Forever Beat? Dylan meets the academy
An Oklahoma conference on America’s greatest singer-songwriter has been tracing his many links to Kerouac, Ginsberg and others of their literary clan
THE UNIVERSITY of Tulsa in Oklahoma is hosting a significant conference this weekend focusing on the connections between Bob Dylan and the Beat Generation poets and novelists.
The three-day event, running from June 3rd to 5th, will mark the centenary of Jack Kerouac’s birth and the opening of the campus’ new Bob Dylan Center by exploring the musical, cultural and creative legacy of the vibrant poetic movement that helped Dylan create a new American language.
Organisers report that each of the days will have a different focus, starting first with a deep dive into the ‘raging beauty’ of the Beats, which inspired Dylan’s own writing while reshaping our view of art, politics, religion and sexuality.
The second day’s focus will shift to an exploration of road stories in American history, music and art with panels and keynotes that examine the Rolling Thunder Revue, the art of being on the road, and the way our experiences of the open road are shaped by race, gender and sexuality.
On the final day, the survey will widen its focus to explore the broader contexts and legacies of the Beat movement both within and beyond Dylan’s music, looking at everything from obscenity trials and protest movements to blues, jazz and rock.
Conference convenors describe the symposium as ‘a hybrid event’ with a limited number of in-person tickets available. They add: ‘We will also streaming the sessions live at a reduced price to accommodate the challenges presented by the ongoing pandemic.’
Those who join the live gathering in Tulsa will also be able to visit the new Bob Dylan Center and join in a number of ancillary events including a special exhibition on Dylan and the Beats, an outdoor concert and a bar tour of Tulsa’s buzzing Arts District.
Among those Dylan scholars and Beat specialists contributing to the programme are Anne Waldman, Douglas Brinkley, Sean Latham, Ronna Johnson, Regina Weinreich, Holly George-Warren, Eric Weisbard, Gina Arnold and David Hajdu.
Note: Rock and the Beat Generation explored the Kerouac-Dylan crossover in ‘The legend of Zimmerman’ on September 24th, 2001
Maybe it's time for a translation of my book on Dyland and the Beats: https://www.amazon.nl/Dylan-Beats-Tom-Willems/dp/9402176071
Elect him Orpheus and be done with it.