@mahgister
Thanks -- too bad about the SQ issues.
@audio-b-dog
Was he given the award for poetry? If so, I’d agree with you.
I assumed, perhaps incorrectly, he’d received it for songwriting.
It’s a (in my opinion) popular misconception that song lyrics are poetry set to music. Songwriting is a discipline all its own, and not at all an easy one, if one wishes to become even moderately skilled.
If the award was given to him as a songwriter, I cannot disagree with the committee. He, more than anyone, opened the door to writing song lyrics that honestly and unflinchingly address human experience. Yes; he drew upon the influence of others-- Delta Blues, UK and US folk song, Hank Williams, Standards, etc. but he synthesized these diverse influences in a way that no-one had before while at the same time developing a unique creative voice and perspective. In my view, he is a titanic figure in American music. Without Dylan, I very much doubt there would have been a John Prine, Joni Mitchell, Kris Kristofferson, Neil Young, Robert Hunter, Robbie Robertson, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, James Taylor or Jackson Browne, to name but a few. Who else has had exerted such an influence upon the craft? While I don’t listen to all of his output, there are certain periods I still enjoy very much.
You’re comparing Judy Collins singing Dylan to Bob Dylan writing "Just LIke Tom Thumb’s Blues" but Dylan didn’t get the award for his singing. There are thousands of competent singers who could sing that song. But they couldn’t have written it.