Bob Dylan has won the Nobel Prize for Literature. According to the press release, the famed musician and songwriter (pictured, via) was recognized “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”
Here’s more from The New York Times: “The announcement, in Stockholm, came as something of a surprise. Although Mr. Dylan, 75, has been mentioned often as having an outside shot at the prize, his work does not fit into the literary canons of novels, poetry and short stories that the prize has traditionally recognized.”
BBC News reports that Dylan is the first American to be named the winner of this award since Toni Morrison in 1993. Other previous winners include Dear Life author Alice Munro, Red Sorghum author Mo Yan, and Night Rounds author Patrick Modiano.