# 1963 Nobel Prize in Literature

The 1963 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded the Greek poet and diplomat Giorgos Seferis (1900–1971) "for his eminent lyrical writing, inspired by a deep feeling for the Hellenic world of culture." He is the first Greek laureate to win the Nobel Prize (followed later by Odysseas Elytis in 1979).

## Laureate

Giorgos Seferis was born in Smyrna (present day Izmir, Turkey). When his family moved to France in 1918, he studied law at the University of Paris and became interested in literature. He then went to Athens in 1925 and began a long diplomatic career. During World War II, Seferis accompanied the Free Greek Government in exile and returned to liberated Athens in 1944. Many of his, which are replete with themes of alienation, traveling, and death, are set against the backdrop of his extensive travels as a diplomat. Turning Point, his debut book of poems, was released in 1931. In his later poetry, Seferis frequently weaves together modern speech and experience with Homeric myth, notably in works like Mythistorema (1935) and Imerologio Katastromatos I-III (1940-1955).

## Deliberations
### Nominations

Seferis was first nominated in 1955 by Romilly Jenkins (1907–1969), an English professor in Byzantine and Modern Greek literature, and was followed by nominations from T. S. Eliot, C. A. Trypanis and Eyvind Johnson until he was eventually awarded. He only received 5 nominations.
In total, the Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy received 121 nominations for 81 distinguished authors such as Jorge Luis Borges, Jean-Paul Sartre (awarded in 1964), Martin Buber, E. M. Forster, Graham Greene, Salvador de Madariaga, André Malraux, and Ramón Menéndez Pidal. The highest number of nominations (with 8 nominations) was for the American poet Robert Frost. 22 of the nominees were nominated for the first time like Marcel Jouhandeau, Vladimir Nabokov, Michel Butor, Yukio Mishima, Jean Cocteau, André Breton, Nelly Sachs (awarded in 1966), René Étiemble, and Yevgeny Yevtushenko. Five of the nominees were women, namely Ingeborg Bachmann, Juana de Ibarbourou, Gertrud von le Fort, Kate Roberts, and Nelly Sachs. Surprisingly, two heads of state and government were nominated: French president Charles de Gaulle and Senegalese president Léopold Sédar Senghor.
The authors Ion Agârbiceanu, Herbert Asbury, Luis Cernuda, W. E. B. Du Bois, Pola Gojawiczyńska, Edith Hamilton, Christopher Hassall, Nâzım Hikmet, Ernst Kantorowicz, C. S. Lewis, Marie Linde, Brinsley MacNamara, Louis MacNeice, Margaret Murray, Clifford Odets, Yōko Ōta, Sylvia Plath, Theodore Roethke, Kay Sage, Tristan Tzara, Hilda Vīka, William Carlos Williams, and Stark Young died in 1963 without having been nominated for the prize. The American poet Robert Frost died months before the announcement.
Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize :
| No. | Nominee | Country | Genre(s) | Nominator(s) |
| 1 | Stefan Andres (1906–1970) | West Germany | novel, short story | Friedrich von der Leyen (1873–1966) |
| 2 | Jean Anouilh (1910–1987) | France | drama, screenplay, translation | Henry Olsson (1896–1985) |
| 3 | Louis Aragon (1897–1982) | France | novel, short story, poetry, essays | Michel Décaudin (1919–2004)Pierre Grappin (1915–1997)Jean Martin (1926–2007) |
| 4 | Wystan Hugh Auden (1907–1973) | United Kingdom United States | poetry, essays, screenplay | Ronald Peacock (1907–1993)Henry Olsson (1896–1985) |
| 5 | Ingeborg Bachmann (1926–1973) | Austria | poetry, drama, novel, short story, essays | Harald Patzer (1910–2005) |
| 6 | Samuel Beckett (1906–1989) | Ireland | novel, drama, poetry | Johannes Edfelt (1904–1997) |
| 7 | Werner Bergengruen (1892–1964) | West Germany | novel, short story, poetry | Friedrich von der Leyen (1873–1966) |
| 8 | Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) | Argentina | poetry, essays, translation, short story | Henry Olsson (1896–1985) |
| 9 | André Breton (1896–1966) | France | history, poetry, essays | Gabriel Germain (1903–1978) |
| 10 | Martin Buber (1878–1965) | Austria Israel | philosophy | André Neher (1914–1988) |
| 11 | Michel Butor (1926–2016) | France | poetry, novel, essays, translation | Jean Humbert (1901–1980) |
| 12 | Heinrich Böll (1917–1985) | West Germany | novel, short story | Gustav Korlén (1915–2014) |
