Bob Dylan Lyrics Versus the Academics

To the hope of many and the disgust of some a group of academics has from 1996 onwards yearly sent in a Nobel Prize nomination for Bob Dylan nominating him to be rewarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Thirteen years later Dylan has not yet received the Nobel; Bob Dylan could not care less. In contrast to Bob Dylan's never-ending stoicism however the nomination revived the ongoing Dylan debate about Dylan's canonical status in the academic world; Does Bob Dylan deserve the Nobel Prize in Literature? Is Bob Dylan's art literature? Is Bob Dylan a poet? Is Bob Dylan high culture or mere pop culture? In the currently expanding field of literary Dylan Studies there is the logical tendency to study Dylan's songs from a textual perspective. In these analyses however Dylan's song lyrics are treated as mere words text entirely leaving his music out of the academic discussion. In this book Frank Bond provides a critical look into the most prominent academic approaches to Dylan's lyrics and subsequently proposes a more productive and adequate analysis which also incorporates the musical elements of Dylan's song lyrics.