Tarantula [Paperback]

Bob Dylan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 2004

Bob Dylan wrote Tarantula in 1966. It existed for years only in dog-eared bootleg copies, but was eventually published in 1971. The book captures the tone and spirit of the turbulent times in which it was written.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bob Dylan is one of the most lauded and greatest loved songwriters and performers of all time. His particular brand of music first caught the public's attention in the 1960s, when he became something of a chronicler of the American conscience and cultural unrest. His remarkable career in music and literature continues to this day.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; Revised edition (October 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743230418
• ISBN-13: 978-0743230414
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #159,580 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ignore the subtitle ("Poems"), July 17, 2000

By 

Howard Sauertieg "Howard Sauertieg" (Harrisburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tarantula: Poems (Paperback)

Tarantula is in the stream-of-consciousness style of Dylan's liner notes to Highway 61 Revisited and Bringing It All Back Home. The publisher did our beloved author a great disservice in labeling these writings "Poems." These short pieces - interspersed with pseudo-missives - are literally unbridled prose, brimming with wit, sarcasm and absurdities. Only Dylan can say for sure what they're all about. A poet is not necessarily one who writes rhyming verse, but formlessness is not poetry either. To call Tarantula "poetry" is to turn a blind eye to Dylan's assault on traditional prose narrative forms. That said, I think Tarantula is a great book to have on the shelf, but it's not easy or especially rewarding reading unless one is primarily interested in the author. Because it's Dylan's only book (aside from published lyrics), it's a rather important book. Likewise, Dylan admirers should see D.A. Pennebaker's classic mid-60s Dylan documentary, "Don't Look Back."

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hurricane, October 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tarantula: Poems (Paperback)

He plays with the words like a hurricane, he is better here than in some records. It is not beat poetry, it is Dylan's own style.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Bob Dylan, a timeless book from a true genius!, January 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tarantula: Poems (Paperback)

I'm 17 and I've listened to Dylan for about 5 years. Over this period of time I've grown more and more impressed with Dylan's poetic genius. His songs are undoubtedely his claim to fame but I feel that "Tarantula" is the key to understanding his writing. "Tarantula" proves that Dylan was and still is a modern blend of Whitman, Rimbaud, Genet, Ginsberg, Guthrie, and Picasso. "Tarantula's" cut up style has been called "a muddled stream of self conciousness" but I beg to differ. If there has been any writer in our time that has captured the language of our times and helped us examine the world we live in I think it is Dylan. I hope he eventually receives the Nobel Prize for literature that he truly deserves. He is living proof that poetry can touch "the masses", he defies the narrow definition of a poet that ivory tower intellectuals have forced on people for years. The language of Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde, albums that changed the way people perceived songs, reaches new heights in "Tarantula".