| 13 | Josep Carner (1884–1970) | Spain | poetry, drama, translation | Antoni Maria Badia i Margarit (1920–2014)Agustín Durán Sanpere (1887–1975)Georg Schiffauer (?) |
| 14 | Emilio Cecchi (1884–1966) | Italy | literary criticism, screenplay | Howard Rosario Marraro (1897–1972) |
| 15 | René Char (1907–1988) | France | poetry | M. Parent (?)Georges Blin (1917–2005) |
| 16 | Jean Cocteau (1889–1963) | France | novel, poetry, drama, screenplay, essays | Léon Cellier (1911–1976) |
| 17 | Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970) | France | memoir, essays | Jacques Robichez (1914–1999)Jean Ricci (1933–2011) |
| 18 | Lawrence Durrell (1912–1990) | United Kingdom | novel, short story, poetry, drama, essays | Erich Burck (1901–1994)Paul Verniére (1916–1997) |
| 19 | Ingemar Düring (1903–1984) | Sweden | philology, biography, translation | Franz Dirlmeier (1904–1977) |
| 20 | Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990) | Switzerland | drama, novel, short story, essays | John V. Hagopian (?)Friedrich Sengle (1909–1994) |
| 21 | René Étiemble (1909–2002) | France | novel, literary criticism, essays | Auguste Haury (1910–2002) |
| 22 | Edward Morgan Forster (1879–1970) | United Kingdom | novel, short story, drama, essays, biography, literary criticism | Carl Becker (1925–1973)Simeon Potter (1898–1976)Kenneth Muir (1907–1996) |
| 23 | Max Frisch (1911–1991) | Switzerland | novel, drama | Franz Karl Stanzel (b. 1923)H. M. Heinrich (?) |
| 24 | Robert Frost (1874–1963) | United States | poetry, drama | Meyer Howard Abrams (1912–2015)Donald Frame (1911–1991)Moses Hadas (1900–1966)George Harris Healey (1908–1971)Frederick Albert Pottle (1897–1987)Carl Woodring (1919–2009)Lewis Gaston Leary (1906–1990)Wallace Stegner (1909–1993) |
| 25 | Rómulo Gallegos (1884–1969) | Venezuela | novel, short story | Gustavo Luis Carrera (b. 1933)Eugenio Florit (1903–1999) |
| 26 | Jean Giono (1895–1970) | France | novel, short story, essays, poetry, drama | Henri Fluchère (1898–1987)Raymond Lebègue (1895–1984) |
| 27 | Robert Graves (1895–1985) | United Kingdom | history, novel, poetry, literary criticism, essays | Douglas Grant (1921–1969) |
| 28 | Graham Greene (1904–1991) | United Kingdom | novel, short story, autobiography, essays | Robert Niklaus (1910–2001)Gabriel Turville-Petre (1908–1978)Frank Kermode (1919–2010) |
| 29 | Jean Guéhenno (1890–1978) | France | essays, literary criticism | Edmond Jarno (1905–1985) |
| 30 | Jorge Guillén (1893–1984) | Spain | poetry, literary criticism | Henri Peyre (1901–1988) |
| 31 | Taha Hussein (1889–1973) | Egypt | novel, short story, poetry, translation | Charles Pellat (1914–1992) |
| 32 | Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) | United Kingdom | novel, short story, essays, poetry, screenplay, drama, philosophy | Heinrich Donner (1735–1805)José Axelrad (1915–1969) |
| 33 | Juana de Ibarbourou (1892–1979) | Uruguay | poetry, essays | Academia Nacional de Letras |
| 34 | Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz (1894–1980) | Poland | poetry, essays, drama, translation, short story, novel | Jean Fabre (1904–1975) |
| 35 | Eyvind Johnson (1900–1976) | Sweden | novel, short story | Frédéric Durand (1920–2002)Carl-Eric Thors (1920–1986) |
| 36 | Marcel Jouhandeau (1888–1979) | France | short story, novel | Jean Gaulmier (1905–1997) |
| 37 | Yasunari Kawabata (1899–1972) | Japan | novel, short story | Henry Olsson (1896–1985) |
| 38 | Miroslav Krleža (1893–1981) | Yugoslavia | poetry, drama, short story, novel, essays | Association of Writers of Yugoslavia |
| 39 | Gertrud von Le Fort (1876–1971) | West Germany | novel, short story, essays, poetry | Friedrich von der Leyen (1873–1966) |
| 40 | Väinö Linna (1920–1992) | Finland | novel | Aarni Penttilä (1899–1971)Erik Lindegren (1910–1968)Elias Wessén (1889–1981) |
| 41 | Karl Löwith (1897–1973) | West Germany | philosophy | Franz Dirlmeier (1904–1977) |
| 42 | Salvador de Madariaga (1886–1978) | Spain | essays, history, law, novel | Jean Camp (1891–1968) |
| 43 | André Malraux (1901–1976) | France | novel, essays, literary criticism | Michel Décaudin (1919–2004)Yves Le Hir (1919–2005)Pierre Jonin (1912–1997)Léon Cellier (1911–1976) |
| 44 | Ramón Menéndez Pidal (1869–1968) | Spain | philology, history | Rudolf Großmann (1882–1941)Gunnar Tilander (1894–1973)A. Mas (?) |
