Announcement of the 2016 #NobelPrize in Literature https://t.co/VXayV4bvhC
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 13, 2016
He’s no Heaney.
Fight!
Thanks Spaghetti Hoop
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Announcement of the 2016 #NobelPrize in Literature https://t.co/VXayV4bvhC
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 13, 2016
He’s no Heaney.
Fight!
Thanks Spaghetti Hoop
Do lyrics of a song constitute poetry or have they been influenced by poetry? Discuss
They do. Also, the award is for literature not poetry. If you can write it on a page, it’s literature.
Well, the term is usually associated with having some degree of artistic merit. By your definition BS commentary constitutes “literature”
….and Moynes its Laureate.
Applause
Well, not all song lyrics could possibly be termed poetry. I found it was stretching it when a RTE radio panel were talking about poetry in the context of the Yeats commemorations, and one young wan said she only ‘read’ Leonard Cohen’s work.
But this prize is for literature, and should not be swayed by musical taste. So the real question is, if you were teaching your kids the joys of literature would you include ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’?
No. I wouldn’t. I view it as snippets of acute observations that depend on music . Words alone do not generate the music.
and yet lyrical poetry is meant to be recited, not read. the earliest poets and historians were lyricists in that regard.
Leonard Cohen is both a poet and a songwriter. He’s written and recorded songs, but also written and published books of poetry.
Was just about to post this. He has published 15 books of poetry and two novels.
One of his books is called “The Spice-Box of Earth”. I’m guessing he’s had a Chinese take away in Dublin.
which of his novels or books of poetry are known in their own right?
Yes, noted. But my point was that his audience is mostly made up of fans of his music and musical lyrics. As is Dylan’s. I think musical literature deserves its own category. Now we have a precedent set by the Nobel Lit. Committee which is a bit unfair to those exclusively dedicated to the written word and not the aired one.
…I’m sure Heaney would have applauded this and pointed to Dylans music and lyrics as genius which infuenced his and generations to come…
Why not? An interesting decision from the normally boring Noble committee.
For instance, Jokerman and Hurricane are great songs, but take away the musical context, the lyrics read as awkward and stilted. This is wrong. He may deserve any number of awards but not this one.
+1
and then you can take ‘subterranean homesick blues’ and actually reads better as a poem.
OK: 1…keep counting
Perhaps he deserves it… as a songwriter?
Destructive capitalism, dysfunctional housing market, environmental apocalypse… and now this, the latest humiliation heaped on the world by those damn boomers.
This is a well deserved and long overdue award.
Why? Could you say the same about Woody Guthrie?
Chronicles: Volume One was actually very good. I wish he’d finish volume two.
Can’t think of any writer more deserving. And I’d just like to leave this here for everyone’s delectation:
Wiggle Wiggle
Bob Dylan
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle all dressed in green
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle till the moon is blue
Wiggle till the moon sees you
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle in your boots and shoes
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, you got nothing to lose
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, like a swarm of bees
Wiggle on your hands and knees
Wiggle to the front, wiggle to the rear
Wiggle till you wiggle right out of here
Wiggle till it opens, wiggle till it shuts
Wiggle till it bites, wiggle till it cuts
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle, you can raise the dead
Wiggle till you’re high, wiggle till you’re higher
Wiggle till you vomit fire
Wiggle till it whispers, wiggle till it hums
Wiggle till it answers, wiggle till it comes
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like satin and silk
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a pail of milk
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, rattle and shake
Wiggle like a big fat snake
Great poet, brutal singer.
mediocre voice, great singer