Will Patton to narrate Dylan’s cult publication ‘Tarantula’

NEW YORK – Bob Dylan’s “Tarantula,” a stream-of-consciousness work first released in 1971, is finally coming out in audio.

Simon & Schuster announced Tuesday that Will Patton is the narrator, reciting such lines as “raggedy ann daughter of brazos and teeth in the necklace.” Dylan first wrote “Tarantula” in the mid-1960s, at the height of his career. But his 1966 motorcycle accident delayed publication and made the book a kind of underground legend, with unauthorized versions turning up. By 1971, Dylan’s influence had waned and reviewers were unimpressed. Village Voice critic Robert Christgau called “Tarantula” an unsatisfying and aimless throwback to Dylan’s 1960s writings, and Dylan himself would say the book was his manager’s idea, although it still has a cult following.

The audio of “Tarantula” comes out December 3.