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Tolkien wrote second-rate prose

A Nobel prize jury in 1961 rejected the author of the Lord of the Rings as a recipient of the Prize for Literature because they considered his prose style was not of a sufficiently high standard for the prize.

Some 50 years have passed since that assessment. Their decision was revealed when the 50-year moratorium on the juries machinations ended and the documents were de-classified so they could be read by all.

Despite Tolkien being nominated by CS Lewis, his friend and fellow fantasy author, his storytelling was not deemed to have been of the highest quality by the judges, according to Swedish reporter Andreas Ekström who reported on 1961's previously classified documents on their release.

While current nominations run at some 300 writers, the 1961 norm was around 50 or so nominations.

Tolkien's work, despite not satisfying the jury, has sold millions of copies, around the world.

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1961 was awarded to Ivo Andric the Yugoslav novelist for what the jury said was: "the epic force with which he has traced themes and depicted human destinies drawn from the history of his country."

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07jan12 440
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