I now have in my possession fine copies of Mr. Midshipman Hornblower and Lieutenant Hornblower, as well as the first three books of Glen Cook’s fabled (and impossible to find offline) Black Company series, so you may assume that my “paying attention to the Internet” meter is at zero or below. You may reach me through Twitter, or any one of the nefarious other social media demons that play merry hell with my daily business.
Furthermore (and this is perhaps the essential point of my reflections), time, which ravages fortresses and great cities, only enriches poetry. At the time it was composed by him in Arabia, Zuhayr’s poetry served to bring together two images—that of the old camel and that of destiny; repeated today, it serves to recall Zuhayr and to conflate our own tribulations with those of that dead Arab. The figure had two terms; today, it has four. Time widens the circle of the verses, and I myself know some verses that are, like music, all things to all men.
Jorge Luis Borges, “Averroës’ Search,” from The Aleph.
A front matter woodcut by Spanish illustrator Enrique-Cristofol Ricart to the 1933 Limited Editions volume of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’s Don Quixote. The iconography of this edition is particularly striking to me aesthetically, but this particular one is the standout for its idea: though Quixote and Sancho Panza remain silhouettes behind the figure of Cervantes, they are the only truly solid, looming figures we see; the author, at his desk in his imprisonment, writes while shackled to them in ghostly form—as he has been to us through the ages, the cipher we know so little who gave us the first great Western novel we know so well.
When you become ancient, as I am, teenage Tumblr, it will be the rare day that you are up a whole night drinkin until nine in the morning, and when you finally fall into bed, you will realize that the best part of it all is the near-sexual fervor with which you embrace your blankets and leap into a hopefully-dreamless sleep.
Shapiro finally called time on the Q&A session and asked a final question of her own, about the authors’ influences. Wurtzel mentioned Speak, Memory, and then Carr talked about reading Infinite Jest, but said he’d not read the footnotes. “Who does?” asked Karr. “I’m supposed to be in it and I never read it.” Wurtzel made it clear that she had read all of Infinite Jest.
Capital: Talking about addiction, recovery, and writing with David Carr, Mary Karr, Alan Kaufman, and Elizabeth Wurtzel by Miranda Popkey
(via barthel)
I have to confess, my respect for Mary Karr just dropped a few points. Infinite Jest is only 950 or so pages, plus 100 pages of footnotes. Ulysses is 650 or so, in smaller print, with a semantic density which is exponentially greater. Your average paperback novel is about 280-320 pages. It’s like saying “I could read one novel with the same characters and continuing plot. Maybe even two. But three is just too many.”
Seriously, of all people to have respect for a journey that demands an attention span, shouldn’t novelists? Especially when you’re in the book?
As long as we’re on the subject of IJ, I heard Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves disdainfully referred to as “Infinite Jest for teenagers.” Nearly fell out of my seat laughing, although in retrospect I think it puts House of Leaves in better company than it deserves.
(via barthel)
Can’t stop the rock and roll.
fancyismymiddlename: I actually legitimately like them, nay, love them, in fact I still have the copy of Deluxe I bought with my allowance in 1994, but I couldn't help myself. I just found that photo and nearly died. High five for your excellent taste, my good man.
High five returned with accrued interest. Better Than Ezra is the shit. I still have my original copies of Friction Baby and How Does Your Garden Grow, but I have had to burn two new copies of Closer over the years as it is repeatedly worn out and/or shamelessly stolen.
How is it possible that the same guy who won the Nobel Peace Prize is ordering overseas drone strikes on countries we’re not at war with in order to assassinate US citizens without benefit of hearing or trial? How is anyone able to justify a vote for this bastard? I’m serious. If anyone can justify this, please do explain it to me.
THE TRAGEDY OF MANNEQUIN BROS
Right: Look at my ass in these jeans, dude! It’s like I’m Andy Warhol!
Left: Stop cocking your hips like a bitch or I shall end you.
I am tired of you hipster jackasses with your vintage photo filter apps/”I don’t understand reeeelatiooonshiiiips” flash fiction and so have decided to take my girlfriend to Florida for the new year. Regular posting will resume in three weeks, or when I am done hanging out at the beach (three weeks). Jah love, see you soon, fuck off, etc.
