Friday, August 11, 2006

Rockin' and Readin' literature

So I'm putting together a talk about how to get boys to read. It's a very common question and something I've been thinking a lot about lately (I better be thinking about it, since the presentation is at the end of this month to around 150 teachers and they'll won't be entertained if I just stand up there and tap dance...well, maybe for a few seconds...but then they'll want some actual info). Anyway, I've been reliving my youth and trying to figure out why I became a reader. One of the things I remember being inspired or excited by was whenever I found a literary reference in one of my favorite songs. I was a big Metal fan (still am, "Up the Irons! No Sleep 'til Hammersmith!"). There is something about metal bands that lead to long gruff songs about epic events. When Iron Maiden sang "To Tame a Land" on their Piece of Mind album (the song was based on Frank Herbert's "DUNE") my head nearly exploded. Wow! The guys in Maiden had read the same book as me. And they seemed to know how to say Kwizatch Haderach! I must have listened to the song a thousand times those first few weeks. Their next album had a 13 minute epic The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, which was based on Coleridge's poem. So I immediately went out and bought a copy of the poem and read it. Wow! What a poem! There were other bands, too (Rush's "Xanadu" comes to mind (Coleridge again), Starship Trooper from Yes (Heinlein)). Bands that rocked out to literature. Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone out there has any favorite songs inspired by literature? And if you want to check out a few go to Artists for Literacy. Heck they even have two whole CD's of songs inspired by literature. They're called SIBL's btw (Songs Inspired By Literature).

Rock and Read on,

Art

No comments: