Hailed by Life magazine as one of 100 most important Americans of the 20th century, folk-rock singer-songwriter Bob Dylan is best known for revolutionizing popular music by incorporating poetry into his compositions.

Born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota, Dylan first started writing poetry around the age of ten. He is the recipient of several Grammy Awards, an inductee of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and recepient of the highest award for artistic excellence, the Kennedy Center Honors.

On this week’s show, Boston University Professor Christopher Ricks discussed the poetry inherent in Bob Dylan’s songs. Professor Ricks is an authority on the works of T.S. Eliot, Samuel Beckett, and A.E. Houseman.