Kathy's Genius

Berkeley Barb, July 4 - 10, 1975 Page 13 Kathy's Genius writer this far into the seven Kathy addresses herself to the that schizophrenia is a more ties, and it's too strong to ever problem of truth and fabrica valid way for me to reach an be popular. tion in the most direct and other person, than the rigidity Kathy's publisher sent me her challenging way I've come of identity, the rigid mind-iden book with only one promotional across. She takes a character tity structures, I have some quote, by Fielding Daw son. created by another writer, and what non - consciously been 'There is a young woman writ retells the story imagining her dealing with and through." ing on the West Coast who has self as the main character, until Contemporary writing is in a received noi attention at all. Her the line separating her life and stage of upheaval, and writers name is Kathy Acker....She is, the character's becomes blurr literally, the wildest writer go must be judged by how well they ed virtually beyond recognition. destroy and reinvent language, ing...Her prose is direct, fast, In Andrei's book, he is osten character, and reality itself. sexy, hot, horny, furiously sibly presenting us with an edit In Life & Times, Andrei's honest,' tender and very, very ed version of his memory ."Con language is straightforward and / funny ... Insofar as I can see, sequently, every thing he pre unambiguous, with an occa she's the dark horse in Ameri sents comes to the reader with sional ejaculation in upper case. can Lit. Not for fame, but for a built-in question of credibi In Childlike Life, Kathy's lang influence. Originality. Sheer lity. (Could his first wife.Kira, uage is often incredibly free and voice. Guts." really have been as fabulous a inventive, as in section #6, Only one voice Tor Kathy, but person as she's portrayed? where she confuses herself with a particularly important one. Then how could he leave her, the Marquis De Sade: "Squish Fielding Dawson is the author even to get out of the draft?) out the gushy stuff out of my of Franz Kline: An Emotional Kathy doesn't present me ass yum roll around o yes lean Memoir (Pantheon), which com mory, she uses it as a creative, orgasm o yes. Goo goo goo goo. bines personal reminiscences tool, plays with it, experiments I'm remaking myself proud." of his fellow artist and teach with it. So what he says Andrei's use of character er with painfully honest, almost doesn't have to be true, but tends to be rigid, even when he confessional, revelations about when it is there's an added re writes as characters other than himself and the milieu he and sonance. Here's what Kathy himself, as in his book License Kline and Jackson Pollock shar says about her memory experi to Carry a Gun. Kathy's char-: ed. The result is a picture of ments: "Divide my remember THE LIFE AND TIMES OF AN Assistant Promo Person to that acters are extremely fluid, Kline much truer and deeper ing, for functional purposes, sometimes even changing sex INVOLUNTARY GENIUS, by An- end. But the proof of stardom is than a conventional biography into three processes: learning, in the product,and in mid-sentence, giving rise to drei Codrescu (George Brazil- Andrei's new could get. retention, recall. Can only test the kind of dynamic confusion ler, Inc.) 1975 book, The Life & Times of an The essence of where con retention through recall. Ex Burroughs generates. THE CHILDLIKE LIFE OF Involuntary Genius, doesn't temporary writing finds itself periment: simultaneously (1) Andrei's approach to reality THE BLACK TARANTULA, by quite have what it takes. right now is in this exploration recall memories about myself. is fundamentally conventional, Kathy Acker (Viper's Tongue At the same time Andrei's of the essential nature of I base my identity, my sense of and he preserves the unities of Books) 1975 book was getting its big promo "truth" and of fabrication. myself, on these memories. space and time. Kathy fractures push, his friend Kathy Dawson writes poetry and bio Loren Means Acker I am myself, not other people. the space/time continuum con had her first book published by graphy and autobiography, and "(2) Learn by copying some stantly, destroying the essential George Braziller, Inc., the the very obscure Viper's Ton the three are indistinguishable one else's memories. Change ground of being, so you never folks who publish Andrei Co- gue Books of New York. Kathy from each other. Andrei's new the third person (third person know where you are with her, drescu's books, call him "one has been doing radio