Bob Dylan finally gets his hands on his Nobel Prize

Bob Dylan finally has his hands on his Nobel
Literature diploma and medal.
Klas Ostergren, a member of the Swedish
Academy, said the 75-year-old American singer-
songwriter received his award during a small
gathering Saturday afternoon at a hotel next to
the conference center where Dylan was
performing a concert later that night.
Ostergren told The Associated Press that the
ceremony was a small, intimate event in line
with the singer's wishes, with just academy
members and a member of Dylan's staff
attending.
"It went very well indeed," he said, describing
Dylan as "a very nice, kind man."
Other members of the academy told Swedish
media that Dylan seemed pleased by the award.
During his show hours later, Dylan made no
reference to the Nobel award, simply performing
a set blending old classics with tunes from his
more recent albums.
Dylan had declined the invitation to attend the
traditional Nobel Prize banquet and ceremony on
Dec. 10 — the date of Alfred Nobel's death —
pleading other commitments.
But in order to receive the award worth 8 million
kronor ($894,800), Dylan must give a lecture
within six months from Dec. 10. He has said he
will not give his Nobel lecture this weekend but
a recorded version of it will be sent later.
Taped Nobel lectures have been occasionally
presented, most recently in 2013 by Canadian
Nobel literature laureate Alice Munro.
"I think he has said it all already as you heard
in the acceptance speech. And you know, Dylan
didn't apply for the Nobel prize. People seem to
forget that. It wasn't a competition, he didn't
ask for it, he was bestowed it. It's not for the
giver of a gift to expect something in return,"
said Shmuel Burger, a 61-year-old physician
and die-hard Dylan fan who traveled from Israel
for the concert.
The 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded
to Dylan "for having created new poetic
expressions within the great American song
tradition." He had expressed awe at receiving
the Nobel Prize and thanked the Swedish
Academy for including him among the "giants"
of writing.
Besides his two concerts in Stockholm, Dylan
will also play in the southwestern city of Lund
on April 9.