The Rumpus.net » Anna March

The Sunday Rumpus Review: Kino by Jürgen Fauth

Anna March — Sun, 05 May 2013 13:00:39 +0000

I’m a believer that the most important aspect of reading a book is what happens to the reader. I think that’s true of experiencing any art form—one’s experience of the art is what ultimately matters, not the critical interpretations of the work. So often a book, a movie, a film, a painting, impact us for only a moment. I’m an attentive reader, but often after a spell, I have only a warbled impression of a novel I’ve read. Whatever has happened to me in reading the book, if anything, is fleeting. The ones that stick, those are treasures beyond measure. We carry within us the novels we’ve loved. They become part of us and thereby change us, altering us forever more.

So it is with Jürgen Fauth’s Kino. It’s the one-year anniversary of its publication and for that whole year, I’ve been watching it on the hectic movie screen in my mind. I imagine it will always flicker there, for this exquisitely constructed novel endures.

Every good novel requires a treason of sorts to be appreciated. We must abandon that which we know and enter into a strange land that somehow resonates. We must go where the writer leads us and we do so willingly, we burn our flag, so hungry to be transported are we. Kino rewards us for our faith.

As Kino begins, we follow Mina Koblitz, a young, newly married American woman from the arrival of a mysterious film at her home in New York to Berlin (leaving her husband, hospitalized with dengue fever, behind) as she seeks to unravel the mystery of the film and her own history.

The silent film, The Tulip Thief, was made in the 1920’s by Mina’s grandfather, Klaus Koblitz, known as Kino, the German word for film. Kino’s films were thought to have been destroyed by the Nazis before Kino emigrated to the United States, but as Mina learns, nothing about Kino—his life or his films—is as it would seem.

For me, that’s the hinge on which the novel swings to brilliance. It’s an identity tale, really, asking big questions, seeking answers steeped in the very fabric of what it means to be human. How much of who someone is is “real” and how much is whatever story we believe about them? What is “real” anyway? If we believe something to be true, do the facts matter? Really? How much? How accurate is any memory and what shapes our recollections? Some reviewers have called this magnificent, swirling creation of Fauth’s a thriller and I agree, in the sense that it is indeed thrilling to be pushed by a new novel to consider such ideas. Especially when the ideas come packaged in such a sublime way as they do in Kino.

Kino is finely written with smart yet accessible language that moves us along at a steady clip through myriad scenes and richly rendered characters alongside historic figures like Joseph Goebbels and Leni Riefenstahl. The novel works in sections of Kino’s diary, adding to the complex rendering of the man as well as a deeper sense of questioning about the notion of reality versus perception. Fauth’s research is splendid and resplendent—the book offers us a rich slice of precise German history giving the character driven story a nuanced historical narrative as well as a serious meditation on the power of art to influence reality, in fact, become reality. When a friend asked me while I was reading the book what it was about I said, “Among other things, it’s about the idea that art is everything.” As Kino said in his journal, “Even when the Nazis burned my movies, I clung to hope. You have marked me crazy and yet you ask me to explain myself. Art will prevail! I’ll make another movie yet. Cinema cannot be detained!”

Kino is also a consideration of what endures and what gets lost—accidentally or purposefully—in translation and storytelling in any form. As Mina’s grandmother says about Kino’s films: “A screen doesn’t just show things, it also hides them.” When we translate between languages, cultures, generations, we have the power to illuminate—to share a work that was otherwise unknowable with an entirely new people. There is also tremendous power to change the story—to conceal secrets, to hide a controversial or inconvenient past, to leave the negative behind and only pass hagiography on to subsequent generations, or to eliminate aspects of history all together by never rendering them visible. At one point Kino’s son, Mina’s father, laments Mina’s quest: “Anything she wants to know about her grandfather, I can tell her. Anything at all…What else does she need to know?” Sometimes another’s interpretation is not enough. We need to find the story for ourselves, translate the facts for ourselves.

