The Swedish Academy awarded singer-songwriter Bob Dylan the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature. In a statement, the Academy wrote that Dylan was awarded the honors "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition."
An American hasn't won the prize since Toni Morrison in 1993.
Dylan had been rumored as a candidate for the Literature Nobel since at least 2013, although the award is still something of a shock for the literary community as he is the first musician to ever win. In addition to a catalog that includes 36 studio albums and songs like "Blowin' in the Wind," "The Times They Are A-Changin," and "Desolation Row," Dylan has also written a memoir, Chronicles, and been awarded the French Legion of Honor, a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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