Last night I turned page 303, totally
unaware that this was the last page
(apart from the Appendices etc) of
Karen O'Brien's engrossing new
biography - with the sense of loss
more usually associated with the end
of a really great novel.
For those about to read, prepare yourself
for some really late nights, train journeys
that flash by, and the overwhelming urge to
share stories with the list with each turning
page.
For now I shall resist as I really don't want
to spoil the feast.
However, I'm sure no one will mind me quoting
from the Acknowlegements :-
>>>the Joni Mitchell Discussion List (www.jmdl.com)
especially Les Irvin, Jim L'Hommedieu, Joe Farrell,
Dave Foer, Mauro Rossi and Simon; the official
Joni Mitchell website, jonimitchell.com, Jim Johansen
and the late Wally Breese; >>> and in the Covers
section of the Discography - "with thanks to Bob Muller."
PaulC
PS OK OK, I couldn't resist just one - something I
could relate to from my own childhood
"The family settled into their home at 214 Railway Avenue
East; Bill put up a swing in the garden, but one of Joan's
favourite pastimes required little more than a chair at the
large window in the living-room, at the front of the house.
The view across the road to the railway line was to give
Joan a literal window on the world, a yearning for the
wider universe beyond, symbolised by the rattle and hum
of the daily steam train. The young child would perch at
the window each day and wave to the driver as the train
passed slowly. Years later, long after the family had left
Maidstone, her parents met a man who once worked in
the area for Canadian railways. When he found out where
they'd lived, he recalled his only memory of the unaventful
trip along the line through Maidstone - an exuberant tow-
haired little girl who'd be waiting each day to exchange a
wave."
>From 'Joni Mitchell: Shadows and Light' by Karen O'Brien
Published by Virgin Books Ltd - 4th October 2001
