Franz Kamin

Franz was an old friend of mine who died in a car crash along w/ another friend of mine, Sarmad Brody, on April 11, 2010. I've been making a documentary about him. While I was in NYC in Dec '10 I had the good fortune to interview Mitch Highfill & Mitch gave me a copy of "Hotel" - wch, if I understand correctly, Mitch himself published.

Now, I'm an unabashed enthusiast for Franz's work: his writing, his composing, & his performances. SO, to read a work that I hadn't previously run across was a treat. I'm usually enamored of work that manages to have something to say by people who have a wealth of ways of saying these things & "Hotel" reinforces this nicely. Each page has the text broken into equal quadrants as if each block is a window pane in THE HOTEL - ie: the bk itself. When each text ends on the page it isn't continued on the next - it's as if that's all the view thru the panes that they allow. As the 1st page asks the reader: "Is this a description of some hotel someplace? Or is the hotel only in my mind?"

I know Franz respected the writings of Maurice Blanchot & I find a small trace of Blanchot here - albeit a bit more experimental. This is a very slim volume but Franz manages to put enuf into it to probably satisfy most readers of his work. Take the following page example (hopefully not reformatted here):

SOMEWHERE IN THE V AST COMPLEX OF COR
RIDORS OF THE SUBB ASEMENT IS THE ALT
ERATIONS ROOM. OPE RATED SOLELY BY A
SQUAT HEAVYSET WOM AN, VERY OLD, BROW
NISH SKIN, SITS AT A LITTERED TABLE
AMIDST RACKS OF TO OLS, SURGICAL IMPL
EMENTS, BOXES OF P ARTS, CHEMICALS, G
LASSWARE, COILS OF WIRE, MACHINERY O
F EVERY DESCRIPTIO N. CLUTTERED. THE
PURPORTED REASON F OR THE EXISTANCE O

F THIS ROOM IS THA T IT IS A REPAIR S
HOP: RADIOS, VACUU M CLEANERS, WATCHE
S, DOG LEASHES; SH E EVEN DOES VET WO
RK ON THE DOGS THE MSELVES. IT IS RUM
ORED THAT SHE ALSO MODIFIES THINGS:
CHANGES OBJECTS OF ONE FUNCTION INTO
OBJECTS OF ANOTHE R; HAS BEEN KNOWN
TO WORK ON PEOPLE, TO CHANGE THEIR A
TTITUDES, MOODS, M ODES OF FUNCTION.
HOW IS THAT DONE? SHE HAS QUITE AN U
NDERGROUND REPUTAT ION. THE TROUBLE I
S, I HAVE NEVER BE EN ABLE TO FIND TH
E ROOM WHEN I NEED ANYTHING CHANGED.

To me, this has traces of the humor of William Burroughs & the structure of George Perec's "Life, A User's Manual" - a nice combination indeed. &, of course, Kamin is his own man.… (lisätietoja)

The author of this bk died in a car crash on April 11, 2010. He was a friend of mine. As of the time of writing this review, I'm making a documentary about him provisionally called "DEPOT (wherein resides the UNDEAD of Franz Kamin)". While making "DEPOT", I interviewed George Quasha who, along w/ Susan Quasha, is the publisher of Station Hill Books - the people who put this chapbk out. George explained to me that when he met Franz, thru Jackson Mac Low in 1973 in NYC, he & Franz wd sit around talking & Franz wd say incredible things that George encouraged him to write down. Franz grumbled that 'nobody wd publish it' & George told him that if Franz were to write it, George wd publish it. After this encouragement, Franz wrote something about the 'synaesthetic' "Concert of Doors" piece that he created in Indiana in early 1973 & George had it published by Sumac Press in their "Active Anthology" released in April, 1974. This, according to George, was the 1st thing Franz had published. By 1975, Pierre Joris & William Prescott had published something by Kamin in their "sixpack" magazine & by 1977, "Distance Function" was released as what may've been Kamin's 1st chapbk. Both of these were later incorporated into Station Hill's 1980 Kamin bk "Ann Margret Loves You & other psychotopological diversions".

I'm so impressed by the idiosyncrasies of this bk that I've decided to make a new 'shelf' for it: "in-its-own-category". That's one of the highest compliments I can give anything. &, yet, I still only 'rated' it 4 stars. This is b/c, even though Franz was around 36 when it was published, it's still a somewhat immature work. The later "Ann Margret Loves You" that it becomes incorporated into is much more developed. Nonetheless, this work has an astonishing conceptual slipperiness to it - truly original. I've elsewhere criticized some fiction writing in academic journals, eg, as reeking of personality-bleached taught 'correctness'. There's none of that here. Franz perversely blends materials & approaches w/ a total disregard for conventional genres. Dream descriptions flow in & out of personal memoir flow in & out of mathematics flow in & out of definitions of neologisms flow in & out of sexual reference.. Is this non-Hausdorff Space? I think so. If, in topology (a major influence on Kamin's work in general), Hausdorff Space is space w/ separable points, then non-Hausdorff Space is, as Kamin puts it elsewhere (in "A RITUAL EMBEDDING OF THE SPIDER'S RISK into non-HAUSDORF M-SPACE", eg) is "non-separable . . . that is, one cannot necessarily differentiate one locale from another." By the by, "Hausdorff" w/ 2 "f"s seems to be the 'correct' spelling but Franz spells it w/ one "f".

