O'Neill. Faulkner. Hemingway. Dylan.
Ending years of what many felt was nothing more than wild speculation, the Swedish Academy awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature this morning to Bob Dylan for “having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” Dylan is the first American to win the prize since Toni Morrison in 1993. More importantly – especially for music lovers - he is the first-ever musician to win the award, given annually in recognition of "the most outstanding work in an ideal direction."
When asked if Dylan truly deserved the award, the Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, Sara Danius, had this to say:
"Of course he deserves it! He is a great poet in the grand English poetic tradition. He's been at it for 54 years now, reinventing himself constantly…If you look back 2,500 years or so, you discover Homer and Sappho, who wrote poetic texts that were meant to be performed, often together with instruments. It is the same way with Bob Dylan. He can be read, and he should be read. The times are-a-changing, perhaps."
When asked if there were particular examples of Dylan's work which swayed the jury, Danius cited Blonde on Blonde (1966) as "an extraordinary example of his brilliant way of rhyming and putting together refrains, and his pictorial thinking."
Dylan will be awarded his Nobel in Stockholm this December. (He was also there in 2000 to pick up the Polar Music Prize, invented to honor musicians who were never thought able to win a Nobel.) Between now and then, he'll be on tour in support of his 40th studio album, Fallen Angels, including an appearance tonight in Las Vegas before returning to Desert Trip tomorrow night to perform with the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, The Who, Roger Waters, and Neil Young. In a year that's been marked by the premature loss of too many rock icons, it feels really good to celebrate the achievement of one who's still with us.
Announcement of the 2016 #NobelPrize in Literature https://t.co/VXayV4bvhC
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 13, 2016
Postcript: In response to all of the writers upset that the Literature prize went to a musician and not a novelist/poet/playwright, I would point out that that's the same dangerous, academic orthodoxy which prevented anyone but 12 tone composers from winning the Pulitzer Prize in Music for decades. Not to mention the official Nobel Stautes are very clear in their intent:
2: "The term "literature" shall comprise not only belles-lettres but also other writings which, by virtue of their form and style, possess literary value." (emphasis added)
Good writing is good writing, and Dylan writes with all of the breathless fire and vision of the great bards of the ages. And, no, this doesn't mean all writers are now suddenly eligible for the Grammys. Unless you can actually carry a tune.