Bookish Thursday – The Nobel Prize

 
Press Release
13 October 2016

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016

Bob Dylan

The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2016 is awarded to Bob Dylan

"for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".

…

The choice came as a surprise to many – also to me, in one way (not having dared to guess that they’d actually choose him), but not in another (as I’ve actually been thinking before that his lyrics would be worthy of it).

Yesterday evening I was listening to some experts on TV making guesses about likely candidates. In the background they were showing a film clip with the camera sweeping across piles of books in some book shop; among which I also spotted Dylan’s memoirs – which made me wonder a little… However, his name was not mentioned in that TV discussion. But it made the thought cross my mind again: Yes, why not?

Today I forgot to watch the official press conference (at 12:50, European time) – but I found out soon enough (within an hour or so, via FB). And thought: Yes!!!

While my personal favourite *star* in the heaven of music back in my mid teens was (and still is) Paul Simon, Bob Dylan was/is up there as well – and at least as much for his lyrics as for the music. Dylan’s album New Morning (1970) was among the first LP records I owned. I did not have a lot of records back then, but those that I did have were played all the more often – on the small travel gramophone I had in my room.

 

I also remember going to the library in town with a friend to listen to music there. They had these big comfy armchairs, side by side, where two people could sit and listen to the same record, each with your own set of headphones. You had to ask the librarian to put the record on (the player was behind their desk). But we got to borrow the cover or booklet with the lyrics on, so that we could study those while listening. And I remember us pouring over the lyrics of Dylan (and Simon & Garfunkel, and Leonard Cohen); and looking up words we did not know; and discussing meaning and context... Ever since back then, the lyrics have been as important to me as the music, and I always get severely disappointed if the lyrics aren’t included when I buy a music album.

I was never such a ‘fanatic’ fan that I have collected all of Dylan’s albums. (Far from!) But those I have are from different periods in his career. Besides the New Morning one from my teens, and a couple of retrospective “Best Of” and Bootleg ones, I have three from his most obviously religious period in the late 70s/early 80s (Slow Train Coming, Saved, Shot of Love); and also some of his 21st century ones:  Modern Times, Together Through Life, Tempest. Among my books I also have his collected lyrics from 1962-2001 in book form; and his memoirs (Chronicles, Volume One; but in Swedish translation). 

All in all, Bob Dylan has been a “presence” in my life through 45+ years… And for me, it’s the first time I’ve been able to say that about someone who has been given the Nobel prize during my lifetime!

The Finished Ice Sculpture

Ice sculpture by Ragnhild Brodow Sandelius (Borås 2011)

Inscription: “stjärnbilderna stampa i sina spiltor”
= “the star constellations stamping in their stalls”
Words from the poem Storm* by Tomas Tranströmer,
Swedish poet awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 2011

I my previous post Straight Out of the Ice  you can see the artist
working on the ice sculpture. Luckily I was able to go back today to take a photo of the finished work as well. (How long it will remain standing depends on the weather, and the weather just now is rather unreliable!)

This ice sculpture is a tribute to Sweden’s probably most popular living poet, Tomas Tranströmer, who received the Nobel prize in literature yesterday.

* I found a translation of the poem at BookBrowse:

Storm

The man on a walk suddenly meets the old
giant oak like an elk turned to stone with
its enormous antlers against the dark green castle wall
of the fall ocean.

Storm from the north. It's nearly time for the
rowanberries to ripen. Awake in the night he
hears the constellations far above the oak
stamping in their stalls.

~ Tomas Tranströmer; translation Robert Bly ~

Straight Out Of the Ice

An ice sculpture in the town square has become tradition since a few years back. This year the artist Ragnhild Brodow Sandelius had to work in rain and hard winds – not the best of conditions for this kind of job! As you can see she is working inside the block of ice this time. What she is doing is a kind of lantern, with an inscription of a few lines from a poem by Tomas Tranströmer – this year’s winner of the Nobel Prize in literature. The annual Prize Award Ceremony takes place today. 10 December is the anniversary of Nobel's death. 

After thunder and snow and rain and storm the last few days, it was still raining this morning, but at least the wind had calmed down, and the snow and ice had thawed away from the streets (and pretty much from everywhere else as well). Next week we may be back to snow and ice and slippery roads again, so I decided today was probably as good a day as any to take the bus into town, post my overseas Christmas cards and letters, and shop some food.

Yesterday the outdoors Christmas market was cancelled because of the fierce storm. Today there were a few market stalls up, but the commerce still seemed a bit… well… washed out…

The ice sculpture was really the only thing worth while getting out a camera for. I took these photos with my mobile phone btw.

My internet connection is still really wobbly, it keeps breaking down every ten or fifteen minutes or so. Each time it goes down, I have to go restart the modem (which is in the living room), and then the browser. Seems just to be “micro” breaks, not lasting very long… But neither does the connection!!! Like someone got into a bit too much Christmas spirit and put the broadband on “blinking” as Christmas effect. I’m not a fan of blinking lights – and even less with my internet connection!!!

Writing this in Windows Live Writer (so thankful for that!) and hoping to be able to post it… sooner or later… and link to

Straight Out Of the Camera Sunday.