September 11, 2022

S01.04 Bob Books: Dreams & Dialogues in Dylan's Time Out Of Mind

11 minutes

** The Full Extended Version of this Episode is 25 Minutes long and available only to FM+ Subscribers **

** The Public Version is a preview featuring about 10 minutes of the episode. **

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Graley Herren is the author of 'Dreams and Dialogues in Dylan's Time Out Of Mind, and a professor (Chair of the English Department) at Xavier University in Cincinnati Ohio. He specializes in Modern Irish Literature, Modern Drama, Samuel Beckett, Don DeLillo, and Bob Dylan. He is the author of Samuel Beckett's Plays on Film and Television, The Self-Reflexive Art of Don DeLello, and numerous articles and chapters on various 20th and 21st century artists.

The premise of the book is that Time Out Of Mind represents a series of dreams, and that the songs on the album make up a single connect song cycle. From there Graley finds what he calls three ‘dimensions of experience’ filtered through the songs -- The first is Murder Ballads, the second is Religious Allegory, and the last is Race in America. The bulk of the book is made up of him showing how the lyrics and songs reflect each of these dimensions.

Professor Herren’s book goes deep into the possible meanings and motivations behind the songs on Time Out Of Mind. He’ll present thoughts on how ‘murder ballads’ might play a role in explaining the unified message on this album.

In the talk you’re about to hear, Graley summarizes and gives examples of his analysis of the lyrics of Time Out Of Mind in relation to Murder Ballads. This is a recording of a talk he gave to our Premium Members a few months ago, and in the interest of time he narrowed his focus to share just a sliver of one of the book’s three theses.

LINK:

Order The Book: Dreams and Dialogues in Dylan's Time Out Of Mind (Amazon)

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Video Available

This interview is available on video for FM Premium Members.

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