Akron Valley, Pennsylvania. December 2001.
You won’t believe me maybe but it’s true. Where I come from. Where white smoke like steam rises through cracks in the earth. Where the mines sunk deep inside the earth are burning. Wind Ridge, Bobtown, McCracken, Cheet were the names of the mines when they had names. When the mines were still being worked, before the fires.
Where do you live, I live in Hell. I am a child of Hell. I am an American and a child of Hell. Ask me if I am happy, I am.
Joyce Carol Oates
The 10 year aniversary issue of Blind Spot is quite good. Click the links on the author’s names to see a few samples. Call me crazy, but I really do love Friedlander and Baldessari.
