9.16.2007



About My Book

Never underestimate the amount of resentment and hostility we harbor toward artists. It springs largely from envy. They can behave quite badly, but mainly they operate with a kind of freedom and courage that other people don’t risk or enjoy. And it can lead to wondrous things.
~From a NYT article by Roberta Smith, September 16, 2007


People keep asking, sending inquiries, continuing to wonder when it will be ready; this book I have been writing and fiddling with since sometime in early 2003.

This tome was inspired by some very remarkable experiences, collected over a period of nearly 16 years. Specifically, it is a fictional account of an artist whose work reflects the genre of conceptual contemporary standards, and yet who is living and trying desperately to work authentically in a remote, backward, poverty stricken, culturally isolated, conservative northern California county.

The focus of this digest could be slightly autobiographical, and then again it might not be. Have these vignettes been imagined or do such predicaments exist? Poetic license kicks in almost right away and as the fictional manuscript chugs and totters along -- at least in its’ current unfinished condition -- the use of such artistic dispensation is intricately exercised and ever so cautiously interwoven into the entire text seamlessly, or so we (my editor and I) constantly hope.

As with any creative effort or work of art, it may often take a decade or perhaps more to finish a manuscript and have it ready for public consumption. In contrast, other written works that I have authored over the years, often very nearly assemble themselves even in a week, a month or two. Time considerations vary with the underlying substance and are heavily reliant upon the mindset of the maker. It really depends upon the content and upon the issues facing the author as he/she wrestles with presentation of the subject matter. In this case, I am finding that time and its’ closest cousin perspective are each proving to be a great assistant. Each has allowed me to work circumspectly and deliberately through the layers of deep psychological and legal considerations while carefully constructing this particular model.

And so I continue to happily labor forward with the gangly puzzle pieces which compose this unique project. A project, I must emphasize, with an as yet unspecified completion date.






Please continue to stay patiently tuned; I think you will find that the peculiar revelations and enormous entertainment value will surely justify the wait.
Good things, sometimes, take time.








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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

ok, now you are driving all of us completely crazy: there is no WHEN?

Anonymous said...

Still waiting but I am sure the end result will be well worth the patience that I have for you and for your wonderful work. Keep plodding along and we will be ready when your book is.

Anonymous said...

I hope you have written the entire book in French.

Anonymous said...

so the answer is that there is no answer -- although as an artist i honestly do understand and of course you will know when you are finished. xox

Anonymous said...

you are so correct: good things do take time. so please, take yours and we will be there when it is ready.

Anonymous said...

Collecting and sorting through the experiences of 16 years must be very demanding.