Should Bob Dylan be considered a songwriter or a poet?His work has also veered purposefully into poetry. In 1966, he wrote a book of poems and prose called Tarantula. Many of the liner notes from his 1960s albums were written as epitaphs. And his songwriting is peppered with literary references. Dylan has been nominated for a Nobel Prize in Literature every year since 1996, and the lyrics to his song "Mr. Tambourine Man" appeared in the Norton Introduction to Literature. So do his song lyrics qualify as poetry? Even Dylan gets the two genres confused sometimes. He once called Smokey Robinson his favorite poet, then later backpedaled and said it was Rimbaud. He has avoided this question and mocked it, as in his song "I Shall Be Free No. 10". However, the best, most straightforward answer may have appeared in the liner notes of his second album, 1963's The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, where Dylan said, simply: "Anything I can sing, I call a song. Anything I can't sing, I call a poem."
taken from: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5817
I myself have my own issues with Dylan. Is he really such a great writer/singer? Is he overrated? I try very hard to "love" him and constantly fall short. I have seen him in concert (his voice is brutal), even bought a t-shirt(payed way too much money for it) and own a ton of his songs (Cd's and downloads), but I cannot fully say "I Love Bob Dylan". Maybe it is the fact that I have such high expectations when I listen to him and I want so hard to be one of those people who think they get him and really truly think he is a genius. I do not know and refuse to spend anymore time trying to find out. I have to just stop worrying about what I am missing and just enjoy the experience my way. Enough said.
Kudos Bob- You made the daily poetry post for the month of April!
