Bob Dylan accepts Nobel prize
Bob Dylan has accepted his Nobel Prize for Literature.
The ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ hitmaker was announced as the 2016 recipient in October but failed to pick up the prestigious medal and diploma at a ceremony in Sweden last December.
However, he picked up the accolade on Saturday (04.01.17) ahead of his concert at Stockholm Waterfront in a private event with no media present.
A member of the Swedish Academy, which awards the prize, said the ceremony "went very well indeed", and described the 75-year-old musician as "a very nice, kind man".
Bob had asked the Academy to make the ceremony an "intimate" affair.
In a blog post, Professor Sara Danius, the secretary of the Swedish Academy, wrote last week: "The good news is that the Swedish Academy and Bob Dylan have decided to meet this weekend.
"The Academy will then hand over Dylan’s Nobel diploma and the Nobel medal, and congratulate him on the Nobel Prize in Literature.
"The setting will be small and intimate, and no media will be present; only Bob Dylan and members of the Academy will attend, all according to Dylan’s wishes."
To take the £750,000 Nobel Prize money, the recipients must give a lecture, and though Bob won’t give his in person, he is expected to submit a taped talk, though he will have to forfeit the cash if he doesn’t deliver it by June.
In a recorded speech read out by the US ambassador to Sweden at the ceremony in December, the ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ singer admitted the award was "something [he] never could have imagined or seen coming".
The speech went on to explain that when he first heard he had won the prize, he thought of William Shakespeare.
He said: "When he was writing ‘Hamlet’, I’m sure he was thinking about a lot of different things: ‘Who’re the right actors for these roles? How should this be staged? Do I really want to set this in Denmark?’
"His creative vision and ambitions were no doubt at the forefront of his mind, but there were also more mundane matters to consider and deal with. ‘Is the financing in place? Are there enough good seats for my patrons? Where am I going to get a human skull?’ I would bet that the farthest thing from Shakespeare’s mind was the question: ‘Is this literature?’
"Like Shakespeare, I too am often occupied with the pursuit of my creative endeavours and dealing with all aspects of life’s mundane matters. ‘Who are the best musicians for these songs? Am I recording in the right studio? Is this song in the right key?’ Some things never change, even in 400 years. Not once have I ever had the time to ask myself ‘are my songs literature?’ So, I do thank the Swedish academy, both for taking the time to consider that very question and ultimately, for providing such a wonderful answer."
