Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize draws mixed reviews

The times are a-changing.

On Thursday, singer-songwriter Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, marking the first time the coveted literary award has gone to someone who is mainly seen as a musician.

The 75-year-old won the prize "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition," the Swedish Academy said.

"For 54 years he has been at it, reinventing himself," said Sara Danius, the academy's permanent secretary. “Bob Dylan writes poetry for the ear. But it’s perfectly fine to read his works as poetry."

Bob Dylan wins Nobel Prize in Literature

And while many Dylan fans have rejoiced at the news, others online and in the literary community have had a more tempered reaction. Some are angry that the award has skipped over fiction writers for the second year in a row.

New York Times Book Review editor Pamela Paul tweeted repeatedly after the news broke Thursday morning, saying it was good news but noting how many "deserving" novelists there are.

Others lamented the news.

Still others found the opportunity for jokes.

Director Martin Scorsese put out a statement saying he was "overjoyed" that Dylan was awarded the prize.

"Dylan's poetry, his musical genius, has meant so much to me personally and to generations of people around the world," Scorsese said. "His work has impacted and shaped culture, and he has never stopped exploring and growing as an artist. The Nobel Committee has given Dylan a form of recognition that befits his role in our culture — in world culture.”

Dylan won a Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for his “profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power.” He's the first American to win the literary Nobel since Toni Morrison in 1993.