When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance

An intimate, autobiographical poetry collection from legendary artist and activist, Joan Baez
Joan Baez shares poems for or about her contemporaries (such as Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, and Jimi Hendrix), reflections from her childhood, personal thoughts, and cherished memories of her family, including pieces about her younger sister, singer-songwriter Mimi Fariña. Speaking to the people, places, and moments that have had the greatest impact on her art, this collection is an inspiring personal diary in the form of poetry.
While Baez has been writing poetry for decades, she's never shared it publicly. Poems about her life, her family, about her passions for nature and art, have piled up in notebooks and on scraps of paper. Now, for the first time ever, her life is shared revealing pivotal life experiences that shaped an icon, offering a never-before-seen look into the reminiscences and musings of a great artist.
Like a late-night chat with someone you love, this collection connects fans to the real heart of who Joan Baez is as a person, as a daughter and sister, and as an artist who has inspired millions.
"Powerful and eye-opening"
"An American icon revisiting her archives and taking back her history."
"Deeply personal poetry from one of our greatest singer/songwriters. Amazingly, this is her first collection, and we hope there's more to come."
"Drily funny and wise."
"Joan Baez wraps her arms around the complexities of life: she writes from both bliss and grief; she embraces both the whimsical and the profound; she confronts the struggle to let go of the dichotomy black-and-white and revel in the gray. Baez's poetry shows us that life itself means accepting both the lightness and the darkness."
"Joan's ideas and musings ricochet from the profound and humanly factual to the observant and slyly humorous. Her words can be both poignantly executed and captivating in a colorful closeness that pin-points the chinks in our armor that mirror all facets of the world we inhabit. A national treasure she is indeed."
"In these courageous and soul-searching poems, Joan Baez reveals the joy and sorrow of a life lived fully. Her deceptively simple and elegant verses resonate with profound insight into what it means to be alive, looking Janus-like from past to present. Beautiful."
"The artist's urgency to account for 'talents' (see Matthew 25: 14-30), to complete the record and reckoning, informs this sumptuous debut collection of poems. To her work in song, on canvas, in advocacy for the human causes, this work in words claims its place among Ms. Baez's free-range creations. Brava, is the thing I say, and write on!"