# 1973 Nobel Prize in Literature

The 1973 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Australian writer Patrick White (1912–1990) "for an epic and psychological narrative art which has introduced a new continent into literature." He is the first and the only Australian recipient of the prize.

## Laureate

The historical themes of Patrick White's novels and plays focus on his own Australia and its people. During his lifetime, he enjoyed greater acclaim abroad than he did at home, where his critical gaze was occasionally misunderstood. In 1939, he released Happy Valley, his debut novel. The Tree of Man (1955), a book about a farmer and his wife struggling to build a future in rural Australia, was his major literary success. Modern humanity's sense of loneliness and emptiness is a recurrent topic in his literary works. His other well-known works include The Vivisector (1970) and The Eye of the Storm (1973).

## Deliberations
### Nominations

In total, the Nobel Committee collected 205 nominations for 101 writers for their deliberations – the second highest number of nominations revealed so far after 1969. White was first introduced for nomination in 1968 by Muriel Clara Bradbook, professor of English at Cambridge University. Henceforth, he became an annual nominee until he was subsequently awarded with the prize. In 1973, he was endorsed by academics and professors from Australia, New Zealand and Finland.
Eighteen authors were first-time nominees such as Vicente Aleixandre (awarded in 1977), Conrad Aiken, Miodrag Bulatović, Chiang Yee, Albert Cohen, Adolfo Costa du Rels, Eugen Jebeleanu, Yaşar Kemal, Zenta Mauriņa, Henry Miller, John Crowe Ransom, Isaac Bashevis Singer (awarded in 1978), Martin Wickramasinghe and Xu Xu. The highest number of nominations was for Jewish author Elie Wiesel (awarded the 1988 Nobel Peace Prize). The oldest nominee was Estonian poet Marie Under (aged 90) and the youngest was Finnish writer Hannu Salama (aged 37). Six of the nominees were women namely Simone de Beauvoir, Indira Devi Dhanrajgir, Nadine Gordimer (awarded in 1991), Doris Lessing (awarded in 2007), Zenta Mauriņa and Marie Under. The Indian novelist Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay, who died in 1971, was included posthumously by the Nobel Committee.
The authors Samuel Nathaniel Behrman, Arna Bontemps, Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel, Noël Coward, John Creasey, Roland Dorgelès, Neil Miller Gunn, Egon Hostovský, Benn Levy, Warren Lewis, Lucy Beatrice Malleson (known as Anthony Gilbert), Nancy Mitford, Elma Napier, Robert C. O'Brien, Jirō Osaragi, Vera Panova, William Plomer, Brigitte Reimann, Sergio Tofano, Margaret Wilson and Nobuko Yoshiya died in 1973 without having been nominated for the prize while the American author Conrad Aiken died before the only chance to be awarded.
Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize :
| No. | Nominee | Country | Genre(s) | Nominator(s) |
| 1 | Conrad Aiken (1889–1973) | United States | poetry, novel, short story, literary criticism, autobiography | Samuel Frederick Johnson (1918–2005) |
| 2 | Vicente Aleixandre (1898–1984) | Spain | poetry, essays | Dámaso Alonso (1898–1990) |
| 3 | Jorge Amado (1912–2001) | Brazil | novel, short story | Antônio Olinto (1919–2009) |
| 4 | Antonio Aniante (1900–1973) | Italy | drama, novel, essays | Vittorio Vettori (1920–2004) |
| 5 | Wystan Hugh Auden (1907–1973) | United Kingdom United States | poetry, essays, screenplay | Pierre Bertaux (1907–1987)Hans Bielenstein (1920–2015)Alan Bullock (1914–2004)Henry Chadwick (1920–2008)Erik Frykman (1919–2010)Barbara Hardy (1924–2016)Samuel Frederick Johnson (1918–2005)Hans Mayer (1907–2001)Kauko Aatos Ojala (1919–1987)Allan Philip (1927–2004)Hugh M. Richmond (born 1932)Walter Weiss (1927–2004) |
| 6 | Riccardo Bacchelli (1891–1985) | Italy | novel, drama, essays | Giovanni Nencioni (1911–2008)Beniamino Segre (1903–1977) |
| 7 | Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay (1898–1971) (posthumous nomination) | India | novel, short story, drama, essays, autobiography, songwriting | Nobel Committee |
| 8 | Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986) | France | novel, drama, memoir, philosophy, essays, short story | Walter Ralph Johnson (born 1933) |
| 9 | Saul Bellow (1915–2005) | Canada United States | novel, short story, memoir, essays | Roger Asselineau (1915–2002) |
| 10 | Louis Paul Boon (1912–1979) | Belgium | novel, essays, short story, poetry | Artur Lundkvist (1906–1991)Dirk de Jong (1910–1974)Paul Snoek (1933–1981)Theun de Vries (1907–2005) |
| 11 | Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) | Argentina | poetry, essays, translation, short story | Charles Dédéyan (1910–2003)Raimundo Lida (1908–1979)Miguel Alfredo Olivera (1912–2008) |
| 12 | Miodrag Bulatović (1930–1991) | Yugoslavia | novel, short story, drama, essays | Allan Philip (1927–2004) |
| 13 | Anthony Burgess (1917–1993) | United Kingdom | novel, poetry, drama, screenplay, autobiography, biography, essays, literary criticism, translation | Artur Lundkvist (1906–1991) |
| 14 | Michel Butor (1926–2016) | France | poetry, novel, essays, translation | Leon Samuel Roudiez (1917–2004) |
| 15 | Elias Canetti (1905–1994) | Bulgaria United Kingdom | novel, drama, memoir, essays | Manfred Durzak (born 1938)Keith Spalding (1913–2002)Dorothea Zeemann (1909–1993) |
| 16 | Camilo José Cela (1916–2002) | Spain | novel, short story, essay, poetry, drama, memoir | Marcel Bataillon (1895–1977)Alonso Zamora Vicente (1916–2016) |
| 17 | André Chamson (1900–1983) | France | novel, essays | Yannis Koutsocheras (1904–1994)Yves Gandon (1899–1975)Armand Lunel (1892–1977)Guy Nairay (1914–1999)Gunnar Tilander (1894–1973) |
| 18 | René Char (1907–1988) | France | poetry | Henri Peyre (1901–1988)Allan Philip (1927–2004) |
| 19 | Suniti Kumar Chatterji (1890–1977) | India | essays, pedagogy, literary criticism | Nobel Committee |
| 20 | Chiang Yee (1903–1977) | China | memoir, poetry, essays | Lo Hsiang-lin (1906–1978) |
| 21 | Sri Chinmoy (1931–2007) | India United States | poetry, drama, short story, essays, songwriting | Joseph Axelrod (1910–1974)Karl Kroeber (1926–2009)Peter Pitzele (born 1942) |
| 22 | Albert Cohen (1895–1981) | Switzerland | novel, drama, essays | Joseph Kessel (1898–1979) |
