Writerly Games Writers Play: Patterns, Playlists, and Recurring Themes by Lisa Owen-Jones

Article Information

Published: 2023
Type: full article (7,000 – 10,000 words)
Author(s): Lisa Owen-Jones
ISSN: 2977-3954
DOI: https://doi.org/10.60844/bmsq-pz73
Download: Full Article

Abstract

Academic research into the relationships between literature and music has primarily focused on Western classical music in adult literary works. This article sets out to readdress this gap with a musical reading of two Middle Grade children’s novels to show how words and music play a role in storytelling. Taking as examples Aimee Lucido’s In the Key of Code (2019) and Philip Reeve’s Railhead (2015), the study centres on how music contributes to the construction and development of these works. The analysis demonstrates that as well as sound tracking her novel with popular and classical music, Lucido (2019) imitates noteworthy characteristics associated with particular pieces as recurring themes within the narrative. The research will also examine how Lucido (2019) plays with the meaning of a range of music terms and uses typography as a form of recognisable variations of the same to bring her fictional characters to life. In contrast, Reeve (2015) builds his story world with 1970s pop music connections and structures part one of the book by following the technical aspects of the symphony’s first movement sonata form principle. Both texts are a form of metafiction by systematically drawing attention to how they were made. The aim of this approach is to give writers, music makers, artists, and researchers interested in cross-disciplinary practice insight into how two different artforms can work together.

Keywords

Metafiction; Intertextuality; Music; Sound; Children’s Literature

Biography

Lisa Owen-Jones is a children’s writer and music novelist. She has a PhD in Creative Writing and MA in Creative Writing from Manchester Metropolitan University. Her research interests include music in children’s literature and writers who structure texts using musical forms and techniques, alongside composers who use fiction in the thematic development of their work. Prior to her move into creative and academic writing, she spent twenty years working in classical music, promoting and programming orchestral events at the BBC. She also has a BA (Hons) in Music from Dartington College of Arts.