Even though it is undeniable that Bob Dylan is one of the
greatest songwriters in the great American songwriting tradition, but does this
make the “old hippie” the most unseemly Nobel Literature laureate ever?
By: Ringo Bones
When the news first broke out that Bob Dylan won the Nobel
Literature Prize for 2016, many of my “audio-buddies” immediately quipped “who
will the Nobel Committee award for next year’s Nobel Literature Prize – Tori Amos,
Liz Phair?” Despite of the inextricably unprecedented move, the Nobel Committee
did state their justification for awarding the 2016 Nobel Literature Prize to
Bob Dylan – but is Bob Dylan, despite his great musical achievements since the
1960s, truly deserving of the Nobel Literature Prize?
Bob Dylan’s place as one of the world’s greatest artistic
figures was further elevated on Thursday, October 13, 2016 when Dylan was named
the surprise winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature “for having created
new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”. After the
announcement, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, Sara Danius, said
it had “not been a difficult decision” and he hoped the Swedish Academy would
not be criticized for its choice.
On Bob Dylan’s 2016 Nobel Literature Prize win, Swedish Academy
secretary Sara Danius advised those unfamiliar with the works of Dylan to start
with the 1966 album Blonde on Blonde in which she said “I’s an extraordinary
example of his brilliant way of rhyming, putting together refrains, and his
pictorial way of thinking.” Though to me at least, Bob Dylan’s 1975 album The
Basement Tapes is the one that faithfully captures Dylan as a singer
songwriter.
Whether or not Bob Dylan is truly deserving of the 2016
Nobel Literature Prize could be down to how the Swedish Academy interpreted
Alfred Nobel’s original will governing the rules of awarding the Nobel
Literature Prize. Originally interpreted as embracing not only writings in the
field of belles-lettres (i.e. beautiful writing of artistic merit), but also of
other works provided they possessed literary merit. Given this rather
still-ambiguous clarification, Bob Dylan winning the 2016 Nobel Literature
Prize could be justified – but should Tori Amos and Liz Phair or other great
singer-songwriters should be in the running for the Nobel Literature Prize?
