Sandberg to Present Nobel Prize Symposium Talk Stephanie Sandberg, assistant professor of theater, will discuss this year’s Nobel Prize in literature on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 12:15 p.m.

By Brian Laubscher
January 17, 2024

Stephanie Sandberg, assistant professor of theater at Washington and Lee University, will present on the 2023 Nobel Prize in literature awarded to Norwegian author Jon Fosse for his “innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable.”

Sandberg will present an interactive talk that will include a scene from Fosse’s play “I am the Wind.” The event is slated for Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 12:15 p.m. in room 128 of the Harte Center, located in Leyburn Library. The discussion is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be provided.

Fosse’s literature was originally written in Nynorsk, a language used primarily in western Norway, and has been translated into over 50 languages. His immense works span a variety of genres consisting of plays, novels, poetry, essays, children’s books and translations. Today, he is known as one of the most widely performed playwrights in the world, but he is increasingly recognized for his prose.

“Jon Fosse is hailed as the Samuel Beckett of the 21st century,” said Sandberg. “However, for all that he inherits from Beckett, Fosse is unique in molding complex inner monologues that challenge us to self-reflect as we take on the psychologies of his characters and they inhabit us.”

Fosse was born in 1959 in the municipality of Haugesund, located on the west coast of Norway. As a child, he was almost immediately drawn to both writing and music, gravitating more toward literature as a teenager. He eventually attended the University of Bergen (Norway), earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree in comparative literature.

Learn more about all of the 2023 Nobel Prize winners here.