Bob Dylan

FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2012 file photo, Bob Dylan performs during the 17th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards in Los Angeles. Dylan is giving human rights supporters something to sing about. He waived the publishing fees for his entire catalog, allowing Amnesty International to create a four-disk compilation album in honor of the organization's golden anniversary.

(Chris Pizzello)

Somewhat belatedly, Bob Dylan has thanked the Nobel committee for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and said he hopes to accept it at the annual ceremony in Sweden in December. His comments ended speculation that he might refuse the recognition.

"It's hard to believe," Dylan told a British newspaper, the Telegraph. He said receiving a Nobel Prize is "amazing, incredible. Whoever dreams about something like that?"

Dylan's selection is controversial. For those who have followed his career, the affirmation of his five decades of songwriting and performing is no mystery. It's a body of work with few equals, and has left an indelible impression on a generation.

Others find the choice baffling, or disrespectful to the Nobel tradition, arguing that a folk singer's art, no matter how lengthy and influential, doesn't qualify as literature.

What do you think? Have a say in our informal poll. Feel free to share your opinion about Dylan in the comments section.