The sensitive, autobiographical poetry collection When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance, by renowned artist and activist Joan Baez, is available on Godine now. Vanity Fair describes the book, which was released to widespread acclaim, as “the result of an American icon revisiting her archives and taking back her history.”
In honor of the publication, Baez will make appearances at a few book events across the country in the spring and summer, such as the Bay Area Book Festival in Berkeley on June 1 with Greg Sarris, the Symphony Space in New York on June 14 with Patti Smith, and the Sixth & I in Washington on July 31 with Ari Shaprio. The complete program is shown here.
Baez has been penning poetry for many years, but she has never shown it to the world. Poems about her life, her family, her love of the outdoors, and her artistic passions have accumulated in notebooks and on scrap paper. For the first time ever, her life is now presented in verse, providing a never-before-seen glimpse into the memories and reflections of a great artist and highlighting significant life events that shaped an icon.
Poems for or about her peers, childhood reflections, personal musings, and treasured family memories—including poems about her younger sister, singer-songwriter Mimi Fariña—are interspersed throughout the collection by Baez. This collection is an uplifting poetic personal journal that speaks to the people, places, and situations that have had the biggest influence on her work.
PRAISE IN ADVANCE
Joan Baez explores the joy and grief of a life well lived in these fearless and introspective poetry. Her poetry, which glance Janus-like from the past to the present, are surprisingly simple and graceful, resonating with profound insight into what it means to be alive. Gorgeous.
Author of Walking with Ghosts, Gabriel Byrne
Joan’s thoughts and observations range from the insightful and subtly funny to the profound and humanely factual. Her writing has the ability to be both colorfully near and poignantly delivered, highlighting the flaws in our armor that reflect every aspect of the world we live in. She truly is an asset to the country.
—Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton, and Me author BERNIE TAUPIN
Concerning Joan Baez
Joan Baez is a vibrant natural energy. Her dedication to music and social activity has brought her international recognition, which includes the Ambassador of Conscience Award—Amnesty International’s highest honor—and entry into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Since her retirement from performing in public in 2019, she has focused a large portion of her time on her “Mischief Makers” painting series, which honors visionaries who have taken risks and changed society throughout history, including Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, Dr. Martin Luther King, and the Dalai Lama.
In 2023, Baez made an appearance in the critically acclaimed documentary Joan Baez I Am a Noise, which had its world premiere at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival before being distributed by Magnolia Pictures. Godine released Baez’s critically acclaimed book of drawings, Am I Pretty When I Fly?, in the same year.
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