A Silent Language: The Nobel Lecture

by Jon Fosse, Damion Searls (Translator)

The essential lecture delivered by the 2023 Nobel Laureate in Literature, published for the first time in a collectible edition.

“If there’s any metaphor I would use for the act of writing, it would have to be listening,” says Jon Fosse in A Silent Language, the lecture he delivered after being awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature. When he writes, Fosse explains, he listens for texts that exist somewhere outside of himself in order to transcribe them before they disappear. With reverence and humility, Fosse traces his relationship to writing and celebrates the capacity of language to embrace the mystery, complexity, and existential uncertainty of the human experience. “It is only in the silence that you can hear God’s voice,” he says, offering a key to his beloved works of drama and fiction. “Maybe.”

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Writing, Nobel Prize

25 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 6, 2023

About the author

Jon Olav Fosse was born in Haugesund, Norway and currently lives in Bergen. He debuted in 1983 with the novel Raudt, svart (Red, black). His first play, Og aldri skal vi skiljast, was performed and published in 1994. Jon Fosse has written novels, short stories, poetry, children's books, essays and plays. His works have been translated into more than forty languages. He is widely considered as one of the world's greatest contemporary playwrights. Fosse was made a chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite of France in 2007. Fosse also has been ranked number 83 on the list of the Top 100 living geniuses by The Daily Telegraph.

He was awarded The Nobel Prize in Literature 2023 "for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable".

Since 2011, Fosse has been granted the Grotten, an honorary residence owned by the Norwegian state and located on the premises of the Royal Palace in the city centre of Oslo. The Grotten is given as a permanent residence to a person specifically bestowed this honour by the King of Norway for their contributions to Norwegian arts and culture.

Reviews

[Glenn Russell]

Jon Fosse won the 2023 Nobel Prize for Literature. His acceptance speech, A Silent Language, reflects his fiercely individual voice as a writer. Below are a number of striking direct quotes from Jon Fosse's speech along with my own observations.

“In a way it was as if the fear took my language from me, and that I had to take it back, so to speak. And if I were to do that, it couldn’t be on other people’s terms, but on my own.”

I recall some years back a minister said that it isn't such a bad thing for a young person to pull away from the religion they were exposed to growing up, to go through a period of agnosticism or even atheism, since, if they return to religion, their belief will be their own and not someone else's. I have the sense Jon Fosse went through the same thing with language – after his traumatic boyhood experience of being asked to read aloud in class (he ran out of the classroom, telling the teacher he was sick), when he finally reclaimed language, the words were his words, uniquely his words.

“I started to write my own texts, short poems, short stories....In a way I found a place inside myself that was just mine, and from that place I could write what was just mine.”

The key for Jon Fosse is what is his alone: his specific angle in looking at things, his distinctive way of being in the world, and his particular use of language. This can be a lesson for us all. If we aspire to write, an excellent first step would be to minimize watching television and exposing ourselves to mass culture. If you want to discover what is uniquely yours, you need to escape the constant pressure to think like everyone else.

“One thing is certain, I have never written to express myself, as they say, but rather to get away from myself.”

In light of Jon Fosse saying he found a place inside himself that was just his, what does he mean here by getting away from himself? I strongly suspect Jon Fosse is talking about getting away from his social persona, that is, the man who interacts with others throughout the day. Rather, he's writing from his spiritual depth, in a similar way to the Rhineland mystics: Meister Eckhart, Johannes Tauler, and Jan Van Ruusbroec.

“You hear the silence. And as it has been said, it is only in the silence that you can hear God’s voice.”

I imagine Jon Fosse spending hours alone in silence at his writing desk every single day in his small rural house along the coast of Norway. As a lifelong practitioner of meditation, I have an especial appreciation for Jon's words. One of the curses of our modern world: many people are stripped of their ability to appreciate the beauty of silence and solitude. Indeed, in many respects, silence and solitude have become the dreaded enemy.

“And the act of writing is to me to listen: when I write I never prepare, I don’t plan anything, I proceed by listening.”

