Don't Believe Everything You Read About Dylan

Who's Harry Belefonte? It's Belafonte, with an a.

This week I was doing library research about Dylan in Duluth. Specifically, I was reading through all the Dylan-related articles that our Duluth Public Library has catalogued in its archives. 

There were a number of surprises. First, I was surprised at how many clippings were stories I myself had written or had one of my paintings in. The bigger surprise was how many mistakes there were in some of the clippings. That is, in several instances there were misspellings, and in one instance an incorrect caption.

I didn't initially set out to document errors, but I did make note of a few. The first was a very nice article about the host of the Dylan-themed KUMD radio program Highway 61 Revisited, John Bushey. Except, throughout the article the author spelled his name Jon Bushy. Note to writers: when it comes to names, always doublecheck your spelling.

Yes, names can be tricky. That is why writers (and editors as well) need to go the extra mile to confirm spelling. For example, when I Google "Harry Belafonte" I get Harry Belafonte. And guess what? If you Google "Harry Belefonte," Google will reply, "Showing you results for Harry Belafonte." In our internet age it is really not all that hard to get it right.  Ask and you shall receive. 

There's another kind of error that is less easy to recognize. One of the articles had a photo of the Central Hillside home young Bob Dylan nee Robert Zimmerman lived in for his first six years. Or that is what it purported to be. This is where the Duluth Dylan Fest celebrates Dylan's birthday each year on May 24. We all know it well, but evidently the editor on this story did not know it so well because the caption reads, "Bob Dylan's childhood home in Hibbing."

Well, it just goes to show ya that you can't believe everything you read. Here's what the house in Hibbing looks like, along with accurate captions for both.

Today, both houses are owned by Dylan collector/archivist Bill Pagel who is in the process of restoring the homes to how they were back when "Bobby" was growing up and living here. If you're in the neighborhood, don't be shy. Stop on by.

As for accuracy, Dylan himself has a reputation of having been a notorious obfuscator. And occasionally you will find details in books about Dylan that repeat errors from earlier Dylan biographers. You wouldn't really know it was false because the "fact" has appeared so many times in print that it seems true. (This happens in many other contexts, especially politics and sports.) 

As the saying goes, it is what it is. Que sera sera.

Related Links
John Bushey Legacy Leaves No One Untouched

Ed's Favorite Reads of 2020

Photo by Ed Robertson on Unsplash

Every year around this time people write articles about what Bill Gates is reading or Warren Buffet's best reads of the year. Here's some of what I've been reading in 2020. 

Since our library keeps a record of everything we've checked out, it's pretty much a cinch to see a catalog of the movies you've seen and books you've checked out. Usually you know what you've finished and what you've enjoyed. Those I myself have most enjoyed often get written about here on my blog, so I'm including links to reviews about or insights gained from what I've been reading. 

I should note that I consider listening to audio books to be the same as reading. Nearly any time I'm in the car a book is playing. Since most are from the library, some have tracks in which there are skips or even full stops, and the more popular the author, the more times you will experience this annoyances. For example, Agatha Christie is popular and though I took out 11 of her whodunnits, I may have only read eight or nine. I also got into a John Sandford binge and took out 20 of his novels, but read only 14 or 15 due to excessive scratches, jumps, stutters, skips and stops. Alas. 

My 2020 reading included Steinbeck's Travels with Charley, Jim Collins' How the Mighty Fall, Knut Hamsun's Dreamers, Henry Louis Gates' 100 Amazing Facts about the Negro, books on Ida Wells, Sojourner Truth and other African American women during Black History Month.  finally finished James Joyce's Dubliners, a short book by Marquez titled I'm Not Here to Give a Speech, early stories by Philip K. Dick, and Stuart Woods' Skin Game, which I found preposterous and seriously inferior to Sandford's stories. 

Having said all that, here are my favorite reads of 2020. 

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1. Lord of the Rings Trilogy

My year started with this.

Fellowship of the Ring -- The Two Towers -- Return of the King
J.R.R. Tolkien

During my second year in college a friend encouraged me to read this series. He said I would find them inspiring and they seemed like something I would enjoy. The quantity of pages felt imposing at the time. When the movies came out in 2001-2002 I was a captive audience, and when I saw the audiobooks in our library at the beginning of the year, I began the journey that I should have started long ago.

Here's a blog post inspired during my trek through these great stories.

A Dream, and Writing Tips from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Trilogy

2. August 1914
First volume of The Red Wheel series
Aleksandr Solzhentisyn

Midyear I read Solzhenitsyn's World Communism--A Critical Review, which led me to pick up other writings by this 20th century prophet. I purchased August 1914 to. gain a new perspective not only on the Russian Revolution, but also on the story of the Eastern Front during WWI. Many of us have watched movies (eg. Paths of Glory) and read books about the Western Front, trench warfare, the horrors of Somme, the Ardennes, the Marne and other travesties. Solzhenitsyn gives a broader context for not only understanding the fall of Russian monarchy, but broader insights into the global upheaval that occured a century ago.

At the bottom of the  page 846, the last page of this book we read:
UNTRUTH DID NOT START WITH US AND IT WILL NOT END WITH US

Here's a blog post inspired during my trek through these pages.

