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Raghav Sand

Nobel 2020: Literature and Peace

Nobel for Literature

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2020 was awarded to Louise Glück “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.” She was born in 1943 in New York and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Apart from her writing she is a professor of English at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.

Debut and other notable recognitions

Glück made her debut in 1968 with Firstborn, and was soon acclaimed as one of the most prominent poets in American contemporary literature. She has received several prestigious awards, among them the Pulitzer Prize (1993) and the National Book Award (2014).

Nobel Prize in Literature 2020 awarded to American poet Louise Glück

Louise Glück

Body of Work and Character

Louise Glück has published twelve collections of poetry and some volumes of essays on poetry. Her work can be characterized as striving for clarity. Family bonding – the close relationship with parents and siblings – has remained the central theme for her work.

Nobel for Peace

Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 was awarded to the World Food Programme (WFP) for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.

Reach and impact of WFP

In 2015, eradicating hunger was adopted as one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. In 2019, the WFP provided assistance to close to 100 million people in 88 countries who are victims of acute food insecurity and hunger. The utility of WFP has been felt greatly in the times of pandemic. The world has seen armed conflict in many regions and lockdowns pushed many on the brink of starvation. Armed conflict and food shortage are closely related and food security has been used as a passive but potent weapon.

Enhanced Global Cooperation

Programmes like WFP have not been receiving optimum material, manpower, and money. UN member nations should fulfil their obligations and assist in realizing the true potential of such humanitarian pursuits.

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