The American Academy of Arts and Letters will go electric (sort of ) in May when it welcomes Bob Dylan as an honorary member at a ceremony at its Upper Manhattan headquarters. If he shows up, Mr. Dylan â€" the first rock musician honored by the group â€" will also be serenaded in words by the novelist Michael Chabon, who was elected as a regular member last year and is scheduled to give an address titled “Rock ‘n’ Roll.â€
The artists Richard Tuttle and Terry Winters and the novelist Ward Just will also be welcomed into the 250-person organization, which elects members only after the deaths of existing members. The South African writer Damon Galgut, the Spanish architect Rafael Moneo and the Belgian artist Luc Tuymans will become foreign honorary members.
Membership in the academy, which is based in three landmark Beau Arts buildings in Upper Manhattan, is commonly described as one of the most distinguished honors in the arts. But it was unclear whether Mr. Dylan, who was given an honorary membership when the academy couldn’t decide whether to honor him for his words or his music, would show up for the party. “I would guess it’s unlikely,†Virginia Dajani, the academy’s executive director, told Billboard, which noted that Mr. Dylan was already booked on tour dates far away from New York.
