I hope you enjoyed our month-long exploration of the work of history's most remarkable and fascinating singer, songwriter and musician, Bob Dylan. It's all thanks to June's book, The Ballad of Bob Dylan, by prolific poet and biographer Daniel Mark Epstein, who examines Dylan's life and work via four concerts he played in 1963, 1974, 1997 and 2009.

As some of you know, Epstein's schedule prevented him from joining us for a live chat this week, but I was able to catch up with him a couple weeks ago to ask some of your questions. He was really impressed by the intelligence and thought that you put into asking him about Dylan and his book, so on his behalf, thanks again for that.

The conversation itself was a revealing one, as I asked Epstein about his relationship with Dylan and his management, not to mention our shared appreciation of particular periods of Dylan's career over others. You can hear the entire chat below. 

In terms of club business, it's time to reveal our book for July and I'm pleased to report that it's Diamond in the Rough, the new memoir by acclaimed songwriter Shawn Colvin. I'm not overly familiar with Colvin's catalogue, but I've liked everything I've heard (plus she was awesome on The Larry Sanders Show). So I'm gonna learn stuff and maybe you will, too? I have copies of the book to give away today, so take a look below to win, and best of luck. 

To hear my full interview with Daniel Mark Epstein, you have two options. You can download it here if you just right-click and “Save target as” to grab the MP3. Or to stream it instead, just press play.

DME

 

 

 

I have copies to offer to five people (not employed by the CBC) who check out this excerpt of Diamond in the Rough and post thoughtful questions for Colvin about her book below. I’ll let you know if your question was deemed a winner (you can only win once, BTW) so check back here for a response. If you do win, please send your name (real and blog), mailing address and winning answer to rock@cbc.ca with “Shawn of life” in the subject line. 

Any final thoughts to share about The Ballad of Bob Dylan? Are you a fan of Shawn Colvin? Looking forward to Diamond in the Rough? Let Vish know. 


Related: 

What'cha Readin'? The music of The Ballad of Bob Dylan

What'cha Readin'? Talkin' about The Ballad of Bob Dylan

What'cha Readin'? The Ballad of Bob Dylan by Daniel Mark Epstein

CBC Books

What'cha Readin'? Goodbye Lightfoot, hello Dylan

What’cha Readin’? Thoughts on Writing Gordon Lightfoot by Dave Bidini

posted by Vish Khanna on Jun 29, 2012