Woke up this morning to the news of Bob Dylan getting the Nobel for Literature!  How cool is that.  But of course, some writers were not happy… Rabih Alameddine tweeted: “Bob Dylan winning a Nobel in Literature is like Mrs Fields being awarded 3 Michelin stars”

I can see Mr. Alameddine’s concern.. If a musician nabs the prize, what about folks like him.  But to me, and thousands of other Dylan fans, he is not just a musician – he is a poet..  As comfortable with capturing the essence of a moment in a Haiku like song, as with a Homeric ballad that meanders through scenario after scenario – weaving a tapestry better than most authors.

A detailed analysis of why Dylan deserves the Nobel is akin to describing why water quenches thirst.  But I will give a few examples of my favorite Dylan songs.

The Minnesota Haiku

‘Went To See The Gypsy‘… The first time I heard it I became a fly on the wall at this big chain hotel.  Brought into the audience of the Gypsy.  Watching his fake smile.  Listening to his false, saccharine pronouncements.  Rooting for the protagonist to escape.  And as he returned to the hotel room, I was hooked – not knowing what lay ahead.  And then, the twist.  The anguish of coming face to face again with the false prophet, transformed into a moment of serenity.   I was there.  Watching the sun come rising from that little Minnesota town.

To me it was a Haiku as beautiful and as tender as any that Basho wrote.

The Ballad of the Jack of Hearts

The song starts with a description of the festival.  A normal carnival, as normal as a carnival can be.  And then the Jack of Hearts is introduced.  A quotidian interaction with a passerby.  Then a scene change to a card game, introducing  Lily – the love interest.  And then in quick succession Big Jim – the king of goons, and Rosemary – his lady are brought into focus.

Then a passing interaction between Big Jim and Jack of Hearts.

Then the backstory.  Scratching under the surface of Rosemary & Big Jim’s supposed perfect arrangement.  And then there is shadowy reference to the hangman.  Nothing is described, but the presence of doom looms.

By this time the listener is hooked.. Homer or Scheherazade could not tell a tale better, or keep the reader engaged as well.

If this is not literature, I don’t know what is.
I don’t think this is just a win for Mr. Dylan.  I think it is a win for the Nobel Prize Committee.  Kudos on having the courage to give the prize for literature to a poet (who happens to be a musician).

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