Writer StatementI agree with John Gardner that the writing of fiction is the "creation of a vivid and continuous dream." To write, one enters this dream state and allows one's characters to inhabit one's being and to speak through one. My fiction influences are diverse and range from 19th-century traditionalists like Henry James, Edith Wharton and George Gissing to 20th-century modernists like James Joyce and Virginia Woolf and postmodernists like Donald Barthelme. The Decryption of Floriform X -- This short, illustrated fiction was written on Twitter circa 2008, each tweet numbered to keep track. The God of Wind and Air -- Unfinished sequel to Decryption, written collaboratively on Twitter. The Manuscript of Jacob Hall -- Why write fiction? What is it "for"? |
Friday, February 16, 2007The Mirror: If you were my friend, why did I lose you?
Websafe: Hello?
The Mirror: Some scientists make breakthroughs while dreaming. W: Friedrich August Kekulé said he discovered the benzene ring that way. M: If you change the subject, definitely. W: You don't want to talk about the benzene ring? M: We're not always cartoon characters, except maybe from the outside. W: Cartoon characters seldom discuss weighty matters. M: Not yet. W: When will cartoon characters begin their new profundity? M: That's right, just hints. W: They will hint at profundity? M: Anything but that! W: They will hint at frivolity, at banality? M: Your voice creates clouds? W: My voice creates clouds of doubt. M: Please, allow me also to be inside the play. W: Would you like to be both inside and outside the play? M: You just have to will it. W: The Theater of Will? M: You and I are. W: We form a theater of two. M: Oh, I got the point. W: I thought you did. M: Be exact. W: Be strict. M: When will cartoon characters begin their new profundity? W: I think they already have, for example, those in Maus. M: When he repeats his silence at periodic intervals, it could be changing for him. W: Spiegelman's silence between works? M: Cartoon characters seldom discuss weighty matters. W: But in Maus, they most certainly do. M: The face of the dragon, shining with a terrible light, seemed to float in front of Samuel's eyes. W: Was Samuel having a nightmare? M: I thought you did. W: I have occasional nightmares, but not of dragons per se. M: Haven't you noticed? W: Haven't I noticed the non-dragons? M: Totally fixated. W: I am fixated on nothing at all. M: I believe you. W: But I lied! M: Americans want Life too much, too hard. W: And we lie a lot. M: It would involve some danger, certainly. W: The danger lies in not lying. M: Nothing sustains me. W: Not even a well-placed truth? M: You really think it's the one you're closest to out of all others? W: I am pretty close to truth. M: I have a confession to make. W: Let's hear it. M: I was not obliged to mention Pound. W: But you did, in spite of yourself? M: We know that you like to think of yourself in China. W: Pound was fascinated with the Chinese, with their history. M: Are you reversing your position on Gunter Grass? W: I have no position on Gunter Grass, to speak of. M: See this? W: I see a mirror and some statues. M: Not even a well-placed truth? W: A mirror tells its silvered truth. M: This is how I want you to treat me: like your long-lost friend. W: If you were my friend, why did I lose you? M: But I lied! W: I have to accept that, maybe you were just being tactful. M: It's all in nothing. W: Don't you mean "all or nothing"? M: I am pretty close to truth. W: You came close, but you made a Freudian slip. M: I don't know why, but I can't. W: You can't get it quite right? M: Find out. W: How do I find that out? M: Yes, let's go back in time. W: Let's examine the papers of your learned society. M: Too much Brazilian was spoken when I wasn't ready for it. W: You met with your learned society in Brazil? M: I'm walking a thin line here. W: So am I, because they'll be closing any minute. M: Not me, one to get the point. W: You made your point. M: In a similar sense, are there too many people? W: Bye! M: Closing in 1 second ... Goodbye! Labels: chat robot |
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