The Nobel prize for literature has been awarded to French novelist Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio. Fair play, etc. What caught my attention was the statement from the Swedish Academy:
As a young writer in the aftermath of existentialism and the nouveau roman, he was a conjurer who tried to lift words above the degenerate state of everyday speech and to restore to them the power to invoke an essential reality
As a fan of the ‘degenerate state of everyday speech’ which so enlivened the twentieth century novel (particularly in the works of James Joyce, Flann O’Brien and Raymond Queneau) my initial reaction to this statement was a terse: ‘fuck you’.
See NY Times here.
Joe
October 10, 2008 at 2:45 pm
On the basis of the prize committee’s statement – given that Le Clezio is a French novelist – the first part of his acceptance speech should surely be ‘existence precedes essence’. Or, alternatively, ‘fuck you’.
Do you think we’ll ever get the prize off the back of the ERP?
karl.whitney
October 10, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I hope so. ‘Pour les hommes varieux qui plongent avec leurs litteratures experimentales dans le monde souterraine du ville qui s’appelle Norwich – here’s a big fucking cheque and bon chance to all of yis.’ We need to publish the thing via a cut-price Viennese backstreet publishers, then get copies to the loons who judge the prize. Easy.
Joe
October 11, 2008 at 9:50 am
Publication? Schmublication! Why should our work require the vindication of the capitalist running dogs? I think we should just print it out on A4 and send it straight to the committee, thus cutting out the middle man…
ed
October 13, 2008 at 1:14 pm
The statement could be a partial or complete translation from Swedish or French. The word “degenerate” in the target language might have evolved, or degenerated, from a slightly milder adjective in the source language. Happens all the time.
karl.whitney
October 13, 2008 at 1:46 pm
I checked out the various press-releases on the Nobel site, and to be honest their word choice sounds pretty unequivocal:
‘degenererade’ in Swedish
‘l’état dégénéré’ in French
‘degenerierten’ in German
I think it just smacks of the Nobel committee being fuckers, to be honest.
ed
October 13, 2008 at 2:28 pm
OK, you’ve convinced me. Did you hear about this: http://www.nola.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/international-30/1223645368206780.xml&storylist=international&thispage=2
karl.whitney
October 13, 2008 at 3:27 pm
And what about this:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/sep/30/localgovernment.humanrights
mark o
October 13, 2008 at 3:37 pm
i don’t know what I’m talking about but I certainly like the general hoo haw. Such lofty leanings do my heart a service. Farewell and a fond adieu!
karl.whitney
October 13, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Just chokingly incoherent rage expressed in a variety of languages for the entertainment of all and the edification of none: another day on Dumb Riffs.
Ernesto Priego
October 21, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Oh wow, now you have a real site and everything! Congratulations. Thanks for your visit. Yeah, I’m glad NU got a chance to fight back! Hugs…