Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Bob Dylan will not travel to Sweden to collect Nobel prize

Singer has prior commitments 

Heather Saul
Wednesday 16 November 2016 17:57 GMT
Comments
'The image of me was certainly not a songwriter or singer, it was more like a threat to society in some kind of way. It was like being in an Edgar Allen Poe story...You're just not the person everybody thinks you are
'The image of me was certainly not a songwriter or singer, it was more like a threat to society in some kind of way. It was like being in an Edgar Allen Poe story...You're just not the person everybody thinks you are (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Bob Dylan will not be travelling to Sweden to pick up his Nobel prize for literature.

In an announcement on Wednesday, the Swedish Academy said the singer-songwriter had written to inform organisers he had “previous commitments” and would not be able to collect his award personally.

Dylan was awarded the prize “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”.

But after being announced as the recipient, Dylan failed to acknowledge his win for two weeks.

Dylan later he had simply been rendered “speechless” by the award and would “absolutely” attend December's Nobel Prize award ceremony “if it's at all possible”.

It is unclear what the nature of the commitments are that are preventing Dylan from travelling to collect his accolade, but he is still obliged to deliver a Nobel lecture within the next seven months.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in