For the very first time when American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan decided to perform a rock-and-roll set, he was mercilessly booed. This was happening at Newport Folk Festival on July 25, 1965, the audience was dismayed when the musician went electric and immediately made their feelings evident. Can you blame the audience for being disgruntled over their beloved singer's art taking a new direction?
The reaction of the listeners was also directed towards the now-classic song Like A Rolling Stone, which was released five days before the performance. Dylan's transition from acoustic folk to electrified rock and roll was on full display via this song.
Can you believe it? THE Bob Dylan! The man who eventually went on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature was booed and yelled at by an audience. But what does that tell you about perseverance, success, art and how's that for some Sunday motivation?
For the love of short stories
Many don't realise that the date July 25, 1897 is a very important date in literature. You see, Athol Estes Porter passed away on this day. Her on-the-run husband, William Sydney Porter charged with embezzling $854 from a bank, appeared on her deathbed, heartbroken. Which naturally led to his arrest.
Five years, that's how long he was sent to prison in Columbia, USA. It is during this period of his life that he wrote a series of short stories under the pseudonym O Henry. And that, my folks, is the backstory of one of the greatest short story writers the world has ever known.
