Litpop: Changing Understandings of Writing and Music for Readers and Creative Practitioners
Submitting Institution
Northumbria University NewcastleUnit of Assessment
English Language and LiteratureSummary Impact Type
CulturalResearch Subject Area(s)
Studies In Creative Arts and Writing: Performing Arts and Creative Writing
Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
Summary of the impact
Dr Adam Hansen's interest in the links between writing and popular music
led him to set up a monthly `Litpop' bookclub at The Sage Gateshead, the
primary music venue in the North East of England; to deliver a workshop
for writers and musicians at the Star and Shadow Cinema; Newcastle; and to
organise a series of public talks. These events helped the Sage in
particular to diversify its programme and audiences. Participating readers
benefited in terms of greater appreciation of the relations between
writing and popular music and between `low' and `high' culture, while the
event at the Star and Shadow stimulated new forms of creativity amongst
local writers and musicians.
Underpinning research
Dr Adam Hansen (Senior Lecturer, 2007- present) is a Shakespearean
scholar with a longstanding interest in Shakespeare's representation of
places and the phenomenon of social mobility in early modern England. He
has always been interested in the low-born characters, the rogues and
beggars, in Shakespeare's plays, rather than the rulers and courtiers.
This fascination with distinctions of rank and value has recently extended
into a different type of research project, combining Hansen's academic
expertise on Shakespeare with his passion for popular music. When it came
out in 2010, Shakespeare and Popular Music attracted wide interest
from academic journals and the music press. It was praised in the TLS
specifically for its success in bringing together `two ostensibly
mismatched cultural phenomena'. The book explores the adoption of
Shakespeare's words and themes in popular music, asking:
- How and why have people tried to define high culture, including
`literary' writing like Shakespeare's, by contrasting it with
low or popular culture, including popular music?
- How and why have people tried to give value to popular culture, by linking
it with `high' culture, like Shakespeare?
- If we say `literature' has more value than popular culture, what
effects might this have on the way that readers, writers and audiences
of writing and popular music value their own understanding of
writing and popular music?
Hansen's research involved gathering responses from both producers and
consumers of popular music about how they understood the connections
between Shakespeare and popular music. What he discovered was a general
unwillingness, amongst critics as much as ordinary readers and listeners,
to accept connections between `literary' writing and popular music. Even
consumers of popular music linked to Shakespeare queried the existence of
any such connection, while musicians, though more ready to accept the
benefits of using Shakespeare's work, still doubted any natural fit
between what they did and what he did. What Hansen deduced as underlying
this resistance were a set of preconceptions about the relative value of
high and low culture. Shakespeare and Popular Music tries to
confront these preconceptions, questioning whether the value-based
separation of literature and popular music is possible or defensible.
References to the research
Hansen A. (2007) `Shakespeare and the City', Blackwell Literature
Compass 4 (April). DOI: 10.1111/j.1741-4113.2007.00452.x
Hansen A. (2011) `London and its Others in Timon of Athens', Shakespeare
Jahrbuch 147, pp53- 68. Available from Northumbria University on
request.
Hansen A. (2012) `Cities in Late Shakespeare'. In Late Shakespeare:
Texts and Contexts 1680- 1613, Power A. and Loughnane R. (eds.)
pp187-208. Cambridge UP. Output listed in REF2.
Hansen A. (2010), Shakespeare and Popular Music, Continuum.
Output listed in REF2.
Hansen A. (2011) `Shakespeare and Popular Music'. In Shakespeare and
the Arts, Thornton Burnett M., Wray R., and Streete A. (eds.),
Edinburgh UP, pp. 219-236. Available from Northumbria University on
request.