Solzhenitsyn on the Magical Power of Art

3. Midnight In Chernobyl
Adam Higginbotham

I'm always impressed when writers go the extra mile to dig up so much information that has been outside the public eye, talking with witnesses, acquiring documents that have lain buried and dormant for decades. This was an event of major significance with enormous potential consequences. The meltdown in Chernobyl was Mikhail Gorbachev's first major test as regards his commitment to becoming a more transparent nation. His advisors were saying he had to cover it up, but he knew that the U.S. probably knew about what happened before Moscow did, and with radioactive rain falling in Sweden it would be useless to pretend that nothing had happened. 

Here's a blog post with details, hoping to whet your appetite for more.

Midnight In Chernobyl: Adam Higginbotham's Explosive Story About What Really Happened

4. Good Strategy, Bad Strategy
Richard Rumelt

This is one of my recommended business books for 2020. It's one of the best books about marketing that I have ever read, or more specifically, about marketing strategy. During my 30 year career in advertising I've seen a lot of confusion when it comes to marketing. For example, marketers often discuss tactics as if they were strategy. I have rarely seen a company produce a truly integrated marketing strategy. Can you imagine if a car were dismantled and all the different parts--engine block, wheels, drivetrain, gas tank, pistons--each were free to do whatever they wanted? The car only moves forward when all these parts are assembled and work together. And even then, only when there is fuel in the tank. 

If you are in business management, especially marketing, this book is a must read.

Bad Luck? or Bad Strategy?
Lord Nelson, the Battle of Trafalgar and a Lesson in Strategy

5. Never Let Me Go
Kazuo Ishiguro

I can't say enough about Kazuo Ishiguro, winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize for Literature. The best films aren't the ones we enjoy in the theater, but the ones we carry out of the theater in our minds and hearts, discussing with friends and considering their broader implications. All of Ishiguro's books have had this effect on me, especially The Unconsoled and this one. The narrator is looking back at her life, viewing it through the lens of new insights gained in the later part of her short life. The result for me as a reader has been to reconsider my own life journey. 

Ishiguro Again Shows His Mastery: Never Let Me Go
Ishiguro's The Unconsoled is an Achievement of the First Order

Bonus Track
Experiencing the Trinity
Darrel W. Johnson

For Christians who want to have a clearer understanding of the Trinity, a unique feature of the Christian faith, or for spiritual seekers who desire to better understand a central concept regarding the nature of God, Darrell W. Johnson's slim volume is superb. 

My attempts to write about this book have been coming up short. Here's where you will find some good Amazon reviews.

Experiencing the Trinity

*

Encores

The Attention Merchants by Tim Wu

and

Baseball Haiku: The Best Haiku Ever Written About the Game
Nanae Tamura, editor

*. * *

What books were especially meaningful to you this year? 

So Many Books, So Little Time: New Acquisitions at the Duluth Public Library

Reports of the death of reading are greatly exaggerated.

One of my favorite pasttimes at the library is perusing the shelves where New Acquisitions are displayed. At our Duluth Public Library the non-fiction new arrivals are upstairs on the shelves located just beyond the help desk and before the magazines.

The new books are organized by categories, much like the library itself. Biographies, of which there are always an ample supply of new volumes, are on the right side, near the 921 section where all the rest of the biographies reside.

Today as I walked past this set of shelves I decided to take photos of books that I would like to take out and read, except that I have all kinds of other books already in progress. The variety of subject matter is quite compelling. Maybe something here will catch your eye and it will lure you in to fetch it.

Considering the size of our city, I'm somewhat surprised the library isn't busier. There are seldom lines at the checkout desk. The staff are exceedingly friendly and perpetually helpful. And you can't beat the price. It's all free. They've even eliminated the fines now.

Podcasts have become a major thing these days. Are you interested in podcasting?

Whatever new skill you want to learn, there are books for you. Starting a business? Investing? Coaching? Marketing? Running? Parenting? Learning how to live a better life?

Here are some of the new books that caught my eye.

It's never too late to start, some people say. This book will give you the lay of the land.

* * * * 

I hear this is an epidemic. 

* * * *

I was an adrenaline junky to some extent. Sooner or later you learn that
dying for a rush isn't really worth the price. 

* * * *

There are quite a few books addressing contemporary issues. This is one of them.

* * * *

This book is especially directed to women.

 * * * *

Life isn't just about money. Unfortunately you can't get far without it,
so we need to find balance. 

 * * * *

It's Black History Month. This looks like a good place to play catch-up.

* * * *

Applewhite is a TED speaker, as are a couple of the others. Evidently being a TED speaker
gives one cred in the publishing world these days. I need to polish up my speaking a bit.

This book is a manifesto against age discrimination and the degree to which

our culture is youth-obsessed. You can find reviews here on Amazon.

* * * *

This book is about the damage that has been done throughout our history
due to our excessive xenophobia.

 For just one example, see my article on the interment of 

Japanese Americans during WW2:

Executive Order 9066: Just One More Cause for Shame

* * * *

This looks scary and all too real.  

* * * *

I lived in Puerto Rico in 1979. Things have changed.

* * * *

As I'm oft fond of saying, "Too many books, too little time."
That's a better problem than the reverse.