Robert Coover: A Night at the Movies Or, You Must Remember This

"Richard…?"

"Who the hell rearranged the — ungh! — — goddamn geography?"

"Richard, it's a crazy world…"

"Ah, here! this feels like it. Something like it. Now what was I — ? Right! You're telling a story, so, uh, I'll say…"

"But wherever you are…"

"And then — ? Yeah, that's good. It's almost like I'm remembering this. You've stopped, see, but I want you to go on, I want you to keep spilling what's on your mind, I'm filling in all the blanks…"

"…whatever happens…"

"So I say: And then — -? C'mon, kid, can you hear me? Remember all those people downstairs! They're depending on us! Just think it: if you think it, you'll do it! And then — -?"

"… I want you to know…"

"And then …? Oh shit, Ilsa…? Where are you? And then…?"

"… I luff you…"

"And then…? Ilsa…? And then …?"

Robert Coover was born in Iowa in 1932. His first novel, The Origin of the Brunists, was the winner of the 1966 William Faulkner Award. His other works include The Universal Baseball Association, J. Henry Waugh, Prop.; Pricksongs A Theological Position; The Public Burning; A Political Fable; Spanking the Maid; Gerald's Party; and most recently, Whatever Happened to Gloomy Gus of the Chicago Bears? A Night at the Movies was the 1987 winner of the Rea Award, the highest literary award for short fiction in America. In that same year, Coover was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He lives with his wife in Providence, Rhode Island, where he teaches at Brown University.

Scan Notes, v3.0:Proofed carefully against DT, italics and special characters intact. As with most postmodern fiction, things that may look incorrect are actually the way the author intended so please do not make any changes to the file without first consulting a Dead Tree.