Monday 7 June 2010

David Markson, 1927–2010

David Markson, whose This Is Not a Novel was published by CBe in February this year, has died in New York. The end of that book: Then I go out at night to paint the stars. / Says a van Gogh letter. // Farewell and be kind.

And the opening of Wittgenstein’s Mistress: In the beginning, sometimes I left messages in the street.

2 comments:

Nick Asbury said...

Really very saddened to hear this. I discovered 'This Is Not a Novel' just a few weeks ago (through this site) and was deeply impressed by it. I posted a brief review of it here http://www.26.org.uk/recommended.asp and had pondered contacting the author to let him know how much I'd enjoyed it. I have a feeling his work will be held in increasingly high regard over the years. It certainly deserves to be.

charles said...

Nick, thank you for this, and the recommendation on the 26 site. This Is Not ... was already a death-haunted book; and I think when writers die their books become slightly different, as when the light suddenly changes.