Spicezee Bureau
Stockholm: This year's Nobel Literature Prize has been claimed by German writer Herta Mueller.
The Swedish Academy, which has picked the winner annually since 1901, said that Mueller "with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed."
Herta Mueller is a Romanian-born German novelist, poet and essayist noted for her works depicting the harsh conditions of life in Romania under dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. She becomes the 12th woman to have won the Nobel since it launched in 1901.
Profile: Herta Mueller »
The prize includes a 10 million kronor (USD 1.4 million) prize and will be handed out on December 10 in the Swedish capital.
There were speculations of a poet winning the prestigious award and the announcement comes as a surprise for littérateurs.
Americans Joyce Carol Oates, Philip Roth and Israel's Amos Oz were considered to be the top runners for the Prize in literature, especially after one of the most prominent judges said that US writers are worthy of the coveted award.
The Nobel prize winner is selected by 18 members of the Swedish Academy, who receive around 200 nominations at the start of the year. They cut it down to a secret shortlist of five and then choose their winner, who must receive more than half of the votes cast. Mueller becomes its 106th winner; last year French novelist JMG Le Clézio won, cited for his "new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy", and for exploring "a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization".
First Published: Thursday, October 08, 2009, 18:39