The Post points to comments from Peter Englund, permanent secretary of the Nobel committee, in which he said that the academy "has started to work actively to broaden its scope beyond Europe and the English-speaking world". You can listen to an interview Richard Lea did with him earlier this year, here. Looking around at what people are reporting, most are buzzing about Bob Dylan's streak up the odds, but there's a good Washington Post piece asking whether this is the year when the Nobel committee will turn its gaze east, towards Asian and Middle Eastern literature. South Korean poet Ko Un and Syria's Adonis have featured in the favourites list for years; both would be worthy winners, and there's a particular sense that to award the prize to a Syrian author in the year of Arab Spring would be timely.
Just tuned in to the webcast, and I can exclusively report that we are currently looking at a room of people, milling around, waiting - much as we are - for something to happen. There's some up-tempo muzak, though, and several nice chandeliers.
It looks as if the Nobel website has gazumped itself: go to the front of the Nobel prize for literature site, and they appear to have posted the name of the winner: Serbian author Dobrica Cosic.
"Serbian author Dobrica Cosic recipient of 2011 Nobel prize in Literature
"We lie to deceive ourselves, to console others, we lie for mercy, we lie to fight fear, to encourage ourselves, to hide our and somebody else's misery."
Citation from the novel trilogy Divisions (Deobe)
The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2011 is awarded to the Serbian author Dobrica Cosic, the last dissident of the 20th century, witness of a declining era, as well as the prophet of an emerging one.
All his life Dobrica Cosic has been writing one continuous story, one novel. One doesn't easily forget his characters and the meaning of their universal love, hate, pleasure and pain"
We'll have more content as the day goes on, including poems from the New Collected Poems, and reaction from critics. Stay tuned for all of that, and happy Nobel day to you all.
