Should Claudio Magris Start Packing for Stockholm?
Sure, I could name you about a half-dozen authors who probably ought to get the Nobel, or are at least in serious running, but I have absolutely no clue who the Academy is actually going to pick Thursday morning. Then again, hardly anybody else knows, either, unless you count the odds-makers at Ladbrokes, who have gotten it right three years in a row and are currently giving an edge to Claudio Magris (left)—who seems to currently have just one book in print in the United States, and that a collection of plays published by the tiny independent Green Integer Books. (A few other English-language editions appear to be available via import from Harvill, including a history of the Danube that did get an American release from FSG in the early 1990s.) Meanwhile, as far as other candidates are concerned, Australian poet Les Murray has apparently accumulated enough reputation to be touted along with the usual suspects like Philip Roth and Adonis now. DISCUSS: Who do you like for the prize?
