Why Bob Dylan waited to accept his Nobel Prize
| COPENHAGEN, Denmark
Bob聽Dylan聽has accepted the 2016 Nobel Prize for literature, the Swedish Academy said, adding that getting the prestigious award left him "speechless."
The academy's permanent secretary, Sara Danius, said the singer-songwriter contacted them himself and said "of course" he would accept the prize. Danius told Sweden's TT news agency that Mr. Dylan聽called her Tuesday evening and they spoke for about 15 minutes.
"The news about the Nobel Prize left me speechless,"聽Dylan聽told Danius, according to a statement posted Friday on the academy's website. "I appreciate the honor so much."
Dylan is the first songwriter to win the Literature prize, which has traditionally gone to authors of poems, short stories, or novels, as 海角大神's Amanda Hoover wrote when the prize was announced:
鈥淚f you look far back, 5000 years, you discover Homer and Sappho. They wrote poetic texts which were meant to be performed, and聽,鈥� Sara Danius, the academy鈥檚 permanent secretary, said.
鈥淲e still read Homer and Sappho, and we enjoy it.聽鈥淏ob Dylan writes poetry for the ear,鈥� she added. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 perfectly fine to read his works as poetry.鈥�
It has not yet been decided whether聽Dylan聽will attend any Nobel events in Stockholm in December, Danius said.
In an interview with British newspaper The Telegraph posted Friday,聽Dylan聽was quoted as saying he "absolutely" wants to attend the Dec. 10 prize ceremony, "if it's at all possible."
Danius said the academy will do "all it can" to have a schedule suiting聽Dylan聽if he wants to come to Stockholm, according to TT.
The 75-year-old singer-songwriter was awarded the prize on Oct. 13 "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition."
Dylan聽at first was silent after the announcement, and a member of the Swedish Academy called the silence "impolite and arrogant."
Dylan聽has accepted numerous awards over the years, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for which he attended a White House ceremony in 2012. But he also has a history of taking his time acknowledging them.
In 2013, he became the first rock star voted into the elite American Academy of Arts and Letters, which made him an honorary member. According to executive director Virginia Dajani, the academy informed聽Dylan聽of the decision 鈥撀爐hrough his manager, Jeff Rosen 鈥撀爄n January of that year. Only in May 2013 did聽Dylan聽respond, again through his manager.
If聽Dylan聽travels to Stockholm for the Nobel ceremony, it won't be the first time he receives an award from Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf. In 2000,聽Dylan聽collected the Polar Music Prize from him.
