The New Yorker publishes two poems by Bob Dylan

The New Yorker published two recently discovered poems by Bob Dylan. They were written in the 1960's as a collaboration with the photographer Barry Feinstein. They appear in the September 22, 2008 print edition of the New Yorker, accompanied by a single photograph.

Of the two poems, it should come as no surprise that Dylan's use of imagery is good, but he doesn't blend the images together very well. The poem, "21," falls short in terms of yielding a final sensory image or emotional impression for the reader. In the poem, "17," the narrative is overly jagged, a sort of drug or alcohol-like induced paranoia and resultant non sequiturs, reminiscent of some of the beat literature. It goes nowhere. Don't quit your day job, Bob!

17

by Bob Dylan

http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2008/09/22/080922po_poem_dylan1

21

by Bob Dylan

http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2008/09/22/080922po_poem_dylan2


For background on the discovery of the entire set of poems, see The New York Times article, " Dylan’s Poetic Pause in Hollywood on the Way to Folk Music Fame," by Julie Bosman, Aug. 15, 2008:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/books/16poem.html?_r=1&em&oref=slogin

Serious Dylanology

In the above URL, the author makes the argument that the song, "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands," from the album, Blond on Blond, is about the Catholic Church. The author cites many of the other songs on the album as containing references to Catholicism. Blond on Blond was released in 1966, almost 15 years before Saved, in 1980.