Reading the Boss Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Works of Bruce Springsteen

by Harde, Roxanne; Streight, Irwin; Abbruzzese, Teresa; Arnoff, Stephen Hazan; Bliss, Ann V.; Cadó, Mike; Fields, Peter J.; Fury, Frank P.; Kobre, Michael; Sawyers, June Skinner; Sheinbaum, John J.; Womack, Kenneth; Zitelli, Liza

• ISBN13: 9780739145364
• ISBN10: 0739145363
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-08-14
• Publisher: Lexington Books

Summary

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.

Author Biography

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	p. ix
A Note on Bruce Springsteen's Lyrics	p. xi
Introduction: The Bard of Asbury Park	p. 1
Reading Influence
Endlessly Seeking: Bruce Springsteen and Walker Percy's Quest for Possibility among the Ordinary	p. 23
"On Blessing Avenue": Faith, Language, and a Search for Meaning in the Works of Bruce Springsteen and Walker Percy	p. 41
"The Flannery O'Connor of American Rock"	p. 53
Reading Place
"Deliver Me from Nowhere": Place and Space in Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska	p. 79
Tracking Place and Identity in Bruce Springsteen's Tracks	p. 95
Reading Gender
"Who's That Girl?": Nostalgia, Gender, and Springsteen	p. 121
Growin' Up to Be a Nothing Man: Masculinity, Community, and the Outsider in Bruce Springsteen's Songs	p. 133
"Like a Vision She Dances": Re-Visioning the Female Figure in the Songs of Bruce Springsteen	p. 151
Reading Philosophy and Religion
A Covenant Reversed: Bruce Springsteen and the Promised Land	p. 177
Ironic Revelation in Bruce Springsteen	p. 201
"I'll Work for Your Love": Springsteen and the Struggle for Authenticity	p. 223
"May Your Hope Give Us Hope": The Rising as a Site of Mourning	p. 243
Credits	p. 267
Bibliography	p. 275
General Index	p. 285
Song Index	p. 297
About the Editors and Contributors	p. 301
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