Awards
1. Litpop Workshop (2013) funded by a Higher Education Investment Fund
award
Details of the impact
The Litpop bookclub at The Sage Gateshead has run continuously from 2011,
connected to the Sage's education programme. It was set up with the
intention of raising appreciation amongst a non-academic audience of the
findings emerging from Hansen's 2010 monograph. In particular,
participants were encouraged to jettison their preconceptions and to
consider afresh the distinction and barriers between different forms of
culture. Hansen encouraged those involved to value their own responses to
popular music influenced by the work of literary figures, as well as to
`literary' writing influenced by popular music. The club has also branched
out recently with a spin-off meeting at the Darlington For Culture
Festival (May 2013) and a Litpop Workshop delivered at the Star and Shadow
Cinema, Newcastle upon Tyne, April 2013. Hansen has also delivered public
talks at The Sage Gateshead as part of their `Exploring Music' series in
April 2012 and February 2013, and in May 2011 delivered a lecture on
Shakespeare and popular music at Newcastle's Literary and Philosophical
Society to an audience of 30 (the subsequent podcast has received 86 plays
and 9 downloads (source 8)). All these events have created an opportunity
for him to engage audiences with the ideas at the heart of his study on Shakespeare
and Popular Music: namely the links between writing and music, and
the popular and the elite. His research has impacted upon readers, writers
and musicians in the North East of England in these two ways:
- The Litpop bookclub benefited its host institutions' engagements
with their audiences, while also improving public understanding of the
links between literature and popular music, and high culture and
popular culture.
The Litpop bookclub was never intended to be a standard reading group.
Established at The Sage Gateshead, one of the premier musical venues in
the UK, and appealing to an audience with musical tastes as much as
bookish ones, it attempted to bring the worlds of literature and music
together. Sessions featured music playlists brought in (and heard) by
participants and often followed participants' recommendations for books.
The books also needed to have musical references or themes, ensuring that
the relation between music and writing was constantly stressed. The
sessions were participant-led, but discussion was framed and underpinned
by Hansen's work on the relations between writing and popular music. The
bookclub has been of particular benefit to The Sage Gateshead in terms of
diversifying its programme of events: since the club's inception 168
people (Oct 2011 to August 2013: figure from the Sage) have attended at
least one session, of whom 10% have been classed as new bookers or
non-regular attendees. This has helped the Sage meet its strategic
objectives. The Cross-Strand Programme Manager at the Sage affirmed that:
`The Litpop Book Club has helped to expand the [Sage's] education
programme...by offering participants a unique forum to combine their
interests in literature and popular music — we are not aware of another
book club of this nature in the region — and to help fulfil The Sage
Gateshead's mission: to entertain, involve and inspire each and every
person we meet' (source 1). The Chair of Darlington For Culture
Festival, echoed this perception of the value of the bookclub for his
Festival: `Book clubs are a key part of any literary festival and the
Litpop one added something extra' (source 2). Reflecting on the
Litpop workshop and performance, The Star and Shadow Cinema confirmed that
`several performers...had never been to the...Cinema before, and having
new artists come to the cinema is crucial to the survival of our venue',
since one of the `strategic aims of the cinema' is `to...help
with the creation of new and challenging work'. The Cinema reported
that attendance for the evening performance was `very good'
because `many members of the audience had never been to the cinema
before' and in that sense, `this event greatly helped the cinema
to grow and diversify its audience' (source 3).The bookclub has had
beneficial impacts for participants, in terms of fostering new
appreciation of the links between writing and popular music and of the
complex relation between elite and popular culture. One Sage bookclub
participant observed that `[my] view has changed positively towards
associating writing with music' and that the book club has
`broadened my knowledge'. Another affirmed `I enjoy the
opportunity to develop my thinking on the linkage between words and
music'. One comment summed up much of the feedback: `The books
chosen have helped me discover writers I probably never would read
otherwise, & discover new perspectives'. Responses after the
Darlington book club similarly indicated that the event `Developed my
understanding of how poetry operates within music' (source 6).