| 23 | Adolfo Costa du Rels (1891–1980) | Bolivia | novel, short story, drama, poetry, essays | Humberto Palza (1900–1975) |
| 24 | Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca (1914–2008) | Turkey | poetry | Yaşar Nabi Nayır (1908–1981) |
| 25 | Indira Devi Dhanrajgir (born 1930) | India | poetry, essays | Krishna Srinivas (1913–2007) |
| 26 | Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990) | Switzerland | drama, novel, short story, essays | Werner Betz (1912–1980) |
| 27 | Odysseas Elytis (1911–1996) | Greece | poetry, essays, translation | Nobel Committee |
| 28 | Rabbe Enckell (1903–1974) | Finland | short story, poetry | Eeva Kilpi (born 1928) |
| 29 | Salvador Espriu (1913–1985) | Spain | drama, novel, poetry | Antoni Comas i Pujol (1931–1981) |
| 30 | James Thomas Farrell (1904–1979) | United Kingdom | novel, short story, poetry | Duane Schneider (1937–2012) |
| 31 | José Maria Ferreira de Castro (1898–1978) | Portugal | novel | Antônio Olinto (1919–2009) |
| 32 | Max Frisch (1911–1991) | Switzerland | novel, drama | Wolfram Naumann (1921–2021) |
| 33 | Romain Gary (1914–1980) | Lithuania France | novel, essays, literary criticism, screenplay | Walther Hinz (1906–1992) |
| 34 | William Golding (1911–1993) | United Kingdom | novel, poetry, drama, essays | Erik Frykman (1919–2010) |
| 35 | Nadine Gordimer (1923–2014) | South Africa | novel, short story, essay, drama | Artur Lundkvist (1906–1991) |
| 36 | Julien Gracq (1910–2007) | France | novel, drama, poetry, essays | Georges Matoré (1908–1998) |
| 37 | Günter Grass (1927–2015) | West Germany | novel, drama, poetry, essays | Manfred Windfuhr (born 1930) |
| 38 | Robert Graves (1895–1985) | United Kingdom | history, novel, poetry, literary criticism, essays | Ellsworth Mason (1917–2013) |
| 39 | Julien Green (1900–1998) | France | novel, autobiography, essays | Johannes Edfelt (1904–1997)Jacques Petit (1928–1982)Lauri Seppänen (1924–2009)Edgar F. Shannon Jr. (1918–1997)Marcel Thiry (1897–1977) |
| 40 | Graham Greene (1904–1991) | United Kingdom | novel, short story, autobiography, essays | Heinrich Böll (1917–1985)Sylvère Monod (1921–2006)Herbert Morgan Waidson (1916–1988) |
| 41 | Jorge Guillén (1893–1984) | Spain | poetry, literary criticism | Kázmér Géza Werner (1900–1985) |
| 42 | Paavo Haavikko (1931–2008) | Finland | poetry, drama, essays | Eeva Kilpi (born 1928) |
| 43 | William Heinesen (1900–1991) | Faroe Islands | poetry, short story, novel | Arthur Arnholtz (1901–1973)Ebba Haslund (1917–2009) |
| 44 | Vladimír Holan (1905–1980) | Czechoslovakia | poetry, essays | Nobel Committee |
| 45 | Taha Hussein (1889–1973) | Egypt | novel, short story, poetry, translation | Ibrāhīm Madkūr (1902–1995) |
| 46 | Gyula Illyés (1902–1983) | Hungary | poetry, novel, drama, essays | Iván Boldizsár (1912–1988)Artur Lundkvist (1906–1991)Andri Peer (1921–1985)G. Ganschow (?)László Vajda (1923–2010)Hans Fromm (1919–2008) |
| 47 | Eugen Jebeleanu (1911–1991) | Romania | poetry, essays, translation | Miron Nicolescu (1903–1975)Grigore Moisil (1906–1973)Alexandru A. Philippide (1900–1979)Corneliu Baba (1906–1997) |
| 48 | Eyvind Johnson (1900–1976) | Sweden | novel, short story | Johannes Edfelt (1904–1997) Pär Lagerkvist (1891–1974) |
| 49 | Ferenc Juhász (1928–2015) | Hungary | poetry | Artur Lundkvist (1906–1991) |
| 50 | Yaşar Kemal (1923–2015) | Turkey | novel, essays | Dag Strömbäck (1900–1978)Per Wästberg (born 1933) |
| 51 | Erich Kästner (1899–1974) | West Germany | poetry, screenplay, autobiography | Hermann Kesten (1900–1996) |
