ABSTRACT

All Along Bob Dylan: America and the World offers an important contribution to thinking about the artist and his work. Adding European and non-English speaking contexts to the vibrant field of Dylan studies, the volume covers a wide range of topics and methodologies while dealing with the inherently complex and varied material produced or associated with the iconic artist. The chapters, organized around three broad thematic sections (Geographies, Receptions and Perspectives), address the notions of audience, performance and identity, allowing to map out the structure of feeling and authenticity, both, in the case of the artist and his audience. Taking its cue from the collapse of the so-called high-/ low culture split following from the Nobel Prize, the book explores the argument that Dylan (and all popular music) can be interpreted as literature and offers discussions in the context of literary traditions, or visual culture and music. This contributes to a nuanced and complex portrayal of the seminal cultural phenomenon called Bob Dylan.

chapter |14 pages

Introduction

The “Thing” about Bob Dylan

section Section 1|42 pages

Geographies

chapter 1|14 pages

Bob Dylan's Minnesota Roots

chapter 2|16 pages

At the Origins of the New Folk Star

Bob Dylan's New York Period (1961–1963)

chapter 3|10 pages

Dylan on Nostalgia

Idealising the Past and Paralysing the Present

section Section 3|55 pages

Perspectives

chapter 8|12 pages

The Dylanesque Confluence of the Multitude

From Bob Dylan Inspired to Bob Dylan the Inspirer

chapter 9|14 pages

Dylan and Springsteen

Master and Follower Look at America

chapter 10|13 pages

Bob Dylan's Character(s) on Screen

chapter 11|14 pages

The Geometry of Love and Lies

Re-Shaping Italian Literature through Dylan's Lyrics