Alfred Nobel's will establishing the prize directed, in a gnomic manner, that it be awarded to authors who had produced "the most outstanding work in an ideal direction".
The Nobel goes to writers who the 18 members of the Swedish Academy judge to have written "the most outstanding work in an ideal direction".
Alfred Nobel's will decreed that the prize should go to a writer with "the most outstanding work in an ideal direction".
The Nobel prize for literature is awarded each October, in accordance with the wishes written in Alfred Nobel's will, to "the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction".
Beckett had drawn concerns from judges over whether his writing "corresponds to the idealistic intentions of the Nobel prize in literature" – the award is intended to go to "the most outstanding work in an ideal direction".
Worth 10m Swedish kronor (£893,000), the Nobel is awarded to "the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction", as described in Alfred Nobel's will of 1895.
Engdahl told the French journalist that he "did not know" if it was still possible to find – as Alfred Nobel specified the prize would reward – "the most outstanding work in an ideal direction".
"Then there was Nobel's requirement that the prize be given to an author who has produced, in the field of literature, the most outstanding work in an ideal direction.
The Nobel, worth eight million kronor, goes to the writer "who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction", with previous winners including Samuel Beckett, Doris Lessing and, last year, the Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer.
Nobel Prize for Literature Awarded since 1901; included at the behest of Alfred Nobel, who specified a prize for those who "shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction".
