Bob Dylan finally accepts Nobel Prize in Literature; says the honour left him 'speechless'

Weeks after the announcement, Bob Dylan told the Swedish Academy that he accepts the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Nobel Foundation revealed on Saturday. According to the Guardian, in a call with the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy that decides the award, the 75-year-old artist said, "I appreciate the honour so much. The news about the Nobel prize left me speechless."

In an exclusive interview to the Daily Telegraph, Dylan said,  "It's hard to believe, amazing, incredible. Whoever dreams about something like that?"

While the foundation said that it was not decided whether Dylan would attend the awards ceremony to be held in Stockholm in December, in the interview the musician said, “Absolutely, if it’s at all possible.”

The committee that awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature to Bob Dylan had said on October 22 that it was up to the American singer-songwriter whether to attend the prize-giving ceremony later this year or not. The notoriously media-shy Dylan has not made any comment on the $900,000 prize, despite repeated attempts by award-givers the Swedish Academy to contact him since it named him as the winner on Oct. 13.

Swedish media reported that Academy member Per Wastberg had said that if Dylan remained silent, it would be "rude and arrogant". The Academy, however, said Wastberg's comments did not reflect their view. "The author awarded the Noble Prize makes up his or her own mind regarding the ceremonies involved in the presentation of the prize," Sara Danius, Permanent Secretary of the Academy, said in a statement. "The Swedish Academy has never held a view on a prize winners decision in this context, neither will it now, regardless of the decision reached."

The Nobel Foundation does not accept any rejections of the prize - Dylan's name would have been listed as the winner in 2016 whether or not he chose to formally accept the prize. 

Asked why he didn't take calls from the Nobel Committee, Dylan said, “Well, I’m right here,” he said, without offering any other explanation.

Under Nobel rules, the winner must give one lecture on literature - or in Dylan's case even a concert - within six months to receive the $900,000 prize money. As a condition for the prize money, Dylan must give a lecture on a subject "relevant to the work for which the prize has been awarded" no later than 6 months after December 10, the anniversary of dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel's death. 

"That is what we ask for in return," said Jonna Petterson, spokeswoman for the Nobel Foundation, adding Dylan could also opt to give a concert instead of a lecture. "Yes, we are trying to find an arrangement that suits the laureate (Dylan)." The lecture need not be delivered in Stockholm. When British novelist Doris Lessing was awarded the Nobel literature prize in 2007, she was too ill to travel. Instead, she composed a lecture and sent it to her Swedish publisher, who read it out at a ceremony in the Swedish capital.

The Academy honoured the 75-year-old Dylan for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition". Dylan's songs, such as "Blowin' in the Wind", "The Times They Are A-Changin'", "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and "Like a Rolling Stone" captured the rebellious and anti-war spirit of the 1960s generation and moved many young people later as well.

The Swedish Academy's choice of Dylan drew some controversy with many questioning whether his work qualifies as literature, while others complained that the Academy missed an opportunity to bring attention to lesser-known artists. Over the years, only six laureates have declined the prize. One of them was French existentialist author Jean-Paul Sartre in 1964. After Sartre fell on hard times a few years later his lawyer wrote the Nobel foundation asking them to send Sartre the money. They refused. 

With Reuters inputs