Overview

A unique exploration of opening lines from classic literature to modern music. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. In that spirit, Famous First Impressions: The Power of Perfect Opening Lines revels in the greatest openings from novels, plays, poems, songs, films, speeches, and more. Bestselling author Paul Volponi examines how talented writers and artists instantly gain our attention, often in just a few words, and dissects each line’s style, value, and impact. Exploring themes such as crime and punishment, dystopian landscapes, identity, science fiction, and the natural world, Volponi reveals the interconnectedness of opening lines ranging from Emily Dickinson’s I’m Nobody! Who are You? to Taylor Swift’s Blank Space. Famous First Impressions features individuals as diverse as Toni Morrison, Adele, Edgar Allan Poe, Don McLean, Maya Angelou, William Shakespeare, Dr. Seuss, Anne Frank, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., introducing readers to new genres and writers while also providing fascinating insight into those they already love. And with science fiction and drama discussed in the same breath as classic rock and poetry, this book is sure to inspire less-than-enthusiastic readers and booklovers alike.

Full Product Details

Author:   Paul Volponi (Author, journalist, educator)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Bloomsbury Academic
Dimensions:   Width: 14.00cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 21.60cm
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9798881803612

Pages:   240
Publication Date:   04 September 2025
Recommended Age:   From 12 to 18 years
Audience:   Young adult ,  Teenage / Young adult
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Not yet available  
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE: Setting, Mood and Tone Dark and Stormy -- Charles M. Schulz and Snoopy (World Famous Author) A Talking Raven -- Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Starry Night -- Don McLean, Vincent CHAPTER TWO: Identity Woman Powered -- Taylor Swift, Blank Space - Billie Eilish/Finneas O’Connell, What Was I Made For? - Olivia Rodrigo, Jealousy, Jealousy - Maya Angelou, Phenomenal Woman What’s In a Name, or Not -- Herman Melville, Moby-Dick Or, The Whale - Have a Chocolate -- Eric Roth, Forrest Gump (film) - Winston Groom, Forrest Gump (novel) Can You See Me? -- Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man Nobody is Somebody -- Emily Dickinson, I’m Nobody! Who are You? CHAPTER THREE: The Human Condition Why Shakespeare? Hamlet’s Dilemma -- William Shakespeare, Hamlet Songs of Social Change -- Marvin Gaye, What’s Going On - Jay-Z, Some How, Some Way Warning Signs -- Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss), The Butter Battle Book Mob Mentality -- Shirley Jackson, The Lottery You Can Do It Too -- Ordinary people making great literature A Need to Communicate -- Anne Frank, Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl The Plight of Addiction -- Pink, Sober - Selena Odom, My Master - Amy Winehouse, Rehab - Neil Young, The Needle and the Damage Done CHAPTER FOUR: Self-Determination Making Your Own Way -- Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton Change by Example -- Michael Jackson/Glen Ballard/Siedah Garrett, Man in the Mirror - Michael Jackson/Lionel Richie We are the World From Behind Bars -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail The Trap of Hatred -- Wendell Berry, Enemies Double-Standard -- Gwen Stefani/Tom Dumont, I’m Just a Girl - Beyoncé, If I Were a Boy CHAPTER FIVE: Time and Space To Boldly Go -- Gene Roddenberry/William Shatner, Star Trek (intro) From Science Fiction to Reality -- Neil Armstrong, One Small Step for Man May the Force Be with You -- George Lucas, Star Wars Space Parody -- Mel Brooks, Spaceballs AI Gone Wrong -- Arthur C. Clarke/Stanley Kubrick, 2001: A Space Odyssey (film) Hitch-Hiking -- Douglas Adams, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Better Read, Or Else -- Damon Knight, To Serve Man Warring Worlds -- H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds (novel) Public Panic -- H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds (fake radio broadcast) CHAPTER SIX: The Road, Streets and Other Travels Nothing to Hide -- John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath The Boss Voices Tom -- Bruce Springsteen, The Ghost of Tom Joad Nobody Street -- Octavio Paz, The Street You Decide -- Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken Changing Course -- Adele/ Greg Kurstin, I Drink Wine They’re Your Footsteps -- Walt Whitman, Song of the Open Road On the Wind You Say? -- Bob Dylan, Blowin’ In the Wind CHAPTER