'Coetzee made us all proud'
2003-10-02 16:12
Johannesburg - The African National Congress heaped praise on author JM Coetzee on Thursday after it was announced that he had won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
"The ANC hopes the recognition given to South African authors like Coetzee and Nadine Gordimer - who received the award in 1991 - will serve as an inspiration to young writers in this country and on the African continent," said ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama.
"We also hope it will encourage publishers and readers to realise the continent's vast untapped literary potential."
The Democratic Alliance hailed the award as a "huge honour" for South African literature.
"Mr Coetzee joins the best of the best with this award, most notably his compatriot Nadine Gordimer who won the award in 1991," said Sydney Opperman, MP.
"Mr Coetzee has made us all proud."
A statement from the Swedish Academy, which adjudicates and awards the prizes, said, "There is a great wealth of variety in Coetzee's works. No two books ever follow the same recipe.
"Extensive reading reveals a recurring pattern, the downward spiralling journeys he considers necessary for the salvation of his characters. His protagonists are overwhelmed by the urge to sink but paradoxically derive strength from being stripped of all external dignity."
- SAPA