dylanprophet.com » Press

“a must-read for pointy-headed Dylanologists” – Winnipeg Free Press

srogovoy — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:09:26 +0000

Writing about BOB DYLAN: Prophet, Mystic, Poet, Morley Walker of the Winnipeg Free Press said, “This tome, about the influence Dylan’s Jewish roots play in his songs, joins Christopher Ricks’s Visions of Sin as a must-read for pointy-headed Dylanologists. No matter how obscure the Old Testament reference, rest assured that Rogovoy has unearthed it. “

New review written by an Italian poet from the 21st century: ‘That song and poetic free a jew named Bob Dylan’

srogovoy — Mon, 31 May 2010 16:16:53 +0000

A new review of Bob Dylan: Prophet Mystic Poet appears in an edition of Mosaico, apparently a Jewish journal in Italy. The review is in Italian, but you can get the gist of it — or ask Google to translate it for you, which gives you the funny title above.

Apparently the review calls the writer a “scholar” (studioso) whose “attentive analysis” shows how the Talmud, Torah and Kabbalah are for Dylan inexhaustable sources of inspiration and wisdom that he uses with diverse approaches during his entire career. I’ll take it.

“In light of Dylan’s lifetime of spiritual and religious seeking, there might be a second level of meaning in the blood on these tracks” – PopMatters

srogovoy — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:22:38 +0000

“The question of Dylan’s religious affiliation has been brought back to the forefront because of Seth Rogovoy’s book, Bob Dylan: Prophet Mystic Poet. In light of Dylan’s lifetime of spiritual and religious seeking, there might be a second level of meaning in the blood on these tracks; perhaps he is also alluding to the blood of sacrifice, known to him in the sacrificial system of the Hebrew Scriptures.” – Jim Mello, “Bargaining for Salvation,” PopMatters

“those who labor in the vineyards of Dylanology … owe Rogovoy a great debt” – Ron Rosenbaum

srogovoy — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:57:11 +0000

In “Bob Dylan: Messiah or Escape Artist?,” his review of BOB DYLAN: Prophet Mystic Poet, in the premiere issue of the new Jewish Review of Books, critic Ron Rosenbaum - a columnist for Slate and the author of Explaining Hitler and The Shakespeare Wars, who is working on a book on Bob Dylan for Yale University Press – hails Seth Rogovoy’s “exemplary research” and says that “...those who labor in the vineyards of Dylanology … owe Rogovoy a great debt for persuasively tracking so many Dylan words, lines, and allusions to Biblical sources we might not have noticed.”

Rosenbaum goes on to say that “Rogovoy’s source-hunting is so relentless, one can only bow to his ingenuity as he pins just about every Dylan line you can think of, like a dead butterfly, to its biblical source box. I was particularly impressed by the wealth of allusions to the Davidic stories he finds.”

He hails the book’s “…deepening of the detailed picture now emerging of Dylan’s Jewish upbringing. Rogovoy shows that the Zimmermans were at ‘the center of Jewish life in Hibbing,’ and that young Robert’s bar mitzvah broke attendance records at the local hotel.”

Read the text of the full review here.

…those who labor in the vineyards of Dylanology … owe Rogovoy a great debt for persuasively tracking so many Dylan words, lines, and allusions to Biblical sources we might not have noticed.

“This book explores some previously unrevealed truths of the Jewish foundation of some of Dylan’s songs.” – Whole Phamily

srogovoy — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:49:52 +0000

The blogger Whole Phamily, who describes the blog as “An exploration about the connectivity of names, people, and ideas in the Jewish community and beyond,” takes note of BOB DYLAN: Prophet Mystic Poet, saying that “there is no denying that Dylan is a part of the Whole Phamily and he has his Yiddishkeit to thank a bissel. This book explores some previously unrevealed truths of the Jewish foundation of some of Dylan’s songs.”

there is no denying that Dylan is a part of the Whole Phamily and he has his Yiddishkeit to thank a bissel. This book explores some previously unrevealed truths of the Jewish foundation of some of Dylan’s songs.

“a fascinating perspective on Dylan and his songs” – Folk Roots/Folk Branches

srogovoy — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:30:07 +0000

Veteran music journalist and broadcaster Mike Regenstreif says that BOB DYLAN: Prophet Mystic Poet offers readers “a fascinating perspective on Dylan and his songs” in his review of the book that ran in the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin and is reprinted on his own blog.

“soundly earns its place on the shelf alongside other notable examinations of Dylan’s canon.” – Jeremy D. Goodwin

srogovoy — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:36:08 +0000

Noted rock critic and author Jeremy D. Goodwin has this to say about Bob Dylan: Prophet Mystic Poet:

“this revelatory book does wonders in elucidating the enduring influence of Judaism on Dylan’s work, and demystifying broad stretches of the canon, from the ‘breadcrumb sins’ of ‘Gates of Eden’ to the daily prayer rituals embedded within New Morning. In the process, Rogovoy has reclaimed Bob Dylan as a Jewish-influenced artist. It’s a new morning for Dylan scholarship indeed.”

“It soundly earns its place on the shelf alongside other notable examinations of Dylan’s canon.”

The complete review.

“fascinating…” – Jewish Week

srogovoy — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:41:18 +0000

Writer Jonathan Mark calls Bob Dylan: Prophet Mystic Poet “fascinating” in his review in Jewish Week.

WAMC’s Joe Donahue interviews Seth Rogovoy about ‘BOB DYLAN: Prophet, Mystic, Poet’

srogovoy — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:25:02 +0000

Last Friday, December 11, 2009, Joe Donahue — the host of WAMC Northeast Public Radio’s morning talk show, “The Roundtable” — had me over for a chat about BOB DYLAN: Prophet Mystic Poet. As anyone knows who listens regularly to Joe and “The Roundtable,” he is an astute, intelligent, and fun interviewer. For many years I was a weekly guest on “The Roundtable” (I’m now on WAMC every Friday during “Midday Magazine”), so Joe and I have a built-in rapport. But still, Joe really blew me away with his knowledge and insight and perceptive questions and discussion about Bob Dylan and the book. WAMC has posted a link to the interview that you can stream.

“Really very cool. Rogovoy is an engaging writer.” – Bottle of Bread

srogovoy — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:56:37 +0000

Posted by “Bottle of Bread” to the Expecting Rain discussion list:

I’m reading Bob Dylan: Prophet, Mystic, Poet (by Seth Rogovoy) and it’s a treat. The analysis is from a decidedly Jewish perspective, going in-depth to the Judaic roots and connection to the lyrics. Really very cool. Rogovoy is an engaging writer.