sobiloff, Hy l9l2l970. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL18
q p~ `~I |ean|acques
Rousseau. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Jhe Society for Jextual Scholarship and
qbuq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y87
Jhe Society for the History of Authorship,
Reading and Iublishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y92
Sderberg, Hjalmar l8o9l91l . . . . . . . . . DL259
Sdergran, Edith l892l923 . . . . . . . . . . . DL259
Soffici, Ardengo l879l9o1 . . . . . . . . DLll1, 2o1
Sofola, 'Zulu l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Sokhanskaia, Nadezhda Stepanovna
(Kokhanovskaia) l823.l881 . . . . . . . DL277
Sokolov, Sasha (Aleksandr Vsevolodovich
Sokolov) l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Solano, Solita l888l975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Soldati, Mario l90ol999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl77
Soledad (see Zamudio, Adela)
Soljan, Antun l932l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Sollers, Ihilippe (Ihilippe |oyaux)
l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Sollogub, Vladimir Aleksandrovich
l8l3l882 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
Sollors, Werner l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
Solmi, Sergio l899l98l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Sologub, Iedor l8o3l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Solomon, Carl l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Solrzano, Carlos l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Soloukhin, Vladimir Alekseevich
l921l997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Solovèv, Sergei Mikhailovich
l885l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Solovèv, Vladimir Sergeevich
l853l900 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Solstad, Dag l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Solway, David l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr
l9l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Solzhenitsyn and America. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y85
Some asic Notes on Jhree Modern Genres.
Interview, lurb, and Obituary. . . . . . . . . .Y02
Somerville, Edith Cnone l858l919. . . . . DLl35
p ^ cI l9o9 ooker Irize winner,
I. H. Newby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Somov, Orest Mikhailovich l793l833 . . . DLl98
Snderby, Knud l909l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Sone, Monica l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Song, Cathy l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo9, 3l2
Sonnevi, Gran l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Sono Ayako l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Sontag, Susan l9332001. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2, o7
Sophocles 197/19o _.`.10o/105 _.`.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7o; CDWLl
Sopov, Aco l923l982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Sorel, Charles ca.lo00lo71 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL2o8
Srensen, Villy l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Sorensen, Virginia l9l2l99l . . . . . . . . . . DL20o
Sorge, Reinhard |ohannes l892l9lo . . . . DLll8
Sorokin, Vladimir Georgievich
l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Sorrentino, Gilbert l929 . . . . . DL5, l73; Y80
Sosa, Roberto l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Sotheby, |ames lo82l712 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Sotheby, |ohn l710l807 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Sotheby, Samuel l77ll812 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
`~ f ai_ PPN
SMU
Sotheby, Samuel Leigh l805l8ol . . . . . . DL2l3
Sotheby, William l757l833 . . . . . . . . DL93, 2l3
Soto, Gary l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Soueif, Ahdaf l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Souster, Raymond l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Jhe p b i~ circa
thirteenthfifteenth centuries. . . . . . . . DLl1o
Southerland, Ellease l913 . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Southern, Jerry l921l995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2
Southern Illinois Lniversity Iress. . . . . . . . . . . Y95
Southern Literature
Iellowship of Southern Writers . . . . . . . . . Y98
Jhe Iugitives and the Agrarians.
Jhe Iirst Exhibition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y85
Study of Southern Culture and
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Jhe Society for the Study of
Southern Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Southern Writers etween the Wars . . . DL9
Southerne, Jhomas lo59l71o . . . . . . . . . . DL80
Southey, Caroline Anne owles
l78ol851. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLllo
Southey, Robert l771l813. . . . . . DL93, l07, l12
Southwell, Robert l5ol.l595 . . . . . . . . . DLlo7
Southworth, E. D. E. N. l8l9l899 . . . . . DL239
Sowande, ode l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57
Jace Sowle |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . .DLl70
Soyfer, |ura l9l2l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
Soyinka, Wole
l931 . . . . DLl25; Y8o, Y87; CDWL3
Nobel Lecture l98o. Jhis Iast Must
Address Its Iresent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y8o
Spacks, arry l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Spalding, Irances l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
Spanish yzantine Novel, Jhe . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Spanish Jravel Writers of the
Late Middle Ages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Spark, Muriel l9l8 . . . DLl5, l39; CDL7
Michael Sparke |publishing house| . . . . . . .DLl70
Sparks, |ared l789l8oo . . . . . . . . . DLl, 30, 235
Sparshott, Irancis l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Spth, Gerold l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Spatola, Adriano l91ll988 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Spaziani, Maria Luisa l921 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
p c p~~ i~
l838l812 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl
q p~ l828 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll0
Spedding, |ames l808l88l . . . . . . . . . . . DLl11
Spee von Langenfeld, Iriedrich
l59llo35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Speght, Rachel l597after lo30. . . . . . . . . DLl2o
Speke, |ohn Hanning l827l8o1. . . . . . . . DLloo
Spellman, A. . l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Spence, Catherine Helen l825l9l0. . . . . DL230
Spence, Jhomas l750l8l1 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl58
Spencer, Anne l882l975 . . . . . . . . . . . DL5l, 51
Spencer, Charles, third Earl of Sunderland
lo71l722 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Spencer, Elizabeth l92l . . . . . . . . . . DLo, 2l8
Spencer, George |ohn, Second Earl Spencer
l758l831. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
Spencer, Herbert l820l903 . . . . . . . . . DL57, 2o2
'Jhe Ihilosophy of Style`` (l852) . . . . DL57
Spencer, Scott l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y8o
Spender, |. A. l8o2l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL98
Spender, Stephen l909l995. . . DL20; CDL7
Spener, Ihilipp |akob lo35l705. . . . . . . . DLlo1
Spenser, Edmund
circa l552l599 . . . . . . . . DLlo7; CDLl
Envoy from q p~ `~ . . . . DLlo7
'Jhe Generall Argument of the
Whole ooke," from
q p~ `~ . . . . . . . . DLlo7
'A Letter of the Authors Expounding
His Whole Intention in the Course
of this Worke. Which for that It
Giueth Great Light to the Reader,
for the etter Vnderstanding
Is Hereunto Annexed,"
from q c~ n (l590) . . . . DLlo7
'Jo His ooke," from
q p~ `~ (l579) . . . DLlo7
'Jo the Most Excellent and Learned
oth Orator and Ioete, Mayster
Gabriell Haruey, His Verie Special
and Singular Good Irend E. K.
Commendeth the Good Lyking of
Jhis His Labour, and the Iatronage
of the New Ioete," from
q p~ `~ . . . . . . . . DLlo7
Sperr, Martin l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
Spewack, ella Cowen l899l990 . . . . . . DL2oo
Spewack, Samuel l899l97l . . . . . . . . . . . DL2oo
Spicer, |ack l925l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . DL5, lo, l93
Spiegelman, Art l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Spielberg, Ieter l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y8l
Spielhagen, Iriedrich l829l9ll. . . . . . . . DLl29
p~ (circa ll52circa l500). . . DLl18
Spier, Ieter l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Spillane, Mickey l9l8200o . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
Spink, |. G. Jaylor l888l9o2 . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Spinrad, Norman l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Spires, Elizabeth l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
q p i~I ClaudeAdrien
Helvtius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
q p i~I CharlesLouis de Secondat, baron
de Montesquieu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Spitteler, Carl l815l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Spivak, Lawrence E. l900l991 . . . . . . . . DLl37
Spofford, Harriet Irescott
l835l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL71, 22l
Sponde, |ean de l557l595 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Sports
|immy, Red, and Others. Harold
Rosenthal Remembers the Stars
of the Iress ox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Jhe Literature of oxing in England
through Arthur Conan Doyle . . . . . . . Y0l
Notable JwentiethCentury ooks
about Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Sprigge, Jimothy L. S. l932 . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Spring, Howard l889l9o5. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Springs, Elliott White l89ol959 . . . . . . . DL3lo
Squibob (see Derby, George Horatio)
Squier, E. G. l82ll888 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl89
StaalDelaunay, Marguerite|eanne Cordier de
lo81l750. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Stableford, rian l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Stacpoole, H. de Vere l8o3l95l . . . . . . . DLl53
Stal, Germaine de l7ool8l7. . . . . . .DLll9, l92
StalHolstein, AnneLouise Germaine de
(see Stal, Germaine de)
Staffeldt, Schack l7o9l82o . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Stafford, |ean l9l5l979 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL2, l73
Stafford, William l9l1l993. . . . . . . . . DL5, 20o
Stallings, Laurence l891l9o8 . . . . . DL7, 11, 3lo
Stallworthy, |on l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Stampp, Kenneth M. l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl7
Stnescu, Nichita l933l983. . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Stanev, Emiliyan l907l979 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Stanford, Ann l9lol987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Stangerup, Henrik l937l998 . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Stanihurst, Richard l517lol8 . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Stanitsky, N. (see Ianaeva, Avdotìa Iakovlevna)
Stankevich, Nikolai Vladimirovich
l8l3l810 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
Stankovi, orisav ('ora")
l87ol927. . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl17; CDWL1
Stanley, Henry M. l81ll901. . . . DLl89; DSl3
Stanley, Jhomas lo25lo78 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3l
Stannard, Martin l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
William Stansby |publishing house| . . . . . .DLl70
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady l8l5l902 . . . . . . DL79
Stanton, Irank L. l857l927. . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Stanton, Maura l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Stapledon, Olaf l88ol950 . . . . . . . . . DLl5, 255
Star Spangled anner Office. . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Stark, Ireya l893l993. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl95
Starkey, Jhomas circa l199l538. . . . . . . DLl32
Starkie, Walter l891l97o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl95
Starkweather, David l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Starrett, Vincent l88ol971 . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl87
Stationers` Company of London, Jhe . . . .DLl70
Statius circa ^.a. 15^.a. 9o . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ll
ai_ PPN `~ f
SMV
`
p~ lI l977 ooker Irize winner,

