SWEDEN – In what appears to be a strange move, the recently anointed Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan is reportedly not getting back to the Swedish Academy for receiving the award conferred upon him.
The prolific 75-years-old Bob Dylan was the first musician awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature on Thursday but after repeated attempts by the academy, the rock star is not returning calls for the formal reception of award.
Dylan was enthralling the music frenzy audience in Las Vegas, the day he was selected by the academy but he looked unfazed and did not even mention the achievement.
On Friday he performed in Coachella, as part of the Desert Trip festival and was commended by The Rolling Stones, who performed after him although the singer kept mum over his Nobel Prize.
The Swedish Academy, which awards the prizes every October and organises the presentation in December, claims it has not heard back from the Minnesota-born singer putting the academy in a stand still position.
“Right now we are doing nothing,” said Sara Danius, permanent secretary of the academy. “I have called and sent emails to his closest collaborator and received very friendly replies. For now, that is certainly enough.”
“I am not at all worried. I think he will show up,” Sara Danius said, before adding: “If he doesn’t want to come, he won’t come. It will be a big party in any case and the honour belongs to him.”
Luminaries from around the globe including Sara Danius felicitated Bob for the Nobel Prize but it seems the music legend is intentionally hiding from the public eye and reports are swirling that the academy has finally given up contacting him.
Even Barack Obama tweeted congratulations to the legendary rock star for his Nobel Prize, calling him “one of my favourite poets”.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/786598777482153988
But Dylan has a history of missing glamorous award ceremonies. In 2000 he won the Oscar for Best Original Song and missed the event. In 2007 he skipped the Crown Prince of Spain’s ceremony to award the Prince of Asturias medal and most importantly he failed to show up in White House back in 2010 to collect the National Medal for the Arts.
It seems likely that Bob would miss the december event as well in which he would be formally awarded a Nobel Prize and a whopping amount of cash $927,740 (97157571 Pakistani Ruppees).