Thoughts on Hannah

[rhill@netlink.cts.com (Ron Hill)]

        What I've always found most inspiring about Kate has been that she 
is someone with great potential - that was realized.   Whereas there are so 
many people out there with all types of potential that never is realized.  
No doubt one of the main reasons, perhaps the single greatest reason outside 
herself,  that Kate was able to realize this potential so early and so 
powerfully was the influence and support of her mother. 
        What is so sad to me about the passing of Kate's mother is that a 
large part of what made Kate what she is, and hence her music what it is, is 
now gone.  Of course, the positive side of it is that that will live on, 
both in Kate and her music.  And living on, in a positive way, through your 
children and those you know is, ultimately, the best legacy one can leave.  
And the fact that the circle of people that Kate's mother has influenced, 
through her influence on Kate's music, is so large is an indication of how 
special she must have been. 
        I think that perhaps what Kate's mother gave her that was most 
important (as an artist, and no doubt in other areas of her life) was that 
image of home, of having a stable place to return to, not just in a literal 
sense, but also in giving Kate a stable place inside herself. 
        In The Ninth Wave, for example, you have the image of her mother and 
others trying to wake her up so she won't drown, then (in 
_Watching_You_Without_Me_) of desiring to be home, then (in 
_The_Jig_of_Life_) the image of the future self, perhaps an image similar to 
that of her mother, coming to give her hope, and then (in _The_Morning_Fog_) 
of finally escaping and running home to mother and family.
        To me, this is one of Kate's main strengths as an artist, she's 
always been brave enough to delve deep into difficult emotions, perhaps 
because of having that solid base to return to, whereas some artists don't 
have the courage to do this and want to stay in "safe" areas, and others 
stay in the "difficult" areas and don't seem to have the desire or ability 
to fight their way out of them.  The fact that the difficult sides of life 
are seen from the strength of someone who also can see the more positive 
sides, is one of the more powerful facets of Kate's music.  And, to a great 
extent, we have her mother to thank for this. 

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