IMAGE IS NOT

AVAILABLE ONLINE

DUE TO COPYRIGHT

RESTRICTIONS .

A paper copy of

this issue is

available at

call number

LH 1 .06S6 in

Bizzell Memorial

Library .

The y. volhrrlic xi1ra •r° sninle' .s h'clrherllrewnit'(1 lrr em h Neusl(rrll l(rurerrlt ,

16 SOONER MAGAZINE

When World Literature Today speaks fromthe University of Oklahoma, a distinguished

international audience listens-even theaugust group that awards the Nobel Prizes.

The NobelConnection

By WILLIAM RIGGANAssociate Editor

World Literanire Today

" :1lrrl ~vilci WilI h('rr+'.Ii via r= -wvirln('r

OF LJiv NolieL l'rilt° :'' IIi - _ ni tilt= lm-t,

IlysIIrr'{L .

Gl'(I1 .

I

how..

IL

is ill

b('t_'~t' .I ;Ita

%1iln-' - lilt' gru • : .t rrii]irrl,"IIt''-cert :ii111v rln( Ili'Ih(I I - 11(•.;t purr-;

E°,,;tCi,t, Wl'ITI111D trr{ILLS in iii .

iilnt ;lIH ~,C .

~Politechit-chat . The antlLla1 gucA--

Ing gi3ni of literati ever where .

"Whir will it be Illlw ve.11'" - 1VItrYt

1alllw11, 171' oh,ctiPl' 1Vr'Itf'r will tlir'

tivedish

,11] Aje out 1i11- (he

world'- most I)rr.',ti loll, ;Inn r'{ •-n iiner' ;I( ive

Lit('1;11'''

Illos t exchanz e kti' :1,; €li

't'ntl

lI{Iti'<'-

f V4- I Tile Lraciou- h1)-t tv' ;1~; A1't klur'

I .IIlldkvi,t, ;l Swe€€i~h poet and

rll)''rlI ;t who i-' one (A the C SL, Ineill-

I)e , ul'the 1~'(rrli,'h A(•ridc'my', NobelUonlIII] ttet! : the occa ;ioii 4ti71ti a ~I)e-

ci :i1 • 1n\•Itallorl-nllly r'ecepLinn In

Strlckhtrlrn for tht' 1979 Now iel

lliurrtltr ill IrteratLll'(!, Greek poet

(_I{]ti- ; I li, Fjvti :: . clI1 1-he ewe t ;l [he

,iward- L'F'1'rr11r111/' ; ~llld [Iii :' 1)1'f'-i etll

:LleA

Dr. I'' ;rr l, i ,;k, pI •o lir."nl' c,l

nlod('1 •n fail u;a r ; .it Ihu t - nil'I'r .ity

Okkillm;r and direct+ir- 4,1 the

cllurif, lilt( 1'17ntI FtLII ltic-I%, i'V citear-

LIIV W; t ' ' ii- Lji I1111)_`, tilt'. 111'YE!Illl llt'nce of

the INOh 'J Ff}LLf1(lti nl ;lnd t hc•edi,Ii r\iath'n13 in recognirin; ; thr

111U~L S3L1t~tal7{lillh L't}niel1111111al v \Vr'Il-

fi'.- In the world . DI' . Iv ;i ;k lllln±rll

N•DUld he the Iii t to &nv :-u&Ii hold-

flt \'(t the [U(t t]Itl1 111-UIIIIll1f1 wa,;

.nhcited IIIU- tilt- I'r:id lli ;it he and

hl- wilr A-trld wer`r.' invited to the

I II T 9 ( •[ 'l'a'rlnn le , - - cl1'l ;r']1' 117(Iii : to--

h1lih till' hiz~h F-LI'r'n1 ill ltrllicll b4-LI' 1,

hr]ci l,,- IIJ(. lcad(lr1v, and ;L1,u tilt

V 1;4'r i1t/ l,rfi'rrrfrrrr 7 l Ilrful' 'l,,,,, ory t ;ingihif • ennll(ct inn, 1)etweetl

nlontll- I ;ttet', al 111t},t to tlrL' (Las, Ilit 01-l's•51-year-old journal and Nobel

Committee ;elector over the Venus .

