Part 40 (1/2)
page 136 ”given forty-five minutes, they could master anything”: ”given forty-five minutes, they could master anything”: Helen Moore Barthelme, Helen Moore Barthelme, Donald Barthelme Donald Barthelme, 20.
page 136 ”Your recent articles in ”Your recent articles in Partisan Review Partisan Review”: Donald Barthelme quoted in Helen Moore Barthelme, Donald Barthelme quoted in Helen Moore Barthelme, Donald Barthelme Donald Barthelme, 72.
page 137 ” ” Forum Forum is most attractive”: is most attractive”: Walker Percy quoted in Helen Moore Barthelme, Walker Percy quoted in Helen Moore Barthelme, Donald Barthelme Donald Barthelme, 72.
page 137 ”in Houston, a city ordinance”: ”in Houston, a city ordinance”: Helen Moore Barthelme, Helen Moore Barthelme, Donald Barthelme Donald Barthelme, 51.
17. The Psychology of Angels page 138 ”old piece of junk”: ”old piece of junk”: Helen Moore Barthelme, Helen Moore Barthelme, Donald Barthelme: The Genesis of a Cool Sound Donald Barthelme: The Genesis of a Cool Sound (College Station: Texas A & M University Press, 2001), 49. All subsequent quotes from Helen regarding the early years of her marriage to Don are from ibid., 4669. (College Station: Texas A & M University Press, 2001), 49. All subsequent quotes from Helen regarding the early years of her marriage to Don are from ibid., 4669.
page 138 He enjoyed working with his hands: He enjoyed working with his hands: Don's narrator in ”The Indian Uprising” also enjoys working with his hands. Throughout the story, he repeatedly makes tables out of hollowcore doors. Simon, the narrator in Don's narrator in ”The Indian Uprising” also enjoys working with his hands. Throughout the story, he repeatedly makes tables out of hollowcore doors. Simon, the narrator in Paradise Paradise, remarks that there is ”[n]othing more fun than buying furniture.” See Donald Barthelme, Paradise Paradise (New York: Putnam, 1986), 138, 188. (New York: Putnam, 1986), 138, 188.
page 139 ”issue would be closed out by the end of the month”; would ”interest both the scientifically minded”: ”issue would be closed out by the end of the month”; would ”interest both the scientifically minded”: Barthelme and Percy letters quoted in Helen Moore Barthelme, Barthelme and Percy letters quoted in Helen Moore Barthelme, Donald Barthelme Donald Barthelme, 7273.
page 139 ”that being in the world”: ”that being in the world”: Walker Percy, Walker Percy, The Message in the Bottle: How Queer Man Is, How Queer Language Is, and What One Has to Do with the Other The Message in the Bottle: How Queer Man Is, How Queer Language Is, and What One Has to Do with the Other (New York: Picador, 2000), 150158. (New York: Picador, 2000), 150158.
page 139 ”very good-looking job”: ”very good-looking job”: Percy quoted in Helen Moore Barthelme, Percy quoted in Helen Moore Barthelme, Donald Barthelme Donald Barthelme, 73.
page 140 ”aim of literature...is the creation of a strange object covered with fur”: ”aim of literature...is the creation of a strange object covered with fur”: Donald Barthelme, Donald Barthelme, Come Back, Dr. Caligari Come Back, Dr. Caligari (Boston: Little, Brown, 1964), 14. (Boston: Little, Brown, 1964), 14.
page 140 She found the time spent on type fonts: She found the time spent on type fonts: In a 1972 interview, Don said, ”I enjoy...problems of design. I could very cheerfully be a typographer.” See ”Interview with Jerome Klinkowitz, 197172,” in In a 1972 interview, Don said, ”I enjoy...problems of design. I could very cheerfully be a typographer.” See ”Interview with Jerome Klinkowitz, 197172,” in Not-Knowing Not-Knowing: The Essays and Interviews The Essays and Interviews, ed. Kim Herzinger (New York: Random House, 1997), 201.
page 141 ”evolved a new type dress”: ”evolved a new type dress”: Donald Barthelme, letter to Maurice Natanson, October 17, 1957, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries. Donald Barthelme, letter to Maurice Natanson, October 17, 1957, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries.
page 141 ”Our idea...[is to]... catch the dancers”: ”Our idea...[is to]... catch the dancers”: Donald Barthelme, letter to Gene Gaines, October 2, 1957, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries. Donald Barthelme, letter to Gene Gaines, October 2, 1957, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries.
page 141 ”It is difficult to know where to publish short stories”: ”It is difficult to know where to publish short stories”: Donald Barthelme, letter to David Riesman, November 8, 1957, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries. Donald Barthelme, letter to David Riesman, November 8, 1957, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries.
page 141 ”[W]e would...like to pay not more than $16.00 per page”: ”[W]e would...like to pay not more than $16.00 per page”: Donald Barthelme, letter to Wayne Taylor, April 17, 1958, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries. Donald Barthelme, letter to Wayne Taylor, April 17, 1958, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries.
