By John Ikani
Jonas Thente, a Swedish literary critic has expressed fears that Nigerian author, Chimamanda Adichie is “probably too young” to be awarded a Nobel Laureate.
The literary Editor and critic at Dagens Nyheter in Sweden, however said he hopes that 44-year-old Adichie is awarded a Nobel Prize in October 2021.
Thente’s fears comes as organisers of the prestigious award will name a winner of the prize on Thursday.
Hope springs eternal for Adichie as Swedish Academy has promised new criteria that would lead to a more global and gender-equal literature prize.
More so, the youngest laureate to date was Rudyard Kipling, who was honoured at the age of 41 in 1907.
Thente’s stance aligns with that of critics who have pointed out that some non-Western writers are available for the Nobel prize.
Kenya’s Ngugi wa Thiong’o is regularly mentioned as an African author worthy of the prize, as are Somalia’s Nuruddin Farah or Mozambique’s Mia Couto.
South Korea’s Ko Un’s star may have faded following accusations of sexual assault, but India’s Vikram Seth and China’s Can Xue, Yan Lianke and Lao Yiwu (pen name Lao Wei) have also been cited as potential winners.
Caribbean-American Jamaica Kincaid and Maryse Conde of Guadeloupe have also been touted for the prize.
