Nobel Lectures: From the Literature Laureates, 1986 to 2006

Twenty-one of the world's greatest writers contemplate art and politics in a collection of both lyrical beauty and ethical depth."A writer's life is a highly vulnerable, almost naked activity....You find no shelter, no protection—unless you lie—in which case of course you have constructed your own protection and, it could be argued, become a politician."—Harold Pinter, from his Nobel lecture "Art, Truth And Politics"For over one hundred years writers from around the world have traveled to Stockholm, Sweden, on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death, to be awarded the prize bearing his name. From the political to the aesthetic, Nobel Lectures collects the words of a quarter century of these literature laureates, representing the inspirations, motivations, and passionately held beliefs of some of the greatest minds in the world of literature.From Harold Pinter's passionate and timely lecture on the nature of truth in art and politics to J.M. Coetzee's allegorical journey through the mysteries of the creative process; from Toni Morrison's essay on the link between language and oppression to Nadine Gordimer's meditation on the ways in which literature can shape the worlds of individual and collective being, this is a volume in which meditations on imagination and the process of writing mingle with keen discussions of global affairs, cultural change, and the ongoing influence of the past.Whatever genre the laureates write in, be it poetry, drama, or prose, and whatever their cultural or social background, Nobel Lectures is a testament to the power of literature to shape the world.