Bob Dylan has not been in contact with the Swedish Academy since it awarded him the Nobel Prize for Literature on Oct. 13.
Dylan, 75, also has not made a public statement about the honor, the New York Times reported Oct. 18.
However, Dylan tacitly acknowledged the honor on his website, the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet reported on Oct. 18. A post promoting a book containing the writer’s lyrics between 1961 and 2012 now prominently features the heading “WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE.” Aftonbladet called this a “sign of life” from the American.
Sara Danius, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, told Swedish public radio on Oct. 17 that the academy has been in contact with an associate of Dylan, but not with Dylan himself. It is not known whether the singer-songwriter will attend the award ceremony with the other Nobel laureates in Stockholm on Dec. 10.
“I have called and sent emails to his closest collaborator and received very friendly replies. For now, that is certainly enough,” Danius said, according to the newspaper.
Dylan and his band played a concert in Las Vegas hours after the announcement was made about the Nobel Prize, and did not mention the honor. He played the following day at Desert Trip, the classic-rock festival in Indio, and also did not mention the prize.
The iconic performer is well known for giving few interviews and not interacting with his audiences.
Dylan was recognized for “having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition,” the Swedish Academy, which is responsible for choosing the Nobel laureates in literature, announced last week.
Born Robert Allen Zimmerman and raised Jewish in Minnesota, Dylan wrote some of the most influential and well-known songs of the 1960s. He is the first American to receive the prize in more than 20 years and will receive $927,740. — jta