World exclusive: Bob Dylan - I'll be at the Nobel Prize ceremony... if I can

[Donkees]

Since it was announced he had been chosen by the Swedish Academy to receive the Nobel, Dylan has made no public reference at all to it, save for a fleeting mention on his own website that was deleted within 24 hours. More than that, he has also reportedly refused to pick up the phone to speak to representatives of the Nobel committee. They apparently remain in the dark about whether he will be attending the ceremony on December 10, when he will receive a cheque for £750,000 from King Carl VI Gustaf.

Well, I can put them out of their misery. For when I ask about his Nobel, Dylan is all affability. Yes, he is planning to turn up to the awards ceremony in Stockholm. “Absolutely,” he says. “If it’s at all possible.”

And as he talks, he starts to sound pretty pleased about becoming a Nobel laureate. “It’s hard to believe,” he muses. His name has been mentioned as on the shortlist for a number of years, but the announcement was certainly not expected. When he was first told, it was, Dylan confides, “amazing, incredible. Whoever dreams about something like that?”



Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/world-exclusive-bob-dylan---ill-be-at-the-nobel-prize-ceremony-i/

[Donkees]

1. "According to the Nobel statutes, Dylan will need to give a public presentation within six months"

Dylan, after many people complained that he was unworthy of the award, called the Swedish Academy this week, according to a news release from the foundation, and the iconic folk crooner said, “If I accept the prize? Of course.”

The academy announced two weeks ago that Dylan, 75, had won the Nobel Prize, but he hadn’t responded to the foundation until now. One official initially blasted the folk singer, calling his behavior "impolite and arrogant."

But the news release stated that, indeed, Dylan was touched by the honor.

“The news about the Nobel Prize left me speechless," he told Sara Danius, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy. “I appreciate the honor so much.”

According to the Nobel statutes, however, Dylan will need to give a public presentation within six months in order to accept the cash prize.

Officials from the Swedish Academy have already said the "lecture" presentation could take the form of a concert, though not necessarily his own music, and that they are working with their laureate to find a suitable venue, not necessarily in Stockholm, for fulfilling the duty.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/bob-dylan-breaks-silence-nobel-prize-win/story?id=43149030

[kentuck]

2. Bob may not have been in the best of health?

I hope he can make it.