Th(' 1Vurlriaii--iiickIiuIii connection

I, 1114 s°x .LC1Iv 111 w . I,e>i'4 ;,'(1 .1'V ;iy

hack . Like Inlet 1ullLc ;ttltllls and in-

dilIdual, L4'ItII All intl're ;t Ill CLrr'Ye'Iltcultural ;litlc1l5' . 1j»rt1°,* • ~ll}rrirrrl I ;1~

Y'LT at u; known durinl; the Ve ;lr,

1927 - 76 , . almrl-t from It ; ineel)tiiln .

Bald clo.w LL nil frE'tllie] 1I at terttLon to

Ac IdenIV :kfln ollll(e( i lilt' v, I I]ner lil

cN Iijti() NuI1f.l Prize i17 LiteI'at .11 -L'

Polish pout, e--2ts l-t,

('rt'ti ;iw 11'li]uw!

and llo%ek-t

Not had, rnu -av . a dull ;iii (lt' 1)] -n-

li',,nl • It°ll, rlnr of the Nohwl king-Iliaker' who will hr the nr , _,i kir

(d

flit , li(, rir'y hill, ;n to ,I)E°ak . This L,

nut to claim . lultit~s'I . Li1 ;It (1t • I- in

IMAGE IS NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE DUETO COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS .

A paper copy of this issue is available atcall number LH 1 .06S6 inBizzell Memorial Library.

Ilit' unl1u ;d NobeI iiI11Ice--; . In c{iviclu ;tl4V1111101" \V 11'e I :III(It'(I III • Iutnl'nted 1)[11 .;1ItVa\lv.ais1 notice.-d, :1nd ioiindIe( lit1)1 Roy' 'iinplt • House 1Fl)1 •ne'd his

lollrnai' .~ p :hFt s ill lht' 1930- Io1)1.o- k

:1, >.Yr •1 1 .e'I :s 'Ind lltf`I' :IIIiles notvi •t Iiivalred hk' t Iit' Acuele , my'•~ imnlor-

t,tlliiii

tolld ; .

1 1cVliet he r tl lt'se lir(ipwsal- were evee 1

loi m ;all~- siii lilted to the .Academy,wfe don't know' . But it is a hitlc-rt'tiIlitd I ;ic't ttJ :tl alit][ (Jiilte 1'ecently .in Ihc'urk ii' not ill practice . ;ink pt l) -

lC` -tla' [11 I LtCPt1ILtl'e ;toil E ;lI1 likii_tCS 14' ;1

:iu1u111;ttiCiiIIV clil ihll` to ml Ike Ilfl°i-

ci :ll nornin;ltinns to t.h+' N11Em1 {'o111-nllltee {'nc'h year. So the ctrlicb' .s inBA were not necessarily mere. expet'-ti)r ;ltIl ;I ;s 1nth tilt' Okki11wimtl IA- Ind .I

ill 19;19 IIui1,F' 1-% 071 ,pxiii,ili •t 'd illBA :I ' iiper-Nohcl' election in whichrt` ;u6ur collnhorlrttn's and

itIFC'I~'lF{'CUkIJ~C~' 1Vi`1I t+i 1110115{` 1III 1ViiidI

iIul • In (heir C•rillt'etlvLop ninnn • II :FCI

oIieied the 171+ht -1 I111]L •; ttlt cantl'lbl ;-tion to world letter- Ili IEle First thirdill he

20th centulr,v, \VEtiet hei or riot ke111' Sllr' haul lit`1`n n:llncd :I reciliIhiil III

Iii Nuihel PI-iii,. tiucb non •l ;tlitl .Iteti

;1- '-1 ;ircel I'rnu-t, Fran/ K ;01t :i, midTht`ndori I)reiser ttnl .,4hed r1ctir [lietoll iii tllt` Ir,111rutitld . 1 111 t nltullutl'lV

1IICIleclion cn111irnn-il the A2:Idenir sIr1 tlvt'nt :I,ttlttrnt ~ Iis nanlin ;, tthi9Noht'l '. hITIrl'r Th{Im,iti llalln asJ :11Jrc :llt Iif the ' Stiller

ill il 1' ; ;ward;1 6 tIII( IIIt1 .,.ii hell M:ar1n ;;ri1-

cICiLI5l1' :lekno %Alc>clgt'd 1n ;I liliu't note,ii) editor 1louse, l,uhli hcd in Ilil°;boot{ •r 19$0 i=.itll' Ell B.-l .

