Doris Lessing (1919-2013) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2007. The committee recognized her as “that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny” (“The Nobel Prize in Literature 2007”).
The award announcement emphasizes her “scrutiny” brought to bear on “a divided civilisation”. Lessing’s biography admits First and Third World lived experiences. Born in Persia and raised in Southern Rhodesia, Lessing spent most of her life from age 30 active and writing within the London cultural space. From her earliest published work The Grass Is Singing (1950) and This Was the Old Chief’s Country (1951), to her final fictional memoir about her parents, Alfred and Emily (2008), memories
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Citation: Singer, Sandra. "The Nobel Prize in Literature 2007: Doris Lessing". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 August 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19497, accessed 26 November 2024.]
