The following is an excerpt from my novel in progress, Housebreaking the Muse. Here, Ubu takes the narrative in a chapter that begins to flesh out the book's protagonist, Ray Burke. Burke wandered down Mass Ave. to Central Square, there catching a 91 bus heading north on Prospect out of Cambridge. Lights out on another…
Throughout my novel Housebreaking the Muse, numerous short chapters provide a glimpse into the mind of Jacques Rigaut on the night of his suicide, November 5-6, 1929. The following fragment is from an early draft of one such chapter. Rigaut I have long been favored by visitations from oblivion, enveloped in its seductive lack, which…
In my novel (in progress), Housebreaking the Muse, a reformed, erudite, and chatty Père Ubu plays a central role and handles the lion's share of the narrative. The following excerpt is from the second chapter, in which Ubu introduces himself and explains his role. The entire chapter appears in the 2009 issue of Stolen Island…
In an earlier post, I presented the synopsis of my novel in progress, Housebreaking the Muse. As noted, the novel is haunted by the figure of Jacques Rigaut, the French Dadaist, gigolo, addict, and suicide. Though I'd long had an interest in the Dadas, I didn't hear the name "Jacques Rigaut" until I stumbled upon…
In the following excerpt from my novel-in-progress, Housebreaking the Muse, the primary narrative entity, a reformed Père Ubu, introduces the protagonist, Ray Burke, a graduate of a large state university in Middle-of-Nowhere Pennsylvania whose grand aspiration is to land a position as "a functionary in a large private university." Ubu Burke wandered down Mass Ave.…
Ed Desautels' Maximum Fiction 