364 Bob Dylan, the Blues, and Songs with Literary Power (with Mike Mattison and Ernest Suarez)

The History of Literature

What happened in the Sixties? How did singers of popular music transform from mere entertainers to the poetic bards of their generation? Were these songs literature? If so, what does that mean? And if not, what exactly are they? In this episode, Jacke talks to the authors of a new book, Poetic Song Verse: Blues-Based Popular Music and Poetry about a new way of acknowledging, analyzing, and discussing the literary qualities of works by singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Joni Mitchell, and those who came before and after.

MIKE MATTISON is a singer, songwriter, and founding member of Scrapomatic and the Tedeschi Trucks Band with whom he has won two Grammy Awards.

ERNEST SUAREZ is the David M. O'Connell Professor English at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He has published widely on southern literature, poetry, and music.

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