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Background: AMERICAN NOVELIST SAUL BELLOW WON THE 1976 NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE THURSDAY, GIVING THE UNITED STATES AN UNPRECEDENTED SWEEP OF THE NOBEL AWARDS IN ITS BICENTENNIAL YEAR.

BELLOW, THE AUTHOR OF "HUMBOLDT'S GIFT" LAST YEAR AND "MR. SAMMIER'S PLANET" IN 1970, WON THE PRIZE "FOR THE HUMAN UNDERSTANDING AND SUBTLE ANALYSIS OF CONTEMPORARY CULTURE THAT ARE COMBINED IN HIS WORK," THE SWEDISH ACADEMY SAID.

"I FEEL IT IS A VERY GREAT HONOUR," THE 61-YEAR-OLD CANADIAN-BORN AUTHOR SAID AT HOME IN CHICAGO. "AFTER ALL, SOME FIRST RATE WRITERS HAVE WON IT."
SEVEN AMERICAN HAVE WON EVERY ONE OF THE 1976 NOBEL PRIZES--FOR ECONOMICS, MEDICINE, PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY AND LITERATURE, EACH WORTH $150,000. THE SWEDISH ACADEMY DID NOT NAME ANYONE TO RECEIVE THE PEACE PRIZE THIS YEAR.

NO NATION HAS EVERY BEFORE WON ALL THE AWARDS IN ONE YEAR.

BELLOW, A PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, HAS DESCRIBED HIMSELF AS "JUST AN OLD-FASHIONED WRITER." THE SON OF A COAL DEALER, HE HAS LIVED, STUDIED AND WORKED IN CHICAGO SINCE HE HAS 9 YEAR OLD.

TO A REPORTER WHO ASKED IF HE HAD PLANNED TO CELEBRATE THE PRIZE-SWEDISH NEWS MEDIA FIRST REPORTED TWO DAYS AGO HE WAS THE APPARENT CHOICE--BELLOW CHUCKLED AND SAID: "NO, I DON'T HAVE CHAMPAGNE FOR BREAKFAST. YOU KNOW, THAT'S A SORT OF TRUMAN CAPOTE IDEA."
THE NOBEL CITATION SAID BELLOW HAS GONE THROUGH TWO PHASES IN DEVELOPING HIS STYLE AS A WRITER.

HIS FIRST BOOK, "DANGLING MAN," IN 1944, BEGAN A NEW STYLE THAT EXPLORED THE FROTAGONIST'S MIND RATHER THAN DRAMATIC ACTION. OTHER NOVELS IN THIS SPIRIT INCLUDED "THE VICTIM" (1947) AND "SEIZE THE DAY" NINE YEARS LATER-- "ONE OF THE CLASSIC WORKS OF OUR TIME," THE ACADEMY SAID.

THE NOBEL JURORS SAID BELLOW'S SECOND PHASE BEGAN WITH "THE ADVENTURES OF AUGIE MARCH" IN 1953, WHICH SHOWED HIS STYLE OF MIXING THE PICARESQUE NOVEL TOGETHER WITH PHILOSOPHIC CONVERSATIONS WITH THE READER. HE CONTINUED WITH "HENDERSON THE RAIN KING" IN 1959, "HERZOG" IN 1964, "MR. SAMMLER'S PLANET" AND "HUMBOLDT'S GIFT."
THE SEVEN AMERICAN LAUREATES WILL RECEIVE THEIR PRIZES AT STOCKHOLM'S CITY HALL DEC. 10, THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF ALFRED NOBEL, THE SWEDISH INVENTOR OF DYNAMITE.

"I'D BETTER GRAB THE CHANCE TO SEE SWEDEN," BELLOW SAID. "I'VE NEVER BEEN THERE."