OCTOBER 13, 2016 – Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature for work that the Swedish Academy described as “having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” In choosing a popular musician for the literary world’s highest honor, the Swedish Academy which has awarded the prize since 1901, has dramatically redefined the boundaries of literature, setting off a hot debate about whether song lyrics have the same artistic value as poetry or novels. Musicians and literary figures are mixed on their feelings concerning the historic decision. Instead of appearing at the news conference arranged by a publisher, Dylan was in Las Vegas for a performance at a theater and did not comment on the honor.
Dylan is the first American to win the prize since Toni Morrison in 1993, and a groundbreaking choice by the Nobel committee to select the first literature laureate whose career has primarily been as a musician. Although long rumored as a contender for the prize, Dylan was far down the list of predicted winners, which included such renowned writers as Haruki Murakami and Ngugi wa Thiong’o. Dylan will receive an 18-karat gold medal and a check for about $925,000.
The permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, Sara Danius, made the announcement in Stockholm. In a televised interview afterward, Danius said that Dylan “embodies the tradition. And for 54 years, he’s been at it, reinventing himself, creating a new identity.” She suggested that people unfamiliar with his work start with the album “Blonde on Blond” (1966). “Bob Dylan writes poetry for the ear,” she said. “But it’s perfectly fine to read his works as poetry.” She drew parallels between Dylan’s work and poets as far back as Greek antiquity. “It’s an extraordinary example of his brilliant way of rhyming and his pictorial thinking,” Danius said. “If you look back, far back, you discover Homer and Sappho, and they wrote poetic texts that were meant to be listened to. They were meant to be performed. It’s the same way with Bob Dylan. But we still read Homer and Sappho. He can be read and should be read. He is a great poet in the grand English tradition. I know the music, and I’ve started to appreciate him much more now. Today, I’m a lover of Bob Dylan.
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