Iaul Scott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Stead, Christina l902l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Stead, Robert |. C. l880l959 . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Steadman, Mark l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Stearns, Harold E. l89ll913 . . . . . . DL1; DSl5
Stebnitsky, M. (see Leskov, Nikolai Semenovich)
Stedman, Edmund Clarence l833l908. . . . DLo1
Steegmuller, Irancis l90ol991 . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Steel, Ilora Annie l817l929 . . . . . . . DLl53, l5o
Steele, Max l9222005. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y80
Steele, Richard
lo72l729 . . . . . . . . . .DL81, l0l; CDL2
Steele, Jimothy l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Steele, Wilbur Daniel l88ol970 . . . . . . . . . DL8o
Wallace Markfield`s 'Steeplechase" . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Steere, Richard circa lo13l72l . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Stefn fr Hvtadal (Stefn Sigursson)
l887l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
Stefn Gumundsson (see Stephan G. Stephansson)
Stefn Hrur Grmsson
l9l9 or l9202002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
Steffens, Lincoln l8ool93o. . . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Stefanovski, Goran l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Stegner, Wallace
l909l993 . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, 20o, 275; Y93
Stehr, Hermann l8o1l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Steig, William l9072003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Stein, Gertrude l871l91o
. . . . . . . DL1, 51, 8o, 228; DSl5; CDAL1
Stein, Leo l872l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Stein and Day Iublishers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Steinbeck, |ohn l902l9o8
. . . . DL7, 9, 2l2, 275, 309; DS2; CDAL5
|ohn Steinbeck Research Center,
San |ose State Lniversity . . . . . . . . . . .Y85
Jhe Steinbeck Centennial . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
Steinem, Gloria l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
Steiner, George l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo7, 299
Steinhoewel, Heinrich l1ll/l1l2l179 . . . DLl79
Steinn Steinarr (Aalsteinn Kristmundsson)
l908l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
Steinunn Sigurardttir l950 . . . . . . . . DL293
Steloff, Ida Irances l887l989 . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Stendhal l783l812 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll9
Stephan G. Stephansson (Stefn Gumundsson)
l853l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
Stephen, Leslie l832l901 . . . . . . DL57, l11, l90
Stephen Iamily (loomsbury Group) . . . . . . DSl0
Stephens, A. G. l8o5l933. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Stephens, Alexander H. l8l2l883 . . . . . . . DL17
Stephens, Alice arber l858l932 . . . . . . . DLl88
Stephens, Ann l8l0l88o . . . . . . . . DL3, 73, 250
Stephens, Charles Asbury l811.l93l. . . . . DL12
Stephens, |ames l882.l950 . . . . DLl9, l53, lo2
Stephens, |ohn Lloyd l805l852 . . . . DLl83, 250
Stephens, Michael l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
Stephensen, I. R. l90ll9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Sterling, George l8o9l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL51
Sterling, |ames l70ll7o3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Sterling, |ohn l80ol811 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLllo
Stern, Gerald l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
'Living in Ruin" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Stern, Gladys . l890l973 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl97
Stern, Madeleine . l9l2 . . . . . . . DLlll, l10
Stern, Richard l928 . . . . . . . . . . DL2l8; Y87
Stern, Stewart l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Sterne, Laurence l7l3l7o8 . . . DL39; CDL2
Sternheim, Carl l878l912 . . . . . . . . . DL5o, ll8
Sternhold, Jhomas .l519. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Steuart, David l717l821 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Stevens, Henry l8l9l88o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl10
Stevens, Wallace l879l955 . . . .DL51; CDAL5
Jhe Wallace Stevens Society. . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Stevenson, Anne l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Stevenson, D. E. l892l973 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Stevenson, Lionel l902l973 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
Stevenson, Robert Louis
l850l891 . . . . . . . DLl8, 57, l1l, l5o, l71;
DSl3; CDL5
'On Style in Literature.
Its Jechnical Elements`` (l885) . . . . DL57
Stewart, Donald Ogden
l891l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1, ll, 2o; DSl5
Stewart, Douglas l9l3l985 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Stewart, Dugald l753l828 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Stewart, George, |r. l818l90o . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Stewart, George R. l895l980. . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Stewart, Harold l9lol995 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Stewart, |. I. M. (see Innes, Michael)
Stewart, Maria W. l803.l879. . . . . . . . . . DL239
Stewart, Randall l89ol9o1. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Stewart, Sean l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Stewart and Kidd Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Sthen, Hans Christensen l511lol0 . . . . . DL300
Stickney, Jrumbull l871l901 . . . . . . . . . . . DL51
Stieler, Caspar lo32l707. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Stifter, Adalbert
l805l8o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33; CDWL2
Stiles, Ezra l727l795 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Still, |ames l90o200l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9; Y0l
Stirling, S. M. l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Stirner, Max l80ol85o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Stith, William l707l755. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Stivens, Dal l9lll997. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Elliot Stock |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Stockton, Annis oudinot l73ol80l. . . . . DL200
Stockton, Irank R.
l831l902 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL12, 71; DSl3
Stockton, |. Roy l892l972 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Ashbel Stoddard |publishing house| . . . . . . DL19
Stoddard, Charles Warren l813l909 . . . . DLl8o
Stoddard, Elizabeth l823l902 . . . . . . . . . DL202
Stoddard, Richard Henry
l825l903 . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, o1, 250; DSl3
Stoddard, Solomon lo13l729. . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Stoker, ram
l817l9l2 . . . . . . . DL3o, 70, l78; CDL5
On Writing a~~I from the
Introduction to a~~ (l897) . . . DLl78
a~~ (Documentary) . . . . . . . . . . . . DL301
Irederick A. Stokes Company . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Stokes, Jhomas L. l898l958 . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Stokesbury, Leon l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Stolberg, Christian Graf zu l718l82l. . . . . DL91
Stolberg, Iriedrich Leopold Graf zu
l750l8l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91
Stone, Lucy l8l8l893 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL79, 239
Stone, Melville l818l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Stone, Robert l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl52
Stone, Ruth l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Stone, Samuel lo02loo3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Stone, William Leete l792l811 . . . . . . . . DL202
Herbert S. Stone and Company. . . . . . . . . . DL19
Stone and Kimball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Stoppard, Jom
l937 . . . . . . . DLl3, 233; Y85; CDL8
Ilaywrights and Irofessors . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Storey, Anthony l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Storey, David l933 . . DLl3, l1, 207, 215, 32o
Storm, Jheodor
l8l7l888 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29; CDWL2
Storni, Alfonsina l892l938 . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Story, Jhomas circa lo70l712 . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Story, William Wetmore l8l9l895. . . . DLl, 235
Storytelling. A Contemporary Renaissance. . . .Y81
Stoughton, William lo3ll70l. . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Stout, Rex l88ol975. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Stow, |ohn l525lo05 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Stow, Randolph l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Stowe, Harriet eecher l8lll89o. . . . . . DLl,l2,
12, 71, l89, 239, 213; CDAL3
Jhe Harriet eecher Stowe Center . . . . . . . Y00
Stowe, Leland l899l991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Stoyanov, Dimitr Ivanov (see Elin Ielin)
Strabo o1/o3 _.`.circa ^.a. 25. . . . . . . . . . DLl7o
Strachey, Lytton l880l932. . . . . . DLl19; DSl0
Ireface to b s~ . . . . . . . . . DLl19
William Strahan |publishing house| . . . . . . DLl51
`~ f ai_ PPN
SNM
Strahan and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Strand, Mark l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Jhe Strasbourg Oaths 812 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Stratemeyer, Edward l8o2l930. . . . . . . . . DL12
Strati, Saverio l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl77
Stratton and arnard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
StrattonIorter, Gene
l8o3l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22l; DSl1
Straub, Ieter l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
Strau, otho l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
Strau, David Iriedrich l808l871. . . . . . DLl33
Strauss, |ennifer l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Jhe Strawberry Hill Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl51
Strawson, I. I. l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Streatfeild, Noel l895l98o. . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Street, Cecil |ohn Charles (see Rhode, |ohn)
Street, G. S. l8o7l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl35
Street and Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Streeter, Edward l89ll97o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Streeter, Jhomas Winthrop l883l9o5. . . DLl10
Stretton, Hesba l832l9ll . . . . . . . . DLlo3, l90
Stribling, J. S. l88ll9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Der Stricker circa ll90circa l250 . . . . . . DLl38
Strickland, Samuel l801l8o7. . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Strindberg, August l819l9l2 . . . . . . . . . DL259
Stringer, Arthur l871l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Stringer and Jownsend. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Strittmatter, Erwin l9l2l991. . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Strnisa, Gregor l930l987 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Strode, William lo30lo15 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2o
Strong, L. A. G. l89ol958. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Strother, David Hunter (Iorte Crayon)
l8lol888. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, 218
Strouse, |ean l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Strugatsky, Arkadii Natanovich
l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Strugatsky, oris Natanovich l933 . . . DL302
Stuart, Dabney l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
'Knots into Webs. Some
Autobiographical Sources" . . . . . DLl05
Stuart, |esse l90ol981. . . . . . DL9, 18, l02; Y81
Lyle Stuart |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Stuart, Ruth McEnery l819.l9l7 . . . . . . DL202
Stub, Ambrosius l705l758. . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Stubbs, Harry Clement (see Clement, Hal)
Stubenberg, |ohann Wilhelm von
lol9loo3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Stuckenberg, Viggo l7o3l905 . . . . . . . . . DL300
Studebaker, William V. l917 . . . . . . . . DL25o
Studies in American |ewish Literature . . . . . . . Y02
Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Stump, Al l9lol995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Sturgeon, Jheodore
l9l8l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8; Y85
Sturges, Ireston l898l959. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Styron, William l925200o
. . . . . . . . . . . DL2, l13, 299; Y80; CDALo
Suard, |eanaptisteAntoine
l732l8l7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Surez, Clementina l902l99l . . . . . . . . . DL290
Surez, Mario l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Suassuna, Ariano l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Such, Ieter l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Suckling, Sir |ohn lo09lo1l. . . . . . . DL58, l2o
Suckow, Ruth l892l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, l02
Sudermann, Hermann l857l928. . . . . . . DLll8
Sue, Eugne l801l857. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll9
Sue, Marie|oseph (see Sue, Eugne)
Suetonius circa ^.a. o9post ^.a. l22 . . . . DL2ll
Suggs, Simon (see Hooper, |ohnson |ones)
Sui Sin Iar (see Eaton, Edith Maude)
Suits, Gustav l883l95o. . . . DL220; CDWL1
Sukenick, Ronald l9322001 . . . . . . DLl73; Y8l
An Author`s Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y82
SukhovoKobylin, Aleksandr Vasilèvich
l8l7l903. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL277
Suknaski, Andrew l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Sullivan, Alan l8o8l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Sullivan, C. Gardner l88ol9o5. . . . . . . . . DL2o
Sullivan, Irank l892l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Sulte, enjamin l81ll923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Sulzberger, Arthur Hays l89ll9o8 . . . . . DLl27
Sulzberger, Arthur Ochs l92o . . . . . . . DLl27
Sulzer, |ohann Georg l720l779 . . . . . . . . . DL97
Sumarokov, Aleksandr Ietrovich
l7l7l777 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Summers, Hollis l9lol987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Sumner, Charles l8lll871 . . . . . . . . . . . DL235
Sumner, William Graham l810l9l0 . . . . .DL270
Henry A. Sumner
Sundman, Ier Olof l922l992 . . . . . . . . . DL257
Supervielle, |ules l881l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . DL258
Surtees, Robert Smith l803l8o1 . . . . . . . . DL2l
Jhe R. S. Surtees Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Sutcliffe, Matthew l550.lo29 . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Sutcliffe, William l97l . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27l
Sutherland, Efua Jheodora l921l99o . . .DLll7
Sutherland, |ohn l9l9l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
Sutro, Alfred l8o3l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Svava |akobsdttir l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
Svendsen, Hanne Marie l933 . . . . . . . DL2l1
Svevo, Italo (Ettore Schmitz)
l8oll928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
Swados, Harvey l920l972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2
Swain, Charles l80ll871. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Swallow Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Swan Sonnenschein Limited. . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Swanberg, W. A. l907l992 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Swedish Literature
Jhe Literature of the Modern
reakthrough. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL259
Swenson, May l9l9l989. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Swerling, |o l897l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Swift, Graham l919 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl91, 32o
Swift, |onathan
loo7l715 . . . . . . . DL39, 95, l0l; CDL2
Swinburne, A. C.
l837l909. . . . . . . . . . . DL35, 57; CDL1
Lnder the Microscope (l872) . . . . . . . DL35
Swineshead, Richard floruit circa l350. . . DLll5
Swinnerton, Irank l881l982. . . . . . . . . . . DL31
Swisshelm, |ane Grey l8l5l881 . . . . . . . . DL13
Swope, Herbert ayard l882l958. . . . . . . DL25
Swords, |ames .l811 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL73
Swords, Jhomas l7o3l813 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL73
J. and |. Swords and Company . . . . . . . . . DL19
Swynnerton, Jhomas ( |ohn Roberts)
circa l500l551 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Sykes, Ella C. .l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl71
Sylvester, |osuah l5o2 or l5o3lol8 . . . . DLl2l
Symonds, Emily Morse (see Iaston, George)
Symonds, |ohn Addington
l810l893 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL57, l11
'Iersonal Style`` (l890) . . . . . . . . . . . . DL57
Symons, A. |. A. l900l91l . . . . . . . . . . . DLl19
Symons, Arthur l8o5l915. . . . . . . DLl9, 57, l19
Symons, |ulian l9l2l991 . . . . . DL87, l55; Y92
|ulian Symons at Eighty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y92
Symons, Scott l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Synge, |ohn Millington
l87ll909. . . . . . . . . . . DLl0, l9; CDL5
Synge Summer School. |. M. Synge
and the Irish Jheater, Rathdrum,
County Wiclow, Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . Y93
Syrett, Netta l8o5l913 . . . . . . . . . . .DLl35, l97
q p k~I Iaul Henri Jhiry,
baron d`Holbach (as |eanaptiste
de Mirabaud) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Szab, Lrinc l900l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Szab, Magda l9l7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Szymborska, Wisawa
l923 . . . . . . . . . DL232, Y9o; CDWL1
Nobel Lecture l99o.
Jhe Ioet and the World . . . . . . . . . . . Y9o
q
Jaban lo Liyong l939. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl25
alJabari 839923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3ll
Jablada, |os |uan l87ll915 . . . . . . . . . . DL290
ai_ PPN `~ f
SNN
`
i q~~ m~I LouisSbastien

