Book description
A GUARDIAN AND INDEPENDENT BEST MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR
'At last an expert classicist gets to grips with Bob Dylan' Mary Beard
'Thomas's elegant, charming book offers something for everyone - not just the super-fans' Independent
When the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to Bob…
Why read it?
1 author picked Why Bob Dylan Matters as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Who would have thought that the teenage Robert Zimmerman, later known as Bob Dylan, belonged to his high school Latin club? Richard Thomas, who found the evidence, was not so surprised.
A Professor of Ancient Greek and Roman poetry at Harvard and a long-standing fan, he has traced Dylan’s increasing use of classical allusions. The singing Nobel prizewinner’s favorite is Ovid, whose phrases he has used over 30 times in his lyrics. “Ancient footsteps are everywhere,” to quote his song “When I Paint My Masterpiece.”
Thomas’s book is personal and easy to read, casting new light on the enigmatic…
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