When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance: Poems

by Joan Baez

An intimate, autobiographical poetry collection from legendary artist and activist, Joan Baez.

Joan Baez shares poems for or about her contemporaries (such as Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, and Jimi Hendrix), reflections from her childhood, personal thoughts, and cherished memories of her family, including pieces about her younger sister, singer-songwriter Mimi Fariña. Speaking to the people, places, and moments that have had the greatest impact on her art, this collection is an inspiring personal diary in the form of poetry.

While Baez has been writing poetry for decades, she’s never shared it publicly. Poems about her life, her family, about her passions for nature and art, have piled up in notebooks and on scraps of paper. Now, for the first time ever, her life is shared revealing pivotal life experiences that shaped an icon, offering a never-before-seen look into the reminiscences and musings of a great artist.

Like a late-night chat with someone you love, this collection connects fans to the real heart of who Joan Baez is as a person, as a daughter and sister, and as an artist who has inspired millions.

Genres: Poetry, Music, Nonfiction, Audiobook

157 pages, Hardcover

Published April 30, 2024

About the author

American political activist Joan Baez sang folk.

People know highly individual vocal style of Joan Chandos Baez, a writer. This soprano features a three-octave vocal range and a distinctively rapid vibrato. Her topics deal with social issues.

People best know her hits "There but for Fortune," "Diamonds and Rust," "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," and to a lesser extent, "We Shall Overcome," "Love Is Just a Four-letter Word" and "Farewell Angelina." After the 1960s, her music strayed considerably and encompassed everything from rock and pop to country and gospel.

She also performed "Sweet Sir Galahad," and "Joe Hill" at the festival of 1969 at Woodstock. Her passion, notably in the areas of nonviolence, civil and human rights, and the environment in more recent years lasted even longer than well-known early relationship with Bob Dylan.

She performed publicly for nearly a half century, released more than thirty albums, and recorded in at least eight languages.


Baez, a writer, especially in the mid-1970s, most often interpreted work and covered Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Jackson Browne, Paul Simon, the Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, and myriad other persons.

In more recent years, she interpreted diverse writers, such as Steve Earle, Natalie Merchant, and Ryan Adams, and found success.

Reviews

[Ness · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Joan Baez so goddamn much id read her shopping list if I could

[Hazael Madalinski · Rating 2 out of 5]

i loved baez’s ramblings and find it almost unjust to rate this book so low. some days i felt poetic enough to consume her work and other days i found it hard to relate to her writing. she’s girlish and writes about the mundane with grace. i like other poets more and feel like baez is an aspiring mary oliver. definitely worth the read and was great to bring to the beach. :)

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A collection that highlights Baez’s strengths and weaknesses as a poet. Her verse about landscapes (both natural and personal/interior) sparkle with clarity and insight, imbued with a rhythm that carries the poems forward in ebbs and flows – rather appropriately, since images of water, waves, and “softly rolling seas” abound in this collection. On the other hand, the poems written about some of her famous peers (fellow musicians including Jimi Hendrix, Judy Collins, and Bob Dylan) fall flat, rarely rising above the surface-level observations of journal entries punctuated by staccato enjambment.

The one exception is the poem inspired by Leonard Cohen, "Dear Leonard," which successfully unites inner landscape and outward remembrance. It is also written as a prose poem in letter format, avoiding the uneven line breaks of her other musician profiles, and is credited to “Joan and Yasha.”

In her introductory note, Baez discusses her psychoanalytic struggles with dissociative identity disorder, and the fact that some of these poems were “co-written” by these “inner authors” as a way of coping with her trauma. And so in that sense, these are truly “landscape[s] of her past,” to quote a line from “The Rosy Trumpeteers,” another work credited to Yasha. Some of these co-written poems are the strongest in the collection. Especially noteworthy are Baez's remembrances of her close family members – parents and sisters – that stand as gorgeous meditations on love and loss.

Worth a look if you are a fan.

