So Bob Dylan won a Nobel Prize in literature. Big freaking deal.

Don’t get me wrong — I like Bob Dylan — but a Nobel Prize for literature? Really?

Apparently some people think it’s a good thing. Apparently the award is pushing boundaries, just like Dylan did with his lyric writing and protest music. But I don’t care how good of a lyricist anyone is — they don’t deserve a Nobel Prize in literature.

I suppose the basic contention is that Dylan’s lyrics are poetry, and thus eligible to be considered for a Nobel Prize in literature. But poetry in the world of music and poetry in its “pure” form exist in entirely different genres.

If Dylan’s lyrics existed only in their written form, he never would have won the prize in literature. By tying the lyrics to music, they became a part of protest culture (and subsequently pop culture) in a way they never would have if they existed only as poetry.

There are poets out there (and novelists too) whose works push at the boundaries of literature, and are powerful and influential in their own right, and who were passed over by the committee to give the prize to Dylan.

Why is that? Because Dylan is more noticeable. As a famous musician, he has a larger platform.

And yes, his work is influential. Yes, it is powerful. Yes, it changed lyric writing. But let me repeat that. It changed lyric writing. Lyrics exist in a different genre than poetry and prose, and they exist on a different platform for public consumption. They do not deserve to be taken under consideration for a Nobel Prize in literature.

Imagine, for example, that Margaret Atwood (she’s an author) won a Grammy for something like “writing so musically that you can literally hear it when you read it.” That would obviously be a bit absurd.

Or let’s say a hypothetical photographer wins a hypothetical painting competition by submitting one of her hypothetical photos. A photo may be similar to a painting, and it may be an image of the same thing, but photos and paintings are not the same things.

Just like photos are not paintings, lyric writing is not literature. Maybe you’re deceived by the fact that the word “writing” is contained in the phrase “lyric writing.” Well, it’s contained in the phrase “technical writing,” but you don’t see a well-written manual on a cordless drill being nominated for a prize in literature.

If the Nobel Prize was for a broader category “art” as a whole, I would be all for recognizing Dylan. But we’re talking about a prize in literature. There’s no reason to recognize a famous musician for such an award when there are more qualified, if lesser known, authors and poets.

To include Dylan in the ranks with the likes of Hemingway, Toni Morrison, Gabriel García Márquez, Steinbeck, Faulkner and T.S. Eliot while passing over contemporary figures like Atwood, Thomas Pynchon, Cormac McCarthy and Don DeLillo is absurd in the extreme.

Besides, plenty of platforms already exist for honoring musicians and their contributions.

Genre matters. We should pay attention to it.