Kino is concerned both with what we translate and how we translate. With how both desire to share—or lack thereof—and technology shape us. In Kino, there is only one projector in existence that will allow Mina to view her grandfather’s film. Conveyance is fragile. If the medium disappears so does the message. Kino is, as much as anything, an allegory for our times. As technology advances, as the old world gives way to new, we have access to ever more material, and yet, too, we leave our histories behind. Our archives are at the same time ubiquitous and, in part, unknowable.

And so too is an individual in part, at least, unknowable. As the novel draws to a close, Mina is zipping through California and we finally learn that the truth of Kino is not in his telling of events, or in his films, or in the stories Mina has known of him or in the stories she has been told. We learn the truth and unravel the secrets along with Mina from an aggregation of the stories, the perspectives, the views. The complexity of her grandfather’s story, the contradictions, imbue us with a sense that wonder and endurance co-exist right alongside failure and near obscurity. The past doesn’t just linger; it’s right here with us. But nothing is as it seems, and maybe perspective is the only thing that allows any story to be told. Each and every one of us assembles our own reality through fragments of understanding. Perspective builds perspective. It takes a talented writer like Fauth to at once sharpen and widen our own perspective, as this book so aptly does.

Just as her grandfather paid dearly for his art, by the end of Kino, Mina has paid quite a life price to reclaim her grandfather—or has she? Magnificent questions linger, has art merely illuminated the truth of her life or has it truly cost her? Was it worth it? Is it ever? Is it always? The novel’s questions are resolved when the book ends, but the questions we ask ourselves because of it will go on, and in seeking their answers we are ever changed. As Kino changed the world, so too does Kino have the power to change us readers. Such is the magic of art. Such is Kino. Read it.

Aural Fixations, The Rumpus Mixtape #12: Hungover After A Bad Date

Anna March — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 18:40:09 +0000

All good dates are alike; all bad dates are bad in their own way. There’s the guy who sets your hair on fire while trying to go all Cary Grant and light your cigarette, there’s the woman who says she doesn’t like people who wear anything colored green. There’s the woman who gets drunk and throws up in your bed on the quilt your grandma made you. There’s the man who, on a first date, says, “I had sex earlier tonight with a hottie, but I’m ready to hit it again if you’re game.” There is the date who spends the whole night talking about his ex, and then says, “I still have her clothes in the closet, maybe you’d like to try them on sometime?” Sometimes a good date turns bad; sometimes a date that you manscaped for turns into a “We’d be better off as friends” kinda night.

For every type of bad date, there is a cocktail to wash away the agony. At home, late, after the misery ends, or in some cases, getting drunk while the date is underway is a perfectly reasonable strategy. I once spent a lovely evening with a miserable patent attorney who talked about his money for four hours. It didn’t matter – by the time we were finished with the evening I’d had a bottle of the greatest red wine I’ve ever had. A hangover the morning (or afternoon) after a bad date is a special kind of hell, though. The date was awful AND now the room is spinning, you need to puke, your tongue feels like sandpaper, your head is pounding like the drum kit in a jam band and your stomach hates you. Life isn’t fair and bad dates happen (and happen and happen). So, listen to this mix while you recover and swear off men/women and booze forever…it (and lots of water) will cure what ails you. (C. run time: 48:54; direct link for mobile access: http://8tracks.com/anna-march/hungover-after-a-bad-date/edit.)

Hungover After A Bad Date from anna march on 8tracks.

