John Prine: In Spite of Himself
by EDDIE HUFFMAN
University of Texas Press

www.utpress.utexas.edu
 

John Prine In Spite of Himself is a breezy biography of the beloved, treasured songwriter and singer. As author Eddie Huffman notes in the final paragraph of the introduction his book “focuses on the artist’s recorded output, his place in the world and the mark he has left on it.” That said Mr. Huffman succeeds in his mission as he limns John Prine’s life and career. He describes each album’s making and the recording philosophies and apparent intents behind them. As he does this he offers some critique of each one plus a sense of how each fits in with the large arc of Prine’s creative work.
Huffman does integrate the story of Prine’s life into the narrative as it would be disingenuous if not impossible to separate the creative work from the life that spawned it. The life part never descends to blow-by-blow accounts, but he conveys well how the two, the life and the work, are inextricably connected.

The prose is breezy and conversational. The book flies by as it tells the stories. I thoroughly enjoyed the reading and getting some insight into what made John Prine the sharp observer, raconteur, entertainer and master songmaker he is. After finishing the book I felt closer to the man and his work, much as I had hoped would be the case when I first started reading.

John Prine In Spite of Himself is in a University of Texas Press series that also includes similarly shaped biography/appreciations of The Flatlanders (Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock), Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoacam and Ryan Adams.

— Michael Tearson