| 45 | Yukio Mishima (1925–1970) | Japan | novel, short story, drama, literary criticism | Johannes Rahder (1898–1988) |
| 46 | Vilhelm Moberg (1898–1973) | Sweden | novel, drama, history | Gösta Bergman (1894–1984) |
| 47 | Henry de Montherlant (1895–1972) | France | essays, novel, drama | Louis Moulinier (1904–1971) |
| 48 | Alberto Moravia (1907–1990) | Italy | novel, literary criticism, essays, drama | Olof Brattö (1915–2007)Elias Wessén (1889–1981) |
| 49 | Stratis Myrivilis (1890–1969) | Greece | novel, short story | The Greek Authors' Union |
| 50 | Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977) | Russia United States | novel, short story, poetry, drama, translation, literary criticism, memoir | Robert Martin Adams (1915–1996) |
| 51 | Pablo Neruda (1904–1973) | Chile | poetry | Ragnar Josephson (1891–1966)Eyvind Johnson (1900–1976) |
| 52 | Junzaburō Nishiwaki (1894–1982) | Japan | poetry, literary criticism | Japan Academy |
| 53 | Seán O'Casey (1880–1964) | Ireland | drama, memoir | The English PEN-Club |
| 54 | Rudolf Pfeiffer (1889–1979) | West Germany | philology, essays | Will Richter (1910–1984) |
| 55 | Ezra Pound (1885–1972) | United States | poetry, essays | Rudolf Sühnel (1907–2007) |
| 56 | Vasco Pratolini (1931–1991) | Italy | novel, short story | Paul Renucci (1915–1976) |
| 57 | Henri Queffélec (1910–1992) | France | novel, short story, screenplay | Barthélémy-Antonin Taladoire (1907–1976) |
| 58 | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975) | India | philosophy, essays, law | Suniti Kumar Chatterji (1890–1977)Arthur John Arberry (1905–1969) |
| 59 | Kate Roberts (1891–1985) | United Kingdom | novel, short story, essays | Idris Foster (1911–1984) |
| 60 | Jules Romains (1885–1972) | France | poetry, drama, screenplay | Gilbert Highet (1906–1978) |
| 61 | Nelly Sachs (1891–1970) | West Germany Sweden | poetry, drama | Gerhard Heilfurth (1909–2006)Karl Ragnar Gierow (1904–1982) |
| 62 | Aksel Sandemose (1899–1965) | Denmark Norway | novel, essays | Eyvind Johnson (1900–1976) |
| 63 | Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) | France | philosophy, novel, drama, essays, screenplay | Lennart Breitholtz (1909–1998)Sergey Konovalov (1899–1982)Henry Bardon (1910–2003)Robert-Léon Wagner (1905–1982) |
| 64 | Giorgos Seferis (1900–1971) | Greece | poetry, memoir, essays | Eyvind Johnson (1900–1976) |
| 65 | Ramón José Sender (1901–1982) | Spain | novel, essays | Erik Lindegren (1910–1968) |
| 66 | Léopold Sédar Senghor (1906–2001) | Senegal | poetry, law, essays | Robert Schilling (1913–2004) |
| 67 | Ignazio Silone (1900–1978) | Italy | novel, short story, essays, drama | Elias Wessén (1889–1981) |
| 68 | Georges Simenon (1903–1989) | Belgium | novel, short story, memoir | Justin O'Brien (1906–1968) |
| 69 | Charles Percy Snow (1905–1980) | United Kingdom | novel, essays | Friedrich Schubel (1904–1991) |
| 70 | Mikhail Sholokhov (1905–1984) | Soviet Union | novel | Jack Posin (1900–1995) |
| 71 | Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1886–1965) | Japan | novel, short story | Donald Keene (1922–019) |
| 72 | Gustave Thibon (1903–2001) | France | philosophy | Édouard Delebecque (1910–1990) |
| 73 | Lionel Trilling (1905–1975) | United States | essays, literary criticism, short story | Charles Warren Everett (1895–1983) |
| 74 | Pietro Ubaldi (1886–1972) | Italy | philosophy, essays | Academia Santista de Letras |
| 75 | Mika Waltari (1908–1979) | Finland | short story, novel, poetry, drama, essays, screenplay | Aapeli Saarisalo (1896–1986) |
| 76 | Elias Venezis (1904–1973) | Greece | novel, short story | The Greek Authors' Union |
| 77 | Erico Verissimo (1905–1975) | Brazil | novel, short story, autobiography, essays, translation | Jean Roche (1901–1992) |
| 78 | Tarjei Vesaas (1897–1970) | Norway | poetry, novel | Sigmund Skard (1903–1995)Johannes Andreasson Dale (1898–1975) |
| 79 | Thornton Wilder (1897–1975) | United States | drama, novel, short story | Hans Peter Wapnewski (1922–2012)Arthur Henkel (1915–2005) |
| 80 | Edmund Wilson (1895–1972) | United States | essays, literary criticism, short story, drama | Joseph Anthony Mazzeo (1923–1998) |
| 81 | Yevgeny Yevtushenko (1932–2017) | Soviet Union | poetry, novel, short story, drama, screenplay, essays | Konrad Bittner (1890–1967) |

