Video memoir

Maybe the theme will be, In Search of My Former Self. I was a young hotshot in grad school. The day the English chair had a reception for new grad students, my review in The New Republic appeared, which the chair had on his coffee table. I already was publishing stories in top literary magazines, including one a later teacher had been trying to get into for years. Yes, I had better literary credentials (in short fiction) than some of my professors! I was full of confidence, energy, and the reckless abandon that can come with both. The energy continued for 20 years or so, but began to dissipate after my retrospective as I became more secluded and private, though actually I believe my work continued to improve. But I was less interested in spending energy to market it.

The Performing Self, a book title that also is one of my favorite descriptions of the artist. What happened to the performance of my youth? This is a very old theme, of course.

Just brooding around an idea or two for the video. Be nice to have a sense of some direction when I start shooting. Less than two weeks away now.