Hammers & Nails: The Life and Music of Mark Heard

by Matthew Dickerson

Mark Heard was an enigmatic singer/songwriter whose impact on Folk/Country Rock continues despite his death in 1992. Artists such as Buddy and Julie Miller, Bruce Cockburn, Brooks Williams, and Pierce Pettis all acknowledge his legacy as a songwriter and impact on them personally. This book will highlight Mark's lyrics and photography and remember him through the words of his closest friends and family. This book is accompanied by a double CD set of previously unreleased music entitled 'All She Wanted Was Love'.

Genres: Music, Biography

241 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

Matthew Dickerson (PhD, Cornell University) is a professor at Middlebury College in Vermont, a writer, the former director of the New England Young Writers’ Conference at Bread Loaf and the current co-director of the Northern Pen Young Writers' Conference. His previous works include fantasy novels The Gifted and The Betrayed; works about fantasy including From Homer to Harry Potter along with Narnia and the Fields of Arbol: The Environmental Vision of C. S. Lewis, A Hobbit Journey, and Ents, Elves, and Eriador: The Environmental Vision of J. R .R. Tolkien; some medieval historic romance including The Rood and the Torc; and even philosophy of mind and computation The Mind and the Machine: What it Means to be Human and Why it Matters.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark Heard has always been one of the artists I've admired the most, and also one who I have related to the most. I regularly see myself in a mirror when reading his lyrics, and by that I mean i feel like I could have written many of them. It's not an attempt to equate myself with his genius, but rather that I see similarities in our thought processes. I have experienced the same thing with Larry Norman since I first discovered both of them in the mid 80's.

Apart from an article or two in CCM magazines, I've never had any insight into Mark's background, whether as a songwriter or just a human being. This book allowed me to get a much better picture and understanding of him, his relationships with other artists and friends, and what made him tick. I hit a spot about 3/4 of the way through the book where I had an epiphany about our similarities, and it helped open my eyes greatly to a place where I had found myself struggling with the contemporary church in the same ways Mark had. Like Mark, I have a strong faith and a desire to know just how God wants to use me, but have a poor comfort zone with the subculture of the modern church and Christendom. This book was like medicine for that - it helped me realize that not only am I not alone in my feelings and struggles, but I share those things with a man I greatly admire. There's a great sense of validation in something like that. If Mark hadn't been so tragically taken from us, too soon, I would have loved to have had a chance to sity down to talk with him - to "nod over coffee", as he said. Or perhaps a few beers.

[Rudy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark Heard is one of my absolute favorite musicians ever. For me, lyrically, he's on the same footing as Paul Simon, Bruce Cockburn, Bob Dylan, and Bill Mallonee - a genuine wordsmith! Unfortunately, I found Hammers and Nails to be an incredibly difficult read due to the repetitive nature of the writing. For someone who lived such a rich, albeit short life, it's told in a very circular way: Mark was drawn to music, Mark struggled in the industry, Mark met a few people who encouraged him and he'd make more music, rinse, repeat. Even if that's the reality of the story, and Mark Heard fans already know it was, that doesn't exactly make for compelling reading. It's not a bad book by any means, but when each chapter feels like a retelling of the last, it gets a bit mundane.

[Rich Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extraordinary man. Mediocre book. Not so much a biography as a study — fascinating at times, but not without problems. The author presents himself as having close connections, but doesn’t seem to enter into Mark Heard’s life at any point of the discussion. Chuck Long, Dan Russell, and Randy Stonehill are shown in significant connotations, but how the author fits in is a mystery. And he refers to the song “Satellite Sky” as “Why Mama Why” more than once - a line from the chorus, perhaps an alternate title? “Emmylou” is misspelled…. And a vast amount of lyrics from unreleased songs haphazardly thrown in. Overall, the book is worth reading simply because of Heard’s own brilliance.