Published May 18, 2008 in the Hibbing Daily Tribune

Dylan changed the world; so can we

By Aaron J. Brown

When I tell people I’m one of the co-chairs of Dylan Days I usually get a look. It’s a look that says, “You? You’re too young to understand Dylan or what the 1960s were really like. Go back to your MTV and YouPods.”

While I did not experience the ‘60s and would contend that no one fully understands Dylan, I happen to feel right at home with Dylan Days. I am one of millions around the world who was inspired and challenged by the musical literature of this Hibbing kid who grew up just down the block from my grandfather. People of all ages and walks of life find something special in Dylan’s work, not just because of who Dylan is but because of what he sings about. Dylan writes about being human, about hard times, change, love and loss. And those are things that defy borders, both on maps and between the generations.

For me, an Iron Range kid myself who grew up writing in a place known for mining, Dylan also represents possibility. I once talked to a Chinese reporter who told me that there are people in China who learn English from Bob Dylan’s songs. While on one level troubling, it is also amazing that such a far-reaching voice can be developed first on the Iron Range.

All of us on the Iron Range know that people have come here from all over the world because of our mines and forests, but fewer know that people come every year from the same places to learn about Bob Dylan’s hometown. Europeans, Asians, South Americans and more want to know what it is about Hibbing and the Iron Range that made Bobby Zimmerman into Bob Dylan. I don’t think it’s some random coincidence.

Anyone who follows literature knows that it takes conflict, contrast, action and heartbreak to make a work of art. Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range is so full of these elements that we often don’t even realize they’re right under our noses. Whether its workers organizing, mines shutting down, people fighting because of ethnic differences, or social classes colliding, the elements of Bob Dylan’s work can be traced to this place as easily as steel to our iron ore.

And if Bobby Zimmerman could take those elements, add a refined guitar style, a deep reading of the classics and the tinder box of history on the march to become Bob Dylan, well, what can we do? Indeed there will be only one Bob Dylan, but he need not be the only Iron Range artist to change the world. We’ve learned that greatness can and does come from this place. So why can’t we keep it coming? Great musicians, visual artists, actors, writers and poets are all around us, waiting to be awoken like the sleeping giant called Mesaba.

Ultimately, that’s why I am involved in Dylan Days. Ultimately, that’s why there is a Dylan Days. This isn’t just about celebrating a great musician named Bob Dylan; it’s about all the great works of arts yet to be created from places like this. 

Therefore, on behalf of my fellow co-chairs Linda Stroback Hocking and Joe Keyes, I want to wish a hearty welcome to everyone who plans to take part in Dylan Days this year, whether you come from up the street, down the road or around the world. We’ve got a lot to see and do this week in Hibbing, heart of the Iron Range and home of Bob Dylan.

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