-1-

“Wish You Were Here”

Rasputina

The Lost & Found

-2-

“Death of the Party”

Keene Brothers

Blues and Boogie Shoes

-3-

“Sway”

The Rolling Stones

Sticky Fingers (Remastered)

-4-

“How It Comes To This”

Beth Amsel

A Musical Compilation To Benefit Tsunami Survivors

-5-

“All I Can”

Sharon Van Etten

Tramp

-6-

“License to Kill”

Elvis Costello

Chimes of Freedom – The Songs of Bob Dylan (Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International)

-7-

“Blood”

The Middle East

The Recordings of the Middle East – EP

-8-

“There Stands the Glass”

Ted Hawkins

The Next Hundred Years

-9-

“You Will Be Loved Again”

Mary Margaret O’Hara

Miss America

-10-

“Imaginary Ships” (Live)

Big Head Todd & The Monsters

Live At the Fillmore

-11-

“Stormy Weather”

Judy Garland

Judy At Carnegie Hall (Remastered)

No related posts…

Aural Fixations, The Rumpus Mixtape #11: Conversation Hearts

Anna March — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:43:28 +0000

Conversation Hearts

Two Words. Infinite Meanings. True Love. Missed Connections. 50% Divorce. First Date. Happy Nights. Sad Days. Star Crossed. Wedded Bliss. Bad Breakup. Holding Hands. Making Out. Great Sex. Poly Love. Gender Blind. Online Dating. Random Hookup. Passionate Kisses. Dirty Sex. Whispered Confessions. Secret Affairs. Unmade Beds. Broken Hearts. Undying Love. Sex Worker. Sacred Vows. Late Nights. Lingering Desires. Hotel Sex. Craig’s List. Red Lipstick. Body Parts. Together Forever. Fractured Fairytale. Say Anything. Play On. (C. run time: 48:48; direct link for mobile access: http://8tracks.com/anna-march/conversation-hearts .)

Conversation Hearts from anna march on 8tracks.

-1-
“Jackson (Live)”
Johnny Cash
At Folsom Prison (Live)

-2-
“Love Is Strange”
Mickey & Sylvia
Dirty Dancing (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

-3-
“Anyone Else But You”
Various Artists & The Moldy Peaches
Murderball

-4-
“Ohio”
Kent Schoch
Ohio

-5-
“Chuck E’s In Love”
Rickie Lee Jones
The Duchess of Coolsville

-6-
“Everything Trying”
Damien Jurado
The Dilemma (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

-7-
“Giving Up”
Ingrid Michaelson
Be OK

-8-
“Wake Up (Next to You)”
Graham Parker
Steady Nerves

-9-
“Mary Anne”
Marshall Crenshaw
This Is Easy: The Best of Marshall Crenshaw

-10-
“Button Up Your Overcoat”
Ruth Etting
Bring On the Girls 1926-1934

-11-
“Train In Vain (Stand by Me)”
The Clash
Story of the Clash, Volume 1 (Disc 1)

-12-
“Two Cousins” (Acoustic Version) [Bonus Track]
Slow Club
Paradise (Deluxe Edition)

-13-
“A Wonderful Guy”
Mary Martin and The Women’s Chorus
South Pacific – The Original Broadway Cast

-14-
“Send In The Clowns”
Frank Sinatra
The Very Good Years

Aural Fixations, The Rumpus Mixtape #10: Making a Pie

Anna March — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:11:09 +0000

Making a Pie (Instructions for Pie and Life)

1. The act of reading poetry is a fine thing to incorporate. Begin, say, with Cornelius Eady’s “Gratitude” and take it from there.

2. Clean surfaces at the start are good for everyone and can only enhance goodness.

3. However, making a mess while going along is expected and encouraged. Virtually everything can be restored to order.

4. Working out the kinks: a good thing.

5. Bouncing around, or at least dancing, are thoughtful additions to process.

6. Strive for perfection, but know that this is a life’s work and, if you’re lucky, your vision will just barely exceed your grasp.

7. Don’t burn.

8. A la mode is never a bad idea.

9. Savor.

(C. run time: 54:24; direct link for mobile access: http://8tracks.com/anna-march/making-a-pie .)

Making a Pie from anna march on 8tracks.

