Bob Dylan wins Nobel Prize

[waltky]

Bob Dylan wins Nobel Prize for Literature...

Don't think twice, it's all right: Bob Dylan wins Nobel Lit
Oct 13,`16 -- American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan won the 2016 Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday, a stunning announcement that for the first time bestowed the prestigious award on a musician for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition."

Reporters and others gathered at the Swedish Academy's headquarters in Stockholm's Old Town reacted with a loud cheer as his name was read out. Dylan, 75, is arguably the most iconic poet-musician of his generation. Songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'" became anthems for the U.S. anti-war and civil rights movements of the 1960s. His impact on popular culture was immense.

But although he had been mentioned in the Nobel speculation for years, many experts had ruled him out, thinking the academy wouldn't extend its more than a century-old award to the world of music. They were wrong. The academy's permanent secretary, Sara Danius, said while Dylan performs his poetry in the form of songs, that's no different from the ancient Greeks, whose works were often performed to music. "Bob Dylan writes poetry for the ear," she said. "But it's perfectly fine to read his works as poetry."

Bob Dylan performs in Los Angeles. Dylan was named the winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in literature Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016, in a stunning announcement that for the first time bestowed the prestigious award to someone primarily seen as a musician.​

Dylan is the first American winner of the Nobel literature prize since Toni Morrison in 1993. Born on May 24, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota, Dylan grew up in a Jewish middle-class family. By his early 20s, he had taken the folk music world by storm. From that time on, he would constantly reinvent himself - often enraging followers in the process - but then later winning them back and adding new admirers. His career was such a complicated pastiche of elusive, ever-changing styles that it took six actors to portray him in the 2007 movie based on his life, "I'm Not There."

Although generally described as a rock musician, Dylan has been influenced by numerous musical styles, including country, gospel, blues, folk, pop, and rhythm and blues. Pursuing them all, sometimes separately and other times simultaneously, he remains a towering influence over music and popular culture. He won an Academy Award in 2001 for the song "Things Have Changed" and received a lifetime achievement award from the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in 1991. In 2008, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his contributions to music and American culture. The literature award was the last of this year's Nobel Prizes to be announced. The six awards will be handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel's death in 1896.

News from The Associated Press

 

[frigidweirdo]

Bob Dylan wins Nobel Prize for Literature...

Don't think twice, it's all right: Bob Dylan wins Nobel Lit
Oct 13,`16 -- American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan won the 2016 Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday, a stunning announcement that for the first time bestowed the prestigious award on a musician for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition."

Reporters and others gathered at the Swedish Academy's headquarters in Stockholm's Old Town reacted with a loud cheer as his name was read out. Dylan, 75, is arguably the most iconic poet-musician of his generation. Songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'" became anthems for the U.S. anti-war and civil rights movements of the 1960s. His impact on popular culture was immense.

But although he had been mentioned in the Nobel speculation for years, many experts had ruled him out, thinking the academy wouldn't extend its more than a century-old award to the world of music. They were wrong. The academy's permanent secretary, Sara Danius, said while Dylan performs his poetry in the form of songs, that's no different from the ancient Greeks, whose works were often performed to music. "Bob Dylan writes poetry for the ear," she said. "But it's perfectly fine to read his works as poetry."

Bob Dylan performs in Los Angeles. Dylan was named the winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in literature Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016, in a stunning announcement that for the first time bestowed the prestigious award to someone primarily seen as a musician.​

Dylan is the first American winner of the Nobel literature prize since Toni Morrison in 1993. Born on May 24, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota, Dylan grew up in a Jewish middle-class family. By his early 20s, he had taken the folk music world by storm. From that time on, he would constantly reinvent himself - often enraging followers in the process - but then later winning them back and adding new admirers. His career was such a complicated pastiche of elusive, ever-changing styles that it took six actors to portray him in the 2007 movie based on his life, "I'm Not There."

Although generally described as a rock musician, Dylan has been influenced by numerous musical styles, including country, gospel, blues, folk, pop, and rhythm and blues. Pursuing them all, sometimes separately and other times simultaneously, he remains a towering influence over music and popular culture. He won an Academy Award in 2001 for the song "Things Have Changed" and received a lifetime achievement award from the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in 1991. In 2008, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his contributions to music and American culture. The literature award was the last of this year's Nobel Prizes to be announced. The six awards will be handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel's death in 1896.

News from The Associated Press

But it's not literature.... it's song writing.....

 

[frigidweirdo]

Next year's Nobel Prize for Physics goes to some kid who jumped in the air and fell down and hurt his knee. He used Gravity.

 

[midcan5]

As a reader who tries to read at least one book by every Noble winner, this surprised me. So many great authors. But when it comes to music I favor John Prine, Pete Seeger, Utah Phillips, Joan Baez etc. Consider this piece.




Or listen to 'Paradise' sometime. And a Noble winner is my avatar, a favorite.
.

 

[OldLady]

Next year's Nobel Prize for Physics goes to some kid who jumped in the air and fell down and hurt his knee. He used Gravity.

Dylan's a poet. Some lyrics rise to the level, and some of his did.

 

[frigidweirdo]

Next year's Nobel Prize for Physics goes to some kid who jumped in the air and fell down and hurt his knee. He used Gravity.

Dylan's a poet. Some lyrics rise to the level, and some of his did.

He's a singer. Also, it's the nobel prize for literature, not poetry.

 

[esthermoon]

Why did they give the Noble prize to a singer?
He's not a writer!
I don't get it...

 

[frigidweirdo]

Why did they give the Noble prize to a singer?
He's not a writer!
I don't get it...

Well, they've given the peace prize to Obama and the EU, I mean, come on.... they can give anything to anyone now.

 

[Mad Scientist]

So it IS true, Everything is Broken.

 

[OldLady]

Next year's Nobel Prize for Physics goes to some kid who jumped in the air and fell down and hurt his knee. He used Gravity.

Dylan's a poet. Some lyrics rise to the level, and some of his did.

He's a singer. Also, it's the nobel prize for literature, not poetry.

Poetry is included under "Literature," I believe.

 

[konradv]

Dylan's a poet. Some lyrics rise to the level, and some of his did.

He's a singer. Also, it's the nobel prize for literature, not poetry.

Quite a few of the past winners have been poets.

List of Nobel laureates in Literature - Wikipedia

 

[frigidweirdo]

Next year's Nobel Prize for Physics goes to some kid who jumped in the air and fell down and hurt his knee. He used Gravity.

Dylan's a poet. Some lyrics rise to the level, and some of his did.

He's a singer. Also, it's the nobel prize for literature, not poetry.

Poetry is included under "Literature," I believe.

Yeah, I've thought about what literature means since I wrote this. But he's still a singer. So what, maybe a politician can win because they speak such nice words. Singing and literature are separate, even if you think what he writes is poetry.

 

[IsaacNewton]

I think this stretches a bit to give it to Dylan. Certainly he's a poet but nobody recites his poetry. His music was, in the end, pop music. He deserves all the kudos and success he's had but his work doesn't rise to the level of the best in the literary world. How many contemporary poets had to be slighted to give him this when his work does not rise to their level.

Love the guy and his music but, no.

 

[Snouter]

Indeed referring to Bob Zimmerman Dylan as anything other than a pop/folk celebrity is a stretch. I am from the Clement Wood school of poetry and can confidently state Dylan was no poet. But we live in a bizarre time. An afro american UConn professor claims Eminem and Drake (both total garbage) are better than Robert Frost (American genius poet).