Tosh Berman's Blog, page 252

Update on Michel Gondry's "Mood Indigo" and the 3 translated versions of L'écume des jours

I don't have that much information about Michel Gondry's  film version of Boris Vian's "L'écume des jours except that they're cutting over 30 minutes out of the film for the international market.   And at this moment there's no release date for the U.S. 

The English language title of the film is "Mood Indigo," which was the original translated title by John Sturrock for Grove Press in the U.S.  There was another translation around the same time in the U.K. by Stanley Chapman called "Froth On The Daydream."   Both are out of print, but the Chapman translation will be published in the U.S. by FSG in 2014.  There might be some confusion because that edition will be titled like the film "Mood Indigo."  But do keep in mind Chapman's original title for his translation.

Meanwhile my press, TamTam Books, published Brian Harper's translation of L'écume des jours titled "Foam Of The Daze."   The book comes with detailed endnotes regarding the issues of translation as well as facts about Vian regarding his life during the writing of this book, as well as on the people he knew that shows up in the fictional novel.   "Foam Of The Daze"  is in print and you can get it at your favorite bookstore as well as online shops.

"The Collected Writings Of Joe Brainard" by Joe Brainard

Joe Brainard may be my favorite writer.  As I was reading "The Collected Writings of Joe Brainard" I didn't want the book to end, and its over 500 pages.  What strikes me the most brilliant aspect of Brainard is that he's not overly writer-like, but just naturally breathes as a writer.  He is mostly famous for his "I Remember" which is an unique form of memoir writing, that to this day is taught by writing teachers.  It is an effective way to open up the writing process, but in the hands (and mind) of Brainard, it's a work of genius.

The beauty of his work, including his artwork, which he's equally known for as well, is how simple he describes a piece of literature, art, or just commenting on day-to-day journals.  But that 'simple' is quite complex and there is something very organic in the way he processes his subject matters to the readers or viewers.   He is sometimes beyond zen, for instance "Short Story"

"Ten years ago I left home to go to the city and strike it big.  But the only thing that was striking was the clock as it quickly ticked away my life."

Or his little prose piece "Ron Padgett"

"Ron Padgett is a poet.  He always has been a poet and he always will be a poet.  I don't know how a poet becomes a poet.  And I don't think anyone else does either. It is something deep and mysterious inside of a person that cannot be explained.  It is something that no one understands.  it is something that no one will ever understand.  I asked Ron Padgett once how it came about that he was a poet, and he said, "I don't know.  It is something deep and mysterious inside of me that cannot be explained.""

Brainard is one of the great critics as well as a prose stylist.  He writes like a visual artist who is extremely talented in giving the reader a picture.  It's interesting that he never wrote a novel, because it seems that was one of his favorite literary formats.  But again, the narration is not the key, but the way he observes his world, and it is a fascinating world.  He was close the New York School Poets and the painters around that scene.  His observations are fresh and non-cliché, it is almost like looking at the world for the first time.  But looking at it with intelligence, great wit, and telling the tale in a very uncomplicated manner.

The Library of America should get a nice pat on the back for publishing this book, and also extra stars to Paul Auster for writing an interesting introduction, and most of all to the skills of fellow poet Ron Padgett for editing Joe's writings.  This book is a must for those who write, and for those interested in 1960's/1970's Manhattan art culture.  In other words, the book is a keeper, and I'll never loan it out.

The Two Sparks' Titles That I'm Involved With

One book, "Sparks-Tastic" I wrote and the other I published.  And right now and strange enough, these are the only copies i have at the moment.   More of "In The Words Of Sparks" will come either tomorrow or the next day (as David Bowie would say).

The Two Sparks' Titles That I Involved With

One book, "Sparks-Tastic" I wrote and the other I published.  And right now and strange enough, these are the only copies i have at the moment.   More of "In The Words Of Sparks" will come either tomorrow or the next day (as David Bowie would say).

Detailed Images of "In The Words Of Sparks... Selected Lyrics" F

Left is hand written lyrics by Russell and right is hand written lyrics by Ron

"Whippings and Apologies" and its handwritten lyrics by Ron Mael
"In The Words Of Sparks... Selected Lyrics" is designed by Mark Holley.   Also the photographs above of the book are by Mark as well.   As a long-term Sparks' fan this is probably one of the most proud moments for me as a publisher.  From Boris Vian to Serge Gainsbourg to Guy Debord to Gilles Verlant's great biography on Gainsbourg and later Jacques Mesrine's prison memoir.  And now an original work  from Sparks, and to add, an introduction by Morrissey.  TamTam Books is a dream that came true.  Thank you readers!

