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There will be no Nobel Prize for literature this year. AFP file photo
STOCKHOLM: What are you doing when this year's Nobel Prize for Literature, the most prestigious award in the world, is postponed because of a sexual assault scandal?
You create your own reward. 19659003] More than 100 Swedish intellectuals joined forces to form a new protest body after the Swedish Academy, which selects the Nobel laureates, was plunged into the crisis of its longstanding ties with a man accused of assaulting several women. 19659003] Alternative honor serves to denounce "bias, arrogance and sexism", according to its founders The New Academy, whose members include writers, artists and journalists.
It is intended to "remind people that literature and culture should promote democracy, transparency, empathy and respect, without privilege," wrote the 107 intellectuals in a joint statement.
As the #MeToo movement made waves at the global level, the Swedish Academy fell into the tumult In November, local media published testimonies of 18 women claiming to have been raped, sexually assaulted or harassed by an influential French cultural personality who has long been linked to the institution.
The revelations led the Academy to announce in May There will be no Nobel Prize for Literature this year, as disagreements over how to handle the scandal have sown discord among its 18 members and incited six to resign – including Sara Danius' first permanent secretary
. "Sweden is one of the most democratic, transparent and equal countries in the world … it needs a great literary prize," writes the Swedish columnist and one founders of the new award, Alexandra Pascalidou, told AFP
– "Open and inclusive" –
Members of the Swedish Academy were appointed for life before his boss, King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf, was forced to change the statutes, allowing members to resign and be replaced.
Resigning member Kjell Espmark told the newspaper Dagens Nyheter that the institution had "ceded to nepotism, attempts to conceal serious violations"
Regarded as the holder of high culture, the Academy Swedish, founded in 1786, is traditionally known for its integrity and discretion, with meetings and price decisions kept secret
. New Academy intends to make transparent its awarding process
"We want to create something that is open and inclusive and allows people to contribute," said Pascalidou
. A million crowns (about 97,000 euros, $ 113,000) raised through crowdfunding and donations – will be awarded at a ceremony on December 10, the same day as the Nobel Banquet.
Librarians from Sweden The authors with the most nominations will then receive online votes from the public in Sweden and abroad.
On the basis of nominations and voting results, a jury comprising publishers, literature teachers, cultural journalists and critics will select four authors – two men and two women – and make the final choice
winner, who can come from anywhere in the world and must have published at least one literary work the last ten years, will be announced on October 14, the same month as the Nobel Prize for Literature would have been announced
– Skepticism, warnings –
But some observers are skeptical as to whether the New Academy can be compared to the history of the Nobel Prize for Literature for the recognition of eminent authors, among whom Ernest Hemingway, Albert Camus, Boris Pasternak, Alice Munro and Doris Lessing, among others.
For Asa Linderborg, editor-in-chief of Aftonbladet's daily culture, he is "deeply provocative" of the New Academy to use literature to promote moral values and even "the most disturbing ideas" can become a quality literature.
"The art should be free.You can not label it according to righteousness or evil.The new academy is after total purity … total kindness," said Linderborg to AFP
She warned that allowing the public, who does not have a deep understanding of languages and books from different parts of the world, to vote for an author risk In 1965, the others are indifferent at the initiative.
"They are free to do what they want," AFP Per Wastberg, a Swedish member of the Academy, told AFP. 19659003] The New Literary Award is the latest award to be qualified as an alternative to the Nobel, joining the Swedish Right Livelihood Award honoring those working to improve the planet, and the Millennium Technology Prize of Finland. – AFP
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