FEDERMAN'S BLOG [the laugh that laughs at the laugh...]: Raymond Federman (1928-2009)

I just learned that my friend, the refreshingly inventive, irreverent, insightful, and funny, bilingual poet, fiction writer and playwright, Raymond Federman, aka Moinous, changed tense on Tuesday. I published him twice in Mad Hatters' Review, most recently in our current issue
. He was our featured writer in issue 5, May 2006, the subject of an interview and editor of a special "French" poetry section, including a few of his French to English translations.

A few years ago, I had dinner at a French restaurant in NYC with Ray, who clearly appreciated the young South American waitress as much as the food. Last year, he went out of his way to hear/see me read at the &NOW conference in Orange County, and I was pleased to include him in a Mad Hatters' Review reading later that day. Ray was feeling ill and left the conference as soon as had completed his readings that day and I never saw him again.

Ray inspired my fiction "Cluck Cluck Being my mini-memoir for readings at which everyone
but my two friends is younger than 32.
(for Raymond Federman)"
(now in Journal of Experimental Fiction). I was pleased that it met with his approval.

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In my mini-interview of Ray, I asked him:

Where are you when you write? What are you presenting to the external world?

He responded, Ok Carol.

I answer your first question.

Where am I when I write? What are you presenting to the external world?

When I write the world disappears. I am totally inside what I write. Even if I look up and look at the reality of what surrounds me I see nothing except the incredible view on the other side of the window of my study. First there is a valley with all kinds of trees in it especially Palm trees. Then there a rise with more trees and vegetation on it and behind that there is the mountain with rocks. That's the best I can do for the where I am. And then I plunge back into what I am writing and I feel totally absent from the world. But not from the universe because when I write it feels like I have left planet earth and that I am traveling in space and outside of time. To clarify this let me put it this way. When I write I am everywhere at the same time. For instance the other day I was writing something to explain to myself who I am and what I am doing and this is the sentence that come out. I think it will answer your question.

He cannot accept not to be everywhere at the same time. If this is the night, he will be there. He will arrive first before everyone, and leave late after everyone.

_______

Wonderful, ORIGINAL Raymond Federman is still as though is, everywhere all the time.


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FEDERMAN'S BLOG [the laugh that laughs at the laugh...]: Raymond Federman (1928-2009).