Must See: "Which One Is The Real Bob Dylan" at Karpeles Manuscript Museum Library in Duluth

It’s only fitting that Bill Pagel’s exhibit Which One is the Real Bob Dylan should share this space at Karpeles with an exhibit about Abraham Lincoln.

When the Founding Fathers created the American Experiment its core principles had to do with freedom and human dignity,  its motto being the proposition that All Men Are Created Equal. Unfortunately a considerable portion of our people were not free, and though these founders heroically set forth the principles, they left it to future generations to work out the details, to implement what was promised.

And so it was Lincoln set about to complete what the Founding Fathers started, to fulfill what was promised in the Declaration of Independence.

And yet, even though Lincoln carried it forward with the Emancipation Proclamation, the lack of equality for blacks continued to be heartbreakingly evident, especially in the Deep South. The rise of the Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow laws and lynchings stained the promises made.

Dylan, signed by Dylan, on display at Karpeles

Nearly a century later, the advent of television and this pervasive injustice gave birth to the Civil Rights Movement. Dylan’s songs articulated insights that helped raise awareness of the unfulfilled promises made by our Founding Fathers.

How many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

The folk movement in America was comprised of a number of influential songwriters whose songs rang out prophetically, calling out the abuse of power and shining a spotlight on stories generally hidden from the wider public, lost in the media mishmash. Standing on the shoulders of those who preceded him, he made us aware., helped us better understand how broken our nation was. Like a prophet, he was attuned to the times and indeed these times were a-changin’

Bob Dylan signed and scribbled on pages of Daniel Kramer photos. 

It was no accident that Bob Dylan & Joan Baez were selected to sing during Dr. Martin Luther King’s 1963 March on Washington for Civil Rights. Nor was it an accident that this event took place with the Lincoln Memorial as a backdrop.

And so, to reiterate, it's fitting that the exhibition of Dylan memorabilia from the Bill Pagel Archives should share this museum space with a Karpeles collection featuring our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln.

Included in the exhibit are original handwritten lyrics for Desolation Row, Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues and other songs, original letters, a rare 45 that he recorded with his friends in 1958, and other unusual rarities.

"Which One is the Real Bob Dylan" will be on display at Karpeles in Duluth through August 1.