
Salman Rushdie: “Dylan is the brilliant inheritor of bardic tradition.” Image by Jean-Luc Ourlin. Creative Commons
Singer, songwriter and folk music legend to be given prestigious award for his contribution to literature, in a controversial announcement
The legendary and incomparable songwriter Bob Dylan has been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature, for his poetic contribution to music. The news was revealed in an announcement made on 13 October.
Some people have voiced disapproval with the result. Irvine Welsh, the author of Trainspotting said it was an “ill-conceived nostalgia award” in a tweet after the award was announced. However, novelist Salman Rushdie tweeted: “Dylan is the brilliant inheritor of bardic tradition. Great choice.”
Dylan was born Robert Zimmerman in 1941 and has had a career spanning six decades, in which time he has reinvented himself and his sound; a contributing factor in the singer winning the award.
The announcement was made by the academy’s secretary, Sara Danius, who compared the singer to Homer and Sappho, two poets and writers from the ancient Greek tradition. Previous winners include Alice Munro, Harold Pinter, Doris Lessing and Seamus Heaney.
The award will be presented to the singer on 10 December. Dylan will receive a gold medal and a cheque for around $925,000.
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