Subject: Re: Odds and Ends for Paul
From: Paul Kennedy (kennedyp@toronto.cbc.ca)
Date: Mon Oct 16 2000 - 14:42:36 GMT
Hey Bruce (et al)!
>
>I'm sure you noticed in the story: "I picked Picasso, I might mention,
>because he seemed to me the French painter who was best-known in America. I
>roundly considered Canada part of America."
>
I've got no problems with Canada being considered part of America. It might
be nice if more "Americans" would remember that the United States is only
PART of America--which includes North, South and Central America (and the
Caribbean).... There does seem to be something of a problem with the
identification of Picasso as "French" though....
>
>Salinger gets pretty specific regarding the setting of the school: "--a
>tenement building, really--in the Verdun, or least attractive, section of
>Montreal."
>
Still no problems. Verdun was/is one of the most interesting (but less
attractive) parts of Montreal. In fact, the very idea of Jerry ever
wandering through those streets doing research is so preposterous as to be
almost ludicrous. White trash in both our national languages. A famous
Canadian playwrite (if that's not an oxymoron?) re-named Verdun
"Balconville" in one of his plays, because of the tendency of residents to
hang out on their wooden balconies in the steamy Montreal summers.... The
attempt to create some semblance of cultural respectibility in that
context--like an art school--is a bit like looking for love amongst the squalor.
>
>Another compatriot of yours: "... a twenty-three-year-old *Toronto*
>[emphasis added] housewife, who said her professional name was Bambi Kramer.
>[...] Miss Kramer had enclosed a glossy, eight by ten print of herself
>wearing an anklet, a strapless bathing suit, and a white-duck sailor's cap."
>
I married Bambi in 1954 (when I was just out of diapers). I'd prefer it if
the list didn't even attempt to dissect her character.
Thanks Bruce! I'll try to re-visit the story over the next few days, and
submit a geographical gloss of my own.
Cheers,
Paul
-
* Unsubscribing? Mail majordomo@roughdraft.org with the message
* UNSUBSCRIBE BANANAFISH
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b25 : Wed Nov 08 2000 - 17:43:40 GMT