Reinforcing this non-Hausdorff Space is Charles Stein's cover foto. In it, the edge of a lake or pond is shown - next to wch is a puddle. Overhanging the water are branches, reflected in the water are branches. In the space of the foto, the perspective seems to've been manipulated so that the overhanging branches, while distinguishable from their reflections by their sharper focus, are somehow cropped so that they only begin at the edge of the body of water - just as the reflections do. Even the puddle & the larger body of water seem to be on unnaturally different planes - w/ the larger body almost vertical in relation to the puddle. While these objects are somewhat differentiable they're also fluid - not just b/c there's water involved but also b/c natural relations are subtly disrupted, in ambiguity.

Perhaps it's worth mentioning that this is probably the 2nd or 3rd time I've read this & when I reread it for the sake of this review I basically didn't remember ANY of it. This isn't to say that it's necessarily 'unmemorable' - more that it's what my friend Fabio Roberti might call "opaque". On the title page there's a text that says: "...that it is the physical distance between things that brings them together, but it is the 'distance function' that keeps them apart...". I doubt that that's taken straight from topology - more likely it's Franz's perversion of topology (but I cd be wrong). In the chapter entitled "Discovery Among the Cups and Saucers" Kamin writes: "The Distance Function (as peculiarly defined here) is an object which relates other objects by way of the distance between them [..]" &, later, in "Her Father's 2 Birthday Parties and the 2 Trains": "A strange feeling crept over me: I realized that we wanted to have it be like this...to taste the poignantly sweet sorrow of distance [..]". Whatever the case, one spin that I can put on this is that the Distance Function of "Distance Function" is that it creates a "poignantly sweet sorrow of distance" between the writer & the reader that maintains & nurtures both their specialnesses.

& if "Distance Function" is 'about' anything more than anything else, I'd say it's 'about' relationships - particularly his relationship w/ "Lisa" - a lover that I don't recall coming across other mentions of. In the afore-mentioned "Discovery [..]" chapter he writes: "What I have discovered is that when things are placed in their 'proper relation' to each other, a virtually discernable 'plasma' forms in the interstices" - & then in "Stagger Strands": "I have noticed, especially recently, that during short periods when I am more or less free of the bondage of normal 'gummy' relationships (all relations except that of the greater self) that I tend to trip and stumble a lot [..]".… (lisätietoja)

To those entirely too few people familiar w/ the work of Franz Kamin, any new release is practically an occasion for tolling bells from the steeple of a deconsecrated church. If only it cd be used for deconsecrating ALL churches, "Theory of Angels" or no "Theory of Angels". I just got this in the mail a few days ago [around May 8, 2008] from Franz & I've been too busy working to make money to have gotten very far into it yet. A more detailed review will hopefully follow when I finish reading the whole thing. Just to titillate you: This bk has scores in it. If you know Franz's music at all & love it like I do & agree w/ me that Franz's work occupies a highly original niche in the world of what I call LOW CLASSICAL MUSIC (no slight on Franz intended here) then you'll be eager to peruse this. It's possible that the excellent Station Hill Press will publish this - as they have w/ things by Franz in the past. ATTN STATION HILL: Do it!!

Ok, I took 7 wks to read this - not b/c it's long but b/c I was reading, as usual, many other things simultaneously (not to mention working 2 jobs, blah, blah..). It's AMAZING. My only 'criticism' of it is something I'll get out of the way 1st (w/ a bit of a preface):

Franz has been composing, writing, sculpting, etc, for what? 40 yrs? MORE. & yet he's very little known & WAY underpublished. He has ONE vinyl record out: "RUGUGMOOL / BEHAVIORAL DRIFT II" published by Station Hill. The LP's very professionally produced, everything about it is wonderful, there's a large group of players, the cover's meticulously made. A very important 12" for the collection of anyone seriously interested in contemporary classical music. I love it. It was probably the most ambitious recording project he ever pulled off.

But he's created a shitload of interesting music & performances since then. I've seen quite a few of them, published some (less well-produced) documents from them, performed in many of them. So what's my criticism? This bk begins w/ the text that leads into Behavioral Drift II - "I Suddenly Come to Visit... [Black New York]" & ends w/ the instructions & score for BDII. It's all very interesting but, being more familiar w/ Franz's work than the average bear, I'd rather learn more about newer work. Or just other work.

& the rest of the bk satisfies that in spades. Franz manages to combine/compact so many different things from his obviously substantial & varied life experience - & he does it w/ expert formal control. The CAPITALIZATION, the hy-phe-nation, the back & forth between styles of writing & styles of speaking & styles of thinking, the "whitehotSunspotShriekSHRIEK(needIodine)SHRIEKSHREIKSHIREKPAINagainGonedownthesameLaneagainGoneawaynOneGoneInsaneonInanePainIodine..." He expresses so much, he compresses so much, you can feel it all coursing thru the writing: the childhood alienation, the fantasies, the meetings w/ the somewhat compatibles, the pains of aging, the smatterings of math, the substance of music - it's all there. & it's very, VERY good writing.

&, don't get me wrong, I was very happy to read the Behavioral Drift II score: very interesting stuff, stuff that deserves to be performed the way Ives deserved to be performed: it's a challenging piece, but I cd play it; it's an original piece, but it has the potential to resonate w/ many if taught the right way. It's understandable that Franz wd emphasize this piece, it's a good'un, it's fantastic.

There're so many ideas in this bk, so many feelings, it's so RICH, it's so wise, it's so sad, it's so articulate. Forget everything that's popular & read this (if anyone ever publishes it!). REALLY READ THIS. It deserves yr attn. & much, MUCH more. 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.)"
… (lisätietoja)

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/3294187-tales-from-the-theory-of-angels-the-n... ) & in the, fortunately recently published OPEN SPACE (see my review here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12977651-open-space-12-13 ). 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.… (lisätietoja)