There are many legitimate and highly effective ways to write. A number of accomplished writers, William Boyd comes immediately to mind, spend months constructing an elaborate outline (including a detailed description for each character), prior to actually setting out to write their novel. Not so for Jon Fosse. He prepares nothing; rather, Jon listens intently. And as Jon says, “Something else, perhaps a bit strange, is when I write, at a certain point I always get a feeling that the text has already been written, is out there somewhere, not inside me, and I just need to write it down before the text disappears.” Curiously, two other outstanding contemporary authors have reported a similar experience when writing their novels: Zoran Živković from Serbia and Mircea Cărtărescu from Romania.

“If I didn’t listen to the bad reviews, I also wouldn’t let success influence me, I would hold fast to my writing, hold on to, hang on to what I had created.”

Jon's words can serve as an example for all aspiring creative writers. Critics and reviewers can praise or criticize your writing, but above all else, the most important and glorious thing is to maintain your vision as a writer. Do not veer from what inspires you to write and how you write it.

Link to Jon Fosse's speech - https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lit...

[Paula Mota · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5*

A good poem, too – and I have also written a great deal of poetry – has its own universe. It exists primarily in relation to itself, and then the person who reads the poem enters into this created written universe. The process is more like a kind of communion than any communication. In fact, this is probably true of everything I’ve written. In any case, I have certainly never written to express myself, as they say. Rather it was to get away from myself.

Tal como tinha feito anteriormente com Annie Ernaux, a editora Fitzcarraldo publicou os discursos proferidos aquando da entrega do Prémio Nobel da Literatura ao norueguês Jon Fosse. A primeira coisa que me saltou à vista foi a extensa bibliografia do autor: 37 obras de prosa, 13 de poesia e 30 peças de teatro, as quais diz ter começado a escrever por necessidade de dinheiro, mas que acabaram por ser o veículo perfeito para aquilo que quer transmitir com a sua escrita em geral: o silêncio.

Perhaps all the repetition in my fiction functions similarly to the pauses in the plays. Or maybe this is a better way to put it: while there is silent speech in the plays, there is silent language in the novels, behind the written language, and if I’m writing well then I am necessarily writing this silent language too. (…) And what do you hear, if you listen well enough? You hear the silence.

É essa ideia do não dito que reitera o Professor Anders Olsson, Presidente do Comité Nobel, no discurso que precede a entrega do galardão a Fosse em Dezembro de 2023, onde também o defende de ser um escritor difícil.

He uses the simplest of words and writes about experiences to which we can all relate: separation, death and the vulnerability of love. If there is a difficulty with Fosse it concerns the reader’s willingness to open herself up to the existential uncertainty he reflects on. But the fact that he is one of today’s most widely performed playwrights indicates that this is a torment shared by many.

Fosse inicia esta palestra referindo o medo de ler em público que o atormentava em criança e como isso o impeliu a escrever.

Literary language is never like that: it has no message; it conveys nothing; it is a kind of meaning without communication. It exists as its own thing. And so obviously any good piece of literary writing is the complete opposite of any kind of preaching, whether religious, political, or anything else. Through my fear of public speaking in school, I so to speak entered into the solitary life of the literary writer, where I’ve remained ever since.

Sobre o carácter melopeico da sua escrita, há também afirmações que sublinham essa percepção:

If there’s any metaphor I would use for the act of writing, it would have to be listening. And so, it almost necessarily follows, writing is like music. At one point when I was a teenager, I switched, so to speak, directly from playing music to writing. I stopped playing music altogether, and even stopped listening to music, and started writing, and in my writing I tried to create something I had experienced when playing music. And I did create that – and that is what I still do.

Depois de todas estas informações válidas para quem gosta ou quer entender melhor o estilo de Jon Fosse, o discurso proferido aquando do banquete no Nobel, em que ele afirma ter tido a visão de que receberia este prémio, foi das maiores piroseiras que um autor conceituado já disse.

[emily]

'In any case, I have certainly never written to express myself, as they say. Rather it was to get away from myself.'

