(EVANSTON, Ill.) – Author Seth Rogovoy will be presenting two virtual multimedia lectures on Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen on behalf of Beth Emet: The Free Synagogue, of Evanston, Ill., on Thursday, November 12, at 8pm Eastern Time (Dylan) and on Thursday, November 19, at 8pm Eastern Time (Cohen). Each talk will be followed a question-and-answer session.

The Dylan talk on November 12 takes its name from Seth’s book, “Bob Dylan: Prophet Mystic Poet” (Scribner, 2009). Like the book, the talk is an exploration of the deep and profound influence of Dylan’s Jewish background and scriptural roots on this Nobel Prize-winning rock poet’s life and work. Employing audio tracks, photographs, rare video, and lyrical analysis, viewers will come to appreciate how Dylan’s familiarity with Torah, Talmud, and Kabbalah has worked its way into his songs and public utterances, his embrace of Israel, and the Jewish outreach organization Chabad. Discussion will reflect on how Dylan can best be seen and appreciated as a Jewish artist.

The Leonard Cohen talk on November 17 takes its name from Seth’s award-winning profile of the late Canadian singer-songwriter, “Leonard Cohen’s Mystical Midrash,” that appeared in the April/May 2015 issue of Hadassah Magazine, garnering Rogovoy the 2016 Simon Rockower Award for excellence in arts and criticism from the American Jewish Press Association. This multimedia program incorporates still images, video, and close lyrical analysis to explore the deep and profound influence of Leonard Cohen’s Jewish background and scriptural roots in his life and work. Attendees will see how the legendary rock poet’s familiarity with Torah, Talmud, and Kabbalah worked its way into his songs and public utterances. Viewers will reflect on and discuss how Cohen can best be seen and appreciated as a Jewish artist.

Registration is required to view the presentations. In order to register, visit Beth Emet’s online  Adult Education page. Scroll down to November for more details about the Dylan and Cohen talks, and/or click through to the registration form .  For more information or to register directly, send an email to Danny Blanco, Beth Emet’s educational program administrator, at dblanco@bethemet.org. There is a $10 fee for each talk.

Seth Rogovoy was called “American Jewry’s greatest Dylan scholar” by Religion News Service. He is the author of Bob Dylan: Prophet Mystic Poet (Scribner, 2009), a full-length analysis of Bob Dylan’s life and work. He also wrote The Essential Klezmer: A Music Lover’s Guide to Jewish Roots and Soul Music (Algonquin Books, 2000), the all-time bestselling guide to klezmer music. Seth’s work has appeared for three decades in the English-language national Jewish publication The Forward, where he is a contributing editor.