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.…
Seeds of Housebreaking the Muse
Jacques Rigaut's Happiest Birthday: A Dada Bedtime Story In my August 12 post, I talked about how I stumbled across the figure of the French dadaist, gigolo, addict, and suicide, Jacques Rigaut and presented an excerpt from his appearance in my novel (in progress) Housebreaking the Muse. Some years ago, having "discovered" Rigaut, I worked…
Jacques Rigaut in my novel Housebreaking the Muse
In my August 11 post I talked about how I learned of the French Dadaist, gigolo, addict, and suicide, Jacques Rigaut. I discussed how this inspired building a fiction around Rigaut, and included a translation from the posthumous collected works of Rigaut titled Écrits. Today, I offer an excerpt from my novel-in-progress, Housebreaking the Muse,…
“Spineless Remarks” by Jacques Riguat, translated
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…
Housebreaking the Muse, a synopsis
The following is a synopsis of my novel in progress, Housebreaking the Muse. Watch for excerpts over the coming months. Housebreaking the Muse Housebreaking the Muse traces the unlikely intersection of Ray Burke, recent MA in comparative literature from a large university in Middle of Nowhere, Pennsylvania; Jacques Rigaut, the French dadaist, poet, gigolo, drug…
Ed Desautels' Maximum Fiction 