Legendary musician Bob Dylan picked up his 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature in a private ceremony at a secret location with members of the Swedish Academy over the weekend.
“Stockholm was the first stop on the 2017 tour for Dylan and his band, and the meeting took place in connection to his concert,” the Academy said in a post on Facebook.
Dylan received his Nobel gold medal and diploma after months of uncertainty over whether the iconic singer and songwriter would acknowledge and accept the prestigious award.
After awarding the musician the coveted prize last October, the Nobel committee explained Dylan deserved the award over distinguished writers “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”
But Dylan remained silent for weeks following the award, leading to speculation that he might ignore the honor altogether.
He was not able to attend the Nobel ceremony in Stockholm in December, but the U.S. ambassador to Sweden read a thank you note from Dylan that read in part, "Not once have I ever had the time to ask myself, 'Are my songs literature?'" He did not attend to the event because of previous commitments, The Guardian reported
The 75-year-old troubadour is the first songwriter to win a Nobel Prize in Literature, joining the ranks of other laureates like Ernest Hemingway, Albert, Camus, Toni Morrison, Samuel Beckett, Alice Munro and Thomas Mann.
