Emily Bobo

Instrumental Emily Bobo

From the drum to the hammered dulcimer to the player and prepared piano, Instrumental explores the evolution of a codependent relationship between a musician and her instrument through multiple voices in this non-linear, verse novel. As a "recovering musician" herself--Bobo didn't quit the piano so much as recover from it--she has a unique ear for the music of a line; the jazz-lounge-singer tone of a Mason and Hamlin; the fevered pitch of a disappointed mother; the plump, thump of a felt-fed mouse; and the resonant sustain of the piano teacher.