Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse wins 2023 Nobel Prize in literature

Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature Thursday for an expansive body of plays, novels, poems, essays, and children's books that have established him as one of the world's most celebrated writers.

Fosse, who turned 64 last week, was chosen for the honor due to his "innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable," the Swedish Academy said in a statement honoring its 2023 laureate.

Fosse has been increasingly recognized for a unique minimalist writing style, in which he uses emotions and simple language to explore the depths of human identity while creating a deep sense of contemplation in his characters.

His extensive body of work spans four decades, and features a diverse range of literary genres, while revealing Fosse as a prolific man of letters.

Born in 1959 in Haugesund on the Norwegian west coast, Fosse writes in his native language, called Nynorsk, and uses a style that some suggest is influenced by 19th-century Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.

His first book "Red, Black," published in 1983, delved into themes of suicide and other dark aspects of human existence.

Between 1985 and 2021, he penned novels in which he compels his characters to confront profound psychological and emotional challenges, like jealousy and betrayal.

Fosse has authored more than two dozen plays since the 1990s, when he first rose to fame after his inaugural work "Someone Is Going to Come Home" debuted in a Paris stage production.

His Nobel award comes a year after French novelist Annie Ernaux won the prize for her deeply honest body of autobiographical works that revealed how she overcame a number of agonizing life experiences.

Other winners of the literature prize include songwriter Bob Dylan and author Toni Morrison, who became the first Black writer to ever receive the award in 1993.

This year's Nobel winners will receive a cash award, along with the iconic gold medal that features the profile of 19th-century Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel.