A Poet’s Perspective on Song

Dana Gioia is the author of six collections of verse, including Interrogations at Noon (2001), winner of the American Book Award, and 99 Poems: New & Selected (2016), awarded the Poets’ Prize. Gioia’s seven critical collections include Can Poetry Matter? (1992), a finalist for the National Book Critics Award. Gioia has also written six opera libretti and edited more than 20 anthologies. We asked him a few questions ahead of his visit to UCSB on October 28. 

I wonder if you could tell us about your upcoming talk: “Words & Music: A Poet’s Perspective on Song”?

I wanted to talk about poetry in a different way. I felt it would be enjoyable and intriguing to explore poetry’s deep relationship to song. I’m a well-known poet, but few literary people know that for the last 30 years, I have also been collaborating with composers and musicians. I’ve written song lyrics as well as the libretti for six operas. I’ve worked with classical, jazz, and pop musicians. I wanted to share some of the things I’ve learned in these creative collaborations.

You are a poet who is noted for his gift for rhyme and meter. I assume that this would be an asset for songs and libretti? Are there times when this gift is a hindrance?

Poetry and song were originally the same art. In the ancient world, all poetry was sung or chanted. Indeed, it was often danced as well. Physical rhythm and sound are the driving forces of both arts. Popular songs and musical theater still use rhyme and meter. People love and understand these fundamentally musical techniques.

So, to answer your question: Yes, form is a powerful asset. Remember that in both song and the theater, the audience doesn’t see your text; they just hear it. Rhyme gives them auditory guidance. The meter also helps the composer shape the music. Is it ever a hindrance? Yes, every time you write a stupid rhyme! But if you rhyme well, it is a memorable way to write. I love certain singer-songwriters — like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, or Aimee Mann — because they rhyme so ingeniously.

Can you talk about your new book on opera and poetry, Weep, Shudder, Die?

I wanted to write a book about how important words were in opera. There is a silly cliché about opera that the words and plot don’t matter. But are the greatest operas really great music built on execrable texts? This theory comes from people who can’t understand the operas in their original languages and only know libretti in bad translations. Operas begin with words. The composer can’t begin without them. The poet needs to craft great lyrics as well as arresting plots and memorable characters. 

In Weep, Shudder, Die, I talk about the opportunity for poets to write the texts of new operas. There is currently a great trend to create new American works. This gives poets a chance to write major works as well as collaborate with composers, directors, and singers. I talk about my experience in ways that other writers can learn from.

You’ve worked with dozens of classical, jazz, and pop composers. What are some of your favorite memories of those collaborations?

I have too many stories. Let me offer one recurring experience. With jazz musicians, such as Helen Sung or Dmitri Matheny — I have to perform poetry live as part of a set. At a certain point in a number, I speak a poem in the same way that a sax player does a solo. You have to recite to accompaniment with a subtle swing. It was terrifying at first. But I soon noticed that audiences love hearing a good poem well spoken. It catches them by surprise, and they want more. That is a reassuring thing in an age when people claim no one likes poetry.

Dana Gioia will present a free public lecture on Tuesday, October 28, at 4 p.m. in UCSB’s South Hall 2635. A reception will follow from 6 to 7 p.m.