the one about Manuel Garcia, a forlorn and doomed oldmat ador. When finally the sword found its way, Manuel Garciaburied four fingers and his thumb into the bull. Badly gored, heneeded to mix his own blood with that of his adversaryâs. Hemingwaywas only in his twenties when he wrote that story, yet itâs verywise.
BOLAÃO
Itâs fashionable these days to bash Hemingway. I admire himfor givingcredittohismostsignificantinfluences.Camustookhisstyle from Hemingway and James M.Cain.
BORGES
Youâre cheeky, but serious, Bolaño, a mildly entertaining andvery badcritic.Comefindmeafteryourdeath. Weâll haveplentyoftime to talk.
BOLAÃO
How do I find you? You havenât yet come across Melvillethough youâve been dead foryears.
BORGES
It will happen eventually. Thereâs a great deal of traffic in these corridors. Perhaps he doesnât want to talk. Iâve heard heâs still bitter about not having been able to publish his masterpiece, Billy Budd , during his lifetime. You and I are bound to collide sooner or later. When we do, Iâll tell you whatâs missing in yourwork.
BOLAÃO
Whatâs missing? Why not tell me now, while Iâm stillwriting?
BORGES
GoagaintoâThe South.â Thereinliesthe key.
JORGE LUIS BORGES disappears. ROBERTO Bolaño looks in everydirection but the ghost is gone.
BOLAÃO
Damn,Ihatemysteries!ThisisastoryIcouldhavewritten,one without an answer. Only Borges could have written itbetter.
END
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MUSIC
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CAST OF CHARACTERS
James Joyce , Irish writer, author of Ulysses and Finnegans Wake
S amuel Beckett , Irishwriter,authoroftheplays Waiting for Godot and Krappâs Last Tape , amongmanyothers.Atthistimehe is Joyceâs secretary.
SETTING
Thestudyinthe Joyce familyapartment,Paris,France, 1921 . Joyce and Beckett are seated across the room from one another inarmchairs. Joyce isreadingabook;Beckettsitswithanotebookand pen, waiting.
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THE PLAY
For ten minutes the only sound isthat of JOYCE murmuring occasionallyand turning the pages of his book. Finally, JOYCE speaks.
JOYCE
Music!
BECKETT writes the word in his notebook, after which both men are silent for an indeterminate time, until
END
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About Barry Gifford
Barry Giffordâs fiction, nonfiction and poetry have been published in twenty-eight languages. His novel Night People was awarded the Premio Brancati, established by Pier Paolo Pasolini and Alberto Moravia, in Italy, and he has been the recipient of awards from PEN, the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Library Association, the Writers Guild of America, and the Christopher Isherwood Foundation. His books Sailorâs Holiday and The Phantom Father were each named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times , and his book Wyoming was named a Novel of the Year by the Los Angeles Times . He has written librettos for operas by the composers Toru Takemitsu, Ichiro Nodaira, and Olga Neuwirth. Giffordâs work has appeared in many publications, including The New Yorker , Punch , Esquire , La Nouvelle Revue Française , El PaÃs , La Repubblica , Rolling Stone , Brick , Film Comment , El Universal , Projections , and the New York Times . His film credits include Wild at Heart , Perdita Durango , Lost Highway , City of Ghosts , Ball Lightning , American Falls , and The Phantom Father . Barry Giffordâs most recent books are Sailor & Lula: The Complete Novels , Sad Stories of the Death of Kings , Imagining Paradise: New & Selected Poems , The Roy Stories , and The Up-Down . He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information visit www.BarryGifford.com.
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