A GUARDIAN AND INDEPENDENT BEST MUSIC BOOK OF 2017 ‘At last an expert classicist gets to grips with Bob Dylan. Richard Thomas takes us from Dylan's high school Latin club to his haunting engagement with Ovid and Homer in recent albums. He carefully argues that Dylan's poetry deserves comparison with Virgil's – and Thomas, senior professor of Latin at Harvard and author of some of the most influential modern studies of Virgil, should know!’ Mary Beard ‘A poignant blend of memoir, literary analysis through a classical lens, musicology and, above all, love. [Thomas] loves Dylan with a passion so selfless and so intense that it’s impossible to emerge from the book untouched’ Guardian ‘Accessible and enjoyable … Richard F Thomas’s elegant, charming book offers something for everyone – not just the super-fans’ Independent ‘The book joyously bounces from topic to topic, mixing anecdotes about Dylan's creative process, historical concerts, and wry press conferences with penetrating literary critique — and no shortage of Thomas' own personal recollections of bonding with Dylan's music. A highly informed, yet intimately personal celebration of one of our most important living writers — not despite, but because of the medium in which he writes’ NPR ‘Secures Dylan’s place in a pantheon of literary heroes from Virgil to Eliot. A critical breakthrough that makes a masterful case for why Dylan is the bard of our times’ Andrew McCarron, author of Light Come Shining: The Transformations of Bob Dylan ‘Thomas’ outstanding, eminently readable, and beautifully bound work, answers that question in relation to his subject with a resounding ‘Yes’. Dylan matters. Emphatically’ Tribune ‘Listen to Bob Dylan in performance. But read this book for help on how to hear his lyrics’ Irish Examiner

• BOB DYLAN 101: Professor Thomas is a preeminent Dylan expert, and his course at Harvard is incredibly popular, introducing a new generation of fans and scholars to Dylan's music. • THE 2016 NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE: Bob Dylan, "the poet laureate of the rock era (The New York Times), was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature, immediately igniting celebration as well as controversy over the literary merit of his work. Why Dylan Matters will speak to this ongoing controversy, making the case that Dylan is indeed a poet for the ages on the level of T.S. Eliot or Virgil. • CROSS-GENERATIONAL AUDIENCE: Why Dylan Matters is a book for the die-hard fanatics who grew up on Dylan, as well as for younger fans who are just discovering his music. • NEW AFTERWORD: This paperback edition features an exclusive afterword from Professor Thomas, on what he’s learnt since the original publication, and features exclusive material from the Bob Dylan Archives. • PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR THE DYLAN LOVER IN YOUR LIFE