Literature gets Lyrical. never say Dy. may Bob LiveLong!
For the first time ever, the Nobel Academy has given the Nobel Prize for Literature to a Lyricist / Singer. The prize tyically awarded to writers, poets and the like is one of the highly visible awards globally. Its earlier winners have been clearly those who put pen to paper, hence the change towards the mouth to microphone Muse is refreshing.
Voice over tradition
Vocal artistry had not been considered till date. Enter this year’s winner, Rober Zimmerman, aka, Bob Dylan. Celebrated American Singer, Lyricist and Artist he had been one of the conscience keepers of America in the 1960s and 70s. His pro-Civil Rights and anti-War stance endeared him to many who felt the need for an anti-establishment icon.
Nobel and Bold
This post is not just about celebrating the 2016 Lit Nobel winner Bob Dylan. It is also about the decision of the Nobel Team to go beyond the conservative benchmarks for Literature.
The decisions of the Nobel Committee sometimes do raise eyebrows. But then such is the nature of the job. There can be no easy answers to the questions their critics may pose of these men and women who carry the responsibility or burden (if you will) of choosing the Nobel for a particular discipline.
So many ‘nominations’, so few Nobels
In the world with a seven billion lives, there are numerous fields of human endeavour, quite a few of them overlapping. Within the same discipline, say Physics, Medicine, or Economics, there are numerous segments that are being researched. A few of these have lead to path breaking innovations. Which of these do they consider? How do they negate the candidacy of a few break through ideas in favour of another one? At some point, will they have some tugs of their hearts or minds which doubt the decisions taken?
Cool Chilli’s Comments
The Swedish Academy may need to be noble enough to choose a deserving winner/s in each specified field. But they also need to be stoic in the case of criticism about these choices. For this year’s Lit Nobel, the Minnesota Musician has definitely been a different choice, if not a difficult one. To honour a Lyricist who lived much of his life on the road but away from the beaten path!
Literature gets Lyrical. never say Dy. may Bob Live Long! We salute the Nobel Committee as much as the Winner himself.
Additional Reading
The Others who were In the Running?
