Even though I know the river is wide
I walk down every evening and stand on the shore
I try to cross to the opposite side
So I can finally find what I’ve been looking for
— Billy Joel, “The River of Dreams”
Billy Joel’s lyrics on the title track of his 1993 album “River of Dreams,” cut to Blake Love’s core upon popping the cassette into his late-model Toyota. It was 2016, and Love was living in Los Angeles when he purchased the tape for 50 cents from a thrift store.
The ink on his Master’s degree was fresh, but Love didn’t know what to do next.
“I knew I wanted to write, but I didn’t see a professional path to doing so,” Love recalled. “I felt lost, and so that song put into words the rupture I was feeling in my life, of not knowing where to go next after one dream ends.”
Love’s admiration for the rock and roll luminary prompted him to answer a call for papers for this year’s Billy Joel Symposium. It was only fitting that Love — now a doctoral student in the English department at WSU Pullman — spent time delving deeper into the career of the Bronx native whose music helped carry him through an uncertain period of his life.
The Billy Joel Symposium brought fans, collaborators, scholars, and even Joel himself together earlier this summer to examine Joel’s work and legacy. The event took place in Stony Brook, New York in early June and included talks from numerous academics on the cultural significance of Joel’s work.
Love discussed how Joel put into lyrics widespread cultural anxieties and disillusionment that emerged following the optimism of postwar America.
Love’s paper focused on the themes apparent in Joel’s most celebrated works, including “Piano Man” and “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” as well as deeper cuts such as “Allentown” and the aforementioned “River of Dreams.” During the symposium, Love discussed how Joel put into lyrics widespread cultural anxieties and disillusionment that emerged following the optimism of postwar America.
“Overall, it was a really engaging experience, especially because of the range of perspectives in the room and how the different talks built on each other,” Love said.
Love credits Patty Wilde, an associate professor with the English department and director of its graduate studies programs, with pushing graduate students like himself to find ways to prepare for life after college.
“We really want our students to be thinking about how to professionalize prior to completing their graduate programs,” Wilde said. “We’re spending more time talking with students about how they can submit conference proposals and papers for publication, as well as bringing in scholars to share their insights with students.”
Taking these steps prior to earning a master’s or PhD is vital for those students seeking a career in academia, Wilde said.
It was a happy coincidence that Love sought Wilde’s guidance on his submission for the recent symposium, as she is a longtime fan of Joel and had even seen him in concert in the 1990s.
“You still hear him on the radio or when you’re out and about,” Wilde said. Just last week I went to my niece’s graduation, and Billy Joel was playing.”
