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Words: from literature to song

© Sandra Linville

Inspiration radiates as it flows from someone’s pen to a paint brush to another’s guitar strings – enriching all who pay attention, as creative thought winds through different mediums, prompting more new works. All original, but all connected with the first whisper of inspiration – a painting, a short story, a book, a play, a song, a movie.

Yes, inspiration is also drawn from life and nature, but many times the link between a sentence in a book and lyrics to a song is the magic.

Deborah Pardes, a singer/songwriter, recognized this connection when Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes inspired her to write her song, 7th Step and her song, in turn, inspired others to read McCourt's book. This was the first step toward Songs Inspired by Literature, Chapter One, a 16-song benefit CD featuring folk songs, art songs and pop songs, all inspired by books, poems or plays. It was released in February 2002.

Pardes was not only inspired to write a song, but she launched an entire organization. The Songs Inspired by Literature (SIBL) Project, a non-profit organization based in Northern California to promote literacy, grew out of that creative spark.

The SIBL Project’s awareness and outreach campaign draws attention to the problem of some 44 million American adults who can’t read or write and supports those programs and projects that are in place to help.

“Together, we’re using the universal language of music as a vehicle to engage, inspire and reinforce the magic of literature and the power of reading” as stated at SIBL’s web site.

Among the 16 artists featured on the Chapter One CD are Bruce Springsteen, Aimee Mann, Suzanne Vega, Grace Slick and Ray Manzarek. The other singer/songwriters won their place on the CD through SIBL’s international songwriting competition. They were selected from 357 submissions from 38 states and 10 countries, all inspired by a book, poem or play.

The $2,500 Grand Prize winner was Jill Tracy with Evil Night Together. The song was inspired by Luc Sante’s novel, Low Life.

Some of the other inspiring works were Jonathan Lethem’s novel, Motherless Brooklyn, Dan Clowes’ graphic novel, Ghost World, Leo Tolstoy’s novel, War and Peace, James Joyce’s novel, Ulysses and Mark Levine’s poem, Work Song.

The Chapter Two songwriting contest will begin in June 2002. More information will be provided in this column in June. The organization hopes to attract more entries from high school students, 9th to 12th grade, as well as adult learners.

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