Reader Responses to Ralph, Meet Bob

I don’t know if Dylan and Emerson share having visited Brown, but I can verify that Dylan did in 1964. He appeared at a Spring Weekend performance at the Meehan Auditorium. At the time, he had only released his first album (“The Times They Are a Changin”). He was not yet popular, and we had trouble selling tickets. We got a boost when Joan Baez started showing up at some of his shows. A lot of people purchased tickets hoping to see her. They were disappointed, but about 1,500 lucky folks got to see Dylan.

Ms. Kamphaus correctly notes that Dylan was born and raised Jewish and then, in the late ’70s, became “a very, very evangelical Christian.” This is true; but after five years or so, he went silent on his religious beliefs, which has naturally led to all kinds of speculation. Without a doubt, he’s been an enigmatic person.