University of Iowa professor examines his passion for Dylan

What does it mean to be a fan? For author, professor and longtime Bob Dylan fan David Gaines, whose debut book 'In Dylan Town” is out from University of Iowa Press, it means 'people coming together around their passions.”

Gaines is a Dylan fan: he's heard all the songs, read all the commentaries and began teaching Dylan in his English classes long before such practices were common place. But his debut work isn't about Dylan so much as it's about Gainese's personal journey through life with Dylan: how Dylan's music helped him through the death of his heroes, how teaching his music helped him learn more about his students, how listening to 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door” with his wife of 20 years still brings them both to tears.

And Gainese's book is larger than simply a study of Bob Dylan or fandom in the United States. It's a brisk, four-part non-fiction work exploring Gainese's personal life and the ways Dylan has impacted him professionally and personally. More than a memoir, more accessible than an academic work, 'In Dylan Town” is a powerful work that implores us to appreciate, share and grow with - not out of - our passions.

While all four chapters (or lectures, as I like to think of them) are enjoyable, it's chapter three where Gaines really shines. Titled 'My Back Pages,” Gaines goes deep into his own life, pulling out 'misty” memories of summer camp and tender moments of teenage reflection on life, when the jacket you wore defined who you were.

Gaines moves quickly over his personal tragedies in this chapter, sometimes so quickly we almost miss them, but it's hard to fault an author of an unconventional book for not adhering to a traditional memoir format.

Sometimes it all comes together best when you aren't afraid to break the rules.