The Nobel Academy

　　For the last 82 years, Sweden's Nobel Academy has decided who will receive

　　the Nobel Prize in Literature, thereby determining who will be elevated

　　from the great and the near great to the immortal. But today the Academy is

　　coming under heavy criticism both from the without and from within. Critics

　　contend that the selection of the winners often has less to do with true

　　writing ability than with the peculiar internal politics of the Academy and

　　of Sweden itself. According to Ingmar Bjorksten, the cultural editor for

　　one of the country's two major newspapers, the prize continues to represent

　　"what people call a very Swedish exercise: reflecting Swedish tastes." The

　　Academy has defended itself against such charges of provincialism in its

　　selection by asserting that its physical distance from the great literary

　　capitals of the world actually serves to protect the Academy from outside

　　influences. This may well be true, but critics respond that this very

　　distance may also be responsible for the Academy's inability to

　　perceive accurately authentic trends in the literary world.

　　Regardless of concerns over the selection process, however, it seems that

　　the prize will

　　continue to survive both as an indicator of the literature that we most

　　highly praise, and as an elusive goal that writers seek. If for no other

　　reason, the prize will continue to be desirable for the financial rewards

　　that accompany it; not only is the cash prize itself considerable, but it

　　also dramatically increases sales of an author's books.