Synopses & Reviews
A devastatingly original work that plunges into the heart of the American psyche from America's beginnings to Bruce Springsteen's "Nebraska."
The ballad has been part of American history since before the country had a name. In this book, Sean Wilentz and Greil Marcus have assembled an astonishing group of writers and artists Paul Muldoon, Stanley Crouch, R. Crumb, Jon Langford of the Mekons, John Rockwell, Luc Sante, Joyce Carol Oates, Dave Marsh, and more than a dozen other novelists, essayists, performers, and critics to explore the ineffable power of the American ballad. In words and in drawings, the collaborators have tapped the veins of America's most imaginative and expressive form. From "Barbara Allen," one of the earliest, through "The Wreck of the Old 97," to contemporary ballads by Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, The Rose and the Briar presents a rich new patch of art and commentary like the ballads, no two the same, but all of a piece, about stories, storytellers, and American death, love, and liberty.
Review
"[T]he quality of the entries varies wildly....Sometimes fascinating and at other times highly dispensable, this collection offers an interesting look at a music staple. Recommended." Library Journal
Synopsis
Wilentz and Marcus have assembled an astonishing group of writers and artists more than a dozen novelists, essayists, performers, and critics to explore the ineffable power of the American ballad in words and in drawings.
About the Author
Sean Wilentz is the author of the forthcoming
The Rise of American Democracy. A professor of history at Princeton University, he is historian-in-residence at Bob Dylan's official Web site.
Greil Marcus is the author of Lipstick Traces and Mystery Train, among other works. An Old Dominion Fellow at Princeton in 2002, he lives in Berkeley, California.