Music icon Bob Dylan won’t be at the Nobel prize ceremony this week to accept his award, but he has sent along a speech to be read aloud, the Nobel foundation said today.
The 75-year-old, whose lyrics have influenced generations of fans, has had a subdued response to the honour, remaining silent for weeks following the news in October he had won the prize for literature.
“This year’s Laureate in Literature, Bob Dylan, will not be participating in the Nobel Week but he has provided a speech which will be read at the banquet,” the foundation said in a statement.
Sending along the speech does not exempt the American songwriter from holding a lecture at a place and a type of his choosing, the only requirement by the Nobel foundation.
Rock legend Patti Smith will perform a version of Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” at the ceremony on December 10 in Stockholm, which is the same day as the banquet.
Dylan said in a letter on November 16 that he would not attend the ceremony because he had “pre-existing commitments”, in an announcement that did not come as a surprise to observers.
Several other prize winners have skipped the Nobel ceremony in the past for various reasons — Doris Lessing, who was too old; Harold Pinter, because he was hospitalised, and Elfriede Jelinek, who has social phobia.
