Sadly no longer eligible but good suggestions.
― Tim, Thursday, 22 June 2017 16:21 (six years ago) link
Ken Nordine is still alive though.
― Duncan Disorderly (Tom D.), Thursday, 22 June 2017 16:25 (six years ago) link
... and Tom Lehrer.
― Duncan Disorderly (Tom D.), Thursday, 22 June 2017 16:26 (six years ago) link
xxps - from day 1 Dylan has appropriated without attribution, mixed the elements together and presented that shell to the outside world, like a virus mixing and matching the proteins on its surface to blend in with the host. The esteem in which he's held isn't his fault, nor is it a shell game by someone in a position of advantage. He's popular and lauded because he does it so well, like some kind of ur-folk-artist who refracts the mythology underpinning our culture into fascinating patterns. When the culture needs a winsome yokel troubadour, here he is. Socially conscious protest singer, check, back to the roots in a basement, yep, confessional self-lacerating introvert, man of faith, etc etc and on up to a catalyst for unifying "base" popular culture with highbrow academia via the most prestigious high-culture prize. Which he salts with the lowbrow everyman readings of the canon, as imposed on schoolchildren.It's not an original thesis I know, but I honestly don't get the outrage at Dylan being absolutely consistent, and consistently brilliant, at cultural appropriation and distillation. It's what he does, it's what he has done from day 1. For me it's an incredible achievement, and in a sly backhanded way absolutely deserves the Nobel.
― attention vampire (MatthewK), Thursday, 22 June 2017 23:42 (six years ago) link
Dude...
― Frederik B, Thursday, 22 June 2017 23:48 (six years ago) link
You write as if Dylan invented appropriation.
― Frederik B, Thursday, 22 June 2017 23:49 (six years ago) link
Or stealing from sparknotes.
― Frederik B, Thursday, 22 June 2017 23:50 (six years ago) link
Yeah I agree with all of that.
― Treeship, Thursday, 22 June 2017 23:51 (six years ago) link
n.b. I work at an independent bookstore, and the people there are pretty serious about working at an independent bookstore, and they mostly think Dylan should have his Nobel taken away for the plagiarism.
― Treeship, Thursday, 22 June 2017 23:53 (six years ago) link
I mean I agree with MatthewK
― Treeship, Thursday, 22 June 2017 23:55 (six years ago) link
Not Mr B
The main (fanatical) Dylan fan I know was all lolwot? when he heard about him getting the Nobel Prize.
― Duncan Disorderly (Tom D.), Thursday, 22 June 2017 23:56 (six years ago) link
... before Fred tars all Dylan fans with the same brush.
― Duncan Disorderly (Tom D.), Thursday, 22 June 2017 23:57 (six years ago) link
The best part of Dylan is that he is *both* a cultural shapeshifter/postmodern trickster spitting Americana back at us in refracted, magical forms, *and* a genuinely brilliant, empathetic writer and songwriter whose words have meant as much to me as anyone else's. I am slightly weirded out by the plagiarism stuff, but I can't deny that Chronicles was an incredible reading experience. There was an immediacy and presence in the narration that seemed stunning to me in 2005 when I read it, having known Dylan previously through his cryptic songwriting. The fact that this voice, this vivid, present, humane and human voice was a collage of plagiarism is just... whoa.
― Treeship, Friday, 23 June 2017 00:01 (six years ago) link
Like, the chronicles plagiarism was, if nothing else, fucking weird. The narrative seemed so seamless and genuine.
― Treeship, Friday, 23 June 2017 00:03 (six years ago) link
I get the same thing from The Waste Land, and the best parts of the Cantos, so I know the feeling.
― Frederik B, Friday, 23 June 2017 00:05 (six years ago) link
I don't think that the Sparknotes plagiarism is some kind of "easter egg". It's just Dylan being Dylan - someone's who's never been afraid to steal from high and low and any place in between - and most likely not someone overly concerned about scholarly standards for attribution. I thought it was an okay speech before the Sparknotes thing broke, and I think it's an okay speech now. I thought his Musicares speech at the Grammy's a couple years ago was better. Is it a better speech than I could do? Hell yeah. But judging Dylan based on the quality of a speech is almost as weird as, I dunno, giving him a prize for literature?
― o. nate, Friday, 23 June 2017 01:57 (six years ago) link
Frederik, never claimed originality, in fact quite the opposite would be the obvious conclusion to draw! I think the T. S. Eliot comparison is useful except for Dylan's vivid human qualities which I think TSE kept at arm's length.
And Treeship OTM - anyway we are all just a collage of culture and reference, it's not like we invented the words we speak.
― attention vampire (MatthewK), Friday, 23 June 2017 05:35 (six years ago) link
Where were you guys when melania trump needed you?
― Mince Pramthwart (James Morrison), Friday, 23 June 2017 10:38 (six years ago) link
lol
― Frederik B, Friday, 23 June 2017 11:57 (six years ago) link
dang
― attention vampire (MatthewK), Friday, 23 June 2017 13:00 (six years ago) link
I'd believe a "blackhearted gesture asserting nothing matters" coming from the Trump campaign.
