Bob Dylan breaks Nobel Prize silence: ‘It left me speechless’
The legendary American musician said he appreciates the honour, after being awarded the prize earlier in October
Bob Dylan has acknowledged his receipt of the Nobel Prize for Literature, saying his selection has left him “speechless.”
“The news about the Nobel Prize left me speechless”, he told Sara Danius, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, according to a statement on the Nobel Prize’s website. “I appreciate the honour so much.”
Dylan contacted the Swedish Academy himself last week and said he would accept the prize, Danius told Sweden’s TT news agency.
Danius also told Swedish Radio that Dylan is not obliged to attend the prize ceremony, but is required to deliver a lecture or perform a song.
Dylan’s prize was announced on Oct. 13, “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” The Swedish Academy later said that after five days of trying to contact Dylan to personally inform him of the award it had given up.
Dylan told the London-based The Telegraph in an interview posted on its website Friday that, “if it’s at all possible,” he wants to attend the Dec. 10 prize ceremony in Stockholm. The Swedish Academy said on its website that it had not yet been decided whether Dylan will attend any events during the Nobel Week in Stockholm ahead of the awards ceremony, where Dylan is to receive the $927,740 prize.
He told The Telegraph that receiving the Prize “is hard to believe.”
Born Robert Allen Zimmerman and raised Jewish in Minnesota, Dylan wrote some of the most influential and well-known songs of the 1960s. His hits include “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Times They Are a-Changin’.”
Dylan, 75, is the first artist seen primarily as a songwriter to win the award, a fact that has stirred debate in literary circles. Some writers, such as the poets Amy King and Danniel Schoonebeek, have called for him to turn down the award.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
