Media modes of poetic reception: Reading lyrics versus listening to songs

This paper introduces the comparative study of modalities of poetic language (print/song) and corresponding modes of reception (reading/listening). Results of semi-standardized focused expert interviews are presented on the background of a constructivist model of media self-organization. The interviews were conducted with 18 creative professionals in Austria and Canada and focus on Laurie Anderson's song Kokoku (1984). The aesthetic experience of the example and the systematic comparison of “reading lyrics” and “listening to songs” allow for the inductive differentiation of the categories “perception of media modality” and “metaelaboration of media mode.” Detailed explication of these categories suggests that media-specific perception and text processing occur independently of linguistic competence. Based on the interview results, four dimensions of the media specificity of song reception are outlined: (1) nonverbal dimensions of language; (2) text fragmentation versus text coherence; (3) genre-specific interplay of lyrics, text performance and music; and (4) intermediality of listening and reading.