Congrats, Doris Lessing

Big news in the literature world today. Doris Lessing was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize for literature. Here’s a snippet from the AP story:

“The 87-year-old novelist, who lives in London, was praised by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm as an ‘epicist of the female experience’ whose books — most notably The Golden Notebook — have delved into the human psychological experience and ‘subjected a divided civilization to scrutiny.’

“During a lengthy career, Lessing is known for having been a beacon of inspiration to a generation of feminists. The Golden Notebook, published in 1962, told the story of Anna Wulf, a fiercely independent woman who challenged convention.”

Not mentioned in this story is another praise from the Swedish Academy, citing Lessing’s “skepticism, fire, and visionary power.” Now that’s an awesome compliment to a writer.

Lessing — who I’d never heard of before reading the Los Angeles Times website this morning (shows how great of a reader I am, not knowing one of the esteemed elders of my craft) — is the oldest person to ever receive the award. Her 88th birthday is in little more than a week (the same day as mine — yay!). Here’s the link to her Wikipedia page (oh, wonderful treasure-trove of information) if you want to learn more about her.

Congratulations to Doris Lessing.

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