--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Funny thing about Bob Dylan, the newest…" description: "\"Funny thing about Bob Dylan, the newest Nobel laureate in literature: He's been a master of self-invention for more than 50 years, creating personae, w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/jay-michaelson-15590_bob_funny-thing-about-bob-dylan-the-newest-n_370229.jpg" --- # Funny thing about Bob Dylan, the newest Nobel laureate in… ![“Funny thing about Bob Dylan, the newest Nobel laureate in literature: He's been a master of self-invention for more than 50 years, creating personae, wearing them like masks, and then discarding them as soon as they grew too familiar.” quote by Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/jay-michaelson-15590_bob_funny-thing-about-bob-dylan-the-newest-n_370229.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/jay-michaelson-15590_bob_funny-thing-about-bob-dylan-the-newest-n_370229.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/jay-michaelson-15590_bob_funny-thing-about-bob-dylan-the-newest-n_370229.jpg) > “Funny thing about Bob Dylan, the newest Nobel laureate in literature: He's been a master of self-invention for more than 50 years, creating personae, wearing them like masks, and then discarding them as soon as they grew too familiar.” [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Bob Dylan constantly reinvents himself, using personas as masks that he later discards when they become stale. **In simple terms:** Dylan changes his identity to stay fresh. Key Takeaway Embrace change and discard outdated selves. Themes identity creativity reinvention Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - songwriting - public image - career longevity - personal growth Key Concepts self‑construction authenticity artistic evolution Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance consistency with change? - When should you drop an old persona? A Different Perspective Constant reinvention may alienate loyal fans. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Funny things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-things/) [Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Mask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mask/) [Nobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobel/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) ## Related quotes > [Bob Dylan, Nobel laureate. A new fact so shocking that even the year's most notable deaths have not outdone it for the volume (in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bennun/bob-dylan-nobel-laureate-a-new-fact-so-shocking-that-even-the-year-s/) [David Bennun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bennun/) > [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [The master of any craft is first a master of self, cooperating with innate intelligence within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/the-master-of-any-craft-is-first-a-master-of-self-cooperating-with/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [“You are a legend. Your self-invention matters. You are the artist of your own life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/you-are-a-legend-your-self-invention-matters-you-are-the-artist-of/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [It's true that necessity is the mother of invention. 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(Susan Larson in a "Times-Picayune" book review.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-larson/the-process-of-self-invention-is-never-ending-writer-like-children/) Susan Larson > [Even in an intensely mediated world, in a world that offers at least the illusion of radical self-invention and radical freedom of choice, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/even-in-an-intensely-mediated-world-in-a-world-that-offers-at-least/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [Hollywood is a land of self-invention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-koppelman/hollywood-is-a-land-of-self-invention/) [Brian Koppelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-koppelman/) > [The master is within; meditation is meant to remove the ignorant idea that he is only outside. If he is a stranger whom you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/the-master-is-within-meditation-is-meant-to-remove-the-ignorant-idea/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [Don't think of your website as a self-promotion machine, think of it as a self-invention machine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/don-t-think-of-your-website-as-a-self-promotion-machine-think-of-it/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [“I'm learning to "master self" while rising from the ashes of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-tookie-williams/i-m-learning-to-master-self-while-rising-from-the-ashes-of-madness/) Stanley Tookie Williams ## More by Jay Michaelson > [ Except in these latter-day songs, \[Bob\] Dylan is a grizzled old prophet who's already been to hell and back. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/except-in-these-latter-day-songs-bob-dylan-is-a-grizzled-old-prophet/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [ The most recent incarnation of \[Bob\] Dylan has been the traveling journeyman/ charlatan who sings roots music, snarls dark lyrics that make "All Along… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/the-most-recent-incarnation-of-bob-dylan-has-been-the-traveling/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [We in the Jewish community are comparatively lucky. 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And they're directly opposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/people-should-support-equality-because-of-their-religion-not-despite/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [“Dukkha is not the self-inflicted stress of a technology executive; it’s the real stuff, the kind of suffering that merits the Pali word’s original…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/dukkha-is-not-the-self-inflicted-stress-of-a-technology-executive-it/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [“It is possible to refine awareness itself so much that the emptiness of things, and the role mental construction plays, becomes a directly apprehended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/it-is-possible-to-refine-awareness-itself-so-much-that-the-emptiness/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [ In late \[Bob\] Dylan, music is the key to immortality, even though the summer days are long gone. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/in-late-bob-dylan-music-is-the-key-to-immortality-even-though-the/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [“For the Buddha of the Pali Canon, the goal is liberation: the cessation of suffering, the end of the endless hamster-wheel of dependent origination,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/for-the-buddha-of-the-pali-canon-the-goal-is-liberation-the-cessation/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [ I suspect many readers might associate \[Bob Dylan\] with one of the shortest phases of his career, the time from 1963 to '65 when… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/i-suspect-many-readers-might-associate-bob-dylan-with-one-of-the/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [ While \[Bob\] Dylan's folk fans thought he was selling out \[in 1965-67\], actually Dylan was lodging a stronger, deeper critique of American hypocrisy. