Dispatches from the Republic of Letters Read online

  Since the prestigious Neustadt International Prize for Literature was first bestowed on Giuseppe Ungaretti in 1970, the award has charted the high-water marks of late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century world literature. Sponsored by World Literature Today, the University of Oklahoma’s award-winning magazine of international literature and culture, the Neustadt Prize solidified Norman, Oklahoma’s place on the map as “one of the undeclared capitals of modernity,” in the words of 2004 laureate Adam Zagajewski.

  Dispatches from the Republic of Letters gathers the prize lectures of the first twenty-five Neustadt laureates (1970–2018) as well as the essays—in the form of nominating statements or celebratory encomia—by the twenty-five jurors who championed each writer’s work. WLT’s executive director, RC Davis-Undiano, and editor in chief, Daniel Simon, frame the anthology by situating the prize in the broader landscape of international letters and within the unique history of its association with the University of Oklahoma and WLT.

  Since 1970, the Neustadt Prize has come to symbolize unimpeachable literary excellence. The hallmark of the prize has been its insistence on honoring literary merit over any consideration of geopolitics, sales figures, or publisher lobbying; the jury deliberations and voting process are also world renowned for their fairness and integrity. Dispatches from the Republic of Letters offers readers a front-row seat from which to witness the pageant of world literature as it has flourished in the past fifty years.

  ABOUT WORLD LITERATURE TODAY

  Founded at the University of Oklahoma in 1927, World Literature Today, now in its ninth decade of continuous publication, keeps a finger on the pulse of contemporary international literature. The magazine has been recognized by the Swedish Academy as one of the “best edited and most informative literary publications” anywhere, and the Utne Reader called WLT “an excellent source of writings from around the globe by authors who write as if their lives depend on it.”

  Daniel Simon is assistant director and editor in chief of World Literature Today, where he also teaches for the Department of English and serves on the affiliate faculty of the Department of International & Area Studies and Schusterman Center for Judaic & Israel Studies. His verse collections include Cast Off (2015) and After Reading Everything (2016), and he won a Nebraska Book Award for Nebraska Poetry: A Sesquicentennial Anthology, 1867–2017, which he edited. He is also a translator and essayist. A Nebraska native, Daniel lives in Norman, Oklahoma, with his wife and three daughters.

  DISPATCHES

  FROM

  THE

  REPUBLIC

  OF

  LETTERS

  IN MEMORIAM

  Doris Westheimer Neustadt

  (1897–1991)

  Walter Neustadt Jr.

  (1919–2010)

  “We recognize that the power of the written word is one answer to a broader understanding between the peoples of the world and thence to a more peaceful and cooperative life together in this ever-narrowing universe.”

  —Walter Neustadt Jr., Address at the 1972 Neustadt Banquet

  Royalties from the first edition will be donated to the Walter Jr. and Dolores K. Neustadt Scholarship fund for University of Oklahoma students.

  DISPATCHES

  FROM THE

  REPUBLIC

  OF

  LETTERS

  FIFTY YEARS OF THE

  NEUSTADT INTERNATIONAL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE

  1970–2020

  EDITED AND WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY DANIEL SIMON

  PREFACE BY ROBERT CON DAVIS-UNDIANO

  Phoneme Media, an imprint of Deep Vellum

  3000 Commerce St., Dallas, Texas 75226

  deepvellum.org · @deepvellum

  Deep Vellum is a 501c3 nonprofit literary arts organization founded in 2013 with the mission to bring the world into conversation through literature.

  FIRST EDITION, 2020

  Copyright © 2020 by World Literature Today and the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma

  Introduction and compilation copyright © 2020 by Daniel Simon

  Illustrations by Yinan Wang copyright © 2020 by World Literature Today

  Tomas Tranströmer’s poem “Oklahoma” is reprinted by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press. Assia Djebar’s “The Power of Solidarity in the Solitude of Exile” (1996) is reprinted by permission of Andrew Nurnberg Associates. Nuruddin Farah’s “Celebrating Differences” (1998) is reprinted by permission of Nuruddin Farah and Aragi, Inc. (for a full credit line, see page 329). David Malouf’s “A Writing Life” (2000) is reprinted by permission of the Jane Novak Literary Agency. Edwidge Danticat’s “All Geography Is Within Me” is reprinted by permission of Aragi, Inc.

  ISBN: 978-1-64605-033-8 (hardcover) | 978-1-64605-034-5 (ebook)

  LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA

  Names: Simon, Daniel, (Professor of English) editor author of introduction. | Davis, Robert Con, 1948- author of preface.

  Title: Dispatches from the republic of letters : fifty years of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, 1970-2020 / edited and with an introduction by Daniel Simon ; preface by Robert Con Davis-Undiano.

  Other titles: World literature today.

  Description: First edition. | Dallas : Phoneme Media, Deep Vellum Publishing, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2020010120 (print) | LCCN 2020010121 (ebook) | ISBN 9781646050338 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781646050345 (ebook)

  Subjects: LCSH: Literature, Modern—20th century—History and criticism. | Literature, Modern—21st century—History and criticism. | Authors—21st century—Biography. | Authors—20th century—Biography. | Neustadt International Prize for Literature. | Authorship.

  Classification: LCC PN771 .D63 2020 (print) | LCC PN771 (ebook) | DDC 807.9—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020010120

  LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020010121

  Distributed by Consortium Book Sales & Distribution

  Cover design by Jen Rickard Blair

  Interior layout by Kirby Gann

  Printed in the United States of America

  All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the Publisher.

  CONTENTS

  The Neustadt Prizes and World Literature Today

  Laureates of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, 1970–2020

  Preface, Robert Con Davis-Undiano

  Introduction: The Neustadt Prize on the World Stage, Daniel Simon

  Giuseppe Ungaretti

  Gabriel García Márquez

  Francis Ponge

  Elizabeth Bishop

  Czesław Miłosz

  Josef Škvorecký

  Octavio Paz

  Paavo Haavikko

  Max Frisch

  Raja Rao

  Tomas Tranströmer

  João Cabral de Melo Neto

  Kamau Brathwaite

  Assia Djebar

  Nuruddin Farah

  David Malouf

  Álvaro Mutis

  Adam Zagajewski

  Claribel Alegría

  Patricia Grace

  Duo Duo

  Rohinton Mistry

  Mia Couto

  Dubravka Ugrešić

  Edwidge Danticat

  Acknowledgments

  The 1969 Charter

&
nbsp; About the Neustadt Family

  The Neustadt Silver Eagle Feather, Mike Dirham

  Laureates by Country and Their Nominating Jurors

  Recommended Reading

  Contributors’ Index

  The Neustadt Prizes and World Literature Today

  “Norman, Oklahoma, sounded to many a European ear as Persepolis or Samarkand once may have done to Marlowe or to Keats: the name of a remote, half fairy-like city from which the broadest-minded review in the world of letters radiated information, disseminated ideas, and appraised trends of taste.”

  —Henri Peyre, Books Abroad, Autumn 1976

  The Neustadt International Prize for Literature

  The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is sponsored by World Literature Today, the University of Oklahoma’s award-winning magazine of international literature and culture, currently in its ninety-fourth year of continuous publication. The prize, conferred every two years, consists of $50,000, a replica of an eagle’s feather cast in silver, and an award certificate. An international jury of writers convenes on the University of Oklahoma campus every other year to decide the winner of each prize.

  The charter of the award stipulates that the Neustadt Prize be given in recognition of important achievement in poetry, fiction, or drama and that it be conferred solely on the basis of the literary value of the writer’s work. The prize may serve to crown a lifetime’s accomplishment or to direct attention to an important body of work that is still developing.

  Established in 1969 as the Books Abroad International Prize for Literature, then renamed the Books Abroad / Neustadt Prize in 1972 before assuming its present name in 1976, the Neustadt Prize is the first international literary award of its scope to originate in the United States and is one of the very few international prizes for which poets, novelists, and playwrights are equally eligible. Funding for the prize has been ensured in perpetuity by a generous endowment from the Neustadt family of Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; and Watertown, Massachusetts.

  The NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature

  Since 2003, World Literature Today has also sponsored the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature, awarded every other year to a living writer or author-illustrator with significant achievement in children’s or young-adult literature. Made possible through the generosity of Nancy Barcelo, Susan Neustadt Schwartz, and Kathy Neustadt, the NSK Prize celebrates literature that contributes to the quality of children’s lives. Candidates for the award are nominated by a jury of writers, illustrators, and scholars, and the jury also selects the winner of each biennial prize. Laureates receive a check for $35,000, a silver medallion, and a certificate at a public ceremony at the University of Oklahoma in odd-numbered years.

  www.neustadtprize.org

  Laureates of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature

  1970–2020

  1970

  Giuseppe Ungaretti (Italy)

  1972

  Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia)

  1974

  Francis Ponge (France)

  1976

  Elizabeth Bishop (United States)

  1978

  Czeslaw Milosz (Poland / United States)

  1980

  Josef Škvorecký (Czechoslovakia / Canada)

  1982

  Octavio Paz (Mexico)

  1984

  Paavo Haavikko (Finland)

  1986

  Max Frisch (Switzerland)

  1988

  Raja Rao (India)

  1990

  Tomas Tranströmer (Sweden)

  1992

  João Cabral de Melo Neto (Brazil)

  1994

  Kamau Brathwaite (Barbados)

  1996

  Assia Djebar (Algeria)

  1998

  Nuruddin Farah (Somalia)

  2000

  David Malouf (Australia)

  2002

  Álvaro Mutis (Colombia)

  2004

  Adam Zagajewski (Poland)

  2006

  Claribel Alegría (Nicaragua / El Salvador)

  2008

  Patricia Grace (New Zealand)

  2010

  Duo Duo (China)

  2012

  Rohinton Mistry (India / Canada)

  2014

  Mia Couto (Mozambique)

  2016

  Dubravka Ugrešić (Croatia / The Netherlands)

  2018

  Edwidge Danticat (Haiti / United States)

  2020

  Ismail Kadare (Albania / France)

