diff --git a/org/document.go b/org/document.go
index c4443ba..13b3c5a 100644
--- a/org/document.go
+++ b/org/document.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"log"
+	"strings"
 )
 
 type Document struct {
@@ -51,6 +52,15 @@ var lexFns = []lexFn{
 
 var nilToken = token{"nil", -1, "", nil}
 
+var DefaultFrontMatterHandler = func(k, v string) interface{} {
+	switch k {
+	case "TAGS":
+		return strings.Fields(v)
+	default:
+		return v
+	}
+}
+
 func NewDocument() *Document {
 	return &Document{
 		Footnotes: &Footnotes{
@@ -78,6 +88,29 @@ func (d *Document) Write(w Writer) Writer {
 }
 
 func (d *Document) Parse(input io.Reader) *Document {
+	d.tokenize(input)
+	_, nodes := d.parseMany(0, func(d *Document, i int) bool { return !(i < len(d.tokens)) })
+	d.Nodes = nodes
+	return d
+}
+
+func (d *Document) FrontMatter(input io.Reader, f func(string, string) interface{}) map[string]interface{} {
+	d.tokenize(input)
+	d.parseMany(0, func(d *Document, i int) bool {
+		if !(i < len(d.tokens)) {
+			return true
+		}
+		t := d.tokens[i]
+		return t.kind != "keyword" && !(t.kind == "text" && t.content == "")
+	})
+	frontMatter := make(map[string]interface{}, len(d.BufferSettings))
+	for k, v := range d.BufferSettings {
+		frontMatter[k] = f(k, v)
+	}
+	return frontMatter
+}
+
+func (d *Document) tokenize(input io.Reader) {
 	d.tokens = []token{}
 	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(input)
 	for scanner.Scan() {
@@ -86,9 +119,6 @@ func (d *Document) Parse(input io.Reader) *Document {
 	if err := scanner.Err(); err != nil {
 		panic(err)
 	}
-	_, nodes := d.parseMany(0, func(d *Document, i int) bool { return !(i < len(d.tokens)) })
-	d.Nodes = nodes
-	return d
 }
 
 func (d *Document) Get(key string) string {
diff --git a/org/document_test.go b/org/document_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ca5ed2c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org/document_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+package org
+
+import (
+	"reflect"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+type frontMatterTest struct {
+	name     string
+	input    string
+	handler  func(string, string) interface{}
+	expected map[string]interface{}
+}
+
+var frontMatterTests = []frontMatterTest{
+	{`basic`,
+		`#+TITLE: The Title`,
+		DefaultFrontMatterHandler,
+		map[string]interface{}{"TITLE": "The Title"}},
+	{`empty`,
+		`* No frontmatter here`,
+		DefaultFrontMatterHandler,
+		map[string]interface{}{}},
+	{`custom handler`,
+		`
+        #+TITLE: The Title
+
+        #+TAGS: foo bar
+
+        `,
+		func(k, v string) interface{} {
+			switch k {
+			case "TITLE":
+				return "Thanks For All The Fish"
+			default:
+				return DefaultFrontMatterHandler(k, v)
+			}
+		},
+		map[string]interface{}{
+			"TITLE": "Thanks For All The Fish",
+			"TAGS":  []string{"foo", "bar"},
+		}},
+	{`multiple + ignored keyword`,
+		`
+         #+TITLE: The Title
+         #+AUTHOR: The Author
+
+         #+OTHER: some other keyword
+         #+TAGS: this will become []string
+
+         something that's not a keyword or a text line without content
+
+         #+SUBTITLE: The Subtitle`,
+		DefaultFrontMatterHandler,
+		map[string]interface{}{
+			"TITLE":  "The Title",
+			"AUTHOR": "The Author",
+			"OTHER":  "some other keyword",
+			"TAGS":   []string{"this", "will", "become", "[]string"},
+		},
+	},
+}
+
+func TestParseFrontMatter(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, test := range frontMatterTests {
+		actual := NewDocument().FrontMatter(strings.NewReader(test.input), test.handler)
+		if !reflect.DeepEqual(test.expected, actual) {
+			t.Errorf("%s\n got: %#v\nexpected: %#v\n%s'", test.name, actual, test.expected, test.input)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/org/keyword.go b/org/keyword.go
index d4d0399..d34074e 100644
--- a/org/keyword.go
+++ b/org/keyword.go
@@ -47,7 +47,11 @@ func (d *Document) parseKeyword(i int, stop stopFn) (int, Node) {
 			return consumed, node
 		}
 	}
-	d.BufferSettings[k.Key] = strings.Join([]string{d.BufferSettings[k.Key], k.Value}, "\n")
+	if _, ok := d.BufferSettings[k.Key]; ok {
+		d.BufferSettings[k.Key] = strings.Join([]string{d.BufferSettings[k.Key], k.Value}, "\n")
+	} else {
+		d.BufferSettings[k.Key] = k.Value
+	}
 	return 1, k
 }