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/while-bob-dylan-s-folk-fans-thought-he-was-selling-out-in-1965-67/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [ \[Bob\] Dylan, like Johnny Cash and only a handful of others, simultaneously embodies the American dream and the harsh wake-up call that comes after… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/bob-dylan-like-johnny-cash-and-only-a-handful-of-others/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [There has been a ton of excellent music in this period (along with a few misses), evoking scenes like a bar-room brawl at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/there-has-been-a-ton-of-excellent-music-in-this-period-along-with-a/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) [Explore all 42 Jay Michaelson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) ## More Bob quotes > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I think anyone that grew up in the '70s and '80s grew up with Bob Barker and Wink Martindale and I think that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-fieri/i-think-anyone-that-grew-up-in-the-70s-and-80s-grew-up-with-bob/) [Guy Fieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-fieri/) > [ Except in these latter-day songs, \[Bob\] Dylan is a grizzled old prophet who's already been to hell and back. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/except-in-these-latter-day-songs-bob-dylan-is-a-grizzled-old-prophet/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [Over the past 50 years Bob Hope employed 88 joke writers who supplied him with more than one million gags, and he still couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-murphy/over-the-past-50-years-bob-hope-employed-88-joke-writers-who-supplied/) [Eddie Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-murphy/) > [I like men who are very cool but who are also so brilliant that they are almost insane. Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Bob Dylan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jolene-blalock/i-like-men-who-are-very-cool-but-who-are-also-so-brilliant-that-they/) [Jolene Blalock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jolene-blalock/) > [I was very engaged by the folk music movement.Bob Dylan; Joan Baez; Peter, Paul and Mary. And then I sort of discovered world music,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/i-was-very-engaged-by-the-folk-music-movement-bob-dylan-joan-baez/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [ The most recent incarnation of \[Bob\] Dylan has been the traveling journeyman/ charlatan who sings roots music, snarls dark lyrics that make "All Along… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/the-most-recent-incarnation-of-bob-dylan-has-been-the-traveling/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [Well. We’ll just have to hope that this wasn’t a loup-garou, I guess.” “If it was a louper, you’d know,” Bob said wisely. “In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/well-we-ll-just-have-to-hope-that-this-wasn-t-a-loup-garou-i-guess-if/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [Because of my tremendous respect for Bob Barker and for the show's high standards of professionalism I consider this a tremendous honor that few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-west/because-of-my-tremendous-respect-for-bob-barker-and-for-the-show-s/) [Randy West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-west/) > [That's who I wanted to be like was Bob Dylan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/that-s-who-i-wanted-to-be-like-was-bob-dylan/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [Everybody who I ever cared about has told me that they like my music: Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Al Green, The Spinners, Smokey Robinson.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-hall/everybody-who-i-ever-cared-about-has-told-me-that-they-like-my-music/) [Daryl Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-hall/) > [Bob's work gleaned from hoofing, from vaudeville, from ballet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-reinking/bob-s-work-gleaned-from-hoofing-from-vaudeville-from-ballet/) [Ann Reinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-reinking/) > [Producing Bob Dylan was pretty much a spectator sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-kooper/producing-bob-dylan-was-pretty-much-a-spectator-sport/) [Al Kooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-kooper/) > [Listen, the story of the United States is this: One kid, without anything, walks out of his house, down the road, with nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-bone-burnett/listen-the-story-of-the-united-states-is-this-one-kid-without/) [T Bone Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-bone-burnett/) > [I figure if I keep my health, I have no intention of retiring. I love to work. I want to be like Bob Hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/i-figure-if-i-keep-my-health-i-have-no-intention-of-retiring-i-love/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) Browse all 886 Bob quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Funny thing about Bob Dylan, the newest Nobel laureate in literature: He's been a master of self-invention for more than 50 years, creating personae, wearing them like masks, and then discarding them as soon as they grew too familiar.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jay Michaelson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/funny-thing-about-bob-dylan-the-newest-nobel-laureate-in-literature/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bob" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/funny-thing-about-bob-dylan-the-newest-nobel-laureate-in-literature/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/jay-michaelson-15590_bob_funny-thing-about-bob-dylan-the-newest-n_370229.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/jay-michaelson-15590_bob_funny-thing-about-bob-dylan-the-newest-n_370229.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/jay-michaelson-15590_bob_funny-thing-about-bob-dylan-the-newest-n_370229.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Funny thing about Bob Dylan, the newest Nobel laureate in literature: He's been a master of self-invention…” — Jay Michaelson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jay Michaelson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Funny thing about Bob Dylan, the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/funny-thing-about-bob-dylan-the-newest-nobel-laureate-in-literature/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/funny-thing-about-bob-dylan-the-newest-nobel-laureate-in-literature/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```