Back during my MFA grad school days on Enders Island, I tried sharing the idea of blending prose with infused lyrics while I was earning my degree, since I tended to write lyrics first, and then develop them into a full tale or adventure afterwards. Mostly I was told to pick one way to tell a story. For an idea what I’ve been striving for, a great example of a successful blend is Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant” where his internal song supports the larger 18-minute narrative.
The evening of Friday October 2nd, 2015, I had so much fun at the ON MY OWN TIME awards ceremony reading my essay “On the 20th Floor” (with Cleveland Brown rocking the infused lyrics) at the Dallas AT&T Performing Arts Theater. This is an excerpt from my MFA thesis memoir: 13,760 Feet–My Personal Hole in the Sky. Here’s how it turned out:
Be sure to give it a thumbs-up on YouTube. This is only the 4th or 5th video I’ve ever made.
I co-wrote the original companion song with Matt Pierce, and he’s featured at the end of the video.
Cheers, Mark L. Berry
Karlene says
Congratulations on the great talk, and reading. The video is a great touch for us all to be there!
Karlene