Ill 19 1 the journ ;ll I ;Itn

('I'Illinsre`ri t1w 111 .ti11rk 111' lht•Ac;ideInNilhel selEcilclli, itnd 11ro-

lllawod r1 nuFiEier• ut ir'itl'i •s tli•1 'nit'dtivnrtlrr of tlti. l.irr,e"- recuWnitilul butlitthcrln utit'i]orlked lls tLE cnlli111it-

[ti ai-in'. I' : 111e v'i'ii sl 1•'Iii ;a

Tiarur

ill left, thv If-)7b) .Vnbrl 1'ru e it rirnn,'src'<'Prt'e 111t' hrrrrinhe Iaf ibb+' r'r'lari •r f . rrr-r liiding Di- . onrf Mrs- 1i •l rsh in Ihr ,i ir •breh-f ni •. Ahrii', Uil ' •w ,veri, E13'ri, ixplr'1 .5 ocd the Walbc'1 friar ffii • Li1ero-ttii'e l>v Srredrn •ii Kim , Curl Gii .y ial'

tt'0 .

I Ar; ;1 I II

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t11r11 tILnu14' w11e't1I( ., I • t.ht'Kf' IIP'illl[7,s;IIs LVI're

ntru ;IElr and nillclal1

ruluIlutIed totJlV .%CiClenii,' .' l y1'ClIT1111e'I]t t'I'IIIC~, IF'ur'lI'.1JI'rIlI.- 1111d the 111ilid Srnl+ •k 1S'C're~fiIIcited Iris' CI1tI1111L •rlt- 1111 Ilii'

topic

"11'Ir1t' 1~'ron vii i Ihr Ncuhi'II , i - lic 1 The insult . chili' C nlainin I oFew disparaging remarks about theAc,ldeinx's erler,iI pn -oredllre midlicclllc llerc+ ivu'd IIITiis-irnls I("onr :td,

11,5 )1, I) II, I lreticr, Strlrldher'r .I'nl till' . \ ;11t'J .v1, 54;9S 0Lil' 111f11'C iiilt ;1-blc liii it ., 111nu ;,htf -nl • colicernecl d{ •-hirtcr a and kook it'd r• : Lliii rr',I ;onerlur~;unit'Ilt 1 ;i 44111 IS I1'tyut'Ilt lu':IISI,;1nd t- m1J,ith~ for tIlt • elector-' pt e'-ci-l'I the Itind of iniL're5t 11redNidlt'I piilllit'll tt'ot11d h :ltt' rijnici'd in .

In 1{1 :51 n- %rc'II, tlii,' Nrihc'1 I''nlindo-

tlon . \t luck iii-' ; ;warding -if':III IJ vt` Nnlx I I'rnf.l'~ + ;ich M ca r . this51the l'uivel-it4 tiC( )klllhutn ;l Errv-s Ii,

1981 SPRING

1 7

issue the first English-language edi-tion of its own authoritative volume,Nobel: The Mon & His Pri :t's .

As Savoie Lottinvillei then directorof the Press. wrote at the time to Dr-IfHouse: "it may he a happy reflectionupon literary toleration in this coun-try a and at the University of' Ok-lahoma that the publishing housewhich prints and distributes . - .Books Abroad . which has for severalissues carried critical pieces on theNobel Prizes. should also be the pub-lisher of the official report of theNobel trustees at the end of' fiftyyears of the great system of prizes es-tablished by that lonely andgenuinely gifted man, Alfred Nobel ."

The section on the literary prize, byNobel Committee member AndersOsterling. outlines the history of theAcademy's choices through 1948, offering numerous insights into theselection process and simultaneouslyclarifying some of the many questionsand objections previously raised inBA and elsewhere .

In 1967 Books Abrraid hosted aneven larger . Cull-scale symposium onthe Nobel Prize, this tithe a series ofproposals, analyses and debates grow-ing out of study sessions at the an-nual convention of the Modern Lan-guage Association . This truly com-prehensive and far-ranging collectionof essays not only surveys theAcademy s past choices in the variousmajor-language areas, but goes on toassess the merits of', for example,Arabic, African, Brazilian . Chinese,Hebrew, Indonesian. Japanese, andPersian writers as potential candi-dates and to examine such "outsider"laureates as Rahindranath Tagore of'India 1191.31 and George Seferis ofGreece ( 1963) .The summation by symposium

moderator Herbert Howarth of theUniversity of Pennsylvania perhapsoveremphasizes the negative criti-cism at the expense of the panelists'many words of praise or justification :"The Swedish Academy has donewell, hut could have done better ; thelist of prize-men is blemished by er-rors of commission and omission : in-cludes non-literary figures whoshould have been non-starters ; in-cludes mediocrities : omits some writ-ers of the highest rank ; and where itnames the best men, names them toolate ."

