INA, Ill. (Aug. 25, 2023)—Rend Lake College Philosophy Instructor Dr. Jared Kemling was at the RLC Bookstore to sign copies of his book, Queen and Philosophy: Guaranteed to Blow Your Mind.
Kemling said that the process of editing this collection started when his dissertation advisor at SIU Dr. Randall Auxier reached out to tell him he had recommended Kemling to Carus Books, who was interested in publishing a book on the band Queen. Carus Books has published a series of Pop Culture and Philosophy books, as a way to introduce the public circle to philosophy through media such as television and music.
Auxier knew that Queen was Kemling’s favorite band from the time they spent together as his dissertation advisor. Kemling expressed that this was a passion project for him and when the opportunity presented itself to combine two of his favorite interests—philosophy and Queen—he took it.
“I knew that if I didn’t do it, someone else would,” Kemling said. “And I really wanted to be the Queen philosopher.”
Kemling said he really enjoyed working with Carus Books. Everyone on the team were hands-on and personable. While Auxier is the co-editor of the collection, it was Kemling’s responsibility to write the proposal for the project, put out a call for academic papers, and lastly edit the chapters. He was grateful to Auxier for thinking of him from the start and allowing him the opportunity to work on this book.
From conception to publication, it took roughly two years to get this book out into the world, according to Kemling.
He said something that shocked and delighted him throughout the whole process was learning of the philosophical and mythological influences in Queen’s music. Queen had always been a band he loved, but this project allowed him to learn more about them on a biographical level, and dive into the inspiration behind their earlier music. Kemling contributed two chapters to the collection that go over some of these topics and themes.
“[There’s] something of interest for fans of Queen who don’t know anything about philosophy. There’s something of interest for fans of philosophy who don’t know anything about Queen,” Kemling said. “And if you happen to be in the Venn diagram of both, like I am, then it’s great. It should be a perfect book for you!”
To purchase the book, visit: https://carusbooks.com/product/queen/.