May 06, 2006
a quick update on what federman is doing
eckhard [gerdes, Editor of The Journal of Experimental Fiction] -
no time to write much now - busy busy trying to finish a book on beckett -- oh nothing cacademic -- a kind of memoir of my friendship with sam and with his books -- I'm writing it in French -- I am leaving for France may 30th -- and must have the manuscript finished - my publisher wants to bring it out immediately -- things are going great in france for me - another book just out -- translation of my theoretical essays under the title Surfiction -- more the essays of critifiction -- and the book is getting all kinds of great reviews -- and of course the main reason for my going to france is to see Les Moinous a stage adaptation of moments in three of my novels by a really well-known theater company from St. Etienne -- where I will go when I arrive to see the last performance - then to Paris to le theatre de Malakoff [not far from where I lived when I was a kid] for four more performances and I'll be there because after the play there will be a discussion with the author -- imagine that -- then on to marseille and aix and margigues and tour and nohan [in the house of george sand] for readings and interviews -- it's crazy because after that back to paris to be filmed at the centre pompidou for a film on beckett - the film maker pascale bouhenic wants me in this movie -- maybe I should dress like a clochard -- and then back to aix en provence -- to participate in a 4 day beckett colloquium - and a round table discussion with eminent beckett friends and even his nephew edward beckett -- and we shall reminisce about the second greatest writer of the 20th century -- yes second - and sam would agree -- the first you ask - marcel proust of course --
well that's a quick update on what federman is doing
as for you Eck - good luck -- something got to turn up for you - but remember what sam said to me when I told him I was writing a novel - this was in paris -- in 1966 when I started double or nothing - raymond -- sam said -- if you write for money do something else - and then after a inevitable beckettian silence which only sam knew how to make comfortable - he added - and never compromise your work --
well I tried to be faithful to this advice - and I suppose that's why it took the French 30 years to discover me in california -- - I think they thought I had never existed --
anyway that's part of the story
so Eck whatever you do don't compromise -- but that jewish school sounds to me the perfect place for you to continue your experiments and at the same time corrupt some young jewish minds into the right direction
go for it
if they need to talk to me about you tell them there is a famous jewish writer in california who could tell you a few things about Eck
amities as they say in france
raymond
http://www.experimentalfiction.com
