Bob Dylan Won’t Attend Nobel Prize Ceremony

Bob Dylan, the American singer-songwriter will not attend the Nobel Prize Ceremony scheduled in Stockholm next month. The Nobel Prize Swedish Academy representatives said on Wednesday that, Bob Dylan would not be able to receive the prize personally due to other commitments.

Also Read: Bob Dylan Has Won Nobel Prize In Literature For Creating Poetic Expression With American Songs

The Swedish Academy announced last month that Bob Dylan will be awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”. Bob Dylan became the 14th American to receive this prize and Toni Morrison was last American to get the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993.

On 28 October, Bob Dylan commenetd that he will for sure be there to receive the award and his nomination is the greatest turn of events in his life. However, like a teenager being confused about whether to attend the prom or not, he has now declined the invitation citing previous commitments being the reason. Also, the ‘commitments’ that Mr. Dylan has been talking about are creating confusion because the Legend Singer and Song- Writer has no tour dates after 23 November.

This is not the first time that a laureate has refused to attend the ceremony.

1. Harold Pinter, in 2005, failed to travel to Stockholm after being painfully ill and being on a wheelchair.
2. Elfriede Jelinek, in 2004, was not able to receive the award due to an anxiety disorder.
3. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in 1970, because he was afraid that being a Soviet dissident, he might not get the permission to re-enter the country.

And Bob Dylan: ‘Pre-existing commitments’ (seriously?)

Many traditional people believe that the Nobel Prize for Literature should only be given to the ones who practice in literature, like writing poems and books. These traditionalists protested the Swedish Academy’s decision to award the Nobel Prize to Bob Dylan and the criticism could be a reason behind Dylan absence from the Nobel Prize Ceremony on 10th December. The date also marks the death anniversary of Alfred Nobel.

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17 November 2016
Rohan Jaitly