Bob Dylan and poetry

When I first read that the iconic singer-songwriter Bob Dylan had won the Nobel Prize for Literature, my initial reaction was bafflement. I had always thought this premier literary prize was reserved for writers of prose and poetry.

My curiosity was aroused when I read that the award was given because the songs he wrote were poetic expressions.  I must confess that I have never been a big  fan of poetry. The only poems I can still recite, in parts, are Mi Ultimo Adios by Jose Rizal; How Do I love Thee by Elizabeth Barrett Browning; and the poems of my only favorite poet Emily Dickinson.

My reading fare has been mostly non-fiction genres — politics, geopolitics, economics, business, biographies and history. Some examples  of  fiction books I read are fantasy novels by JR Tolkien; science fiction books by Isaac Asimov; socially relevant sagas by F. Sionil Jose and historical fiction.

Bob Dylan has always been one of my favorite singers. His songs always remind me of the 1960s and 1970s when the world, including the Philippines was undergoing cultural, social  and political revolutions. I decided to go back to my favorite Dylan songs  and just focus on the lyrics, without the music. This was my own voyage of rediscovering the world of poetry. Here, for example are the poetic lyrics of a Dylan song that reflected that era, and is again so relevant to today’s deconstructing world. It is a song addressed to different sectors in society – writers and critics; senators and congressmen; mothers and fathers. Here are some lines from the song The Times They Are A changing:

Come gather ‘round people Wherever you roam

And admit that the waters Around you have grown

And accept it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone

If your time to you Is worth saving Then you better start swimming

Or you’ll sink like a stone For the times they are a changing

Come senators and congressmen Please heed the call

Don’t stand in the doorway Don’t block up the hall

For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled

There’s a battle outside And it is ragin’

It’ll soon shake your windows And rattle your walls

For the times they are a changin’

The line it is drawn The curse it is cast

The slow one now Will later be last

As the present now Will later be past

The order is Rapidly fadin’ And the first one now will later be last

For the times they are a changin’

Dylan wrote the song in 1963 and admits it was a deliberate attempt to create an anthem of change for the sixties. But the song has continued to remain relevant; and, has transcended the preoccupations of that period. Every generation has seen the relevance of these lyrics in their own struggle for change.

When Bob Dylan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Bruce Springsteen said: “ Bob [Dylan] freed your mind the way Elvis [Presley] freed your body. He showed us that just because music was innately physical did not mean it was anti-intellectual.”

I reread the lyrics of another favorite Dylan song Blow’ in the Wind and realized that this was a deeply existential and revolutionary  poem:

Yes, and how many years can a mountain exist

Before it is washed to the sea?

Yes, and how many years can some people exist

Before they’re allowed to be free?

Yes, how many times can a man turn his head

And pretend that he just doesn’t see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind

The answer is blowin in the wind?

He was actually born Robert Zimmerman and changed his name because his favorite poet was Dylan Thomas, a 20th century Welsh poet who once said: “ A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape and significance of the universe, helps to extend everyone’s knowledge of himself and the world around him.”

As I was about to write this column, my wife – Neni Sta. Romana Cruz- showed me a poem that had been shared with her by fictionist Susan Lara. It was written by a Turkish poet Vahar Tekeyan. The English translation is Prayer on the Threshold of Tomorrow. It is a poem and a prayer for peace and justice. Here are excerpts:

Plant love in the eyes of today’s and tomorrow’s mighty. Do not let their hearts close.

And do not let the hearts of the child and the aged be strangers to tenderness and hope.

Let the struggle of our time be short. Let it be settled with justice.

Let the fortress of egos, that huge barricade, crumble. And let every treasure go to every man. Let every garden gate be open. But let no flower be crushed. No single branch fall.

Poetry predates literacy and the earliest poetry existed in the form of musical traditions like hymns and love songs. It has been described in many ways. My  favorite is the description by the poet, Carl Sandburg: “ Poetry is the journal of a sea animal living on land, wanting to fly in the air.”

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Creative writing classes

a.) Young Writers’ Hangout for Kids & Teens:  Oct. 22, Nov. 5 & Nov. 19 (1:30 pm-3 pm)

b.) Feature Writing for Adults with Jo-Ann Q. Maglipon: Nov. 5 (1:30-5:30 pm)

Classes at Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street. For registration and fee details text 0917-6240196 or email [email protected].

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