Congratulations

to the blogger here for finally persuading the Christian Science Monitor to issue this correction:



If you follow "Right Wing Bob", (and even if you aren't a Dylan fan it is very well written political site) you can imagine how frustrating it's been for the writer. Did it take two weeks, I believe, after they acknowleged the mistake, to print this?

Will those who read the original article, attributing that quote to Dylan, read the correction?

No, they will probably not. Dylan will always belong to the Left, no matter what the man writes, sings, says, does. Yesterday I saw an interview with Dylan from 1965 and even THEN he was angry about being called a "protest" singer. He modestly wants to be considered an "entertainer", is all. Some of us believe he is a brilliant, inspired poet and certainly the best song writer of the last four decades.

I don't believe the original "intention" of a true artist should be at issue; if there is a question about the intent, then the artist has "failed". But the point isn't to get messages across, usually. (Sure there are overtly polemical Dylan songs, like the pro-Israel "Neighborhood Bully".) An artist is something of a magician or mystic. Seeming ambiguity is meant to allow the reader/viewer/listener to let the work of art work subjectively. That is "success" for the poet or painter.

Still, given Dylan's popularity and influence, I can understand why there is a site devoted to correcting popular misconceptions about the man's work. In the post below, you'll notice Dylan's quote about people poisoning the minds of the nations's youth, and reaping "great profits". That's a clear rebuke of the day's pop culture and its art and music.
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I suspect this was no mistake at all, of course, but I'm one of those barkin' mad so never mind.