Unraveling Obsession: Inside the Haunting World of The March Xness Anthology
A rhetorical approach of which I am especially fond is to go super-deep in my analysis of something that could potentially be extremely shallow. It’s easy to dispense a quick opinion about a piece of art: “I like it,” or “I dislike it”; “that thing’s good,” or “that thing sucks.” Far harder, but more rewarding, is to dig way down into how a given piece operates and the circumstances surrounding said piece’s creation: the people, the time, and the place responsible for a work’s existence.”
All of the forty essays in this anthology provide such a contextual key by way of historical research and personal backstory. Each essay attempts to unlock the mystery of The Song residing within both the musician and the essayist. In so doing, the mystery of The Song can be unlocked within the reader, as well. It is precisely this poignant blend of criticism and memoir that makes these essays so compelling, and that makes March Xness so irresistible.
