{"product_id":"who-am-i-supposed-to-be-driving-paperback-1","title":"Who am I supposed to be driving? - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eClare O'Brien\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Perhaps we were all tall children then, playing games on asphalt under alien stars, the heat boiling up through the cracks.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNamed after a line in an outtake from his 1996 album \u003cem\u003e1.Outside\u003c\/em\u003e, 'Who Am I Supposed To Be Driving?' is a collection of ekphrastic poems written in response to thirteen of David Bowie's albums, from 1969's \u003cem\u003eSpace Oddity\u003c\/em\u003e to 2016's \u003cem\u003eBlackstar.\u003c\/em\u003e The ultimate changeling, Bowie wrote songs that led us into landscapes as various and exotic as the characters he created to sing them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese poems aren't a critique. They're not a biography. They're not an attempt to paraphrase or explain the music which inspired them. Instead, they're an exploration of the emotions the work creates, and the lost worlds from which these iconic albums first emerged.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOr perhaps they're just the abstract thoughts of a flight controller, working the night shift, wishing Major Tom would return.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"With concise words and deft phrasing, Clare O'Brien captures the essence of Bowie, conjuring sound and vision all the way from Major Tom to Blackstar. Her poetry weaves worlds within us, reminding us not only of what we have lost but of what still remains. A stunning tribute to a mighty talent.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eL.G. Thomson, \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAuthor of 'Boyle's Law'\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Clare O'Brien has given us a collection that is nostalgic and melancholic, but also visceral and uplifting. There is deep emotion here, forcing upwards like 'the heat boiling up through the cracks, ' and whilst we cannot know the meaning of every line to the poet, or fully grasp every beautiful lyric, through the sometimes cryptic we are invited to go deeper, explore further, like a Star Man breaking the bonds of gravity. Yes, there's something wonderfully ethereal about poems such as \u003cem\u003ePortrait in Flesh\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eYour Face in Mine\u003c\/em\u003e, but \u003cem\u003eSpark the Fusion\u003c\/em\u003e is physical and sharp to the senses, whilst \u003cem\u003eElectric Blue\u003c\/em\u003e fizzes like a fuse connecting the classical world to the transient world of fame and celebrity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReading this collection feels almost voyeuristic, as though we are intruding on O'Brien's deepest secrets. But this is surely the point, and it's down to the poet's gift with language that our curiosity is piqued. We cannot look away. O'Brien weaves a spell, and the reader yearns for more.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWho Am I Supposed To Be Driving\u003c\/em\u003e is an intriguing and starkly beautiful tribute to the music of David Bowie, and just as Bowie invited us to take those wonderful leaps with him, so Clare O'Brien entices us to explore the artist's music, and indeed his journey, through the lens of her own emotional response to them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this collection, the poet has given us a poignant reminder of the power of music to inspire us, to move us, but also, of its capacity to shape the darker corners of our minds.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGiles Kristian, \u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eLancelot\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 26\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.06 x 8.27 x 5.83 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e August 09, 2022\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52727408066867,"sku":"9781913499129","price":17.78,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/c2wwank1SnRTMHhGWTk5MjJjTUJRUT09_b39b6cf4-796f-443f-aa29-512ddead51b4.webp?v=1763755254","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/products\/who-am-i-supposed-to-be-driving-paperback-1","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}