Smoking Gun Existence

From 1975–1995 I was thinking constantly about my manuscripts or about writing that made a lasting impression on me. The novel I will self publish soon is set in late 1989, on a single date, the day before Halloween. The Oakland A’s had just won the World Series, which was interrupted by the San Francisco Earthquake. The book is about a day in my life, most of the names changed to protect the guilty. I’m sure all the events did not occur on that day. No doubt I injected incidences I found interesting that had happened on other days. Although I’m not certain, I probably started the first draft not long after that date. The narrative is sprinkled with quotes I’d memorized. I may not be able to quote them exactly these days, but I can still get close. I hope this doesn’t seem like showing off, although in part it is. I hope it reflects a would-be author’s zeal for the written word and a human’s quest for guidance, words to live by. Here are some of them:

“If what we feel is pain, then we must feel it, acknowledging that the only alternative is death.” — Doris Lessing, The Golden Notebook
“If the world had ever been informed of what went on inside of him, he, Yasha, would long ago have been committed to a madhouse.” Isaac Bashevis Singer, The Magician of Lublin
“But what is the philosophy of this generation? Not God is dead, that point was passed long ago. Perhaps it should be stated Death is God. This generation thinks — and this is its thought of thoughts — that nothing faithful, vulnerable, fragile can be durable or have any true power…” Saul Bellow, Herzog (I found this online and either it or my memory is slightly off. I lacked the will to open the Word file or break out the paperback.)
“In this glass and wire world/ Surly leeches gain the right/ To send their message screaming/ One that has no meaning/ To people who feel…” Iggy Pop, Winners and Losers
“… The storytellers at the city gate twist life so that it looks sweet to the lazy and the stupid and the weak, and this only strengthens their infirmities and teaches nothing, cures nothing, nor does it let the heart soar.” John Steinbeck, East of Eden
“Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members; the virtue in most request is conformity; self-reliance is its aversion…” Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essay on Self Reliance
“In searching for a meaningful embrace/ sometimes my self respect took second place…” Iggy Pop, Cry for Love
“The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones…” Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

Our lives have been lived on opposite ends of the spectrum, but Iggy Pop has been a major influence on me. I am privileged to have seen him perform, give everything he has inside to the audience. In his odd, inimitable way, he is a great writer. Here he is in action:

Since I scored one of the prime parking spots in regards to the floating book shop, the show went on today despite the absence of sun and temperatures in the mid 30’s. I spent half the time seated in the car. My thanks to Ira, who bought a Lapham’s Quarterly featuring pictures of animals, and to Lynn, who selected Sidney Chambers and The Dangers of Temptation by James Runcie, part of The Granchester Mysteries series; and to the woman who chose a Lisa Kleypas romance; and to the gentleman who purchased The Pale King by David Foster Wallace.

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