"All that is expected of me is that I try to engage with all this beauty" M.D. Dunn (MA '05)

Mark Dunn (MA '05) is an accomplished musician, instructor and writer. His latest book, You Get Bigger as You Go Bruce Cockburn's Influence and Evolution, was released late last year. We asked Dunn what drew him to Bruce Cockburn's music, about his book, and his Laurier memories. 

When do you first remember hearing Bruce Cockburn's music?

In 1983, I was fourteen years old, and had been playing guitar for about a year when I found a cassette copy of Bruce Cockburn's sixth album, Joy Will Find a Way, in a discount bin at a local record store. Originally released in 1975, the cassette copy contained no liner notes, and I didn't recognize the name. It was the cover image by Blair Drawson, a surreal menagerie of potentially adversarial animals -- lion, gazelle, ox, cheetah -- standing peacefully with a little girl, that intrigued me because it reminded me of a Cat Stevens' album cover. I bought it on a whim, and the music changed everything. The guitar playing on the album was unlike anything I had heard before. I could not imagine it was the same instrument that I had been struggling with for the past year or so. It sounded otherworldly. In particular, an instrumental piece titled "Skylarking" opened my young ears. The songs on the album were far more complex, lyrically and sonically, than anything I'd heard before. I did not understand it all, but knew it was special and had great wonders to reveal. Soon after, I asked around at a music store where I used to make an annoyance of myself if anyone had heard of this guy. One of the older musicians gave me a mixed tape of Mr. Cockburn's first live album Circles in the Stream along with a few select tunes. That was my introduction.


What inspired you to write a book on Bruce Cockburn?

I like to stress that my book, You Get Bigger as You Go Bruce Cockburn's Influence and Evolution, is not a biography. It has a biographical element to it, but one that looks more at the context of Mr. Cockburn's lifetime rather than the events and details of his life. For readers wanting to know more about Mr. Cockburn's life, I recommend his memoir Rumours of Glory.

My book began with a few questions: what is the transformative power of music? Why does music affect us as it does? Music can change the individual and, by doing so, change the world. But how? I did not get very far in answering these questions. But around the same time, I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Cockburn for Canadian Dimension Magazine and to review a then-recent album. This experience led me to go back through his rich catalog and listen closely to all the albums, quite a few of which I had never heard before. This deliberate exploration of Bruce Cockburn's music began around 2013, although I had been listening to him for much longer than that. As I listened, I wrote. I also took every opportunity I could to speak with people about Mr. Cockburn's music. It was a few years into these inquiries that I realized I might be writing a book about Bruce Cockburn's music and cultural presence. Once I got going, it took about seven years to write, with a few stops and starts along the way. An early draft was more like a novel about a guy trying to write a book about Bruce Cockburn's music. A later draft of the book included haiku reviews of albums and songs.

With the help of a wonderful editor, Allister Thompson, the book took on a more accessible form. Somewhere in there, the archivist and photographer Daniel Keebler offered to provide photos of Mr. Cockburn, which has added a lot to the book.

The book is intended as a beginner's guide to and celebration of Bruce Cockburn's music. It also considers songwriting, guitar playing, creativity, spirituality, and a good dose of literary criticism. Truthfully, it is a bit of a jumble, but -- I hope -- an entertaining and interesting one. Much of it is built around original interviews with Mr. Cockburn, his manager Bernie Finkelstein, and a stellar cast of musicians and producers like Hugh Marsh, Don Ross, Stephen Fearing, Eugene Martynec, Colin Linden, and several of the cultural workers who have shaped Mr. Cockburn's activism. There is also an interview with the Canadian luthier Linda Manzer, which I think is really cool.

What do you see as the main themes or messages in Bruce's music?

Bruce Cockburn's music touches on just about every aspect of the human experience one can imagine. He is one of Canada's finest poets, a tremendous guitar player, and a journalist in song. He has the ability to crystalize complex and nebulous concepts into short, memorable lines. His writing can also be quite ponderous and detailed, painting scenes with precise detail. I think Mr. Cockburn has said it himself that his goal in writing is to seek out truth. He is unflinching in his documentation. One interesting feature of his writing is that Mr. Cockburn is almost always present in the songs, a proxy for the listener, but the songs are hardly ever about him. His experiences and opinions are in there for sure, but he finds the universal elements to which we can all relate.


In what ways do you think Bruce's legacy continues to resonate in contemporary music and culture?

One of my purposes in writing the book was to wrestle with this question. Mr. Cockburn has some interesting things to say about "legacy" at the beginning of the book. I am not sure if we can know this for some time. People who encounter Bruce Cockburn's music are often changed by it. Among dedicated listeners, his lyrics can be like a salve and philosophical guide. Musically, he was early to incorporate African and Caribbean elements, which were called "world music" back then and mostly unheard on North American records. As a guitar player, he has influenced generations and helped to change how we think of the acoustic guitar by marrying traditional blues with medieval and jazz music. Through his activism, Mr. Cockburn has set a high bar for artist participation. He doesn't phone it in. When he is involved in a "cause," he goes to the source. It can be helpful when faced with a dilemma to ask, "What Would Bruce Do?"


What is your favourite Laurier memory?

There were a few standouts. Mostly, I cherish the experience of working as a teaching assistant. I learned more through those interactions than from almost anything I read. The experience shaped my life, really. Working with Professor Andrea Austin showed me how one can bring passion for a subject into students' lives. I have been teaching in post secondary since graduation: at Lake Superior State University, Algoma University, Bay Mills Community College, and Sault College, where I am a professor in the General Arts and Sciences. Working with teachers like Dr. Austin gave me a solid pedagogical foundation. There were many more standout professors at WLU, but I wouldn't want to leave anyone out.

One important memory I have came from Professor Michael Moore, who presented in our "teaching class." Professor Moore said of classroom management that we should be positive and hopeful with students because "your classes could be the best thing that has happened to them all week." He explained succinctly how a good teacher, with just a few words and a little attention, can influence a student's life for the better. It stuck with me.

I also remember the library and librarians fondly. Once, in the throes of despair, struggling with coursework, uncertain that I belonged in the academic world, I had an awakening in the WLU library. Studying late one night, it occurred to me what a privilege it was to be there, to have the opportunity to read and study. Surrounded by more wonderful books than I will ever have time to read I remember thinking, "All that is expected of me is that I try to engage with all this beauty."

All in all, my time at WLU was transformative and set the course for my life.