Tomorrow, March 19, scholars and fans alike will gather at UMSL for a day-long conference to discuss Bob Dylan's connection with the Classics. "Bob Dylan: Immigrants, Wanderers, Exiles and Hard Travelers in the Poems, Songs and Culture of Ancient Greece and Modern America" takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Century Rooms of the Millennium Student Center. According to a press release from UMSL, "Guest speakers will discuss oral tradition, the songs of the traveler, Greek myths, Bob Dylan and Greek poetry, and Dylan's life as Robert Zimmerman growing up in immigrant communities in Minnesota." (The full release is below.) The event is free and open to the public, but you have to register.
Like the U.S., ancient Greece was a country formed of immigrants and peoples whose restless energies as travelers, wanderers, traders and soldiers brought their cultures into contact with others. In both of these cultures, song and poetic traditions engaged the human issues that leaving, or returning home creates.
Guest speakers will discuss oral tradition, the songs of the traveler, Greek myths, Bob Dylan and Greek poetry, and Dylan's life as Robert Zimmerman growing up in immigrant communities in Minnesota.
The conference is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the Karakas Family Alliance for the Advancement of Hellenic Studies at UMSL, the Hellenic Government-Karakas Family Foundation Professorship in Greek Studies at UMSL, the Center for International Studies and UMSL.
Visit cfis-umsl.com or call 314-516-7299 to register for the lecture and to request your free parking permit, a campus map or both.
