Sully Prudhomme
First Nobel laureate in Literature, French poet and essayist.
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René François Armand Prudhomme, known as Sully Prudhomme, was a French poet who won the first Nobel Prize for Literature in 1901.[1] He combined a Parnassian regard for formal perfection with philosophic and scientific interests.[2] His decision to award the prize stirred controversy at the time.[1]
Life and work
Sully Prudhomme was born in Paris to parents who had been engaged for ten years before marrying.[1] His father, a shopkeeper, died when Prudhomme was two years old.[3][2] He then grew up in his uncle's house with his mother.[3][1] A severe eye disorder forced him to abandon plans to study engineering.[1]
He later studied law without enthusiasm and worked in a solicitor's office.[1] While recovering from an unhappy love affair, he read philosophy and wrote poetry.[1] He became a member of the French Academy in 1881 and remained so until his death.[2]
What the cited sources add
The Nobel Foundation biography notes that Prudhomme was a member of the student society "Conference La Bruyère"[2] The same source states that favorable reception from fellow members encouraged him to continue writing poetry.[2] A biographical account reports that inheriting a small fortune made him temporarily independent to devote himself to writing.[1] The same account notes that his first book sold so well he decided to devote himself to literature.[1]
He enlisted in the militia defending Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.[1] The funds from his award were given by Sully-Prudhomme to a writers' organization to support new poets in publishing their initial works.[1]
References
- "René Sully-Prudhomme (1839-1907) - original name RENÉ FRANCOIS ARMAND PRUDHOMME". facts only, no text reused. authorscalendar.info
- "Sully Prudhomme – Biographical", Nobel Foundation. facts only, no text reused. nobelprize.org
- Wikipedia, "Sully Prudhomme" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Sully Prudhomme – Biographical", Nobel Foundation; "René Sully-Prudhomme (1839-1907) - original name RENÉ FRANCOIS ARMAND PRUDHOMME" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Sully Prudhomme (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Sully Prudhomme (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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