  Preface

  Robert Con Davis-Undiano

  In 1974, when Francis Ponge received the third Neustadt International Prize for Literature, he made comments that have become part of the aura of the prize. He called it “perfectly magnificent,” “so original and so unlike any other in the conditions of the deliberations.” He was referencing aspects of the prize that traditionally have caught the attention of many, starting with its being housed at the University of Oklahoma, not in Paris, Buenos Aires, Berlin, Tokyo, or another cosmopolitan, literary capital. He celebrated the transparency of the voting process, the unique Neustadt practice of a jury voting for rather than against nominees. Every fall, for the Neustadt Prize or the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature, nine of the most important writers in the world join forces as a legislature unto themselves to choose a Neustadt or NSK laureate. Instructed by the Neustadt charters to hold at bay all outside pressures or subtle encouragement to steer the process in a given direction, Neustadt juries famously ignore politics in any form or the political impact of one writer winning over a rival. They focus instead on each writer’s literary accomplishments.

  Landlocked and far from all world capitals, Norman, Oklahoma, site of the University of Oklahoma, is a small town on the Southern Plains that does not obviously have a cosmopolitan culture that can sponsor the celebration of world literature and internationalism. And yet, against all odds, this is precisely where these amazing prizes originated and launched into fame. That fact has fired the imagination of many writers. The rise and renown of the prizes, as Nobel laureate Czeslaw Milosz, the fifth Neustadt Prize winner, notes, are among “those things which should not exist.” And why should they not exist? Because these prizes represent rare forces for good pitted against some overwhelmingly strong, negative tendencies in the world connected to commercialism, lassitude, and fashion. The glorious fact of the Neustadt Prizes, in other words, is welcome and hugely beneficent but not an inevitable development or one that anyone could have predicted. These famous prizes came into existence precisely to push back against what Milosz calls the “the dark and immutable order of the world,” an amazing occurrence, as he allows, that “favors all those who in the game of life bet on improbability.”

  The wager on improbability is the miracle of the Neustadt Prizes and possibly—as many of the jurors note—of the United States itself. Indigenous peoples and colonial powers originally came to Oklahoma and the Americas searching for new truths and fresh beginnings, and their incessant searching has defined this part of the world in terms of innovation and cultural energy. Dubravka Ugrešić, the twenty-fourth laureate, notes the welcome persistence of this American spirit in the prizes and in Oklahoma itself. “The literary landscape that has greeted me in Norman,” she writes,

  has touched me so deeply that I, briefly, forgot the ruling political constellations. I forgot the processes underway in all the nooks and crannies of Europe, I forgot the people who are stubbornly taking us back to some distant century, the people who ban books or burn them, the moral and intellectual censors, the brutal rewriters of history, the latter-day inquisitors; I forgot for a moment the landscapes in which the infamous swastika has been cropping up with increasing frequency—as it does in the opening scenes of Bob Fosse’s classic film Cabaret—and the rivers of refugees whose number, they say, is even greater than that of the Second World War.

  Ugrešić attributes this sense of hope
and wonder upon visiting Norman to the unlikely success of the Neustadt Prizes, the wager on literary excellence and celebration. She further credits these prizes as iconic representations of American ideals, the grand experiment dedicated to new beginnings. This understanding that the Neustadt Prizes thrive in an explicitly American context is yet another reason that writers and literati from around the world have been so powerfully captured by the Neustadt tradition.

  There is ample evidence that Neustadt laureates, many of the most important writers of the last five decades, commonly see the Neustadt Prize in this vein. Elizabeth Bishop, the fourth laureate, heralds the Neustadt Prize as “a [rarefied] place so far inland” and an icon of possibility and hope far away from traditional literary venues where one must peck “for [mere] subsistence along coastlines of the world.” Tomas Tranströmer, number eleven, addresses the difficulty but also the importance of translating poetry today and credits the Neustadt Prize as creating an atmosphere in Norman where translation, with all its risks and imperfections, is simply “what we do here in Oklahoma.” Adam Zagajewski, number eighteen, judges the Neustadt Prize, with its traditional tilt toward poetry, as commensurate with “the immense risk involved in writing poetry today … perhaps the most daring thing in the world” to do. Mia Couto, number twenty-three, views the Neustadt Prizes as beacons working against “what unites us today, in all countries, on all continents … fear,” seeing in the prizes a source of hope more powerful than fear.

  In effect, these Neustadt laureates are explaining why this prize is regarded among writers at least as second in importance, as the New York Times once noted, only to the Nobel Prize itself. Their answer is that the Neustadt Prizes encompass the promise of literature and the model of what America stands for. To this day, the prizes continue to reward and celebrate the best writers anywhere, often the “best” before they are recognized as such anywhere else. It is encouraging that this extraordinary profile of integrity and boldness has been tested repeatedly since the inception of these prizes, and that reputation has survived unblemished to the present day. The fact of these prizes coming into existence in the U.S. heartland, embodying some of the most important of American ideals and continuing to thrive beyond all measure to be a force for good in the world, explains both the audacity and the beauty of this amazing tradition.