Weekend Guide: 01.14.2022
no one cares that much about another’s love
Trying to move on after reading I Wished by Dennis Cooper has been like trying to untie the gordian knot. I’m stuck on I Wished.
I feel like a fraud typing this, but I am brand new to Dennis Cooper. As a guy who touts himself as some sort of know it all/read it all. I have neglected the king of the underground. The last literary outlaw. Shame!
Running through a Dennis Cooper history here would be appropriate but i'm not going to do that. I’m not the guy for the job. I don’t have the tools. But I do feel comfortable saying that Cooper is a criminally overlooked, subversive genius. We can leave it there.
If the mood strikes you, I would recommend clicking on the Cooper related links peppered throughout this edition. Plus, Diarmuid Hester already wrote a Critical Biography of Dennis Cooper. What else is there to say?
I Wished is a love story. But like most love stories, it’s also a loss story. More of the latter actually. I Wished is a meditation on the creation of art and the motivation of a creator. Don’t worry, it’s not another novel with a trauma plot. It cuts way deeper.
I Wished is the the story of George Myles and his death by suicide. George Myles was Dennis Cooper’s only true love. His career as a novelist is inextricably tied to George — their love, George’s mental illness, their estrangement, and finally, George’s suicide.
I Wished is a treatise on why the catharsis of writing through grief just doesn’t cut the mustard.
It’s a lot to ask since what I feel is not something I can capture, other than to say, Look, I’m another writer who is obviously in love and who has lost my way linguistically. How do I make you care, since no one cares that much about another’s love.
If you read I Wished you will be graced with appearances by Santa Claus, land artist James Turrell, sentient prairie dogs, John Wayne Gacy, and Nick Drake. Yes. It’s hard to explain.
I Wished is a novel that takes a radical form - one that is beyond explanation. While the subject matter is just about as dark as you can get, Cooper approaches it with crystalline honesty. I wished won’t be for everyone. But remember, fortune often favors the bold.
I took the leap into Cooper thanks to past Weekend Guide guest, Troy James Weaver. I love how Troy writes and I love how Troy reads. I also love how Troy interviews. Back in September Troy had a great exchange with Dennis Cooper about I Wished. If you are feeling it, see below for another great Dennis Cooper interview.
On a lighter note, take a few minutes to watch John Oliver expertly dismantle Dan Brown and The Da Vinci Code franchise. It’s great!
One last thing. I have a poem in new edition of the seasons of des pair journal. This is exciting. If this sort of thing is your bag, you can pick up a copy from the fine folks at Des Pair books in Los Angeles, or online.
Thanks for your continued support. If you ever want to let me know what you are reading or what you are into — that would be great! You can also share Weekend Guide with your closest friend. I would really appreciate it! Peace and love.