page 141 ”[H]ow come a U. of Houston publication isn't paying”: ”[H]ow come a U. of Houston publication isn't paying”: Percy quoted in Helen Moore Barthelme, Percy quoted in Helen Moore Barthelme, Donald Barthelme Donald Barthelme, 73.
page 142 a ”very nasty letter”: a ”very nasty letter”: Donald Barthelme quoted in ibid, 77. Donald Barthelme quoted in ibid, 77.
page 142 ”pale new critic[ism]”: ”pale new critic[ism]”: ibid, 84. ibid, 84.
page 142 ”You are absolutely right”: ”You are absolutely right”: ibid. ibid.
page 143 ”As to your sympathy with the 'existential-phenomenological movement' ”: ”As to your sympathy with the 'existential-phenomenological movement' ”: James Boyer May, letter to Donald Barthelme, September 24, 1959, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries. James Boyer May, letter to Donald Barthelme, September 24, 1959, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries.
page 144 ”Paul and Eugenie went to a film”: ”Paul and Eugenie went to a film”: Donald Barthelme quoted in Helen Moore Barthelme, Donald Barthelme quoted in Helen Moore Barthelme, Donald Barthelme Donald Barthelme, 62.
page 144 ”working in a vacuum”: ”working in a vacuum”: ibid., 79. ibid., 79.
page 145 ”I'll pay for it”: ”I'll pay for it”: ibid., 83. ibid., 83.
page 145 ”I've been reading and enjoying your ”I've been reading and enjoying your Partisan Partisan pieces”: pieces”: Donald Barthelme, letter to Diana Trilling, undated (1957), Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries. Donald Barthelme, letter to Diana Trilling, undated (1957), Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries.
page 145 One of his favorite contributors to One of his favorite contributors to Forum: In all, Joseph Lyons published four essays in Forum: In all, Joseph Lyons published four essays in Forum Forum, including a phenomenological study of a rock and a meditation on tarot cards and magic. In the latter piece, he mentions a (probably fictional) astrologer named Madame Cherokee, whom Don resurrected at least twice in his own writing, including a story ent.i.tled ”Affection” (where she is renamed Madame Olympia and takes on added echoes of Sosostris from Eliot's The Waste Land The Waste Land). ”Affection” was collected in Overnight to Many Distant Cities. Overnight to Many Distant Cities.
page 145 ”The response from our readers”: ”The response from our readers”: Donald Barthelme, fund-raising letter for Donald Barthelme, fund-raising letter for Forum Forum, July 22, 1958, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries.
18. The Mechanical Bride page 147 ”recommend some young fiction writers”: ”recommend some young fiction writers”: Donald Barthelme, letter to Martha Foley, September 25, 1959, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries. Donald Barthelme, letter to Martha Foley, September 25, 1959, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries.
page 147 ”wra.s.sling with a piece of fiction”; ”ingenious young moviegoer”; ”Yes, Knopf did option my book”; ”Glad you wish to use as much as you do”: ”wra.s.sling with a piece of fiction”; ”ingenious young moviegoer”; ”Yes, Knopf did option my book”; ”Glad you wish to use as much as you do”: Percy quoted in Helen Moore Barthelme, Percy quoted in Helen Moore Barthelme, Donald Barthelme: The Genesis of a Cool Sound Donald Barthelme: The Genesis of a Cool Sound (College Station: Texas A & M University Press, 2001), 7374. (College Station: Texas A & M University Press, 2001), 7374.
page 148 ”[N]ot publis.h.i.+ng this story”; ”Joyce, Pound, Eliot, Lawrence, Stein”: ”[N]ot publis.h.i.+ng this story”; ”Joyce, Pound, Eliot, Lawrence, Stein”: Donald Barthelme quoted in ibid., 86. Donald Barthelme quoted in ibid., 86.
page 148 ”Any ethics that does not roundly condemn”: ”Any ethics that does not roundly condemn”: William Ga.s.s, ”The Case of the Obliging Stranger,” William Ga.s.s, ”The Case of the Obliging Stranger,” Forum Forum 3, no. 4 (1960), draft in Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries. 3, no. 4 (1960), draft in Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries.
page 148 ”I... undoubtedly...have [a] different audience in mind”: ”I... undoubtedly...have [a] different audience in mind”: Howard F. McGraw, letter to Donald Barthelme, October 30, 1959, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries. Howard F. McGraw, letter to Donald Barthelme, October 30, 1959, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries.
page 149 ”I wouldn't say it was sadness”: ”I wouldn't say it was sadness”: Marilyn Gillet, in a conversation with the author, November 17, 2004. Marilyn Gillet, in a conversation with the author, November 17, 2004.
page 150 ”I could see and feel an abating of his exuberance for life” ”I could see and feel an abating of his exuberance for life” to ” to ” had a responsibility to live out his life”: had a responsibility to live out his life”: Helen Moore Barthelme, Helen Moore Barthelme, Donald Barthelme Donald Barthelme, 66.
page 150 Natanson ”alluded to Don's penchant for fast cars” Natanson ”alluded to Don's penchant for fast cars” to to ”driving a Jaguar”: ”driving a Jaguar”: ibid., 67. ibid., 67.
