Should Dylan Have Accepted the Nobel Prize?
by Jeffrey Rubin, PhD
Welcome back to From Insults to Respect.
Dylan in his early years
As most of you know, controversy flared upon the announcement that Bob Dylan was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature. Some heatedly argued there are others more worthy of the prize. In this vein, a guy named Rob Delany tweeted:
“Bob Dylan wins the Nobel Prize for Literature? What’s next, Derek Jeter wins a Tony for his rice pilaf???”
In contrast, Director Martin Scorsese put out a statement saying he was “overjoyed” that Dylan was awarded the prize. He went on from here to say:
“Dylan’s poetry, his musical genius, has meant so much to me personally and to generations of people around the world. His work has impacted and shaped culture, and he has never stopped exploring and growing as an artist. The Nobel Committee has given Dylan a form of recognition that befits his role in our culture — in world culture.”
No doubt the Pulitzer Prize Committee members agree with Scorsese, they having awarded Dylan the Pulitzer Prize in 2016 for his “profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power.”
Some felt Bob should refuse to accept the reward because of how Alfred Nobel earned his money. Thus, a Star Tribune article informs us that:
Alfred Nobel was the inventor of dynamite and was one of the original (to quote from one Dylan song) “Masters of war/You that build the big bombs” — i.e. he not only was a major producer of modern cannon, but also was one of the first modern armament producers. In addition, a premature obituary of Nobel, calling him a “merchant of death,” presumably inspired Nobel to turn philanthropist by creating the prizes.
To be fair, dynamite has some very useful peacetime functions, such as blasting for the construction of tunnels. Moreover, most current day bombs no longer use dynamite. In any case, Bob did accept the award? Was he right to have done so. Would have you respected him more if he had refused it.
Bob’s Acceptance Speech
In thinking about your answer, it might help to take a look at Bob’s acceptance letter:
Good evening, everyone. I extend my warmest greetings to the members of the Swedish Academy and to all of the other distinguished guests in attendance tonight.
I’m sorry I can’t be with you in person, but please know that I am most definitely with you in spirit and honored to be receiving such a prestigious prize. Being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature is something I never could have imagined or seen coming. From an early age, I’ve been familiar with and reading and absorbing the works of those who were deemed worthy of such a distinction: Kipling, Shaw, Thomas Mann, Pearl Buck, Albert Camus, Hemingway. These giants of literature whose works are taught in the schoolroom, housed in libraries around the world and spoken of in reverent tones have always made a deep impression. That I now join the names on such a list is truly beyond words.
I don’t know if these men and women ever thought of the Nobel honor for themselves, but I suppose that anyone writing a book, or a poem, or a play anywhere in the world might harbor that secret dream deep down inside. It’s probably buried so deep that they don’t even know it’s there.
If someone had ever told me that I had the slightest chance of winning the Nobel Prize, I would have to think that I’d have about the same odds as standing on the moon. In fact, during the year I was born and for a few years after, there wasn’t anyone in the world who was considered good enough to win this Nobel Prize. So, I recognize that I am in very rare company, to say the least.
I was out on the road when I received this surprising news, and it took me more than a few minutes to properly process it. I began to think about William Shakespeare, the great literary figure. I would reckon he thought of himself as a dramatist. The thought that he was writing literature couldn’t have entered his head. His words were written for the stage. Meant to be spoken not read. When he was writing Hamlet, I’m sure he was thinking about a lot of different things: “Who’re the right actors for these roles?” “How should this be staged?” “Do I really want to set this in Denmark?” His creative vision and ambitions were no doubt at the forefront of his mind, but there were also more mundane matters to consider and deal with. “Is the financing in place?” “Are there enough good seats for my patrons?” “Where am I going to get a human skull?” I would bet that the farthest thing from Shakespeare’s mind was the question “Is this literature?”
When I started writing songs as a teenager, and even as I started to achieve some renown for my abilities, my aspirations for these songs only went so far. I thought they could be heard in coffee houses or bars, maybe later in places like Carnegie Hall, the London Palladium. If I was really dreaming big, maybe I could imagine getting to make a record and then hearing my songs on the radio. That was really the big prize in my mind. Making records and hearing your songs on the radio meant that you were reaching a big audience and that you might get to keep doing what you had set out to do.
Well, I’ve been doing what I set out to do for a long time, now. I’ve made dozens of records and played thousands of concerts all around the world. But it’s my songs that are at the vital center of almost everything I do. They seemed to have found a place in the lives of many people throughout many different cultures and I’m grateful for that.
But there’s one thing I must say. As a performer I’ve played for 50,000 people and I’ve played for 50 people and I can tell you that it is harder to play for 50 people. 50,000 people have a singular persona, not so with 50. Each person has an individual, separate identity, a world unto themselves. They can perceive things more clearly. Your honesty and how it relates to the depth of your talent is tried. The fact that the Nobel committee is so small is not lost on me.
