The Art of Lyric Writing

In this issue, we feature a wide array of opinions on The Art of Lyric Writing. For our cover story, Stephen Sondheim revisited his 1971 essay, one of the most popular articles to appear in our publication. Alongside that piece, we hear from a number of other lyricists in essays from Oscar Hammerstein II, Sheldon Harnick, and Andrew Lippa; profiles of Fred Ebb and Alan and Marilyn Bergman; a roundtable with Lee Adams, Lynn Ahrens, Susan Birkenhead, Gretchen Cryer, Tom Jones, Richard Maltby Jr., and David Zippel, as well as lyric samples in “From the Workshops” and our “Lyricist Challenge.”