Call For Book Chapters: Isaac Watts’ Hymnody

Title: ‘Songs Before Unknown’: The Legacy of Isaac Watts’ Hymnody

Edited by Daniel Johnson and Martin V. Clarke

Call for Book Chapters:

2024 is 350 years since Isaac Watts was born, and this volume seeks to consider the legacy of his hymnody. The contents of his Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1707 & 1709), Divine Songs for Children (1715) and Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament (1719) became ubiquitous; the individual hymns and psalms, as well the full collections, were republished hundreds of times, long into the twentieth century. His hymns and psalms became the defining works of the English-speaking hymn tradition, and were foundational texts for the generations of hymnists who followed him. His hymns have been republished, edited, translated, and reworked constantly in the centuries since his death. They represent a body of lyrical theology, as well as a commercial entity. To date, several of his works still occupy places high up in the CCLI charts. Some of Watts’ hymns have forged strong and enduring relationships with specific tunes, while others have been set to multiple different tunes in a variety of styles over the centuries.

This volume seeks chapters which explore the various facets of the legacy of Watts’ hymnody. Just as Watts’ hymns were infused with a global perspective, so too this volume seeks to have a global emphasis, and so contributions that consider Watts’ hymns in non-western contexts are particularly encouraged. His stature in the pantheon of hymn-writers is not reflected in the current scholarship; this volume seeks to redress this by examining his global legacy from the time of his death in 1748 to the present day. The volume will be submitted for consideration to Routledge’s Christian Congregational Music series. Topics for chapters may include, but are not limited to, Watts’ hymns and:

• Their influence upon on the evangelical tradition
• Political, civic, and colonial contexts
• Permanence, ephemera, and endurance
• The Dr. Watts tradition
• Translations and inculturation
• Watts’ influence upon other hymnwriters
• Edits and adaptations
• Ecumenical reception
• Musical settings
• Contemporary interpretations
• Their use as commercial entities

Submissions:

Please send abstracts of 250 words to Daniel.johnson.1674@gmail.com and martin.clarke@open.ac.uk, with an accompanying bio of 100 words by 1st February, 2024. Subsequent chapters would be 8,000 words, including footnotes and bibliography.

Anticipated Date of Chapter Submission: 30th September , 2024

— with Daniel Johnson.