Songwriter, Malibu Resident, Bob Dylan Wins Nobel Prize for Literature

MALIBU, CA -- Iconic songwriter and current Malibu resident, Bob Dylan, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Swedish Academy announced Thursday.

Dylan, 75, who has been called the voice of a generation and the poet laureate of rock 'n' roll for his influential songs from the 1960s onward, is the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in more than 20 years. The last American to win the prize was novelist Toni Morrison, who won in 1993.

The announcement at Stockholm’s stately Royal Academy hall drew unexpected gasps followed by some touches of laughter. The Academy said Dylan was selected because he has "created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”

Sara Danius, permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, said in a video interview posted on the Academy's website, that Dylan is "a great poet." (The video is embedded below)

"He is a great poet in the English-speaking tradition, and he is a wonderful sampler, a very original sampler," Danius said. "He embodies the tradition, and for 54 years now, he's been at it and reinventing himself constantly, creating a new identity."

With songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “The Times They Are a-Changin',” “Subterranean Homesick Blues” and “Like a Rolling Stone,” Dylan captured the embodiment of the '60s and '70s with its generation's spirit of rebellion, dissent and independence.

Following the announcement, President Barack Obama, who presented Dylan with the Medal of Freedom in 2012, tweeted, "Congratulations to one of my favorite poets, Bob Dylan, on a well-deserved Nobel."

Congratulations to one of my favorite poets, Bob Dylan, on a well-deserved Nobel. https://t.co/c9cnANWPCS
— President Obama (@POTUS) October" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/POTUS/stat... 13, 2016

Dylan will be awarded the Nobel Prize on Dec. 10 in Stockholm, and the award comes with 8 million Swedish Kronor, which is roughly $930,000.

Dylan has yet to comment on the announcement. He is due to give a concert Thursday night in Las Vegas.

Image credit: Alberto Cabello from Vitoria Gasteiz via Wikimedia Commons