Poets, teachers, and musicologists fusing studies of form, scansion, and musical creation to redefine the place of the American bard

The Poetics of American Song Lyrics is the first collection of academic essays that regards songs as literature and that identifies intersections between the literary histories of poems and songs. The essays by well-known poets and scholars including Pulitzer Prize winner Claudia Emerson, Peter Guralnick, Adam Bradley, David Kirby, Kevin Young, and many others, locate points of synthesis and separation so as to better understand both genres and their crafts. The essayists share a desire to write on lyrics in a way that moves beyond sociological, historical, and autobiographical approaches and explicates songs in relation to poetics. Unique to this volume, the essays focus not on a single genre but on folk, rap, hip hop, country, rock, indie, soul, and blues. The first section of the book provides a variety of perspectives on the poetic history and techniques within songs and poems, and the second section focuses on a few prominent American songwriters such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Michael Stipe. Through conversational yet in-depth analyses of songs, the essays discuss sonnet forms, dramatic monologues, Modernism, ballads, blues poems, confessionalism, Language poetry, Keatsian odes, unreliable narrators, personas, poetic sequences, rhythm, rhyme, transcription methods, the writing process, and more. While the strategies of explication differ from essay to essay, the nexus of each piece is an unveiling of the poetic history and poetic techniques within songs.

""Popular Song Writers"" delves into the captivating world of hit-making, exploring the lives and creative processes of influential songwriters who have shaped global music. This comprehensive book traces the evolution of popular songwriting from the early 20th century to today, examining how societal changes and technological advancements have influenced musical trends. At its core, the book argues that every chart-topping hit is a unique blend of talent, craft, and cultural zeitgeist. Readers are taken on a journey through the mechanics of unforgettable music, from the psychology behind emotional resonance to the economics of the music industry. The book profiles several iconic songwriters, analyzing their techniques and contributions to various genres. It draws on primary sources, including interviews and chart data, to provide a well-rounded view of each artist's impact. By blending musical analysis with biographical storytelling and cultural commentary, ""Popular Song Writers"" offers a unique perspective on the art of crafting songs that define generations. Progressing from an introduction to popular songwriting, through individual profiles, to an examination of collective influence, the book maintains an accessible yet informative tone. It addresses ongoing debates in the field, such as the impact of technology on songwriting and copyright issues, encouraging readers to form their own opinions. Whether you're a casual music fan, an aspiring songwriter, or an industry professional, this book promises valuable insights into the creative process behind the soundtrack of our lives.

The Singer-Songwriter in Europe is the first book to explore and compare the multifaceted discourses and practices of this figure within and across linguistic spaces in Europe and in dialogue with spaces beyond continental borders. The concept of the singer-songwriter is significant and much-debated for a variety of reasons. Many such musicians possess large and zealous followings, their output often esteemed politically and usually held up as the nearest popular music gets to high art, such facets often yielding sizeable economic benefits. Yet this figure, per se, has been the object of scant critical discussion, with individual practitioners celebrated for their isolated achievements instead. In response to this lack of critical knowledge, this volume identifies and interrogates the musical, linguistic, social and ideological elements that configure the singer-songwriter and its various equivalents in Europe, such as the French auteur-compositeur-interprète and the Italian cantautore, since the late 1940s. Particular attention is paid to the emergence of this figure in the post-war period, how and why its contours have changed over time and space subsequently, cross-cultural influences, and the transformative agency of this figure as regards party and identity politics in lyrics and music, often by means of individual case studies. The book's polycentric approach endeavours to redress the hitherto Anglophone bias in scholarship on the singer-songwriter in the English-speaking world, drawing on the knowledge of scholars from across Europe and from a variety of academic disciplines, including modern language studies, musicology, sociology, literary studies and history.