Translator Budur explained how the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate differs from previous ones

“For the first time not for political reasons”

The famous Scandinavian scholar, writer and translator from Scandinavian and English languages ​​Natalia Budur explained to the MK correspondent the uniqueness of Jun Fosse among the Nobel Prize laureates in literature in recent years. Considering that it was Budur who introduced the Russian reader to the works of two Norwegian Nobelists Knut Hamsun and Sigrid Undseth, her expert opinion should be considered especially valuable.

– This year the Nobel Committee delighted literature lovers by awarding the prize to Jun Fosse. I was pleased because in recent years the prize has often been awarded for political reasons, and Fosse is a pure writer, who himself said that in his work he went from a “story”, when the author told how everything happened, to a “letter”, where writing is a personal rhythm, and linguistic melody is the means through which the artist expresses himself. Literary scholars classify Fosse as a postmodernist, and his characters and the action in his plays take place regardless of their immediate environment. The writer creates his own world and his own reality.

– Assess the degree of Fosse’s popularity in Russia.

– In our country, he is most often presented as a playwright, but this is not entirely true – he published his first novel in 1983, but he wrote the play only in 1992. Surprisingly, he has virtually no international awards, with the exception of the Nordic Council Prize, which he did not receive the first time, and the international Ibsen Prize. The latter award is very significant because critics call him a modern Henrik Ibsen. Although there are few international awards, Fosse’s plays (more than 40 to date) are performed all over the world and have been translated into more than 50 languages. He was published a lot in Russia, both novels and drama. Surprisingly, his three daughters studied Russian and even studied in Russia. He also writes stories, books for children and is a brilliant translator into Norwegian – in particular, he translated “The Little Prince” by Exupery.