Rock Poetry – David Bowie

Many rock songs are actually “settings” of great poetic lyrics. The awarding of the Nobel Prize for Literature to Bob Dylan in 2017 made that official. We’re dedicating our new series to this special form of literature. In loose succession, we present important rock and pop poets and devote ourselves intensively to their lyrics – including music recordings, of course!

After the successful start with Bob Dylan in February 2022, we now continue with the rebel and trendsetter David Bowie, whose personal “Top 100” book list was described by the British Guardian as “poetry in itself” and reveals how enormously well-read the musician was. Not only his music, but also his lyrics show him to be a very special artist.

Prof. Udo Dahmen, director of the Pop Academy in Mannheim, talks about Bowie’s lyrics with Tobias Rüther, responsible for the literature section in the FAS feature section; his book Helden. David Bowie und Berlin was published in 2008.