Reading the Boss: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Works of Bruce Springsteen

Reading the Boss: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Works of Bruce Springsteen

Reading the Boss: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Works of Bruce Springsteen

Reading the Boss: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Works of Bruce Springsteen

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Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780739145357
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication date: 08/20/2010
Pages: 316
Product dimensions: 6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

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.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Note on the Lyrics Introduction: The Bard of Asbury Park Section 1: Reading Influence Chapter 1: Endlessly Seeking: Springsteen and Percy's Quest for Possibility Among the Ordinary Chapter 2: "On Blessing Avenue": Faith, Language, and a Search for Meaning In the Works of Bruce Springsteen and Walker Percy Chapter 3: "The Flannery O'Connor of American Rock" Section 2: Reading Place Chapter 4: "Deliver me from nowhere": Place and Space in Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska Chapter 5: Tracking Place and Identity in Bruce Springsteen's Tracks Section 3: Reading Gender Chapter 6: "Who's that girl?": Nostalgia, Gender, and Springsteen Chapter 7: Growin' Up to be a Nothing Man: Masculinity, Community, and the Outsider in Bruce Springsteen's Songs Chapter 8: "Like a vision she dances": Re-Visioning the Female Figure in the Songs of Bruce Springsteen Section 4: Reading Philosophy and Religion Chapter 9: A Covenant Reversed: Bruce Springsteen and the Promised Land Chapter 10: Ironic Revelation in Bruce Springsteen Chapter 11: "I'll work for your love": Springsteen and the Struggle for Authenticity Chapter 12: 12."May your hope give us hope": The Rising as a Site of Mourning Bibliography About the Editors and Contributors Music and Image Credits Index
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