An Award-Winning Writer Called Bob Dylan the ‘Worst Poet Alive’

Bob Dylan is just as much a writer as he is a musician. His lyrics earned him a Nobel Prize in Literature, and he is considered one of the best songwriters of all time. Many people respect him as an artist, but at least one award-winning writer cannot be described as a fan. When discussing modern music, author Kurt Vonnegut said Dylan was a terrible poet.

The young musician described himself as a poet 

Dylan was a musician, but he also considered himself a poet. Early in his career, he sought out poet Carl Sandburg to discuss his work. He hadn’t announced he was coming, but Sandburg still politely let Dylan inside when he knocked on his door.

“‘You’re Carl Sandburg,’ Dylan said, not asking. ‘I’m Bob Dylan. I’m a poet, too,'” Anthony Scaduto wrote in Bob Dylan: An Intimate Biography (via Rolling Stone). “‘How nice,’ Sandburg said, his smile saying another kid who wants to be a poet. But he tried to be gracious and said, ‘Come, sit a while.’ Mrs. Sandburg joined them, smiling but not saying anything.”

Sandburg didn’t seem too impressed with Dylan, but, to be fair, he had not yet reached his current level of success.

“They chatted awhile, Dylan rambling on about folk music, and his own songs and poems, and subtly telling Sandburg he was a young poet and Sandburg should recognize him because he recognized Sandburg as an older poet,” Scaduto recalled. “And Sandburg smiled at this scruffy kid promoting his album, hyping himself as a poet, Sandburg polite but not particularly interested.”

Dylan left the meeting clearly upset by the lack of recognition by the other poet.

A writer was not a fan of Bob Dylan’s poetry

Sandburg’s behavior toward Dylan can be explained by the fact that this was early in Dylan’s career. He likely had never heard of the young musician and was unfamiliar with his writing. By the 1990s, though, Dylan had long since established himself as one of the preeminent artists of his time. Still, he didn’t get any respect from Vonnegut.

When discussing his taste in music, Vonnegut didn’t say what he liked, but noted that The Beatles were influential.

“We’ll start from the back and work forward,” he told Hustler in 1991, via Pitchfork. “I hate rap. The Beatles have made a substantial contribution.”

Then, he took aim at Dylan.

“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.”

Harsh words from the award-winning writer. 

Bob Dylan was a strong writer

With all due respect to Vonnegut, he was wrong about Dylan. He became the first musician to win the Nobel Prize in Literature for a reason. While this decision was controversial, few other songwriters could have received the accolade. 

Dylan is a brilliant lyricist who can fit epics into several minutes of a song. His ballads are sweeping, and his protest songs were searingly relevant in the 1960s and today. He manages to imbue many of his songs with double meaning.

It’s also impossible to separate Dylan’s writing from his music. His writing is what makes his music great. He is just as much a writer as he is a musician. 

Even if Vonnegut disagreed with all that, though, he would have to agree that, at the very least, there must be some poets out there who were worse than Dylan.