[James Brancheau]

No Direction Home is a pretty good documentary, Mark. I like Bob Dylan quite a bit. I like Guthrie a little more. There were I think 3 different versions of This Land Is Your Land. The original works best.

It was mass produced for school children to sing. As a patriotic anthem. But it was written when land was being taken during the depression.

[Claudia Gary]

Originally Posted by Claudia Gary

For whatever it's worth, here's a comment I made during a poetry and song panel that I chaired at the WCU poetry conference a few years ago: if Dylan hadn't set his words to music, I doubt many of us ever would have heard of him.

Anyone who assumes I intended to criticize or belittle Dylan's lyrics/poems should reread the above. I said nothing positive or negative about his words (although I like a good number of his songs). My comment was about the power of song.

[Simon Hunt]

Tim, is that for real? Amazing story!

Yes, Mark, Tim's story beats yours--but I love yours, too. Thanks for posting it.

Claudia--I see what you mean. In context, it read to me that you were criticizing Dylan's selection here (and fair enough...), but I get the other side of it now.

James, and others talking about Guthrie/Dylan and Dylan/Lennon: Dylan has often spoken of how Guthrie (another of my heroes) was a crucial influence on him and how he had to move through emulation of Woody to find his way. Perhaps it was similar between Dylan and Lennon--if perhaps less so and for a shorter time (hard for me to opine here; I'm not much of a Beatles fan...). I would post here if I could find online a wonderful painting I saw once in Rolling Stone. It was titled "Mr. Guthrie's Homeroom" (or similar) and showed Dylan acing a test in Woody's class while Springsteen and a cross-sampling of every other rootsy white American male singer of the later twentieth century try to cheat off his paper...

[James Brancheau]

Yeah, I think that's true, Simon. And I'd like to see that painting. (Do you think anyone successfully cheated?)

I think more than anything else, Mark, as I mentioned in my first response, opening this up to song writers made me think of others who could/should be considered. As far as lyrics, I'm kind of partial to Paul Simon (on his own, probably more). But Bob Dylan is understandable. I'm not really complaining. Just thinking...

[Mark McDonnell]

Hmm...posthumous award for Jacques Brel!

[Tim Murphy]

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cul...ylan-nobel-win

Very high spirited piece by Remnick, editor of the New Yorker, that ends with lots of links.

My parents were very junior English professors at the Hibbing Community College. They rented an apartment above the Zimmerman Store, and they paid the boy ten cents an hour to push my stroller. No wonder I turned to poetry! He became famous when I was twelve, and I loved and memorized his songs. This prize delights me even more than VS Naipaul, who was honored right after 9/11 in a rare nod to a conservative.

Claudia, an awful lot of Burns' appeal depends on the ancient airs he set his lyrics to. I teach Burns in high school every January 25, and I am more influenced by him than any other poet.

[Roger Slater]

The prize spurred me to upload a recording to YouTube of Dylan's performance of Mr Tamourine Man at Wolftrap in 1997. The audio quality isn't very good (and there's 3 seconds of pure static in the opening 15 seconds or so) but it's a truly great performance. He changes up the melody and the tone is very different from his studio recording. It ends with a long guitar solo. Anyway, I love it so I figured I'd share it now. HERE

[Max Goodman]

Now, if next year Richard Wilbur is honored, a lot of people are going to feel Springsteen was robbed.

[Roger Slater]

Here's an opinion from Alicia Stallings.

[Catherine Chandler]

Right on, Alicia! Thanks for the link, Roger.