The recent recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature, Bob Dylan, continues to prove how much attention he really wants. It's become somewhat of a cat and mouse game with him and apparently the folks at Nobel have given up trying to hand him the award.
As far as I know, the only acknowledgement Dylan has made is on his website, (which I'm positive he personally updates constantly) with an announcement of the award. His notorious dodginess and swerving from media has been no surprise over the span of fifty years or so. However, with such a prestigious award coming his way, one would think Dylan would make more of an effort to either send out a message or at least respond to their calls. I honestly find it amusing because no matter how decorated of a musician he may be, he doesn't pay too much attention to it. He's always been one to take those kinds of things in strides. Although, Dylan is constantly touring, playing night after night and I would imagine he'll worry about it when he gets home during the holidays.
A certain position people have been taking in all this has certainly left me scratching my head. I keep hearing about the belief that Dylan is not worthy of the award, is a mere songwriter and should not me seen as a writer or poet. I must disclose that I'm an annoying fangirl when it comes to Mr. Zimmerman. I've been listening to his words since I was in 6th grade or so. He is my favorite songwriter and his lyrics still dawn new meanings on me every year. Nonetheless, even a casual Dylan fan can recognize genius. A close listen to "Like A Rolling Stone," for example would expose his deep layers of lyrical prowess to anyone.
But I can't seem to comprehend how someone would discredit his contribution to every form of literature. He's essentially a sponge who gathered all influences imaginable and squeezed them all into a tight medium of a song. His writing was Shakespeare-esque and as close to human emotion as the work of Faulkner and Steinbeck. John Prine recently said about Dylan, "Not only did he tear down doors for songwriters, he built the door". Before Dylan, songwriters were only songwriters, not singers or performers thus keeping them in the dark. Of course people like Woody Guthrie and Dave Van Ronk were huge influences on Bob but none wrote like him. Those who oppose his award, need to look closer and recognize the impact Dylan made on many writers through more than five decades.
