At 13:00 local time (19:00 Beijing time) on October 5, 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden, the Swedish Academy awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature to Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse. Reason for the award: "For his innovative drama and prose that gives voice to the ineffable." ”
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Maverick playwright
Jon Fosse (born 1959) is a Norwegian novelist, playwright and one of the most prestigious figures in contemporary theatre. He has received numerous awards, including the Scandinavian State Theatre Award in 2002, the Honorary Prize of the Norwegian Arts Council in 2003, the Nordic Prize of the Swedish Academy in 2007, the International Ibsen Prize in 2010 and the Nordic Council Literary Prize in 2015.
Jon Fosse
In 1983, Jon Fausher made his debut in the literary world with his novel Raudt, svart. In 1994, he published his first play, "Never Leave, Never Leave". He has written a large number of works, including novels, short stories, children's literature, essays and plays, and his works have been translated into more than forty languages, Chinese translations such as "Someone is Coming" and "Autumn Dreams", and about 1,000 plays based on his works have been staged around the world.
In a press release issued on the same day, the Swedish Academy said that Fausser created rich works in Nynorsk (also known as New Norwegian), and he used modernist techniques to show the local Norwegian characteristics, and the works were full of warmth and humor. Fausser is one of the most performed playwrights in the world today, and his prose is increasingly recognized.
Norwegian theater has always borne the fame of Ibsen, and Fausser has always been dubbed "New Ibsen". And his official answer to this is: "They've been saying that since my script was staged abroad. And my opinion is that it is not fair to Ibsen - to me too. ”
The International Ibsen Prize jury said of Fausser and his work: "He is a maverick playwright who, after the curtain of the stage, reveals the unspoken mysteries of human life. ”
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Novel: The Dreams and Destiny of the Chanting
"Fausser's writing attracts the reader, something that makes the reader disappear into it, like the wind in the dark." Carl Ove Knausgaard said of his former writing teacher.
Jon Fauser made an international name as a playwright, initially fascinated by poetry and fiction, and was only invited to write his first play in 1993. After many years working entirely as a playwright, he returned to fiction writing, winning the 2015 Nordic Council Literary Prize for The Trilogy. The English translation of "A New Name" from VI-VII of the Seven Parts was shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize.
The Trilogy is a collection of three single short stories. In terms of plot, it is three stories that penetrate each other, the story of Asler and Alida's desire to escape the difficult old world, seeking peace but not achieving their wishes, and also involving the life trajectories of future generations. The plot of "Trilogy" is not complicated, but the narrative is not simple. The main line of action is Alida, searching for a place to live, and giving birth to a child for life; Olaf bought a wedding ring, was accused of murder, and hanged; Alida deed the bracelet, followed the life of the fellows, and raised offspring. The condensed text condenses the events of generations over centuries.
Stills from the drama "Trilogy"
The first "Sleepless". Asler and Alida walked the streets of Bjoven, carrying all their belongings on their shoulders. They had been walking for hours, but they were running into walls everywhere when they wanted to stay. The 17-year-old lovers are from Dirgija. Through the memories of the past and the conversation between the two, it is revealed how they ended their days in their hometown: Asler inherited the job of his father, a country violinist who died early, traveled from east to west, played the violin at the villagers' party, he and Alida met and found the love of their lives. After his mother's death, the lonely Asler made the houseboat his home. And Alida and her mother have a tense relationship, and Alida, who is pregnant, is thrown out by her mother and moves in with Asler. The owner of the house takes back the houseboat. Asler steals the owner's boat, Alida steals money and food from her mother, and the two sail to Bjoven to seek survival. The owner of the ship was found dead, as was Alida's mother. Right now, walking down the street in the heavy rain, no one took them in. The woman Yanta wanted Asler to enter the house, but pushed Alida away. With Alida's birth imminent, Asler forcibly breaks into an old woman's house, the old woman disappears, and Alida gives birth to her son Sigwald.
