The Swedish Academy recognized Jon Fosse on Thursday, as a “360-degree writer”—an appropriate accolade for a playwright, novelist, short story author, essayist, poet, and author of children’s books. The Nobel Prize for Literature was given to Fosse, who joins Bjornstjerne Bjornson (1903), Knut Pedersen Hamsun (1920), and Sigrid Undset (1928) as Norwegian authors to receive the honor. The jury praised Fosse as an author who is enthralled by language, including its hypnotic and musical power as well as everything that escapes it.
Fosse, who was born in Haugesund on Norway’s west coast on September 29, 1959, published his first book, Raudt, Svart (Red, Black), when he was just 23 years old. Before he tried his hand at the medium that would make him famous: theater, it would be another 10 years and the publishing of some 15 prose works, including Closed Guitar (1985), Boathouse (1989), or Lead and Water (1992).
“And We’ll Never Be Parted,” his debut play, was presented and released in 1994. Amazingly productive, he has now published one or two plays a year, totaling almost 30 theatrical works in 20 years. These plays include Nightsongs (1997), Death Variations (2001), The Dead Dogs (2004), and I Am the Wind (2007). These plays have been presented by some of the greatest directors of our time and have been played in more than 30 different languages throughout Europe.