Nobel Prize in Literature Committee abandons efforts to contact Bob Dylan

Thursday, October 20, 2016

On Monday, Sara Danius, permanent secretary of the Nobel Committee for Literature at the Swedish Academy, publicly announced during a radio program on Sveriges Radio in Sweden the committee, unable to reach Bob Dylan directly about winning the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature, had abandoned its efforts to reach him.

File photo of Bob Dylan, 2010.
Image: Vitoria Gasteiz.

Danius said, "Right now we are doing nothing. I have called and sent emails to his closest collaborator and received very friendly replies. For now, that is certainly enough." ((sv))Swedish language: ‍Just nu gör vi ingenting. Jag har ringt och mailat till den här närstående medarbetaren och fått mycket vänliga svar. Just nu räcker det alldeles utmärkt.

Numerous news outlets reported Dylan remained silent about the prize at recent concerts in the United States, but several speculated the artist was offering a response by renditions of certain songs, such as "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Why Try to Change Me Now."

Regardless of the singer/songwriter's reticence about the prize, Danius stated, "if he doesn't want to come, he won't come. It will be a big party in any case and the honour belongs to him." ((sv))Swedish language: ‍vill han inte komma så vill han inte komma. Det blir en stor fest ändå och utmärkelsen är som sagt hans och det är det viktiga.

On Tuesday, BBC News reported the Nobel award was recognized in a post on Dylan's official Facebook page.


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