| 52 | Miroslav Krleža (1893–1981) | Croatia Yugoslavia | poetry, drama, short story, novel, essays | Nobel Committee |
| 53 | Manbohdan Lal (?) | India | | Nobel Committee |
| 54 | Frank Raymond Leavis (1895–1978) | United Kingdom | literary criticism, essays | Mary Renault (1905–1983) |
| 55 | Doris Lessing (1919–2013) | United Kingdom | novel, short story, memoirs, drama, poetry, essays | Artur Lundkvist (1906–1991) |
| 56 | Lin Yutang (1895–1976) | China | novel, philosophy, essays, translation | José María Acosta Acosta (?) |
| 57 | Väinö Linna (1920–1992) | Finland | novel | Eeva Kilpi (born 1928) |
| 58 | Robert Lowell (1917–1977) | United States | poetry, translation | Hans Galinsky (1909–1991) |
| 59 | Salvador de Madariaga (1886–1978) | Spain | essays, history, law, novel | Julián Gorkin (1901–1987) |
| 60 | Norman Mailer (1923–2007) | United States | novel, short story, poetry, essays, biography, drama, screenplay | Artur Lundkvist (1906–1991)Lars Huldén (1926–2016) |
| 61 | Bernard Malamud (1914–1986) | United States | novel, short story | Nobel Committee |
| 62 | André Malraux (1901–1976) | France | novel, essays, literary criticism | Henning Fenger (1921–1985)Maurice Genevoix (1890–1980)Jan Kott (1914–2001)Maija Lehtonen (1924–2015)Henri Peyre (1901–1988)John Henry Raleigh (1920–2001)Carl Stief (1914–1998)Laurent Versini (1932–2021) |
| 63 | Frederick Manfred (1912–1994) | United States | novel, essays | Robert G. Athearn (1914-1983)Joseph M. Flora (born 1934)Wayne Knutson (1926–2015)Robert W. Lewis (1930–2013) |
| 64 | Gustave Lucien Martin-Saint-René (1888–1973) | France | poetry, novel, essays, literary criticism, drama, songwriting, short story | Henri Guiter (1909–1994) |
| 65 | Harry Martinson (1904–1978) | Sweden | poetry, novel, drama, essays | Johannes Edfelt (1904–1997)Artur Lundkvist (1906–1991)Arthur Arnholtz (1901–1973) |
| 66 | Zenta Mauriņa (1897–1978) | Latvia | short story, autobiography, essays, translation, philology | Mārtiņš Zīverts (1903–1990) |
| 67 | László Mécs (1895–1978) | Hungary | poetry, essays | József Fülöp (1927–1994)Károly Wojatsek (1916–2008)Anthony Etele (1911–2010)Nándor Dreisziger (born 1940)Bennett Kovrig (born 1940)Leslie Duska (?)János Miska (1932–2022)Alexander Kristóf (?)Pál Nyiregyházy (?)András László (1919–1988)Watson Kirkconnell (1895–1977)Bela Talbot Kardos (?)György Nagy (1939–2023) |
| 68 | Veijo Meri (1928–2015) | Finland | novel, short story, poetry, essays | Nobel Committee |
| 69 | Henri Michaux (1899–1984) | Belgium France | poetry, essays | Lars Forssell (1928–2007) |
| 70 | Arthur Miller (1915–2005) | United States | drama, screenplay, essays | Andri Peer (1921–1985) |
| 71 | Henry Miller (1891–1980) | United States | novel, short story, memoir, essays | Allan Philip (1927–2004) |
| 72 | Vilhelm Moberg (1898–1973) | Sweden | novel, drama, history | Gunnar Tilander (1894–1973) |
| 73 | Eugenio Montale (1896–1981) | Italy | poetry, translation | Uberto Limentani (1913–1989)Andri Peer (1921–1985)Luciano Rebay (1928–2014) |
| 74 | Alberto Moravia (1907–1990) | Italy | novel, literary criticism, essays, drama | Jacques Robichez (1914–1999) |
| 75 | Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977) | Russia United States | novel, short story, poetry, drama, translation, literary criticism, memoir | Samuel Frederick Johnson (1918–2005)Antun Šoljan (1932–1993) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008)Ernest Tuveson (1915–1996)Bernard Tervoort (1920–2006) |
| 76 | V. S. Naipaul (1932–2018) | Trinidad and Tobago United Kingdom | novel, short story, essays | Artur Lundkvist (1906–1991) |