[Sophia Eck · Rating 4 out of 5]

yes her poem to Leonard Cohen made me shed a tear or two

[Marea sdp · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am absolutely clueless about how to rate this book. Do no trust me. I love Joan Baez and I found her writing delicate and tender. However, I also think if I had not known her music, I would not have liked her poetry. I remembered that sentence in Diamonds and Rust in which she sang “my poetry was lousy, you said” and I could not help but think that he might have been right…

If you like Joan Baez’s music, I recommend it. If you have not listened to Joan Baez, you may want to listen to her music, I think that is the real deal.

[Pablito · Rating 5 out of 5]

"My poetry was lousy you said," Joan says of Dylan, in her paean to their fated romance, "Diamonds and Rust." And to be fair, most of the works in When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance: Poems fall between musings and observations, not poetry.

Still if you're a lifelong admirer of the Queen of Folk Music and Conscience of her generation, as am I, you might just relish Joan's takes on Judy Collins, Jimi Hendrix, Leonard Cohen, and Bobby himself. Not to mention her tender, enchanting tributes to her sisters Mimi and Pauline and to her parents.

The title poem reveals Joan at her poetic best, I believe. It describes a fantasy evening between her 18-year-old mother and a Swedish opera star, twice her age, that captures Joan's deft ear for music and rhythm and her ability to marry whimsy with a pure heart.

I love Joan Baez, have loved her from the age of 14. If you, too, have been touched by her music and/or her activism, this small book by Goodine, one of the finest bookmakers this side of the Atlantic, will only bring you closer.

[christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

met her at a signing for this over the summer and just got around to reading it now. i only got into joan baez around 2 years ago, but her work keeps popping up in my life when i need it. im not really a poetry person but i read this entire thing in one day, thank you joan <3

[eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

as when you see my mother, ask her to dance progresses, and moves through the life stages, it slowly becomes centered around grief. and not just grief from joan's loved ones dying, but grief for the people that have left her life but remain in her memory. though it does discuss death, and explores how joan sees 'eternity'. basically, it was devastating but beautiful. the poem about her mother's death ("vivian") is now, I think, one of my favourite poems of all time.
my favourites:
- lily
- little fellow
- colleen
- vivian
- dear leonard
- silence
- queen of the mountain
- into the ether
she said I hear my mother calling me and I asked what is she saying and she answered in a singsong voice the way you call a child home from down the block at the end of the day Lor-ray-ain Lor-ray-ainnn and again real slow Lor-raaaay-ainnn which was her mother's name (from "vivian")

[rara ➶ · Rating 3 out of 5]

THIS BOOK IS BELOW MID. the poems are literally just diary entries. SO YEA BRI IM CRITIQUING THE MEDIOCRITY OF THE BOOK, which is fully allowed in a reviewing platform last i checked. reporting my previous review, and GR ofc silencing me and taking my review down?? ALL FOR A MID BOOK. people are allowed not to like books 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️

1) 3 stars is not a low review, tho this deserves less
2) poetry was below mid
3) why did that weirdo take my review so personally as if i didn’t like HER writing???
4) joan’s work has poems about “activism” in but i dont like the writing of someone who talks about woke when she dehumanizes certain groups 🙄
5) YOU CANT CENSOR ME ILL TYPE THIS A MILLION TIMES IF I HAVE TO

xoxo, go piss girl 💋

[Jocelyn Schartiger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would rate this book 3.5 stars. I am a fan of Joan Baez's songwriting so I figured I would be interested in some of her poetry. And for the most part, I was! Although I do still prefer her songs to this book.

I always applaud vulnerability in art. I think that's what makes good art. And in Baez's case (an aging woman in the public eye, most famous for her relationship with a man, with a later in life mental disorder diagnosis), it's beautifully disconcerting.

[leni swagger · Rating 4 out of 5]

“So, when you see my mother,
ask her to dance!” (Fine! But don’t ask mine…)

[Anna Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal. Simple, beautiful, thoughtful, honest.
Some really nice writing in there about friendships, sisters, moms, daughters that was just raw, honest, open, and transformative.

I can’t stop thinking about her poem A Scant Grace about the painting American Gothic. Life changing.

