Tanzania's Gurnahu, novelist of colonialism and housing, wins 2021 Nobel
Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah, 72, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2021 "for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of refugees," it was said at today's ceremony.
Based in Britain, Gurnah is the first African writer to win the award, since Zimbabwe Doris Lessing in 2007, and only the second color writer from sub-Saharan Africa, after Nigeria's Woley Soyinka, who won in 1986.
His novels include "Paradise," which was set in colonial East Africa during World War I and was selected for the "Booker Prize for Fiction" and "Desertion" awards.
Gurnah fled Africa as a refugee in the 1960s amid the persecution of citizens of Arab descent in Zanzibar, where he grew up when peaceful liberation from British colonial rule led to a revolution.
He was only able to return to Zanzibar in 1984, allowing him to see his father shortly before his death.
The prize is awarded by the Swedish Academy and is worth $ 1.14 million.
The awards, for achievements in science, literature and peace, were created through a posthumous request, at the will of Swedish dynamite inventor and wealthy businessman Alfred Nobel. They have been awarded since 1901, with the final price in formation - economics - a later addition.
Previous literary winners have been mostly novelists like Ernest Hemingway, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Toni Morrison, poets like Pablo Neruda, Joseph Brodsky and Rabindranath Tagore, or playwrights like Harold Pinter and Eugene O'Neill.
But writers have also won for jobs that include short stories, stories, essays, biographies or journalism. Winston Churchill won for his memoirs, Bertrand Russell for his philosophy, and Bob Dylan for his textbooks. Last year’s award was won by American poet Louise Gluck.
Beyond award and prestige, the Nobel Prize for literature creates a great deal of attention for the winning author, often boosting book sales and introducing lesser-known winners to a wider international audience.
Source: Reuters
