When Kurt Vonnegut singled out Bob Dylan as the “worst poet alive”
Although Bob Dylan has covered an array of musical genres in his time, one thing that has been mostly present throughout his arc is the quality of his lyricism. While his verses might have befuddled and even angered people at points, the incisiveness and humour of his most significant poetic moments have stood the Duluth artist head and shoulders above his other most famous contemporaries.
Even those who might be deemed Bob Dylan philistines by his most unwavering fans will be aware of the quality of his words. Whether it be the zeitgeist-capturing majesty of 1965’s ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ or even older, more folk-orientated numbers such as ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’, the main reason the curly-haired scamp was able to rise out of nothing and re-energise the folk scene of his era was because of potent fusion of his poetry and music.
Alas, it wouldn’t take long until he was dubbed ‘The Voice of his Generation’ due to how he distilled the sentiments and happenings of the counterculture into influential sonic palettes that convey the essence of the era like no other. Whether it be The Beatles, David Bowie or even his Canadian counterpart Leonard Cohen, almost all of the most refined popular music we have ever heard can be partially attributed to Dylan.
Despite being so significant, not everyone is a Bob Dylan admirer. One man who made his disdain for him clear and echoed the sentiments of some in the literature community was Slaughterhouse-Five author and satirical master Kurt Vonnegut. Somewhat surprisingly, in the 1990s, when Dylan had long reigned supreme as music’s finest wordsmith and had committed an array of notable lyrical performances to tape, Vonnegut, a man with whom his prose shares similarities and has also impacted popular culture, outlined his hatred for his younger counterpart.
When speaking to Hustler in 1991, Vonnegut discussed his taste in music. He somewhat characteristically didn’t openly state what music he liked but did note that The Beatles had been widely influential. “We’ll start from the back and work forward,” he told the publication. “I hate rap. The Beatles have made a substantial contribution.”
Proceedings then took a more fraught turn when Vonnegut revealed that he thought Bob Dylan was the worst poet on earth. “Bob Dylan, however, is the worst poet alive,” he said. “He can maybe get one good line in a song, and the rest is gibberish.”
Other renowned writers shared Vonnegut’s critical perspective on Dylan’s work, indicating that by that stage in his life, Dylan likely remained unperturbed by such critiques. In his youth, the aspiring songwriter met poet Carl Sandburg, introducing himself as both a musician and poet. Sandburg’s silent response, marked only by a smile, deeply unsettled Dylan. Yet, as decades passed and Dylan’s career fluctuated, including Vonnegut’s remarks, it’s probable that he had long moved beyond dwelling on the opinions of others.
Listen to Bob Dylan’s ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ below.
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