the king of spain

“Some of the greatest paintings in the world are by Velaquez. But you can’t see them the way you’d like to, because it’s the goddamn King of Spain.”

(William Gass, interviewed by Greg Gerke, at Tin House.)

One thought on “the king of spain

  1. Terrific interview.

    Here’s a link to a picture of a sculpture by Bruce Gagnier: http://www.loribooksteinfineart.com/artist_artwork.php?pageNum_exhibit=4&totalRows_exhibit=23&id=6

    The sculpture’s called “Louis.” Not the king of Spain. Pure sculpture? Hugh Kenner in his book on Eliot talks about Prufrock, Gerontion, Tiresias, Simeon, etc. not as “complete” human beings but as “voices” kind of made out of words. They’re “more substantial than a type, more general than a man: an auditory illusion within the confines of which the components of the poem circulate and co-exist.”

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