18 SOONER MAGAZINE

Still, the whole is both an excellentcontribution to BA's continued andlong-standing interest in the prizes .and a line posthumous tribute to theBA editor who had organized thesymposium. Robert Vlach 1d. 1966 .professor of modern languages at OUand himself the contributor of theessay on Slavic award recipients .

i By the way, in connection with theabove quote from Howarth . manypeople, some younger literaryspecialists among them, seem to beunaware that the 1953 Nobel Prize inLiterature - in lrteratur'e, mind you- went to Winston Churchill, thatthe 1951 prize went to Britishphilosopher Bertrand Russell, the1927 prize to French philosopherIfenri Bergson, the 1902 prize toGerman historian TheodorMnmmsen! And the winner of thevery first award, French poet Sully

"Ivask's intent was to setup an award and a

selection procedure whichwould be as free as possible

of such `extraliterary'considerations."

Prudhomme (190D, is now scarcelyread at all even in France, much lessanywhere else . These are just a few ofthe tidbits one discovers in reviewingthe BA/Nobel history,The year 1967 brought Ivar Ivask

to the University of Oklahoma asVlach's successor at Books Abroadand in the department of modern fan-guages. Under Ivask, the journal notonly continued its yearly scrutiny ofthe Nobel selections, but also soonmoved to establish an alternativeaward, sponsored by the Universityand intended as something of a com-plement to the Nobel . Though theAcademy's choices for 1967-69 werelaudable and stimulative in their re-spective ways (Guatemalan novelistMiguel Angel Asturias in 1967,Japanese novelist YasunariKawabata in 1968, Irish-Frenchplaywright and novelist SamuelBeckett in 1969), several previousselections in the 1960s were clearly

undistinguished, to say the least . andeven smacked of political balancing(Soviett novelist Mikhail Sholokhov in19651 and tepid compromise i Hebrewnovelist S. Y . Agnon and German-Jewish poet Nclly Sachs, joint re-cipients in 19661,lvask's intent was to set up an

award and a selection procedurewhich would be a free as possible ofsuch "extralit.eraty" considerations .The candidates would he proposedand debated by o constantly changinginternational group oh their peers,themselves writers and men andwomen of letters who would heequally worthy of such an award . TheAcademy's permanent membershiphas its definite advantages in tradi-tion, continuity, resources, sharedheritage and interests, single-mindedness of purpose, and thesmooth coordination brought by de-cades of practice. However . Ivask feltthat the constant infusion of newjurors and candidates from as manycountries as possible would give thenew Oklahoma prize a continuallyrenewed source of' energy, interest,and vitality .

Each jury would, in a sense, startwith a clean slate and select alaureate from among its own field ofcandidates, not just from an inher-ited, perpetual list of names whichscarcely changed from year to year .Publicizing the candidates' namesalso was thought in itself to generatedebate and stimulate curiosity aboutthe individual writers nominatedrather than merely engender idlespeculation through shrouding theproceedings in secrecy .Those hopes and aspirations have

been realized well beyond what mighthave been reasonably expected . Afterprovisional 'University support hadhelped inaugurate the biennial prizein 1970, a $200,000 endowment inperpetuity by the family of Mrs .Walter Neustadt, Sr., of Ardmore in1971 assured the continuance of theaward, which now bears the title"Neustadt International Prize for Lit-erature." Six such awards have beenmade. beginning with Italian poetGiuseppe Ungaretti in 1970 and mostrecently honoring the Czech emigrenovelist Josef' Skvorecky in 1980 . Inthat one decade of existence, no fewerthan Six writers associated in one wayor another with the Oklahoma prize

have also received the Nobel Prize inLiterature' On the very first jury, in1970, was the outstanding Germannovelist Heinrich Boll, honored bythe Academy in 1972- Three of' thecandidates fir?, that first. Oklahomaprize ithen called simply the BooksAbroad International Prize for Liter-ature - - the Soviet Union'sAleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the Chileanpoet Pablo Neruda. and the Italianpoet Eugenio Montale were ac-corded the Academy's prize in 1970,1971, and 1975 respectively .

