A Mind Full of Music by Chris Forhan
A Mind Full of Music: Essays on Imagination and Popular Song by Chris Forhan contemplates and celebrates the mysterious, powerful, dynamic relationship between ourselves and the songs we love: the way in which songs work upon our minds and in which our minds, because of the inevitable creative force of our imaginations and memories, work upon them. The book does not propose or develop a unified argument, nor does it tell, chronologically, the story of the author’s life of listening. Instead, in recognition of the varied, fluid, and ultimately mysterious ways in which our minds respond to songs, it is structured associatively, with one topic inspiring thoughts of another; the book begins with a song drifting into the author’s mind, and it ends with that mind still in the midst of listening, waiting for a beat that will never come.
ISBN: 978-1732610361
What people are saying about this book:
“Chris Forhan can get right inside your head, because as you follow his responses to music, you'll very likely recognize yourself.” —Griel Marcus, author of The History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs, contributor, Rolling Stone
“This book is a four-dimensional mix tape, one full of deeply personal reflection... A Mind Full of Music is full of light, itself, full of charm, full of life.” —Gayle Brandeis, author of The Art of Misdiagnosis and Drawing Breath
"A spectacular deep dive into the intimate workings of this mystery we call music." —Liz Prato, author of Kids in America: A Gen-X Reckoning and Volcanoes, Palm Trees and Privilege: Essays on Hawai'i
"If a book can be a love song, Chris Forhan's A Mind Full of Music is it, and its muse is the art form itself." —Matty Gervais and Charity Rose Thielen, members of The Head and the Heart
"Generosity, insight, and shrewd love underlie the whole text. This is a wonderful book." —Gregory Orr, author of The Last Love Poem I Will Ever Write and The Blessing
About Chris Forhan:
Chris Forhan is a poet, memoirist, and essayist. He is also the author of the memoir My Father Before Me, as well as three books of poetry. He's the winner of the Barrow Street Prize, the Morse Poetry Prize, the Bakeless Prize, and the Washington State Book Award. He has won a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and three Pushcart Prizes. He lives in Indianapolis, where he teaches at Butler University.
