Nobel Lectures In Literature, Vol 5 (1996-2000)

Equally important to our understanding of history and humanity are the great works of literature. The Nobel Prize for literature recognizes modern classics and the efforts of authors to bridge gaps between different cultures, time-periods and styles. This volume is a collection of the Nobel lectures delivered by the prizewinners in the area of literature in the period 1996-2000. The prizewinners during this period were: W. Szymborska (1996) - for poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality; D. Fo (1997) - who emulates the jesters of the Middle Ages in scourging authority and upholding the dignity of the down-trodden; J. Saramago (1998) - who with parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony continually enables us once again to apprehend an elusory reality; G. Grass (1999) - whose frolicsome black fables portray the forgotten face of history; and X.-J. Gao (2000) - for an oeuvre of universal validity, bitter insights and linguistic ingenuity, which has opened new paths for the Chinese novel and drama.