Bob Dylan won a Nobel prize for literature

[doug3030]

Who else of that era would you nominate ahead of (or alongside) Dylan? ...

...Doug, I opened the conversation. I did not close it. To repeat, do you have alternate candidate(s)?

Yes Derek, you did indeed ask the question but in the way you worded it, you also attempted to to restrict the scope of my reply by making it appear that the only candidates for the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature had to come from the same era as Bob Dylan, presumably meaning the protest era, but his career and influence went on much longer than that, as did the careers and influences of his contemporaries.

I will not be baited into picking another artist from the protest era and put them up as being more worthy just so that you can attempt to draw me into a futile argument. The Nobel Prize for literature for 2016 could have come from a much wider base of candidates than Protest Era singer/songwriters and as far as I am aware they do not even have had to have published their work in the English language.

Now I like a lot of Dylan's work, as I like the work of many of his contemporaries, but if it was up to me (which it isn't) would I give any of them a noble literary prize? I do not think so. It will be 50 years before details of who other nominees were for this year's awards under the rules for the Nobel Prize so it is unlikely that we will be having the debate about who was hard done by.

You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant.

Cheers

Doug

[derekcohen]

Doug, my question about another candidate from that era was in response to your statement, "Just one of the many voices from that era."

Regards from Perth

Derek

[doug3030]

Doug, my question about another candidate from that era was in response to your statement, "Just one of the many voices from that era."

I think I answered that above, didn't I?

[ian]

Can one equate prizes for literature with peace? There is no doubting that politics plays a part in these choices

Yes and yes.

You are right that politics plays a big part in the peace and literature awards -- because at the end of the day both are very subjective and no doubt, literature contains a measure of "who's turn is it"


I was doing the NSW HSC around the time that Patrick White got his laureate for literature -- I recall that almost the only people in Australia buying his works were students forced to do so because two or three of his novels were on the prescribed reading list.

[ian]

Doug, I opened the conversation. I did not close it. To repeat, do you have alternate candidate(s)?

with my cynic's hat on ...

the 2016 Peace prize was awarded for a peace deal which, while very significant, fell over at the last hurdle, and in the process of falling over exposed a major flaw in how many such peace deals are negotiated.

in terms of nominating someone else for the Literature prize, this is Ladbrokes top 10 list
Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong’o 4/1 --
Haruki Murakami 5/1
Adonis 6/1
Philip Roth 12/1
Jon Fosse 12/1
Ko Un 14/1
Don DeLillo 14/1
Javier Marias 16/1
Ismail Kadare 20/1
Joyce Carol Oates 20/1

But it's more fun reading some of the commentary.
From the New Republic

[America is] due! We really are. An American hasn’t won the Nobel since Toni Morrison won in freaking 1993. But 2016 is not America’s year. For one thing, any American who won would probably have to say something about the Age of Trump or whatever in their Nobel lecture. And don’t get me wrong: The Nobel Committee would love nothing more than to send a passive-aggressive signal to America by awarding the prize to someone who stands for everything Donald Trump opposes.

Bob Dylan 100 percent is not going to win. Stop saying Bob Dylan should win the Nobel Prize.

[Lappa]

I have to admit I will be narked if a rapper gets it in my lifetime!

I heard a song on the radio the other day I hadn't heard before. Searching found it's a song called Empire State of Mind by Alicia Keyes.
I listened to a live version (beautiful) then went looking for other versions and I came across a version by Jay Z.
Near threw up

[rustynail]

Oh this is embarrassing: Back as a first year apprentice we had one in our midst who had the audacity to inform us that he was Bob Dylan's cousin, insisting that his father and Bob's were brothers. We thought this a huge joke as his name was Zimmerman

[AlexS]

I think Arlo is a superior entertainer/singer but Dylan is the better writer and is somewhat more prolific, and the prize is for literature (inc poetry).

Have to agree with you, Bob. As a writer of words that had an effect on the world, I can't think of anyone more deserving than Dylan.

[ian]

Have to agree with you, Bob. As a writer of words that had an effect on the world, I can't think of anyone more deserving than Dylan.

Peter Carey, Tom Keneally -- to name an Australian or two...


I still like what the New Republic wrote on October 6th -- a week BEFORE the announcement

[America is] due! We really are. An American hasn’t won the Nobel since Toni Morrison won in freaking 1993. But 2016 is not America’s year. For one thing, any American who won would probably have to say something about the Age of Trump or whatever in their Nobel lecture. And don’t get me wrong: The Nobel Committee would love nothing more than to send a passive-aggressive signal to America by awarding the prize to someone who stands for everything Donald Trump opposes.

Bob Dylan 100 percent is not going to win. Stop saying Bob Dylan should win the Nobel Prize.

[Twisted Tenon]

2 extra I would throw into the mix are Joan Baez and Simon & Garfunkle. I was never a fan of Dylan until his words were sung by other people.

TT

[Sawdust Maker]

To all the critics of Dylan getting the award - why not? And I'm not asking that xxx deserved it more

...


I was doing the NSW HSC around the time that Patrick White got his laureate for literature -- I recall that almost the only people in Australia buying his works were students forced to do so because two or three of his novels were on the prescribed reading list.

I never could read to whole of Voss!

[Big Shed]

2 extra I would throw into the mix are Joan Baez and Simon & Garfunkle. I was never a fan of Dylan until his words were sung by other people.

TT

Which is probably why he got the Nobel Price for Literature and not for Singing.

[Twisted Tenon]

Which is probably why he got the Nobel Price for Literature and not for Singing.

Yes I was thinking that too Fred. Paul Simon was as prolific a writer as Dylan and a whole lot sweeter to listen to. Whereas I believe Joan Baez made Dylan listenable

TT

[doug3030]

Which is probably why he got the Nobel Price for Literature and not for Singing.

Or maybe it is just because there is not a category in the Nobel Prize for singing

[Big Shed]

Or maybe it is just because there is not a category in the Nobel Prize for singing

There is that