The 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature was presented to the legendary singer-songwriter for “having created new poetic expressions in the great American song tradition”. Bob Dylan may not have been a literary writer by convention, but his lyrical compositions have been lauded for their great poetic nuances, and for addressing social and political issues.
Time has even called him a “master poet, caustic social critic and intrepid, guiding spirit of the counterculture generation”. In a career that has spanned more than 50 years, Bob Dylan has sold more than 100 million records. His second album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan—with songs that questioned the social and political status quo—is arguably the one that established him as more than just a songwriter, marking him as the voice of this generation. Dozens more of albums followed.
Dylan’s Nobel Prize for Literature win makes him the first American to be awarded the accolade since author Toni Morrison in 1993.
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