Philip Roth

2012 Prince of Asturias Award for Literature

PHILIP ROTH

The narrative work of Philip Roth forms part of the great American novel, in the tradition of Dos Passos, Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, Bellow and Malamud.

PHILIP ROTH BIOGRAPHY

Philip Roth was born in Newark (New Jersey, USA) in 1933. He attended Bucknell University and then the University of Chicago, where he completed his M.A. and taught English Literature. He subsequently taught creative writing at both Iowa and Princeton and Comparative Literature at the University of Pennsylvania. He retired from teaching in 1992 to devote himself entirely to writing. He is considered the most representative writer of the so-called Jewish School of the North American novel.

The only living writer whose works are being published in their entirety by The Library of America.

PHILIP ROTH AWARDS

  • The National Book Critics Circle Award. (1987 and 1992)
  • The Faulkner Award. (1993 and 2000)
  • The National Book Award. (1960 and 1995)
  • Pulitzer Prize for his novel "American Pastoral". (1997)
  • The Czech Republic's Karel Capek Award. (1994)
  • Franz Kafka Award. (2001)
  • The Prix Médicis for best foreign novel. (France, 2002)
  • The Sidewise Award for Alternate History. (UK, 2005)
  • The Nabokov Award. (USA, 2006)
  • The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, for "Everyman". (2007)
  • The PEN/Bellow Award. (2007)
  • The National Arts Club Medal of Honor. (USA, 1991)
  • The National Medal of Arts. (USA, 1998)
  • The Gold Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. (2001)
  • The Medal of the National Book Foundation for his contribution to American literature. (2002)
  • The Man Booker International Prize. (2011)
  • Prince of Asturias Award for Literature (2012)

PHILIP ROTH HIS WORK

  • "Goodbye, Columbus" (1959), a book of stories about Jewish life in America, placed him in the forefront of success and literary prestige in his country. The short story that lends its title to the book was made into a film in 1969.
  • In "Letting Go" (1962) he recounts the agony of a young Jewish professor who is torn between reason and feelings.
  • "Portnoy's Complaint" (1969) is written in the form of an autobiography and recounts the sexual life of Alexander Portnoy through a monologue from his psychiatrist's couch.
  • The novels "The Breast" (1972) and "The Great American Novel" (1973) marked a shift towards fantasy literature.
  • "My Life as a Man" (1974) noted a return to more introspective themes.
  • "The Ghost Writer" (1979), "Zuckerman Unbound" (1981), "The Anatomy Lesson" (1983), "The Human Stain" (2000) and "Exit Ghost" (2007) recount the life and career of the writer and central character Nathan Zuckerman.
  • "American Pastoral" (1997).
  • "Shop Talk: a Writer and His Colleagues and Their Works" (2003).
  • "The Plot against America" (2005).
  • "Everyman" (2006).
  • "The Humbling" (2009).
  • "Nemesis" (2010).


MINUTES OF THE JURY

At its meeting in Oviedo, the Jury for the 2012 Prince of Asturias Award for Literature, composed of Mr Luis María Anson Oliart, Mr J. J. Armas Marcelo, Mr Xuan Bello Fernández, Ms Blanca Berasátegui Garaizábal, Ms Amelia Castilla Alcolado, Mr Juan Cruz Ruiz, Mr José Luís García Martín, Mr Álex Grijelmo García, Mr Manuel Llorente Manchado, Ms Rosa Navarro Durán, Ms Soledad Puértolas Villanueva, Mr Fernando Rodríguez Lafuente, Mr Fernando Sánchez Dragó, Ms Diana Sorensen, Mr Sergio Vila-Sanjuan Robert, chaired by Mr José Manuel Blecua Perdices and with Mr Román Suárez Blanco acting as secretary, has decided by majority vote to confer the 2012 Prince of Asturias Award for Literature on the writer Philip Roth. The narrative work of Philip Roth forms part of the great American novel, in the tradition of Dos Passos, Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, Bellow and Malamud. Characters, events and plots form a complex view of contemporary reality torn between reason and feeling, such as the sign of the times and the sense of unease about the present. His literary quality is displayed in his fluid, incisive writing.

Oviedo, 6th June 2012