Intersections of Music and Poetry: English Department Poets Collaborate with Music Students

Students in the English and Music Departments are working together to create music set to original poetry. “I think it is an excellent opportunity for students to think about how their poems could be put to music,” English Department Senior Lecturer Shanan Ballam says. “We study sound sequences, so they are already aware that poetry is a type of music.”

Kevin Olson, professor of piano, originally reached out to English Department poetry instructors Shanan, Ben Gunsberg, and C.R. Grimmer. He comments, “We wanted to bring music and poetry students together to explore how these art forms can inspire each other. It’s a chance for students to step out of their usual creative processes, collaborate across disciplines, and build connections between departments.”

Students in the poetry classes wrote lyric poems between 8 and 12 lines to share with Kevin’s class, who are working on turning them into pieces for pianists and vocalists to perform. Abby Hong had the chance to work as part of this collaboration, but this wasn’t the first time she entered the intersection of music and poetry. “I had the opportunity to collaborate with an honors student in the music department last semester to set one of my poems to music. I worked with the student Becca Farmer over the course of a couple weeks to revise my poem to better fit the vocal style,” Abby reflects. “It ended up sounding abstract and dissonant, haunting yet beautiful. She also arranged the piece in a way that highlighted the sonic qualities of my poem, sometimes in places I hadn't expected. She took my poem and reimagined it through a new lens.”

This time around, Abby used what she learned about poetry set to music to inform her writing. She says, “I spent more time reading the poem I wrote for the assignment out loud. I also decided to not worry as much about meter in this assignment; I set my last poem to a strict meter, but Becca took the poem's rhythm in a different direction than I originally intended when she set it to music. So, for this assignment, I decided to let go of the meter and let the student I work with decide the rhythm that would work best for the composition.” 

Campbell Heaton, music student, said that while writing music for poetry can be a challenge, it’s also a great source of ingenuity: “Writing music based off of poetry requires a different angle of creativity. It is much more collaborative, involving the artistic integrity of the poet’s meanings on top of your own. You’re building on to a completed piece instead of starting from scratch. This makes the process much more fun and creative since you start off feeling inspired!”

In addition to accounting for the meaning, the music students also have to work with an already-established structure. “Composing music for poetry is different than composing music by itself in that you start with preexisting material. The words inform how the music should be created. The poetry creates a structure for the music, be it formally with the words but also content-wise by the meaning,” comments music student Hugues Lemonnier. “The combination of poetry and music gives another dimension to both arts in what can make a very compelling piece of work.”

Music student Raif Milligan highlighted how poetry and music are different but come together to form more beauty. “Poetry's strength lies in its specificity, as it uses language to communicate nuanced ideas. Music's strength lies in its emotional appeal, as it expresses that which is otherwise inexpressible,” he says. “Together, poetry and music fashion a rich experience, in which poets, musicians, and audiences gain deeper insight into what it means to be human.”

The project is going to culminate in a showcase of compositions in the Chase Fine Arts Center on April 21. Kevin says, “Poets will recite their poems first, followed by a performance by a vocalist and pianist. More than anything, we hope it sparks lasting creativity and encourages future collaborations between music and poetry students.”

Blake Matamoros, music student, says he’s excited for the performance to see how the performers execute their work, bringing another element of collaboration to the project. “I know some composers are very specific with how they want every little detail of their piece played, but I like to leave more up to the performers. I think it provides a little bit of flexibility for them to adapt to different spaces and atmospheres. It also lets the performers leave their own little touches that can really enhance a piece beyond what just one mind can come up with,” he says.

To Blake, this project has been rewarding for both the creativity fostered as well as the interactions produced: “Collaborations like these allow us to make connections that we would never have made otherwise.” 

C.R. highlighted how rewarding this collaboration is for the English Department writers: “When students know their work can be part of a conversation with other artists, including musical interpretations, it helps them see the different ways language shapes cultural meaning. It also helps them look at their own writing from different arts-based vantage points, expanding the idea of what language can do and how it can be heard, seen, and interpreted.”