Description:
Deploying her background in cultural history, gender, sexuality, and performance studies, Mahmassani tracks the interwoven careers of Odetta and Joan Baez, creating a new story of the folk revival that is at once incisive and entertaining. A feminist take on the music scene that defined an era, Air Split Open is fueled by deep respect for the American folk tradition and all those, known and unknown, who have carried it forward.
Review Quotes:
"Air Split Open is the captivating story of the two 'Queens of Folk, ' and how they shaped the broader American folk movement. But in analyzing their stories, it also digs into fundamental questions about human development: How do we learn to love what we love, want what we want, and ignore what we ignore? Like the music she examines, Mahmassani's writing weaves between personal and political, heart-wrenching and hilarious, intimate and expansive. Air Split Open is not just for folk aficionados, but for anyone wanting to better understand the way that cultures and subcultures meld to construct our unique identities."--Leah Donnella, editor, NPR's Code Switch