Bob Dylan, author, Clinton Heylin, editor, Saved!: The Gospel Speeches of Bob Dylan, (Madras; New York: Hanuman Books, 1990).

When Bob Dylan rose to fame in the early 1960s, many fans and critics pointed out similarities between Dylan and the Beat Writers. While likenesses are found in writing style, influence over modern society, and preference to disassociate from the mainstream, characterizing Dylan as a Beat writer remains a point of contention today. For many, the final piece of evidence separating Dylan from the Beat writers came in the late 1970s when Dylan announced his conversion to Evangelical Christianity. Since the Beat writers have strong ties to Zen Buddhism, Evangelical Christianity represents Dylan’s complete turn away from the Beat writers. Saved!: The Gospel Speeches of Bob Dylan offers transcriptions of Christian speeches that Dylan gave at his concerts from 1978 to 1980. Although Bob Dylan has now seemingly moved on from his Evangelical Christian phase, many fans and critics still view Dylan’s conversion as a defining moment of his career.