{"product_id":"arrangements-in-blue-notes-on-loving-and-living-alone-by-amy-key-hc-2023","title":"Arrangements in Blue: Notes on Loving and Living Alone","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen British poet Amy Key was growing up, she envisioned a life shaped by love―and Joni Mitchell’s album \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eBlue\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e was her inspiration. “\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eBlue\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e became part of my language of intimacy,” she writes, recalling the dozens of times she played the record as a teen, “an intimacy of disclosure, vulnerability, unadorned feeling that I thought I’d eventually share with a romantic other.” As the years ticked by, she held on to this very specific idea of romance like a bottle of wine saved for a special occasion.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut what happens when the romance we are all told will give life meaning never presents itself??Now single in her forties, Key explores the sweeping scales of romantic feeling as she has encountered them, using the album \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eBlue\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e as an expressive anchor: from the low notes of loss and unfulfilled desire―punctuated by sharp, discordant feelings of jealousy and regret―to the deep harmony of friendship, and the crescendos of sexual attraction and self-realization.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFinding solace in Mitchell’s songs, Key plumbs \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eBlue\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e’s track list for themes that resonate with her heart’s seasons. Listening to the song “California,” she explores the mixed emotions that come with traveling alone in a world built for couples; she juxtaposes the lonely lyrics of “My Old Man” with the pleasurable art of curating a perfect apartment for one; and with the utmost tenderness, she parses out her decision to not have children with the eloquent “Little Green.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMapping the evolution of her early conceptions of love through her adulthood, Key offers a tender and nakedly candid celebration of the many forms of intimacy that often go unnoticed. An essential work for both the single and the partnered, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eArrangements in Blue\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a bold manual for building a life on your own terms.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pearl Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45498191708357,"sku":"OF610924169","price":49.97,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0685\/7660\/8453\/files\/s-l1600_de94d075-639c-44d8-94fd-3ddd8820f0ac.webp?v=1768529517","url":"https:\/\/pearlpress.com.au\/products\/arrangements-in-blue-notes-on-loving-and-living-alone-by-amy-key-hc-2023","provider":"Pearl Press","version":"1.0","type":"link"}