Desolation Road is a novel-length, literary parody of “Desolation Row,” a song written and performed by Bob Dylan in 1965. Filled with surrealist imagery, historical and literary characters, as well as, graphic depictions of institutional decadence and decay, the haunting lyrics and rhythmic strum-pattern of Dylan’s composition echo the shattered world of Elliot’s Wasteland while incorporating the language and sound of the folk revival. Structurally, Desolation Road reinterprets Dylan’s song by transforming each of the ten verses into novel chapters. An obscure character from the first verse, Lady, becomes the principal character in the parody. As a thoroughly post-modern work, Desolation Road explores the audacity of the parodist who adapts a great work of literature. The novel, through the voice of its principal character Ms. Lady Jones, questions its own existence and its right to borrow the borrowed characters from Dylan’s song. A caricaturized version of Dylan functions as a character and central symbol for the parody. Lynched and hanged from a lamppost light in the center of Desolation Road, a fictional main street where the action of the narrative occurs, Dylan is forced to watch as the characters from his song take on lives of their own. The novel explores the role of the artist and imitator and questions the extent to which an artist can lay claim to their own work.
","abstract_html":"<p>Desolation Road is a novel-length, literary parody of “Desolation Row,” a song written and performed by Bob Dylan in 1965. Filled with surrealist imagery, historical and literary characters, as well as, graphic depictions of institutional decadence and decay, the haunting lyrics and rhythmic strum-pattern of Dylan’s composition echo the shattered world of Elliot’s Wasteland while incorporating the language and sound of the folk revival. Structurally, Desolation Road reinterprets Dylan’s song by transforming each of the ten verses into novel chapters. An obscure character from the first verse, Lady, becomes the principal character in the parody. As a thoroughly post-modern work, Desolation Road explores the audacity of the parodist who adapts a great work of literature. The novel, through the voice of its principal character Ms. Lady Jones, questions its own existence and its right to borrow the borrowed characters from Dylan’s song. A caricaturized version of Dylan functions as a character and central symbol for the parody. Lynched and hanged from a lamppost light in the center of Desolation Road, a fictional main street where the action of the narrative occurs, Dylan is forced to watch as the characters from his song take on lives of their own. The novel explores the role of the artist and imitator and questions the extent to which an artist can lay claim to their own work. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Smith, Eric James"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts (MFA)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"English and Theatre","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:53Z","subjects":["Creative writing","Fiction"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2019 Eric James Smith"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/650","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Smith, Eric James"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English and Theatre"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts (MFA)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Creative writing","Fiction"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2019 Eric James Smith"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/650"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Desolation Road is a novel-length, literary parody of “Desolation Row,” a song written and performed by Bob Dylan in 1965. Filled with surrealist imagery, historical and literary characters, as well as, graphic depictions of institutional decadence and decay, the haunting lyrics and rhythmic strum-pattern of Dylan’s composition echo the shattered world of Elliot’s Wasteland while incorporating the language and sound of the folk revival. Structurally, Desolation Road reinterprets Dylan’s song by transforming each of the ten verses into novel chapters. An obscure character from the first verse, Lady, becomes the principal character in the parody. As a thoroughly post-modern work, Desolation Road explores the audacity of the parodist who adapts a great work of literature. The novel, through the voice of its principal character Ms. Lady Jones, questions its own existence and its right to borrow the borrowed characters from Dylan’s song. A caricaturized version of Dylan functions as a character and central symbol for the parody. Lynched and hanged from a lamppost light in the center of Desolation Road, a fictional main street where the action of the narrative occurs, Dylan is forced to watch as the characters from his song take on lives of their own. The novel explores the role of the artist and imitator and questions the extent to which an artist can lay claim to their own work.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/PDF"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Desolation Road"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Smith, Eric James"],"dc:description.abstract":["Desolation Road is a novel-length, literary parody of “Desolation Row,” a song written and performed by Bob Dylan in 1965. Filled with surrealist imagery, historical and literary characters, as well as, graphic depictions of institutional decadence and decay, the haunting lyrics and rhythmic strum-pattern of Dylan’s composition echo the shattered world of Elliot’s Wasteland while incorporating the language and sound of the folk revival. Structurally, Desolation Road reinterprets Dylan’s song by transforming each of the ten verses into novel chapters. An obscure character from the first verse, Lady, becomes the principal character in the parody. As a thoroughly post-modern work, Desolation Road explores the audacity of the parodist who adapts a great work of literature. The novel, through the voice of its principal character Ms. Lady Jones, questions its own existence and its right to borrow the borrowed characters from Dylan’s song. A caricaturized version of Dylan functions as a character and central symbol for the parody. Lynched and hanged from a lamppost light in the center of Desolation Road, a fictional main street where the action of the narrative occurs, Dylan is forced to watch as the characters from his song take on lives of their own. The novel explores the role of the artist and imitator and questions the extent to which an artist can lay claim to their own work.
"],"dc:format":["application/PDF"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/650"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2019 Eric James Smith"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["Creative writing","Fiction"],"dc:title":["Desolation Road"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English and Theatre"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Fine Arts (MFA)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:53Z"}