SOURCE: "The Not-So-Accidental Recognition of an Anarchist," in The New York Times, October 15, 1997, p. E2.

[In the essay below, Gussow sees Fo's award as an expansion of the boundaries of literature, legitimation of the world of performance, and recognition of the contribution of comedy, especially political satire.]

When Dario Fo was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature last week, it was the first time the honor had been given to an actor and clown. Mr. Fo is, of course, also a playwright, but it is as a performer of his own comedies that he has achieved his greatest international celebrity. His primary distinction is in combining all his diverse theatrical roles—he is also a director and designer—into a single act of comic self-creation.

For more than 40 years, he has been a court jester, a professional gadfly with a stinging sense of satire, attacking corruption, greed and...