I watched Jay McInerney on Morning Joe
plugging his book of new and collected
short stories, How It Ended. Is he the one
who wrote Less Than Zero? No, that was
Bret
Big City. What was I doing in the ’80s?
The ’70s, for that matter. Working as a laborer.
Also on was the editor of Time magazine,
explaining this week’s cover picture.
An Afghan woman with her nose cut off
by the Taliban. Television is about
Time magazine. But is a book of stories
about being on the television? About the media?
About literary form? Is a book of poems a fiction novel?
Mary Karr won a Whiting Award. A friend’s agent said,
“Write me a proposal, I’ll get you a book contract for
a memoir. Stories about growing up.” She says she did it
because she needed a car. I need a car. And a room air-conditioner.
And an automatic dishwasher. And a better computer. A faster Internet
connection. This dial-up modem is holding me back.
I am falling behind. Failing by degrees.
Sinking in quicksand.
I’m up to my eyes
in lies and bullshit.
Commercial advertisements
and political propaganda.
Musical chairs with yesterday’s celebrities.