A member of the 1972 Neustadtjury . Greek poet and essayistOdysseus Elytis, was the choice forLlre 1979 Nobel award . And finally,the 197H recipient tit' the NeustadtPrize, the Polish ernigre writer Czes-hiw Milosz, gained the Academy's nodin 19K0 i.Milosr• had, moreover, beennominated fin' the 1972 and 1976Neustadt awards as well .iIn addition to the above connec-

tions between the long-establishedNobel Prize and the newly institutedNeustadt Prize . the special issues ofBooks Abroad (Autumn 1975) andWorld Literature Todav (Summer1978) on Elytis and Milosz respec-tively were specifically cited by theAcademy as having been of'prime im-portance in the candidacy and ulti-mate selection of each writer . Thosetwo issues still constitute (as of thiswritingi the only significant sourcesof critical information and assess-ment, in English or any other majorlanguage, for the work of these twoNobel laureates .In acknowledgment of this fact. i n

the case of Elytis, Ivask and his wifewere honored with an invitation tothe 1979 award ceremonies in Stock-holm and to many of the public recep-tions associated with the prize, aswell as to several private dinners andmeetings with Academy membersand Swedish dignitaries • i 1L was alterElytis Nobel lecture that theAcademician Lundkvist popped hisquestion to Ivask, as recounted at thebeginning of this article .i"This certainly proves that all

three categories associated with theNeustadt Prize need to he watchedclosely," lvask said in a recent inter-view . "Watch the Neustadt laureates,watch the Neustadt candidates, andwatch the Neustadt jurors; they are

Of' those present at the 1978 presentation o/' !he Neustadt International Prizeto Czeslau, Milosz, center . only Dr. Ivor husk, left . aright have ce ntered theprediction that the Polish enrigre writer nright he the eventual Nobel Prizelaureate as well . 011 President-Emeritus Pa uI F. Sharp is at right .

all among the world's elite writers .We have always contended that tileOU literary prize i ; selected by :i juryo1 peers who themselves are equallyeligible, equally qualified ."The procedure of the Neustadt

Prize begins with the selection of a.jury, a time-consurn ing matter i nwhich lvask consults with WLT'seditorial hoard- other specialists andcolleagues, and the University ad-ministration to arrive att a list ofprorninent writers from 10 or 11 dif=ferent countries who :are deemed bothcompetent as critics and able and wil-ling to serve as jurors . Once 11writers have accepted the lormirl in-vitation )it's not really as quick andeasy a this sketch may make itsound, but I'll spare you any tales ofthe many personal, political, andpostal problems which have arisen atthis stage over the years , each juror'except lvask - who chairs each ses-sion and is the panel's only perma-nent member - presents navecandidate lire the Neustadt award .

The mimes 01 _1111 the ILa'in's and can-

didates are then announced publicly

:it least six months prior' to tine aCtLlaljury meeting, which is held on theNorman campus in l •'ebru:ary oi' eacheven-n rr mhei'ed year .

"Our lists are always open," lvaskSays, -We announce the jurors ;andcandidates ,ahead of time to avoidpeople's sett(ng up fancy lists that arc.'unreal . The Nobel selection, however,is a all secret, For example, I was inVienna in early October. and at theend ail a lf'c'liire line (evening I men-1 ivned that Milosz vkgas a strong can-didate for this veal'.;Nobel Prize," herecalls . "Milosz wasn't among thecontenders listed in all the papers .,and people thought that 1, corningT'r'am Oklahoma and talking aboutsonic exiled Polish poet, was ai hitcrazy ." Two days later Milosz wasnamed the winner. and the newsmedia were immediately clamoringat lvask'.s door I'or intcrview ,~ , l'orphotographs of Milo:-z taken during

C'oarlrriruerl on Next !'rage

1981 SPRING

19

his acceptance of the OU prize, andforcopies of the special Milosz iss tie ofWI. T . "I think it was good exposurelint' World Literature Todav. lot' theNeustadt Prize, and for the Univer-sity of Oklahoma," Ivask acids .The Academy me'mhers often are

secretly amused at the rampantspeculation which goes on each tearin the world press . both be litre andafter the announcement of the re-cipient is made. The media invariablyseems disturbed that . lot' example,neither Graham Greene . Jorge LuisBorges . nor Guntet' Bras.; has beennamed, and so they harumph aboutthe Swedes"'inexplicable predilectionfor nhscure old poets who write instrange languages and are unknownoutside a small circle of poetry loversin their own euuntrv," or some suchnonsense-

It is undoubtedly true that fewerpeople will have heard of or readMilosz . Elytis . French poet Saint-John Pet'se $19601, or Yugoslavnovelist No Andric 119611 . than willknow Sitttl Bellow 11976 , BorisI'aslernak 1 195' n . Albert ('autos19571, or Hermann I Jesse 119461 .However, the Academicians, like

"The Academy's choices aremore often educative thancelebratory . . . viewedin that spirit, the Nobel

Committee and the Neustadtjuries have chosen wiselyfar more often than not."