page 150 ”Don saw it as the need to confront the choice”; ”inappropriate for a serious writing career”: ”Don saw it as the need to confront the choice”; ”inappropriate for a serious writing career”: ibid., 66. ibid., 66.
page 151 ”strange and beautiful” pieces: ”strange and beautiful” pieces: ”Interview with Jerome Klinkowitz, 197172,” in ”Interview with Jerome Klinkowitz, 197172,” in Not-Knowing: The Essays and Interviews Not-Knowing: The Essays and Interviews, ed. Kim Herzinger (New York: Random House, 1997), 201.
page 151 ”It looks as if I might receive better than full value”: ”It looks as if I might receive better than full value”: Norman Mailer, letter to Donald Barthelme, quoted in Donald Barthelme, letter to Dr. Patrick J. Nicholson, January 9, 1959, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries. Norman Mailer, letter to Donald Barthelme, quoted in Donald Barthelme, letter to Dr. Patrick J. Nicholson, January 9, 1959, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries.
page 151 ”[W]e thought you might be interested”: ”[W]e thought you might be interested”: Donald Barthelme, letter to Ima Hogg, July 7, 1958, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries. Donald Barthelme, letter to Ima Hogg, July 7, 1958, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries.
page 151 ”drudge work”: ”drudge work”: Helen Moore Barthelme, Helen Moore Barthelme, Donald Barthelme Donald Barthelme, 89.
page 151 ”Because ”Because Forum Forum has now published”; ”Educational television, engineering education”: has now published”; ”Educational television, engineering education”: Donald Barthelme, letter to Dr. Patrick J. Nicholson, January 9, 1959, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries. Donald Barthelme, letter to Dr. Patrick J. Nicholson, January 9, 1959, Special Collections and Archives, University of Houston Libraries.
page 152 ”get inside the...collective mind”: ”get inside the...collective mind”: This and subsequent quotes from This and subsequent quotes from The Mechanical Bride The Mechanical Bride, including citations from Edgar Allan Poe's ”A Descent into the Maelstrom,” are from Marshall McLuhan, The Mechanical Bride: Folklore of Industrial Man The Mechanical Bride: Folklore of Industrial Man (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1967), vvi. (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1967), vvi.
page 152 ”We read signs as promises”: ”We read signs as promises”: Donald Barthelme, Donald Barthelme, Sixty Stories Sixty Stories (New York: Putnam, 1981), 3334. (New York: Putnam, 1981), 3334.
page 153 ”[s]kiing along on the soft surface of brain damage”: Donald Barthelme, ”[s]kiing along on the soft surface of brain damage”: Donald Barthelme, City Life City Life (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1970), 149. (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1970), 149.
page 153 McLuhan provided some of the earliest: McLuhan provided some of the earliest: By 1970, McLuhan's theories were wildly popular, upsetting traditionalists in many fields, from science to art to business. Don commented, wryly, on this development in ”Brain Damage”: ” By 1970, McLuhan's theories were wildly popular, upsetting traditionalists in many fields, from science to art to business. Don commented, wryly, on this development in ”Brain Damage”: ” The humanist position is not to plug in...flowers-to let them alone. Humanists believe in letting everything alone to be what it is, insofar as possible. The new electric awareness, however, requires that the flowers be plugged in, right away. ... My own idea about whether or not to plug in the flowers is somewhere between these ideas, in that gray area where nothing is done, really, but you vacillate for a while, thinking about it. The blue of the flowers is extremely handsome against the gray of that area.” The humanist position is not to plug in...flowers-to let them alone. Humanists believe in letting everything alone to be what it is, insofar as possible. The new electric awareness, however, requires that the flowers be plugged in, right away. ... My own idea about whether or not to plug in the flowers is somewhere between these ideas, in that gray area where nothing is done, really, but you vacillate for a while, thinking about it. The blue of the flowers is extremely handsome against the gray of that area.” (See Barthelme, (See Barthelme, City Life City Life, 136.) page 153 ”... try an experiment in reading [McLuhan]”: ”... try an experiment in reading [McLuhan]”: Andreas Huyssen, ”In the Shadow of McLuhan: Jean Baudrillard's Theory of Simulation,” Andreas Huyssen, ”In the Shadow of McLuhan: Jean Baudrillard's Theory of Simulation,” a.s.semblage a.s.semblage 10 (1989): 7. 10 (1989): 7.
page 153 ”RUB and FAB and TUB”; ”huddle[s] and cling[s]”; ”G.o.d...stand[s] in the bas.e.m.e.nt”: ”RUB and FAB and TUB”; ”huddle[s] and cling[s]”; ”G.o.d...stand[s] in the bas.e.m.e.nt”: Barthelme, Barthelme, Sixty Stories Sixty Stories, 272, 279.
page 153 ”Don wanted 'to see the interior' ”; ”After we moved [in]”: ”Don wanted 'to see the interior' ”; ”After we moved [in]”: Helen Moore Barthelme, Helen Moore Barthelme, Donald Barthelme Donald Barthelme, 6769.
page 154 a doctor ”down in Texas”: a doctor ”down in Texas”: Barthelme, Barthelme, Sixty Stories Sixty Stories, 193194.