In what appears to be a rather-surprising choice, the Swedish Academy announced the winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature to be Bob Dylan, a prolific American singer-songwriter described as a "great poet in the English-speaking tradition."
Swedish Academy permanent secretary Sara Danius spoke well of the 75-year old Dylan, whose lyrical work spanning five decades she compared to those created by ancient Greek poets. She went on to describe the icon as "a wonderful sampler, a very original sampler."
"If you look back, far back, 2,500 years or so, you discover Homer and Sappho and they wrote poetic texts that were meant to be listened to, that were meant to be performed, often with instruments - and it's the same way with Bob Dylan," Danius further elaborated.
Much of Dylan's original material extends back to the 60s, during which he served as a unifying figure during the civil rights movement. His influence in pop, rock, and folk has long had an enduring influence on today's music.
CNN quoted Danius' recommendation for those who have yet to listen to Dylan's music - his album "Blonde on Blonde" stands out for starters since it has "many examples of his brilliant way of rhyming and putting together refrains and his pictorial thinking."
Mixed reactions understandably characterize the Swedish Academy's rather-unexpected choice for the award. The likes of Haruki Murakami, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, and Philip Roth - all of which have produced a wide canon of literary materials, have emerged as strong favorites to win the prize.
The Nobel Committee, in justifying its choice for Dylan, further added that he has "recorded a large number of albums revolving around topics like the social conditions of man, religion, politics and love... As an artist, he is strikingly versatile; he has been active as painter, actor and scriptwriter."
