The song-writer was awarded the prize for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.
Bob Dylan has won the Nobel Prize for Literature "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition," the Swedish Academy said on Thursday in awarding the 8 million Swedish crown ($927,740) prize.
The prize is worth 8 million Swedish crown ($927,740). The Prize was awarded last this year and is named after dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel. Born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941, Bob Dylan took his name from poet Dylan Thomas and was heavily inspired by the Beat generation poets and thinkers like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. He was also heavily influenced by song-writer and figurehead of the folk-movement Woody Guthrie. Dylan has been redefining music from the 60s. A counterculture icon in the beginning, Dylan’s songs have transcended and fused genres including country, rock and roll, gospel and even jazz and continues to perform till this day.
Dylan’s win came completely out of the blue and he wasn’t named among the favourites. Bookmakers had installed American novelists Philp Roth and Don DeLillo, Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, Kenya’s Ngugi wa Thiong’O and Syrian poet Adonis.
The choice was met by gasps and a long round of applause from journalists attending the prize announcement. The folk singer has been mentioned in Nobel speculation in past years, but was never seen as a serious contender. His songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind," "Masters of War," "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall," "The Times They Are a-Changin," "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and "Like a Rolling Stone" captured a spirit of rebellion, dissent and independence. "Dylan has the status of an icon. His influence on contemporary music is profound," the Swedish Academy said on Thursday, when it awarded the 8 million Swedish crown ($930,000) prize. More than 50 years on, Dylan is still writing songs and is often on tour. "He is probably the greatest living poet," Swedish Academy member Per Wastberg said. Sara Danius, Permanent Secretary of the Nobel Academy, told a news conference there was "great unity" in the panel's decision to give Dylan the prize. Literature was the last of this year's Nobel prizes to be awarded. The prize is named after dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel and has been awarded since 1901 for achievements in science, literature and peace in accordance with his will.
With inputs from agencies
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