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Valantale
10 pages, Chapbook
First published January 1, 1999
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About the author
Franz Kamin
10 books2 followersTaken from Wikipedia:
Franz Kamin (May 25, 1941 – April 11, 2010) was a prolific American author, composer, and pianist whose works were modelled on topology, general systems theory, meditational processes, and chance operations.[1]
Born in Milwaukee, Kamin studied composition at the University of Oklahoma with Spencer Norton, and at Indiana University with Roque Cordero, where he also studied piano with Alfonso Montecino. While at IU, Kamin, together with fellow composer James Brody organized FIASCO, an experimental collective which meet weekly in Bloomington from 1966 to 1972. Among his compositions from this period was "The Concert of Doors", a synaesthetic work in which a number of doors, each of vastly differing design, some found, some constructed, ranging from comical to mysterious, were set on a path through a woods to be traversed by the audience-participants.[2] Kamin moved to New York in the 1970s and collaborated with cellist Charlotte Moorman, a fixture in the downtown avant-garde scene at that time. He eventually settled in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he remained for the rest of his life.[3]
Kamin is published in two books (1980's Ann Margaret Loves You & other psychotopological diversions and 1986's Scribble Death) by Station Hill Press. Several of his shorter works, musical scores and an LP recording of Behavioral Drift II and Rugugmool have also been published.[4]
He was killed in a car crash in Roseville, Minnesota when a car driven by James Brody, who also died, left the road, jumped a curb, and hit a tree. The two composers were returning from a SEAMUS festival in St. Cloud, Minnesota.[5][3] Their names were released on April 12, 2010, by the Ramsey County medical examiner's office.
Franz Kamin (May 25, 1941 – April 11, 2010) was a prolific American author, composer, and pianist whose works were modelled on topology, general systems theory, meditational processes, and chance operations.[1]
Born in Milwaukee, Kamin studied composition at the University of Oklahoma with Spencer Norton, and at Indiana University with Roque Cordero, where he also studied piano with Alfonso Montecino. While at IU, Kamin, together with fellow composer James Brody organized FIASCO, an experimental collective which meet weekly in Bloomington from 1966 to 1972. Among his compositions from this period was "The Concert of Doors", a synaesthetic work in which a number of doors, each of vastly differing design, some found, some constructed, ranging from comical to mysterious, were set on a path through a woods to be traversed by the audience-participants.[2] Kamin moved to New York in the 1970s and collaborated with cellist Charlotte Moorman, a fixture in the downtown avant-garde scene at that time. He eventually settled in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he remained for the rest of his life.[3]
Kamin is published in two books (1980's Ann Margaret Loves You & other psychotopological diversions and 1986's Scribble Death) by Station Hill Press. Several of his shorter works, musical scores and an LP recording of Behavioral Drift II and Rugugmool have also been published.[4]
He was killed in a car crash in Roseville, Minnesota when a car driven by James Brody, who also died, left the road, jumped a curb, and hit a tree. The two composers were returning from a SEAMUS festival in St. Cloud, Minnesota.[5][3] Their names were released on April 12, 2010, by the Ramsey County medical examiner's office.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 26, 2012
review of
Franz Kamin's VALANTALE
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - January 26, 2012
When I was in St Paul on Halloween, 2010, shooting footage for my documentary entitled DEPOT (wherein resides the UNDEAD of Franz Kamin), Nor Hall showed me a group of Norkinshot Press chapbks that Franz had put out that all had objects attached to their covers & that were printed on high quality paper. Nor sd something to the effect of "You must have all of these" to wch I replied that I didn't. I was disappointed! They were so special & Franz, despite my having know him for over 30 yrs, had never given me one!
Then, a few days ago, I was reorganizing my poetry bkshelves &, Lo & Behold!, I found this copy of "VALANTALE" pushed behind the other bks out of sight. B/c of the wreath on its cover, adjacent bks had caught against it &, when they were pushed in, it was pushed back. So Franz had sent me one after all! I'm reminded of the story of the score to Erik Satie's "Uspud". If I remember correctly, it was presumed lost until after Satie's death when his apartment was cleaned & it was found fallen behind his piano.
VALANTALE is a twisted tale, perhaps one of Franz's most twisted. & it's reappeared in the still unpublished ms Tales from the Theory of Angels & the Norkinshot Reader (see my review here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32... ) & in the, fortunately recently published OPEN SPACE (see my review here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12... ). Below's what I wrote re VALANTALE in the 1st of those reviews that I've provided a link to:
"Below's the 1st paragraph from "Valentale". It's eerie, mysterious, poignant, full of longing, full of pain:
""Now She has one. All the other girls in her school have had theirs for a long time. She had been the only one. The boys, of course, didn't need any; they had their Things - which would eventually do it for them. Dragging it along behind her, although this is not how most of the others carried theirs - kept them hidden. It was the longest one she'd ever seen. She'd found it in the gutter on the way back from lunch (knew it was hers right away: Black - most of them were mint or reddish) and not gone back to school at all, which is why she was down by the warehouses & loading docks ('Bad-Town' - daddy says don't go there) being alone, and carefully pulling (so it won't get dirty or stepped on by workers, cats, drunks & ho'es) her long black 'Death-Ribbon' proudly behind her."