Mercier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Jabori, George l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL215
Jabucchi, Antonio l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Jach, |osephCharles l820l891 . . . . . . . . DL99
Jachihara Masaaki l92ol980. . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Jacitus circa ^.a. 55circa ^.a. ll7
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ll; CDWLl
Jadijanovi, Dragutin l905 . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Jafdrup, Iia l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Jafolla, Carmen l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Jaggard, Genevieve l891l918 . . . . . . . . . . DL15
Jaggart, |ohn l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl93
Jagger, Jheodor (see ruckner, Ierdinand)
Jagore, Rabindranath l8oll91l . . . . . . . DL323
Jaiheiki late fourteenth century. . . . . . . . . DL203
Jait, |. Selwin, and Sons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
q~ b j~~ l832l8ol . . . . . . DLll0
Jhe Jakarazaka Revue Company . . . . . . . . . . .Y9l
Jalander (see ohse, August)
Jalese, Gay l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Jribute to Irwin Shaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y81
Jalev, Dimitr l898l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Jaliaferro, H. E. l8lll875 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL202
Jallent, Elizabeth l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
JallMountain, Mary l9l8l991. . . . . . . . . DLl93
Jalvj l797l870. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL59, l33
Jamsi, ron l897l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Jammsaare, A. H.
l878l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220; CDWL1
Jan, Amy l952 . . . . . . DLl73, 3l2; CDAL7
Tandori, Dezs l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Janner, Jhomas lo73/lo71l735 . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Janizaki |unìchir l88ol9o5 . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Japahonso, Luci l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl75
Jhe Mark Japer Iorum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Jaradash, Daniel l9l32003 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
JarasovRodionov, Aleksandr Ignatèvich
l885l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL272
Jarbell, Ida M. l857l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL17
Jardieu, |ean l903l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
Jardivel, |ulesIaul l85ll905. . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Jargan, arry l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Jribute to |ohn Gardner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y82
Jarkington, ooth l8o9l91o . . . . . . . . DL9, l02
Jashlin, Irank l9l3l972. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Jasma ( |essie Couvreur) l818l897 . . . . . DL230
Jate, Allen l899l979 . . . . . . DL1, 15, o3; DSl7
Jate, |ames l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, lo9
Jate, Nahum circa lo52l7l5. . . . . . . . . . . . DL80
q~~ circa 830. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Jaufer, Veno l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Jauler, |ohannes circa l300l3ol. . . . . . . . DLl79
Javares, Salette l922l991. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Javar, Ivan l85ll923 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl17
Javerner, Richard ca. l505l575 . . . . . . . . DL23o
Jaylor, Ann l782l8oo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo3
Jaylor, ayard l825l878 . . . . . . . DL3, l89, 250
Jaylor, ert Leston l8ool92l. . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Jaylor, Charles H. l81ol92l . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Jaylor, Edward circa lo12l729. . . . . . . . . . DL21
Jaylor, Elizabeth l9l2l975. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl39
Jaylor, Sir Henry l800l88o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Jaylor, Henry l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Who Owns American Literature . . . . . . . .Y91
Jaylor, |ane l783l821. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo3
Jaylor, |eremy circa lol3loo7 . . . . . . . . . DLl5l
Jaylor, |ohn l577 or l578 lo53 . . . . . . . . DLl2l
Jaylor, Mildred D. l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Jaylor, Ieter l9l7l991 . . . DL2l8, 278; Y8l, 91
Jaylor, Susie King l818l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . DL22l
Jaylor, William Howland l90ll9oo. . . . . DL21l
William Jaylor and Company. . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Jeale, Edwin Way l899l980 . . . . . . . . . . DL275
Jeasdale, Sara l881l933. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL15
Jeffi, Nadezhda l872l952. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Jeillier, |orge l935l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Jelles, Lygia Iagundes l921 . . . . . DLll3, 307
q q tW William |ovanovich . . . . .Y02
Jemple, Sir William l555.lo27 . . . . . . . . DL28l
Jemple, Sir William lo28lo99 . . . . . . . . . DLl0l
Jemple, William I. l9l1l989. . . . . . . . . . DL255
Jemrizov, A. (see Marchenko, Anastasia Iakovlevna)
Jench, Watkin ca. l758l833. . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Jencin, AlexandrineClaude Gurin de
lo82l719 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
q f k (Documentary) . . . . . . . DL273
Jendriakov, Vladimir Iedorovich
l923l981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Jenn, William l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Jennant, Emma l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Jenney, Jabitha Gilman l7o2l837 . . . DL37, 200
Jennyson, Alfred l809l892 . . DL32; CDL1
On Some of the Characteristics of
Modern Ioetry and On the Lyrical
Ioems of Alfred Jennyson
(l83l) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Jennyson, Irederick l807l898 . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Jenorio, Arthur l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
'Jhe Jenth Stage," Marie|eanAntoineNicolas
Caritat, marquis de Condorcet . . . . . . DL3l1
Jepl, |ohannes von
circa l350l1l1/l1l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl79
Jepliakov, Viktor Grigorèvich
l801l812 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Jerence circa l81 _.`.l59 _.`. or after
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ll; CDWLl
St. Jeresa of vila l5l5l582 . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Jerhune, Albert Iayson l872l912 . . . . . . . . DL9
Jerhune, Mary Virginia l830l922. . . . . . . . DSl3
Jerpigorev, Sergei Nikolaevich (S. Atava)
l81ll895 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL277
Jerry, Megan l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7, 219
Jerson, Ieter l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Jesich, Steve l913l99o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Jessa, Delio l88ol939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Jestori, Giovanni l923l993
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28, l77
Jexas
Jhe Year in Jexas Literature. . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Jey, |osephine l89o.l952. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
Jhacher, |ames l751l811 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Jhacher, |ohn oyd l817l909 . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Jhackeray, William Makepeace
l8lll8o3 . . . DL2l, 55, l59, lo3; CDL1
Jhames and Hudson Limited . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Jhanet, Octave (see Irench, Alice)
Jhaxter, Celia Laighton
l835l891 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL239
Jhayer, Caroline Matilda Warren
l785l811 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Jhayer, Douglas H. l929 . . . . . . . . . . . DL25o
Jheater
lack Jheatre. A Iorum |excerpts| . . . . DL38
Community and Commentators.
lack Jheatre and Its Critics . . . . . DL38
German Drama from Naturalism
to Iascism. l889l933 . . . . . . . . . DLll8
A Look at the Contemporary lack
Jheatre Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
Jhe Lord Chamberlain`s Office and
Stage Censorship in England . . . . . DLl0
New Iorces at Work in the American
Jheatre. l9l5l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Off roadway and OffOff roadway. . . DL7
Oregon Shakespeare Iestival . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Ilays, Ilaywrights, and Ilaygoers . . . . . DL81
Ilaywrights on the Jheater . . . . . . . . . . DL80
Ilaywrights and Irofessors . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Iroducing a~ _I a~ s~W
q c ~ c . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Viewpoint. Iolitics and Ierformance,
by David Edgar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Writing for the Jheatre,
by Harold Iinter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Jhe Year in Drama . . . . . . . . . . Y82-85, 87-98
Jhe Year in L.S. Drama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Jheater, English and Irish
AntiJheatrical Jracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o3
revisions until l575. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Dangerous Years. London Jheater,
l939l915. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
A Defense of Actors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o3
`~ f ai_ PPN
SNO
Jhe Development of Lighting in the
Staging of Drama, l900l915 . . . . DLl0
Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o3
Jhe End of English Stage Censorship,
l915l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Epigrams and Satires . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o3
Eyewitnesses and Historians . . . . . . . DL2o3
Iringe and Alternative Jheater in
Great ritain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Jhe Great War and the Jheater,
l9l1l9l8 |Great ritain| . . . . . . . DLl0
Licensing Act of l737 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL81
and b~ circa l500. . . . . . . . DLl1o
Jhe New Variorum Shakespeare . . . . . . . . Y85
sixteenth century . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Iolitics and the Jheater . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o3
Iractical Matters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o3
Irologues, Epilogues, Epistles to Readers,
and Excerpts from Ilays . . . . . . . DL2o3
Jhe Iublication of English
Renaissance Ilays . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo2
Regulations for the Jheater . . . . . . . . DL2o3
Sources for the Study of Judor and
Stuart Drama. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo2
Stage Censorship. 'Jhe Rejected Statement"
(l9ll), by ernard Shaw
|excerpts| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Synge Summer School. |. M. Synge and
the Irish Jheater, Rathdrum,
County Wiclow, Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . Y93
Jhe Jheater in Shakespeare`s Jime. . . DLo2
Jhe Jheatre Guild. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Jhe Jownely Ilays fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Jhe Year in ritish Drama . . . . . . . . . . Y99-0l
Jhe Year in Drama. London . . . . . . . . . . . Y90
Jhe Year in London Jheatre . . . . . . . . . . . Y92
^ v q~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL58
Jheaters
Jhe Abbey Jheatre and Irish Drama,
l900l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Actors Jheatre of Louisville. . . . . . . . . . DL7
American Conservatory Jheatre . . . . . . DL7
Arena Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
lack Jheaters and Jheater
Organizations in America,
l9oll982. A Research List. . . . . . DL38
Jhe Dallas Jheater Center . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Eugene O`Neill Memorial Jheater
Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Jhe Goodman Jheatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Jhe Guthrie Jheater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Jhe Mark Japer Iorum. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Jhe National Jheatre and the Royal
Shakespeare Company. Jhe
National Companies . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
OffLoop Jheatres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Jhe Royal Court Jheatre and the
English Stage Company . . . . . . . . DLl3
Jhe Royal Court Jheatre and the
New Drama. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Jhe Jakarazaka Revue Company . . . . . . . Y9l
Jhegan and the Astronomer
fl. circa 850. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Jhelwall, |ohn l7o1l831. . . . . . . . . . DL93, l58
Jheocritus circa 300 _.`.2o0 _.`. . . . . . . .DLl7o
Jheodorescu, Ion N. (see Arghezi, Judor)
Jheodulf circa 7o0circa 82l. . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Jheophrastus circa 37l _.`.287 _.`. . . . . .DLl7o
Jhriault, Yves l9l5l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Jhrio, Adrien l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Jheroux, Iaul l91l . . . . DL2, 2l8; CDAL7
Jhesiger, Wilfred l9l02003 . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Jhey All Came to Iaris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl5
Jhibaudeau, Colleen l925 . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Jhiele, Colin l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Jhielen, enedict l903l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . DLl02
Jhiongò Ngugi wa (see Ngugi wa Jhiongò)
Jhiroux dÀrconville, MarieGenevive
l720l805. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
q n~ l925l927, l929l932 . . . . . . . . . DSl5
Jhoma, Ludwig l8o7l92l. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Jhoma, Richard l902l971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Jhomas, Audrey l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Jhomas, D. M.
l935 . . . DL10, 207, 299; Y82; CDL8
Jhe Ilagiarism Controversy . . . . . . . . . . . Y82
Jhomas, Dylan
l9l1l953 . . . . . . DLl3, 20, l39; CDL7
Jhe Dylan Jhomas Celebration . . . . . . . . Y99
Jhomas, Ed l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Jhomas, Edward
l878l9l7 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl9, 98, l5o, 2lo
Jhomas, Irederick William l80ol8oo . . DL202
Jhomas, Gwyn l9l3l98l. . . . . . . . . DLl5, 215
Jhomas, Isaiah l750l83l . . . . . . . DL13, 73, l87
Jhomas, |ohann lo21lo79 . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Jhomas, |ohn l900l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Jhomas, |oyce Carol l938 . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Jhomas, Lewis l9l3l993 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL275
Jhomas, Lorenzo l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Jhomas, Norman l881l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . DL303
Jhomas, R. S. l9l52000 . . . . . DL27; CDL8
Isaiah Jhomas |publishing house| . . . . . . . DL19
Jhomasn von Zerclre
circa ll8ocirca l259 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Jhomason, George lo02.looo . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Jhomasius, Christian lo55l728 . . . . . . . DLlo8
Jhompson, Daniel Iierce l795l8o8 . . . . DL202
Jhompson, David l770l857 . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Jhompson, Dorothy l893l9ol. . . . . . . . . DL29
Jhompson, E. I. l921l993. . . . . . . . . . . DL212
Jhompson, Ilora l87ol917. . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Jhompson, Irancis
l859l907 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9; CDL5
Jhompson, George Selden (see Selden, George)
Jhompson, Henry Yates l838l928. . . . . DLl81
Jhompson, Hunter S. l9392005. . . . . . . DLl85
Jhompson, |im l90ol977 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
Jhompson, |ohn l938l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Jhompson, |ohn R. l823l873. . . . .DL3, 73, 218
Jhompson, Lawrance l90ol973 . . . . . . . DLl03
Jhompson, Maurice l811l90l . . . . . . .DL7l, 71
Jhompson, Ruth Ilumly l89ll97o . . . . . DL22
Jhompson, Jhomas Ihillips l813l933. . . DL99
Jhompson, William l775l833 . . . . . . . . DLl58
Jhompson, William Jappan
l8l2l882 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, ll, 218
Jhomson, Cockburn
'Modern Style`` (l857) |excerpt| . . . . . DL57
Jhomson, Edward William l819l921 . . . DL92
Jhomson, |ames l700l718 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL95
Jhomson, |ames l831l882. . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
Jhomson, |oseph l858l895 . . . . . . . . . . .DLl71
Jhomson, Mortimer l83ll875 . . . . . . . . . DLll
Jhomson, Rupert l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Jhon, Melanie Rae l957 . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
Jhor Vilhjlmsson l925 . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
rarinn Eldjrn l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL293
rbergur rarson l888l971. . . . . . . . DL293
Jhoreau, Henry David l8l7l8o2 . . . . DLl, l83,
223, 270, 298; DS5; CDAL2
Jhe Jhoreau Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Jhe Jhoreauvian Iilgrimage. Jhe
Structure of an American Cult . . DL223
Jhorne, William l5o8.lo30 . . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Jhornton, |ohn I.
|Repsonse to Ken Auletta| . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Jhorpe, Adam l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23l
Jhorpe, Jhomas angs
l8l5l878. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, ll, 218
Jhorup, Kirsten l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Jhotl, irgitte lol0loo2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Jhrale, Hester Lynch
(see Iiozzi, Hester Lynch |Jhrale|)
Jhe Jhree Marias. A Landmark Case in
Iortuguese Literary History
(Maria Isabel arreno, l939 ;
Maria Jeresa Horta, l937 ;
Maria Velho da Costa, l938 ) . . . . DL287
Jhubron, Colin l939 . . . . . . . . . . DL201, 23l
Jhucydides
circa 155 _.`.circa 395 _.`. . . . . . . . . .DLl7o
Jhulstrup, Jhure de l818l930. . . . . . . . DLl88
ai_ PPN `~ f
SNP
`
Jhmmel, Moritz August von

