Stephen King has had it with all the Bob Dylan Nobel Prize naysayers out there. As a wildly prolific writer himself — who often gets unfairly maligned for his plainspokenness and his popularity — King has a unique insight into Dylan hate. The author and diehard fan of the folk legend defended Dylan’s Literature prize in a piece for Rolling Stone.
“People complaining about his Nobel either don’t understand or it’s just a plain old case of sour grapes,” he said, before revealing a bit more about his own life than he probably meant. “I’ve seen several literary writers who have turned their noses up at the Dylan thing, like Gary Shteyngart. Well, I’ve got news for you, Gary: There are a lot of deserving writers who have never gotten the Nobel Prize. And Gary Shteyngart will probably be one of them. That’s no reflection on his work. You have to rise to the level of a Faulkner if you’re an American.”
King also cited Dylan’s longevity and timelessness as a reason that he deserves the honor.
“My kids listen to Dylan, and so do my grandkids,” he said. “That’s three generations. That’s real longevity and quality. Most people in pop music are like moths around a bug light; they circle for a while and then there’s a bright flash and they’re gone. Not Dylan.”
The funniest part of this whole back in forth is that people are more interested in defending Bob than he is in defending himself.
