Bob Dylan Honored At Nobel Prize Banquet Despite Absence

Maddie Crum
(Photo: American Stock via Getty Images)
(Photo: American Stock via Getty Images)

The times, they are a changin’.

When word of Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize triumph caught wind, the literary world broke into heated, divisive debate. Does a songwriter deserve the recognition ― and money ― typically reserved for poets and novelists?

Just as dissenters began to accept the unexpected choice, Dylan stirred the pot. He declined to comment on ― or even accept ― the prize until two weeks after its announcement. Then, last month, the Swedish Academy announced that he would not attend the ceremony, “due to pre-existing commitments.”

The Academy noted in the same announcement that past winners — including writer Doris Lessing — have been unable to claim their prize at the ceremony.

So, diehard Dylan fans had no speech-in-song-form to anticipate, at least not one sung by Dylan himself. Dylan said he would write a “speech of thanks” to be presented at the banquet. Instead, Professor Horace Engdahl, a Swedish literary historian and critic, presented the award and delivered his own remarks.

“By means of his oeuvre, Bob Dylan has changed our idea of what poetry can be and how it can work,” Engdahl said. [You can read a full transcript of the speech here.]

Patti Smith attended the ceremony, and performed a cover of “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” as tribute to Dylan. Smith was asked to perform before Dylan’s win was announced; she’d planned to play one of her own songs, but switched gears when Dylan, who influenced her own work, was awarded the prize.

“I have been following him since I was a teenager, half a century to be exact,” Smith said in an interview with Rolling Stone.

Smith stumbled at one point during the performance, forgetting the lyric: “I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin’.” The singer apologized, explaining that she was nervous, and finished out the song.

Perhaps one day, Smith will attend under different circumstances, as a musician-turned-literary influencer herself. For now, though, she sings Dylan’s words, chillingly apt for America’s current political climate.

“I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken,” she sang, highlighting the importance of words that can carry weight, and inspire change.

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Selma Lagerlöf

She's the first woman to win the prize, and is famous for her children's book, "The Wonderful Adventures of Nils," which was commissioned by Sweden's National Teachers Association, and includes fascinating descriptions of the country's wildlife, as well as previously unpublished folklore.
She's the first woman to win the prize, and is famous for her children's book, "The Wonderful Adventures of Nils," which was commissioned by Sweden's National Teachers Association, and includes fascinating descriptions of the country's wildlife, as well as previously unpublished folklore.

Rabindranath Tagore

Tagore was the first non-European to win, and is responsible for introducing Indian culture to the West. In addition to novels, he wrote songs and "dance dramas."
Tagore was the first non-European to win, and is responsible for introducing Indian culture to the West. In addition to novels, he wrote songs and "dance dramas."

William Butler Yeats

The Irish poet's work,<a href="http://www.potw.org/archive/potw351.html" target="_blank"> "The Second Coming,"</a> inspired the title of Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart," and the epigraph of Joan Didion's "Slouching Towards Bethlehem."

George Bernard Shaw

Another Irish winner, Shaw was primarily a playwright -- He also won an Oscar for an adaptation of one of his own plays, "Pygmalion."
Another Irish winner, Shaw was primarily a playwright -- He also won an Oscar for an adaptation of one of his own plays, "Pygmalion."

T. S. Eliot

British poet and social critic Eliot is known for more than "The Waste Land": We suggest you pick up "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," too.
British poet and social critic Eliot is known for more than "The Waste Land": We suggest you pick up "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," too.

Ernest Hemingway

One of the rare American winners, Hemingway's "The Old Man and he Sea" thrust him back into the spotlight after years of so-so criticism. We suggest starting with his short stories.
One of the rare American winners, Hemingway's "The Old Man and he Sea" thrust him back into the spotlight after years of so-so criticism. We suggest starting with his short stories.

Pablo Neruda

The Chilean poet will win you over with his poignant thoughts on love.
The Chilean poet will win you over with his poignant thoughts on love.

Gabriel García Márquez

The Colombian writer made magical realism a popular thing, and we are so grateful.
The Colombian writer made magical realism a popular thing, and we are so grateful.

Naguib Mahfouz

The first Egyptian writer to tackle Existentialism, Mahfouz introduces Arabic language and contemporary Egyptian culture to the West.
The first Egyptian writer to tackle Existentialism, Mahfouz introduces Arabic language and contemporary Egyptian culture to the West.

Nadine Gordimer

Gordimer relentlessly wrote about apartheid in South Africa, in spite of many of her titles being banned. We recommend "The Conservationist," which won the Booker in 1974.
Gordimer relentlessly wrote about apartheid in South Africa, in spite of many of her titles being banned. We recommend "The Conservationist," which won the Booker in 1974.

Orhan Pamuk

Pamuk's "Istanbul" fights the Western fixation with the city, associating its melancholy with charm. It's also just a beautifully-written memoir, and we highly recommend it, along with his fictional works. He underwent the ambitious task of building an entire museum to complement one of his novels.
Pamuk's "Istanbul" fights the Western fixation with the city, associating its melancholy with charm. It's also just a beautifully-written memoir, and we highly recommend it, along with his fictional works. He underwent the ambitious task of building an entire museum to complement one of his novels.

Doris Lessing

The British author penned "The Golden Notebook," which <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/books/19read.html?pagewanted=all" target="_blank">Barak Obama has cited as one of his favorites</a>.
The British author penned "The Golden Notebook," which Barak Obama has cited as one of his favorites.

Tomas Tranströmer

The Swedish poet and psychologist is known for his odes to the beauty of the natural world.
The Swedish poet and psychologist is known for his odes to the beauty of the natural world.

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