Ash of Stars: G. Spencer Brown

Well, I read the last essay, and thus finished the book. I was intrigued 
by the contrast between /Dhalgren/ and /Ulysses/, but I couldn't make 
heads or tails of Brown's /Laws of Form/ or why it should matter.

In the footnotes I note that someone wrote a dissertation on Amiri 
Baraka, Ishmael Reed, and Samuel R. Delany, which reminds me of the 
inherent gullibility of the lit crit crowd; in this instance, to even 
group the former two with Delany, who are not remotely in the same 
league with Delany. But wait, they're black, so of course they belong 
together--what was I thinking? I've met all three, BTW, though I never 
had the chance to converse at length with any of them. I have a 
considerable disdain for the first two, a discussion which belongs 
elsewhere. I got the chance to compliment Delany at a few readings in a 
few cities, but that's about it. I think the last time I saw him was 
with Octavia Butler at the Museum of American History in DC. Afterwards, 
while signing books--there was a long line I wasn't standing in--he 
smiled to me across the room. Which probably means nothing at all.

I now remember the several books I have but haven't read, not to mention 
the books I haven't acquired and the films, documentaries, interviews, 
etc. I haven't seen, heard, or read. Oh well, even if I never find the 
time to catch up, I'm glad I read this book, which may have well been 
superseded by subsequent critical anthologies. I am reminded of what I 
originally perceived in these works, and patterns I apparently failed to 
discern.



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