SEVEN: Sports Attention Getting -- Jim McKay, Wide World of Sports (intro) LaPoem James -- Sean Thomas Dougherty, Biography of LeBron as Ohio (poem) Remember When? -- John Updike, Ex-Basketball Player Surf’s Up -- Susan Orlean, Life’s Swell Wide Shoulders -- Earnest Lawrence Thayer, Casey at the Bat A Price to Pay -- Eva Holland, Why We Play Fighter, defender, Advocate -- Muhammad Ali, I Am America (poem and other verse) Right Field is for Heroes -- Noel Paul Stookey, Right Field No-Nonsense Conscience -- Sherman Alexie, Victory PIT STOP #1: Reflecting on what we’ve seen and what’s to come, plus potential projects CHAPTER EIGHT: Freedom and Captivity, Supers and Sleuths Freedom and Captivity A Jury of Your Peers? -- Reginald Rose, Twelve Angry Men (play) Chains of the Mind -- Bob Marley, Redemption Song Broken and Transformed -- Franz Kafka, In the Penal Colony Bug-Off -- Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis Separate and Unequal -- Maya Angelou, Caged Bird Life on the Inside -- Stephen King, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption (novella) and Frank Darabont, The Shawshank redemption (film) Proper Manners and Penance -- Langston Hughes, Thank You, Ma’am Supers and Sleuths Revised Steel -- Jerome Siegel/Joel Shuster, Super-Man. A Dark Crusader -- Bill Finger/Bob Kane, Batman Opening the Door Wider -- Dr. William Moulton Marston, Wonder Woman Web Slinger -- Stan Lee/Steve Ditko, Spider-Man Hey, Sherlock -- Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four Encyclopedia B. -- Donald Sobel, Encyclopedia Brown Gets His Man Teen Sleuths -- Edward Stratemeyer, The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew CHAPTER NINE: True Love and Heartbreak Feuding Families -- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet Streetlight Serenade -- Mark Knopfler, Romeo and Juliet (song) Fairytale Romance -- Taylor Swift, I Knew You Were Trouble Did He or Didn’t He? -- Shakespeare/Once upon a Time Love without Obligation -- John Hartford, Gentle on my Mind Love and Marriage? -- Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice Can You Hear Me? -- Donika Ross Kelly, Love Poem: Mermaid Hold Nothing Back -- Janis Ian, At Seventeen Constantly Parodied -- Elizabeth Barrett Browning, How Do I Love Thee and Karen McCullah/Kristen Smith, Ten Things I Hate About You (film) CHAPTER TEN: Orators and Famous Speeches Galvanizing Words -- Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address Liberty or Death -- Patrick Henry, Speech at Second Virginia Convention A Declaration -- Thomas Jefferson et al., Declaration of Independence The Voice of Youth -- Malala Yousafzai, Speech at United Nations Youth Assembly I Have a Dream -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I Have a Dream (speech) No More, Forever -- Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, Surrender Speech Heating Things Up -- Greta Thunberg, Speech at United Nations Climate Action Summit Heartfelt Farewell -- Lou Gehrig, Retirement Speech at Yankee Stadium CHAPTER ELEVEN: Perspective Just Imagine -- John Lennon/Yoko Ono, Imagine Scrambled Eggs? -- Paul McCartney/John Lennon, Yesterday The Best and Worst -- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities A More Personal Perspective -- Billy Joel, Summer Highland Falls Two for One, Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Scrub a Word? -- Removing original language from books Blind Faith -- Amari Baraka, Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note Parallel Play -- Stephen Schwartz, What is this Feeling? (from Wicked) Slipper Trivia -- Dorothy’s changing shoe colors Measure of a Year -- Jonathan Larson, Seasons of Love (from Rent) CHAPTER TWELVE: Young Adults Un-fortunately Intriguing -- Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket), A Series of Unfortunate Events Almost Never -- J. B. Barrie, Peter and Wendy Missing Parents -- Orphans in literature Angst Personified -- J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye The Anti-Holden (Save Ferris!) -- John Hughes, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Modeled Upon -- Dan Pikey, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie Harry Is Still Harry -- J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Not So Wimpy -- Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid Always On-line -- T. M. Anderson, Feed PIT STOP #2: Reflecting on what we’ve seen and what’s to come, and more potential projects CHAPTER THIRTEEN: The Senses/Unity and Discord The Senses Like Alphabet Soup? -- Mark Strand, Eating Poetry Speaking Up -- Paul Simon, The Sound of Silence Deep Breaths -- William Carlos Williams, Smell! Beyond Us -- Judith Wright, Five Senses You Fill Up My