Joan Baez Used Her Voice for Political Activism. Now She’s.... Joan Baez, a remarkable vocalist since her involvement in the folk and protest movements of the 1960s, has started a new path of self-reflection. Later this month, Godine will release her autobiographical debut poetry collection, When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance, which details her life and ascent to fame, including her struggles with the perks of celebrity and navigating the relationships she developed along the way, whether with Bob She recently told Vanity Fair, "I stored everything away until I was thinking of writing this book." To locate fragments of it, I had to search my home, office, storage unit, and property, which took a long time. Then, since I had forgotten the poems and realized how wonderful they are, I became really pleased about it. That therefore motivated me to locate a collaborator and edit them down. A fresh chapter in an enduring legacy is the outcome of an American icon going back through her archives and reclaiming her past. Baez recently discussed a life in activism, her next release, and Taylor Swift in an interview with Vanity Fair.