Bob Dylan, who last month said he would not attend the Nobel Prize ceremonies in Stockholm because of "pre-existing commitments," has delivered a speech that will be read on his behalf, the organisation behind the awards said Monday.
In a Twitter post, the organisation, the Swedish Academy, also said that Patti Smith, the musician and writer, will perform one of Dylan's songs, A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall, as a tribute. Smith, 69, who in 2010 won a National Book Award for her memoir Just Kids, has been an occasional collaborator of Dylan's, and has called herself a longtime fan.
Neither the organisation nor Dylan have announced who would be reading his speech at the banquet, which will be held after the ceremony on Saturday.
In October, Dylan, 75, was named as the recipient of the 2016 Nobel Prize in literature "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition." Dylan's win divided many in the literary and music worlds, with some questioning whether a musician should receive one of literature's highest honours.
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For his part, Dylan remained silent for two weeks after the announcement. The academy said it was having difficulty reaching him, leading one member of the prize committee to call his silence "impolite and arrogant." He finally responded in an interview with the Telegraph, the British newspaper, posted October 29, in which the singer said he would "absolutely" attend the ceremony "if it's at all possible." It was the first interview in almost two years for the notoriously private musician.
Then on November 16, the Nobel academy announced that Dylan would not, in fact, be attending the ceremony.
"The Swedish Academy received a personal letter from Bob Dylan, in which he explained that due to pre-existing commitments, he is unable to travel to Stockholm in December and therefore will not attend the Nobel Prize Ceremony," the group said on its website.