By Madeleine Levinsohn ’19, Staff Writer

Bob Dylan, folk rock singer and songwriter, was recently awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature by the Swedish Academy. Dylan was born in 1941 in Duluth Minnesota. His music was most popular in the 1960’s due to his influential songs protesting the war in Vietnam, and his first album, titled “Live Radio Session”, was released in 1962. Some of his most popular songs include “Like a Rolling Stone”, “The Times They Are A-Changin’”, and “Forever Young”. According to the Academy, Dylan was awarded the Prize for, “… having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”

The Academy has received a lot of backlash for this decision both from the writing community and the general public. Jason Pinter, an author known for his thriller novels, tweeted, “If Bob Dylan can win the Nobel Prize for literature then I think @StephenKing should get elected to the Rock N’ Roll hall of fame.” Others claimed their problem was not with Bob Dylan winning, but for the other lyricists who could potentially win the Prize in the future. Kabir Taneja, a researcher and writer who specializes in foreign affairs made his concern clear by tweeting, “… So 2034 Nobel for Literature could go to..you never know”. Following his tweet was a picture of Rihanna’s “Work” (feat. Drake) lyrics. Other news sources joked that perhaps even Donald Trump should win a prize for his lyrical tweeting.

This pushback and criticism has lead people to question whether lyrics are a form of literature at all. In an interview after the awards ceremony, Sara Danius, the Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, said “If you look back, far back, 2,500 years or so, you discover Homer and Sappho and they wrote poetic texts that were meant to be listened to. They were meant to be performed often with instruments. It’s the same thing with Bob Dylan… He can be read and should be read.” The Academy feels that they are not in fact widening the horizon of the Nobel Prize for literature because many poems were always meant to be put to music. Mr. Lal, choral director at Newark Academy, explains that lyrics have very similar merit to poetry. “Oftentimes poetry becomes the lyrics to a melody,” he said. “Bob Dylan embodies the skills of a writer and performer and it’s wonderful that he is being recognized for the beautiful songwriting he has gifted the American songbook.” The Newark Academy community seems to be quite enthusiastic about his success. Dan Glickman ’18, an active member of NA’s choral community says, “He is such an inspiration to musicians of our era.” Dylan’s accomplishments bring inspiration; it’s quite surprising that a musician could win a nobel prize for literature!

Sara Danius suggests that if you want to start to listen to Dylan’s music, you should start with the album “Blonde on Blonde” from 1966 because it includes many classics. She says that “it’s an extraordinary example of his brilliant way of rhyming and putting together refrains and his pictorial thinking.” Ultimately, Dylan’s work is a timeless example of bringing one’s medium to its greatest potential.

Drawing courtesy of Justine Seo ’19