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Lot #2065
Bob Dylan Signed Handwritten Poem: "I Was Sitting On My Stool"

Dinkytown parties and open doors—a ballad to Dylan's friends and early successes

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Estimate: $20000+
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Description

Dinkytown parties and open doors—a ballad to Dylan's friends and early successes

Lively handwritten poem in pencil by Bob Dylan, signed "Dylan," one page, 8.5 x 11, taken from his circa 1960 'Poems Without Titles' penned while at the University of Minnesota. A playful poem about a Minneapolis house party, beginning:

"I was sitting on my stool
Gazing into air
When the door opened
And the wind blew in
And someone yelled
'Shut that goddamn door.'"

The door re-opens and in come a cavalcade of friends:

"In swaggered Dave with Suzy and Ben
And Bobbie and Joni with Paul
And in mamboed Lyne."

Together they await "Cousin Jeany," who never arrives before the poem ends:

"Everything was wild
And everything was great
''Til Marshall walked in
and asked
'Where's the party tonite?'"

In fine condition, with some light staining to the lower left corner.

A peppy poem evoking the Dinkytown party scene, where some of Dylan's earliest recordings were made—for example, the 'Minneapolis Party Tape' was famously recorded in Bonnie Beecher's Minneapolis apartment around the same time that this poem was written. The text is more suggestive of a punk-rock party anthem (long before such things existed) than the other folk and Beat-inspired works found in 'Poems Without Titles,' making it one of the more unusual poems of the group.

Bob Dylan Poem Copyright © 2022 Babinda Music

Provenance: Christie’s, 11/21/05

Auction Info

  • Auction Title: Marvels of Modern Music
  • Dates: #636 - Ended May 19, 2022





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