― jmm, Friday, 23 June 2017 13:08 (six years ago) link
URL doesn't seem to work but the piece from New Republic was a nice kinda funny round-up. We can safely assume no Americans will win. Or should we etc.
Sergo Pitol would be my favourite from the very obscure list. He's great.
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 5 October 2017 09:21 (six years ago) link
https://68.media.tumblr.com/avatar_b6d87f043c25_128.png
― mark s, Thursday, 5 October 2017 09:54 (six years ago) link
The next American winner of the Nobel *heart emoji*
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 5 October 2017 09:55 (six years ago) link
My fucking lord
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 5 October 2017 11:12 (six years ago) link
They've managed to be worse than last year.
mark s otm
― more bemused than human (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 5 October 2017 11:31 (six years ago) link
He's written one book I thought was excellent (When We Were Orphans), one I enjoyed despite its flaws (Never Let Me Go). The other two I've read have been two out of the three books I've given up on in the last 15 years (The Unconsoled and The Buried Giant, the latter was almost unreadable).
― Matt DC, Thursday, 5 October 2017 12:23 (six years ago) link
"who, in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world".
I've only read Never Let Me Go. I didn't even know he was on the radar for a Nobel.
― jmm, Thursday, 5 October 2017 12:38 (six years ago) link
I threw Never Let Me Go across the room on two different occasions.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 5 October 2017 12:46 (six years ago) link
it was a sudden change of plans when tom petty died.
― wmlynch, Thursday, 5 October 2017 13:53 (six years ago) link
His rep mainly rests on the 3 books not mentioned here tho
― President Keyes, Thursday, 5 October 2017 14:54 (six years ago) link
The only novel of his I loved was THE REMAINS OF THE DAY, which is almost at the level of THE GOOD SOLDIER as a novel about ironic withholding of info.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 5 October 2017 14:55 (six years ago) link
the butler didn't do it
― mark s, Thursday, 5 October 2017 14:56 (six years ago) link
http://mobile.eurweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/forest-whitaker-lee-daniels-the-butler.jpg
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 5 October 2017 14:58 (six years ago) link
I wrote a snarky little article about 10 years ago telling people to put £20 on him getting the nobel because he was the kind of writer who wins prizes. Was thinking just a couple of weeks ago how wrong that seemed now, but, well, good on him. And good intuition, younger dumber me.
― woof, Thursday, 5 October 2017 15:06 (six years ago) link
God I am no good for this world take me now thanks.
Is it just me or is this not a bit, um, up itself? pic.twitter.com/EjRiT125hZ— Ally Fogg (@AllyFogg) October 5, 2017
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 5 October 2017 15:12 (six years ago) link
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, October 5, 2017 2:55 PM (nine hours ago)
yes, this is a perfect book imo. was assigned it in high school (oddly enough) and reread it a couple years ago and thought it held up beautifully. not a single wrong note.
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Thursday, 5 October 2017 23:57 (six years ago) link
No lit Nobel this year because of a sexual assault scandal
Kanye is going to be bitterly disappointed.
― lbi's life of limitless european glamour (Le Bateau Ivre), Friday, 4 May 2018 07:16 (five years ago) link
2018: Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk2019: Austrian writer Peter Handke
― Le Bateau Ivre, Thursday, 10 October 2019 11:03 (four years ago) link
They're never going to change, are they?
― Frederik B, Thursday, 10 October 2019 11:04 (four years ago) link
Lol
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 10 October 2019 11:19 (four years ago) link
They had to give one of these to a woman so they choose someone who has just started being published in English recently. Usually the winners are in some kind of conversation for a long time before being awarded by their weird obscure process. It's just as much of a reveal as Handle's win.
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 10 October 2019 11:40 (four years ago) link
Everybody loves Peter Handke, the Austrian Nobel laureate who likes to explore the periphery and the specificity of human experience! [shortly] We regret to inform you that Peter Handke is Frank Furedi in a vampire mask and will be appearing on the Moral Maze this week— 1st International Paul Crowther Brigade (@pdkmitchell) October 10, 2019
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 10 October 2019 11:42 (four years ago) link
Hey at least it wasn't the Peace Prize
― Xia Nu del Vague (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 10 October 2019 11:43 (four years ago) link
The Swedes don't really care whether it's published in English or not. She's been translated into Swedish regularly since 2002.
― Frederik B, Thursday, 10 October 2019 11:49 (four years ago) link
yeah I don't really get xyzzzz's post
we had to read "offending the audience" in high school, good times.
― groovemaaan, Thursday, 10 October 2019 12:04 (four years ago) link
Handke has become an old idiot, but he helped make Wings of Desire, so.
― Frederik B, Thursday, 10 October 2019 12:09 (four years ago) link
Most of the winners since the 60s have a record of publishing in English and are on that kind of conversation as potential winners as they have been at it for a long time.
That isn't the case for Olga Tokarczuk, whatever her merits. There is something forced about it, given that it's given for the year of its suspension.
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 10 October 2019 12:21 (four years ago) link