The committee that awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature to Bob Dylan said on Saturday it was up to the American singer-songwriter whether to attend the prize-giving ceremony later this year or not.
The notoriously media-shy Dylan has not yet made any comment on the 8 million crown ($900,000) prize, despite repeated attempts by award-givers the Swedish Academy to contact him since it named him as the winner on Oct. 13.
Dylan’s website acknowledged him as this year’s winner of the Nobel Prize of Literature, although it was removed after a few hours, deepening the mystery surrounding whether he plans to accept the honor or not.
A review posted on Dylan’s website on Wednesday, to promote a new book on the lyrics of his songs, included the words “Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.”
This was seen as the first public acknowledgement of the coveted prize by Dylan, whose silence since Thursday last week, when he was declared the winner, has perturbed the Swedish Academy, which gave up trying to contact him following several failed attempts.
On Saturday, Swedish media reported that Academy member Per Wastberg had said that if Dylan remained silent, it would be “rude and arrogant.”
The Academy, however said Wastberg’s comments did not reflect their view.
“The author awarded the Noble Prize makes up his or her own mind regarding the ceremonies involved in the presentation of the prize,” Sara Danius, Permanent Secretary of the Academy, said in a statement.

Source: Arab News