Tuesday, September 18, 2007

I'm so insecure: He was just in Berlin

Dear Venom Literari--

Sorry for my delay in responding. I was in Berlin.

Questions #1 and #2 stump me. [Question #1: Why do people clap in movie theaters? Do they think the actors can hear them? Question #2: Why do old ladies make orgasmic noises while whale watching?]

Question #3: "Convolute" (or: "Konvolut") is the word Walter Benjamin used for the subdivisions in his Arcades Project. I take "Konvolut" to be a synonym for "dossier," which was Joseph Cornell's word for his files. I think that, in German, "Konvolut" also means "faggot" (as in a bundle of kindling). If I were to picture a Konvolut: it looks like the cone of cheap paper used for wrapping (or sustaining) cotton candy.

Question #4: I just finished reading David Markson's The Last Novel. I love his work. It's full of hotel (wo)men: he seems to suggest that all true artists are hotel women at heart.

Yours truly,
Wayne

[Sarah]: Sigh. I just love that Wayne Koestenbaum. And looks like we have our next book.

13 comments:

potato said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
potato said...

I really hope that book is not really David Markson’s last! Here’s a link to some interesting stuff about Markson from The Elegant Variation blog.

Megan said...

yay! i am so much less depressed now. my self-esteem was hinging on whether or not wayne responded.

Megan said...

also, i now LOVE konvolutes with a "k."

and i have loved joseph cornell since before birth.

all this minimal evidence leads me to believe that i am wayne's soul mate. if we were stranded in a hotel together he would totally make out with me.

Anonymous said...

Ooo oooo! It's the re-write! Wayne as Liberace, Megan as Lana.

potato said...

This blog is getting way too heterosexual for me.

potato said...

I thought I was Liberace!

Anonymous said...

Meghan, you can still be Liberace. Wayne can be Whitehead.

Megan said...

I think Wayne should be baby Helena.

Anonymous said...

He would get the last word, that way.

Kathryn said...

oh that reminds me--did you guys talk about alfred north whitehead and the significance of process philosophy in hotel women?

if i had been at the meeting that would have been my one contribution.

Anonymous said...

You were missed, Kathy. Sorely missed. We talked about taking over Oprah, not philosophy.

potato said...

I was thinking about philosophy. No, I was thinking about television.