Bob Dylan has finally agreed to accept the Nobel Prize for Literature he was controversially awarded last October, The BBC reports.
The musician originally declined to even acknowledge the accolade, and snubbed the official ceremony in December with Patti Smith appearing in his stead.
Dylan has not, so far, delivered the lecture required to receive the 8m Krona (£726,000) prize money, with a deadline set of 10 June. He is now expected to deliver a taped version.
Dylan plays two concerts in Stockholm this weekend, where representatives of the Nobel Academy say they will meet the singer.
Prof Sara Danius, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, said in a blog post: "In a few days Bob Dylan will visit Stockholm and give two concerts. The Swedish Academy is very much looking forward to the weekend and will show up at one of the performances. Please note that no Nobel Lecture will be held. The Academy has reason to believe that a taped version will be sent at a later point. (Taped Nobel lectures are presented now and then, the latest of which was that of Nobel Laureate Alice Munro in 2013.) At this point no further details are known.
"The good news is that the Swedish Academy and Bob Dylan have decided to meet this weekend. The Academy will then hand over Dylan’s Nobel diploma and the Nobel medal, and congratulate him on the Nobel Prize in Literature. The setting will be small and intimate, and no media will be present; only Bob Dylan and members of the Academy will attend, all according to Dylan’s wishes."
Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize: An Odious, Tokenistic Insult To Pop, by David Bennun
