Bob Dylan's Pulitzer Prize
Bob Dylan was awarded an honorary Pulitzer Prize this week for his "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."
Congrats Bob! Well deserved.
Whether you respect Dylan as a musician or not, you have to respect him as a poet. He has said, after all, that he is a poet first and a musician second.
I am reading Christopher Ricks' book Dylan's Visions of Sin.
Ricks, who is an English professor and literary critic, is quick to point out the power of Dylan's poetry. Dylan is better compared to T.S. Elliot, Thomas Hardy, and Samuel Coleridge than the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
In one of the opening chapters, Ricks says Dylan was at his best when he wrote, "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll." This song is one of the examples of the power of Dylan's poetry.
To celebrate, watch this video that has nothing to to with Bob Dylan but this little girl is pretty adorable. How many of us adults have the Lord's Prayer memorized?
4 comments:
Derek,
I've tried to get into Dylan's music -- it's just hard for me to listen to.
His lyrics/poetry (with a prophetic edge) -- I'll give you that. Good stuff.
Shane
Dylan is an acquired taste and then there are the many sides of Dylan to acquire.
You have the acoustic Dylan of the early 60s, the electric Dylan of the mid 60s, the area rock Dylan of the 70s, the gospel Dylan of the 80s and the nostalgic Dylan of the 90s and today.
For you I would recommend Dylan's gospel albums like Slow Train Coming and Saved. These were the albums I first listened to.
Derek
I was totally taken aback by this announcement regarding Dylan and Pulitzer. But certainly well deserved.
I don't know if you were reporting on the news (and good news it is) or are actually a fan, but if you are then I thought I'd introduce you to my new novel, BLOOD ON THE TRACKS, which I think you'd enjoy.
It's a murder-mystery. But not just any rock superstar is knocking on heaven's door. The murdered rock legend is none other than Bob Dorian, an enigmatic, obtuse, inscrutable, well, you get the picture...
Suspects? Tons of them. The only problem is they're all characters in Bob's songs.
You can get a copy on Amazon.com or go "behind the tracks" at www.bloodonthetracksnovel.com to learn more about the book.
Thanks Thomas. I am a Dylan fan and I will check out the website about your book.
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