Mario Vargas Llosa, the 2010 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, is no stranger to Johns Hopkins. Our own Professor Sara Castro-Klarén (German & Romance Languages and Literature) has authored two books on her good friend, the 2010 Nobel Laureate. In addition, she has invited him to Hopkins on two occasions in the past to speak here.
Vargas Llosa was not an entirely unexpected choice for the Nobel. The announcement of this year’s winner was not a shock, as several recent choices have been, and has been met with nearly universal approval. His works and his life both speak to a commitment to the pursuit of freedom (individual, political, social, artistic). In addition, he has a strong faith in the power of literature to achieve that goal. The usual favorites, such as Philip Roth, Amos Oz, and Haruki Murakami will have to wait until next year.
The library has a good collection of Vargas Llosa’s works, both in Spanish and English.
Finally, see what the chair of the German & Romance Languages and Literature department, William Egginton, had to say about the new Nobel laureate in this article in last week’s Foreign Affairs.