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This is the final drawing in my series exploring the artwork that inspired The Bird That Sang in Color. The words woven into this piece are lyrics from a song by Robin Williamson of The Incredible String Band—music that plays a meaningful role

The Bird That Sang in Color is filled with music. Set against the emotional backdrop of family, memory, and coming of age, the novel uses iconic albums of the late 1960s and early 1970s to deepen character, establish time and place, and reveal

Throughout The Bird That Sang in Color, Donna encourages her brother Vincent to live according to society’s conventions. She assumes that because he is single, childless, and works mostly menial jobs, he cannot possibly be happy. What she fails

When Donna first sees this picture, she wonders whether it represents how her brother Vincent envisioned his future self—an aging, philosopher-like figure—or whether it reveals the philosopher who had always lived inside him. The version of

In Chapter Four of The Bird That Sang in Color, Vincent tells Donna and Frank that the harp is the only instrument he has yet to learn. He repeats this quiet aspiration again in Chapter Eight, reinforcing the sense that the harp represents