Bob Dylan wins Nobel Prize for Literature for ‘new poetic expressions within great American song tradition’
It is the first time a musician has won the prestigious award
American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan won the 2016 Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday, a stunning announcement that for the first time bestowed the prestigious award on a musician for “having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”.
Reporters and others gathered at the Swedish Academy’s headquarters in Stockholm’s Old Town reacted with a loud cheer as his name was read out.
Watch: ‘Greatest living poet’ Bob Dylan wins Nobel literature prize
Dylan, 75, is arguably the most iconic poet-musician of his generation. Songs such as Blowin’ in the Wind and The Times They Are A-Changin’ became anthems for the US anti-war and civil rights movements of the 1960s. His impact on popular culture was immense.
Bob Dylan writes poetry for the ear. But it’s perfectly fine to read his works as poetry
But although he had been mentioned in the Nobel speculation for years, many experts had ruled him out, thinking the academy wouldn’t extend its more than a century-old award to the world of music.
They were wrong. The academy’s permanent secretary, Sara Danius, said while Dylan performs his poetry in the form of songs, that’s no different from the ancient Greeks, whose works were often performed to music.
“Bob Dylan writes poetry for the ear,” she said. “But it’s perfectly fine to read his works as poetry.”
Dylan is the first American winner of the Nobel literature prize since Toni Morrison in 1993.