Waiting on the Moon: Artists, Poets, Drifters, Grifters, and Goddesses

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of mental illness, substance use, addiction, sexual content, and death.

“Freud would have had a field day with my mother.”

Exemplifying the memoir’s use of irony and comedy, Peter explains his family’s intricate dynamics, especially his mother’s intense and quirky personality. His mention of Freud alludes to deeper psychological undercurrents—possibly unsolved problems or complex emotions—that influenced his mother’s behavior. This comment helps illustrate how Peter’s upbringing and family shaped his perspective on the world.

“It wasn’t until the 145th Street stop that I realized she was there, sitting opposite me like an apparition, as if born of the sea, blown there by the winds, pure and perfect as a pearl.”

Peter draws on simile and powerful imagery to depict the experience of seeing his first love, Edie, sitting on the train. The quote not only communicates Edie’s love of the ocean but also foreshadows Peter’s decision to release her ashes at sea after she died. Edie was a rare person whom Peter could never replace in his life. Such “small world” moments dominate Peter’s memories of his youth despite living in a city as populated as New York City.

“In one seismic moment, he had brought us into new and unexplored terrain, just as Picasso helped radically reshape the landscape of modern painting with Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.”

Peter compares Bob Dylan’s music to Picasso’s art because of its foundational effect on music as a whole and because Bob Dylan in many ways influenced almost every musician that followed him. Peter metaphorically compares Bob Dylan’s contributions to music to an earthquake that changes an entire geography because of the importance of Dylan’s music at the time.