Some other favorites:
Afraid
Phobia
Ravenous
Dog death heat

[jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unplanned, I walked into the bookstore today and found this. It was a real enjoyable and easy read:) beautifully written.

[George Rashbrook · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10
It’s no ‘Diamonds and Rust’

[Lainey · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Jacob Kolody · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was… fine. I think this would be less highly regarded if it wasn’t written by Joan Baez.

[Joshua Garvelink]

“Silver Bells” is one of the most affecting poems I’ve ever read and maybe enough to make me buy a copy of this.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry Collection

A nice collection of prose poetry. I enjoyed reading them and found the well written. If you love Joan Baez, this is a nice addition to her work.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ravenous

Quoth the raven:
'I am ravenous.'
And he pecked out
Edgar Allan’s eye."

[Akseli Koskela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm… quite naive..

[Sharon N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry isn’t a genre I go to usually but this was a reading prompt challenge. I enjoyed some more than others.

[Alex Juarez]

Prose poems about nature & family from a beloved musician & writer 🫶🏼

[Rachel Zilkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this! I marked 'Writing' and 'Big Sur' as a couple of my favourites. I look forward to reading this again!

[Kiera Russo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I envy those who can sing AND write. Picked this up after seeing A Complete Unknown.

[clare☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

very personal writing, not the best poetry i've ever read but it was pretty decent

[Katie Culligan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a society I think we are correct to be largely cautious about kooky white women. But Joan Baez is a gigantic W for the team

[Erin Al-Mehairi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remember three stars is a good, average read for me with a few challenges. I love Joan Baez and appreciate her music, activism, and dedication to nature and community. I wasn’t sure if her collection would be about her mother, motherhood, and maybe nature, activism type things but I hoped so. It did say it was a hodgepodge of her writings over the years. And that is what it was for sure.

I did love a few of the poems so much. I wish the entire collection had been ones of deep familial connection, regrets, humanity, or nature. I feel she flourishes in nature poetry. Some of my favorites were: “Goodbye to the Black and White Ball,” “The Field,” “Gray Sea,” “Yosemite,” “Whitecaps,” “Herons and Blackberries,” “Big Sur,” “Birdsong,” “Queen of the Mountain.” These were deep, touching, beautiful, and full of love for nature and for people/family.

There are poems of her own life as a mother and with that loss, of other family members, some of her mom, and a very long one at the end that is the title of the collection as well, leaving one to believe it is a lot about her mother, but in reality it is about Joan and her own life instead. Her own ponderings on each step of the way. I preferred the poems of hers steeped in the now as she wondered on the journey.

What challenged me as an editor with it was just how hodgepodged it was seemingly having no theme identified by publisher, nor, even put into parts, the parts didn’t coordinate into themes or same works. It went from one thing to the next completely different and it was a bit jarring for me. Some of the poems I really didn’t care for, some were juvenile and should never have been put in this collection, and some, I felt they needed work, or would have been better with work. Many endings were abrupt, but not to any cool effect either (trust me, as a poet myself I am one that doesn’t conform). Some of the poems were actually more like journal entries, not even prose poems. So yes, I feel with a strong editor giving it a helping hand it could have been a beautiful keepsake. The strong poems were done a disservice, and her legacy, by including those other scribbles that didn’t carry their weight.

Some of the poems here deeply resonated and were stunningly beautiful. I’m glad I read it for those. But I wanted/want more of those. Those of nature and with longing, regret, and triumphs. It would have been so amazing just to hug an entire collection of those poems I loved above, which were absolutely lovely.

