Also this year, the Nobel Prize in Literature was another surprising dessert in the announcement of the Nobel Prizes. There was plenty of speculation, but no one anticipated that the award would go to Bob Dylan for "his poetic expressions within American music history."
Well-known writers such as Haruki Murakami and Philip Roth have already been mentioned. But lesser-known names such as Kenyan Ngugi Wa Thiong'o also appeared. Nevertheless, everyone was again completely surprised this year by the choice of the committee. Because never before has a pop singer been honored with a Nobel Prize in Literature.
75-year-old Robert Allen Zimmerman, better known by his stage name Bob Dylan, is considered one of the greatest American singer-songwriters of the last century. Protest songs like Blowin' in the wind (1963) and The times they are a changing (1964) became world famous. And in 2012, Dylan was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor, from President Barack Obama.
Controversy
On what grounds the Swedish Academy awards the Nobel Prize in Literature is uncertain every year. Therefore, the price is quite controversial. The Academy itself adheres to the words of Alfred Nobel:'the most remarkable work with an idealistic trend'. But those words are not unambiguous, since the Swedish idealisk can be translated either as 'idealistic' or as 'ideal'. In addition, in the past the Nobel Committee acted rather arbitrarily and ignored great writers. The awards were therefore often criticized.
Even now, criticism can be expected. Because how literary are Bob Dylan's lyrics? Dutch singer-songwriter Lucky Fonz III wrote in 2011 in pop magazine HEAVEN:“Bob Dylan is a lyrical tout:he steals lyrics, he presents nonsense as philosophical truths, he sticks ideas together haphazardly and can contradict himself within a verse. But still, it touches you.” Dylan's Dutch translators Robbert-Jan Henkes and Erik Bindervoet call him 'a language miracle', as we read on the Onze Taal weblog.
Bob Dylan, live on TV in 1963, with Blowin' in the wind .
But perhaps it is mainly about the political and philosophical charge of Dylan's songs. Blowin' in the wind asks questions about peace, war and freedom that were highly topical during the Vietnam War and in the peace movement of the 1960s. The song was sung by various artists. There was a Dutch translation (Vluchtig in de wind) and even a Frisian:Rúzjend yn é wyn. The same goes for The times they are a changing, which was interpreted by Boudewijn de Groot as 'There are other times to come'. As a warning against conservative currents in society.
Gambling
Speculation about the Nobel Prize in Literature was also very diverse this year. The nominations for this Nobel Prize must always be received before February. After that, some shortlists are made, but they are not published. Predictions are therefore rather a matter of gambling. Incidentally, there are also people who bet money on it.
The British gambling company Ladbrokes is cleverly responding to this. Based on what the bettors bet on this year at Ladbrokes, the following nomination list was established:Svetlana Alexievich (Belarus), Haruki Murakami (Japan), Ngugi Wa Thiong'o (Kenya), Jon Fosse (Norway), Joyce Carol Oates, Philip Roth (America). Bob Dylan was also in the list, but dangled somewhere at number fifty.