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17 Nov, 2016

First, he didn't acknowledge the honour for weeks; now, he says he won't come to pick up the prize.

Bob Dylan was already a contentious choice for this year's Nobel Prize for Literature — simply because he's known as a singer, not a writer and numerous commentators pointed out how writers themselves aren't honoured enough — and his response to the prize has been less than gracious.

The American singer-songwriter has officially communicated to the Swedish Academy that he won't be attending the Nobel Prize award ceremony in Stockholm.

The Academy said on its website that it had received a letter from Dylan explaining that due to "pre-existing commitments" he was unable to travel to Stockholm in December, reports Reuters.

In other words, he's busy.

Twitter's had a field day with this latest development in the Nobel Prize saga:

While Dylan won't attend the ceremony, he will have to deliver the Nobel Lecture — the only requirement for winners of the $870,000 prize. And he has a deadline: "within six months counting from December 10," the Academy said in a statement.

Let's see if he makes it to this one.

Comments

Sana Nov 17, 2016 04:33pm
Nobel has lost its value to me, long before it gave Obama the peace prize
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M. Emad Nov 17, 2016 04:49pm
Bob Dylan was a show at the 'Concert for Bangladesh' held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
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Masood Hussain Nov 17, 2016 07:05pm
Does he think himself greater than the Nobel prize.
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