STOCKHOLM, Sweden (CelebrityAccess) – -Despite being the first songwriter to ever win the award, Bob Dylan was not in attendance to accept his Nobel Prize for literature.
Instead, Dylan sent singer-songwriter Patti Smithin his place. Smith performed the Dylan classic "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," seemingly visibly nervous at times and even apologizing after stumbling over some of the lyrics.
Also filling in for Dylan at the ceremony was US Amabassador to Sweden Azita Raji, who delivered an acceptance speech on behalf of folk legend.
"From an early age, I've been familiar with and reading and absorbing the works of those who were deemed worthy of such a distinction: Kipling, Shaw, Thomas Mann, Pearl Buck, Albert Camus, Hemingway," the speech said.
"These giants of literature whose works are taught in the schoolroom, housed in libraries around the world and spoken of in reverent tones have always made a deep impression. That I now join the names on such a list is truly beyond words."
Dylan said in a letter to the Nobel committee that previous commitments prevented him from attending the event, according to Reuters. – Staff Writers
