Bob Dylan Awarded Nobel Literature Prize

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The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2016 has bee awarded to Bob Dylan, “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”.

Legendary American musician Bob Dylan has won the 2016 Nobel prize in literature, the first songwriter to receive the prestigious award.

The Swedish Academy, which makes the annual decision on who will win the Nobel Literature Prize, said Dylan was honored “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”

Throngs of people who had gathered for the announcement in Stockholm, Sweden’s Old Town reacted with a loud cheer when Dylan’s name was read.

He had been mentioned as a possible Nobel prize winner in past years but was not seen as a serious contender.

U.S. President Barack Obama also tweeted congratulations describing Dylan as “one of my favorite poets”.

Sara Danius, Permanent Secretary at the Swedish Academy said Dylan “is a great poet in the English-speaking tradition”.

“His repertoire stretches from folk songs in the Appalachians, delta blues in the south, all the way to Rimbaud, of French modernism. And he handles this heritage in this absolutely original way. No one has ever done anything like him,” she added.

He had been mentioned as a possible Nobel prize winner in past years but was not seen as a serious contender.

Dylan is the first American to win the Nobel literature prize since Toni Morrison received the award in 1993.

The 75 year old singer and songwriter, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, launched his music career in 1959 by performing in coffee houses in the midwestern state of Minnesota.

VOA

The VOA is the Voice of America

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