Swedish Academy Releases 1975 Nobel Prize Records Revealing Eugenio Montale's Selection Process

The Swedish Academy has declassified documents from 1975 detailing how Italian poet Eugenio Montale received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Records show Montale was first seriously considered in the 1950s but faced competition from other Italian poets. By the 1970s, his position strengthened with lifetime senatorial appointment and new poetry collections. In 1975, amid committee tensions following a controversial previous award, Montale emerged as a consensus candidate. Committee member Henry Olsson noted Montale appeared on many voting lists and was deemed worthy both as poet and person. The award recognized his distance from fascism and his satirical voice. Montale received the prize in Stockholm on December 12, 1975.