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y separately published work icon Here and Now : Letters (2008-2011) selected work   correspondence  
Issue Details: First known date: 2012... 2012 Here and Now : Letters (2008-2011)
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The high-spirited correspondence between New York Times bestselling author Paul Auster and Nobel laureate J. M. Coetzee
'Although Paul Auster and J. M. Coetzee had been reading each other's books for years, the two writers did not meet until February 2008. Not long after, Auster received a letter from Coetzee, suggesting they begin exchanging letters on a regular basis and, "God willing, strike sparks off each other."
'Here and Now is the result of that proposal: the epistolary dialogue between two great writers who became great friends. Over three years their letters touched on nearly every subject, from sports to fatherhood, film festivals to incest, philosophy to politics, from the financial crisis to art, death, family, marriage, friendship, and love.
'Their correspondence offers an intimate and often amusing portrait of these two men as they explore the complexities of the here and now and is a reflection of two sharp intellects whose pleasure in each other's friendship is apparent on every page.' (Publisher's blurb)

Exhibitions

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Alternative title: Een manier van vriendschap : brieven 2008-2011
Language: Dutch
    • Amsterdam,
      c
      Netherlands,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Cossee ; De Arbeiderspers ,
      2012 .
      image of person or book cover 7374291801574468302.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 224p.
      Edition info: 1st ed.
      ISBN: 9059363647, 9789059363649
Alternative title: Aquí y ahora : cartas 2008-2011
Language: Spanish
    • Barcelona,
      c
      Spain,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Mondadori ; Anagrama ,
      2012 .
      image of person or book cover 4033335054137830227.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 265p.
      Edition info: 1st ed.
      ISBN: 8439726325, 9788439726326

Works about this Work

Hosts and Ghosts : Hospitality, Reading and Writing Felicity Plunkett , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , December vol. 4 no. 2 2014;

'This essay starts from J. Hillis Miller’s ‘The critic as host’, an anatomy of reading which connects ideas of ghosting and hosting. If the reader or critic hosts a text, s/he does so both as ‘eaten and eater’, containing ‘the double antithetical relation of host and guest’ (Miller 1977: 442). Miller finds in the ethical reader someone aware of these ‘reciprocal duties of hospitality’. With its images of winding ivy and squirming parasites, Miller’s essay contains a dynamic disclosure of the spirit of attempt that drives it, and the energies of the ‘species of that fanaticism, or rapture, or even revelry that Immanuel Kant calls Schwärmerei’ that, elsewhere, he invites readers to enter (Miller 2005: 253).

'These ideas haunt and illuminate my practice as writer, editor and critic. This essay explores the possibilities of applying Miller’s evocation of the ‘reciprocal duties’ involved in inhabiting a text as a reader to these other varieties of habitation. My research into confessional poetry and life writing repeatedly washes up questions of (and into) the liminal spaces between the imagined and something we like to think of as fact. In writing about ‘real’ people, hospitality’s questions become challenging: what to serve, bring or hide in a cupboard; how best to listen; questions of transgression, politeness and pleasure. Similarly, the creative editing of another writer’s work is premised upon a privileged hospitality: an interlocutor can only be effective if a writer has invited her into the work, and is willing to accommodate her reading.

'The form of this essay’s exploration is inspired by the poetic assemblages of Joseph Cornell, which Charles Simic describes as ‘vehicles of reverie’ where objects and ideas are shuffled into conversation through a ‘dime-store alchemy’ (Simic 1992).' (Publication abstract)

Feste Ansichten in His Own Person : J.M. Coetzee Speaks Gillian Dooley , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: MediaTropes , vol. 4 no. 2 2014; (p. 31-45)
'Three recent books by J.M. Coetzee, Elizabeth Costello (2003), Diary of a Bad Year (2007), and Here and Now (2013), have included extensive expressions of opinion. The wide-ranging discussions in these books cover topics from political philosophy, language, animal rights, and paedophilia to music, food, and sport. There is substantial continuity in the opinions expressed, and the characters or personae expressing these views also have a good deal in common. Nevertheless, these opinions are expressed in three explicitly different personae. With each of these books the personae are progressively more closely identifiable with Coetzee himself. Elizabeth Costello, in the book of that name, is a character who crosses gender and national boundaries from her creator. JC in Diary of a Bad Year shares at least some biographical circumstances with Coetzee—land of birth, gender, initials, occupation, for example. Then, in Here and Now, we are presented with what purports transparently to be the author J.M. Coetzee’s own voice in correspondence with Paul Auster. How do I, as a reader and a critic, negotiate this progression? Just how much license does the apparently closer correspondence between author and writing persona give me to believe that I know what Coetzee ‘really’ thinks or believes?' (Publication abstract)
[Review] Here and Now : Letters (2008-2011) Cheryl Jorgensen , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 11-12 May 2013; (p. 20)

— Review of Here and Now : Letters (2008-2011) Paul Auster , J. M. Coetzee , 2012 selected work correspondence
Hero Worship Between Friends Delia Falconer , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 May 2013; (p. 30-31) The Saturday Age , 4 May 2013; (p. 24) The Canberra Times , 4 May 2013; (p. 21)

