Nobel Prize for Literature 2009

The Nobel Prize for Literature has once again been awarded to an author who is not American. Herta Müller, the Romanian-born writer and poet who is now a German citizen, has been awarded the prize for her work, much of which concerns the harsh life in Romania under the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.

Her first published book was a collection of short stories, Niederungen. It was censored by the government for being critical of the Ceausescu regime. The University of Nebraska Press published the book as Nadirs in 1999.

Her second published work, in 1984, was called Drückender Tango, the translations are called Oppressive Tango. Müller moved to West Germany in 1987 and she currently lives in Berlin.

Last year’s winner was French author Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio. Müller is the 12th woman to win the Nobel literature prize. Britain’s Doris Lessing was the last one in 2007.

There is also a book about her called Herta Müller by Brigid Haines. It contains 10 previously unpublished short texts by Müller with an interview and a biography. Six essays by British and German academics interpret her key texts in detail and assess vital aspects of Müller's work.