Deciphering The Unknown: Contemplating the Voice of a Generation

Looking to fill a free January afternoon with music, you may have seen the acclaimed Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown. But who exactly was Bob Dylan, the vagabond phenomenon who breathed fresh life into the folk movement? To understand this enigmatic musician who evaded even the limits of his own craft, we must look beyond the realms of cinema which often aggrandizes heroism and glosses over the shortcomings of cultural icons. We turn instead to the transformations that punctuated his career and the complex life that went with them. Busking on the bustling New York streets – 1960

Picture a young Bob Dylan in the familiar cold of a New York winter, bundled under layers of wool knits that barely fit him anymore.