Nobel
Mo Yan’s malignant apology for ‘necessary’ censorship
The Chinese writer Mo Yan collected the Nobel Prize for Literature last night. In his acceptance lecture, he reiterated his view that a degree of censorship is ‘necessary’ in the… Continue reading
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Philip Roth retires
Philip Roth has retired. He told a French magazine that, at 79, he was ‘done’. There will be no more books. For the little it is worth, I think he… Continue reading
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The Nobel Prize’s EU joke prompts questions about the nation state
The award of the Nobel Prize to the European Union is a tremendous joke; and like all great jokes it has brought people together. Commentators of left and right are… Continue reading
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The EU wins the Nobel Peace Prize
Today is not April the first; but the European Union has indeed won the Nobel Peace Prize. It is a bizarre decision given what is going on in Europe right… Continue reading
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The politics of the Nobel Prize for literature
The Nobel committee have delivered their verdict on the literature prize: Mo Yan is new laureate. Over at the books blog, I explain why this is an important decision politically.… Continue reading
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Mo Yan wins the Nobel Prize for Literature
The new Nobel laureate is Mo Yan, a Chinese writer. He is the first Chinese citizen to win the prize, and doubtless will become the first of many as China’s… Continue reading
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An introduction to Javier Marías
The fundamental purpose of the literary critic is to incentivise his audience to read books of which he approves. He has two means at his disposal. The first of those… Continue reading
2 CommentsSerbia’s Nobel U-turn
Yesterday, I blogged that Serbia’s decision not to attend the Nobel Prize ceremony because of Chinese pressure was a shameful stance for the Balkan would-be EU member to take. Many… Continue reading
7 CommentsChina’s new BFF: Serbia
China is doing what it can do to scupper the forthcoming Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo. Their Foreign Ministry has now said that countries who decided to attend event… Continue reading
19 CommentsThe Nobel Peace Prize Jumps the Shark
I mean, really, how absurd. We are accustomed to being baffled by the Nobel committee, but the decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama is entirely preposterous.… Continue reading
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