Dylan writes Nobel Prize fest speech; Patti Smith to sing
By Associated Press
Dec 5, 2016 7:37 AM CST
FILE - In this Feb. 6, 2015 file photo, Bob Dylan accepts the 2015 MusiCares Person of the Year award at the 2015 MusiCares Person of the Year show in Los Angeles. Dylan, the winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in literature declined the invitation to the Dec. 10 2016 prize ceremony and banquet, pleading...   (Associated Press)

STOCKHOLM (AP) — He won't be there in person but the Nobel Foundation says Bob Dylan has written a speech that will be read out at the traditional Nobel Prize banquet.

Dylan, the winner of this year's Nobel Prize in literature, declined the invitation to the Dec. 10 prize ceremony and banquet, pleading other commitments. But the Nobel Foundation said Monday that the singer-songwriter has written a "speech of thanks" that will be read by a yet-to-be-decided person at the lavish banquet in Stockholm's City Hall.

At the Nobel awards ceremony earlier that day, Patti Smith will perform Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" as a tribute to the 75-year-old.

Nobel spokeswoman Annika Pontikis says Dylan's diploma and medal will be handed over at a later date that hasn't been determined yet.