The real reason why Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature, according to Margaret Atwood
In 2016, the legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”. Aged 75 at the time, the musician was busy touring and requested that his good friend and fellow artist Patti Smith accept it on his behalf.
“In times like these, the Nobel Prize is important,” Nobel Foundation chairman Carl-Henrik Heldin stated at the time. “Alfred Nobel wanted to reward those who have conferred the greatest benefit to mankind.”
Heldin ostensibly referred to the current times of widespread political unrest. He opined that a well-known literary figure could be revered as a role model, especially in light of the awardee’s culturally significant material. Dylan released his most politically confronting music in the 1960s but has since maintained a visage of learned humanity in poetic verse.
As a man of many years and even more fans, young and old, most of Dylan’s peers and admirers seemed supportive of the award. The Canadian poet and songwriter Leonard Cohen, who sadly passed away later in 2016, was among those to comment positively on the matter.
“To me [the award] is like pinning a medal on Mount Everest for being the highest mountain,” Cohen said during a Q&A in support of his final album, You Want It Darker. “I think that Bob Dylan knows this more than all of us: you don’t write the songs anyhow,” he added later in the session. “So if you’re lucky, you can keep the vehicle healthy and responsive over the years”.
“If you’re lucky, your own intentions have very little to do with this. You can keep the body as well-oiled and receptive as possible, but whether you’re actually going to be able to go for the long haul is really not your own choice,” Cohen concluded.
The Nobel Prize, of course, had its doubters and detractors, many of whom were keen to posit their viewpoint. Among these was the esteemed poet and novelist Margaret Atwood. The author, famed most for her 1985 book The Handmaid’s Tale, felt it was a rather odd decision, raising suspicions of an ulterior motive behind the award.
In 2016, just as the news broke about Dylan’s Nobel Prize, Atwood sat for an interview with The Guardian. When journalist Charlotte Higgins remarked, “Oh, Bob Dylan’s won the Nobel prize!” Atwood retorted, “For what?”
The writer elaborated on her viewpoint in an interview on BBC Newsnight shortly after. “I think it’s very strategically placed when… so think of it: US election and everything that’s going on there; a US countercultural figure from the ’60s is selected. So that is the message. I would say that it’s playing off the US election.”
The reporter reacted, “You think it was intended to send a message to the electorate?”
“Do I know?” Atwood responded with uncertainty. “But these things are often political in the broad sense of the term. So choosing a person from that time and that place who would have had that message, I would say, is sending a very broad message, which is not in support of mob rule.”
“And in this scenario, [Donald] Trump is the [former president Richard] Nixon of the silent majority?” the reporter probed, suggesting that the prize was strategically placed to discourage the electorate from voting for the Republican candidate.
“Or something like that,” Atwood said, “We don’t know because I can’t read people’s minds.”
Shortly after Dylan accepted the Nobel Prize in 2016, Donald Trump was elected as the US president. He served a four-year term before being ousted by Joe Biden. Approaching the 2024 election, Trump looks to return to office as the Republican runner.
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