BobDylancalled''arrogant''oversilenceaboutwinningNobelPrizeCOPE
NHAGEN,Denmark–AmemberoftheSwedishAcademythatawardedt
he2016NobelPrizeinliteraturetoBobDylansaystheAmerican
singer-songwriter''ssilencesincereceivingthehonoris"impolit
eandarrogant."PerWastbergsaidDylan''slackofreactiontothe
honortheacademybestowedonhimlastweekwaspredictable,but
disrespectfulnonetheless."Onecansaythatitisimpoliteanda
rrogant.Heiswhoheis,"WastbergwasquotedassayinginSatur
day''seditionoftheSwedishnewspaperDagensNyheter.Wastbergsa
idtheacademystillhopestocommunicatewiththe75-year-oldar
tist,whoseNobelcreditshimwithcreating"newpoeticexpressio
nswithinthegreatAmericansongtradition.""Wehaveagreednot
toliftafinger.Theballliesentirelyonhishalf,"Wastbergt
oldthenewspaper."Youcanspeculateasmuchasyouwantbutwe
don''t."Hewasnotimmediatelyavailableforcomments.Theacademy
saidithasfailedtoreachthetight-lippedlaureatesinceheb
ecamethefirstmusicianintheNobel''s115-yearhistorytowint
heprizeinliterature.TheawardwasmentionedonDylan''soffici
alTwitterandFacebookaccounts.DylanspokesmanLarryJenkinsdi
dnotrespondtoanemailSaturdayseekingcomment.Theliterature
prizeandfiveotherNobelPrizeswillbeofficiallyconferredi
nStockholmonDec.10,theanniversaryofawardfounderAlfredN
obel''sdeathin1896.Literaturelaureateshaveskippedtheceremo
nybefore.In2004,AustrianplaywrightandnovelistElfriedeJel
inekstayedhome,citingasocialphobia.HaroldPinterandAlice
Munromissedtheceremonyforhealthreasonsin2005and2013,re
spectively.OnlytwopeoplehavedeclinedaNobelPrizeinliterat
ure.BorisPasternakdidsounderpressurefromSovietauthoritie
sin1958andJean-PaulSartre,whodeclinedallofficialhonors,
turneditdownin1964.AlthoughDylanhasnotcommentedpublicly
onwinningtheNobel,privacyandthepriceoffamehavebeenth
emesinhismusic.It''seasytoreadaresponsetoWastberg''srema
rksinthe1981song,"TheGroom''sStillWaitingatTheAltar.""T
rytobepureatheart,theyarrestyouforrobbery,"partofthe
lyricssay."Mistakeyourshynessforaloofness,yoursilencefo
rsnobbery."Eachofthisyear''sNobelPrizesisworth8millionS
wedishkronor,orabout$930,000.BobDylanlabelled‘impoliteand
arrogant’overNobelPrizesnubBobDylanhasbeendescribedas“
impoliteandarrogant”forhissilencefollowinghisNobelPrize
win.Creditedwithhaving“creatednewpoeticexpressionswithint
hegreatAmericansongtradition,”Dylan,75,wasannouncedasth
isyear’srecipientoftheNobelPrizeforLiteratureearlierthi
smonth.Theawardisgiventoanindividualwhohasproduced“in
thefieldofliteraturethemostoutstandingworkinanidealdi
rection”.Followingthenews,LeonardCohen,TheRollingStonesan
dTomWaitshaveallcongratulatedDylanonhishistoricwin.How
ever,themercurialsinger-songwriterhimselfhasremainednotabl
ysilent.Mentionoftheawardtemporarilyappearedonawebsitep
lugginganewcollectionofDylan’slyrics,whichdescribedhima
sthe“winneroftheNobelprizeinliterature”.However,thelin
edisappearedfromthesitelessthanadaylater.Dylanhasbeen
invitedtoStockholmtocollecthisprizefromKingCarlXVIGust
afonDecember10,butaccordingtotheNobelAcademyhehasyet
toconfirmhisattendanceattheeventalongside2016’sotherNob
elPrizewinners.NobelacademymemberandwriterPerWastberghas
nowhitoutatDylan,speakingtoSweden’sSVTpublictelevision
.“Thisisanunprecedentedsituation,”hesaid.“It’simpolitea
ndarrogant…Heiswhoheis.”“Wewereawarethathecanbediffi
cultandthathedoesnotlikeappearanceswhenhestandsaloneo
nthestage,”WastbergaddedinaseparateinterviewwithSweden’
sDagensNyheternewspaper.SomefanshavecalledonDylantorefu
setheawardbecauseoftheNobelprize’sfounder,AlfredNobel,
wasanarmamentsmanufacturer.EvenifDylandecidesnottoaccep
tthetitleofNobellaureate,theNobelacademydonotacknowled
gerejectionsandcontinuetolistwinnersofitsawards.OtherfigureswhohavesnubbedtheNobelacademyinthepastincludeAlbertEinsteinandJean-PaulSartre.Readmoreathttp://www.nme.com/news/bob-dylan-nobel-prize-snub-impolite-arrogant-1725570#x2i6TAm3vHhxv88v.99 |
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