Bob Dylan's Nobel silence 'impolite and arrogant' - Nobel committee member

[ansible]

Source: BBC

Bob Dylan's failure to acknowledge his Nobel Prize in literature is "impolite and arrogant", according to a member of the body that awards it.

The 75-year-old singer was named the shock winner of the prize last week.

But all efforts by the Swedish Academy to contact him have failed, and he has not acknowledged the win in public.

Academy member Per Wastberg told Swedish television: "He is who he is," adding that there was little surprise Dylan had ignored the news.

"We were aware that he can be difficult and that he does not like appearances when he stands alone on the stage," he told Sweden's Dagens Nyheter newspaper in a separate interview.

A reference to the prize was removed from Dylan's website last week.

It is still not known if he will travel to Stockholm to receive the prize on 10 December. If he does not, a ceremony marking his career will go ahead as planned, Mr Wastberg said.

Mr Wastberg called the snub "unprecedented", but one person has previously rejected the Nobel Prize in Literature - French author and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre in 1964.

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37740379

Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37740379

[LynnTTT]

1. I agree

If you don't to accept, just decline

[saidsimplesimon]

32. I disagree Lynn

He is not in hiding. He is on a concert tour, Colbert included him in his remarks. He stated he does not want to be recognized as the "voice" for any party. He is an artist, doesn't need the money or fame.

[nolabels]

70. He is being who is, an iconic mastermind, that does stuff his way.

He probably does his music for the same reason. Maybe some of the recordings are later polished to generate sales, but more over it was what he wanted to do and maybe say. You cannot get more authentic.

So you would want him to just give it up and say how wonderful it all is?

Bob Dylan The Times They Are A Changin' 1964

[PoliticAverse]

2. I hope he goes and reads the lyrics from "Masters of War"... n/t

[Javaman]

4. Or he doesn't care about awards...

many people are like that.

Dylan can do whatever he pleases.

[Retired George]

37. Indeed

But hey, maybe I'm biased, because I've always thought he was overrated.

[Javaman]

55. because if you know anything about Dylan

he honestly doesn't give a shit what people think.

And that's they way I like him.

And quite frankly, if given the same award, I would probably do the same thing.

[Javaman]

61. it's like the old saying, just because someone is lost

doesn't always mean they want to be found.

It's the people looking that want to find them.

it's the sort of thing can be applied here.

He doesn't care for awards nor acknowledges them.

I feel the same, I have been the recipient of awards in my life but never showed to accept them. Why? Just because other people think I'm deserving, that lessens the other people out there who are equally or more deserving work than I.

That's why I believe awards are more about the people giving them than the people whom are to accept them.

And to go of on a tangent, this dovetails very nicely into another artist who wrote a song called Imagine.

He wrote of a world were people were accepted for who they are and about a brotherhood of people.

That means no awards as well.

[smirkymonkey]

65. +1000

[moonscape]

71. I think it's possible to not care what people think, and still

be polite and gracious. We aren't polite and gracious for approval, but because as human beings in an inter-dependent society it's the right thing to do.

I agree with you that the increased rudeness in American society is jarring. And my friends and I have often spoken about being glad we grew up when we did, when courtesy and civility were far more common.

[athena]

72. Good point, moonscape.

One should care how others feel, even if one doesn't care what they think (i.e., one is not necessarily seeking their approval). There is no point in treating people in a hurtful way that makes them feel stupid or foolish. As my mother-in-law, who just passed away, taught my husband, manners are not just rules about which utensils to hold in which hand; they are, at bottom, about making others feel comfortable. It's sad that this considerate and empathetic way of thinking and behaving is fast becoming old-fashioned.

[yallerdawg]

5. It's always possible...

"he's not there."

[Plucketeer]

6. Maybe he's weighed

Obama's "Peace Prize" and how that's turned out. Maybe Dylan doesn't give a award much credence.

[jacksonian]

7. so what

i love Dylan, but he's only acted this way his entire life, so who's surprised?

You want to honor the lyrics, honor the lyrics (they richly deserve it), but expecting this man to kiss your ass in gratitude is pretty silly. He is who he is and always been, what did they expect?

[Javaman]

16. +1 nt

[prayin4rain]

50. +1

[whatthehey]

60. I'm not sure that's what they want

"Here, have one of the highest profile honors in existence."

"Thanks." or "Not my thing really."

"Hey nice ass kissing there you sycophantic oleaginous toady."

[KittyWampus]

79. I don't think anyone expects him to "kiss their ass in gratitude" and the fact you exaggerate

indicates how unnecessary it is for him to just politely decline the honor.

[oberliner]

8. Arrogant?

Seems arrogant to tell people how they should behave when they are given an award that they did not ask for or seek.