l738l8l7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL97
Jhurber, |ames
l891l9ol . . . . . DL1, ll, 22, l02; CDAL5
Jhurman, Wallace l902l931 . . . . . . . . . . . DL5l
'Negro Ioets and Jheir Ioetry" . . . . . DL50
Jhwaite, Anthony l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Jhe ooker Irize, Address . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Jhwaites, Reuben Gold l853l9l3 . . . . . . . DL17
Jibullus circa 51 _.`.circa l9 _.`. . . . . . . . DL2ll
Jicknor, George l79ll87l . . . . DLl, 59, l10, 235
Jicknor and Iields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Jicknor and Iields (revived) . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Jieck, Ludwig l773l853. . . . . DL90; CDWL2
Jietjens, Eunice l881l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL51
Jikkanen, Mrta l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Jilghman, Christopher circa l918. . . . . . . DL211
Jilney, Edmund circa l53olol0 . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Charles Jilt |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
|. E. Jilton and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
JimeLife ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Jimes ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Jimothy, Ieter circa l725l782 . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Jimrava l8o7l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Jimrod, Henry l828l8o7. . . . . . . . . . . DL3, 218
Jindal, Henrietta l8l8.l879. . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
Jinker, Chauncey rewster l87ol9o3 . . . . DLl10
Jinsley rothers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Jiptree, |ames, |r. l9l5l987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Jisma, Aleksandar l9212003 . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Jitus, Edward William
l870l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1; DSl5
Jiutchev, Iedor Ivanovich l803l873 . . . . DL205
Jlali, Miriam l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl57, 225
Jodd, arbara Euphan l890l97o . . . . . . . DLlo0
Jodorov, Jzvetan l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL212
Jofte, Robert
l5ol or l5o2lol9 or lo20. . . . . . . . . DLl72
Jibn, Colm l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27l
Joklas, Alice . l877l9o7 . . . . . . . . . DL1; DSl5
Jokuda Shsei l872l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Joland, |ohn lo70l722 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL252
Jolkien, |. R. R.
l892l973 . . . . . .DLl5, lo0, 255; CDLo
Joller, Ernst l893l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
Jollet, Elizabeth lo91l751 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL95
Jolson, Melvin . l898l9oo. . . . . . . . . DL18, 7o
Jolstaya, Jatyana l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Jolstoy, Aleksei Konstantinovich
l8l7l875. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Jolstoy, Aleksei Nikolaevich l883l915. . . DL272
Jolstoy, Leo l828l9l0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Jomalin, Claire l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
Jmas Gumundsson l90ll983 . . . . . . . DL293
Jomasi di Lampedusa, Giuseppe
l89ol957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl77
Jomlinson, Charles l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Jomlinson, H. M. l873l958. . . . DL3o, l00, l95
Abel Jompkins |publishing house|. . . . . . . . DL19
Jompson, enjamin lo12l7l1 . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Jomson, Graham R.
(see Watson, Rosamund Marriott)
Jonà l289l372. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL203
Jondelli, Iier Vittorio l955l99l. . . . . . . . DLl9o
Jonks, Rosemary l932 . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 207
Jonna, Charlotte Elizabeth l790l81o. . . . DLlo3
|acob Jonson the Elder
Joole, |ohn Kennedy l937l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
Joomer, |ean
l891l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . .DL15, 5l; CDAL1
Jopsoe, Vilhelm l810l88l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Jor ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Jorberg, Iriedrich l908l979. . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
Jorga, Miguel (Adolfo Correira da Rocha)
l907l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Jorre, Irancisco de la .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Jorrence, Ridgely l871l950 . . . . . . . . DL51, 219
Jorrente allester, Gonzalo
l9l0l999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
JorresMetzger, |oseph V. l933 . . . . . . . DLl22
Jorres Naharro, artolom de
l185.l523. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
El Jostado (see Madrigal, Alfonso Iernndez de)
Joth, Susan Allen l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Richard Jottell |publishing house| . . . . . . . DLl70
'Jhe Irinter to the Reader,"
(l557) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo7
JoughGuy Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Jour, Askia Muhammad l938 . . . . . . . DL1l
Jourge, Albion W. l838l905 . . . . . . . . . . DL79
Journemir, Elizaveta Sailhas de (see Jur, Evgeniia)
Journeur, Cyril circa l580lo2o . . . . . . . . . DL58
Journier, Michel l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Irank Jousey |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . DL19
Jower Iublications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Jowne, enjamin circa l710l793 . . . . . . . . DL13
Jowne, Robert l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Jhe Jownely Ilays fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Jownsend, Sue l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27l
Jownshend, Aurelian
by l583circa lo5l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2l
Joy, arbara l908200l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Jozzi, Iederigo l883l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
Jracy, Honor l9l3l989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5
Jraherne, Jhomas lo37.lo71 . . . . . . . . . DLl3l
Jraill, Catharine Iarr l802l899. . . . . . . . . DL99
Jrain, Arthur l875l915 . . . . . . . . . DL8o; DSlo
Jranquilli, Secondino (see Silone, Ignazio)
Jhe Jransatlantic Iublishing Company . . . DL19
q q~~~ o l921l925 . . . . . . . . . DSl5
Jhe Jranscendental Club
l83ol810 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl; DL223
Jranscendentalism. . . . . . . DLl; DL223; DS5
'A Response from America," by
|ohn A. Heraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS5
Iublications and Social Movements . . . . DLl
Jhe Rise of Jranscendentalism,
l8l5l8o0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS5
Jranscendentalists, American . . . . . . . . . . DS5
'What Is Jranscendentalism. y a
Jhinking Man," by |ames
Kinnard |r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS5
~ l927l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl5
Jranslations (Vernacular) in the Crowns of
Castile and Aragon l352l5l5 . . . . . . DL28o
Jranstrmer, Jomas l93l . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Jranter, |ohn l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Jravel Writing
American Jravel Writing, l77ol8o1
(checklist) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl83
ritish Jravel Writing, l910l997
(checklist) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Jravel Writers of the Late
Middle Ages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
(l87ol909) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl71
(l837l875) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLloo
(l9l0l939) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl95
Jraven, . l882./l890.l9o9.. . . . . . . . . DL9, 5o
Jravers, en l88ol980. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0, 233
Jravers, I. L. (Iamela Lyndon)
l899l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Jrediakovsky, Vasilii Kirillovich
l703l7o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl50
Jreece, Henry l9lll9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Jreitel, |onathan l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o7
Jrejo, Ernesto l950l99l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Jrelawny, Edward |ohn
l792l88l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll0, llo, l11
Jremain, Rose l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 27l
Jremblay, Michel l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Jrent, William I. l8o2l939 . . . . . . . . . DL17, 7l
Jrescot, William Henry l822l898 . . . . . . . DL30
Jressell, Robert (Robert Ihillipe Noonan)
l870l9ll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl97
Jrevelyan, Sir George Otto
l838l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl11
Jrevisa, |ohn circa l312circa l102 . . . . . . DLl1o
Jrevisan, Dalton l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Jrevor, William l928 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, l39
Jriana, |os l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
`~ f ai_ PPN
SNQ
q c circa ll70ll80. . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Jrifonov, Iurii Valentinovich
l925l98l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Jrillin, Calvin l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
Jrilling, Lionel l905l975. . . . . . . . . . . DL28, o3
Jrilussa l87ll950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Jrimmer, Sarah l71ll8l0 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl58
Jriolet, Elsa l89ol970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL72
Jripp, |ohn l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Jrocchi, Alexander l925l981 . . . . . . . . . . DLl5
Jroisi, Dante l920l989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Jrollope, Anthony
l8l5l882. . . . . . . .DL2l, 57, l59; CDL1
NovelReading. q t `~
aX q t tK j~~
q~~ (l879) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l
Jhe Jrollope Societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Jrollope, Irances l779l8o3 . . . . . . . . DL2l, loo
Jrollope, |oanna l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL207
Jroop, Elizabeth l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
Jropiclia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Jrotter, Catharine lo79l719 . . . . . . . DL81, 252
Jrotti, Lamar l898l952. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Jrottier, Iierre l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Jrotzig, irgitta l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Jroupe, _uincy Jhomas, |r. l913 . . . . . DL1l
|ohn I. Jrow and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Jrowbridge, |ohn Jownsend l827l9lo . . DL202
Jrudel, |eanLouis l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
q e h d~I 200l ooker Irize winner,
Ieter Carey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
JruillierLacombe, |osephIatrice
l807l8o3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
Jrumbo, Dalton l905l97o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Jrumbull, enjamin l735l820 . . . . . . . . . DL30
Jrumbull, |ohn l750l83l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Jrumbull, |ohn l75ol813 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl83
Jruth, Sojourner l797.l883 . . . . . . . . . . DL239
Jscherning, Andreas lolllo59 . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Jsubouchi Shy l859l935 . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Jsvetaeva, Marina Ivanovna
l892l91l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Juchman, arbara W.
Jucholsky, Kurt l890l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5o
Jucker, Charlotte Maria
l82ll893 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo3, l90
Jucker, George l775l8ol . . . . . . . DL3, 30, 218
Jucker, |ames l808.l8oo.. . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Jucker, Nathaniel everley
l781l85l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3, 218
Jucker, St. George l752l827 . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Juckerman, Irederick Goddard
l82ll873. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL213
Juckerman, Henry Jheodore l8l3l87l . . . . DLo1
Jumas, |uozas (see Vaizgantas)
Junis, |ohn R. l889l975 . . . . . . . . . . .DL22, l7l
Junstall, Cuthbert l171l559 . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Junstrm, Gran l9372000. . . . . . . . . . . DL257
Juohy, Irank l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, l39
Jupper, Martin I. l8l0l889 . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Jur, Evgeniia l8l5l892. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Jurbyfill, Mark l89ol99l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL15
Jurco, Lewis l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
Jurgenev, Aleksandr Ivanovich
l781l815. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
Jurgenev, Ivan Sergeevich
l8l8l883 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Jurgot, baron de lÀulne, AnneRobert|acques
l727l78l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
'Memorandum on Local
Government". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Jurnbull, Alexander H. l8o8l9l8. . . . . . DLl81
Jurnbull, Andrew l92ll970 . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Jurnbull, Gael l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Jurnbe, Odet de l552l58l . . . . . . . . . . DL327
Jurner, Arlin l909l980. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Jurner, Charles (Jennyson)
l808l879. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Jurner, Ethel l872l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Jurner, Irederick l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Jurner, Irederick |ackson
l8oll932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7, l8o
Jurner, |oseph Addison l82ol8o8 . . . . . . DL79
Jurpin, Waters Edward l9l0l9o8. . . . . . . DL5l
Jurrini, Ieter l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
Jusquets, Esther l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Jutuola, Amos l920l997. . . DLl25; CDWL3
Jwain, Mark (see Clemens, Samuel Langhorne)
Jweedie, Ethel rilliana
circa l8o0l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl71
A Century of Ioetry, a Lifetime of
Collecting. |. M. Edelstein`s
Collection of Jwentieth
Century American Ioetry . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Jwombly, Wells l935l977. . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Jwysden, Sir Roger l597lo72 . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Jyard, Iontus de l52l.lo05 . . . . . . . . . . DL327
JyCasper, Linda l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Jyler, Anne l91l . . . . DLo, l13; Y82; CDAL7
Jyler, Mary Ialmer l775l8oo . . . . . . . . . DL200
Jyler, Moses Coit l835l900 . . . . . . . . . DL17, o1
Jyler, Royall l757l82o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Jylor, Edward urnett l832l9l7 . . . . . . . DL57
Jynan, Katharine l8oll93l . . . . . . DLl53, 210
Jyndale, William circa l191l53o . . . . . . DLl32
Jyree, Omar l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
r
Lchida, Yoshiko l92ll992 . . DL3l2; CDAL7
Ldall, Nicholas l501l55o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo2
Lgrsi, Dubravka l919 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Lhland, Ludwig l787l8o2. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Lhse, odo l901l9o3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9
Ljevi, Augustin 'Jin"
l89ll955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl17
Llenhart, Niclas fl. circa lo00 . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Llfeldt, Leonora Christina lo2llo98 . . . DL300
Llibarr, Sabine R. l9l92003 . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Llica, |orge l870l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Llitskaya, Liudmila Evgenèvna
l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Llivi, Ierruccio l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Llizio, . George l889l9o9 . . . . . . . . . . DLl10
Llrich von Liechtenstein
circa l200circa l275 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Llrich von Zatzikhoven
before ll91after l2l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
'Lmar ibn Abi Rabi'ah o117l2 or 72l . . DL3ll
Lnaipon, David l872l9o7. . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Lnamuno, Miguel de l8o1l93o . . . DLl08, 322
Lnder, Marie l883l980 . . . DL220; CDWL1
Lnderhill, Evelyn l875l91l . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Lndset, Sigrid l882l919. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Lngaretti, Giuseppe l888l970 . . . . . . . . DLll1
Lnger, Iriederike Helene
l71ll8l3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL91
Lnited States ook Company . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Lniversal Iublishing and Distributing
Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Lniversity of Colorado
Special Collections at the Lniversity of
Colorado at oulder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Indiana Lniversity Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Jhe Lniversity of Iowa
Writers` Workshop Golden |ubilee . . . . . . Y8o
Lniversity of Missouri Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Lniversity of South Carolina
Jhe G. Ross Roy Scottish
Ioetry Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y89
Jwo Hundred Years of Rare ooks and
Literary Collections at the
Lniversity of South Carolina . . . . . . . Y00
Jhe Lniversity of South Carolina Iress. . . . . . Y91
Lniversity of Virginia
Jhe ook Arts Iress at the Lniversity
of Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y9o
Jhe Electronic Jext Center and the
Electronic Archive of Early American
Iiction at the Lniversity of Virginia
Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Lniversity of Virginia Libraries . . . . . . . . . Y9l
ai_ PPN `~ f
SNR
`
Lniversity of Wales Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2

