LENNON: Like Swimming in the Air

The murder of John Lennon shook the world in 1980, shockingly resonating to this day as a musical and a human tragedy, and it was the very humanness of the victim that Marina Biti sought to present in this dramatic text. She highlighted the emotional side of John: his fears, hopes, strivings and aspirations, strengths, and weaknesses, and sometimes feelings of guilt. The author's overall approach can be therefore described as empathetic, i.e., as seeking to present a vision of Lennon, the man, rather than - as one might typically expect - to focus exclusively on his role as a musical icon. The music that was Lennon's life is understood as a part of the very core of his humanness, which is why it is weaved into every step that Lennon-the-character makes. His mummy's dead, his mates come together; he is drawn into mind games; he travels the long and winding road, he imagines a world of idyllic justice that he wishes to share with everyone, etc. Allusions to the songs that made part of John Lennon's existence are, in fact, omnipresent in the manuscript.

From the Foreword by Lea Golub