'Lamest Nobel win since Obama': How Twitter reacted to Bob Dylan's Literature Prize win

US music legend Bob Dylan, whose poetic lyrics have influenced generations of fans, won the Nobel Literature Prize on Thursday, the first songwriter to win the award in a decision that stunned prize watchers.[caption id="attachment_3051714" align="alignleft" width="380"]

File photo of Bob Dylan. Facebook[/caption]The 75-year-old was honoured "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition", the Swedish Academy said.The choice was met by gasps and a long round of spontaneous applause from journalists attending the prize announcement. The folk rock singer had been mentioned in Nobel speculation over the years, but was never seen as a serious contender.Speculation prior to Thursday's announcement had focused on Syrian poet Adonis and Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o as possible recipients, but reactions to the surprise choice of Dylan were mostly positive. The Academy has been known to push the limits of the definition of literature, honouring Winston Churchill in 1953 for his wartime speeches."Sometimes it's someone unknown whom few have read, and sometimes they pick someone who has popular appeal," said Swedish music journalist Stefan Wermelin."But this is the first time the prize has gone to a musical form of expression and in that genre Dylan is totally in a class of his own."But Per Svensson, culture writer at Swedish regional daily Sydsvenskan, described the choice "incredibly depressing" and a "Trumpification" of the prestigious prize to appeal to the masses. And some of the reaction on social media was also biting.

Fellow musicians were jubilant and nostalgicThe writers were dividedA lot of people seemed to like the surpriseWhile some others seemed to find this funnyWith inputs from agencies