Dancing the Dream

''Dancing the Dream'' is a 1992 book of poems and reflections written by American singer and recording artist Michael Jackson, his second book following his 1988 autobiography ''Moonwalk''. The book also contains an assortment of around 100 photographs of Jackson.

''Dancing the Dream'' was published by Doubleday on June 18, 1992, seven months after the release of Jackson's 1991 '' Dangerous'' album. It was not a significant commercial success. The book was reissued by the British publisher Transworld on July 27, 2009, following Jackson's death the previous month on June 25, 2009.

Content

Jackson dedicated ''Dancing the Dream'' "with love" to his mother Katherine, and has an introduction written by his longtime friend Elizabeth Taylor.Campbell (1993), p. 324

The volume consists of 46 pieces of poetry and essays. The subjects Jackson writes about are primarily children, animals and the environment. For example, one specific poem titled "Look Again, Baby Seal" promotes environmentalism as Jackson imagines anthropomorphic seals who brood about the fate of being killed by hunters. Another poem ("So the Elephants March") presents elephants that refuse to be killed in order for ivory pieces to be made from their tusks. A third piece ("Mother Earth") describes a struggle to cope with the discovery of an oil-covered seagull feather. To stress the theme of environmentalism and the necessity for action, Jackson writes in the essay, "We've been treating Mother Earth the way some people treat a rental apartment. Just trash it and move on."

Jackson also writes about the degree to which the 1990 death of the AIDS sufferer Ryan White affected him in a poem titled after the youth, and as he presents in the poem, Jackson believes the teenage boy suffered through general ignorance of the disease. The poem "Mother" was written for his mother Katherine, whom Jackson loved deeply.Campbell (1993), p. 325 In one stanza Jackson writes, "No matter where I go from here/You're in my heart, mother dear." The poem had previously been published by his mother in her 1990 autobiography ''My Family'', and was not the only material in ''Dancing the Dream'' to have appeared elsewhere. The poems "Dancing the Dream" (titled as "The Dance") and "Planet Earth" were included in the sleeve notes for Jackson's 1991 '' Dangerous'' album (and in its 2001 special edition re-release). Furthermore, the lyrics to the songs "Will You Be There" and "Heal the World" — also from the 1991 album — were included in ''Dancing the Dream''. A spoken version of the poem "Planet Earth" appeared on the 2009 posthumous album '' This Is It''.

''Dancing the Dream'' includes approximately 100 photographs. Some photographs had been previously published, such as those that were published in the 1985 Jackson calendar, and others that had been published in magazines such as ''Ebony'' and ''People''. Furthermore, the volume includes photographs converted from stills of Jackson's music videos like "Black or White" (1991) or "Remember the Time" (1992). Jackson commissioned artwork for ''Dancing the Dream'' from Nate Giorgio and David Nordahl, whom Jackson met in the 1980s and with whom he subsequently developed a professional relationship.

Poems & Essays

Publication history

''Dancing the Dream'' was first published on June 18, 1992, by Doubleday. It followed Jackson's 1988 autobiography ''Moonwalk'', which was also published by the American company. Prior to publication, ''Dancing the Dream'' was hailed by the publishers as a book that would "take us deep into ackson'sheart and soul", as well as "an inspirational and passionate volume of unparalleled humanity". In his only interview to promote ''Dancing the Dream'', Jackson described the book as being "just a verbal expression of what I usually express through my music and my dance." After his death on June 25, 2009, the British company Transworld reissued the book the following month on July 27, 2009.

A representative for Doubleday (Marly Rusoff) revealed in March 1993 that the company shipped 133,000 copies of the book, and took around 80,000 returns and 3000 reorders. Thus, the project was close to 60% down in total sales. Rusoff stated that the commercial performance of ''Dancing the Dream'' was low because an anticipated Jackson tour of the United States never occurred. He commented, "The reviews—and there were some—were rather discouraging. He did do a Europe tour and the British edition did quite well. This kind of book depends on celebrity visibility."

Suzanne Mantell of ''Publishers Weekly'' felt that ''Dancing the Dream'' did not create the "important buzz that gives a book a life and saves it from cultural oblivion ... Jackson may draw an audience of 65 million when he appears on Oprah, but the consensus among booksellers is that bookbuyers don't care, and that this one was a dog."

During a Simulchat in 1995, Jackson stated, "I wrote a book called ''Dancing the Dream''. It was more autobiographical than ''Moonwalk'', which I did with Mrs. Onassis. It wasn't full of gossip and scandal and all that trash that people write, so I don't think people paid much attention to it, but it came from my heart. It was essays, thoughts and things that I've thought about while on tour.""Simulchat" T.V. interview, August 17, 1995
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Notes

References

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Working references

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External links

Michael Jackson's official website

David Nordahl's official website

Nate Giorgio's official website

Official Michael Jackson products for sale

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dancing The Dream
Works about Michael Jackson
1992 poetry books
1992 non-fiction books
American poetry collections
Books by Michael Jackson
Doubleday (publisher) books
Photographic collections and books
African-American poetry