What is the purpose of awarding a philanthropic literature prize to a millionaire rock star? If you wish to draw attention to an unsung national poet, why choose one of the world's most famous Americans? If it has to be an American, why not one who writes books?
Argument about Bob Dylan has peaked for the first time in 40 years or so, leaving a lot of people wondering if they're still 'forever young', and which side of the argument is right.
Dylan's relationship to literature is well known. He took his name from a Welsh poet. When he sang 'Desolation Row' Dylan was locking into the Beat world of Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac.
He quotes from a range of writers without fear of accusations of plagiarism. Scripture is close to hand, but also the cornucopia that is the songbook of American popular music. He copies Woody Guthrie and parodies Elvis Presley. His debt to the blues and gospel is apparent, but also to Cole Porter.
The compliment is returned. The literary world has relished and lauded the work of Bob Dylan from the start, admiring his lyrical fertility and vocal ingenuity. On a good day, his gift for register and timing is still astounding.
The poet laureate Sir Andrew Motion nominated 'Visions of Johanna' his favourite Dylan song, but then everyone has a favourite Dylan song. The poetry is, in that sense, common property, hence the popularity of the Nobel Prize decision in many quarters.
The Dylan bibliography is short. I read Tarantula when I was a teenager and could see even then it was less a product of substance than of substances. A whole literature thrives on his impact upon popular music, with thorough analysis of the songs for religious, social and biographical meanings, a critical reception rivalled only by those other game changers of the 60s, the Fab Four.
Arguments in recent weeks, that Dylan isn't a writer, are contradicted by the evidence. He's been writing since primary school in Minnesota. Yet dissatisfaction persists. Is he a writer in the way Patrick White or Boris Pasternak are writers? Is literature about the personal relationship between writer and reader?
"The poetic act comes out of a state of speechlessness, out of asking how to say things that seem unsayable. Poetry has always been the verbalisation of things we thought could not be put into words."
Books of lyrics are for the fans. Reading 'Like a Rolling