“People talk of situations, read books, repeat quotations.” — Bob Dylan, “Love Minus Zero/No Limit”
Join Bob Dylan Center Director Steven Jenkins for an online discussion with acclaimed songwriter and performer Paul Burch about his imaginative historical novel based on the life of twentieth-century music legend Jimmie Rodgers, the sole artist voted into the Blues, Country, Songwriters and Rock & Roll halls of fame.
“Meridian Rising” is told in chapters that alternate between Jimmie’s “lost” memoir of his final trip to New York just before his death in May 1933, and interviews with family and colleagues decades later as they recall Jimmie’s life to a stranger who knows much more than they suspect. Gradually, the two stories intertwine until past and present are knotted together in a primordial rock ‘n’ roll tale of love, music, drugs, sex and blue yodels.
Through original research and storytelling, Burch’s fictional debut conjures a not-so-improbable tale of the last days of the pioneering rock & rolling singer-songwriter who Howlin’ Wolf praised as “the man I really dug,” and whose comet-like career kicked off the modern music business, inspiring artists such as Robert Johnson, Dolly Parton and Bob Dylan.
Zoom in for this virtual chat as Burch discusses “Meridian Rising” and fields questions from Jenkins and attendees.
“What if all the stories about Jimmie Rodgers were true and someone could make you
believe them? The result—from days at Coney Island to Rodgers asking Delta blues king
Charley Patton to preach his funeral–is ‘Meridian Rising,’ a book of wonders.” — Greil Marcus, “Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ‘n’ Roll Music”
Presenting Supporters: Joe Donnelly and Becky Thorson
Details:
This event will take place virtually via Zoom.
Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026
6 p.m. CT
Tickets:
$5 for nonmembers
Free for Bob Dylan Center members
About Paul Burch:
A native of Washington, D.C. Paul Burch is based in Nashville and maintains a productive, critically acclaimed career as a songwriter, producer and recording artist. For decades, Burch’s thoroughly modern take on classic sounds, particularly on albums with his band WPA Ballclub, have attracted fans across genres from rock to bluegrass, prompting Billboard to call him “a leader in marrying country’s roots tradition with a modern sensibility” and Pop Matters to declare him “one of the best damn songwriters operating today.”
About the Bob Dylan Center Book Club:
The Bob Dylan Center Book Club is a series of conversations with writers, artists and performers about their latest releases. Featured authors discuss their memoirs, share stories of their adventures in the music industry, and delve deep into the careers and legacies of pivotal figures. In keeping with the mission and activities of the Bob Dylan Center, which celebrate fearless creativity, conversations focus on stirring music, iconic musicians and the mysteries of the creative process.
Book Club sessions take place on Zoom on every other month, begin at 6:00 pm CT, last for one hour, and are open to Bob Dylan Center members and the general public. Bob Dylan Center Director Steven Jenkins moderates the conversations with a diverse range of guests, and registrants are invited to contribute questions and comments via the Zoom chat box.