[still_one]

9. My exact thoughts oberliner

[m-lekktor]

18. I agree. nt

[jberryhill]

51. Yeah, I agree with that

He doesn't want an honor in the name of an explosives inventor, or whatever.

It's not like anyone is at their beck and call.

[OKNancy]

11. He's in Tulsa OK tomorrow

Brady Theatre if they want to call...LOL

[no_hypocrisy]

12. Nah, that's just Bob being Bob . . . . . .

He doesn't care how it's interpreted.

[elmac]

14. As one of the highest paid singers in the world

pulling in 96 million dollars last year he probably thinks its not worth his time or energy.

[Princess Turandot]

15. He actually has accepted these kinds of honors in the past...

In 2012, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by PBO:



According to Wikipedia, he's also accepted the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors and a special Pulitzer, along with others. (And, of course, 12 Grammys, and several music halls of fame.)

So, who knows. Maybe he's not interested in participating in the formal proceedings that the Nobels have.

[Zambero]

17. They've got a lot of nerve

To say they are Bob's friend.
When he was down they just stood there grinnin'!

So anyway, what took them so long??? 50+ years. Given those circumstances, at least they could give him a week or three to take notice!

[Wibly]

19. What a load

Dylan is an artist. Many artist brain don't work in the same fashion other's do.
Chances are Dylan doesn't know what to say, or is still processing.
Leave him to it.
All this negative bs just speaks to those who are spouting it.
Dylan is being Dylan. Let him be Dylan.

[DinahMoeHum]

20. Dear Swedish Academy - STFU, you simpering little twits. . .

. . .and have a little patience, for a change.

Dylan is not the kind of guy who jumps up and kisses on command.

[Leontius]

21. What a waste of the Nobel Prize.

[BeyondGeography]

24. I agree

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/opinion/why-bob-dylan-shouldnt-have-gotten-a-nobel.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share

Good argument for that in the link:

As reading declines around the world, literary prizes are more important than ever. A big prize means a jump in sales and readership even for a well-known writer. But more than that, awarding the Nobel to a novelist or a poet is a way of affirming that fiction and poetry still matter, that they are crucial human endeavors worthy of international recognition.

Popular music is such an endeavor too, but, for the most part, it already receives the recognition it deserves. And apart from a few spoken-word awards, no one would expect the highest honors in music to go to a writer — we won’t be seeing Zadie Smith or Mary Gaitskill in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame....

[treestar]

53. Agree

Much as I like Dylan, song lyrics are not literature.

[smirkymonkey]

66. Totally agree.

I never saw the appeal. I just think a lot of other much more talented literary artists were cheated this time around.

[msongs]

22. a gift recipient is free to use the gift as he chooses. doh! nobel seems to want to have their butts

kissed and the recipients grovelling at their feet

[mulsh]

23. Dylan and the Nobel committee are certainly getting a lot of attention. discuss among

yourselves.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

25. I don't understand. Bob Dylan is well known for his manners and humility.

Maybe they should give a prize to Justin Bieber, see how that turns out.

[madaboutharry]

26. It is rude and disappointing.

He has never been accused of being gracious.

On edit: There is an acknowledgment still up on his Facebook page. So who knows with him.

[Nitram]

27. Maybe they should vet their awardees a bit before bestowing the prize upon them.

I've read a couple of biographies about Dylan, and this is not at all surprising. But he could still be contemplating a surprise. He's nothing if not predictable.

[DeltaLitProf]

48. Excuse me but isn't the Nobel Prize funded by . . .

. . . money made from selling bombing technology!?!

[Nitram]

54. No, the inventor of dynamite funded the prize.

Last edited Tue Oct 25, 2016, 08:53 AM - Edit history (1)

Dynamite can in no way be considered a "bombing technology."

[ProfessorGAC]

69. Yep

It was invented to make mining safer as Nobel's brother got killed in a nitroglycerin accident.

They were using explosives in mining all over the world and he was looking for a way to make it safer to handle without people getting killed every day.

[Nitram]

75. That's right. You can throw dynamite into a fire and it won't explode. Requires a spark.

Very safe and stable.

[LakeArenal]

28. Everyone is talking about it so all get notoriety

He' s an artiste so he's temperamental. At least he didn't cut his ear off over it or anything. Still, a simple thank you, from the man with a million lyrics, might have been nice.

[ananda]

29. Dylan never did anything to win a prize.

He is a pretty genuine person.

[Oneironaut]

30. Maybe he's just an interesting guy who rejects accolades he feels are pointless.

Let's be honest - most highly creative people are also very quirky. It's not a bad thing. He was offered the award and doesn't want it. Leave the poor guy alone.

[Oneironaut]

44. Maybe, in his eyes, that would give legitimacy to the award that he doesn't feel is deserved.

I guess we'll never know. I think bugging someone to accept an award is equally rude. He probably should have said something, but maybe he doesn't feel like he should have to. Who knows?

