Tarantula

Written in 1966, Tarantula is a collection of poems and prose that evokes the turbulence of the times in which it was written, and gives a unique insight into Dylan’s creative evolution. ‘The good samaritan coming in with the words “round & round we go” tattoed on his cheek / he tells the senator to stop insulting the lawyer.’ Tarantula captures Bob Dylan’s preoccupations at a crucial juncture in his artistic development, showcasing the antic imagination of a folk poet laureate who was able to combine the humanity and compassion of his country roots with the playful surrealism of modern art. Angry, funny and strange, the poems and prose in this collection reflect the concerns we find in Dylan’s most seminal music: a sense of protest, a verbal playfulness and spontaneity, and a belief in the artistic legitimacy of chronicling everyday life and eccentricity on the street. ‘Tarantula’ never made its publication date in Autumn 1966. To the delays added by Dylan’s constant revisions was added the greater complication of his motorcyle accident – which left him with still undisclosed injuries and kept the book from publication until 1971. In the interim, it became a cult phenomenon, with ‘bookleg’ editions photocopied from reviewer proofs circulating throughout the musical and literary demi-mondes. Reissued to coincide with the paperback release of ‘Chronicles Volume 1’, ‘Tarantula’ will finally find the wider audience it deserves.

Written in 1966, Tarantula is a collection of poems and prose that evokes the turbulence of the times in which it was written, and gives a unique insight into Dylan’s creative evolution. ‘The good samaritan coming in with the words “round & round we go” tattoed on his cheek / he tells the senator to stop insulting the lawyer.’ Tarantula captures Bob Dylan’s preoccupations at a crucial juncture in his artistic development, showcasing the antic imagination of a folk poet laureate who was able to combine the humanity and compassion of his country roots with the playful surrealism of modern art. Angry, funny and strange, the poems and prose in this collection reflect the concerns we find in Dylan’s most seminal music: a sense of protest, a verbal playfulness and spontaneity, and a belief in the artistic legitimacy of chronicling everyday life and eccentricity on the street. ‘Tarantula’ never made its publication date in Autumn 1966. To the delays added by Dylan’s constant revisions was added the greater complication of his motorcyle accident – which left him with still undisclosed injuries and kept the book from publication until 1971. In the interim, it became a cult phenomenon, with ‘bookleg’ editions photocopied from reviewer proofs circulating throughout the musical and literary demi-mondes. Reissued to coincide with the paperback release of ‘Chronicles Volume 1’, ‘Tarantula’ will finally find the wider audience it deserves.

Winner of the Prix Médicis Étranger in France and the Premio de la Critica in Spain Conversation-starting and prize-winning international fiction: an extraordinary meditation on violence, conspiracy and the many complex afterlives of the Holocaust 'Audacious' Observer 'Provocative' Times Literary Supplement 'Extraordinary' Olivia Laing Eduardo and his brother have been living in the US for three years when their parents send them back to Guatemala for the holidays. It is 1984 and their native country, in the midst of a violent civil war, feels newly alien to them – their Spanish faltering, already half-forgotten. Their grandfather collects the boys from the airport and drives them into the mountains, depositing them at what they’re told is a Jewish summer camp. At the camp, the children meet a counsellor called Samuel Blum: a handsome young man with sky-blue eyes who knows about all kinds of things. He shows them how to make a survival shelter out of branches and leaves, and how to kindle a fire using a glass bottle. He sings songs with them and plays games. But he also trains them to march in rank, and salute, and dive for cover. He teaches them the Hebrew words for ‘grenade’ and ‘soldier’ and ‘silence’. On the fourth day, everything changes. The boys are shaken from their beds at dawn. A terrifying figure, uniformed in black, looms over them, and beyond him is the sound of screaming outside. Eduardo looks into the stranger’s face – it is Samuel Blum, but his sky-blue eyes look different now. In his hand he carries a club. Crawling down his left arm is a huge tarantula. Thought-provoking and powerfully ambivalent, Tarantula is an extraordinary meditation on the many complex afterlives of the Holocaust. It is a novel about individual and collective inheritance, individual and collective violence; about memory, trauma, connection and estrangement. It asks what it means to be a Jew in the long wake of the twentieth century, and how the past lives on in the present.

