Doris Lessing Awarded 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature

(Photo credit: AP/Martin Cleaver)

English writer Doris Lessing won the 2007 Nobel Prize in literature, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced today (Thursday, October 11), citing her "skepticism, fire and visionary power" in dozens of works, notably her classic "The Golden Notebook" which was completed in 1962. At an age of 87 years old, Doris Lessing is the oldest person to have received the literature prize, the oldest prior recipient being Theodor Mommsen, who was 85 when he won the prize in 1902.

Doris Lessing was born Doris May Tayler in Kermanshah, then Persia but moved to Rhodesia, which is now Zimbabwe, with the family in 1925.  Her other major works include The Grass Is Singing in 1950, semi-autobiographical Children Of Violence series, The Summer Before Dark in 1973 and The Fifth Child in 1988.

Because of her criticism of the South African regime and its apartheid system, Doris Lessing was once prohibited from entering the country between 1956 and 1995. Lessing, who was a member of the British Communist Party in the 1950s, had been active in campaigning against nuclear weapons.

Source:  Doris Lessing Wins Nobel for Literature @ AP

Recommended reading: 2007 Nobel Prizes in Medicine，Physics and Chemistry; DorisLessing.org; Doris Lessing Myspace Page

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