NYTimes on Ngugi

A longer profile of Kenyan novelist and playwright Ngugi wa Thiongo, following the earlier report of his attack in Nairobi.

on the immoral novel

Three questions (only) for critic James Woods.

Czeslaw Milosz dead at 93

Nobel Prize winning poet Czeslaw Milosz passed today in Krakow, Poland. Milosz, whose books were in banned in his native Poland in 1946, fled Poland for asylum in France in 1951. His crusade against those who would seek to silence the human spirit was tireless.

You Whose Name

You whose name is aggressor and devourer.
Putrid and sultry, in fermentation.
You mash into pulp sages and prophets,
Criminals and heroes, indifferently.
My vocativus is useless.
You do not hear me, though I address you,
Yet I want to speak, for I am against you.
So what if you gulp me, I am not yours.
You overcome me with exhaustion and fever.
You blur my thought, which protests,
You roll over me, dull unconscious power.
The one who will overcome you is swift, armed:
Mind, spirit, maker, renewer.
He jousts with you in depths and on high,
Equestrian, winged, lofty, silver-scaled.
I have served him in the investiture of forms.
It's not my concern what he will do with me.
A retinue advances in the sunlight by the lakes.
From white villages Easter bells resound.

Czeslaw Milosz

Julia Child

The news has just crawled across the screen that Julia Child has passed. Think I'll go have an omelet and a glass of beaujolais in her honor.

Ted Kooser selected new Poet Laureate of the US

Ted Kooser has been selected to replace Louis Gluck as the Poet Laureate of the US.

Of the new choice, Librarian of Congress James Billington said, "Ted Kooser is a major poetic voice for rural and small town America and the first poet laureate chosen from the Great Plains. His verse reaches beyond his native region to touch on universal themes in accessible ways."

Ngugi attacked in Kenya

Ngugi wa Thiongo, Kenyan novelist and playwright was attacked upon his return to Kenya after 22 years of exile. Nigugi has been a persistent voice of anti-imperialism throughout his career, as well as a critic of the brutalism which has enveloped African life in the wake of colonialism.

"Literature does not grow or even develop in a vacuum, it is given impetus, shape, direction and even area of concern by social, political and economic forces in a particular society. The relationship between creative literature and these other forces cannot be ignored, especially in Africa, where modern literature has grown against the gory background of European imperialism and its changing manifestations: slavery, colonialism and neo-colonialism. Our culture over the last hundred years has developed against the same stunting dwarfing background." (Homecoming, quoted in Cook and Okenimkpe, 19)

what does 'lost' mean anyway?

While the rediscovery of a lost short story of Virginia Woolf has generated some excitement, a previously lost Virginia Woolf notebook has been known for a bit more than a year and has gone more or less unmentioned in the press. The problem with the enthusiasm for the new short story, is that it was never really 'lost'. It had been published in Good Housekeeping in the early 1930's. It had, however, failed to be republished and thus offered an opportunity for some new hype. Nothing wrong with that - just a misuse of the term 'lost'.

a Phillip Larkin trove

A previously unknown cache of unpublished Philip Larkin material has been uncovered in his home town of Hull. It includes nearly 250 unknown poems.

Goethe's language dumbed down

Gunter Grass, topless page 3 girls, and a number of right-wing parties in Germany have all spoken out against a recent official adoption of changes to the German language. The changes, put in place nearly six years ago, have been declared 'stupid and confusing'.

the Vatican porn collection

Stumbled across this old (1982) Straight Dope column on the Vatican's alleged 'world's largest porn collection'. Cecil Adams makes short work of this old (pope) urban myth, pointing out that most of the collection - at least that they are willing to admit to - predates the Englightenment (doesn't everything there?). He asks the natural followup - who does own the world's largest porn collection and where is it kept? - and offers some interesting leads. One interesting note from Cecil's column - the microfilm of the Vatican's porn collection is housed in John Ashcroft's home state of Missouri.