-1-

“Holnolulu Blues”

Craig Finn

Honolulu Blues – Single

-2-

“South Side”

Moby

Play & Play: B Sides

-3-

“As Is”

Ani DiFranco

Little Plastic Castle

-4-

“Lust for Life”

Iggy Pop

Lust for Life

-5-

“Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1”

The Flaming Lips

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

-6-

“Goodbye Stranger”

Supertramp

Breakfast in America (Remastered)

-7-

“Dog Days Are Over”

Florence + The Machine

Lungs

-8-

“A Drowning”

How to Destroy Angels

How to Destroy Angels – EP

-9-

“Civilization (Bongo, Bongo, Bongo)”

Ennio Morricone

Lolita (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)

-10-

“You’re a Winner”

Wild Ones

You’re a Winner – EP

-11-

“She Moves In Secret Ways”

Polly Paulusma

Scissors In My Pocket

-12-

“All Through Cryin’”

James Hunter

People Gonna Talk

**Please note that this mix will random generate after your first listen in order to accommodate copyright agreements.**

Aural Fixations, The Rumpus Mixtape #9: Chilly Scenes of Winter

Anna March — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:21:27 +0000

You can see the architecture of things in winter.

Structures glisten. Naked trees drip with clear popsicles. We find ourselves alone with ourselves. Everyone else has gone away to someplace warmer/better/more fun or else they are tucked indoors. Even when you live in a relatively warm place, winter still haunts. Chilly scenes, indeed. Deep freezes. A glaze crackled over every surface. Bright blizzard whites. Snow drifts. Flannel pajamas. Nights that last too long and are far too quiet. Winter is about longing and unrequited and freezing. Belle and Sebastian sing of the “solitary cell of your mind,” and that’s winter. You know who your friends are in winter. It’s not picnics and days at the lake. It’s heavy coats and lost mittens. Scratchy blankets and the smell of wet wool. And yet, Blake told us to enjoy the winter. Probably good advice.

More than we remember stays green all winter long. There’s something under there, buried under all that muck. Our job is to tease it out; sharpen our gaze to locate it underneath the melting slush and extra blankets. Winter is about finding what saves us, what keeps us company most. We lose ourselves a bit in the cold; yet can find ourselves if we want–find what survives, what endures. The finest work human beings can do is to manufacture hope. Winter gives us a canvas and a reason to do so. We must remind ourselves to revel in the majesty of the cold, the brittle wonder of an ice storm. Go ahead now, mix another hot toddy, figure out how you are going to scrape together the money for the raging electric bill, button up your overcoat … and enjoy this wintry mix. (C. run time: 47:42; direct link for mobile access: http://8tracks.com/anna-march/chilly-scenes-of-winter.)

Chilly Scenes of Winter

from anna march on 8tracks.

-1-

“Misspent Youth”

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Hysterical

-2-

“The Boy With the Arab Strap”

Belle and Sebastian

The Boy With the Arab Strap

-3-

“Trans-Continental Hustle”

Gogol Bordello

Trans-Continental Hustle

-4-

“She Left Home” (Instrumental)

Jane Birkin

Arabesque

-5-

“Knee Deep At The NPL”

Camera Obscura

Underachievers Please Try Harder

-6-

“Cold & Wet”

Bonnie “Prince” Billy

The Letting Go

-7-

“’Round About Midnight”

Miles Davis

Highlights From The Plugged Nickel

-8-

“Your Love” (The Outfield Cover)

Bon Iver

Bon Iver Covers

-9-

“Moonlight Mile”

The Rolling Stones

Sticky Fingers (Remastered)

-10-

“World Keeps Turning”

Tom Waits

Orphans

**Please note that this mix will random generate after your first listen in order to accommodate copyright agreements.**

Aural Fixations, the Rumpus Mixtape #8: Van Gogh

Anna March — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:13:06 +0000

Van Gogh … beauty that breaks your heart.

