Bob Dylan

Yeah, I think so. I have read most of Philip Roth's books, and he is a great writer, probably deserving, but Dylan is more important. There is no reason not to recognize great lyricists as great writers of literature, even if lyrics are not the same thing as poetry. I like the classic 60s Dylan, but my favorites are his great albums post-2000, Love and Theft and Modern Times. Nobody has bent the 12-bar blues paradigm to their sly purposes better than Dylan. And the 12-bar blues is our American haiku, our sonnet.

If it keep on rainin', the levee gonna break
If it keep on rainin', the levee gonna break
Some of these people gonna strip you of all they can take


Bob Dylan - The Levee's Gonna Break by Cheethamotion