Nathan "N.R."’s Comments (group member since Oct 28, 2012)

Nathan "N.R."’s comments from the William T Vollmann Central group.

From biblioklept, file extracts ::
'“He reportedly owns many guns and a flame-thrower” and Other Extracts from William Vollmann’s FBI File' ;;;;
http://biblioklept.org/2013/08/22/he-...

And the biblioklept file on The Myth of Vollmann:
http://biblioklept.org/2011/12/20/the...

Thanks to Friend Jonathan for bringing this breaking news to my attention. Vollmann's had an FBI file since 1990 (kiddie porn suspicion) ;; then became a Unabomber suspect ;;; and also a suspect for anthraxing through the post.

It begins with Bill's piece in Harpers :: http://harpers.org/archive/2013/09/li...

An NPR audio interview about the article ;; http://www.npr.org/2013/08/22/2143926...

And the link from the Gawker which Jonathan sent me :: http://gawker.com/how-the-fbi-decided...

Which is all quite apropo, given I've been reading Bill's thoughts about the Unabomber in Rising Up Rising Down.

I'm off to pick up a physy copy of that Harper's issue.

From Vollmann's point of view -- how's this for trivia? -- RURD is a continuation of his first two books, An Afghanistan Picture Show, Or, How I Saved the World (now in paperback from Melville) & You Bright and Risen Angels. In recent interviews in the German press, Bill has said that he could not have written Europe Central without having first written RURD.

Can we speak perhaps about a The Question of the Justification of Violence Tetralogy?

Thanks to Kris ::

Here's Melville House's promo video (Bill is a Video Star!!!) for Picture Show ::
http://www.mhpbooks.com/an-interview-...

But the slightly longer piece is here ::
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_-k4w...

LA Times book review of the newly released Melville House edition of An Afghanistan Picture Show :: http://www.latimes.com/features/books...

According to the amazon look-inside, the Melville edition has a new Introduction by Bill, as well as something called "Advertisement for the Revision." Any information about those revisions, Hadrian, will be welcome. I've not committed myself to the new edition just yet, but likely will.

Please read and Like Geoff's review of Expelled from Eden ::

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

The volume itself is to be had for very little $$$, according to my sources. Recommended.

Brain Pain has begun their reading of Fathers and Crows. It's not too late to join in with the reading, or if you've already read it, to follow and join in the discussions :: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

For those who have read or intend to read some of Vollmann's Love Trilogy, especially this one about Butterfly Boy, a film to be recommended, a triptych of prostitution in Thailand, Bangladesh and Mexico.

Whore's Glory ::

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1327628/?...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whores%2...
Trailer :: http://vimeo.com/28738387
Netfilx streamed it for me.

A coupla links concerning Bill's CoTangent Press work, collectors only, very $$$$ ::

abebooks search upon "cotangent vollmann" :: http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Searc...

His Grave of Lost Stories made it as #25 on the abe list of 25 Limited Editions to Remember :: http://www.abebooks.com/books/RareBoo...

Expensive Bill Books, including a photo from 1988 of Bill in a dress :: http://www.bibliopolis.com/main/books...

google images page for CoTangent Press :: https://www.google.com/search?q=cotan...

Jim wrote: "We'll be reading/discussing Fathers and Crows over in the Brain Pain group"

This message is approved and endorsed by William T Vollmann Central.

It is not necessary to have read The Ice-Shirt prior to Fathers and Crows.

Con McVeety wrote: "is there a softback version of Imperial I don't know about? "

Yes there is: http://www.amazon.com/Imperial-Willia... [should've been a two-volume pb, imho]

I'm still holding out for that day when McSweeney's finds Vollmann mobbed with fanboys&girls and reissues RURD (pb'd be fine, but slipcase please).

Welcome, Ellie. Hope to hear more from you both here and on BP's Vollmann Project. All Vollmann love is welcome here.

Hadrian wrote: "By chance, do you know of any of the expected differences between this and the new edition? I remember reading about a new foreword and actual photographs, but a revised timeline would also be nice. "

I had only made the (I hope wrong) assumption that it would be a straight off-set. Now I might have to put in an order for the new edition. Stands to reason that he might get some more stuff packed into it given the five years of rejection it experienced the first go round under publishers' confusion.

Geoff wrote: "I found this curious document browsing about just now:
http://www.melleragency.com/shared/de...
The description of the novel sounds quite enticing, though there is no info on public..."

Thanks for the link. I'm curious to see how his Dreams begin to work as they come closer to our present and become a little less "historical," less removed from the survivors who still live among us, reserved.

He already works the present into his Dreams, but the Ice-Shirt's present passages seemed a bit esoteric and the present passages from F&C were limited to the mostly museum at the beginning and a brief piece of identity and politics at the end (which reads much sharper after having read F&C than reading before the Crow text (which passage I had read prior in the Eden reader)).

I suspect it will be published on the same day as Coover's 1100 page big square thing, and Grass will probably exceed its page count.

Geoff wrote: "I wonder how readable the Jesuit relations are. In F&C the excerpts Vollmann has chosen are interesting, but I'm thinking that might have to do with context, within the book. On their own they might be DULL. "

I assume that they should be treated as archival material, ie, best left for phd candidates. But either of those volumes Richard linked appear to be potentially entertaining and edifying, edited with our short patience in mind. And but I wouldn't worry a rats ass over the Niagara Falls about spoilers in F&C. William the Blind will spoil things plenty fer ya.

OMG! Fantastic, Mala. thnksthnks so veryvery much!

Mala wrote: "Spooky! You got sixth sense or what? I just logged in & what do I see– this comment!
I think I noted down the names as they appeared but maybe not all. "

Heh heh. I had assumed you were already a member of this little group. Welcome! You are my current go-to reader for all things EC. I've just created a Soundtrack thread, so if you find you've got a Shosti list, please post something there for our edification (with or without links, no matter).

James wrote: "Starting my pre-reading of the The Sagas of Icelanders this weekend. I thought I would do the Preface by Smiley, Introduction by Kellogg, and the two Greenland Sagas."

For my reading pleasure, the Kellogg Intro was sufficient for making me feel less at sea in The Ice-Shirt; and then my plan was to turn it around and use The Ice-Shirt as an intro to the saga literature. Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to return to the sagas. Soon. But your plan sounds quite excellent. I think I'm gunna love the sagas when I get to them. WTVCentral member Brian has been reading the them just recently.

Geoff wrote: "Here is something that approaches a "review" of Fathers and Crows:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/..."

Thanks, Geoff. Not to be missed.

As any author worth salting, Vollmann's books have a little to do with music.

We would benefit, for instance, from a catalog of Shostakovitch pieces which turn up in Europe Central.