Nobel panel gives up knockin’ on Dylan’s door

The Swedish Academy says it has given up trying to reach Bob Dylan, days after it awarded him the Nobel Prize for Literature.

“Right now we are doing nothing. I have called and sent emails to his closest collaborator and received very friendly replies. For now, that is certainly enough,” the academy’s permanent secretary, Sara Danius, told state radio SR on Monday.

So far the American troubadour has responded with silence since he won the prize on Thursday.

He gave a concert in Las Vegas that night, but made no mention of the accolade. His 90-minute performance included several well-known songs, with the 1960’s anthem “Blowin’ in the Wind” drawing an especially enthusiastic response. But the star focused solely on the business of making music and he did not bring up the coveted award.

So — as an early Dylan song may have put it — how does it feel? “I am not at all worried,” said Danius. “I think he will show up.”

Every December 10, Nobel prize winners are invited to Stockholm to receive their awards from King Carl XVI Gustaf and to give a speech during a banquet.

The Swedish Academy still does not know if Dylan plans to come to the event.

“If he doesn’t want to come, he won’t come. It will be a big party in any case and the honor belongs to him,” said Danius.

Dylan, 75, whose lyrics have influenced generations of fans, is the first songwriter to win the literature prize.

The Swedish Academy cited the American musician for “having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”

Dylan had been mentioned in the Nobel speculation for years, but few experts expected the academy to extend the prestigious award to a genre such as popular music.