Kazuo Ishiguro, Kent Undergraduate Alum, Wins Nobel Prize in Literature

Stockholm, Sweden – Kazuo Ishiguro a Kent alum has just been awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. His novels ‘The Remains of the Day’, ‘Never Let Me Go’, ‘An Artist of the Floating World’, and ‘The Buried Giant’, elicit deep connections and sympathy with flawed protagonists and characters. His work as a novelist has propelled Ishiguro into literary history, and has long been recognized for its literary greatness; he was awarded the Man Booker Prize in 1989 for his novel ‘Never Let Me Go’, and in 2008 The Times placed Ishiguro 32^nd in their list of “The 50 greatest british writers since 1945”.

The Nobel committee said: “who (Ishiguro), in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world.”

The University of Kent has released a statement congratulating Kazuo ishiguro, and quoted two faculty members familiar with his work:

Professor Wendy Parkins, Head of the School of English, said:

“We are delighted to hear that former Kent student Kazuo Ishiguro has received the Nobel Prize for Literature and the University offers its warmest congratualtions on his success. He is one of those rare writers whose work engages both our thoughts and emotions in a beguiling way.’

Dr. Graeme Forbes, Lecturer in Philosophy said:

“We couldn’t be prouder of our alumni, and we feel honoured to have Kazuo Ishiguro among them. People not familiar with philosophy sometimes ask ‘What can I do with that?’. His novels provide a compelling answer to this question: you can make us laugh, make us cry, and make us reflect deeply on the world around us, sometimes all at once. His Nobel Prize is a recognition of how valuable a thing that is to do with philosophy, and how well he has done it.”

Kazuo Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1954. In 1960 his family immigrated to the United Kingdom, settling in Guilford where he was raised.

Ishiguro graduated from the University of Kent with a bachelors degree in English and Philosophy in 1978.