by Lydia Davis
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Isaac Babel’s “You Must Know Everything”: The boy spends Saturday with his old grandmother in her stifling apartment, studying and taking his lessons under her watchful eye—it was when I studied this one with a class that I realized how skillfully the scene is presented in ever more amplified detail, bringing us wholly into that afternoon.
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Franz Kafka’s “The Burrow,” because of the confident and convincing narrative voice of its obsessed narrator, who begins: “I have completed the construction of my burrow and it seems to be successful.” Kafka fully inhabits his characters and presents them with a realism that makes them, though they are impossible, believable.
2010
VISUAL ARTISTS:
JOSEPH CORNELL
Aviary (Parrot Music Box) (c. 1945, 18.625 × 16.1875 × 5 in.)
The Impetus Was Delight:
A Response by Analogy to the Work of Joseph Cornell
In the home of the Baker Carpet Cleaning family, the box with many compartments containing the mother’s heteroclite collection, waterfalls, plants, a plethora of furniture, vases, clocks, lamps, birds appearing and reappearing in motifs in the furniture and china as though alive, rapid heartbeats, Florida room, California room, Florida mug with flamingos,
the Philosophy of Fire, and the two coincided, in a moment as magical for me as,
as, a television inset in a stone wall, a niche for a vase in a stone wall, a safe behind the back of the niche, a secret switch, a gas fireplace inset in a stone wall, objects valued for themselves, not to enhance or furnish the interior of the home but the opposite, the house extended to make room for the objects, the house too small for the objects, objects everywhere, crowded in, packed in, in a corner of an enclosed porch were many small and large china dogs, one china dog life-size next to a real dog, the real dog fat as a barrel, she has complicatedly conserved them as simply as she can, these elements of her experience, so specific, the heart of their value or the reason for their value often invisible to the general eye, the story of their finding often and readily told explaining their value,
and so long as I have these surprises, omens, five turkey vultures in a bare tree early in the morning before their first disturbance,
like a doll’s house furnished or overfurnished, filled or overfilled, the family home of Baker Carpet Cleaning, which has been in business forty years, eight hundred lamps, vases, copper pots and pans, Teddy Roosevelt’s grandfather clock,
from the Psalm of David throughout, let their way be dark and slippery, they have hid for me their net in a pit,
flocks of starlings passing overhead at dusk with only a luft luft sound of their wings,
light GIANT BLUE candles, behold how good and how pleasant it is,
profusion within a frame, profusion within the bounds of the house of the Baker Carpet Cleaning family,
a book, too, within the bounds of the covers, the box of the book, the content of the book, which is the fruit of concentration, condensation, of heteroclite elements,
The Master Book of Candle Burning,
the invited guests are customers of the carpet cleaning company, those who have had their carpets excellently cleaned by them during the past year, they come into the house shyly, it is always unusual but it is especially beautiful at Christmastime, because of all the Christmas decorations and the special arrangements of the mother, who has fashioned little snowy scenes involving miniature fir trees and figures skating in circles on glass lakes, penguins or little men and women, who do not stop going round and round while the guests walk through and pause to sit at a table and talk and eat cake, or sit at the bar and eat chips and nuts and drink an alcoholic drink, the guests are dressed nicely, it is Sunday,
followers of the Philosophy of Fire, in the Bibliography Man and His Motives, Popular Amusements and Superstitions of the Highlanders of Scotland,
how can I burn candles, neologists and others who should be in a position to know,
the house is a single-storied ranch house among other ranch houses on small plots on a street called Pine Street, one would never guess what is within the house, immediately inside the front door is Teddy Roosevelt’s grandfather clock the star attraction and following it the ebony room, ebony table, ebony cabinets, little sculptures of ebony, value is high in $$$ but those $$$ are for reasons of historical interest and fine workmanship,
