Reading the Boss: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Works of Bruce Springsteen, edited by Roxanne Harde and Irwin Streight, draws together close readings of Bruce Springsteen's lyrics by scholars across a range of academic disciplines. The editors first make a compelling comparison between Bruce Springsteen and William Shakespeare, carefully building the argument that both men offer profound insight into the hungry human heart. Springsteen, they argue, uses many Shakespearean themes such as the ties of blood and friendship, commitment to country and community, the monsters of lust and jealousy, vanity and power, and the hopeful pursuit of real love. These themes lift his music beyond stories of characters casing the Promised Land of America to universal matters of the heart's truth wherever it is found. Then, the twelve chapters of Reading the Boss, written by established and emerging scholars, engage readers both critically and enthusiastically with central issues in Bruce Springsteen's writing, as they read his explorations of gender, place, religion, philosophy, and other literary texts, notably the works of Walker Percy and Flannery O'Connor. Driven by arguments grounded in a wide variety of theoretical and critical positions, these essays offer a comprehensive and accessible discussion of Springsteen's oeuvre, from Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. to Working on a Dream that will appeal to both specialist readers and Springsteen fans alike.
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It is no longer surprising to see scholars devote themselves to the significance of Bruce Springsteen, whether as a performer, a poet, or a global cultural symbol. But it is indeed a pleasure to find the quality of such investigations so consistently impressive, probing, and often eloquent. This is a collection worthy of its subject. I know of no higher praise. (Eric Alterman, distinguished professor at Brooklyn College and author of It Ain't No Sin to be Glad You're Alive: The Promise of Bruce Springst )
This collection focuses explicitly on Bruce Springsteen's literary connections: to the authors Flannery O'Connor, Walker Percy, and John Steinbeck (among others), and to the tensions in his songcraft, whether of rebellion and rootedness, or gender and blue-collar ethnic masculinity. In contrast to a discourse often filled with praise-song, these essays instead hone in on the artistic elements Springsteen wields to create moments of redemption for his everyday alienated working-class characters. (Joel Dinerstein, associate professor in the department of English at Tulane University )
College-level music and literary collections alike will find this a winner! (The Midwest Book Review )
Call it what you will -- hyperbolic, hagiographic, hilarious -- but Roxanne Harde and Irwin Streight, editors of Reading the Boss, liken their subject to a modern-day Shakespeare. Their introduction, "The Bard of Asbury Park," adumbrates some of the literary traits the two share; beyond a 2009 cover photo from Rolling Stone and its resemblance to the famous Chandos portrait of the Bard, there's Springsteen's abiding interest in loco-descriptive histories, or stories involving a particular place (i.e. Nebraska, Thunder Road, E Street), class struggle, song cycles and the fact that both the Boss and the Bard "offer a profound insight into the hungry human heart -- and Springsteen, arguably, with more breadth and depth than any other current American singer-songwriter" (6)....editors Harde and Streight have assembled some informative and insightful approaches to the Bard of the Garden State.
(Rocky Mountain Review )
This collection focuses explicitly on Bruce Springsteen's literary connections: to the authors Flannery O'Connor, Walker Percy, and John Steinbeck (among others), and to the tensions in his songcraft, whether of rebellion and rootedness, or gender and blue-collar ethnic masculinity. In contrast to a discourse often filled with praise-song, these essays instead hone in on the artistic elements Springsteen wields to create moments of redemption for his everyday alienated working-class characters. (Joel Dinerstein, associate professor in the department of English at Tulane University )
College-level music and literary collections alike will find this a winner! (The Midwest Book Review )
Call it what you will -- hyperbolic, hagiographic, hilarious -- but Roxanne Harde and Irwin Streight, editors of Reading the Boss, liken their subject to a modern-day Shakespeare. Their introduction, "The Bard of Asbury Park," adumbrates some of the literary traits the two share; beyond a 2009 cover photo from Rolling Stone and its resemblance to the famous Chandos portrait of the Bard, there's Springsteen's abiding interest in loco-descriptive histories, or stories involving a particular place (i.e. Nebraska, Thunder Road, E Street), class struggle, song cycles and the fact that both the Boss and the Bard "offer a profound insight into the hungry human heart -- and Springsteen, arguably, with more breadth and depth than any other current American singer-songwriter" (6)....editors Harde and Streight have assembled some informative and insightful approaches to the Bard of the Garden State.
