Chekhov’s Mistess

Redefining Prolific: William T. Vollman

Three litbloggers transcended the cyberality of our community and came together to attend the William T. Vollman reading at The Booksmith in San Francisco. Conversational Reading, Return of the Reluctant, and Black Market Kidneys met live in person yesterday and each has covered the event (Vollman’s reading, that is) in their own way.

Scott brings us the understatement of the day with:

Vollman says he would write every day, nonstop, if he could. When asked to elaborate, all he would say is that he finds writing pleasant.

That’s saying something for one of the most prolific writers of his generation! Still in his forties, Vollman has published his recent 3,000+ word treatise on violence, Rising Up and Rising Down, a new novel, and all of these (according to the McSweeney’s site):

• Europe Central (Viking, 2005)


• Rising Up and Rising Down (McSweeney’s, 2003)


• Expelled from Eden: A William T. Vollmann Reader (Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2003)


• Argall: A Book of North Americn Landscapes (Seven Dreams, Vol. 3) (Viking Press, 2001)


• The Royal Family (Viking Press, 2000)


• The Students of Deep Springs College, with Michael A. Smith and L. Jackson Newell (Lodima Press, November 2000)


• The Atlas (Viking Press, 1996)


• Open All Night by Ken Miller (photographs), Vollmann (quotes) (Overlook Press; reprint edition, August 1996)


• Grand Street 53: Fetishes (Summer 1995), editor (Grand Street, 1995)


• The Rifles: A Book of North Americn Landscapes (Seven Dreams, Vol. 6) (Viking Press, 1994)


• Butterfly Stories: A Novel (Grove Press, 1993)


• Thirteen Stories and Thirteen Epitaphs (Pantheon Books, 1993)


• Fathers and Crows: A Book of North Americn Landscapes (Seven Dreams, Vol. 2) (Viking Press, 1992)


• An Afghanistan Picture Show; or, How I Saved the World (Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1992)


• Whores for Gloria (Pantheon Books, 1992)


• The Ice Shirt: A Book of North Americn Landscapes (Seven Dreams, Vol. 1) (Viking Press, 1990)


• The Rainbow Stories (Atheneum, 1989)


• The Tale of the Dying Lungs (Vagabond Press, 1989), out of print


• The Convict Bird: A Children’s Poem (CoTangent, 1987), out of print


• You Bright and Risen Angels (Atheneum, 1987)

I’ve previously mentioned Michael Standaert’s excellent Weblog devoted to Rising Up and Rising Down, which I highly recommend. It looks like he’s done a bit of a redesign. The photo he has as a banner image reminds me of a documentary I once saw called War Photographer, about the photographer James Nachtwey, which if you’re interested in this book, you may also find revealing, particularly in the sense of Nachtwey’s conscience seeing what he sees and about his role as a photographer in a world of relentless violence.

Check out the links above. I’ll have some more original content up soon, because I don’t want to piss off Scott.

Read widely, think well, and write often

comments

does anyone know if vollman will be reading anywhere near cleveland, ohio?  if so, when?

    – dawson steeber (05/09  at  12:24 PM)

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About this Post

• Posted by: Bud Parr
• Date: April 21, 2005
• Filed Under:
  Wise Men Fish Here: Literature

• Comments:1
• Links to this Post: Technorati

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