Bob Dylan Wins Nobel Prize For Literature, First American Since 1993

The last category among 2016 Noble Prizes has finally been announced. The award for literature went to Bob Dylan, who was somewhat of a dark horse.

The Swedish Academy's logic in bestowing the accolade on Dylan is this: He has created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition. There were rumblings that his genre didn't fit into the literary cannons of novels, poetry and short stories that the Academy had previously honored.

America had its moment of glory as far as the Nobel Prize for Literature is concerned in 1993, when novelist Toni Morrison received the award. Dylan has the distinction of being the first songwriter to be awarded.

The New York Times said he beat luminaries such as American novelist Don DeLillo, Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, Kenyan playwright Ngugi wa Thiong'o, and Syrian poet known as Adonis to the award.

Brief Biography

Born on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota, Dylan had a modest start to his singing career in 1959, as he played in coffee houses in his home state.
His early influence was folk musician Woody Guthrie. After moving to New York in 1961 and dabbling with singing in clubs and cafes, he struck a deal with record producer John Hammond for his debut album "Bob Dylan" in 1962.

Dylan's work centered on topics such as social conditions of man, religion, politics and love. Dylan's albums include "Bringing It All Back Home" and "Highway 61 Revisited" (1965), "Blonde On Blonde" (1966) and "Blood on the Tracks" (1975), "Oh Mercy" (1989), "Time Out Of Mind" (1997) and "Modern Times" (2006).