Bob Dylan awarded Nobel prize for Literature

[wkhanna]

Hemingway, Sir Winston Churchill, Saul Bellow, Bertrand Russell, Faulkner, T.S. Elliot, George Bernard Shaw, Octavio Paz, Mario Vargas Llosa........

these are just some of the residents in the Pantheon of Literature which the Noble academy have installed & recognized as worthy of immortal honor, reverence & veneration for their lifelong work in pursuit of one of man's purist, most human of endeavors.

& now, we shall add to this list, Bob Dylan?

i am interested in everyone's response to this announcement.
take the poll, please.
do not be shy, when you vote, your identity remains anonymous

if there is no answer that suits your thoughts, then please, take a minute to let us know your views.

sorry, no multiple choices, you can choose just one answer.

[Alaric]

Well, if Barack Obama got one, why not? The Nobel Prize is obviously a reward for being of the "correct" political bent now. I went with "a bit overboard", as that was the closest option to "completely #@*&! insane". Interesting poll, though, and I would encourage participation. I don't intend to debate anybody's comments here. I'm taking the approach that each member can state his case and let it stand on its merits. I know I can be, shall we say, contentious, at times. So I felt I should put that out there for those who may say to themselves "Oh, God. Not him again". LOL

[Ovation]

The Nobel Prize for Literature is not voted on by the same committee as the Peace Prize (each prize has its own committee). Dylan's body of lyrical work would form the basis of the prize. I consider him an excellent lyricist and much of his output is poetic enough to be literary. I don't specialize in literature, so I can't comment on whether there is a more deserving candidate this year, but since poetry is a genre eligible for the prize (not all literary prizes include poetry), I see nothing inherently wrong with his award.

[JonMarsh]

Considering his reach and influence, I think this is fairly cool... and at 75, too!

[jeepers]

Bob Dylan wrote/writes great lyrics but for a musician getting the Nobel prize of Literature; Leonard Cohen should have been the one.

[wkhanna]

interesting artcle in the Irish Independent
LINK

[Lex]

Well, I said the real answer is blowing in the wind, so there is no doubt... lol.

[wkhanna]

........Leonard Cohen should have been the one.

you & many others have made the same assessment.
there is no denying the significance of Conen's body of work.

on a personal note, one of the first thoughts that crossed my mind when i initially heard the announcement was, "why not Woody Guthrie before Bob Dylan?"

however, is seems it is stated in paragraph #3 of the statutes of the Nobel Foundation that,

"Work produced by a person since deceased shall not be considered for an award.
If, however, a prizewinner dies before he has received the prize, then the prize may be presented."

iow, if you are dead, you do not qualify.
which, i guess is just as well.....
i mean, what can a dead person do with all that money, anyway? :huh: :W

[Alaric]

Well, then-Arlo Guthrie. If Alice's Restaurant isn't poetry, then neither is All Along The Watchtower. :rofl:

[wkhanna]

so......

it has been nearly a week since the Nobel Academy has made the the announcement....
yet still, no one, not the academy, not the press, no one; has heard from Robert Allen Zimmerman (aka Bob Dylan).

so it is, he remains still, true to form....

[wkhanna]

Last sighted at an AARP convention in the Desert.

[wkhanna]

Bob Dylan a 'no-show' in Stockholm.

from CBS News article: "Bob Dylan to skip Nobel Prize ceremony in Sweden"