I think you can’t really have a philosophy of pessimism, you can only have the reverse. It’s something that questions the philosophical enterprise itself, but it does so from inside—pessimism is against philosophy, but in the “key” of philosophy.
Book readers miss the disposable nature of newspaper comics. It was a free public utility. They miss seeing the strips surrounded by classified ads placed by actual suffering people.
I’ve always marveled at the architectural lexicon and the placid furiousness with which it names every feature, every ornament, every force.
I think the South has yet to reconcile itself to its own complexity. It’s not exclusive to the region, but I think we have this sense that we need to hold onto one single narrative.
In a way, Jobs is a homage to that pulp sensibility within which all the different modes of genre writing intersected in one insanity-producing cauldron.
I like my characters complicated. People are complicated.
We aren’t supposed to openly discuss shitting in polite society, so making artwork that frankly portrays it is titillating. I think it’s called “desublimation” in fancy art-school terms
I hope readers feel as if they know Vi by the end of the book, but also realize it’s all they know. Vi’s experience is not every black woman’s experience.
Like Nas captured the energy of his New York, I wanted to capture the energy of my West Virginia.
The Library of America volume, which reflects many findings made over the past year, will be the most important document for the study of Albert Murray’s life and work for many years to come.