The 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Bob Dylan for “having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”
Bob Dylan, 75, has been a staple in American counter culture for the past five decades. His music from the 1960’s is closely associated with America’s counter-culture.
“Blowin’ in the Wind,” and, “The Times They Are-a-Changin” are synonymous with the civil rights and anti-war movement of the sixties.
The Swedish Academy’s permanent secretary, Sara Danius, said Dylan, “is a great poet in the English-speaking tradition.”
Danius alluded to the works of Homer and Sappho when describing Dylan’s life. “If you look back, far back, 2,500 years or so, you discover Homer and Sappho and they wrote poetic texts that were meant to be listened to, that were meant to be performed, often with instruments — and it’s the same way with Bob Dylan,” She explained.
BREAKING 2016 #NobelPrize in Literature to Bob Dylan “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition” pic.twitter.com/XYkeJKRfhv
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 13, 2016
The decision to award Dylan with the prize was a shock to some, especially for the New Republic, which wrote a piece Oct. 6 with the headline, “Who Will Win The 2016 Nobel Prize In Literature? Not Bob Dylan, That’s For Sure.”
Alfred Nobel established the Nobel prizes through his will in 1895. Recipients receive a gold medal, a diploma, and $1.2 million. It is considered the most prestigious award in the field of literature, the Swedish Academy grants the Nobel Prize in Literature.
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