"Always so close and still within reach" (Sara by Bob Dylan)

In 2016 Dylan was awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature for inventing "new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition” But what exactly are these "poetic expressions”?

What form do they take? And what might they teach us about the possibilities of art, music, poetry, and what it means to be an artist?

Sarah Gillespie is a critically acclaimed singer-songwriter known for mixing elements of folk, Americana, and jazz with her distinctive poetic lyrics. She’s released 5 albums, 3 EP’s and has toured internationally for over 15 years with her band as a solo artist. Her debut collection of poetry was published by Oxford’s Albion Beatnik Press in 2018.

As a British / American songwriter, whose mother hails from Minnesota, Gillespie was captivated early on by Dylan’s storytelling and the raw sensual assault of his oral poetics.

In this talk, Gillespie will be giving her perspective into the nature of Dylan's creative power and how these observations inform her work as songwriter and as a mentor in songwriting and creativity.

There will be Q&A at the end.