- The Litpop workshop, performance and public talks helped musicians
and writers to generate new forms of creative expression, in doing so
enriching the imaginations and lives of individuals and groups
The Litpop workshop at the Star and Shadow Cinema brought together a
small group of local musicians and writers in order to share their
practice. The event was designed as an experiment in music speaking to
writing. Guided by resources provided by Hansen, the seven writers and
musicians worked together on a new verbal and musical composition,
subsequently performing this in public at the Cinema. Participants noted
changes in their own creative practices as a result of the workshop, and
due to specific exercises involving musical adaptations of Shakespearean
sonnets: `I can see clear links between how writers may use music
either as inspiration for pieces of writing or as accompaniment to
writing'; `I have new ideas for pieces of music related writing';
`My understanding of how others relate to music and how they go about
writing the content of their songs has been greatly expanded'. One
participant said they would try `experimenting more within my writing
— using musical forms', while another asserted that the event had
the benefit of `boosting my confidence, widening my creative
perspective' (source 7). They also benefited from the opportunity
for collaboration: `it was good to meet collectively'; `[I
benefited] by having time & opportunity to work with other writers
& musicians, observe their creative process and be inspired by their
work'.
Hansen's public talks at The Sage Gateshead (as part of their `Exploring
Music' series in April 2012 and February 2013) involved working with
people in non-HEI contexts to illuminate and challenge cultural values and
assumptions. These talks addressed popular music and literature,
particularly the writings of Shakespeare: 42 people participated of whom a
fifth were new bookers or non-regular attendees (source 1). Subsequently,
17 out of 19 questionnaire respondents from the audience for the 2012 talk
affirmed that their view and/or knowledge of Shakespeare and/or popular
music had changed as a result of the talk; and the same number agreed that
the talk had had a `positive impact' on their understanding of Shakespeare
and popular music. Comments suggested respondents recognised what they
termed the `connectivity' and `juxtaposition' because the
material was `original', `thought-provoking', and `awakened
unexplored thoughts', by presenting ideas participants `hadn't
previously considered' or `would never have linked'. This
included the notion, for example, that `maybe rappers have an insight'.
Where one respondent noted the talk `challenged me to examine...more
deeply', another summed up the majority of responses: `It has
made me consider how `elite' Shakespeare is viewed which perhaps
intimidates people — can popular music break through this fear?'
(source 4). By beginning to ask these questions, participants showed
evidence of the impact of the research undertaken. Questionnaires
collected after the 2013 talk affirmed the session had benefited the way
attendees saw the links between writing and popular music and that the
talk would change the way they read about and listened to music. One noted
that the talk had `Enhanced my thinking on the links between music,
writing and identity'; another suggested the talk `Made me
re-evaluate the way I connect lit/music' (source 5). Reflecting on
the impact of these talks, combined with the book club, the Cross-Strand
Programme Manager at the Sage states that `Adam's involvement with The
Sage Gateshead has been beneficial to both the programmes and
participants — both the Exploring Music talks and the LitPop Book Club,
led by Adam's specialist knowledge and enthusiasm, have engaged with new
audiences who have continued their own musical journeys by attending
other programmes' (source 1).
Sources to corroborate the impact
1. Testimonial: Cross-Strand Programme Manager, The Sage Gateshead
corroborates claims about impacts on programming and participation from
2011-2013.
2. Testimonial: Member (Chair) of the Festival Committee (and
Media Officer), Darlington for Culture, corroborates claims about impacts
on programming and participation in May 2013.
3. Testimonial: The Star and Shadow Collective, the Star and
Shadow Cinema corroborates claims about impacts on programming and
participation in April 2013.
4. Public Feedback: from `Shakespeare and Popular Music' invited
talk by Adam Hansen as part of Sage Exploring Music series in April 2012.
Corroborates claims about impacts on public perceptions of cultural value
and the relations between `high' and `popular' cultures.
5. Public Feedback: from `Writing and Popular Music' invited talk
by Adam Hansen as part of Sage Exploring Music series in February 2013.
Corroborates claims about impacts on public perceptions of the relations
between writing and popular music.
6. Public Feedback: from participants in the Litpop Bookclub at
The Sage and from the Darlington for Culture Festival. Corroborates claims
about impacts on public perceptions of cultural value and the relations
between writing and popular music.
7. Public Feedback: from participants in the Litpop workshop
(2013). Corroborates the impact on facilitating debate about the relations
between `writing' and popular music on creative practitioners.
8. Online resource: Adam Hansen, `Shakespeare and Popular Music'
(2011), podcast of talk delivered at The Literary and Philosophical
Society, Newcastle upon Tyne. http://soundcloud.com/litandphil/adamhansenlecture120511.