shows for book is his autobiography, but in relation to myself) of the book the essential location is con of this country's best known and KPOO and KPFA under the he writes about himself in the to first person: therefore, learn stantly knocked out from under, most powerful young poets." pseudonym of the Black Taran third person, and there's al new facts about myself. My and you grope careening into But if you haven't heard of tula, and her book is called The ways a feeling of fabrication identity is also based on these the void. him, don't feel too deprived Childlike Life of the Black Ta overriding. Bukowski calls his memories. Are all my identities So Andrei will probably be a that'y^ just publisher's hype. rantula. The book was written character Chinaski, but he ad valid? Are all these memories star his work is fun, and Braziller would love Andrei to in the middle of 1973 and ori mits, "Like Chinaski, my valid? How can I tell which me doesn't threaten. And Kathy will "become a Poet Star, and have ginally issued in six chapbooks shorts were hanging down in the mories/identities of myselfare probably remain as she is him a tot of advance bread in a very limited edition. It's rain, I screamed at old women, valid, and which aren't? pissed off and brilliant, and so his own West Coast Under the most exciting book by anew I was a mess out there." "Experiment suggests to me scary. is a disaster but not nearly as for one of the great creators of grotesque as what followed our times has never been ex 'Ayler's Apocalyptic Sound NEW GRASS, MUSIC IS THE plained to anyone's remote sat HEALING FORCE OF THE UNI isfaction. Some say his death was VERSE, arid LAST ALBUM. I suicide, motivated by depression by Duck Baker WITCHES AND DEVILS is a ful ly- the company of Murray and bas still remember my shock (shared over various personal problems, realized creation, demonstrating sist Gary Peacock, and the same by others) when I first saw Love among them his inability to re Albert Ayler is one of the pi dramatically what a strong and group plus trumpeter Don Cherry Cry in a record store, grabbed concile the beautiful world his votal figures of twentieth century unique conception Ayler posses made VIBRATIONS a few months it, took it home and put it on. I music spoke of so vividly with music. His music represents the sed. later. The music on these parti think that that record, along with the "realities" of the Great So final stage in the development of In many ways, Ayler's music cular records are beyond criti Pharoah Saunder's anemic Kar ciety. Others, who cannot recon "jazz" into an all-inclusive, uni was the most extreme to come cism, in my mind. There is no ma, made me aware of the change cile the idea of suicide by such versal folk music. As of 1975, for out of the revolution fostered way in the world anyone can add in the jazz world following Col an incredibly vital purveyor of all the expansions of contempor primarily by the work of Ornette to the perfectly articulate sounds trane's death in 1967. the life force as Albert Ayler, ary music achieved by The Art Coleman and Cecil Taylor in the on these records; they are com Whether, as has been alleged, have been inclined to accept the Ensemble, Anthony Braxton, and late fifties (Sun Ra's unsubstan parable to whatever summit of Impulse's determination to make possibility that Ayler was mur the British school, nothing has tiated claims regardless). Ayler musical expression you might pop stars out of their artists was dered. come forth to compare in inten took the folk-like "primitive" refer -- Parker's Dials,Oliver's responsible for the change in the As a Washington D.C. musi sity to the apocalyptic outpour approach of Ornette to it's ulti Gennets, Sun Ra's Heliocen output of Ayler, Shepp and Saun- cian, Bishop Brock, told me, ings of Ayler during his peak mate conclusion; even Ornette tric Worlds, Boulez's Marteau ders, or the absence of Coltrane "Man, you know who killed Al period ten years ago. VIBRA makes some use of chords in his Sans Maitre, Beethovens last as a guiding influence, or the bert Ayler. He was a revolution TIONS, formerly GHOSTS on the improvising -- although it is the quartets, whatever. _ sincere desire of these men to ary force, and the people on the hard-to-find Dutch Fontana label, most basic kind of use. Ayler The other two ESP records reach more people was respon other side knew it." Maybe they is one of Ayler's greatest rec abandons chords and even note- under Ayler's name, Spirits.

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