THE JOINT

by James Blake ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 19, 1970

Blake spent the better part of his adult life in jail (for bungled burglaries, possession of marijuana, and the like) with brief unsettling intervals in the civilian world. His letters, collected here, express the obvious regrets and anxieties; also the fact that, for someone like Blake, the bars have a silver lining -- time to write and play the piano, pleasant gigs with the chapel choir and organ, and the chance to produce convict theatricals, with no need to turn his talents into coin. And of course there are several hothouse varieties of je ne sais quoi sex which no other environment could quite equal. Still the quotidian is oppressive, and he wants for the sophisticated companionship of the outside. How desperately is evident from the caroling, wailing, cajoling artistry of the letters -- confession, reportage, thoughts on music and writing, in language that surges best against constraints -- as if he would hold a drifting audience through sheer force of style and imagination. He succeeded (selections were printed in Les Temps Modernes and Paris Review thanks to the interest of his friend Nelson Algren and Simone de Beauvoir) and understandably so. He's a chin-up cavalier figure with his back to the wall, but it's not a posture that can be held or viewed indefinitely as is nearly the case here.

Pub Date: Feb. 19, 1970

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1970

Categories: NONFICTION