Polyrhythmicity in Language, Music and Society

This book addresses the complex time relations that occur in some types of jazz and classical music, as well as in the novel, plays and poetry. It discusses these multiple levels of rhythm from a social science as well as an arts and humanities perspective. Building on his ground-breaking work in Re-framing Literacy, A Prosody of Free Verse and Multimodality, Poetry and Poetics, the author explores the world of multiple- or poly-rhythms in music, literature and the social sciences. He reveals that multi-layered rhythms are uncommon and little researched. Nevertheless, they are important to the experience of art and social situations, not least because they link physicality to feeling and to decision-making (timing), as well as to aesthetic experience. Whereas most poly-rhythmic relations are felt unconsciously, this book reveals the complex patterning that underpins the structures of feeling and of experience. "As the title suggests, this book offers a compelling account of how rhythm works, in both regular and irregular contexts. Building on A Prosody of Free Verse (2018), which for many readers “cracked the code” in its explanation of non-metrical verse, this book expands and redefines the field, in both an interdisciplinary and intercultural sense. It is essential reading for anyone with an interest in rhythm." — Terry Locke, Emeritus Professor of Arts and Language Education, University of Waikato