in Scotland to ward off witches, among the Pharisees by a newborn baby, fire temples on a hill top and the faithful worshiped in the open air, and licked up the water that was in the trench, many people keep a vigil light burning constantly in their homes, all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made, Sunday is yellow, Monday white, Tuesday red, Wednesday purple, Thursday blue, Friday green, Saturday black, In the Shadow of the Bush, she rakes out the fire and drenches it with water, she then cuts off her hair, a crossed condition, Weed of Misfortune Brand Candle, Confusion Brand Oil, White Power Brand Candle, Domination Brand Oil, they are as stubble before the wind and as chaff that the storm carrieth away, sputtering candle a prediction of misfortune,
the mother Baker’s offering of an array of sumptuous dessert foods, cheesecake, chocolate cake, small foamy pies, chocolate candies, coming in a state of perfection magically from her kitchen, plate after plate for only a handful of guests, just now, one family of three of large stature, one family of three of smaller stature, one old couple dressed in their Sunday best, and this is Sunday, later a pair of men,
if two leaves of Basil are placed upon a candle and burn away quietly the marriage will be happy, manufacturers of automobiles, cosmetics, dresses, etc. use colors which please and soothe, this leaning toward a color, Astral Colors, these would be your PRIMARY CANDLES, available in authentic Astral colors,
kitchen looking out on the dining table on which sits the valuable Tiffany lamp, to the right is the copper collection hanging against the fieldstone wall,
Gold (Yellow) the Color of Attraction, Magnetic, Hypnotic, Captivating, Drawing, Fascinating, Persuasive, Charming, Alluring, Cheerfulness, applications for Fire Worship based upon research by no less an authority than W. S. Blackman, in this era of modern homes it is not practical to utilize open altar fires, to Learn the Truth, to Relieve Pressure by an Enemy, some time ago I heard of the account of a young woman who felt pangs of Fear, she had so many doubts about her ability to keep a job, to keep her husband’s love, she felt that she was being harassed by unseen, hidden forces,
the guests do not know one another, they are introduced and sometimes talk to one another, but are not expected to talk and are free to stand and eat desserts with their forks off a small plate or to keep wandering, without eating, there is a billiard table around in back of the stone hearth, a secretary desk, an escritoire, near an ebony-black serving man, a meridienne, banquette, pouf, ottoman, ear, stile, cross rail, stretcher, cross stretcher, crinoline stretcher, cornice, top rail, diamond point, hanging stile, bracket base, frieze, frame stile, the value is in their being what they are, not in their meanings, door panel, peg, chiffonier, column, bobeche, globe, tureen,
every cause has its effect, the blackness of night offsets the light of day, certain cults of mad adventurers who attempted to rule the people, these religious racketeers, the infamous Black Mass, degraded nature and base hideousness, for example, muddy brown-green, greenish yellow, purple red, very dark brown, midnight blue, black, etc., all such Magic is based on the Law of Sympathy,
ran a needle through his head, or where the heart would be located in reality, take wax from a deserted bee’s comb, if a hunter drives a nail into the foot print of an animal, a dirt highway winding twelve miles, when his feet were wrapped in his coat he was WALKING ON HIS OWN PROPERTY,
it is in the mother’s house that you will see all these things that the mother recognized as wonderful, worth so many thousands or hundreds of dollars, at first appearing to be plain items of little value, now recognized as magnificent, a
mong the hosts of low-priced items at a flea market or yard sale, a low-value vase, a low-value lamp, and then a fine ebony carving, and then the grandfather clock of Teddy Roosevelt, which is the star attraction,
out of his holy hill, Selah, the lifter up of my head, thou has smitten all my enemies upon the cheek bone, thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly,
ninety percent have amatory difficulties, try this, a small supply of Frankincense and Myrrh, one candle of each color should be lighted each morning before going to look for a job, the law of Moses permitted altars of either clay and earth or of stone, ALWAYS USE VEGETABLE OIL CANDLES,
the energy and intensity of these two Bakers, mother and son, their glistening eyes, their enthusiasm leading and serving the varieties of guests who walk with respect from room to room, slow, gingerly, eyes stopping at each packed cabinet, a clock-lined, clock-topped chest, an inlaid chest, a room full of ebony, the father before his death was the builder, the father built walls of stone, made a fountain to run down the wall of the old living room, the first living room, then the mother wanted a larger fountain, and the father built another living room onto the back, right around the backyard barbecue fireplace, and turned that into a hearth, and built a larger fountain now surrounded by a host of illuminated plants beyond an ebony wild pig, an ebony boar discovered at a flea market when the mother spied the one tusk sticking out from under a truck, the boar was offered for $50, worth so many hundreds of $$$ now,
