Fare Forward: Letters from David Markson

Mar 25 ’04

Dear Symsy—

Hey, thank you for all that blog stuff but forgive me if after a nine-minute glance I have torn it all up. I bless your furry little heart, but please don’t send any more. In spite of the lost conveniences, I am all the more glad I don’t have a computer.

HOW CAN PEOPLE LIVE IN THAT FIRST-DRAFT WORLD?

They make a statement about my background, there’s an error in it. They quote from a book, and they leave out a key line. They repudiate a statement of fact I’ve made, without checking, ergo announcing I’m a fake when the statement is 100 % correct. Etc., etc., etc. Gawd.

I have just taken the sheets out of the trash basket & torn them into even smaller pieces.

Last week two several-hour-long hospital medical tests. Plus more MD visits to come. But I am also WORKING. I would rather spend an hour and a half trying to solve the roughest first draft of a note for the new book — that will eventually be endlessly rewritten — than ever ever ever read another word of the Internet.

Don’t be sore.²⁸

Thine—

David

28 In my response to this letter, I wrote: “I’m so sorry to have tortured you that way — I had second thoughts but went ahead and sent the blog printouts. I have to say it was worth it to get your wittily enraged letter. Those ‘semi-literate’ bloggers were praising you, you know. They did get something right — the most important thing, in fact. Be well and light those toxic shreds of paper on fire if need be!”