The greatest honor a nation can receive
Halldór Kiljan Laxness at a press conference in 1976. mbl.is/Ólafur K. Magnússon
Yesterday marked seventy years since Iceland gained its first Nobel laureate, when, on October 27, 1955, the Swedish Academy announced that Halldór Kiljan Laxness had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Morgunblaðið devoted extensive front-page coverage to the news the following day, including an article by author and scholar Kristján Albertsson, who opened his reflection with the words:
“Halldór Kiljan Laxness has brought the Nobel Prize to Iceland — the greatest cultural honor that can be shown to a poet and a nation. The name of the poet and the name of Iceland are today on the lips of people all around the world.
Once again, a bright light of fame shines upon this strange, sparsely populated island near the Arctic Circle, where many might think that, by all the laws of God and man, little could happen that the world should care about.”
Gljúfrasteinn, the author’s home. The picture was taken recently. mbl.is/Eggert Jóhannesson
The oldest literary nation of the north
The subheading on the front page read “The oldest literary nation of the North honored.” The article noted that Laxness did not receive the award for any single book, but, as the Academy’s announcement stated, “for having renewed the great narrative art of Iceland.”
The coverage also mentioned that Laxness had not been the only Icelander under consideration for the prize:
“Icelanders can take pride in their modern literature. They had not one but two Nobel Prize candidates. The Swedish Authors’ Association proposed that the prize be shared between Gunnar Gunnarsson and Halldór Kiljan Laxness, or that Gunnarsson receive it if it could not be divided.
Halldór Laxness and Gunnar Gunnarsson greet each other. Mbl.is/Ólafur K. Magnússon
One of the leading literary scholars of the Swedish Academy, Professor Henri Olson, also recommended that Gunnar Gunnarsson be awarded the prize — but Kiljan ultimately prevailed, as is well known.”
Gunnar Gunnarsson himself was among those whom Morgunblaðið sought for comment on the announcement. He said:
“It was certainly high time that Iceland should receive this honor, for both its ancient and modern literature.”
A sign of cultural surrender
Since Morgunblaðið first reported on Laxness’s Nobel Prize, both the author and his works have reappeared on the paper’s front page many times — most recently earlier this month, when it was reported that Laxness’s works were being removed from the Icelandic school curriculum.
Halldór Laxness sits for sculptor Ólöf Pálsdóttir. Yesterday marked 70 years since Laxness was named a Nobel laureate. mbl.is/Ólafur K. Magnússon
That report revealed that fewer than one-third of upper secondary students now read a Laxness novel from start to finish, and that “Independent People” (Sjálfstætt fólk) is currently taught as required reading in only four schools.
The news drew widespread attention and debate. Many saw it as a sign of surrender in preserving Icelandic language and cultural heritage within the education system, and government ministers expressed concern over the situation.
“I find it all equally sad — that the book-loving nation of the North has simply become a phone-loving nation somewhere adrift in the ocean. As I’ve said, it’s probably far too late to resist it now,” said Halldór Laxness Halldórsson, grandson and namesake of the Nobel laureate, when asked about the reports on his grandfather’s works.
