Jack in Rome: Attacking the Bio

It was simply great having Jack in Rome! The reading at the Circolo degli Artisti on the 17th and the one at Chiccen on the 18th were a great opportunity to catch up and touch base. Even more important was the dinner we had at Olga and Ludo's place on the 19th. Olga kindly lent me a notebook that I filled with notes. This time I did not record the interview--as I had done in Bologna last year--but I took an impressive number of notes. Jack enjoys talking about his past and so the conversation spanned from his childhood to the present day. I received plenty of feedback on his early girlfriend who introduced him to poetry, on living in the Bronx, recollections of his mother, amusing episodes concerning his grandparents, how he got to send a short story to Hemingway and the letter that the novelist had sent to him as a reply. I even brought him a perfectly legible copy of that same letter that I received from the University of Indiana, together with a copy of the reply letter he had received from Jung regarding some questions on James Joyce. And then, more feedback on Kabbalah and baseball. A very entertaining conversation. And, a lovely dinner that could end in the only possible way, that is with Jack reading us some of his poems. "Winter's Solstice" has become a sort of war cry. And so, "Happy Birthday Joseph Stalin."  :)