Jacques Mesrine's "Death Instinct"

Right now reading the manuscript of Jacques Mesrine's "Death Instinct" translated by Catherine Texier and edited by Robert Greene, who wrote "48 Laws Of Power" among other bestsellers.  Robert also will be writing an introduction to this book as well. Hopefully "Death Instinct"will come out the fall of 2014 through my press TamTam Books.

In many ways it is coming to a full circle, due that Robert translated Guy Debord's "Considerations on the Assassination of Gérard Lebovici" and this book in a sense came out of that book.  Which I will explain later.

"The Conductor and Other Tales" by Jean Ferry (Translated by Claude Ballaré)

Wakefield Press Distributed by D.A.P. ISBN: 978-1-939663-01-6


The most obscure of the obscure, and will probably stay obscure, but not to the fault of the great pubishing house Wakefield Press.  Hardcore Surrealist narratives by Jean Ferry, a name that maybe familiar if one follows the world of the Collége de Pataphysique and Surrealist texts.  This collection of short stories was admired by Andre Breton and was originally a limited edition of 100 copies.  And now we can read this rarity and marvel to Ferry's mix of humor and dread.  
Not hard to believe that Ferry wrote numerous books on Raymond Roussel in French, because one can see the influence in his own fictional writings.  These stories are very slight, but also very important with respect to the culture that it came from.  Which is the avant-garde French literary world, that also leaks into French cinema as well.  Ferry wrote scripts for both Luis Bunuel and Henri-Georges Clouzot, so I think he was a man at the right place, with the right people and at the right time.    The stories themselves are not essential, but having and reading this is actually a very important part of the puzzle.   20th Century French literature is a large spider with its webs going towards different directions and areas.  Here is one map one should own and read.

Tosh Berman's Music Collection

For the past few months I have been obsessively going over my music collection and documenting it.  Both vinyl and CD's.  At the moment I am concentrating on actual music that is in my collection, both the good and the bad.

What I do is write a brief commentary on each album.  I go by each artist in alphabetical order, and strange enough another version of a memoir comes up.  As I write, I know I'll change things as I get to the finish.  I have 1,250 albums, so it will take me awhile to finish up this little side project.

I made a special blog for this project.  Do visit it time-to-time.  I try to add something everyday.  You can find it here:  http://toshberman.blogspot.com

"Mumbai New York Scranton" by Tamara Shopsin

A combination of travel journal and tales from the hospital bed, and it's superb.  It is not only the adventure, but the way Tamara Shopsin's tells the tale.  She writes with minimal sentences, but with maximum meaning.   Her travels through out India captures not only the country, but also her personality and how she perceives that experience in such an enlightened manner.  Tamara and her husband the noted (and fantastic) photographer Jason Fulford go to India with a pair of fresh eyes (her's) and a desire to return to an area or memory (his).  Fulford noticed the changes, and Shopsin sees India on a first time basis.  I really identify with this because I have taken friends to places that i greatly admired, but either the place has changed or I have changed, and I wasn't aware of it.

There is physical traveling and then there is mental travel, and both are conveyed quite well in this book.  Shopsin noticed that she was feeling ill in India but thought it was due to the traveling, but it was something serious.  But this is not a woe me story, but an adventure narrative of sorts, and I started reading it this morning and i couldn't put it down till I finished.  The book also has images by Fulford, which if you know his work, is quite mysterious as well as witty.  He is the perfect traveling companion and his documentation of the trip is wonderful.  But we also get Shopsin's illustration through out the book, and she is known for her drawings for publications such as the New York Times.  Her imagery is great as drawings, but also in words.  A great upbeat book.

Georges Perec and the OULIPO "Winter Journeys" Atlas Press

Atlas Press, distributed by D.A.P. ISBN 9781900565646 There is nothing more fun than reading a literary work that is about books. Or the idea of books, and how it can lead to an adventure. The OULIPO group that was originally formed by Raymond Queneau is such a group that reads and writes book that becomes a game or even an quasi-science project. Georges Perec is considered the Shakespeare of the group, and therefore he leads the race with this specific book "Winter Journeys." Which, in return has caused a series of little books by writers in the OULIPO group that either continue or expand or just comments on Perec's original piece.


Perec writes of a writer named Hugo Vernier who wrote a book called "The Winter Journey" which book is before everyone else's great book. in fact his writing is the key book of avant-garde literature. Except no one has really seen it, but they have heard of it. Like a chain-letter, the various writers in Perec's world, continue the adventure of this book and what became of it or if even found.  So what we have here is really a book about literature and how powerful it is as an object, or a collection of ideas. Bibliophile galore!


For those who either tipped their toes in the OULIPO world or are full-time addicts to its games and fun, this is the book to get. Also, strange enough the key graphic aspect of the book is done by the guy who originally illustrated Raymond Roussel's great "Impression of Africa." You see everything links up. Not a paranoid conspiracy but fact!