Kurben, have you read John Hodgman's article on why he believes that the Nobel shouldn't have gone to Dylan? It is an excellent, even-handed argument made with sincere respect for Dylan and absolutely zero snark, and is well worth reading. I won't repeat all of his points here, but here are a few small quotes -
"Song writing is an art form. Obviously. Not greater, nor lesser, than the writing of prose, poetry, and plays and publishing them in books, which is more or less how literature was defined in the modern world until today... Songs are not “poems set to music.” They are lyrics and music written together, to complement and to create a whole effect that may be greater than either part alone... It takes nothing away from song to say that it is a distinct art form from what we had, until today, traditionally defined as “literature.” Today that term got broader. I’m not saying that’s bad per se, and we certainly can’t go back from here. And that may be a point of celebration for you–especially if you feel song is not taken seriously enough in culture, and calling it “literature” elevates it somehow.
Bob Dylan winning that prize means some author, playwright, poet didn’t, and I don’t apologize for saying that bums me out a little.
I stand behind this. Because Dylan IS a great artist. But it would be disingenuous to ignore that he is also a cliche, an icon fetish object and obsession of a particular generation. There is no news in hearing that Bob Dylan is a genius. There is no injustice corrected by giving Bob Dylan an award. And there is, to my ear, something pandering and thirsty about the Nobel “shaking things up” by picking an incredibly popular songwriter for the book award. It feels a little less like an award than a rebranding effort."
You can read the whole thing here, should the excerpt above tickle your fancy.
JOHN HODGMAN — NO ONE SHOULD WANT MY OPINION ON BOB DYLAN
I love John Hodgman. There is a great video on Youtube of him interviewing John Cleese (his hero) - and I wouldn't want to say that he outshone Cleese, but he sort of did, a little bit...