By Calista Malone, Poetry Editor
One of the things that connects me to poetry, or rather gets me writing, is music. Maybe it’s the melody that helps stir a rhythm in me that must be written down in stanzas. Maybe it’s one great lyric that sets me off down a road to create something completely new. In short, music is inspiring for me and I think it is for many. Poetry (and maybe writing more generally) has a long history with music. It’s no coincidence icon Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature. I’ve created a playlist around each of the poems in issue 115. The songs in this playlist were chosen for a variety of reasons, some of which I’ve shared, some for which the listener can decide the connection for themselves. Happy listening!
Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4Ej3fdZrQhSBZa7p9znRq1?si=c8b4f7ea039741e4
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“February: A Dictionary” by Weijia Pan
“The Parting Glass” by boygenius, Ye Vagabonds
When considering sound, I originally chose this cover of the High Kings’ song by boygenius (an American indie band) and Ye Vagabonds (an irish indie band) because I liked how the music made me slow down my reading, but what really spoke to me was the natural glide between the themes of the poem and the song. Many might recognize the melody of “The Parting Glass” from the classic and well known tune, Auld Lang Syne, but it was actually “The Parting Glass” that predated Robert Burns’ poem. Since Auld Lang Syne and “The Parting Glass” primarily deal with remembering and the sending of one on a new journey, it naturally aligned with this poem that remembers February and the speaker’s own heritage and family.
“Conversations In Heaven” by Suphil Lee Park
“Ya’aburnee” by Halsey
I was originally drawn to this pairing because I thought the tenderness of Halsey’s ballad complemented the slow aching of Park’s poem. As I looked more closely at the text of the poem and the song, I realized these two pieces of art deal with similar themes of love and the afterlife. Both begin by addressing that love is not easy, or as the speaker of the poem says, “love is a simple hassle.” Then they both move into the natural world: conversation with the monarchs and Ya’aburnee with images of the moon and tides. Halsey moves from these images and presses on to address the love of the speaker. Park’s poem sets off a stanza that finds the imperative with “Look” and “See.” Finally, the song and poem both deal with mortality. Park promises a “heaven at the foot of a cooling tub” and Halsey’s song lingers before heaven with death:
I think we could live forever
In each other’s faces ’cause I
Always see my youth in you
And if we don’t live forever
Maybe one day we’ll trade places
Darling, you will bury me
Before I bury you
Before I bury you.
“Am I a Bad Mother:” by
“Hey Ma” by Bon Iver
“Case Study” by Nik Moore
“Seeds” by Yoke Lore
“Pig Therapist” by Mark Spero
“The Sunshine” by Manchester Orchestra
“Funicular” by Martha Paz Soldan
“Boys of Summer” covered by First Aid Kit
“Valentine’s Day with My Octopus Lover” by
“Olivia” by Wolves of Glendale
“Cock” by Max Seifert
“Pyotr” by Bad Books
“Prime Rib Resting” by Jacob Schepers
“Simmer” by Hayley Williams
“Alternative Reality” by
“Ceilings” by Lizzy McAlpine
“History of the World” by Caitlyn Klum
“Edge of the World” by the Beaches
“Demigod” by C. Dale Young
“Too Many Gods” by A$AP Rocky, Joey Bada$$
“Palmistry” by Michael Waters
“Linger” by the Cranberries
Calista Malone is a second-year poet from the North Florida panhandle. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Auburn University. Her poems have appeared in Gulf Stream Magazine, Naugatuck River Review, Saw Palm, and elsewhere. She currently serves as a Poetry Editor for The Greensboro Review.