World famous Singer-Songwriter Bob Dylan has won The 2016 Nobel prize for literature. His words, his voice & reactive poetry has shaped a whole Generation of people across the borders. His work as a singer and songwriter is considered as literature by Nobel Prize Committee.
“Bob Dylan has created New Poetic expressions and he deserves to be read as a poet”
This is a pleasent surprise as I Listened to him a lot. Just wanna give mention to one of his songs. The title is “The Times They Are A Changin’ ” Just listen to this song in Dylan’s Signature voice and focus on the poetry. I have especially mentioned two verses of this song below and after that there is a deep discussion on why Dylan’s Literature Nobel is an Orbit Shift within System of Nobel Prize.
“The Times They Are A-Changin’”
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who
That it’s namin’
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’.
Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don’t criticize
What you can’t understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin’
Please get out of the new one
If you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’.
An Important Discussion on Why Giving Nobel Prize to Bob Dylan is a good idea.
Someone : Bob Dylan does not need a Nobel Prize in Literature, but literature needs a Nobel Prize. Bob Dylan does not deserve this Nobel Prize. By awarding the prize to him, the Nobel committee is choosing not to award it to a writer.
Me : Do not agree with this thought, Literature needs to be wide, you can’t limit literature to just one medium which suits the status quo.
Someone : You seem to be a supporter for reservations
Me : how u arrived at this judgement ? I am against reservations on caste basis,
Coming back to my point – bob Dylan’s nobel is an orbit shift innovation and it is a welcome change in perception of literature, NYT’s opinion sounds like a floppy disk in this era
Someone : Well, the pro reservations guys talk like this that put everybody in somehow and make it democratic and all that shit. But the thing is this is Nobel Prize for literature. An award Borges never won. Kafka and Calvino didn’t win. Many died waiting for their turn. What do you mean literature should be wide. You want to have a thirty percent reservations for songwrites in it or what. Milan Kundera is fucking alive, Who knows for how long. This belongs to him. He did to fiction what Bob did to music in those days. I love Bob but he ain’t no poet or something. He is not. Adam Zagajevsky is a poet. Give it to him for the fucking god’s sake. They give it only once in an year, this Nobel Prize. Give it to the greatests.
Me : This is not my great vs your great. Great writers would always be great, irrespective of whether they got nobel or not. Apart from Kafka or Kundera.. or Gibran or Virginia Woolf, many others didn’t got Nobel. But this doesn’t mean that they are less great. Off course Nobel committee is unable to award each and every great writer, inventor or economist on the planet. Committee would prioritise somewhere and it would hurt a lot of people including you.
Even I like Kundera but I think Milan Kundera’s greatness is not dependent on Nobel committee. May be he would get it in his lifetime (or may be not, that depends on perspective of gentlemen in Nobel Committee).
I’m talking about change in perception and definition of Literature. Bob Dylan’s work is awarded because it destroyed the barbwires between literature and songwriter’s arena. Try to recognise this change. Its big & its more on positive side. Its a risk taken by committee. In India you cannot see this happening because of literary nexus (All The shit you see in Indian literature these days is approved by them only.) Due to this, literature is disconnected from people. I see this as literature pollution and Bob Dylan’s Nobel is fresh air.
And finally NO, I’m not in favour of 30% reservation for singer-songwriters in Nobel. you seem to be obsessed with the word reservation. I like your writing skills but your perspective was a reason for disagreement.
Someone : I have nothing against songwriters. Lorca was a songwriter. He didn’t get Nobel while his protege Alexandere, Jimenez, even Neruda got it. But is Bob in the same league? Nope, I don’t think so. He has an impact on culture of his times, just like Tagore had but Nobel Prize for literature, no way to both. I really don’t understand the meaning of this changing of perception and giving a message and all. Nobel Prizes are not for this. They are to to be awarded to a writer whose excellence as a writer is beyond doubts. Tadeusz Różewicz died waiting for his turn. Zbignew Herbert got it not. Adam Zagajevsky, Bei Dao got them not. Milan Kundera is in eighties. If he dies without getting Nobel, well that would be a crime against humanity. Peter Handke is alive. Philip Roth, Thomas Pynchon, Paul Auster even from America. Don’t tell me Bob is greater writer than them. All can’t win it but at least give it to the one among these. Bob is nowhere in that league. As for the public connect, well this is a joke. Since when public started deciding who must get Nobel for writing. If they had their way, Kertesz, Jelinek, Modiano would have never win it. Heck, nobody knew Imre Kertesz even in Hungary when he got his Nobel.
Me : “Nobel Prize for literature should be awarded to great writers only” this is only a single frame of seeing what is literature. Great songwriting is not literature ? and if it is then why bob is the first songwriter to receive award in Nobel history. And as for the big names u mentioned how many are proficient in great song writing. Talent is subjective and bidirectionally questionable.
The talent u r expecting from a noble winner is based on ur choices, preferences, pre assumptions and history of Nobel Prize winners. Various individual choices aggregate together to make a decision.
Why this would always remain like this only. Bob Dylan is a complete package and you cannot judge him on single trait like whether he can write like Kundera or not.
Alfred Nobel was a diverse personality and if he was alive he could have appreciated this diversification of literature Nobel.
Cultural impact is a big trait of Nobel winners : Tagore and Dylan both deserve the prize. Even others in queue who had a big impact on culture deserve it.
Again I’m not saying public should decide this is ur assumption. Great products or decisions are not made on basis of referendum. But public connect is essential because literature is for people and by the people. This doesn’t mean that people should like it or we must have a vote. This is not politics.
Other side of the coin is that Dark room writing is not literature. So public connect in terminology of thoughts, subjects, content is also a yardstick in deciding literary impact.
This can go on forever, our frames of seeing the award announcements are different
but I think even disagreements can exist together. This friction nurtures the new possibilities. I hope you would see the Nobel decision with different perspectives. And time would measure its impact