So ‘n rukkie terug het ek geskryf oor die Fairleigh Dickinson Universiteit se jaarlikse Word and Music Festival (Wamfest 2010) in New Jersey, waar Bruce Springsteen en die digter Robert Pinsky geskeduleer was om ‘n verhoog te deel. Intussen het hierdie ontmoeting tussen twee ikoniese Amerikaanse woordkunstenaars reeds plaasgevind, en na alle aanduidings was dit ‘n fassinerende geleentheid. Ek weet nog nie of iemand dit al op video opgeneem het sodat ‘n mens op Youtube daarna kan kyk nie, maar jy kan solank hier en hier berigte oor die geleentheid lees. Hier is ‘n lusmaker: “While playing his guitar, Bruce Springsteen recited a passage from ‘An Explanation of America,’ a poem by Robert Pinsky: ‘I love a car — a car, I guess, is like / One’s personality, corrupt and selfish, / Full of hypnotic petty pains and joys.’ The recitation then blended into an acoustic version of Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run.’ […] Springsteen said poetry and songwriting are similar in the way they concisely convey emotions — and that he needs to resist the urge to use Pinsky’s words on his next album. ‘We could get some co-writing going, I’m telling you, man,’ Springsteen said.”