Starting tomorrow, Bob Dylan's words will flow freely through Dartmouth's academic atmosphere -- although, strangely enough, not through the music department. From Thursday through Sunday, the English department will host a conference celebrating the poetical value in Bob Dylan's collection of lyrics.
Professor Louis Renza will head the event, and eight prominent Dylan scholars will speak on different aspects of Dylan's work. The conference plans to question "misogyny, anti-poilitcs, the failure of romance, judgment and the album as aesthetic unit," according to the official website.
While many of the official Hanover Inn events are limited to registered participants, many of the talks take place in 3 Rockefeller on Saturday. Each session will be approximately 40 minutes long, with 20-minute question periods after the speakers have finished.
At 8:30 Saturday morning, Mike Marqusee will begin the day by speaking about "Dylan's anti-politics, 1964-1966," followed immediately by Betsy Bowden's talk on "Dylan's album as an aesthetic unit." After a short break, John Hinchey will talk about "'Isis' and the Failure of Romance" at 11:00; Aidan Day will continue on "Dylan's Judgment" at 1:30 p.m.. Janet Gezari will give the talk on "Fast and Loose in Street-Legal" at 2:30 p.m., and Eric Lott will finish the day starting at 4 p.m. with "Love and Theft and 'Love and Theft'."
The overall purpose of the event is to "is to give premier attention to this last side of Bob Dylan's works--in short, to offer variant critical interpretations of them, lashed firmly to close readings," according to the website.
After months of planning, some of the top Dylan scholars have been assembled by the English department. For anyone who appreciates the poetical quality of Dylan's words, this conference should be engaging and worthwhile, even though Dylan probably won't stop by.
