by Ann Bogle
Day One: Letter
The letter for today is "x."
Day One (continued): Syllable
The syllable for today is "am."
PARAGRAPH
Context: Sound (Setting)
: "Xam"
The “letter for today” are 26 with unmarked umlauts and accents, the Minnesota diphthongs we mock while mocking ourselves for talking Texas. Fringe. The letter for today was “f.” Freezing, friggin' frigid temperatures. Mittens, hat. Long “a,” sideways: “a”-squat. The letter for yesterday was “s,”often mistaken for “f” on the telephone, out of context: “f” as in “Frank” because one would not say “srank”; “s” as in “Sam” because there is no such thing as “fam.” We took the fam to the zoo. We forgot to eat this morning, so we were all fam. Frank Sinatra was the most fam of all the lounge singers (in a big way). One would not say, “We took the Sam to the zoo,” or, “We forgot to eat this morning, so we were all Sam.” One would not say, “Frank Sinatra was the most Sam of all the lounge singers (in a big way).”
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Reading from XAM: Paragraph Series (Xexoxial Editions, 2005) in Sunday Salon Series, January 20, 2008 at Stain Bar in Brooklyn:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j22IZa_vhU8
XAM: Paragraph Series at Xexoxial Editions (free download available):
http://xexoxial.org/is/xam/by/ann_bogle
I wrote this paragraph (the first in a series of 14 paragraphs) shortly after Frank Sinatra had died and during my last visit to my boyfriend, M. He had not seen me write something in years. He told me to write something. I agreed to write something if he would give me a letter. "X," he said.
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This is an amazing form, an amazing piece. A marvel. Defies thought, explanation. Just is.
I find an interesting connection with Alain Resnais' Last Year in Marienbad. The three main characters are X, A, and M. Fascinating.
Sam, When XAM was released as a *.pdf in November 2005, the publisher told me there had been 300 downloads in three days. Bernard Alain of Cartier Street Review in Ottawa happened on it in 2009 and featured it. Respectable numbers and even a spotlight do not match the direct feeling your comment gives me here! Resemblance to Resnais a coincidence.
Exciting invention. Mysterious and inviting as X itself. A hidden gem.
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So few comments on this. I'm baffled.