Saramago on children's books:

"If adults read children's books, the world would be a better place, according to the Portuguese author José Saramago, left. Speaking in Rome before a performance of a musical based on a children's story he wrote 30 years ago, Mr. Saramago, 81, said of children's tales: "They are moral fables that teach values which we consider indispensable, like solidarity, respect for others and goodness. But after, we as adults forget these lessons in real life,'' Agence France-Presse reported, citing the Italian news agency Lusa. Mr. Saramago, whose works combine magical realism with political comment, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998."

NYTimes

On the 100th anniversary of the death of Anton Chekhov, Rosamund Bartlett has an interesting article in today's Guardian. The article includes this description of Chekhov by Richard Ford:

"As readers of imaginative literature, we are always seeking clues, warnings," he wrote in the introduction to a recent anthology. "Where in life to search more assiduously; what not to overlook; what's the origin of this sort of human calamity, that sort of joy and pleasure: how can we live nearer to the latter, further off from the former? And to such seekers as we are, Chekhov is a guide, perhaps the guide.""

what were they drinking?

1.4 million dollars! That was the hammer price, not including the 12% buyers premium charged by the house which brings the price to 1.56 million, for the annotated multilith copy of the Big Book of AA at today's Sotheby's auction in NYC. It sold to an anonymous phone bidder who jumped in at about 1 million, after spirited bidding between two other phone bidders, one represented by his own agent in the back of the room who looked a great deal like a sleazy sports agent from Jerry McGuire . The final price was well above the 300-500k estimate, which seemed to be a bit of a shock to all of the booksellers in the room.

The room itself had been pretty quiet for the morning session, with many lots passed altogether. At lunch in the cafe upstairs, our table was approached by a producer from HBO who wanted to know if any of us were bidding on the "big book". Not that any of us could have contemplated spending that kind of money for any book, but we told him that none of us were interested, and that any action was likely to take place on the phones. Someone cracked that if he'd been from HBO's Sex and the City and had asked about the romantic lives of booksellers, "not interested" or "mostly takes place on the phone" might have worked for answers as well. After lunch, we found that the room was now populated by an entirely different group of people, almost none with paddles, but many with cameras. One of these new arrivals asked if we were from HBO. They all looked like they could use a drink.

People do pay crazy prices for things everyday, from apartments in NYC to cars to trophy wives, so this shouldn't be surprising. I've been around this business to know that auction prices are no more than the wish fulfillment of at least two people, but this price is quite ridiculous - driven more by cult of celebrity (or in this case the celebration of a cult) than by any real historical importance. To put a point on this, an unnamed person being interviewed by HBO in the lobby equated this piece with a manuscript by Elvis Presley (although I'd take an Elvis manuscript over this thing any day).

It was equally disappointing to see the Redoute Roses sell for only $400,000 (less than the $500,000 low estimate). It was a stunning copy of an amazing book.

raise one for the werkbund 

in the doldrums

July and August aren't really so bad. By then we've grown to expect that sales will be slow and business all but non-existent. It's May and July that catch me by surprise every year. Once the April New York ABAA fair comes and goes, the calls and emails just drop away. Fortunately, there are appraisals and the occassional insitutional sale, encouraged by the annual institutional budget cycle, which for many begins anew in July.

May brought me a great appraisal, one of those which really gets me thinking again about my own reading and intellectual pursuits. I can't talk about it much here, but what impressed me about this archive was the slow accumulation of knowledge and insight over a 40 or so year period. Consistency and the dogged pursuit of information from very possible source is the name of the game.

spring reading list:

Recent reading: John Banville's Prague Pictures, Lester Bangs' Mainlines, Blood Feasts and Bad Tastes. Also read the new translation of the fragments of Heraclitus by Brooks Haxton which, unfortunately, has to be one of the worst books I've read in a long time. Particularly awful is the foreward by James Hillman, an artless blend of postmodern mush and new age babble. Tne pile next the bed remains way too tall...

