A lfred Nobel made his fortune with the nitroglycerin-based explosive known as dynamite, but his dream was to be a poet. He wrote verse in moleskine notebooks, sketched out plays, and, shortly before his death in 1896, completed a four-act tragedy set in Renaissance Rome about a woman who murders her rapist father. When it came to style, Nobel was a Romantic of a simple sort. He believed writers should lift readers up and show the will of the individual triumphing over adversity. His favorite writer of his day was the now largely forgotten poet Viktor Rydberg, an ardent progressive and idealist. When Nobel left instructions for the literary prize that bears his name, he stipulated the honor should go to ‘outstanding work in an ideal direction’. He almost certainly had in mind the direction of Rydberg. For many years, the Swedish Academy abided by Nobel’s wishes, and awarded the Prize to writers who would likewise be forgotten. In Nobel’s time there was another poet who raged in the opposite direction.…