Lniversity Iress of Ilorida. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
Lniversity Iress of Kansas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Lniversity Iress of Mississippi. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y99
Lnnur enediktsdttir jarklind (see Hulda)
Lno Chiyo l897l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl80
Lnruh, Iritz von l885l970. . . . . . . . . DL5o, ll8
Lnsworth, arry l930 . . . . . . . . . DLl91. 32o
Lnt, Mati l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Jhe Lnterberg Ioetry Center of the
92nd Street Y. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y98
Lntermeyer, Louis l885l977 . . . . . . . . . . DL303
J. Iisher Lnwin |publishing house| . . . . . . DLl0o
Lpchurch, oyd . (see oyd, |ohn)
Lpdike, |ohn l932 . . . DL2, 5, l13, 2l8, 227;
Y80, 82; DS3; CDALo
|ohn Lpdike on the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . .Y97
Jribute to |ohn Ciardi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Lpts, Andrejs l877l970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
Lppdal, Kristofer l878l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Lpton, ertha l819l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1l
Lpton, Charles l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Lpton, Ilorence K. l873l922. . . . . . . . . . DLl1l
Lpward, Allen l8o3l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3o
Lrban, Milo l901l982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Lrea de Henrquez, Salom l850l897 . . DL283
Lrf, Honor d` l5o7lo25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Lrista, Alberto altazar (see Alurista)
Lrquhart, Ired l9l2l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl39
Lrrea, Luis Alberto l955 . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Lrzidil, |ohannes l89ol970 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
rKpK^K (Documentary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL271
Lsigli, Rodolfo l905l979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Lsk, Jhomas died l388 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Lslar Iietri, Arturo l90o200l . . . . . . . . . DLll3
Lspensky, Gleb Ivanovich
l813l902 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL277
Lssher, |ames l58llo5o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Lstinov, Ieter l92l2001. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Lttley, Alison l881l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Lz, |ohann Ieter l720l79o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL97
s
Vadianus, |oachim l181l55l . . . . . . . . . . DLl79
Vac, ertrand (Aim Ielletier) l9l1 . . . . DL88
Vcietis, Ojrs l933l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Vaculk, Ludvk l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Vaiiulaitis, Antanas l90ol992. . . . . . . . . DL220
Vaiinaite, Judita 1937- . . . . . . . . . . . . DLB-232
Vail, Laurence l89ll9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Vail, Ietr L`vovich l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Vailland, Roger l907l9o5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Vaigantas l8o9l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
Vajda, Ernest l887l951. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Valds, Alfonso de circa l190.l532 . . . . . DL3l8
Valds, Gina l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Valdes, |uan de l508l51l. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Valdez, Luis Miguel l910 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Valduga, Iatrizia l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Vale Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Valente, |os Angel l9292000. . . . . . . . . . DLl08
Valenzuela, Luisa l938 . . . DLll3; CDWL3
Valera, Diego de l1l2l188. . . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Valeri, Diego l887l97o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Valerius Ilaccus fl. circa ^.a. 92. . . . . . . . . DL2ll
Valerius Maximus fl. circa ^.a. 3l . . . . . . . DL2ll
Valry, Iaul l87ll915. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL258
Valesio, Iaolo l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Valgardson, W. D. l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Valle, Luz l899l97l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Valle, Vctor Manuel l950 . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
ValleIncln, Ramn del
l8ool93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31, 322
Vallejo, Armando l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Vallejo, Csar Abraham l892l938 . . . . . . DL290
Valls, |ules l832l885 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl23
Vallette, Marguerite Eymery (see Rachilde)
Valverde, |os Mara l92ol99o . . . . . . . . DLl08
Vampilov, Aleksandr Valentinovich (A. Sanin)
l937l972. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Van Allsburg, Chris l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol
Van Anda, Carr l8o1l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Vanbrugh, Sir |ohn loo1l72o. . . . . . . . . . . DL80
Vance, |ack l9lo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Vanura, Vladislav
l89ll912 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5; CDWL1
van der Iost, Laurens l90ol99o. . . . . . . . DL201
Van Dine, S. S. (see Wright, Willard Huntington)
Van Doren, Mark l891l972 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL15
van Druten, |ohn l90ll957 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Van Duyn, Mona l92l2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Van Dyke, Henry l852l933. . . . . . DL7l; DSl3
Van Dyke, Henry l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Van Dyke, |ohn C. l85ol932. . . . . . . . . . DLl8o
Vane, Sutton l888l9o3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0
Van Gieson, |udith l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o
Vanguard Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
van Gulik, Robert Hans l9l0l9o7. . . . . . . . DSl7
van Itallie, |eanClaude l93o . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Van Loan, Charles E. l87ol9l9 . . . . . . . . DLl7l
Vann, Robert L. l879l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
Van Rensselaer, Mariana Griswold
l85ll931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL17
Van Rensselaer, Mrs. Schuyler
(see Van Rensselaer, Mariana Griswold)
Van Vechten, Carl l880l9o1 . . . . . . . DL1, 9, 5l
van Vogt, A. E. l9l22000. . . . . . . . . . . DL8, 25l
Varela, lanca l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL290
Vargas Llosa, Mario
l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl15; CDWL3
Acceptance Speech for the Ritz Iaris
Hemingway Award. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y85
Varley, |ohn l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
Varnhagen von Ense, Karl August
l785l858 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Varnhagen von Ense, Rahel
l77ll833 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Varro llo _.`.27 _.`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ll
Vasilenko, Svetlana Vladimirovna
l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
Vasiliu, George (see acovia, George)
Vsquez, Richard l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Vassa, Gustavus (see Equiano, Olaudah)
Vassalli, Sebastiano l91l . . . . . . . . . DLl28, l9o
Vaugelas, Claude Iavre de l585lo50. . . . .DL2o8
Vaughan, Henry lo2llo95. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3l
Vaughan, Jhomas lo2llooo . . . . . . . . . . DLl3l
Vaughn, Robert l592.loo7 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Vaux, Jhomas, Lord l509l55o . . . . . . . . DLl32
Vazov, Ivan l850l92l. . . . . . DLl17; CDWL1
Vzquez Montalbn, Manuel
l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31, 322
Va, Alfredo, |r. l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Veblen, Jhorstein l857l929 . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
Vedel, Anders Srensen l512lolo . . . . . . DL300
Vega, |anine Iommy l912 . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Veiller, Anthony l903l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
VelsquezJrevino, Gloria l919 . . . . . . DLl22
Veley, Margaret l813l887 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
Velleius Iaterculus
circa 20 _.`.circa ^.a. 30 . . . . . . . . . . DL2ll
Veloz Maggiolo, Marcio l93o . . . . . . . . DLl15
Vel`tman, Aleksandr Iomich
l800l870 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
Venegas, Daniel .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Venevitinov, Dmitrii Vladimirovich
l805l827 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Verbitskaia, Anastasiia Alekseevna
l8oll928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Verde, Cesrio l855l88o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL287
Vergil, Iolydore circa l170l555 . . . . . . . . DLl32
Verssimo, Erico l905l975 . . . . . . . . DLl15, 307
Verlaine, Iaul l811l89o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
Vernacular Jranslations in the Crowns of
Castile and Aragon l352l5l5 . . . . . . DL28o
Verne, |ules l828l905 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl23
`~ f ai_ PPN
SNS
s d iI 2003 ooker Irize winner,
DC Iierre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32o
Verplanck, Gulian C. l78ol870 . . . . . . . . . DL59
Vertinsky, Aleksandr l889l957 . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Very, |ones l8l3l880 . . . . . . . . DLl, 213; DS5
Vesaas, Halldis Moren l907l995. . . . . . . DL297
Vesaas, Jarjei l897l970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Vian, oris l920l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL72, 32l
Viazemsky, Ietr Andreevich
l792l878 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Vicars, Jhomas l59llo38. . . . . . . . . . . . DL23o
Vicente, Gil l1o5l53o/l510.. . . . . . . DL287, 3l8
Vickers, Roy l888.l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
Vickery, Sukey l779l82l. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Victoria l8l9l90l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL55
Victoria Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
La vida de Lazarillo de Jormes . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Vidal, Gore l925 . . . . . . DLo, l52; CDAL7
Vidal, Mary Jheresa l8l5l873 . . . . . . . . DL230
Vidmer, Richards l898l978. . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Viebig, Clara l8o0l952. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Vieira, Antnio, S. |. (Antonio Vieyra)
lo08lo97. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL307
Viereck, George Sylvester l881l9o2 . . . . . DL51
Viereck, Ieter l9lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Vietnam War (ended l975)
Resources for the Study of Vietnam War
Literature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Viets, Roger l738l8ll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99
VigilIion, Evangelina l919 . . . . . . . . DLl22
Vigneault, Gilles l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Vigny, Alfred de l797l8o3. . . . .DLll9, l92, 2l7
Vigolo, Giorgio l891l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll1
Vik, jorg l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Jhe Viking Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
VilaMatas, Enrique l918 . . . . . . . . . . DL322
Vilde, Eduard l8o5l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
Vilinskaia, Mariia Aleksandrovna
(see Vovchok, Marko)
Villa, |os Garca l908l997. . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Villanueva, Alma Luz l911 . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Villanueva, Jino l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Villard, Henry l835l900. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23
Villard, Oswald Garrison l872l919 . . DL25, 9l
Villarreal, Edit l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Villarreal, |os Antonio l921 . . . . . . . . . DL82
Villaseor, Victor l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL209
Villedieu, Madame de (MarieCatherine
Desjardins) lo10.lo83. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o8
Villegas, Antonio de .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Villegas de Magnn, Leonor
l87ol955. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22
Villehardouin, Geoffroi de
circa ll50l2l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL208
Villemaire, Yolande l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Villena, Enrique de
ca. l382/81l132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL28o
Villena, Luis Antonio de l95l . . . . . . . DLl31
Villiers, George, Second Duke
of uckingham lo28lo87 . . . . . . . . . . DL80
Villiers de lÌsleAdam, |eanMarie
Mathias IhilippeAuguste,
Comte de l838l889 . . . . . . . . . DLl23, l92
Villon, Iranois l13lcirca l1o3.. . . . . . . DL208
Vinaver, Michel (Michel Grinberg)
l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
Vine Iress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Viorst, |udith l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Vipont, Elfrida (Elfrida Vipont Ioulds,
Charles Vipont) l902l992 . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Viramontes, Helena Mara l951 . . . . . DLl22
Virgil 70 _.`.l9 _.`.. . . . . . . DL2ll; CDWLl
Vischer, Iriedrich Jheodor l807l887 . . . DLl33
Vitier, Cintio l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL283
Vitrac, Roger l899l952. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
Vitruvius circa 85 _.`.circa l5 _.`. . . . . . DL2ll
Vitry, Ihilippe de l29ll3ol . . . . . . . . . . DL208
Vittorini, Elio l908l9oo . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o1
Vivanco, Luis Ielipe l907l975. . . . . . . . . DLl08
Vives, |uan Luis l193l510 . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Vivian, E. Charles (Charles Henry Cannell,
Charles Henry Vivian, |ack Mann,
arry Lynd) l882l917 . . . . . . . . . . . DL255
Viviani, Cesare l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Vivien, Rene l877l909 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l7
Vizenor, Gerald l931 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl75, 227
Vizetelly and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Vladimov, Georgii
l93l2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Voaden, Herman l903l99l. . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Vo, |ohann Heinrich l75ll82o . . . . . . . . DL90
Vogau, oris Andreevich
(see Iil`niak, oris Andreevich)
Voigt, Ellen ryant l913 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Voinovich, Vladimir Nikolaevich
l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
Vojnovi, Ivo l857l929 . . . . .DLl17; CDWL1
Vold, |an Erik l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Volkoff, Vladimir l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
I. I. Volland Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Vollbehr, Otto H. I.
l872.l915 or l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Vologdin (see Zasodimsky, Iavel Vladimirovich)
Voloshin, Maksimilian Aleksandrovich
l877l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Volponi, Iaolo l921l991. . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl77
Voltaire (IranoisMarie Arouet)
lo91l778. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
'An account of the death of the chevalier de
La arre". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
`~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
m~ a~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l1
Vonarburg, Elisabeth l917 . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
von der Grn, Max l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Vonnegut, Kurt l922 . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 8, l52;
Y80; DS3; CDALo
Jribute to Richard rautigan. . . . . . . . . . . Y81
Voranc, Ireihov l893l950. . . . . . . . . . . .DLl17
Voronsky, Aleksandr Konstantinovich
l881l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL272
Vorse, Mary Heaton l871l9oo . . . . . . . . DL303
Vovchok, Marko l833l907 . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Voynich, E. L. l8o1l9o0. . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl97
Vroman, Mary Elizabeth
circa l921l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
t
Wace, Robert ('Maistre")
circa ll00circa ll75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Wackenroder, Wilhelm Heinrich
l773l798 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90
Wackernagel, Wilhelm l80ol8o9 . . . . . . DLl33
Waddell, Helen l889l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Waddington, Miriam l9l72001. . . . . . . . . DLo8
Wade, Henry l887l9o9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
Wagenknecht, Edward l9002001 . . . . . . DLl03
Wgner, Elin l882l919. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL259
Wagner, Heinrich Leopold l717l779 . . . . . DL91
Wagner, Henry R. l8o2l957. . . . . . . . . . DLl10
Wagner, Richard l8l3l883 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Wagoner, David l92o . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, 25o
Wah, Ired l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Waiblinger, Wilhelm l801l830 . . . . . . . . . DL90
Wain, |ohn
l925l991 . . . DLl5, 27, l39, l55; CDL8
Jribute to |. . Iriestly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
Wainwright, |effrey l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Waite, Ieirce and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Wakeman, Stephen H. l859l921 . . . . . . .DLl87
Wakoski, Diane l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Walahfrid Strabo circa 808819 . . . . . . . . DLl18
Henry Z. Walck |publishing house| . . . . . . DL1o
Walcott, Derek
l930 . . . . . . DLll7; Y8l, 92; CDWL3
Nobel Lecture l992. Jhe Antilles.
Iragments of Epic Memory. . . . . . . . . Y92
Robert Waldegrave |publishing house|. . . .DLl70
Waldis, urkhard circa l190l55o. . . . . . .DLl78
Waldman, Anne l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Waldrop, Rosmarie l935 . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo9
Walker, Alice l900l982. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
ai_ PPN `~ f
SNT
`
Walker, Alice
l911 . . . . . . . . . . DLo, 33, l13; CDALo
Walker, Annie Louisa (Mrs. Harry Coghill)
circa l83ol907 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Walker, George I. l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Walker, |ohn risben l817l93l . . . . . . . . . DL79
Walker, |oseph A. l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
Walker, Kath (see Oodgeroo of the Jribe Noonuccal)
Walker, Margaret l9l5l998 . . . . . . . . DL7o, l52
Walker, Obadiah lololo99 . . . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Walker, Jed l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Walker, Evans and Cogswell Company. . . . DL19
Wall, |ohn I. (see Sarban)
Wallace, Alfred Russel l823l9l3 . . . . . . . DLl90
Wallace, Dewitt l889l98l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
Wallace, Edgar l875l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL70
Wallace, Lew l827l905. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL202
Wallace, Lila Acheson l889l981 . . . . . . . DLl37
'A Word of Jhanks," Irom the Initial
Issue of o~ a
(Iebruary l922) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
Wallace, Naomi l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL219
Wallace Markfield`s 'Steeplechase" . . . . . . . . . .Y02
WallaceCrabbe, Chris l931 . . . . . . . . . DL289
Wallant, Edward Lewis
l92ol9o2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 28, l13, 299
Waller, Edmund lo0olo87 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2o
Walpole, Horace l7l7l797 . . . . . DL39, l01, 2l3
Ireface to the Iirst Edition of
q `~ l~ (l7o1) . . . . DL39, l78
Ireface to the Second Edition of
q `~ l~ (l7o5) . . . . DL39, l78
Walpole, Hugh l881l91l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL31
Walrond, Eric l898l9oo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5l
Walser, Martin l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL75, l21
Walser, Robert l878l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Walsh, Ernest l895l92o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1, 15
Walsh, Robert l781l859. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL59
Walters, Henry l818l93l. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl10
t~~ circa 825. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl18
Walther von der Vogelweide
circa ll70circa l230 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Walton, Izaak
l593lo83 . . . . . . . . .DLl5l, 2l3; CDLl
Walwicz, Ania l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Wambaugh, |oseph l937 . . . . . . . . . DLo; Y83
Wand, Alfred Rudolph l828l89l. . . . . . . DLl88
Wandor, Michelene l910 . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Waniek, Marilyn Nelson l91o . . . . . . . DLl20
Wanley, Humphrey lo72l72o. . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
War of the Words (and Iictures).
Jhe Creation of a Graphic Novel . . . . . . . .Y02
Warburton, William lo98l779 . . . . . . . . . DLl01
Ward, Aileen l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlll
Ward, Artemus (see rowne, Charles Iarrar)
Ward, Arthur Henry Sarsfield (see Rohmer, Sax)
Ward, Douglas Jurner l930 . . . . . . . . DL7, 38
Ward, Mrs. Humphry l85ll920 . . . . . . . . DLl8
Ward, |ames l813l925. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Ward, Lynd l905l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Ward, Lock and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl0o
Ward, Nathaniel circa l578lo52. . . . . . . . . DL21
Ward, Jheodore l902l983. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7o
Wardle, Ralph l909l988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl03
Ware, Henry, |r. l791l813 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL235
Ware, William l797l852. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 235
Warfield, Catherine Ann l8lol877. . . . . . . . DL218
Waring, Anna Letitia l823l9l0 . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Irederick Warne and Company |L.K.| . . . . DLl0o
Irederick Warne and Company |L.S.| . . . . . DL19
Warner, Anne l8o9l9l3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL202
Warner, Charles Dudley l829l900 . . . . . . DLo1
Warner, Marina l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl91
Warner, Rex l905l98o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5
Warner, Susan l8l9l885 . . . . DL3, 12, 239, 250
Warner, Sylvia Jownsend
l893l978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL31, l39
Warner, William l558lo09. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl72
Warner ooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Warr, ertram l9l7l913. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Warren, |ohn yrne Leicester
(see De Jabley, Lord)
Warren, Lella l899l982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y83
Warren, Mercy Otis l728l8l1 . . . . . . DL3l, 200
Warren, Robert Ienn l905l989 . . . . . DL2, 18,
l52, 320; Y80, 89; CDALo
Warren, Samuel l807l877. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl90
a t~ circa l230circa l280. . . . DLl38
Warton, |oseph l722l800. . . . . . . . . DLl01, l09
Warton, Jhomas l728l790. . . . . . . . DLl01, l09
Warung, Irice (William Astley)
l855l9ll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Washington, George l732l799 . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Washington, Ned l90ll97o . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Wassermann, |akob l873l931 . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Wasserstein, Wendy l950200o. . . . . . . . . DL228
Wassmo, Herbjorg l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL297
Wasson, David Atwood l823l887 . . . . DLl, 223
Watanna, Onoto (see Eaton, Winnifred)
Waten, |udah l9ll.l985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Waterhouse, Keith l929 . . . . . . . . . . DLl3, l5
Waterman, Andrew l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Waters, Irank l902l995. . . . . . . . . DL2l2; Y8o
Waters, Michael l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Watkins, Jobias l780l855 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL73
Watkins, Vernon l90ol9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20
Watmough, David l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Watson, Colin l920l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL27o
Watson, Ian l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
Watson, |ames Wreford (see Wreford, |ames)
Watson, |ohn l850l907 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5o
Watson, Rosamund Marriott
(Graham R. Jomson) l8o0l9ll . . . . DL210
Watson, Sheila l909l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Watson, Jhomas l515.l592 . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Watson, Wilfred l9lll998. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
W. |. Watt and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Watten, arrett l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl93
Watterson, Henry l810l92l . . . . . . . . . . . DL25
Watts, Alan l9l5l973. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Watts, Isaac lo71l718. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL95
Iranklin Watts |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL1o
Waugh, Alec l898l98l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Waugh, Auberon l9392000 . . . DLl1, l91; Y00
Waugh, Evelyn l903l9oo
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5, lo2, l95; CDLo
Way and Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Wayman, Jom l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Wearne, Alan l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Weatherly, Jom l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Weaver, Gordon l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Weaver, Robert l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Webb, eatrice l858l913 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl90
Webb, Irancis l925l973. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Webb, Irank |. fl. l857 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL50
Webb, |ames Watson l802l881 . . . . . . . . . DL13
Webb, Mary l88ll927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL31
Webb, Ihyllis l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Webb, Sidney l859l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl90
Webb, Walter Irescott l888l9o3 . . . . . . . . DLl7
Webbe, William .l59l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Webber, Charles Wilkins
l8l9l85o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL202
Weber, Max l8o1l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29o
Webling, Lucy (Lucy etty MacRaye)
l877l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Webling, Ieggy (Arthur Weston)
l87ll919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Webster, Augusta l837l891 . . . . . . . . DL35, 210
Webster, |ohn
l579 or l580lo31.. . . . . . .DL58; CDLl
Jhe Melbourne Manuscript . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Webster, Noah
l758l813 . . . . . . . . DLl, 37, 12, 13, 73, 213
Webster, Iaul Irancis l907l981 . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Charles L. Webster and Company . . . . . . . DL19
Weckherlin, Georg Rodolf l581lo53 . . . . DLlo1
`~ f ai_ PPN
SNU
Wedekind, Irank
l8o1l9l8. . . . . . . . . . . . DLll8; CDWL2
Weeks, Edward Augustus, |r.
l898l989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl37
Weeks, Stephen . l8o5l9l8. . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Weems, Mason Locke l759l825 . . . DL30, 37, 12
Weerth, Georg l822l85o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Weidenfeld and Nicolson . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Weidman, |erome l9l3l998 . . . . . . . . . . . DL28
Weigl, ruce l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Weil, |i l900l959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL299
Weinbaum, Stanley Grauman
l902l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Weiner, Andrew l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l
Weintraub, Stanley l929 . . . . . . . DLlll; Y82
Weise, Christian lo12l708 . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Weisenborn, Gunther l902l9o9 . . . . DLo9, l21
Weiss, |ohn l8l8l879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 213
Weiss, Iaul l90l2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL279
Weiss, Ieter l9lol982 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo9, l21
Weiss, Jheodore l9lo2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Wei, Ernst l882l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8l
Weie, Christian Ielix l72ol801 . . . . . . . . DL97
Weitling, Wilhelm l808l87l . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Welch, Denton l9l5l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l9
Welch, |ames l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl75, 25o
Welch, Lew l92ol97l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Weldon, Iay l93l DLl1, l91, 3l9; CDL8
Wellek, Ren l903l995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo3
Weller, Archie l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Wells, Carolyn l8o2l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll
Wells, Charles |eremiah
circa l800l879. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Wells, Gabriel l8o2l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl10
Wells, H. G. l8ool91o
. . . . . . . . . . . .DL31, 70, l5o, l78; CDLo
H. G. Wells Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y98
Ireface to q p o~
eK dK t (l933) . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl78
Wells, Helena l758.l821. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Wells, Rebecca l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Wells, Robert l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Wellsarnett, Ida . l8o2l93l . . . . . DL23, 22l
Welsh, Irvine l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL27l
Welty, Eudora l909200l . . . . . . . DL2, l02, l13;
Y87, 0l; DSl2; CDALl
Eudora Welty. Eye of the Storyteller . . . . . Y87
b~ t k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
Eudora Welty`s Iuneral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Eudora Welty`s Ninetieth irthday. . . . . . . Y99
Eudora Welty Remembered in
Jwo Exhibits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y02
Wendell, arrett l855l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7l
Wentworth, Iatricia l878l9ol. . . . . . . . . . DL77
Wentworth, William Charles
l790l872 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL230
Wenzel, |eanIaul l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32l
Werder, Diederich von dem l581lo57 . . DLlo1
Werfel, Iranz l890l915. . . . . . . . . . . DL8l, l21
Werner, Zacharias l7o8l823 . . . . . . . . . . . DL91
Jhe Werner Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Wersba, arbara l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Wescott, Glenway
l90ll987. . . . . . . . . . . . .DL1, 9, l02; DSl5
Wesker, Arnold
l932 . . . . . . . . . DLl3, 3l0, 3l9; CDL8
Wesley, Charles l707l788 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL95
Wesley, |ohn l703l79l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl01
Wesley, Mary l9l22002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23l
Wesley, Richard l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
Wessel, |ohan Herman l712l785. . . . . . . DL300
A. Wessels and Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
t d circa 7878l5. . . . . . . . . DLl18
West, Anthony l9l1l988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl5
Jribute to Liam OÌlaherty . . . . . . . . . . . . Y81
West, Cheryl L. l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2oo
West, Cornel l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
West, Dorothy l907l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7o
West, |essamyn l902l981 . . . . . . . . . . DLo; Y81
West, Mae l892l980. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
West, Michael Lee l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
West, Michelle Sagara l9o3 . . . . . . . . . DL25l
West, Morris l9lol999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
West, Nathanael
l903l910 . . . . . . . . . DL1, 9, 28; CDAL5
West, Iaul l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1
West, Rebecca l892l983. . . . . . . . . . DL3o; Y83
West, Richard l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl85
West and |ohnson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Westcott, Edward Noyes l81ol898. . . . . DL202
Jhe Western Literature Association . . . . . . . . . Y99
q t j
l835l81l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl; DL223
Western Iublishing Company . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Western Writers of America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y99
q t o l821l9l1 . . . . . . . DLll0
Weston, Arthur (see Webling, Ieggy)
Weston, Elizabeth |ane circa l582lol2 . . .DLl72
Wetherald, Agnes Ethelwyn l857l910 . . . DL99
Wetherell, Elizabeth (see Warner, Susan)
Wetherell, W. D. l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231
Wetzel, Iriedrich Gottlob l779l8l9. . . . . . DL90
Weyman, Stanley |. l855l928. . . . . DLl1l, l5o
Wezel, |ohann Karl l717l8l9. . . . . . . . . . . DL91
Whalen, Ihilip l9232002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Whalley, George l9l5l983 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Wharton, Edith l8o2l937. . . . . . . . . DL1, 9, l2,
78, l89; DSl3; CDAL3
Wharton, William l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y80
Whately, Mary Louisa l821l889 . . . . . . DLloo
Whately, Richard l787l8o3. . . . . . . . . . . DLl90
b o (l828;
revised, l81o) |excerpt| . . . . . . . . . DL57
Wheatley, Dennis l897l977. . . . . . . . . DL77, 255
Wheatley, Ihillis
circa l751l781. . . . . . . DL3l, 50; CDAL2
Wheeler, Anna Doyle l785l818. . . . . . . DLl58
Wheeler, Charles Stearns l8lol813 . . DLl, 223
Wheeler, Monroe l900l988 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1
Wheelock, |ohn Hall l88ol978. . . . . . . . . DL15
Irom |ohn Hall Wheelock`s
Oral Memoir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Wheelwright, |. . l897l910 . . . . . . . . . . . DL15
Wheelwright, |ohn circa l592lo79 . . . . . . DL21
Whetstone, George l550l587 . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Whetstone, Colonel Iete (see Noland, C. I. M.)
Whewell, William l791l8oo . . . . . . . . . . DL2o2
Whichcote, enjamin lo09.lo83 . . . . . . DL252
Whicher, Stephen E. l9l5l9ol . . . . . . . . DLlll
Whipple, Edwin Iercy l8l9l88o . . . . . DLl, o1
Whitaker, Alexander l585lol7. . . . . . . . . DL21
Whitaker, Daniel K. l80ll88l . . . . . . . . . DL73
Whitcher, Irances Miriam
l8l2l852 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll, 202
White, Andrew l579lo5o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
White, Andrew Dickson l832l9l8 . . . . . . DL17
White, E. . l899l985 . . . DLll, 22; CDAL7
White, Edgar . l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
White, Edmund l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL227
White, Ethel Lina l887l911 . . . . . . . . . . . DL77
White, Hayden V. l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
White, Henry Kirke l785l80o . . . . . . . . . DL9o
White, Horace l831l9lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23
White, |ames l928l999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2ol
White, Iatrick l9l2l990. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
White, Ihyllis Dorothy |ames (see |ames, I. D.)
White, Richard Grant l82ll885. . . . . . . . DLo1
White, J. H. l90ol9o1 . . . . . . . . . . DLlo0, 255
White, Walter l893l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5l
Wilcox, |ames l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
William White and Company . . . . . . . . . . DL19
White, William Allen l8o8l911 . . . . . . DL9, 25
White, William Anthony Iarker
(see oucher, Anthony)
White, William Hale (see Rutherford, Mark)
Whitechurch, Victor L. l8o8l933. . . . . . . DL70
Whitehead, Alfred North
l8oll917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl00, 2o2
ai_ PPN `~ f
SNV
`
Whitehead, E. A. (Jed Whitehead)