— Review of Here and Now : Letters (2008-2011) Paul Auster , J. M. Coetzee , 2012 selected work correspondence
Pen Pals Martin Riker , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The New York Times Book Review , 17 March 2013; (p. 22)

— Review of Here and Now : Letters (2008-2011) Paul Auster , J. M. Coetzee , 2012 selected work correspondence
Pen Pals Martin Riker , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The New York Times Book Review , 17 March 2013; (p. 22)

— Review of Here and Now : Letters (2008-2011) Paul Auster , J. M. Coetzee , 2012 selected work correspondence
Hero Worship Between Friends Delia Falconer , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 May 2013; (p. 30-31) The Saturday Age , 4 May 2013; (p. 24) The Canberra Times , 4 May 2013; (p. 21)

— Review of Here and Now : Letters (2008-2011) Paul Auster , J. M. Coetzee , 2012 selected work correspondence
[Review] Here and Now : Letters (2008-2011) Cheryl Jorgensen , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 11-12 May 2013; (p. 20)

— Review of Here and Now : Letters (2008-2011) Paul Auster , J. M. Coetzee , 2012 selected work correspondence
Literary Heavyweights Make for Fascinating Pen Pals Gareth Hutchens , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 9 June 2013; (p. 13) The Sunday Age , 9 June 2013;

— Review of Here and Now : Letters (2008-2011) Paul Auster , J. M. Coetzee , 2012 selected work correspondence
'The Ouch in the Kicker' : The Artificility of Some Epistolary Dialogue Miriam Cosic , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June no. 352 2013;

— Review of Here and Now : Letters (2008-2011) Paul Auster , J. M. Coetzee , 2012 selected work correspondence
A Pair of Ragged Claws Stephen Romei , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 23-24 March 2013; (p. 19)
Men of Letters Felicity Plunkett , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 13-14 April 2013; (p. 18-19)
'The correspondence between JM Coetzee and Paul Auster reveals the vulnerable side of two great writers...'
Feste Ansichten in His Own Person : J.M. Coetzee Speaks Gillian Dooley , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: MediaTropes , vol. 4 no. 2 2014; (p. 31-45)
'Three recent books by J.M. Coetzee, Elizabeth Costello (2003), Diary of a Bad Year (2007), and Here and Now (2013), have included extensive expressions of opinion. The wide-ranging discussions in these books cover topics from political philosophy, language, animal rights, and paedophilia to music, food, and sport. There is substantial continuity in the opinions expressed, and the characters or personae expressing these views also have a good deal in common. Nevertheless, these opinions are expressed in three explicitly different personae. With each of these books the personae are progressively more closely identifiable with Coetzee himself. Elizabeth Costello, in the book of that name, is a character who crosses gender and national boundaries from her creator. JC in Diary of a Bad Year shares at least some biographical circumstances with Coetzee—land of birth, gender, initials, occupation, for example. Then, in Here and Now, we are presented with what purports transparently to be the author J.M. Coetzee’s own voice in correspondence with Paul Auster. How do I, as a reader and a critic, negotiate this progression? Just how much license does the apparently closer correspondence between author and writing persona give me to believe that I know what Coetzee ‘really’ thinks or believes?' (Publication abstract)
Hosts and Ghosts : Hospitality, Reading and Writing Felicity Plunkett , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , December vol. 4 no. 2 2014;

'This essay starts from J. Hillis Miller’s ‘The critic as host’, an anatomy of reading which connects ideas of ghosting and hosting. If the reader or critic hosts a text, s/he does so both as ‘eaten and eater’, containing ‘the double antithetical relation of host and guest’ (Miller 1977: 442). Miller finds in the ethical reader someone aware of these ‘reciprocal duties of hospitality’. With its images of winding ivy and squirming parasites, Miller’s essay contains a dynamic disclosure of the spirit of attempt that drives it, and the energies of the ‘species of that fanaticism, or rapture, or even revelry that Immanuel Kant calls Schwärmerei’ that, elsewhere, he invites readers to enter (Miller 2005: 253).

'These ideas haunt and illuminate my practice as writer, editor and critic. This essay explores the possibilities of applying Miller’s evocation of the ‘reciprocal duties’ involved in inhabiting a text as a reader to these other varieties of habitation. My research into confessional poetry and life writing repeatedly washes up questions of (and into) the liminal spaces between the imagined and something we like to think of as fact. In writing about ‘real’ people, hospitality’s questions become challenging: what to serve, bring or hide in a cupboard; how best to listen; questions of transgression, politeness and pleasure. Similarly, the creative editing of another writer’s work is premised upon a privileged hospitality: an interlocutor can only be effective if a writer has invited her into the work, and is willing to accommodate her reading.

'The form of this essay’s exploration is inspired by the poetic assemblages of Joseph Cornell, which Charles Simic describes as ‘vehicles of reverie’ where objects and ideas are shuffled into conversation through a ‘dime-store alchemy’ (Simic 1992).' (Publication abstract)

Last amended 8 Apr 2021 13:04:11
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