the first man is of the earth earthy, as is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy, as we know, there is but one true Altar, and that is our HEART, his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail, the mercy seat that is upon the testimony,
an exaggeration of any house for ordinary living though they do live here, or rather she, just she lives here now, so many seats, so many cupboards, more than one living room, so much glass, crystal, so many cups, dishes, vases, plants, pictures, sofas, chairs, tables, whatnots, drawers, splayed legs, knobs, aprons, drop leaves, crosspieces, pins, butt hinges, clocks, cockleshells, cabriole legs, acanthus leaves, palmettes, splats, volutes, arm stumps, S-scrolls, carpets, around every corner more, eye stopped and resting here, there, high, low,
set aside a place in the home that is quiet, attic, basement, playroom, bedroom, spare room, and within it create a beautiful altar of which you can be proud, many people believe that all that is necessary is to procure a candle of the right color and light it and then every dream and wish will come true, it is not as easy as all that, FIERY WALL of PROTECTION Brand OIL, DOVE’s BLOOD Brand OIL, BIBLE Brand OIL, COMPELLING Brand OIL, INFLAMMATORY CONFUSION Brand OIL, dressed with Uncrossing Brand Oil, 30 minutes each evening before retiring, the use of SYMBOL candles is strictly an American custom prevalent in certain of our Southern States but now also found in Detroit, Philadelphia, St. Louis and many cities and towns between, molded in the shape of an animal—such as a cat or lion, in order to understand the symbolism involved it is necessary to go to the Dark Continent, strange and weird rites of African Medicine Men, the accomplishments of these individuals, the story of the brutal Congo trader, the native workmen, unable to endure it longer, sent one of their number, the idol in question was still on the dresser but THE HEAD HAD BEEN SNAPPED OFF!,
the mother saw the value of them within their form apparently of low value, bergère, cabriolet, recamier, canapé, settee, club chair, chesterfield, the mother went with a girlfriend to the field of stones to find the right stones and bring them home, they made many trips at dawn, and the father built, the mother and father went to the old buildings in the city as they were being torn down and went inside to buy pieces of the old buildings, an ironwork partition,
a neutral tone the color of pale coffee is said to be the most desirable, Confusion Brand Oil, each day a chapter of the Song of Solomon will be read with all candles burning,
although war is perhaps the most ungodlike expression of the human race and is in itself an irreligious activity, during Time of War, in short, he is King to his Queen in the Kingdom of his Home, but when a man is called to war there is a definite let down, those remaining behind turn their faces heavenward seeking Calmness and Dynamic Power, those who follow the Philosophy of Fire have delved deep into historical archives, half forgotten practices of the Ancient Zoroastrians, though a nominally peaceful people, did have their wars, he would guide his spirit to Paradise, where it would forever be engaged in the conflict with evil and the ultimate victory of Ahura-Mazda,
what she thinks is valuable, what may be valuable and what may be worthless, cheap, ugly, or may be valuable, worth a great deal, beautiful, or may be valuable only to her and her family because they are her creation, the skaters on the mirror-pond skating above a motor-driven magnet, or what is valuable to more than one, to many, to the world,
two inches daily in direction of arrows, repeat until satisfied, TO STOP SLANDER, Candle of Petitioner, before retiring until satisfied, FIERY WALL of Protection, Mandrake root in a saucer or incense burner, thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel, if the Success deals with MONEY use GREEN Candle or WEALTHY WAY, FORTUNATE DREAMS Lavender or Beneficial Dream,
