Fusing Genres, Within and Without Literature

Abstract

Few times has a literary prize generated such controversy as the Nobel Prize of literature awarded to Bob Dylan in 2016. After the announcement, a discussion, normally kept inside the walls of universities, spread out to the public sphere, centered on which art forms should be called literature. Dylan answered on his own terms, using a peculiar range of language resources. Each of the four acts of his answer deals with elements typical of literary space, such as ellipsis, irony, representation and heterogeneity. From the main distinction between poetry and song arises a more comprehensive questioning about the boundaries that puts literary discourse apart from other kinds of discourses. Dylan’s play with language expands the border crossing among genres suggested by his work beyond itself, encompassing non-literary discourses and even his unique modus vivendi.