The first Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded in 1901. Now, it is one of five Nobel Prizes established from the will of Alfred Nobel, the others being physics, psychology, chemistry, peace, and physiology or medicine. Nobel was the regretful inventor of dynamite, so he proposed these prizes in order to be remembered in a peaceful way (Schlessinger 8).
The prizes and nominations are internationally awarded the way Nobel proposed in his will. Thousands of requests are sent to the Swedish Academy every February and by April the proposals are narrowed down to twenty. During the summer months, the Academy reads or researches the remaining nominees and in October the one who receives more than half the votes is awarded the Nobel Prize. The Nobel laureate each year receives a gold medal, approximately $825,000 (depending on the income of the Nobel Foundation), and a Diploma bearing a citation directly from the King of Sweden (Schlessinger 125).
Toni Morrison was the first African American woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. According to an interview with Toni Morrison conducted by Chloe Wofford, Morrison was very surprised to receive the award because “she never thought she had so many supporters and that the Swedish Academy knew about her work and took it seriously” (Denard 106). In other interviews, she has also talked about the difficulty of being a woman especially an African American woman and telling others that she is a writer. She states how “at the time I certainly didn’t personally know any other women writers who were successful” and that “it’s almost as if you needed permission to write” as a woman. Morrison describes the idea that in general if a man is told he’s a good writer, he will go ahead and become a writer, but a woman will wait for someone to give her permission and say she can do it (71). During her conversation with Chloe Wofford, Morrison also talks about how she felt when she travelled to collect the Nobel Prize:
“I felt a lot of “we” excitement. It was as if the whole category of “female writer” and “black writer” had been redeemed. I felt I represented a whole world of women who either were silenced or who had never received the imprimatur of the established literary world. I felt the way I used to feel at commencements where I’d get honorary degree: that it was very important for young black people to see a black person do that; that there were probably young people in South-Central Los Angeles or Selma who weren’t quite sure that they could do it. But seeing me up there might encourage them to write one of those books I’m desperate to read. And that made me happy. It gave me license to strut” (99).
From those remarks, the connection between Morrison’s work in Song of Solomon and her personal motives for writing comes into focus. Morrison is clearly extremely proud of being the first African American writer to win the award and further feels that her success “redeemed” the whole category of “black writer” (Denard 99).
Morrison’s Nobel Lecture at the ceremony also establishes a connection between her award and Song of Solomon, but in a more subtle way. In her lecture, she tells a story of a blind woman who’s the “daughter of slaves” (Morrison). The woman is asked by a couple of prankster children whether a bird they hold in their hands is alive or dead. And the woman, in her wisdom, answers: “ ‘I don't know whether the bird you are holding is dead or alive, but what I do know is that it is in your hands’” (Morrison). Morrison goes on to explain the point of the story – just as in Song of Solomon, the thing in question is not only what end one tries to reach, but also the “power to the instrument through which that power is exercised” (Morrison).
Works Cited
Coser, Stelamaris. Bridging the Americas: The Literature of Toni Morrison, Paule Marshall, and Gayl Jones. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1994. Print.
David, Ron. Toni Morrison Explained. New York: Random House, Inc., 2000. Print.
Schlessinger, Bernard S., and June H. Schlessinger. The Who's Who of Nobel Prize-Winners. Third ed. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 250. Print.
"Toni Morrison - Nobel Lecture". Nobelprize.org. 21 Oct 2010 http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1993/morrison-lecture.html
Denard, Carolyn. Toni Morrison:Conversations. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 2008. Print.
ReplyDeleteThis citation was missing from our works cited.
I thought it was interesting that Morrison felt she had won the award for all blacks and women. I feel that this sentiment ties in very nicely to what she is writing about in Song of Solomon where we have issues of race, but also that the most interesting characters in the novel are the women and the ways that they find their path through life. I feel that this also relates to the opening passage of the book when Ruth becomes the first black woman to give birth at the hospital. They opened the doors for Ruth just as Toni Morrison "opened the doors" for female and black writers with her Nobel Prize. I was a little shocked to find out that she did not tell people she was a writer initially. I guess now it seems crazy that she would be apprehensive about her work but everyone has to start somewhere, and she has helped to blaze a path for others so that they do not have to lie about being writers.
ReplyDeleteIt is an amazing accomplishment for Morrison being the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize. In her statement, she uses the term "we" meaning how she won the award for all writers who are women and/or black. She continues in her statement by encouraging other woman to follow in her footsteps. It's very similar to Song of Solomon, how the woman have a very prominent role amongst the male characters. It reminds me of the scene where Pilate stood up for her daughter who was approached by a man. Pilate, being a strong woman, showed how her motherly role along with being a woman is of crucial importance, and proves women in general have a mighty force to stand up for what they believe. This connects back to Morrison, and how she wants to prove to other woman writers that they can accomplish such amazing aspirations as she had, and they can stand there ground to receive great things.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to what the Amelia and Mike have said, I feel like it's amazing that Toni Morrison was so sincerely surprised of her own success with the Nobel Prize award. She strikes me as someone who writes with such an overwhelming force of will and beauty that it would almost be more surprising for her to not win that award. Like what Mike said, I was surprised that people would have to "hide" the fact that they were writers and I think this post sort of illuminates that cultural aspect of literature and writing in general. Her comments in the interview reminded me of what she said in the forward about how she kept in touch with her dead father and how he provided the inspiration for Song of Solomon. I feel like Morrison carries that torch, being a muse to all future writers, birthing texts that are so alive that they give inspiration not only to black women but to anyone who can make any kind of connection to her writing.
ReplyDeleteI want to apologize for this post being more of of a Morrison applause-fest than analysis and content.