But, like Shakespeare, I too am often occupied with the pursuit of my creative endeavors and dealing with all aspects of life’s mundane matters. “Who are the best musicians for these songs?” “Am I recording in the right studio?” “Is this song in the right key?” Some things never change, even in 400 years.
Not once have I ever had the time to ask myself, “Are my songs literature?”
So, I do thank the Swedish Academy, both for taking the time to consider that very question, and, ultimately, for providing such a wonderful answer.
My best wishes to you all,
Bob Dylan
My Opinion
Well, first of all, Dylan should be free to choose to do whatever he wants. He’s been doing pretty well without my advice all these years and, anyway, I think it’s unlikely he would give a good hoot what my opinion is on this matter. Moreover, I don’t like it when someone tells me what I should do, so applying the golden rule, I’ll not “should” him. I will, however, express an opinion about what I, personally, think makes sense.
If Dylan and I were together, I’d first ask him if he would mind if I let him know what I would like him to do. If he said no, I would respect this. If he said yes, here’s what I would say.
“Well, Bob, it seems to me that you are kind of like a guy who has found himself somehow perched on top of a narrow fence, struggling to keep his balance. If he falls on one side, he’d end up in the mucky manure of folks who think he would be an awful sellout for accepting the award.
If he ends up landing on the other side, he’d end up in the mucky manure of folks who think that he would be disrespectful of a bunch of fine folks, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Albert Einstein. Such folks were as passionate as anyone with regards to promoting peaceful ways to work out human problems and yet chose to accept a Nobel Prize.
“It seems to me, Bob, that I can spot a way down from that narrow fence; a way in which you can avoid much of the nasty muck. Climbing down off the side of the fence, with a little care and skill, I think I spy a small spot where the grass is still emerald green.
“What I have in mind, Bob, is taking advantage of this international stage moment to express why you are ambivalent about accepting the award. Next, mention that your song, “Masters of War,” helps to capture some of the feelings you personally feel. Then sing the song to the audience. A great gesture would be to donate the approximately $900,000 award to a worthy cause. You’d still be able to keep the 18-caret gold medal that also comes with the prize, or sell it. Two earlier Nobel winners have sold their metals, fetching $765,002 and $4.7 million in auctions.
Words of President Dwight D. Eisenhower
“I realize that the approach I’m suggesting would still result in many of those individuals that work for the military industrial complex spitting on your soul. And I also realize that most Americans with no direct connection to the military industrial complex genuinely believe, for many good reasons, that without a strong military, some warlike countries would be eager to take advantage of us. And I also realize that if you were to remain silent, there would be many who would cry out that you don’t have the courage of your convictions. So, yes, the road of an artist is always deeply challenging.”
Well, those are my thoughts. How do the rest of you feel about how Bob handled the situation?
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Yes he should accept and it is a honor and respect he deserves such an award.
Hi Judith Dennis,
Thanks for chiming in on this. I very much agree with you.
Dylan was the one hack of many that made it out of the village. Don’t much care whether he accepts it or not. List the backs he climbed over to get to his exalted position. He’s not worthy of any reward, and he was never even a half decent song writer. Because the simple-minded buy into his amercan hero narrative, doesn’t make it so.
I love Bob Dylan and he’s inspired me as much as any other writer has. Here’s an interesting read from the NY Times in case anyone is interest in more ideas on this matter:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/opinion/the-meaning-of-bob-dylans-silence.html?_r=1
Thanks for the post
Hi JSR,
I read the NY Times article. The writer’s existential theory for Dylan’s non-response to the Nobel Awards Committee doesn’t quite hold up because he accepted several other big name rewards in the past, including the Pulitzer Prize, and now, just this morning I learned he has agreed to accept this Nobel Prize.
Interesting dilemma indeed Dr. Rubin. You captured it well and paved the way to a solution that allows this cultural icon to retain both his dignity and the integrity of his message to the world intact. I believe he will do as much, as if he had of called to ask for your thoughts on the matter.
Please keep us posted.
Thanks, Judy Gayton, for your kind words. As events unfold, by all means I’ll keep everyone informed.
We still don´t know if Dylan will come to Stockholm on dec 10. If he does I hope he will sing Masters of War and dedicate it to Alfred Nobel (Bofors Cannons etc.) or the Nobel Prize Group sponsor weapons manufacturer SAAB.
Hi Bo. Like you, I hope that Dylan does go to Stockholm to receive the award, and I think singing “Masters of War” would be a valuable thoughtful act. I don’t agree that Dylan should dedicate the song to any of the particular sponsors of the Nobel Prize Group such as the weapons manufacturer SAAB. It is my understanding that the committee that selects the prize winner does so completely independent of the separate organization called the Nobel Prize Foundation, which is a nonprofit group that takes contributions from a wide range of individuals and companies. The foundation states: These companies have no influence over or access to the nomination or selection procedures of the Nobel Prizes. Only after the public announcement of the Nobel Laureates, made by the Nobel Prize awarding institutions, can the companies further spread information and knowledge about each year’s Nobel Prizes.