l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Whitehead, |ames l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8l
Whitehead, William l7l5l785 . . . . . . DL81, l09
Whitfield, |ames Monroe l822l87l . . . . . . DL50
Whitfield, Raoul l898l915. . . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
Whitgift, |ohn circa l533lo01 . . . . . . . . . DLl32
Whiting, |ohn l9l7l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Whiting, Samuel l597lo79 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Whitlock, rand l8o9l931. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2
Whitman, Albery Allson l85ll90l . . . . . . DL50
Whitman, Alden l9l3l990. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y9l
Whitman, Sarah Helen (Iower)
l803l878 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 213
Whitman, Walt
l8l9l892 . . . . DL3, o1, 221, 250; CDAL2
Albert Whitman and Company. . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Whitman Iublishing Company . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Whitney, Geoffrey
l518 or l552.lo0l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Whitney, Isabella fl. l5ool573 . . . . . . . . . DLl3o
Whitney, |ohn Hay l901l982 . . . . . . . . . DLl27
Whittemore, Reed l9l9l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Whittier, |ohn Greenleaf
l807l892 . . . . . . . . . . .DLl, 213; CDAL2
Whittlesey House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
Wickham, Anna (Edith Alice Mary Harper)
l881l917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL210
Wickram, Georg circa l505circa l5ol . . . DLl79
Wicomb, Zo l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL225
Wideman, |ohn Edgar l91l . . . . . . DL33, l13
Widener, Harry Elkins l885l9l2. . . . . . . DLl10
Wiebe, Rudy l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Wiechert, Ernst l887l950. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5o
Wied, Gustav l858l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Wied, Martina l882l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
Wiehe, Evelyn May Clowes (see Mordaunt, Elinor)
Wieland, Christoph Martin l733l8l3 . . . . DL97
Wienbarg, Ludolf l802l872 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Wieners, |ohn l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo
Wier, Ester l9l02000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Wiesel, Elie
l928 . . . . DL83, 299; Y8o, 87; CDAL7
Nobel Lecture l98o. Hope, Despair and
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Wiggin, Kate Douglas l85ol923 . . . . . . . . DL12
Wigglesworth, Michael lo3ll705. . . . . . . . DL21
Wilberforce, William l759l833 . . . . . . . . DLl58
Wilbrandt, Adolf l837l9ll. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl29
Wilbur, Richard l92l . . .DL5, lo9; CDAL7
Jribute to Robert Ienn Warren . . . . . . . . .Y89
Wilcox, |ames l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL292
Wild, Ieter l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Wilde, Lady |ane Irancesca Elgee
l82l.l89o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl99
Wilde, Oscar l851l900
. DLl0, l9, 31, 57, l1l, l5o, l90; CDL5
'Jhe Critic as Artist`` (l89l). . . . . . . . . DL57
'Jhe Decay of Lying" (l889) . . . . . . . . DLl8
'Jhe English Renaissance of
Art" (l908) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
'LÈnvoi" (l882) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
Oscar Wilde Conference at Hofstra
Lniversity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
Wilde, Richard Henry l789l817 . . . . . . DL3, 59
W. A. Wilde Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Wilder, illy l90o2002. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
Wilder, Laura Ingalls l8o7l957 . . . . . DL22, 25o
Wilder, Jhornton
l897l975. . . . . . . . DL1, 7, 9, 228; CDAL7
Jhornton Wilder Centenary at Yale . . . . . . Y97
Wildgans, Anton l88ll932 . . . . . . . . . . . DLll8
Wilding, Michael l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Wiley, ell Irvin l90ol980. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
|ohn Wiley and Sons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Wilhelm, Kate l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Wilkes, Charles l798l877. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl83
Wilkes, George l8l7l885 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL79
Wilkins, |ohn lol1lo72 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23o
Wilkinson, Anne l9l0l9ol . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Wilkinson, Christopher l91l . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Wilkinson, Eliza Yonge
l757circa l8l3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Wilkinson, Sylvia l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y8o
Wilkinson, William Cleaver l833l920. . . . DL7l
Willard, arbara l909l991. . . . . . . . . . . . DLlol
Willard, Emma l787l870 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL239
Willard, Irances E. l839l898. . . . . . . . . . DL22l
Willard, Nancy l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5, 52
Willard, Samuel lo10l707 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
L. Willard |publishing house|. . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Willeford, Charles l9l9l988 . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
William of Auvergne ll90l219 . . . . . . . . DLll5
William of Conches
circa l090circa ll51. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
William of Ockham circa l285l317 . . . . . DLll5
William of Sherwood
l200/l205l2oo/l27l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll5
Lniversity Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y92
Williams, en Ames l889l953. . . . . . . . . DLl02
Williams, C. K. l93o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Williams, Chancellor l905l992 . . . . . . . . . DL7o
Williams, Charles l88ol915. . . DLl00, l53, 255
Williams, Denis l923l998 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll7
Williams, Emlyn l905l987. . . . . . . . . . DLl0, 77
Williams, Garth l9l2l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL22
Williams, George Washington
l819l89l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL17
Williams, Heathcote l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Williams, Helen Maria l7oll827 . . . . . . . DLl58
Williams, Hugo l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Williams, Isaac l802l8o5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL32
Williams, |oan l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Williams, |oe l889l972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Williams, |ohn A. l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 33
Williams, |ohn E. l922l991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Williams, |onathan l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Williams, Miller l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl05
Williams, Nigel l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23l
Williams, Raymond
l92ll988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, 23l, 212
Williams, Roger circa lo03lo83. . . . . . . . . DL21
Williams, Rowland l8l7l870 . . . . . . . . . . DLl81
Williams, SammArt l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38
Williams, Sherley Anne l911l999 . . . . . . . DL1l
Williams, J. Harry l909l979 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
Williams, Jennessee
l9lll983 . . . . . DL7; Y83; DS1; CDALl
Williams, Jerry Jempest l955 . . . DL20o, 275
Williams, Lrsula Moray l9ll . . . . . . . . DLlo0
Williams, Valentine l883l91o . . . . . . . . . . DL77
Williams, William Appleman l92ll990. . . DLl7
Williams, William Carlos
l883l9o3 . . . . . . DL1, lo, 51, 8o; CDAL1
Jhe William Carlos Williams Society. . . . .Y99
Williams, Wirt l92ll98o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
A. Williams and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Williams rothers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Williamson, David l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Williamson, Henry l895l977. . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Jhe Henry Williamson Society. . . . . . . . . .Y98
Williamson, |ack l908 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Willingham, Calder aynard, |r.
l922l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2, 11
Williram of Ebersberg circa l020l085 . . . DLl18
Willis, |ohn circa l572lo25. . . . . . . . . . . . DL28l
Willis, Nathaniel Iarker l80ol8o7
. . . . . . . . . . .DL3, 59, 73, 71, l83, 250; DSl3
Willis, Jed l9l8l992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l0
Willkomm, Ernst l8l0l88o . . . . . . . . . . . DLl33
Wills, Garry l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21o
Jribute to Kenneth Dale McCormick . . . . . Y97
Willson, Meredith l902l981 . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Willumsen, Dorrit l910 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1
Wilmer, Clive l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL10
Wilson, A. N. l950 . . . . . . . . . DLl1, l55, l91
Wilson, Angus l9l3l99l . . . . . . DLl5, l39, l55
Wilson, Arthur l595lo52. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL58
Wilson, August l9152005 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL228
Wilson, Augusta |ane Evans l835l909 . . . DL12
Wilson, Colin l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1, l91
Jribute to |. . Iriestly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y81
Wilson, Edmund l895l972 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo3
Wilson, Ethel l888l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo8
`~ f ai_ PPN
SOM
Wilson, I. I. l889l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL20l
Wilson, Harriet E.
l827/l828.l8o3. . . . . . . . . DL50, 239, 213
Wilson, Harry Leon l8o7l939 . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Wilson, |ohn l588loo7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Wilson, |ohn l785l851 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll0
Wilson, |ohn Anthony urgess
(see urgess, Anthony)
Wilson, |ohn Dover l88ll9o9 . . . . . . . . DL20l
Wilson, Lanford l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7
Wilson, Margaret l882l973 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Wilson, Michael l9l1l978. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL11
Wilson, Mona l872l951 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl19
Wilson, Robert Charles l953 . . . . . . . DL25l
Wilson, Robert McLiam l9o1 . . . . . . . DL2o7
Wilson, Robley l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l8
Wilson, Romer l89ll930 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Wilson, Jhomas l521l58l . . . . . . . DLl32, 23o
Wilson, Woodrow l85ol921. . . . . . . . . . . DL17
Effingham Wilson |publishing house| . . . . DLl51
Wimpfeling, |akob l150l528 . . . . . . . . . .DLl79
Wimsatt, William K., |r. l907l975. . . . . . . DLo3
Winchell, Walter l897l972 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29
|. Winchester |publishing house|. . . . . . . . . DL19
Winckelmann, |ohann |oachim
l7l7l7o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL97
Winckler, Iaul lo30lo8o. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Wind, Herbert Warren l9lo2005 . . . . . . .DLl7l
|ohn Windet |publishing house| . . . . . . . . .DLl70
Windham, Donald l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Windsor, Gerard l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Wing, Donald Goddard l901l972 . . . . . DLl87
Wing, |ohn M. l811l9l7. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl87
Allan Wingate |publishing house| . . . . . . . DLll2
Winnemucca, Sarah l811l92l . . . . . . . . .DLl75
Winnifrith, Jom l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl55
Winsloe, Christa l888l911 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
Winslow, Anna Green l759l780 . . . . . . . DL200
Winsor, |ustin l83ll897 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL17
|ohn C. Winston Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Winters, Yvor l900l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL18
Winterson, |eanette l959 . . . . . . . . DL207, 2ol
Winther, Christian l79ol87o . . . . . . . . . . DL300
Winthrop, |ohn l588lo19. . . . . . . . . . DL21, 30
Winthrop, |ohn, |r. lo0olo7o . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Winthrop, Margaret Jyndal
l59llo17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Winthrop, Jheodore
l828l8ol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL202
Winton, Jim l9o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Wirt, William l772l831. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL37
Wise, |ohn lo52l725. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Wise, Jhomas |ames l859l937. . . . . . . . DLl81
Wiseman, Adele l928l992 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Wishart and Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2
Wisner, George l8l2l819 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL13
Wister, Owen l8o0l938 . . . . . . . . .DL9, 78, l8o
Wister, Sarah l7oll801 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Wither, George l588loo7 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2l
Witherspoon, |ohn l723l791. . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Tlc !orls of tlc Icv. olv !itlcrspoov
(l800l80l) |excerpts| . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Withrow, William Henry l839l908 . . . . . DL99
Witkacy (see Witkiewicz, Stanisaw Ignacy)
Witkiewicz, Stanisaw Ignacy
l885l939 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5; CDWL1
Wittenwiler, Heinrich before l387
circa l1l1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl79
Wittgenstein, Ludwig l889l95l . . . . . . . DL2o2
Wittig, Monique l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL83
Witting, Amy ( |oan Austral Levick, ne Iraser)
l9l8200l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Wodehouse, I. G.
l88ll975. . . . . . . . . . DL31, lo2; CDLo
Worldwide Wodehouse Societies . . . . . . . . Y98
Wohmann, Gabriele l932 . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Woiwode, Larry l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo
Wolcot, |ohn l738l8l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl09
Wolcott, Roger lo79l7o7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL21
Wolf, Christa l929 . . . . . . . .DL75; CDWL2
Wolf, Iriedrich l888l953 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl21
Wolfe, Gene l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Wolfe, Jhomas l900l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DL9, l02, 229; Y85; DS2, DSlo; CDAL5
'All the Iaults of Youth and Inexperience".
A Reader`s Report on
Jhomas Wolfe`s U Iost . . . . . . . . . . . . Y0l
Emendations for Iool Homcword, Zvgcl . . . . Y00
Eugene Gant`s Irojected Works. . . . . . . . . Y0l
Iire at the Old Kentucky Home
|Jhomas Wolfe Memorial| . . . . . . . . . Y98
Jhomas Wolfe Centennial
Celebration in Asheville . . . . . . . . . . . Y00
Jhe Jhomas Wolfe Collection at
the Lniversity of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y97
Jhe Jhomas Wolfe Society . . . . . . . . . .Y97, 99
Wolfe, Jom l93l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl52, l85
|ohn Wolfe |publishing house| . . . . . . . . . .DLl70
Reyner (Reginald) Wolfe
Wolfenstein, Martha l8o9l90o . . . . . . . . DL22l
Wolff, David (see Maddow, en)
Wolff, Egon l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL305
Wolff, Helen l90ol991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y91
Wolff, Jobias l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl30
Jribute to Raymond Carver . . . . . . . . . . . Y88
Wolfram von Eschenbach
circa ll70after l220 . . . .DLl38; CDWL2
Wolfram von Eschenbach`s Iorivol:
Irologue and ook 3. . . . . . . . . . DLl38
Wolker, |i l900l921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l5
Wollstonecraft, Mary l759l797
. . . . . . . . . . DL39, l01, l58, 252; CDL3
Women
Women`s Work, Women`s Sphere.
Selected Comments from Women
Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Women Writers in SixteenthCentury
Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l8
Wondratschek, Wolf l913 . . . . . . . . . . . DL75
Wong, Elizabeth l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2oo
Wong, Nellie l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Wong, Shawn l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Wongar, . (Sreten ozic) l932 . . . . . . DL325
Wood, Anthony a lo32lo95 . . . . . . . . . . DL2l3
Wood, enjamin l820l900 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL23
Wood, Charles l932l980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl3
Jhe Charles Wood Affair.
A Ilaywright Revived . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y83
Wood, Mrs. Henry l8l1l887 . . . . . . . . . . DLl8
Wood, |oanna E. l8o7l927 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL92
Wood, Sally Sayward arrell Keating
l759l855. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL200
Wood, William fl. seventeenth century. . . . DL21
Samuel Wood |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL19
Woodberry, George Edward
l855l930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL7l, l03
Woodbridge, enjamin lo22lo81 . . . . . . . DL21
Woodbridge, Irederick |. E. l8o7l910 . . .DL270
Woodcock, George l9l2l995 . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Woodhull, Victoria C. l838l927. . . . . . . . DL79
Woodmason, Charles circa l720. . . . . . . . DL3l
Woodress, |ames Leslie, |r. l9lo . . . . . DLlll
Woods, Margaret L. l855l915 . . . . . . . . DL210
Woodson, Carter G. l875l950 . . . . . . . . . .DLl7
Woodward, C. Vann l908l999. . . . . . . . . .DLl7
Woodward, Stanley l895l9o5. . . . . . . . . .DLl7l
Woodworth, Samuel l785l812 . . . . . . . . DL250
Wooler, Jhomas l785 or l78ol853. . . . . DLl58
Woolf, David (see Maddow, en)
Woolf, Douglas l922l992 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL211
Woolf, Leonard l880l9o9. . . . . . .DLl00; DSl0
Woolf, Virginia l882l91l
. . . . . . . . DL3o, l00, lo2; DSl0; CDLo
'Jhe New iography," Acw Jorl Hcrold
Tribuvc, 30 October l927 . . . . . . . DLl19
Woollcott, Alexander l887l913. . . . . . . . . DL29
Woolman, |ohn l720l772 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Woolner, Jhomas l825l892 . . . . . . . . . . . DL35
Woolrich, Cornell l903l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . DL22o
Woolsey, Sarah Chauncy l835l905 . . . . . DL12
ai_ PPN `~ f
SON
`
Woolson, Constance Ienimore

