Music & Poetry

What’s one of your favorite songs or musical artists?

In antiquity, poems were often sung: the first lyric poets in ancient Greece performed their work to the accompaniment of the lyre, and the oldest anthology of Chinese poetry, the Shijing, was a collection of songs. In southern Europe in the middle ages, the popularity of troubadour poets granted them unprecedented freedom of speech and social influence in their time, and their lyrical work would influence European poetry for centuries. The ballad form continues to be a common form for both poems and songs. Other poetic forms that began as songs include Odes and Villanelles. Today, poets still draw on the forms and rhythms of different musical traditions, from jazz, rap, and hip-hop to folk songs and country music.

Jamila Woods is a Chicago poet and musician. Her song, GIOVANNI, is inspired by a poem by another Black woman poet, Nikki Giovanni, who is quoted throughout the song's video. Watch the video, and as you watch, write down all the lyrics you hear that resonate with you, or that feel like poetry.

Do you feel that lyrics are poetry? Why or why not? Why did Woods write this song? How might Giovanni be an ancestor or predecessor of Woods?

Read Jamila Wood’s “Ode to Herb Kent,” a poem about a legendary Chicago radio DJ that the poet grew up listening to. Why does the poet consider Herb Kent important enough to write a poem about? What and who does she associate the DJ with? How does she feel about those places and people? Who here associates certain songs with people they care about? What about memories? Examples?

Read Willie Perdomo’s “The Birth of Shorty Bon Bon (Take #3),” a poem about a fictional Puerto Rican percussionist. What role does sound play in poetry? How is this poem musical? What does it mean to “carry a nation”? How does the speaker feel about percussionists? Why write a poem about them?

Read Ross Gay’s “A Poem in which I Try to Express My Glee at the Music My Friend Has Given Me.” This poem expresses “that feeling” we get when someone we love introduces us to music that speaks to us. Have you had moments like this, trading mix tapes or files online? How is this poem still musical, despite not mentioning any specific music?

Now write some lists:

• As many of your favorite music artists or songs as you can think of.
• 5 songs or artists that remind you of someone, and who that person is.
• Pick one song. Write a few sentences about what, if anything, you find poetic about it.
• Same song. Write down as many of the lyrics as you can remember off the top of your head.
• Same song. Write 5 words that describe how you feel when you listen to it.
• Same song. Write the story of when you first listened to the song.
• Same song. Write 5 people, places or things that song makes you think of.

Now, write your own poem honoring your favorite musician or song, using what we’ve read and the lists we’ve brainstormed as inspiration. You may choose to write something that is as musical as it is poetic.