Shmuel Yosef Agnon wrote at a period when the terms of literature itself were being argued over.
The record lists Shmuel Yosef Agnon as Ukrainian-born Israeli Hebrew writer, Nobel laureate in Literature (1888–1970).
Shmuel Yosef Agnon was born in 1887. His recorded nationality is Israel.
Around the turn of the twentieth century, literary form itself came under argument, and the certainties of the realist novel were dismantled.
He worked as writer, novelist and poet.
Among his best-known works are Tel ou tel, The Bridal Canopy and Invité pour la Nuit. Books outlive their reviews, and the ones that last are seldom the ones that sold best.
The honours record reads: Nobel Prize in Literature (1966), Bialik Prize (1950), Israel Prize (1958) and Newman Prize (1963).
That the work was written from Israel matters: language, censorship and the reach of a publishing industry decide which books travel and which stay local.
Shmuel Yosef Agnon died in 1970, aged 83. The books remain, which is the only durable form a writing life takes.
Achievements
- Nobel Prize in Literature — 1966
- Bialik Prize — 1950
- Israel Prize — 1958
- Newman Prize — 1963
- Notable work: Tel ou tel
- Notable work: The Bridal Canopy
- Notable work: Invité pour la Nuit
- Notable work: Those Were the Days
