The Poetics of American Song Lyrics (ed. Charlotte Pence, U. of Mississippi Press, 2012)is a breakthrough book in the study of song lyrics and poetry. Alongside reflections on the work of Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Michael Stipe, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and others appears my essay "Facing the Music: The Poetics of Bruce Springsteen"- a somewhat 'impressionistic' essay in which I look at "Born to Run," "Darkness on the Edge of Town," and "The Rising."