| 77 | José María Pemán (1897–1981) | Spain | poetry, drama, novel, essays, screenplay | Manuel Halcón (1900–1989) |
| 78 | Zayn al-ʻĀbidīn Rahnamā (1894–1990) | Iran | history, essays, translation | Manouchehr Eghbal (1909–1977) |
| 79 | John Crowe Ransom (1888–1974) | United States | poetry, essays, literary criticism | Samuel Frederick Johnson (1918–2005) |
| 80 | Evaristo Ribera Chevremont (1890–1976) | Puerto Rico | poetry | Ernesto Juan Fonfrías (1909–1990) |
| 81 | Yannis Ritsos (1909–1990) | Greece | poetry, songwriting | Nobel Committee |
| 82 | Tadeusz Rózewicz (1921–2014) | Poland | poetry, drama, translation | Józef Trypućko (1910–1983) |
| 83 | Hans Ruin (1891–1980) | Finland Sweden | philosophy | Arthur Arnholtz (1901–1973) |
| 84 | Hannu Salama (born 1936) | Finland | novel, short story, poetry | Magnus von Platen (1920–2020) |
| 85 | Léopold Sédar Senghor (1906–2001) | Senegal | poetry, essays | Roger Asselineau (1915–2002) |
| 86 | Claude Simon (1913–2005) | France | novel, essays | Artur Lundkvist (1906–1991)Haydn Trevor Mason (1929–2018) |
| 87 | Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902–1991) | Poland United States | novel, short story, autobiography, essays | Moshe Starkman (1906–1975) |
| 88 | Zaharia Stancu (1902–1974) | Romania | poetry, novel, philosophy, essays | Miguel Ángel Asturias (1899–1974)Alf Lombard (1902–1996)Andri Peer (1921–1985)Virgil Teodorescu (1909–1987) |
| 89 | Pratap Narayan Tandon (born 1935) | India | novel, essays | Brij Behari Nayak (?) |
| 90 | Marie Under (1883–1980) | Estonia | poetry | Algirdas Landsbergis (1924–2004)Ants Oras (1900–1982) |
| 91 | José García Villa (1908–1997) | Philippines United States | poetry, essays | Purita Kalaw Ledesma (1914–2005) |
| 92 | Paul Voivenel (1880–1975) | France | memoir, essays | Roland Dorgelès (1885–1973) |
| 93 | Gerard Walschap (1898–1989) | Belgium | novel, drama, essays | Maurice Gilliams (1900–1982)Willem Pée (1903–1986) |
| 94 | Sándor Weöres (1913–1989) | Hungary | poetry, translation | Áron Kibédi Varga (1930–2018) |
| 95 | Patrick White (1912–1990) | Australia | novel, short story, drama, poetry, autobiography | Neva Clarke McKenna (1920–2015)Artur Lundkvist (1906–1991)Leslie Rees (1905–2000)Bertha Anne Johnstone (1895–1984)Tauno Frans Mustanoja (1912–1996)Dora Somerville (?) |
| 96 | Martin Wickramasinghe (1890–1976) | Sri Lanka | novel, short story, drama, literary criticism, essays, philosophy, autobiography, biography, history | Ediriweera Sarachchandra (1914–1996) |
| 97 | Elie Wiesel (1928–2016) | Romania United States | memoir, essays, novel, drama | Robert Alter (born 1935)Marver Bernstein (1919–1990)Albert H. Bowker (1919–2008)Jules Brody (1928–2021)Harry J. Cargas (1932–1998)Gerson D. Cohen (1924–1991)David Daiches (1912–2005)Louis Finkelstein (1895–1991)Maurice Stanley Friedman (1921–2012)Victor Gourevitch (1925–2020)Irving Greenberg (born 1933)Irving Halperin (1922–2000)Philip Handler (1917–1981)James McNaughton Hester (1924–2014)Gerd Høst-Heyerdahl (1915–2007)Lothar Kahn (1922–1990)Louis L. Kaplan (1902–2001)Jack Kolbert (born 1927) Joshua Lederberg (1925–2008) André Michel Lwoff (1902–1994)Gabriel Marcel (1889–1973)Robert Marshak (1916–1992)David Patterson (1922–2005)Michael Riffaterre (1924–2006)Laurits Saltveit (1913–1999)Frederick Seitz (1911–2008)John Silber (1926–2012)Pierre-Henri Simon (1903–1972)Saul Touster (1925–2018)Melvin B. Yoken (born 1939)Charles E. Young (1931–2023)Meyer Weisgal (1894–1977) |
