Recommendations of the Editorial team
An archive text from 2016.
What many music enthusiasts have known for decades is now proven by one of the most important awards: Bob Dylan is a poet. Last Thursday (October 13th) it was announced that the singer would receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. For years, the 75-year-old was considered the favorite. While Dylan himself reacted silently to the special honor, the music world cheered unanimously. The most fascinating compliment, however, came from his colleague Leonard Cohen. He said at a Q&A in Los Angeles, where he was promoting his new album “You Want It Darker”: “To me, it’s like putting a sign in front of Mount Everest that says ‘highest mountain in the world’.”
Criticism of the Nobel Prize decision
After the decision of the Nobel Prize Committee there were not only voices of satisfaction (Tom Waits: “a great day for literature and for Bob”), but also clear criticism. Germany’s pope of literary criticism, Denis Scheck, whispered that the prize would have been better given to Donald Duck. If you read Cohen’s praise again, subtle criticism becomes clear behind the veneration of one of his heroes.
Does someone who basically everyone knows has had a decisive influence on America’s cultural history still need such an award? Over the course of his (incredible) career, Bob Dylan has now received the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, several Grammy Awards and even an Oscar (for “Things Have Changed” from the unfortunately unfairly forgotten film “The Wonder Boys”).
Of course, the features section had another nice hot-air discussion for a few days, but perhaps in that case it would have been more interesting to bring other musicians into play who would have deserved the Nobel Prize in Literature. Leonard Cohen would certainly also be a prominent candidate.
New poetic expressions
The Swedish Academy’s Nobel Prize Committee citation stated that Dylan created “new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”
ROLLING STONE editor Maik Brüggemeyer praised the decision: “Ultimately, behind the mask of his voice, Dylan acted out the great themes of life like an actor from the Italian Commedia dell’Arte and thus elevated them to art. He played the rebel, the artist, the seeker, the lover, the believer and the apocalyptic, and at the center of his art was always the big question of what makes a human being.”