Maya Angelou On Bob Dylan
MAYA ANGELOU
The truth is, Bob Dylan is a great American artist. His art, his talent, is to speak to everybody, and so when I say American, I think he’s a great African American artist, he’s a great Jewish American artist, he’s a great Muslim American artist, he’s a great Asian-American artist, Spanish-speaking artist — he speaks for the American soul as much as Ray Charles did.
There was a time when Bob Dylan was the young kid on the block. We all sang at the Purple Onion and the Hungry I and at folk-music clubs. When Bob came along, everyone loved him because he was what we all had meant to be; he spoke for all of us. And he was known to be honest, which is what a great American artist is. It may not be expedient, but the audience can trust the artist who is honest, and Bob Dylan followed what he said in his lyrics by his actions. He supported the human being, the spirit of being an American — of knowing that the mountains and the rivulets and the voting booths belong to all of us, all the time.
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