Springsteen, six muses and me: Music and the writing process

Abstract

his article recounts the journey I took to explore how a prose writer draws inspiration from music and lyrics, as opposed to the traditional sources of written texts in books. Dancing in the Dark, my 'prose album' based on Bruce Springsteen's record album Born to Run, appropriates and reworks Springsteen's universal themes and female characters. It fleshes out untold stories suggested by Springsteen's songs, amplifies the voice of a girl locked in the push-pull of staying safe in the house versus being free on the open road, and is juxtaposed to the traditional unquestioning masculine freedom quintessential in Springsteen's lyrical terrain. Along the way in my writing process, I was accompanied by six Muses. Sylvia Plath, Dorothy Porter, Mary Fallon, Vicki Viidikas, Julia Kristeva and Marguerite Duras were my driving companions.