The Key Nobel Laureates In Literature
Learn more about the incredible literary works of the following Nobel laureates during this year’s month-long Nobel Museum exhibition in Dubai.
WILLIAM GOLDING
From: England
Lived: 1911 – 1993
Featured novel: Lord of the Flies (1954)
Theme: Human Condition
Awarded Nobel Prize in: 1983
SVETLANA ALEXIEVICH
From: Belarus
Lived: 1948 – present
Featured novel: The Unwomanly Face of War (1985)
Theme: Peace
Awarded Nobel Prize in: 2015
GABRIEL GARZIA MARQUEZ
From: Colombia
Lived: 1927 – 2014
Featured novel: One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967)
Theme: Family
Awarded Nobel Prize in: 1982
TONI MORRISON
From: USA
Lived: 1931 – present
Featured novel: The Bluest Eye (1970)
Theme: Tolerance
Awarded Nobel Prize in: 1993
SIGRID UNDSET
From: Denmark
Lived: 1882 – 1949
Featured novel: Kristin Lavransdatter (1920)
Theme: Love
Awarded Nobel Prize in: 1928
NAGUIB MAHFOUZ
From: Egypt
Lived: 1911 – 2006
Featured novel: Midaq Alley (1947)
Theme: City
Awarded Nobel Prize in: 1988
SELMA LAGERLÖF
From: Sweden
Lived: 1858 – 1940
Featured novel: The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (1906)
Theme: Fairy tales
Awarded Nobel Prize in: 1909
ALBERT CAMUS
From: Algeria
Lived: 1913 – 1960
Featured novel: The Plague (1947)
Theme: Life
Awarded Nobel Prize in: 1957
THE WORKSHOPS
Fascinated by literature? Then you’ll enjoy the workshops set up as part of this year’s Nobel Museum…
SUNDAY, 3 FEBRUARY AT 11.30AM
The History of the Nobel Prize in Literature
Join cultural historian Dr Gustav Källstrand as he takes us through the history of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Senior Curator of the Nobel Museum, Dr Källstrand has had several books and articles published on the subject, especially on the Nobel Prize in Literature’s early history.
SUNDAY, 10 FEBRUARY AT 10.30AM
The Life and Works of Naguib Mahfouz
Guest lecturer Mohammed Selmawi looks back on the life and work of Naguib Mahfouz, the first Arab writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Discover how Mahfouz’s love for his native Cairo is woven into his novels.
SUNDAY, 17 FEBRUARY AT 10.30AM
Write Like a Nobel Laureate
Author, literary critic and librarian at the Nobel Library in Stockholm, Kristian Fredén’s most recent book is called Write Like a Nobel Laureate. He hopes to help aspiring writers find their own literary style via examples of various Nobel laureates in literature. He’s previously held a number of lectures on the subject, both in Sweden and further afield.
SUNDAY, 24 FEBRUARY AT 10.30AM
Nobel Books Expressing Humanity
Literature expert at the Nobel Prize Museum, Ebba Holmberg delivers an engaging workshop exploring the different ways books from the exhibition express humanity. Drawing on her passion for literature, Holmberg, who regularly holds literature programmes, lectures and workshops, has written the text for the exhibition.
THE ART OF STORYTELLING
Central to the Nobel Museum exhibition is the way the Nobel laureates’ stories are brought to life. Artists from around the world were invited to interpret the titles of the laureates’ books, and as a result the exhibition features art works from Zim & Zoe, of France, Saudi Arabian contemporary artist Manal Aldowayan, Kabuki Harada from Japan, and Nix and Gerber, of New York.
Right: Saudi Arabian contemporary artist Manal Aldowayan
NOBEL MUSEUM 2019
Under the title ‘Sharing Worlds’, this year’s Nobel Museum organised by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation celebrates the Nobel Prize in Literature. Focusing on the work of selected Nobel laureates in literature, and featuring an interactive exhibition suitable for all ages, the Museum runs from 3 February to 2 March, at La Mer, in Dubai. The Museum is open Sunday to Thursday, 9am – 10pm, and Friday, 2pm – 10pm.
