Finally, Bob Dylan accepts Nobel prize

United States singer-songwriter Bob Dylan has finally accepted his Nobel prize for literature, the Swedish Academy that awards it has said.

He said the honour had left him "speechless", the Nobel Foundation said in a statement.

The foundation said it had not yet been decided if the singer would attend the awards ceremony in December.

The award to the star was announced on 13 October "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".

Dylan had not responded to repeated phone calls made by the academy following the prize announcement, nor had he made any public statement, prompting one academy member to call him "impolite and arrogant".

But on Friday, the Nobel Foundation said Dylan had called Sara Danius, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, telling her: "The news about the Nobel Prize left me speechless. I appreciate the honour so much."

Asked in an interview with Britain's daily Telegraph if he would turn up, he said: "Absolutely. If it's at all possible."

Dylan told the paper that the award was "amazing, incredible", saying: "It's hard to believe."

He added: "Whoever dreams about something like that?"

Asked why he did not respond to the academy's calls, Dylan said: "Well, I'm right here."

Dylan, whose lyrics have influenced generations of fans, is the first songwriter to win the literature prize.

Photograph: Ki Price/Reuters