Bob Dylan Named Recipient of Nobel Prize in Literature for Creating 'New Poetic Expressions'

According to The New York Times, legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan has won the Nobel Prize in Literature "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition." Dylan is the first American to win the esteemed prize since Toni Morrison in 1993.

Dylan's music served as the inspiration for the 2006 Broadway musical THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN'. Conceived, directed and choreographed by Twyla Tharp, the stage show mixed the theatre, dance and the musical stylings of Dylan in a coming-of-age story that took place inside a low-rent traveling circus found within a dark and humorous dream world.

The musical debuted at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California on February 9, 2006 running through March 2006. It went on to premiere on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on October 26, 2006 and closed on November 19, 2006 after 28 performances and 35 previews. Tharp both directed and choreographed, with set and costumes by Santo Loquasto and lighting by Donald Holder. The cast featured John Selya, Michael Arden, Neil Haskell, Thom Sesma, and Lisa Brescia.

Born Robert Allen Zimmerman in 1941, Bob Dylan has been influential in popular music and culture for more than five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when his songs chronicled social unrest. Early songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'" became anthems for the American civil rights and anti-war movements.

Photo by Craig Schwartz