Why Dylan Matters - Hardcover

Thomas, Richard F.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0008245495 ISBN 13: 9780008245498

Publisher: HARPER COLLINS, 2017

Synopsis

When the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to Bob Dylan in 2016, a debate raged. Some celebrated, while many others questioned the choice. How could the world's most prestigious book prize be awarded to a famously cantankerous singer-songwriter who wouldn't even deign to attend the medal ceremony? In Why Bob Dylan Matters, Harvard Professor Richard F. Thomas answers this question with magisterial erudition. A world expert on Classical poetry, Thomas was initially ridiculed by his colleagues for teaching a course on Bob Dylan alongside his traditional seminars on Homer, Virgil, and Ovid. Dylan's Nobel Prize brought him vindication, and he immediately found himself thrust into the spotlight as a leading academic voice in all matters Dylanological. Today, through his wildly popular Dylan seminar--affectionately dubbed "Dylan 101"--Thomas is introducing a new generation of fans and scholars to the revered bard's work. This witty, personal volume is a distillation of Thomas's famous course, and makes a compelling case for moving Dylan out of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and into the pantheon of Classical poets. Asking us to reflect on the question, "What makes a classic?," Thomas offers an eloquent argument for Dylan's modern relevance, while interpreting and decoding Dylan's lyrics for readers. The most original and compelling volume on Dylan in decades, Why Bob Dylan Matters will illuminate Dylan's work for the Dylan neophyte and the seasoned fanatic alike. You'll never think about Bob Dylan in the same way again.

About this title

About the Author

Richard F. Thomas is George Martin Lane Professor of the Classics at Harvard University, a Bob Dylan expert, and the creator of a freshman seminar at Harvard on Bob Dylan.

Review

A GUARDIAN AND INDEPENDENT BEST MUSIC BOOK OF 2017 `At last an expert classicist gets to grips with Bob Dylan. Richard Thomas takes us from Dylan's high school Latin club to his haunting engagement with Ovid and Homer in recent albums. He carefully argues that Dylan's poetry deserves comparison with Virgil's - and Thomas, senior professor of Latin at Harvard and author of some of the most influential modern studies of Virgil, should know!' Mary Beard `A poignant blend of memoir, literary analysis through a classical lens, musicology and, above all, love. [Thomas] loves Dylan with a passion so selfless and so intense that it's impossible to emerge from the book untouched' Guardian `Accessible and enjoyable ... Richard F Thomas's elegant, charming book offers something for everyone - not just the super-fans' Independent `The book joyously bounces from topic to topic, mixing anecdotes about Dylan's creative process, historical concerts, and wry press conferences with penetrating literary critique - and no shortage of Thomas' own personal recollections of bonding with Dylan's music. A highly informed, yet intimately personal celebration of one of our most important living writers - not despite, but because of the medium in which he writes' NPR `Secures Dylan's place in a pantheon of literary heroes from Virgil to Eliot. A critical breakthrough that makes a masterful case for why Dylan is the bard of our times' Andrew McCarron, author of Light Come Shining: The Transformations of Bob Dylan `Thomas' outstanding, eminently readable, and beautifully bound work, answers that question in relation to his subject with a resounding `Yes'. Dylan matters. Emphatically' Tribune `Listen to Bob Dylan in performance. But read this book for help on how to hear his lyrics' Irish Examiner

Edition details

• Publisher: HARPER COLLINS
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0008245495
• ISBN 13: 9780008245498
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 368