Epistrophies: Jazz and the Literary Imagination

by Brent Hayes Edwards

Book Overview

In 1941 Thelonious Monk and Kenny Clarke copyrighted "Epistrophy," one of the best-known compositions of the bebop era. The song's title refers to a literary device--the repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses--that is echoed in the construction of the melody. Written two decades later, Amiri Baraka's poem "Epistrophe" alludes slyly to Monk's tune. Whether it is composers finding formal inspiration in verse or a poet invoking...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674055438
• ISBN13: 9780674055438
• Release Date: June 2017
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.5"