Certainly there’s reason to be disappointed that Bob Dylan chose not to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in person, but it should be clear to his many fans that he’s not cut out for that kind of pomp and ceremony. Listen again to “Day of the Locust.” In any event, Dylan’s acceptance speech is a good read. Micah Mattix complained in The Weekly Standard that the speech makes reference to outdated Shakespeare scholarship, but I rather doubt that Dylan reads much literary criticism. It seems to me that Dylan simply wanted to talk about his practical approach to writing songs as a working musician. He sounds a lot like my pal Justin Quinn talking about his own songs, which is a whole lot better than listening to some literary figures talk about their work.
Bob Dylan’s Nobel Speech
