Peter Englund's boycott provokes reactions

On Friday, the news came that author Peter Englund, a member of the Swedish Academy, boycotted all ceremonies during the Nobel week. The reason is that Englund opposes the Academy's choice of the disputed author Peter Handke as the 2019 Nobel Laureate in literature.

“To celebrate Peter Handke's Nobel Prize would be gross hypocrisy on my part. Can add that this comes as no surprise to my comrades in the Academy. And that I will be in place in regular order at the Academy's solemn assembly on December 20. The coat will rest until then, ”writes Peter Englund on Instagram.

Critic of cultural news Ingrid Elam is not surprised by Peter Englund's decision. Not least when Englund, reported on the spot during the Balkan war in the 1990s for Dagens Nyheter and Expressen's behalf, she emphasizes.

- Since he was actually in the regions when the Balkan war was going on in the 90s, it is of course deeply upsetting to him that Peter Handke receives the prize, Ingrid Elam tells the Culture News.

The Academy's statutes state that members must "avoid criticizing the Academy or its colleagues in public". According to Ingrid Elam, Peter Englund's message shows that the Academy has lost its position as "something that stands above the public".

- You do not hold as strictly your duty of confidentiality, and that applies both to those who defend and those who criticize the Academy's decisions.

Englund's message also sheds light on a larger debate that has been going on since the announcement of the Nobel Laureates.

- Peter Englund's decision shows that one cannot distinguish a literature award from the award winner. You not only legitimize the literature but also the person behind it, and it becomes very clear here.

Writer Agneta Pleijel tells Culture News that she was shocked by Handke's statements during the Balkan war. At the same time, one cannot deny that he is a fine writer, she tells Culture News.

- The Academy's statutes state roughly that the prize should be good for humanity, and that cannot be said that Handke's political views are. But justice will never be these choices, it is difficult to determine who is worthy and not, because this is the freedom of literature, that you should be free to express.

In retrospect, Agneta Pleijel sees the choice of Handke as dubious and troublesome for the Academy. Peter Englund's message testifies that the crack in the Academy is now reopening, she thinks.

- That Peter Englund, because of the award, says he does not participate in the Nobel festivities shows that the atmosphere among the academy members is split.

Literary critic Ulrika Milles is also on the same track.

- During the autumn, Peter Englund's voice has been waiting for Peter Handke's award because he was very involved during the Balkan war, he knows everything about those years but has not said anything, she says and continues:

- That he chooses to present his boycott of the Nobel Week just hours before the press conference is astonishingly unfair. Most of all, it indicates that there is an internal power struggle that the Swedish Academy cannot get organized.