Several years ago, a treasure trove containing some 6,000 original Bob
Dylan manuscripts was revealed to exist. Their destination? Tulsa,
Oklahoma.
The documents, as essential as they are intriguing--draft lyrics,
notebooks, and diverse ephemera-- comprise one of the most important
cultural archives in the modern world. Along with countless still and
moving images and thousands of hours of riveting studio and live
recordings, this priceless collection now resides at The Bob Dylan
Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, just steps away from the archival home of
Dylan's early hero, Woody Guthrie.
Nearly all the materials preserved at The Bob Dylan Center are unique,
previously unavailable, and, in many cases, even previously unknown. As
the official publication of The Bob Dylan Center, BOB DYLAN: MIXING UP
THE MEDICINE is the first wide-angle look at the Dylan archive, a book
that promises to be of vast interest to both the Nobel Laureate's many
musical fans and to a broader national and international audience as
well.
Edited by Mark Davidson and Parker Fishel, BOB DYLAN: MIXING UP THE
MEDICINE focuses a close look at the full scope of Dylan's working life,
particularly from the dynamic perspective of his ongoing and shifting
creative processes--his earliest home recordings in the mid-1950s right
up through Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020), his most recent studio
recording, and into the present day.
The centerpiece of BOB DYLAN: MIXING UP THE MEDICINE is a carefully
curated selection of over 600 images including never-before-circulated
draft lyrics, writings, photographs, drawings and other ephemera from
the Dylan archive.
With an introductory essay by Sean Wilentz and epilogue by Douglas
Brinkley, the book features a surprising range of distinguished writers,
artists and musicians, including Joy Harjo, Greil Marcus, Michael
Ondaatje, Gregory Pardlo, Amanda Petrusich, Tom Piazza, Lee Ranaldo,
Alex Ross, Ed Ruscha, Lucy Sante, Greg Tate and many others. After
experiencing the collection firsthand in Tulsa, each of the authors was
asked to select a single item that beguiled or inspired them. The
resulting essays, written specifically for this volume, shed new light
on not only Dylan's creative process, but also their own.
BOB DYLAN: MIXING UP THE MEDICINE is an unprecedented glimpse into the
creative life of one of America's most groundbreaking, influential and
enduring artists.
