Travelling
On the Path of Joni Mitchell
Published on 20. June 2024
Book
Hardback
448 pages
978-0-00-833296-9 (ISBN)
Description
Time Must-Read Books of 2024
Independent Best Non-Fiction Books 2024
Mojo Books of the Year 2024
"A vibrant, multifaceted portrait of a music enigma" Guardian
"A powerful portrait" Irish Independent
"Displays a bracing rigour and an exhilarating curiosity about its subject, coming closer than most to catching up with Mitchell on her lonely road" Times
Celebrated music critic Ann Powers explores the life and career of the legendary Joni Mitchell
What you are about to read is not a standard account of the life and work of Joni Mitchell. Instead, it's a tale of long journeying through a life that changed popular music: of a homesick wanderer forging ahead on routes of her invention, and of me on her trail, heading toward the ringing of her voice.
One of the most celebrated artists of her generation, Joni Mitchell has inspired countless musicians and writers, while never stopping still herself.
In Travelling, celebrated music critic Ann Powers seeks to understand the paradox of Mitchell - at once both elusive and inviting - through her myriad journeys. Drawing on extensive inter-views with Mitchell's peers and deep archival research, Powers takes readers to rural Canada, charts the course of Mitchell's musical evolution, follows the winding road of Mitchell's collaborations with other greats and explores the loves that fed her songwriting.
Kaleidoscopic in scope and intimate in detail, Travelling is a fresh and fascinating addition to the Joni Mitchell corpus - and one that questions whether an artist can ever truly be known to their fans.
Independent Best Non-Fiction Books 2024
Mojo Books of the Year 2024
"A vibrant, multifaceted portrait of a music enigma" Guardian
"A powerful portrait" Irish Independent
"Displays a bracing rigour and an exhilarating curiosity about its subject, coming closer than most to catching up with Mitchell on her lonely road" Times
Celebrated music critic Ann Powers explores the life and career of the legendary Joni Mitchell
What you are about to read is not a standard account of the life and work of Joni Mitchell. Instead, it's a tale of long journeying through a life that changed popular music: of a homesick wanderer forging ahead on routes of her invention, and of me on her trail, heading toward the ringing of her voice.
One of the most celebrated artists of her generation, Joni Mitchell has inspired countless musicians and writers, while never stopping still herself.
In Travelling, celebrated music critic Ann Powers seeks to understand the paradox of Mitchell - at once both elusive and inviting - through her myriad journeys. Drawing on extensive inter-views with Mitchell's peers and deep archival research, Powers takes readers to rural Canada, charts the course of Mitchell's musical evolution, follows the winding road of Mitchell's collaborations with other greats and explores the loves that fed her songwriting.
Kaleidoscopic in scope and intimate in detail, Travelling is a fresh and fascinating addition to the Joni Mitchell corpus - and one that questions whether an artist can ever truly be known to their fans.
Reviews / Votes
"The Joni Mitchell book we've all been waiting for. Ann Powers gives us a brilliant guided tour through the history, myth, and music of an icon." CLAIRE DEDERER, bestselling author of Monsters"A daring, intimate book about a daring, intimate artist, Travelling is a thrilling provocation from Ann Powers, one of the greatest cultural critics of our time." EMILY NUSSBAUM, The New Yorker
"A brilliant and layered book, which is a full and generous examination of a life that feels rich, caring" HANIF ABDURRAQIB, author of A Little Devil in America
"An exhilarating ride down the lonely roads where Joni Mitchell has led the way. For anyone who's ever been transfixed by a Mitchell song, Travelling is full of fresh revelations and insights." ROB SHEFFIELD, author of Dreaming the Beatles
"This is Ann Powers' intimate, fortifying, and sometimes soul-crushing story of how life becomes songs, how songs chart lives, and how Joni Mitchell became Joni Mitchell." DANYEL SMITH, author of Shine Bright
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Dimensions
Height: 237 mm
Width: 162 mm
Thickness: 41 mm
Weight
674 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-833296-9 (9780008332969)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
03/2026
HarperCollins
€16.50
Available immediately
E-Book
06/2024
HarperCollins
€8.59
Available for download
Person
Ann Powers has been a music critic for more than thirty years, working for NPR, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and other publications. In the decade she has worked with NPR, she has written exten-sively on music and culture and appeared regularly on the All Songs Considered podcast and on news shows includ-ing All Things Considered and Morning Edition. Her books include a memoir, Weird Like Us: My Bohemian America; Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White; Body and Soul in American Music; and Piece by Piece with Tori Amos. Powers lives in Nashville.