Just back from a trip to beautiful Garden City Long Island, home of the Long Island Antiquarian Book Fair. My friend Dan Wechsler and I have made a few trips in the last year to smaller fairs such as this one, and for the most part they are an opportunity to see a few colleagues and friends, and perhaps pick up a few books for reading. This one was no exception. Considering its location near the tony North Shore of Long Island, the show included few antiquarian dealers from New York City, or even some of the dealers of more rare material from Long Island itself (although I did notice several of these dealers in attendance to buy, but not exhibit). Quality was spotty, with lots of interesting books in just ok condition, and a booth or two which really should have been taken outside and fumigated.

There were, however, still lots of good things to see and perhaps purchase. David Bergman, a bit of an eccentric, and a specialist in Natural History and Paleontology, had a big booth for his very big books. David, a very strong and athletic baseball nut, is not a man of great stature, but his books of choice are mostly large and heavy folios, predominantly in his fields of interest, but also in the decorative arts. It's a pleasure to walk into a booth filled with books of an entirely different scale. It serves to remind us that not all books are octavos. A similar experience can be had at the Boston "Garage" show, where for many years now, one dealer has exhibited only miniatures (I've always envied this dealer the ease with which he can pack and leave).

Tom Congleton was also there, with a selection of stock from Between the Covers, including some great baseball books just in time for the beginning of the season. I'll admit that baseball books have never been my thing, but they take on an added meaning in the Spring.

A dealer I have never seen before, from Waccabuc, NY, (I apologize for not getting names - there was no dealer list supplied by the fair organizers), had a number of interesting things, including some very fine condition fifites and sixties paperbacks with lurid covers (again not an area I know anything about, but they were nice to see). The condition was very crisp, which is wonderful for a category of book usually found in miserable condition. They also had a nice copy of the Oxford 3 volume edition of Euclid's Elements. This is something I'd very much like to have for my own library, but I'm holding on to my resources for the business right now.

At the end of it all, I got out of there with a dozen or so books, including several wine books, a nice copy of Cyril Connolly's Rock Pool, an inscribed copy of Lionel Trilling's Liberal Imagination, and a few volumes to add to my collection of Bollingen imprints. Not bad, and not too much money was spent overall. Dan and I grabbed some lunch in Wiliamsburg, Brooklyn on the way home, at the Williamsburg Diner, an amazing little restaurant in an old railroad-car style diner. Not the best fair I've been to, but still a very pleasant way to spend half a day.

This past weekend found me back in Maine, attending to more details regarding my car, and shopping a bit for books. the highlight of the bookseeking came Friday, when I drove down to Boston to pick up Sam (she couldn't come up until after classes finished Thursday). I visited my friends Peter Stern and David Ritchie at the old shop where I used to work when Lame Duck Books was in that location. Peter was his old self, but Dave has carved out a nice new niche for himself in the year or two since he left Lame Duck. His stock is small but excellent, with broad interests, and very good or better condition. After I met Sam at South Station, we made a visit to Brattle Books, a wonderful source, as always, this time with a large newly arrived collection of cookbooks. I raided their wine book section, finding an interesting mid-20th century book on wine in Spain.

Later in Maine, I found copies of good books by Sigfried Kracauer, Herman Hesse, and Kurt Seligmann. The Seligmann was a common book in later editions, but a fine copy of the first edition in dust jacket, and with the rare belly-band was quite a find. Not an expensive book, but a prime copy of a work which fits neatly within my collection.

The more time we spend in Maine, the more we are convinced that our bookish life can continue without interruption. My hope is that whatever loss their may be in sources of books will be offset with more time and quiet in which to read.

It's always interesting to see how much the old faithful sources continue to provide predictably. I met Dan at the Strand Rare Book Room in advance of a lunch. As usual, they were processing more good books presently, than I'm likely to see almost any bookshop I visit elsewhere: a very clean copy of the wrappered edition of Warhol's Index Book; a beautiful copy of Diana Vreeland's Allure; a lacuna in my collection of catalogues from the seminal avant-garde dealers Ex Libris, and sundry other gems. Dan nabbed most of these and off we went to 12th Steet Books, just two blocks west.

