Faulkner, Cortázar, Coltrane, and Gillespie.

William Faulkner is the best writer I have ever read. He first got me with The Sound and the Fury, which he wanted to print in four different inks, to make it abundantly clear that they were four different monologues. As you might imagine, the publishers of that era were too focused on profit to take risks and alter the intensity of black letters on white paper.Even today, nobody has tried to make good on Bill’s wishes in 1929, and I quote, “I wish publishing was advanced enough to use colored ink… I’ll just have to save the idea until publishing grows up. If I could only get it printed the way it ought to be with different color types for the different times in Benjy’s section recording the flow of events for him, it would probably make it simpler. I don’t reckon, though, it will ever be printed that way, and that will have to be the best, with italics indicating the change of events.” End quote.As a fervent believer in new ways to explore the publishing world since the internet has changed newspapers, magazines, and eBooks since the beginning of the 21st century, I was hoping that perhaps we have the chance to fully realize the vision that Faulkner had of his fiction.And not only Faulkner but also Julio Cortázar, who wrote Hopscotch ––” Rayuela”–– in the context of a particular musical key. I remember reading that masterpiece backward and forward, with true and sincere devotion in my younger years. Alas, I couldn’t properly catch all the musical references because at that time we didn’t have streaming services like we do now.So, when Cortázar’s characters listened in communion to their jazz heroes like Benny Carter, Earl Hines, Lonnie Johnson, Coleman Hawkins, and the like, I couldn’t fill the blanks.I remember many years later, a true friend of mine, enlightened me about the fabulous After the Rain by John Coltrane when he was closing up his pub. I was dumbstruck, so he poured me a glass of red wine. Then we listened to Dizzy Gillespie, and that night we went to sleep at dawn after emptying many bottles.Sadly, I lost forever that valuable friendship after I had a torrid affair with his girlfriend. Get full access to Don't You Dare To Think Out Loud! at javiertruben.substack.com/subscribe