Back on Oct. 13, Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. The following day, he played a set at the Desert Trip festival in Indio, California, and made no mention of it (Mick Jagger would have to do it for him the following night). From that day onward, the enigmatic music legend—and well-known recluse—led the world to believe that he wouldn’t be there to accept the honor when it was handed out last December.
And he kept his word.
Dylan skipped the event, with fellow poet/musician Patti Smith “sitting in” and performing Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” at the event. Dylan did publish an acceptance speech in the New York Times, explaining that “I’m sorry I can’t be with you in person, but please know that I am most definitely with you in spirit and honored to be receiving such a prestigious prize.”
But all that will change this weekend, according to a blog post from the Swedish Academy’s Sara Danius. In it, she notes:
“… the Swedish Academy and Bob Dylan have decided to meet this weekend. The Academy will then hand over Dylan’s Nobel diploma and the Nobel medal, and congratulate him on the Nobel Prize in Literature. The setting will be small and intimate, and no media will be present; only Bob Dylan and members of the Academy will attend, all according to Dylan’s wishes.”
Danius also mentioned that Dylan would be performing two shows in Stockholm as part of his trip there, and that the academy would be at one of them.
Dylan’s two shows at the Stockholm Waterfront have been posted on his tour page. Tickets still appear to be available.
—Will Levith for RealClearLife
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