# Bob Dylan just won the Nobel Prize for literature **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 13, 2016, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405 "2016-10-13T11:11:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/121 "2016-10-15T03:32:18Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Can’t do that, there is too much music I like that I’d rather spend my time on. However, I _can_ agree to disagree, so let’s just settle for that. You are entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts. As **Ike** has pointed out - and you haven’t rebutted - the changes for which he is most famous have severely pissed off his fans and were disliked for being _counter_ to the zeitgeist. Have whatever opinion you like but the reason you’ve given for it simply doesn’t make sense. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/122 "2016-10-15T17:55:39Z")
Take the quiz: [Bob Dylan or Nobel-prize winning author?](http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/14/world/bob-dylan-nobel-lyrics-quiz/index.html) I’d rather not say how I did. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/123 "2016-10-15T17:58:59Z")
I’m a poetic marvel. Who has memorized every Dylan lyric with her eidetic memory. ---
**Author:** ![desertmonk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@desertmonk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/desertmonk)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/124 "2016-10-16T02:33:15Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Take the quiz: [Bob Dylan or Nobel-prize winning author?](http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/14/world/bob-dylan-nobel-lyrics-quiz/index.html) > > I’d rather not say how I did. ☹ I had 10/10 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/125 "2016-10-16T12:33:29Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Take the quiz: [Bob Dylan or Nobel-prize winning author?](http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/14/world/bob-dylan-nobel-lyrics-quiz/index.html) > > I’d rather not say how I did. ☹ I got 5/10, but I was only completely sure about Hermann Hesse and G.B. Shaw. ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/126 "2016-10-16T20:16:11Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Take the quiz: [Bob Dylan or Nobel-prize winning author?](http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/14/world/bob-dylan-nobel-lyrics-quiz/index.html) > > I’d rather not say how I did. ☹ 10/10 here, but I thought it was absurdly easy. Most of the Dylan quotes were from very well-known songs during his 1960s period. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/127 "2016-10-16T20:17:30Z")
Geez, how did I KNOW someone was going to respond this way to Dylan’s award??? > **[Bob Dylan's Nobel prize isn't radical. He's just another white male writer](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/14/bob-dylans-nobel-prize-isnt-radical-hes-just-another-white-male-writer)** > > In its 115-year history, the Nobel prize in literature has been awarded to only 14 women. So honouring Dylan is simply a return to the status quo Dylan is a tool of the patriarchy, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/128 "2016-10-16T20:45:19Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Geez, how did I KNOW someone was going to respond this way to Dylan’s award??? > [Bob Dylan's Nobel prize isn't radical. He's just another white male writer | Bob Dylan | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/14/bob-dylans-nobel-prize-isnt-radical-hes-just-another-white-male-writer) > > Dylan is a tool of the patriarchy, apparently. The oddest part of that odd article is that she said that white male Don DeLillo would be a better choice. I started reading DeLillo in the early 70s. Since his first novel appeared in 1971 that’s as early as possible. I’d give him the Nobel Prize. Right after I gave Philip Roth the Nobel Prize. But they’re both white males who write about while male subjects. How is that conceivably compatible with: > [@](#): > > Giving the award to any white male writer, no matter what form he writes in, is in no way innovative or inspired. It is simply a return to the status quo – albeit in a different genre. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/129 "2016-10-16T21:57:25Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The oddest part of that odd article is that she said that white male Don DeLillo would be a better choice. The author of a novel (_Great Jones Street_) whose central character is modeled on Bob Dylan, no less. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/130 "2016-10-17T02:16:38Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Geez, how did I KNOW someone was going to respond this way to Dylan’s award??? > > Dylan is a tool of the patriarchy, apparently. To be fair to the Gruinad, they present a lot of different points of view… > [@](#): > > https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/14/bob-dylans-nobel-prize-isnt-radical-hes-just-another-white-male-writer"]Women on Bob Dylan - As Bob Dylan becomes the first singer-songwriter to be awarded the Nobel prize for literature, six female artists salute his genius ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/131 "2016-10-17T02:47:52Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > The author of a novel (_Great Jones Street_) whose central character is modeled on Bob Dylan, no less. Well, I guess you’ve read it, and I know I’ve read it. But has Dr. Natalie Kon-yu of Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia read it? ETA: Princester messed up his link. You can find that article, Women on Bob Dylan: As Bob Dylan becomes the first singer-songwriter to be awarded the Nobel prize for literature, six female artists salute his genius, [here](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/16/women-artists-on-bob-dylan-nobel-prize). ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/132 "2016-10-17T02:55:24Z")
Well, dang. Thanks **EM**. ---
**Author:** ![quimper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7c8e57/32.png) [@quimper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quimper)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/133 "2016-10-18T04:29:38Z")
Apparently the Nobel Committee is [having trouble getting Dylan to RSVP](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/17/nobel-prize-bob-dylan-unable-to-reach). Would it count as a refusal if you never acknowledge receiving it in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/134 "2016-10-18T14:30:53Z")
Typical Bob. He’s shown up to collect some honorary degrees and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, so this kind of thing is not beneath him. Just the RSVP apparently. I have faith someone will get him to Stockholm and prop him up. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/135 "2016-10-18T15:31:31Z")
> [@quimper](#): > > Apparently the Nobel Committee is [having trouble getting Dylan to RSVP](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/17/nobel-prize-bob-dylan-unable-to-reach). > > Would it count as a refusal if you never acknowledge receiving it in the first place? Nope. You can refuse to show up and you can decline to collect the money (and I’m calling no way in hell Dylan passes on a million bucks), but once you’re given the prize, you’re a Nobel winner, whether you want it or not. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/136 "2016-10-18T16:46:00Z")
> [@Nonsuch](#): > > Nope. You can refuse to show up and you can decline to collect the money (and I’m calling no way in hell Dylan passes on a million bucks), but once you’re given the prize, you’re a Nobel winner, whether you want it or not. Various online sources - i.e guesses - give him a new worth of $80-180 million. He probably passes up million dollar offers all the time and does only what he wants. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/137 "2016-10-18T17:48:32Z")
Now the trivia question “Who’s the only person to win both a Nobel prize and an Academy Award?” has to be expanded to account for two people (George Bernard Shaw being the first) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/138 "2016-10-18T19:06:05Z")
> [@NeonMadman](#): > > 10/10 here, but I thought it was absurdly easy. Most of the Dylan quotes were from very well-known songs during his 1960s period. Not surprising, given your username. I got them all also - more than one per song, oddly enough. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/139 "2016-10-19T01:09:02Z")
> [@quimper](#): > > Apparently the Nobel Committee is [having trouble getting Dylan to RSVP](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/17/nobel-prize-bob-dylan-unable-to-reach)… Now that’s just rude. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405/140 "2016-10-19T01:18:55Z")
> [@NeonMadman](#): > > 10/10 here, but I thought it was absurdly easy. Most of the Dylan quotes were from very well-known songs during his 1960s period. 9/10, and I know fuck all about Dylan’s music. It’s not that hard to tell the difference between him and actual literature. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylan-just-won-the-nobel-prize-for-literature/768405.md?page=8)