It's alright, I suppose, (brief, but can't see myself holding onto any of these lines for long) but I imagine I'd be slightly more moved by this if I had been more (how should I phrase this) well Fosse-ed beforehand?

'Spoken language is often monologic: it communicates information, says that something is a certain way, or else it is a rhetorical act of expressing belief or trying to persuade the listener. Literary language is never like that: it has no message; it conveys nothing; it is a kind of meaning without communication. It exists as its own thing. And so obviously any good piece of literary writing is the complete opposite of any kind of preaching, whether religious, political, or anything else.'

'I had found something like a place inside me that was mine, mine alone, and from that place I could write things that were also mine alone—To tell the truth, I don't know much about this place except for the fact that it exists. The Norwegian poet Olav H. Hauge once wrote a poem where he compared writing poetry with being a child playing in the forest, building little shelters of leaves and twigs, and then crawling inside these shelters, lighting a candle, and sitting there feeling safe in the dark autumn evenings. I feel like this is a good image for how I, too, experience writing. Today just as much as fifty years ago.'

[Helga · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started to write my own texts, short poems, short stories. And I discovered that doing so, gave me a sense of safety, gave me the opposite of fear. In a way I found a place inside myself that was just mine, and from that place I could write what was just mine.

A Silent Language is the Nobel Lecture of the Norwegian writer Jon Fosse who was the well-deserved winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2023 “for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable”.

One thing is certain, I have never written to express myself, as they say, but rather to get away from myself.

In a short time, with his minimalist and lyrical style, Fosse has become one of my favourite authors.

In a sense I have always known that writing can save lives, perhaps it has even saved my own life. And if my writing also can help to save the lives of others, nothing would make me happier.

You can find the lecture here:
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lit...

[Márcio · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have ever read any biographical article about Jon Fosse, then you might already know what his Nobel Lecture might bring, it is just that here, it is a personal account that might add a thing or two to those articles.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

I said in an interview once that writing is a kind of prayer. I felt very embarrassed when I saw those words in print afterwards. But some time later, I read that Kafka had said the same thing, and I felt much better. So maybe...after all?

[Matthew Ted]

The best part of Fosse's speech was the light he shed on Septology (albeit as small as a candlelight). So spoilers for Septology below, I guess, if you can call them 'spoilers' in a book like that.

As a simple, concrete example: in Septology this silent language is what says that the first Asle and the second Asle might be the same person; this silent language is what says that the whole long novel, some twelve hundred pages in Norwegian, might actually be the written expression of a single, long-drawn-out moment.

I experienced some of my happiest moments ever as a writer in the course of writing that novel, [Septology] for example when the first Asle finds the other Asle lying in the snow and saves his life. Or at the end, when the main character, the first Asle, sets out by boat on his final journey, with his best and only friend, Asleik, to celebrate Christmas with Asleik.
I had no intention of writing a long novel, but the novel wrote itself, so to speak, and it became a long novel, and there were many passages I wrote so smoothly and easily that everything came out right the first time.
That is probably the when I am closest to what you'd call happiness.

[Alex O'Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fosse is such a tremendously profound thinker - in simplicity and silence he manages to say so much, and I absolutely love him for it. I remember reading this when it was first published in english and it remains my favorite nobel lecture - as Fosse is my favorite Nobel winner.

[Nadine Mahgoub · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The most important thing in life cannot be said, only written, to twist a famous saying by Jacques Derrida.
So I try to give words to the silent speech.
And when I was writing drama, I could use the silent speech, the silent people, in a whole other way than in prose and poetry. All I had to do was to write the word pause, and the silent speech was there. And in my drama the word pause is without a doubt the most important and the most used word –long pause, short pause, or just pause.

In these pauses there can be so much, or so little. That something cannot be said, that something doesn’t want to be said, or is best being said by saying nothing at all."

This is just PERFECT.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's nice.

[Alya AlShaibani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a ginormous blue 832-page hardback of Septology that emits an air of extreme intimidation at me when it's time to pick out a new book to read off my bookshelf, mainly because I've never heard of Jon Fosse before reading the blurb and purchasing the copy.

