Journal of Literature and Music Studies
JLMS, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2026, pp.1-9.
Print ISSN: 3134-8130; Online ISSN: 3134-8149
Journal homepage: https://www.jlmsjournal.com
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64058/jlwe260101lmafm
Literature and Music: Why this academic field (still) matters
Werner Wolf
Abstract: This article by Werner Wolf, written on the occasion of his appointment as Honorary Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Literature and Music Studies (JLMS), argues for the continued significance of literature and music studies within the contemporary humanities from both personal and transmedial-theoretical perspectives.After tracing his academic trajectory, the author compares the media-specificities of both arts: literature is predominantly hetero-referential, whereas music is fundamentally self-referential, thus limiting its narrative capacity. The essay surveys historical plurimedial syntheses and intermedial transpositions, delineates three modes of literary reference to music—thematization, ekphrasis, and formal imitation—and identifies underexplored frontiers including digital media, metareference, and comparative “implied worldview” studies, calling for scholarship beyond Western culture.
Keywords: literature and music studies; Intermediality; self-reference and hetero-reference; Implied Worldview; musicalization of literature
Author Biography: Werner Wolf, an internationally renowned transmedial narratologist, Professor of English and General Literature at the University of Graz, Austria, and Director of the Research Center for Intermediality Studies. A founding member of the International Association for Word and Music Studies (WMA). E-mail: werner.wolf@uni-graz.at.
标题：文学与音乐：为何这一学术领域（依然）重要
摘要：本文是维尔纳·沃尔夫为其荣任《文学与音乐研究》（JLMS）名誉主编所撰的纲领性文章，旨在从个人学术经历与跨媒介理论双重视角，论证文学与音乐研究在当代人文学术中的持续价值。作者追溯其学术历程后，系统比较两种艺术的媒介特性：文学以异指性为主，指向语言外世界；音乐以自指性为主，叙事潜能受限。文章梳理了歌曲、歌剧等历史融合形态及跨媒介转译实践，归纳文学指涉音乐的主题化、模仿描写与形式模仿三种形态，并指出数字媒介、元指涉与“隐含世界观”比较等前沿领域，呼吁超越西方中心视野。
关键词：文学与音乐研究；跨媒介性；自指与异指；隐含世界观；文学的音乐化
作者简介：维尔纳·沃尔夫，国际著名跨媒介叙事学家，奥地利格拉茨大学英语与普通文学教授、媒介间性研究中心主任，国际文字与音乐研究协会（WMA）创始人之一。电子邮箱：werner.wolf@uni-graz.at。
Received: 15 Mar 2026 / Revised: 25 Mar 2026 / Accepted: 01 Apr 2026 / Published online: 30 May 2026 / Print published: 30 Jun 2026.