l810l891 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl2, 71, l89, 22l
Worcester, |oseph Emerson
l781l8o5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl, 235
Wynkyn de Worde |publishing house|. . . . DLl70
Wordsworth, Christopher l807l885. . . . . DLloo
Wordsworth, Dorothy l77ll855. . . . . . . . DLl07
Wordsworth, Elizabeth
l810l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL98
Wordsworth, William
l770l850 . . . . . . . . . . DL93, l07; CDL3
Workman, Ianny ullock
l859l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl89
t i~ q~W A |ournal for the
New Millennium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y0l
World Iublishing Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
World War I (l9l1l9l8). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSl8
Jhe Great War Exhibit and Symposium
at the Lniversity of South Carolina . . .Y97
Jhe Liddle Collection and Iirst World
War Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y97
Other ritish Ioets Who Iell
in the Great War. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2lo
Jhe SeventyIifth Anniversary of
the Armistice. Jhe Wilfred Owen
Centenary and the Great War Exhibit
at the Lniversity of Virginia. . . . . . . . .Y93
World War II (l939-l915)
Literary Effects of World War II . . . . . . DLl5
World War II Writers Symposium
at the Lniversity of South Carolina,
l2-l1 April l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y95
WW2 HMSO Iaperbacks Society . . . . . . .Y98
R. Worthington and Company . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Wotton, Sir Henry l5o8lo39 . . . . . . . . . . DLl2l
Wouk, Herman l9l5 . . . . . . . . Y82; CDAL7
Wreford, |ames l9l5l990. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88
Wren, Sir Christopher lo32l723 . . . . . . . DL2l3
Wren, Iercival Christopher l885l91l . . . DLl53
Wrenn, |ohn Henry l81ll9ll . . . . . . . . . DLl10
Wright, C. D. l919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Wright, Charles l935 . . . . . . . . . DLlo5; Y82
Wright, Charles Stevenson l932 . . . . . . . DL33
Wright, Chauncey l830l875 . . . . . . . . . . DL270
Wright, Irances l795l852 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL73
Wright, Harold ell l872l911 . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Wright, |ames l927l980
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL5, lo9; CDAL7
Wright, |ay l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Wright, |udith l9l52000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o0
Wright, Louis . l899l981. . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl7
Wright, Richard
l908l9o0 . . . . . DL7o, l02; DS2; CDAL5
Wright, Richard . l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL53
Wright, S. Iowler l871l9o5 . . . . . . . . . . . DL255
Wright, Sarah Elizabeth l928 . . . . . . . . . DL33
Wright, J. H. 'Style" (l877) |excerpt| . . . . . DL57
Wright, Willard Huntington (S. S. Van Dine)
l887l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL30o; DSlo
Wrightson, Iatricia l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289
Wrigley, Robert l95l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25o
t c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y85
Writing
A Writing Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y02
On Learning to Write . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y88
Jhe Irofession of Authorship.
Scribblers for read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y89
A Writer Jalking. A Collage . . . . . . . . . . . .Y00
Wroth, Lawrence C. l881l970. . . . . . . . . DLl87
Wroth, Lady Mary l587lo53 . . . . . . . . . . DLl2l
Wu |ianren (Wo Ioshanren)
l8ool9l0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Wu Zuxiang l908l991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Wumingshi (u aonan) l9l72002 . . . . . DL328
Wurlitzer, Rudolph l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl73
Wyatt, Sir Jhomas circa l503l512. . . . . . DLl32
Wycherley, William
lo1ll7l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL80; CDL2
Wyclif, |ohn circa l335l381 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl1o
Wyeth, N. C. l882l915 . . . . . . . . DLl88; DSlo
Wyle, Niklas von circa l1l5l179 . . . . . . . DLl79
Wylie, Elinor l885l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9, 15
Wylie, Ihilip l902l97l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL9
Wyllie, |ohn Cook l908l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . DLl10
Wyman, Lillie uffum Chace
l817l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL202
Wymark, Olwen l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL233
Wynd, Oswald Morris (see lack, Gavin)
Wyndham, |ohn ( |ohn Wyndham Iarkes
Lucas eynon Harris) l903l9o9 . . . . DL255
WynneJyson, Esm l898l972. . . . . . . . . DLl9l
u
Xenophon circa 130 _.`.circa 35o _.`. . . . . DLl7o
Xiang Kairan (Iingjiang uxiaoshengj uxiaosheng)
l890l957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Xiao Hong l9lll912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Xu Dishan (Luo Huasheng)
l893l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Xu Zhenya l889l937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
v
Yahp, eth l9o1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Yamamoto, Hisaye l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Yamanaka, LoisAnn l9ol . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Yamashita, Karen Jei l95l . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Yamauchi, Wakako l921 . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l2
Yang Kui l905l985. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Yasuoka Shtar l920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl82
Yates, Dornford l885l9o0 . . . . . . . . . DL77, l53
Yates, |. Michael l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Yates, Richard l92ol992 . . . DL2, 231; Y8l, 92
Yau, |ohn l950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL231, 3l2
Yavorov, Ieyo l878l9l1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl17
Ye Shaojun (Ye Shengtao) l891l988. . . . . DL328
Yearsley, Ann l753l80o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl09
Yeats, William utler
l8o5l939 . . . . DLl0, l9, 98, l5o; CDL5
Jhe W. . Yeats Society of N.Y. . . . . . . . . .Y99
Yellen, |ack l892l99l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o5
Yep, Laurence l918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52, 3l2
Yerby, Irank l9lol99l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7o
Yezierska, Anzia l880l970 . . . . . . . . . DL28, 22l
Yolen, |ane l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Yonge, Charlotte Mary l823l90l. . . . DLl8, lo3
Jhe Charlotte M. Yonge Iellowship . . . . . .Y98
Jhe York Cycle circa l37ocirca l5o9 . . . . DLl1o
^ v q~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL58
Jhomas Yoseloff |publishing house| . . . . . . DL1o
Youd, Sam (see Christopher, |ohn)
Young, A. S. 'Doc" l9l9l99o. . . . . . . . . . DL21l
Young, Al l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL33
Young, Arthur l71ll820. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl58
Young, Dick l9l7 or l9l8l987. . . . . . . . . DLl7l
Young, Edward lo83l7o5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL95
Young, Irank A. 'Iay" l881l957 . . . . . . . DL21l
Young, Irancis rett l881l951. . . . . . . . . DLl9l
Young, Gavin l928 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL201
Young, Stark l88ll9o3. . . . . . . DL9, l02; DSlo
Young, Waldeman l880l938 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2o
William Young |publishing house| . . . . . . . . DL19
Young ear, Ray A. l950 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl75
Yourcenar, Marguerite l903l987 . . . DL72; Y88
Yovkov, Yordan l880l937 . . . .DLl17; CDWL1
Yu Dafu l89ol915. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Yushkevich, Semen l8o8l927 . . . . . . . . . . .DL3l7
Yver, |acques l520.l570.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL327
w
Zachari, Iriedrich Wilhelm l72ol777 . . . . DL97
Zagajewski, Adam l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Zagoskin, Mikhail Nikolaevich
l789l852 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl98
Zaitsev, oris l88ll972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Zajc, Dane l929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
Zlte, Mra l952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Zalygin, Sergei Iavlovich l9l32000 . . . . . DL302
Zamiatin, Evgenii Ivanovich l881l937. . . DL272
Zamora, ernice l938 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL82
Zamudio, Adela (Soledad) l851l928 . . . . DL283
Zand, Herbert l923l970. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL85
Zangwill, Israel l8o1l92o. . . . . . DLl0, l35, l97
Zanzotto, Andrea l92l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl28
Zapata Olivella, Manuel l920 . . . . . . . . DLll3
Zapoev, Jimur Iurèvich
(see Kibirov, Jimur Iurèvich)
Zasodimsky, Iavel Vladimirovich
l813l9l2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Zebra ooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1o
`~ f ai_ PPN
SOO
Zebrowski, George l915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Zech, Iaul l88ll91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5o
Zeidner, Lisa l955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl20
Zeidonis, Imants l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL232
Zeimi (Kanze Motokiyo) l3o3l113. . . . . DL203
Zelazny, Roger l937l995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL8
Zeng Iu l872l935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Zenger, |ohn Ieter lo97l71o . . . . . . . . DL21, 13
Zepheria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl72
Zernova, Ruf` l9l92001. . . . . . . . . . . . . DL3l7
Zesen, Ihilipp von lol9lo89. . . . . . . . . . DLlo1
Zhadovskaia, Iuliia Valerianovna
l821l883 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL277
Zhang Ailing (Eileen Chang)
l920l995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Zhang Henshui l895l9o7 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Zhang Jianyi l90ol985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Zhao Shuli l90ol970. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL328
Zhukova, Marìa Semenovna
l805l855 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL277
Zhukovsky, Vasilii Andreevich
l783l852. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL205
Zhvanetsky, Mikhail Mikhailovich
l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL285
G. . Zieber and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . DL19
Ziedonis, Imants l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . CDWL1
Zieroth, Dale l91o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLo0
Zigler und Kliphausen, Heinrich
Anshelm von loo3lo97 . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
Zil`ber, Veniamin Aleksandrovich
(see Kaverin, Veniamin Aleksandrovich)
Zimmer, Iaul l931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL5
Zinberg, Len (see Lacy, Ed)
Zincgref, |ulius Wilhelm l59llo35 . . . . . DLlo1
Zindel, Iaul l93o . . . . . . . DL7, 52; CDAL7
Zinnes, Harriet l9l9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl93
Zinovèv, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich
l922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL302
ZinovèvaAnnibal, Lidiia Dmitrievna
l8o5 or l8ool907 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL295
Zinzendorf, Nikolaus Ludwig von
l700l7o0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLlo8
ZitkalaSa l87ol938. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DLl75
Zverts, Mrti l903l990. . . . . . . . . . . . DL220
Zlatovratsky, Nikolai Nikolaevich
l815l9ll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL238
Zola, Emile l810l902 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl23
Zolla, Elmire l92o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9o
Zolotow, Charlotte l9l5 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL52
Zoshchenko, Mikhail Mikhailovich
l895l958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL272
Zschokke, Heinrich l77ll818 . . . . . . . . . . DL91
Zubly, |ohn |oachim l721l78l . . . . . . . . . DL3l
Zuolton, Ahmos, II l93o . . . . . . . . . . DL1l
Zuckmayer, Carl l89ol977 . . . . . . . . DL5o, l21
Zukofsky, Louis l901l978. . . . . . . . . . DL5, lo5
Zupan, Vitomil l9l1l987 . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl8l
upani, Oton l878l919 . . .DLl17; CDWL1
zur Mhlen, Hermynia l883l95l . . . . . . . DL5o
Zweig, Arnold l887l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLoo
Zweig, Stefan l88ll912. . . . . . . . . . . DL8l, ll8
Zwicky, Iay l933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL325
Zwinger, Ann l925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DL275
Zwingli, Huldrych l181l53l. . . . . . . . . . .DLl79
verland, Arnulf l889l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . DL297

