On Criticism Of Dylan For Not Going All Public Happy Puppy Over The Nobel
Awards are, to some degree, given to maintain the prestige of the awarders.
That's not the entire reason for them, but let's be honest -- it plays at least some part.
There's been some horrification around the world that Bob Dylan, who was named a recipient of a Nobel Prize for literature, hasn't bounded to the front of the Internet like an excited dog in response to the news.
Liam Stack writes in The New York Times:
The saga of Bob Dylan and the Nobel Prize continues.Mr. Dylan became the first musician to win the Nobel Prize in Literature this month, setting off a debate about whether song lyrics had the same artistic value as novels and poetry. But no one knows how Mr. Dylan feels about the honor. He has made no public statements, and a brief reference added to his website ("Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature") was quickly removed after the news media caught wind of it.
Mr. Dylan's ambivalence to one of the world's most prestigious honors, and the uncertainty about whether he will accept it, appears to have begun to wear on the Swedish Academy, which awards the prize. On Saturday, an academy member called Mr. Dylan "impolite and arrogant."
"One can say that it is impolite and arrogant," the member, Per Wastberg, a writer, told the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, according to a translation by The Associated Press. "He is who he is."
After Mr. Dylan's 2016 Nobel Prize was announced, Sara Danius, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, said she did not know if Mr. Dylan would attend the award ceremony in December because she had not been able to get in touch with him. Mr. Wastberg told the newspaper that the committee would not try to contact him again.
"We have agreed not to lift a finger. The ball lies entirely on his half," he said. "You can speculate as much as you want but we don't."
The Swedish Academy moved quickly on Saturday to distance itself from Mr. Wastberg's remarks. Ms. Danius said in a statement that every person awarded a Nobel Prize can make his or her own decision about how to respond.
"The Swedish Academy has never held a view on a prizewinner's decision in this context, neither will it now, regardless of the decision reached," the statement said. "A member of the academy, Per Wastberg, has publicly expressed his disappointment at Bob Dylan's omitted response. This is Mr. Wastberg's private opinion and is not to be taken as the official standpoint of the Swedish Academy."
Mr. Wastberg's criticisms, however, were met with amusement -- some of it bitter. Some cheered the spectacle of a musical icon thumbing his nose at the Nobel Prize, while others seemed to share Mr. Wastberg's frustration with a musician known for his aloofness. Mr. Dylan rarely gives interviews or interacts with audiences at concerts.
More here.
The truth is, not everyone cares about awards or is comfortable being a public show pony.
I don't know Dylan, and maybe he just had a stomachache this day, but it's my impression that he's not Mr. Gladhandsing Peopleperson.
Which, of course, isn't to say that his answer, necessarily, is "Blow Me In The Wind."
And I apologize for my inability to resist that.
So, apparently, there's a protocol in place as to how we're supposed to conduct ourselves when given awards.
Amy, you didn't cover this in your book. What's wrong with you?
Patrick at October 24, 2016 4:38 AM
I'm confused. Doesn't the Nobel committee award these things based on what the recipient intends to do? The prize in the White House has a stain which can't be polished off.
There is of course another consideration. Bob has been the minstrel of legend for a LONG time. He didn't just discover something. He's always been that way, and I suspect he has someone in mind who should have received the prize.
Radwaste at October 24, 2016 6:15 AM
Yeah, there's the possibility that Dylan himself doesn't consider song lyrics to be literature either and is embarrassed about the whole thing. The Nobel committee is clearly concerned about the reputation of the prizes and/or is running out of money, so they've pulled a(nother) cheap publicity stunt, and Dylan is having none of it.
Cousin Dave at October 24, 2016 6:19 AM
Our generous hostess observes:
'Awards are, to some degree, given to maintain the prestige of the awarders.
That's not the entire reason for them, but let's be honest -- it plays at least some part.'
As evidenced by the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to our current President at the beginning of his first term - when he hadn't achieved a thing. It was virtue-signaling, pure and simple.
When luvvie Lefty actors loftily refuse Oscars and other similar awards for being insufficiently ideologically pure, the lockstep Left applauds them instinctively. Why does Bob Dylan have to automatically and enthusiastically accept a Nobel award, and put on a show of fawning gratitude?
The Nobel awards lost a lot of their lustre for me when they gave one to that murdering bigot Arafat - they showed themselves to be just another bunch of party politicians. Then the one they gave to President Obama just sealed my opinion of them. Maybe Dylan feels the same way.
llater,
llamas
llamas at October 24, 2016 6:32 AM
The Nobel Prizes in science mean something. While any award is somewhat subject, the science prizes at least have an objective basis: a discovery that had a major impact on the field.
Economics is more difficult, because - frankly - we don't understand economics particularly well. But at least there is a pretense of mathematical underpinning, providing some degree of objectivity.
Literature? Subjective. One person's great literature is another person's fire starter.
The Nobel Peace Prize? A laugh. Awarded to terrorists (Arafat), in hopes of motivating them to come to the peace table. Awarded to black dudes (Obama), apparently because they're black. The problem is, again, subjectivity. But in the special case of this prize, the awards committee seems to make a special effort to award it to the wrong people.
a_random_guy at October 24, 2016 6:54 AM
Reminds me of when Jon Winokur interviewed notorious critic John Simon for JW's 1980s book "The Portable Curmudgeon." In it, Simon said (not verbatim) "whenever someone says that Dylan is a great poet or that the Talking Heads are something special, I don't want to hear it, because I think it's all junk."
Mind you, in the same interview, he said (verbatim):
"Bad manners are socially inevitable because as the lower orders become more affluent, which God knows no one begrudges them, they come into situations where they don’t know how to behave. Nothing in their training has prepared them for it."
Good lord. As Miss Manners has pointed out (assuming Simon meant "lower classes"), all too often these days, it's the working classes who insist on truly formal attire at weddings and funerals, not other classes. (Can't find the column right now.)
lenona at October 24, 2016 9:39 AM
Isn't Bob Dylan famously known as a big grumpus? Why would the Nobel committee expect anything different?
I'm mildly curious (as in, not enough to go looking for the answer) why his song lyrics have achieved the level of being termed literature.
He's certainly well-regarded among people who like the sort of thing he does. That's about all I say.
Kevin at October 24, 2016 9:49 AM
The Bard of the American Counter Culture isn't acting like a Wee Wee Lap-Puppy of the European Elites. Who would ever have guessed that would happen?
Wfjag at October 24, 2016 10:00 AM
Pearl Buck won a Nobel Prize as did Yasser Arafat. Dylan's always been picky about the company he keeps.
KateC at October 24, 2016 10:18 AM
This isn't the Publisher's Clearing House prize patrol. He's not supposed to greet the van at the door screaming and waving his arms. He's supposed to greet the announcement in a dignified manner, and he has.
It's Bob Dylan for pete's sake, not Kanye West.
Conan the Grammarian at October 24, 2016 12:32 PM
As others have said - given others that they have "awarded" I'd do the same.
Although, I would say "just mail the check to me - pronto"
charles at October 24, 2016 5:28 PM
> as did Yasser Arafat.
☑ Affirmed.
> Dylan's always been picky about
> the company he keeps.
If you say so... It's true enough that his failure to respond to these people is cool in every stylish sense of the word: Measured, modest, reflective and so on. He need not cite the Groucho line about the clubs that would have him as a member to make the point.
But more importantly, Bob Dylan has always been at his best when silent.
Crid at October 25, 2016 4:49 PM
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