### Prize decision

The Nobel committee of the Swedish Academy was unanimous to propose that the prize should be awarded to Giorgos Seferis. Seferis was one of the final three candidates for the prize along with W.H. Auden and Pablo Neruda (awarded in 1971). The permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy and chairman of the Nobel committee Anders Österling felt "that there now was an opportunity to pay a beautiful tribute to modern Hellas, a language area that so far had been waiting too long [to be] honored in this context". The candidacies of Samuel Beckett (awarded in 1969) and Vladimir Nabokov were dismissed by Österling arguing that neither author lived up to the Nobel prize's "ideal intentions". Österling was also hesitant to award Pablo Neruda and the long time candidate Mikhail Sholokhov for political reasons, but both of them were subsequently awarded the prize. Nelly Sachs was nominated for the first time by committee member Karl Ragnar Gierow. While the committee felt that it was too early for her candidacy, Gierow proposed that the poet should be taken into consideration and Sachs was eventually awarded the prize in 1966.

## Award ceremony speech

At the award ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December 1963, Anders Österling, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, said in part:
   Seferis’s poetic production is not large, but because of the uniqueness of its thought and style and the beauty of its language, it has become a lasting symbol of all that is indestructible in the Hellenic affirmation of life.[...] When reading Seferis we are forcibly reminded of a fact that is sometimes forgotten: geographically, Greece is not only a peninsula but also a world of water and foam, strewn with myriad islands, an ancient sea kingdom, the perilous and stormy home of the mariner.[...] Technically, Seferis has received vital impulses from T. S. Eliot, but underneath the tone is unmistakably his own, often carrying a broken echo of the music from an ancient Greek chorus.