something new this way comes

After reading in a book, and then typing out here, what poet Robert Lowell said about Bob Dylan's work, the words wore a groove in my memory:


"He leans on the crutch of his guitar."


Dylan "leans on the crutch of his guitar."


[thoughtful and puzzled silence]


Um -- so the answer to artistic and world challenges would be -- find the musicians and -- get their guitars away from them - ??


I don't know.
About that.


(Would Dylan be allowed to -- retain -- his harmonica?





Or would Mr. Lowell be wanting Bob to -- hand that over, as well?)


Must mechanics have their tools removed?
Would Poet Lowell give over his pens?
His typewriter?


----------------
Lowell's statement, in that interview, is meant to be quietly dramatic, I think.  The phrases arrest our attention:


"Bob Dylan is alloy; he is true folk and fake folk, and has a Caruso voice.  He has lines, but I doubt if he has written whole poems.  He leans on the crutch of his guitar."


I don't know exactly why this commands our focus:  the phrasing, or something.  That's what the poet does.  (Unless, of course -- we -- TOOK AWAY HIS PENS AND TYPEWRITER [!])


{No writing-on-computers in Lowell's generation; he died just when word processors were about to come into widespread use....}








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