Vincent painting images that he had to view through the bars of the asylum. Vincent eating his paints.Writing all those hundreds of letters to his brother Theo, writing “First I dream my paintings then I paint my dream.” The ear thing. Named after his stillborn brother, he was dead at 37. All those masterpieces, painted in only 10 years.

The sunflower series, painted to decorate the room he made for Gaugain while waiting for Gaugain to visit him in Arles. Loving the prostitutes, sharing his food with them. Kicked out of the ministry because he refused to live in the parsonage, opting instead to reside with the coal miners he was sent to assist. Crows. Wheat fields. Self-portraits. He didn’t romanticize being poor, he wanted to earn a living from his art, that sometimes gets lost in the mythos. He lived his life in frequent despair, yet inspires hope in so many artists, and encourages them to follow their passions. He’s the punch line — no matter how messed up your life might seem, you aren’t as crazed as Van Gogh; no matter how much you are sacrificing on behalf of your art, it’s not as much as Vincent. The moral of the Van Gogh story? Imagine, dream, persevere, work harder than you thought you could work, and, in the end, paint your own sky. (C. run time: 53:42; direct link for mobile access: http://8tracks.com/anna-march/van-gogh.)

Van Gogh from anna march on 8tracks.

“Visions of Johanna”

Bob Dylan

Blonde On Blonde

-2-

“Our Swords”

Band of Horses

Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [Deluxe Edition]

-3-

“My Blue Heaven”

Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra

Swingsation: Jimmie Lunceford

-4-

“It’s Oh So Quiet”

Björk

Post

-5-

“A Letter to Elise”

The Cure

Paris (Live)

-6-

“Vincent Van Gogh”

Jonathan Richman

Not So Much to Be Loved As to Love

-7-

“Bridges and Balloons”

Joanna Newsom

The Milk-Eyed Mender

-8-

“Flowers in December”

Mazzy Star

Among My Swan

-9-

“Rebel Rebel”

David Bowie

Diamond Dogs

-10-

“Polish Girl”

Neon Indian

Era Extraña

-11-

“Sunflowers”

Sam Behymer

Heartmouth

-12-

“Misgiving”

Tullycraft

Every Scene Needs a Center

-13-

“Stay Alive”

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

**Please note that this mix will random generate after your first listen in order to accommodate copyright agreements.**

Aural Fixations, The Rumpus Mixtape #7: Revelry

Anna March — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:39:04 +0000

Revelry. A raw expression of joy. Delight. It’s loud, laughing, possibly bawdy, frequently boozy. It’s unexpected, a height you can’t plan. It’s sparkly, warm, merry. It’s one more drink, a round for the whole table, thank you very much. It’s laughing at the past, celebrating the riches of right now, it’s in the moment. It’s tonight’s friends, the band on stage right now, today’s acceptance letter, no worries about the piles of laundry and bills and cranky bosses that will meet you tomorrow. Manufactured grace. Easy light. It might be fleeting, but it’s here now. Savor. To do: pop another bite into your mouth, take another sip, stay in bed a little longer, have sex one more time, laugh louder, strike up the band. (C. run time: 46:02; direct link for mobile access: http://8tracks.com/anna-march/revelry/edit.)

-1-

“Strange Angels”

Laurie Anderson

Strange Angels

-2-

“You Yes You”

Tune-Yards

Whokill

-3-

“Last Night”

The Strokes

Is This It?

-4-

“Orange Crush”

R.E.M.

