Musician Bob Dylan has at last acknowledged that he is the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. But the acknowledgement through the inclusion of the phrase “winner of the Nobel prize in literature” on one of the pages of his website was also removed immediately.
The New York Post earlier reported that on a page which promotes a book of his lyrics, “The Lyrics: 1962-2012,” he added that phrase even if he has not officially communicated with the academy about accepting the award. The entry was first noticed by Aftonbladet, a Swedish tabloid.
He has also retweeted the announcement, made by Nobel on Oct. 13, although the singer has not publicly acknowledged the award. But The Guardian reported on Friday that Dylan removed the Nobel Prize in Literature reference.
The academy has scheduled the formal award on Nov. 10 in Stockholm, Sweden, when it would include handing to Dylan a cash prize of about $740,000. According to Sara Danius, secretary of the Swedish Academy, there would still be a big party whether the musician shows up or not, and the honor of being a laureate would always belong to him.
Ironically, a growing number of Chinese who believed in a fake news article that Dylan had rejected the award, like the idea of the businessman thumbing down the award and the prize money. It is an idea shared also by non-Chinese fans of Dylan who feel uncomfortable with the thought that its founder, Alfred Noble, was a manufacturer of armaments.
They say the award cheapens the recipient because it is associated with a fortune built from armaments and explosives.