Another day, another award for Bono. But this one was kind of special, he said. Joe Humphreys reports.
"It's a big deal for me to get an award that is about what I do as a writer rather than me trying to, you know, change the world," said the Dubliner, as he picked up a medal of honour from the embassy of Chile in memory of that country's most famous poet, Pablo Neruda.
The U2 frontman was presented with the medal at the Chilean ambassador's residence in Sandycove, Co Dublin.
In a five-minute speech, Bono described his passion for Chile, its art and "beautiful bloody wine".
"I am a mad fan of Pablo Neruda, and a mad fan of Chile," he said as he recalled both a torturous pilgrimage to Neruda's home at Isla Negra, during which the singer fell ill with dysentery, and a "very big moment" in U2's career when he halted a concert in Santiago during the Pinochet era in order to tell the dictator to come clean on the thousands of people who "disappeared" under the general's rule.
Yesterday Bono joined 99 other luminaries from the world of art and literature - among them the US writer Arthur Miller, Mexico's Carlos Fuentes and British actress Julie Christie - in being honoured by the now democratic Chilean government for the centenary of the birth of Neruda.
The award ceremony took place just hours before the first radio broadcast of U2's new single Vertigo, the first track to be released from the band's long-awaited new album.
"It has taken 20-odd years to make this album," Bono said. "It's a very personal record, and the album title, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, really refers to my father. I should have called it How To Dismantle The Atomic Bob."
While he said the album had no overt political message, it didn't mean he himself was retreating from politics. He had, after all, just returned from the US where he had attended both Republican and Democratic presidential conventions, and he was due at the UK Labour Party conference in Brighton next week.
Recalling the words of U2's manager, Paul McGuinness - "The poet's job is not to fix the problem; it's just to point it out" - Bono remarked: "I have never taken that advice". He felt compelled to participate in politics "because there is such a void there, and I have to give my voice to people who don't have any."
Was Bono hinting at a campaign for the Presidency? "I wouldn't move to a smaller house," he said.