Green

-5-

“Here’s Where the Story Ends”

The Sundays

Reading, Writing & Arithmetic

-6-

“7 Stars”

The Apples In Stereo

New Magnetic Wonder

-7-

“Cannonball”

The Breeders

Rhino Hi-Five: Modern Rock Blender – EP

-8-

“Love In My Pocket”

VHS Or BETA

Bring On the Comets

-9-

“Mr. Big Stuff”

Jean Knight

Mr. Big Stuff

-10-

“Girl”

Das Racist

Relax

-11-

“Road to Nowhere”

Talking Heads

Little Creatures (Remastered)

-12-

“A Sunday Smile”

Beirut

The Flying Club Cup

-13-

“When the Saints Go Marching In” (Live)

Mahalia Jackson

The Essential Mahalia Jackson

**Please note that this mix will random generate after your first listen in order to accommodate copyright agreements.**

Aural Fixations, The Rumpus Mixtape #6: Drinking Red Wine

Anna March — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:20:23 +0000

There are picnics where people discuss how long the potato salad can be out in the heat and there are picnics where people discuss Wittgenstein. At Wittgenstein picnics, the people are drinking red wine.

White wine is a kiss; red wine is sex. You can imagine Simone de Beauvoir with red wine in her Paris apartment. Red wine is paired in your mind with people in love, depressed creatures, women in vintage slips, men who write poetry and couples drinking “three-buck chuck.”

M.F.K. Fisher said, “I can no more think of my own life without thinking of wine and where they grew for me and why I drank them when I did … than I can remember living before I breathed.” Crossing the lowlands of your own memory you may find red wine everywhere and recall disparate memories. The little table in the corner of that restaurant in Brooklyn where you had that first date by which all other first dates are measured. Napa, where you saw the gentle hills all purple for the first time, never knowing there were so many variations of violet to be found in nature. The first time you read Garcia Lorca as an undergrad. The dusty spot in Chile where the wine came in a cloth bag and dripped into warm glasses. The first time you fucked the first person who read you Henry Miller and Anais Nin. The afternoon you skipped class and contemplated whether you were going to get that MFA or a real job — thanks to the wine, the MFA won. We offer this mix as you uncork a bottle, raise a glass, imagine, recall, have sex or maybe go on a Wittgenstein picnic. (C. run time: 42:18; direct link for mobile access: http://8tracks.com/anna-march/drinking-red-wine.)

-1-
“Dead Hearts”
Stars
The Five Ghosts & The Séance

-2-
“Good Arms Vs. Bad Arms”
Frightened Rabbit

The Midnight Organ Fight

-3-
“Hesitating Beauty”
Billy Bragg & Wilco
Mermaid Avenue

-4-
“I Fall To Pieces”
Patsy Cline
12 Greatest Hits

-5-
“I Thought About You”
Frank Sinatra
The Heart Of The Matter

-6-
“I Want to Be Left to My Own Devices”
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Unknown Mortal Orchestra

-7-
“I’m a Lonely Little Petunia”
Imogen Heap
Six Feet Under: Everything Ends, Vol. 2 (Music from the HBO Original Series)

-8-
“It’s Only a Paper Moon”
Nat “King” Cole
The World of Nat King Cole

-9-
“The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side”
The Magnetic Fields
69 Love Songs

-10-
“Mon Dieu” (1961)
Edith Piaf
Edith Piaf

-11-
“The Picture”
Son Volt
The Search (Deluxe Version)

-12-
“Sleeps With Butterflies” (iTunes Sessions Version)
Tori Amos
Tori Amos – EP

-13-
“Un bel di vedremo” (Madama Butterfly, Puccini)
Maria Callas
La Voix du Siecle

**Please note that this mix will random generate after the first listen in order to accommodate copyright agreements.**

Aural Fixations, The Rumpus Mixtape #5: Maudlin

Anna March — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 20:48:29 +0000

Maudlin: a feeling we don’t so much encounter as create. A sad place with funereal bits and a ladle of self-pity. Darker than Fitzgerald’s dark night of the soul, it is a place far past despair. A solitary dwelling, ourselves awash in squid ink. Maudlin is heavy, creaking, internal. It escapes conveyance, though we ourselves can see and feel it. Fear. Lost in the undertow.

