1984 was more than just orwell

Cherry

By JupiterMoon

Wed, 12 Feb 2020
  • 1979 reads
7 comments
 

1984 was more than just orwell 

 

richard brautigan shot himself

in 1984,

during the rising tide

of the commodore 64,

lost within a wood walled world

that no longer fit,

no longer rhymed anymore

 

i don’t know if he had seen Ghostbusters by then,

his final three months

a solitary, protracted death knell

 

it might have made him chuckle

in the dark, deep belly laughs,

might have made enough warmth

to transmute into hope

 

stopped him crossing the streams

until later, at least

Certificate U
Poem
Pricklish Allsorts
Humour
Opinion

Comments

Submitted by drew_gummerson on

I love Brautigan. And I think he would've loved this poem. I really do. Not sure what he would've made of Ghostbusters tho. 
 

You've got a 'he' missing. I don't know if he had seen...

 

What's your favourite Brautigan? 

 

Submitted by JupiterMoon on

The missing 'he' has been captured and reunited - thanks for pointing that out. Thank you for your kind words too. He was a great writer, my go-to for inspiration, entertainment and for taking the edge off Tuesdays. 

Favourite? Hmm... 'Star Hole' is my favourite poem, 'Pacific Radio Hour' my favourite short, as for the novels, it's hard to choose, I love them all...but with a gun to my head, forced to choose only one...probably The Abortion.

What about you? 

 

 

Submitted by drew_gummerson on

I like The Abortion too - I love the library where he works - but my favourite is Confederate General. 

 

Submitted by sean mcnulty on

The Abortion is a fave of mine. A few years ago I visited the San Fran library at the address he mentions. There's a real library there. Inside, they have a little shrine and people actually sent some makeshift books. I took photos. What a pilgrimage!

 

Submitted by drew_gummerson on

I'm jealous! I'd love to go. Have you read the early Murakami Wind/Pinball. They are very Brautigan like. I wrote a Brautigan inspired novel years ago. It was on here... nearly got published and then the editor left and it got canned. I remember I was pleased at the time. Stressful being published. I wouldn't recommend. I mean. Look at poor Brautigan. Do a dead end job! That's life!! 

 

Submitted by sean mcnulty on

I've read Kafka On The Shore. Never got to the others.
Its funny you say that as the first thing I ever put on abc tales was my novel What's The Moose, Munter? It was very much a Brautigan riff. Imitation, I would say. But I remember when people commented they likened it to Murakami. Perhaps as there was the ghost of a Japanese punk singer in it.

 

Submitted by sean mcnulty on

Loved it. I'm also a huge Brautigan fan. Perhaps my favourite author. I collect the books. I'm up to at least 3 different copies of Trout Fishing, incl. A second edition I thought was a first until yesterday