Ivask and the editors and editorialhoard of tf'LT . are specialists who lol-low tine errtrr'r' world of literal.y activ-ity . They know of' many moretine writer's worthy of' the inter-national attention and acclaimIn'ought by the \olx'l I'rize than themere handful of luminaries annuallytrotted out by flu' press as "leadingcontenders ." The Academy's choices;ire . therelirr'e, more' often edrrratrrethan celeht'atoryr like lire work ofW-LT and the Neustadt juries . draw-ing attention to lrter'ur_v esrellenrrbare mid simple'. whether it hashcretnfiire gone Totally unnoticed or

20 SOONER MAGAZINE

OU Preside sit Wrlliom Banow,sky,right, hoses at tltc' 1980 Neustadt Prizeharrynet with Mrs . Walter Neustadt,.Sr ., whose /hmil v endowed the award .

has long heen proclaimed around theworld .

When their work is viewed in thatspirit, the Nobel Committee and theNeustadt juries have chosen wisel yCar more often than not . . The litct thattheir totally different, independentselection processes occasionally leadto identical outcomes only con Ii 'msthe integrity of' each prize and en-hances rather than diminishes theslat cite nil the honored laureates . Nest'York Ti art's hooks editor James Atlasvoiced a similar sentiment in the leadp;u•agrtph of his fine story on the19x+0 Nobel winner : "The announce-ment of the Nobel Prize tbr Literaturehas often cawed bewilderment : TheSwedish Academy is given to electingwriters who, however deserving, arevirtually unknown outside their owncountries . But the emfgre Polish poet('zeslaw Milos,. . while hardly famil-iar. has long possessed an interna-tional reputation among readers ofpoetry - a reputation enhanced bythe publication last year of'Bells inWiater, which the poet and criticRichard Iloward declared the work ofa great European master .' And in thecitation of the Neustadt Prize,awarded in 1978, Joseph 13rodskvpronounced Mr . Milosz 'one of thegreatest poet .s of our time, perhaps

the greatest .' The Nobel Prize, then,confirms rather than establishesCzeslaw Miiosz's reputation,"Perhaps the distance between

Norman and Stockholm is not sogreat after all . What began in the late1920s and '30s as the sometimes crit-ical interest of 'a small OG journal inthe annual Nobel rites has led-- overa half'-century of symposia, books, es-says. juries, and awards - to a reali-zation of enormous mutual respectderived from shared interest in andunderstanding of the world's finestcontemporary literature . In a fittingculmination of this long-standingconnection, WLT will devote the en-tire article section of its Spring 19~1issue to the Swedish Academy, intro-ducing to readers the 10 literarymembers of that august body of' ISand thereby, hopefully, humanizingthe Academv and its work by study-ing the writers behind the NobelPrize .The Academy members admittedly

are delighted and honored at theprospect, and their permanent secre-tai- v. lairs Gyllensten has placed atthe disposal of' Ivask and the WLTeditors extensive biobihliograplticalmaterials on all the writers to betreated, Surprisingly, such an in-depth presentation has never beenmade outside Sweden! , In a note toDr. Ivask in June 1950, followingseveral exchanges on the subject of'the proposed special Academy issue .Gvilensten offered this tribute: "If Ihave not said or written it before . Iwill take the opportunity to state myopinion that WLT is one of the best-edited and most informative literarypublications I know ."So- -when next October rolls

around, watch for the announcementol •t he 19NI Nobel Prize in Literature .Ivask won't guarantee that the win-ner again will he one of "OU's writ-ers." but the chances are excellentthat WLT will have covered the re-cipient in some fashion over the pastfew decades . And no, Ivask is not yetmaking predictions about futureNobel laureates - or Neustadtlaureates, tin- that matter . But theNorman-Stockholm connectionshould nonetheless continue to enli-ven many a t'esti 'e-hour conversationin both of these out-of, the-way liter-ary capitals - and wherever WLT isread .

0