Their Library: Peter Broderick

Literary influences explored...

Peter Broderick is a songwriter of rare, rare depth.

Capable of stretching his artistry to fit all moods and genres, new album 'Colours Of The Night' is a dazzling return.

Out now on Bella Union, Clash reviewer Gareth James was moved to describe it as “a quite remarkable record”.

Intrigued, Clash invited Peter Broderick to take part in Their Library – revealing a few of his literary tastes, influences and more.

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What is your favourite book and why?
I've been carrying around a copy of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching for quite a while now. I find I can open to pretty much any page at any time, and I always feel something, I always take something away from it. There's also a special place in my heart for Félicia Atkinson's Twenties Are Gone.

What other authors do you like?
Some other authors that come to mind that I've really enjoyed reading over the last several years: Miranda July, Nick Jaina, Alan Watts, Jack Kerouac, Jeremy Narby, Dave Eggers.

What draws you to certain books?
They say you should never judge a book by it's cover… but I've purchased books based on their covers several times and often come to love them. I suppose I also learn about a lot of books through conversation with people.

Have you ever discovered a real lost classic? What is it and why?
Last year I read Stoner by John Williams. A friend had told me about this book, and that it kind of got lost for a while. I found it deeply moving. Some of the descriptions are so plain in a very beautiful way. I love when mundane things can be transformed into magic like that.

Do your literary influences have a direct impact on your songwriting?
Sometimes, yes. I remember clearly when I finished reading Eating Animals by Jonathon Safran Foer… I was so afftected by it, I had to do something… so I wrote a song called 'Human Eyeballs On Toast', in which imagined I was a chicken being raised for human consumption.

What are you reading at the moment?
Too Loud A Solitude by Bohumil Hrabal. Lovely!

What is the first book you remember reading as a child?
Adventures Of Frog And Toad by Arnold Lobel is the first book I remember picking out myself in the library and falling in love with.

Did you make good use of your library card as a child / teenager?
Not really… I remember loving books and stories as a really young child, but I actually really didn't enjoy reading for much of my youth. It wasn't until a friend gave me a copy of Haruki Murakami's South Of The Border West Of The Sun when I was 18 that I really started to read more for enjoyment.

Have you ever found a book that you simply couldn't finish?
Oh yeah, there are many books I've started and haven't finished. Some of them I return to later, some not…

Do you read book reviews?
Nope.

Would you ever re-read the same book?
Oh sure, especially poetry books. I re-read those all the time. There are several novels and biographies I've thought about re-reading too.

Have you ever identified with a character in a book? Which one and why?
I can't think of a shining example, but I think in pretty much everything I read I find something to relate to.

Do you read one book at a time or more than one?
It's not uncommon for me to be reading several books at a time. But usually it's a novel, and a book of poetry, and a zine or something… so they feel a bit separate.

Is there an author / poet you would like to collaborate with?
Miranda July!

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'Colours Of The Night' is out now on Bella Union.

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