The absurdity of literary prizes part 1 of 2

It's 2016, Stockholm, and Patti Smith is dressed in a black suit, nervously performing Dylan's A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall. A hushed crowd listens in celebration of her rendition of a song written by the newest Nobel Prize in literature winner. For most of the world, this moment meant little. However, in the literary community Bob Dylan receiving the prize was a firestorm.

“Where've you been my blue-eyed son...”

It's not as simple as asking if Bob Dylan's lyrics reach the height of poetry. Cohen would have been a more fitting winner if the committee wished to recognize songwriting. The selection of Dylan asks us to question what literature is, and how literature manifests itself in the social sphere.

First, let's get this out the way, I believe that Bob Dylan's work fits the criteria to be recognized as literature. To be specific, I believe that Dylan is a poet. However, selecting a poet without a significant publishing history does two things:

1/ It questions the legitimacy of publishers.

2/ It opens the door for musicians in genres with more lyrical traditions to be recognized for literary awards.

For instance, if the rumors of ghost-writers didn't persist, could an artist like Drake eventually win a lifetime literary award?

That may sound ridiculous until we consider what that would mean – publicity for an award. With the literary industry waning in many aspects, suddenly, the idea of putting celebrity above quality makes sense. Particularly when we are honest, and admit that quality has little to do with who wins most literary prizes.

Looking at a recent long list, I noticed a questionably high number of books from a particular publisher. This happens every year. Books that fail to even get reviewed mysteriously land on long lists. Perhaps it's tied to trends judges are seeking, or something else that's totally innocent, but it appears shameless when this happens consistently, year after year.

Furthermore, more long lists and short lists in Canada often are bereft of people of color. Again, perhaps this is innocent, but it appears suspicious.

So why not Drake? He's a person of color, Rap is a genre of poetry tied to dub poetry, American folk traditions, and jazz men like Mingus who recited poetry during gigs. If some awards appear to be the playthings of publishers and racists. And other literary awards are throwing away the publisher as a legitimate standard bearer, then why not? Let's just pick the most popular person writing literature!

I actually agreed with Dylan receiving the prize. The Nobel Prize has more to do with social impact than quality. However, Dylan's work does reach a high standard lyrically. His work represents a lifetime of studying traditions tied to American folk culture and post slavery black culture. There's depth to the rationale. But as the legitimacy of literature gets eroded on one end, it's also being eroded on the other.