Andrew Motion explains why Bob Dylan's lyrics should be studied in schools

Bob Dylan's debut on the schools curriculum could be just what's needed to turn pupils who listen to rock music on to the full range of poetry.

OCTOBER 4 IS National Poetry Day, the annual celebration of rhyming (and not-rhyming) launched in 1994 by William Sieghart of the Forward Arts Foundation.

In its 14-year existence, it has become a distinctive event – part carnival, part education, entirely a good thing.
This year’s NPD looks set to be one of the most interesting and fruitful yet. The organisers have teamed up with Sony BMG to commission an online secondary-schools project “to celebrate poetry through the lyrics of Bob Dylan’s legendary songs”.

The full story is in The Times. Pic above shows Dylan with Joan Baez and others at The Savoy in 1966, also form The Times.