(Rocky Mountain Review )
About the Author
Roxanne Harde is associate professor of English at the University of Alberta Irwin Streight is associate professor of English at the Royal Military College of Canada
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A literary exploration of themes found in Bruce Springsteen's lyrics
August 3, 2011
Format:Paperback
A collection of twelve essays divided into four sections which offers close readings by noted scholars from a variety of disciplines of Bruce Springsteen's lyrics as given in "Bruce Springsteen: Songs" and at the website BruceSpringsteen.net.
Referring to comments by Springsteen's first manager, Mike Appel -- who suggested that Springsteen's lyrics could place him among "the literary greats" -- and other commentators and scholars who have noticed Shakespearean elements in his songcraft, editors Irwin Streight and Roxanne Harde offer readers a thoughtful selection of essays that explore his songwriting themes, commitments, influences, and "exploration of the dark heart of humanity" through his music.
Working from the critical assumption that Springsteen's lyrics are literary works worthy of exploration in their own right, Streight and Harde's selection of essays explore his songs, performances and text, while focusing on the language, craft and structure of his lyrics. Their twenty-page Introduction sets out the parameters of the book, outlines the positions of the scholarly community, and provides an annotated guide to relevant sources that scholarly readers may want to pursue for further study.
The essays themselves are of such a quality and offer such a diversity of perspectives that scholars, general readers and music critics alike will want to purchase and read this collection.
Section 1, "Reading Influence," includes: June Skinner Sawyers' comparison of Springsteen's craft of writing with that of Walker Percy; Michael Kobre's discussion of the exploration of faith, language and man's search for meaning in works by Springsteen and Percy; and, Irwin Streight's essay on the influence of Flannery O'Connor on his lyrics -- especially in how he develops characters and tells stories.
Section 2, "Reading Place," includes: Frank P. Fury's exploration of the narrative structure of the songs on the "Nebraska" album and how that structure informs Springsteen's treatment of place, landscape and space; Mike Cado and Teresa V. Abbruzzese's suggestion that his vision (shaped by traditions of American folk music, storytelling, and narrative poetry) "offers a distinctive fusion of the sounds and rhythms of the rock idiom with images--cars, factories, guitars, and carnivals--that are now iconic in American urban postindustrial landscape."
Section 3, "Reading Gender," includes: Kenneth Womack's look at the "female lead in Springsteen's literary landscape," who -- though she comes in "many guises" -- serves as "the female face at the heart of the sociocultural nostalgia that structures Springsteen's sense of pastness throughout his work"; Ann V. Bliss' exploration of Springsteen's use of "archetypal outsider figures" in his songwriting and their evolution over the course of his career as they seek to achieve the American Dream; and, Liza Zitelli's exploration -- using a feminist critical methodology -- of Springsteen's "artistic commitment and contribution to the evolving feminist vision."
Section 4, "Reading Philosophy and Religion," includes: Stephen Hazan Arnoff's suggestion that concerns of the medieval Spanish Jewish thinker and poet, Yehudah HaLevi, appear to resemble the concepts of "exile, wandering, and seeking a mythic home" seen in Springsteen's work that "open a compelling track for understanding the contemporary adaptation of belief in the Promised Land" at the heart of the songwriters' work; Peter J. Field's discussion of Springsteen's use of "an ironic revelator" who "unseals" the confessions of the "forlorn" souls that "have not been abandoned" to offer the audience an avenue that "unfolds their lost meaning, and champions the speakers as he speaks through their voices"; John J. Sheinbaum's exploration of the "broad theme of authenticity" that Springsteen approaches through the singer-songwriter tradition, suggesting that it is this "level of esteem regularly aimed in the direction of this one particular human being" that "stands at the root of 'why he has become so important'"; and, Roxanne Harde's consideration of how Springsteen's album "The Rising" met the need of their audience for "an ongoing commentary on and critique of contemporary American society," specifically focusing on how the album serves as a cultural response -- mourning, and the absence and loss caused by trauma -- to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
In addition to the extensive Bibliography, General Index, Song Index and "About the Editors and Contributors" sections that following the narrative text of the essays, there is a list of credits to Pam Springsteen, Rolling Stone and Bruce Springsteen (ASCAP) that surely reflect a small treasure chest of permission fees paid to secure permission for the photographs and lyrics. Having the photographs and lyrics present in the text means that the reader has them right in front of him/her and does not have to search elsewhere to refer to them. An expensive, but helpful luxury for the reader.
Highly recommended for college, university, and public libraries as well as Springsteen fans seeking a better understanding of Springsteen's craft.
