Rhapsody: Stories & Songs Inspired by Lyrics

by Northern Beaches Writers' Group (Creator), Zena Shapter (Editor)

Lyrics are magical - they can instantly impact our emotions, entice our bodies to move, and... inspire other artists! Feel your way through this highly imaginative anthology of stories and songs, all inspired by lyrics, rhymes and chants from such diverse sources as U2, Dire Straits, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Hollies, The Eagles, Shakespeare, Les Misérables, Florence and the Machine, Moby and Muse.
Stories range from the humorous to life story, historical fiction, fantasy, sci fi, crime and mystery. There's something for everyone - even a musical script!
Creative minds connecting to invent and conjure, cast and delight!
"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here!" - J.K. ROWLING, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
"Who hears music, feels his solitude peopled at once." - ROBERT BROWNING, The Complete Poetical Works of Browning.
Contents Do You Hear the People Sing? - Sonia Zadro Case 65726: The Lighthopper - Azmeena Kelly The Search - Tara Ray Song For A Moment In Time - Susan Steggall The Air You Get - Zena Shapter Hotel Coolangatta - Kate Mitchell Honey Coming Back - Peter Fagan True Believers - Phil Burgin King, King Calowe - Millicent Davis The Need For Witchcraft - Guy Hallowes Treachery - Elise Robertson I Don't Believe in Yesterday - Howard Reid Brothers in Arms - Rose Saltman 2001, A Space Operetta - Mijmark Message in a Bottle - Rodney Jensen

206 pages, Paperback

Published November 13, 2021

Reviews

[Susan Steggall]

The anthology 'Rhapsody' came into being during 2021’s lockdown months when physical movement was restricted but the imagination could still fly free. This collection of stories is based on lyrics, mostly from popular music, but with some more serious notes as well. As editor Zena Shapter writes: ‘Lyrics are magical – they can instantly impact our emotions, entice our bodies to move, and … inspire other artists’. No other conditions were imposed on the theme so the diverse group of fifteen authors – young, young at heart, men and women – set to work on tales that plunged into history and magic, soared into speculative fiction, ventured into poetry and theatre. These stories give perceptive insights into contemporary life in Australia, often drawn from the authors’ own lives but transmuted through the power of imagination. The rainbow-coloured cover entices the reader in with its ebbs and flows of pigment – just as music is always moving, never static.

Reading each author’s reasons for choosing their particular lyrics could form an essay into the way life experiences inform fiction. Several authors chose as their influence stirring, revolutionary music in homage to the poor and oppressed of history. Others worked with the songs of famous bands such as the Rolling Stones, U2, The Hollies or The Eagles. The Beatles’ song ‘Yesterday’ makes a poignant backdrop. One author incorporated a reference to every song in the Dire Straits’ playbook. Songs that tell of being under the spell of pernicious beliefs – as malignant as disease and appropriate for this Covid era – become disturbing reading. Ancient oral chants and Shakespeare’s prose form the basis for several stories. References to music used in filmic versions of old fairytales makes for intriguing narrative. A space age (Odyssey) operetta and a poem (set to music) inspired by a popular television series complete the rollcall.

If, like me, 2021 has not been a great year for long-form reading, this anthology is a refreshing alternative.