5 days later, no word from Bob Dylan on Nobel literature prize

STOCKHOLM — Five days after Bob Dylan was named the winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, no one knows how he feels about the prestigious award — not even the Nobel judges.

The Swedish Academy, which bestows the annual honour, said it has not been able to reach Dylan since the award was announced last Thursday (Oct 13).

Permanent Secretary Sara Danius told Swedish Radio she has been in contact with a close associate of Dylan, but not the laureate himself.

“I am not worried at all. I have a feeling that he will get in touch,” she said.

Danius said the academy is not making further efforts to reach him, but hopes he will accept the invitation to collect his award at the annual Nobel ceremony in Stockholm on Dec 10.

“If he doesn’t want to come then he doesn’t want to come,” she said. “It will be a big and nice party anyway.”

Only two people have declined a Nobel Prize in literature. Boris Pasternak did so under pressure from Soviet authorities in 1958 and Jean-Paul Sartre, who declined all official honours, turned it down in 1964.

Dylan, who is currently on tour in the US, has not mentioned the Nobel Prize during his concerts since the announcement.

As of Tuesday, his official webpage made no mention of the prize except in the “books” section, where a post dated Oct 17 about his lyrics collection, The Lyrics: 1961-2012, noted in all caps that he was a Nobel Prize winner. AP