Legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan finally collected his Nobel Prize in Literature in March, and as part of the requirements for receiving a Nobel Prize, Dylan had to record a lecture, which was recorded yesterday (June 4) and released today. He wrote and sent in an acceptance speech to be read at the ceremony, which he didn’t attend this past December.
Although he was reluctant to be involved in anything to do with the prize initially (and many authors and the public questioned a literature prize being awarded to a musician), both parties have seemingly overcome that hurdle. Dylan’s 27 minute lecture hears the singer reflecting on his vast array of influences, including classic novels The Odyssey, Moby Dick and All Quiet on the Western Front.
"Our songs are alive in the land of the living. But songs are unlike literature. They're meant to be sung, not read," he says in the recording. "The words in Shakespeare's plays were meant to be acted on the stage. Just as lyrics in songs are meant to be sung, not read on a page. And I hope some of you get the chance to listen to these lyrics the way they were intended to be heard: in concert or on record or however people are listening to songs these days. I return once again to Homer, who says, 'Sing in me, oh Muse, and through me tell the story.'"
Listen to the full lecture below: