Living in the Present with John Prine

Novelist and music journalist Piazza (The Auburn Conference) recalls his friendship with late singer-songwriter John Prine in this dazzling tribute. After profiling Prine in 2018 for a piece in the Oxford American, Piazza became fast friends with the musician and his wife, Fiona, who contributes the book’s introduction. “You don’t want to be him,” Piazza says of Prine’s particular magnetism. “You just want to hang out with him.” The writer and musician started collaborating on Prine’s memoirs, but after Prine died in 2020, Piazza’s project evolved into an account of the musician’s final years. He paints Prine as a whimsical, well-studied folk music elder, who loved hot dogs (so much so that Oscar Mayer fixed him up with a lifetime supply) nearly as much as the songs of his friend Bob Dylan, who told Prine he had “a voice like a Jew’s harp” when the two first met. Alongside memories of trips in Prine’s 1977 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, Piazza weaves in interviews with the musician’s brother, David, and guitarist, Jason Wilber, to further flesh out his jolly portrait of a humble and hilarious man who made a huge impact on American music. Prine’s fans will be over the moon. Photos. (Sept.)