Please, God, no — don’t give Bob Dylan a Nobel Prize in Literature.

Nope, not Ben Franklin, but Syrian poet and Nobel favorite Adonis.

If Bob Dylan, a singer/songwriter, can win a Nobel Prize in Literature, then why can’t Philip Roth win a Grammy? How about giving Richard Dawkins a Tony Award, or maybe a Best Male Athlete prize for Tyler Angle?

Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Sure, Dawkins could win a Tony — if he wrote a play. Roth might take a Grammy — if he composed a hit song. But alas, it’s all too likely that Mr. Zimmerman’s rabid partisans may yet wrench a Nobel for their idol, crazy as it seems.

Visit the Miami Book Fair International website to see the gaudy author list (Roseanne Cash! Jeffrey Eugenides! Nicole Kraus! Michael Ondaajte! Hundreds more! Literally!). This year’s fair runs Nov. 13-20. More details to come. Watch this space!

According to the Guardian, Dylan has come out of the rear of the pack to become a 10-1 favorite to take the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature, which will be announced Thursday. As recently as yesterday Freewheelin’ Bob’s odds were a remote 100-1.

Dylan still trails the favorites, Syrian poet Adonis (4-1), Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer (7-1), and Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami (8-1).  Poor Roth, an American writer who actually deserves the prize (he writes novels, not songs), is eating dust at 25-1.

So what’s wrong with Dylan winning the prize? After all he’s a genius, no argument there, and his work has exerted a profound influence on world culture these past 50 years, and he’s moved and motivated millions if not billions of individual listeners with the artistry of his verse and music.

My problem is that he is a songwriter, not a poet. The skills that go into writing a song are similar, but not identical, to those required by poetry. Not lesser — just different. And the differences is worth preserving.

Let me say again: Being a songwriter is in anyway inferior to being a poet. In fact, having to account for the emotional affect of music, and combining it effectively with the lyric, is a skill poets don’t have to worry about.

In this regard, Tyler Angle provides the best analogy. In case you did not know, Angle is the principle male dancer for the New York City ballet. So why shouldn’t he be in the running for an ESPY for Male Athlete of the Year?

After all, his work is all about jumping around and agility and grace and mental toughness and endurance. His performances call on the same kind of physical exertions demanded of a small forward or a wide receiver — and he has to do it without appearing to sweat or breath hard.

And yet, Angle will never win an ESPY — nor should he, because he’s not an athlete, however heightened his athletic skills may be. No, he’s a dancer. In the same way, however much a lyrical genius Dylan may be, he is a songwriter, not a poet. His artristry does not “transcend” songwriting, but exemplifies it.

Suggesting that Dylan deserves a Nobel is actually denigrating his real art form, songwriting. Why must everything be poetry, for Pete’s sake? A rose is a rose, you know. Calling a song a poem, or a songwriter a poet, improves neither. On the contrary, this kind of mistaken accolade actually lessens the very thing, the very person, you wish to praise.

Ample awards and recognition for great songwriting exists. Everyone in the world, I’d wager, knows who Bob Dylan is. He needs no introduction. Tomas Transtromer, however, could greatly benefit from the publicity a Nobel would bring. So could grateful new readers who otherwise might never be introduced to his work.

Of course, Dylan partisans see no value in the distinction I’m trying to establish here. They’ve nominated him for a Nobel every year since 1997. They brook no criticism of their idol. For comparison purposes, here’s a fan site, chosen at random, called dylanfornobel.com.

Indeed, there is no satisfying the Dylanites unless you agree that he’s the greatest musician since Apollo invented the lyre, and can walk on water and raise the dead, and furthermore he’s the most important writer since, I don’t know, Homer. Or maybe God.

Giving Dylan a Nobel in literature will violate the spirit and intention of the prize, greatly harming traditional literature at a time when it needs all the help it can get. And for Dylan what will it be? One more shiny object to gather dust on his mantle.

Update: As of Wednesday evening, British bookmakers have Dylan the favorite for the Nobel Prize for Literature at odds of 5-1, ahead of Syran poet Adonis at 6-1. The winner is to be announced Thursday.