See our Back Pages on The Philosophy of Modern Song by Bob Dylan HERE. We had so much fun that we will do PoMS Part 2 on October 13th. Here are our discussion leaders and the chapters they have “adopted”:
PoMS Part 2: Discussion leaders and Adopted Songs
Erin Callahan — Midnight Rider
Erin received her PhD from Drew University in 2014. Her dissertation was entitled I Am American Singing: Bob Dylan’s Identity Unified Through Linguistic Performance. She has been a professor of English at San Jacinto College in Houston, Texas, since 2007. In addition to The Politics and Power of Bob Dylan’s Live Performances, Erin has published “Bringing the Margin to the Centre: Bob Dylan’s Visible Republic” (in 21st Century Dylan: Late and Timely, 2021). Her other publications, have used cultural phenomena (Star Trek, Star Wars, and Peanuts), as basis of discussion of gender and women’s changing roles. Erin and Anne Marie Mai have organized a conference on “Dylan and Masculinity” that took place in May 2024 in Odense, Denmark.
Erin is a regular contributor to The Dylantantes substack's written and podcast platforms. Among her guests on Dylantantes podcasts are Nina Goss, Laura Tenshert, Roberta Rakove, Elizabeth Cantalamessa, Harold Lepidus, Rebecca Slaman, and Anne Marie Mai. She produces her own podcast series under the title Infinity Goes Up On Trial. You can find Erin’s interesting and entertaining interviews through this link: Erin C. Callahan | Substack
Roberta Rakove — Doesn’t Hurt Anymore
Roberta is a lifelong Dylan fanatic. When not obsessing about Bob, she was the Senior Vice President for External Affairs at a major safety net health system and a founding partner at the firm of Rakove and Strassberger where she consults with nonprofits and foundations on effective advocacy. She has been a guest on Pod Dylan, the Dylantantes, and Songs of Experience and recently published an essay on Bob Dylan’s work during the pandemic in The Dylan Review.
Molly Mullin — My Generation
Molly is a retired Social Studies teacher from NC who recently relocated to Washington DC. She traveled to Miami to see Bob Dylan’s Retrospectrum exhibit and is a big fan of his ironwork sculptures. Molly and her son spent two incredible days at the Bob Dylan Center being inspired by his restless creativity. She has only seen Dylan live four times all during the various legs of the RARW tour. Being a Dylan fan, traveling, reading, meeting other fans, and most of all listening to his music is one of the most meaningful experiences of her life.
Nancy Cobb — Cheaper to Keep Her
Nancy is a longtime Dylan fan seeing her first live concert at the Hollywood Bowl in 1965 and her last at Bethel Woods this year - born in Los Angeles and currently living in Palm Springs. She is the editor of the book by Martin Newman entitled "Bob Dylan's Malibu" [our June 2024 Bob Dylan Book Club Book] about his time with Dylan in the mid 70s.
Timothy Drake — On the Road Again
Timothy writes: My late father was a major Dylan fan, going back to The Times They Are A-Changin’ and Johnny Cash’s covers of Bob on Orange Blossom Special. The other person who shaped my love for Dylan was Bruce Springsteen, whose Born in the USA was the first album I purchased with my own money. Back in the 80s, every article I read about Bruce mentioned Bob’s influence, and I was intrigued. Then, in 1988, when I was in grade eight, my dad bought me The Traveling Wilburys Volume One, and I listened to it endlessly. Our local library had many of the Dylan albums that my dad didn’t have. I spent a couple of months with each of them. The library also had Shelton’s Dylan biography.
In the decades that followed, I have kept listening to and reading about Dylan. For close to 20 years, I have taught Dylan’s songs (along with those of Joni Mitchell and Bruce Springsteen) in university English courses. I was the first person in my family to go to college or university, and I doubt I would have done so but for Bob teaching me the power of language and stimulating my interest in history and culture. -