Singing Poets
Literature and Popular Music in France and Greece

Dimitris Papanikolaou

Cover of Singing Poets

Studies In Comparative Literature 11

Legenda

23 February 2007  •  196pp

ISBN: 978-1-904350-62-0 (hardback)  •  RRP £80, $110, €95

ISBN: 978-1-351196-19-2 (Taylor & Francis ebook)

ContemporaryFrenchGreekMusicPoetry

Between 1945 and 1975, in both France and Greece, literature provided the aesthetic criteria, cultural prestige and institutional basis for what aspired to be a higher form of popular song and the authentic representative of a national popular music. Published poems were set to popular music, while critical discourse celebrated some songwriters not only for being 'as good as poets' but for being 'singing poets' in their own right. This challenging and stimulating study is the first to chart the parallel cultural processes in the two countries from a comparative perspective. Bringing together cultural studies with literary criticism, it offers new angles on the work of Georges Brassens, Léo Ferré, Jacques Brel, Mikis Theodorakis, Manos Hadjidakis and Dionysis Savvopoulos.

Dimitris Papanikolaou is University Lecturer in Modern Greek at the University of Oxford, and a Fellow of St. Cross College.

Reviews:

  • ‘A well-informed and satisfying study.’ — Peter Hawkins, Modern Language Review 103.3, July 2008, 816-16 (full text online)
  • ‘This engaging and stimulating study... is a fascinating examination of the construction and reception of "high-popular" musical genres and specific debates surrounding the question of what "good" and "authentic" national music should be.’ — Hazel Marsh, Popular Music 27.2, 2008, 318-20
  • ‘Makes a significant contribution to the study of Modern Greek culture, and also forwards the thinking behind what makes the conjunction between high and popular culture in any context...’ — Hector Kollias, French Studies 63.1, 2009, 114-15

Bibliography entry:

Papanikolaou, Dimitris, Singing Poets: Literature and Popular Music in France and Greece, Studies In Comparative Literature, 11 (Legenda, 2007)

First footnote reference: 35 Dimitris Papanikolaou, Singing Poets: Literature and Popular Music in France and Greece, Studies In Comparative Literature, 11 (Legenda, 2007), p. 21.

Subsequent footnote reference: 37 Papanikolaou, p. 47.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)

Bibliography entry:

Papanikolaou, Dimitris. 2007. Singing Poets: Literature and Popular Music in France and Greece, Studies In Comparative Literature, 11 (Legenda)

Example citation: ‘A quotation occurring on page 21 of this work’ (Papanikolaou 2007: 21).

Example footnote reference: 35 Papanikolaou 2007: 21.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)

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