Bob Dylan wins Nobel Prize in literature
US singer-songwriter edges out Japanese author Haruki Murakami with his 'new poetic expressions'
Bob Dylan has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".
The honour was announced this morning by the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, Sara Danius.
"He is a great poet," she said. "He is a great poet in the English-speaking tradition and he is a wonderful, original sampler. He embodies the tradition and for 54 years now has been at it, reinventing himself constantly, creating a new identity."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It was a surprise choice - Japanese author Haruki Murakami was favourite to take the prize – but, Danius said: "If you look far back, 5000 years, you discover Homer and Sappho. They wrote poetic texts which were meant to be performed and it's the same way for Bob Dylan. We still read Homer and Sappho and we enjoy it."
Dylan is the first songwriter to have won the prize, says The Guardian, adding his regular appearance in the betting odds "was regarded as one of the longrunning jokes of the Nobels".
There has not been a US winner since 1993 and today's decision appears to have ended the hostility towards the country from the award's jury.
"The US is too isolated, too insular," said then permanent secretary Horace Engdahl in 2008. "They don't translate enough and don’t really participate in the big dialogue of literature … That ignorance is restraining."
The award has provoked some differing opinions on Twitter.
For Dylan, "aside from taking home the world's most prestigious prize in literature, there's also the minor matter of an eight million kronor [£93,000] award, plus a banquet dinner with Sweden's King in December," says The Local.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Why Māori are protesting in New Zealand
A controversial bill has ignited a 'flashpoint in race relations' as opponents claim it will undermine the rights of Indigenous people
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: November 21, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku hard: November 21, 2024
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Han Kang of South Korea wins literature Nobel Prize
Speed Read She is the first South Korean and first Asian woman to win the award
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Sport on TV guide: Christmas 2022 and New Year listings
Speed Read Enjoy a feast of sporting action with football, darts, rugby union, racing, NFL and NBA
By Mike Starling Published
-
House of the Dragon: what to expect from the Game of Thrones prequel
Speed Read Ten-part series, set 200 years before GoT, will show the incestuous decline of Targaryen
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
One in 20 young Americans identify as trans or non-binary
Speed Read New research suggests that 44% of US adults know someone who is transgender
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Turner Prize 2022: a ‘vintage’ shortlist?
Speed Read All four artists look towards ‘growth, revival and reinvention’ in their work
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
What’s on TV this Christmas? The best holiday television
Speed Read From films and documentaries to musicals for all the family
By The Week Staff Published
-
Coco vision: up close to Chanel opticals
Speed Read Parisian luxury house adds opticals to digital offering
By The Week Staff Published
-
Abba returns: how the Swedish supergroup and their ‘Abba-tars’ are taking a chance on a reunion
Speed Read From next May, digital avatars of the foursome will be performing concerts in east London
By The Week Staff Published