in the center is placed a GIANT EVERLASTING TYPE CANDLE, an even larger candle is available that weighs 13 pounds and burns for TWO YEARS, CONQUERING Glory Brand Oil, the following verses are read either by the soldier or by someone whom he designates, fight against them that fight against me, let their way be dark and slippery, they have hid for me their net in a pit which without cause they have digged, neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without cause, against them that are quiet in the land, the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard, that went down to the skirts of his garments,
for about 500 days (or nearly 1 year), some tantalizing vision of some happier hunting ground, the novitiate will at first stumble upon many obstacles unless he or she first acquaints himself with certain fundamentals of the Art, the Rituals can be a delightful occasion or a confused muddle, a hopeless waste of time,
no deviation was permitted, it is now realized that they must be modified and adapted to meet the needs of individuals living in a fast moving world, the Zoroastrians could not go out to a corner store, available from reliable Supply Houses, SPARK of SUSPICION Brand Candle (Brown), RADIANT HEALTH (Red), WEALTHY WAY (Green), GLOW of ATTRACTION (Gold or Yellow), BENEFICIAL DREAM (Lavender), SATAN-BE-GONE (Orchid), LADY LUCK (Gold), WEED of MISFORTUNE (Black), when you order from your dealer always give your date of birth and let him select your Astral Candle for you, with such branded candles you just cannot go wrong, of the HAND FIXED type, many people start each new ritual for each new purpose with an entirely new set of candles and this truly is the most logical procedure to follow for it insures an altar of outstanding beauty and dignity, for if a used Blue candle which had been dressed with a particular oil were re-used later for another purpose the symbolism would be lost because of the improper dressing, purchase one of the Basic Candle Burning kits,
Darkest Africa, missing things of a most personal nature, Dame Fortune seemed to frown upon his every activity, a rival had taken the things, robes worn by ancient priests, etc., in this position was placed a clipped piece of sock, glove, shirt, hair, tooth brush bristles, evil influence dominates the scene, Master of his own Destiny, said to give off depressing vibrations,
TO BRING CONFUSION OR TO EXERT PRESSURE ON ONE’S ENEMIES, Midnight Blue Inflammatory Confusion Brand Candles, move candles closer to the center each day, WHEN TWO ARE IN LOVE WITH THE SAME PERSON AND THE STUDENT WISHES TO ELIMINATE THE RIVAL, Glow of Attraction Brand Candle, a favorable combination of vibrations, symbolically speaking, when two people are after the same job, Green Crown of Success Brand Candle dressed with Crown of Success Brand Oil instead of the Glow of Attraction Brand Candle, to be read: the 93rd Psalm,
platter, rim bowl, creamer, ramekin, pepper pot, saltcellar, gravy boat, pitcher,
jug, blade, bolster, ferrule, point, slot, prong, root,
your author has dug deeply, everything new in it is old and everything old in it is new (animal fat excepted),
a folly like Hearst Castle, like the Winchester House, this can be a highly subjective (personal) business & yet a means of attempting expression of communication, water running down the wall, a couch formed of concrete,
these seven fundamental rules are simple and easy to follow, the more progressive individual may create his own particular symbolism,
early and late the appreciation of the acquirer was the desired reward,
each guest is given a pretty-colored gift bag upon departing containing a white unglazed ceramic cupid for an adult, a bright chrome car for a child,
from the yard to the porch to the kitchen, said Joseph, don’t think we’re working on my work, fixing lunch, raking, banking, running to town, Bohack’s, after a while they took their lunch and tea breaks together,
they enjoy a wide sale among reliable Supply Houses, so noble a custom, TO SETTLE A DISTURBED CONDITION IN THE HOME, Peaceful Home Brand, and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
first o’week coming upon an abandoned house with no keep out signs, it is on a main artery but protected by a hedge unlike the side (open) approach, a smashed-up commonplace affair but an intriguing challenge, not one of the older places,
TO OBTAIN MONEY, mine own familiar friend which did eat of my bread hath lifted up his heel against me, TO WIN THE LOVE OF MAN OR WOMAN, in position X may be placed a photo of the loved one if one is available, a mixture of Frankincense and Myrrh may be burned, TO CONQUER FEAR, Crucible of Courage Brand Candle, Psalm 31 in its entirety, be thou my strong rock, for an house of defense to save me, pull me out of the net that they have laid, thou hast considered my trouble, thou hast set my feet in a large room, I am in trouble, I was a reproach, I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind, thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion, and the proud doer,
