美国国家公共电台 NPR Bob Dylan To Skip Nobel Prize Ceremony In Stockholm

Bob Dylan To Skip Nobel Prize Ceremony In Stockholm

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0004:26repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser¹ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: 

More than half a century ago, the recipient² of the Nobel Prize for Literature turned it down. The French philosopher novelist and dramatist Jean-Paul Sartre said he didn't believe in honors. In 1964, that was a big deal.

But in those days, snubbing authority was becoming more common. That year, Bob Dylan released "The Times They Are a-Changin'," an anthem³ against authority.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN")

BOB DYLAN: Come mothers and fathers throughout the land and don't criticize what you can't understand. Your sons and daughters are beyond your command. Your old road...

SIEGEL: As someone who played so many Dylan records back then and the years to come, I find Bob Dylan's response to winning this year's Nobel Prize for Literature more cryptic⁴ than the lyrics⁵ to "Like A Rolling Stone." Dylan accepted the prize after some delay, but then he made it known that he won't make it to Stockholm for the December 10 ceremony when the prize is actually given because of other commitments.

David Gaines is the author of "In Dylan's Town: A Fan's Life" and professor of English at Southwestern University. Welcome to the program.

DAVID GAINES: Good to be with you.

SIEGEL: How do you understand Dylan's sending his regrets to the Swedes?

GAINES: Well, it's puzzling for sure. I'd take him at his word from yesterday's statement that he is indeed very honored, and he was wishing that he could receive the prize in person. I don't think there are health concerns. People have asked me about that. He seems to be in fine form on the road on his Never Ending tour.

SIEGEL: Does he have any big bookings that week?

GAINES: He does not have big bookings that week. I think that part of what might be going on is that a press conference on December 6, a lecture on December 7, an awards ceremony on December 10 and then a two- or three-hour dinner that night is not where his main passions are right now.

SIEGEL: You know, I was thinking, though; back in 1997, he was one of the artists who received a Kennedy Center Honor. He went in black tie. He sat up in the president's box. He was honored. He doesn't have a lifelong aversion to receiving awards in that case.

GAINES: No, he doesn't. And more recently in 2012, he did receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and he was there in not Ray-Bans but aviator⁶ shades and black tie. But he did look uncomfortable with it. And I really think that he would rather be playing music or writing or painting or, as you now know he's now doing, also welding.

SIEGEL: This isn't like turning down an invitation to receive an honorary degree from a for-profit online university somewhere in the country. This is the Nobel Prize for Literature. I mean I think a lot of us feel whatever your misgivings⁷ are, whatever your - this is the kind of thing that you find time for, no?

GAINES: Yes, I would hope, actually. I'm disappointed, but I don't think it's over yet. I believe that he is the gift that keeps on giving. And there are more surprises yet ahead. And like so many other things in his career, we can agree to discuss and, as he said in "Tangled⁸ Up In Blue," see it from a different point of view.

SIEGEL: And for now it's "Go Away From My Window" I guess he's saying as well.

GAINES: (Laughter) Yeah, I fear so. But I have my favorite two theories. One is that he will show up in Stockholm for a brief pass through in December. That's a very, very long shot. But I also think he might be home writing that second volume of "Chronicles," or he might be ice fishing in Minnesota. Or he might be in Tangiers, as one of his lines goes. His personal life to me is just that. It's personal, and I, you know - I just trust that he's well. And I gather he is from the people I talk to.

SIEGEL: Professor Gaines, thanks for talking with us.

GAINES: Thank you so much, Robert.

SIEGEL: David Gaines - Dylan-ologist (ph) and English professor at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

3 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

4 cryptic   

adj.秘密的，神秘的，含义模糊的

参考例句：

• She made a cryptic comment about how the film mirrored her life.她隐晦地表示说这部电影是她人生的写照。
• The new insurance policy is written without cryptic or mysterious terms.新的保险单在编写时没有隐秘条款或秘密条款。

5 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

6 aviator   

n.飞行家，飞行员

参考例句：

• The young aviator bragged of his exploits in the sky.那名年轻的飞行员吹嘘他在空中飞行的英勇事迹。
• Hundreds of admirers besieged the famous aviator.数百名爱慕者围困那个著名飞行员。

7 misgivings   

n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧

参考例句：

• I had grave misgivings about making the trip. 对于这次旅行我有过极大的顾虑。
• Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后， 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧！ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。