“A great deal of fairly recent developmental psychology and a great deal of research in psychiatry and psychoanalysis and so forth has suggested, at least, that the idea that there would be a true ‘you’ that comes into the world unaffected, unadulterated by the influence of the social environment in which you develop, is a myth. That in fact you are, as it were, socialized from the get-go. So that if you were to peel away the layers of socialization, it’s not as if what would be left over would be the true you. What would be left over would be nothing.” — Bernard Reginster (from The Most Human Human, by Brian Christian)
Some of the stories and poems may be inappropriate for persons under 16
- A Dog by the Ears
- Abrumpo
- After the Dreaming
- Albuquerque, 1996
- All the Sobbing Cops
- apple strudel
- At Kahun, for the Health of the Mother and the Child
- burning man
- Candlelight and Flowers
- Casserole Man
- Christmas Pictures
- Dehiscence
- Descartes’ Dreams – Intro
- Desserts for the Reading of the KJV
- Dolomite
- Dropping back to Punt
- Eighth Dream – The Lion Sleeps Tonight
- eleanor in uncertain way, pulling
- Entomology
- Exit Interview
- Extinguisher (with Unpacking the Object)
- Fifteen Small Apocalypses
- Fifteenth Dream – The, uh, target
- First Dream – Puttin’ on the Ritz
- Fourteenth Dream – By the Waters of Babylon
- Fourth Dream – Motherless Child
- Franny & Toby
- Gnats
- Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Pickles and Fries
- Guys Come in Three Sizes
- High Street: Lawyers, Guns & Money in a Stoner’s New Mexico
- Howl
- Introduction
- Karen and the Dropout
- Kimberly!
- King of the Wire Rings
- latrodectus, loxosceles, lycosa tarentula
- Lawn
- Legal Advice
- Liberation
- Linear Perspective
- Lost Things and Missing Persons
- mama when she’s really pretty
- Metronome
- My Friend!
- Ninth Dream – Descartes’ Dreams
- Poems 2001-2010
- Rag Doll
- Road Rave
- Sandhills
- Saved
- Shelving
- Shod
- Sixteenth Dream – Scoring Six Hits
- Tahoe
- Taking Calls
- Tale of the Tribe
- Tenth Dream – The Vicissitudes of the Seasons
- The Comedian
- The Congenital Fiance
- the german for it, the french
- The Gordon Lish Notes
- The Hole of Sharon
- The Italian Story
- The Lock
- The Take-Out
- the talking french cat
- The Tellings
- The Tiny Toy Train
- The Usual Story
- The Well-Molded Military Brick
- The Year Our Children Left
- Third Dream – A Thousand Times No
- Three Very Short Fictions
- Tossing Baby to the Tiger
- Twelfth Dream – Fantod
- Vitrine
- Wednesday
- What Coy Said
- Who, what, etc.
- Yellowjacket
- Yttat
Then I am nothing? That brings it all back to where we started..
If we are nothing we are also everything.
This is several hours later. I just came across the following in the book I’m reading:
“A person who writes books is either all (a single universe for himself and everyone else) or nothing. And since all will never be given to anyone, every one of us who writes books is nothing.” — Milan Kundera, THE BOOK OF LAUGHTER AND FORGETTING (trans. Heim)
Hallelujah! Something from this book I can understand.
(Sort of. Wish I’d thought to bring some herbal mind-expansion on this retreat; I’m sure all would be clear when explained by the God of Weed.)
Christian’s book is a rich compendium of mindful delights. If I remember, I’ll get my son a copy for Christmas. He might open some doors for him.
As for La Dona Maria Juana, she has often expanded my mind in ways both useful and delightful. Other times, she has simply given me a wallop. Sometimes she does both. Stay tuned, chances are I’ll be posting my book about her later this year.
I always liked Kundera’s conundrums.
His work has been a recent personal discovery. There is so much to read. I first read THE ART OF THE NOVEL nearly five years ago. I tried to get my fellow students in the MFA program at Liminal State U. interested, but they would have none of it. I couldn’t get them to read Chekhov, either, so it’s no wonder. Four years ago I read THE CURTAIN, then just this past month I’ve enjoyed SLOWNESS, IMMORTALITY, and THE BOOK OF LAUGHTER AND FORGETTING (which I read earlier this week). He’s a serious writer I would recommend to any other serious writer.