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.
at

13 comments:

  1. potatoSeptember 18, 2007 at 11:21 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. potatoSeptember 18, 2007 at 11:23 AM

    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.

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  3. MeganSeptember 18, 2007 at 1:10 PM

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

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  4. MeganSeptember 18, 2007 at 1:19 PM

    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.

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  5. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2007 at 2:20 PM

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

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  6. potatoSeptember 18, 2007 at 2:23 PM

    This blog is getting way too heterosexual for me.

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  7. potatoSeptember 18, 2007 at 2:24 PM

    I thought I was Liberace!

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  8. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2007 at 2:56 PM

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

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  9. MeganSeptember 18, 2007 at 3:01 PM

    I think Wayne should be baby Helena.

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  10. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2007 at 3:06 PM

    He would get the last word, that way.

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  11. KathrynSeptember 18, 2007 at 3:08 PM

    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.

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  12. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2007 at 4:07 PM

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

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  13. potatoSeptember 18, 2007 at 6:15 PM

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

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