Genesis

[Cassie Carter]

Dear All,

I apologize that I have not had time to pay attention to this group.  On weekends I try to come up with ... something that maybe we might start talking about.  Here's what I have to offer today.

Please go here:

http://www.catholicboy.com/audio.php

Scroll down to "Monologues."  Both of the audio clips there are from my 1991 recordings of Jim ... um ... monologuing The Petting Zoo at spoken-word performance in Hollywood, CA.  This is the earliest recording I have of Petting Zoo "in progress" (except for some pieces I recorded in 1989 that were not used, as whined about by Richard Hell in the NYT).

Here is your assignment: Please listen to the audio recordings, then locate their "final" versions in the novel.   Please share your thoughts about the similarities and differences.   What are the differences?  Why are they different and what do the differences mean?

xoxo

Cassie

[write3...@gmail.com]

Hi, Cassie! So glad to see this. I tried accessing from my phone but it looks like I'll need to listen from the computer, which I've been ignoring lately. This now gives me a good reason to start it up. Thank you.

Hope everyone is well. As I just mentioned in a note to the JC group, my life seems to be taking a downward turn. As long as the turn remains just that (and not a spiral), I ought to be able to steer it back on course, in due time.

Love to you all,

Jenny K.

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[Jenny]

So great hearing Jim's voice in these clips!
The "laugh track" is a bit of a distraction, though,
and I find myself wishing it could be edited out,
or at least to be able to read a transcript of what
he is saying while listening. Parts of it are difficult
to hear. Regarding the similarities and differences
to what was published in the novel, I appreciate
how he developed the "kernel" ideas of the raven and
of the JFK assassination connection. The latter just
took me by complete surprise and I'm so glad I didn't
know about it ahead of time, or see it coming. On that
note, I'll refer to something I posted to the JC group,
in a discussion of RH Cato's memoir, Calm Under Fire.
He had brought up the artist, Robert Rauschenberg,
and I thought of the gigantic painting of his that hangs
in the main atrium of the Dallas Museum of Art.
Here's the painting:
http://tinyurl.com/46oaxq2
For context, here it is at a distance, in a postcard image,
at the very top of the first (rectangular) frame:
http://tinyurl.com/4go5a3a
Every time I see it now, I think of Jim and smile at his
brilliance, that fine fine novel of his -- which is still out
on loan, by the way, and I'm curious about whether my
friend is enjoying it. We'll be getting together next week.

Jenny K.

P.S. Amazing, Cassie, that the recordings of Jim talking
about his novel-in-progress are over 20 years old!
Thanks so much for starting this discussion and I look
forward to hearing what others think about the audio.