R. Neil Scott
Middle Tennessee State University
Referring to comments by Springsteen's first manager, Mike Appel -- who suggested that Springsteen's lyrics could place him among "the literary greats" -- and other commentators and scholars who have noticed Shakespearean elements in his songcraft, editors Irwin Streight and Roxanne Harde offer readers a thoughtful selection of essays that explore his songwriting themes, commitments, influences, and "exploration of the dark heart of humanity" through his music.
Working from the critical assumption that Springsteen's lyrics are literary works worthy of exploration in their own right, Streight and Harde's selection of essays explore his songs, performances and text, while focusing on the language, craft and structure of his lyrics. Their twenty-page Introduction sets out the parameters of the book, outlines the positions of the scholarly community, and provides an annotated guide to relevant sources that scholarly readers may want to pursue for further study.
The essays themselves are of such a quality and offer such a diversity of perspectives that scholars, general readers and music critics alike will want to purchase and read this collection.
Section 1, "Reading Influence," includes: June Skinner Sawyers' comparison of Springsteen's craft of writing with that of Walker Percy; Michael Kobre's discussion of the exploration of faith, language and man's search for meaning in works by Springsteen and Percy; and, Irwin Streight's essay on the influence of Flannery O'Connor on his lyrics -- especially in how he develops characters and tells stories.
Section 2, "Reading Place," includes: Frank P. Fury's exploration of the narrative structure of the songs on the "Nebraska" album and how that structure informs Springsteen's treatment of place, landscape and space; Mike Cado and Teresa V. Abbruzzese's suggestion that his vision (shaped by traditions of American folk music, storytelling, and narrative poetry) "offers a distinctive fusion of the sounds and rhythms of the rock idiom with images--cars, factories, guitars, and carnivals--that are now iconic in American urban postindustrial landscape."
Section 3, "Reading Gender," includes: Kenneth Womack's look at the "female lead in Springsteen's literary landscape," who -- though she comes in "many guises" -- serves as "the female face at the heart of the sociocultural nostalgia that structures Springsteen's sense of pastness throughout his work"; Ann V. Bliss' exploration of Springsteen's use of "archetypal outsider figures" in his songwriting and their evolution over the course of his career as they seek to achieve the American Dream; and, Liza Zitelli's exploration -- using a feminist critical methodology -- of Springsteen's "artistic commitment and contribution to the evolving feminist vision."
Section 4, "Reading Philosophy and Religion," includes: Stephen Hazan Arnoff's suggestion that concerns of the medieval Spanish Jewish thinker and poet, Yehudah HaLevi, appear to resemble the concepts of "exile, wandering, and seeking a mythic home" seen in Springsteen's work that "open a compelling track for understanding the contemporary adaptation of belief in the Promised Land" at the heart of the songwriters' work; Peter J. Field's discussion of Springsteen's use of "an ironic revelator" who "unseals" the confessions of the "forlorn" souls that "have not been abandoned" to offer the audience an avenue that "unfolds their lost meaning, and champions the speakers as he speaks through their voices"; John J. Sheinbaum's exploration of the "broad theme of authenticity" that Springsteen approaches through the singer-songwriter tradition, suggesting that it is this "level of esteem regularly aimed in the direction of this one particular human being" that "stands at the root of 'why he has become so important'"; and, Roxanne Harde's consideration of how Springsteen's album "The Rising" met the need of their audience for "an ongoing commentary on and critique of contemporary American society," specifically focusing on how the album serves as a cultural response -- mourning, and the absence and loss caused by trauma -- to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
In addition to the extensive Bibliography, General Index, Song Index and "About the Editors and Contributors" sections that following the narrative text of the essays, there is a list of credits to Pam Springsteen, Rolling Stone and Bruce Springsteen (ASCAP) that surely reflect a small treasure chest of permission fees paid to secure permission for the photographs and lyrics. Having the photographs and lyrics present in the text means that the reader has them right in front of him/her and does not have to search elsewhere to refer to them. An expensive, but helpful luxury for the reader.
Highly recommended for college, university, and public libraries as well as Springsteen fans seeking a better understanding of Springsteen's craft.
R. Neil Scott
Middle Tennessee State University
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
College-level music and literary collections alike will find this a winner!
February 20, 2011
Format:Paperback
READING THE BOSS: INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO THE WORKS OF BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN uses the musician's lyrics to pair with analysis by scholars across a range of academic disciplines. From a comparison between Springsteen and Shakespeare that compares themes and usage to critical reviews of his explorations of gender, religion and more, this uses the works of other notable writers in the process of comparison and analysis. College-level music and literary collections alike will find this a winner!
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