I had before me a collection containing biographies of writers selected for the Nobel Prize from its inception in the early twentieth century until the year of World War I. I asked myself: If the occasion of the award was not mentioned in this collection, would a critical reader be able to know the reasons for choosing these writers over others? Hundreds of writers in this era that exceeded the limits of the generation within its terminology?!
He knows, without a doubt, that there is an established unity that unites its names, but he may search for that unity for a long time before he finds its truth or anything close to that truth. He can know without difficulty that these names do not belong to one nation, nor to one period that is close to each other. It contains ages, but he does not see it as an indication of development or advancement.
Abbas Mahmoud Al-Akkad