American singer Bob Dylan has decided to accept his Nobel Prize for Literature at long last. Dylan did not turn up to receive the award at the ceremony in December 2016, though he did send some remarks to the organisers. The news was revealed by the Swedish Academy, which confers the honour, in a blog post on Wednesday.
The award also requires the person receiving it to deliver a lecture to get the 8-million kroner ($910,000) prize. However, Dylan is reportedly sending across a taped lecture to the Academy instead of delivering one in person. However, he will not be the first to submit a taped lecture. Alice Munro did the same in 2013. He must deliver the lecture before June or he will lose the prize money.
Academy representatives will meet Dylan in Stockholm, where he is scheduled to perform two concerts on April 1 and 2. “The good news is that the Swedish Academy and Bob Dylan have decided to meet this weekend,” Prof Sara Danius, permanent secretary of the Academy, wrote in a blog. “The Academy will then hand over Dylan’s Nobel diploma and the Nobel medal, and congratulate him on the Nobel Prize in Literature.” He further said that the media will not be allowed at the meeting, as per Dylan’s wishes.
Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature in October 2016. The jury selected him “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”. Dylan’s writing and lyrics have often incorporated political, social, philosophical, and literary influences. The choice received a mixed response, with some hailing the Academy for its unconventional choice and others arguing that songwriting is not literature.
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