Bøker av Joe Brainard

As autobiography, Brainard's method was brilliantly simple: to set down specific memories ('everything is interesting, sooner or later') as they rose to the surface of his consciousness, each prefaced by the refrain 'I remember.'

Alex Katz celebrates an old friendship, illustrating Brainard's 1970s journals with charcoal flower drawingsIn this tender posthumous collaboration initiated by Alex Katz (born 1927), the artist embellishes journal entries by his old friend Joe Brainard (1941-94) with a new series of exquisite charcoal drawings of flowers (a popular motif in Brainard's own art). Katz and Brainard often collaborated with poets-particularly those of the New York School, such as Ted Berrigan, Anne Waldman and Ron Padgett-on artists' books, poetry publications, book covers, writings and paintings. Brainard's journal entries in this volume, written between 1971 and 1972, express this milieu, with accounts of conversations and expeditions with Waldman and Padgett as well as frequent mention of his appreciation for Katz's work: "How Alex has remained so pure all these years is beyond me," he notes in one entry, enumerating his favorite Katz works. Katz's charcoal drawings are simple and clear in execution, matching the serene clarity that famously characterizes Brainard's prose.

Joe Brainards Jeg husker består av en strøm enkeltsetninger, som alle begynner «Jeg husker …». Men setningene følger ikke hverandre kronologisk, som man kanskje kunne forvente, men har i stedet en mer eklektisk struktur. En søkende og prøvende hukommelse. Boken mangler ikke fans blant mer kjente forfatternavn, en av disse er Paul Auster, som har uttalt: «I Remember is both uproariously funny and deeply moving. It is also one of the few totally original books I have ever read.» Dette til tross har boka, som første gang ble utgitt i 1970, fortsatt et beskjedent publikum i Norge. Kanskje kan denne oversettelsen gjøre noe med det.]]>