Courtesy Valley Public Radio
The Nobel Prize in Literature for the year 2000 has been announced for Abdul Razzaq Garna, a 73-year-old Tanzanian novelist.
According to the Nobel Prize Committee, Abdul Razzaq was selected for the Nobel Prize for his eloquent remarks on the effects of colonial civilizations and the suffering of refugees on different continents.
Earlier, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to scientists from Germany, Japan and Italy, while the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to American and German scientists.
Interestingly, Garna’s name was nowhere in the list of nominees for the Nobel Prize for Literature.
According to the Nobel Committee, Garna’s work provides an understanding of refugee issues. Abdul Razzaq Garna, 73, writes in English and his most famous novel is ‘Paradise’, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1994. However, he did not receive the award.
In addition, his novel “By the Sea” won the Booker Prize in 2001, while “Dissolution” was shortlisted for the White Bread Prize in 2005. Garna has written a total of 10 novels.
The Nobel Committee said in a statement that the award was given to Guernsey for “presenting a fair and compassionate understanding of the effects of the colonial system and the fate of refugees across cultures and continents.”
The Nobel Committee also said that all of Guernsey’s work reflects the plight of refugees. Interestingly, there was no mention of Garna in the lists of other experts for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
French writers Anne Arno often topped the list, while Anne Carson, Morakami and Margaret Atwood were in the running.
BREAKING NEWS:
The 2021 #NobelPrize in Literature is awarded to the novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah “for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents.” pic.twitter.com/zw2LBQSJ4j– The Nobel Prize (obNobelPrize) October 7, 2021
The Nobel Committee has been under increasing pressure in recent years to move beyond European and white writers to consider awarding prizes to people in other parts of the world. He is the third African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature after Najib Mahfouz, Nadine Gordmer, and Wolverine.
However, it is worth noting that four out of five Nobel laureates are English writers, while Najib Mahfouz is an Arabic writer who is considered a Middle Eastern language, not an African one.
This means that in the 118-year history of the Nobel Prize, no African language has won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
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