Book Description
An internationally respected composer and performer, Suzanne Vega does not write love songs, per se.Her words can rattle and sting, exposing private crimes and inner wars, the pain of need, and the chains of unspoken law.With evocative image and clear-sighted truth she transforms experience into dark and beautiful art.She is a poet of the urban streets whose passionate eye catches the motion and vibrant color of the life that surrounds us all.In this volume are collected the writings of Suzanne Vega: poems and stories: remembrances of times past and far countries: interviews and song lyrics: overheard conversations and imagined thoughts: complex inner worlds realized in simple yet breathtaking strokes.And through her words a portrait emerges of an exemplary artist and unique individual whose passion embraces the entire scope of human existence, from love and longing to war and politics.It is a window into a guarded life, and a remarkable journey across an emotional landscape sometimes hard, often cruel, but never barren or devoid of hope. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

a must supplement for those who have Suzanne's music and those who consider buying it
Suzanne's art is unique and inspiring. It goes well beyond music. Those who followed her in the last 20 years or so witnessed a long and exciting journey. It was all but obvious for a book to accompany this journey. Suzanne is sharp, clear, fresh and touches every bit of your soul. The books brings you closer to her inner world and creates, together with her music, a wonderful and intimate world.

Yeah..
The best songwriter ever in terms of lyrics.Freakin totally in your face fantasticima,the "Spiritual Bathing" of poetry books.(A plug for that book by Ms.Nadine Epstein.) CrAss had some songs that were also on par with MS.Vega. "Reality Asylum"'s one of them.The best poetry peice ever.If you do not like punk with poetry by "Love Songs" the book with Crass lyrics and "Self Evident" Ani DiFranco's lyric book as well.For these three artists plus Sarah MacLachlan define how we are as women and men and humanity in all of it's beauty and angEr and Joy.

Wow
I really don't know how can I explain this book. It's not really a book it's something more than that, something you always want to carry with you no matter how many times you read it, you want to read again and again. Every poem, story or lyric gain new meanings each time you read. I've always been a big fan of Suzanne Vega's music and now I'm a big fan of her writing too! I wish she wrote more books!

Suzanne Vega Fans will love this!
Wonderful collection , written superbly!

The impersonal nature of personal revelation
Suzanne Vega's Passionate Eye effectively points up some of her ideas in a fresh, readable and consistently interesting format. She uses her song lyrics, poems and prose both recent and juvenile, and a centerpiece radio interview of Ms. Vega by Leonard Cohen (the most "human" part of the book, as Mr. Cohen alternates between simple friendliness, quick wit, deep insight and good, old-fashioned flirtatious play to "illustrate" Ms. Vega's contradictions and the themes of her music through a spirited dialogue).

As in her songs, Ms. Vega writes in veiled themes. She tries to illustrate that one can own the artist's revelations without owning (or needing to know) anything about the artist herself. She quotes passages to support her idea that her particular muse stems from childhood experience, and that she is merely saying the same things she thought at nine. She repeatedly makes the point that it is the elusive (and by inference, the allusive) that appeals to her. As Ms. Vega points out, the communication medium of a songwriter includes in large measure the lyrics of her songs. Yet this is not a mere fanzine piece, but instead a well-done arrangement which highlights her ideas without descending into morose autobio. Although her spare, dark sense of humor peeks through the covers a time or two here, the book perhaps suffers from yet another Vega trait--her consistent effort to maintain a sort of "high seriousness" about her proceedings. I would have liked, perhaps, to see the lyrics of Christine Lavin's Vega parody "Mysterious Woman" arrayed beside Ms. Vega's own lyrics. Ms. Vega shows the reader that she understands the limitations in the persona she created, but we do not quite see what persona she wishes we had seen instead.
Still, I left this book convinced that Suzanne Vega remains a complex and interesting artist, wishing for fame, but disliking the toll it can take on the part of the artist which is not the public persona. Thank goodness this is not a morose "pity me, I'm famous" piece, but a set of images and wordplay, well worked out. Read this, even if you are not a "Suzanne Vega fan".

I left this book feeling that I understood a thing or two about the public person Suzanne Vega seeks to portray, and that I need not know anything more about Suzanne Vega herself. I believe this is what Ms. Vega wants the reader to feel, and therefore she has succeeded admirably. ... Read more

Book Description
Word count: 1453. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Thomson Gale on June 1, 2007. The length of the article is 439 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Suzanne Vega: 'Luka' se hace mayor.(cantante)(Beauty and Crime, grabación de sonido)
Author: Érica Montenegro
Publication: Epoca (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Issue: 1152Page: 62(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent book
It's really a shame this book has been out of print for over 10 years; it's an excellent selection of songs from Vega's first two albums, and contains very accurate acoustic guitar tablature.If you ever find it in a used bookstore somewhere, buy it!
... Read more