Bob Dylan wins Nobel Prize

I am reminded of an afternoon when I was an undergraduate, when a professor/friend of mine and I were sitting in the Student Commons cafe discussing a documentary bio-pic called Dylan that we had both recently seen. Another student and mutual friend of ours walked up and hearing the title, immediately asked about the subject, "A new movie about Bob Dylan?"

Both the professor and I were a little embarrassed for the guy. I think it was she who told him, "Uh, no. Dylan Thomas."

The guy shrugged and said disinterestedly, "Oh."

As much as the guy liked Bob Dylan, if my fellow student is still around, I would imagine he is surprised as I am at the news. Song writers haven't won Nobel prizes... till now. He had already been awarded a special citation by the Pulitzer Prize committee. I can't say that if I were on the Nobel committee I'd have voted for him. But I wouldn't say he didn't deserve the prize. He influenced a lot of folks around the world and many Americans younger than my generation, who heard his music under very different circumstances than we did, and that's about all a poet/songwriter can ask for.