12th Street has always been a favorite of mine, despite the radical change in its personality after a move from the old 17th Street location (under the name Chelsea Books). 12th Street's stock is consistently scholarly, with a steady stream of academic's collections replenishing the shelves. The books may not look "rare", but for someone with an interest in later 20th century scholarship, there are gems each time I visit. Today I found a fine, fine copy of Sebald's Rings of Saturn; an unusual anthropology journal which was designed by minimalist Dan Flavin(!); and just for reading, Waverely Root's memoirs of his time in Paris in the 20's and 30's. Dan and I had a bit of a grab fest when we both spotted two 60's wrappered novels signed by Louis Aragon, which itself was not so exciting, until we saw they were inscribed to Roman Jacobson and quite cheap.

Almost every time I visit these wonderful shops, I swear that I will be back again soon without so much of a delay. And I will regret it when I don't stop in again for a few weeks.

Tomorrow I head back to Maine for a few days, and will stop in at a shop that is quickly becoming my local Maine equivalent of the two shops above. Consistently unusual stock at good prices it what I seek. Samantha will take the Acela to Boston on Friday, where I'll meet her. I'm hoping we will have time for lunch and a visit to the Brattle Bookshop, which is Boston's answer to the above. When I worked around the corner from the Brattle, at John Wronoski's Lame Duck Books, we would visit sometimes three times a day, depending on what collection was being sorted and priced. They would frequently just fill up the carts in the lots outside with books, in an effort to keep the stock moving. I remember finding a group of children's books signed by the philosopher W.V. Quine, which was a hoot.

There are very few shops like this left in the states, as the supply seems to be waning relative to demand, and so many dealers think that there is a "right price" for a book based on the internet.

This past week was a busy one, punctuated by a day trip to New Haven with my colleague Dan Wechsler. The overt purpose of the trip was to pick up a book from a previous consignor, which we managed to sell after returning it. So we swapped a check for the book and took a look at some other very nice things which they had for sale. I'll return on a later date for some serious shopping, but we got out of there having purchased only a few small reference items.

After a lunch one-size-too-large at a hamburger joint in New Haven, we paid a visit to Bill Reese's offices. Terry B. was accomodating as one would expect and Dan and I found a half dozen unusual items to bring home, including a few inscribed Henry Millers, an early Greil Marcus edited rock 'n' roll collection, and a French work on visual poetry. I was also pleased to see their recent catalogue on little periodicals, but was a bit upset I had missed its release date by a few months, as there were quite a few things I would very much like to have purchased.

Friday included a late afternoon (4pm) lunch at Gramercy Tavern, which is a place Samantha is considering for her externship. The lunch was great. Grilled octopus and an artichoke salad to start, followed by salmon and bacon entrees. The bacon, served with spaetzle and red cabbage, was not smoked, but rather a grilled slab, with a texture like a very smooth pork shoulder. Delicious.

Sunday we continued the food extravaganza with a trip to the Food Convention at the Javitz Center. Acres and acres of booths filled with everything from pest control to POS systems, and a few booths were even dedicated to food itself. I'll talk about this fair a bit more later.

As always, time flies here, and not always because we're having fun. Jan and I have decided to close the gallery, which was brought about by a number of factors, not least of all that the lease would require a number of expensive renovations for me to take it over. I feel good about it, knowing that it will add an element of fresh start to the establishment of my sole proprietorship. Trying to clear up old debts is certainly adding stress to the equation as well.

It's interesting that as we wind the business down we are being approached with lots of good new material. A handful of good Ed Ruscha titles, a copy of Claude Cahun's Aveux non Avenus (a favorite of mine), and possibly a copy of Max Ernst/Rene Crevel's Mr. Knife and Miss Fork. We'll see what we can do to buy these books, as they're right up our alley. I'd really like to have them for the upcoming ARLISS show in early April. It's important to me to put together the best list possible for that show, and things are coming together for it. A complete run of Film Culture magazine, The Crowninshield primitive art photographs, Antoine Laval's great LA Orange County portfolio, and lot's more that we've never shown before.

Tomorrow I drive to Maine to take care of some business and I'm hoping to make a quick trip to Portland to do some book scouting, and on the way home I'll make stops in Boston and New Haven. The good news is I'll get to see friends in most of those places and see my little niece Emma as well.