Bob Dylan’s Nobel response is no longer blowin’ in the wind

After initial silence, Bob Dylan has accepted the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature and “absolutely” wants to attend the award ceremony in December.

It is official. American songwriter Bob Dylan has now accepted his nomination as Nobel Prize in Literature winner. Boris Horvat / AFP

Stockholm // The answer my friend is no longer blowin’ in the wind.

Bob Dylan has accepted the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature and “absolutely” wants to attend the award ceremony in December.

The 75-year-old singer-songwriter was awarded the prize on October 13 “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”

But Dylan remained silent about the announcement for two weeks and a member of the Swedish Academy called the lack of response “impolite and arrogant.”

Dylan finally broke his silence on Friday, saying he plans to pick up his Nobel prize for literature in Stockholm, calling it “amazing, incredible”.

“It’s hard to believe,” the US singer-songwriter told Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper on Friday. “Whoever dreams about something like that?”

Asked if he would attend the Nobel prize winners’ banquet, which is hosted by Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf, Dylan said: “Absolutely. If it’s at all possible.”

The academy’s permanent secretary, Sara Danius, said on Friday that Dylan himself had contacted them and said “of course” he would accept the prize. Danius said Dylan called her on Tuesday evening and they spoke for about 15 minutes.

“The news about the Nobel Prize left me speechless,” Dylan said, according to the academy’s website. “I appreciate the honour so much.”

Danius said the academy will do “all it can” to have a schedule suiting Dylan if he wants to come to Stockholm.

The singer could provide anything from a short speech, a performance, a video broadcast — or even a song, Danius said.

“I hope he will do what he desires to do.”

Danius told TT news agency that Dylan was “humble, friendly and humorous” during their 15-minute phone conversation.

Asked why he did not respond to the Academy’s calls, Dylan told the Daily Telegraph: “Well, I’m right here.”

Dylan, whose lyrics have influenced generations of fans, is the first songwriter to win the literature prize.

He has accepted numerous awards over the years, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for which he attended a White House ceremony in 2012. But he also has a history of taking his time acknowledging them.

In 2013, he became the first rock star voted into the elite American Academy of Arts and Letters, which made him an honorary member. According to executive director Virginia Dajani, the academy informed Dylan of the decision — through his manager, Jeff Rosen — in January of that year. Only in May 2013 did Dylan respond, through his manager.

If Dylan travels to Stockholm for the Nobel ceremony, it won’t be the first time he receives an award from Sweden’s king. In 2000, Dylan collected the Polar Music Prize from him.

*Associated Press and Agence France-Presse