Winner of the Prix Médicis Étranger in France and the Premio de la Critica in Spain Conversation-starting and prize-winning international fiction: an extraordinary meditation on violence, conspiracy and the many complex afterlives of the Holocaust 'Audacious' Observer 'Provocative' Times Literary Supplement 'Extraordinary' Olivia Laing Eduardo and his brother have been living in the US for three years when their parents send them back to Guatemala for the holidays. It is 1984 and their native country, in the midst of a violent civil war, feels newly alien to them – their Spanish faltering, already half-forgotten. Their grandfather collects the boys from the airport and drives them into the mountains, depositing them at what they’re told is a Jewish summer camp. At the camp, the children meet a counsellor called Samuel Blum: a handsome young man with sky-blue eyes who knows about all kinds of things. He shows them how to make a survival shelter out of branches and leaves, and how to kindle a fire using a glass bottle. He sings songs with them and plays games. But he also trains them to march in rank, and salute, and dive for cover. He teaches them the Hebrew words for ‘grenade’ and ‘soldier’ and ‘silence’. On the fourth day, everything changes. The boys are shaken from their beds at dawn. A terrifying figure, uniformed in black, looms over them, and beyond him is the sound of screaming outside. Eduardo looks into the stranger’s face – it is Samuel Blum, but his sky-blue eyes look different now. In his hand he carries a club. Crawling down his left arm is a huge tarantula. Thought-provoking and powerfully ambivalent, Tarantula is an extraordinary meditation on the many complex afterlives of the Holocaust. It is a novel about individual and collective inheritance, individual and collective violence; about memory, trauma, connection and estrangement. It asks what it means to be a Jew in the long wake of the twentieth century, and how the past lives on in the present.

Of course – as you’ve no doubt guessed – there’s a big ‘But Then’ moment heading this way… It’s a sunny, spring day in East London. On a street corner, two teenagers kiss. One of them is Toni. This is her first kiss. It makes her very happy. But someone is watching. Someone who doesn’t care about her happiness at all. And they’re about to change Toni’s life… forever. Philip Ridley’s thrilling new play is a startling exploration of identity, memory, love, and the lengths it takes someone to free themselves from the web of their past.

Of course – as you’ve no doubt guessed – there’s a big ‘But Then’ moment heading this way… It’s a sunny, spring day in East London. On a street corner, two teenagers kiss. One of them is Toni. This is her first kiss. It makes her very happy. But someone is watching. Someone who doesn’t care about her happiness at all. And they’re about to change Toni’s life… forever. Philip Ridley’s thrilling new play is a startling exploration of identity, memory, love, and the lengths it takes someone to free themselves from the web of their past.

WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE Music legend Bob Dylan's only work of fiction--a combination of stream of consciousness prose, lyrics, and poetry that gives fans insight into one of the most influential singer-songwriters of our time.Written in 1966, Tarantula is a collection of poems and prose that evokes the turbulence of the times in which it was written, and gives a unique insight into Dylan's creative evolution. It captures Bob Dylan's preoccupations at a crucial juncture in his artistic development, showcasing the imagination of a folk poet laureate who was able to combine the humanity and compassion of his country roots with the playful surrealism of modern art. Angry, funny, and strange, the poems and prose in this collection reflect the concerns found in Dylan's most seminal music: a sense of protest, a verbal playfulness and spontaneity, and a belief in the artistic legitimacy of chronicling everyday life and eccentricity on the street.

WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE Music legend Bob Dylan's only work of fiction--a combination of stream of consciousness prose, lyrics, and poetry that gives fans insight into one of the most influential singer-songwriters of our time.Written in 1966, Tarantula is a collection of poems and prose that evokes the turbulence of the times in which it was written, and gives a unique insight into Dylan's creative evolution. It captures Bob Dylan's preoccupations at a crucial juncture in his artistic development, showcasing the imagination of a folk poet laureate who was able to combine the humanity and compassion of his country roots with the playful surrealism of modern art. Angry, funny, and strange, the poems and prose in this collection reflect the concerns found in Dylan's most seminal music: a sense of protest, a verbal playfulness and spontaneity, and a belief in the artistic legitimacy of chronicling everyday life and eccentricity on the street.