Maudlin is a solitary dwelling; we are alone in it. Our whole selves seem to be draped with black crepe. There may be no stars, but there’s always music. Music to fit our mood, to keep us company. We curl inward and just let the music in. Maudlin won’t last forever, but when it hits, this mix is here. (C. run time: 58:12.)

-1-

“Tonight”

TV On the Radio

Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) – EP

-2-

“Ballerina”

Leona Naess

Leona Naess

-3-

“Jacksonville Skyline”

Whiskeytown

Pneumonia

-4-

“Bridge Over Troubled Water”

Roberta Flack

Rhino Hi-Five: Roberta Flack, Vol. 2 – EP

-5-

“Fairytale of New York”

The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl

The Best of the Pogues

-6-

“My Mom”

Chocolate Genius

Black Music

-7-

“Sometimes It Snows in April”

Prince

Parade (Music from the Motion Picture Under the Cherry Moon)

-8-

“Don’t Wake the Scarecrow”

The Felice Brothers

The Felice Brothers

-9-

“Famous Blue Raincoat”

Jennifer Warnes

Famous Blue Raincoat: 20th Anniversary Edition

-10-

“Pale Blue Eyes”

The Velvet Underground

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Original Soundtrack)

-11-

“St. James Infirmary”

Louis Armstrong

The Best of the Hot 5 & Hot 7 Recordings

**Please note that this mix will random generate after the first listen in order to accommodate copyright agreements.**

Aural Fixations, The Rumpus Mixtape #4: Reading Didion

Anna March — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:49:15 +0000

Great writers wound us.

Their words cut into our bodies; their ideas become notions of ourselves. Cue Joan Didion. She stitches sentences through your brain. You emerge exhausted and charged — agreeing, disagreeing and questioning. Reading Didion invites a conjuring of her.

Wounded by her you know this: this world is going to require more of us than we believe we can summon, then more and yet still more. Picture a day–maybe it’s your last day to live–how would you know? Maybe it’s raining. Maybe the Santa Ana winds are blowing. We slouch, keep secrets and hide our true confessions. The world is cold comfort; the world is all there is. We are a people; we are a blot of individuals. It is all either dazzling, dizzying sun or pouring rain. There are few gentle mists in Didion’s world. For that, we are grateful. Read on.

The player is embedded here, but here’s also a direct link for mobile devices. (Circa run time: 54:12.)

-1-
“Tangled Up in Blue”
Bob Dylan
Blood on the Tracks

-2-
“Breakers”
Gem Club
Breakers

-3-
“All the Way From America”
Joan Armatrading
Me Myself, I

-4-
“Heights of Diamond”
Adam Haworth Stephens
We Live on Cliffs

-5-
“California Dreamin’”
The Mamas & the Papas
The Mamas & the Papas Greatest Hits

-6-
“Malibu”
Hole
Celebrity Skin

-7-
“Again”
Etta James
Etta James: Love Songs

-8-
“Montana”
Youth Lagoon
The Year of Hibernation

-9-
“Dear Prudence”
The Beatles
The Beatles (White Album)

-10-
“Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home”
Sinéad O’Connor
Am I Not Your Girl?

-11-
“Slouching Towards Bethlehem”
Joni Mitchell
Night Ride Home

-12-
“Miami”
Al Jolson
Al Jolson Fifty Favourites

-13-
“Thank You for Your Love”
Antony & the Johnsons
Thank You for Your Love – EP

**Please note that this mix will random generate after the first listen in order to accommodate copyright agreements.**

The Rumpus.net » Anna March

The Sunday Rumpus Review: Kino by Jürgen Fauth

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Aural Fixations, The Rumpus Mixtape #12: Hungover After A Bad Date

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Aural Fixations, The Rumpus Mixtape #11: Conversation Hearts

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Aural Fixations, The Rumpus Mixtape #10: Making a Pie

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Aural Fixations, The Rumpus Mixtape #9: Chilly Scenes of Winter

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Aural Fixations, the Rumpus Mixtape #8: Van Gogh

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