"Chanson de l'Horizon en Champagne" by Guillaume Apollinaire Deep into the writing of a novel haunted by Jacques Rigaut, who himself was forever haunted by his experience in The Great War, a war that claimed his close boyhood friend, Maxime François-Poncet, "Tué à l'ennemi," I'm posting by way of a Veteran's Day/Armistice Day/Day of Remembrance…
Hope, by Jacques Rigaut (translation), Updated with Notes
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…
East Somerville – Excerpt from Housebreaking the Muse
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…
Rigaut – Excerpt from Housebreaking the Muse (in progress)
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…
Job Application, by Jacques Rigaut (translation)
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…
Ed Desautels' Maximum Fiction 