The second part "Olaf's Dream". Now that Azler and Alida live outside the city with their son, Asler changes his name and surname to Alida, his name is Olaf, and her name is Aosta. Olaf, who sold his violin, went into town to buy a wedding ring. An "old man" in a gray hat walked slowly ahead of him. The "old man" said, "Asler, I have something to ask you," and said, "I came here because of you." Why did this "old man" suddenly appear? Why was Olaf identified as Asler? Olaf was anxious to get rid of it and planned to return to Alida and her son as soon as possible after finishing his business. He really got rid of the old man. But he stepped into the tavern and saw the old man sitting there drinking beer. The man named Oscot was there. The old man chattered, sketching the Dilgia bloody case: a fisherman was killed, an old woman died, and one of her daughters was missing. The old man stared straight at Olaf and said, "A man named Asler lived in a houseboat before the fisherman was killed, and you lived in a houseboat. ”
Oscott had just bought the bracelet, which had the yellowest gold and the bluest beads, the best thing Olaf had ever seen. He wanted to buy a wedding ring, bought the same bracelet, and met Yan Ta again halfway. Later, Olaf, who had escaped the "old man" several times, found a place to spend the night. Strangely, the hostess is Yanta's mother, the wife of the "old man". The "old man" grabbed Olaf to death. Olaf was going to return to Alida and her son immediately, but his past caught up with him, and beer, women, and fate pushed him onto the gallows.
The third "Dusk". Alida's daughter Ales is old, and in the old house, she sees her mother who jumped into the sea many years ago, and Alida's consciousness of the past emerges. Then she took her son into the city to look for the missing Asler, and met Oslek, a fisherman, who had given her food, and this man pointed to a headland and said, "A few days ago, a man from Dilgia hung there, he was there, his name is Asler, you know him well", and said "Maybe you yourself are there, and if you do not leave Bjoven, you will also be hanged". Alida follows Oslek's boat back to his home home to raise children. Sigwald grew up to become a violinist, had a daughter, and the daughter had a son named Jorn, a violinist who "published a book of poetry." This is a good fit for Jon Fawther, who loves to play the violin and compose poetry.
Concerned with life and death, the mystery of time and the hope of tomorrow, the Trilogy brings biblical stories and ballads from time immemorial and recounts with new content the dreams and destinies of people repeated.
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Drama: Focus on the human survival dilemma
Fuseer's 2007 play "I Am the Wind" is about two people, or maybe just one person splits into two people, sharing a broken boat and floating on a sea of fog. This wandering seems to be aimless, "one person" remains stubborn in hesitation and wants to sail to the open sea, while "the other person" is constantly worried, constantly sending "one" requests to restrain from the cliff and turn back to the shore. Their polyphonic conversation echoed in the air, small boats floated on the sea, they couldn't go anywhere, they just stayed on one boat, but as time passed, the gap between their hearts pulled them farther and farther apart... Until - "one" finally disappeared into the wind, and "another" could no longer find his traces.
"I Am the Wind" stills
In Fausser's writing, the sea is everywhere like the heart from which people cannot escape. Day after day, they gaze at the sea, as if gazing at the dark world within themselves: the frustration of not being able to communicate with each other, the loss of hope in life, the confusion of not being able to obtain the meaning of life... The sea even represents death: black, roaring, irresistible, becoming stronger in the face of life without a way out, and heralding an unchangeable death end.
Fausser's theatrical productions are known for their concise language. The characters in the play often do not have specific names, and this naming style implies that the experiences of the characters in the play are universal. The themes of the work are the eternal propositions on the theatrical stage throughout the ages: the dilemma of human existence - the gap between communication, the confrontation between people and the external environment, thinking about life and death, and so on.
"His characters are ordinary people we see every day in our daily lives, and maybe even ourselves. But his poetic approach and unique theatrical approach to presenting themes and characters make his plays completely different from ordinary life. The stage required for Fausser's plays is usually rustic, without complex sets and installations filled with vision, because his eyes are always set on the ultimate goal that the play aims to present and portray—people. Zou Lulu, the translator of "Someone is Coming", said, "The life in the world of Fausser drama is also the life of each of us. It is precisely because of this direct power in his works that he has touched countless people who have watched or read his plays. ”
Synthesized from literary newspapers, drama tribes