This week on Thursday, October 13th, Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Bob Dylan the author? Yes, and no. Through his song-writing, Dylan wrote poems and told stories in a new and innovative way that changed music and storytelling. Individuals are typically awarded any Nobel prize for significant achievement in the field -whether it be Physics, Literature, or Peace-, that enacts social change.
Awarding Dylan this year's Literature prize was a paradigm shifting decision that was years in the making. Who would have guessed that a rock star would be on the short list for the Nobel prize in anything? Both the literary community and the world were surprised but congratulatory when the news was announced. Newspapers and musical critics alike have been quick to tell Dylan's story and explain to he deserves the honor. He blended low and high brow language and themes much like Shakespeare and fitting the post-modern mode of literature that some still consider us to be in today.
Song writing in and of itself isn't often considered poetry or literature. One often raises an eyebrow if you say the word literature and aren't referring to a book. Since the times of the ancient Greeks, poems were revered and performed to music. Before there was the written word the oral tradition of storytelling was greatly appreciated all over the world, from epics, to poems, to songs, and bards. As Sara Danius, the academy's permanent secretary said: "Bob Dylan writes poetry for the ear, but it's perfectly fine to read his works as poetry".
His lyrics are studied in high schools and universities just like highly regarded poetry, "Mr. Tambourine Man" in particular. He mixed genres in his music and addressed topical issues of political commentary as many did at the height of anti-war sentiments in the 1960s. None with such powerful lyrics as his though with his song "Blowin' In The Wind", asking the question: "How many times must cannon balls fly before they're forever banned?". His innovative work changed music itself and more importantly, changed the way that people think. This goes beyond genre to include new forms of media that encompass literature and acknowledge the innovation that music has in our society today.
Thus, the question is raised how this affects the traditional choice for the award; the novel. The last unorthodox winner of the Nobel prize for Literature was Italian playwright Dario Fo in 1997, who in a sad coincidence died at 90 Thursday night. The rise of specific genres is connected to specific economic changes in time. There's clear reasons that this happened now and it's well deserved, but some authors don't agree. There's already a lower literacy rate among society, and we've all encountered those who consider reading a boring activity in general. We know that they're speaking of reading for pleasure, but it's just such an idiotic statement that it's hard to process at first.
Knowledge is power and literature is obviously far from a "boring" thing. A fellow writer posed the question recently on how this award would impact reading, If it would cater to those who don't already value the novel as the painstaking artistic achievement that it is. What would awarding outside of the genre do to traditional literary works, especially in a society so media driven? The answer isn't quite so simple. The Nobel prize has been around for a mere 100 years and started in a time when the novel was the most popular form of literature, the 19th century. In reality, the novel and the written word will be valued for years to come. No one can deny what Bob Dylan has done for literature, as well as music.
We don't know where the future will take us as a species when it comes to intellectual achievements, but whoever wins the Nobel prize for Literature 50-100 years from now will deserve it. By changing language through innovation, and changing how we see literature and think of the world. When it's the right place and the right time frame, more paradigm- shifting recognition will be incited. For Pulitzer prize winning rock stars, and other "obscure" winners alike.
