Okay, maybe somebody could outline what would have been an example of a sensible answer? What do you want him to say, and why? My point is that it's easy to ridicule Dylan as either, since neither is exactly what he does, and asking how one prefers to think of themselves goes to their vanity and invites self-indulgence more than it addresses anything substantial--"Well, I'm mostly known an actor, but what I really want to do, is direct". You don't suppose there could be a better way to pose a question about a songwriter's interest in poetry? Even in heady times people make an occasional level-headed remark.

No, I haven't studied anything about the history of it in the least, only been entertained by some of it. But I do know that Hendrix said he thought of himself more as a performer/entertainer than a singer, that he hated compliments because they're so embarrassing, since sometimes he plays lousy. I wasn't there in the big heyday of the renaisance, but I've heard that "painter" was the last thing Leonardo mentioned on his resume'.

   Of all the remarks you could pick on as flippant or dumb, by Dylan or Lennon or anyone else, I really don't see why anyone would settle on that one. It's not as if there's nothing to choose from. I especially like Dylan saying, almost singing--I don't caare who threw the glass, man, I just wanna Knoooow who threw the glass! Or how about his editorial vision for Time magazine? Or, speaking of opera singers, what about Dylan's remark that he was just as good a singer as Caruso, and could hold his breath 3 times as long. I don't get the thing about being a singer or a poet, why he'd have some confessional responsibility to own up about it.