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| Bob Dylan performing at the Hollywood Palladium in 2012. Christopher Polk/Getty Images |
LONDON — The singer and songwriter Bob Dylan was awarded
the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday for “having created new poetic
expressions within the great American song tradition,” in the words of the
Swedish Academy.
He is the first American to win since the novelist Toni
Morrison, in 1993. The announcement, in Stockholm, came as something of a
surprise. Although Mr. Dylan, 75, has been mentioned often as having an outside
shot at the prize, his work does not fit into the traditional literary canons
of novels, poetry and short stories that the prize has traditionally
recognized.
The Nobel, one of the world’s most prestigious and
financially generous awards, comes with a prize of 8 million Swedish kronor, or
just over $900,000. The literature prize is given for a lifetime of writing
rather than for a single work.
The prize announcement came hours after news of the death at
age 90 of Dario Fo, the Italian playwright, director and performer whose
satirical work was recognized by the 1997 prize.
