Bob Dylan: Musician, Writer, Nobel Prize Winner

Recently, American musician and song writer Bob Dylan won the Nobel Peace Prize of Literature. It is a glorious moment in history because it is the first time that the Swedish Academy awarded this greatly esteemed prize of literature to a song writer and composer. Some of the most known names that have won this award in the past have been Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Neruda, T. S. Eliot and Gabriel García Márquez, among others.

By doing this, the Swedish Academy has reset the boundaries of what can be referred to as literature and what cannot. Many criticize this bold act by saying that writing poetry or novels are different from writing songs. Some famous authors such as Jodi Picoult and Rabih Alameddine believe that Bob Dylan winning the Nobel Prize for Literature is extremely ridiculous, while others such as Rosanne Cash, the daughter of Johnny Cash, praised Bob Dylan for such a great achievement.

Although many musicians and writers have stated their opinion, Bob Dylan’s gratitude for the prize hasn’t been heard until a few days ago. The Guardian states that Dylan was left speechless because he couldn’t believe he received such an award. Many also criticized Bob Dylan’s delay in his response to receiving the prize by classifying it as arrogance. He later said that he was extremely overwhelmed and surprised of this event. All musicians can have a chance to win Grammys but no one could have ever imagined that a song writer could receive a Nobel Prize.

Not only is Bob Dylan one of the greatest musicians to ever live, he was (and still is) a great inspiration to many. In fact, one of his songs was the inspiration behind a great rock band’s name – The Rolling Stones. Dylan’s song “Like A Rolling Stone” inspired the group to name their band after the song. Bob Dylan is just one of the many names that will go down in history as one of the greatest musicians to ever exist.