Thinkings from your local Avant Savant...

The beauty of avant writing is that the discussion is limitless--and also with its limits. Ok, let me recoil for one second. If avant writing was limitless piece of literature either this state of freedom reigns for one page or its entire text. But I suppose if the work's limitless was momentary state of freedom--flooding with numerous discussion--this state either had an unanticipated reason for such or it had nothing of the sort. If this state had a unanticipated reason that reason was Sara G and her post tonight or maybe her utter pretension and hamminess to imitate Ann Carson the reason was not that.

Alright. I had my fun. Carson's "Autobiography of Red," like every text we will luckily encounter this semester, it will take us for one real funky ride and Ann seems no reason to fight or begin this trend. With only reading one other text of this semester (that being Carol Maso's "Ava"), this is pretty much in a class of its own. As "each" shall be. In rudimentary glean, they can chalk up some comparison, but the divisions within the text are their apparent differences.

I don't want to go on for days and I am still in the process of a creative work for this piece--which Ann, you are making my fingers feed off your creative verve. Two things that struck me for my discussion is the concept of adjective (and the adjective RED in specific) and the integration and connection of the cigarette/smoke within this text. What is your own theory on the adjective? Carson describes this genre of word as "latches of being" as they "are in charge of attaching everything in the world to its place in particularity." Adjectives ground nouns and verbs in purpose, specific, defiant purpose, no? But I was thinking, maybe, we are giving these bad boys too much clout. Adjectives muck a lot up no? Loaded, bloated, swollen adjectives muck a lot up no? The question is thus now: are they latches or are they leeches? Do these linguistically-inclined nomads have the right to have their own innate purpose and livelihood? Would hell be as foreboding of a being or even be a being with its simile of adjectives of "as the sun is high." What is your general verdict on the adjective? If Stesichoros undid and detached the adjective, why does Ann Carson latch on one singular adjective (RED) to Geryon (noun) and his world (another noun)?

Next on the agenda. The cigarette. This was a character all on its own. I just loooooved it. To me, in our concrete world and need to place validity in such concrete touch, material is a very personal thing to us humans and especially in our day and age. Page 40, VIII. Click section is a particularly good example where the cigarette and his mother are in sync with their discussion. The cigarette partakes in general discourse and reactive the the situation at hand as it experiences the ups and downs of their conversation. With the final punch of the line, the cig and mother puff up hard once more. The the next section following the character of the cigarette overwhelms her devotion to her sun as "she was not looking at him but past him as she stored the unlit cigarette in her front pocket." She knows she must quit and Geyron has accepted tolerance. Even once put away, it still has life. As they grapple with the concept of distance and its dependence on light, the light in thought is of that a match for the cigarette. The life of the cigarette demeans any deep philosophy out of the life around them. This may also lead itself to the dissatisfaction seen in Sex Question section. The mom has full attention on the cig not him, thus sex becomes his attention equivalence for the void his mother's neglect and probably from the ambiguous relationship with his brother. Whatcha all think?

This is a piece you have to work for but there is just some shots of loveliness that you can not deny. Some are:
they jumped forward on the back of the night.
up against another human being one's own procedures take on definition.
facts are bigger in the dark.
they recognized each other like italics.
the huge night moved overhead scattering drops of itself.

Some of my faves.


Random closing thoughts: Why does Carson precede the autobiography with a poem from Emily Dickinson? Why is Geyron living in a sedentary (or as constantly described motionless) world?


Ok, seriously. I'm out. Sorry for this bulky piece; I hope many have the same questions.
ciao ciao, Sara G.