| 98 | Thornton Wilder (1897–1975) | United States | drama, novel, short story | Wolfgang Clemen (1909–1990) |
| 99 | Xu Xu (1908–1980) | China Hong Kong | novel, poetry, drama, essays, literary criticism | Lee Chiu-seng (?) |
| 100 | Amado Yuzon (1906–1979) | Philippines | poetry, essays | Emeterio Barcelon Barcelo-Soriano (1897-1978) |
| 101 | Carl Zuckmayer (1896–1977) | West Germany | drama, screenplay | Erich Ruprecht (1965–1972) |

### Prize Decision

In June 1973, Nobel Committee chair, Karl Ragnar Gierow, expressed that setting the shortlist "the committee agreed on Patrick White, Saul Bellow also had five votes, Yiannis Ritsos got four, Anthony Burgess, William Golding and Eugenio Montale each got three." Gierow himself listed Ritsos as his first proposal, followed by White and Bellow, but noted that the committee awaited further external opinions on the Greek poet. Gierow said that Patrick White appeared to have the strongest support in the committee, thoroughly deliberated and a final contender in recent years, but noted that White's most recent novel The Vivisector was not as strong as his previous work which possibly would be a reason for the committee to await further works before awarding him, and noted that Bellow at this point appeared as the stronger candidate. While saying Montale could be regarded as a worthy recipient of the prize, Gierow was not ready to recommend him, neither did he want to recommend Burgess or Golding, although saying both would be acceptable. In his report, Gierow also noted the candidacy of Isaac Bashevis Singer (subsequently awarded in 1978), but that Singer's work yet needed to be investigated by the committee.
In an additional report dated 5 September 1973, Gierow wrote that he had found Bellow's candidacy strengthened and White's candidacy weakened due to latters newly published novel The Eye of the Storm, which Gierow found even weaker than The Vivisector. Gierow now listed Bellow as his first proposal followed by Montale, Burgess, Golding and White. Yiannis Ritsos candidacy was postponed by the committee as they were still awaiting external reports on his work.
On their meeting on 6 September 1973 the committee settled on a final shortlist with Patrick White as their first proposal, Bellow as the second proposal, Montale as the third and Burgess as the fourth proposal.

## Award ceremony speech

At the award ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December,ber 1973, Artur Lundkvist of the Swedish Academy said:
   Patrick White’s literary art has spread his fame throughout the world and he now ranks as Australia’s foremost representative in his field. His creative work, performed in solitude and doubtless in the teeth of considerable opposition, in various kinds of adversity, has gradually yielded lasting and progressively more widely acknowledged results, in spite of the doubts he himself may have had concerning the value of his efforts. The controversial side of Patrick White is connected with the extreme tension of his self-expression, with his assault on the most difficult problems: the very qualities that constitute his indisputable greatness. Without those qualities he would be unable to bestow the consolation now present in the very midst of his gloom: the conviction that there must be something more worth living for than our onward rushing civilization seems to offer.
Patrick White did not travel to Stockholm to attend the award ceremony. His Nobel prize was received by his friend, the Australian artist Sidney Nolan.