The Seven Ages of Dylan - a one-day conference Tuesday 24 May 2011

The Event

Bob Dylan will be 70 years old on 24 May 2011. This conference will celebrate, and reflect on, the career of one of the most significant figures in the cultural life of the past fifty years by bringing together the UK's foremost Dylan scholars. As singer, composer, poet, performer, Dylan continues to inspire and infuriate. His radicalism was always founded on a respect for authenticity, whether in the domain of folk music, politics or religion. His 're-inventions' of himself have arguably sprung not from an unstable identity, but from a constant quest. The conference will track the changes in Dylan's sense of himself, and of his art, and our response to these changes. The conference will present a series of fresh, informed academic papers on Bob Dylan's work, from a number of different disciplinary perspectives.

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Keynote Speaker

Michael Gray, Critic, writer and leading authority on the works of Bob Dylan.

Opening address

Daniel Karlin, Winterstoke Professor of English, University of Bristol

Speakers

  • David Boucher, Professor of Political Philosophy and International Relations (Cardiff University)
  • Richard Brown, Reader in Modern Literature (University of Leeds)
  • Neil Corcoran, Emeritus Professor of English (University of Liverpool)
  • Aidan Day, Professor of English (University of Dundee)
  • Mark Ford, Poet, essayist and author
  • Lavinia Greenlaw, Writer
  • Philip Horne, Professor of English (University College London)
  • David Punter, Professor of English, University of Bristol
  • Katherine Peddie, Research Postgraduate in English, University of Kent
  • Craig Savage, Research Postgraduate in English, University of Bristol

A selection of books on Dylan by the speakers:

  • Song and Dance Man III, Michael Gray (1999);
  • Jokerman: Reading the Lyrics of Bob Dylan, Aidan Day (1988);
  • 'Do You Mr Jones?', ed. Neil Corcoran (2002);
  • Dylan and Cohen, David Boucher (2004);
  • The Bob Dylan Encyclopaedia, Michael Gray (2006);
  • The Political Art of Bob Dylan, ed. David Boucher (with Gary Browning, 2009);
  • The Figure of the Singer, Daniel Karlin (forthcoming, 2011).

Registration

Please register at: Dylan registration

Contact:

Please direct any queries to: dylan-conference@bristol.ac.uk  

Conference poster: The Seven Ages of Dylan (PDF, 449kB)

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