"That paragraph is written in a fairly 'unexpanded' style, but as the story develops so does its way of being told:
""Silents piled on top of other Silents piled on top of other Silents piled on top until- "GOO'NIGH'SWEE" (Bumsay. Bumsback. Bumlie inches away. Up on the edge of the curb, peering down, huge sufflated face, eye bloodyly stares) "GOO'NIGH'SWEE'PRINTS - mayANGELSINGTHEEEE" (Angels fuckin) singTHEE!" (must be the writer) "to... ...th 'Res-sssSnNNOORRRe" (Bumfall aSleep: Actually Dead too, which is even better.)""
For those of you who read university journals featuring the work of 'creative writing' students, it may come as no surprise to you for me to claim that there's rarely any creative writing represented. What's there, instead, is formulaic drivel written by people who think they can buy imagination. Kamin's imagination isn't bought, it's from deep w/in him & he's strong enuf & creative enuf to let it come out in a form that isn't 'corrected'-to-death by people-who-'know'-far-less-than-he-does.
Franz Kamin's VALANTALE
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - January 26, 2012
When I was in St Paul on Halloween, 2010, shooting footage for my documentary entitled DEPOT (wherein resides the UNDEAD of Franz Kamin), Nor Hall showed me a group of Norkinshot Press chapbks that Franz had put out that all had objects attached to their covers & that were printed on high quality paper. Nor sd something to the effect of "You must have all of these" to wch I replied that I didn't. I was disappointed! They were so special & Franz, despite my having know him for over 30 yrs, had never given me one!
Then, a few days ago, I was reorganizing my poetry bkshelves &, Lo & Behold!, I found this copy of "VALANTALE" pushed behind the other bks out of sight. B/c of the wreath on its cover, adjacent bks had caught against it &, when they were pushed in, it was pushed back. So Franz had sent me one after all! I'm reminded of the story of the score to Erik Satie's "Uspud". If I remember correctly, it was presumed lost until after Satie's death when his apartment was cleaned & it was found fallen behind his piano.
VALANTALE is a twisted tale, perhaps one of Franz's most twisted. & it's reappeared in the still unpublished ms Tales from the Theory of Angels & the Norkinshot Reader (see my review here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32... ) & in the, fortunately recently published OPEN SPACE (see my review here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12... ). Below's what I wrote re VALANTALE in the 1st of those reviews that I've provided a link to:
"Below's the 1st paragraph from "Valentale". It's eerie, mysterious, poignant, full of longing, full of pain:
""Now She has one. All the other girls in her school have had theirs for a long time. She had been the only one. The boys, of course, didn't need any; they had their Things - which would eventually do it for them. Dragging it along behind her, although this is not how most of the others carried theirs - kept them hidden. It was the longest one she'd ever seen. She'd found it in the gutter on the way back from lunch (knew it was hers right away: Black - most of them were mint or reddish) and not gone back to school at all, which is why she was down by the warehouses & loading docks ('Bad-Town' - daddy says don't go there) being alone, and carefully pulling (so it won't get dirty or stepped on by workers, cats, drunks & ho'es) her long black 'Death-Ribbon' proudly behind her."
"That paragraph is written in a fairly 'unexpanded' style, but as the story develops so does its way of being told:
""Silents piled on top of other Silents piled on top of other Silents piled on top until- "GOO'NIGH'SWEE" (Bumsay. Bumsback. Bumlie inches away. Up on the edge of the curb, peering down, huge sufflated face, eye bloodyly stares) "GOO'NIGH'SWEE'PRINTS - mayANGELSINGTHEEEE" (Angels fuckin) singTHEE!" (must be the writer) "to... ...th 'Res-sssSnNNOORRRe" (Bumfall aSleep: Actually Dead too, which is even better.)""
For those of you who read university journals featuring the work of 'creative writing' students, it may come as no surprise to you for me to claim that there's rarely any creative writing represented. What's there, instead, is formulaic drivel written by people who think they can buy imagination. Kamin's imagination isn't bought, it's from deep w/in him & he's strong enuf & creative enuf to let it come out in a form that isn't 'corrected'-to-death by people-who-'know'-far-less-than-he-does.
January 27, 2012
Spellbinding when read by FK. I'm not sure whether we have this recorded or not.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews