Daniel Pollack-Pelzner is an award winning author, educator, and bonafide fan of culture, Shakespeare, musicals, and artists. His new book, Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist, is part biography, part deep dive, and part oral history. It’s also a very beautiful (and honest!) tribute to Lin-Manuel and all the people and steps involved in the journey to who he is today.

But if you think this is a boring stop on a press tour, think again! Daniel has been a Patreon Peep of The Hamilcast since 2018 and after years of writing about Hamilton’s cultural impact and then talking to over 150 people about Lin-Manuel Miranda for this book, he has three amazing episodes packed with story after story after story.

This week, Daniel talks about the origin story of the book, pitching the idea to Lin-Manuel, Lin’s high school screenplay about the Hamilton-Burr duel, and why LMM’s one request was that the first person to be interviewed be his mother, Luz Towns-Miranda. She is a renowned psychologist (with a focus on children and family), and her acceptance of young Lin's empathy and sensitivity became an undeniable cornerstone of his creative expression. On behalf of all of us, I say: thank you, Luz!

Over the years, Daniel has had a lot of connections to Hamilton the show, Hamilton the person, and Lin-Manuel Miranda himself. From Joanne Freeman: Badass Historian™ to knowing old high school girlfriends, it’s clear this whole thing is enthusiastically approved by The Universe.

Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist

Daniel Pollack-Pelzner

21 Chump Street

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