Bob Dylan will not appear at the Nobel Prize ceremony on Dec. 10 to accept his award for Literature.
The Swedish Academy — the group that chooses Nobel Literature laureates — said Dylan told them, “he wishes he could receive the prize personally, but other commitments make it unfortunately impossible,” per the Associated Press.
The celebrated singer-songwriter was awarded the prize “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” However, the Swedish Academy had considerable difficulty getting a hold of Dylan.
His only public comments on the prize came in the form of a very brief exchange in a recent interview. “It’s hard to believe,” Dylan said of the win. Dylan also said that when he found out he won he felt “amazing, incredible.”
And what about the rumors that Dylan has refused to take calls from the Nobel Committee as they’ve tried to reach him? “Well, I’m right here,” he said.
In fact, Dylan has barely acknowledged the fact that he won at all.
A line previously appeared on Dylan’s website at the top of the page promoting his book, “Bob Dylan: The Lyrics: 1961-2012.” It simply read, “Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.” Less than a day later, the line was removed.