[Jandek] Jandek Fictional Biography Forthcoming; Author to Read/Sign in Toronto & Chicago

[Larry Epke]

As a Chicagoan, I must point out that the address given for Quimby's is 
incorrect. The correct address is:
1854 W. North Ave.

>From their website:

"Quimby's is located on North Ave. and Wolcott (two blocks East of Damen 
Ave.) between Zen Noodle Restaurant and Nola's 32nd Ward Seafood House. The 
smell of garlic butter from that place is inescapable. Geez."

Larry Epke



>From: "Amy Frushour Kelly" <akelly1971 at gmail.com>
>To: "Danen D. Jobe" <djobe at uark.edu>
>CC: jandek at mylist.net
>Subject: Re: [Jandek] Jandek Fictional Biography Forthcoming;Author to 
>Read/Sign in Toronto & Chicago
>Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 13:15:36 -0400
>
>No way I can make it to either of your readings, but congratulations. 
>Sounds
>wonderful. (Will they be recorded?) After reading your e-mail, I'm
>definitely buying at least one copy.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Amy Frushour Kelly
>
>
>On 9/1/06, Danen D. Jobe <djobe at uark.edu> wrote:
>>
>>Okay.
>>
>>So I've sent out dozens of press releases and spent a solid year now
>>working on this, and yet this is the email I've had the most difficulty
>>composing. Really - started and stopped it six or seven times in the last
>>three weeks. If you want the short of it, skip a paragraph or two. But for
>>THIS list - people I genuinely care about and trust - I want to give an 
>>idea
>>of what writing this has been like. So here goes:
>>
>>As a few of you know, I've been working on a fictitious biography based on
>>Jandek, written with Corwood's cooperation and approval.  It uses the 
>>Jandek
>>name, song titles, lyrics, album covers, music descriptions, etc though it
>>in NO way is to be mistaken for the REAL story of Jandek.  Rather, this is
>>culled from - literally - HUNDREDS of hours of listening to the music,
>>discussions with a few people involved with Corwood at one point or 
>>another,
>>numerous back and forth letters to and from Houston, a chapbook 
>>publication
>>that caused me to destroy (by fire, thank you) EVERYTHING and start over -
>>this being exactly one week before my thesis reading at the University of
>>Arkansas (which I've been writing this project for). Coming up with the
>>RIGHT story, finally, for said reading and then spending the summer
>>hammering out some 200 pages of sprawling story, followed by me asking
>>Corwood if they thought it might be a good idea for me to read in Chicago
>>and Toronto (they agreed), an
>>d me thinking, "you know, it might be nice to have something published,"
>>followed by the WONDERFUL folk at Single Cell Press (out of Glasgow - so
>>fitting) agreeing to publish this first installment in what I see as a
>>"Jandek trilogy," three weeks of editing, re-writing, re-thinking and
>>ultimately agreeing on 63 pages of content, coming out this month on 
>>Single
>>Cell Press, and which I will be reading from the day after the Toronto 
>>show
>>and the day before the Chicago one.
>>
>>And now for more specific details: in Toronto I'll be at Circus Books and
>>Music on Monday, September 18th at 6 PM. This is located at 253 Gerrard
>>Street East (I'll give better directions and a phone number in a following
>>email as I figure it out myself) and should be a blast. From there I get 
>>to
>>make a maddash back over the border to read at Quimby's Books in Chicago
>>(154 W Northern Street, Chicago - more info www.quimbys.com) at 7 PM
>>Tuesday the 19TH at 7 PM. I can promise the best excerpts I can come up 
>>with
>>from the book, which is closest to dark Southern Literature (it's what I
>>write), tracing the future Corwood Rep's life from childhood to his garage
>>band days, growing up in the Ozark Mountains admist much family turmoil 
>>(his
>>mother and father leave him to care for his developmentally disabled 
>>brother
>>at one point - his mother moving off to Kansas City and Dad going on a
>>six-month bender). There are also other fictiionally recast real people
>>here, most significantly one
>>Frank Stanford, whose poetry you can check at www.alsopreview.com.
>>Stanford is the young narrator's shadow twin, so to speak, and also the
>>person who gets said narrator to take his musical roots and do something
>>with them. Frank happens to be married to Nancy, who ends up singing for 
>>the
>>original garage band (and John, the drummer, lifts many of the instruments
