A few months ago I registered for the
World of Dylan Conference to be held at the University of Tulsa from May 30 - June 2. I have been a Dylan fan since 1965 and have written extensively about him in this journal. Many of his songs have moved and stimulated me over the years. Over the years I have had online contact with several Dylan fans and hope to meet some of them at this conference. I am especially looking forward to seeing Roger McGuinn for the third time in the last year. There is already a Twitter tag (#DylanWorld19) and a
Facebook Page for the conference. I have already made a few new Facebook friends with people in that group. I am looking forward to the conference, but am anxious over a few things:
- Traveling - will there be plane delays? I will have to change planes in Chicago as there is no direct flight from NYC to Tulsa. On my last vacation, our flight from Phoenix was canceled and we had to wait 11 hours for the next available flight to JFK airport.
- Will the people at the meeting be friendly? Very often online "relationships" change when people meet face to face.
- Most important, will the meeting be too "academic"? There will be many presentations by Professors of English whose talks may be "over my head". Will the speakers pick apart Dylan's lyrics? I had subscribed to a Dylan journal where I felt one needed a doctorate in English literature to understand it. I appreciated Dylan's lyrics on how it affects me personally.
5 comments:
Hey man, I'll be friendly!
We've attending many Dylan events here in Tulsa at the Woody Guthrie Center or the Gilcrease Museum, and all have been warm, inspiring, totally down to earth, and moving to the point of tears. Come to Tulsa free of fear, and enjoy our lovely city.
I've only been at a couple of these things--Dylan Revisited '79 over in the U.K. and then a considerably smaller two-day affair in Las Vegas in 1990--but my experience is that your shared interest in Dylan's career is more than enough social cement for as many fast-friend relationships as you can muster over an Oklahoma weekend.
I hope you'll look for my nametag--presuming attendees will be provided with them, which they sure oughta be for what they're charging--among all the others, Bruce...for anyone who knows me understands I'm WAY more a radio guy than a Dylanologist, having spent three decades in professional radio around The Lower 48, almost all of it on the AM band in the commercial newstalk format.
Fly uneventfully, and we'll see you in Tulsa!
BRYAN STYBLE/Florida
Zimmerman Blues 1975-1979
I have the same concerns as you. First flying from Balt to Tulsa is not easy, changes and a long day of travel. Also, in reading the schedule my impression was that it will be too academic for my interests as a fan since first seeing Dylan in 1963 in DC at the Lisner Auditorium. I hope to meet other fans and enjoy the exhibits and vibe. See you there! Sigrid
I've also been a Met fan since 1962. Hope to have a chance to swap some baseball stories along with Dylan tales.
Rich Lee
Post a Comment