Cage's Second Collection of Essays- perfect examples of his "global" period

If Silence is Cage's ultimate aesthetic document, then A Year From Monday is his ultimate global or social document. Many find Cage far more meaningful as a social thinker, philosopher, or cult of personality than an actual musical composer (even I, a die hard Cage support, find some of his compositions tedious, boring, and unclear). For those seeking the missing link between the social philosophers of the media movement (Buckmeister Fuller, Joseph Campbell) with the aesthetic ones (McLuhan), look no further than A Year From Monday.

The most important and well known "essay" in A Year From Monday is his "Diary: How To Improve the World (You Will ONly Make Matters Worse)". This semi-indeterminate prose poem acts like the diary of man with way too many thoughts in his head. The subjects bounce around from musical/aesthetic questions (Indian/Eastern music, Cage's own indeterminate practice) to major ponderings on the social and political problems of his (or any) time. There are quotes from his fellow philosophers (D.T. Suzuki, Buckmeister Fuller, Marshall McLuhan) and Cage's own unique sense of humor (he proposes that if countries really wish to fight wars, they should do it in Antarctica--however the reality is the nations of the world are at peace and friendship in the frozen waste land!). "Diary" is worth the cost of the book alone.

Another (in)famous essay in AYFM is his "Juilliard Lecture", a musing experiment on the mixture of zen and his musical compositions. The "Juilliard Lecture" is also the most direct piece on his aesthetic goals in the collection. In many ways, it belongs more in Silence than AYFM.

A few other stand out essays in AYFM include "Where Do We Go From Here" (a Fuller-ish musing on the state of globalization), "Jasper Johns: Stories and Ideas" (a personal review of Johns' aesthetics), and "Nam June Paik: A Diary" (a unique take on Paik's work, especially coming from Cage, an aesthetic partner to Paik).

In many ways, AYFM is more enjoyable than Silence. Silence may contain Cage's defining essays on his musical aesthetics, but AYFM showcases Cage as philosopher and social scholar.