>>from "people who won't miss them). It includes sections of the narrator
>>developing the guitar sound (which, by the way, I picked out myself on a
>>40's era black Gibson acoustic, picking at the strings over Charley Patton
>>songs until it emulated what Jandek does on the early acoustic albums) and
>>falling in love - not with Nancy, but with Frank's fiery sister Jessica.
>>There's also "fictionalized' versions of Son House (he gets a great scene)
>>and a poet/novelist named James Whitehead who's well worth checking out.
>>
>>Okay, that's enough. If you want more I've got a few excerots up at the
>>Myspace page I've created for this puppy: www.myspace.com/niagrablues.
>>I'll keep updates going there. Also, please check my publisher's website 
>>at
>>www.singlecellpress.co.uk, as this is where the book will be available
>>(unless you buy it direct from me). While you're there, pick up a copy of
>>Jackie Gilroy's slang-crazed "Thugs and Thieves." The writing style of our
>>books couldn't be any more different and yet there's a communal spirit
>>there. But seriously, Gilroy is the rightful heir to Bukowski, and I mean
>>that lovingly. My book is probably closer to Carson McCullers' "Ballad of
>>the Sad Cafe" or maybe a bit of Cormac McCarthy, but I've worked hard to
>>have it be it's OWN thing first and foremost. Hope anyone who reads it 
>>feels
>>the same.
>>
>>Anyway, PLEASE contact me for more info. Now that I can relax (having
>>finally written this) I can say that I hope at least some of you can 
>>attend
>>these events - I intend for it to be a pretty wild tour: Jandek on Sunday,
>>my reading on Monday, another reading on Tuesday, Jandek on Wednesday and
>>then I sleep for a week. Somehow my employer at the University has decided
>>this is a good "academic" thing and is supporting this, so I feel all
>>"official." I don't know. Books will be dead cheap (I've got to move them 
>>-
>>you knew that was coming, right?) but the readings are free. And hey, I
>>intend to max out a credit card buying pitchers afterward. Seriously. 
>>Also,
>>if anyone has floorspace in Toronto or Chicago let me know. This was going
>>to be a family trip but looks like it's a solo thing now (a cost-efficient
>>idea - got the wife and kids' support but this is gonna be a bit intense 
>>for
>>young ones), so I find myself in need of floor space. I'll even bring my 
>>own
>>pillow and free books
>>a'plenty. I also make a mean coffee.
>>
>>Oh, and finally, there is a tour "pre-launch" radio show at 88.3 KXUA
>>radio from the University of Arkansas next Wed night at 9 pm CST. Fear 
>>not,
>>non Arkansans (which is what, all of you?) - it will be streamed on the 
>>net.
>>I'll get details for that in the next few days, but PLEASE, if you happen 
>>to
>>listen in, call and request. It's going to be a very loose show covering
>>what I feel is his key moments mixed in with some of the Summersteps'
>>tributes (including stuff off the new Corwood Variations handmade - I 
>>think
>>the "Om" is a must) and a few "Corwood influences" like Blind Willie
>>Johnson. This is going to be three hours long and something special 
>>indeed.
>>I'll also read a few short passages from the book.
>>
>>Whew! Okay, I've done it. Thanks for your patience (those who made it this
>>far) and I hope a few of you can make the readings. I think you all know 
>>the
>>great respect I have for this artist so please trust that I've put
>>TREMENDOUS effort in making this as good a story as possible, staying true
>>to the roots of Corwood Industries.I'm proud to say that I got the "thumbs
>>up" from Corwood last week in a lovingly detailed letter that gave what 
>>may
>>be the world's first lyric correction from the source: the opening passage
>>from "Niagra Blues" should read: "Sometimes go to Niagra/sometimes go the
>>grave/crazy 'bout your dreamer/crazy 'bout your dark night." And here, for
>>thirteen years, I've thought the "uh" after dream was an inflection. Wow.
>>
>>And again, any questions please send my way. As I said, more detailed maps
>>and such as we get closer to reading dates. Books will be for sale until
>>Single Cell Press is so tired of me they toss the rest in the ocean. 
>>Thanks
>>again for listening, all!
>>
>>Danen
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>jandek mailing list
>>jandek at mylist.net
>>http://mylist.net/listinfo/jandek
>>
>
>
>
>--
>www.spasmsproject.com
>www.livejournal.com/users/spasmsproject


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