Jon Fosse, the recipient of the 2023 Noble Prize in literature “for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable”, is a Norwagian writer who writes play, novels, poems and essay in Nynorsk, one of the official languages of Norway. But his works have been translated into more than fifty languages. Jon Olav Fosse, as he writes his full name, was born on 29th September, 1959 in Haugesund, Norway. He also writes children book which are very popular among children. As a playwright, Jon Fosse is the most performed playwright after the legendry dramatist, Henric Ibsen in Norway.

Features of his plays:

• Jon Fosse’s plays are minimalist and deeply introspective.

• His play, in fact, are the modern continuation of tradition established by Henric Ibsen in the 19th century.

• His plays represent the tradition of the post dramatic theatre.

• His plays are amalgamation of hope and fearful apprehension.

• His plays are about the lives of ordinary people who are facing the challenges and hardship of daily life.

• In his plays, like Ibsen and Samuel Becket, Jon Fosses uses pauses and silence, a characteristic of the absurd drama, to convey the meaning and to build up mood and atmosphere.

Influences:

Jon Fosse is highly influenced by the Absurd Dramatic Movement. He himself accepts the influences of Samuel Becket, Georg Traki and Thomas Benhard in his writings. He is also influenced by Ola H. Hauge, Franz Kafka, William Faulkner, Virginia Woolf and the Bible.

Jon Fosse’s Famous Plays:

• Someone is going to come Home.

• The Name

• The Guitar Man

• A Summer’s Day

• Mother and Child

• And We Will Never Be Parted

• Living Secretary

• Girl in Yellow Raincoat

By receiving October 2023 Nobel Prize, Fosse has become the first Nynorsk writer to receive the prize and the fourth Norwagian to win it.

Recognition:

• Fosse was made a chevalier of the order National Du Merite of France in 2003.

• He has been ranked number 83 on the list of the Top 100 living geniuses by The Daily Telegraph.

• Since 2011, Fosse has been granted an honourary residence called Grotten by Norwagian government. It is located on the premises of the Royal Palace in the city centre of Oslo.

• He was among the literary consultants for Bibel 2011, a Norwagian translation of the Bible.

Awards:

Jon Fosse has won many national and international awards for his literary works. Followings are some of them.

• Ibsen Prize

• Nestroy Prize

• Brage Prize

• The Swedish Academy Nordic Prize

• Ibsen Award.

• Target Prize.;

• European Prize for Literature

• Brag Prize for Fiction.

• Nobel Prize in Literature.

His famous novel, ‘Septology’, which is in seven parts, was nominated for the International Booker Prize in 2022. If you like and find the blog informative and interesting, please share and forward to your friends.

Prof. (Dr.) Asghar Ali Ansari School of Languages, Literature, &Society Jaipur National University, Jaipur, India