Friday, October 03, 2008

Real Love: The Drawings for Sean

by John Lennon

John Lennon was many things to many people: singer, songwriter, poet, political activist, and, not the least, the most outspoken member of what is, inarguably, the greatest rock-and-roll band of all time. But to Sean Lennon, he was Daddy, a role he took on with as much humor, intensity, and enthusiasm as any he had tackled.

John made the drawings in this book with and for Sean. Drawing pictures and making up funny captions was one of the ways they played together. It was how John taught Sean about the simple joys of creativity. It was one of the many ways John was able to express his real love for--and great joy in--his son.

John Winston Lennon was born in Liverpool, England, on October 9, 1940, and raised by his Aunt Mimi. At the age of six, he wrote and illustrated his first book. When he was 20, he and some friends started a rock-and-roll band called the Silver Beatles. As everyone knows, The Beatles went on to become the most famous musical group of all time. While still a Beatle, John wrote and illustrated two books of poems: In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works. Of the former, the Times Literary Supplement wrote: "It is worth the attention of anyone who fears for the impoverishment of the English language and the British imagination." John died on December 8, 1980. His thoughts, his music, his poetry, and his art live on.

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