BOB DYLAN - MUSIC LEGEND BOB DYLAN RECEIVES HONORARY PULITZER PRIZE

Bob Dylan has been awarded an honorary Pulitzer Prize to become the first rock musician to receive the prestigious accolade.

The 66-year-old singer-songwriter was recognised with a Special Music Citation for his "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power".

The famously reclusive Dylan has not yet commented on the award, but prize administrator Sig Gissler said the widening of the awards' net from its traditionally-favoured realms of classical music and jazz to rock reflected "the efforts of the Pulitzer board to broaden the scope of the music prize".

Having risen to prominence during the protest song movement of the 60s, with classic songs such as Blowin' in the Wind and The Times Are-A-Changin', Dylan has been famed for his constant reinvention, at one point eliciting audience cries of "Judas" when he 'went electric' and embraced the more raw sound of rock music.

Though he has typically been reluctant to discuss the meaning of his songs, many of which contain cryptic Biblical and literary references, his 2005 memoir Chronicles, Volume One shed greater light on his inspirations.

According to publisher Simon & Schuster, Dylan is working on a second volume, though no publication date has been confirmed.

Todd Haynes' 2007 film I'm Not There portrayed the extent to which the singer's personality has been seen to have shifted by employing several actors, including Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Richard Gere young black actor Marcus Carl Franklin and Cate Blanchett, to portray reflections of Dylan at different stages of his life.