2016 Nobel Prize in Literature

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Bob Dylan

The 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Bob Dylan "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".[1] The prize was announced by the Swedish Academy on 13 October 2016.[2]

Laureate[]

Main article: Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is a songwriter and singer whose songs are rooted in the tradition of American folk music and are influenced by the poets of modernist literature and the beatnik movement. He has also written books in prose.[3]

Reactions[]

The 2016 choice of Bob Dylan was the first time a musician and songwriter won the Nobel for Literature. The award caused some controversy, particularly among writers arguing that the literary merits of Dylan's work are not equal to those of some of his peers. Lebanese novelist Rabih Alameddine tweeted that "Bob Dylan winning a Nobel in Literature is like Mrs Fields being awarded 3 Michelin stars."[4] The French writer Pierre Assouline described the decision as "contemptuous of writers".[5] In a live webchat hosted by The Guardian, Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgård said that "I'm very divided. I love that the Nobel committee opens up for other kinds of literature – lyrics and so on. I think that's brilliant. But knowing that Dylan is the same generation as Thomas Pynchon, Philip Roth, Cormac McCarthy, makes it very difficult for me to accept it."[6] Scottish novelist Irvine Welsh said "I'm a Dylan fan, but this is an ill conceived nostalgia award wrenched from the rancid prostates of senile, gibbering hippies."[7] Dylan's songwriting peer and friend Leonard Cohen said that no prizes were necessary to recognize the greatness of the man who transformed pop music with records like Highway 61 Revisited. "To me," Cohen said, "[the Nobel] is like pinning a medal on Mount Everest for being the highest mountain."[8] Writer and commentator Will Self wrote that the award "cheapened" Dylan whilst hoping the laureate would "follow Sartre in rejecting the award".[9]

References[]

  1. ^ The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 nobelprize.org
  2. ^ The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 Prize Announcement nobelprize.org
  3. ^ Bob Dylan Facts nobelprize.org
  4. ^ Bob Dylan winning a Nobel in Literature is like Mrs Fields being awarded 3 Michelin stars, Rabih Alameddine's Twitter page, 13 October 2016.
  5. ^ Le bras d'honneur des Nobel à la littérature américaine, La Républic, Ocbtober 13, 2016.
  6. ^ Karl Ove Knausgaard webchat – your questions answered on self-loathing, love and Jürgen Klopp, The Guardian, 17 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Don't think twice, it's all right: Bob Dylan wins Nobel Lit". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. 13 October 2016. Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  8. ^ Leonard Cohen: giving Nobel to Bob Dylan like 'pinning medal on Everest', Guardian, 13 October 2016.
  9. ^ "'Dylan towers over everyone' – Salman Rushdie, Kate Tempest and more pay tribute to Bob Dylan". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2016.

External links[]

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