[smirkymonkey]

47. +1000

[ghostsinthemachine]

31. I think he is embarrased

the Nobel prize is a yearly thing and he hasn't done anything in the past year, except release a cover album of Sinatra songs and an album too new to consider , to warrant the prize, and he knows it. An empty plaudit if there ever was one (Sort of like Obama winning the Peace prize, when he did nothing to warrant the award). A lifetime achievement award the Nobel is not.

This does shine a light on the sorry state of literature today however.

[ghostsinthemachine]

36. I think you re reading way too much into this

And Bob Dylan.

[nsd]

42. The Nobel prize in literature *is* a lifetime achievement award.

It is rarely given for a single book or other piece of work, and it almost never honors work done within the past year.

For example, when V.S. Naipaul won in 2001, the committee cited A House for Mr. Biswas (published 1961), The Loss of El Dorado (1969), The Enigma of Arrival (1987), and several other books. Usually, the prize is given for a whole body of work (a lifetime's worth of work).

In the sciences, the prize is typically given for a single achievement, but that achievement can be decades old. This years's physics prize went for work on phase transitions that dates to the early 1970s.

[ghostsinthemachine]

43. Well thanks for the correction

I didnt know that. Thanks

[DeltaLitProf]

49. The Nobel in Literature . . .

. . . is more of a lifetime achievement. It's not like the Pulitzer or National Book Award in being for a specific work. Not anymore anyway.

[tavernier]

40. My sweet Alan Rickman did not

believe in royalty titles and so was not offered, even though his fans often called him Sir Alan. I think it's a matter of choice. Perhaps he feels a Nobel prize puts him above other talented people who are equally deserving.

[freebrew]

41. As a great fan of Dylan's...

after hearing of the award, said to myself: "What took so fucking long?".

Surprised that he doesn't acknowledge?

Not one bit. He's been the poet of generations worldwide.
Criticizing the very people that bemoaning him now.

75 years old, on tour with a number one hit, still writing.

Why do people still find it necessary to find fault with those more successful than themselves?

[Rex]

45. I doubt he needs the money.

They can show up and present it to him, he is a public icon after all.

[Rex]

73. He is not unreachable, they just need to go to him if they really care.

Why not just move on? Plenty of other winners.

[DeltaLitProf]

46. So they give the guy a Nobel Prize

. . . and forget to watch Don't Look Back?

He's trying to love his neighbor and do good to others.
But oh mother things ain't going so well.

[LisaM]

52. Because really?

That's his schtick. Is the Prize committee stupid?

[dalton99]

58. Can't take it back now

[electron_blue]

59. I think their lack of Nobel prize physicists to women in my lifetime is impolite and arrogant

the committee loses credibility

[tawadi]

62. People who think he's being arrogant don't understand musicians. nt

[closeupready]

63. After some reflection, I think if I were him, I'd continue ignoring them.

They are full of themselves if they are going to condescend to award-winners.

Honestly, with this public excoriation, they've now turned their prize into a booby - at least for him, because he's filthy rich and doesn't need the $1M prize, and yet if he responded after this insult, he's validating it.

Another thing, you know what? Plenty of people have worked with him, know him, or know members of his entourage, and yet, they generally keep their mouths shut even though he's well-known to have his eccentricities.

What kind of a professional in charge of administering a trust talks like this about trust beneficiaries? I think, in fact, that this Per Wastberg should be replaced, if he did call Dylan arrogant. No call for that kind of talk at all.

[cbdo2007]

64. It is a weird spot for Dylan, or anybody to be in.

If he accepts, he is their puppet. If he just blows it off and they get mad, it says a lot more about them than about him.

[cbdo2007]

78. You are missing the point by requiring his response.

He doesn't owe you or them anything. They gave him the award and he's choosing to be exactly who we all expect him to be, which is why they gave it to him to begin with.

[nolabels]

74. I love how Bob Dylan travels around in small company

Check out this:

Jean-Paul Sartre | French philosopher and author | Britannica.com
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Paul-Sartre
Encyclopædia Britannica
Jean-Paul Sartre. Jean-Paul Sartre, (born June 21, 1905, Paris, France—died April 15, 1980, Paris) French novelist, playwright, and exponent of Existentialism—a philosophy acclaiming the freedom of the individual human being. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1964, but he declined i

[Dreamer Tatum]

76. Maybe he's too polite to say he doesn't deserve it

because he doesn't

[LisaM]

77. He's always acted this way - ever seen that documentary made about him in the 1960s?

It's been a while since I saw it, but I remember things like someone asking him something about a song lyric and he answered, "uh, what do you mean by love?" (I can't quite get the sneering sound here). It was just an absolutely silly response, and he obviously hasn't changed, but you'd think the Nobel committee would know this about him and not expect anything more.