How Winston Churchill Got His Nobel Prize in Literature

Did Churchill’s works really mattered? Churchill is a great writer, no doubt. But do his works confer the greatest benefit on mankind as stipulated in Nobel’s Will? Was he really worth the Prize in Literature? Did he really deserve the Nobel Prize in Literature? What went on behind the doors? Here are the interesting facts dug out from the history of Nobel Prizes. Read on… they make good reading. This article does not intend to belittle the stature of one of the finest writers and the greatest Statesman, Sir Winston Churchill.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill 1874-1965

Here is one more instance of favoritism. In 1953, the Nobel trustees were anxious to award one of their Prizes to Winston Churchill. But which Prize? They racked their brains, as there is no Prize for Statesmanship. But a peace Prize does exist. And they decided to thrust it on him.

But Churchill after going through the list said, “Thank you very much I would rather not”. Churchill pretty well knew it would become a sham if he accepted it, for he was the man who ran all over the world looking for wars, Cuba, Indian frontiers, Sudan and South Africa and thrusting himself into them. And he strode onto the world stage as one of the greatest leader of a nation and an empire at wars that history recorded.

In such circumstances, it is quite natural for the Nobel trustee to have been awed by this giant with an intending desire to honor him with one of their Prizes.

Undaunted by his rejection of Peace Prize, the Nobel Committee on Literature delightfully decided to thrust the Literature Prize on him. Thus Winston Churchill won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953. His citation reads, ‘For his mastery in the presentation of history and biography and for the brilliant oratory with which he has stepped forward to the defense of our civilizations’. He won the Nobel Prize for his “My Early Life’ an account of his youthful adventures and “also one of the world’s most entertaining adventure stories” according to S. Siwertz, Member of the Swedish Academy.

The 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature

The 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Tomas Tranströmer of Sweden. The Prize motivation read as “because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality”.

The 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature

The 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Chinese author Mo Yan whose citation read as, “who with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary”. Mo Yan is a pen name while the real name is Guan Moye. “Mo Yan” in Chinese language means “don’t speak”.