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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
“I dream of standing on the shore and not seeing his ear whorls in every shell.”
This book stands, triumphantly infirm, on its own two grief-stricken feet. It's true I found it because it is written by DFW's widow. That's to my shame, that if not for that fact I might have missed such a powerful and moving meditation/ memoir/ poem/ artwork of grieving.
Green's words are careful, heavy and light. Grief shines, yes, but there is humor here too, and glimmers of something that isn't hope but isn't despair either.
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On a more earthly, physical note, the book itself is a beautiful object, dense and heavy in the hand despite its small size, with many pages of careful, cryptic, text-based art interspersed among the pages of fine writing.
Green's words are careful, heavy and light. Grief shines, yes, but there is humor here too, and glimmers of something that isn't hope but isn't despair either.
---
On a more earthly, physical note, the book itself is a beautiful object, dense and heavy in the hand despite its small size, with many pages of careful, cryptic, text-based art interspersed among the pages of fine writing.
This brought me up short:
because I knew very little about Karen Green or her artwork except for the fact that she had created a forgiveness machine after David Foster Wallace took his life.
On another page there is this:
Strangers feel free to e-mail:
Nobody knew you before your husband took his life.
Nobody knew me, nobody knew me. I think this may be true.
because I knew very little about Karen Green or her artwork except for the fact that she had created a forgiveness machine after David Foster Wallace took his life.
On another page there is this:
I made our house with what I could gather and the support guys helped. I didn't know I was making that shape. I thought I was making something geometrical, with clean lines and a solid roof.I found the shape of this book beautiful ... devastating, but beautiful.
A beautiful book. I am still unsure how I feel about the industry of DFW. Green addresses this briefly in her narrative. How people feel free to speak to her about such things, about how she should view herself w/r/t DFW.
How is her book any different than the gossip I used to hear about him at ISU? At least she lived with the man; the biography and the "interview" book felt grosser to me than this, which is raw and honest. And, on its own, quite lovely.
How is her book any different than the gossip I used to hear about him at ISU? At least she lived with the man; the biography and the "interview" book felt grosser to me than this, which is raw and honest. And, on its own, quite lovely.
Too cryptic for me. There were some strong moments, but I kept feeling as though I just didn't know enough about what was going on to really understand.
And, from a practical point of view, the collages made me crazy, because they were so small. I admit I'm very near-sighted (and getting new glasses soon), but I honestly couldn't make out half the images. They might be brilliant, but I wouldn't know.
And, from a practical point of view, the collages made me crazy, because they were so small. I admit I'm very near-sighted (and getting new glasses soon), but I honestly couldn't make out half the images. They might be brilliant, but I wouldn't know.
This is a hardcore, honest and well-written book. It deals with Green's husband's suicide, some of what happened before that, during and afterwards. It's a painful and beautiful read, filled with trinkets of their life, their love and her anguish. Her delirium, her heart and her rationale is spilled out onto the pages, on which you can also read of her longing for him back. And of her picking her life up and putting herself back together, with The Support People. Added is her visual poetry as well, cut-ups from everywhere.