Dylan: The Joker and the Thief

[ish mailian]

The Joker and the Thief

The original vagabond’. To me, this captures this Nobel. Always a
legend, he now bursts onto the uncomfortable academic world, which is
not quite sure whether to allow him to ‘stray into their arms’ or
politely ignore him. To study him academically might be to run the
risk of sanitising him and stabilising him within pedantic structures.
A dilemma I do not wish on many!

He embodies for me, the joker and the thief who is the true artiste,
‘stealing’ or reclaiming thoughts and living on the fringe, seemingly
oblivious to society. A modern-day Diogenes of Sinope, if ever. He has
the immunity of the joker and the fleetness of foot of the thief.

Hermes of the road, his ability to move intellectually and
artistically makes him the agent of disruption we need today. Social
media has given hordes of us a platform to speak out on, and also
unfortunately absolved us of the need to be critical. Perhaps, now
more than ever, we need this voice of reason, providing an aesthetic
of dissent, and fulfilling Dostoevsky’s hope-filled claim that ‘beauty
will save the world’.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/the-joker-and-the-thief/article9221198.ece
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Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l