Song So Wild and Blue: A Life with the Music of Joni Mitchell [Hardcover]

An intimate, impressionistic Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man mode, interwoven with Mitchell myths and parallels. — New York Times Book Review

An astonishing exploration of what it means to lead an artist’s life—how to last, dig deep, change, to embrace one’s voice while in conversation with your heroes. —Elizabeth McCracken, author ofThe Hero of This Book

From the celebrated novelist and memoirist, a gorgeous account of how Joni Mitchell’s work has shaped his writing throughout his life.

From the moment Paul Lisicky heard Joni Mitchell’s music while growing up in New Jersey, he recognized she was that rarity among musicians—a talent whose combination of introspection, liberation, and deep musicality set her apart from any other artist of the time. As a young man, Lisicky was a budding songwriter who took his cues from Mitchell’s mysteries and idiosyncrasies. But as he matured, he set his guitar aside and turned to prose, a practice that would eventually take him to the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and into the professional world of letters, all the while chronicling his own creative process.

As the decades passed, Lisicky’s connection to Mitchell’s artistry only deepened. Her music was a constant, a guide to life, and an artist’s manual in one—a powerful example of art and identity intertwining. As he navigated love and heartbreak and imaginative struggles and the vicissitudes of a creative career, he would often return to Mitchell’s songs, to the solace and lessons that only her musicianship could give.

Paying unique tribute to the woman who shaped generations of creators and thinkers, Lisicky offers his own coming-of-adulthood as testimony to the power of songwriting and staying true to your creative vision. Part memoir, part biography, and part homage, this stunning work of literary nonfiction,Song So Wild andlCÈ