I remember / je me souviens

I remember / je me souviens

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For those limbic bursts of nostalgia, invented by Proust, miniaturized by Nicholson Baker, and freeze-dried by Joe Brainard in his I remember and by Georges Perec in his Je me souviens.

But there are no fractions, the world is an integer
Like us, and like us it can neither stand wholly apart nor disappear.
When one is young it seems like a very strange and safe place,
But now that I have changed it feels merely odd, cold
And full of interest.
--John Ashbery, "A Wave"

Sometimes I sense that to put real confidence in my memory I have to get to the end of all rememberings. That seems to say that I forego remembering. And now that strikes me as an accurate description of what it is to have confidence in one's memory.
--Stanley Cavell, The Claim of Reason

Friday, September 22, 2006

I remember the street performers in Harvard Square. Going to see the jugglers, magicians, acrobats, and hucksters was a big deal; I'd get dressed up (dress, tights, mary janes) just as if we were going to a fine or formal evening affair. I remember the rhythm of their patter, the young men's edgy charm, the delicious possibility of being singled out, the thrill of staying up late and of watching the amazing feats: they kept so many pins in the air. He swallowed the torch again! I remember sitting in the bathroom by myself, days after, still humming their silly songs, "If I knew you were coming I'd have baked a cake."

posted by Rosasharn 9:56 AM
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