Page 31 - ARUBA TODAY

A31
PEOPLE & ARTS Saturday 5 May 2018
No Nobel literature prize this year but 2 prizes in 2019

By JAN M. OLSEN Bjorn Hurtig, the lawyer for
COPENHAGEN, Denmark the 71-year-old Arnault, has
(AP) — Following weeks denied the allegations, tell-
of internal bickering, sex- ing The Associated Press
abuse allegations and that his client is the victim
a financial investigation of "a witch hunt."
by police, the body that Last week, Swedish police
hands out the prestigious announced a financial in-
Nobel Prize in Literature vestigation into the books
announced Friday that no of
prize will be awarded this The world's most prestigious
year. prizes in science, medicine,
Instead, the academy literature and peacemak-
said two Nobel Prizes in Lit- ing have been withheld 49
erature will be handed out times in all since the honors
next year, the 2018 prize based on the will of Swed-
and the 2019 prize. The de- ish inventor Alfred Nobel
cision was made Thursday began in 1901.
at a weekly meeting of the The Nobel literature prize
Swedish Academy in Stock- was not given out on seven
holm on the grounds that occasions, primarily due
the group was in too deep to war but also in 1935 be-
a crisis to choose a Nobel cause no candidate was
winner properly. deemed worthy of the
"The present crisis of con- prize. On seven other occa-
fidence places high de- sions, the literature award
mands on a long-term and has been postponed, as
robust work for change," has been proposed in this
said Anders Olsson, the case.
academy's permanent Swedish Academy mem-
secretary. "We find it nec- ber Goran Malmqvist told
essary to commit time to Sweden's TT news agency
recovering public confi- that the postponement
dence in the Academy be- was "a really good deci-
fore the next laureate can sion."
be announced." "We're in a crisis and it
It will be the first time since will take time to rebuild it
1949 that the prestigious again," he was quoted as
award has been delayed. saying.
Last year, Japanese-born He also criticized the leak-
British novelist Kazuo Ishigu- ing of winners' names be-
ro won the prize. fore they are announced.
"It has occurred before. "We have to shut up. Peo-
This year we're doing it be- In this Dec. 11, 2011 file photo, Swedish Academy member Katarina Frostenson, left and pho- ple mustn't start betting
cause we've had a very, tographer Jean Claude Arnault attend the Kings Nobel dinner at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. and make money on that,"
very unusual situation, with he told TT.
conflicts in the academy leader to resign. its credibility as a prize- the decision "shows that About the same week
and a weakened acad- A debate over how to face awarding institution." It also the Academy now intends next year that the Swedish
emy in terms of the number up to its flaws also divided demanded that the group to focus on the restoration Academy will announce
of members," Olsson told the group's 18 members — report publicly "the con- of its reputation." two Nobel Literature Prize
Sweden's TT news agency. who are appointed for life crete actions that are un- Last fall, Dagens Nyheter, winners, the Norwegian No-
The internal feud within the — into hostile camps and dertaken" to ensure that it is one of Sweden's largest bel Committee, a separate
academy — which only prompted seven members a body worthy of the honor newspapers, published sex- body, will announce who
hands out one of the No- of the prestigious institution of choosing Nobel laure- ual misconduct claims from gets the coveted Nobel
bel prizes — was triggered to leave or disassociate ates. 18 women against Arnault, Peace Prize for 2019.
by an abuse scandal linked themselves from it. "We also assume that all who runs a cultural center U.S. Republicans have
to Jean-Claude Arnault, The Swedish Academy members of the Academy the academy used to help nominated U.S. President
a major cultural figure in has now agreed to review realize that both its ex- fund. The Svenska Dag- Donald Trump for the 2019
Sweden who is also the its century-old operating tensive reform efforts and bladet paper reported last Nobel Peace award for
husband of poet Katarina practices. its future organizational month that among those bringing North Korea to the
Frostenson, an academy It said that "work on the se- structure must be charac- groped by Arnault was negotiating table.
member. lection of a laureate is at terized by greater open- Swedish Crown Princess Yet Europeans, who feel
The academy has admit- an advanced stage and ness toward the outside Victoria 12 years ago. uneasy about Trump, smile
ted that "unacceptable will continue as usual in world," Carl-Henrik Heldin, Arnault also has been sus- when they hear that he
behavior in the form of the months ahead but the the chairman of the Nobel pected of violating centu- could theoretically get the
unwanted intimacy" took Academy needs time to re- Foundation Board, said in a ry-old Nobel rules by leak- peace prize.
place within its ranks, but gain its full complement." separate statement. ing names of winners of the "Being nominated does not
its handling of the allega- The Nobel Foundation re- King Carl XVI Gustaf — the prestigious award — alleg- mean that you actually get
tions has shredded the acted promptly, saying it body's patron who had edly seven times, starting the prize. It is pretty ridicu-
body's credibility, called presumes the academy suggested changes within in 1996. It was not clear to lous to have such hopes,"
into question its judgment "will now put all its efforts the institution after mem- whom the names were al- Hasse Jakupsen, 52, said in
and forced its first female into the task of restoring bers began to leave — said legedly disclosed. Copenhagen, Denmark.q