Senses -- John Denver, Annie’s Song Unity and Discord Love Light -- Hafiz, Even After All This Time The Price and Reward -- Rose Marie Juan-austin, Poetry is a Solitary Art Sharing the Load -- Bill Withers, Lean on Me Island or Continent? -- John Donne, No Man is an Island Closing The Circle -- Seinfeld and the second button, again CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Fantasy Sneak Peak -- Stephenie Meyer, Twilight Toll Taker -- Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth Storm on the Horizon -- Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) Rabbit Hole -- Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Allusions to Alice -- Grace Slick, White Rabbit Buttercup and Westley -- William Goldman, The Princess Bride (film) and The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, The “Good Parts” Version (novel) Hobbits and Rings -- J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings CHAPTER FIFTEEN: The Natural (Unnatural) World/Life and Death Genesis -- Bible (In the Beginning) The Lamb and Tyger -- William Blake, Little Lamb Who Made Thee? and Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bright The Creature -- Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; Or the Modern Prometheus Digging Deep -- Ada Limon, Notes on the Below Never-ending Summer -- William Shakespeare, Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? Murdering Sleep -- William Shakespeare, Macbeth Middle of the Night -- Dana Gioia, Insomnia Clinging to Light -- Dylan Thomas, Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night Revisiting Emily -- Emily Dickinson, I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died Graveyard Ballard -- Tom T. Hall, Ballard of Forty Dollars Debating an Ending -- Robert Frost, Fire and Ice CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Society and Its Influences Three the Easy Way/Hard Way -- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby -- Lorde, Royals -- Frederick Douglass, The Narrative life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Privilege, a Plus or Handicap -- Jimmy Page/Robert Plant, Stairway to Heaven -- Langston Hughes, Mother to Son The Burden of Fame? -- Elton John/Bernie Taupin, Candle in the Wind -- Eminem, Stan That Book is Fire! -- Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: War Heavy Jacket -- Gustav Hasford/Michael Herr/Stanley Kubrick, Full Metal Jacket War and Laughs? -- Larry Gelbart, M*A*S*H (TV show) Anti-War Anthem -- Norman Whitfield/Barrett Strong, War Different Paths, Same Destination -- Denise Levertov, Making Peace -- Brian Turner, Hurt Locker Deserving Better -- John Prine, Sam Stone War Hawk -- Francis Ford Coppola/Edmund North, Patton CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Dystopian Landscapes Women and Unwomen -- Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale Feed the Hungry, But Just Some of Them -- Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games A Second Chance -- James Cameron/William Wisher, Terminator 2: Judgement Day Opposite Land -- George Orwell, 1984 Your True Calling -- Veronica Roth, Divergent Conclusion: Hooray, Success!: Concluding thoughts, forward thinking, new literary friendships and ideas for fun. Further Reading Bibliography About the Author

Reviews

A masterclass in the art of capturing an audience's attention from the very first line, Famous First Impressions is an engaging roadmap filled with a wealth of cultural and literary insights for creatives at any stage of their journey. -- Luke Beling, author of The Field of Plenty and singer-songwriter featured of Grey's Anatomy I would have loved a book like this when I was teaching English! How much easier it would have been to get students interested not only in reading, but in writing as well--to show them how much thought and skill goes into formulating and opening line, even in a Taylor Swift song! -- Jason Trask, author of The New Plantation: Lessons from Rikers Island and I'm Not Muhammad

Author Information

Paul Volponi is a bestselling author, journalist, and educator. His twelve novels for young adults have received a dozen American Library Association honors and his novel Black and White was a winner of the International Reading Association Children’s Book Award. Volponi is also the author of multiple nonfiction books for young adults, including The Great G.O.A.T. Debate: The Best of the Best in Everything from Sports to Science, Superhero Smart: Real-World Facts behind Comic Book Characters, and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Unauthorized Fun-ography. Volponi resides in New York City.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Countries Available

All regions