So I thought this cutie would help me get a glimpse of what I'm up against. And it did. And I am so excited because I also ordered a few of his other short works of fiction that I will probably read before Septology because it's still so big and scary okkkkk

[Hugo Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guy is straight up awesome

[Juraj Polakovič]

"In any case, I have certainly never written to express myself, as they say. Rather it was to get away from myself."

[Deepak Varadarajan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even the speech is poetic,like a prayer!

[Maeby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short speech, not too much to think about, loved the Olav Hauge quote

[Jonas Mikal]

Jon Fosse er the goat. Viss du lesar dette Jon Fosse, så heiter eg Jonas Mikal og er din største fan. Sånn på ekte.

[Madeleine Metz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading this lecture. It was a fascinating exploration into not only the essence of language and story-telling, but also the different ways in which people are able to connect with the world. The description of the purpose of a story, to evoke emotion and to create new universes between the actual lines of texts has allowed me to better understand not only his writing, but the ways in which people tell stories to stay grounded and to live more fulfilling lives.

[Eric Boles]

I said in an interview once that writing is a kind of prayer. I felt very embarrassed when I saw those words in print afterward. But some time later, I read that Kafka had said the same thing, and I felt much better. So maybe … after all?

[Amy ☁️ (tinycl0ud) · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are two main sections, both very short. The first is the lecture given by Fosse when he won the Nobel Prize in Literature, and the second is the Award Ceremony Speech given by the Chair of Nobel Committee for Literature.

Fosse reflects on the process of writing and how it differs across various forms—poetry, prose, plays—as well as his evolving motivations behind what he wrote over the decades. To him, writing is a refuge. Writing is also about creating new worlds. To write is to listen—to silence. He tries to speak a "silent language," which is an ambiguous and oxymoronic concept that I interpret as being the deeper meaning of the text as a whole, the answer to the question of what the story is truly about.

At one point, he says, "Literary language . . . has no message; it conveys nothing; it is a kind of meaning without communication. It exists as its own thing. And so obviously any good piece of literary writing is the complete opposite of any kind of preaching, whether religious, political, or anything else." I feel like there may be something I am missing here because it is a translation, but I don't see why good literary writing cannot also be communicative/ have a moral/ contain critique. The way it is said so definitively was jarring and seems to contradict the uncertainty in his works that Professor Olsson praised for its potential to "open a relation to the divine."

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it very interesting to read Fosse’s own thoughts about his writing. If you’ve read him I’m sure you’ve noticed his highly repetitive style. Apparently repetition in his prose serves the same purpose as the pauses he prescribes in his plays: “a silent language”. Also he states that literary prose is not about communication but communion and he is acutely aware of the duality of the author’s and the protagonist’s voices. You can certainly tell from his mesmerising narrations! He quotes his compatriot, the poet Olav Hauge, who said that, for him, writing was like children playing in the forest, building little shelters, then crawling into them, lighting a candle, and feeling safe in the dark autumn evenings (I’m paraphrasing). Fosse says that’s also how he experiences writing. What a beautiful simile and what’s more you also get those feelings when you read his prayer-like stories. Writing for him is not about expressing himself but an attempt to get away from himself, giving voice to the unsayable. Mostly “separation, death, and the vulnerability of love”. Fosse is certainly “the master of ambivalence and the unresolved” as Anders Olsen, the Chair of the Nobel Committee for Literature, said!

[cypher · Rating 1 out of 5]

my rating reflects my opinion on the presentation, not the quality of the content, if the content quantity would have been enough: this is not worthy of a book!!!!
the “book” is 36 pages, but only if the font is 3x the size of a decent, acceptable font for a book…and with margins 3x normal too…all for the price of a book…pretty much, where the content is, at best, worthy to be published in some magazine as an article…but, hey, it’s “great” to have this out there as this “book”, i might need it for when i’ll need to prepare my own Nobel Prize in Literature speech, and huge flex about it.
…”books” these days…they make some people money.

the content: 1 x short speech, 1 x super-short appreciation speech for (not by) the author, 1 x incredibly-absolutely-ridiculously-short thank-you-note for receiving the Nobel Prize.
all valuable, in relative, to the world. thanks for this book…i felt Septology was a bit too long, some balance.