[Laurie Byro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I am a Dylanist and a poet (60 IBPC poetry awards, two Journal of New Jersey Poets Honorable Mentions and two writing grants from libraries (I think they said it was funded by the state) and have led a poetry circle for 25 years, I came to this party as a poet with 9 poetry books out, and not to make a big deal about it, but I may not always WRITE good poetry, but I think I recognize good poetry. I also am in awe of Dylan's poetry/writing, and adore Joan Baez for so many reasons but the line "My poetry was lousy you said" was in my HEAD when I randomly opened a page and thought "My Uncle Zimmy, he is right." But then I read each poem and I would give her an A for effort and a C for delivery, she really WANTS to get these poems out and understood and polished, she falls short. I was confused by her "personalities" and having read other biographies on her and her own admissions, I know she was abused by her dad, and prolly psychologically abused by Mimi, I wanted to say "Bobby you are just a prick, she's an excellent writer" and while the first part is and was often true about Dylan, I now do understand why when she pushed him onto the stage he quickly overshadowed her. She has an excellent voice, she's a painter, she's such a humanitarian, she is so much better than Dylan in so many ways, but ahem her poetry is lousy? Well, that's unkind but when I try to think of a better way to describe it and there are a few gems in there, but mediocre, struggling, um UNINSPIRED? I just can't come up with a word that isn't unkind. Competent? That is something my first writing professor said of my writing and I cried over that word. ok how about INTERESTING. It's interesting, but mostly because we want to hear about Jimi and Judy Collins and yes her son, but the poems still don't tell us much. ok for example she says of Judy and the son "he's in the ground" so while it's factual, you know she lost her son, is that poetry? Forgive me for those who as I do adore her, but you might want to give the book a miss, it just doesn't make us appreciate her even more. Disappointing.

[Alissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I found this spontaneously at the library and LOVED it. There were some poems that I didn't like as much as the others, but Joan's poetry is like her lyricism: moving and immersive. Joan's poetry doesn't pretend to be something it is not, she turns over her thoughts and experiences with unflinching lyricism; she does not explain herself, she doesn't need to. I specifically loved Queen of the Mountain, Colleen, Birdsong, Silence, Low-Low Impact Class Heron and Blackberries, The Black and White Ball, God Songs, Writing and Waves. My favorite poem in this collection is Queen of the Mountain, which is a moving poem about Pauline, Joan's older sister.

This poetry book really reminded me to be kind to myself. Your brain is such an interesting place, and you have to live there. Joan has also been upfront about her diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder in the 80's-90's, which occurred around the same time she was going through therapy to help process her childhood. Joan talks extensively about how she made peace, time and time again, with her trauma. These poems must have been so hard to write, and to process, but what came out of them were beautiful, self-compassionate revelations of joy and wonder and survival.

That being said, I understand why people don't love Joan's style of writing. Her poetry is often stream of consciousness, so some of these reviews that define her poetry as being more blurbs of thought than poems, make sense. I also understand that poetry is an art form with prerequisites and an extensive history. At the same time, I don't love when people try to define and label other people's poetry as "not poems." Who are we to define somebody's art for them? I go back and forth with this idea, and it is an interesting topic. All I can say is that for me, Joan's writing is poetry. It is lyrical, thoughtful, and moving, and it brought me back to myself when I really needed it.

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

In her author's forward, Joan Baez says of her book, "that it is filled with unschooled techniques, undisciplined phrasing, haphazard thoughts ..." I beg to differ ... the majority of the poems in this collection are exquisite, incredibly moving, and invite rereading. Hardly unschooled, undisciplined, or haphazard. Finishing one, I felt impelled to read the next, and the next one after that. These are deeply personal poems, poems of love and loss, of rapture and sorrow. They cut to the bone of human experience, and invited both reflection and tears in this reader. One, "Jimi," a remembrance of Jimi Hendrix, I wanted to read out loud to my late husband because he was there at Woodstock when Jimi played the "Star Spangled Banner" in the early morning light, and where he "eviscerated the national anthem and made it (his) own."

The language is lush, the images crystalline, the subjects varied. One poem "Fisherman's Final Dream" is an evocation of the final moments of the men in the fragile boat engulfed by Hokusai's great wave ... something viewers of Great Wave off Kanagawa barely notice, their imminent passing rarely considered. Other poems capture glimpses of nature ("Big Sur," "A Sudden Deer," "Gray Sea"), the toilette of little brown hen named Thelma, her love of her son Gabe, and the passing of loved ones. Loving Leonard Cohen as I do, I found her epistolary poem "Dear Leonard" particularly lovely ... evocative, imaginative, spiritual.

This is a book I will treasure and place with my small group of all-time favorites.