Bob Dylan Does Not Mention Nobel Prize Award During Las Vegas Concert

Bob Dylan made no mention of his win of the Nobel prize for literature during his concert in Las Vegas, according to The Washington Post.

The 90-minute concert happened on the same day he won the coveted prize, Oct. 13. He performed fan favorites from his extensive body of work, including “Blowin’ in the Wind,” which fans met with great enthusiasm, according to the report. The 75-year-old singer-songwriter only played his music and did not refer to his Nobel prize, an accolade that has been both cheered and criticized.

British-Indian novelist and essayist Salman Rushdie said that Dylan, who is the first songwriter to win the award, “towers over” other great songwriters like Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon and Tom Waits. “His words have been an inspiration to me ever since I first heard a Dylan album at school, and I am delighted by his Nobel win,” he said.

U.S. President Barack Obama, meanwhile, said via his official POTUS Twitter account, “Congratulations to one of my favorite poets, Bob Dylan, on a well-deserved Nobel.”

Others, however, were not happy with the idea that Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, won the prestigious Nobel prize for literature. “I’m a Dylan fan, but this is an ill-conceived nostalgia award wrenched from the rancid prostates of senile, gibbering hippies,” “Trainspotting” author Irvine Welsh said on Twitter. Gary Shteyngart, author of “The Russian Debutante’s Handbook,” said sarcastically, “I totally get the Nobel committee. Reading books is hard.”

In the announcement of his Nobel prize for literature, Dylan was described by the committee as having “recorded a large number of albums revolving around topics such as: the social conditions of man, religion, politics and love.” “The lyrics have continuously been published in new editions, under the title Lyrics. As an artist, he is strikingly versatile; he has been active as painter, actor and scriptwriter,” it continued.