[Ethan Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

While Jon Fosse's Septology left me exhausted and rotting in an extended reading slump, his Nobel acceptance speech reminded me of everything I loved about the novel.

Writing can be a tiring experience, wrestling with the tools of language to communicate and create something that resembles the fuzzy abstract ideas in your head, Fosse offers a different method. Writing as a safe space, a place without shame, repetitive, unedited, unfiltered, a prayer. Communion with yourself, an experience outside of yourself, to walk your words off a leash in spite of the fear where they may go. And ultimately full of pause, respite, and silence. The silence in which God and truth resides, within our observed frequency ranges of reality is where we fumble around agreed upon grunts and noises to attempt to explain these quiet moments of pure experience. The words are just the finger pointing towards the moon.

Or some shit idk

[Sasha Mottaghi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was lovely to read Jon Fosse's Nobel Prizewinner's speech in this slim volume (coupled with the introductory speech from the Nobel Committee and then Fosse's very brief speech from the Nobel Dinner).

Aside from the insights into his novels and some of their meanings, it is just lovely to see this exceptionally talented author reflecting so modestly and thoughtfully on his career and his successes. He comes across in a very genuine, warm way that only underscores what a privilege and a pleasure it is to read his magnificent stories.

I hear Fitzcarraldo are soon to expand into publishing poetry and I await, with excitement, the possibility that his poems may one day be translated into English and published here...!

[Mel]

This is a transcript of Jon Fosse’s Nobel lecture, and it feels odd to rate a speech; actually, I doubt you could really call this a review.

Anyway, I enjoyed this - it’s an interesting glimpse into how Fosse sees language and its use both in novels and plays, but honestly not really worth reading if you haven’t previously read any of his work. I had not realised quite how prolific he has been as a writer!

[Isabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There can be so much in these pauses - or so little. The fact that something cannot be said, the fact that something refuses to be said, or the fact that something is best said by not saying anything.

But what I am quite sure speaks through these pauses the most is: silence."

"And what do you hear, if you listen well enough?

You hear the silence.

And, as others have said before: It is only in the silence that we can hear the voice of God."

[Clarise Ng · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up and enjoyed this book because I have always found learning about what makes a writer fascinating. In Jon Fosse’s case it is salvation: a silent language that allows him to say the unsayable, a way to retreat into himself when he fears the public, and at the same time a way to commune and be part of the world. Of the literary laureates’ lectures I have read and watched, this I feel is the most personal and microscopic. This makes it refreshing but also underwhelming.

[n · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s hard to rate a Nobel Prize acceptance and award speech, but Jon Fosse’s viewpoint and artistic policy speaks deeply to me in this. Beyond writing, the power of silence and the willingness to be pure in heart is vital to art. I really enjoyed Aliss at the Fire and hope to eventually get through Septology. Glad I was recommended Fosse, it’s very inspiring work!

[Seyhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always loved listening to Nobel lectures. In this small book, we get to read Jon Fosse’s remarkable Nobel Lecture, along with the award ceremony speech by the Chair of the Committee. Without a doubt, Fosse stands among the greatest living authors of our century!I can’t wait to devour his entire corpus.

[echo]

krótka przemowa podczas odbierania nobla

Fosse pięknie mówi o literaturze; dostraja się do tego, co pomiędzy słowami, tego, co najbardziej fascynujące w pisaniu; modli się, pisząc; szuka otwarcia w tekście, który nie niesie znaczenia, a otwiera się na znaczenie

pisanie to słuchanie ciszy, transkrypcja bezsłowności; literatura, jak ciche nabożeństwo, wybrzmiewa tym, czego nie mówi

[Mandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been toying with reading Septology for most of this year. Reading this short series of speeches delivered on Fosse’s works convinced me that I need to pick up — if not Septology — one of Fosse’s novels before the end of the year.