'˜Great poet' Bob Dylan awarded Nobel Prize in Literature

American singer Bob Dylan has been hailed as 'a great poet in the English-speaking tradition' following his surprise win of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

By The Newsroom

Published 13th Oct 2016, 13:52 BST

Updated 25th Oct 2016, 20:10 BST

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Songwriter Bob Dylan won the Nobel Literature Prize. Picture: AFP/Getty Images

The 75-year-old was given the prestigious accolade for “having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”.

The last American to have won the literature prize was Beloved author Toni Morrison in 1993.

Permanent Secretary at the Swedish Academy, Sara Danius, said he was deserving of the prize, adding: “He is a great poet in the English-speaking tradition, and he is a wonderful sampler, a very original sampler, he embodies the tradition.

“And for 54 years now he’s been at it and re-inventing himself constantly, creating a new identity.”

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