Joan Baez is a dynamic force of nature. Her commitment to music and social activism has earned global recognition, ranging from induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, to the Ambassador of Conscience Award, Amnesty International’s highest honor. Retired from active performing since 2019, she has devoted much of her time to the Mischief Makers series of paintings, portraits that immortalize risk-taking visionaries she has known, who have brought about social change through history, from Dr. Martin Luther King and Bob Dylan to the Dalai Lama and Patti Smith.
Joan Baez will be in conversation with Paul Liberatore on Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. PST to celebrate the release of her new book Am I Pretty When I Fly?: An Album of Upside Down Drawings, published by Godine. This event will be held in Kerouac Alley, between Columbus and Grant Avenues, between City Lights and Vesuvio Cafe. It is free to the public. Seating is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Where are you writing to us from?
I’m writing from a hotel in Austin, Texas.
What is bringing you joy right now, personally/artistically/habitually?
What is bringing me personally joy right now is finding my 80s to be a phenomenally creative decade. Artistically, I’m afraid it is my own art, which is occupying all my thoughts and actions right now.
Habitually, joy for me comes from talking with trees, feeding my lovely chickens and collecting their eggs. From refurbishing my tree house so I can sleep up there and feel the tiny whoosh of air when a sparrow flies over my head to reach the feeder.
Pure joy for me comes from dancing. Once someone said yes, I was here to sing, to be an activist, to paint, to write—but primarily I was put on this earth to dance.
Which writers, artists, and others influence your work in general, and this book,
specifically?
I’m not a good reader. Audible has changed my life: I listen while I paint and while I draw.
What books are you reading right now and would you recommend any to others?
I know what books have enchanted me over the last decade include—H is For Hawk, A Gentleman in Moscow, Bel Canto, and Hamnet top a short list.
If you opened a bookstore, where would it be located, what would it be called, and what
would your bestseller be?
If I opened a bookstore, it would be at the base of my biggest tree, and be called Margarita’s, after my sister, who didn’t read much either.
As for the bestseller? My father used to stand in front of the family holding a pen and paper and shout: “THE BEST BOOK HAS NOT YET BEEN WRITTEN!” and then throw himself on the floor in a mock death.
