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JRR Tolkien Denied Nobel Due To Low Quality Prose

Morty writes "In 1961, C.S. Lewis nominated JRR Tolkien for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Tolkien did not receive the prize. 50 years later, the archives for that year have been made available, so now we know why. Tolkien's prose was viewed as low quality."

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  1. Re:Tolkien's prose by tomhudson · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Except that the trilogy really is excretable. After wondering what all the hype was, I picked up the series in the bargain bin. After forcing myself to read the first 50 pages, my initial impression from the first few pages, that it is poorly written crap, continued to be confirmed.

    I'm not in favor of burning books, but in this case, I'd be willing to make an exception. It would be better employed starting a campfire for a marshmallow roast. Or to hang up in the outhouse for when someone forgot to pack the toilet paper.

    You're free to disagree - but in this case the Nobel committee got it right. Then again, CS Lewis wasn't much of a writer either, being a formulaic hack (and after reading his biography, it becomes obvious why he wrote the way he did - trying to justify his own actions in taking part in forcing other students in same-sex rapes at school as "not counting").