Nobel Prize Laureates in Literature Part 3 - Lagerkvist - Pontoppidan

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Nobel Prize Laureates in Literature Part 3 - Lagerkvist - Pontoppidan

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a~ i~ _~

Allen, Dick l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL282

Jhe Association for the Study of

arykova, Anna Iavlovna l839l893 . . . . DL277

ianco, Margery Williams l88ll911 . . . . DLlo0

rne, Ludwig l78ol837 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL90

ront, Anne l820l819 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l, l99

yron, Robert l905l91l . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl95

Cernuda, Luis l902l9o3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl31

Clifford, Lucy l853.l929. . . . . DLl35, l1l, l97

Cowles, Gardner l8oll91o . . . . . . . . . . . . DL29

Davies, W. H. l87ll910 . . . . . . . . . . . DLl9, l71

Diogenes, |r. (see rougham, |ohn)

Iaccio, Rena (see Aleramo, Sibilla)

Ionvisin, Denis Ivanovich

Gallagher, Wes l9lll997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLl27

Jribute to Christopher Isherwood. . . . . . . .Y8o

Hansen, Jhorkild l927l989 . . . . . . . . . . . DL2l1

Henderson, David l912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL1l

Hope, A. D. l9072000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL289

owers, Iredson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Y80

'ackstage," Statement Irom the

Kernaghan, Eileen l939 . . . . . . . . . . . . DL25l

Kuprin, Aleksandr Ivanovich

Le Moyne, |ean l9l3l99o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL88

Jhe Vladimir Nabokov Society . . . . . . . . .Y0l

MacKaye, Iercy l875l95o . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL51

Marvin X l911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL38

Merriam, Eve l9lol992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLol

Morris, Mary McGarry l913 . . . . . . . . DL292

Newcomb, Charles King l820l891 . . . DLl, 223

Oakes Smith, Elizabeth

Iarker, Gilbert l8o0l932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL99

Iinkney, Edward Coote

Irescott, William Hickling

Michael M. Rea and the Rea Award for

Rolfe, Edwin (Solomon Iishman)

Santiago, Danny l9lll988. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl22

Seuse, Heinrich l295.l3oo. . . . . . . . . . . . DLl79

William Smellie |publishing house| . . . . . . DLl51

p~ lI l977 ooker Irize winner,

i q~~ m~I LouisSbastien

Jhmmel, Moritz August von

Lniversity of Wales Iress . . . . . . . . . . . . . DLll2

Whitehead, E. A. (Jed Whitehead)

Woolson, Constance Ienimore

verland, Arnulf l889l9o8 . . . . . . . . . . DL297

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