Professor holds Bob Dylan's poetry class at home
Jackie Wilson
Issue date: 9/24/09 Section: Entertainment
"He is always looking for his muse, the perfect female, the Goddess of Poetry," said Professor Frances Hunter, sipping on a cup of coffee. Hunter was not talking about Whitman or Dante though, but about one of the greatest poets of the second half of this century - Bob Dylan.
Hunter has been a professor at ASU for "a long time, much longer than I would like to disclose," she said.
This semester she is teaching World Literature I and Poetry and Drama. She is also teaching a creative novel writing class and a class dedicated entirely to Bob Dylan. This is the second semester Hunter is teaching the Bob Dylan class.
"I taught it back in the spring because the dean at the time wanted some new courses. It was something I had been thinking about for a long time because of his (Bob Dylan's) age, having now 50 years of production, and having studied with Professor Ricks in England," Hunter said.
She said it was not difficult to gain support for the class from ASU. They were looking for something new that would draw students from other departments, who might not normally take an English class as an elective. Her class this semester has 15 students who are primarily majoring in the journalism field.
The class itself is laidback, meeting at Hunter's house every Tuesday afternoon from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. There are snacks, pets and comfortable couches, which helps set an almost Bohemian mood. The class begins with the playing a Bob Dylan CD.
"We are looking at 50 years of work and are examining it from a historical perspective, beginning with the protest period of the early '60s," Hunter said.
The class will continue sifting through his work, using a book by Christopher Ricks called "Dylan's Visions of Sin" as reference. Hunter took a class with Ricks in1980 while he was teaching at Trinity College of Oxford University in England. On Monday nights he taught a class for no cost and no credit over Bob Dylan.
"It was his notion, even then in 1980, that Dylan would be shown to be one of the greatest, maybe the greatest, American poets of the second half of the 20th century," Hunter said.
Hunter has been a professor at ASU for "a long time, much longer than I would like to disclose," she said.
This semester she is teaching World Literature I and Poetry and Drama. She is also teaching a creative novel writing class and a class dedicated entirely to Bob Dylan. This is the second semester Hunter is teaching the Bob Dylan class.
"I taught it back in the spring because the dean at the time wanted some new courses. It was something I had been thinking about for a long time because of his (Bob Dylan's) age, having now 50 years of production, and having studied with Professor Ricks in England," Hunter said.
She said it was not difficult to gain support for the class from ASU. They were looking for something new that would draw students from other departments, who might not normally take an English class as an elective. Her class this semester has 15 students who are primarily majoring in the journalism field.
The class itself is laidback, meeting at Hunter's house every Tuesday afternoon from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. There are snacks, pets and comfortable couches, which helps set an almost Bohemian mood. The class begins with the playing a Bob Dylan CD.
"We are looking at 50 years of work and are examining it from a historical perspective, beginning with the protest period of the early '60s," Hunter said.
The class will continue sifting through his work, using a book by Christopher Ricks called "Dylan's Visions of Sin" as reference. Hunter took a class with Ricks in1980 while he was teaching at Trinity College of Oxford University in England. On Monday nights he taught a class for no cost and no credit over Bob Dylan.
"It was his notion, even then in 1980, that Dylan would be shown to be one of the greatest, maybe the greatest, American poets of the second half of the 20th century," Hunter said.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 6
double ee
posted 9/25/09 @ 8:07 AM CST
"Ricks is a serious literary critic, not a rock critic. That's why we are using his text. Ricks' text legitimizes Dylan's lyrics as poetry," she said. (Continued…)
Dylanesque2604
posted 9/25/09 @ 11:12 AM CST
How I wish I were there. Bob Dylan is more than a poet!He is magical.
Erik Olaf
posted 9/26/09 @ 9:33 AM CST
Playing a whole CD at the start of class seems like
a bit of a cop out. That's too much to digest at once. People are paying for this class and deserve to get more out of it. (Continued…)
Erik O
Erik Olaf
posted 9/26/09 @ 9:48 AM CST
I think that not all of Dylan's poetry should be judged in the same light. Many of his lyrics, particularly on Hiway 61 and Blonde on Blonde, were
simply ment to be humorous. (Continued…)
jds
posted 9/26/09 @ 11:41 AM CST
It's always cute when some heartbroken little darlin' who doesn't use capital letters rants about "English professor b.s."
I imagine your undies are in a knot because your interpretation of "Ode on a Grecian Urn" was based on what you feel, not what the prof seemed to want (e. (Continued…)
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