# No One to Meet: Imitation and Originality in the Songs of Bob Dylan - Hardcover

by **Raphael Falco** (Author)

**A groundbreaking appreciation of Dylan as a literary practitioner**

**WINNER OF THE ELIZABETH AGEE PRIZE IN AMERICAN LITERATURE**

The literary establishment tends to regard Bob Dylan as an intriguing, if baffling, outsider. That changed overnight when Dylan was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature, challenging us to think of him as an integral part of our national and international literary heritage. _No One to Meet: Imitation and Originality in the Songs of Bob Dylan_ places Dylan the artist within a long tradition of literary production and offers an innovative way of understanding his unique, and often controversial, methods of composition.

In lucid prose, Raphael Falco demonstrates the similarity between what Renaissance writers called _imitatio_ and the way Dylan borrows, digests, and transforms traditional songs. Although Dylan's lyrical postures might suggest a post-Romantic, "avant-garde" consciousness, _No One to Meet_ shows that Dylan's creative process borrows from and creatively expands the methods used by classical and Renaissance authors.

Drawing on numerous examples, including Dylan's previously unseen manuscript excerpts and archival materials, Raphael Falco illuminates how the ancient process of poetic imitation, handed down from Greco-Roman antiquity, allows us to make sense of Dylan's musical and lyrical technique. By placing Dylan firmly in the context of an age-old poetic practice, _No One to Meet_ deepens our appreciation of Dylan's songs and allows us to celebrate him as what he truly is: a great writer.  

### Author Biography

**Raphael Falco** is professor of English at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a coeditor of _The Dylan Review_. He is author of _Cultural Genealogy: An Essay on Early Modern Myth_, _Charisma and Myth_ and _Charismatic Authority in Early Modern English Tragedy_.  

**Number of Pages:** 272

**Dimensions:** 1.6 x 8.6 x 6.4 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** October 18, 2022

## Details

- **Price:** 34.95 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 34.95 USD | In stock |

## Images

- No One to Meet: Imitation and Originality in the Songs of Bob Dylan - Hardcover

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