The awarding of a prize to a work of art is meant to convey something about the value of that work in the world. But art prizes always provoke questions that evade easy answering: what purpose do prizes serve? What visions of life are promoted when we choose one book over another? How do the judges arrive at their choices? This response tells a partial story about the process of judging a literary award and what informs the event of decision-making. I frame the exercise as an illuminating immersion in the mood and feeling of the literature currently being published in South Africa.

中文翻译：

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感受当代：评判新南非小说

为一件艺术品颁奖是为了传达该作品在世界上的价值。但是艺术奖总是会引发一些难以回答的问题：奖品的目的是什么？当我们选择一本书而不是另一本书时，会提升什么样的生活愿景？评委如何做出选择？这个回应讲述了一个关于判断文学奖的过程的部分故事，以及决定事件的信息。我将这个练习描述为对当前在南非出版的文学作品的情绪和感受的启发性沉浸。