I was surprised to see the announcements popping up all over facebook and Twitter. I looked to make sure this wasn’t one of those crazy facebook hoaxes. Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature. My smile spread and broke into laughter as I imagined many authors throwing manuscripts on the floor and wondering how a musician won the frigging Noble Prize for LITERATURE!
It is an unprecedented event for a musician to be awarded this prize. Dylan joins the ranks of other recipients that include writers and poets such as Hemingway, Steinbeck, Faulkner, Morrison and TS Eliot. The award was given to Dylan "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition" (https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2016/ ).
Many question if this constitutes literature, while others say it absolutely does not. How is literature defined? In most cases, it is defined as written work that is creative or expressive. The “Merriam-Webster Dictionary” defines it as, “writings in prose or verse; especially: writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest.” I would say that Dylan’s lyrics and music qualify.
Maybe I am a bit prejudice since I grew up listening to Dylan. Dylan wasn’t afraid to tackle the big issues. He wrote about the civil rights movement, the war in Vietnam, and other challenges that faced our country. His music crosses many genres including folk music, jazz, rock and even country. Did you know that the Darius Rucker hit “Wagon Wheel” was co-written by Dylan?
It would take far too many words to tell you about the life and music of Dylan here. If you aren’t familiar with his music, just Google it and listen. Many other artists have sung his songs which some will tell you is for the best; His voice is 0unique. He probably would not it make past the judges on American Idol or America’s Got Talent. Listen to the words and how the music intersects with them. That is what makes his music worthy of this award.
I still listen to music that was written or played by Dylan. Many have relevance for us today. “Blowin in the Wind” is my favorite. I first heard it played by the folk group of Peter, Paul and Mary. They sang this song during the 1963 march on Washington, DC where Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. You can watch it here.
I am a writer, and I would love to have the talent to write the types of metaphors and allusions that Dylan wrote. I want to write words that move people to question and think. I want my writing to influence others to make a difference. Perhaps Dylan isn’t a novelist or poet or typical author, but his words and music have impacted our world, and for that I am excited that he won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
